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!

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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.”

 

 

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How many voices did you hear today?

Posted on May 8, 2014 by the Bouchers

According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis focused his homily on the day’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (8:26-40), which details how the apostle Philip led the Ethiopian to faith and baptism. The first thing the account shows, the pope said, is Philip’s willingness to obey the Lord’s call to leave what he was doing and set out. “Without this docility to the voice of God, no one can evangelize.” Second, the Bible explains how Philip walked with the Ethiopian, listening to his concerns, respecting his sensibilities and offering explanations. “You cannot evangelize without dialogue. You just can’t because you must begin where the person is,” the pope said. “This is very important.”  (From Catholic News Service)

We might be tempted to think that Philip had an easy task, when it came to zeroing in on God’s voice. Towns were small and life was uncomplicated. While you and I live and breathe complicated and noisy lives. After all, from the crack of dawn to lights out, we can be assaulted with many, even hundreds of voices: the singers we listen to (5 to 25), chatter at our work stations and lunch tables (10 to 30), voices on the phone, actors on television (10 to 20) per show, and what about all the silent voices behind text messages or the multitudes of inner voices some of us have in our heads. Who can count this high?

What we need is an orchestra conductor for all of these voices. Guess who that might be? Jesus, the Word of God made flesh among us. The key to being ready to evangelize is a daily sensitivity to his voice. The key is also listening to the whispers of God’s Spirit as we listen to all of these other voices. The key is an awareness, and a rejoicing when God moves among us. Jesus had this awareness when a  woman with a severe, twelve-year hemorrhage approached (Lk. 8:43-48). He did not turn to her as if she had robbed him. Jesus turned to her so they could glorify the Father together. This is what happens when we evangelize. Why not take a few minutes to pray with a song about this woman’s evangelizing encounter with Jesus, who is the “Voice of God”, entitled, “He Just Brushed By?”

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