Aug 28 2024 The Power of an Invitation Five years ago, I was sitting in Mass listening to someone give an invitation to Discovering Christ. I thought: “I’m a cradle Catholic, I go to church every week, put money in the collection… Why do I need to discover Christ?” Of course, my wife said, “We should do that.” I’m not quick on my feet and our youngest had just gone off to college, so I didn’t have any ready made excuses, so I reluctantly said yes. The topic the first night is “What is the meaning of life?” Intellectually, I knew the answer. I learned as a kid from the Baltimore Catechism. Our purpose is to know, love, and serve God in this world and be with Him in the next. However, that question always left my heart restless. This was partly because my wife and I had four kids, the second of whom was born with profound disabilities. When we got Ashley’s diagnosis, it was easy to see God’s purpose for my wife. I could see God’s hand in calling her first to work with kids with disabilities, then leading her to get a degree in special education and then working as a Special Ed teacher, which is what she was doing when we met. God prepared her to be the mother of our child and later to have a tremendous impact on so many other families. But what about me? What was the purpose of MY life? What did God want from ME? That first night at Discovering Christ touched me. I found the video to be thought provoking and the small group discussion was very engaging. But the best part was the ride home. For perhaps the first time in our marriage, my wife and I had a deep discussion about our faith and that continued each week. That has been great for our marriage. By the end of the three courses, I knew what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Now I read Scriptures every day. I pray every day. I have a relationship with the God who made me. God has asked many things of me—some big, some small. I’ve said yes to being part of many things at the parish. I said yes when we were asked to help with the next round of Discovering Christ. I said yes to becoming more and more involved in ChristLife. I said yes to being the emcee one year for Discovering Christ. I even got to say the joke at the beginning each night. Though, for what it’s worth, they never asked me to do that again. Perhaps stand-up comedy is not in my future. Over time, I also learned to surrender. At one point, I told God, “You can ask me anything and whatever you ask I will say yes.” In surrendering to the Lord, I found my purpose. Two years ago, I attended a ChristLife training conference when someone at my table, who I had never met, asked me “Why aren’t you a deacon yet?” I thought it was kind of weird and told my wife. She said, “Funny thing. I’ve been meaning to talk to you for the last 6 weeks. Every time I go to Mass, I feel the Holy Spirit prompting me to ask you that very same question.” I had a lot of doubts. I’m too old. I would need a special waiver from the bishop. I certainly don’t think I measure up to the other deacons in our parish. I don’t think I’m a good public speaker. But I prayed about it and tried to discern what to do. About six weeks later, we held the one-day retreat associated with Discovering Christ. There is a video with Fr. Erik where he talks about how he was in college living out a typical college lifestyle when he first felt the call to the priesthood. He had a lot of doubts. Could he give up the life he knew? Could he really live out this new life? At some point, he heard the Holy Spirit tell him, “You provide the yes, I’ll take care of everything else.” I heard Fr. Erik say that on the video and I knew those words were for me. Now, I’ve just finished my first year in the deacon formation program and, if it is still God’s will, in 2028 I will put my hands in the bishop’s hands and say yes, and be ordained to serve His church. From my very reluctant yes to attend Discovering Christ, my life has changed in a dramatic way. I have had some amazing divine appointments. I am no great evangelist, but I am a great inviter. I am available, anywhere, anytime to invite someone to take the next step—come to Discovering Christ, attend an ACTS retreat, attend a parish function, or simply have coffee and listen to their story. I have been profoundly changed because someone invited me. I have been profoundly changed because Leo engaged me. I have been profoundly changed because the Holy Spirit spoke through Fr. Erik and said, “You provide the yes, I’ll take care of everything else.” Rob Meisner originally shared this testimony live at Equip 2024.
May 17 2024 God Saved Me with a Wink I had a happy childhood, grew up in a nice neighborhood with good schools. My parents being a product of the 1930s (great Depression), there were two lessons stressed in our house: Self-sufficiency. Save your money. From eight years old I always had a job and I saved every penny. I paid for my college education through jobs and playing college football. Graduated Cum Laude with a BS in Computer Science. Fell in love during my thirties with Linda my wife of 25 years. We had four kids within seven years. With a young family of six I turned up the pressure by starting my own software business. I was burning the candle from both ends: running a business, raising four kids …. drinking in the bars after a night of competitive volleyball with the boys. By the world’s standards I was successful, in my mind I was self-made. I would go to church most weeks if I had the Sunday morning available, and I “gave” God one hour of my time. It caught up to me in my early forties when at 41 I had a heart attack. They put a stent in my right coronary artery and a few days later I went back to work. I had employees to oversee, I had the kid’s sports games to coach. I thought nothing had changed; but things had changed after my heart attack, there was a feeling of emptiness, of unhappiness. I did not realize it at the time, but after my heart attack I developed depression. I fought this depression for more than a decade. I looked at this disease as a chink in my armor. It was something I would handle on my own. I struggled internally. From the outside at 50 you would have thought all was good. Kids were in college or high school and doing well. Business had thrived and the money was coming in. The problem was this depression was winning. I knew I needed change, yet I wasn’t ready to look externally for help. I started making radical changes myself. I sold my business. I retired at 51. I started buying things: houses, boats, stuff. Nothing helped, in fact these radical changes made it worse. Until one night I was down at our new shore house waiting on new appliances to be delivered the next morning. Spoiler alert: new appliances will not fix depression! I spent that night alone in my room in a fetal position, crying. I did not know where to turn. Morning came and there was a knock at the door, young men carrying heavy appliances. I must have looked like a mess with no sleep and red eyes. The boys or rather young men installed the appliances and I tipped them. One of the young men looked me in the eyes and he winked! He said to me “God Bless you” and he turned and walked out the door. The wink touched me and for the first time I was open to looking to God for help. A few days later, I went to Sunday morning mass, 9:45 and I sat in my normal pew. The mass was a bit different. A parishioner got up and spent a few minutes describing this new program they would be offering for the first time; it was called Discovering Christ and it would be starting this Thursday night. I thought what a coincidence. I walked into this program with little knowledge of Jesus. I came from a public-school education and life until this point was about what I could accomplish. This course started me down a path that has changed my life in every way. A path that brought me to the greatest blessing in my life: a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. This relationship has given me peace and has deepened my relationships with my wife and my kids. My life has changed from one of self-reliance to Christian community; from what can I accomplish to asking God to use me and bless me each day. By Bill C.
May 17 2024 Atheist professor returns to the Church after 52 years Dr. Gloria Sampson, a linguistic professor who taught in Communist China, spent over half a century living as an atheist. She was raised Catholic, but left the faith in college and never looked back. Find out how a series of events culminating in a personal invitation to Discovering Christ changed everything. (Dr. Gloria Sampson’s testimony was originally aired on “Catholics Come Home.” Watch an excerpt from the interview where she talks about her Discovering Christ experience.) One afternoon Gloria ran into her neighbor while walking her dog. After chatting for a few minutes, Gloria’s neighbor invited her over for a cup of tea. The neighbor shared that she was attending a program at her church called Discovering Christ, which was helping her learn about her faith—something she didn’t know much about, despite being raised Catholic. A few days later, that same neighbor sent Gloria an email. It was an invitation to Discovering Christ. The church was only a few blocks from her home, so Gloria decided to try it out. She walked in not sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. “[The people I met] were extraordinary; a real surprise because I was expecting people to come at me, trying to suck me into the church. They were just normal, regular people talking in a normal, regular way.” The community she found through ChristLife helped answer many of the questions she had about the Catholic faith. “It was the availability of people to ask questions informally, not having to go directly to a priest with what seemed to me to be really stupid and dumb questions. They were there, they could answer them, they could bring forth things that I hadn’t even thought about.” At the end of the series, there was an invitation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. She went and when she walked out of the confessional “felt free, felt ready to fly.” She also returned to the Eucharist. She shared, “When I received the Eucharist for the first time after 52 years, I was ready to cry. I had to control myself to keep from weeping out of happiness.” Now? She wants to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. “I actually feel an urge to evangelize, as strange as it might sound, because after 52 years, [one might think] ‘Who am I to go evangelizing?’ But you really do feel that urge. I tell my story in the hope that maybe someone else who wonders if there’s a way to get back to the church, that maybe my way, or my experience, could help them come back too. … We have to understand that God is within us and He comes through us so that we can give to others.” Dr. Sampson’s story was originally shared on Catholics Come Home.
Mar 21 2024 Freddie’s Journey We recently sat down with Freddie, who went through Discovering Christ and experienced the life-changing truth of Jesus Christ’s love for him. He shared, “[Through Discovering Christ] I realized Jesus Christ was going to be my best friend. Jesus Christ is more than just our God, but He is someone I relate to on a regular basis.” We at ChristLife are brought to our knees in grateful praise when we see someone like Freddie open their heart to the saving love of Jesus Christ. As Freddie’s video testimony illustrates, “being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Benedict XVI).
Mar 21 2024 What A Difference 7 Weeks Makes I grew up in an Italian Catholic family. I made all my sacraments, as a typical young Catholic should, and our family went to weekly Mass. From the ages of 11 to 14, I was an altar boy in our home parish. Like many teenagers, I started to rebel. I never stopped believing in Jesus—I just became less of a fan of the Catholic Church. Although I believed in Christ, I can’t say I had a relationship with Him. For the next 30 years, I would wander aimlessly in the desert of my faith. I stopped attending Mass and did not return until Christmas of 2013. I remember asking God to crack me open—cut my heart open if He needed. I knew I was lost. However, after Mass ended, life seemed to just go on as usual for almost another two years and I continued to feel homeless. The world began to change for me on November 29, 2015. It was the first week of Advent. I had an unexplained feeling that I should go to Mass. I went, but thought that day was like any other ordinary day. As I was exiting, none too inspired, a gentleman handed me a postcard that asked a simple question: Too Busy? 7 weeks could change your life. This was an invitation to the Discovering Christ program. I still can’t pinpoint why I felt such a strong pull in the direction to participate. I knew with a complex schedule I wasn’t sure if I could commit to 7 weeks, but I registered. I completed the entire program and Thank God I did. Discovering Christ was helpful for me mainly in its approach. The lessons offered me some answers to my questions. Two very important components for me were: “Why Do I Need A Savior?” and “The Holy Spirit Retreat.” I learned that I can’t fix the breach that sin created between man and God on my own. Christ died for our sins. He took the whole burden on Himself to save us! God loves us! He sent His Son to save us! Once we truly understand this, we must respond to God’s call. On March 13, 2016, I did just that on the night of the Holy Spirit Retreat, I committed my life to Jesus and went to confession after 30 years. That night I heard words, spoken to me, but not by a human voice. They were, “Welcome home my boy. I missed you my son.” Discovering Christ gave me a way to reconnect with my faith, my parish, and my Catholic-Christian community. I didn’t feel like I was being judged by the people running the program or by the participants. This program transformed me—a very skeptical fallen-away Catholic—and allowed for me to take a fresh look at what Jesus said and did, and what it meant for me. It showed me the importance of having a personal relationship with Him. It opened a new world in which I thirst for knowledge. I seek Sunday Mass no matter where I travel. My prayer life has become robust. I have an unquenchable desire to learn more and go deeper with Christ every day. And as I strive to be the best of version of myself daily, I know I am not perfect. But I’m better. My marriage is better. I am becoming a better example for my children. I am in love with my faith, my Church, and my relationship with Jesus Christ. I look at my church, which I used to view as brick and mortar structure, as one of the most beautiful places on this planet. Our parish is another part of my family. I feel so strongly about the importance of this program that I was compelled to join the Discovering Christ Team because I think this message needs to be told to anyone the Lord leads me to. He has done so several times already. Through Discovering Christ I know undeniably that I am the son of a King, the ever-living God and I am one who has been saved by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. By: David – New York