Catholic Faith Formation Resources

All people will experience some degree of pain, suffering, diminishment, limitation, or loss in their life, whether arising within them, such as physical ailments or from psychological or emotional conflicts, such as fear, anxiety, or worry. Pain can also arise from our relationships with others, such as experiencing a loss of a loved one, undergoing a divorce, a loss of employment, being a victim of war, or experiencing an absence of God in our lives. There is also pain that arises from the forces of nature, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and the like. Pain and suffering are often used interchangeably, but they are not necessarily the same. “Pain is a physical sensation or signal indicating an event within the body. Suffering is the interpretation of that event and involves thoughts, beliefs, or judgments, and reflects the human experience of pain.” 1 Our experience teaches that pain and suffering are inherent in the human condition, sometimes even necessary. Fo...

We sometimes use the term “freedom” when we actually mean “liberty.” According to one definition, “Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.” 1 For example, you could be deprived of your liberty by being imprisoned, but you have the freedom to choose how you respond to your imprisonment. Or, a vehicle suddenly cuts in front of you while you are driving, not causing any physical injury or damage, but evoking within you emotions of fear and anger. You have the freedom to choose whether to allow your anger to control you and to retaliate, or to choose a different and better response. Freedom is an act of reason and the will. It is part of our human nature as to how we voluntarily choose to respond to stimuli, whether it be external to us or arising from our own senses, thoughts, emotions or feelings. We are each responsible for the voluntary choices we make. As the ...

Thich Nhat Hahn (1926-2022), a popular Buddhist monk, peace activist, and founder of Buddhist communities, who taught and wrote extensively about Buddhism, offered "Fourteen Precepts for Engaged Buddhism.” 1 Inspired by these precepts, Brian McLaren, who has written a number of books about Christianity, adapted Nhat Hahn’s precepts and offered his own “Fourteen Precepts of Just and Generous Christianity” 2 In reviewing these two lists of precepts, you will observe that Nhat Hahn’s list includes fourteen actions to refrain from doing, such as “Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, . . . . Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break,. . . . Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. . . . "Do not kill . . . .” This list is presented in language that is similar to the call to refrain from committing certain negative ("thou shall not") actions, such as we f...

One of the primary questions humans ask is why they were born into the human condition? After all, experience teaches us that we are finite and limited creatures who will physically die, some after conception before they take their first breath, some during infanthood, some during childhood and adolescence, and most others at various times after attaining adulthood. A person’s death can arise from a multitude of different causes such as those resulting from their own choices, the intentional or unintended acts or omissions of others, disease or other physical impairment, accidents, natural disasters and the like, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It calls us to consider whether there is, in fact, "a time to be born and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). Moreover, we will all experience at various times during our life some form and degree of physical, psychological, emotional, relational, and spiritual pain and suffering however caused. Yet, at other time...

Epiphany, also know as "Three Kings Day" or "El Dia de Los Reyes," is ordinarily celebrated each year on January 6. From the Christian viewpoint, an “epiphany” is a “manifestation” of the Lord. The Gospel reading for the Epiphany this year is from Matthew (2:1-12), where the Church celebrates the manifestation of Jesus, after his birth, to the magi from the east who followed Jesus’ “star at its rising and came [to Jerusalem] to pay Jesus homage” as the “new born King of the Jews.” The magi were non-Jews or gentiles and foreigners to the land of Jerusalem where Jesus was born. The Greek term magoi , as recorded in Matthew, is usually interpreted in English as “magi.” * They were thought to be scholars of the Persian priestly caste of Zoroastrianism, who were also astrologers or practioners of the occult. There is no mention in this passage from Matthew of either the number “three" or "kings." Later traditions identifying the magi as “kin...