Catholic Faith Formation Resources

Too often we try to control, limit, or define God through our symbolic human language. However, human language is always limited and it can never completely capture the nature or extent of Ultimate Reality, who many identify in English with the word "God," who is unlimited and eternal Being itself, and the Ultimate Mystery who is always beyond our comprehension. Hence, we can appreciate Scripture's recording of "God's response" to Moses's request for God's name as being YHWH , "I am who I am," or "I will be who I will be" (Exodus 3:14). This name was considered too "holy" by Jewish people to be uttered, except at specific times in the Jewish Temple before it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. Therefore, in the Hebrew Scriptures you will find the term Adonai , translated as "my Lord," being used in place of YHWH . Even the term "Lord," which is also a human construct, should never be used as...

OPENING PRAYER Prayer to an Evolutionary God You accept us--at times of self-doubt Thank you, God of all, Co-creator of our world, For allowing us to be imperfectly made: Because it makes us, if we are wise, forgiving. Do you accept us as we are? We condemn people too quickly: We judge them for flawed thinking, disguised egotism, Unworthy acquisitiveness, or skewed opinions. But we can forgive them once we accept our own shadow, And realize how well we ourselves fit Into the ranks of a less than perfect human race. You, Holy God, accept each of us, Prophets tell us, just as we are: Provided our moral judgments of others Are reciprocally generous and compassionate. Imperfection fits this evolving reality, For the universe thrives on diversity, Including random failure, One of the very preconditions for the unfolding advances. May it be so. William Cleary (Source: Xavier University) "LIFE IN CHRIST — PART TWO" — CCC , Nos. 1691–2082 Wh...

Despite what we may think, we do not live in isolation from others. Rather, we are social beings who are part of a variety of different webs of interrelationships and interpendencies, whether we realize it or not, such as those with our families, friends, neighbors, strangers, arising from our employment, being part of different social organizations, communities, states, nations, the ecosystem, and the world at large. Moreover, we derive most, if not all, that we consume from the resources and labor provided by other people, most of whom we never have personal contact with. In turn, these people depend on us to provide fair and just compensation to them for what they provide to us. If we consume more than we actually need, we can affect what is available to meet the needs of others. As we recently experienced from the Covid pandemic, disruptions in supplies and resources, demand that exceeded existing supply, some people hoarding existing supplies and other inflationary force...

All creation is imbued with the hidden presence of God, who is Ultimate Mystery. Creation is God's universal revelation of God's generative love to the world. It is a visible sign of an invisible, mystical reality—the reality of God. All creation is, to some extent, sacred and a manifestation of God's presence. The difficulty is in allowing ourselves to be open to being freely embraced by God's reality in the present moment of our everyday lives.

OPENING PRAYER Help Me To Discern Today, O God of all days, give me an experience of your heart. Draw me deep into your very being, into the core of your love for me, others, and the world. Give me a glimpse of others the way you see others: loving them, forgiving them, and delighting in the way they give glory to God through their very existence. Help me to discern out of that open place of deep affection so that I too might be a useful vessel of your love in the world. (Source: Jesuitresource.org; author uknown) "LIFE IN CHRIST — PART ONE" — CCC , Nos. 1691–2082 Who and what guides the way you live your life? We all have a certain way of viewing and living life in the world through the many choices we make. Our worldview has generally developed as a result of what we have learned from our parents and significant others, from various cultural influences, and from our day-to-day experiences. Our worldviews can and do change. Are there some ways ...

May the Spirit grant to us the will, faith and courage to allow ourselves to take the chance to engage and experience each particular individual who God places before us, not as a member of any preconceived or particular class of people, but as another human being entitled to dignity, justice, kindness, compassion, and our love. For at the very core of each person we will discover, experience, and be One with the Presence of God.

In the beginning God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the favor ever since —Voltaire The Hebrew Scriptures, included as part of the Christian Scriptures, proclaim "the LORD had commanded Moses” to “put to death” a man discovered gathering wood on the Sabbath day (see Numbers 15:32–35). One only need to peruse the Scriptures to find many other instances where the command to put others to death is attributed by people to “God,” even though the Decalogue commands “You shall not kill" (Ex 20:13). Did God, who Christians profess is "love" (1 Jn 4:8), really command his creatures to kill one another, or did those writing these passages project their own desires and worldviews onto their images of "God”? Did God send the "Son" to be murdered on the cross or did the “principalities and powers”—the domination systems of the day—while invoking the authority of their "gods," murder Jesus for being dangerous or challe...

OPENING PRAYER The Hail Mary Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. "THE SACRAMENTALS AND POPULAR DEVOTIONS" — CCC , Nos. 1667–1679 What objects or practices do you use to foster your prayer life and worship of God? Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They resemble the Sacraments, instituted by Christ, to the extent that they signify spiritual effects that are received through the intercession of the Church. They dispose believers to receive the primary effects of the Sacraments. Sacramentals include blessings, prayers like the Rosary, actions such as processions, and objects such as holy water, palms, ashes, candles, and medals. Sacramentals were instituted to sanctify (make holy) certain states of life, ministries, and a variety of situations in which Christian...

Jordan Peterson, a psychologist and the author of the New York Times bestseller, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos , said, I've taken the idea of God seriously for a very long time, and I've said on multiple occasions that I try to act as though God exists, and that's essentially my definition of belief, when people say, "Do you believe in God? Belief is a multidimensional word, and one question is "What do you mean by belief? And for me, the proof of belief is to be found in action. And I decided that I would act as if God existed a long while back. And, of course, I'm imperfect at that. Peterson continues, [T]he missing praxis in Western Christianity [is] if you want to be a Christian, let's say if you think that's necessary, it's not exactly obviously what you should do. You should go to Church, but that's not enough, I don't think. I find it useful to contemplate the highest good on a continual basis. I'm trying to keep...

The term "happiness" is generally understood as the fulfillment of one's desires. Of course, what you may desire compared to what you may need at any particular time or place is not necessarily the same thing. We need to recognize that all of our desires arise within our minds. We can't expect other people or things to make us happy. Only we can do that by the expectations, assumptions, and preconceptions we allow to guide us.  Desires may be initiated by any of our five senses, such as "I am hungry," "I am thirsty, or "I just have to have that item I see in an advertisement." Or, desires may arise in our mind when we compare ourselves to others, such as wanting a more expensive car than our neighbor has, to show others that we are more successful than our neighbor. Desires can arise also from using our imagination or projecting our lives into the future, such as wanting to be wealthy, powerful, or adored. We believe that if we get w...

OPENING PRAYER Prayer for A Married Couples O God, who in creating the human race willed that man and wife should be one, keep, we pray, in a bond of inseparable love those who are united in the covenant of Marriage, so that, as you make their love fruitful, they may become, by your grace, witnesses to charity itself. Through Christ our Lord Amen. Prayer of a Couple on the Anniversary of Marriage We praise you, O God, we bless you, Creator of all things, who in the beginning made man and woman that they might form a communion of life and love. We also give you thanks for graciously blessing our family life so that it might present an image of Christ's union with the Church. Therefore look with kindness upon us today, and as you have sustained our communion amid joys and struggles, renew our Marriage covenant each day, increase our charity, and strengthen in us the bond of peace, so that we may for ever enjoy your blessing. Through Christ our Lord...

We take so much for granted. We fail to recognize that every moment, every breath, every heartbeat of our life is an undeserved, free gift from God, what is called "grace." "In [God] we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). In every moment we are given the opportunity to desire and to open our heart and mind anew to the indwelling Presence and love of God. Do you express your gratitude to God for each moment, each breath, each heartbeat of your life? How can you begin to thank God? By desiring and surrendering to do God's will, cooperating with God, and allowing God's indwelling Presence and love to be lived and manifested in and through you to the world.