Evangelism at 30,000 Feet

By Todd Aglialoro

Catholic Answers

I have a plane trip coming up, and with it, my standard pre-flight anxiety.

It’s not fear of flying (I don’t love hurtling through low orbit, separated from death by a few inches of aluminum and plexiglass, but I tolerate it)—it’s fear that God may put someone in the next seat for me to evangelize.

Some people—extroverts, probably—relish the opportunity to witness, but not me. I’m just no good at it. Give me a theological point to argue, an enemy of the Faith to fight, and I’m your man. But I can’t seem to work up the gumption to lean over to a stranger and say, “Hello there. Can I tell you about Jesus?”

Nor am I particularly good at explaining the very basics of what I believe and why. I remember once in high school getting into a lunchroom argument with the school atheist. He wore Slayer t-shirts and mosh-pit bruises, and would later be elected senior class president—an embarrassment that the student council soon rectified by impeaching him on technical grounds. (They couldn’t do anything, though, when the same voting bloc picked Wish You Were Here as our prom song.)

“How do you know God exists?” he asked with an edge to his voice.

From my mouth squeaked out the feeblest of replies: “Because he does.” Honestly, that was the best I could do.

I won’t be too hard on my ignorant teenage self, though. Fact is, many of us are more effective apologists and evangelists when we have something to work with. Cold-calling souls or giving a basic witness can be a much harder task than, say, responding to a direct attack on the Eucharist. As Chesterton put it, “There is about all complete conviction a kind of huge hopelessness. The belief is so big that it takes a long time to get it into action.”

So I’ve been thinking about what I’d say if, while several miles above the earth, someone were to see me crossing myself before eating a bag of peanuts and ask, in all sincerity, Why do you believe it? Ground-up, blank-slate answer: Go.

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Symbolon

Symbolon is a dynamic, state-of-the-art video resource for the evangelization and catechesis of adults. It aims at transforming adults on all levels—how they think, how they pray, and how they live—by providing a comprehensive and compelling explanation of the Catholic faith. This resource can be used at the parish, or through our online digital platform, at home or wherever one may be at to bring adults into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and the Church.

Symbolon is a production of the Augustine Institute, and it stems directly from the Institute’s mission of transforming Catholics for a new Evangelization. Symbolon is specifically designed to transform adult Catholics to re-discover their Catholic faith, in order to be witnessing disciples of Jesus Christ for the New Evangelization.

Steubenville Youth Conferences

"I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ."

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

Steubenville Conferences are an outreach of Franciscan University of Steubenville that have served Catholics across North America since 1975 in response to the Lord's call to St. Francis: "Go, rebuild My Church." As a reply to St. Francis' own model, we seek to evangelize by inviting people to encounter Christ in a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Eucharist and sacrament of reconciliation. Our mission is to call, empower, and equip Catholics to follow Christ as His disciples, serve the Church in a variety of ministries, and participate in the work of the New Evangelization. We seek to help all participants encounter the power and person of the Holy Spirit and allow His presence to renew, transform, and encourage their hearts. We want His grace to enkindle in them a deeper love for Jesus, His Church, and our brothers and sisters. We extend to our participants an invitation to strengthen their faith, to renew their minds and spirits, and to enjoy the fellowship of thousands of other Catholics who share a passion for Christ and His Church. Above all, we go forward with a fervent desire to spread His love and to work to build the Kingdom of God through prayer, service, and witness.

Steubenville Youth Conferences serve 45,000 high school youth and their leaders at 20 different conferences across North America every summer. This outreach seeks to invite teens into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church, empowering them to live as His disciples. These conferences are high-energy events featuring inspiring talks, dynamic worship, and profound encounters with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and sacrament of reconciliation.

"Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation." Isaiah 12:2

Connect | Unite | Grow
http://www.steubenvilleconferences.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/steubenville
Twitter: http://twitter.com/go2steubenville
Flickr: http://flickr.com/steubenville

Video editor: Cory Heimann - Artist/Founder @ Likable Art
Videographer: Keith Major - Director of Marketing & Media @ Franciscan University of Steubenville

Flocknote

Flocknote (blue) from Flocknote on Vimeo.

Word on Fire

Father Robert Barron is an author, speaker and theologian. He is also the founder of the global media ministry Word on Fire (www.WordOnFire.org), which reaches millions of people by utilizing the tools of new media to draw people into or back to the Catholic Faith.

Father Barron is the creator and host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking, award winning documentary series about the Catholic Faith. The series has aired across the country on PBS and EWTN, and has been seen and broadcast in parishes, universities, schools and media outlets throughout the world. The documentary received a Christopher Award for excellence. Father Barron and Word on Fire also released the documentary "CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization" in 2013.

Father Barron currently serves as the Rector/President of Mundelein Seminary University of St. Mary of the Lake. He was appointed to the theological faculty of Mundelein Seminary in 1992, and has also served as a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. He was twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican.

Cardinal George calls Fr. Barron "one of the Church's best messengers."

WordOnFire.org - Fr. Barron's website launched in 1999 and currently draws over 1 million visitors a year from every continent. Fr. Barron posts weekly video clips, commentaries and radio sermons and offers an audio archive of over 500 homilies. Podcasts of his sermons are widely used by tens of thousands of visitors each month.

TV - EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) and CatholicTV broadcasts Fr. Barron's DVDs to a worldwide audience of over 150 million people.

Radio - Since 1999, Fr. Barron's weekly Word on Fire program has been broadcast in Chicago (WGN) and throughout the country (Relevant Radio - 950 AM Chicago) to 28 million listeners in 17 states. Fr. Barron also is a regular commentator on the "Busted Halo Show" on the Sirius satellite radio network based in New York.

DVDs - Fr. Barron's DVDs are used as powerful faith formation tools in universities, schools, churches and homes around the country. The series includes Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues; Faith Clips; Conversion: Following the Call of Christ; and Untold Blessing: Three Paths to Holiness.

YouTube - With over 180 online video commentaries by Fr. Barron, over 1 million viewers worldwide have made him the most popular of any evangelist on YouTube. These frequent, high-quality productions include brief and lively theological reviews of contemporary culture, including movies such as No Country for Old Men, Apocalypto, and The Departed, a three-part critical review of Christopher Hitchen's book God is Not Great, The Discovery Channel's The Jesus Tomb, the HBO series "The Sopranos", "Rome" and more.

Missions - MISSION CHICAGO features evangelization lectures by Fr. Barron at the behest of Cardinal George. These special missions and presentations throughout the Archdiocese are centered in downtown Chicago and attract business, civic, and cultural leaders.

Books - His numerous books and essays serve as critical educational and inspirational tools for seminarians, priests, parishioners and young people worldwide. His published works are also central to the numerous retreats, workshop and talks that he leads around the country.

• Catholicism; 2011
• Eucharist; 2008
• Word On Fire: Proclaiming the Power of Christ; 2008
• The Priority of Christ: Toward a Post-Liberal Catholicism; June 2007
• Bridging the Great Divide: Musings of a Post-Liberal, Post-Conservative, Evangelical Catholic; 2004
• The Strangest Way: Walking the Christian Path; 2002
• Heaven in Stone and Glass; 2000
• And Now I See: A Theology of Transformation; 1998
• Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master; 1996
• A Study of the De potentia of Thomas Aquinas in Light of the Dogmatik of Paul Tillich; 1993

Augustine Institute

The Augustine Institute serves the formation of Catholics for the New Evangelization. Through our academic and parish programs, we equip Catholics intellectually, spiritually, and pastorally to renew the Church and transform the world for Christ.

Chastity Project

Jason and Crystalina Evert have spoken to more than one million people on six continents about the virtue of chastity. After working for Catholic Answers in San Diego for more than a decade, the couple moved to Denver and began a new ministry focused solely on promoting purity: Chastity Project.

Although the two speak to 100,000 students per year, one of their dreams was to make chastity resources available to as many souls around the world as possible. Leaders (both young and old) from more than fifty countries have contacted Jason and Crystalina, asking for chastity resources to be donated to their communities. The two have authored dozens of chastity books, CDs, and DVDs, but didn’t have the funds to purchase the rights to the products and didn’t have the resources for global distribution. Upon moving to Colorado, Jason took the photo below of a few boxes of chastity books in a closet in his home, hoping that one day he would have an entire garage of them to send around the world. Scripture promises that God “is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine,” and we know that He always keeps His promises.

Not long after taking the photo, Jason received an invitation to present his ministry vision to the leaders of Stewardship: A Mission of Faith. He shared with them how he had created numerous resources, and hoped to purchase the rights to them, so that they could be given away or sold for as little as possible. However, he didn’t have the money, and didn’t own a warehouse. David Abel, the founder of Stewardship, simply said, “Come downstairs with me.” Jason followed, and watched as David opened the doors to one of his warehouses (below) that ships more than 200,000 products daily, and said, “I’m all in.” Thanks to the providence of God and the generosity of a pair of benefactors, Jason and Crystalina were able to purchase the rights to more than a dozen of their resources, and now are offering everything at up to 90% off.

Chastity Project believes that young people play a pivotal role in the new evangelization, and therefore invites them to launch chastity projects within their schools and churches to promote the good news of purity to their peers. As Pope Francis said, “Do you know what the best tool is for evangelizing the young? Another young person. This is the path to follow!” Those who minister to teens today have unlimited needs, but very limited budgets. Therefore, through low-cost resource distribution, media appearances, seminars, and social media, Chastity Project exists to promote the virtue of chastity so that individuals can see God, and be free to love (Matt. 5:8). The orange and green colors of the Chastity Project logo are from the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe, to whom the ministry is consecrated.

Visit Chastity Project.

Dynamic Catholic Book Program

It all started with a very simple idea: 32% of the people at Christmas Mass only come to Church once a year. It’s our best opportunity to re-engage them. For years we have been letting them come and go with no real effort to win them back. What if it was as simple as just giving them a great Catholic book on the way out of church? It is. Books change our lives. Sometimes all it takes to bring people back to Church is the right book. Learn more about the Book Program.

What is the Dynamic Catholic Parish Book Program?
A simple and affordable way to re-engage disengaged Catholics and re-energize your parish.



How does it work?
1. You order a bunch of books.
2. At Christmas, Easter, or Ash Wednesday, friendly volunteers pass out the books to people as they leave Church.
3. You encourage people to read the book with regular and inspiring announcements.
4. You hear people talking about how the book is changing their lives for months, and months, and months…

How much does it cost?
We believe in keeping things as simple as possible. Order 500 copies or more for $2 per copy (including shipping). Orders 6 to 499 copies are $3 per copy (including shipping). See the titles in the Parish Book Program.

Interesting Facts
1. The Dynamic Catholic Parish Book Program (DCPBP) is the most successful New Evangelization initiative in the United States today.
2. Parishes that participate in the program three years in a row experience a 9.1% increase in attendance and a 10.4% increase in collections on average.
3. So far the DCPBP has served more than 4,000 of the 15,000 parishes in the United States.
4. 99.7% of parishes that participate say they will do it again.
5. More than 5,000,000 books and CDs have been distributed through the program.
6. Since its inception, the DCPBP has brought more people back to the Catholic Church than any other program in America.
7. The first book offered through this program was Rediscover Catholicism. First published in 2001, this book was on the Catholic Book Publishers Association bestseller list for more than seven years in a row (or 364 weeks) before the Dynamic Catholic Parish Book Program began. Today it is the bestselling Catholic book in America ever!
8. Parishioners who read Catholic books on a regular basis contribute four times more financially to their parish (and are three times more likely to volunteer at the their parish) than parishioners who do not.
9. In 2007, only one percent of American Catholics read a Catholic book. The DCBP has increased the number to 9.3% in 2012. That is a 900% increase in just five short years.
10. Spiritual reading has been central to our spiritual development since before the invention of the printing press. The great spiritual directors of every age have encouraged those they direct to read great texts that would lead to spiritual growth.
11. If only one person comes back to Church because you pass out books… and that person is forty years old, lives to eighty, and puts just $10 in the collection each week, he/she will contribute $20,800 to your parish during the remainder of his/her life. You would have to buy 10,401 books for it to be a bad financial investment. If just two people come back you would have to buy 20,801 books for it to be a bad financial investment. If ten people come back to Church you would have to buy 104,001 books to lose money.
12. 32% of Catholics only come to church once a year – at Christmas! After Christmas, Ash Wednesday and Easter are our best opportunities to re-engage Catholics.
13. Order less than 500 books for $3 a copy. Order more than 500 books for $2 a copy. Shipping and handling is included in these prices. 14. The books we offer for as little as $2 usually retail for $17.95 each. These are books, not booklets or pamphlets.
15. 43% of parishes call within two weeks of distributing the books to order more.
16. The largest single parish order ever was 10,000 books by Holy Spirit in Fremont, California.
17. St. Mary of the Annunciation in Mundelein, Illinois has participated in the program eight times, which is the record at this time.
18. In 2012, the Archdiocese of Minneapolis ordered 200,000 copies of Rediscover Catholicism to distribute at Christmas Masses, making it the largest single order in the history of the program.

Forming Intentional Disciples

How can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ, and following him as his disciples. These are times of immense challenge and immense opportunity for the Catholic Church.

Consider these statistics for the United States.

• Only 30 percent of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing.
• Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics.
• The number of marriages celebrated in the Church decreased dramatically, by nearly 60 percent, between 1972 and 2010.
• Only 60 percent of Catholics believe in a personal God.

If the Church is to reverse these trends, the evangelizers must first be evangelized-in other words, Catholics-in-the-pew must make a conscious choice to know and follow Jesus before they can draw others to him. This work of discipleship lies at the heart of Forming Intentional Disciples, a book designed to help Church leaders, parish staff and all Catholics transform parish life from within. Drawing upon her fifteen years of experience with the Catherine of Siena Institute, Sherry Weddell leads readers through steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world.

Learn about the five thresholds of postmodern conversion, how to open a conversation about faith and belief, how to ask thought-provoking questions and establish an atmosphere of trust, when to tell the Great Story of Jesus, how to help someone respond to God's call to intentional discipleship, and much more.

And be prepared for conversion because when life at the parish level changes, the life of the whole Church will change.

Buy this book on Amazon for only $11.99.

Pope Francis is TIME Magazine's Person of the Year

This article comes from TIME and can be read in its entirety here.

Once there was a boy so meek and modest, he was awarded a Most Humble badge. The next day, it was taken away because he wore it. Here endeth the lesson.

How do you practice humility from the most exalted throne on earth? Rarely has a new player on the world stage captured so much attention so quickly—young and old, faithful and cynical—as has Pope Francis. In his nine months in office, he has placed himself at the very center of the central conversations of our time: about wealth and poverty, fairness and justice, transparency, modernity, globalization, the role of women, the nature of marriage, the temptations of power. 

At a time when the limits of leadership are being tested in so many places, along comes a man with no army or weapons, no kingdom beyond a tight fist of land in the middle of Rome but with the immense wealth and weight of history behind him, to throw down a challenge. The world is getting smaller; individual voices are getting louder; technology is turning virtue viral, so his pulpit is visible to the ends of the earth. When he kisses the face of a disfigured man or washes the feet of a Muslim woman, the image resonates far beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church.

The skeptics will point to the obstacles Francis faces in accomplishing much of anything beyond making casual believers feel better about the softer tone coming out of Rome while feeling free to ignore the harder substance. The Catholic Church is one of the oldest, largest and richest institutions on earth, with a following 1.2 billion strong, and change does not come naturally. At its best it inspires and instructs, helps and heals and calls the faithful to heed their better angels. But it has been weakened worldwide by scandal, corruption, a shortage of priests and a challenge, especially across the fertile mission fields of the southern hemisphere, from evangelical and Pentecostal rivals. In some quarters, core teachings on divorce and contraception are widely ignored and orthodoxy derided as obsolete. Vatican bureaucrats and clergy stand accused of infighting, graft, blackmail and an obsession with “small-minded rules,” as Francis puts it, rather than the vast possibilities of grace. Don’t just preach; listen, he says. Don’t scold; heal. 

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Who is your King?