Year of Faith

"We are in the Year of Faith, which I desired in order to strengthen our own faith in God in a context that seems to push faith more and more toward the margins of life. I would like to invite everyone to renew firm trust in the Lord. I would like that we all, entrust ourselves as children to the arms of God, and rest assured that those arms support us to walk every day, even in times of struggle. I would like everyone to feel loved by the God who gave His Son for us and showed us His boundless love. I want everyone to feel the joy of being Christian. A beautiful prayer to be recited daily in the morning says, “I adore you, my God, I love you with all my heart. I thank You for having created me, for having made me a Christian.” Yes, we are happy for the gift of faith: it is the most precious good, that no one can take from us! Let us thank God for this every day, with prayer and with a coherent Christian life. God loves us, but He also expects that we love Him!"
~Pope Benedict XVI

His entire last general audience is a very beautiful and touching read: <a href= http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-final-general-audience-full-text " target=" blank" >Click here to read more</a>

"The forty days of Lent recall Israel’s sojourn in the desert and the temptations of Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry. The desert, as the place of silent encounter with God and decision about the deepest meaning and direction of our lives, is also a place of temptation. In his temptation in the desert, Jesus showed us that fidelity to God’s will must guide our lives and thinking, especially amid today’s secularized society. While the Lord continues to raise up examples of radical conversion, like Pavel Florensky, Etty Hillesum and Dorothy Day, he also constantly challenges those who have been raised in the faith to deeper conversion. In this Lenten season, Christ once again knocks at our door (cf. Rev 3:20) and invites us to open our minds and hearts to his love and his truth. May Jesus’ example of overcoming temptation inspire us to embrace God’s will and to see all things in the light of his saving truth."
~Pope Benedict XVI
<a href= http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2013/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20130213_en.html " target=" blank" >Click here to read more</a>

Faith is our response to the God who first speaks to us, makes himself known and calls us to enter into communion with him... Abraham (is) the father and model of all believers (cf. Rom 4:11-12). Sustained by God’s blessing and trusting in his promises, Abraham set off into the unknown. Like Abraham, we too are called to let faith shape our thoughts and actions in accordance with God’s saving word, even when this runs contrary to the thinking and ways of this world. With the eyes of faith, we discern God’s presence and his promise of eternal life beyond the realities of this present existence. In opening ourselves to God’s blessing, we become in turn a blessing for others. <a href= "http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2013/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20130123_en.html " target=" blank" >I believe in God</a>

US Bishops Call Families to Prayer
The U.S. Bishops urge Catholics nationwide to participate in Nine Days of Prayer, Penance and Pilgrimage, January 19-27, marking the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. "The bishops recognize that prayer is the foundation of all our efforts on behalf of human life," said Tom Grenchik, executive director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). "These nine days of focused prayer and sacrifice are a great opportunity for people across the nation to unite their voices in prayer to God." <a href= "http://www.usccb.org/news/2013/13-017.cfm" target=" blank" >News</a>

Pope Benedict XVI offers these thoughts for the New Year 2013, continuing the Year of Faith:

The Church — like the Virgin Mother Mary — shows the newborn Jesus, Prince of Peace, to the world...yes, that Child, who is the Word of God made flesh, came to bring a peace to men that the world cannot give. On the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he proclaims his “Beatitudes”, among them is also “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Mt 5:9). Who are the peacemakers? They are all those who, day after day, seek to conquer evil with good, with the strength of the truth, with the arms of prayer and of forgiveness, with honest work well-done, with scientific research that is at the service of life, with the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The peacemakers are many, but they make not a sound. Like the yeast in dough, they cause humanity to rise according to God’s plan. This New Year...let us ask Mary Most Holy, the Mother of God, to bless us, just as the mother blesses her children who must leave on a journey.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/angelus/2013/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20130101_world-day-peace_en.html

Catholics can prepare for the Christmas season and deepen their experience of the Year of Faith by strengthening their prayer lives, says the bishop who chairs the U.S. bishops' Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis. Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, offers "10 Prayers for the Year of Faith" at the start of the Advent season, a time of prayer, as a way of drawing Catholics more deeply into the Year of Faith. <a href= "http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-211.cfm " target=" blank" >10 Prayers</a>

This week, the video covers the Creed, both what it means to believe as a Catholic and what we believe. This is essential for embracing all that the Holy Spirit has revealed to us through the Church. These videos run about 15 - 20 minutes, and are worthwhile to watch to help us understand better and grow in Faith. <a href= "http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/videos.cfm?bcpid=1684416334001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAdgye3dk~,p0Zv3iru3vJAg0KbYUxrrxgI5aaCl_mB&bclid=1684263542001&bctid=1052520380001" target=" blank" >Videos</a>

This week Pope Benedict XVI reemphasized the importance of families with regard to the Faith saying "families play a privileged role, for in them the life of faith is lived daily in joy, dialogue, forgiveness and love." It is a huge responsibility to be the first experience of God for our children. But knowing Jesus personally through a strong prayer life will show us how to live our faith daily. Let us get to know him better this Advent. <a href= "http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20121128_en.html" target=" blank" >Year of Faith</a>

Pope Benedict XVI has stated that the New Evangelization begins in the confessional. He continued on explaining that this is so because "the New Evangelization draws its lifeblood from the sanctity of the sons and daughters of the Church, from the daily journey of personal and communal conversion to an ever more profound conformity to Christ. And there is a close connection between sanctity and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, testified to by all of the saints of history." He thus encourages all of us, including our children, to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently.
Starting this coming week, November 7th, the times for weekday confessions at St. Edward have changed to 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm on Wednesdays. Our priests are also available on Saturdays from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm and anytime by appointment. Let us be grateful for them!
http://stedward.com/sacraments/reconciliation/

Handing on the faith is a privileged and joyful task of parents, but it can seem daunting at times. That’s why the Year of Faith is such a blessing. During this time the whole Church focuses on nurturing the gift of faith we received at baptism. Dioceses and parishes have planned special activities, many designed for families. But there’s much that families can do, right in the home, to help members deepen their relationship with Christ. See the following link for ideas how to nurture faith in the family through prayer, sacraments and catechesis: http://usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/year-of-faith-family-resources.cfm