Wow. So encouraging!

Dead Poets and the Gospel

A few months back my wife and I watched Dead Poet's Society. Surprisingly a first for me.

It is a well-known movie starring Robin Williams, Mr. Keating, as the iconic professor who stands up to a boy prep's schools "regime" and way of teaching - and he encourages the boys to think for themselves and to be poetic.

There is one scene in particular that I like and can tell us something about the Gospel. This is one of the early scenes of Mr. Keating introducing the boy's to poetry... really good stuff :)

When I saw this it struck me as a great analogy to relating the Gospel to today's generation.

It seems like the world and many of my peers have read about Christianity and the Church in a sort of a "J. Evans Pritchard, PhD" sort of a way. Either from the media or a detached religion teacher or bored parent. And they are left with a view of God that is distant, a behavior nazi, judge, boxed-in, narrow, etc.

Not the unspeakable and personal love of the Trinity many of us have experienced- loving Father, brilliant and compassionate and strong Savior, and fiery Spirit.

What we need are impassioned followers of Jesus - Christians, Catholics - ready and able to tell the Gospel in its fullness, beauty, and passion (better than Mr. Keating, cause poetry ain't that good :)

To take what could be explained very easily in a dry textbook on "Christianity 101" and squeeze the essense out of the Good News...

"But poetry, beauty, romance, love -- these are what we stay alive for."

"That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."

This is the beauty of being captivated by Jesus... Its more than encountering beauty and love... But it is overflowing to others in mission. One full of danger, romance, adventure, sacrifice, tears and joy!

What are your thoughts on this clip? What does it stir in you?

Let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

On the Day of Atonement,the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people, the high priest, carrying the blood of the sacrifice would enter the holiest part of the Temple. Once a year he would pass through the temple curtain and enter the Holy of Holies and there he would pronounce the name of God. The name consisted of four letters and was so sacred that it was never spoken at any other time or place. The Jews would substitute the name, Adonai, which means ‘Lord’, when saying the divine name. When the High Priest spoke the holy name, it made God present; and atoned for the sins of the nation of Israel.

This holy week, as Christians, we celebrate The Great Atonement (Heb.4:14;9:12) with the death of Jesus the Messiah, not only for the sins of Israel, but for ‘the sins of the whole world’(1John2:2; Romans 3:25).

St. Paul sharing a hymn of praise of the early church that existed before he wrote his letters tell us:

Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the Name which is above every name,

St Paul does not use the divine name rather he uses Adonai (in Greek Kyrios, Dominus in Latin, and Lord in English). He goes on to tell us:

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2: 8-11

By using the word Lord, St Paul means exactly the name that means God! This is the incredible truth of our faith! Jesus is the ‘I AM’. He is the everlasting almighty God. He has 'all authority and all power.' (Matt.28:18-20).

After the first Easter the proclamation, “Jesus is Lord!” took the place of the proclamation that our Lord made, “The Kingdom of God is at hand!” The early disciples were telling everyone that, ‘Jesus is risen, He is the Messiah, He is Lord!’ They were telling the most incredibly good news that Jesus, the King was at hand and, He is the Lord!

This was the heart of the good news! It is what is called the kerygma, the basic Gospel message. In these words are the power and authority of God that transforms lives as nothing else can. For those who have come to know the truth of this profound self -revelation of God it is revolutionary and imparts a confidence in what He can do through our proclamation. It elevates our faith in the Lord Jesus present among us in the Holy Spirit to save and continue his mission of redemption.

This proclamation, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ is like a buried treasure that must be uncovered and restored to the rightful place of prominence in our preaching and in our sharing with others. Yet currently it is a point of spiritual warfare and there is great resistance within the church to embrace the simplicity and humility that this proclamation calls us to. St. Paul tells us, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel!” (Rom. 1:16). We too must not be ashamed of the kerygma. For, “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith…”(Rom 1:16b)

St Paul tells us, ‘every knee shall bow.’ That is the posture we need to have if we are to proclaim the essential gospel, that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord.’ It is a call to humility, and it is a call to obedience to God.

This Holy week, let’s seek the Lordship of Christ for our personal lives, families and friends, and reflect on his great mercy displayed at Calvary for sinners like you and me! Let us like the early Christians proclaim the joy of Easter, He is risen, Jesus is Lord!

If you have never asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, of your everything, ask Him. Tell Him you want to surrender your entire life to his Lordship. Ask him to come as your God to lead you!

How do you get to heaven?

Lots of people, Christians and those of other religions or no religious belief at all, believe in heaven. Fewer people seem to believe in hell or at least don’t want to think about it. And now days many don’t seem to give much thought to how you get to one place or the other.

Christ talked about the existence of both frequently, and urged everyone to do what was necessary to go to heaven. As Christians our reason for believing in the existence of heaven and hell is because we believe in Him and He believed in them!

Back in the 1970’s I taught religion at a Jesuit boys high school. At some point during the courses I taught I would ask the question, “When you die what is the reason for getting to go to heaven?” I almost always got the same answers: Because I was good, I didn’t hurt anyone, I was sincere. Rarely was Jesus mentioned as the answer. Many of the students had received Catholic education throughout their schooling yet did not understand what Christ Jesus had to do with eternal life.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6) He also said, “eternal life is this to know you the only true God, an Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

The Church teaches, “By his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has “opened heaven to us. The life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. He makes partners in his heavenly glorification those who have believed in him and remain faithful to his will. Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into him.” Check it out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 1027

The essential answer for our getting to go to heaven is, Christ. Jesus has “opened heaven to us.” He is the way we can be eternally with God. By his death and resurrection Jesus accomplished what we in and of ourselves could not accomplish - our redemption. It is the love of God made manifest on the cross, bearing our sins, granting us forgiveness and through the Spirit entry into relationship with God. It is God’s initiative, not ours that allows us this access to eternal joy with the Trinity and all of the saints and angels! The Father wants us to be with Him eternally and through the Son has made the way for us be with them, happily ever after! It is our responsibility to respond to this grace of God with faith doing his will in our daily lives.

Let me make one comment on hell. Hell is the consequence of our free will. We can choose it for ourselves. God does not cast anyone into hell against his will. If we truly are creatures with free will then we have the capacity to say no to a loving Creator. That is essentially what hell is. Eternal separation from the One who loves us so much that he allows us to choose to be with Him, or not. Take a look in the CCC, 1033-1037.

The Church also teaches that even those who have not baptized and responded with faith in Christ may be saved (under the impulse of grace) who “sincerely seek God and strive to do his will can also be saved without Baptism (Baptism of desire).” CCC,1258-1261. It is a mystery and thank God He is the judge of all and not me or you! It is not our responsibility to judge who is or isn’t going to heaven when they die.

Our responsibility is to pray for salvation for everyone and to be witnesses of the eternal life that begins here and now in knowing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (See John 17:3 noted above). What is important for those of us who know Christ and are seeking to do his will, is to graciously be available to share the good news of what God has done in Jesus our Lord so that all might have fullness of life here and eternal happiness in heaven! After all, if we believe in a heaven and hell we certainly want to help others to be in heaven and to know the way to get there!

God the Father loves you!

When you have a chance to put on hold any busyness that you are involved with, a time when you can quiet down and open up to God and receive, I have something wonderful to share with you!

It's a video of a song that communicates in word and Spirit the love God has for you personally. The song is, How He loves us! and is sung by Kim Walker in the context of a worship time at a conference.

I first heard this song when we posted a video called, Cardboard testimonies. Subsequently I listened to the testimony of the author of the song, John Mark McMilan - quite an incredible testimony of love inspired the song.

Fr. Arnold used this video at the end of his teaching during our Discovering Christ retreat day recently, and I simply got undone with the Father's love for us, for me personally, as I watched and listened! That is how the good news works you know. We experience good news and want all of our friends to know about it!

We all need reminders of our Father's love which is the foundation of our life and identity! Oh how he loves us!

"Holy Spirit come and reveal the Father's love in great power as my friends listen to this song, in the name of the Lord Jesus we pray, Amen!

Wealthiest, Most intelligent man says, Don't Worry!

The wealthiest, most intelligent man in all of the world, no in all of the universe, has stated right in the midst of our personal anxieties, natural disasters, economic crisis, governmental turmoil - DON'T WORRY!

The person who owns all of the real estate in the world! In fact the One who created all of the cosmos, and now sustains it has told those who believe in Him that God the Father has it all under control, even if it doesn't look so from where we are currently standing!

Seriously, the Lord Jesus teaches his followers that they don't have to worry because the Father loves them (you and me) and is King of the universe!

Jesus instructs and empowers us to live differently than those who do not know the Father's love, so that they too can have His peace and assurance! Really! Read his instructions to us in Matthew 6:24-33

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

These are not just nice words but are instructions from the Author of Life! He wants us to live according to the Kingdom of our Lord and His Christ!

Take St Paul as an example of a disciple who took the Lord at his word. He grew in living life in Christ and shows us what it looks like to incarnate Jesus' teaching.

Here is one example. Paul while in Philippi has a run in with a young girl who was captive to her owners and to an evil spirit. When Paul set her free from the demon, it got him in big trouble because her owners lost their means of profit. Paul and Silas are beaten and thrown into a wretched jail for an act of God! What is their response? Gripe and moan? Fear for their lives? Retrace what they did to figure out where they went wrong in following the Spirit? Consider if God had abandoned them? Nope! Incredible grace! At midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening. And then what happens?! All heaven breaks in.

The Kingdom of God breaks in supernaturally to what appears to be a terrible situation bringing freedom to many !

Check it out for yourself in Acts 16! Paul practiced what he preached and can confidently instruct us to: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-8

Everyday we have the opportunity to surrender to the Lord Jesus and learn from Him to live the new life in the Holy Spirit. He wants us to mature in the Christian life, while being a radical witness to our friends, family and co-workers of the love of God that is available to all in Christ Jesus! What He asks us to be and do, He gives us the power to be and do!

We are in a time of shaking in many parts of the world. During this season Jesus invites us to bring his love and peace to those around us who don't have the hope we do. Our situations and circumstances may look grim, terrifying, depressing, but Jesus is Lord! Reflect on St Paul example and instruction to us

Jesus tells us, "Don't worry, Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be yours as well!" Ask the Lord for grace to live in his righteousness, joy and peace that others might know Him as well!

What then shall I compare the people of this generation?

What then did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, `Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.' ... (When they heard this all the people and the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John; but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

"To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the market place and calling to one another, `We piped to you, and you did not dance;we wailed, and you did not weep.'For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, `He has a demon.' The Son of man has come eating and drinking; and you say, `Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by all her children."Luke 7:25-35

God is not distant and removed from creation and his creatures. He is with us! He is not static but active, creative, redeeming-moving in his all powerful Holy Spirit in our 'today.' The Lord Jesus points out the purposes of God coming in two very different persons. John the prophet forerunner preparing the way, and Jesus the Messiah. The Pharisees and lawyers rejected the purposes of God for themselves in what He was doing in their day. They missed his activity, his will for them in the persons of John and Jesus. They couldn't see God working among them.

There are many Christians as well as unbelievers that have no understanding of this truth. They don't know the good news of Emmanuel, God with us today! Here and now. Jesus said, I am with you always. In Christ God the Father has given us the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us as Church but also personally in our daily lives (have you read the Acts of the Apostles recently?).

This reality effects everything. Who we are and what we do. How we pray personally and when we gather together. Anticipation and openess to the Holy Spirit's guidance. Attentiveness to His providence in our lives and in interacting with others, and with circumstances we are in daily. Our faith in His faithfulness in all details of our lives. Our confidence in his mercy coming through times of joy (we danced for you) and in times of sorrow (we sang a dirge for you). His grace in presenting his life to us in the church by different kinds of churches as well as different types of people that we can identify and respond to. John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus were very different as the Lord himself pointed out.

In this time, in our generation, the Lord continues to fulfill his purposes. Let's pray for our eyes to be opened to see what he is doing and our ears to hear what He saying and to obey Him! (See John 5:19,20 to learn from the Master). He wants us to know with confidence that He is with us and wants us to join Him in fulfilling his purposes in our day!

earthen vessels

God is amazing. I'm really convinced of it. He really uses each of us, despite our weaknesses and insufficiencies, to restore people's hearts to friendship with Himself...

I got a call last Friday from a lady, for privacy purposes, named Leah. Leah explained she is homeless and on disability, but she was approved for section 8 housing recently. She went on to tell me, however, that she needed nearly $1600 in less than seven days for a security deposit - and the county government couldn't help her with this particular amount - so they told her to call churches and ministries. So she was obviously looking through the yellow pages making phone calls asking for money. She did have about $200 towards it and explained she is desperate to get into a place - her van or homeless shelters are rough on her, and her disability.

I responded telling her we at ChristLife don't give out funds for the poor, but, that I would ask around the office to see if anyone had cash. Well, that day only three young adults were in the office. We only had a few bucks.

Leah was so grateful I even asked others to personally give. Then I asked if she would like to pray over the phone. A pause goes by, and she answers "yes." I began to pray and invite the Lord Jesus to show her how much He loves her and to provide for her. After a tangible sense of God's presence, we ended the prayer with a hearty "amen." Leah then expressed her gratitude and gave me her number and said she would really love to help out some time.

Over the weekend that followed I prayed for her and then called her on Monday to see how the fundraising for her security deposit was going. Well, I didn't get a hold of her - and was worried that I wouldn't because she said her phone was going to be turned off at any point - due to not paying her bill.

But, on Tuesday she called and said, "thank you so much for praying with me, without it, I would have given up all the phone calls I was making." Then with lots of joy she said, "I got the whole amount of the deposit given to me by a local church coalition!" Whoa! I must admit, even during my prayers, I didn't have too much faith about her getting that much money in seven days. Praise God!

And Leah keeps insisting on how powerful praying with her was. Which is amazing because I didn't think too much of it at the time. And yesterday she came into ChristLife and I was able to share with her and pray a bit more... She was visibly moved and full of joy. It was as if I was the one who gave her the money; but rather, more correctly, the treasure.

And the incredible thing is that the Lord Jesus could use me in such a powerful way in someone else's life. All of this happened right in the midst of a season where I feel like I'm trying to do a lot for the Lord - but I don't see big ripe juicy fruit yet... Until this. Thank you Father!

If you feel like you are in a similar season as I was or you feel great weakness in fulfilling the mission the Lord's given us, then definitely read 2 Corinthians chapter 4. An excerpt: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us." (vs. 7) Basically we are called to be common clay pots, so people know that when God uses us - that is not because of our special abilities - but that God is working through us!

Do you have an experience where God used you in the midst of your weakness and insufficiency?

Image credits: The first illustration is by Elizabeth Wang, "True Prayer" (CWC 5930) © Radiant Light 2006. The photo of the clay pot is from umamitv a blog on cooking.

Reflections on my ChristLife Internship

"At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a person, the person of Jesus of Nazareth." - John Paul II

The Lord has taught me a great deal throughout my year internship at ChristLife, primarily in a deepening relationship and heart to serve the number one living person in my life - Jesus Christ! It is so incredible to look back on my life and how much the Lord has done and where He has brought me. During my senior year of high school I experienced the love and mercy of Jesus in a such a real way that there was no turning back! I needed to share it!

After serving a year of National Evangelization Teams (NET Ministries), I went to Steubenville followed by Towson for a Nursing degree, but was still unsure of what I wanted to do with my life. I began my internship at ChristLife last fall, while studying at Towson.

This past year at ChristLife was an eye-opening experience of the aching hunger this world has for Jesus, not in theoretical way, but to know and love Him as a real person in their lives. I don't think words can express how awesome it is to be used by the Lord to tell people about the one thing they desire the most and to see Him transform their lives. That is the heart of ChristLife's ministry, and the Lord has really blessed it and I've been able to witness so many lives renewed by Jesus during this past year.

The most memberable aspect of my internship at ChristLife was beginning every work day together in prayer, praising the Lord and asking Him for all we needed that day and giving ourselves and our efforts to Him. My experiences during prayer and ministry at ChristLife lead me to desiring and asking the Lord to use me to serve His Church in a direct way with my career and whole life. This year the Lord opened all the doors for me to change my major to Theology and transfer to Ave Maria University for the remainder of my undergrad studies.

I am so grateful that Jesus brought me to ChristLife this past year and used it to show me what I am truly passionate about and how I can use that for His Kingdom! This experience impacted my life in so many ways, by being a place of encouragement, growth and challenging me to pray, to use my gifts and talents for the Lord, and to have courage to share His love with others! I am excited for the future interns at ChristLife and the awesome things the Lord has for them through this incredible experience!

ChristLife's 50th Podcast!

Wahoo! I can't believe we are already at 50 Podcasts! It's so amazing to look back and see all the inspiring men and women of God we were able to interview and learn from in all of these podcasts! If you've listened to any or all of them, I hope the Lord has impacted you in some way through them, because He definatly has impacted me!
You can Listen in to this exciting podcast with congratulations from many of our supporters including Archbishop O'Brien, and news about the awesome things going on in our ministry! Also, Chip shares with us his personal experiences of living out the call for a New Evangelization by JPII! To listen click here or press play below:

Give us your feedback please! How have these podcasts affected you? We'd love to hear from you!

Receive the Power!

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses...to the ends of the Earth.” -Acts 1:8

This years World Youth Day marks Pope Benedict's first visit to Austrailia. This year's theme is a new penecost and outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit! World Youth day is expected to attract more than 125,000 international visitors. Attending will be musicians such as Matt Maher, Hillsong United, and Human Rythmns. In an article by Zenit News Agency The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI explains that Jesus is the answer for everything and the reason for World Youth Day is to have a relationship with Him and proclaim Him when you go home. An excerpt from the article is below:

"Where can young people find the answers to their questions about the existence of God and the injustices they see in the world? In Christ", says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this in a video-message taped ahead of his trip to Australia, dated July 4, to the people of the nation and the young pilgrims who will take part in World Youth Day. The video was released today in Australia.

The 23rd International World Youth Day, to be held in Sydney from July 15 to 20, has as its theme "You Will Receive Power When the Holy Spirit Has Come Upon You, and You Will Be My Witnesses."
"How much the world needs a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit," the Pontiff said. "There are still many who have not heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, while many others, for whatever reason, have not recognized in this Good News the saving truth that alone can satisfy the deepest longings of their hearts."

The Holy Father said that he firmly believes the youth to be the "instruments of that renewal, communicating to their peers the joy they have experienced through knowing and following Christ, and sharing with others the love that the Spirit pours into their hearts, so that they too will be filled with hope and with thanksgiving for all the good things they have received from our heavenly Father."

Benedict XVI continued: "Many young people today lack hope. They are perplexed by the questions that present themselves ever more urgently in a confusing world, and they are often uncertain which way to turn for answers. They see poverty and injustice and they long to find solutions.

"They are challenged by the arguments of those who deny the existence of God and they wonder how to respond. They see great damage done to the natural environment through human greed and they struggle to find ways to live in greater harmony with nature and with one another."

The Pope asked, "Where can we look for answers?"

"The Spirit points us toward the way that leads to life, to love and to truth," he stated. "The Spirit points us toward Jesus Christ."

Quoting St. Augustine, the Pontiff affirmed, "If you wish to remain young, seek Christ."

"In him we find the answers that we are seeking," he continued, "we find the goals that are truly worth living for, we find the strength to pursue the path that will bring about a better world. Our hearts find no rest until they rest in the Lord, as St. Augustine says at the beginning of the Confessions, the famous account of his own youth.

"My prayer is that the hearts of the young people who gather in Sydney for the celebration of World Youth Day will truly find rest in the Lord, and that they will be filled with joy and fervor for spreading the Good News among their friends, their families, and all whom they meet."

Please pray for everyone attending World Youth Day 2008 that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit and have the zeal and courage to spread Jesus' love to the world!

Enter the mission where you are!

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. Matthew 9:35-10:1

The heart of God is moved by compassion for those who are lost, confused, broken, wandering without knowledge of His love and forgiveness for them. So much so that the Father sent the Son so that, whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. The reality of this truth is perfectly revealed in the Lord Jesus in his passage from Matthew. He taught that God’s reign was here, now! He demonstrated this good news that the Lordship of God by healing every disease. In compassion he was and is moved to urge us to pray for more workers to carry on His mission. But in addition to praying, which is the essential work of evangelization, He wants us to go into the harvest fields and do what he did! See the last couple verses above!

The Lord Jesus has you strategically placed right where you live daily life. Pray for eyes to see the opportunities he has already arranged for you to engage, be kind and befriend those you get to encounter each week, and be ready to share about the Lord’s love for you and them, anytime and anywhere! Fasten your seat belt and watch how he uses you to help others know Him! He is moved by compassion and urgently wants all to enter into his life through his people, the Church!

Jesus is the way!

One of the fruits of the Second Vatican Council and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Catholic Church in the 1960s is the new movements and communities – which the Pope quite frequently speaks of. One of these new communities, the Neocatechumenal Way, was recently approved by the Vatican. Zenit news interviewed Kiko Argüello, one of the initiators of the Way. The Way has a strong emphasis upon baptism, the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit – all wonderful things! Here is an excerpt from the interview:

Q: Why is baptismal catechesis the key to evangelize modern man?

Arguello: Because baptism opens to us the door of the Church, participation in divine nature. As St. Paul says, "For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."

The problem of the man of today is that, because of original sin, he lives everything for himself; he has placed himself at the center of the universe, substituting God as the center of his person, and does not realize that he lives enslaved, condemned to live for himself. This causes profound suffering, because the truth is something else; because God is total love, total giving to the other that he has shown in Christ; man suffers because he doesn't love like Christ.

In countries where transcendence has been denied for years, where God has been denied, as in the former Communist countries, the rate of suicides is very high, because happiness is to live in the truth, and truth is love. And this original sin can only be erased through baptism.

That is why it is important to call men back to the faith, through preaching, the proclamation of the kerygma, the proclamation of Christ dead and risen. When Peter makes this proclamation on the day of Pentecost, the people are moved and ask him what they should do. Peter replies: "Be baptized and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

The first baptismal fonts were pools -- the Council talks again of immersion -- to which the neophyte descended by steps. This first form of baptism represents perfectly what this sacrament means: death of the old man and resurrection to new life, to man regenerated by the Holy Spirit, who can love and give himself. That is why the crucified Christ is the true image of the free man.

Q: Is this, therefore, the answer to secularization?

Arguello: Of course. How can man be free of the sin that acts in him? Only Christ can free man, make him able to love others, make him share in his divine nature. This is something fantastic that changes man's life; it must be told to the whole universe; the world must be re-evangelized.

As Pope John Paul II said, this new evangelization requires new ways, new contents, and this is what God has inspired through the Way. Now that the statutes have been approved, we can offer this Way to bishops and to the entire Church, to carry forward the new evangelization.

Amen! I hope this article hits you, because it definitely hit me and made me realize how important it is to carry on this new evangelization to the world. People are spiritually dying to know the love of Jesus Christ! How can I live in this freedom of Christ and not share it with others!

What did you get from this article? Comments?

Come Holy Spirit!

In ChristLife's latest podcast Bill Johnson gives teaching on the Holy Spirit being the power and presence of Jesus in our lives and how we need to be continuously "leaking that presence. It is so impactful how Bill Johnson explains the basic truths of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in layman's terms and makes it applicable to every second of every day of our lives. I highly recommend listening to his words, and I hope we can all grow in great docility to the incredible Holy Spirit!
Also in this podcast, our director, Dave Nodar shares about how the Holy Spirit is essential in the evagelization work of ChristLife and the current Sharing Christ course co-sponsored by ChristLife and UMBC for young adults.

To listen to Bill Johnson in our 47th podcast click here or press play below:

Disovering Christ at W.Y.D.

World Youth Day is the largest youth event in the world. This year's World Youth Day 2008 it will be held in Sydney, Australia from July 15-20. At World Youth Day 1989, John Paul the Great focused on the necessity of young people to discover Christ. This is the most important thing we could ever do, and his words are very inspiring and urgent in regards to the desperate need of all humanity to discover Jesus Christ:

"World Youth Day 1989 will be centred on Jesus Christ, as our Way, our Truth and our Life (cfr. Jn 14:6). For all of you it must therefore become the Day of a new, a more mature and a deeper discovery Christ in your life.

To be young is already in itself a special and specific treasure for every young man and young woman (cfr. Letter to the Youth of the World, n. 3). This treasure consists, among other things, in the fact that yours is an age of many important discoveries. Each one of you discovers him or her self, his or her personality, the meaning for him or for her of existence, the reality good and evil. You also discover the whole world around you - the human world and the world of nature. Now, among these many discoveries there must not be lacking one that is of fundamental importance for every human being: the personal discovery of Jesus Christ. Discovering Christ, always again and always more fully, is the most wonderful adventure of our life. That is why, on the occasion of the forthcoming Youth Day, I want to ask each one of you some very important questions, and to suggest the answers.

- Have you already discovered Christ, who is the Way?

Yes, Jesus is for us a way that leads to the Father - the оnlу Way. Whoever wants to reach salvation must set out along this way. You young people very often find yourselves at a crossroads, not knowing which path to choose, which way to go; there are so many wrong paths, so many facile proposals, so many ambiguities. In moments like this, do not forget that Christ, with his Gospel, his example, his commandments, is always and alone the safest way, the way which leads to full and lasting happiness.

- Have you already discovered Christ, who is the Truth?

Truth is the deepest need of the human spirit. Young people especially are hungry for the Truth about God and man, about life and the world. In my first Encyclical Redemptor Hominis I wrote: "The man who wishes to understand himself thoroughly - and not just in accordance with immediate, partial, often superficial, and even illusory standards and measures of his being - must with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ" (n. 10). Christ is the Word of truth, uttered by God himself, in response to all the questioning of the human heart. He is the One who reveals fully to us the mystery of man and of the world.

- Have you already discovered Christ, who is the Life?

Each one of you is so anxious to live life in its fullness. You live with great hopes, with so many fine plans for the future. But do not forget that the true fullness of life is to be found only in Christ, who died and rose again for us. Christ alone is able to fill in depth the space of the human heart. He alone gives the strength and joy living, in spite of any limit or external impediment.

Yes, discovering Christ is the finest adventure of your life. But it is not enough to discover Him just once. Discovering Him becomes every time an invitation to seek Him always more, to come to know Him still better through prayer, participating in the sacraments, meditating on his Word, through catechises and listening to the teachings of the Church. This is our most important task, as St Paul had well understood when he wrote: "For me, indeed, to live is Christ" (Phil 1:21).

2. The new discovery of Christ - when it is authentic - always directly results in the desire to bring Him to others, that is, in a commitment to the apostolate. This, precisely, is the second guideline for the next Youth Day.

To the whole Church is addressed Christ's соmmаnd: "Gо оut tо the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation" (Mk 16:15). The whole Church, therefore, is missionary and evangelizing; she lives constantly in a state of mission (cfr. Decree Ad Gentes, n. 2). To be Christians means to be missionaries, to be apostles (cfr. Decree Apostolicam Actuositatem, n. 2). It is not enough to discover Christ - you must bring Him to others!

The world of today is one great mission land, even in countries of long-standing Christian tradition. Everywhere today neopaganism and the process of secularization present a great challenge to the message of the Gospel. But, at the same time, there are new openings in our day for the proclamation of the Good News. We see, for example, a growing nostalgia for the sacred, for genuine values, for prayer. Аnd so, today's world needs many apostles - especially apostles who are young and courageous. You young people have in a special way the task of witnessing today to the faith; the commitment to bring the Gospel of Christ - the Way, the Truth and the Life - into the third Christian Millennium, to build a new civilization - a civilization of love, of justice and of peace.

Each new generation needs new apostles. This means a special mission for you. You young people are the first apostles and evangelizers of the world of youth, assailed today by so many challenges and so much that is threatening (cfr. Decree Apostolicam Actuositatem, n. 12). Above all, you can be evangelizers, and no one can take your place, where уоu study, and in your work and your free time. So many of those of your own age do not know Christ, or do not know Him well enough. So you cannot remain silent and indifferent! You must have the courage to speak about Christ, to bear witness to your faith through a life-style inspired by the Gospel. St Paul wrote: "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" (1Cor 9:16). The harvest is great indeed for evangelization and so many workers are needed. Christ trusts you and counts on your collaboration. On the occasion of the forthcoming Youth Day, I invite you, therefore, to renew уоur apostolic commitment. Christ needs you! Respond to his call with courage and with the enthusiasm that belongs to your age." (view full article)

For more information on how to provide a Discovering Christ course in your parish click here.

Jesus in the Workplace

It has been an incredible experience, thus far, interning at ChristLife. The focus here in every task and activity we do is to do it in the same manner as Jesus himself would do it. That requires strength and grace through the power of the Holy Spirit, which is why we start every day with mourning prayer and worship in our chapel. Yet, you do not have to be working in a Catholic ministry to have Jesus as the goal and center of your workplace. In any occupation and vocation Jesus can and should motivate everything thing we do, by showing us how He himself would do it, as Dallas Willard points out in his book The Divine Conspiracy:

"But let us become as specific as possible. Consider just your job, the work you do to make a living. This is one of the clearest ways possible of focusing upon apprenticeship to Jesus. To be a disciple of Jesus is, crucially, to be learning from Jesus how to do your job as Jesus himself would do it. New Testament language for this is to do it 'in the name' of Jesus.

Once you stop and think about it, you can see that not to find your job to be a primary place of discipleship is to automatically exclude a major part, if not most, of your walking hours from life with him. It is to assume to run one of the largest areas of your interest and concern on your own or under the direction and instruction of people other than Jesus. But this is right where most professing Christians are left today, with the prevailing view that discipleship is a special calling having to do chiefly with religious activities and 'full-time Christian service.'

But how, exactly, is one to make one's job a primary place of apprenticeship to Jesus?....

A gentle but firm noncooperation with things that everyone knows to be wrong, together with a sensitive, nonofficious, nonintrusive, nonobsequious service to others, should be our usual overt manner. This should be combined with inward attitudes of constant prayer for whatever activity our workplace requires and genuine love for everyone involved....

It is not true, I think, that we fulfil our obligations to those around us by only living the gospel. There are many ways of speaking inappropriately, of course - even harmfully - but it is always true that words fitly spoken are things of beauty and power that bring life and joy. And you cannot not assume that people understand what is going on when you only live in their midst as Jesus' person. They may just regard you as one more version of human oddity.

I once knew of a case in an academic setting where at noon one professor very visibly took his Bible and lunch and went out to a nearby chapel to study, pray, and to be alone. Another professor would call his assistant into his office, where they would have sex. No one in that environment thought either activity to be anything worth inquiring about. After all, people do all sorts of things. We are used to that. In some situations it is only words that can help toward understanding." (Divine Conspiracy)

Cardinal: God Sending Eager Evangelizers

Below is a wonderful story from ZENIT news.

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Calls Movements and Groups an Answer to Church's Needs

By Jesús Colina

VATICAN CITY, MAY 12, 2008 (Zenit).- New movements and ecclesial realities are part of God's answer to the Church's need for a new evangelization, says Cardinal Paul Cordes.

The cardinal, who is president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, affirmed this Sunday when he took possession of his titular see, San Lorenzo in Piscibus, home of the San Lorenzo Center, which Pope John Paul II established 25 years ago as a center to welcome youth to Rome.

When still a vice president of the Pontifical Council for Laity, Bishop Cordes was entrusted with founding the center.

And now as a cardinal, the prelate said he considers himself committed in a particular way to the new evangelization. The red hat, he affirmed, is about more than just participating in conclaves for the election of a new pope.

Cardinal Cordes said he chose Pentecost to take possession of the titular see because the feast is an invitation to the new evangelization, since "the fire, the flame of the Spirit of God wants to set others ablaze."But, "where are the missionaries?" the cardinal asked. And he answered that God already considered years ago that the Church would have a need for evangelization.

"Since the middle of the last century, he has brought men and women in movements and new [ecclesial] realities to awaken in the Church enthusiasm for evangelization," the prelate contended. "He has given them the grace to speak in a fascinated and fascinating way about Jesus Christ, to enthuse people about the following of Christ, to find in Jesus of Nazareth -- just as he is proclaimed by the Church -- the center of their very existences and the fount of a plentiful life."

"These groups are not new walls between consecrated and laypeople, between mission in the Church and mission in the world," Cardinal Cordes continued. "This is not about canceling the diversity of ministries and responsibilities: They seek to awaken in every state of life a love for Christ, our brother and Lord, since from him alone comes salvation and joy."

"Despite aggressive secularization, which wants to bring all of us to the idolatry of the 'I,' they keep Christ as the star that guides their activities," he said. "It's not that they are 'more perfect' Christians. They are Christians like all of us. But they are special since God has prepared them better for the decisive challenge of today: the new evangelization."

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We at ChristLife have benefited greatly from the “new movements and ecclesial realities.” In fact, sometimes, we feel like we are part of an emerging new movement of Catholics committed to following with our whole hearts Jesus and proclaiming the person of Jesus Christ to all the world. Yet “this movement” has no formal name or boundaries. It brings together bishops, priests, religious orders, lay movements, organizations, and individual lay Christians of all denominations – all with a burning heart to reveal to this world, Emmanuel, God is with us “in the face of Jesus of Nazareth” (Pope Benedict).

In fact I was at my sister’s graduation at Mount Saint Mary’s University on Pentecost Sunday – and Baltimore’s Archbishop O’Brien gave the commencement address (read Archbishop’s recent letter of encouragement to ChristLife) . And I was expecting – you know – the usual stuff about “go out and serve the world” and “be a leader” and “make a difference.” Well, he did talk about those things, but at a critical moment during the address, as he was recalling the Pope’s recent visit to the US, he said-

Who am I? What is my purpose? How can I realize my potential?

These are searching questions, rooted in every heart since Adam and Eve. But they are so rarely asked, much less answered by your contemporaries. Truth demands an answer. Faith answers, Jesus Christ. Benedict XVI again to the youth at Dunwoodie, New York:

…truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust… ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ.

Bicentennial graduates: Have you discovered or perhaps re-discovered Jesus Christ here? And will you share that discovery with others as you depart with your Mountain memories? Do you believe that he is the only ultimate measure of the truly human being? Do you find in him, in his life, his preaching, his example the model of true leadership?

What an encouragement! Read the entire commencement address.

This whole theme of focusing on the centrality of the person of Jesus – is one of the hallmarks of Pope Benedict XVI. He is constantly calling Christians and all people to friendship with Jesus Christ. From the summative and final sentence of the Foreword to his latest book, Jesus of Nazareth, he writes-

“it struck me as the most urgent priority to present the figure and message of Jesus in his public ministry, and so to help foster the growth of a living relationship with him” (xxiv).

And if you didn’t catch any of his message while he was here in the US recently, listen to the first few minutes of the “Pope Podcast” below – we have an awesome clip of him talking about the centrality of Jesus. Always good to hear. Come Lord Jesus!

U.S. Papal Visit 2008!

What an incredible gift of hope for our nation to experience the presence of our Holy Father! I had the honor of attending the Papal Mass in New York on April 20th. It was an inexpressible blessing to experience the Mass with Pope Benedict XVI, gathered in unity with so many Catholics to receive Christ through His vicar on earth! As a young adult, it is so impacting to have such a humble, wise and joyful Shepherd who so deeply loves the youth! Below is an excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI's homily in New York last Sunday:

Real freedom, then, is God’s gracious gift, the fruit of conversion to his truth, the truth which makes us free (cf. Jn 8:32). And this freedom in truth brings in its wake a new and liberating way of seeing reality. When we put on "the mind of Christ" (cf. Phil 2:5), new horizons open before us! In the light of faith, within the communion of the Church, we also find the inspiration and strength to become a leaven of the Gospel in the world. We become the light of the world, the salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13-14), entrusted with the "apostolate" of making our own lives, and the world in which we live, conform ever more fully to God’s saving plan. This magnificent vision of a world being transformed by the liberating truth of the Gospel is reflected in the description of the Church found in today’s second reading. The Apostle tells us that Christ, risen from the dead, is the keystone of a great temple which is even now rising in the Spirit. And we, the members of his body, through Baptism have become "living stones" in that temple, sharing in the life of God by grace, blessed with the freedom of the sons of God, and empowered to offer spiritual sacrifices pleasing to him (cf. 1 Pet 2:5). And what is this offering which we are called to make, if not to direct our every thought, word and action to the truth of the Gospel and to harness all our energies in the service of God’s Kingdom? Only in this way can we build with God, on the one foundation which is Christ (cf. 1 Cor 3:11). Only in this way can we build something that will truly endure. Only in this way can our lives find ultimate meaning and bear lasting fruit.

The final segment of Pope Benedict's homily was directed toward young people of America! His words are so encouraging and challenging - I hope that myself and the young people of America can truly give our hearts to Jesus and apply the words of our Holy Father to our personal lives. The closing of His homily is below:

Yesterday, not far from here, I was moved by the joy, the hope and the generous love of Christ which I saw on the faces of the many young people assembled in Dunwoodie. They are the Church’s future, and they deserve all the prayer and support that you can give them. And so I wish to close by adding a special word of encouragement to them. My dear young friends, like the seven men, "filled with the Spirit and wisdom" whom the Apostles charged with care for the young Church, may you step forward and take up the responsibility which your faith in Christ sets before you! May you find the courage to proclaim Christ, "the same, yesterday, and today and for ever" and the unchanging truths which have their foundation in him (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 10; Heb 13:8). These are the truths that set us free! They are the truths which alone can guarantee respect for the inalienable dignity and rights of each man, woman and child in our world -- including the most defenseless of all human beings, the unborn child in the mother’s womb. In a world where, as Pope John Paul II, speaking in this very place, reminded us, Lazarus continues to stand at our door (Homily at Yankee Stadium, October 2, 1979, No. 7), let your faith and love bear rich fruit in outreach to the poor, the needy and those without a voice. Young men and women of America, I urge you: open your hearts to the Lord’s call to follow him in the priesthood and the religious life. Can there be any greater mark of love than this: to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who was willing to lay down his life for his friends (cf. Jn 15:13)? In today’s Gospel, the Lord promises his disciples that they will perform works even greater than his (cf. Jn 14:12). Dear friends, only God in his providence knows what works his grace has yet to bring forth in your lives and in the life of the Church in the United States. Yet Christ’s promise fills us with sure hope. Let us now join our prayers to his, as living stones in that spiritual temple which is his one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Let us lift our eyes to him, for even now he is preparing for us a place in his Father’s house. And empowered by his Holy Spirit, let us work with renewed zeal for the spread of his Kingdom. "Happy are you who believe!" (cf. 1 Pet 2:7). Let us turn to Jesus! He alone is the way that leads to eternal happiness, the truth who satisfies the deepest longings of every heart, and the life who brings ever new joy and hope, to us and to our world. Amen.

To get more information about Pope Benedict's visit to the United States go to Zenit News.

Discovering Christ Session 2

"Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." James 4:8

God makes this promise to us, and if we take that first step and seek Him, He will give us all we need. Last night we had the second Discovering Christ course at OLPH. Dave Nodar gave a talk about the person of Jesus Christ and who He is in our lives. He opened up scripture and gave examples of the many signs and wonders Jesus worked and how his disciples and followers were so amazed that they were continuously exclaiming, "who is this man!" That is the very question that everyone in my small group was asking themselves last night, who is Jesus Christ in my life? It's a question worth pondering.
One point Dave Nodar made that really hit home for me was that our faith is about a personal relationship with Christ much more than belief in some doctrine. We must first ask ourselves the same question that Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15-17), then doctrine and everything else can follow.

Please continue to pray for every person that attends this course that we may all accept Jesus into our hearts and lives and believe with our whole being that He is our Lord!

Ministering to Young Adults

“Fewer than one out of ten young adults mention faith as their top priority” (UnChristian, 23).

A shocking statistic - yet one that should challenge Christian young adults and youth leaders to evangelize! As a resource for my own Christian discipleship and for leading others I found some interesting statistics as well as great ideas in the books UnChristian and Googling God:

• Ministers too often give a quick fix approach to God and introduce the “born again” mentality rather then consistent truth. (Googling God)

• Our generation often follows teachings of the Church without even understanding why we believe those things, thus not having true conviction. (Googling God)

• Web site resources for Ministering to young adults: www.bustedhalo.com; www.sacredspace.ie; and www.rejesus.com (Googling God)
  

• We must provide venues for all the Catholics we are dealing with: adoration/ sacraments, volunteer opportunities, videos, Q & A, Theology on Tap, etc. (Googling God)

• There needs to be young adult events where they can unite with the Church, bishops and Pope/ young adults need to know that the Church cares about them. (A young adult, Googling God)

• “Jesus didn’t put a sign on a palm tree and say, ‘All those willing to be disciples, please meet here at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday; refreshments will be served.’ He personally invited people!" Ministers must: “be in the world but not of the world” so as to understand where young adults are coming from, use technology but not as an only means rather to draw them into the richness of the Church, also invite personally. (Googling God)

• "84 percent of young people say they know at least one Christian personally, and only 15 percent see a lifestyle difference in that Christian." (UnChristian)
  

• Living with integrity starts with being transparent. Doing what you say you are going to is the number one quality young people admire. (UnChristian)

• “We have experienced the presence of a living God, but outsiders are wary of feeling brainwashed or manipulated." (UnChristian)

• Many people do not associate with Christianity as something new but as something old and commonplace, they have “been there, done that”. Many young people have been involved in a church and then left, so evangelizers must keep that in mind and not try to portray Christianity as something that they have never heard of before. (UnChristian)

• Nearly one third of Americans believe that there are some crimes and sins that God cannot forgive. (UnChristian)

• “It is more important than ever to think about and respond to political issues in light of a biblical worldview.” (UnChristian)

• Be creative – Jesus was, He attracted people who were unaccustomed to His style, ability, message, etc. (UnChristian)

• 2 Corinthians 7: 11-12 – Christians should respond well to correction. (UnChristian)

My point in these statistics and ideas is not to discourage Christians, but rather to challenge them - and myself - to be able to respond well to correction and be more faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ. These books really opened my eyes to new ways of approaching people with understanding and respect, but without watering down the truth. I think it is helpful for anyone working with or ministering to young people to be aware of these things.

There are so many stereotypes of Christianity that sometimes repel people from it. “Jesus said Christians would be known by their love” (UnChristian), let us make that our stereotype!

Pink Flamingoes and the Pearl of Great Price

When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. St. Paul - I Corinthians 2:1-5

When I was a young boy my family traveled down the east coast of the U.S., from Maryland to Florida, to go on vacation. Back in those days we didn't have the interstate highways we now have and there were places where you had to travel along two lane roads that ran through small towns. I can remember in some of those areas you would see homes where the owners had decorated the yards with all kinds of things. Mirror balls, pin wheels, antique (abandoned) cars, statues of all kinds of things, dwarfs, deer, people and pink flamingo's. Now some of those lawns were so filled with 'decorative items' that it was hard to figure out how to get from the road to the house! Some home owners had gone even farther in their extravagant decorating and had affixed all kinds of things to the front porch walls. Flags, hubcaps, beware of dog signs, and other creative wall mountings! Kind a like the yard, some homes had so much stuff on the wall that you couldn't even see where the front door was!


Sometimes we as Catholic Christians feel compelled to immediately share with friends who, perhaps do not know the Lord or are not church goers, about the treasures of the Church,- Mass, the sacraments, Mary and the saints, Apostolic succession, etc. We feel the need to get it all out in front of them immediately. Sort of like the yards with the pink flamingos. By attempting to get it all out there immediately we run the risk of not establishing first things first. We can easily put the horse before the cart. We certainly want people to know all about the treasures of the Church, but we want them to know first and foremost about the Pearl of Great Price, who is the person that our faith is all about. We want them to know the reason for all of the wonders of the Church, His Body! When we share with others about the joy of knowing Jesus Christ personally as our Lord, as the center of our lives and of all creation, it puts first things first. We want them to know the way into house of God, and Jesus is that way! We want them to know the meaning of life which is found in union with the Trinity through what our Lord has done for all by his life, death and resurrection! If in fact our friends come to know the love of God in Jesus our Lord, the forgiveness of sins and, power of the Spirit given in baptism, then they will hunger to learn more and, live in the truths of the Church!

Let's growing in learning to share about the Lord Jesus, and look for opportunities to tell others why He is the pearl of great price and the joy of our lives!

“This is the principal proclamation of the Church, which remains unchanged down the ages. The Christian faith, therefore, is not an ideology but a personal encounter with the Crucified and Risen Christ. From this experience, both individual and communitarian, flows a new way of thinking and acting: an existence marked by love is born, as the saints testify.”
Pope Benedict XVI, Parish of God the Merciful Father, Rome, March 26, 2006

Know and Confess that Jesus is Lord!

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)

As Christians we are called to know and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! The first step to evangelization is knowing who Jesus is as the Lord of the world, but also personally as the Lord of our hearts. This means having a personal relationship with Him and getting to know Him better every day.

During training for a nine month evangelization ministry I was a part of, the leader told us that we "can't give what we don't have". Basically, If we plan on telling people about Christ, we better know who He is first! This really struck me and it has helped me remember that the foundation of any evangelization ministry is my own relationship with my Lord Jesus.Fr. Francis Martin discusses this basic and crucial truth in ChristLife's most recent podcast. He has been a priest for many years, and is now a part of Mother of God Community. He speaks with great wisdom and his insights really challenged me in my own relationship with Christ.

You can listen in to ChristLife's most recent podcast here, or press play below:

Jesus of Nazareth

Well I have begun to read the Pope's new book "Jesus of Nazareth." The book came out in English on my birthday, May 15 - and so two different sets of people decided to both get me the book (so I had two given to me ... but one is being re-gifted to someone else).

Anyway, I've only read the first chapter - but I have found it thus far a very good read. My main point in blogging is to point out the whole theme of the book, which the Pope lays out in the introduction-

“This book is… my personal search ‘for the face of the Lord.’"

And in sharing his personal search with us - beyond just dry doctrine etc. - he is really evangelizing. And it reminded me that - beyond all my own knowledge of Catholic stuff and biblical stuff - all of that is secondary to my own "personal search" and "personal experience" of the truths of our faith (see the quote from Pope Paul VI at the top of the blog).

This doesn't come natural to us Catholics a lot of times; however, thanks to the good work of Dave and Dianne here at ChristLife, we have some resources to help us to articulate our faith to others in a more personal way. For more on this, see our course Sharing Christ.

And Action!

I don't know about you but I don't get the opportunity to be in movies very often, so when I had the chance to go to Philly to be an extra in a new movie called Our Lady of Victory I was pretty excited. Although doing "extra" work was not everything I ever hoped and dreamed of, it was a pretty good time. In addition to spending hours waiting to go on set and then hours on set being really quiet and doing the same thing over and over, I had the opportunity to talk about Jesus! Now, it wasn't anything amazing – no mass conversions or anything - but just talking about faith a couple times reminded me of how simple sharing Christ can be.
The first opportunity I had was while on a bus on the way to the set. It was about a 10 min. ride but I had to sit with a stranger. Of course we went through the normal introductions listing who, what, where, ect. and eventually we got into where we work. She is married and does "extra" work a good amount and I introduced myself as a summer intern at ChristLife: a Catholic ministry of Evangelization. From then we continued on, chatting about faith here and there and discussing the importance of knowing Christ as your personal Savior and then sharing your faith. This little chat got me excited for the rest of the day as I looked for more opportunities to share Christ's love.
To my surprise and joy the scene we were shooting was in a Catholic Church. So, sitting quietly for 4 hours on hard wooden pews was a task my body was all too well trained for and of course the setting lent itself to an easy discussion of faith. During the scene the "priest" read from 1 Peter making sure to emphasize the verse “wives submit to your husbands” and that women are the weaker sex and then, according to the script, the priest was to go on giving a very sexist homily. During a short scene break I turned to a girl near me and we discussed the verse from 1 Peter. We shook our heads sadly at the movie's misuse of the verse, recognizing important parts that were dropped and I summarized Ephesians 5:25, 28 which says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” The other women near us overheard our conversation and began chatting on their own about the movie’s misrepresentation of the Catholic Church and the Mass in various ways.
After a few similar conversations I inwardly rejoiced in the Lord for having the chance to talk about faith in an easy casual way. Hopefully I’ll continue to take advantage of the little ways I can share Christ’s love daily on set and off.