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"Jesus said to them … Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest.”
John 4:34, 35
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
On November 4th ChristLife invited Catholic from the Archdiocese of Baltimore to come for a day retreat, Into the Fields. Some 50 Catholics shared a day of prayer; celebrated mass together, listened to teachings, and participated in small group discussions. It was a great day filled with enthusiasm and expectant faith. We sensed the wind of the Holy Spirit filling our sails and moving us beyond the safety of our personal comfort zones into deeper waters for the sake of making Christ Jesus known to others!
As a result we are gathering together within the context of ChristLife’s apostolate, men and women who share God’s heart for those who do not know Jesus Christ and have a passionate desire to communicate the Gospel to them. We have begun meeting as a missionary corps every other Tuesday evening for prayer, training and preparation for personal and group evangelization. If you would like to join us, visit our website for current information!
Please pray for this wonderful new development that we believe will help us as Catholics enter into the harvest fields that exist where we live, go to school, work and play!
As we enter the New Year, please consider making a contribution to continue our efforts to equip Catholics to help others know the love of God the Father in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thanks, your brother in our Lord,
Dave Nodar
Director
ChristLife's Missionary Corps
An Apostolate of the Laity
“…Lay Christians are entrusted by God with the apostolate by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation, they have the right and duty, individually or grouped in associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all men throughout the earth."
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 900
Q: What is ChristLife’s Missionary Corps?
A: A movement of Catholics who are dedicated to the mission of evangelization and desire to carry out this mission in the context of everyday life.
Q: Why should we be a Missionary Corps?
A: As lay Catholics, we are responding to the call of our Lord to be actively engaged in the essential mission of the Church anytime, anywhere.
Q: What does the Missionary Corps do?
A: ChristLife Missionary Corps is an evangelizing community who gather to receive personal training to share the Gospel, to intercede for those who are disconnected from the church, to pray for opportunities to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ with the people with whom we intersect in daily circumstances, and to host outreach events. These events will provide a venue where men and women can come to explore the basics of the Christian faith, encounter Jesus in a personal relationship, and become his disciples and members of His church.
Q: When does the Missionary Corps meet?
A: The Missionary Corps currently meets twice a month on Tuesdays from 7:30 p.m. until 9:15 p.m. at ChristLife’s headquarters in the Manor House on the grounds of the Franciscan Friary in Ellicott City, Maryland. For the schedule and directions visit the Missionary Corps Web page.
Q: Who can belong to the Missionary Corps?
A: Any Catholic who desires to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ can join this great adventure!
Q: What does one do to join the Missionary Corps?
A: Call ChristLife at 410-531-7701 and come to a meeting. Please visit the Missionary Corps Web page for up-to-date information and directions to our office!
Building Evangelizing Eucharistic Communities Seminar
A Springboard for Bringing the Mission of the Church to Life!
"They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to prayer.... Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Acts 2:42, 46-47
ChristLife has developed a one-day seminar entitled Building Evangelizing Eucharistic Communities to help Catholics in parishes and small faith communities break through the lethargy and complacency of not knowing how or where to evangelize and begin to actively engage in the great commission of the Lord Jesus to “go and make disciples.”
Building Evangelizing Eucharistic Communities is for everyone - lay leaders, staff associates, catechists, pastoral council, school board members, and volunteers. The format of this day consists of four 45-minute sessions with opportunity for small group discussion, community response and prayer to commission the participants to take action.
The topics are as follows.
SESSION 1: THE CALL, THE CHALLENGE, AND OUR HOPE
This session offers a fresh perspective on the divine commission to “Go and make disciples...” the priority of evangelization in the Catholic Church, and the hope God gives for the growth of his church.
SESSION 2: LUKE 15: SHARING GODS HEART FOR THE LOST
Each participant has an opportunity to explore the depth of longing and unconditional love our heavenly Father has for each and every person regardless of our sinfulness.
SESSION 3: ELEMENTS OF AN EVANGELIZING EUCHARISTIC COMMUNITY
This is an overview on the key elements integral to building an evangelizing community devoted to the sacramental life of the Church, conversion and ongoing formation, service and evangelization.
SESSION 4: FROM VISION TO VALUE: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Explore practical steps to help your parish and/or small faith community to implement a process for outreach to those who are outside the boundaries of the church.
ChristLife wants to partner with you to generate enthusiasm for the work of evangelization and stimulate Catholics to act! Call 1-888-498-8474 today or visit our Building Evangelizing Eucharistic Communities Web page to schedule a seminar for your church community!
ChristLife recently interviewed Catholic evangelist and theologian, Fr. Robert Barron, on communicating the Gospel to our contemporaries and the responsibility of the laity to proclaim Jesus Christ. The following is a condensed transcript of a two-part podcast interview available for download online.
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Pete: We often here of the necessity of telling others the Gospel, but what is it about the Good News… that makes it so good? Fr. Barron: I always go back to that adage of the Church fathers… God became human that humans might become God. In other words, the Incarnation, God coming into our human condition and into our flesh had as its purpose the deification of the human race, meaning, drawing us into God’s own life. And that’s the whole purpose of the Church… |
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Pete: One thing that I’ve found in the Catholic Church is that we often times have so much to do ourselves that we keep in the maintenance mode but what I’ve found in my own life is that when I’m… really called into my natural vocation as an evangelist my faith is… raised up because I’m fulfilling my calling….
Fr. Barron: Yes, you’re absolutely right that’s the paradox… if you’re trying to maintain your faith the best thing to do is to give it away. And it’s the Gospel paradox: if you want your life, give it away. And if you’re trying to hang on to your life, protect it, you will lose it. So the same way, if we just move into a maintenance mode as you say, trying to maintain the Catholic structures and institutions, we will lose them. And it happens! You can see it happening, you know. But in the measure that the Church starts giving itself away, announcing that it’s going public, paradoxically, it gets stronger… and I think that’s a very important spiritual paradox that has practical implications.
Pete: The next question I have … for you is how do we proclaim Christ as a Catholic, as a part of the Church… how do we proclaim Him as head of this family that is His?
Fr. Barron: It’s so important I think that you don’t proclaim Christ apart from His body. And we have a prejudice in our culture against institutions. It’s very deep in the American spirit. Our country was founded in a great act of institutional rebellion, and you see it all through American culture…. And so there’s a cultural prejudice against the Church, this great institution… the first thing to say, though, is that the Church is not primarily an institution…. First of all it’s a body. It’s a body of interdependent cells and molecules and organs, all the baptized who are part of this organism, this living thing. Christ is the head, we are His body; the life-blood of this body is sacramental grace. So in that sense, you can’t really proclaim Christ without proclaiming His body to which he has united Himself. Then you go back to the appearance to Saul on the road to Damascus. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Well what’s he persecuting but his Church? Matthew 25: whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers you do to me. Jesus identifies himself that radically with his church. And that’s why in proclaiming Him you can’t ignore the Church.
Pete: Something recently at the ministry we’ve been reflecting upon is the apostolate of the laity, and our right and responsibility as the laity to evangelize - to sanctify the secular order. Can you give any encouragement to us laity on how to do this?
Fr. Barron: Yeah, I would say lay people, take out your copy of the Vatican II documents if you’ve got one and open up to Lumen Gentium—the great document on the Church—and the paragraphs there about the lay involvement in the world are just terrific. And my own pet theory is that we didn’t teach that doctrine well. In the years that I was coming of age, right after the council… we talked a lot about lay involvement, but it almost always meant getting lay people involved in the Church. It meant getting lay people involved in the sanctuary: Eucharistic ministers and lectors and pastoral associates. And there’s nothing wrong with those things. I’m not bad-mouthing them. Vatican II doesn’t say a word about that stuff. What Vatican II talks about is the laity going out into the world as leaven for society—to work the Gospel into the secular realm in a way that no priest can…. They can bring the gospel salt; you’re the salt of the earth, well how do you work that salt in? We priests can’t do it. We don’t know the secular world that well. Lay people can do it. That’s the summons of Vatican II…. You do it in two basic ways, Vatican II says. One is with the witness of your life, which is very powerful. Let people see in the way you live that the gospel has inhabited you. Let them see that you’ve been deified by your relationship with Jesus Christ. But then secondly, Vatican II says you prophesy by speaking: by letting the words of the Gospel be on your lips, responding to questions, letting people hear your faith, being ready to explain the faith when people ask about it.
To listen to the full interview online, download podcasts seven and eight.
Sharing Christ Audio Kit
Now Available
Learn how to use simple, practical tools to:
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Ideal for use in small groups, parishes and dioceses, Sharing Christ covers the following topics:
Each of the seven sessions runs approximately 35 minutes. The audio kit includes a participant's guide and four CDs all for only $24.95. Buy now or check out more information in our evangelization section. |
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"The small and enthusiastic staff of ChristLife has made a significant impact on evangelization across the United States. Their most recent contribution to the Church is Sharing Christ, a seven-session course designed to transform ordinary Catholics into everyday evangelists." William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore |
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"I am pleased to recommend Sharing Christ to you. Through personal testimonies and teachings, this series will help you respond to the Church's call to proclaim the Gospel. In a world craving for “good news” - these practical teachings will equip you to share your faith with joy and enthusiasm." Bishop Sam Jacobs, Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana |
Missionary Corps Biweekly Gathering
ChristLife (the manor house) 12290A Folly Quarter Rd., Ellicott City, MD 21043. Join brothers and sisters in Christ for a time of worship, teaching, and discussion centered around advancing the Gospel as individuals and as a group in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
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The ChristLife Team will be teaching and speaking at evangelization training events with Young Adults January 31 - February 12.
For more information on these events visit our calendar of events
ChristLife is a tax-exempt ministry dedicated to equipping Catholics for the work of evangelization. To continue in this work, we depend entirely on the donations of fellow Christians like you. We appreciate your support!
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ChristLife is a lay Catholic ministry established in response to the Church's call to a new evangelization. William Cardinal Keeler recognized ChristLife as an apostolate of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 1995.
"I encourage you to continue to focus your mission on equipping Catholics for the work of evangelization so that others might come to know personally the love of God in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, becoming disciples and members of the Church."
William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore, April 21, 2006
For more information on ChristLife and what we do, visit our about us section.
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