SHORT CATECHESIS ON THE YEAR OF FAITH


1.  What is faith?
                  “I know him in whom I have believed” (2 Tim1:12). The words of St Paul help us to understand that faith is “first of all a personal adherence of man to God. It is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. Faith is both a personal and a communal act; a gift from God that is lived in the communion of the Church and must be communicated to the world."

2. What is the Year of Faith?
                  The Year of Faith is a special year set aside by the Holy Father for the Universal Church to enable us to rediscover the precious gift of faith received at Baptism, which we must share to others.

3.   When is the celebration of the Year of Faith?
                  Pope Benedict XVI, in his Apostolic Letter the Door of Faith, declared that the Year of Faith, will begin on 11 October 2012 and will end on 24 November2013.

4.   Why did the Pope choose this date?
                  This date is very meaningful to the Church. There are two great events which marked the life of the Church in our days: the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council convoked by Blessed Pope John XXIII (11 October 1962), and the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of The Catechism of the Catholic Church, given to the Church by Blessed Pope John Paul II (11October 1992).

5. What is the relation between The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Year of Faith?
                  According to Blessed Pope John Paul II, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, will teach us the wealth of teaching that the Church has received, safeguarded, and taught in the history of the Church. Pope Benedict XVI said (The Door of Faith), that it is a precious tool that provides real support for the faith which is also very important in our cultural context.

6. What can we do in order to live with enthusiasm our encounter with Christ?
·       We must rediscover the importance of the Word of God in our lives, faithfully handed down by the Church in the Bible, and the bread of life given to us for our food in the Eucharist.
·       We are called to a renewed conversion to the Lord so that we will be more credible witnesses to the Risen Lord in today’s world.
·       We are called to celebrate the Liturgy, especially the Eucharist with devotion which is the source from which all its power flows.
·       We are called to intensify our profession of faith.  “I believe” is the faith of the Church professed by each believer, principally during Baptism.

Pope Benedict XVI has a high hope that this year will be a good opportunity to intensify the witness of charity. Faith enables us to recognise the Risen Christ in our brothers and sisters in need and impels us to assist them along the journey of life. He exhorts “every one of us to become a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world.”  

Read: 

  • The African Bible 
  • A Catholic Catechism




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