What if we really believed this was life or death?

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15 thoughts on “What if we really believed this was life or death?”

  1. Wow, Nick, your article “What if we really believed this was life or death?” really hit the nail on the head. This is evangelization at its best. This is exactly what is needed in all of our parishes…someone to just sit and listen…really listen, not just with our ears, but with our heart. We need to look beyond the initial request or question when someone approaches us. I am a true believer in asking people to share their story, but we all fall short sometimes…I know I do. How can we truly help them if we don’t know their story. Thank you for sharing your experience, your thoughts and reminding how essential this is.

    1. Thank you, Brenda. I so much agree with you that we need to really listen. We have to slow down enough to hear each person’s story. Thanks for your insight.

  2. Pamela Folse

    On Ash Wednesday a young lady showed up for Mass with her 8-year old son who is autistic. Mom is working on her alcohol addictions and wants to become Catholic. She has learning difficulties too, and so do her two brothers, one of whom is incarcerated and the other lives in a group home for behaviorally challenged adults. Mom and Son have walked to church e v e r y day since Ash Wednesday. The child, who was afraid of water after being thrown into a swimming pool when he was younger, was so frightened by the thought of water being poured on his head but a teacher of autistic children offered to work with him to prepare him. He was wonderful at his baptism and turned to the priest and said, “That’s not so bad after all.” Now the community is preparing him to receive Eucharist. Mom is being catechized by the gospel message she hears daily and the messages of encouragement she receives from the community and those who have volunteered to pick the two of them up for Mass. Neither of them has been in a “classroom” yet and may never make it there. The community is meeting them where they are–in their personal lives, in their faith, and in their new church.

    1. Hi Pam. Thank you for sharing such a moving story. What a powerful witness to what happens when a parish truly lives the gospel—not just in word, but in relationship and love. Blessings.

  3. Chad Robinson

    Thank you for this: “meals, prayer, shared resources, shared pain, awe, worship, spontaneous joy. Acts 2 isn’t a look back at history. It’s a medical manual for healing the wounded.”. And thank you for this: “There is only Jesus, who showed us that healing and conversion happens by touch, by presence, by loving people before they understand a thing.”.

    1. Hi Chad. I’m really glad those lines spoke to you. I keep coming back to Acts 2 because it reminds me what healing looks like in real life. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

  4. Hi Nick, I’m Jaime from Miami, Florida. My wife and I are the new dir of OCIA in our parish and I read every article I get from you two and think they are great. This one today is so moving I had to let you know. Thank you for sharing them, really, and keep up the great work. If you have ever thought about expanding your seminar/trainings to Spanish, may be I can help…

    God bless and keep up the very anointed work for Jesus.

    Jaime Padro, MOL, JD

    1. Jaime, thank you for your kind words and for the amazing work you and your wife are doing in your parish. Blessings on your ministry.

  5. Joan Prendergast

    Thankyou, Nick, for this wonderful article, and for everything you and your team are doing.

    1. Regina Fremont-Gomez

      Nick, Thank-you so much for this important reminder. On many occasions, I have been more of an administrator than a first responder -getting the parish registration form and religious education class form instead of sitting down and listening to the persons’ stories.
      I so agree with the paragraph at the end that healing and conversion happen more by touch, by presence, and loving people first. I will continue to work on being a better listener and first responder, recognizing it really is a matter of life and death.
      Blessings to you and Diana

      1. Thanks, Regina. I’ve been there too—caught up in the paperwork instead of the person. I’m so glad this article spoke to you. Blessings on your ministry.

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