This is a guest post provided by Joseph Mangone, a pastoral liturgist from Irving, Texas. I recently had time to read Pope Francis’ “Joy of the Gospel.” It is deeply profound, yet Pope Francis’ style of writing is not papal but that of a disciple, teacher, and shepherd who want his flock to discover the
The church evangelizes with beautiful liturgy
You are going to make a difference in someone’s life this year. That is a fact. The question is, what kind of difference will you make? Will your impact be positive or negative? Will it be deep or shallow? Will it be lasting or fleeting? Will you influence many or few? There are a lot
30 days to a wise, fearless, tender-hearted, hopeful life
Several years ago, I was leading a workshop, and I asked the room what they thought the most important reform was to come out of the Second Vatican Council. For those of us who remember the church before Vatican II, there are many choices. However, on that day, no one with gray hair raised their
The secret to holiness—an RCIA challenge
When I moved to California over 20 years ago, I left my Midwestern roots, my family and friends, everything I knew. I moved 2,000 miles from home. That is about 500 miles more than the distance between London and Moscow. You have to cross two mountain ranges to get from the Midwestern United States to
Pope Francis wants to know, does your RCIA team smell like sheep?
Fifty years ago today, the bishops of the world issued this mandate: “The catechumenate for adults…is to be restored” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, December 4, 1963). Fifty years later, I don’t think we have yet answered this call—not completely. In fact, I think we may be getting off track and “restoring” something that never
Pope Francis is setting sail…is your RCIA team onboard?
I remember the first time I read a papal letter. I was a junior in college, and I had recently taken a job as a campus minister. The new, young, exciting pope, John Paul II, had just issued his first encyclical. There was no Internet in 1979 (well, there was, but only computer geeks and
Five ways Pope Francis will change your RCIA ministry
One year in high school, I worked a part-time job at K-Mart to pick up some extra gas money. Early in November, there was a notice in the employee break room asking for associates to work on Thanksgiving Day to stock the shelves in preparation for “Black Friday.” The store was not going to be
Does your catechumenate team have a recipe for a greed-free Thanksgiving?
“Every person has the right to hear the gospel.” —St. Paul Ronald D. Witherup makes two points about St. Paul’s bold statement to the Christians in Corinth: We’re all sinners Witherup goes on to explain why St. Paul is adamant about this right to hear the gospel. First, he says that Paul believes we are
I gave my last Forum institute this past weekend. Well, sort of a Forum institute. Forum, as our readers will know, closed down on June 30. But this institute had been scheduled many months ago. When Jim Schellman asked the diocese of Shreveport — and me — if we still wanted to go ahead with
RCIA ministry is flourishing in Shreveport
I was headed to a movie at a cinema downtown the other night, and I walked by a street preacher who was shouting Bible verses and sketchy theology at passersby. I went to high school and college in southern Missouri, so I’m familiar with street preaching. However, if you have never seen a real, live
What I learned about Catholic evangelization from Bible-quoting Pentecostals
