Happy New Year! …sort of 
Today begins the Year of Faith, and marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council.
Catholic bloggers are going nuts today because a year devoted to studying and to deepening our knowledge of the faith frankly just sounds awesome. During this year (which spans from today until November 24 of next year), Catholics are asked to study and reflect on the documents of Vatican II and to read and study the Catechism.
Catechism
If you don’t have a Catechism, I suggest you get one now (and yes, get this version because the year of faith also marks 20 years since it was published …and it’s dripping with Vatican II…and awesomeness). It’s only 10 bucks and it’s small enough to fit into a large purse. I really believe that every Catholic should own his or her own Catechism, just like we should all own our own Bible.
FlockNote.com has a great resource for this year. Read the Catechism in one year via daily emails sent straight to you. Sign up here.
Pillars of Catholicism
My Alma Mater (JP Catholic) also put together a fantastic 13-session online course called Pillars Of Catholicism. It’s a great overview of the Catholic faith (taught by my professors!) Check it out at PillarsOfCatholicism.com.
This Week: Read Lumen Gentium
Finally, my own personal suggestion to kick of this year of faith is to check out the Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. What is the Church? What is our role as the People of God? Check it out and report back
If you’ve never read the documents of Vatican II, you’re in for a real treat this year.
God Bless!
I’m using Pillars of Catholicism for my church Youth Group (and hopefully for the whole church community later in the year)…thanks for linking to it Mary!
I read “Lumen Gentium” over the summer. (I have a lot of downtime at work.) What I found most fascinating was the detailed way it laid out what the responsibilities of each level of the church are: bishops, priests, and the laity. I like plans, and reading those documents reminded me that the hierarchy of the Church has a plan, too.
[...] Lane (among my favorite young Catholic bloggers) recommends an online course by her alma mater called Pillars of Faith. I keep meaning to check that out. I [...]