By: Fr. John Jasica

FORMING FAITHFUL DISCIPLES

This weekend we enter into our third year of our IGNITE THE MISSION pastoral plan of forming disciples who reach out to all.  This necessary and exciting shift from maintenance to mission seeks to challenge each of us to grow as missionaries and not simply church attendees or spectators.

The world needs our witness, our joy and our service so that Christ’s saving work continues through each of us.  The gift of our family of parishes is that we do not do this alone, but united as one family in faith, we go beyond our comfort zone and enter into the deep waters of society bringing grace, hope and light.

All of this takes time and patience.  Our IGNITE THE MISSION pastoral plan seeks to slowly implement ministries, programs and outreach over four years looking to invite, develop and grow all parishioners into courageous disciples who are willing to accept Christ’s call to service.  These four threads create a strong fabric for the gospel to be proclaimed in a way that our culture can see and encounter Jesus through us.

(1) WELCOME & FAMILY

Our first year of the pastoral plan established the call to create hospitality, welcome, openness and community—offering opportunities for us to get to know one another.  The more we know each other the more supportive we will be and the more we will invest forging new friendships as we work together for the sake of the gospel.

This thread includes all of our social activities and community events—Family movie nights, Family Super Bowl Party, St. Patrick’s Day event, New Year’s at Noon, parish breakfasts, Good Place Café, Youth Café, Shrove Tuesday Supper, Family Halloween event, Holy Saturday Easter Egg Hunt, Pickleball tournament, Family Hayride & Advent event, Mass Connections before weekend Masses, Summerfest Picnic and so much more!!

(2) PRAYER & CONVERSION

The second year of our pastoral plan established the call to develop our prayer lives and encounter Jesus Christ in powerful ways.  If we want to be disciples, we must not simply know things about Christ, but to truly experience the Risen Lord and fall in love with Him.  Without love we cannot be His followers.

We encounter Christ through prayer—both as a community and in our own spiritual lives.  When we meet Jesus, our lives completely change and we experience conversion.  This change reorganizes our priorities and brings clarity to who we are and how we are called to live each day.  This is not just a one time experience, but an on-going cycle of encounter and transformation.  Prayer is our way to dialogue with Jesus (most especially a chance to listen to Him) and to place Him and His mission first in our lives.

This thread of our plan introduces opportunities for us to develop our spiritual lives and deepen our need for prayer.  We encourage this to be done together as a community but also in our own personal prayer life.  A good habit of prayer strengthens us on our mission as disciples.

Here are some of the events/opportunities we have offered—St. Peregrine, Our Lady Undoer of Knots & St. Joseph novenas, Faithcation annual retreat, Advent/Lent parish missions, Jubilee Adoration Series, increased adoration opportunities and confession times, parish pilgrimages, message series, Ignite the Mission Prayer, Our Lady of Lourdes Anointing of the Sick celebration, monthly anointing Masses, Way of the Cross and so much more!!

(3) GIFTS & CALL

We now begin the third year of our pastoral plan, adding the thread of discernment—a chance to reflect on who we are, what we have and how God is calling each of us to serve.  God has bestowed on all of us various gifts, talents and abilities that are to be used for the proclamation of the gospel.  Each of us has been anointed in Baptism and strengthened in Confirmation for mission.  We need to recognize the gifts we have and know how to use them so that Christ’s saving work can continue through us today.

During this pastoral year we will introduce ways that we can prayerfully reflect and discern each of our talents/gifts and figure out how we can most effectively help transform our world, bringing others to Christ.  This discernment requires prayer, reflection and an openness to live differently.  It also requires patience and the ability to be silent, so we can hear the whispers of God.

We cannot serve on our own terms, we need to surrender to God’s plan and have the courage to follow where Christ guides us.  The purpose of our family of parishes is to form apostles for this era, who are ready and willing to seek out those who are in most need, bringing them the hope, joy, light and grace of Christ.  When we do this, we live our fullest lives.  Stay tuned for a number of events over the coming months to reflect on our gifts and God’s call.  Let us take extra time during this special year to realize Jesus needs us to bring His love to the world.