Making our Parish and Ministries more Evangelizing

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Terry and John

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Parishes offer liturgies, religious education and help for the needy, among other services. Parishes also have an array of ministry groups that serve. The key questions about each of these offerings and activities, especially in a shrinking parish, is, “How does this activity reflect the Gospel message? Are people welcomed with the compassion of Jesus? How are participants invited to ongoing transformation and conversion? In short, how is this ministry or activity evangelizing?”

First, realize that every parish has ways of communicating the Good News of Jesus to the people who approach the parish with spiritual needs. In other words, every parish already has an evangelization process. But how successful is this overall process? Second, every parish can be more successful by considering these seven overlapping steps as ways to make more progress in evangelizing. Third, every group within the parish could adopt some of these elements as ways to more clearly echo the Good News of the Gospel for parishioners and visitors alike.

1. Befriend –Welcome people to liturgies and events. Includes hospitality ministries, ways people are greeted, and ultimately, the attitudes we have towards others in daily life.
2. Share Faith Stories –Willingness to talk about ways that we have experienced God, especially in one-to-one settings, ministry meetings and in small sharing groups. This also includes planned ‘witnesses’ offered by peers at large gatherings and meetings.
3. Retell the Christ Story –Telling others what we know of Jesus and his mission.
4. Invite to Conversion – Encouraging others to turn to God is a variety of circumstances.
5. Bring into Community –Offer invitations to small and large gatherings, to liturgies and into Jesus-centered relationships within the parish as the local Body of Christ.
6. Call to Discipleship –Living with Jesus as the center of our lives and our life together.
7. Call to Stewardship –Offering our resources (time, talents, treasure) for the furthering of the Kingdom of God and empowering others to enter into the evangelizing process with us.

[Excerpted from Sharing the Faith That You Love]

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I Believe in the Risen Jesus and the Resurrection of the Body

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Terry and John

Jesus rose from the dead and promises to share his resurrection with us. Nice idea on a Sunday when we recite the Creed. But what about when someone close to us dies? How do we act out this belief? A generation ago it was through a faith-filled wake, funeral and burial in a Catholic cemetery. But not now. Today, many people cremate loved ones without a funeral, burial prayers, or a wake. Here is an example.

When Linda’s husband, Clyde, died, she was torn between scattering his ashes, placing them on the mantle, or burying them in a cemetery. When she confided in John, they talked about which choice would be most respectful. For her, scattering his ashes could be a symbol of oneness with creation. On the other hand, a cemetery burial of his ashes would give everyone a place to remember him. Then John and Linda visited a cemetery together. It was the peaceful grounds, John’s gentle faith and the inscription at the cemetery gate that finally made all the difference: “This Catholic cemetery is a holy place… It is the resting place until the day of Resurrection for the bodies of the faithful departed… whose souls are now with God. It is a final and continuing profession of faith in God.” Some things that Linda experienced about the promise of Jesus Resurrection:

1. Although the Church prefers burial of a person’s body, cremation is acceptable when it allows for an appreciation of the integrity of the human person. This attitude was evident when we ran into a friend at cousin Albert’s wake. During our conversation about Albert, Tom explained that he had come to “pay his respects.” This is not a common saying, but it rang true for us. A display of photos does this. But converting cremains into jewelry does not. To learn more.

2. Belief in the Resurrection is difficult when a loved one dies. Bringing his or her remains to church helps reconnect us to Jesus and his promise. Praying at church also reminds us that our loved one is still a temple of the Holy Spirit, just in a different way. It also gives the family an opportunity to draw comfort by reconnecting with the Christian community, the body of Christ.

3. The death of a loved one can be a transforming experience, especially through questioning and remembering. Questions about final destiny and the meaning of life surface. Wakes and gatherings provide time to think and to feel in new ways. When John’s brother died, his estranged cousin, Carol came to the wake. After an awkward introduction, John put his arms around Carol and asked her forgiveness on behalf of their grandfather, who had ostracized her branch of the family. It was a healing moment for both of them. What had been severed was made whole. What had been broken was redeemed and healed.

4. Burying the dead is a many-faceted work of mercy. All of us can help: not with shovels but by paying attention to those who grieve –calling in the days, weeks and months ahead; listening to memories and stories; offering to pray aloud when pain surfaces; sharing photos of the deceased on social media; sharing statements of belief; offering rides to the cemetery; bringing meals and many other acts of physical, spiritual and emotional kindness.

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus… equip you with everything good for doing his will… through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21

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How Good Friday Became a Part of my Spiritual DNA*

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Terry and John

We buried Grandpa on Good Friday. For me,  he died with Jesus.  The stark reality of his passing was magnified by the emptiness of the church, the covered statues and the fact that there could be no Eucharistic liturgy. But still the memories came rushing in: Walter’s steady kindness, his St. Gerard statue, his love of fishing, his time in the crow’s nest on a Merchant Marine vessel, and silly things like sardine sandwiches. Yuck!
What do you know about your grandparents, your great grandparents, your ethnic background? During this past holiday season thousands of people received DNA kits to search out their ethnic story and their biological identity, which are forever intertwined. Such searches can also be an occasion for spiritual enlightenment. Here is why.
1. Seeking our ancestors helps us understand ourselves. Pope St. John Paul II affirms this in his 1994 Letter to Families. “The genealogy of the person is the genealogy of the family.” It is good to explore our connections to others. This way we can find the roots of our talents and failings.

2. The lives and stories of our ancestors can offer invitations to a faith that may be dormant in our families. Stories of Walter’s faith challenge me. Once, during a hot day’s drive in Quebec, a bee flew into the car window and stung his hand. It became so swollen that he could not hold the steering wheel. “Don’t worry.” he told Grandma. “My mother showed me a healing spring once, just down the road from here.” Several miles later Walter gingerly immersed his hand in the spring and it came out totally healed. [That’s him: right front in 1922 photo]

3. Our DNA, in particular, points to ethnic groups and countries that are more than just groupings of people with the same biology and geography. These groups where most often primarily faith communities with the same spiritual DNA. We both come from French missionary-settlers of Montreal. It has been exciting to see their handwritten records in parish registries and imagine their daily lives.

4. The genealogy of every person ultimately rests in the divine. Therese can trace maternal DNA all the way back to the 1600s on Ile D’ Orleans, Quebec, not far from where our son lives. But there is more mitochondrial evidence going all the way back to the origins of the human race itself. This points toward God’s intervention as the creator of every unique person in history.

**by Therese. For more about uncovering and sharing family history click here.

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