The Year of Faith: Making the Most of It
Oct 10, 2012 by Gretchen Filz
Today, October 11, is the official launch of the Year of Faith. This date is significant because it's the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican council and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This is a fitting date for the Year of Faith, because the Second Vatican council was the initial spark of the New Evangelization with its encyclical Lumen Gentium (Latin for "Light of the Nations") and the Catechism a key teaching resource for this New Evangelization. The Year of Faith is a special time the Holy Father has designated for the faithful to grow in deeper conversion to Christ, which involves being further enriched in the Faith.
The Importance of the Year of Faith
We are all probably intimately aware that the Christian Faith is in decline in the Western world. The Faith that once strongly under-girded our politics, our science, and our morality is now becoming a thing of the past. Faith separated from politics has an ugly past of intolerant secularism that eventually leads to totalitarianism. We can already presently see how Faith separated from morality results in human desire replacing the natural law. Faith separated from science has an ugly future of human eugenics.With this disturbing picture, we can now understand why the Holy Father designated an entire year devoted to increasing our faith. The Apostolic letter which announced the Year of Faith is Porta Fidei meaning "Door of Faith". In this document the Holy Father gives his reasons for announcing the Year of Faith as "a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world." This Year of Faith is meant to "arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope."
So, what practical things can you do to answer this call from the Holy Father?
1) Participation in the Church's Liturgical Year
Tools: The Magnificat Magazine, Roman Missal, and Catholic Bible

When you participate with the Church in the liturgical year, you participate in the life of the Church as it relives and celebrates the great Christian mysteries. Being connected to the liturgy is a great way to integrate your Christian faith into your daily life. One of the main ways that you can participate in the Church's liturgical year is by following the daily Mass readings on your own, regardless of whether you attend daily Mass. The daily readings are selected from the Catholic Bible according to the Church's liturgical year, and if you follow the readings each day you will notice the "movement" of sorrow to joy, anticipation to fulfillment, etc. as we move from Advent to Christmas and Lent to Easter. The main tools for doing this are the popular Magnificat Magazine (which also had a special Year of Faith edition), and more traditionally the Daily Roman Missal and the Catholic Bible.
2) Learn more about Your Christian Faith
Tools: Year of Faith Bible studies
In order to combat the increased sec
3) Evangelization
Tools: Catholic Apologetics books
Hopefully this article will help guide you as you look for ways to make the most of the Year of Faith. I recommend keeping a prayer journal so that you can look back and realize how much you've grown and changed over the year!