Effective Faith

If we believe in Jesus Christ, that truth is so important that it touches every aspect of our life, every thought and word and deed. Faith changes our perspective of life and informs our participation in the nitty-gritty of the world. It is the vocation of the Christian, armed with faith, to be ''the salt of the earth'' and the ''light of the world.'' ''Your light must shine before others,'' Jesus instructed his disciples. (Cf. Mt 5:13-16) Faith, then, has a proper place in the classroom and courtroom, the bedroom and boardroom, and indeed everywhere else the Christian appears.

The Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, D.D. is the eighth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, in Rhode Island. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was ordained a priest for his home diocese in 1973 after studies at the North American College in Rome. He subsequently served as Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh, then as Bishop of Youngstown, Ohio, before being appointed Bishop of Providence by Pope John Paul II on March 31, 2005.