On the way to life: Introductory Material
Foreword
On The Way to Life (OTWTL) was commissioned by the Bishops’ Conference Department for Education and Formation and written by Frs James Hanvey SJ and Tony Carroll SJ of the Heythrop Institute for Religion, Ethics and Public Life. The following pages of ‘Introductory material’ have been prepared by Canon David Evans, Secretary to the Bishops’ Conference Committee for Faith and Culture. This is part of a package including an introductory DVD featuring the writers. I hope OTWTL, this material and the DVD will capture the imagination of the Catholic community and generate discussion on the issues raised.
These are important, if complex, matters. I hope that many will join in this reflection on the issues that come to us within contemporary culture and how, as the Church, we interact and respond. I hope all will join in: parents, teachers, priests, theologians, catechists, etc.
OTWTL is divided into three parts; so is this document. The first investigates the cultural context of our world; the second, the theological context and the third begins to sketch some ways forward. Each section opens with a summary of the Report which is followed by Fr David’s introductory materials. Also included are discussion questions and a glossary. In Fr David’s words these materials hope to “simply chart a way through the work in the hope that it will make assimilation and implementation of the project easer.”
In my view there are three main areas for consideration, or, to put it another way, three broad areas through which the discussion can continue to develop.
i Do we have an accurate understanding of contemporary culture? How does this help us to be more aware of the ways in which our culture shapes our grasp on Catholic faith?
ii How well do we grasp our own Catholic culture? What do we mean by its ‘Sacramental imagination’? How do we nurture and deepen our own Catholic culture in a contemporary manner?
iii How and at what points is there ‘inter-cultural’ exchange between the contemporary culture and the Gospel as lived and taught in the Catholic Church? What are the points of meeting or divergence? What do we learn from the tasks of proclamation and the transmission of faith?
May I thank all who have worked on this material. I hope that the discussions will help us, as the Church, to ‘find our voice’ in society today.
+Vincent Nichols
Chair: Catholic Education Service
Full download of document available to download here.
The DVD features music by Marty Haugen, which is used with permission.
The songs are "Remembering" and "Learn to Live the Story"; words and music by Marty Haugen
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