HELPING GOD’S WORD TAKE ROOT
Pope John Paul II was a man convicted about the truth of Jesus Christ and the importance of sharing His truth with others. He knew the life-changing reality of relationship with Jesus and called Catholics to take up the mantle of evangelization in the modern world, to share Jesus and help His word take deep root in the hearts of men and women.
As Fr. Howe noted in a recent homily, for some Catholics, evangelization has certain negative connotations. They think street preaching with a megaphone or door to door. But this isn’t what the Church has in mind when she calls all her members to evangelize. Evangelization is essentially sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with people in our lives: friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, children—the people in our immediate influence. It means beginning to share what Jesus has done in our lives with the people we already know and inviting them into relationship with Him. Midway through the summer we want to share about two significant initiatives within our parish that are expressions of evangelization.
Through the Archdiocesan Synod Process, Archbishop Hebda has been inviting us to lean into the Church’s missionary identity and for each parish to make a concerted effort to engage in evangelization. The Synod has been underway for a few years now, and we are now focused on implementing the first focus area: “Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization.” The stated goal for this year is the development of a small group ministry within each parish. The Archbishop has noted that he “dreams of a day when every parishioner in the Archdiocese is involved in small faith sharing group.”
You may know that our work of building a small group ministry at Holy Cross is already well underway. There are currently a thirteen small groups in our parish made up of different ages and demographics. These groups serve our parishioners by providing a place for them to regularly meet with others to share life, support one another, pray for one another, and build each other up in faith. The Synod focus on small groups is an impetus for us to further invest in this aspect of parish life and to grow our small group ministry. We will soon be inviting those who have a gift for leadership to step forward and take part in a Small Group Leader Formation Series that will give them to the opportunity to discern a call to lead a small group and be equipped to do so. More about this soon! You can expect in the coming months to hear more about joining a small group if you’re not already.
The second initiative is a series called Discovering Christ that will be hosted in Kolbe Hall on Tuesday nights from September 12 – October 24. Discovering Christ is a seven-week experience where anyone and everyone—from those in the pews to the unchurched—is invited to ask big questions, hear the Good News and personally encounter Jesus Christ. The format is simple: it begins with a meal. The meal is a time to welcome guests, foster relationships, and grow in friendship. Then there is a short time of prayer and a short presentation on a topic unfolding the central Gospel message and inviting participants to make a personal response to the Lord. Finally, there is time for small group table discussion where people will be able to share freely about what they think and feel about the teachings.
We’ve heard the story of Jesus, and we know that our lives have meaning because of His life and what He’s done for us. But there are many people in our lives—friends, family, children, coworkers—who have either become distant from the Church or have never heard the great story of Jesus communicated in a way that resonates or makes sense to them. Discovering Christ is an opportunity to come and hear that story in a warm, welcoming environment and to ask the big questions together. This will be a primary focus for adult faith formation this fall, and we hope for broad participation from throughout our parish. Begin to ponder who you will invite to attend. You can learn more and register at www.ourholycross.org/discoveringchrist.
~Nate Whipple and Fr. Howe