The Year of Faith

Faith is not something one receives whole and entire, once and for all, thanks to one’s family and upbringing or ethnic heritage.  As human beings we are all weak and easily misled by the world, the flesh and the devil.  Just like the apostles, our constant prayer must be: “Lord, increase our faith.” 

Faith is a gift from God.  We have to accept it and live it, to be sure, but as Jesus said: “no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father” Pope Benedict tells us that “especially at a time of profound change such as humanity is currently experiencing” the Year of Faith is a “time of spiritual grace that the Lord offers us.”

The gift of faith that comes from God is not just a personal attitude or frame of mind, much less just a feeling or emotion.  In the words of the Holy Father: “there exists a profound unity between the act by which we believe and the content to which we give our assent.”  “[For this] reason, Christians in the early centuries were required to learn the creed from memory.”

One of the reasons that October 11, 2012, was chosen to open the Year of Faith is that it marked the 20th anniversary of the publication of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” a book which the pope describes as “an authentic fruit of the Second Vatican Council.”  October 11^th was also the 50th anniversary of the opening of that Council in 1962.

In the aftermath of the Council, many religious educators moved away from repetition and memorization of the doctrines of the faith.  New approaches emphasized the importance of personal conversion and faith in action, especially at the service of others.  These efforts were nevertheless accompanied by less and less focus on the specific content of Christian doctrine, even as society at large began to look suspiciously at authority, tradition and the very existence of absolute truths.  

With time it became clear that many of those being catechized were no longer learning the content of the faith in a way that they could, or would remember.
Pope Benedict has asked that during the Year of Faith we all make a concerted effort “to rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed, and to reflect on the act of faith” (PF, 9).  We are all called to take advantage of the wonderful learning opportunities our parish offers.