GROWING IN OUR FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD
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Faith formation - growing in our friendship with God - is the task of a lifetime. From infancy to old age, we are constantly learning what it means to be a Christian. Indeed, we are constantly learning what it means to be a good and decent human being.
The Parish of St. Anthony of Padua strives towards a "cradle to grave" model of faith formation. Since the days of the Apostles, the classic model of teaching the faith has been a three-fold structure of: PROCLAMATION - TEACHING - DEEPENING Because we are an ancient Church, we often use the Greek and Latin terms for these stages: PARAENESIS (EVANGELIZATION) CATECHESIS (INITIATION) MYSTAGOGIA (GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT) |
PARAENESIS
"Those who - with God's help - have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it, are urged on by love of Christ to PROCLAIM the Good News everywhere in the world..."
- Catechism of the Catholic Church par. 3 |
CATECHESIS
"Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine ... with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life."
-Catechism of the Catholic Church par. 5 |
MYSTAGOGIA
"The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to love that never ends."
-Cathechism of the Catholic Church par. 25 (a quote from the Catechism of the Council of Trent, Preface) |