From your library to the confessional, from relics to rejoicing, the
archdiocese of Toronto has lined up a year’s worth of ways to rediscover
faith.
The Year of Faith kicks off inter- nationally on Oct. 11,
commemorating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican
Council.
In Toronto, the year will start with a solemn opening Mass with
Cardinal Thomas Collins at St. Paul’s Basilica on Oct. 14.
All 223
parishes in the archdiocese are being encouraged to send
representatives, particularly their RCIA catechists, youth leaders and
parish council members, to the 4 p.m. Mass at the downtown basilica.
Collins will also dedicate this year of lectio divina programs to a biblical understanding of faith.
The Office of Formation for Discipleship wants to add the Catechism
of the Catholic Church to your reading list. And they hope to introduce
young people to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and the YouCat youth catechism produced for World Youth Day in Madrid in 2011.
“Exploring the Catechism: Faith Alive!” is an eight-part series, and
the catechism-based six-part series “Basic Teachings of the Catholic
Church” will be promoted in parishes by the Office of Formation for
Discipleship. A Fr. Robert Barron 10-part video series called
Catholicism will also be available.
The Office of Catholic Youth will run catechetical events based on the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and YouCat.
A chance to visit with martyrs and saints will be coming to many
parishes. Relics of 17th-century Jesuit martyrs from the Martyrs’ Shrine
in Midland, Ont., and of St. Br. André Bessette from St. Joseph’s
Oratory in Montreal, will tour the archdiocese.
On Oct. 21 seven blesseds will become saints, including Blessed
Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks. The canonizations will
happen in Rome. Parishes are being encouraged to organize events to
celebrate Canada’s first aboriginal saint.
Penance will lead local Catholics to faith with the all-day
confessions event called “Return to Me With All Your Heart.” The program
will be offered in many parishes during Lent.
“The renewal of the Church is also achieved through the witness
offered by the lives of believers,” Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his
October 2011 announcement of the Year of Faith, Porta Fidei.
“By their very existence in the world, Christians are called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us.”