‘How do we trust in God?’
CHARLOTTE — Dr. Timothy Gray, founder of Formed.org and president of the Augustine Institute, gave the keynote address to members of the Charlotte chapter of Legatus at the Ballantyne Country Club April 4.
Legatus is an international organization of Catholic business leaders and their spouses who strive to be “ambassadors for Christ in the marketplace.” Legatus members meet monthly to grow in their faith, network and share their experiences and insights as business leaders in their communities.
The Legatus Charlotte chapter was formed in June 2016 with the approval of Bishop Peter Jugis. Out of 90 chapters worldwide, it is currently the only Legatus chapter in North Carolina.
Prior to the keynote address April 4, Legatus members gathered to pray the rosary and attend Mass which was celebrated by their chaplain, Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey.
After dinner, Gray delivered his address, entitled “Can I trust in God? How do we trust in God?”
“The theme of trusting in God is an important one, especially in light of the crisis in the Church, the crises in society in general,” Gray said. “And trusting in God is at the root of all crises, especially this one.”
Gray noted that we live in a post-modern culture where people can hop on a flight from Denver to Charlotte in a few hours like he did, and people wonder if they really need to believe in God. People also question whether religion has become outdated.
“What is really at the heart of that is supernatural faith,” he said. “Do we believe that God is present, as a Catholic that He is present in the Eucharist?
“Can I really believe that God personally loves me? That’s really the heart of the challenge.”
Gray said the key to trust is time and effort. “To trust God takes work and it takes a relationship.”
Throughout Scripture, God shows that He can be trusted, he noted, and the Bible encourages us not to become discouraged.
“What can happen in the Church today? People get so discouraged. We have a lot of people who are culturally Catholic and not faithfully Catholic, both amongst the laity and our leadership,” he observed. “Now what we are going to have is people who stay over the next decade, are going to be those who are faithful. So the voices of those who care about Christ and are faithful, both in the clergy and amongst the laity, are going to be voices that are going to be the loudest. They are going to be the ones driving the renewal of the Church,” he said.
More and more people want to know their Catholic faith more deeply, he added. “Those who are going to stay Catholic, they want to plug in and know their faith. They want to learn and be strengthened in their walk with God. They want to be part of the rebuilding. They want to be part of the renewal.”
Trust in God is the key to this rebuilding and renewal of the Church, he said.
“The key to the new evangelization, the key to the renewal of the Church in this moment in need for reform, is radical trust – a supernatural trust in who God the Father is, in who Jesus is. God wants to be present to His people in spite of our failures. No matter how much we have sinned as the people of God, God is still the God who gathers His people into His arms.”
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Get more info
The Legatus Charlotte chapter welcomes new members. Find out more about Legatus at www.legatus.org/chapter/charlotte. Questions? Contact Carla Sztyber at 704-779-0581 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..