News - February 2019 RSS Feed

"Well that might be true for you, but not for me.” I don’t understand relativism and that means that whenever I talk with someone who is a relativist, even in small parts, it is hard for us to connect. I realized this many years ago and had to switch my tactic in order to be more effective in my evangelization.

Ash Wednesday is a good day to share your Catholic faith with others. In fact, Ash Wednesday Masses generally have more people attend that even Christmas and Easter - which shows a high level of engagement. Below are some suggestions on how to evangelize on Ash Wed.

The Holy Grail of Catholic parish renewal is still being looked for. Publishers, apostolates, organizations, etc roll out programs, books, conferences, and plans that get Catholic leaders to jump on the bandwagon, because they want the ministry magic bullet that will transform their parish easily and quickly. There is one problem - it does NOT exist.

"Catholic Missionary Disciples has been a blessing for our diocesan team. The training set a clear pathway for opening up this topic with our constituents and provided concrete methodologies that had immediate impact on our leaders. Marcel challenged us individually and collectively to step into the areas of evangelization that are uncomfortable, practice strategies that can be transformative and develop skills to be passed on. The experience created a dynamic within our team that has moved the vision from ideas to action. It is applicable to any agency within a diocese and is practical for parish leaders and anyone taking to heart the imperative message ofThe Joy of the Gospel -  go and make disciples!"

I have seen hundreds of folks I know burnout in ministry. While it is neither cheap nor efficient to have turnover, sometimes we can’t control the fact that people move on. Is there anything we can do about it?