by: Dianne Davis

When Liz signed up for Discovering Christ, she didn’t know what to expect. Her parish, St. Martin de Porres in Poughkeepsie, NY, had annual faith formation requirements for parents of children in their Religious Education program. She signed up for Discovering Christ online, because it was the only offering that would work with her busy schedule as a mom of two young children. But what ended up happening over the weeks, is that she grew to know who Jesus is and why she needs Him.

Liz loved the small group discussion and her facilitator Rocco, who never pressured anyone to share and created a welcoming atmosphere. At the virtual Holy Spirit retreat, Liz committed her life to Jesus. She now yearns to grow her relationship with the Lord and does something she never did before... she carves out time every morning to read a devotion and have daily prayer time!

Elizabeth Guevara de Gonzalez, Archdiocese of New York’s Director of Adult Faith Formation, shared, “The Covid-19 pandemic affected us all, and many of us recognized the need for our faith more than ever before. Thanks to the generous hearts of our ChristLife leaders within the Archdiocese, we were able to offer ChristLife online starting this past Lent. With close to 300 participants, we are very hopeful for the fruit that the Holy Spirit will bring.”

In Birmingham, AL, Jose and Isabel attended Discovering Christ as part of their Lenten journey. They both always considered themselves spiritual, but experienced different levels of ‘ups and downs’ over the last year since Isabel’s retirement. But Discovering Christ changed that.

They shared, “Discovering Christ had a deep impact in our spiritual life, especially because it helped us understand how, without the Holy Spirit working in our life, we could never find true happiness and experience a profound relationship with the Lord. It showed us that there is no greater love than the unconditional love Christ has for us, but most importantly, the responsibility we have as Christians, to live our lives for and in Christ.”

Liz, Jose, and Isabel experienced Discovering Christ because of ChristLife partnerships with the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Birmingham. ChristLife trained dozens of teams to offer the ChristLife evangelization process beginning Lent 2021. In New York, over 30 small groups were coordinated and set up. In Birmingham, there were over 50 small groups, some of which were able to meet in person! Together let’s rejoice in the hundreds of lives that were changed and pray they would continue to grow as missionary disciples!