Committed to Lifelong Faith Formation

 

 

According to our mission statement, the people of the Cathedral and mission communities "commit to lifelong Christian formation for every parishioner and to our Catholic schools."  Lifelong Christian formation seeks to develop the whole person to see things first through the eyes of faith.  Our primary means of doing this is through catechesis, which essentially means "to resound or echo."

 

Our commitment to lifelong faith formation means that all elements of catechesis work in concert to continue forming the faith of all parishioners.  According to the National Directory for Catechesis, the six fundamental tasks of catechesis are: knowledge of the faith, liturgical education, moral formation, teaching to pray, community life, and missionary spirit.

 

Lifelong faith formation “resounds” the faith given first to the Jewish people chosen by God, then echoed to the first Christians through the Apostles, and is now passed between us, from generation to generation.  The goal of lifelong faith formation is to lead people to a mature, adult, faith.

 

A Catholic with mature adult faith is a person who:

• continues growing in the knowledge of the Catholic faith and traditions;

• is formed by the liturgies – readings the Bible, homilies/ sermons, songs, prayers (both public and private), community, and especially the Eucharist;

• makes moral decisions prayerfully and with the teachings of the Church as part of the process of decision-making;

• prays on a regular basis, alone and in the community;

• participates in the life of the community through social activities and/or education activities;

• carries out the mission of the church by serving in the local and regional communities

•  

AND

 

The Catholic with a mature, adult, faith understands that:

 

• all sacramental celebrations, especially weekly attendance at Lord’s Day Mass, mark important steps on our journey as we continue to grow in faith together by embracing our responsibility as members of God’s family

• faith formation does not end with the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation

• one must be intentional about forming her or his faith throughout one’s life

• we seek to become what we already are, the Body of Christ

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