Sep 16 2026 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.
Dec 04 2025 Joe’s Testimony from St. Matthias Parish Joe shares the experience of ChristLife at St. Matthias Parish including how they got started and testimonies from several parishioners. Joe ran ChristLife at St. Matthias Parish in the Diocese of Cleveland. Joe’s testimony was originally shared on the November 2025 Proven Path webinar.
Nov 20 2025 Cheryle’s Testimony Cheryle shares how ChristLife helped her get through a deep grief and empowered her to pray with others. Some years ago, my pastor decided to offer ChristLife in the parish and needed someone to attend the training in Baltimore. Normally, I would have jumped on that because I love to start new things. But at that time, I knew I was at my limit, my plate was full. On top of being very busy, my husband died just some months earlier and I was still struggling with my grief and the effects of it: Lack of energy, confusion, bouts of tears, sleepless nights, navigating this new life, etc. I immediately said no to the training. I was overwhelmed and couldn’t imagine leaving for three days. After three people encouraged me, though, I brought it to Adoration, and the Lord clearly asked me to go and showed me exactly how: what to organize, who would help, etc., and He faithfully provided it all! I am here to tell you that it was the best thing that I could have done! The training was very thorough and hands-on, allowing us to experience what the participants would during the course. Each day, I felt the Lord lifting a bit of my grief. For example, On the first night, a prayer team prayed with me to be renewed and filled afresh with the Holy Spirit. I left feeling so much lighter. I was reminded that I was not alone and am loved by God. I received so much comfort in that reminder! Later, we stepped through an exercise of forgiveness, and I realized that I was harboring some unforgiveness regarding Dale’s death. I was able to forgive and that heavy burden was lifted from me. I learned and experienced so many things that I never knew about my faith, even though I had been Catholic all my life. I went home in utter amazement and awe, filled with comfort and peace. I still had some grief, but it was so much lighter, and I was full of energy and was renewed and refreshed to deal with everything coming up AND to experience some JOY in it all too! I was no longer afraid of having to face a new life ahead of me. I remember thinking that I couldn’t wait for our parishioners to experience all of what I just did throughout the series. There was one more healing that took place after I got home. I had not been able to sleep in my bed since my husband Dale’s death. When it was time for me to retire, the thought of going to that bed was just too painful! I couldn’t do it. So I slept on the couch for many, many months. Until I got home from the training! That very night, without any thought, I went to my bed as if it was what I do! That pain was taken away completely! I was able to get a good night’s rest to serve the Lord! Through ChristLife we also learned and practiced how to pray with people, which was new and a little intimidating for me because I mostly prayed memorized prayers. The Discovering Christ retreat gave me confidence to respond when the Lord opened a door. In December, after completing Discovering and Following Christ, I noticed a woman in the Walmart Christmas aisle quietly crying. We talked, and when she shared that she had lost her husband seven years ago, I asked if I could pray with her right there. She said yes, and we prayed together right then and there: in WALMART! This is something I never would have done before ChristLife. Now? I pray with anyone, anytime and anywhere! I am so grateful that God pursued me for this work of running ChristLife in our parish. Just as he worked amazing miracles in my life, He is working marvelous and wonderful miracles in the participants. We have had nearly 1,000 people go through the courses since 2017. I love listening to their incredible testimonies of how their lives have changed: Many have begun to pray daily. Many have gone back to Confession and now celebrate the Sacrament regularly. I hear frequently from couples how their marriages have improved. Those suffering from grief have found relief – like me. Some have grown to love the Holy Spirit, who didn’t really know Him before ChristLife. Faith has been strengthened or awakened. They feel a part of the community and are now doing things like serving at the Church, continuing small groups in their home, attending Bible study, share their testimony at Mass, and more. This is just a small sampling of how God is working in our people through ChristLife. I am confident that Jesus will work his wonders and healings in the lives of your parishioners as well. Cheryle leads ChristLife in the Diocese of Cleveland. Cheryle’s testimony was originally shared on the November 2025 Proven Path webinar.
Nov 13 2025 Ashley’s Testimony Ashley shares how an unexpected invitation to Discovering Christ from her neighbor at the exact moment she needed it, and how this invitation helped her encounter the personal love of Jesus Christ. I didn’t grow up with a strong Catholic foundation. I was baptized as a baby, but that was about it. My parents didn’t raise me in the faith—we didn’t pray together, we didn’t go to Mass, and we didn’t read Scripture. I didn’t a Bible until I was eighteen. The home I grew up in was abusive and chaotic, and as I got older, I began to drift further and further away from any belief in God. Eventually, by the time I was in high school, I called myself an atheist. I thought that even if there was a God, He certainly didn’t love me. He didn’t care about me. I felt completely alone. At seventeen, I left home and got my own apartment. I was trying to survive, to build a life, to escape the chaos I’d come from. But inside, I was empty. Angry. And lost. When I was eighteen, my life took a turn that I’ll never forget. I was involved in a break-in, and I was shot in the chest at gunpoint. I remember lying there, bleeding, thinking… Wow. This is it. This is how it all ends. I thought it would just all go black—no light, no afterlife, no God. Just… nothing. And I remember being terrified. They rushed me to the hospital. I survived the surgery. I remember lying in that hospital bed trying to make sense of it all when a Catholic priest came in to give me Last Rites. I felt two things at once: I wanted someone there because I didn’t want to die alone, but I was angry that it was him. He represented a God I didn’t believe in—a God who felt cold, and distant, and absent. So I was rude to him. I pushed him away. I told myself I didn’t need his prayers. But something about that moment stuck with me. After I was released from the hospital eight days later, I couldn’t shake it. So I went back to find that same priest to apologize. And that conversation… was the first small step that began leading me home. I started going back to church again. But honestly? It didn’t mean much at first. I was still angry. Still doubtful. Still searching for something I couldn’t name. Over the years, my life went up and down like anyone’s does. I did all the things that are supposed to make you happy: I went to college, earned degrees, got a good job, earned a doctorate, got a better job, made good money, had nice things. And yet it all felt empty. No matter how much I achieved, something was missing. There was this ache inside that no success could fill. Then, in 2023, my life changed again; this time through heartbreak. A close friend of mine, someone I deeply cared for, had a heart attack on Christmas morning. I was there. I did CPR, called 911, did everything I could to save him, but he died right in front of me. He had a strong faith. I didn’t. And I was angry; angry at God for taking him, and angry that it happened on the day that’s supposed to be about love and life and hope. I remember yelling at God. I remember walking the Stations of the Cross at night, demanding answers. I’d stand there in front of the crucifix and ask, “Why? Why did You do this?” But even in that anger, I kept showing up. Because somewhere deep down, I hoped God might show up too. And one night, He did. On one of those walks, I met another parishioner. We started talking, and he invited me to join something called the ChristLife program. I had never heard of it, but I thought, Why not? I was looking for answers I couldn’t find anywhere else. When I started ChristLife, I was nervous. I didn’t know many people, and I wasn’t sure if I would fit in. But as the sessions went on, I met people from all walks of life—some strong in faith, others searching like me. What struck me was that everyone there was looking for something real. The program talked about having a relationship with Jesus— not just knowing about Him, but actually knowing Him. That was new for me. Because to me, God had always been far away—distant, unreachable, someone out there. But through ChristLife, I began to see that Jesus wasn’t far at all. He was close. Personal. A friend. A brother. Someone who had been walking beside me through everything—I just hadn’t noticed Him. As I went on to the next sessions—Following Christ and Sharing Christ—something in me began to change. I even signed up to be a table facilitator because I enjoyed it so much. I started to pray differently. To think differently. And for the first time, I began to see God not as someone I feared or resented—but as someone who loved me deeply, who had been with me all along. Through ChristLife, I also came to know the Holy Spirit in a real, living way— something I’d never really considered before. I met people who cared about me, who prayed with me and for me, people who supported me when I wasn’t sure what faith even meant anymore. And that sense of belonging—of being loved both by God and by His people— it changed everything. After completing the ChristLife series, I knew I wanted more. Not more in the sense of knowledge, but more of Him. I wanted to understand this faith that had found me in the ruins of my unbelief. So, I did something I never would’ve imagined a few years ago. I applied to the seminary. And now, I’m pursuing a Master’s degree in Theology, and I’m in the Lay Ecclesial Minister certification program. When I look back over my life, I can see something I never saw before. Every moment I thought was proof of God’s absence—every pain, every loss, every unanswered question—was actually a place where He was quietly working to bring me home. My suffering wasn’t wasted. My anger wasn’t wasted. Even my doubt wasn’t wasted. Because all of it brought me to Him. Today, I don’t stand here as someone who has all the answers. I stand here as someone who was found. Someone who was lost and is learning, day by day, what it means to be loved by God. Faith isn’t about having it all together. It’s about relationship. It’s about saying yes to grace, even when you don’t understand it. If my story says anything, it’s this: God never stops pursuing us. Even when we’re running in the opposite direction. Even when we’ve given up on Him. He never gives up on us. I used to think I was too far gone for God to care. But now I know—the same God who met me in that hospital room, who walked with me through grief, and who led me to a community of believers— is the God who never stopped calling my name. And if He can do that for me… He can do that for anyone. Ashley experienced ChristLife in the Diocese of Cleveland. Ashley’s testimony was originally shared on the November 2025 Proven Path webinar.
Sep 09 2025 Kirsten’s Testimony from St. Katherine Drexel Parish Kirsten shares the experience of ChristLife at St. Katherine Drexel Parish since they began in 2021, including her own testimony and testimonies from several parishioners. Kirsten runs ChristLife at St. Katherine Drexel Parish in the Diocese of Sacramento. Kirsten’s testimony was originally shared on the August 2025 Proven Path webinar.
