"Like living stones, let yourself be built into a spiritual house."
Living Stones is the name of our Cathedral and Schools (St. Joseph’s and Immaculata Montessori) new faith formation project as directed by Fr. Osorio and Fr. Tim. The title is based on the metaphor used by St. Peter, “Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). In essence, this metaphor emphasizes that believers, like living stones, are part of a spiritual structure—a community of faith—where each person plays a vital role. Just as stones are carefully placed to construct a solid building, our lives, when aligned with Christ, contribute to a greater purpose as we join with our Redeemer Jesus Christ in proclaiming the Gospel in word and deed.
WHO? YOU! Your vital role in all of this is that over the next few months you endeavor to do some outreach; i.e, you personally invite someone who might be open to exploring becoming Catholic (or returning to the Catholic Church). We will be making some materials available to assist you in this (e.g., paper postcards and virtual ones to send as emails), but we need you to be a willing messenger (the meaning of the Greek word Apostle). Remember you don’t have to “seal the deal” and instead just “plant seeds.” (see how below)
So before you rationalize that you won’t be able to do this, if you doubt that you can be vital in this endeavor, God has already heard this before. Here’s a short list of people in the Bible who believed they could not be God’s instruments to witness his Faith, Hope and Charity:
Noah was drunk . . .
Abraham was too old . . .
Jacob was a liar . . .
Moses was a stutterer . . .
Gideon was afraid . . .
David had an affair . . .
Naomi was a widow . . .
Jonah ran from God . . .
Job went bankrupt . . .
Peter denied Christ . . .
Timothy had an ulcer . . .
And Lazurus was dead!
PS: “The rejected stone has become the cornerstone.” ~Psalm 118 You can do this!
We need people to step up to fulfill their promise made at Confirmation to be apostles ("messengers") for the Catholic Faith. Read your invitation HERE.
WHY: Service and witness are necessary for salvation as told to us in Scripture (Mt 10:32-33) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1816). The Church’s Lumen Gentium directs us all to be “Fishers of Men” to fulfill the primary (not only) role of the Roman Catholic Church: saving souls. Imagine, even if 10% of our parish engages to bring one person into (or back to) the Catholic Church, we would see close to 200 new people! The hope is that we can build upon what Bishop Robert Barron stated so well: “Your faith will grow only in the measure that you give it away.”
HOW: Your task is not necessarily to “seal the deal” but to at least reach out to someone you know, and invite them to give the Catholic Church a try. A personal invitation like this goes a long way. To see some suggested wording to include in your invitation CLICK HERE. There will be something for everyone, with specific outreach to those considering BECOMING CATHOLIC, RETURNING CATHOLICS, and fortifying all of us to engage with the numerous challenges we confront in STAYING CATHOLIC. You just help to direct the person(s) you contact in the right direction. As "fisher's of men" you "catch 'em and we'll cook 'em!"
WHEN: Our religious education programs start up in the Fall, so now is a good time to go fishin'!!
