Fr. German’s
Message
From October 11, 2012 – the fiftieth anniversary of
the opening of the Second Vatican Council – until the Solemnity of Our Lord
Jesus Christ the King, on November 24, 2013, the Catholic Church is invited to
celebrate “The year of Faith”.
The apostolic letter with which Pope Benedict XVI
enacted the Year of Faith is called “Porta Fidei” –The Door of Faith.
In the introduction of that letter, we read: “The ‘door of faith’ (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion
with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that
threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be
shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a
journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can
address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal
life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the
gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory
(cf. Jn 17:22)”.
Every door is an invitation to enter. The door of
faith is always open to us and awaits our decision to pass through.
In this Year of Faith, we are invited to cross this
doorway of faith to enter into communion with God Who wishes to establish a
relationship of friendship and love with each one of his sons and daughters.
In this Year of Faith, we are invited to enter through
the door of faith into the Church and feel ourselves members of the Body of
Christ.
The Year of Faith should allow all baptized to grow in
their relationship with God and in their belongingness to the family of
Christians.
To cross this door of faith, the Pope tells us that we
need the Word of God to be proclaimed and for our hearts to be molded by the
grace that transforms us.
The sharing of and listening to the Word of God and
the docility of our hearts towards the actions taught by these words are the
key elements necessary to make the Year of Faith produce abundant fruits of the
Spirit in each of us.
I would like in our parish, in the families of our
community, and in the lives of all the faithful to St. Sebastian, that there be
a multifold increased opportunity to proclaim and hear the Word of God. In this
Year of Faith, you may count on me to remind you that the Word of God should
accompany the lives of all Christians in order to walk alongside Jesus and to
live in communion with God and the Church.
I wish that all the baptized that join our community
would commit with me to opening their hearts so that the Word of God may shape
our lives with its transforming grace. At this time, prior to the start of the
Year of Faith, let us take advantage and buy a Bible or place the Bible that
was already in our library within our reach and begin to familiarize ourselves
with this book that conveys a message of love, of peace and of hope. In this
time or preparation, let us open our hearts to the voice of the Church that
invites us to grow in the faith and in intimacy with God.
Have a happy week.
Fr. Germán August 5th 2012