/faith-formation-parish-library






Adult Faith Formation
 On the Road to Emmaus, the disciples met Jesus and were transformed. They said, “Our hearts are burning within us!”

Why were their hearts burning? They were burning because in Jesus the disciples caught a glimpse into the heart of God and found their world made new. They saw for an instant the full scope of the Father's loving plan and its high point in Christ's death and resurrection. In that perspective, the pathway of their lives opened from confusion and despair into conviction and hope, and they began to grasp the height and depth of God's mysterious love. What a profound learning experience that must have been!

The passage offers us a model for our ministry and shows the need we all have for ongoing formation in faith. For in it we see two adult disciples who, encountering the risen Lord, grow stronger in love, knowledge, commitment, and zeal. As then, today, "Those who are already disciples of Jesus Christ . . . [need] to be constantly nourished by the word of God so that they may grow in their Christian life."⁶

Such lifelong formation is always needed and must be a priority in the Church's catechetical ministry; moreover, it must "be considered the chief form of catechesis. All the other forms, which are indeed always necessary, are in some way oriented to it.”
“Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us”, A Plan for Adult Formation, USCCB
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• Lighthouse Catholic Media Audio CD’s:  for purchase in the Narthex

• Holy Family Parish Library
• On Your Own Faith Formation 
  • Catholic Distance University  - webinars, 5 and 8 week low-cost courses ($45ish)  https://www.cdu.edu/
  • Catholic Home Study Service – series of Catholic basics in booklets http://www.catholichomestudy.org/
  • Pillars of Catholicism (JP the Great University) – a crash course in the pillars of Catholicism  http://pillarsofcatholicism.com/
  • Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation  - University of Dayton – variety of online mini-courses, low cost. Certificate program or just one at a time.  http://pillarsofcatholicism.com/
  • St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology - a non-profit research and educational institute that promotes life-transforming Scripture study in the Catholic tradition.  All classes are online and are free. https://stpaulcenter.com/
  • Notre Dame STEP (Satellite Theological Education Program) variety of online mini-courses. Certificate program or just one at a time.   https://step.nd.edu/  
  • Catechism Class.com – online mini-courses.  http://www.catechismclass.com/
• Aquinas College - Grand Rapids Certificate program in theology | Theology courses
• Television & Radio:
  • Holy Family Catholic Radio 1140AM
  • Catholic TV
  • EWTN eternal word television network
• Catholic Information Center 
• Franciscan Life Process Center
• St. Francis Retreat Center, DeWitt

• Subscriptions: Catholic Magazine/Newspaper Subscriptions are a great way to have ongoing formation in the faith at your fingertips! Suggestions: Catholic Digest, Catholic Answers, Liguori, US Catholic, Our Sunday Visitor, Zenit. Faith Magazine (diocesan)