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Forming Disciples: Living the Great Commission
Jesus calls his disciples to make disciples of all nations (Mt 28). This session covers the basics of what one must know to do what Jesus asked, with particular emphasis on the thresholds of conversion and the phases of discipleship. These principles are applicable to every area of life - at work, at home, at church, and out and about in public. What do you do when you meet a stranger in church? What do you do when you meet someone who is looking to grow in faith? How do you address those who drop their children off at faith formation class but do not attend Mass? This session addresses what to do in these situations in order to lead others into discipleship. Intentionally living out discipleship means leading others into discipleship.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." - Matthew 28:19-20
"And what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." - 2 Timothy 2:2
"There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed." - Blessed Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi (Evangelization in the Modern World)
"Jesus had to acquire the disciples from God. The same is always true. We ourselves cannot gather men. We must acquire them by God for God. All methods are empty without the foundation of prayer." - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Address to Catechists and Religion Teachers, Jubilee of Catechists, 12 December 2000
Set All Afire by Louis de Wohl
Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell
"Today, we need a Church capable of walking at people's side, of doing more than simply listening to them; a Church which accompanies them on their journey...a Church which realizes that the reasons why people leave also contain reasons why they can eventually return. But we need to know how to interpret, with courage, the larger picture." - Pope Francis, Meeting with the Bishops of Brazil, World Youth Day 2013
"Our expectations, hope for success, needs to be tempered by the conviction that one man sows and another one reaps. We cannot always have the consolation of the fruits of our labor." - Cardinal Seán O'Malley, Chrism Mass Homily 2015
"At every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength." - Catechism of the Catholic Church
"Above all, you will have to pay the price yourself, not so much by rehearsing plays or giving up football games, as by stirring up in yourself a life of prayer. The extent to which you yourself are able to live on the love of our Lord will be the exact measure of your ability to stir it up in other people." - Jean-Baptiste Chautard, The Soul of the Apostolate