Today, Oct. 11, begins the Year
of Faith. Here in Korea they will begin the celebration this coming
Sunday and continue on to next year's feast of Christ the King. Some
dioceses have given their parishes program guidelines in preparation
for the year.
The Pope has expressed the hope that the Holy Year be a time for us to meet Christ, see the beauty of faith, and increase our interest in the Church. Put simply, a renewal of our faith life. The reason for the Year of Faith is to help resolve the crisis that Christians are now facing. The religious problems of Europe and South America are serious. The traditional ways of thinking and behaving are being eroded by our encounter with secularism and relativism, and God is forgotten.
Here in Korea, says the Peace Weekly editorial, we are not free from the elements that are changing the religious environment of the West. We also are seeing changes in the behavior of our Christians. The desire for living the prophetic role in life is greatly diminished. Some would like to blame it on the pluralism of society, but the editorial believes that our Gospel values have been weakened.
To overcome this crisis in our lives, we have to experience the meeting of Jesus and the joy from this meeting. Without this experience and joy, our attempts to be a light to the world will be only a noisy gong. The Pope is asking us to become reacquainted with what we believe and to give life to this belief. It is hoped that we will look deeply at our faith life, which has a direct relationship to the renewal of the Church, and we can't do this with one-time programs and events.
The editorial hopes that we will all become familiar with the apostolic letter, "Door of Faith." and make it part of our concern during this year. We are being asked to change the way we look upon what we believe by proclaiming the Christian message with a renewed passion and a new expression.
The aspirations of many is that the Year of Faith will be for the Korean Catholic the beginning of a renewed faith life.
The Pope has expressed the hope that the Holy Year be a time for us to meet Christ, see the beauty of faith, and increase our interest in the Church. Put simply, a renewal of our faith life. The reason for the Year of Faith is to help resolve the crisis that Christians are now facing. The religious problems of Europe and South America are serious. The traditional ways of thinking and behaving are being eroded by our encounter with secularism and relativism, and God is forgotten.
Here in Korea, says the Peace Weekly editorial, we are not free from the elements that are changing the religious environment of the West. We also are seeing changes in the behavior of our Christians. The desire for living the prophetic role in life is greatly diminished. Some would like to blame it on the pluralism of society, but the editorial believes that our Gospel values have been weakened.
To overcome this crisis in our lives, we have to experience the meeting of Jesus and the joy from this meeting. Without this experience and joy, our attempts to be a light to the world will be only a noisy gong. The Pope is asking us to become reacquainted with what we believe and to give life to this belief. It is hoped that we will look deeply at our faith life, which has a direct relationship to the renewal of the Church, and we can't do this with one-time programs and events.
The editorial hopes that we will all become familiar with the apostolic letter, "Door of Faith." and make it part of our concern during this year. We are being asked to change the way we look upon what we believe by proclaiming the Christian message with a renewed passion and a new expression.
The aspirations of many is that the Year of Faith will be for the Korean Catholic the beginning of a renewed faith life.
