Faith formation program

MADISON  A recent reading of Matthew 16:13-21 — when Jesus told his disciples that he is the Christ and when he named Peter leader of his Church — left Gloria Blanco with as many questions as answers. The young adult of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown started wondering, among other things, “Why did Jesus pick Peter as the head of his Church?”

Blanco wasn’t the only person with questions. So did the rest of the small group of young adults she joined on the morning of Jan. 13 in a classroom at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here — part of its new One Way faith-formation program, which started in September and continues through March. Helping to provide answers to group members — or to help them find the answers — was the session’s leader, Brian Honsberger, St. Paul’s director of programs and operations, who helped create One Way. The innovative program brings together Catholics over a six-month period to explore various topics about faith in interactive small groups to help them gain a “new understanding of Jesus and his Church.” Then they can go out and evangelize to the world. Already, this approach has started to bear fruit, he said.

“I come to One Way with questions like ‘Why did this happen in the Bible?’ or ‘Why do we believe this?’ I get explanations that make sense,” said Blanco, who works for a non-governmental organization and started with One Way in September. Group members learn by exploring and discussing Scripture; the liturgy and spiritual devotions; the saints; and Church teaching, tradition and history. “I want to learn more about the Bible and Catholic Church. It’s hard to maintain your faith today, so it’s great to be surrounded by believers. This has changed my life completely and made me so proud to be Catholic,” she said.

Over the course of One Way, Blanco and other participants have been exploring — and will continue to explore — a topic of faith for each of the six months, during three sessions per month. So far, they have explored the topics of Discipleship: learning to follow and imitate Jesus; Christ: the Word Made Flesh; Revelation: God Communicating with His People; and the Church and their part in the structure and mission in God’s kingdom. Blanco and her group of young adults have been studying the topics on Sundays from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., followed by 11 a.m. Mass in St. Paul’s chapel. Another group of adults of all ages meets on Tuesdays from 7:30 to 9 p.m. after 7 p.m. Mass in the chapel, Honsberger said.

St. Paul’s invites interested Catholics to sign up for the final two topics of this current six-topic cycle of One Way, which gets its name from Jesus’ teaching that “No one gets to the Father but through me.” Next, participants will explore Prayer: Your Relationship with the Trinity on Feb. 3, 10 and 17 on Sundays or Feb. 5, 12 and 19 on Tuesdays. They will learn about Conversion — Returning Home: Living a Fulfilled Life, on March 10, 17 and 24 on Sundays and March 12, 19 and 26 on Tuesdays.

Catholics can start One Way at any point in the six-topic cycle but always beginning on the first session of the next topic. St. Paul’s will start the entire 18-week cycle again this September, giving participants, who have missed some of the topics, an opportunity to complete the full course of study. The first 15 people to register for each three-week topic will be admitted, Honsberger said.

“One Way helps move people from passive disciples to active disciples, who make disciples. One Way follows the method of Jesus, who formed a small group of 12 Apostles and, over time, empowered them to share his ‘Good News,’ ” said Father Paul Manning, diocesan vicar for evangelization and St. Paul’s executive director. He trades off leading sessions with Honsberger and Father Pawel Tomczyk, diocesan director of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and Youth Ministry, as well as chaplain at William Paterson University, Wayne — all bringing different teaching styles. “We have seen tremendous growth in the commitment to the faith of young adults, who participated in a One Way pilot program [held earlier by invitation only]. Some of them have formed a team for young adult ministry with its two part-time co-coordinators. The pilot program formed people in faith, inspired them to greater discipleship and helped them foster personal relationships. It’s the dream for St. Paul’s to replicate One Way in the parishes of the Diocese,” he said.

Also, One Way fills in a gap in faith formation at St. Paul’s for an “intermediate” program. Already, the evangelization center offers Catholicism from Scratch, a “beginner” course, which covers the basics of the faith, and the Certificate for Catholic Evangelization, which provides students with an “advanced” master’s level course of study in the faith, Honsberger said.

At the Jan. 13 session, Honsberger encouraged One Way participants to use the inductive method to read Matt. 16:13-21 by looking for repeated words, Old Testament references and overarching themes. He answered their question, “Why did Jesus pick Peter as head of his Church?” by saying that “Peter was selected by a divine calling — not by any special merits or abilities of his.”

After the session, Honsberger explained to The Beacon that One Way — free for participants — “is the study of how God chose to communicate with humanity — through the Bible, Jesus, the prophets and the Church. With that knowledge, people can share Jesus’ message of salvation to the world.”