Open the Door of Faith

Orchestrated byLeland Nagel

NCCL Executive DirectorLNagel@NCCL.org

Knock!Knock!

God is constantly

knocking at the gate of my heart

to invite me to go beyond the state I have reached,because my whole life should be a journey on the way to Love.

- Charles Cardinal Journet

It is possible to cross that threshold when the

word of God is proclaimed and the

heart allows itself to be shaped by

transforming grace.

What do YOU see in the logo?

The boat is the sign of the Church, and you can see this is a moment of movement, we also have the cross, and the cross is the sign of love, it’s the sign of our faith. And together with the cross there is the sign of the Eucharist, and the Eucharist for us is at the center of our lives, it is the center of the life of faith.

Boat of the Church + Mast of the Cross +

Trigram HIS + Sun/Eucharist

Are YOU acard carryingCatholic?What does your purse/wallet say about you?

Sustained by the Witness of Teaching

Evangelii Nuntiandi

Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does

listen to teachers, it is because

they are witnesses.

- Pope Paul VI

Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary

lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint.

Saint Bartholomewthe Apostle

The people of Lipari celebrated his feast day annually. The tradition of the people was to take the solid silver and gold statue from inside the Cathedral of St Bartholomew and carry it through the town. On one occasion, when taking the statue down the hill towards the town, it suddenly got very heavy and had to be set down. When the men carrying the statue regained their strength they lifted it a second time. After another few seconds, it got even heavier. They set it down and attempted once more to pick it up. They managed to lift it but had to put it down one last time. Within seconds, walls further downhill collapsed. If the statue had been able to be lifted, all the towns people would have been killed.

Saints are people like us who simply tried harder. Fr. Benedict Groeschel

Saint Ouen is also known as Owen and Audoenus.

The people of Lipari celebrated his feast day annually. The tradition of the people was to take the solid silver and gold statue from inside the Cathedral of St Bartholomew and carry it through the town. On one occasion, when taking the statue down the hill towards the town, it suddenly got very heavy and had to be set down. When the men carrying the statue regained their strength they lifted it a second time. After another few seconds, it got even heavier. They set it down and attempted once more to pick it up. They managed to lift it but had to put it down one last time. Within seconds, walls further downhill collapsed. If the statue had been able to be lifted, all the towns people would have been killed.

More Saints of the Day• St. Aurea• St. Eutychius• St. Jane Antide Thouret• St. Massa Candida• St. Nathanael• St. Ouen• St. Romanus of Nepi• St. Sandratus• St. Tation• St. Yrchard

GIFT OF LOVEMusic to the Words and Prayers

of Mother TeresaBradley James

In the silence of the heart God speaksLet God fill us then only we speakDo small things with great love

The fruit of silence is prayerThe fruit of prayer is faithThe fruit of faith is loveThe fruit of love is serviceThe fruit of service is peace

The Real Measureof a Life Well Lived

The Bob Edwards Show, April 27, 2012

I believe that we shape our world with kindness and love of what we do in the simplest moments every day. It is ultimately what connects us to each other, no matter who we are or where we live. I believe that with each sweet stitch of my tiny baptismal gown, every old photo, and every scrap of paper, my mother was holding a tender place of love for all of us.

The Revelation of God in Mission

Sharing the Abundant Love

We must go out because we want to share with all people the abundant love and hope, joy and peace that Jesus brought to us. We want to "proclaim the unfathomable treasure of Christ" and "throw light on the inner workings of the mystery kept hidden through all ages in God, the creator of everything" - St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians 3:8-9

- Pope Paul VI

The Year of Faith seeks to inspire in the hearts of those who do not know God and seeks to increase in the hearts of those who already believe.

It “Is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world. In the mystery of his death and resurrection, God has revealed in its fullness the Love that saves and calls us to conversion of life through the forgiveness of sins (cf. Acts 5:31).

Year of FaithApostolic Letter Porta Fidei

…the Year of Faith is a path, an opportunity, that the Christian community offers to the many people who possess a longing for God and a profound desire to meet him again in their lives. It is essential, therefore, that believers recognize the responsibility to provide an authentic companionship of faith, to become a neighbor to those who seek the reasons for and explanations of our Catholic beliefs.-Pope Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei

There is a Longing

There is a LongingAnne Quigley

There is a longing in our hearts,O Lord,for you to reveal yourself to us,There is a longing in our hearts for love we only find in you,our God.

Share with Others the Joy of Knowing Jesus

THE CATECHIST

• Has encountered Christ• Has been converted by Christ• Follows Christ• Shares in Christ’s life and mission• Possesses a living social

conscience• Well-rooted in the cultural

environment -National Directory for Catechesis

Go forth and teach all nations…

Symphony of Faith

• Woodwinds• Brass• Strings• Percussion

The four pillars of the Catechism remind us of a symphony that has four movements. The fullness of the faith and the fullness of the symphony share this wholeness.

P R A Y

P R A Y

• Emphasizes various prayer forms– Communal– Private– Traditional– Spontaneous– Gesture– Song– Meditation– Contemplation

National Directory for Catechesis, Chapter 5, Liturgical Catechesis

Day by day Day by day Oh Dear Lord Three things I pray To see thee more clearly Love thee more dearly Follow thee more nearly Day by day

Celebrate the sacraments regularly

We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God,

faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance

for his disciples (cf. Jn 6:51).

How To Eat a Poemby Eve Merriam

Don't be polite.Bite in.Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice thatmay run down your chin.It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are. You do not need a knife or fork or spoonor plate or napkin or tablecloth.

For there is no coreor stemor rindor pitor seedor skinto throw away.

The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life. -CCC 1324

The Year of Faith “will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist.”All of the faithful are invited to participate in the Eucharist actively, fruitfully and with awareness, in order to be authentic witnesses of the Lord.

Porta FideiFaith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy. It makes us fruitful, because it expands our hearts in hope and enables us to bear life-giving witness: indeed, it opens the hearts and minds of those who listen to respond to the Lord’s invitation to adhere to his word and become his disciples.

Love my neighbor as myself

Love my neighbor as myself

The Good Samaritan – Revisited

A Christian may never think of belief as a private act. Faith is choosing to stand with the

Lord so as to live with him

The heart indicates that the first act by which one comes to faith is God’s gift and the action of grace which acts and transforms the person deep within.-Porta Fidei

We want this Year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with

confidence and hope. -Porta Fidei

Which of these is more powerful?Military helicopters hover over their little village and their monastery, with their propellers sounding ominously like war-drums. As this war-beat drowns out most every sound, the monks respond by going to their chapel, putting on their monastic robes, linking arms and chanting gentle songs of trust and praise to God, and we are left staring at the contrast:gentle songs of trust in the face of hovering military hardware. Which of these is more powerful?

Of Gods and Men

That scene is paralleled in the Gospels when they describe

the birth of Jesus: A world filled with violence, under the hard military fist of the Roman Empire, is looking for an answer from above.

And what is God's response: A helpless baby asleep in the straw. How will this baby ultimately triumph? How do gentleness and meekness inherit the earth? -Ron Rolheiser

The Nativity

Julie Vivas

If you ever think you had a difficult time while pregnant, think again.

Use the gifts that I’ve been given wisely

Use the gifts that I’ve been given wisely

CAIN & ABEL:Finding the Fruits of

Peace

By Sandy Eisenberg SassoIllustrated byJoani Keller Rothenberg

Cain and Abel - Today

A Boy in a Bed in the Dark Born with a cleft palate,My two-year-old brother,Recovering from yet another surgery,Toddled into our bedroomToppled a tower of blocksThat I had patiently builtAnd in a five-year-old's furyI grabbed a fallen blockAnd winged it at himRipping open his carefully reconstructed lip.

Cain and Abel - TodayThe next hours were gruesomely compressedEnding with a boy in a bed in the darkMute with fearStaring out into the hallway with horrorAs the pediatrician went in and out of the bathroomWith one vast blood-soaked towel after anotherShaking his head worriedly.

Cain and Abel - Today

"A Boy in a Bed in the Dark" by Brad Sachs, from In the Desperate Kingdom of Love: Poems 2001-2004.

My brother's howlsAnd my parents' cooed comfortBecame the soundtrack to this milky movieThat playsIn my darkest theatre,The one that I sidle past each nightWith a shudderAnd a throb in my fist.

GIFTS of the Holy Spirit

SPIRITUS – Breath Inspiration – Holy Spirit

FRUITS of the Spirit LOVE JOY PEACE PATIENCE KINDNESS GENEROSITY FAITHFULNESS GENTLENESS SELF-CONTROL

We cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the

light be kept hidden. (cf. Mt 5:13-16).

You are the salt of the earth,

Shake It!

How would you answer these charges?

• Sadistic God: Useless Savior• 30,000+ Versions of “Truth”• Promotes Hate, Calls it “Love”

“The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on

it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it,

and spread it.” (CCC 1816)

"Being a disciple is who we are; it is central to our identity. It encompasses everything we do.

It affects our view of life, our values, and our actions." Mercadante, 18

Discipleship is not a destination but a process of stretching, falling, growing, questioning, and advancing in the lifelong pursuit of becoming like Jesus.

Forgive as I have been forgiven

Forgive as I have been forgiven

Forgiveness is Possible

I am so, so sorry. I would give my life if your son could live again

I don’t know if you will ever be able to ask, so let me be first,YOU ARE FORGIVEN

Love your enemies

Kim Phuc

Love your enemies

The True Value of LifeThe Bob Edwards Show, December 9, 2011

I believe in the power of forgiveness and compassion. This act is so hard for many, including myself, but it is important to show an understanding heart when someone is faced with discord. It gives a chance, for some, to repent for their previous mistakes. I have come to learn the true nature of forgiveness over the years, beginning with a personal experience of mine that was life changing. It happened when I was thirteen.

Every baptized Catholic is called through baptism to be a disciple

of Christ and proclaim the GospelThe Year of Faith is an opportunity for each and every Catholic to renew their baptismal call by living out the everyday moments of their lives with faith, hope and love. This everyday witness is necessary for proclaiming the Gospel to family, friends, neighbors and society. In order to witness to the Gospel, Catholics must be strengthened through celebrating weekly Sunday Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

BLESSINGThe first element in any blessing is that there has to be a relationship with God. When we bless, when we ask for goodness, we ask from the source of all goodness, we ask God. When things are going well in our lives – when the road seems to rise and meet us – our relationship with God will be positive. Cursing is the furthest thing from our minds.

BLESSING

When things are not going so well in our lives – when the road does not rise to meet us – everything in life can seem like an uphill struggle. It is during these times that we run the risk of losing our relationship with God. If we allow this to happen, we are unable to bless. We become like the embittered psalmist who can only curse. Relationship with and belief in God are essential to blessing.

BLESSING

The second element in a blessing is the ritual of transfer of the blessing or the goodness. Historically, this transfer of the blessing takes place physically through words that we pronounce and gestures that we make, such as uplifted arms or actual laying-on of hands. The person giving the blessing transfers the blessing in such a manner that it will somehow be experienced by the receiver.

BLESSING

The sense of touch, whether it is the wind at your back, the sun shining upon your face or the firm hand of a person signing your forehead, can convey an enormous life-sustaining power. A blessing is the bridge between heaven and earth. The transfer of the divine that occurs when we bless is truly a sacred moment.

BLESSING

The third element of a blessing is the enhancement of the receiver, wherein we envision the goodness of the blessing. Even Jesus, when he pronounced the Beatitudes, envisioned a goodness that would give comfort and hope to millennia of believers. We have in our possession the ability to envision virtually any future for humanity. The power to bless is incredibly awesome. It is the vision of divine enhancement, of a people resting in the palm of God’s hand, that is the hallmark of a blessing.

BLESSINGYour Turn

Bless (Give)

and be Blessed (Receive)

BLESSING

May the Angel of Healing turn your wounds into sources of refreshment.

May the Angel of Compassion open your eyes to the unseen suffering around you.

May the Angel of Encouragement confirm you in worth and self-respect, that you may live with the dignity that resides in your soul.

To Bless the Space Between Us, John O’Donohue

BLESSING

May you be blessed in the holy names of those who, without you knowing it, help to carry and lighten your pain.

May a window of light always surprise you.

May memory bless and protect you.

May you know that though the storm might rage, not a hair of your head will be harmed.

To Bless the Space Between Us, John O’Donohue

• To request a copy of this PowerPoint, please email LNAGEL@NCCL.org and request Tulsa Year of Faith