come Holy Spirit

Posted on May 30, 2014 by the Bouchers

SP7One of the challenges of the Christian life is relating to Father, Son and Holy Spirit in prayer and deed. Granted that each of us may have a preference in prayer, but still, we are baptized into a relationship with the Trinity. And now, the time between the Ascension and Pentecost, is our opportunity to cry out the the Spirit.

We are doing just that as we grapple with the loss of a friend in ministry, Lee Nagel. “What are you doing, God? Aren’t you the paraclete, who stands by our side? Weren’t you by Lee’s side? Come and grant each of us your understanding, your wisdom. Hover over us all with your gentle breath of life.”

Come, Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life.

Come, Spirit of Truth and Hope.  Come, Consoler Spirit, be my Help.

Come, Holy Spirit, Living Water. You are the Spirit of Christ.

Come, Holy Spirit, Giver of Gifts, anoint us.

Come, Holy Spirit, Blessed Light and Living Flame of Love.

Come, Holy Spirit, Soul of the Church, Seat of Wisdom.

Come, Holy Spirit, Sanctifier and Breath of God.

Come, Holy Spirit. Come Paraclete. Make the world your temple.

 

PS. Here is a video prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Posted in encounter Father, Son and Spirit | Leave a comment

Threshold conversations

Posted on May 29, 2014 by the Bouchers

IMG_0591copyThe plane has landed. We are unpacked. Our brains are finally in gear. And best of all, what we learned about sharing faith from the 78th NCCL (National Conference for Catechetical Leadership’s) four-day gathering is still unfolding. There is much wisdom to share from the nine learning sessions and one keynote about evangelizing and discipleship.

Let’s start with Sherry Weddell’s helpful guidelines for entering into an open-ended dialogue about life’s BIG questions, or what she calls a “threshold conversation” that can build a “bridge of trust” between two people. Here are some openers for these kinds of conversations that we collected from Sherry and throughout the conference: What gives you the strength to do such a good thing?…  How have you died and risen today?…  What strikes you about Pope Francis?…  Help me understand what you are thinking!…  Tell me about the God you don’t believe in…  Tell me about your worship experience…  Do you suppose God had anything to do with your situation?… And in response to “So what!” it may be appropriate to share a ‘so what’ moment of your own.

PS. Got to use one of these during a telephone call that happened mid-blog!! Alleluia!

Posted in how to share faith, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Pope Saint Paul VI, the Man Who Launched a Billion Evangelizers

Posted on May 11, 2014 by the Bouchers

1977 Salt and Light Media

1975 headline: BRAND NEW, CATHOLIC document on EVANGELIZATION is released. We were so excited! It was an unprecedented rallying cry to live a life of missionary faith, especially by sharing the Good News of Jesus, Christ. Since then, On Evangelization in the Modern World, by Pope St. Paul VI has been referred to as the final document of Vatican Council II, published ten years after the closing of that historic event.

It has been read and studied by thousands upon thousands! And it is no exaggeration to say that Pope Saint Paul VI is the man who launched a billion Catholic evangelizers, filled with new zeal for sharing the Gospel. Its wisdom begs another look today, another effort to bring the whole world to the foot of the Cross and into the Kingdom of God.

One of our favorite quotes is: “The task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church. It is a task and mission which the vast and profound changes of present-day society make all the more urgent. Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize.”

Update

 Some years later, on Oct. 19, 2014, a miracle was approved involving an unborn child in the 1990s in California, with serious health problem that could easily lead to brain damage… Instead of an abortion the mother prayed for Paul VI’s intercession, using a fragment of the pope’s vestments that a friend had given her. And so the child was healed and the Good News of God’s love was underlined once more.

Still later, on October 14, 2018, Pope St. Paul VI was canonized. Perhaps one of his greatest tributes lies in the words of Pope Francis, who Called Paul VI, a man who “knew how to witness, in difficult years, to the faith [the mercy, the healing and the missionary zeal that we can find] in Jesus Christ.”

 

 

Posted in evangelizing events unplugged, growth for evangelizers | Leave a comment