Formation Video's - Knowing & Living the Faith

VIDEO Session 1: The Journey of Faith (Trinity, Faith, Prayer)

Reflection Question: What draws you toward the Catholic Church right now—truth, worship, community, something else?

Catechism passages:

• Faith as our response to God: CCC 144-184

• Prayer: CCC 2725, 2737, 2742–2745

• Why God made us: CCC 294

• The Trinity: CCC 238–248

VIDEO Session 2: Divine Revelation (Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium)

Reflection Question: What authority (if any) did your previous Christian community recognize for interpreting Scripture?

Catechism passages:

• Revelation and the Plan of Salvation: CCC 50–53

• How God has revealed himself in the Old Testament: CCC 54–64

• Jesus, the fullness of Revelation: CCC 65–73

• How this Revelation is handed on to us: CCC 74

• Apostolic Tradition and Authority: CCC 75–79

• The Magisterium CCC 84–95

VIDEO Session 3: The Bible (God’s love letter; how Catholics read Scripture)

Reflection Question: What’s one passage of Scripture that has shaped your faith—and how do you hear it differently now?

Catechism passages:

• Christ as the Word of God: CCC 101–104

• Inspiration and the truth of Scripture: CCC 105–108

• The Holy Spirit and Sacred Scripture: CCC 109–119

• Books of the Old Testament: CCC 120–123

• The New Testament canon: CCC 124–127

• Scripture and the Church: CCC 131–133

VIDEO Session 4: The Story of Salvation (Creation, Fall, Redemption)

Reflection Questions:

  1. Where do you most feel the “brokenness” of the Fall in the world—and in yourself?

  2. How does the Catholic “big picture” help make sense of suffering and hope?

Catechism passages:

• Created in the image of God: CCC 356–358

• Before the Fall: CCC 376–379

• Original Sin: CCC 396–405

• The gift of Jesus: CCC 457–460

• The Catholic Church: CCC 830–848

• Sending of the Holy Spirit: CCC 731–737

• The Last Judgment: CCC 1038–1041

VIDEO Session 5: Who Is Jesus? (true God and true man)

Reflection Question: If Jesus is Lord, what needs to change in my life (habits, priorities, relationships)?

Catechism passages:

• Jesus Christ: “Mediator and fullness of all revelation”: CCC 65–67

• True God and true man: CCC 464–469, 479–483

• Jesus reconciles us with God: CCC 457–460

• The two natures of Jesus: CCC 470–478

VIDEO Session 6: The Paschal Mystery (Cross, Resurrection, salvation)

Reflection Question: How does uniting my suffering to Christ reshape the way I carry my cross?

Catechism passages:

• The Trinity: CCC 238-248, 452-455

• Value of Christ’s sacrifi ce: CCC 616–617

• The descent into Hell: CCC 632–635

• The meaning of the Resurrection: CCC 651–655

• Jesus precedes us into Heaven: CCC 665-667

• Our participation in Christ’s sacrifi ce: CCC 618

VIDEO Session 7: The Holy Spirit & the Life of Grace

Reflection Question: Where do I most need the Spirit’s power—healing, courage, purity, forgiveness, perseverance?

Catechism passages:

• The Name of the Spirit: CCC 691

• Symbols of the Spirit: CCC 694–701

• The Holy Spirit as God’s Gift: CCC 733–736

• The Spirit and the Church: CCC 737–741

• Justification and sanctification: CCC 1996–2000

VIDEO Session 8: Why Do I Need the Church? (one, holy, catholic, apostolic)

Catechism passages:

• The Church is One: CCC 813–814

• The Church is Holy: CCC 823–825

• The Church is Catholic: CCC 830–831

• The Church is Apostolic: CCC 857

• The bonds of unity in the Church: CCC 815

• Bishops as successors of the Apostles: CCC 861–862

Reflection Question: What is one fear or objection I have about the Catholic Church—and what truth might address it?

VIDEO Session 9: Mary and the Saints (Communion of Saints; intercession)

Reflection Question: What’s the biggest “hang-up” (if any) about asking Mary or the saints to pray for you?

Catechism passages:

• Immaculate Conception: CCC 490–493

• Mother of God: CCC 495

• Perpetual Virginity: CCC 496–500

• Assumption: CCC 966

• Devotion to Mary: CCC 971

Reflection Question: What’s the biggest “hang-up” (if any) about asking Mary or the saints to pray for you?

VIDEO Session 10: The Last Things (death, judgment, heaven, hell, purgatory)

Catechism passages:

• Particular Judgment: CCC 1021–1022

• Heaven: CCC 1023–1029

• Hell: CCC 1033–1037

• Purgatory: CCC 1030–1032

• Last Judgment: CCC 1038–1041

Reflection Question: If I truly lived “in the light of eternity,” what would change this week?

• Matthew 28:18–20 — Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• John 3:5 — Born of water and Spirit
• Acts 8:14–17 — Baptized Christians receive the Holy Spirit through the apostles
• Acts 19:5–6 — Baptism followed by the laying on of hands
• Romans 6:3–4 — Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection

• CCC 1210–1211: The seven sacraments
• CCC 1213–1284: The Sacrament of Baptism
• CCC 1272–1274: Baptism leaves an indelible spiritual mark
• CCC 1285–1321: The Sacrament of Confirmation
• CCC 1302–1305: Effects of Confirmation
• CCC 1309: Preparation for Confirmation
• CCC 1310: The state of grace and prayerful preparation

1. How did your previous Christian tradition understand Baptism?
2. What does it mean that Baptism incorporates us into the Body of Christ?
3. How should your identity as a baptized child of God affect your daily decisions?
4. Why did the apostles lay hands upon people who had already been baptized?
5. What gifts or strength do you hope to receive through Confirmation?
6. In what areas of your life do you need greater courage to witness to Christ?
7. Are you willing to make the sacraments an essential part of your Christian life?

• John 6:32–58 — Jesus, the Bread of Life
• Matthew 26:26–28 — Institution of the Eucharist
• Luke 24:28–35 — Jesus recognized in the breaking of the bread
• 1 Corinthians 10:16–17 — Participation in Christ’s Body and Blood
• 1 Corinthians 11:27–29 — Worthy reception of Holy Communion
• Exodus 12:1–14 — The Passover meal

• CCC 1324–1327: Source and summit of the Christian life
• CCC 1328–1332: Names of the Eucharist
• CCC 1333–1344: Signs and institution of the Eucharist
• CCC 1357–1368: The Eucharistic sacrifice
• CCC 1366–1367: The one sacrifice of Christ made sacramentally present
• CCC 1374: Christ’s true, real, and substantial presence
• CCC 1376–1377: Transubstantiation
• CCC 1384–1390: Preparation for Holy Communion
• CCC 1391–1401: Fruits of Holy Communion

1. How did your previous Christian community understand Communion?
2. What does the Catholic Church mean by the Real Presence?
3. Why did many disciples leave Jesus after his teaching in John 6?
4. What connections do you see between Passover and the Eucharist?
5. How can the Mass be a sacrifice without Jesus dying again?
6. How should belief in the Real Presence affect your behavior in church?
7. Why does the Church ask Catholics to receive Communion only when properly disposed and in full communion?
8. What will receiving Jesus in the Eucharist mean to you personally?

• Acts 2:42 — The earliest Christian pattern of worship
• Luke 24:13–35 — Word and breaking of bread
• Nehemiah 8:1–10 — The public proclamation of God’s Word
• Revelation 4–5 — Heavenly worship
• Revelation 19:6–9 — The wedding supper of the Lamb
• Romans 12:1 — Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice

• CCC 1345: Early Christian description of the Eucharistic celebration
• CCC 1346: The two principal parts of the Mass
• CCC 1348: Introductory rites
• CCC 1349: Liturgy of the Word
• CCC 1350: Presentation of the offerings
• CCC 1351–1353: Eucharistic Prayer and Communion
• CCC 1389: Sunday Eucharist and reception of Communion
• CCC 1417: Sunday obligation
• CCC 1166–1167: The Lord’s Day

1. The Liturgy of the Word
2. The Liturgy of the Eucharist

1. What differences have you noticed between Catholic Mass and worship in your former community?
2. Why does the Mass contain both Scripture and Eucharist?
3. Which part of the Mass is most meaningful to you?
4. Which gestures, prayers, or responses are still unfamiliar?
5. What do we offer with the bread and wine?
6. What does “active participation” mean beyond speaking and singing?
7. Why is Sunday Mass a serious obligation for Catholics?
8. How can you prepare before Mass and give thanks afterward?

• John 20:21–23 — Christ gives the apostles authority to forgive sins
• Matthew 16:18–19 — The power of the keys
• Matthew 18:18 — Authority to bind and loose
• James 5:14–16 — Anointing, confession, and prayer
• Luke 15:11–32 — The prodigal son
• Psalm 51 — Prayer of repentance
• 2 Corinthians 5:17–20 — The ministry of reconciliation

• CCC 1423–1424: Names of the Sacrament of Penance
• CCC 1441: God alone forgives sins
• CCC 1442: Christ exercises forgiveness through the apostolic ministry
• CCC 1444–1445: The power to bind and loose
• CCC 1449: Formula of absolution
• CCC 1451–1453: Contrition
• CCC 1455–1458: Confession of sins
• CCC 1468–1470: Effects of Reconciliation
• CCC 1485: Christ reconciles us to the Father
• CCC 1496: Spiritual effects of the sacrament
• CCC 1514–1532: Anointing of the Sick

1. What was confession or repentance like in your previous Christian community?
2. Why did Jesus give the apostles authority to forgive sins?
3. What is the difference between being sorry because of punishment and being sorry because sin offends God?
4. Why must serious sins be confessed by kind and number?
5. What fears or concerns do you have about going to Confession?
6. How does the story of the prodigal son reveal the Father’s mercy?
7. What is the difference between Anointing of the Sick and “last rites”?
8. How can regular Confession support lifelong conversion?

• Matthew 19:3–9 — Permanence of marriage
• John 2:1–11 — Wedding feast at Cana
• Ephesians 5:21–33 — Marriage as a sign of Christ and the Church
• Mark 10:6–12 — What God has joined
• Luke 22:19 — “Do this in memory of me”
• John 20:21–23 — Apostolic ministry
• 1 Timothy 4:14 — Laying on of hands

• CCC 1534–1535: Sacraments at the service of communion
• CCC 1536–1538: Holy Orders
• CCC 1548–1551: The ordained ministry
• CCC 1602–1605: Marriage in God’s plan
• CCC 1612–1617: Marriage in the Lord
• CCC 1621–1624: Celebration of marriage
• CCC 1625–1629: Matrimonial consent
• CCC 1633–1637: Mixed marriage and disparity of worship
• CCC 1638–1642: Effects and grace of Matrimony
• CCC 1644–1648: Unity, fidelity, and permanence
• CCC 1652–1654: Openness to children

1. What does it mean to describe marriage as a covenant rather than only a contract?
2. How does Christian marriage reflect Christ’s relationship with the Church?
3. Why does the Church teach that marriage is permanent?
4. Why must marital consent be free and properly expressed?
5. How are marriage and Holy Orders both directed toward the service of others?
6. What role do bishops, priests, and deacons have in the Church?
7. Are there marriage circumstances that need to be discussed privately with the pastor?
8. How can married and unmarried Christians support the vocation of marriage?

• Deuteronomy 30:15–20 — Choose life
• Matthew 5–7 — The Sermon on the Mount
• John 8:31–36 — Truth and freedom
• Romans 12:1–2 — Renewal of the mind
• Galatians 5:13–25 — Freedom and life in the Spirit
• James 1:22–25 — Be doers of the Word

• CCC 1691–1698: Life in Christ
• CCC 1731–1734: Freedom and responsibility
• CCC 1747: The right to exercise freedom
• CCC 1750–1754: Sources of morality
• CCC 1755–1756: Acts that are always morally wrong
• CCC 1776–1782: Moral conscience
• CCC 1783–1785: Formation of conscience
• CCC 1800: Obligation to obey a certain conscience
• CCC 1803–1845: Virtues
• CCC 1846–1876: Sin

1. How would you define freedom?
2. Can a person be sincere and still have an incorrectly formed conscience?
3. What factors determine whether an action is morally good?
4. Why can a good intention never make an intrinsically evil action good?
5. Which virtues do you most need to develop?
6. What influences have formed your moral outlook?
7. What should a Catholic do when personal preference conflicts with Church teaching?
8. How do grace and the sacraments help us live morally?

• John 15:9–13 — Greater love has no one than this
• 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 — The qualities of love
• 1 John 4:7–12 — God is love
• Matthew 22:34–40 — Love of God and neighbor
• Philippians 2:3–8 — Christ’s self-emptying love

• CCC 1822–1829: The theological virtue of charity
• CCC 2331: God is love and the vocation to love
• CCC 2337–2339: Chastity and self-mastery
• CCC 2392: Love is the fundamental vocation of every human being
• CCC 1762–1770: Passions and the moral life

1. How does modern culture commonly define love?
2. What is the difference between loving someone and using someone?
3. Why is love more than an emotion?
4. What does Christ’s sacrifice reveal about authentic love?
5. How does self-mastery make love possible?
6. In which relationships are you being called to love more sacrificially?
7. How can chastity apply to married, single, ordained, and consecrated persons?
8. What habits prevent you from loving others as Christ loves?

• Genesis 1:26–28 — Male and female created in God’s image
• Genesis 2:18–24 — The two become one flesh
• Matthew 5:27–30 — Purity of heart
• Matthew 19:4–6 — God’s plan from the beginning
• 1 Corinthians 6:12–20 — The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8 — Holiness and sexual conduct

• CCC 2331–2336: Sexual identity and vocation
• CCC 2337–2359: Chastity and offenses against chastity
• CCC 2360–2363: Sexuality within marriage
• CCC 2366–2372: Openness to life and responsible parenthood
• CCC 2368: Regulation of procreation
• CCC 2380–2391: Offenses against the dignity of marriage
• CCC 2392–2400: Summary of the Church’s teaching

1. What messages about sexuality have most influenced you?
2. What does it mean that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?
3. Why does the Church connect sexual union with marriage?
4. Why are unity and openness to life inseparable meanings of marital intimacy?
5. How is chastity different from repression?
6. What practical boundaries help a Christian grow in purity?
7. Which Catholic teachings in this area are most difficult to understand or accept?
8. How can the Church uphold moral truth while treating every person with dignity and compassion?

• Genesis 1:26–27 — Human beings created in God’s image
• Micah 6:8 — Do justice, love goodness, walk humbly
• Luke 4:16–21 — Christ’s mission to the poor and oppressed
• Acts 2:44–47 — The early Christian community
• James 2:14–17 — Faith without works
• 1 John 3:16–18 — Love in deed and truth

• CCC 1878: Love of neighbor and social life
• CCC 1883–1885: Subsidiarity
• CCC 1892: The human person as the foundation and goal of social institutions
• CCC 1905–1912: The common good
• CCC 1928–1933: Social justice and respect for persons
• CCC 1939–1942: Solidarity
• CCC 2419–2425: The Church’s social doctrine

1. Why is human dignity the foundation of Catholic social teaching?
2. What is the difference between charity and justice?
3. What does solidarity require of Christians?
4. What is the common good?
5. How does subsidiarity protect both personal responsibility and community support?
6. Where do you see human dignity threatened in the local community?
7. How should Catholic faith influence political and economic decisions?
8. What concrete work of mercy or justice could you undertake?

• Psalm 139:13–16 — God knows us in the womb
• Jeremiah 1:4–5 — Known and consecrated before birth
• Matthew 25:31–46 — Judgment and service to the least
• Luke 10:25–37 — The Good Samaritan
• James 1:27 — Care for widows and orphans
• Proverbs 24:11–12 — Rescue those being led to death

• CCC 1928: Social justice and respect for human dignity
• CCC 1932: Love for the poor
• CCC 2258: The sacredness of human life
• CCC 2270–2275: Protection of unborn human life
• CCC 2276–2279: Care for the sick and dying
• CCC 2288–2291: Respect for health
• CCC 2443–2449: Love for the poor
• CCC 2462–2463: The demands of justice and charity

1. Which aspect of Catholic social teaching challenges you most?
2. Why does human dignity not depend upon health, usefulness, ability, age, or social status?
3. What does Matthew 25 teach about the relationship between faith and service?
4. How should Catholics support women and families facing difficult pregnancies?
5. What is the difference between allowing natural death and directly causing death?
6. Where might personal comfort prevent us from responding to the poor?
7. How can Catholics maintain consistent respect for human life?
8. What specific commitment will you make to serve “the least” among us?