The Documents of Vatican 2

The HSI School of Discipleship

The HSI School of Discipleship is a structured program intended to help people on the journey of discipleship that all Christians are called to travel. It begins with an introductory retreat held over three evenings called the Discipleship Program, which is then followed by two-three hour sessions once a week in the School. Participants are required to live the lessons they learn in a communal atmosphere.

Coming Next!

HSI's next Discipleship Program will be held in Lebanon in early 2010. The Discipleship Program, which is the introductory module to the School of Discipleship, has been held in over a hundred parishes in several countries over the world. It has proved to a powerful program, not only transforming the lives of those who have attended, but empowering them to take the gospel message to others.

The Documents of Vatican 2

Lessons - Catholic Faith

The Second Vatican Council was the 21st council to be held. It was so called because this was the second council to be held at the Vatican. It opened on October 11th, 1962. Pope John XXIII sought to define the nature, scope, and mission of the Church along with over 2,000 bishops from all over the world.

By the time the Council closed on December 8, 1965, four key documents were drawn up. These documents were called constitutions to differentiate them from the many other documents that were produced. The four documents are:

The Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium)
The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church (Lumen Gentium)
The Constitution of Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum)
The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes)

These constitutions form the heart of the Council’s teachings on the mystery of the Church. Twelve other documents expanded on the teaching of the central four.

Relations

Decree on Priestly Training (Optatum Totius)
Declaration on Christian Education (Gravissum Educationis)
Decree on Means of Social Communication (Inter Mirifica)
Decree on Mission Activity of the Church (Ad Gentes)

Mission

Declaration on the Relation to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate)
Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio)
Decree on the Churches of the Eastern Rite (Orientalium Ecclesiarum)
Declaration on Religious Freedom (Dignitatis Humanae)

People

Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops (Christus Dominus)
Decree on Ministry of Priests (Presbyterorum Ordinis)
Decree on Apostolate of Laity (Apostolicam Actuositatem)
Decree on Renewal of Religious Life (Perfectae Caritatis)

Note: Don’t let the Latin titles put you off. It is the tradition of the church to keep the official texts in Latin, not just for historical reasons but because Latin allows for exceptional clarity and precision. The first few words of the documents are taken as the title. These are normally deliberately chosen to indicate the key message of content of the text. These are the meanings of some of the Latin words above.
Sacrosanctum = Sacred
Concilium = Council
Lumen = Light
Gentium = Humanity
Dei Verbum = The Word of God
Gaudium = Joy
Spes = Hope

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Mumbai Community, First Quarter Report

September 13: The HSI School of Discipleship in Don Bosco Church, Borivili completed its first quarter on September 13, 2009, and from all indications has proven to be a far greater success than anybody expected. A total of 101 confirmed members in the Community that include men, women and children of ages ranging from 7 to 70, testifed to the wonderful impact this program has made on their lives. Click here for their testimonies.

This is the sixth HSI School of Discipeship to open internationally, and the second in India.