Topic 9

Catechist Formation Topic #9

THE DYNAMICS OF FAITH

GOAL: TO RECONSIDER HOW WE CATECHIZE BY BROADENING OUR

UNDERSTANDING OF…

What is Faith?

How Does Faith Develop?

How to Encourage Faith?

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I

am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust

you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Me r ton , Though t s i n So l i t ude

OPENING PRAYER

Faith in the Scriptures:Take the verse that your group has been givenRead it aloudAnswer the accompanying question

WHAT IS FAITH?

WHAT WE’RE COVERING TODAY

What is Faith?



Etymology of Faith:Hebrew: To hold close as a child in a parent’s arms

Latin: credo – to give one’s heart to

Anglo-Saxon: to hold dear; to prize; derived from German vorlieben – to fall in love

WHAT IS FAITH?

“By faith, man completely submits his intellect and will to God. With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, ‘the obedience of faith.’” (CCC 143)

Faith is our response to God’s revealing himself to usPersonal Adherence (fides qua)Assent to the whole Truth God has revealed (fides quae)

WHAT IS FAITH?

Grace – “Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural virtue infused by him” (CCC 153). Grace must move in the heart of all before they can accept God

Human Act – As much as we need Grace for faith, it is also still a free act of our will. We have to consciously choose to submit to God.

Necessary for Salvation – We cannot have intimacy with God or salvation without faith

CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITH

WeRespond

God Initiates

Sin

Grace

Faith

Faith seeks understanding (St. Anselm) It is certain because it is founded on Truth Can seem difficult because we are

imperfect Certainty rests on God who is perfect

Faith and Reason “Though faith is above reason, there can

never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth contradict truth.” (Vatican I, Dei Filius 4)

CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITH


What is Faith?



If faith is our “yes” to God, then what is it that keeps most

young people in our culture from saying

yes?

BRAINSTORM

Faith Development theories and schemas seek to put language around the different stages of faith which we all encounter that are impacted largely by how we are developing as people

Grace builds upon nature

WHAT IS FAITH DEVELOPMENT?

WESTERHOFF’S STAGES

Experienced

Affiliative

Searching

Owned

The goal of catechesis is to create an environment where an active and conscious faith is stirred up “which seeks to put the person in communion with Jesus Christ.”

Catechesis is mean to inspire and integrate faith…not only a cognitive function, but one of the whole person

Catechesis is meant to give direction and meaning to each stage of human development and leads ultimately to full identification with Jesus (NCD, #174)

CATECHESIS AND FAITH DEVELOPMENT


What is Faith?



Pick one of the “needs” of faith we discussed earlier and come up

with three ways you or your parish could do to try and fill that

need

ENCOURAGING FAITH

Prayer

4 SIMPLE WAYS TO ENCOURAGE FAITH

Stories encounters


Mentor


Call Forth Gifts, Not Fill Slots


Topic 9

Spiritual

Transcript of Topic 9