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Formación en la fe de Adultos: Brindar Educación Vital y Continua Mientras Vivimos Nuestra Fe
La formación en la fe: no es solo para nuestros niños, ni termina para los adultos en la Confirmación. Más bien, es un viaje continuo que está disponible para nosotros en la Parroquia St. Bonifacio, gracias a los dedicados esfuerzos del P. Paul Key.
“Hay dos niveles de formación,” dice el pastor. “Uno es el que recibimos para los sacramentos y el otro es la formación permanente de adultos.”
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Sin embargo, es la homilía pronunciada en cada misa la que se considera la principal herramienta de enseñanza en la Iglesia Católica. El p. Paul reparte “notas de homilía” después de cada misa.
“La gente puede llevarlas a casa y entender realmente lo que se predicó y luego hablar sobre el tema con sus familias,” dice.
El p. Paul también ofrece formación continua about the topic to their families,” he says.
Fr. Paul also offers ongoing adult formation through the Tuesday classes held at 7 p.m. in the church fellowship hall. Mass is held at 6 p.m., followed by supper at 6:40. The class itself runs from 7-8:30 p.m. There is no charge for the class itself, but there is a $15 fee for the text. Participants may start the class at any point.
“We cover advanced material, using works of Jeff Cavins and Scott Hahn, who are both out of the Augustine Institute,” Fr. Paul says.
He currently is organizing a marriage enrichment class in English, with plans in the fall to offer the same class in Spanish with presenters from Mexico City.
From his own experiences, Fr. Paul has found that most Catholics do not know enough about their faith. Thus, adult formation is vital.
“Most Catholic adults are terribly ignorant about their faith,” he says. “Most were confirmed just after reaching puberty, and that is not the optimal time to remember things. Therefore, my experience as a priest and layman is that Catholic laity get eaten alive by Protestant criticism.”
The prime reason to pursue knowledge as an adult has to do with that criticism.
“We need to know the faith well enough so we can live it,” he says. “Catholics are looking for stability, especially in marriage and something permanent they can put their lives on. The Catholic faith does it, but you have to know it to apply it to make it work.”
During families’ preparations for various sacraments, Fr. Paul is able to bring adult formation to the process. Baptisms, presentations and quinceañeras each offer an opportunity to learn more about our faith.
As dates for programs are set, there will be announcements in the bulletins, as well as on the parish Facebook page.
