Today we begin a year that Pope Benedict XVI has designated the Year of Faith. October 11 marks the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council as well as the 20th Anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I am planning to celebrate this year dedicated to our Catholic faith by reading the Catechism. A handy tool for doing this has been developed by flocknote. Just follow this link to have a small portion of the Catechism delivered daily to your email address.
The Catechism begins by reminding us that God is always drawing near to us, calling us to be a part of his life and love.
God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life. (CCC, 1)
During this Year of Faith, the Holy Father is calling for a renewed evangelization. As Catholics we remember that the first bearer of the Good News was God himself and that he calls each of us to share that same Good News with those we meet, both in word and action.
