In March of 2019 Bishop Sullivan assembled representatives from all 64 parishes of the Diocese of Camden at a weeklong Convocation of Catholic Leaders. The Convocation’s mission was to revitalize the Diocese, asking the Holy Spirit to help recreate Spirit-filled parishes of vivacious Missionary Disciples. Since then, many of the parishes have been working on exciting plans and projects that were to be unveiled on a continuing basis.
The Lord requires His disciples to follow Him, as a servant would follow his master. Christ tells us, “. . . where I am, there my servant will also be.” Thus, it’s incumbent for us to keenly focus on Jesus, make sure we stand with Him, and promote His invitation of eternal life. Our greatest expression of love is to share this knowledge.
Jesus explains, “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Hopefully, we are among those few. He also reveals, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.” In his famous Inferno, Dante elaborates that those “many” will enter a dark realm with the foreboding condemnation of, “Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here” over the gateway. Luckily, we on Earth still have “hope” of eternal salvation and as Catholics, we have a duty to share that “hope” with everyone we meet. Jesus, himself, has given us the Commission to introduce this hope to our friends and family through the promise of eternal life for the faithful found in the Gospel.
At the Convocation, delegates were taught that as Catholics, Christ calls each of us to serve Him as a Missionary Disciple. Missionary Disciples look to welcome believers to the place “where Jesus’ dwells” in our Catholic churches and to introduce non-believers to His invitation. Missionary Disciples can be your parish’s evangelization engine. With the proper programs they can lead the way for a revitalization of your parish.