The Making Disciples Today Blog has reflections to help you grow in your journey of missionary discipleship, reviews on recommended Catholic evangelization resources, and practical insight on how to evangelize in your daily life.
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- Written by Kristin Bird
As we enter the solemn season of Lent, marked by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we turn our hearts and minds toward deeper spiritual reflection and renewal. For those of us doing the work of evangelization, discipleship, and accompaniment in our lives and ministries, Lent offers a unique opportunity to prune the efforts and areas of our hearts that are not bearing fruit so that we can ultimately be even more fruitful (John 15:1-8).
All Fruitful Evangelization Flows From Prayer
Effective evangelization flows from a deep relationship with God. Prayer helps open our hearts and minds to receive the love of God and allows us to be filled with the grace that God abundantly pours out upon us.
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- Written by Burning Hearts Team
Blessing a home recognizes God's goodness in providing for us a home to live in, invites God to be present within our home, and dedicates our home to God. A blessing isn't a magic formula that makes our homes holy; our homes become holy because of how we act inside them. Rather, it asks for God's protection over the mind, body, and soul of those who live there.
Having our home blessed helps draw us closer to God, to Whom it is dedicated; and acknowledges that our home does more than just benefit our bodies by providing the tangible things like warmth, heat, shelter, etc. A blessed home can benefit our souls as well.
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- Written by Kristin Bird
I spent 15 years as a youth minister taking teenagers and young adults on retreats, conferences, mission trips, and summer camps. I'm also the product of those experiences - my earliest memory of encounter with Jesus was as a teenager at a World Youth Day Mass. My inital conversion happened during adoration as a young adult at a summer conference. The experience of retreating from routine and entering into a pocket in time that's totally focused on faith and genuine fellowship with other Christians can be powerful and life changing.
It is not good for man to be alone.
However, these experiences cannot and do not stand on their own. God calls us to community and companionship. He has created us for relationship and communion. When these on fire young people return from their camp, retreat, or conference, they need more. They need you. They need your ongoing & intentional accompaniment to help fan the flame of their encounter experience (sometimes referred to as a "retreat high") into the lasting transformation of conversion!
They need you if you’re a chaperone, youth minister, catechist, teacher, or Core member. They need you if you’re a parent, grandparent, godparent, or sibling. They need you if they’re a part of your parish or school community.
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- Written by Kristin Bird
Understanding the roles and distinctions between apostles and disciples in our faith communities can help us build accompaniment, formation, and support structures that encourage and help people to grow across the full journey of discipleship.
We are All Called to be Disciples
Discipleship is at the core of our faith. Being a disciple involves building a personal relationship with Jesus and practicing His teachings. Disciples strive to be like Christ, pursuing holiness and showing others God's love and mercy. At the core, discipleship is an active response to a relationship with Jesus.
Discipleship is active. It happens on purpose. The author of the book Forming Intentional Disciples, Sherry Weddell, said, "You don't do [discipleship] accidentally; you don't do it in your sleep."
Discipleship is also internal. You can't identify a disciple based only on their external practices. Both disciples and those who have not yet commited to making Jesus the center of their lives can participate in prayer, fasting, giving, participation in the sacraments, works of mercy.