When Jodi and I started our family, I was not practicing my Catholic faith. I have been away from the sacraments since about fifth grade and had a lot of questions and issues with Catholic teachings—so when I finally decided to take seriously the promise I made to raise our kids Catholic, I had a great deal of baggage. I asked our priest, Fr. Bill, if I could meet with him. We sat down in the rectory living room, and I unloaded.
For half an hour to an hour, I went through my list: I don’t understand this; I’ve got a problem with that; I don’t get this, and don’t agree with that. He listed patiently, and when I finally exhausted myself, he smiled. He told me I had a good head on my shoulders, that God gave me that and wanted me to use it, that my questions had answers, and that I should ask them from inside the Church. He advised me to go to Confession and resume receiving Communion.
He invited me in.
I’m sure, with the issues and questions I had for him, that he knew I was struggling with some pretty serious sins. He probably also knew that I was largely ignorant of the seriousness of those sins, and that the sacraments would provide the grace I needed to see them as they were and, eventually, to overcome them.
His invitation was nearly impossible to refuse, so gentle and reasonable it seemed, and so loving and human he was to me. I accepted, and that first step forward changed my life.
As a parish, we are co-sponsoring a great event this spring: REBOOT Live! with Chris Stefanick. This event is meant for people of all ages and backgrounds, at all points in their faith journey, to reignite their relationship with God and their passion for the faith. REBOOT is a great opportunity for people at the fringe of our faith community to be drawn more deeply into God’s love and mercy
Personal invitation is the most effective means of doing this. If you know of someone who could benefit from an evening or prayer and inspiration, praise and worship, reach out to them individually—personally—and invite them to REBOOT.
The event is Wednesday of Holy Week, April 17, from 7:00 to 9:30 PM at St. Michael Catholic Church in St. Michael. Tickets are $22 each, but registered parishioners with teens in grades 6-12 get two free tickets (one for a teen, one for a parent) through the end of the month. Tickets are on sale now in the Parish Office. Contact me for details: jimt@saint-andrew.net or (763) 441-1483.
Wednesday Witness is a weekly series of blog posts by our director of evangelization and catechesis Jim Thorp, who also blogs at Archangel Stomp. Check out previous Wednesday Witness posts on The Net.