As we ended the Christmas season with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, thus entering into the season of Ordinary, Jesus went to “work” right away. The first thing that he did right after his baptism in the Jordan was to invite people who would collaborate with him in the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. In the liturgy the past several days, we have been hearing the call of the apostles, who were the closest collaborators of
Jesus. The call of the apostles started with a simple invitation, “come and see.” Come – an invitation to intimacy, to learn and to a deeper encounter. See – an invitation that is deeply personal, the person has to experience it himself/herself, it can’t be done by a proxy. In this “coming and seeing”, the hope is that one gets to know Christ personally, thus leading to a more solid commitment. Once the person embraces this solid commitment, then he/she is led to a life of conversion, celebration (liturgy) and loving service. This is what discipleship is all about. This is also the pattern of all our ministerial endeavors and programs, especially our faith formation programs across ages.
Faith formation at St. Cecilia’s has three specific goals: First, on-going conversion, that as we deepen our understanding of the faith, we also adhere more and more to the person of Christ, thus configuring ourselves more into the person of Christ. Second, faith formation must lead to a greater and meaningful celebration of the liturgy. The hope and goal is that as we learn more about our faith, we get to celebrate it in a more meaningful way through the liturgy. In the liturgy, we get to celebrate our personal relationships with God with the rest of the community. As we say, “lex orandi, lex credendi” (the law of prayer is the law of faith), which means that the best way we can articulate the contents of faith is by how we celebrate them in the liturgy. A minimalistic celebration would not convey very clear and meaningful contents of the faith. The liturgy must amplify, “make bigger”, the tiny details of faith. Third, faith formation must lead to loving service and a stronger realization of our call to be missionary disciples. A deeper understanding of God doesn’t just stay in the head, but also penetrates the heart that eventually moves us to serve others in love, especially those who are in the margins. A real encounter with God and a deeper understanding of faith compel us to share this gift of faith to others. These are the main reasons why we do things the way they are at St. Cecilia’s.
– Fr. Cary