CFC Covenant Orientation
CFC Covenant Orientation
CFC Covenant Orientation
COVENANT ORIENTATION
The Covenant Orientation (CO) is part of the first-year formation program for all CFC members.
It is given three months after the Christian Life Program (CLP). It is a required course for all CFC
members.
The CO is normally offered as a one-day recollection. It focuses on the most basic elements of
our covenant in CFC.
Goals of the course
1. To expound on the meaning and importance of our covenant in CFC.
2. To expound on the more basic elements of this covenant.
3. To deepen the commitment of CFC members to their life and calling in CFC.
Topics of the talks
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Schedule
8:30 am
9:00
9:15
9:45
10:30
11:00
11:15
12:00 nn
12:30 pm
1:15
1:45
2:30
3:00
3:15
4:00
4:30
5:30
Resource persons
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Maintain a prayerful attitude. Meditate on the teachings and their applicability to your
life and calling in CFC.
5. Exhortation.
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A time of grace and a step forward in your relationship with God in and through CFC.
E.g., a conqueror with his new subjects. He provides military protection while
exacting loyalty and tribute.
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3. Covenant agreements do not just bind persons to something outside themselves (e.g., a
business contract). Rather, the parties are bound in a personal way. What is established is
a significant family-like relationship between the agreeing parties.
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God freed the people first, then entered into a covenant (God did not give the
commandments first, then free the people if they obeyed).
Our covenant with God is based on what He has done for us, and only secondarily
on what we do in response.
The obligations flow from what the other had already done.
c) Concluded with a list of blessings (if obey) and curses (if disobey). Deut 28.
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Breaking God's commandments = breaking our relationship with Him. There are
consequences.
Lk 22:20. Jn 6:56.
b) The New Covenant is not merely a matter of obeying a set of laws, but of entering into
a living relationship with Jesus.
2. As with the old covenant, the new covenant is not an agreement between equals, and is not
done on our initiative. Rather, God acted first by sending Jesus.
3. All that God asks of us flows from what God has already done for us.
a) 1 Jn 4:19.
b) God's commands are taken in the light of His action in Jesus.
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4. There are also blessings and curses. Our response has eternal consequences.
E. Our response.
1. Jn 13:34-35. Commandment of the new covenant.
a) But in the Church today, there is a tendency to interpret this as a call to love all men
and women.
b) True we must love everyone, but the New Testament distinguishes between love for
those who are not Christians and the covenant love of Christian brethren.
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Gal 6:10. It is important to note the distinction and have a special love for our
brethren.
Need for such group of people to learn a specific set of relating and living out their
commitments.
5. Practical considerations.
When people agree to put their lives in common, the following are necessary:
a) Clearly spelled out commitments.
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Our overall governing and pastoral authorities: the CFC Council and the Board of
Trustees.
c) Taking responsibility for one another and for our common life.
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F. Conclusion.
1. The Old and New Testaments are God's old and new efforts to establish a relationship with
His people.
2. CFC is a vehicle, an opportunity by which we can respond fully to God.
Covenant agreements do not just bind persons to something outside themselves. Rather, the
parties are bound in a personal way, in a family-like relationship.
2. God wants to make a covenant with us and enter into a personal relationship with us. Lk
22:20. Jn 6:56.
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The New Covenant is not merely a matter of obeying a set of laws, but of entering into a
living relationship with Jesus.
5. When people put their lives in common (like us in CFC), some elements are necessary:
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Personal reflection
1. How has God initiated a relationship with me? How have I responded?
2. How can CFC help me in living out my covenant with God and with His people?
This is necessary for us to develop a deep intimate personal relationship with Jesus.
b) Mass, rosary, novena, etc., are all means of prayer. However, we must not neglect
personal prayer.
2. Lack of understanding about prayer.
a) Most of us may have been taught to pray early in our childhood. But what we may not
have learned is why we should pray.
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As we communicate, we get to know God more, and thus have the basis for loving
Him more.
If God gave me some extra hours today, will I automatically allocate it to personal
prayer?
4. I am unworthy.
a) Some may be so filled with guilt due to our sins and weaknesses that we create a
feeling of unworthiness to come before the Lord.
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But we have forgiveness for our sins through the blood of Jesus. We are restored to
our relationship as children of God.
We should not allow Satan's lies to keep us from the intimacy God desires to have
with us.
c) Remember that as long as there is a desire to pray, it is a clear sign of the Lord's
prodding us to spend time with Him.
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The Lord will not plant this desire only to frustrate us. He would never lead us to
seek something which is impossible.
5. It is too difficult.
a) The difficulty is often of our own making.
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b) Prayer is really very simple: it is coming into the presence of a loving God and
allowing Him to love us and touch our lives.
c) Techniques can help, models can guide, but it boils down to our very own personal
relationship, done in our own personal way.
C. What should we do?
1. Make a commitment to pray at a scheduled time.
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b) If possible, make this your regular prayer time each day of the week.
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Getting into this "routine" of prayer makes it easier to pray faithfully every day.
But if you would still find this long, then start with what you would be comfortable
with and can sustain.
Again, we are not legalistically concerned about the amount of time, but are after
your developing a personal relationship with God. The length of time will grow as
this happens.
3. Look for the right place where you will not be distracted.
a) Jesus' example. Lk 5:16; Lk 6:12; Mt 14:23-24a; Mk 1:35.
b) Jesus' instruction. Mt 6:6a.
c) We owe God our undivided attention.
4. Resolve to be open to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
a) Techniques, like ACTS, are all right, as long as we are not locked in to them.
b) Be open to variety in the Holy Spirit.
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Quiet vs expressive.
Different physical postures.
Speaking and listening.
Praying in tongues.
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c) The goal is not "to pray well", but to enter into communion with God.
5. Deal with obstacles to prayer.
a) Anxieties and concerns that distract us.
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Know that you are coming into the presence of your loving Father, Who is able to
provide richly for all your needs.
God is not concerned about our technique or the loftiness of our prayers, but simply
with our desire to be in communion with Him.
Prayer is the simple reality of a child coming into the presence of his/her Father.
c) Dryness.
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Spiritual dryness in prayer and even in our Christian life may happen. It is normal
and nothing to be alarmed about.
Sometimes dryness comes from God Himself. He seeks to find out if our
faithfulness comes from the consolation and joy we experience in prayer, or simply
from the reality of being in His presence.
Thus we should just persevere in prayer through times of dryness. Prayer is our
commitment, not just an emotional experience.
Prayer is not just talking to God, but listening to Him. We listen in the silence of
hearts.
Prayer is not just asking God for things, but allowing Him to form our hearts and
our minds.
But perhaps our human nature makes it easier to talk and harder to listen. We need
to learn how to do both.
a) The Bible is our book of wisdom for living a Spirit-filled Christian life.
b) The Bible has power to convict us and change our lives. Heb 4:12-13.
c) The Bible can inspire and strengthen us as we face the difficulties of life.
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Frequently, our Bible reading will lead us to passages that speak directly and
personally to our situation.
2. It is recommended that we incorporate our Bible reading into our daily prayer time.
a) The two are interactive.
b) A useful tool is to use a Scripture-based daily prayer guide, like "God's Word Today".
3. We should spend some other time during the week to study the Bible.
4. We should read Christian books.
a) We recommend reading one Christian book every month.
E. Conclusion.
1. A lack of a regular prayer time reflects a lack of faithfulness to the Lord.
2. When we neglect prayer, we will reap the consequences in the form of a powerless
Christian life, devoid of peace and direction.
3. If we pray and read the Bible, we tap on to God's power.
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4. Aside from daily personal prayer, we also need to read and meditate on the Bible.
a) We can incorporate Bible reading into our daily prayer time.
b) We need to set aside some other time during the week to study the Bible.
5. We should also read Christian books.
a) Recommendation: one book every month
Personal reflection
1. Have I been faithful to my commitment (CFC covenant) to pray and read the Bible everyday?
2. Express your love for the Lord and your desire to know Him more through prayer and His
Word.
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b) We need to recognize that we are first committed to God. Therefore, our feelings, likes
and dislikes, and our will are all subordinated to God's will and plan for us.
c) During moments of difficulty, we can turn to the Lord.
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We recognize that God is the architect of our marriage, and knows how best for it
to work.
Mt 11:28-30
As in any Christian relationship, we ought to manifest in our daily living the fruit
of the Spirit. We are to love and serve each other, to handle our feelings in the right
way, and so on.
The husband's and wife's living out the New Testament teaching on personal
character and relationships will be a large part of their faithfulness in living out
their commitment to each other as spouses.
b) The demand of Christians personal relationships is more than just the practice of
human virtues. We are called to unconditional love and service.
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Mt 5:44-48.
Parents are not sufficiently available to their children. They are often preoccupied
and inaccessible, physically or psychologically.
Children are resistant to direction and indifferent to parents' wishes, values and
beliefs.
b) One reason is because the home is no longer a center of work, education, and care of
the sick and aged.
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Consequently it is no longer full of activities that are essential for life and which
involve parents and children together.
c) Thus families should develop opportunities to expand the range of tasks and services
and activities in the home in ways that bring parents and children together.
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We must make our home not merely a physical structure, but a place where family
members experience love, warmth, encouragement.
Parents need to make a decision to bring back life in the home and make time for it
(e.g., family meals, family recreation, shared chores, etc..).
The important element is not so much the activity itself, but the quality and
development of relationships.
In employment, educational and recreational settings, people are placed with their
age peers and are isolated from people who are much older or younger.
The separate worlds of children. youth, adults and the elderly draw family members
out of the home into disconnected social groupings.
b) Thus Christian families should find ways to share their lives with one another.
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By working together, having a social life together, and helping one another in
practical ways that involve people of various ages.
Some practical activities: joint Lord's Day celebration, going on vacation together,
family outings, etc.
With our Family Ministries (something for everyone in the family), we can have
more activities together.
We know we do not stand alone in our desire to strengthen Christian family living.
5) Exercise greater control over the family use of media and of time.
a) Many families do not deal strongly enough with the intrusion of media. Mass media
have almost unlimited access to many families.
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The formation of young minds is given over to the information and entertainment
industries.
b) We should monitor and control the flow of books, magazines, comics, records, radio
and television programs in our home.
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c) Given also the scarcity of time together, we must set priorities and control our time
accordingly.
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Parents and children should not get overly involved in their own respective
activities that they no longer have quality family time together.
They will develop strong supportive relationships with their own peers.
We will have a real alternative to the often intensely secular peer environments that
are not Christian in orientation.
They will be tied intimately into the life of the larger body (CFC).
Our goal is to train them for life, imbued with Christian ideals and values. We
should give them our Christian heritage.
c) We must be determined to wrest the initiative from school, peers and the media.
d) Prayer is essential.
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C. Conclusion.
1. Pope John Paul II in Familiaris Consortio: "The future of humanity passes by way of the
family".
2. We need to strengthen Christian family life, in order to defend God's creation, and to renew
the face of the earth.
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5. Exercise greater control over the family use of media and of time.
6. Develop Christian peer environments for young people.
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Personal Reflection
1. Am I building up my family life in accordance with Christian principles?
2. Lord, forgive me in the ways I have been remiss. Grant me the grace to start over and be able
to raise up my family for you.
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We live in the midst of other people whose way of life is different from us.
We are "resident aliens", subject to the laws of a country but also a "nation apart",
bound by a separate district culture.
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C. What is a culture?
1. Culture = the way of life of a people.
a) It is the sum total of attained and learned behavior patterns of a people, regarded as
expressing a traditional way of life. It is the sum total of what makes a people what
they are.
b) Culture includes a people's beliefs, values, social structures, customs and expressions.
2. Christianity is a culture.
a) As a natural consequence of Christian beliefs and values, Christians ought to have a
distinctively Christian way of life that reflects and supports such values and beliefs.
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b) We can be Christian and Filipino (or Indian, Australian, etc.). But we are Christians
first and foremost.
D. Our Christian culture in CFC.
1. CFC is a Christian community with distinctive beliefs, values and patters of life.
a) Of course, our basic Christian beliefs and values are those held in common by all
orthodox Christians.
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Values: What we consider desirable, e.g., loyalty, dependability, dignity of life, etc.
Prayers
Evangelization
Service to others
e) Christian family renewal is best achieved through the power of the Holy Spirit and the
full use of all charismatic gifts.
E. Expressions of Christian culture in CFC.
1. The way we relate to one another.
a) Honor and respect.
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We should be loyal and committed to one another and to the body. We are to look
out for the good of the other.
e) Christian speech.
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Our speech is of tremendous importance for the life of the body. Prov 18:21a.
d) Our goal in the way we relate is to build one another up in love, and to build up the
body, CFC. Eph 4:15-16.
2. Faith. We are to be men and women of faith.
a) What is faith? Heb 11:1.
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As the basic unit of society, the condition of families will determine the condition
of societies.
5. Life as a body.
a) We are one body, with a common life.
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d) Christian finance.
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We are to make available to the Lord not just our time and our talents, but also our
treasure.
F. Conclusion.
1. CFC is one body throughout the world, with one vision, one mission, and also one culture.
2. God wants to create a new humanity, one that would live His life on earth. We are to be
witnesses to His work in our lives.
3. Our response will determine the effectiveness of our witness. Our positive response will
keep us united and will enable the Lord to use us for mission.
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