Jun 05 2025 Gilbert Rodriguez’s Testimony from the Archdiocese of New York Gilbert shares the experience of ChristLife at parishes throughout the Archdiocese of New York and the fruit he’s seen. Gilbert serves as the Coordinator of Adult Discipleship and Marriage Formation for the Archdiocese of New York. Gilbert’s testimony was originally shared on the May 2025 Proven Path webinar.
May 29 2025 Jack’s Testimony I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools, but I never had a relationship with God. I knew I wanted to go to Heaven someday, but once I left home I never went to Mass. After I got married and had kids, we attended church most Sundays, a time when I’d check out who was there, and a time for planning my week. Even that stopped once the kids went to college. I just wasn’t into it. Once I turned 60, I started thinking about eternity more deeply. I started reading books about the afterlife and near-death experiences. I started going to Mass again, but I was still just checking a box. I did learn from my spiritual reading that it wasn’t about just me and God—I needed community. So I started teaching Religious Education at my parish. One day I got a call from my Faith Formation Director asking me to join and play a leadership role in a new program the church was going to run called Christlife. God must have told me to say “Yes,” because it wasn’t me. I went to a 3-day training on how to lead ChristLife. While I was at the training, I felt the presence of God and felt excited and called to lead ChristLife. At the time, I didn’t realize how much it would change my life. Once we began Discovering Christ, I sat at a table with other guests. I immediately felt a connection with them and understood the value of community. We shared our thoughts, our doubts, our fears, and our questions about our faith. Discovering Christ talked about a God who loves us unconditionally, a God who wants to have a personal relationship with each one of us, a God of mercy and empathy, a God who is with us every moment of our lives, a God who really hears our prayers, and a God who can and does change lives. It was so different from what I remembered from school—that religion was a “don’t do this, don’t do that” religion, all about the rules. I had never heard of the concept of having a personal relationship with the Lord. I never realized religion is all about Love–God’s love for us, and our response to that Love. A simple concept, but one I had never really gotten. At the Discovering Christ retreat, I encountered, for the first time, the love of God, and I knew without a doubt that Jesus was with me and in me. I go to Sunday Mass now because I want to go, not because it’s a rule. I go to daily Mass, pray every day, and read spiritual books for the same reason. Most days, I stop by church on the way home, sometimes for 10 minutes sometimes longer. Daily rosaries and monthly confession are now a habit. I hadn’t been to confession in over 30 years. At the very end of the ChristLife Process, there are Cardboard Testimonies where in just a few words you write where you were before and after ChristLife. My ‘before’ was: self-centered, pleasure seeking and fear of death. My ‘after’ is: God-centered, joyful and peaceful. Simply put, I have fallen in love with the God who created me. My life now has purpose and meaning. I have joy and peace I never knew was possible. I wake up now ready and eager to face each day. Sometimes, I feel so happy I want to jump up and down and start laughing. My goal in life now for whatever time I have left here on this Earth is to bring the Love that God has given me to as many people I can. With help from a monsignor in the Archdiocese of Washington, an old high school friend, I’ve introduced the program to six churches in the DC area. Two are running the program now, with the other four starting in the Fall. Thank you Jesus, for showing me how to live my life! Jack experienced and leads ChristLife in the Archdiocese of Washington. Jack’s testimony was originally shared on the May 2025 Proven Path webinar.
May 22 2025 Taylor’s Testimony My name is Taylor, I am 26 years old, and I grew up in a small town outside of Boston. Growing up attending Sunday Mass followed by family dinner was a constant in my life, and the memories created over those years I will hold in my heart forever. As a kid I had a crippling fear of death, I was so terrified to lose my loved ones because I found my identity in them. In 2021 those fears became my reality and one by one the most important people in my life started to pass away. First my Nana, then my Uncle, and 4 more family members and close friends followed. Most recently my boyfriend, CJ, the man I thought I would spend my life with passed away in his sleep. After losing him I felt broken, still believing I was somehow in control. I kept God at a distance because I was convinced my sins were too great for his forgiveness. I was living in darkness desperately searching for the light, but I didn’t find it in the world. I was silently suffering, and made many mistakes along the way. With my family’s love and support I found ways to help heal the trauma. During that time, a stranger approached me, saying a few words, he handed me a Bible. Unlike the many Bibles I’d received before, I opened this one and started to read, but I felt like it was reading me! Eventually I would move back home, eager to attend Sunday Mass. That’s when I saw the beautiful banner that read ChristLife: Discovering Christ. I felt in my heart I needed to be a part of this and quickly signed up. Throughout the three ChristLife courses—Discovering Christ, Following Christ, and Sharing Christ—my relationship with Jesus, myself, and my community has been transformed. Discovering Christ taught me Jesus’ character, why we need Him as our Savior, and the hope of His resurrection. It showed me that pain isn’t the enemy, it signals brokenness, but God is always working for good, and the cross is the most beautiful symbol of what is possible if we endure our pain and suffering… an eternity with our creator. The course videos were engaging and inspirational. They address real-life struggles and offer hope to those seeking Him, whether new to faith or looking to deepen it even more. Following Christ dove deeper into Catholicism and the Church’s importance. This course ignited a fire in my heart. I learned to pray to the Holy Spirit before reading Scripture, trusting God to replace feelings of unworthiness with His grace. Receiving the Sacraments regularly has also helped strengthen my faith, especially receiving the Eucharist, as I know have internalized the fact that Jesus is truly the bread of life. I’ve also returned to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I try to go every 2 weeks but never longer than a month. Establishing a daily prayer time has also been of great importance to me. I set aside 30 minutes each morning to pray and read the Bible and even more time at night to be with the Lord, to worship him and thank him, leaving all my worries at his feet. Sharing Christ has convinced me that my purpose in life is to share Jesus’ good news with others. ChristLife has equipped me with the knowledge and confidence to live my faith boldly without fear. I started “The Little Jesus Project.” I hide small Jesus figurines around local communities in MA, in places like coffee shops and gyms to spread His love. One day, I met an elderly woman crying outside a store. Sometimes all we need is for someone to just listen and that’s what I did. Visibly overwhelmed, she shared her struggles with me – family illness and financial stress. I handed her one, and her frown turned to a smile. She gave me the warmest hug, and shared she felt Jesus’ peace in that moment. For me, it’s about planting the seed and trusting God with the rest. A little Jesus truly makes a big difference. ChristLife has made me a faithful disciple, prioritizing a life reflecting Jesus’ love. The courses’ fellowship has transformed my parish community, calling others to action in their faith. A couple in my small group has even converted to Catholicism, and it’s been so beautiful to witness. As a child, I prayed God would use me to help others, but I lacked confidence to speak publicly as my fear was debilitating. ChristLife has changed that. Today, I facilitate youth discipleship and faith formation at my parish and share my testimony at addiction recovery centers across Massachusetts. I’ve gone from fearing to speak before ten people to confidently sharing God’s love with hundreds. ChristLife helped me find my identity in Jesus, not the world, and the blessings have been abundant. If your parish is seeking to deepen people’s relationship with Christ or a way to share His perfect love, ChristLife is a beautiful path to meet Jesus where you are at. And today, it has made all the difference in my life! Taylor experienced ChristLife in the Archdiocese of Boston. Taylor’s testimony was originally shared on the May 2025 Proven Path webinar.
Apr 01 2025 Creative Adaptations: Running Discovering Christ in a Public High School By: Colin Reitmeyer The American public school system has been overrun by ideologies opposed to Christ and His Gospel: transgenderism, abortion, secularism, and other deceptions are taught regularly. After my conversion to Catholicism in my freshman year, I went through the ChristLife Process at my parish, which further inspired me to share the Lord with my peers. The next year my parish ran Discovering Christ again, and I invited dozens of fellow teenagers to come hear the Gospel. Due to multiple stumbling blocks, particularly busyness or lack of transportation, very few of them were able to attend. It was then that this idea struck me: What if, instead of bringing high schoolers to ChristLife, we brought ChristLife to the high schoolers? This year, my senior year, I endeavored to run Discovering Christ weekly, after school, in a classroom. First I needed to get the club approved by the administration, and by the grace of God, it was approved. Next I needed to find a teacher willing to sponsor a new club. Unfortunately every teacher I’d had either couldn’t commit or wasn’t willing to, so I prayed, and the Lord prompted me to send out an email to every teacher at the school. The Lord was faithful, and I found a teacher to sponsor my club! I couldn’t run the courses alone, so I recruited fellow Christians of all denominations to help serve as facilitators and inviters. In this small context, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant Christians were able to unify together to spread the Gospel in a public high school! I needed to make adaptations to the usual formula, like cutting worship, cutting the videos in half, shortening the meal, and creating new discussion questions that better apply to teens. We were able to condense the sessions into 65 minutes. Me and my team invited all our friends, and at lunch we invited dozens of students to join us. In our first session, 35 students came and heard how Jesus Christ is the meaning of our lives! Over time, we experienced some attrition, and at this point we have a strong group of 10 students. We certainly had some challenges early on in the course, like rowdy participants talking during the teaching, and students trying to take food and then leave early. As we lost the non-serious participants, the discussions got better over time, and now around the end of the course, we are all comfortable sharing our faith with one another. I’m so grateful to the Lord for making this possible, and to all the donors who generously gave to support the costs of the course, like food and supplies. The fruits of the course have been bountiful. In total, over 65 teenagers from all different faith backgrounds heard at least part of the Gospel proclaimed! The seeds of the Gospel were spread to lukewarm Christians, atheists, agnostics, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and many others! One student, who had only recently discovered that Christianity is true, had been praying at the start of the year for community with fellow Christians, and just a week after that, the club started! He is now seriously considering converting to the Catholic faith! Another student who was a lapsed Catholic was hesitant to join the club because he was trapped in serious sin, but early on in the course, his brother and I shared with him about the redemption of Jesus, and he ended up repenting, going to Confession, and now he comes to Discovering Christ every week! Multiple participants have told me and the team how through Discovering Christ their faith has become an essential part of their life. Colin Reitmeyer is an 18-year-old high school student, and current intern at ChristLife. Colin has a passion for evangelization, and is continuing the club the rest of the school year.
Mar 07 2025 Winter 2025 Founder’s Letter Dear Sisters and Brothers, Thirty years ago, following several years of growing conviction in prayer, discernment with others, mission work in Poland and Slovakia, and studying at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family Life, I was convinced the Lord and His Church were calling me to practically respond to the mission of evangelization by helping Catholics know and make known the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. In response, Leo Rudegeair and I met with Cardinal Keeler to propose establishing a Catholic ministry of evangelization. He was so encouraged that any Catholics—clergy, religious, or laity—were actually evangelizing and wanted to teach others how to share their faith in the Lord, that he established us as an Apostolate of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Because Leo and I had personally encountered the joy of knowing Jesus as Lord, and knew that the Gospel was truly life-changing good news, we wanted everybody to have the opportunity to turn to the Lord—whether they were in the pews, dropped out, or unbaptized. Initially we taught about evangelization at conferences in dioceses and parishes, but came to a point where we realized we needed to be more focused. Specifically, we wanted to give parishes practical training and resources to help their parishioners personally know the Lord, and to tell anyone and everyone this Good News. And so, the ChristLife Process of Discovering Christ, Following Christ, and Sharing Christ was developed. It is a way to equip parishes to establish an ongoing process of inviting people to hear the Gospel and provide an opportunity to personally respond to it in a relational context. In addition, participants learn the basics of becoming 24/7 disciples and hopefully embrace the essential mission of all baptized Christians—to share Christ in word and witness of life. We are amazed by God’s grace at work in over a quarter of a million people who have participated in the ChristLife Process. We continue to hear testimonies of changed lives by the Lord Jesus. Join us in giving praise to the Lord! It’s very humbling to know what the Lord can do when each one of us says yes to Him. A word of encouragement for all of us: In the Gospel of Mark 5:19-20, we read about a man who had been delivered from many demons. As Jesus is departing, the man begs to go with Him, but the Lord refuses and says: ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.” What a timely word for us. The Lord calls us to go to our family, friends, and those around us to tell them how much the Lord has done for us! The Lord Jesus wants you and me to be His messengers of the Good News to those right where we live. God’s love, forgiveness, peace, purpose, and power, that we have received and enjoy, are not only for us but for those we relate to. Jesus wants others to personally know Him, and guess what? By the Holy Spirit, He wants to give us timely opportunities to share with others the remarkable news that we know is true. Now is a critical time in the nations when people desperately need to hear the love of Jesus Christ. And you and I carry His presence and word in us for their sake. Jesus has changed our lives and He wants to use us to help others know He can change them, too! Let’s be praying for opportunities to share the Lord with others. Please pray for us as we sincerely pray for you. With love in Christ, I remain your brother, Dave Nodar ChristLife Founder and Senior Leader
