Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Conversion is at the heart of this season of Lent. Conversion is in fact at the heart of the Gospel and evangelization. Conversion means rethinking our ways of living—how we think, behave and relate—and then turning, to God, who is waiting to empower us to change and live a new life. "To all who believed in Him He gave power to be children of God." (John 1:12). That power is given to Christians as a gift at Baptism, but many of us have never opened that gift and asked God for the grace of this sacrament as adults.

Christianity is not a matter of gritting our teeth and trying harder. It is a matter of turning to the One who loves us and wants to relate to us.

Thirty years ago I experienced a deep conversion. As a young man my lifestyle was, without boring you with details, self-centered. I had come to a place where I knew I could not get it together, in order to be a Christian. I had tried hard to stop doing a lot of things that I knew were wrong (spelled: s-i-n-f-u-l). I couldn’t! I came to a place in life where, like the prodigal son (Luke 15), I came to realize I could not be different on the inside and needed God’s forgiveness and power to change. I had come to a point in life where I asked Jesus to be the center of my life and to help me. "Reducing Christianity to morality loses sight of the essence of Christ’s message: the gift of new friendship, the gift of communion with Jesus and thereby with God." - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.

Christ came, suffered, died, and rose to bring us to the Father and empower us with their Spirit to live a new life in union with them and with our brothers and sisters! Thank you, Lord Jesus! May each of us make time to turn to God during this season of Lent!

Thanks for your support and love! You are in our prayers.

In our Savior,

Dave Nodar

Developing a Catholic Evangelization Process

On March 9 & 10, CHRISTLIFE held a meeting to pray and discuss the ongoing development of a practical, flexible process of evangelization and discipleship for parishes and small faith communities. This process will help develop an evangelization worldview and provide a basic approach to parish evangelization.

We believe key elements of this process include helping people to encounter personally the love of God in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, and then to become His disciples and servants of His Church. The Church has always considered this a foundational priority, but it is one frequently overlooked or presumed to be part of all of our lives. Two other important elements in this process are the development of small group communities and practical, inspiring teaching. In our current society it is essential to equip Catholics and those who come to our parishes with essential teaching, not only to enable them to survive as Christians, but also to advance the Gospel of the Lord! Teaching areas that are always important include prayer, sacraments, Scripture, community, service and evangelization. While there are many other areas useful for personal growth, these are basics that we want to develop as part of our ministry. In addition it is essential to provide leadership training for various parts of the process of evangelization and discipleship. We plan to develop courses for parishes and small groups to help them acquire a vision for evangelization and a missionary mentality. It is important for them to know where they are going and to have a confidence that they can get there. We will provide training in the formation of small groups and the training of leaders for these groups.

Participating in this working session were: Vernon Robertson and Gary Webb from Vancouver, BC; Bert Ghezzi, Winter Park, FL; Jim McFadden, Fort Collins, CO; Paul Gallagher and George Misulia, Westminister, MD; and Dianne Martin, Leo Rudegeair, and me from our offices. Our goal is a document that will define this process and a presentation to facilitate the sharing of it with others. Please pray for the success of this initiative!

San Antonio, Texas

Negotiations are being held with the Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio and members of his staff for the scheduling of an Alpha for Catholics conference in San Antonio.

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa video production update.
Our participation in the July filming of this new video series is still on hold because we lack the funding. Please pray that a benefactor will come forward to fund this exciting series.

Spread the Word!

Alpha Conference for Catholics Franciscan University of Steubenville - July11&12

On July 11 & 12 we will be conducting an Alpha for Catholics conference at FUS. We would love to have those of you with Alpha experience participate in this conference with us. You can help us by sharing your personal Alpha experiences with those who attend. For information and registration, contact FUS: 1 (800) 437-8368

Quote of the Month

"An old proverb says: ‘Success is not one of the names of God.’ New evangelization must surrender to the mystery of the grain of mustard seed (Mk.4: 26-29) and not be so pretentious as to believe to immediately produce a large tree. We either live too much in the security of the already existing large tree or in the impatience of having a greater, more vital tree - instead we must accept the mystery that the Church is at the same time a large tree and a very small grain. In the history of salvation it is always Good Friday and Easter Sunday at the same time."
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger - address on The New Evangelization, December, 2000

Prayer Needs

• For bishops, clergy, and all believers to be empowered and protected by the love of God to live as His disciples, and make Him known.
• For wisdom and direction for the evangelization planning process.
• For money to continue the apostolate and to hire additional staff
• For funding support for the new Fr. Cantalamessa video series.

Calendar of Events

April 30, May 1
Pittsburgh Alpha Conference
Catholic Seminar

June 6 - 9
National Catholic Conference of Evangelization
Raleigh, NC

May 14, 15
Syracuse Alpha Conference
Catholic Seminar

For more information on these events, please visit our website at www.christlife.org, e-mail us at resources@christlife.org, or call us toll-free at 1 (888) 498-8474.

Catholics Listening To God

The video series by Msgr. Mark Coleridge is now available. This practical and inspiring seven-talk series will help you to hear God’s voice in Scripture, Tradition and the teaching Church.
1 (888) 498-8474

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