Articles

Pope Benedict XVI has declared October 11, 2012-November 24, 2013 a Year of Faith. The upcoming Year of Faith is intended “to contribute to a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith, so that the members of the Church will be credible and joy-filled witnesses to the Risen Lord in the world of today—capable of leading those many people who are seeking it to the ‘door of faith.’” (CDF, Note with pastoral recommendations for the Year of Faith). It is an opportunity for us as a diocese to experience conversion and a deepening of our relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church.

The beginning of the Year of Faith corresponds with the anniversaries of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Year of Faith also begins with a Synod on the New Evangelization. Both the Year of Faith and the New Evangelization are geared towards the same thing: a call to a deeper encounter with Christ and to share it with others.

Events in the Toledo Diocese:

• Men’s Conference: March 16, 2013, Seagate Center, Toledo
• Lift Jesus Higher Rally: October 12, 2013, Seagate Center, Toledo

A Sacramental Focus: Each of the seven sacraments is an efficacious sign of believing, celebrating and living the Christian faith. In the Diocese of Toledo, during the Year of Faith, specific Sundays have been designated for a liturgical and catechetical focus on each of the sacrements.

Baptism: January 13, 2013 (The Baptism of the Lord)

Penance: March 3, 2013 (Third Sunday of Lent)

Holy Orders: April 14, 2013 (Third Sunday of Easter)

Confirmation: May 19, 2013 (Pentecost Sunday)

Holy Eucharist: June 2, 2013 (The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ)

Anointing of the Sick: July 7, 2013 (Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Matrimony: October 20, 2013 (Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time) and the annual diocesan celebration of Marriage Anniversaries

Additionally, a Sunday is designated for the Knights of Columbus and for celebration and catechesis on the Consecrated Life of Women and Men Religious. Although not a sacrament, this vocation is integral to the life and mission of the Church.

Knights of Columbus Mass: October 13, 2013 (Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Consecrated and Religious Life: November 10, 2013 (Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Closing Diocesan Mass for the Year of Faith: November 24, 2013 (Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe)