St. Matthew Faith Formation at 8015 Ballantyne Commons PKWY, Charlotte, NC 28277 US - The Bishops Speak on Adult Catechesis
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The Bishops Speak on Adult Catechesis |
The Bishops Speak: Adult Catechesis This article is an exploration of some of the highlights of the #50. “Faith is both a gift of God and an authentically human response—a recognition of God’s call in one’s life and a free decision to follow this call by accepting and living the truth of the Gospel. As such, faith is living and active, sharing many of the qualities of living things: it grows and develops over time; it learns from experience; it adapts to changing conditions while maintaining its essential identity; it goes through seasons, some apparently dormant, others fruitful, though wherever faith is present the Holy Spirit is at work in the life of the disciple.” The adult by definition has been through the seasons many times. She or he is blessed to have learned patience from the journey—patience with oneself, patience with the Church, patience with others, patience with the whole process of learning. In this patience one can experience the fidelity of God who speaks “in season and out of season.” #51. “Like all living things, a living faith needs nourishment, which the mature adult disciple finds above all in union with Christ—“the way and the truth and the life” (Jn.14:6). This life of intimate union with Christ in the Church is maintained by the spiritual helps common to all the faithful, chiefly by active participation in the liturgy. It is also maintained by “A living faith NEEDS nourishment”. Hence, the Church. Nourishment is its raison d’etre. Hence, St. Matthew “yoU”niversity. Adults, are you listening???? #52. “A living faith is a searching faith— 1. it “seeks understanding”. Adults need to question, probe, and critically reflect on the meaning of God’s revelation in their unique lives in order to grow closer to God. 2. A searching faith leads to deepening conversion. 3. Along the way, it may even experience doubt. Yet the essence of this quality of adult faith is not doubt, but search— a trusting, hopeful, persistent “seeking” or “hunger” for a deeper appropriation of the Gospel and its power to guide, transform and fulfill our lives.” Sentence by sentence, this paragraph provides food for thought about the importance of Catholic adults continuing to study and grow in their faith. “Adults need to question, probe and critically reflect on the meaning of God’s revelation in their unique lives in order to grow closer to God.” Adults have learned, often through bitter experience, the necessity of making choices. Choices involve critical evaluation. · Is this sofa really a sale if it fits with no other piece of furniture in our living room? · What am I really teaching my child if I allow him or her to play this video game? · Does my Faith really matter in my life? How? Where? Do I really know Jesus well enough that I could say with some certitude this is what He would do in this situation? · Are the Scriptures really authentic portrayals of Jesus’ thought and actions? To provide some guidance as one goes about trying to authentically answer these questions, that is the role of St. Matthew “yoU”niversity. “A living faith is a searching faith--…a searching faith leads to deepening conversion...” What’s gratifying and awfully affirming is that the Bishops in concert acknowledge that the faith of adults is a seeking/ searching faith; that the Bishops actually SAY: “Adults NEED to question... to PROBE…….to CRITICALLY reflect…” Without going through these tough processes one cannot really make the Faith one’s own. A certain darkness surrounds the planting and a definite darkness hovers over the emergence of new life. No one evades these mysteries. “A searching faith leads to deepening conversion.” No one gets faith by osmosis. According to the Bishops, doubt is not the opposite of Faith, but oddly enough in a responsible adult the petrie dish of new life. “..Yet the essence of this quality of adult faith is not doubt, but search- a trusting, hopeful, persistent “seeking” or “hunger” for a deeper appropriation of the Gospel and its power to guide, transform and fulfill our lives.” Unless each one of us sets about appropriating the Gospel, hearing it, burying it in the marrow of our bones, it remains just a group of very dead letters. And sadly enough, the ones who will recognize most swiftly that the Gospel means very little to us will be our children. And no amount of Faith Formation classes will wipe that from their impressionable minds, if it be so. Thus we come to St. Matthew “yoU”niversity and its role. It’s the petrie dish….the place one can come to question, probe, search, reflect and, in general, go about the business of “appropriating the Gospel”. Faith seeks understanding and St. Matthew “yoU”niversity seeks to be of help in the search. Susan Brady Adult Faith Formation Coordinator August 2007 For more information about the adult education programs at St. Matthew, please see the SM”yoU” catalog. These can be found on the Welcome Desk in the church narthex and online at www.stmatthewcatholic.org.