Path Through Catholicism

WordWorship

Witness

Every faith journey begins with God reaching out to us and inviting

us to journey together into the unknown.

Our journey in the months ahead will be divided into three stages:

Word: God reaches out to us (Revelation)

I said to the manWho stood at the gate of the year:“Give me a light that I may tread safelyInto the unknown.”

And he replied:

“Go out into the darknessAnd put your hand in the hand of God.That shall be to you better than lightAnd safer than a known way.”

Minnie Louise Haskins

Worship: We reach out to God. (Sacraments)

Athletes share “high fives”to celebrate a victory.Friends hug one another to share a special moment.They do this because in such situations,words alone can’t express their feelings.

This helps us to understand Why Jesus anointed the eyes of the blindTo heal them,Touched the tongue of the muteTo restore their speech,And placed his hands on childrenTo bless them.

This also explainsWhy Jesus taught his disciplesTo use similar actionsIn similar situations

Witness: We journey together. (Commandments)

One night,John Ruskin was seated by a window,staring into the distance,watching a lamplighterignite street lamp after street lamp.

Because it was dark,he couldn’t see the lamplighter-only the trail of the lights he lit.Turning to his friend, John said,

“That’s my image of a Christian.You may not have seen him, but you know he passed byfrom the trail of lighthe left behind.”

Beginning Reflections…

One important episode up to this point in my faith journey was…

One difficulty I have experienced up to this point in my faith journey is…

Light of Faith

How would you have taken Fr. Powell’s remark?

How would you explain Tommy’s failure to find God?

When we are lost, how does God go about finding us?

Three Faith Stages

Doubt sees the obstacles-Faith sees the way.

Doubt sees the darkest night-Faith sees the day.

Doubt dreads to take a step-Faith soars on high.

Doubt questions, “Who believes?”Faith answers, “I.”

Childhood Stage: Cultural Faith

Our childhood faith is conditioned by both our cultural situation and the faith – or lack of faith- of the family into which we were born and raised.

Adolescent Stage: Transitional Faith

This stage is both the most critical and most painful.

It is the most critical because it involves making the transition from receiving the “seed” of faith in baptism to “confirming: it by personal conviction. CCC168

I don’t know what’s going wrong.When I was in grade school,and for the first couple of years of middle school/high school I was real religious,and now I just don’t seem to care.

Have you ever felt this way? Explain

The death of our childhood faith can make us feel sick of heart – even guilty. This is unfortunately because the truth of the matter is that we are only experiencing growing pains, which are a part of every “faith journey”

Adolescent Stage Questioning…

This stage of our faith involves a good deal of questioning. When this questioning is done constructively, it results in faith building.

Destructive questioning means we want to disprove a point, so we can do what we want. Constructive questioning means we want to learn the truth, so we can do what is right.

Constructive Questioning…

-fosters faith clarity

-widens faith horizons

-deepens faith commitment

Adult Stage: Convictional Faith

This stage of faith is a very important one. At this stage we appropriate the faith to ourselves – we move beyond an unexamined cultural faith to an examined personal faith.

Our faith journey is the greatest adventure we will ever embark upon. It takes us beyond the natural world to the supernatural. It leads us beyond material reality to spiritual reality.

Our journey begins when we put our hand in the hand of God and allow ourselves to be led by both the light of reason and the light of faith. (CCC 154-55)

Our journey moves forward to that awesome faith encounter that brings us face to face with the mystery of the Holy Trinity. (CCC 253-56)

Father --- Who created us Son --- Who redeemed us Holy Spirit --- Who graces us

Three Faith Levels

The Holy Spirit graces and guides us every step of our faith journey; which unfolds gradually and throughout our lives at three levels:

Mind Level – Openness to TruthHeart Level – Openness to LoveSoul Level – Openness to Grace

Mind Level

The hOly Spirit helps us to better grasps the truths of our faith.

When a savageceases to believe in his wooden God,this does not mean there is no God,but only that the true Godis not made of wood.

Leo Tolstoy

Heart Level

The Holy Spirit leads us beyond our childhood world – with its focus on love of self – to an adult world, which looks to a love of other people.

An inability to find God is often traceable to a failure to inability to open our hearts to love other people and to receive love from them.

Soul Level

If our soul is open, the Holy Spirit will grace us abundantly, prepare us for faith, invite us to faith, and embrace us every step on the faith journey. (CCC 153-54)

This journey involves a mystery of: Gift --- God’s ContributionFreedom --- Our Contribution

Faith is a gift from God. It cannot be “merited” or “won.” Jesus made this clear.

Matthew 16:13-17

Faith involved “freedom” on our part. Although God graces us and guides us on our faith journey, God does this in a way that respects our free will. In other words, God leaves us free to accept of reject the gift.

Three Faith Realities

There are three realities that we must be prepared to embrace on our journey:

Loving Trust – Risk Ongoing Trust – Recommitment

Suffering Darkness – Growth Times

Loving TrustOne example of the kind of “loving trust” faith requires is marriage.

Faith involves loving trust – not that God will be unfaithful, but that we are not sure where our faith commitment to God will lead us.

Abraham is a good example of the kind of risk and loving trust a faith commitment to God involves. Genesis 12:1

Ongoing Effort

It is a misunderstanding to think that once we “get the faith” we don’t have to worry about it again. We are constantly evolving and changing as persons. We must constantly recommit ourselves to God in harmony with our change and evolvement. This process of recommitment is how faith grows and matures. (CCC 162)

Suffering Darkness

Our faith is like the sun. Sometimes it shines brightly and everything is clear and beautiful. Sometimes it seems to go behind clouds and disappear in darkness; you begin to wonder if it is even there. This darkness is usually traceable to three sources:

Human NatureOurselvesGod

Human Nature: The darkness may simply reflect the mood swings of our human nature.

Ourselves: The darkness may be of our own making. We can cause it by neglecting our faith – through sin or lack of spiritual nourishment.

God: Darkness in faith may be traceable to God. Just as God can use physical suffering – regardless of the cause – to help us grow in our faith, God can also use spiritual suffering – like darkness – to help our faith grow and mature.

Faith is like a toothbrush.Everyone should have oneand use it regularly,but he should nottry to use someone else’s.

J.G. Stipe

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