Catholic Faith Formation Resources

OPENING PRAYER Lenten Prayer for Transformation Loving Father, I invite you into my life today and make myself available to you. Help me to become the-best-version-of-myself by seeking your will and becoming a living example of your love in the world. Open my heart to the areas of my life that need to change in order for me to carry out the mission and experience the joy you have imagined for my life. Inspire me to live the Catholic faith in ways that are dynamic and engaging. Show me how to best get involved in the life of my parish. Make our community hungry for best practices and continuous learning. Give me courage when I am afraid, hope when I am discouraged, and clarity in times of decision. Teach me to enjoy uncertainty and lead your Church to become all you imagined it would be for the people of our times. Amen. Source: Dynamic Catholic "JUST PRAY" Pray without ceasing —1 Thessalonians 5:17 "God speaks in the silence ...

Today is "Ash Wednesday" that marks the beginning of the Lenten Season. During Lent, we are asked to practice the discipline of self-control through fasting. Many persons choose to "give up" certain foods, beverages, or other material things. But Lent can also be a time to fast from and to feast on thoughts, words, practices, and actions that can help us, with the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, to deepen our relationships with God, with others, and with ourselves. In that regard, we invite you to pray and reflect on the following "Litany of Fasting and Feasting": VIDEOS "The Significance of Ash Wednesday" (Fr. Mike Schmitz) "Why Fast on Ash Wednesday" (Fr. Mike Schmitz) "Why Isn't Ash Wednesday a Holy Day of Obligation?" (Fr. Mike Schmitz) "Ash Wednesday and Lent for Beginners" (A Catholic Mom's Life) "What is Ash Wednesday" (Catholic Kid's Media) "Ash Wednesda...

Today is "Ash Wednesday" that marks the beginning of the Lenten Season. We invite you to pray and reflect on the following Litany: Litany of Fasting and Feasting Fast from judging others Fast from emphasis on our differences Fast from words that pollute Fast from discontent Fast from anger Fast from idle gossip Fast from pessimism Fast from worry Fast from thoughts of illness Fast from complaining Fast from negatives Fast from personal anxiety Fast from hostility Fast from bitterness Fast from self-concern Fast from discouragement Fast from lethargy Fast from suspicion Fast from thoughts that weaken Fast from thoughts that overwhelm Fast from disbelief Fast from the darkness of sin Feast on the Christ within them Feast on the Spirit who unites Feast on phrases that purify Feast on gratitude Feast on patience Feast on purposeful silence Feast on optimism Feast on trust Feast on God's healing power Feast on appreciatio...

RESOURCES FOR PREPARING FOR AND PARTICIPATING IN THE SEASON OF LENT AND EASTER SUNDAY FEBRUARY 22 THROUGH APRIL 9, 2023 "Then the disciples of John approached [Jesus] and said, ‘Why do we and the Pharisees fast [much], but your disciples do not fast?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast’” (Mt 9:14-15). What are you doing to prepare for and to participate in Lent? The Season of Lent is the forty-day period before Easter, excluding Sundays, which begins this year on Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2023 and ends at sunset on Holy Thursday, April 6, when the Easter Triduum begins, culminating on Easter Sunday, April 9, when we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord. As the U.S. Bishops explain, During Lent, we are asked to devote ourselves to seeking the Lord in prayer and reading Scripture, to service by givi...

God is present throughout all of creation. Humans are created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:27). Jesus calls us to experience the same oneness with God that Jesus experienced. As Jesus prayed, "As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us . . . so that they may be one as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one" (John 17:21-23). You are created to experience your true life, your genuine identity, your deepest meaning, your fullest purpose, your ultimate value in an intimate, loving union with God at the core of your being. . . . The oneness Jesus prays for us to experience is a union with God that is the same as his union with God in his revelation of true humanness in the image of God. * We can learn from St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who teaches, I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him a...

One of the benefits of the internet and mass communication is that it allows for the presentation of a multitude of many different voices regarding a variety of subjects and issues. However, one of the difficulties of this is that we need to discern from the multitude of voices being offered, which voices speak truth, with love, and that lead us to abundant life. We invite you to reflect on the voices who guide your life with respect to various issues that you or others face? Are there voices that you consider authoritative and, if so, which voices and why? Are there other voices that you summarily reject regardless of whether they speak the truth or not and, if so, which voices and why? Do you only listen to voices who agree with you? Are you willing to consider voices who may disagree with you, but who still speak truth?

OPENING PRAYER Prayer for Human Dignity Lord Jesus, ground of our being, Guide us to recognize our vocation as responsible builders of our human community, which your church teaches is marked by continuity and renewal. We are grateful for all your teachings and strive to respond to them with our hearts, heads and hands. We acknowledge that earlier hopes for the development of all people, especially for those in poor countries, have not yet been fulfilled; so many still suffer the intolerable burden of poverty, hunger and disease. We see the growing gaps between the wealth of some and the poverty of the majority of people on this earth. Forgive us for turning away from the abuses inflicted worldwide on the human person. Forgive the separation of ethics and morals from economic policies. Forgive us for making security more important than cooperation. We give thanks for the growing awareness of human dignity and human rights. We give thanks for u...

As our culture celebrates "Valentine's Day" on February 14, let us call to mind Paul's message about the central importance of "love" for ourselves and our communities. The word "love," used by Paul and found throughout the New Testament, is a translation of the Greek term agápē , which is the highest form of human love, calling each of us to selflessly will the good for another. It is the closest human word that we have to try to describe the unconditional and unlimited love that God has for each of us, and that God calls us to share with one another, even our enemies. Allow Paul's words, proclaimed by many couples during their marriage ceremony, penetrate into your heart: If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. I...

Many people may assume that Jesus provides direct answers to the questions asked of him. However, some scripture scholars observe that Jesus is asked about 183 questions in the Bible, but answers only three directly. Which three do you think? With respect to the other questions asked of him, Jesus either keeps silent (e.g. John 19:8–9), refuses to respond (e.g. Mark 8:11–12), responds by asking a question (e.g. Matthew 22:17–20), provides an answer that does not directly answer the question asked (e.g. John 13:21–30), amplifies his answer beyond the question asked (e.g. Matthew 22:36–40), tells a parable or provides an illustration (e.g Luke 10:29–37). Jesus also asks 307 questions of others, displaying how questions were central to Jesus's life and teachings. According to one scholar, Jesus' questions are to reposition you, make you own your unconscious biases, break you out of your dualistic mind, challenge your image of God or the world, or ...

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 ...

We all bear responsibility to search for and to pursue truth. As stated in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church : Men and women have the specific duty to move always towards the truth, to respect it and bear responsible witness to it. Living in the truth has special significance in social relationships. In fact, when the coexistence of human beings within a community is founded on truth, it is ordered and fruitful, and it corresponds to their dignity as persons. The more people and social groups strive to resolve social problems according to the truth, the more they distance themselves from abuses and act in accordance with the objective demands of morality. (No. 198; emphasis in the original) As Christians, we believe that Jesus the Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (cf. John 14:6). You are invited to take some time to reflect on who and what guides you in your search for and pursuit of "truth."