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Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
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The Tasks of Faith Formation
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As Catholics, we are called to a continually deepening relationship with Christ. Scripture and Sacred Tradition give us guidance through faith formation. There are six goals of faith formation in the Church.
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Learn the Faith
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The basis of our faith is a relationship with Christ, and as such we are called to learn and know our faith intimately. He IS the truth, and we should know Him.
Whether you are a long-time practicing Catholic or a new believer, you will find various areas of faith formation and catechesis available to you.
Ways to learn the faith include catehesis and instruction through programs like:
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This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.1 TIMOTHY 2:4-5
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Celebrate the Faith
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We find Christ most completely when we live a sacramental life. We born into the church thorough the celebration of Baptism. We adopt our faith as our own when we celebrate our Confirmation. We are santified and prepared for the feast through the sacrament of Reconciliation.
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The greatest celebration of life is found at the table of the Holy Mass. It is where we come face to face with Christ in Holy Communion. As Catholics, we are called to rejoice and celebrate our faith through the faithful practice of these sacraments.
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Choose the Faith
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We choose our faith for our children through Baptism. We choose it for ourselves in Confirmation. We choose it when we reject sin and choose Christ in Reconciliation. We choose
Christ when we receive him in the Holy Eucharist.
Again, we can easily see the necessity of the sacraments in choosing to follow Christ. But we also must choose him daily, in every moment and every action. Every step we take, we must ask the Holy Spirit to be our constant companion.
This task of faith formation is closely tied to the first two as it relies on both knowing and practicing our faith. Prayer, the word of God through scripture, and the traditions and teaching of the Church can also help us to choose our faith daily.
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Pray the Faith
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Prayer is our lifeline. As Catholics, we have beautiful and ancient prayer traditions that we can and should rely upon daily.
The Holy Mass is our greatest opportunity and time for prayer, and we are called to pray the mass with the priest as participants rather than as passive observers.
The Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet are beautiful traditions that deeply enrich and strengthen our lives.
Other ways to pray include reading and praying scriptures like the Psalms, or writing, memorizing, or journalizing scripture. St. Joseph, our patron saint, and the whole host of angels and saints in heaven are available to us through prayer.
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Share the Faith
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Christ sent his disciples forward with the Great Comission, the call to go out and tell all the world the Good News of Christ.
As Catholics, we are all called to be his disciples and to evangelize and share the gospel. Our mission fields include our own homes, our parish, our communities, and the world. God can use all things for the good of those who love him, and He can use us in service for the good of all those in the various spheres of our mission influence.
There are many Ministries here at our parish that need your unique gifts.
Invite friends to mass, love your neighbor, share the good news, and live a life that shines with the light of Christ.
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Live the Faith
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Our Catholic faith should not stop when we make the sign of the cross and exit the doors of at the end of Holy Mass. Holiness means to be set apart, other, or different from the world around us. Our daily lives should witness to the glory of God and the love and sacrifice of Christ as we live the teachings of the Church.
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We sing a song in mass, they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love... Does the world know we are Christians by our love? In living our faith, we make use of all the other above tasks of faith formation in a culmination of loving God daily.
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Christ, the True Vine
With the six tasks of faith formation in mind, consider the below scripture passage. Here Christ describes His relationship to His people. When contemplating His words, can you identify these six ways that we engage with our faith? Take some time today to prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit where He would like you to serve the church in the area of faith formation.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.John 15:1-11
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