Love is calling you

I was driving to work this morning, and the song "The lost get found" by Britt Nicole came on the radio. At first I thought "who is this?" because it sounded very mainstream, and checked to see if I was on the right radio station... Sure was... So I listened and ended up really appreciating the message, and felt like God was speaking to me through this song. Here are a few of the lyrics that stuck with me-

Why don't you rise up now?
Don't be afraid to stand out
That's how the lost get found....

There's a girl on the streets, she's cryin'
There's a man whose faith is dyin'
Love is calling you....

Why do we go with the flow
Or take an easier road?
Why are we playin' it safe?
Love came to show us the way
Love is a chance we should take....

There's a really big world at your fingertips
And you know you have the chance to change it

I especially like the line "love is calling you." Isn't this the ultimate reason for evangelization? Does it really have much to do with "I'm right" and "you're wrong" and so I'm going to correct your errors? Or should love (or His voice of love) be the reason and motive?

I have no desire to tell others about Jesus naturally, other than as St. Paul exclaims "for the love of Christ urges us on!"

Here is a short interview with Britt on her new song, and why she wrote it:

If you want to get the song, you can buy at iTunes or listen to it streaming from her myspace page.

What do you like about this song?

ChristLife's intern Maria says goodbye

(Maria and a friend at Discovering Christ)

The summer of 2009 is already coming to a close. Wow. For me, that means the end of my internship and the start of my sophomore year of college!

As is probably expected, I’ve spent much of my last day at work just reviewing my entire experience here. It’s almost funny thinking back to when I first began 13 weeks ago, mostly expecting a fun job that would be informative and helpful in the exploration of my future English/communications field.

It turned out to be as I expected in this aspect, but was also much more fulfilling than I could have imagined.

Through the blogs, podcasts, and Discovering Christ program, I’ve actually witnessed how the Lord’s work affects people. I’m so accustomed to doing things for others and not seeing the benefits, but over these weeks, God has blessed me in showing how I have been able to help touch people.

I thank those who listen to our podcasts, visit our blogs, and generously give donations. They’ve shown me that despite a time of immense difficulties and struggles, people still seek the Lord and He always answers them.

God is truly working in our lives at all times. This is something I have accepted as true, but while working here I’ve actually seen it. Whether it was helping us run an immensely successful Discovering Christ program or providing us with money when we needed it the most, He is sincerely at work in our lives.

I was excited that ChristLife would give me the opportunity to bring people closer to God, since that’s something I strive to do every day of my life. I did not expect, however, that it would help bring me closer to God as well. I felt strong, confident, and firm in my faith coming into this internship, and I feel even better coming out.

Thank you for helping make this an incredible experience! God bless!

New evangelization needs faithful priests, Pope says

I stumbled upon this from the Catholic News Service today:

Well-prepared priests essential for new evangelization, pope says

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Without well-prepared priests, "the new evangelization" of society will be just a slogan, Pope Benedict XVI said. "Today we see a need for each priest to be a witness of the infinite mercy of God with a life completely conquered by Christ and for them to learn this from the very first years of their preparation in the seminary," the pope said ... Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien of Baltimore was seated in the front row. Pope Benedict said the training of seminarians and priests is crucial for ensuring that "the new evangelization is not just an attractive slogan, but that it becomes a reality." A priesthood candidate's time in the seminary, he said, must be like the time the disciples spent alone with Jesus after being called to follow him and before being sent out to preach the Gospel.

For the full text of the talk, click here.

The new evangelization involves everyone, regardless of their vocation. But, as the pope says, the witness of holy priests is critical. Which also means that an important part of our mission in the new evangelization must be to pray for and offer support to priests and seminarians. How many of us were influenced by the priests in our lives - in good or bad ways?

(On a side note, does anybody remember the name of the organization of lay people whose mission is to support priests and seminarians?)

So take some time today to thank the Lord for holy priests, pray for more men to answer the call to live "a life completely conquered by Christ" and ask the Lord to guide your parish priest. Also, check out the ordination class of 2009, and pray for them - their stories are pretty amazing testimonies to God's persistence, grace and love.

For example:
“People would be surprised to know that I once said at the age of 26 after mass one day, ‘why would anyone ever want to become a priest?’ This was a period in my life where faith, a prayer life with God, etc. were not ‘on the radar’. […] The Lord (thanks be to God) revealed the ‘why’ to me and for that I will be eternally grateful.”
Father David Kuttner
Diocese of Spokane

The Shack

"The Shack" by William P. Young debuted in 2007 on top of the New York Times bestseller list; last month, it was #3 on Amazon's book list. It's a story about tragedy - the murder of a young girl - and, most importantly, her father's subsequent encounter with God.

This bears repeating: A book about tragedy and the love of God hit the top of the charts.

While the book has some doctrinal flaws, I'm reminded of what Fr. Dave Pivonka said in a talk excerpted in this podcast: we need to engage the culture. Which means when a book about God is a bestseller, Christians should think of that as an opportunity, and not shy away from the book just because it's not 100% orthodox.

I haven't yet read The Shack, but Fr. Robert Barron recently wrote a review, which is worth reading. (And while you're on his website, check out the Catholicism project if you haven't yet.)

If you have read The Shack, what do you think of it? Have you used it to talk to people about Christ?

Keeping up with ChristLife online

So, if you've been following this blog, chances are you're pretty web-savvy. But did you know that there are other ways to keep updated on what's going on at ChristLife?

We also happen to have:

1.Twitter



2. Podcasts




3. Facebook


4. eUpdates and quarterly newsletters (sign up here!)

Are we missing anything? Any suggestions? Let us know.

From every tribe and tongue, people and nation

I own three Bibles (NAB, NIV, and NRSV-CE) and two New Testaments (both courtesy of the Gideons, one in KJV English and another in Russian). And, thanks to the internet, dozens of other translations and concordances and even the thoughts of the doctors and fathers of the Church about Scripture are available. (Check out Biblia Clerus if you haven't yet).

The blog, Intentional Disciples, recently alerted us to the fact that millions of people around the world don't have the same opportunity. According to the Forum of Bible Agencies:

Languages with some or all of the Bible - 2,454. Of these, 438 have an adequate Bible; 1,168 have an adequate New Testament; 848 have Scripture portions. Languages needing Bible translation work to begin - 2,251 representing 193 million people.

I'm quite simply stunned. We've put men on the moon, eradicated polio, brought down the Berlin wall and we STILL have this much translation work to do?

Intentional Disciples has a great story about how translating the Bible into a new language has changed lives. For the Kalmyk people in Republic of Kalmykia in southern Russia, the availability of the Bible in their own language has helped people see that Jesus is not the God of the Russians, but the God of all peoples.

And every time that happens, we're one step closer to:

They sang a new hymn: "Worthy are you to receive the scroll and to break open its seals, for you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.

You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth."
(Rev. 5:9-10)

Glory be to God.

Quote of the Day

“We have only one degree of separation through our mutual friend, Jesus. He’s Heaven’s Kevin Bacon.” - Stephen Colbert