The Tree of Life symbolizes:
· Wisdom
· Protection
· Beauty
· Redemption
· Abundance
· Strength
· God's Grace
FIRST WEEK –
THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY IN PASSING ON THE FAITH
22nd Sunday Year A
SECOND WEEK –
THE ROLE OF GODPARENTS / SPONSORS
23rd Sunday Year A
THIRD WEEK –
THE ROLE OF A WELCOMING AND BELIEVING COMMUNITY
24th Sunday Year A
FOURTH WEEK – CELEBRATING CATECHETICAL SUNDAY
25th Sunday Year A
GROWING UP CATHOLIC
LIVING AS COMMUNITIES OF FAITH
CATECHETICAL MONTH
03 – 28 SEPTEMBER 2017
THE TREE OF LIFE
With constant care and nurturing,
a tree will continue the growth of new life
for many generations.
This symbol of the Tree of Life reminds us of the love and grace God gives to each of us. It has been said trees are the earth's effort to speak to heaven. As a tree's branches give shade and protection from the sun, God always gives us love and protection. Knowing that we are loved and not alone can give us the strength to do things we did not know we were capable of doing.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH FORMATION IN THE FAMILY
Parents, primary educators of their children
The General Catechetical Directory states:
“The witness of Christian life given by parents in their family comes to children with tenderness and parental respect. Children thus perceive and joyously live the closeness of God and of Jesus made manifest by their parents in such a way that this first Christian experience frequently leaves decisive traces which last throughout life.
This childhood religious awakening which takes place in the family is irreplaceable.
It is consolidated when, on the occasion of certain family events and festivities, ‘care is taken to explain in the home the Christian or religious content of these events’.
It is deepened all the more when parents comment on the more methodical catechesis which their children later receive in the Christian community and help them to appropriate it.
Indeed, ‘family catechesis precedes…. accompanies and enriches all forms of catechesis’” (GDC 226)
THE ROLE OF SPONSORS AND GODPARENTS
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults states:
“A sponsor accompanies any candidate seeking admission as a catechumen. Sponsors are persons who have known and assisted the candidates and stand as witnesses to the candidates’ moral character, faith and intention.”
“Godparents are persons chosen by the candidates on the basis of good example, good qualities, and friendship, delegated by the local Christian community, and approved by the priest.
It is the responsibility of godparents to show the candidates how to practice the Gospel in personal and social life, to sustain the candidates in moments of hesitancy and anxiety, to bear witness, and to guide the candidates’ progress in the baptismal life.” (RCIA 10-11)
Canon Law Citation:
Can. 872 As far as possible, a person to be baptized is to be given a sponsor
who assists an adult in Christian initiation or together with the parents presents an infant for baptism. A sponsor also helps the baptized person to lead a
Christian life in keeping with baptism and to fulfil faithfully the obligations inherent in it.
Can. 874 §1. To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor a person must:
1/ be designated by the one to be baptized, by the parents or the person who takes their place, or in their absence by the pastor or minister and have the aptitude and intention of fulfilling this function;
2/ have completed the sixteenth year of age, unless the diocesan bishop has established another age, or the pastor or minister has granted an exception for a just cause;
3/ be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on;
4/ not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared;
5/ not be the father or mother of the one to be baptized.
THE ROLE OF THE FAITH COMMUNITY
The Parish as an Environment for Catechesis
The Parish is, without doubt, the most important place in which the Christian community is formed and expressed.
This is called to be a fraternal and welcoming family where Christians become aware of being the people of God.
In the parish, all human differences melt away and are absorbed into the universality of the Church.
The parish is also the usual place in which the faith is born and in which it grows. It constitutes, therefore, a very adequate community space for the realization of the ministry of the word at once as teaching, education and life experience. (GDC 257)