SIGNS OF HOPE IN THIS JUBILEE YEAR OF HOPE 2025!
Dear Parish Family,
“The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it!” (Jn 1:5). The Light of the World, Jesus the Christ, first shone in the darkness in the bleakest of circumstances, in the backwoods of Bethlehem, in a cave where the animals were kept, with no electricity or running water. And yet, the Light of hope for the world was ignited!
Because Jesus lives, because he took on our poverty and enriched us with his own life, there are signs of hope all around us…should we have the eyes of faith to see! The National Eucharistic Revival has been a shot in the arm for the Church this past year, and one of the primary movements that has sprouted from it is the “Walk with One” movement, in which we are called to bring the Jesus that we receive in the Eucharist to life in us by reaching out to just one other person in His name. As Jesus’ missionary disciples, the “Walk with One” movement simplifies Jesus’ call for us to “go and make disciples,” by bringing our focus to reaching just one person that the Holy Spirit has placed on our heart for this 2025.
Steps in Walking with One
How do I accompany that person in their journey to Jesus and his kingdom of heaven? There are four straightforward steps:
1.IDENTIFY someone in a spirit of humility (inviting the Holy Spirit to place someone on your heart).
2.INTERCEDE for that person in communion with the Holy Spirit (keeping their name on your radar during your daily prayers).
3.CONNECT in Eucharistic friendship (contacting them each week to see how they’re doing and getting together regularly to enjoy one another’s company).
4.INVITE that person on a path most suitable for him or her (finding a forum, such as our Catholicism 101, your own Bible study, or a regularly scheduled discussion and sharing with that person of a podcast or talk by the likes of Fr. Mike Schmitz, Sr. Miriam James Heidland, and Bishop Barron, etc.). It’s not always going to be inviting them to Mass when they are not even in a place to be able to appreciate what is going on at Mass.
SAVE THE DATE – SATURDAY, JANUARY 11
To help us be intentional and hone the above steps into our daily lives, St. Paul Street Evangelization will be coming to give us pointers on Saturday, January 11 at 9:00 a.m. for the whole day until 4:15 p.m. Mass. Not to worry, we will not be having you go out to the streets (unless you want to)! St. Paul Street Evangelization is coming simply to equip us to be able to accompany others in their faith journey, along with concrete advice on what has worked to overcome the obstacles a distracted and overbusy world puts in Jesus’ way to reach hearts.
“Be My Witnesses!” (BMW)
Our Bishop Boyea is also calling us onto our vocation to be Jesus’ witnesses to those around us! How do we do that? Through weekly videos throughout 2025, the Bishop will focus his teachings around the four key components by which we are empowered as Jesus’ disciples to witness to his saving power and love in our personal lives: 1) Prayer, 2) Learning, 3) Belonging, and 4)Mission. We can focus our efforts to practice these things as a witness particularly to just one person.
Are you catching on?
Do you recognize what the Holy Spirit is doing? In the National Eucharistic Revival, “Walk with One”, “Be My Witnesses!”, and our own parish motto of “Come and See!”, God is mobilizing his people to be agents of the HOPE he offers to the world in Jesus Christ! And he wants to use each and every one of us! Yes YOU! Open your heart to accept his invitation to be his instrument by which Jesus brings another one home to the heavenly Jerusalem! Our part is to score an assist, beginning with just one!
So whether you’re new here this season or you’ve been away for awhile or here all along, God invites you to draw closer, to learn, to grow…and to share Him with others!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Fr. Chas