Denver Catholic

6 JULY 25-AUGUST 7, 2015 | DENVER CATHOLIC Around the Archdiocese Call toll-free for details! 18772301381 ymtvacations.com Please mention promo code EC0961 * PPDO. Plus $299 tax/service/government fees. Alternate departure dates available in 2016. Add-on airfare available. Classic Italy Tour Rome, Florence, Venice & More 11 days from $1,449* now $1,349* Departs March 24, 2016. Your tour starts in the historic city of Rome. Explore this Eternal City including the famous Colosseum, Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, The Vatican City and Sistine Chapel. Travel North to the ancient town of Orvieto followed by Montecatini Terme, Pisa, where you will see the iconic Leaning Tower and the capital of Tuscany, Florence. Continue Northeast to Bologna, famous for its world-renowned culinary tradition and the amazing city of Venice, with a sightseeing tour where you will see the Grand Canal. Then head to Verona, best known as the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; Lake Garda, Italy's largest lake and Lake Maggiore, with an included scenic lake cruise. Your journey concludes in Milan, with highlights including the Piazza del Duomo and La Scala Opera House. Tour includes 15 meals. Save $100 per Person *When you book by 9/30/15 Spend Easter in Rome! August 10-19 Individually Directed 8-Day Retreat Aug. 31 - Sep. 7 Retreat House Closed September 25-27 Weekend Retreat (Men & Women) September 30 Day of Prayer (9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) October 2-4 Weekend Retreat (Men) October 13 Day of Prayer (9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) 4801 North Highway 67, P.O. Box 185, Sedalia, CO 80135 Phone: 303-688-4198 ext. 122 (information/reservations) Website: www.sacredheartretreat.org Call for light rebates! 303-455-5160 • Residential • Commercial • Industrial • Lighting Design • Building and Parking Lot Maintenance Good Electric Service Co., Inc. 5401 W. 48 th Ave., Denver, CO 80212 $30 OFF WITH AD S ocial media users responded enthu- siastically to the #MissionofJoy campaign, on the same day as the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex unions. Author Sherry Weddell said the most important aspect of the campaign—and for Christians in general—is to remember hope. "God is still here. We are not helpless," Weddell said. The #MissionofJoy campaign is a social media initiative to inspire hope, courage and charitable dialogue in light of recent cultural events. Weddell shared the campaign on her Facebook page and in her discipleship forum, and said the response was unusu- ally robust. "I thought it was a slow Friday after- noon," Weddell said. "I was wrong.š The number of people who were sharing were so high—I was really stunned." Weddell is the author ofš"Forming Inten- tional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus"š and the co-founder of the St. Catherine of Siena Institute, which seeks to help parishes form lay evangelists. Weddell said she received a total of over 600 likes and 200 shares on Facebook, which is abnormally high. She says she thinks the positive response is linked to her followers' desire for hope. "At that point, what we were hearing and seeing online was people telling us that the situation was grave and asking what we could do,"šWeddell said.š"There was a defi - nite hunger at that point to have a positive response. These people were saying 'yes' to glorifying God instead of being a victim." She said she looked to other times in history when the Church's beliefs were challenged and saw that innovative mis- sionary action as a response to God's grace hasšconsistentlyšled to a revitalized Church. "We're in one of those turning points. If we turn again to God and o£ er ourselves together, it can be a real turning point of creativity and initiative. But what will make the di£ erence is how we respond," Weddell said. Other ministries and dioceses began to follow the campaign as well. The Archdio- cese of Detroit created several social media postingsš and asked their followers to be missionaries. Jonathan Francis, web content special- ist at the Archdiocese of Detroit, said they had also experienced a strong response to the campaign. "We've received great feedback from our social media followers. Many of our followers expressed that our posts have given them inspiration and hope in the midst of despairing news," Francis said. Francis said another benefi t of the campaign was that for the fi rst time in his career, he saw dioceses across the coun- try work together to promote a message of hope. "We are thrilled to fi nally be able to col- laborate with di£ erent dioceses' across the country," Francis said. "It's encouraging knowing that we can give joy and hope to Catholics around the world. This is espe- cially true today when the Catholic faith and it's worldviews are at odds with the majority of our country. The partnership of dioceses' social media teams has been long overdue and we believe that this is just the beginning of many more future collaborations." The National Catholic Register and parishes across the country also joined the campaign. Some posted their wed- ding photos or pictures with families with the hashtag, while others chose to make images with inspiring quotes. Weddell said responding with joy is the mark of true disciple. "It's a sign of strength to retain your peace, to retain your confi dence in God, and with your courage and joy and generosity of spirit share the truth of what we believe without attacking. It's compelling when people encounter that," Weddell said. Believers embrace #MissionofJoy You can participate in the campaign by: • Creating images and memes that spread the mission of joy • Sharing quotes on social media platforms • Change your profi le picture to a°photo of your wedding day, or of your family, and caption it #MissionofJoy BY MELISSA KEATING 303-715-3123 melissa.keating@archden.org www.twitter.com/mkeats42

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