The Evangelical Catholic - The Way, Part 1: Leader/Individual Guide

THE EVANGELICAL CATHOLIC

LEADER/INDIVIDUAL

Copyright 2019 The Evangelical Catholic

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Published by The Word Among Us Press

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ISBN: 978-1-59325-357-8

eISBN: 978-1-59325-368-4

Nihil Obstat: Msgr. Michael Morgan, J.D., J.C.L.

Censor Librorum

August 13, 2019

Imprimatur: +Most Rev. Felipe J. Estevez, S.T.D.

Diocese of St. Augustine

August 14, 2019

Scripture quotations are taken from The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1965, 1966 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America opyright 1994, United States Conference of Catholic BishopsLibreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright 1997, United States Conference of Catholic BishopsLibreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Unless otherwise noted, papal and other Church documents are quoted from the Vatican website, vatican.va.

Cover design by Austin Franke

Interior design by Down to Earth Design

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the author and publisher.

Made and printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019911772

Contents

Introduction

Follow me.

Matthew 4:19

Long ago, Jesus spoke these simple words to his disciples. Jesus speaks the same words to us today. We can hear it in the restlessness of our hearts amidst the frantic pace of modern life. We can sense it in our most honest yearnings for purpose in a world inundated with distraction. This introductory small group guide aims to echo this call: Follow me. All of us are called to pursue the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6), which are not some things but rather Someonethe Word made flesh, God incarnated in the person of Jesus Christ.

In his first encyclical letter, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person (1). This person is, of course, Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our faith and the reason for our hope. St. John Paul II proclaimed Christ the foundation and center of history, its meaning and ultimate goal (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 5). This personJesus Christ, the center and ultimate goal of human historyis the foundation and focal point for this The Way study.

Our purpose here is to prompt an actual encounter with the living Godwith Jesus Christ risen from the dead. In communion with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, we hope that the following small group sessions will help participants consciously grow in the life of Christ through experience, reflection, prayer, and study (USCCB, Our Hearts Were In addition to a presentation of truths regarding Our Lord and his Church, The Way seeks to facilitate a deeply personal, yet at the same time communal, encounter with God.

We all long for deep friendship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. These types of friendships form when we can gather together to express and solidify that which bonds us for eternityour faith and hope in God through Jesus Christ. Our common Baptism binds the Church together and makes the way for Christian community. We hope that for each reader, each participant in this exploration, The Way might become an avenue for truly intentional Christian communityone that reflects the manifold gifts of the body of Christ, one that nourishes real growth in each disciple of Jesus, one that responds to the call of Christ to be a light unto the world (see Matthew 5:14).

St. John Paul II promoted small Christian communities as a means of evangelization, as instruments for effectively sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in the world. Being a part of a thriving small group promotes substantial spiritual growth and even conversion, and this sort of holy vitality quite naturally spills over into the lives of others. As St. John Paul II noted, Those who have come into genuine contact with Christ cannot keep him for themselves; they must proclaim him (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 40).

Mature disciples, who are continually enlivened by their encounters with Christ, often serve as strong witnesses when it comes to sharing the gospel. Perhaps no one stands readier, with more excitement, to share the beauty of Jesus than one who continues to meet him daily. In the same way that we are compelled to share good news with those around us, there is nothing more natural, after having received the ultimate good news (or gospel) of Jesus Christ, than to burst forth and share this great gift with the world. This sharing sits at the heart of Catholic evangelization.

It is in our continually confirmed experience that effective small groups can facilitate deep, personal encounters with Godencounters that will bear the fruit of evangelization for years to come. Small groups can help reawaken the evangelical impulse of our tradition and reposition evangelization as the essential mission of the Church and her deepest identity (Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14). After a personal and life-changing encounter with Christ, we cannot help but share with others the good news.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Matthew 12:34

The content of The Way leads individuals and groups to reflect upon the heart and habits of discipleship. As Catholic disciples of Jesus, who find our principle encounter with the Lord in the Eucharist, the source and summit of the Christian life (Catechism, 1324), we mature to the extent that we allow the heart and habits of Jesus and his people to become ever more our own. The heart and habits of Catholic discipleship include the following fundamentals (see General Directory for Catechesis, 88-92):

A life centered upon Godthe Trinityas revealed in and through Jesus and his Church

A committed and spiritually formative sacramental and liturgical life

A life of consistent, deep, personal, and communal prayer

A life steeped in Scripture

A shared communal life in the Churchthe body of Christ

A life on missionsharing the good news of Jesus with others in word and deed

A life of ongoing conversion and growth in freedom as we conform to Christ in our character and in the particulars of our vocations

Both parts of The Way reinforce all these elements of discipleship, but they each emphasize different topics to foster sequential growth and new habits. Part 1 looks at friendship with Jesus, personal prayer, and devotion to Scripture, while Part 2 delves into the Eucharist, community, ongoing conversion (including the Sacrament of Reconciliation) and mission.

We hope that this small group guide will help you further encounter Jesus Christ, the center and cornerstone of our faith, giving your life a new horizon and a decisive direction (