FORMATION
FORMATION 1998
THEME NO.1
"I believe in the Holy
Spirit"
1. Formation Prayer
(To be recited by all present).
In the name of the Father …
Heavenly Father, as we commence this
session of the Formation Programme, help us to believe you are near to us and that you
care for each of us every day of our lives. Send the Holy Spirit to be our helper and our
guide, enlightening our minds, giving us the grace to serve you with generous hearts and
inspiring us to stand firm as Christians in your love. We ask this through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
2. Scripture Reading – I
Corinthians 12:1-7
(Read by the discussion leader or
member nominated by him.)
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers
and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you
were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to
understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be
cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the
same Spirit, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates
all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common
good.
3. The Message
(Read by the discussion leader or the
member nominated by him.)
"No one can say ‘Jesus is
Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit." "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into
our hearts, crying ‘Abba! Father’". This knowledge of faith is possible
only in the Holy Spirit; to be in touch with Christ, we must first have been touched by
the Holy Spirit. He comes to meet us and kindles faith in us. By virtue of our Baptism,
the first Sacrament of faith, the Holy Spirit in the Church communicates to us, intimately
and personally, the life that originates in the Father and is offered to us in the Son.
Through his grace, the Holy Spirit is the
first to awaken faith in us and to communicate to us the new life, which is to "know
the Father and the one whom he has sent, Jesus Christ". But the Spirit is the last of
the persons of the Holy Trinity to be revealed.
To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess
that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the
Father and the Son: "with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and
glorified."
4. The Exercise
(Five minutes of reflection by all
members.)
Whom do I consider to be a Spirit filled
person in my life and why is that so?
When did I last pray to the Holy Spirit and
what was the reason for my turning to the Holy Spirit?
Where do I learn more about the Holy
Spirit?
5. The Sharing
(Members share aspects of their personal
faith and its place in their lives that have come to them through the Exercise.)
6. The Word
(The basis of meditation and reflection
for the ensuing month given by the discussion leader.
"… no one can say that
"Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit" (I Cor 12:3)
7. Closing Prayer
(Recited by all members.)
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and
to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Amen.
