In the first of the three examinations for the Pilgrim in Paradiso he has to define “Faith.” His answer is:
“Faith is the substance of those hoped-for things,
and argument for things we have not seen.”
And the reason that these things need to be hoped-for is:
“The deep mysteries of Heaven
that generously reveal themselves to me
are so concealed from man’s eyes down on earth
that they exist there only in belief”
And the Pilgrim found this Faith in the Scriptures:
“The bountiful rain of the Holy Spirit showering
the parchmenrs, Old and New, is to my mind
unquestionable certainty of Faith”