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Letter from the Director
“The mission entrusted to us … consists in recalling, in the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles, that our Savior ‘desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth’ (1 Timothy 2:4). This, and nothing else, is the purpose of the Church: the salvation of individual souls.”- Pope Benedict XVI, May 11, 2007
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Recently I had the pleasure of fly-fishing for Shad, an ocean run fish that come up the Chesapeake Bay and then up rivers in large schools to spawn before returning to the ocean. What an amazing creature! When the Shad run begins, I can't wait to get into the river and take the first cast!
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Well one evening I happened to be catching a lot of Shad and a young man was watching from the bank and asked if he could join me. I gave him one of my flies affectionately named the Nodar nose and tied by one of our Board of Directors, Michael Timmis! Helping this man catch some fish obviously made him happy and as we talked he shared how he hated his job and was constantly stressed out.
I told him that I loved my job, which prompted the question, “what do you do?” So I shared that I worked for a Catholic organization, ChristLife, which helped people to come to know the meaning of life. That opened up a friendly conversation and before leaving I assured him that if he talked with God about his situation and sincerely desired to draw near to Him, God promises that He will draw near to him (cf. James 4:8). As a result of our time together he has continued to e-mail me, and my prayer is that he will come to know Jesus as Lord and return to the Church (he is Catholic and hasn't been going for some time). I simply sowed seeds of God's love and others must help to water and nurture it (1 Cor. 3:6). Lord, send him servants of your good news!
The Lord wants us to be willing to share our stories of God's love when given the opportunity anytime and anywhere in our daily lives. Pray that the Lord will give us opportunities to share this week!
Finally, I want to thank all of you who generously support ChristLife with your constant intercession and your financial support! We are so grateful to be doing this work for the Lord and the Church and ask you to continue supporting us. If you prefer, our Web site makes it possible to make a gift online. Thank you!
Let's put out into the deep for a catch!
Dave Nodar
Director
Discovering Christ at The Church of the Crucifixion
by Fr. Erik Arnold In the days following Easter Sunday the Church draws the readings at Mass from the many different Gospel accounts of the Lord’s appearances to the disciples after his resurrection. What we learn in each of these passages is that those who encounter the Risen Christ discover him in a new way – it is not simply a return to what they knew before, but there is something different that transforms those who encounter him.
During six weeks of the Easter season my parish was blessed to have a similar encounter with Christ as we hosted the pilot sessions of ChristLife’s new course Discovering Christ. This new course is designed to bring men and women into an encounter with Christ and the Church through teaching, fellowship and prayer together. For six weeks participants hear solid teaching that proclaims the heart of the Gospel message, inviting them to reflect and respond in a small group of friends that offers support and encouragement. Each evening begins with dinner together, followed by a teaching and then a chance to meet together in small groups. While the dynamic seems simple, something special begins to happen over the course of the six weeks as hearts begin to open, friendships develop and people begin to see and experience Jesus in a different way than they had before. Read more...
Young Adults Discover Christ Through Catonsville Program
by Meghan Walton - The Catholic ReviewA crowd of some 60 young adults between the ages of 1835 stood to sing “All Creatures of our God and King” in the St. Agnes, Catonsville, cafeteria, June 19 as part of the six week program “Discovering Christ,” which is run by ChristLife, a Catholic ministry for evangelization.
Through multimedia, presentations, discussion groups and social time, the program encourages young adults to learn about themselves, others and their uniting beliefs in God, said Pete Ascosi, the young adult coordinator for ChristLife.
The purpose of the program is to “expose people to basic proclamations of the good news,” said Mr. Ascosi. “We want to bring people to a closer relationship with Jesus. We are seeking the interested and relaying a compelling message.”
Some of the topics the group will discuss are “Why does Jesus matter?”, “Why do I need a savior?”, “The Holy Spirit: Who is he?” and “Believing and Belonging: What about the church.”
The first presentation, given by Father Timothy Fell, associate pastor of St. Agnes, was on the meaning and purpose of life. Father Fell explained to the group of young adults that God was excited the day they came into the world and he created everyone to love him.
“Our only true happiness can come from loving and serving God,” said Father Fell. “Faith is the only thing without limits. Faith is falling in love with God and doing what he wants.” Read more...
A Future Seminarian Reflects on His Time at ChristLife
by Chad ZikI must begin by saying that my experience at ChristLife served as an excellent preparation for my current journey in a seminary formation program. The opportunity at ChristLife to participate in the Church’s mission of evangelization pressed upon me the great importance of such work in the life of every Catholic. My internship provided me with great experience working with dedicated Catholics who had profoundly deep relationships with the Lord and whose daily actions directly reflected that heart-felt faith. Furthermore, the beauty of the truth of Jesus is so important to the staff that the mission of evangelization is a natural outpouring of a personal faith.
While at ChristLife, I came to realize the great hunger among average Americans for a genuine faith. I came to see that people had a deep personal need for friendship and love that only Christ could fulfill. The Sharing Christ and Discovering Christ courses, in addition to the mission trip to Slovakia, provided evidence of the Holy Spirit’s active guidance of ChristLife’s ministry. As a result of these experiences, it was often beautiful to see the changes in people’s lives after encountering Christ in a deeply personal way. It is hard to believe that people can grow up so long in the Church and miss the beautiful truth of God’s reckless love for them! Read more...
New Directions
After six years of very fruitful full-time service as a member of ChristLife's team, Dianne Martin has stepped down from her full-time position because of our financial limitations. This was, to say the least, sacrificial on Dianne's part. She resigned for the sake of helping ChristLife to continue our mission. Read more...
New Podcast & Blog
ChristLife has been producing biweekly podcasts since Summer 2006. This is a great way to stay updated on what ChristLife has been up to, as well as an opportunity to learn more about how to share the good news of Jesus as a Catholic with others. Not sure if you know what podcasting is? Think you need an iPod to listen to the episodes? Read more about podcasting in our young adult section.
Podcast 25 - Nature Calls
In this podcast episode, Pete reports on his 42-mile, one-day hike he and some friends did and their opportunities to share Christ on the trail. In addition, ChristLife's Director, Dave Nodar, shares his recent experience highlighted in his letter.
Give us feedback or leave a comment for others to see
ChristLife launched our Everyday Apostles blog in May 2007. This is a great way to read informal news about ChristLife and comment and discuss different news and stories pertinent to the new evangelization.
Calendar of Events
Discovering Christ for Young Adults (18-32) June 19-July 24th (Tuesdays)
7:00-9:00 PM (dinner, teaching, & small groups)
St. Agnes Parish, Catonsville, MD
ChristLife Missionary Corps.
July 18 & 25, 7:30-9:00 PM
ChristLife Offices
For more information on these events visit our calendar of events
Who We Are
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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