American Idol

 

“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image,… you shall not bow down to them or serve them…” 
                                                                                                —Exodus 20:3-5

When one is standing in line for confession performing an examination of conscience, sins against the 2nd commandment (see above) are usually not the first to spring to mind. And yet, for many of us, the sin of idolatry may hang more heavily upon our soul than any other Say the word idol and most of us picture a statue of a pagan god, such as the molten calf (Exodus 32:2-8) What absorbs our time, attention, and our hearts can be our idols. For the young, perhaps it is social settings, video games, sports, academic success, television (can you say ‘American Idol’). For adults, self searching might uncover the idols of money, career, beauty, a big house, a fancy car, expensive vacations, or the admiration of our peers. If one or more of these has primacy in your life, then you may have become a slave to worshiping an idol.

God wants all of us to be happy. He wants to reveal His love to us through prayers, scripture, the Eucharist, etc, so that we can in turn share His love with others. We often deceive ourselves and believe we can “have it all”, keeping our idol worship AND being a good Catholic Christian. We are the most convincing liars when we lie to ourselves. “No one can serve two masters: for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matt 6:24

To become a disciple and establish a personal relationship with Jesus is to make a life-changing decision. To become a new creation, to die to self so as to live for Christ and others, is to consciously cast our idols into the burning fire of Christ’s love. It is to stop wasting time “decompressing” after a hard day at school or work by watching hours of television and surfing the web.

Why not spend that time reading the Bible for a few minutes, or go to a quiet place in your home and pray to our heavenly Father? If you added 15 minutes of prayer to your day every day, at the end of a year, you would have spent nearly 4 days in prayer.

We cannot share with others what we do not have ourselves.

What Does the Bible Say?

“I have been crucified in Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” - Gal 2:20.

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” - Acts 1:8

Evangelism Challenges This Week

1.   Go to the kiosk in the narthex and purchase one of the CD’s that interests you. Listen to it this week. Discuss it with friends or family, then pass it on.

2. Download a Catholic App this week for your smart phone or tablet. There are several great ones to choose from at GSCC.net/Home/Evangelization/tabid/480/Default.aspx!  There you will find Laudate , a free app offering the Daily Order of the Mass, Mass Readings of that day, Saint of the Day, Prayers and much more.

Also look for the apps linked from OSV Newsweekly at OSV.com

 

 

We Cannot Share What We Don’t Have

“ …Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners; but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. “      

— 1 Timothy 15-16

Before we can be successful in leading people home to Jesus and His Church, we need to grow closer to God ourselves. Few people are convinced into conversion by argument. Rather, as with St. Paul speaking to Timothy, we serve as examples to others who see Christ in us and want to experience Christ in themselves. Jesus has risen and is alive with us today, for “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." (Luke 20:38). The Church has always taught that we can have a personal relationship with God and grow ever closer to him to the point that He lives in us and we in Him. How do we grow closer to someone? We grow closer by spending time with them, talking with them spontaneously through the day as we share our joys, sorrows, dreams, and troubles. Developing a relationship, let alone falling in love with someone, would be particularly difficult if we limited our time together to one hour every Sunday morning.

This “spending time” with Jesus is also known as “prayer”. There are many ways to pray (see “19 Ways to Pray” on our website): reading scripture, the rosary, asking for intercession of the saints, journaling, etc. But it is often the off the cuff “Help me Jesus,” or “Jesus, I trust in you,” or sometimes the plaintive “Jesus, what do I do now?” that makes His presence more real to us. St. Teresa of Avila actually complained to God once, after she fell in the mud: “If this is how you treat your friends, it’s no wonder you have so few”. These extemporaneous talks combined with receiving the Eucharist deepen our relationship with Him to the ultimate degree. One could win a chance to talk to their favorite actor on the phone for an hour and truly say they formed a personal relationship with him. To receive the Eucharist is to have that actor ring your doorbell and come into your home and spend the day with you face to face.

“It is necessary to awaken again in believers a full relationship with Christ….Only from a personal relationship with Jesus can an effective evangelization develop.” 

— Blessed John Paul II

 

What Does the Bible Say?

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’”

— Isaiah 6:8

Evangelism Challenges This Week

“I want to have a deeper relationship with Jesus, but how do I listen to His Voice?” It is difficult to hear a quiet voice when we are bombarded by lots of noise. God speaks to us in the depths of our hearts, but in order to hear Him we need to take time to quiet the noise around us, whether it be the noise in our ears or the noise in our hearts.  Listening is the first step.   

Seek out a quiet space to listen to Him this week.  Prayer begins by opening our hearts to Jesus in silence.  Turning our minds and hearts to God opens us up to hear His voice.

· Spend 10 minutes each day in complete silence.  Reflect on what God means to you. 

· Say a prayer of thanksgiving for something that you are grateful for.

· Compliment a family member. Tell them how much you love them & are grateful to have them in your life.

 

Lectio Divina

An ancient form of Christian prayer that opens our hearts to the voice of God is called Lectio divina (holy reading) in which we use reading, silence and meditation in conversation with God. In conversation with God through the word of God, we become more deeply united to God, our Father.

 

 

 

The Cost of Discipleship

For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?”

— Luke 14:28

The bedrock foundation of Catholicism has always been that there is a personal God who loves us and we can have a relationship with him. Many Catholics may not even be aware that a personal relationship with God is the norm. They have been baptized, confirmed, attend Mass, and receive communion, sailing along as cultural Catholics who keep their faith safely within the confines of Sunday. What is truly important is family, careers, friends, and goals. These are all important and God wants us to not neglect them. But the pursuit of such earthly things can lead to spiritual bondage.  Ironically, should such Catholics contemplate deepening their relationship and fully committing themselves to Discipleship, they often experience fear that they will lose their freedom.

It is true that there is a cost to Discipleship. To shift your priorities and focus away from yourself and on to God and others can be a difficult thing. But the payoff is unending. Anyone who has ever been a parent knows that a part of your old life is forgotten when your child is born. That old life in which you did whatever you wanted whenever you wanted is over. You serve, you love, you provide. And through the process, your life, your world, your capacity to love is expanded far beyond what you thought possible.

Since the beginning of time, the question lurking beneath the surface of our lives rises “Is this all there is?” Here are three answers.

1. “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”    - St Augustine

2. Zachariah : “Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, he has come to set his people free..” — Luke 1:68

3. When asked what the greatest commandment is, Jesus replies “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” — Mark 12:30

We cannot evangelize others until we evangelize ourselves. Do not fear committing your life to Jesus and following him. Calculate the cost – He is worth it. Be a disciple.

 

What Does Pope Francis Say?

“Jesus teaches us another way: Go out.

Go out and share your testimony, go out and interact with your brothers and sisters, go out and share, go out and ask.

Become the Word in body as well as spirit!”

 

Evangelism Challenges This Week

Pray to the Holy Spirit to fill your heart with the wisdom and courage to follow Jesus more closely in a tangible way. Say the Rosary. Attend a daily Mass. Stop by the Adoration Chapel and give 15 minutes to our Lord.

Pray to the Holy Spirit to help you discern which earthly things are keeping you in bondage. Ask His help in refocusing your life so as to walk with Jesus in freedom.

Share Your Faith. Pray each day for God to lead you to someone with whom you can share your faith. Be aware of the dignity and needs of people who serve you. You'll brighten their workday, and you might open a door to some deeper sharing.                                                    — from Catholic and Confident

 

 

Be a Disciple

Evangelization is a sharing of the “Good News” with our fellow human beings. It is recognizing that God came to earth, taking on human flesh so as to take our sins upon His back and lead us to Himself. When we realize all that this entails, we want to share it with others.

What evangelization is not is proselytism (an attempt to convert people from one Christian tradition to another). It has absolutely nothing to do with coercion or lack of respect for the freedom of others. Only God’s grace can effect a conversion. And yet, many of us are afraid to evangelize for fear that we will be seen as proselytizing, forcing our beliefs on another against their will. This view of heavy-handedness is the opposite of what inspires true evangelization.

One way to remove the fear of evangelization is to think of life as a vast ocean. Humanity must cross this ocean. Jesus Christ has left us with the message that what we seek lies across this ocean and He has given us a map and blueprints (Scripture and Tradition) on how to build a ship (the Church) that will carry us safely to our destination.

As we sail toward our goal, we see other boats, some of which were built by former fellow seafarers from our own ship who thought they could build a better craft or had a more accurate map. We see other boats of very foreign designs, sometimes even going in the opposite direction. When storms come, as they always do in life, we take refuge in knowing that though our boat is not perfect, we have tried to shape it as accurately as we could to what the Designer wanted. Our hearts are moved to see our fellow men being tossed about in the tumult, and want to share our security and accurate map by inviting them aboard.

We are not forcing them aboard; we are sharing the gift of direct passage, the safest, and the surest way to our destiny.

This week’s Evangelism Challenge

Talk the talk – Begin introducing God into your daily conversations.

“God bless you”,

“Praise the Lord”,

“I’ll say a prayer that turns out well for you”,

“I am so sorry to hear that. I will pray for him/her”.

 What Does the Bible Say?

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here I am; send me!’”

– Isaiah 6:8

“…Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence;  and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

– 1 Timothy 3:15-16

“Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent.”

– Acts 18:9

“…Here am I, send me!”

 

One of the great miracles in history is the growth of the Church that Jesus of Nazareth founded shortly before he gave himself up for crucifixion. Over the next four centuries, individual members of this obscure Jewish sect in Palestine, with the help of the Holy Spirit, shared the Good News they had received with their friends and neighbors. The Catholic Church would grow to become the official religion of the Roman Empire and most of the known world.

Today, we Catholic laymen find ourselves in a situation very similar to our Catholic forefathers, living in a secular society whose pagan segment is ever-increasing. In addition, one out of every three people raised Catholic have left the church.   It is estimated today that only 23% of Catholics attend weekly Mass.  The largest Christian designation in the United States is Catholic. What is the second largest? – Former Catholics. We members of Good Shepherd Catholic Community in Colleyville, Texas, in the year of our Lord 2013, have the historic opportunity to imitate our forefathers and evangelize, that is, to bring the Good News of Christ to our fellow citizens, especially our brothers and sisters who consider themselves former Catholics.

Why should we Evangelize? For over forty years, our popes have told us.

Pope Paul VI put it this way “Evangelizing is…the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to Evangelize.”

Blessed John Paul II in 1983 called for a “New Evangelization” saying “(Evangelization) …will gain its full energy if it is a commitment, not to re-evangelize but to a New Evangelization, new in its ardor, methods, and expression.”

Pope Benedict XVI established the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization on September 21, 2010, noting the Church is being challenged by “…an abandonment of the faith – a phenomenon progressively more manifest in societies and cultures which for centuries seemed to be permeated by the Gospel.”

In February of this year, Pope Francis spoke of whom we are called to evangelize: “Instead of just being a Church that welcomes and receives, we try to be a Church that comes out of itself and goes to the men and women who do not participate in parish life, do not know much about it, and are indifferent towards it.”

What can you do?

Like any great journey, one starts with initial easy steps. The first step is to evangelize yourself.

Seize the moment and begin learning more about our faith. Stop putting off deepening your relationship with Christ. One will always be “too busy”. Deepen your prayer life; participate in the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation; sign up for a Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) retreat. Allow yourself to fall in love with Christ and it will be felt by all who meet you.

An easy next step in evangelization is to wear something that by its presence identifies you as a Christian. A cross necklace, a cross lapel pin, a ring with a Christian symbol, a small cross or crucifix in your office, a rosary, a religious medal – wear something that silently proclaims your faith.

This week’s challenge:

1: Wear something every day that silently identifies you as a Christian OR put something in your workspace / desk that does the same thing.

2: Read Chapters 25-28 of Matthew’s Gospel.

What does the Bible say?

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’”

– Isaiah 6:8

“Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

– Mark 16:15

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

– Mathew 28: 19-20

Be a Disciple

 

Evangelization? “Be a Disciple”? What in heaven’s name do we mean?

Evangelization  — what is it about this word that so many Catholics are put off by it? One of the members of our own evangelization advisory committee reported that when their spouse heard they were to be part of our team, the spouse said something like “Why would you want to do something like that? That sounds terrible!” To many, evangelization conjures up images of a pair of young men in white shirts and skinny ties with bibles in hand knocking on the front door. To others, overly-dramatic televangelists asking for donations. What do we Catholics mean by “evangelization”?

Evangelist – from the Greek evangelion.  In Greek, this means good message . It could also be translated as gospel or good tidings. The word is the product of the combination of eu,  a prefix meaning good, and angelion, message. That last word should look familiar; it’s also the source of our word angel.   As evangelists, we are all called to bring the good news of the Incarnation, of the Cross, and the Resurrection to others. As evangelists we are not so different than the angels: we, too, are ambassadors of heaven, sent on a mission from God Himself.

Thus, evangelization is a sharing of our Catholic faith. It is giving witness, proclaiming the good news, extending the kingdom of God on earth through family life, friendship, work, study, etc. It is appreciating the tremendous gift we have and wanting to share it with our fellow human beings.

What Does the Bible Say?

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here I am; send me!’”

– Isaiah 6:8

For, "everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?  And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!"

— Romans 10:13-15

“Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent.”

— Acts 18:9

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”  

— Matthew 28: 19-20

 Evangelism Challenge This Week

Pray that God will strip away all impediments from sharing our faith with others.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will help us identify others who will be moved by our sharing the faith with them.

 

Practical Tip

Change one of the pre-sets on your car radio to a Catholic radio station (AM:910, “Guadalupe Radio Network” or Sirius XM 129, “The Catholic Channel”.) Listen for 5-10 min each day on your commute to or from work or on one of your daily errands.