IBIYEMI AKINWALE VICTOR
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND THE ALLEGORY OF TEN BRIDESMAID
(MATT. 25:1-13)
To enter
through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins
with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it
ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw
those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. John 17:22).[1]
The
Christian life is a life-long journey. A journey that begins at baptism and
ends temporary with death but transited into eternal life, its final destiny
and ultimate end. This journey is a pilgrimage that is lubricated by faith, it
is accompanied in Charity and thrives in hope. Thus, the three theological
virtues are very central to any progress in the Christian life.[2]
The proclamation of the concluded Year of Faith is not meant to be an event but
an interjection in a whole process of the Christian journey. It was a year that
was inspired by the Holy Spirit and very much needed in the Church at this time
when there is need for spiritual re-awakening and resurgence. The Christian
life just like a biological life needs all the nourishments and growth that are
required. For an existence, it must be fed, well-catered for and well-formed.
It is such prerogative therefore that necessitated the promulgation of this
august Year of Faith which obviously have concluded on the 24th of
November, 2011. So, the question we want to ask ourselves at this gathering is
what should be our situation in relationship with faith even after the Year of
Faith.
In the
allegory of the Ten Bridesmaids, the Christian life is concretely pictured. The
ten virgins represent us- the Disciples of Christ (expectant believers- 2 Cor.
11:2) who are waiting for his coming. In our journey of faith, we must always
be prepared. The lamps signify their faith which must be continually burning so
bright, while the oil signifies the
good works through which they fuel their lamps from dying out. Faith, Hope and Love
are like the fire that fades out when there is nothing else to burn. Hence, the
Lord demands astute faithfulness on the Christian journey, it is better that
one does not embark on it, than to embark and to apostate. For the cry: “I do
not know you” will be such a great disappointment. How then do we keep our
flames continually burning as we await the Lord?
THE YEAR OF FAITH: AN OVERVIEW AND APPRAISAL
Ever since
the start of my ministry as Successor of Peter, I have spoken of the need to
rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever clearer light on the joy and
renewed enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ.[3]
The Year
of Faith was an introspection into the faith content of the universal Church. It
was a moment to examine how much faith we possess and how much of that faith we
put into practicality in our daily lives. It was an awareness, a reminder and a
calling-to-mind what we should be in order to further grow in our Christian
lives and to supply strength for the journey which we have embraced. It was a
moment of balancing and checking how much we have gone in the universal mandate
to evangelise the world. Above all, it was a moment of conversion, encounter
that should produce evangelization.
To
understand more deeply the goals, objectives of the Year of Faith, it is good
to briskly review the document for the indiction of the Year- Porta Fidei. It is apt to state that all
the events of this Year of Faith point to one reality which is summarize in the
name of the apostolic letter- Porta
Fidei- Opening of the door of faith. The Year of faith calls for the
opening of the Door of Faith; the Second
Vatican Council which we celebrated its golden jubilee also called for an
opening of the Door of the Church to
the modern world while the last reality we celebrated- the Catechism stands as that door
through which we decipher and comprehend the faith contents of the Church.[4]
More
to that, one can identify four purposes
of the Year of Faith from the document Porta
Fidei. These are: 1) to enable Catholics re-enliven their faith, rediscover
its splendour, its power and its beauty; 2) inspire Catholics show commitment
to the New Evangelization;[5]
3) Renew the faith of Catholics; 4) Foster an encounter with Christ through
authentic witnessing to the Faith.[6]
Hence,
the objectives of the Year of Faith
could be spelt out thus:
1.
Encounter Christ anew
2.
Rediscover faith
3.
More conscious and vigorous
adherence to the Bible
4.
Arouse aspiration and
readiness to profess the faith
5.
Intensify the celebration of
the faith in the Liturgy
6.
Deeper devotion to the
Eucharist
7.
Learn more from the Blessed
Mother Mary, the model of Christian faith
8.
Celebrate the heroic virtues
of the Saints.
In
order to achieve the vision above, Porta
Fidei has recommended four actions. These are: 1) the need to study the Documents of Vatican II and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2) The
document also urges that materials for apologetics be made available to the
faithful. This underscores the need to equip the faithful with answers to
numerous questions that concern the faith. E.g Infant Baptism, Mary and so on.
3) The issue of priestly formation was not left out 4) the formation and
training of the laity in general.
BACKGROUND TO THE YEAR OF FAITH: THE CRISIS OF FAITH
I must
let you know that this is not the first time the Church has called for the Year
of Faith. In 1927, the Queen of heaven told the three children in Fatima that
Russia will spread her errors all over the world; little did we know then how
far reaching those errors will be. Fifty years after, the effect of that
warning was already very palpable; the Church was facing a true crisis of faith
and Pope Paul VI was greatly alarmed by it. So in response to the ugly
development, on February 22, 1967, the Pontiff called for a Year of Faith,
which also celebrated the 1900 years of the martyrdoms of Saints Peter and Paul.
The Pope saw that the Church was being destroyed by modern atheism and also by
her children.[7]
In our
own case, in this twenty-first (second) century, the devil has been enthroned
as the lord and emperor of contemporary epoch. The crisis of Faith has
heightened and many have paid dearly with their souls sold to the devil basking
in the pride of civility and modernism. Indeed, the deterioration and decline
of faith in Europe and American forms a background to the emergent convocation
of the Year of Faith. We can sum the challenges of Faith in our dispensation as
the crises of the modern world- a world that hates God and detest religion. Pope
Benedict XVI calls this age “the turbulent times”. And these turbulent storms
are the dictatorship of relativism, the decline in faith in Europe, the reign
of secularism, an epoch of intellectual atheism, an era of sexual scandals, the
promotion of sexual aberrations (homosexuality, transvestism, beastialism),
political instability, religious quagmires, uncontrollable terrorism in Africa,
injustice, the culture of death, and a faceless humanity. In the faces
of these forces against the Church- there is absolute need to re-enkindle the
faith.
Hence,
still talking about the cacophony between the world and the Christian faith
(message) today, Pope Benedict says: “Anyone who tries to talk about the
question of Christian faith in the presence of people who are not thoroughly at
home with ecclesiastical language and thought (by vocation or by convention)
soon comes to sense the alien and alienating nature of such enterprise.[8]
In short, people are not ready to listen to any message that is tied to the
divine or to religion.
Africa
and particularly Nigeria is not free from such onslaught of faithlessness. When
I checked the list of the most religious country, what I found out was elating,
Nigeria ranks the second most religious country in the world with Ghana as
first. Nigeria 93% of the population actively involved in religion, Ghana has
96%. But again, I checked the most corrupt countries in the world, this time
the result was not elating but alarming, Nigerian ranks 8th
position- what a paradox of religion and corruption! It is very interesting and
contradictory says Rev. Fr. Dr. Banjo that among the 10 most religious
countries, Nigeria was there and among the 10 most corrupt countries, again,
our beloved Nigeria was there. The question that is plausible is: how can we,
as a people, be very religious and at the same time, highly corrupt? This is
nothing but an indication of a crisis of faith, identity and mission. It shows
that our faith is not genuine and has not taken root such that it is
expressible in our daily lives.[9]
THE YOUTHS IN THE SCOPE OF THE YEAR OF FAITH
The
youths will forever be the focus of any revival of faith. Personally, the Pope
addressed the youths on many occasions throughout the year of faith. The clear
reason he has put forward that attitude of personally affecting and addressing
the youths is the reality that the Youths are the leaders of tomorrow.[10]
Without the youths, there is no future for the Church, just as for a nation
that does not carter for her youths, such nation will soon go into extinction.
THE CATHOLIC FAITH: A SIMPLE CONSTRUCTION
To profess faith in the
Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love
(cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our
salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed
the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we
await the Lord’s glorious return.[11]
I want
to summarize the entirety of the Catholic Faith into the second question in our
Penny Catechism if you can still remember what it says.[12]
God made me to know Him, to Love Him,
serve Him in this world, in order to be happy with Him forever in the next.
The whole Catholic Faith rests on these three principles and from these
principles all other articles and doctrines emanate. Concretely, in that answer
to the purpose of our creation- we see the interplay of the three theological
virtues that we must possess in order to be saved- the harmony and symphony of
Faith, Hope and Love.
To know Him: we are made to know
God- this theologically is called FAITH. The desire to know God is written in
the human heart, because man is created by God and for God and God never ceases
to draw man to himself.[13]
Our hearts are restless until the rest in God.[14]
Thus, no matter how we choose to deny the reality of God, it always rings in
our heart that God exists and He is very close to us. God has revealed himself
to be known through the light of reason and through creation. (Ps. 8). And we get to know him in a number of ways;
the scriptures, through the Church, and through other means of Divine
Revelation. The adequate response to that self-revelation of God is what is
called Faith.[15]
By
faith therefore, man submits his intellect, his 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”.[16]
To Love Him: Our relationship to
God is nothing but to LOVE him
because he is the author of our being. We cannot love what we do not know!
Hence, our response to the knowledge of God is love. And that is what the
Catholic faith is all about- loving God. This love will not only indicate our
relationship with God but will be permeated to humanity- that is the
confirmation of a true love for God.
To Be Happy with Him in the Next: here
comes our HOPE! The Catholic Faith is not just a lame faith that has no future,
rather it is a faith that is entrenched in the glorious future of the kingdom
of God. And this is what separates us from others who do not hold such doctrine
of an eternal life. That beatific vision is real, if not, Jesus would not have
laboured to talk about it persistently and the apostles would never have died
for anything if they didn’t see a reward that is both overwhelming and
gigantic. One of the greatest deceits of modern times is the assurance that,
life is just temporal and nothing more after this world. This heresy has
influenced many directly or indirectly and it is beginning to shape the
mentality and attitudes of our people.
With
the summary of the Catholic Faith into the second question of Penny Catechism. Let us broader look at
the community of faith that give birth to all of us.
THE CHURCH AS A COMMUNITY OF FAITH
The anonymous author of
the Letter to the Hebrews in his catalogue of warnings says: “Let us consider
how we may spur one another to love and good works. Do not abandon the
assemblies as some of you do, but encourage one another, and all the more since
the Day is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Many
persons believe that faith is an individual thing and remains at that
individual level, after all, God will judge us individually. Some even practice
a home-based Christianity. This is another deception of modern atheism that has primed individualism
as one of its virtues. Even
though faith is a personal adherence of the whole man to God who reveals
himself through his words and deeds,[17]
the same Catechism says “believing”
is an ecclesial act. The Church’s faith precedes, engenders, supports and
nourishes individual’s faith. The Church is the mother of all believers… no one
can have God has a Father who does not have the Church as a Mother.[18]
The Church exemplifies her
faith in varied means:
The Bible: Through
the word of God, the Church sets forth her faith, claims and teachings. She
occupies the pride place of being mater
et magister of the Words of her groom- Jesus Christ, she has the sole interpretation
of what is therein and she possesses the mandate to bind both in heaven as on
earth.[19]
Sacraments: Jesus Christ having
instituted the sacraments himself left them in the care of her Bride- the
Church as a dispenser of the mysteries of God. St Thomas Aquinas calls the
sacraments- “the signs of faith”[20]
and the Church herself is a sacrament of salvation in the world. Sacrosanctum Concillium says the sacraments not only presuppose faith, but by
the words and objects they also nourish, strengthen and express it; that is why
they are called “sacraments of faith”.[21]
Liturgy: The Liturgy is the Epiphany of
the Church. The Liturgy is the
manifestation of the Church’s faith. Faith and worship go hand in hand. It is
in worship that everything about faith is expressed. The ancient dictum: “lex orandi and lex credendi” explains it
better, it is rendered: we pray the way
we believe and we believe the way we pray. The Liturgy is the culmen et
fons, the source of all Christianity Spirituality.
Doctrines and Dogmas: In
Doctrines and Dogmas of the Church, the only thing that is brought forth is
faith. It is the appreciation and formulation of Divine Revelation which is
received by Faith that is called Dogma and Doctrines. Dogmas are light along
the paths of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure.[22]
Popular Devotions: Also
in acclaimed devotions and popular pieties, the Faith of the Church is being
exemplified. For instance, popular devotion such as the Rosary, Eucharistic
adorations, the Divine- Mercy adoration and others. In all these, the faith of
the Church is lived and practiced.
SOURCES OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH[23]
The two
chief sources of the Catholic Faith are Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition,
the two form one Sacred Deposit (depositum
fidei) entrusted to the Church by the apostles. By adhering to this
heritage the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains always faithful
to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of the
bread and the prayers.[24]
The Magisterium of the Church interprets the Divine Revelation entrusted to the
Church. The magisterium teaches only the deposit of faith and is exercised in
the name of Jesus Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit as the revealer.[25]
THE CREED[26]:
SYMBOLUM FIDEI- THE SUMMARY OF OUR
FAITH
The
Apostles creed is a summary of the basic beliefs of the Catholic Church. It was
written in the earliest period of Christianity and it contains three main
paragraphs each for the Persons of the Blessed Trinity and 12 articles of
faith.
The first- I believe
in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth
The second- And in
Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord
The third- Jesus
Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin
Mary
The fourth- Jesus
Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried
The fifth- Jesus
Christ descended into Hell, on the third day He rose again from the dead
The sixth- Jesus
Christ ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty
The seventh- from
thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead
The eight- I believe
in the Holy Spirit
The ninth- I believe
in the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints
The tenth- I believe
in the forgiveness of sins
The eleventh- I believe
in the resurrection of the Body
The twelfth- I believe
in Life everlasting
AFTER THE YEAR OF FAITH: WHAT NEXT? ANALOGY OF THE MASS
Many
of us are Celebrative-Catholics, we are active and committed only during a
celebration. And that also happens at mass. The analogy of the Mass will be
appropriate here. In the mass, we become saints and we do everything with
devotion and in worship! But once, the dismissal is sounded with the formula: Go Forth... the mass is ended,
we suddenly become demons and we wear
our old way of life- indeed many greet their neighbours with a curse after mass
every morning. We forget everything there at the mass! We are like someone who
looks at a mirror and sees himself but when he got outside he forgot entirely
what he looks like. That is living a double life and that again is an
indication of a crises of faith and crises of identity. We must take the mass
to wherever men are! And that is why it is called Mass[27]…
the go forth, is not an injunction to forget our identity as carriers of Jesus
but to go forth announcing the gospel in our lives and if possible by our
lives. The same attitude is needed for the celebration of the Year of Faith.
Our faith must not begin to dwindle at the end of the Year of Faith, rather it
should begin to shine forth for all too see. Hence, let us ask ourselves two
big questions as regards the aftermath of the Year of Faith.
What am I To Do? Acts 2:37
Authentic Conversion: The Year
of Faith, is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the
one Saviour of the world.[28]
Conversion is an ongoing reality, it is a perpetual response to the call of
Jesus Christ. We must continually say yes to that invitation to share in the
life of Christ. Our response is our Faith.[29]
Evangelisation: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI says “Evangelization
always begins with an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who come to
Jesus and have experienced his love, immediately want to share the beauty of
the meeting and the joy born of his friendship”.[30]
Anyone who has come across something
true, beautiful and good hastens to share it everywhere,[31]
so says Benedict XVI. Our faith is indeed true, beautiful and good since it is rooted in Jesus Christ the saviour
of the world and we cannot but let the ends of the earth experience it. But
this is the juncture where many of us have problems. We cannot be apostles for
many reasons[32]
(shyness, Big-boy, persecution, no time) all the excuses we give are very
inauthentic and unreasonable. The basic reality is that we are shy of Jesus
Christ! We are ashamed of the Gospel, but we must not be ashamed of the gospel.[33]
In fact, Jesus has said it all, if you deny me in the world, I will deny you
before the angels and my Father.[34] St. Francis of Assisi says: “preaching, spreading the good news,
sharing the gospel can be done in different ways. Preach the gospel everywhere
you go and when necessary use words. There are plethora of means you can preach
both in deeds and words. We must repeat after St. Paul “Woe to me if I do not
preach the gospel”.[35]
Internet: New Spaces for Evangelization and the New
Aeropagus
The
quality of time youths spend on the internet is really enormous. Many of us
have become aficionados and addicts. That is even the more reason why the
internet is a fertile ground for evangelization. Benedict XVI therefore says, the
internet must become the New Areopagus
where wisdom as Christ, the Son of God is taught.
How do I foster my faith?
1.
The
Three Documents of Faith (Bible, Catechism and Vatican II)
The Bible: We are often challenged as
Catholics that we do not read the Bible, it is either true or false depending
on the way the question is asked. If the negligence of the Bible is associated
to the Church and the liturgy, then it is false but if it is on individual
bases, it may be true for many of us don’t even know how to open the bible. We
have four blocks of Spirituality via Eucharistic, Marian, Charismatic and
Scriptural. NFSC… you must ground yourself in the word of God.
The Catechism: The Catechism is the
compendium of our catholic faith. It comes in easy simplified and handy texts for
us all to know everything about our faith. How many of us have tried reading
them or purchasing one? I mean the Big Catechism.
Vatican II Documents:
These are very essential also because in them can someone find the conclusions
of the Church on matters of modern dispensations.
2.
Sacraments
Many
of us run away from the sacraments even when it is free. A non-sacramental life
is a palace for the devil. To foster our faith, we must live in the sacraments.
3.
Doing
the will of God and obeying the voice of the Church
Doing
the will of God and obeying the Church are dual factors to keeping our faith
alive and active. You cannot do the will of God when you don’t obey Church’s
commandments.
SOME MORE PRACTICAL TIPS TO SUSTAIN OUR FAITH
·
Study your bible daily
·
Attend Mass more regularly
·
Read Christian Catholic books
·
Visit the Blessed Sacrament
more regularly
·
Seek to know more about the
Church
·
What about your Catechism?
·
Commit yourself to Christ
fully- no syncretism!
·
Be alive in the spirit
·
Be charitable and practice
hospitality
THE PRACTICALITY OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: THE LIVING FAITH
Many
times too, we exercise our faith on theoretical levels. We profess only on
Sundays or sing the creed as the case may be but we don’t put our faith into
practicality.
Charity[36]
(faith and works): Through faith, this new life shapes the whole of human
existence according to the radical new reality of the resurrection. To the
extent that he freely cooperates, man’s thoughts and affections, mentality and
conduct are slowly purified and transformed, on a journey that is never
completely finished in this life. “Faith working through love” (Gal 5:6)
becomes a new criterion of understanding and action that changes the whole of
man’s life (cf. Rom 12:2; Col 3:9-10; Eph 4:20-29; 2 Cor 5:17).[37]
“BE READY AT ALL TIMES”: ON BEING APOLOGETICS FOR THE FAITH
More
importantly, we must be prepared at all times to defend the faith that we hold
and believe. St. Peter exhorts us in his first Letter that “Always be prepared
to make a defence to any-one who calls you to account for the hope that is in
you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence” (I Peter 3:15). How many here can
recite the creed offhand? How many can pray the rosary correctly without aid? How
many of us can stand before a Jehovah witness of 10 years old in serious
apologetics about the Catholic Faith? I bet you, we will all fall. But why? Because we have not cared to deepen our knowledge
about the faith. We have only relied on Father’s homily which cannot be
exhaustive in a day. We haven’t strove to even learn something about the faith
on our own. We see the faith as unexplainable and hence, we quickly call
everything Mystery. Who told you that
mysteries are not explained rationally?
Again,
we have to take a compulsory leap from an inherited faith to a convinced faith.
Many of us are still been fed like babies in our faith journey. No personal
commitment and readiness- everything is taken for granted. We inherited the
faith and never made any effort to be convinced about it- that is our problem!
We are Catholics because we are born into Catholicism and that’s all.
You
cannot be an apologetic (the art of explaining and defending the faith) if you
are not convinced yourself or you are not grounded in the faith. Just like
those ancient Church Fathers who are called apologists, we live in a culture that
is baffled by Christianity and sceptical of the Church’s claim to divine
revelation, a culture that often caricatures faith as being nothing more than
credulity, bigotry and superstition.[38]
We must stand up and make a difference by being ready to give reasoned defence
of faith- even if it meant death- for
the blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christianity. In short, the Catechism and Bible must
be your companions always.
CONCLUSION: NFCS…BLENDING SECULARISM WITH SPIRITUALITY
Having
reached the end of his life, Saint Paul asks his disciple Timothy to “aim at
faith” (2 Tim 2:22) with the same constancy as when he was a boy (cf. 2 Tim
3:15). We hear this invitation directed to each of us, that none of us grow
lazy in the faith. It is the lifelong companion that makes it possible to
perceive, ever anew, the marvels that God works for us. Intent on gathering the
signs of the times in the presence of history, faith commits every one of us to
become a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world. What the
world is in particular need of today is the credible witness of people
enlightened in mind and heart by the word of the Lord, and capable of opening
the hearts and minds of many to the desire for God and for true life, life
without end.[39]
Nobody
is saying you shouldn’t go to clubs or parties again, or you shouldn’t watch
films again or you should use Blackberry phones. Nobody is asking you to leave
Facebook, Twitter, Badoo and other initiatives of this modern age, even as you
strive daily to avoid all occasions that may slacken your faith or quench
permanently your light of faith, you must use the civilization of the present
age to Christianise the present society.
Let me
conclude with the story by Bishop Emmanuel Badejo: The title is “Rabbit”[40]
I was
a month short of 15 when I finished secondary education at St. Kizito Minor
Seminary, Ede. Being too young to go on to Major Seminary, I went to teach in a
primary school in Ifon Osun, Osun State. The headmaster, laughed at my small
frame and age and put me in charge of sports, as he said, “to be playing ball
with the children”. I was determined to accomplish something respectable. I set
my sights on winning something important at the next inter schools sports to
which we had been invited. We had never won anything before, so I targeted the
relay race, definitely the most prestigious of all.
Mine
was not an empty dream. I had a daredevil runner among the Children, whom I had
named “rabbit” because of his talents. Perhaps “windy” would have been a more
appropriate name. Rabbit could outrun anyone I had ever known. I know not how
he does it, but he would simply crouch and take off and you could never catch
him. So we trained and prayed, prayed and trained. I knew that for the relay
race, no matter how many yards we would lag behind, rabbit would catch up and
win it for us. I made friends with him and he promised not to fail.
The
great day came and a huge crowd of all the teachers, parents and students
around gathered. My school won nothing all afternoon. Quite familiar! Finally,
came my joker, the 4X400 invitational relay. We lagged behind on the first 3
legs. In the cloud of dust I could see rabbit trembling for the pack to arrive.
Then he took off. Within 50 yards, he had caught up with the pack and the dust
thickened. At 150 yards he had overtaken them all. Then I joined the loud
cheering and singing. No controversy, rabbit arrived first and even continued
into the bush for good effect, to thunderous applause. I proudly received
everyone’s congratulations and ran to greet my prize winner.
To my
utter surprise, the second place runner was announced the winner. No! No! I
shouted in protest. Many supported me too. Everyone saw that rabbit came first.
I was hysterical and so was rabbit. The officials tried hard to calm me down
and then explained. Rabbit indeed came
first but he came with no baton. What! Then I saw our third runner still
holding that glorious piece of wood. Rabbit broke down in tears. But the race
was lost and gone. In heaven, faith will be like a baton. Do you really have
it?
Know
you faith! Live your faith! Spread your faith! Appreciate your faith! Deepen
your relationship with God! Do charity!
Bible
References: Luke 18:8, Matthew 8:1-2, Hebrews 11, I Timothy 6:12, Romans 12.
LORD
INCREASE OUR FAITH!
We
must walk no longer by sight but by
faith. The YEAR OF FAITH must be a
blessing of all time, a kindle that glows our commitment to Christ and the
Church, an eraser of all doubts and sinful inclination, an invitation to daily
encounter Christ in his word and sacraments, an appreciation of the Church and
the sacraments, a disgust for sinful thoughts and acts, a longing to always
want to rest in Jesus Christ. When all these have been accomplished, truly- we
can say the Year as been a fruitful
one.
[1] Porta Fidei, no.
1
[2] Francis L. B. Cunningham (ED) The Christian Life (Dubuque: The Priory Press, 1959), pp.137-138
[3] Porta Fidei, no 2
[4] In the light of all this, I have decided to announce a Year
of Faith. It will begin on 11 October 2012, the fiftieth anniversary of the
opening of the Second Vatican Council, and it will end on the Solemnity of Our
Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King, on 24 November 2013. The starting date of 11
October 2012 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a text
promulgated by my Predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, with a view to
illustrating for all the faithful the power and beauty of the faith. This
document, an authentic fruit of the Second Vatican Council, was requested by
the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in 1985 as an instrument at the service of
catechesis. See Porta Fidei, no 4
[5] The Church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ,
must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life,
towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and
life in abundance.”
[6] Padre Mike Umoh, The Year of Faith: The Way Forward (Lagos
Provincial year of Faith pilgrimage), p. 4
[7] Padre Mike Umoh, The Year of Faith: The Way Forward, p. 2
[8] Pope Benedict XVI, Introduction
to Christianity, p. 39
[9] Padre Mike Umoh, The Year of Faith: The Way Forward, p. 20
[10] Anyway, only
in Nigeria have we seen that the case is different, the youths are not being
prepared for the future at all. Particularly, they are estranged from
leadership and left to scramble for life themselves.
[11] Porta Fidei, no 1
[12] Why did God
make you?
[13] Catechism of the
Catholic Church, no. 27
[14] St. Augustine, The
Confessions
[15] Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 142
[16] Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 143
[17] Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 176
[18] Catechism of the
Catholic Church 181
[19] Matt 16:18
[22] Catechism of the
Catholic Church 89
[23] 2 Thess. 2:15
[24] Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 84
[25] Dei Verbum 10, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 85;
888
[26] The Niceno- Constantinople or Nicene Creed draws authority
from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils (in 325 and
381). It remains common to all the great Churches of both East and West to this
day (CCC 195).
[27] Mass in
Latin means missa which means
dismissal, not just to go but a dismissal with a mission
[28] Porta Fidei, no, 6
[29] Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 142
[30] Pope Benedict, WYD, 2013, no 6
[31] John 4- the story of the Samaritan Woman
[32] We Catholic Youths are stupendously lazy in this area but
that is the way the Church is titling now and we have no option but to get
involved
[33] Romans 1:16
[34] Matthew 25
[35] 1 Corinthians 9:16
[36] The Year of Faith will also be a good
opportunity to intensify the witness of charity. As Saint Paul reminds us: “So
faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor
13:13). With even stronger words – which have always placed Christians under
obligation – Saint James said: “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says
he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister
is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in
peace, be warmed and filled’, without giving them the things needed for the
body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But
someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart
from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith” (Jas 2:14-18). Porta, 14
[37] Porta, 6
[38] Scott Hahn, Reasons
to Believe, p. 11
[39] Porta Fidei, no 15
[40] The story was told by Bishop Emmanuel Ade Badejo, the
Catholic Bishop of Oyo Diocese
No comments:
Post a Comment