The New AMS Family Witness to Christ

The New AMS Family Witness to Christ BY JOSÉ AMAYA, DIRECTOR OF FAITH FORMATION

In the fall of 2020, military Catholic families throughout the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), received the gift of a new platform to support family faith growth at home. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio named this new platform AMS Family Witness to Christ, powered by CatholicBrain.com. This is a resource for military Catholic families to know Jesus Christ, live a life in Christ rooted in prayer, and be witnesses of Christ as missionary disciples nurtured by the Word of God and the Holy Eucharist in community.

Thanks to the generous donation of an anonymous family, the AMS Family Witness to Christ is free to active-duty Catholic military families and DOD families working outside the borders of the United States. This tool does not replace the religious education program at the Chapel. It serves to strengthen the teaching of the Catholic faith as established in the AMS Forming Disciples for the New Evangelization: Archdiocesan Religion Curriculum Guide.

By virtue of their baptism parents are the primary catechists of their children. The new Directory for Catechesis affirms that “catechesis for adults… must be considered the chief form of catechesis” (DC, n. 77). How can parents effectively accompany their children in their faith journey unless they too are accompanied with tools they need to share this precious gift of faith? The new platform will equip parents with digital resources and lessons to share the gift of faith with their children and to learn the beauty of faith together as a family. Just as the Archdiocesan Religion Curriculum Guide calls the catechists and catechetical leaders to make disciples for the new evangelization, this new platform invites families to be witnesses of Jesus Christ in the world today.

Parents are invited to set aside faith time with their children in grades PreK to 12. As families login to the AMS Family Witness to Christ, they are welcome to click on the Challenges tab to access the AMS

Family Moment. This moment will give both parents and young disciples an understanding of where they are in the knowledge of the Catholic faith. Growth will become evident as parents and young disciples engage with video lessons, songs, games, bible challenges and saint stories: supplemental sacramental prep resources, family prayer, and faith exploration with the Sacred Scriptures and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This growth will see its summit when the young disciples take the AMS Disciple Challenge in April and May each year.

Parents are encouraged to reach out to the Catholic priest and/ or Coordinator of Religious Education at the Chapel to obtain the information to sign up. The AMS Office of Faith Formation can be reached at:

FaithFormation@milarch.org