'ChristLife'

Faithful learn how conversion inspires evangelization during training sessions

MADISON  The acclaimed ChristLife: Catholic Ministry for Evangelization series equips the faithful for the work of spreading the Gospel — helping others discover, follow and share Christ as members of the Church — first by giving them the opportunity to call on the Holy Spirit for the conversion of themselves and others — making a personal decision to accept the saving sovereignty of Jesus and to become his disciple.

That’s what Father Michael Saporito, pastor of St. Helen Parish, Westfield and a board member of the Maryland-based ChristLife, and his staff of 18 leaders told 50 Catholics during training sessions for the ministry on Sept. 18-19 at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard here.

“The Holy Spirit was essential in the life and ministry of Jesus. We must be renewed in the power of the Holy Spirit. Pope Paul VI said, ‘Evangelization will never be possible without the action of the Holy Spirit,’ ” said Father Saporito, who noted that Catholics can learn how to evangelize effectively through ChristLife, which consists of following three, seven-week series: “Discovering Christ,” “Following Christ” and “Sharing Christ.” “ChristLife is about transformation, not information. It’s about bringing people into a relationship with Jesus and his Church. Conversion is powerful and personal and changes people’s lives. They are on fire to engage in their parishes and everyday lives and to tell the story of what the Catholic faith is all about,” the priest said.

It is critical that we tell that story of faith, because the task of evangelizing remains the “essential mission of the Church,” said Father Saporito, again quoting Paul VI.

ChristLife ministry consists of following three, seven-week series:

• “Discovering Christ,” which helps anyone — from baptized Catholics in the pews to the unbaptized person, who has never entered a church — enter into or renew a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, experience the love of God and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live as God’s children.

• “Following Christ,” which helps participants grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through the grace of God by praying together, teaching and supporting one another in some of the basic disciplines and truths practiced by Christians since the early Church.

• “Sharing Christ,” which trains Catholics to being open to sharing Christ with others and invite them to be part of the Church anytime and anywhere in their daily encounters with people.

“It takes time to see [Jesus] through grace, to grow in trust of relationships and to reach a decision to give a personal response. It involves the whole person: an appeal to the mind and heart,” Father Saporito said. “We need to create an environment, where people desire to give their lives completely to the Lord, Jesus.”

Participants in “Discovering Christ,” for example, divide into groups of 8-10 people often of varied backgrounds: faithful Chris­tians, nominal or inactive Christians, non-religious or members of other religions, said ChristLife leader Gail Laughlin, who presented a talk about small groups at St. Paul’s.

“The purpose of a ‘Discovering Christ’ small group is for participants to have a personal encounter with God’s love and to come to know Jesus in the context of community. It’s primarily about relationships,” Laughlin said. “The fruit of your service is changed lives, lasting friendships, deepening of your relationship with God and a new-found courage to share the ‘Good News.’ ”

Attending the sessions were clergy, religious and laity from local parishes and graduates of the diocesan Certificate in Catholic Evangelization program, offered at St. Paul’s, including Jeri Prokop of St. Joseph Parish, Lincoln Park. In March, she and two other Catholics from the diocese attended Christ­Life training in Maryland and plan to offer training locally.

“I saw how people can be moved and fired up to want to share Jesus with others. There are so many people hungering for God’s love and a relationship with him,” Prokop said.

Also participating in the sessions were Manny and Linda Fernandes, ChristLife team leaders at St. Jude Parish, Hopatcong, where the entire 21-week ChristLife series has been completed.

“During the ‘Sharing Christ’ portion of the course, we are shown different tools to help in our evangelizing process,” Manny Fernandes said. “We learned how to find our personal conversion stories and you know what? We all do have one. It’s remarkable how you look back on your life and you suddenly realize what drives your faith. I thank the ChristLife program for showing me the way,” Manny Fernandes said.

Allan Wright, St. Paul’s academic dean, noted that ChristLife “draws people together to build friendships first, forms people in the faith, begs the Holy Spirit to touch people’s lives so they encounter the risen Jesus and shows them how to share the faith in a way that’s normal and life changing.”

“The Church has two universal calls: one to holiness and the other to mission. People like the first, because they can focus on themselves and their relationship with Christ,” Wright said. “The second — the call to mission — is something we need to do better at, because it’s not in the Catholic mindset to share the faith. This program allows a real sense of mission to take place for the individual Catholic in the parish setting,” he said.

[Information: (973) 377-1004.]