Office of Discipleship & Faith Formation

02/23/2018

Perhaps the most important question any of us can ask ourselves. Have you had a life-changing encounter with Christ?

Author and therapist, Charlie Bloom, describes a chance meeting with St. Teresa of Calcutta at a hospital in New Delhi many years ago. He recalls,

02/22/2018

There's some tough words here, but this article deserves some reflection and honest evaluation if we want to be effective and truly pass on the message of Jesus. What do you think?

NOTE - There will be a lot of bold (and frank) statements in this post. Discussion and feedback is welcomed and appreciated, but please be polite, even if you disagree. When the Catholic Church, in the USA, faced the biggest problem in her history (the clergy abuse scandal), the reaction and change....

02/22/2018

I loved this movie and this makes it even cooler. The actress felt called to take a break from her career in Hollywood to focus her relationship with God. Then later he confirmed that this was in fact her ministry. God has plans for our welfare and for a future with hope. He just wants us to make sure he's at the center.

Across the nation, Letitia Wright is captivating a starstruck media for her “breakout” role in Black Panther. But few are reporting how the actress almost gave it all up in her effort to seek God first. The 24-year-old born in Guyana and raised in London plays the character Shuri, the younger te...

02/19/2018

Here's an article on the St. Mary's Press study about why Catholic kids are leaving the Church. It's a fascinating study that we just read and are likely to talk much more about.

"Besides these broad categories, the researchers also noted six “dynamics” of disaffiliation—that is, factors that contribute to young people leaving the Church.

A precipitating event or insight triggers a process of questioning and doubt.
Faith and religious practice are seen as one option among many—a reflection of the broader secular culture.
The individual feels free, happy, or relieved at the decision to stop believing and/or to leave the Church.
The individual believes religious practice was forced on them, and vow not to “force religion” on their own children.
The individual says, “I can be ethical without religion.”
The individual cites a lack of evidence in God or “something bigger,” but isn’t closed to religious belief—if a rationale or scientific argument for belief could be presented."

Young people are losing their religion in record numbers, particularly within the Catholic church. A new study turned to some of these young former Catholics to ask why they left. Here's what they found. by Jerry Windley-Daoust “Studies i

02/19/2018

"I still see arguments all over the place that if catechesis and liturgy were both what they should be in parishes, they would be bursting at the seams. Perhaps this argument is true to a certain extent, but only to a certain extent. If we listen to the people who have fallen away, we find that some of them fall away for doctrinal reasons (which, yes, stem back to dodgy catechesis) but far more often they fall away for reasons relating to the community and life."

There's a fascinating insight later in this article about Catholic culture and how even though the social context has changed, continuing with the same pastoral practices can cause a kind of "anti-evangelization" culture within parishes.

Lots of people I know are praying the novena to the Holy Spirit right now in the lead-up to Pentecost. Just a health warning… be careful what you pray for. Two years ago, while on this jaunt …

02/16/2018

This is surprising and really cool--Andy Warhol was a devout Catholic!

"Religion kept Warhol from going over the brink. He attended Mass almost daily. Other days he would just slip into St Vincent Ferrer on Lexington Avenue, drop into the back pew and pray. He spent his Thanksgivings, Christmases and Easters volunteering at a soup kitchen, and befriended the homeless and poor whom he served. He put his nephew through seminary. Though openly gay, he endeavoured to remain celibate throughout his life. When he refused to support the gay rights movement, many of his friends blamed his faith."

The Vatican Museums exhibition will be something of a homecoming for the artist

02/15/2018

Could missionary discipleship be the answer to your ministry frustrations? Here's a process one parish used to grow small groups exponentially. The best way to explain it...baseball.

Why missionary discipleship? Better to ask why participation in small groups grew from 2 to 200 in just 3 years at St. John Nepomuk Parish in Yukon, OK. This post describes how they did it.

02/14/2018

Interesting to see that some Millennials are attracted to liturgy (22%), but a great number are leaving for non-liturgical churches (44%).

Is it possible to have both liturgical and non liturgical elements at the same time? Do these have to be opposites? Can you not have both a traditional Mass and contemporary worship at once?

Though Millennials (14%) and Gen X (11%), more so than Boomers (5%) and Elders (1%), feel that liturgical styles of worship are outdated, they are also more likely to be curious about it (12% Millennials, 13% Gen X) than the older generations (5% Boomers, 3% Elders).

Millennials are actually the most likely to make a shift from a non-liturgical church to a liturgical one-but they are also most likely to make the opposite move as well. More than one in five (22%) has moved to a liturgical tradition (compared to 16% of Gen X, 11% of Boomers and 12% of Elders), while 44 percent have shifted away from it. Gen X (40%) are close behind in leaving liturgical churches, followed by Boomers (23%) and Elders (14%).

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. This season, along with other rituals and readings for congregational worship, are part of what is known as Christian liturgy. Though practiced for centuries, these traditions are mostly absent from many contemporary worship expressions today. Just h...

02/12/2018

Everything you need to know about Lent (well, almost everything) in one minute...and with Legos too!

Ash Wednesday and Lent explained in 60 seconds. With LEGO!

02/11/2018

How can we foster the next great Catholic revival and the generation of saints? Yes, the statistics look bad but the Church has come back from worse conditions many times.

"Forming Intentional Disciples" author sees hard truth as chance to grow in Christ

02/11/2018

Reminder that starts this Wednesday, on ! It's still a day of fasting and abstinence...

02/11/2018

If you haven't already read Sherry Weddell's book, it is definitely a 'must read.' I am curious from the readers of our page 'How has this book impacted your ministry?'

This is the most important book that I have read in the last 10 years. Within these twelve chapters Sherry Weddell addresses the state of the Catholic Church in America today and how to go about fixing it. This is the book that any attempts at reform, rebuilding, or renewing parish life and culture