In this issue -
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“Arise shine for your light has come and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.”
Isaiah 60:1-2 |
Dear friend,
We here at ChristLife are encouraged and filled with joy! We are completing the Discovering Christ manual and will soon begin training parishes and other Catholic ministries to present the course. Our initial strategy is to work with pastors and laity who have a desire to make evangelization a normal process within their parishes and other ministries. We want to be faithful in small beginnings and pray that He will multiply our efforts to be faithful over much.
We are expecting a time of increase and want to be strategic in how we advance the mission the Lord has given us. Based on the changed lives we have witnessed through Discovering Christ, we believe we will make a real contribution to the work of evangelization in the Church. See the testimonies from Theresa and UMBC young adults inside.
Video Production. We’ve nailed it down! This summer we are producing a video of the course, so that many will be able to utilize Discovering Christ, even if they are not able to teach it themselves.
Would you join in committed intercession?
Pray for power, protection, and provision – we need financing and volunteers for the video production this summer. If you are willing to pray or help in any way, please email me at dave@christlife.org. Thank you so much for everything!
Sincerely your brother,
Dave Nodar
Director
“The Love of the Lord is personal and very real”
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A testimony by Theresa Fernandes
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I always considered myself a good Catholic. I have attended church nearly every Sunday and gave as generously as I could for contributions. I also was (and still am) in the music ministry. But there was no real connection to the Lord. I knew our Lord suffered and died for me and that he loves me but that was something from a distance. I was not in the real relationship that we can have with our Lord. And his love was something that I did not know and understand and it was not in my heart.
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It was through the Discovering Christ program that I realized that the love of the Lord for me is personal and very real. I am also developing that relationship I should have with the Lord through prayer. The way I pray now is completely different than how I used to pray. I have a conversation with the Lord. I bring everything to him and ask him to tell me what I need to know. He, of course, does not speak directly to me (I have not seen any burning bushes lately) but through the verses of the bible that I turn to after I ask my questions. Prayer has become a very integral part of my day.
The Lord has blessed me abundantly. Since Discovering Christ, I have done much volunteer work for my church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ellicott City, MD, as well as for ChristLife. One of the things that I do for church is help with a religious education class. At the beginning of the year, there was a kick-off meeting where the sister of our Youth Director spoke. She and her family are full-time missionaries. I spoke to her afterwards and she gave me information about Family Missions Company through which she does her missionary work.
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Cedric and Theresa at home.
“Prayer has become a very integral part of my day.”
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As a result I had a chance to go on a mission to Mexico not on my terms but on our Lord’s. The best part of that was I was being sent the day after my birthday so this was a gift to me from our Lord. I was given this fresh start from this point in my life. It was a very blessed week in which many wonderful things happened that solidified my faith and belief of the love of our Lord for me and all of us.
I continue to pray and grow in my love of Jesus and hope that I will always be his worthy servant.
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For more of Theresa’s story, especially a testimony of an amazing healing during her mission trip, listen to our 54th podcast, Mission Trip to Mexico, at http://christlife.libsyn.com
Evangelization in New England!
By Very Rev. Marc Drouin, V.F.
This last summer I asked Dave Nodar to come to St. Michael Parish to consult with our staff regarding evangelization in our parish. As a result of that meeting we were more convinced of the need to have a process of forming parishioners in the mission of the Church expanding our strategy for intentional evangelization.
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"I know that this will renew our parish from the inside out."
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We hosted their Mission of the Redeemer Seminar for the parish. This helped to mobilize the parish and following the day seminar, we immediately launched the first Discovering Christ course here in New England. Dave consulted with me on the how to’s of the course and gave me written and audio files on the teachings as well as handouts for the participants.
The first course has brought renewal to the participants in ways that I never imagined. They have come to appreciate the power of Christ’s love in their lives, and they appreciate the beauty of the mass in celebrating that love. Their prayers lives have become more fervent and a few have begun to invite others to join them at mass.
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This group of pioneers has continued on to participate in ChristLife’s Following Christ course and are really learning what the call of discipleship is all about. We have offered another session of Discovering Christ and have doubled the number of participants in this course. I can truly see renewal happening in the lives of those who have attended and know that this will renew our parish from the inside out.
I’m grateful for the ministry of ChristLife and highly recommend the Discovering Christ series to all pastors and parishes.
Msgr. Drouin is the pastor of St. Michael Parish in Exeter, NH and St. Mary Parish, Newmarket, NH. Contact ChristLife at 410-531-7701 or info@christlife.org to begin a strategy for intentional evangelization at your parish or ministry.
Discovering Christ at UMBC
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By Pete Ascosi
College students love to eat, sleep, drink, talk, watch sports, and discover Christ! Well, at least some want to, the others don’t know what they need… yet!
This Fall 2008 ChristLife and the UMBC Newman Club gathered about 20 young adults every week for seven weeks in Fall 2008 to discover Christ and His importance for the meaning and purpose of life! The young adults included: grad students, international students, undergrad students, and a handful of local non-student young adults.
Most grew up Catholic, but many felt distant in their relationship with God, and were united by a common desire, to grow closer to God, to discover more about Jesus.
Now this sounds wonderful – young adults getting connected to a personal relationship with the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit – but the question remains how did this all come about?
Evangelization
It all started with a small group of us and a Holy Spirit-given passion for evangelization! We spent a day together and prayed, worshipped, and learned together how to evangelize and how to best reach other young adults at UMBC.
For about three weeks following this initial training day we reached in, reached out, reached wherever we could – do invite people to know Jesus more fully as a Catholic.
One major place we focused was the Newman Club Sunday mass. Almost 100 young adults attend, but few are involved deeply in a life of service and mission in the Church.
“I would like to tell you all about a course that can change your life!” And so I started my untypical, testimonial announcement of Discovering Christ. “I work at ChristLife and we are hosting dinners for seven weeks at the Interfaith Center, and we want to invite you to come for free food and to grow in discovering Jesus’ relevance to our daily lives!”
These types of announcements combined with a “cookie outreach” outside mass with sign up sheets and index card invites notified the young adult community that we really wanted them there… And they came, and lives were changed.
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Small group, Big Impact
When you think about 20 young adults consistently coming for seven weeks - this event sounds pretty insignificant, but at a secular commuter university with a ¼ time chaplain and only about 15 or so active Newman Club members stretched out over a plethora of small activities, this was big.
The rubber really hit the road for us when we asked the young adults the last night to share to the large group— what did you think? What happened in your relationship with God as a result of Discovering Christ? Here are some of the responses:
“This course truly has helped me go from what I know about Christ to creating an actual personal bond with him.”
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A small group dinner at Discovering Christ.
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“I can definitely say I’ve grown closer to God… I know He loves me now!”
“The day I received prayer for renewal in the Holy Spirit was the 15th anniversary of my dad and little brother’s death… I can say for the first time I was fully healed.”
“Discovering Christ filled my thirst.”
“This semester has been especially hectic and discouraging for me and being able to come to Discovering Christ has helped me to stay on track and not forget about the things that matter most in life.”
“Something amazing did happen during the retreat I feel more willing to trust in God for all my decisions.”
“Gave me more understanding and enthusiasm to research my faith more.”
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"Dave and Pete with UMBC chaplain, Fr. Richard Gray, MSA"
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Following Christ: Spring 2009
This amazing fruit is just the beginning of God our Father’s plan to restore all of the students to full life and love in Jesus Christ! So this month we’re beginning our third pilot course of Following Christ. Sessions will focus not just on learning more information about the Christian faith, but on growing closer to Jesus through prayer together and in learning what it means to be a daily disciple of Jesus Christ as a Catholic. Please pray for us!
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Archdiocesan Foundation gives $12,000
ChristLife is pleased to acknowledge receipt of a $12,000 grant from the AOB Endowment for Educational Excellence of the Catholic Family Foundation (CFF) of the Archdiocese of Baltimore! This gift is being used to complete development of the Discovering Christ course.
Investing in ChristLife's Future. Would you like to invest in ChristLife's future? We are expanding our evangelization work, with an emphasis on young adults, and we need your support. If you would like to find out how you can make a current or legacy gift to further the future of ChristLife, please contact Dave Nodar at ChristLife at 410-531-7701 or dave@christlife.org or contact Jim Edwards, Director of the CFF at 410-625-8497 or by email at jedwards@archbalt.org. You may also visit the CFF's Web site at www.archbalt.org/cff.
Communion Service
Every Friday Morning, ChristLife Office
9:00-10am, Call or email to confirm
Following Christ at UMBC
UMBC Interfaith Center, Baltimore, MD
Sunday evenings, 7:00-8:45pm
Meeting with Archbishop O’Brien
February 24, 2009
Praise & Worship Meetings
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Ellicott City, MD
Wednesday Evenings, April 22-May 27
Parish Mission on Evangelization
St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish, Lansing, MI
April 26-68
Click here to go to the Events Calendar page
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