Challenges and Opportunities for the Growth of Faith

Abstract

The Year of Faith came to a close on 24th November 2013. It is now time to nurture the fruits the Church has received during the year, on both personal and community levels. The Year of Faith afforded Catholics an opportunity to deepen their understanding and living out of the faith, as well as sharing that faith with others. During the Mass to close the Year of Faith, Pope Francis invited Christians to have Christ at the center of their lives, so that their thoughts and actions would be truly Christian. In this way, everything about the life of Christians has to find inspiration from the person of Jesus Christ. From this background, the theme for this edition of Hekima
Review sought to investigate three of the most influential institutions in a Christian’s life: Church, Media and Politics. The political environment in a country largely influences the social, economic and even cultural circumstances of people. The media is among
the most effective tools for shaping people’s perceptions of reality and forming a hierarchy of what is important, valuable and worthwhile. The investigation of these three institutions should help us recognize the challenges and opportunities in Christians’
lives to grow their faith, so that appropriate interventions might be taken to facilitate the living out of lives truly centered on Jesus Christ. In this edition of Hekima Review, we have a very rich collection of articles that could help us better understand the context within which Christians find themselves, as well as suggestions on how we could all grow and nurture our faith. The articles we have fall under four classifications: Theological Reflections, Liturgy, Peace and International Relations, and Scripture. We also have very interesting book reviews.