The Can’t-Be-Bothered Method of Anti-Evangelization
So you’re standing around before Mass and the priest says to you, “Listen, I’m busy. So I’ve decided to draw a line. I know you’re properly prepared to…
Faith Library
Author: Jennifer Fitz
Culture and Evangelization: Working with the People You’ve Got
One of the realities of parish and community life today is that we nearly always have a meeting of multiple cultures. My own parish is home to first-generation…
What Makes a Small Discipleship Group Different from Other Groups?
Last month I wrote about the critical importance of small groups in parish life. Even though we may feel a sense of belonging in a large community, genuine…
Small Groups: The Best Most Dangerous Thing That Can Happen to Your Parish
I was recently invited to sit in on a small-group faith formation session at a parish in my diocese. It was everything you could hope for, truly a…
Catholicism Is for People Who Don’t Fit in
I recently visited a nearby Evangelical congregation where everyone had a particular “look”. It wasn’t a bad look. It was good. They were delightful people who clearly loved God…
What is Discipleship?
At a discussion forum for Sherry Weddell’s book Forming Intentional Disciples, someone asked, “What does discipleship look like?” It’s easy to talk about the need for discipleship without having a clear…
Anatomy of a Liturgically-Centered Evangelizing Ministry
Last month I wrote in broad terms about how scheduling decisions affect our ability to evangelize. This month I’d like to look at a case study to show…
Scheduling Evangelization into Parish Life
If you want to make something happen, put it on the calendar. Want to exercise more? Set days and times aside for exercising. Can’t seem to find time…
Come to Mass Ugly, Please
For the last twenty years I’ve kept a working cat around the house, which means I know exactly what they’re talking about in the expression, “You look like…
Mid-Easter Evangelization
Every Easter there’s drama at my house: When, oh when, will we finally have that Easter Egg hunt? My poor children have heard the dreaded words too often…