“And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ,so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming. Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16)
Incorporated into the Life of Christ and His Church by the grace of baptism and the sacraments, we are called toGROWin virtue, prayer, and knowledge. God continues to sow the seed and asks us to nurture what has been sown so that we can grow into Christian maturity and bear fruit more abundantly.
In his apostolic exhortation, On Evangelization in the Modern world, Pope Paul VI made clear that catechesis is the work of evangelization in the mission of the church. He clarified that catechesis, or faith formation, is "a fundamental element of evangelization through all its stages and that both those who are evangelized and those who evangelize need to be nourished by the word of God."
At the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart we foster the philosophy of 'life-long catechesis.'In the same way we learn basic concepts of math and reading in early elementary school, we continue to learn through elementary, middle, high school and beyond. Catechesis starts with the Sacraments of Initiation and carries through from infancy to our adult lives. It truly is a life-long process.Building a culture of learning at all ages prepares us for our post-Confirmation mandate to be missionary evangelists of Christ in the world.
Contact Us
Carmen Benitez Coordinator of Faith Formation cbenitez sacredhearthouston.org Faby Lopez Faith Formation Assistant flopez sacredhearthouston.org