As I write this article, I'm nursing the tail end of a mild bout of COVID-19. I don’t share that for pity but to point out how much the world has changed in the past few years. Before this decade, I didn't know what a novel coronavirus was. Everything I understood about pandemics was mainly picked up from disaster movies. Social distancing was only a dream my introverted wife possessed in her heart. And the virus that demanded fear as it first swept across the planet is now so common that it's possible to write an article while infected. Though... Read more
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Articles Under: Adult Faith Formation
The Theology of the Body (TOB) catechesis [i] culminates with profound teachings on responsible parenthood and a vigorous defense of Humanae vitae , but St. John Paul II equally proclaimed the depth and importance of the unitive aspect of marriage. In fact, nearly half of the TOB reflections are based directly on Jesus’ teachings on the indissolubility of marriage (TOB 1–23, based on Mt 19) and the monogamy of marriage (TOB 24–63, based on Mt 5). While emphasizing the inseparability between the procreative and unitive aspects, a key teaching of Humanae vitae , St. John Paul II also provided a... Read more
Don’t scientists, believers, nonbelievers, liberals, and conservatives alike all rejoice in the splendor of creation? Don’t we all wonder about stars that shine lightyears away? About the depths of the ocean swarming with fluorescent fish and star-shaped creatures? About the hummingbird whose wings flap in song while she drinks nectar to satiety? Not only do we experience joy and wonder as we contemplate creation, we also have an innate longing to discover. We long to discover the mysteries of creation and thus uncover the mysteries of God. And this, I’d argue, is true for most people—regardless of their religious belief,... Read more
Having realized the growing need for a process of Christian Initiation for Families at our parish that serves unbaptized children of catechetical age and their parents , we have developed, implemented, and continue to fine-tune our rescue mission using a family approach for our mid-sized parish. One of the adjustments made is we now refer to the process as “Christian Initiation for Families” rather than “RCIA Adapted for Families.” “RCIA” is insider language, and, since we are hoping to attract entire families along with their unbaptized children, we realized that although they may not know what RCIA is, they will... Read more
En el Ritual de la Iniciación Cristiana de Adultos, hay varios aspectos de la formación y muchas piezas móviles que contribuyen todos a la formación general de los catecúmenos y candidatos. El aspecto pastoral de la formación se ocupa del desarrollo global del discipulado de los catecúmenos, mientras que el aspecto catequético les ayuda a llegar a conocer la Palabra de Dios y a forjar una relación íntima con Jesucristo. Sin embargo, a veces es fácil olvidar que el RICA es un rito litúrgico y que los ritos litúrgicos proporcionan la gracia y el poder sobrenatural que transforma a los... Read more
Jiminy Cricket was no theologian or philosopher, but in the Disney Classic Pinocchio, the talking cricket was assigned to serve as the “conscience” for the puppet who was made a “real boy.” The innocent puppet that is familiar to all of us was instructed to follow his conscience in the pursuit of being a good boy. Unaware of what a conscience is or how it helps us to distinguish right from wrong, Jiminy is commissioned to help Pinocchio develop his own conscience. At first, the cricket, seemingly a bit cranky and frustrated, explains that “A conscience is that still, stale... Read more
If someone is married, in love, or has ever been in love, they can likely tell you when they knew they were in love and, more importantly, when they knew their significant other was in love with them. It’s also likely that one of the individuals fell in love first. Their heart had been moved and they had “arrived” to love. After having arrived, they had to do one of the hardest things: they had to wait. Why wait? Well, because love cannot be rushed, and it certainly cannot be forced. It must profoundly respect the freedom of the other... Read more
What is freedom? Here in America, we sing that ours is “the land of the free.” But, of course, building a free society requires that we put laws in place that actually limit some freedoms. We recognize that these limitations are for the good of our common community. It’s clear in our day-to-day living that human freedom, the ideal for which we strive, is not license to do whatever we want in any given situation. Our freedom must be ordered to a higher good that sometimes transcends our own desires. In our Catholic worldview, freedom is to be ordered not... Read more
This is a paid advertisement in the October-December 2022 issue. Advertisements should not be viewed as endorsements from the publisher. To find out more about these books, go to https://ignatius.com or call 800-631-1531.Read more
Sharing the Light of Faith (1979) Catechism of the Catholic Church (1993) This series of articles seeks to explore the rather remarkable fifty-year period in the history of the Church’s catechetical mission. We have already looked briefly at the outcomes of the International Catechetical Study Weeks, the General Catechetical Directory (1971), Evangelii Nuntiandi (1974), and Catechesi Tradendae (1979). In this article, we will consider a document of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Sharing the Light of Faith: National Catechetical Directory of Catholics in the United States (1979) and two documents of the universal Church, The Rite of Christian Initiation... Read more
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