Supporting Catholic women emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

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Faith: The Virtue We Rely on Most… and Notice Least

The second candle of Advent invites us into faith.

Faith is often the virtue we don’t fully appreciate until we’re asked to use it.

In Scripture, countless people asked Jesus for miracles because they were human.

We long for something tangible in our faith because we can point to it and say:

“See? God is here. He’s listening. He’s acting.”

Miracles give us clarity. But faith asks something different of us.

It asks us to trust even when clarity isn’t there.

Faith Is Trusting the One Who Sees the Whole Path

Faith is choosing to trust the God who sees the entire road ahead when all we can see are the next two or three inches.

It is choosing courage even when we have no idea what we’re doing.

It's letting God lead when the way forward feels murky or looks dim.

And when we don’t get the answer we prayed for, or when life takes a turn we didn’t expect,
disappointment can tempt us to rewrite our identity in Christ.

When Disappointment Tries to Rewrite Our Story

Psychologically, disappointment activates old patterns – the very ones God is trying to free us from.

When faith feels shaken, we often respond by:

• Taking matters into our own hands
• Turning inward and thinking something is wrong with us
• Sliding into hopeless thinking​
  (“Maybe God doesn’t want good things for me…” — a lie many of us have believed including yours truly.)

This is exactly where faith becomes more than a feeling. It becomes a muscle and a spiritual strength that grows through practice.

The Theological Virtue of Faith

Psychology helps us understand how disappointment can shake our confidence, causing us to reinterpret our identity or cling to old thinking traps.

But our faith brings an even deeper, grounding truth that doesn’t depend on how steady or shaky our emotions feel on a given day.

The Catechism tells us:

This is the kind of faith that quiets our fears and gently realigns us to what is true:

• That God is who He says He is.
• That He is truth itself.
• That He is good even when we cannot see the whole path.

And that living out our faith in our daily lives doesn’t require us to perfectly understand. Faith asks us to freely entrust our whole selves to God before everything is clear.

In this season of Advent, faith becomes a practice of surrender: Offering God the small sliver of clarity we can see and letting Him guide the rest.

And we choose to trust Him, to have faith, even when things don't make sense in our limited human minds.

And when we do, our lives will reflect that.

A Personal Story: The Year I Failed and Trusted Anyway

My sophomore year of college was one long season of confusion.

I’d changed my major five times.

Everyone had told me I was smart, capable, and destined for some prestigious health profession.

But their voices drowned out the still, small voice inside me that knew the truth: I wasn’t meant for a medical profession.

I didn’t know that yet, though. All I knew was disappointment.

By the second semester, I was in Organic Chemistry II, sitting next to the man who would one day become my husband (though I had no idea at the time). I didn’t even need this class anymore.

I had finally realized God wanted me to become a counselor, not a healthcare worker in the physical capacity anyway.

And I was on the verge of failing.

Organic Chemistry I? I had earned a B.

Organic Chemistry II?

The final exam was 40% of the grade…
and I bombed it.

It was the first class I had ever failed in my life.

But somehow… I didn’t panic.

(Okay, maybe for five minutes. But it didn’t stick.)

Deep down, I felt completely at peace.

Because for the first time ever, I knew God was rerouting my life.

I was transferring that fall to Franciscan University. I had just converted to the Catholic faith. I was going to become a counselor and help others heal their inner wounds while rooted in Christ.

I didn’t have clarity about the future. But I had faith in the One who did.

And two years later?

I graduated summa cum laude.

My first two semesters at Franciscan: All A’s. Not one B. Minimal stress. Incredible peace about my future that I had never experienced before.

I knew I was right where God wanted me.

And since then, I’ve often longed to return to that effortless, steady trust in Him and the plan He has for my future. The kind that says:

“Lord, I don’t understand. But I trust You.”

This Advent, I’m practicing this again.

As a wife, a mother, and even as a business owner creating self-help tools that blend the richness of our Catholic faith with the psychological strategies that actually help us heal.

Because faith grows in surrender and making time for the One Who is actually in control. He will give us faith when we don't know where we're going.

And it will feel like peace.

Your Advent Invitation

As we light the second candle this week, pray with me:

Reflection Prompts for Your Week

Take a few minutes today, even just 3 minutes, and sit with one or two of these:

• Where is God inviting me to trust Him without clarity?
• What disappointment or confusion is calling me into deeper surrender?
• Where might I be leaning on my own understanding instead of His loving guidance?
• How is God gently rewriting my story right now, even if I can’t see the ending yet?

I hope these questions guide you deeper into the heart of Advent.

I hope they help you acknowledge and surrender into God's loving hands, whatever you've been holding onto lately that's been challenging your faith.

We all fall into this! There's no shame here.

We're moving forward with awareness and intention so that we can truly grow our faith in the Lord.

Blessings,

Samantha Stefaniak, LMHC

Founder & Coach

Rooted Soul, Grounded Mind