Rediscovering, Knowing, Living our Faith
In his audience address on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI declared: “The Second Vatican Council is a strong call to rediscover every day the beauty of our faith, to know it deeply for a more intense relationship with the Lord, to fully live our Christian vocation”. How can we Catholics rediscover the beauty of our faith, deepen our relationship with Our Lord, and more fully live our Christian vocation during this Year of Faith? Here are some suggestions:
1. Read, study and meditate on the Faith. would especially recommend Porta Fidei (The Gate of Faith), the constitutive document of this Holy Year; The Catechism of the Catholic Church, that Benedict XVI called “an authentic fruit of the Second Vatican Council”; the documents of Vatican II, particularly the four Constitutions; the papal encyclicals of Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI, and especially the new encyclical on the faith by Pope Francis; The Bible; the Early Church Fathers; the lives of the Saints; Jesus of Nazareth by Benedict XVI; Y the eternal man by G. K. Chesterton.
2. Obtain the special plenary indulgence for the Year of Faith if you haven’t already. On May 10, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI solemnly decreed that this indulgence be granted to all the faithful who meet certain prescribed conditions in addition to the usual conditions of confessing, receiving Holy Communion, and praying for the intentions of the Holy Father. . The special conditions for obtaining this particular indulgence can be found on the official website of the Year of Faith.
3. Receive the Sacraments frequently. The sacraments are channels of grace through which we receive the necessary strength to faithfully follow Christ in our daily lives. We must especially receive the sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist often to be cleansed from our sins and spiritually nourished for the journey of faith.
4. Spend more time in prayer. Christ says, “As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me” (John 15:4), and “apart from me you can do nothing.” ‘” (John 15:5). When Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was once asked how she was able to accomplish so much, she replied simply, “I pray.” If faith is an encounter with Christ and a loving personal relationship with Him, prayer is the heart and soul of that relationship. The more time we spend in prayer, the more united we will be with Christ, the deeper our faith will be, and the more fruit we will bear in the vineyard of the Lord. The Scripture says, “Pray without ceasing” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17) Simple daily prayers, such as morning and evening prayers and thanksgiving before and after meals, are important to nurture our Christian lives.The Church also recommends the Liturgy of the Hours and the rosary daily; the latter is an excellent method to get closer to Christ through the meditation of the mysteries of his life in union with Our Most Holy Mother Mary, the perfect follower of Christ and through whom all graces come to us. Year of Faith we must delve into the Sacred Liturgy, “the great prayer of the Church”. Lex orandi, lex credendi: “As we pray, so we believe.”
5. Share the faith with others. The priceless gift of faith that we have been given is not meant to be selfishly hoarded within ourselves, but to be freely shared with others. “Freely you have received; freely you will give” (Mt 10, 8). We can all find small opportunities in our daily lives to bear witness to Christ and evangelize others through word and example. The more we take advantage of these opportunities, the more our faith will grow and the stronger it will become. In his Message for World Youth Day 1992, Blessed John Paul II stated:
All the baptized are called by Christ to become his apostles in their own personal situation and in the world: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (Jn 20:21). Through his Church, Christ entrusts to you the fundamental mission of sharing with others the gift of salvation. He invites you to participate in building his kingdom. He chooses you, despite the personal limitations that each one has, because he loves you and believes in you. This unconditional love of Christ must be the very soul of your apostolic work, according to the words of Saint Paul: “The love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor 5:14).
Being disciples of Christ is not a private matter. On the contrary, the gift of faith must be shared with others. That is why the same apostle writes: “If I announce the Gospel, I have no reason to boast, because an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not announce it!”. (1 Corinthians 9:16). Also, do not forget that faith is strengthened and grows precisely when it is given to others.
Perhaps no better summary of Christian life can be found than that contained in Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians: “I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, exhort you to live worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and meekness, with patience, bearing with one another out of love, striving to preserve the unity of spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in the only hope of your vocation; one one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:1-6).
And perhaps no better prayer can be said for this Year of Faith than that of Benedict XVI: “May the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ and of the whole Church, help us to carry out and bring to completion what the Council Fathers, motivated by the Holy Spirit, pondered in their hearts: the desire that everyone may know the Gospel and encounter the Lord Jesus as Way, Truth and Life”.