discipleship Archives - Page 4 of 7

Start with Jesus presentation panel - L.A. Congress 2020 - video screenshot

What a Team! Speaking in the Arena at L.A. Congress

One of my favorite phrases at Loyola Press—”What a team!”—can be traced to our president emeritus, Fr. George Lane, SJ, who often reacted to success stories in this manner. This phrase captures the experience I shared earlier this year with a group of talented colleagues at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. If you’re not familiar with the L.A. Congress, it is the largest religious education gathering in the country, drawing about 25,000 people over four […]

Catechists as Co-Missionaries

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

Each year when catechists are commissioned on Catechetical Sunday, I envision Jesus’ Great Commission before he ascended into heaven: Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole […]

The Influential Catechist

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

In a previous article I encouraged catechists—myself included—to move ever steadily toward God’s vision for us and the world. On this journey of accompaniment, we influence one another through our acts of Christian discipleship. Charlie is a catechist and influential civic leader. He helped re-establish a medical center in a town near under-served rural communities. He explains, “It often took over an hour for an ambulance to transport patients to a full-service emergency medical facility. […]

The Seven Ds of Discipleship - illustration of people talking

The Seven Ds of Discipleship: #3 Decision-Making for Christ

Julianne Stanz

This is part three of a seven-part series on discipleship. “Just make a decision,” I said to my two children as they were vacillating between two very simple options for dinner. If only all decisions could be so trivial! While some decisions in our life can be very simple, others will be pretty complex. This is especially true when making decisions in relation to our faith. In the last two parts of this series, we […]

The Seven Ds of Discipleship: #2 Discernment

Julianne Stanz

This is part two of a seven-part series on discipleship. In my last blog post, we discussed desire as a key to discipleship and reviewed a number of ways that we can keep the flame of our faith burning. We will now look at a critical spiritual skill to help us to grow as disciples: discernment. Being a disciple means that we must make the time to reflect upon our lives. Just as Jesus went […]

The Seven Ds of Discipleship: #1 Desire

Julianne Stanz

This is part one of a seven-part series on discipleship. In the past few years, the terms “discipleship” and “missionary discipleship” have become very familiar to those in ministry. But the concept of discipleship and mission is not new and has been a part of our Catholic faith for 2,000 years. The word disciple comes from the Greek word mathetes, meaning “pupil or student of the master.” The Master is, of course, Jesus Christ. Your […]

Asian and Pacific-Island Cultural Encounter and Dialogue

Jayne Ragasa-Mondoy

This is the fourth and final article in a series highlighting key statements from Encountering Christ in Harmony, A Pastoral Response to Our Asian and Pacific Island Brothers and Sisters (ECH:API), approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2018. The Asian and Pacific Island population in the United States is the fastest-growing minority population, according to research referenced in Encountering Christ in Harmony. Yet this population “tends to go unrecognized in the […]

Forming Discipleship Among Your Catechetical Team

Julianne Stanz

Our parishes include people in all stages of their faith journey. While each Christian shares certain characteristics in their spirituality as children of God, there are differences. Every person’s spirituality is unique, because each of us is a unique human being. Differences can depend on education, formation, geographical location, age, ethnic background, and so on. Each of us is at a different stage of growth in our spiritual life. How can catechetical leaders accommodate catechists […]

Retreat Ministry: Encounters with Christ

Julianne Stanz

Discipleship is a way of life and is not bound by the constraints of programs or processes. It progresses at a pace willed by the Holy Spirit. Time and trust are the currencies of discipleship, but when the time we spend with our students is limited to one hour a week between September and May, our ability to be present in their lives is challenged. Finding ways to connect outside the classroom with students and […]

Service as a Catalyst for Missionary Discipleship

Julianne Stanz

The corporal works of mercy play an important part in discipleship. When acts of service are planned to intentionally proclaim the Gospel and treat all people as if they were Jesus in disguise (see Matthew 25:34–40), they are a catalyst for initial and ongoing conversion. In her wisdom, the Church outlines a systematic and comprehensive process of evangelization and faith formation that nurtures conversion. This process of evangelization includes the following five stages. Pre-evangelization Initial […]