Living the Joy of the Gospel
News
Last month, the Archdiocese of Adelaide released Living the Joy of the Gospel, a five-session small-group program focused on deepening understanding of faith and renewing commitment to mission.
Developed by the Archdiocesan Formation Commission in response to the growing request for greater access to adult faith formation in parishes, Living the Joy of the Gospel provides parishes with resources to help people to engage with scripture, theology and the wider tradition through shared reading, discussion and prayer.
A parish priest I worked for once said to me, “Christianity is an adult faith.” At first, I wasn’t sure what he was getting at. Did he mean that my job as a youth minister was pointless? Was he about to fire me? What he actually meant, once he explained it to me, was that faith takes time to develop. The teenagers I worked with weren’t likely to be fully mature Christians by the time they graduated from high school. Rather, over a lifetime of learning, growing, experiencing, failing and returning to God’s love, their faith would be formed and reformed, being shaped more like Christ along the way.
We have heard over and again in our Diocesan Assemblies, the 5th Australian Plenary Council, the Synod on Synodality and in our recent Archdiocesan Synod that formation is the top priority for people in every corner of the Church. Following the 2021 Diocesan Assembly, the Archdiocese published Drawn into the Joy of the Gospel, our statement on the importance of formation in the lives of all people and for particular roles and ministries. Following this, the Archdiocese set up a Formation Commission to discern the priorities and actions needed to promote formation in the Archdiocese, and it was here that Living the Joy of the Gospel was first conceived.
The goal was to introduce parishioners to scripture and theological study while reflecting on their own experiences of life and faith. The program is packaged as a beautifully designed booklet which guides small groups through reflection and discussion of central aspects of our faith: the ministry of Jesus Christ, his resurrection, the life of the Church today, faith in history and missionary discipleship.
It is the hope of the Commission that every parish in the Archdiocese will be able to offer Living the Joy of the Gospel. To assist with this, Monique Saywell, Parish Formation Project Officer in the Pastoral Services Team, has been providing facilitator workshops, training up small group leaders in over 20 parishes so far.
The adult version of Living the Joy of the Gospel is only the first step. We are working in partnership with the Family Faith Formation Team and the Catholic Office for Youth and Young Adults to translate Living the Joy of the Gospel for children, families and young people. Eventually we plan to have a whole suite of resources and additional formation sessions for every age and stage of life. Videos, podcasts, retreats days, workshops, and a speaker series are all in the works for the future.
“Faith is not a static reality,” Archbishop Patrick O’Regan wrote in the introduction to the program, “it is a living relationship with the living God. It is fostered through prayer, through the Eucharist and the other sacraments, through study of the scriptures and the tradition of the Church…Formation in faith is integral to the life of the Archdiocese. Take a moment to look back over your life. Can you locate any significant moments that contributed to the development of your faith? Are there people who have helped to shape your faith, experiences, prayers, or books? My guess is that there are dozens, if not hundreds of moments throughout your life that have helped to form your faith. The good news is that God isn’t done with you yet! Faith formation is a lifelong process.
We are always working on becoming more like Christ, and central to this is joy
Living the Joy of the Gospel is currently available in print and PDF versions. Printed booklets are $10 each, digital versions can be downloaded for free. To learn more and to get your copy of Living the Joy of the Gospel, visit livingthejoyofthegospel.au or contact us at formation@adelaide.catholic.org.au.
