Almost twenty-five years ago, the Bishops of the United States wrote a pastoral document entitled Our Hearts Were Burning within Us.  In it, the bishops renewed their commitment to adult faith formation and presented a pastoral plan. Its implementation, however, varied across the United States depending upon local circumstances.  A major obstacle to putting it into practice is the busyness of people’s lives.  Young adults are caught up in their work and family responsibilities.  The same is true for middle-aged adults who often have the added responsibility of caring for aging parents.  This leaves older adults as the ones, most often, who take advantage of adult faith formation programs.

   Developing ways to assist adult Catholics to grow beyond their childhood understanding and practice of the faith is still very much needed.  The ever-present challenge, however, is, “How to do this?”  But a more fundamental question is, “What does adult faith look like?”  In Our Hearts…, the bishops spoke of maturity with phrases like “living faith,” “explicit faith,” and “fruitful faith.”  (A copy of Our Hearts Were Burning within Us is available on the United States Bishops website. (https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catechesis/adult-faith-formation/our-hearts#Living

   What do they mean?  Adult faith is clearly and explicitly rooted in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ lived in the Christian community.  Christian faith then is:

• conversion to Jesus Christ,
• full and sincere adherence to his person and
• the decision to walk in his footsteps.

   Adults with mature faith know they have a mission in and to the world.  That is, by baptism, we have been gifted with the privilege and responsibility of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.  We have been entrusted with the awesome responsibility of renewing and transforming the world in which we live.

   Even in the absence of specific programs, we, Catholics, have many practices and disciplines that foster maturity in faith.  These include the following:

• meeting our human obligations in family and society through the active practice of love for God and neighbor.
• personal prayer
• participation in the weekly celebration of the Mass
• participation in the works of justice and service to the poor
• frequent reading of the word of God (Sacred Scripture), sacred writings of our tradition, and the official documents of the Church.

   The next insert will explore some of the profound changes that happened at baptism.