THE YEAR OF FAITH
11 OCTOBER 2012 – 24 NOVEMBER 2013
Read :
- The Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XV1 The DOOR OF FAITH with Pastoral Recommendations for the Year of Faith;
- A CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH
- Read more: www.paulinesafrica.org
For more updates, follow this blog – The Year of Faith
New post!! REDISCOVER AND RELIVE OUR FAITH IN A NEW WAY - 16 Oct 2012
New post!! THE JOURNEY OF FAITH
New post!! SHORT CATECHESIS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH
New post!! REDISCOVER AND RELIVE OUR FAITH IN A NEW WAY - 16 Oct 2012
New post!! THE JOURNEY OF FAITH
New post!! SHORT CATECHESIS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH
The Year of Faith is a year of grace, and it is an
invitation to everyone in the Church to rediscover and share with each other
the precious gift of faith received at baptism and entrusted to the Church.
From
the Acts of the Apostles, we learn that as God opened the door of faith for the
early Church, he also opens the door for each one of us. “The door of faith always
ushers us into the life of communion with God and offers an entry into his
Church”. It is an invitation for us to cross the threshold to hear the Word of
God, in order to have a deeper relationship with him. To enter through this
door, is to set out on a journey, and this begins with baptism through which we
become his children and have the courage to call him Father.
With
the Apostolic Letter of 11 October 2011, The
Door of Faith (Porta fidei), His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI declared the Year
of Faith. The beginning of the Year of Faith on 11 October 2012, coincides
with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, called 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 John Paul II (11 October 1992).
According
to Pope John XXIII, the Council wanted to transmit doctrine, pure and whole,
without misrepresentations in such a way that “this sure and immutable
teaching, which must be respected faithfully, is elaborated and presented in a
way which corresponds to the needs of our time.” After the Council, the Church
set about ensuring the reception and the application of the teaching of the
Council in all its richness. The Popes have frequently convoked the Synod of
Bishops to assist in the right reception and application of the Council. The
Servant of God, Pope Paul VI, convoked the first Synod of Bishops in 1965, to
provide the Church with clear guidance through the various Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortations. The next General Assembly of
the Synod of Bishops will be in October 2012, and has as its theme: “The New Evangelisation for the Transmission
of the Christian Faith”.
Pope
Benedict XVI said, “Ever since the start of my ministry as Successor of Peter,
I have spoken of the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever
clearer light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ”.
During his inauguration, he said in his homily that the ‘Church as a whole and
all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out of the desert to lead people towards
the place of life, and life in abundance’.
The Pope
said that, though the Second Vatican Council was held fifty years ago, it
remains ‘the great grace bestowed on the
Church’. He is convinced that if the Second Vatican Council is interpreted
and implemented according to the mind of the Church, going back to the
Apostles, it will become a powerful and great means for the renewal of the
Church. He also said that, people in today’s world still need to draw water
from the well like the Samaritan woman. Our faith is inviting us to believe in
Jesus because we can only draw the living water from him. We are called upon during this Year of Faith,
to rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the Word of God, which is
faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance
for his disciples and also for us.
During
this Year of Faith we are given the opportunity to go deeper in our faith
through the reading and study of the Second Vatican Council Documents and the
Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Resources:
The
Door of Faith, Paulines Publications Africa, 2011.
The
Door of Faith with Pastoral Recommendations for the Year of Faith, Paulines
Publications Africa, 2012.
New post!! SHORTCATECHESIS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH
New post!! SHORTCATECHESIS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH
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