I hope your Lent has begun well. Jesus’ time in the desert without eating anything or 40 days may make our Lenten practices seem pretty small, but God is not concerned with your disciplines as much as He is with the spirit in which you do them. If I gave up coffee and wine and chocolate and sweets, only to be a bitter crank all the time, it wouldn’t be an offering pleasing to the Lord. What pleases Him is a contrite heart and afflicted spirit, one that admits sinfulness and honestly is working to grow in holiness, that is, in radical self -gift. May the Lord bless your journeys of 40 days!
Continuing to describe our parish’s pastoral plan, I would like to go over another pastoral priority: “Evangelization - Planting the Seed.” This priority states that “all parishioners will be equipped and empowered to boldly share the Gospel and its effects in their lives with the churched and the unchurched alike.” One of our target goals for this priority is to have at least 40 people with a Christian background (“reversion”) and 10 with non-Christian background (conversion) to have experiences of transformation into being Christian disciples (moving from “Saul to Paul”). Another goal is to have one or more evangelization programs each year that draw 50 participants (total) so that the Gospel is being shared in our local community through our parishioners’ connections with others. Another goal is to increase RCIA participation, so people are actively considering becoming Catholic (even if they aren’t certain yet). The final goal is to have 50 parishioners go through training in telling the story of salvation in Christ as well as their own story of meeting Him.
Why do we wish to make this a priority? Let me count some ways… Firstly, because Catholics are generally belowaverage on these skills that the Lord asks of us. We need to trust Him and follow his direction. Secondly, because so many people are leaving the Catholic faith and leaving other Christian denominations as well, identifying as having no religious affiliation (often dubbed “nones”). The fields are ripe for the harvest! Thirdly, because evangelization brings new life to our parish and it is beautiful to see God working in new ways in people’s lives. Fourthly, because it helps all of us to grow stronger in our faith when we are sharing it. Fifthly, because people are attracted to a community that knows why it exists and is bold in its mission. Sixthly, it goes hand-in-hand with our outreach to the poor - as spiritual works of mercy (caring for the person’s soul) work alongside the corporal works of mercy (caring for the person’s body). There may be more ways, but I will stop there since I think I covered the big ones, and I don’t know if “seventhly” is a real word.
Continue to pray for each other during this Lenten journey, and ask for prayers from others (individually works best!). We are meant to support each other along the way home to heaven, and that is one of the best ways to do it.