Year of Faith - 2012

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Pope Benedict has proclaimed “The Year of Faith” to begin Oct. 11, 2012 and conclude Nov. 24, 2013. Conversion of heart leads to authenic renewal and reevangelization:

"… the Church … clasping sinners to its bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal. The Church, ‘like a stranger in a foreign land, presses forward amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God’, announcing the cross and death of the Lord until he comes (cf. 1 Cor 11:26). But by the power of the risen Lord it is given strength to overcome, in patience and in love, its sorrow and its difficulties, both those that are from within and those that are from without, so that it may reveal in the world, faithfully, although with shadows, the mystery of its Lord until, in the end, it shall be manifested in full light.

“Caritas Christi urget nos” (2 Cor 5:14): it is the love of Christ that fills our hearts and impels us to evangelize. Today as in the past, he sends us through the highways of the world to proclaim his Gospel to all the peoples of the earth (cf. Mt 28:19). Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every generation: in every age he convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith. In rediscovering his love day by day, the missionary commitment of believers attains force and vigour that can never fade away. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy.

The Year of Faith… is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world…For full text, see HERE

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your Faithful, kindle in us the Fire of Your Love!

 

[allhug]

I’ve just read some articles about the ‘year of faith’ and wondered what this meant on a practical level?

There are two real aspects 1) the individual and the improvement of our understanding of our faith 2) the image of our faith as it comes across to those outside of it.

Thanks

 

[MariaChristi]

I’ve just read some articles about the ‘year of faith’ and wondered what this meant on a practical level?

There are two real aspects 1) the individual and the improvement of our understanding of our faith 2) the image of our faith as it comes across to those outside of it.

Thanks

Dear allhug,

Thanks for your reply. If you go to the link in my original post, you’ll find the following words of Pope Benedict XVI, which speak to both the real aspects you mention:

…It seemed to me that timing the launch of the Year of Faith to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council would provide a good opportunity to help people understand that the texts bequeathed by the Council Fathers, in the words of Blessed John Paul II, “have lost nothing of their value or brilliance. They need to be read correctly, to be widely known and taken to heart as important and normative texts of the Magisterium, within the Church’s Tradition … I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century: there we find a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning.”[9] I would also like to emphasize strongly what I had occasion to say concerning the Council a few months after my election as Successor of Peter: “if we interpret and implement it guided by a right hermeneutic, it can be and can become increasingly powerful for the ever necessary renewal of the Church.”[10]

1. The renewal of the Church is also achieved through the witness offered by the lives of believers: by their very existence in the world, Christians are called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us. The Council itself, in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, said this: While “Christ, ‘holy, innocent and undefiled’ (Heb 7:26) knew nothing of sin (cf. 2 Cor 5:21), but came only to expiate the sins of the people (cf. Heb2:17)… the Church … clasping sinners to its bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal. The Church, ‘like a stranger in a foreign land, presses forward amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God’, announcing the cross and death of the Lord until he comes (cf. 1 Cor 11:26). But by the power of the risen Lord it is given strength to overcome, in patience and in love, its sorrow and its difficulties, both those that are from within and those that are from without, so that it may reveal in the world, faithfully, although with shadows, the mystery of its Lord until, in the end, it shall be manifested in full light.”[11]

The Year of Faith, from this perspective, is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world.

As individuals, each of us must answer the summons by personal and practical efforts like participation in Bible Studies or other Adult Formation opportunities to grow in faith. We have a series in our parish now on the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Many are learning more about their Catholic Faith.

As Church we need to give good example and reach out to others. If your parish needs to begin something, then maybe you are the one to contact your pastor to see what might be done. Pray to the Holy Spirit. Then do the Truth you hear.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Recently on this Forum, member “allhug” asked a good question see HERE

Today, I read an article in Zenit which answers the question more fully than I was able to do. See HERE for full text from Vatican.

This is a brief excerpt to “wet your appetite”:

…The Year of Faith is intended to contribute to a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith, so that the members of the Church will be credible and joy-filled witnesses to the Risen Lord in the world of today - capable of leading those many people who are seeking it to the “door of faith.” This “door” opens wide man’s gaze to Jesus Christ, present among us “always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). He shows us how “the art of living” is learned “in an intense relationship with him.” “Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every generation: in every age he convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith.”

At the invitation of Pope Benedict XVI, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in consultation with the competent Dicasteries of the Holy See and with the contribution of the Committee for the Preparation of the Year of Faith, has drawn up this Note, with some recommendations for living this time of grace, without precluding other initiatives which the Holy Spirit will inspire among Pastors and faithful in various parts of the world.

Recommendations

“I know him in whom I have believed” (2 Tm 1:12). These words of St Paul help us to understand that faith is “first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed.” Faith which is a personal trust in the Lord and the faith which we profess in the Creed are inseparable; they focus on each other and they require each other. There exists a profound bond between the lived faith and its contents. The faith of the Witnesses and Confessors is also the faith of the Apostles and Doctors of the Church.

Thus, the following recommendations for the Year of Faith desire to aid both the encounter with Christ through authentic witnesses to faith, and the ever-greater understanding of its contents. These proposals are intended as examples to encourage a ready response to the invitation of the Holy Father to live fully this Year as a special “time of grace.” The joyous rediscovery of faith can also contribute to consolidate the unity and communion among the different bodies that make up the wider family of the Church…

Underlining in the above excerpt is mine. Please let us pray for the true renewal of the Church in our time and an authentic New Evangelization during this Year of Faith beginning in 2012. Thanks.

 

[Crumpy]

who is leading that discussion of the catechism in your parish?

do you know what the span of time is involved for studying the catechism in the parish?

How is the response to this course in the parish?

 

[MariaChristi]

who is leading that discussion of the catechism in your parish?

do you know what the span of time is involved for studying the catechism in the parish?

How is the response to this course in the parish?

Dear Crumpy,

Thanks for your reply. My husband and I led classes on the Catechism a few years ago in two different parishes. We did not get all the way through the Catechism in either parish before we moved, but I people who came to the classes told us how much they appreciated them.

When the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church was published, we felt that it was an even better way to present the teachings since it was briefer and gave references back to the Catechism for more details on each question. Since my husband was Director of Adult Faith Formation in a parish at that time, he began using the Compendium for RCIA. We moved from there when the economy declined and the pastor needed to cut back on staff. We are now back in our “home” parish serving as volunteers in Adult Faith Formation. This pastor is under financial constraints also, but is happy to have us give these classes as volunteers.

My husband has grouped the questions so that we are going to “complete” the Compendium in the course of several months. We meet for an hour on Sunday afternoons. We have found that parishioners in our present parish are very grateful for the opportunity to read and discuss the Compendium and learn far more than they knew.
There is good interaction within the hour of class time, and the group remains around 16 to 20 persons coming regularly.

Hope that helps a bit. If you have more question, I ll be glad to share more.