Year of God the Father

May the love of God the Father, the grace of Jesus Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you!

The Year of God the Father
Pastoral Letter for 1999

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, May the love of God the Father, the grace of Jesus Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you! Introduction Two years ago, the universal church looked at “Jesus Christ” as the only Savior yesterday, today and forever (Tertio Millenio Adveniente No. 40) and experienced the “Holy Spirit” as the giver of life (Ibid 44). Now in this third year, we await for the year 2000 with eager expectation to know, to adore, to praise and give thanks to the Heavenly Father. The Pastoral Letter for the Year of God the Father continues to follow up the Pontifical letter of Pope John Paul II for the preparation of the Great Jubilee Year 2000. Based on the actual life situation of the People of God in Taiwan, we want to make clear the catechism of the Heavenly Father and His adoration in two parts: The Mystery of God the Father An Outline of Action for the Year of God the Father I. The Catechism on the Mystery of God the Father In the long version of the Creed that we recite during Sunday Eucharistic Celebration, it expresses the nature of God the Father’s “begotten Son” as well as the mystery of the “sending of the Holy Spirit” (who proceeds from the Father and the Son). But our belief in God the Father depends on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. (1) Knowing God the Father Jesus said: “No one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt.11:27). Here the Son is Jesus himself expressing his intimate relationship with God the Father. However, the mystery of God the Father manifested by the word and deed of Jesus Christ must have the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in order to be known by the people. In fact, at the beginning of Jesus’s public life, when he was baptized by John the Baptist, “the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical form, like a dove” (Lk.3:21-22). In the first preaching of Jesus in Nazareth, He admitted that the Holy Spirit is present in Him (Lk.16:16-21). In reality, it is Jesus and the Holy Spirit together who always make people know the Father. Jesus proclaims and Holy Spirit inspires. St. Paul synthesizes: “As you are sons, God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son crying ‘Abba, Father’; and so you are no longer a slave, but as son” (Gal.4:6). But how did God send his Holy Spirit to our hearts? Through his Son Jesus Christ because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of His Son. Therefore, the Christian way of knowing the Father is very special. It is not only from the experience of human life or meditation on the source of the universe, regarding heaven as the source of everything and call heaven as Father. In the folk religion of Taiwan, what they call “Tian Kung” is probably this kind of thinking. However, the ancestors of Jesus Christ also called God as “Father” (Is.63:7). This is why the Israelites believe that they are the chosen people of God. But our knowledge of the Father comes from the teaching of Jesus Christ and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Basically, this is the teaching of the Trinity believed by the Church. (2) Unique features of God the Father “Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ” (Eph.1:3). This doxology of the Trinity manifests the unique features of the Heavenly Father in the plan of creation and redemption. We call God “Father” because of the mystery of His begotten Son and also he realized the plan of creation and redemption in Jesus Christ his beloved. Jesus Christ “is the image of the unseen God, the first- born of all creation” (Col.1:15). The Father would “bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything on earth” (Eph1:10). It is to say, “for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth” (Col 1:16). Creation is a unique feature of the Father. For this, the first part of the Creed is “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth of all things visible and invisible”. Christ is the first-born, the Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life. “Man is the image and likeness of God” (Gen.1:26). Moreover, the whole universe share in the light and brilliance of Christ the first-born. Therefore we can affirm the song of St. Francis “Brother sun sister moon” which is derived from his belief. Today’s modern ecology found its theological foundation here. The unique feature of the Father who begot the Son continues to manifest in the work of salvation of Jesus Christ. “He is the Beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that he should be supreme in every way; because God wanted all fullness to be found in him and through him to reconcile all things to him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, by making peace through his death on the cross” (Col.1:18-20). Jesus is the first born of the dead. The Holy Spirit, too, has a specific role in the work of salvation. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead has made his home in you, then he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you” (Rom.8:11). St. Paul continues to write: “for the whole all creation is waiting with eagerness for the children of God to be revealed” (Rom.8:19-20). Jesus and the Holy Spirit show the same cooperation in the plan of salvation of Father. Another special feature of the Father is Love; because of love and mercy, he created and redeemed the universe. The Church tradition has used this explanation from the beginning: God the Father is the lover, Christ is the beloved and the Holy Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son. “The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom.8:16). “The Love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Rom.5:5). (3) Filial love to the Father God’s special feature is revealed in Christ. He fully experienced being engendered and loved. This experience is manifested in the word and deed of his life especially when he called aloud in his prayer: “Abba, Father”. Experts in the bible admit that this form of calling the Father is unique in the people of Israel. It can only be from the begotten Son, “who is close to the Father’s heart” (Jn.1:18). Most of the original texts of the New Testament are in Greek but they have kept three times the Aramaian “Abba, Father”. One of them is in the Gospel of Mark when Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, he prayed saying “Abba, Father (Mk.14:34). The other two times are in the prayer of the faithful found in the epistles of St. Paul (Gal.4:6 and Rom.8:18). Because this is the word used by Jesus himself, he also asked his disciples to use the same expression in prayer. The children of God have to use the love of Jesus to show our filial love to God the Father. During the last supper, Jesus already experienced the symbol of his choice suffering and sacrifice. In the garden of olives, he showed his human weakness by having fears. But still he was willing to follow the will of the Father, so he called “Abba, Father”. His filial love is manisfested in his total trust in the Father (everything is possible for God) and total commitment (not obedience according to my will but according to His will). For St. Mark, such call used by Jesus Christ strongly expresses his basic attitude of filial love towards the Father. II: An Outline of Action during the Year of God the Father The apostolic letter of the Jubilee Year asks everybody to follow the footsteps of Christ “who comes from the Father and have come into the world and now is leaving the world to go to the Father” (Jn.16:28). It points out that the whole life of a Christian is a “great pilgrim march to the Father’s home” (Tertio Ad No. 9 Verse 2). That is, to proceed to the house of the Father. At the same time, it also gives the outline of action for the Year of God the Father. According to the reality of the life of the local Church, we now make the following responses: (1) Sacrament of Reconciliation and Charity In the apostolic letter on the Father, the Holy Father emphasized God’s unconditional love for man especially his prodigal son (Lk.15:11-32). Therefore, the pilgrimage returning to the Holy Father is also a pilgrimage of true repentance and reconciliation with our heavenly Father. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus strongly described the mercy of the Father which also contains motherly love. We use the words of St. Paul: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone’s faults against them, but entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2Cor.5:19). His reconciliation is given freely without charge. This point is very clear in the parable. In the Year of God the Father, the Church tells us with St. Paul: “Be reconciled to God” (2Cor.5:20). The gospel of reconciliation asks for belief and repentance. Repentance means conversion, a return into the embrace of the Father. The liturgy of the Sacrament of Reconciliation used a clear word and symbol to explain repentance, absolution and reconciliation. For the celebration of this sacrament, the Church has long provided an effective form. During the Year of God the Father, in order to reach this goal of real repentance, we must often avail of the Sacrament of Reconciliation especially during Advent and Lenten seasons and also before the celebration of big feasts. This way, we can strengthen our love for the Father and improve our spiritual and moral life. The charity of a Christian is to love God and to love others. It is a religious life and a spiritual attitude. From here we enter the reconciled relationship between God and man, man and man, man and himself, man and nature. At the “Reconciliation 2000 Movement”, this is what our local church prepares and freely promotes. This movement needs the whole participation of all Christians: individual, family, parish, religious and other communities. One must love oneself, love others, care for nature and love God. Improve the damaged relationships on all levels to make the Year of God the Father a year full of love and reconciliation in order to welcome the great Jubilee Year. Now in Taiwan everyone proposes spiritual renewal and rebuilding of social order. This is exactly what we request, or demand for the Year of God the Father. It is also derived from the belief “God is Love” (Jn.4:8-16). (2) That the Church’s priority service given for the poor and the rejected people Regarding this priority, the three years of preparation for the great Jubilee have all given its specific points. Since the Church recognizes the love and the mercy of God the Father in Christ, how can we show indifference to our brothers and sisters in great need? Actually, some Catholics in Taiwan are proud of their educational and social work achievements. In the Year of God the Father, we do not emphasize the increase in quantity of these works but in the improvement of their quality. The apostolic letter pointed out many social problems. We fix our attention to two points: · There’s so much conflict and intolerance of social and economic injustice. What can we do to obtain justice and peace? (Tertio Millenio Ad. No. 51) · For the widow, the lonely and rejected people, we must give the priority of caring and helping. We should try to understand these propositions of our Holy Father in relation to the Year of God the Father. He is the Master of the world; man is only an administrator. The gap between the poor and the rich country is not the way of the Father. Taiwan is small yet we have to break away from today’s way of life and make our best on the new evangelization. “Communion and cooperation of the People of God to realize the mission of Service of Christ and establish a family of love, hope and charity. (3) Face the challenge of secularization In the Year of God the Father, the Holy Father shows special concern to the challenges of secularization. Secularization is a kind of ideology; it believes that man can win over heaven. They either forget or deny God and deny humanity in depths so that human relation becomes functional. In Taiwan region, religion phenomenon is common. But on the other hand, secularization show its influence. Even the religion tends to be secularized. So we propose two activities for the Year of God the Father: Faced with the impoverishment of human spirit caused by the secularization, our Pope asks us to establish a “culture of love”. (Apostolic letter No. 52). It means that the way of life is solidarity and care, helping each other. In Taiwan, there is an increase of abortion, suicide, homicide even patricide and matricide. These ways of destroying life become more and more serious each day. We really need to establish a “culture of love”. The teachings of each religion may be different but the respect for what is “sacred” and moral life is the same. Each religion has to call everybody to work together to change this phenomenon of secularization. The Holy Father asked us to continue in our effort of inter-religious dialogue and cooperation in order to promote a civilization of love. (4) Liturgical life and prayer In order to make a good Year of God the Father and achieve our objectives, we have to strengthen our liturgical and prayer life. For this purpose, the Great Jubilee Year liturgical committee of the Holy See proposed a manual for liturgy giving the important point for the liturgical life for the Year of God the Father. Through liturgical celebrations, we can better know our Heavenly Father and move forward in our pilgrimage to the house of the Father. This manual is translated and published by the liturgical committee of the CRBC. We recommend all priests, families, parishes, religious congregations to use this manual in every kind of liturgical celebration and community prayer. Understanding the main meaning of the liturgical year Every liturgical year is a road, path towards our Heavenly Father. In this journey we have Christ as an example and the Holy Spirit as our guide accompanied by our Blessed Mother and all the saints. We ask them to be our guide and to give us strength to overcome all the difficulties in our journey. To walk with courage, to reach our ultimate goal and be united with the Father in heaven. Pray “The Lord’s Prayer” Prayer of Praise: This manual provides a type of prayer centered on the Lord’s Prayer so that we can deepen our knowledge about our Father and strengthen our intimate relationship with the Father. Reconciliation is one of the main themes of the Year of God the Father The manual specially provides many forms of celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation suitable for different liturgical seasons to help us to want conversion and return to the heavenly Father. Celebrate solemnly the assumption of our Blessed Mother Mary is the first to reach the goal of man’s pilgrimage to the home of the Father, the first to be glorified. Her assumption fulfilled her own paschal mystery. In this way she stirs up our hope to follow her and one day reach the same heaven. Our Blessed Mother is the model we have to imitate. She is also our companion in our human journey to heaven. The manual provides a solemn celebration of the Assumption. It also provides other ways of honoring Mary through biblical praises and three types of litanies. Prayer of the faithful This is the prayer of the faithful to carry out their priestly ministry. Through it the faithful can open their heart to become aware of the needs of humankind and pray for them especially for those who do not yet know God so that they may follow the road to heaven. Prayer written by the Holy Father especially for the Year of God the Father Encourage the faithful to use it in their private prayer or community prayer or in appropriate time like after Mass. We wish that the whole Church prays together with one heart and through the ardent prayer and all kinds of charitable activities, we may enable our society and the whole world to acquire real peace and harmony. Conclusion Like the apostolic letter at the end of this pastoral letter, we fix our gaze to Mary our Mother, to praise the mystery of the Father as reflected in her life. From the point of view of creation, the love of the Father has chosen her in Christ even before the creation. She is full of grace; she is called the special beloved daughter of the Father. Her filial love is expressed in her trust and confidence “for God nothing is impossible” (Lk.1:37) and “let it be done according to Your word” (Lk.1:38). From the point of view of redemption, she shared in the power of the Father. The Word became man through the power of the Holy Spirit by the Virgin Mary. Her maternity accompanied the whole life of Christ and now continues to accompany the Body of Christ, the Church. Mother of the Church, pray for us. All Bishops of the Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference November 29, 1st Sun of Advent 1998

Introduction

Two years ago, the universal church looked at “Jesus Christ” as the only Savior yesterday, today and forever (Tertio Millenio Adveniente No. 40) and experienced the “Holy Spirit” as the giver of life (Ibid 44). Now in this third year, we await for the year 2000 with eager expectation to know, to adore, to praise and give thanks to the Heavenly Father. The Pastoral Letter for the Year of God the Father continues to follow up the Pontifical letter of Pope John Paul II for the preparation of the Great Jubilee Year 2000. Based on the actual life situation of the People of God in Taiwan, we want to make clear the catechism of the Heavenly Father and His adoration in two parts:

The Mystery of God the Father
An Outline of Action for the Year of God the Father

In the long version of the Creed that we recite during Sunday Eucharistic Celebration, it expresses the nature of God the Father’s “begotten Son” as well as the mystery of the “sending of the Holy Spirit” (who proceeds from the Father and the Son). But our belief in God the Father depends on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said: “No one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt.11:27). Here the Son is Jesus himself expressing his intimate relationship with God the Father. However, the mystery of God the Father manifested by the word and deed of Jesus Christ must have the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in order to be known by the people. In fact, at the beginning of Jesus’s public life, when he was baptized by John the Baptist, “the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical form, like a dove” (Lk.3:21-22). In the first preaching of Jesus in Nazareth, He admitted that the Holy Spirit is present in Him (Lk.16:16-21). In reality, it is Jesus and the Holy Spirit together who always make people know the Father. Jesus proclaims and Holy Spirit inspires. St. Paul synthesizes: “As you are sons, God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son crying ‘Abba, Father’; and so you are no longer a slave, but as son” (Gal.4:6). But how did God send his Holy Spirit to our hearts? Through his Son Jesus Christ because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of His Son.

Therefore, the Christian way of knowing the Father is very special. It is not only from the experience of human life or meditation on the source of the universe, regarding heaven as the source of everything and call heaven as Father. In the folk religion of Taiwan, what they call “Tian Kung” is probably this kind of thinking. However, the ancestors of Jesus Christ also called God as “Father” (Is.63:7). This is why the Israelites believe that they are the chosen people of God. But our knowledge of the Father comes from the teaching of Jesus Christ and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Basically, this is the teaching of the Trinity believed by the Church.

(2) Unique features of God the Father

“Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ” (Eph.1:3). This doxology of the Trinity manifests the unique features of the Heavenly Father in the plan of creation and redemption.

We call God “Father” because of the mystery of His begotten Son and also he realized the plan of creation and redemption in Jesus Christ his beloved. Jesus Christ “is the image of the unseen God, the first- born of all creation” (Col.1:15). The Father would “bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything on earth” (Eph1:10). It is to say, “for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth” (Col 1:16). Creation is a unique feature of the Father. For this, the first part of the Creed is “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth of all things visible and invisible”. Christ is the first-born, the Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life. “Man is the image and likeness of God” (Gen.1:26). Moreover, the whole universe share in the light and brilliance of Christ the first-born. Therefore we can affirm the song of St. Francis “Brother sun sister moon” which is derived from his belief. Today’s modern ecology found its theological foundation here.

The unique feature of the Father who begot the Son continues to manifest in the work of salvation of Jesus Christ. “He is the Beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that he should be supreme in every way; because God wanted all fullness to be found in him and through him to reconcile all things to him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, by making peace through his death on the cross” (Col.1:18-20). Jesus is the first born of the dead. The Holy Spirit, too, has a specific role in the work of salvation. “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead has made his home in you, then he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you” (Rom.8:11). St. Paul continues to write: “for the whole all creation is waiting with eagerness for the children of God to be revealed” (Rom.8:19-20). Jesus and the Holy Spirit show the same cooperation in the plan of salvation of Father.

Another special feature of the Father is Love; because of love and mercy, he created and redeemed the universe. The Church tradition has used this explanation from the beginning: God the Father is the lover, Christ is the beloved and the Holy Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son. “The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom.8:16). “The Love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Rom.5:5).

God’s special feature is revealed in Christ. He fully experienced being engendered and loved. This experience is manifested in the word and deed of his life especially when he called aloud in his prayer: “Abba, Father”. Experts in the bible admit that this form of calling the Father is unique in the people of Israel. It can only be from the begotten Son, “who is close to the Father’s heart” (Jn.1:18).

Most of the original texts of the New Testament are in Greek but they have kept three times the Aramaian “Abba, Father”. One of them is in the Gospel of Mark when Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, he prayed saying “Abba, Father (Mk.14:34). The other two times are in the prayer of the faithful found in the epistles of St. Paul (Gal.4:6 and Rom.8:18). Because this is the word used by Jesus himself, he also asked his disciples to use the same expression in prayer. The children of God have to use the love of Jesus to show our filial love to God the Father.

During the last supper, Jesus already experienced the symbol of his choice suffering and sacrifice. In the garden of olives, he showed his human weakness by having fears. But still he was willing to follow the will of the Father, so he called “Abba, Father”. His filial love is manisfested in his total trust in the Father (everything is possible for God) and total commitment (not obedience according to my will but according to His will). For St. Mark, such call used by Jesus Christ strongly expresses his basic attitude of filial love towards the Father.

II: An Outline of Action during the Year of God the Father

The apostolic letter of the Jubilee Year asks everybody to follow the footsteps of Christ “who comes from the Father and have come into the world and now is leaving the world to go to the Father” (Jn.16:28). It points out that the whole life of a Christian is a “great pilgrim march to the Father’s home” (Tertio Ad No. 9 Verse 2). That is, to proceed to the house of the Father. At the same time, it also gives the outline of action for the Year of God the Father. According to the reality of the life of the local Church, we now make the following responses:

(1) Sacrament of Reconciliation and Charity

In the apostolic letter on the Father, the Holy Father emphasized God’s unconditional love for man especially his prodigal son (Lk.15:11-32). Therefore, the pilgrimage returning to the Holy Father is also a pilgrimage of true repentance and reconciliation with our heavenly Father. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus strongly described the mercy of the Father which also contains motherly love. We use the words of St. Paul: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone’s faults against them, but entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2Cor.5:19). His reconciliation is given freely without charge. This point is very clear in the parable. In the Year of God the Father, the Church tells us with St. Paul: “Be reconciled to God” (2Cor.5:20). The gospel of reconciliation asks for belief and repentance. Repentance means conversion, a return into the embrace of the Father. The liturgy of the Sacrament of Reconciliation used a clear word and symbol to explain repentance, absolution and reconciliation. For the celebration of this sacrament, the Church has long provided an effective form. During the Year of God the Father, in order to reach this goal of real repentance, we must often avail of the Sacrament of Reconciliation especially during Advent and Lenten seasons and also before the celebration of big feasts. This way, we can strengthen our love for the Father and improve our spiritual and moral life.

The charity of a Christian is to love God and to love others. It is a religious life and a spiritual attitude. From here we enter the reconciled relationship between God and man, man and man, man and himself, man and nature. At the “Reconciliation 2000 Movement”, this is what our local church prepares and freely promotes. This movement needs the whole participation of all Christians: individual, family, parish, religious and other communities. One must love oneself, love others, care for nature and love God. Improve the damaged relationships on all levels to make the Year of God the Father a year full of love and reconciliation in order to welcome the great Jubilee Year. Now in Taiwan everyone proposes spiritual renewal and rebuilding of social order. This is exactly what we request, or demand for the Year of God the Father. It is also derived from the belief “God is Love” (Jn.4:8-16).

(2) That the Church’s priority service given for the poor and the rejected people

Regarding this priority, the three years of preparation for the great Jubilee have all given its specific points. Since the Church recognizes the love and the mercy of God the Father in Christ, how can we show indifference to our brothers and sisters in great need? Actually, some Catholics in Taiwan are proud of their educational and social work achievements. In the Year of God the Father, we do not emphasize the increase in quantity of these works but in the improvement of their quality. The apostolic letter pointed out many social problems. We fix our attention to two points:

· There’s so much conflict and intolerance of social and economic injustice. What can we do to obtain justice and peace? (Tertio Millenio Ad. No. 51)

· For the widow, the lonely and rejected people, we must give the priority of caring and helping.

We should try to understand these propositions of our Holy Father in relation to the Year of God the Father. He is the Master of the world; man is only an administrator. The gap between the poor and the rich country is not the way of the Father.

Taiwan is small yet we have to break away from today’s way of life and make our best on the new evangelization. “Communion and cooperation of the People of God to realize the mission of Service of Christ and establish a family of love, hope and charity.

(3) Face the challenge of secularization

In the Year of God the Father, the Holy Father shows special concern to the challenges of secularization. Secularization is a kind of ideology; it believes that man can win over heaven. They either forget or deny God and deny humanity in depths so that human relation becomes functional. In Taiwan region, religion phenomenon is common. But on the other hand, secularization show its influence. Even the religion tends to be secularized. So we propose two activities for the Year of God the Father:

Faced with the impoverishment of human spirit caused by the secularization, our Pope asks us to establish a “culture of love”. (Apostolic letter No. 52). It means that the way of life is solidarity and care, helping each other. In Taiwan, there is an increase of abortion, suicide, homicide even patricide and matricide. These ways of destroying life become more and more serious each day. We really need to establish a “culture of love”.

(4) Liturgical life and prayer

In order to make a good Year of God the Father and achieve our objectives, we have to strengthen our liturgical and prayer life. For this purpose, the Great Jubilee Year liturgical committee of the Holy See proposed a manual for liturgy giving the important point for the liturgical life for the Year of God the Father. Through liturgical celebrations, we can better know our Heavenly Father and move forward in our pilgrimage to the house of the Father. This manual is translated and published by the liturgical committee of the CRBC. We recommend all priests, families, parishes, religious congregations to use this manual in every kind of liturgical celebration and community prayer.

Understanding the main meaning of the liturgical year

Every liturgical year is a road, path towards our Heavenly Father. In this journey we have Christ as an example and the Holy Spirit as our guide accompanied by our Blessed Mother and all the saints. We ask them to be our guide and to give us strength to overcome all the difficulties in our journey. To walk with courage, to reach our ultimate goal and be united with the Father in heaven.

Pray “The Lord’s Prayer”

Prayer of Praise: This manual provides a type of prayer centered on the Lord’s Prayer so that we can deepen our knowledge about our Father and strengthen our intimate relationship with the Father.

Reconciliation is one of the main themes of the Year of God the Father

The manual specially provides many forms of celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation suitable for different liturgical seasons to help us to want conversion and return to the heavenly Father.

Celebrate solemnly the assumption of our Blessed Mother

Mary is the first to reach the goal of man’s pilgrimage to the home of the Father, the first to be glorified. Her assumption fulfilled her own paschal mystery. In this way she stirs up our hope to follow her and one day reach the same heaven. Our Blessed Mother is the model we have to imitate. She is also our companion in our human journey to heaven. The manual provides a solemn celebration of the Assumption. It also provides other ways of honoring Mary through biblical praises and three types of litanies.

Prayer of the faithful

This is the prayer of the faithful to carry out their priestly ministry. Through it the faithful can open their heart to become aware of the needs of humankind and pray for them especially for those who do not yet know God so that they may follow the road to heaven.

Encourage the faithful to use it in their private prayer or community prayer or in appropriate time like after Mass. We wish that the whole Church prays together with one heart and through the ardent prayer and all kinds of charitable activities, we may enable our society and the whole world to acquire real peace and harmony.

Conclusion

Like the apostolic letter at the end of this pastoral letter, we fix our gaze to Mary our Mother, to praise the mystery of the Father as reflected in her life. From the point of view of creation, the love of the Father has chosen her in Christ even before the creation. She is full of grace; she is called the special beloved daughter of the Father. Her filial love is expressed in her trust and confidence “for God nothing is impossible” (Lk.1:37) and “let it be done according to Your word” (Lk.1:38).

From the point of view of redemption, she shared in the power of the Father. The Word became man through the power of the Holy Spirit by the Virgin Mary. Her maternity accompanied the whole life of Christ and now continues to accompany the Body of Christ, the Church. Mother of the Church, pray for us.