Lent and Advent provides a special opportunity when people are more open to the spiritual life and learning. Our missions are meant to transform lives. They are themed for the season, intended for every level of spiritual development and are engaging, relevant and inspiring. Most are designed to be done in three nights.
Advent Missions Why would God become a man? Meditations on the Incarnation The Gift of Waiting Waiting for Christ to Return
Lenten Missions Where is God when it hurts? Why would God give his life for me? God's plan for you Experiencing God's Mercy Forgiveness: The choice that sets you free.
Formation
In order to grow, believers must be taught the great truths and mysteries of the faith in a way that is intellectually appealing, spiritually inspiring and practically relevant to their daily lives. In the classes we offer, we do not simply convey a greater understanding of the truth, but are aiming for transformed lives. The mission of the Church is to evangelize and to make disciples. That is the goal of Evangelize Me!. The following classes and trainings have multiple sessions and are offered over a period of several weeks. Eventually, these will be available digitally for much wider distribution.
Entering the Abundant Life: Finding more hope, peace and joy! This class developed out of series of workshops entitled, "Becoming a Missionary Disciple." It is a very practical class on applying the truths of our faith to daily life. The overarching theme is "The Father's Plan of Loving Goodness," a phrase used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church to describe God's plan to share his divine life with us. We explore God's love for us, the Pascal Mystery, the battle for the mind, the role of suffering and making complete surrender of our hearts and wills to God. This class is so life changing we hope to be able to offer it in every parish in Maine.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church This profound and useful treasure has been largely ignored by the vast majority of believers. Most find it difficult to read and understand and do not have the time or discipline to study it, and yet it faithfully reveals the profound life changing mysteries of our faith. The goal of the class is to provide an in-depth but manageable study of the Catechism, doing so in an inspiring practical way. This is actually three series of classes: "The Creed, The Sacraments, and The Christian Life".
An Introduction to the Scriptures The famous quote of St. Jerome, "Ignorance of the scriptures, is ignorance of Christ," accurately describes so many Christians today. In our hectic busy world, very few take time to read or study the scriptures. Many of the faithful read small, disjointed selections as part of their daily devotions but would not have a clue where to find a reference (perhaps even a book!) if they had too, excepting for Google of course. This class is an overview of the entire bible focusing on the the great covenants of faith and their fulfillment in Christ and the Church. We also offer classes on individual books of the New Testament.
Healthy Relationships In order to enter into the abundant life that Jesus promised, we must "know the Truth",so that we can be set free to live it. Our witness to the world depends upon our ability to love and build trust. We can only do that if we have heathy ways of dealing with our emotions, communicating, resolving conflicts and by maintaining healthy boundaries. This class is the opportunity to be self reflective about what we believe about our selves and others and to learn skills that foster growing healthy relationships.
Evangelization Training We believe that evangelization is a skill that can be taught and practiced so that a disciple can become confident and effective in communicating the Good News of the the Gospel! Our workshops focus on relational evangelization, engaging conversations, apologetics, and the power of personal witness. We seek to help disciples embrace their calling to be missionaries, being led by the Spirit, looking and praying for opportunities to share their faith. We train and encourage disciples to become small group leaders. And finally, teach them the most powerful tool of evangelization we have; the offering of our lives, with the sacrifice of Christ at every Mass!