Catholic Faith Formation Resources

OPENING PRAYER Lord, Jesus Christ, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. Hear our prayer for truth and integrity in all segments of society today. May the truth be spoken by us and affirmed in others, that in seeking truth, the world will come to find You, the Source of All Truth. Wherever relationships are weakened by deception or hypocrisy, strengthen good Christian character among us that we may bear witness to the critical need for truth. May your Spirit of Truth fashion minds and hearts open to a moral integrity so strong that both words and actions can be trusted. In public and private life, deepen among us a genuine commitment to honest, sincerity and truth-telling. Let nations and peoples not compromise truth by rationalization or pretense, but safe-guard and defend it always as Your most precious gift. Lord, may those around us come to know that they can take us at our word, until that day when all the world lives in truth and the Truth sets u...

The readings for the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, focus on the "End Times" and the "Second Coming of the Lord ." The Gospel reading is an excerpt from the apocalyptic discourse of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew. The purple candle we light today during Mass is traditionally called the "Prophet's" candle, symbolizing Hope . It is the remembrance of the hope that people had in the promises foretold by the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures of the coming of the Messiah, which was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. Daily Readings for Today Isaiah 2:1–5; Ps 122:1–2, 3–4, 4–5, 6–7, 8–9; Romans 13:1–14; Matthew 24:37–44 Commentary on the Daily Readings from Living Space Reflect on the following excerpt from today's Gospel reading: For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he woul...

On Thursday, November 24, many of us will join in spending time with family and friends to celebrate " Thanksgiving Day ." Let this be a time to reflect and express your gratitude and thanksgiving to God for all of the many gifts, talents, and blessings God has graciously given to you throughout your lifetime: God's unconditional and sustaining love for you, God's friendship and personal relationship with you, being born into an ongoing and emerging creation, Christ becoming incarnated in Jesus–the human face of God, sending the Spirit to indwell, empower, and guide you, granting you membership in the Church–all people of God, the gifts of your parents and your other ancestors, your siblings and your other family members, your spouse, your children and grandchildren, your friends, neighbors, and coworkers, your teachers and other mentors, the people who provide you with security, employment, medical care, food, housing, water, clothing, nourishment, sustenance and o...

OPENING PRAYER O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others Open my ears that I may hear their cries; Open my heart so that they need not be without succor; Let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong, Nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich. Show me where love and hope and faith are needed, And use me to bring them to those places. And so open my eyes and my ears That I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for thee. Amen. Alan Paton Jesuitresource.org "THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: DO NOT STEAL—ACT JUSTLY" — CCC , Nos. 2401–2463 Have you ever taken property belonging to another person without their permission? We are called to respect people and their possessions. The Seventh Commandment forbids theft or stealing, the taking of someone’s property or money “against the reasonable will of the owner.” Theft includes not just robbery, but also actions such as em...

"PREPARE TO RECEIVE AND SEE THE LIGHT" The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness–on them light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2) Advent begins on Sunday, November 27 and ends on the Christmas Vigil, December 24. How are you preparing for Advent and Christmas? During this Advent season, we are called to prepare our hearts and minds to reflect on and to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of our Lord on Christmas, and our longing and hope for the continual coming of Christ into our minds, hearts, and lives now and at the end of time. The liturgical readings during Advent "call us to be alert and ready, not weighted down and distracted by the cares of the world" ( USCCB ). Unfortunately, the frantic hustle and bustle to purchase and do things in hope of having “Happy Holidays” often distracts us from this preparation, and from the true meaning and purpose of the Advent and Christmas Seasons. Chri...

Scripture teaches that God is love (1 Jn 4:18). It is through God's love that we "live, and move, and have our being" (Act 17:28). God "wills everyone to be saved and come to knowlege of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4). Love never fails (1 Cor 13:8). "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:38-39). Frankly, it is difficult to comprehend how an eternally all-knowing and all-powerful God, whose essence is perfect love, could or would ever abandon any of God's imperfect and finite human creatures to eternal separation from God, based on their lack of Christian baptism, or their unrepented or unconfessed acts or ommissions that occur during their relatively short lifetimes; especially when one considers this universe has been continually evolving for almost 14 bi...

OPENING PRAYER Father, to reveal the plan of your love, you made the union of husband and wife an image of the covenant between you and your people. In the fulfillment of this sacrament, the marriage between Christian man and woman is a sign of the marriage between Christ and the Church. Amen. —From the Nuptial Blessing "THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT: MARITAL FIDELITY" — CCC , Nos. 2331–2400 Are you faithful to your promises? God created human beings as male and female. Sexuality involves the whole person in the unity of their body and soul. It especially concerns our emotions or feelings, our capacity to love and procreate and, in a more general way, our ability to form bonds of communion with others. The Sixth Commandment calls spouses to practice permanent and exclusive fidelity to one another. It commands them “You shall not commit adultery.” Our sexual and emotional fidelity are essential to the commitment made in the marriage covenant between spous...

The Advent Season begins on Sunday, November 27, 2022. The United States Bishops describe this season as follows: Beginning the Church's liturgical year, Advent (from, ad-venire in Latin or 'to come to') is the season encompassing the four Sundays (and weekdays) leading up to the celebration of Christmas. The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and also to the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas * * * The final days of Advent, from December 17 to December 24, we focus on our preparation for the celebrations of the Nativity of our Lord at Christmas. Follows are some resources to assist your family in preparing for and celebrating the Advent and Christmas Seasons: Daily Readings Lecturas de Hoy Lectio Divina (USCCB) Lectio Divina en Español (USCCB) "What is Advent" (USCCB) Advent Calendar 2022 (USCCB) Calendario de Adviento 2022 ((USCCB) About Advent...

There are many different and competing types of programs being offered to us to watch on television at any particular time. Sometimes we know the program we want to watch, and other times we merely surf the channels until we find a program that we think may interest us. Athough the program may be broadcasting, we cannot view it unless and until we are tuned to the right channel. Similarly, God continually offers to each of us life-giving programs that can lead us to experience God's unconditional love, saving grace, and abundant life now, and culminating in our resurrection to eternal life with God later. These programs are offered through all of God's creation, especially Christ's incarnation in Jesus–the human face of God for us, the Church—the People of God and the Body of Christ—who teaches us, journeys with us, supports us, challenges us, and helps guide us, Sacred Scripture, Prayer, the Mass, the Eucharist, Reconciliation and other Sacraments, the Communi...

OPENING PRAYER Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light: and where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to etrnal life. Amen. —St. Francis of Assisi "THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT: PROMOTE THE CULTURE OF LIFE" — CCC , Nos. 2258–2330 Do you respect the inherent goodness and dignity of all human life? God’s generative love creates all life and makes it sacred. “God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning to its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for [oneself] the right directly to destroy an innocent human being” (CCC, no. 2258). We...

Today, November 1, the Church celebrates "All Saints Day" and tomorrow, November 2, it celebrates "The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed" ("All Souls Day)," comprising the two-day celebration of the "Communion of Saints." To learn more about these celebrations, we invite you to read " What is the Significance of All Saints Day? " You can also watch a video explaining " All Saints Day " and one explaining " All Souls Day " You may also wish to pray the " Litany of Saints ". Read Pope Francis Message for All Saints Day: "Blessed are the Peacemakers ." Prayer for the Dead In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of...