| CONTENTS Preface Prologue |
ANTIOCH WEEKEND LEADERS MANUAL |
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FOLLOWING CHRIST |
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| Introduction
to the Antioch Weekend
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INTRODUCTION
Speaker: A layman who has been following the guidance of the Holy Spirit for his own life and who can tell of decisions concerning his campus activities and career where he has followed the leadings of God, therefore probably someone older, a Senior, graduate students or faculty member. Duration: 45 minutes Purpose: To lead to a deeper dedication and surrender to God by showing how commitment to Christ changes a person's approach to life, giving in concrete terms a new vision of his life. To give practical advice and help on how a Christian should make decisions about his career and campus activities, putting God's desires and needs first. Style: Serious - following Christ involves one's whole life; there are serious decisions to be made. With dedication - revealing the dedication of the speaker, calling forth their dedication to God. Confident - placing all in the hands of God with trust in the Holy Spirit. Progression: Section I extends the call of Christ: "Come and follow me". The speakers calls forth dedication and the desire top give all to Him. The concept of receiving and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit is introduced for this is the heart of the talk. Section II suggests a way of figuring our God's leading that stresses attentiveness to God (prayer and listening), and putting God first in thinking things through. Many students have chosen their careers and campus activities on the basis of "what I want to do" without seeking what God wants first. In this section the speaker should give his own personal story of how he has been and is following the guidance of the Holy Spirit for his own life. Section III. Concretizes the above to the lives of the students on the campus now, asking "Is what you are doing now what God most wants you to be doing? Section IV. Provides suggestions on how a Christian should go about seeking God's leading for his career. Many will not have thought that in their career decisions what God wants and the Church needs should come first. Many will never have thought about their career in terms of how they can best contribute to the apostolate of the Church. This section draws out the implications of following Christ for career. Section V concludes that the talk on a note of joy and confidence - joy in doing what it is most worthwhile to do, confidence in the loving guidance of the Holy Spirit for all our life.
THE OUTLINE I. Introduction (Mt. 25:14-30) A. Through the Antioch Weekend, God has given us a new vision and a new life. B. We must be faithful, so our lives will bear fruit for God. C. We know that the old environment and our weaknesses are still there. D. What we need is a way to work at Christianity as students. II. What we need to work for Christ God is offering us the strength, guidance, and encouragement which the Holy Spirit gives, and we have to take advantage of his offer. A. It comes through friendship with Christ. 1. In our friendship with Christ, the Holy Spirit is communicated to us. 2. For this we need a regular program of prayer, study, and apostolic action (cf. "Growth" and the first three spokes of the wheel). B. it also comes through friendship with other Christians 1. We need Christian friends with whom we can share and work at Christian life (through other Christians the Holy Spirit is communicated). 2. We need to task about Christian life with Christian friends. a. It is a human need to talk about things b. The most important things in our life are often not talked about. c. We need to share Christianity with others in a personal way. 3. We need to work at Christianity with others (receiving stimulation and help). 4. Therefore, we need to meet together regularly with other Christians to work at living with Christ (the fourth spoke on the wheel). III. The follow-up program Present the program for your campus. Spend most of the time on the small group meeting. IV. How it will be done A. Our part 1. Christianity is joy, singing, fun (like this Weekend), but it is also a call to commitment and to serious work. 2. We have seen how to do this successfully in our student life. 3. There are three steps in accomplishing it: a. Understanding what it is - this the Antioch Weekend has helped you with. b. Deciding to do it - this is your part of the Antioch Weekend. c. Working at it - what you do tomorrow and this week tells whether the Antioch Weekend was a waste of time or not. B. God's part 1. It was God who called us to this, and He has offered us all we need to accomplish it. 2. He will work in us through His Spirit to accomplish it. 3. He has overcome all obstacles already (Jn. 16:33). 4. Romans 8:28-39.
THE COMMENTARY: The Mission talk has descrived the mission of every Christian in whatever situation he finds himself. But the question remains; What situation should I be in? What organization on Campus should I be part of? Where should I live? With whom should I spend my time? What career should I pursue? Where should I be this summer, or in the years just after graduation? This talk sets out to help answer this questions. The basic answer is "Follow Christ, follow the leading of His Spirit." One common mistake which many Catholic College students makes in choosing their campus activities and their career is to choose "what I want most" and then to see how they can relate this to God and His desires. It will be a shock to many to be told that, no, they should put what God wants and what the Church needs first. This should be the primary consideration. One immediate response is "Why, then, everyone ought to be priest." It may very well be true that God is asking some of those on the Weekend to become priests. But the question is not what "everyone" ought to do, but what I ought to do. As the talk will make clear, God’s call to each is unique because each person is unique and God will give special gifts to each person that He may fit into the Body of Christ in just the way that God desires. This talk is a call to follow Christ and to follow Him as fully as the apostles who left their nets, their tax tables, their homes, their fears, their loved ones, their old securities, indeed their lives, to join them selves to one who had "no place to lay Hid head." Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footstep is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. (Mt. 10:37-39) And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life. (Mt. 19:29) I. A. You will follow someone or something, will it be Christ? In your life, you are trying to become something. Is it a Christian Starting tomorrow, you will be trying to achieve something here at school. Is it a fuller Christian life? As a student you are going to do something with your life; yuo will eventually be working for someone or something. Is it Christ? You will follow after someone or something. Will it be Christ? I. B. Christ calls us much as He called the Twelve: Come follow me! They did not hesitate, but dropped what they were doing and went. As He was walking by the Sea of Galilee He saw two brothers, Simon, who has called Peter, and His brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And He said to them, "Follow me and I will make your fishers of men." And they left their nets at once and followed Him. Going on from there He saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and He called them. At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed Him. (Mt. 4:18-22) When He went out after this, He noticed a tac collector, Matthew, by name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything he got up and followed Him. (Lk. 5:27-28) (N. B. Here, as elsewhere, when lists of Scripture passages are given they are suggestions. One might want to use or all or others for his talk.) Sometimes they were afraid and felt inadequate. But Christ’s response was still: "Follow me." When He had finished speaking He said to Simon, "Put out ino\to deep water and play out your nets for a catch." "Mater," Simon replied, "We worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will play out the nets." And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companion in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to the sinking point. When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, "Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man."... But Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch." Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed Him. (Lk. 5:4-11) I. B. 1. Following Christ involves dedication It is a question of what is first in our lives (ourselves, a certain position in society, money, our nation, even mankind - or Christ). Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice and all the rest shall be given you besides. (Mt. 6:33) No one can serve two matters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despice the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Mt. 6:24) Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. (Mt. 10:37-39) The man who us dedicated to Christ does everything for the sake of Christ. One effective way to communicate what dedication means is to give a portrait of a dedicated man. What follows here is suggested portrait a man dedicated to Communism. The purpose is not condemn or praise Communism but to give a picture of a man who has dedicated to Communism and who worked enthusiastically for the Communist Party. The passage is from a book written by a man who, for many years, was a high-ranking member of the Communist Party in England. (He quit the Communist party and is now a Catholic.) In this passage, he is relating a conversation which he had with another Communist, after both of them had left the party. The other man speaks first. He said: "Do you remember what it was like when we were together in the Party?" I should add that he is a man with a background of considerable education and from a very well known family. He said: "Do you remember what life was like in the Communist Party?" He said: "You got up in the morning and, as you shaved, you were thinking of the jobs you would do for communism; you went down to breakfast, you read the Daily Worker, to see what the Party line was, to get the shot and shell for a fight in which you were already involved. You read every item in the paper wondering how you might be able to use it." "Then you read the Times to see what the enemy was doing and you set off to work. On the bus or train you read the Daily Worker as ostentatiously as you could, holding it up so that others might read the headlines and, perhaps, be fluenced by them. You took two copies of the paper with you, the second one you left on the seat in the hope that some one would sit on it, read it and be influenced by it." He went on: "When you go to work, you kept the Daily Worker circulating, you would give it to a worker who would take it outside, read it for a few minutes and bring it in again. At lunch time, in the canteen or the restaurant, where you took your meal, you would try to start conversation, sitting with different people on different days, not thrusting communism dwon their throats but using conversations which would be brought around to policies in campaigns in which the Party was interested. Before you left your place of work at night, there was a quick meeting of the factory group or cell. There you discussed in a few minutes the successes and failures of the day; you discussed what you hoped to do the next day. You dashed home and had a quick meal and then you went out, maybe to attend classes, maybe to be a tutor, maybe to join in some communist campaign, going from door to door, standing at the side of the road selling the communist paper, doing something for communism. You went home at night and you dreamed of the jobs you were going to do for communism the next dat." He said very wistfully, very sadly: "You know, life had some meaning and some purpose, life was good in the Communist Party." (from: Douglas Hyde, Dedication and Leadership Techniques, Published by: Mission Secretariat, 1312 Massachusetts Ave., N. W., Washington, D. C. 20005, pp.10-11). This quotation is best as is, with little or no elaboration. I. B. 2. Following Christ involves work: prayer, study, action. The speaker recalls to the students the three main elements of "work" which the Weekend set before them. Explicit references to the "Means to Growth Card" given out in the Growth talk would be good. Prayer - regular, daily, personal, community Study - personally talking to others about Christ, apostolic projects, changing society, transforming our world to Christ. I. B. 3. Following Christ means being guided by the Holy Spirit How much of our present lives did we settle on without seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Most students seem to arive at their campus activities, major, career, etc. by chance or on their own. They first plan their own ways and their own activities; and then, perhaps, say some kind of prefunctory prayer, asking God to grant His blessing to the ways and activities which they have planned for themselves. "Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit." (Gal. 5:25) If a Christian is truly to follow Christ he must learn to keep himself in an attitude of humble and continual dependence upon the Holy Spirit for guidance and direction in every aspect of his life. You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living truth. Try to discover what the Lord wants of you...So very careful about the sort of lives you lead, like intelegent and not like senseless people. (Eph. 5:9ff) II. GOD’S LEADING FOR OUR LIVES There are many possibilities open to us. Because we are students in the United States of America in the 1970’s, we have many possibilities before us. We are not born into a single way of life, but we can choose. In the last talk we heard about what Christ has sent us to do in each situation we are in. But although we have been given certain situation without any choice (our families), we have a lot of choice in others. This choice will increase. Next term, we do not have to do many of the things we have to do this term. We can change may things (e.g. majors, activities). After we graduate, we will have much more choice. We can choose our future lives. We get to choose many of our circumstances. Following Christ means living in the Holy Spirit. It means being guided by the Holy Spirit, letting our lives be remade by Him, relying on Him for guidance in decisions about our life. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Rom. 8:14) If you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence. (Gal. 5:18) Trust wholeheartedly in God, put no faith in your own perception; in every course you take, have Him in mind: He will see that your paths are smooth (Prov. 3:5-6) What we ask Gos is that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding you should reach the fullest knowledge of His will. So you will be able to lead the kind of life which the lord expects of you, a life acceptable to Him in all its aspects; showing the results in all the good actions you do and increasing your knowledge of God. (Col. 1:9-10) You must live your whole life according to the Christ you have received Jesus the Lord. (Col. 2:6) The speaker’s personal story: the speaker should give his own story of how he has been and is following the leading of the Holy Spirit in his own life and should relate concretely what decisions God has led him to. This is a very important part of the talk for the testimony of the speaker’s life - the hard decisions he has made for God, the career change he may have made to serve God more, the sacrifice of time and money and prestige for the work of the Church, the attentive and willing obidience to the Spirit of God all these things will speak more eloquently than the finest theoretical exposition. The speaker should be afraid to spesd a little time here telling concretely and sometimes in detail his own story of following Christ, centering on key points and desicions in his own life. At either the beginning or the end of Section II is a point in the talk for the speaker’s personal story and will lend greater force and creadibility to what follows. However, the speaker should also tell in Section III how following Christ has changed or re-directed his career plans. If the speaker is a student he can talk about making the decision about his career, not the final result, and hoow Christianity has changed his thoughts on it. "Let your light shine in the sight of men, so that seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven." (Mt. 5:16) There is no formula for figuring out God’s leading for our lives. God does not have a blueprint which we must follow under pain of total failure, but there is an approach to take if we wish to follow Christ. II. 1. Pray Drawing close to God. Growing in love of Him and in our willingness to sacrifice all for Him. Becoming more sensitive to His voice, the movement of the Holy Spirit in us. Committing our lives to His hands, giving up all pre-conceptions about our lives in order to be completely receptive to His call. Laying aside our prejudices and seeking His will alone, regarding marriage, religious life, organizations. career, etc. II. 2. Become aware of God’s unique call to us. Be reading the Bible, God’s word. By seeking what God wants in the situations we are (campus, world, etc.) By seeking advice (spiritual direction, help from other followers of Christ.) Here it is important to make the point that each should be trying to become more aware of God’s unique call to Him. The question is not what "everyone" ought to do but what God wants me to do. God’s movement in every person is gentle and subtle and for him alone. We must be careful not to violate it. II. 3. a. Weight the factors: God’s plan (First Priority) There will be a great deal of resistance to the idea of making the primary decisions of one’s life depend on the needs of the Church. The Church and the World talk should have already acquianted the students with the needs of the Church in society but the speakercan, by concrete examples, emphasize what needs the Church has in the world and how selfish it would be to ignore them. Catholic students are notoriously irresponsible in their choices of vocation. They tend let the desperate needs of the Church and society go begging. For them, the choice of a life’s work and current involvement is a purely personal matter. The main criterion is what they would like the most. They must be brought to realize that they have been called to dedicate their whole lives to God and to other men, and that both activities now and their career be chosen to help realize God’s plan. Top priority has to be given to God’s plan, to the needs of the Church, the needs of men to know Christ, the needs of the world for help from the social transformation, and works and charity. We should make the greatest contribution to this we can. II. 3. b. My Life While we should put the needs of the Church and God’s plan first in our consideration of our lives, weshould seek our place within God’s plan. God’s love and plan to each unique. We must see how He wants us to contribute to the building up His Body. We must try to see how we (with our own abilities and background and gifts) are to fit in. There are many different parts to the Body. Just as each of our bodies has several parts and each part has a separate function, so all of us, in union with Christ, form one body, and as a part of it we belong to each other. Our gifts differ according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophecy, then use it as your faith suggests; if administration, then use it for administration; if teaching, then use it for teaching. Let the prechers deliver sermons, the alms givers give freely, the officials be diligent, and those who do works of mercy do them cheerfully. (Rom. 12:4-8) Abilities: What we can do well Desires: God does not insist on our doing something we would hate. As we grow in Christ God may begin to give us new desires and we will find that we want to do something because He shows us how important it is even though we wouldn’t heve desired it before. One of the ways God directs us is through directing our desires. Furthermore, our desires are under our control to a certain extent and if we believe something is important enough we can learn to like it. It is said that St. Peter Damian used to break out in a cold sweat every time a ship full of slaves pulled into the harbor just thinking about the horror of the work before him, yet he never failed to go and tend their wounds, wash them, and speak to them of Christ. Commitments: the situation we are already in can be an indication of what we must do next. It is almost universal that people have fallen into what they are doing without taking Christ into account and once they are tend to regard it as irrevocable. Christians, however, should be yielded to God, not deterministic. What we are doing now is not necessarily what God will lead us to (especially if we arrived at this independently of Him), and if we are willing He will give us a greater share in His love and work. We must be ready to make personal sacrifices to serve Him better. It is important to mention the place of charity and self-sacrifice, following Christ means dying oneself, giving up our own desires to follow God’s desires, sacrificing our own lives to live them fully for God. If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple...None of you cannot be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions. (Lk. 14:17-33) Do not lay up treasure for yourself on earth, where there is moth and rust to consume it, where there are thieves to break in and steal it; lay up treasure for yourselves in heaven, where there is no rust to consume it, no thieves to break in and steal. Where your treasure is, there your heart is too. (Mt. 6:19) Grow man to what he will, if he lacks the vision that comes from God, he is nothing. (Wis. 6:6) Prayer brought wisdom. To God I prayed and the spirit of wisdom came upon me...Who else can show wise men the true path, check them when they stray. We are in His hands, we and every word of ours. (Wis. 7:7,15,16) My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish the task that He gave me. (Jn. 4:34) It is the will of Him who sent me, not my own will, that I have come down to do. (Jn. 6:33) The Son of Man did not come to have service done Him. He came to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for the lives of many. (Mt. 20:28) I am the light of the world...he who follows me can never walk in darkness; he will possess the light which is life. (Jn. 8:12) III. OUR APOSTOLIC ACTION DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR "Are the things you are doing now deserving of your times as a Christian?" Many students have never really examined the activities they are in. A Christian student would want to use his free time in whatever way can do the most to meet the needs of the Church on the campus. III. A. God’s Plan for the campus 1. The speaker should bring out the needs of the campus for many to know Christ and the needs for Christians working together for social transformation and at works of charity. 2. Here the speaker should mention as many possibilities as he can that are available to the sutdents. These should include activities of evangelization and sanctification as well as charitable and social action projects. III. B. My Life Remember, we can and should be part of a team (the Apostolic workers on campus, the student parish, the Newman center) the Church in action. What freedom do my commitment give me? Maybe I should change them, now or next term so I can have more freedom. What are my abilities? Where are the needs that I can meet? Perhaps God will show me abilities I have that I am not aware of. What are my desires? Perhaps God will give me new desires to do things on the campus that He most needs, bringing others to Christ, building the Christian community, works of charity on or near the campus. The speaker should (especially if he is a student) tell how he has changed the distribution to the needs of the Church. It is important to be concrete on this point and this should receive great emphasis since it is the most immediate way that the students are going to begin to follow Christ. Perhaps someone should give up student government to work on an apostolic project, or give up track for works of charity, or not run for president of the student body to be an apostle. IV. GOD’S LEADING FOR OUR LIVES BEYOND THE SCHOOL YEAR Mention should be made of summer or short-term- works, such as : migrants worker projects; Extension Volunteers; Lay Mission Helpers Corps; PAVLA; etc. Career: Our responsibility to God and to our brothers also involves our career. Our career is the central work of our lives. It involves most of our time and most of our creative effort. It too must be used in God’s service. One should choose an occupation with the apostolate "built in." That is, he should choose his occupation as the primary way that he will work in the apostolate of the Church. He chooses his career in light of how he can contribute to meeting the needs of the Church through it. If he can see no apostolic value in going into a certain career (either by reason of the work he will do or the opportunities it will give, etc.) or if he sees a way in which he can do more to meet the needs of the Church, he should seriously consider changing. IV. A. The first factor is the needs of the Church When many hear the term "needs of the Church" the first thing they will think of is the need for priests. While this is a real pressing need, it is not the only one. This is because the work of the Church involves more. Church and the World and Mission have portrayed the work of the Church in two areas: incorporation of all into the Body of Christ (the work of evangelization and sanctification) and transformation of the world according to God’s plan (through Christian social action and the works of charity). While all share in the work of both incorporation and transformation (i.e. a priest is concerned about the temporal order and works of charity, and a poverty worker is working to bring men to know and love Christ), each person, in his own occupation will probably be directing himself primarily to one or the other. And each person should ask how he can choose a career where he can best accomplish the work of the apostolate either through a career in which he works primarily to transform the world according to God’s plan. In this section, IV. A. I. treats the needs of the Church in various secular careers where Christians should be making use of their careers to contribute to the Church’s work of social trasnformation and charity. IV. A. 2. treats the needs of the Church for Christians working full-time in the direct apostolate. IV. A. 1. The Church needs people in many different occupations The Church needs people in science, law, communications, politics, entertainment, journalism, labor, social work, foreign service, art, foresty, engineering, etc. IV. A. 1. a. It needs Christians doing these things in such a way that their occupation is a witness to Christ This point considers those whom God may want in the occupation they are in (or planning to be in) but whom He wants to be making their work a witness to Christ, not simply doing these things. Concrete examples of men who have remained within their field but chnaged the way they are doing it to witness to Christ are important here. The type of examples that illustrate this would be: A physicist taking advantage of his position to speak to fellow scientist about Christ, showing them charity, leading them to faith. An insurance agent by his charity and speaking bringing his co-workers to Christ and forming a prayer group for his office that meets daily. A restaurant owner bringing his employees to living Christian lives, praying with them, donating meals to the poor. IV. A. 1. b. In some areas Christian influence is especially crucial This point considers those whom God may want to exert Christian influence in an especially importants area. E. g. a Catholic teacher on a non-Catholic campus, writers, politicians, city planners, social workers, within a given profession certain positions may provide a Christian with a greater opportunity to give witness to Christ, to work to renew the temporal order and to meet the needs for Christian charity in the world. Again, concrete examples of men who changed their career plans and took jobs where they could have a greater influence for Christ are essential here. The testimony of the speaker’s own life and the lives of other Christians will be the most effective communication. The type of examples that would communicate this point are: A lawyer choosing to work among the poor rather than in corporation law. A doctor working in the slums rather than in wealthy suburbs. A professor of law leaving home and family for a year to start a school of law in Africa and work with young Catholic there. A young theoretical physicist spending three years with wife and child aiding a struggling university in Brazil. An engineer giving up a lucrative job to work with young people as a teacher in a high school where he can also help bring them to Christ. A teacher working in a poor Southern college instead of a wealthy private university. A scientist deciding not to work for a corporation, but teaching at a secular university to have more chance to tell students about becoming a Christian. The speaker concludes this point by observing how God has led some men. They have changed their work situations to make more of a contribution to the work of the Church in their field. God wants some men (and some of the student) to remain in the profession more of a witness to Christ. This for some may mean changing their location within the profession as some of the examples will have indicated. The speaker doesn’t say that everyone should change jobs. Rather through the use of examples he shows how God does lead some men to change the way they do their job or their place within their field. This confronts the students with the real possibility that God may be calling them to do the same. The speaker should not hesitate to say that God is probably calling some of them to change and sacrifice. IV. A. 2. The Church has a particular need of workers in the direct apostolate This first and greatest need that Christ has is for people to work as full-time apostles spreading the Christian message, working directly for the Church. The simple basic needs of the Church are not being met. The gretest need is for priests. There is a great shortage all over the world. In some parts of Latin America people are lucky to see a priest once a year. In this country, there are many parishes where priests cannot do more than administer the sacraments and deal with the basic needs because the odds against them are so formidable. It is not too late to decide to become a priest. It is a great advantage to a priest to have gone through a college education. But it is not just priests that the Church needs. It needs full time workers of all kinds. It needs medical missionaries; it needs youth workers who can help reach the young people, who can teach and live as witnesses to Christ on secular campuses; it needs people who can work full time with students at non-Catholic campuses. Because the needs for full time workers in the direct apostolate are so urgent and so pressing, the speaker should emphasize this point with concrete examples and should not hesitate to tell the students that they should seriously consider that God may be calling them to work in the direct apostolate either full time, permanently, or for a couple of years after graduation with a group like PAVLA or Extension or simply on their own. There are more and more full time jobs in the direct apostolate opening up today and God needs men who are willing to give their whole life to His work in the direct apostolate. Examples of men who have gone into the direct apostolate should be given, such as: A graduate student who gives up a promising academic career in order to work full time with students on a secular campus. A successful businessman who sells his bussiness and goes to work full time as a lay parish worker. A teacher who leaves the university to work full time for a diocese in religious education. A nuclear engineer who takes wife and family to Mexico to bring the message of Christ to the poor in another country. Three married couples who leave jobs and home to live in an impourished mountain area to bring food and clothing to the poor and to establish Bible schools to teach the Gospel. The speaker, by the examples he gives (or perhaps the witness of his own life) confronts the students with the real possibility that God may be asking them to work in the direct apostolate of bringing others to know and believe in Christ. In a group of this size, there are almost certainly some. IV. B. My life The question is: What does God want of me? How does He want me to fit into the Body of Christ and contribute to the needs of the Church? - abilities: God does not ask us to do something we are incapable of. - desires: Ho does not ask us to do something we would hate but He does give us new desires to do things we formerly would have disliked because we see the importance of it. - commitments: our present situation, which can change If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. (Mt. 19:21) For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But they will not ask His help unless they believe in Him, and they will not believe in Him unless they have heard of Him, and they will not hear of Him unless they get a preacher, and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent, but as the scripture says: The footstep of those who bring good news is a welcome sound. (Rom. 10:13ff) And when he saw the crowds He felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is rich but the laborers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to His harvest." (Mt. 9:36) V. WE SHOULD FOLLOW CHRIST JOYFULLY And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternla life. (Mt. 19:29) Come to me all you that labor and are burdened; I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon yourselves and learn from me; I am gentle and humble of heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Mt. 11:28ff) Lord, to whom shall we go, thy words are the words of eternal life. (Jn. 6:69) |
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