A Deepening and Strengthening of Grace for a Lively Celebration of Faith: The Filipino Experience

Abstract

In this article, I proposed a framework as a means of catechesis in the light of current realities facing Filipino Catholics. In the sacrament of confirmation, those confirmed are called to a full commitment to the gospel lifestyle since it is the completion of the Holy Spirit's gift begun in baptism, characterized by taking on the task of witnessing, even if it entails "sacrifice in the Spirit." To become effective witnesses to the gospel, Christians should develop personal knowledge, awareness, and experience of Christ. In the Philippines, both PCP II (para. 16) and NNCDP (para. 326) claim that many Catholics are “exteriorly†sacramentalized but never adequately catechized. This scenario sparked within me to investigate the situation with the goal of coming up with a modest framework aimed at helping Religion Teachers, Catechists, and Church personnel to instruct confirmands and the confirmed to a lively celebration of faith. This article utilized the exploratory research design in gathering theprimary and secondary sources of data. The framework which I propose grounds the catechetical instructions for confirmation, i.e., Integrated, Inculturated, and Community-Forming Catechesis based on Scriptures and Church Traditions in terms of the total human experience of the listeners.