The First Byzantine Church to Embrace ChristLife

By: Dianne Davis

I am happy to share some exciting news from Our Lady of Wisdom Byzantine Catholic Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. This past January, our parish made history by becoming the first Byzantine Catholic church to begin the ChristLife evangelization process.

The pastor, Fr. Nathan Adams, enthusiastically supported this initiative and his wife, Ali, has been indispensable in implementing ChristLife.

In Redemptoris Missio, Pope St. John Paul II speaks to the importance of the initial proclamation of the Gospel shared in Discovering Christ: “In the complex reality of mission, initial proclamation has a central and irreplaceable role, since it introduces man into the mystery of the love of God, who invites him to enter into a personal relationship with himself in Christ and opens the way to conversion.”

Fr. Nathan said it perfectly: “Without understanding the foundation of the kerygma one cannot appreciate the ornamentation of the Byzantine Church.”

Nearly 60 participants and team members journeyed through Discovering Christ at Our Lady of Wisdom over seven weeks plus a retreat day. Each week they gathered for a delicious dinner, prayer, a dynamic video teaching, and small-group discussion. Participants ranged in age from 20 to 80 and included longtime parishioners as well as Muslims, agnostics, lapsed Catholics, and several who were not yet baptized.

The Lord worked in wonderful ways. Here are a few of the inspiring testimonies we received.

Vincent shared: “My relationship with Jesus was present before Discovering Christ, but now it’s alive. I have never had this much joy to enter the Lenten season.”

Megan, a young adult who had stopped attending church, said: “Discovering Christ has made me closer to Jesus, prayer and the Church. I went back to confession for the first time in 10 years after session 4 of Discovering Christ.”

Deacon Stephen Melancon, who facilitated a table discussion with his wife Betsy, wrote: “What I had sometimes seen take years in evangelization happened in just five weeks. Truly amazing!”

Ali, who also facilitated one of the small groups, shared: “People at the table I facilitated expressed to me that throughout the course they felt part of something bigger. A few told me their understanding of the Gospel now had clarity and they felt God’s love for them more than they ever had.”

One of the most powerful stories came from Bree, a young woman who was invited to Discovering Christ. She was not baptized and had no knowledge of the Catholic faith. She wrote: “I didn’t have a relationship with Jesus before, but now He is the center of my life.” Bree has now joined OCIA at our parish!

We look forward to continuing with Following Christ this September and Sharing Christ at a later date. Please join us in praying for open doors for ChristLife and the Catholic Eastern Rite churches.