Evangelization Events
Lesbian and Gay Catholics Spirituality Group
See new BostonGayCatholics LGBT Ministry
for event info.
Bread on the Common
Street Ministry to Homeless Persons
Wednesday, Aug 27
6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
All are invited to be part of a ministry to homeless persons on the streets and nearby the Shrine on the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of each month. We meet in the auditorium of the Shrine at 6:00 p.m., prepare food packets, and then visit with homeless persons on the streets, offering food, socks, and presence, ending at 7:30 p.m.
For more information, please contact Justin (cell) 804-306-6163 or
Dr. Jackie Stewart at 617-542-6440, ext 143.
Peace and Social Justice
JUST MATTERS GROUP
The Just Faith/Just Matters Group of Young Adult Catholics meets monthly to plan events, such as films and educational series that concern issues of peace and social justice. See the Franciscan Adult School for event offerings.
More Info
20 BOSTON/30 BOSTON
Young Adults Ministry
For more information on this group please contact Gary Convertino at 617-542-6440, Ext. 147 or by e-mail gconvertino@stanthonyshrine.org
More Info
Franciscan Adult School
The Come Home Program
For those who feel alienated from the Catholic Church
Lifestyle? Divorce? Clergy Abuse? "Invalid Marriage"?
Or any other reason?
The Franciscan Friars of St. Anthony Shrine would like to hear from you.
Fr. Flavian Walsh and Fr. Donan McGovern, Directors
For more information, email comehome@stanthonyshrine.org or call 617-542-6440
About Evangelization
What
image comes to
your mind when you hear the
word “evangelization?” I suspect for many, we immediately picture
a pair of young men dressed in dark suits knocking at our door, earnestly plying
us with a copy
of their Bible publication. Others might recall the hawkers with placards and
bullhorns on a street corner judging that we sinners are going to hell unless
we repent now. Or perhaps the
Bible thumpers in the public
garden or the TV evangelist “selling” their version of the Gospel.
But all of these images which many find off-putting have nothing to do with
evangelization.
They have everything to do with proselytization—telling you what you should
believe. Evangelization, on the other hand, is telling others what we believe,
specifically, how each of us has experienced the presence of God working in
our
own life.
Why is there a Church?
Do you know the one and only
reason why the Church exists? It is to further the
reign of God, to evangelize. Jesus is the
first Evangelizer.
Remember his self-proclaimed
mission, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed
me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty
to captives
and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim
a year
acceptable to the Lord.” The Samaritan woman at the well was the first
person besides Jesus to go off and evangelize. She told everyone about her
encounter
with Jesus, and at her invitation, they came to him to see Jesus for themselves.
They
began to believe in him because of her word. Evangelization is
everyone's responsibility. By
our Christian baptism, we are
given the responsibility to share
in the mission of Christ, to
proclaim the Good News that
is the ministry and life of Jesus.
For some reason, Catholics
seem to be reluctant to talk
about their faith. Many feel it's
a “Protestant thing.” But we do speak loudly by our actions.
And, as St. Francis of Assisi says, “preach the Gospel at all times,
when necessary use words.” We do evangelization by growing in our relationship
with Jesus Christ, by living our faith - our lifestyle, by sharing our faith
with others, by inviting others to faith - extending an invitation, and by
transforming society with gospel values.
Evangelization is the heart of all
Christian ministry.
Our new Office of Evangelization offers several explicit Programs in evangelization,
such as the Outreach
Program, Rebuild My Church. However, all Christian
ministries are really evangelizing ministries. At St. Anthony Shrine, this
includes our Wellness
Center, our
Kids' Program, our Liturgies of Worship, Sacraments of Reconciliation and
Healing,
Spiritual Direction, Seniors' Group, Separated/Divorced Catholics Group,
Friends of Gays and Lesbians, Lazarus Program, the Renaissance Center,
Meditation, English as a Second Language classes, Hispanic Ministry, Hospitality,
Peace and Social Justice, and soon. All of these ministries have
at their heart the desire to share
the Good News-God desires all
to be made whole. For
Christians, Jesus is the message
and the messenger.
An Invitation to Hospitable
Discussion
St. Francis of Assisi was praying before an
image of the crucified Jesus. He heard a compassionate
voice
speak to him saying, “Francis,...my house is
falling into ruin. Go, and repair it for me.” This
was the first time the crucifix spoke to St. Francis.
He hastened to respond to the Lord’s request. In the
tradition of St. Francis we too respond to the crucified
One to repair his church of today which is likewise
in ruin. We are inviting all who are concerned about
this issue to come and talk about our experiences as
a hurting family of faith. We ask family members and
friends to extend a personal invitation to those who
feel distanced from the institutional church because
of this issue and to accompany them to some gatherings,
where they may voice their concerns in a hospitable
atmosphere of respect and compassion. All who are still
in the pews and share these concerns are most welcome.
Near and far off, we are one family.
Pope Innocent III had a dream that the Lateran Church
was falling down. He saw a simple man who he recognized
as St. Francis of Assisi, propping up the crumbling
Church. This Pope had already started implementing
a program of reform in a church that suffered from
the laxity of its clergy and its accumulation of wealth
and power. However, it was St. Francis inspired by
the crucified Jesus who became the great reformer of
the church of his times with his simplicity, hospitality,
and purposeful joy-filled following of the Gospel of
Jesus. St. Francis sought to serve God not just in
words but also in fearless actions. Jesus’ call, “Francis,
rebuild my church,” inspired him to go beyond its physical
structures and to seek its rebirth and reformation
as a community, a Church in love with one another.
For Francis, Jesus and his Church were one and the
same.
Let us pray: “God, send me holy courage to respond
to people in pain, to take action in time of crisis,
to restore the Church where it is crumbling, to affect
a world in need, to be a living, breathing, active
instrument of God’s peace.” |
Dr. Jackie Stewart
Director
(617) 542-6440,
Ext. 143
|
