Awakening Faith Program
Awakening Faith–Becoming Authentic Catholics
Fully Engaged in Our Faith
Disciples Rising up in Splendor
Isaiah wrote the following, which we heard in last Sundays first reading:
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you…
The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord reminds us not just of Jerusalem, but of what awaits us all as true disciples of Jesus Christ, as members of His Church fully engaged in our faith. For Christians, discipleship begins with our Baptism and continues until our death. Too many of us remain in darkness, isolated from the Lords glory, disengaged from our faith.
Too many of us do not exercise Gods gift of faith received in Baptism. When we fail to strengthen our faith by appropriate spiritual exercise, it atrophies just like our muscles. My life is a good example of such atrophy, ignoring Gods glory and dismissing the saving gifts of His faith and His Sons Church.
As a young adult, I allowed my faith to wither away, as I became a Catholic in name only. It took years before I awakened to Gods gift of faith, many years before I became an authentic Catholic. I will briefly cover four subjects in this essay: Faith, Authenticity, Excuses, and Reconnecting.
The Importance of Faith
Before awakening in faith, I was anything but an authentic Catholic. I rarely attended Mass nor did I take advantage of the sacrament of Reconciliation. I called myself a Catholic, but that was just a cultural designation. I did not live my faith and often sinned against God in various ways.
My testimony is about Christs light shining through the darkness, darkness that kept me apart from a personal relationship with Him for many years. Eventually, with Gods grace, with prayerful intercessions by a family who loved me, and through the Holy Spirits influence, I awakened to the splendor of the Risen Lord in my life.
This conversion of heart took faith, faith long missing in my life, faith I failed to accept, faith I failed to understand, faith I ignored in my drowsiness. I lived a life away from the Church, away from my brothers and sisters in Christ. Today I write to you about faith and its importance in my life because I recognize how important faith is in all our lives.
Perhaps you saw the Awakening Faith flyer in the bulletin recently and probably skipped over it, not thinking it had anything to do with you. 30 years ago, I would have done the same thing. Now, like Jerusalem rising up in splendor, I am awake in the splendor of the Catholic faith, blessed by God, and grateful for the Holy Spirits influence in my life. I now have an active, fruitful spiritual life. Have you ever wondered if something is missing in your spiritual life? Let me tell you a short story about faith.
A man fell over the edge of a cliff and grabbed a branch, preventing a certain fall to his death. He yelled out Oh my God, how will I save myself? Suddenly, God answered, Let go of the branch! The man yelled again Is there someone out there with a better idea? as the branch broke and he fell to his death.
I too would not let go of the branch for a long time! I let my faith grow dormant, unused as I fell toward my spiritual death. As a cradle Catholic, I received all the appropriate sacraments as a child. I attended religious education and then became a wayward, faithless, inauthentic adult Catholic.
I held on tightly to that branch. Then, during a difficult time in my life, with Gods grace, I let go of the branch, tentatively at first. I asked a priest I had met to hear my confession”what a joyful relief! I reconnected with my faith by getting involved in liturgical ministries at various AF chapel communities which lead to an authentic engagement in my faith.
Authentic Engagement
Then, after moving to my last duty station with the Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB OH, (my wife) Judy and I joined a parish in a small town between Columbus and Dayton. I became a Lector and ministry coordinator, an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and joined the Pastoral Council.
My spiritual life got into high gear at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Rio Rancho upon returning to New Mexico. I again became involved in liturgical ministries; became the lector coordinator; was invited to serve on the Pastoral Council, then hired to be the Director of Communications and Development. We both joined various other ministries at the parish.
I now work for the Archdiocese by giving testimony plus writing and speaking on the practice of stewardship. We came to the Church of the Incarnation where the Holy Spirit showed me how I could bring others back to the Church through the Awakening Faith program.
I let go of the branch and let God into my life, accepting the peace and joy of a personal relationship with His Son and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Over time, I had became more and more engaged in my faith, greatly expanding my spiritual life, attempting to truly live, not just proclaim, the Catholic faith.
This change of heart, this conversion, took time but first began when I answered Gods call to follow His Sons example, to awaken to the splendor of all Christ has to offer through His Mystical Body on earth, His Holy Catholic Church. The Church was there all along. Christ was there all along. I am the one who moved away, who fell asleep, who ignored the Gospels Good News.
I finally recognized what I was missing by not being an authentic Catholic, by not being engaged in my faith. Matthew Kelly, the author of Rediscovering Catholicism, the book Fr. Rick generously made available to each parish member in November, wrote an entire chapter on what it means to be an authentic Catholic. I wish I could have read that book 35 years ago! I should have been awake to the Truth, the Full Truth found in the Catholic Church!
I should have listened to this scripture quote which I pray every day now: “Write upon my heart, O Lord, the lessons of your holy word, and grant that I may be a doer of your word, and not a forgetful hearer only.” James 1:22
I am finally awake. I am finally a doer of His Word, and not a forgetful hearer only. Are you? Are your family members? Are your friends awake in their faith? We just celebrated our Saviors Birth, the Feast of the Holy Family, and last week the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, and now today His Baptism. The Church, in its wisdom, tries to awaken our faith through these feasts, these great holy days.
The question as I see it is How will we put this seasons message into action, how will we get engaged in our faith. We can choose to come to Mass rarely, to avoid the sacrament of Reconciliation. We can simply be entertained when it is convenient and avoid that personal relationship with Jesus Christ”I did! Now, I cannot imagine being asleep to His splendor nor can I think of living without being fully engaged in my faith.
Excuses for Staying Away
I used numerous excuses to keep from becoming engaged in my faith. I was too busy working, too busy with family, I saw no value in going to Mass. Eventually, I had been away so long, I thought there was no safe way back to the Church. I thought there was no chance I would be welcome.
No matter how long anyone has been away, no matter what changes anyone may think happened in the Church, the real Truth remains: each of us is welcome as members of the People of God. Our family hurts when just one member is away! Catching up after a long time away is not as difficult as you might think”I did it. You can too!
Perhaps you do not agree with something the Church teaches, or you think it teaches. I have found the more I know about Church teachings, their background, their full scope, the better I recognize their truth. Understanding through proper formation, learning the faith, is essential to acceptance. Without faith, I could not accept the truth in Church doctrine. Ignorance is not bliss!
If you think you have made too many mistakes to return to the Church, do not worry. I have made more than you and I returned; I was welcomed home. If you think you could never confess all your sins, do not worry. I did. I was one of what our priests often call the big fish, one who has been away a long time, received the grace, and found the courage to return.
Finally, you may feel hurt by someone in the Church, a priest, a fellow parishioner, even by a sisters ruler across your knuckles. We Church members are human and very, very fallible. In St. Pauls letter to the Colossians read on the Feast of the Holy Family, we heard the importance of forgiveness. We can forgive with Gods grace!
I was hurt; hurt by what I interpreted was more interest in receiving my donations than in my eternal salvation. Perhaps I heard the wrong message; perhaps that was the message. Regardless, with Gods grace I got over that, I came back, I awakened, I am now home, and I reconnected with Christs Church.
Reconnecting with the Church
Do you remember Christs parable about the lost lamb and the shepherds rejoicing for having found it? That is how the parish family feels and how Christ feels when one like me returns to His open arms. Christs arms are open for each of us; theyre open for you!
The Awakening Faith program can be your path, or your friends path, or your family members path back to Church, reconnecting with Christs Mystical Body on earth. If you have been away from home for a long time, you know how great it feels to return. That feeling is tiny and insignificant when compared with the joy, compared with the blessings, compared with the peace one receives upon returning into full communion with the Church.
I know. I was away. I returned. You, your friend, your relative can feel the same thing. If we are coming to Mass each weekend, we are headed in the right direction. The Awakening Faith program is an opportunity to motivate the slackers among us to return, to learn what we are missing.
We all need be part of this effort to bring our Catholic family together. Take an Awakening Faith brochure from the church entrance with you today. Give it to someone you know who is not at Mass every weekend. Invite him or her to come with you to Mass, and invite them to the Awakening Faith six sessions beginning Friday January 28.
I promise the Holy Spirit will awaken your faith as well as theirs! Take part in Awakening Faith, as one who encourages another to attend, as one who reconnects with his or her faith, or as one who joins the Awakening Faith team. Now, turn the page to learn how you can participate.
What you can do to make a difference, to bring out family back together:
Pray for this effort in our parish and in others across the nation. We each have a role to play in making the Church family complete again. God will bless you for your part. He and this parish family will rejoice. This is a great way to begin the New Year.
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
Call the parish office at 771-8331 to register for the program as one returning or as one willing to help. We need people to provide hospitality, to set-up the facility, to help facilitate discussions.
Most of all, we need people to pray! Everything we do should begin with prayer. Pray for the program’s success. Pray for someone you know to attend for an opportunity of awakening his or her faith. Please pray for everyone to reconnect with their faith, to live their baptismal vows, to become engaged in their faith, to come closer to Christ through the Church, to return home.
Take this prayer home and pray it each day through the end of March:
Loving God, create in us an every growing faith, with hearts open and centered in you.
Awaken within us the fire of your Spirit,
so that your love may fill us more fully,
and flow throughout our lives.
Increase within us a desire to reach out,
to invite, to share,
to welcome and to accept.
Awaken the faith of all your children,
especially those Â
who have grown distant from you,
those ready to hear an invitation
to the love you alone can bring.
Awaken us, loving God,
to see the fullness of your grace and peace.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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If you have fallen away, remember this. We miss you; we welcome you; we want to see you back home where you belong. Yours in Christ, Bill Mader, 250-8570, bill_mader@hotmail.com. Next six week session of Awakening Faith begins May 5th @ 7:00 pm.
See the attached flyer below: