Evangelization Events
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Adult Confirmation Program-2012
Five Saturdays, beginning Saturday after Ash Wednesday (2012)
February 25, March 3, 10, 17 & 24
10:30 a.m. to Noon
Presenters: Dr. Jackie Stewart, Justin Quattrini & Maureen Connell
Have you been baptized and made First Communion in the Catholic Church but have not yet been confirmed?
Adult Confirmation classes begin on Saturday mornings (see program schedule) at St. Anthony Shrine for adults (ages 20 and over). Those preparing for the sacrament and their sponsors are all welcome.
Candidates for Confirmation are adults who participate in Sunday Liturgy and the sacraments.
Deadline for registrations for 2012 program is Monday, February 13, 2012.
Copy of Baptismal certificate is required.
For more information and to register, please contact
Dr. Jackie Stewart at 617-542-6440, ext 143 or email SAS.Evang@gmail.com
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Bread on the Common
Street Ministry to Homeless Persons
2nd & 4th Wednesdays
5:45 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 5:45 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. PLease advise ahead of time if you plan on coming.
For more info. contact Dr. Jackie Stewart at 617-542-6440, ext. 143 or email SAS.Evang@gmail.com
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Peace and Social Justice
JUST MATTERS GROUP
The Just Faith/Just Matters Group meets monthly to plan events, such as films and educational series and advocacy opportunities that concern issues of peace and social justice. We also oversee a Prison Ministry.
More Info
Monthly Just Matters Group meeting: see Bulletin for date, 5:30 to 6:45 p.m.
Also see the Franciscan School for Just Matters study modules.
"Living Solidarity: Government, the Federal Budget and the Common Good"-beginning in February 2012"In the Spirit of Francis and the Sultan: Muslims and Christians Living Together" -- anticipated beginning in Fall 2012
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, Director
For more information, email comehome@stanthonyshrine.org or call 617-542-6440
Fellowship and Fiesta!!
First Wednesday of each month
5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
St, Anthony Shrine
(4th floor Clare Room unless otherwise posted)
A time for discussion, Bible study, reflection and fellowship in a relaxed setting.
There is a primary topic for each month.
Food will be provided by participants, but any additional food/desserts/beverages welcomed.
Anyone who is interested in joining the group is welcome!
Please let us know if you plan on attending and if/what you might be bringing.
Any questions? Please contact Dr. Jackie Stewart at 617-542-6440, ext. 143.
Pre-registration required by November 1, 2011
Separated/Divorced Catholic support Group
Meets every Sunday, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Contact Fr. Flavian Walsh, OFM, Spiritual Director, 617-542-6440.
Hispanic (Latino - Latina) Ministry
Grupo Oracion meets every Wed., 4:15 to 5:15 p.m.
Contact: Br. Daniel Murray, ofm, 617-542-6440.
(revised 21 January 2012)
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
|
