Denver Catholic

16 SEPTEMBER 2022 | DENVER CATHOLIC Mission of the Disciple All of the other "missions" are dependent on this "mission." Without taking to heart what the Lord has encouraged us to do to live out our individual missions, we won't be able to truly live the mission in our family, parish or archdiocese. Here are some of the insights received in prayer that give more clarity on what the Holy Spirit is asking each of us to do to better live our individual mis- sions as missionary disciples: YO U R FI R S T M I S S I O N I S TO D I V I N E I N TI M AC Y W H I CH YO U E X P E R I E N CE I N P R AY E R . "A B I D E I N M E" (J O H N 15:4) Like Martha in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, we can be anxious and worried about many things. Many of us in Denver uniquely feel the weight of "activity," "doing mis- sion work." God is saying, "prioritize me first, come back to the 'love we had at first'" (Rev 2:4). We must truly abide in Jesus like he invites us to do in John 15. We need to allow our relationship with Jesus to truly transform us before we will be able to share our faith fruitfully. Like St. John at the Last Supper, one specific way we "abide" in Jesus is by rest- ing our head upon his heart in the Eucharist. Practical Suggestion: Take seriously God's invitation to a habit of daily prayer. Spend time in Eucharistic Adoration, meditating on the daily readings, praying the rosary, etc. Ask your parish priest or deacon to host a workshop on how to "hear God's voice" or how to form a habit of personal prayer. TA KE SERIOUSLY TH AT YOU A RE " TH E PL A N." YOU H AV E A PER S O N A L RE SP O N SIBILIT Y FO R TH E M I S SIO N TO E VA NG ELIZE . "I am my brother's keeper": in other words, the mission of evangelization has been given to me personally. I did not choose to take on this mission, Jesus was the one who "chose me and appointed me to go and bear fruit that would remain" (Jn 15:16). My mission to evangelize is spe- cifically oriented towards my sphere of influence, those whom God has placed in my life. Our apostolic age needs lives characterized by public witness. We need to be inten- tional about sharing the fruits of "abiding" in the Lord, which are: love, joy, boldness, courage and conviction. Finally, if I am "God's plan" for evangelization, then I know I need personal healing in order to fulfill that destiny. W E A R E N OT I S L A N D S , N OT S O L E LY I N D I V I D UA L D I S CI P L E S B U T M E M B E R S O F T H E B O DY O F CH R I S T. O U R C A L L I N G , O U R G R OW T H , D O E S N OT H A P P E N I N I S O L ATI O N , IT H A P P E N S I N T H E CO M M U N I O N O F T H E CH U R CH . "Christ called to himself twelve men" (Mk 3:13) and began his public ministry with a community. To be a disci- ple of Jesus has always implied being called into a commu- nity. We don't get to choose the other disciples Jesus calls, he does. It's your responsibility and mine to be the indi- viduals working to bring true unity and communion at our parishes and in our families. The world desperately needs our parishes to be places of true communion and unity, a refuge from the isolation, separation, division and loneli- ness that is the experience of many of our neighbors. CL AR IT Y O N M I SS IO N … it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization that would be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized." (JOY OF THE GOSPEL, 120.) T he fruits of the synodal pro- cess that began in October of last year and continues today are only beginning to be revealed. When the Holy Father called for this latest synod, his description of it was apt: it is to be nothing more than a collective listening to the Holy Spirit and a process of discernment. Locally, this process manifested itself in a series of parish prayer and listening sessions over several months, and culminated at a dis- cernment event in March, which was dedicated to asking the Lord for clar- it y around our missions. Those who spent time in prayer asking the Lord for clarity around our missions received and shared beau- tiful insights in small group breakout sessions. The insights that were gained in prayer and the resulting small group conversations around them were rich and fruitful. Due to the restraints placed on the archdio- cese regarding the length and content of the final synod report (which was WHAT'S NEXT?

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