Door of Faith

 

Faith is now being subjected to a series of questions arising from a profound change in mentality of the people. People limit the field of rational certainties to that of scientific and technological discoveries only. Humanity is currently experiencing to a greater extent than in the past a profound change in their attitude. It is in this context Pope Benedict XVI has announced a "Year of Faith". Pontiff is really aware of the profound crisis of faith that has affected many people. "It is because of this Pope Benedict XVI  has recently  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. The theme of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that the Pontiff  have convoked for October 2012 is The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith'. Apostolic letter for the year of faith “Door of Faith” speaks about a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith so that the members will be credible and joyful witnesses to the risen Lord in the world today.  

The Year of Faith will run from October 11, 2012 to November 24, 2013. 11^th October 2012, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Vatican Council II and also marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a text promulgated by Blessed John Paul II.  On November 24^th the universal church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King. This will be a good opportunity to usher the whole Church into a time of particular reflection and rediscovery of the faith.

The 'door of faith' is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into His Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace". To enter through the door is to set out on a journey that lasts a life time. It begins with baptism and ends with the passage through death to eternal life.  

. "A Christian may never think of belief as a private act. Faith is choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with Him. This 'standing with Him' points towards an understanding of the reasons for believing. Faith, precisely because it is a free act, also demands social responsibility for what one believes.

"The Year of Faith, from this perspective, is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world.

In the mystery of His death and resurrection, God has revealed in its fullness the Love that saves and calls us to conversion of life through the forgiveness of sins. For St. Paul, this Love ushers us into a new life. ... Through faith, this new life shapes the whole of human existence according to the radical new reality of the resurrection. ... 'Faith working through love' becomes a new criterion of understanding and action that changes the whole of man's life"."Through His love, Jesus Christ attracts to Himself the people of every generation: in every age He convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith. In rediscovering His love day by day, the missionary commitment of believers attains force and vigor that can never fade away. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy". "Only through believing, then, does faith grow and become stronger; there is no other possibility for possessing certitude with regard to one's life apart from self-abandonment, in a continuous crescendo, into the hands of a love that seems to grow constantly because it has its origin in God".

"We want to celebrate this Year in a worthy and fruitful manner.

1.      Reflection on the faith will have to be intensified, so as to help all believers in Christ to acquire a more conscious and vigorous adherence to the Gospel.

Reflection on faith will help the believers to acquire more conscious and vigours adherence to Gospel 

2.      Intensify in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope.

We will have to profess our faith in the Risen Lord in our cathedrals and in the churches of the whole world; in our homes and among our families  so that everyone may feel a strong need to know better and to transmit to future generations the faith of all times.

Religious communities as well as parish communities, and all ecclesial bodies old and new, are to find a way, during this Year, to make a public profession of the Credo.

3.      Intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist.

Celebration of faith is taking place in the Eucharistic celebration. The entire salvation mystery is revealed during the Eucharistic celebration which has to be celebrated in the fullness of faith.

4.      Rediscover the content of faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed and to reflect on the act of faith.

 Knowledge of the content of faith is essential for adhering fully with intellect and will to what the church proposes. Knowledge of faith opens a door into the fullness saving mystery revealed by God. Catechism of the Catholic Church an important tool of the Vatican council II gives a systematic knowledge of the content of faith

5.      Retracing the history of faith marked by the unfathomable mystery of interweaving holiness and sin.

It is here the great contribution of men and women for the growth and development of the community by the witness of life and the continuing work of conversion in order to experience the mercy of the Father is to be understood.

6.      The Year of Faith will also be a good opportunity to intensify the witness of charity.

Faith and charity each require the other; in such a way that each allows the other to set out along its respective path. Indeed, many Christians dedicate their lives with love to those who are lonely, marginalized or excluded, as to those who are the first with a claim on our attention and the most important for us to support, because it is in them that the reflection of Christ's own face is seen. Through faith, we can recognise the face of the risen Lord in those who ask for our love".

7.      Faith commits every one of us to become a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world

Intent on gathering the signs of the times in the present of history,. 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. Thus the renewal of the Church is achieved through the witness offered by the lives of believers: by their very existence in the world, Christians are called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us.

The celebration of the year of faith focuses on an authentic and renewed conversion to Lord the one Saviour of the world. It is through the mystery of death and resurrection Jesus has revealed the love of God in its fullness which calls us to a conversion by forgiving our sins. There should be a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus to the rediscover our life of faith. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy so that the members will be credible and joyful witnesses to the risen Lord in the world today.