A keynote speaker Nov. 21 at a Dominican University College conference co-sponsored by the Ottawa archdiocese to mark the close of the Year of Faith, Dowd described faith as “trust in a relational context.”

The Christian faith is “not just a source of data,” because at its heart is “a relationship with Jesus,” the bishop told about 150 people at the conference entitled “Faith: From a Year of Faith to a life of faith.”

“If all we have is data, something is seriously missing in our Christian life,” he said.

But many Catholics get frustrated when they hear about a personal relationship with Jesus, he said. They are not sure what it means. Their relationship with Christ has been mediated by proxies, whether it is through priests, the liturgy, the Eucharist, the Church or other icons, he said.

They can say “Jesus is Lord,” and genuinely believe this, just as people believe Queen Elizabeth is the Canadian head of state, but they do not have a personal relationship with Queen where she is likely to invite them to tea, he said. A personal relationship with Jesus is easier to find than one with the Queen, he said.

Dowd recounted how his own experience with Christ was mediated through the liturgy and through the Church even as he prepared for the priesthood. Outside of Church contexts, however, he realized he had trouble praying, finding it difficult and exhausting. While living in Montreal, he used to pray his “Metro prayer,” comprised of some Our Fathers and Hail Marys he could recite between subway stops. Then, while visiting his parents in Ottawa, he had a sense the Lord was telling him that He missed those Metro prayers. He said he found it odd, since they were so meagre a prayer offering.

Unfortunately, the Church is confusing catechesis with new evangelization, he said. Evangelization should happen first, then catechesis.

While catechesis is important, evangelization needs to be approached through the virtue of hope, he said.

Dowd recalled a luncheon with a businessman who asked for an explanation of faith, hope and love in simple terms.

“Faith answers the question ‘What should I believe?’ ”

Hope answers the question “So what? Jesus died on the cross, so what? Jesus rose from the dead, so what? What does it mean for me?” Dowd said.

Love answers the question “Now what?” He noted there are plenty of moral prescriptions and advice to answer the “now what?” question. The problem facing the Church today is the “So what?”

“Hope is the virtue that takes faith from a set of abstract concepts and roots itself in our history,” he said. Each person’s life is “a story” and each of us has a history.

“People feel like life is something that happens to them,” he said. “They are not active participants in their own story.

“Our faith is the story of the struggle between good and evil,” from the origins of humanity, and about a loving God, about a universe where even the atoms exist by God’s choice, he said.

“It’s the greatest story ever told and it’s still being told. Our challenge is to present the faith in a way that answers the deepest questions of the heart about what God has done and is doing,” he said. It’s about helping people to see “how the story of our life becomes part of the grand story of existence.”

“If we exist, it’s because God wants us here,” he said.

The theology of hope “is connected with salvation,” he said. “Pastoral work is about knowing and listening to the stories of others and weaving these stories into salvation history.”

We all “have to be able to tell our story,” he said.

“The new evangelization is a retelling of the Christian story adapted to our context and inspired by practical charity,” he said.