Below are some events sponsored by the Evangelization Team

	“Renewing Our Faith” A Lenten Journey: is a 5 part series that reflects back on the basics of our faith.  The night consists of music, presentations, and small group faith sharing.  The series are held during Lent. Listen to Brandon Vogt’s presentation on “How the Mass Makes Life More Meaningful, A parishioner’s perspective” Listen to Larann Wilson’s presentation on “The Church and Me” Download the Small Group Discussion Questions
	XLT events: are uplifting, intergenerational nights of Praise & Worship music, Inspirational Talks, Eucharistic Adoration, and Fellowship. These wonderful events are open to people of all ages, faith and culture. Events are held from 7-9PM in the Church. The next event is in July! Stay tuned for more details. “My soul eXaLTs the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Luke 1:45
	Tear Drops Prayer Service: is an evening of reflection and prayer for our family members, friends and co-workers who have become inactive in their Catholic faith.  Evenings of reflection and prayer are held three times in the year and open to all! In the 4th century, St. Monica prayed for her son’s conversion.  St. Augustine of Hippo became a great Bishop, Founder of a  Religious Order, Saint, and Doctor of the Catholic Church.  May St. Monica intercede for us as we pray for our loved ones��� return to the Church.

The primary mission of the Church is to make disciples.
Everything we do is Evangelization (making disciples).

New Evangelization

“It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” Mk 4:31-32

Lord, open my eyes, that I might see the needs of others,
Open my ears, that I might hear your call of discipleship,
Open my heart, that I might love without prejudice,
Open my mouth, that I might share the Good News.
Guide the Church of St. Mary Magdalen with your grace,
Enlighten us with your Word, and
Strengthen us to be Disciples in Mission. Amen.

Pope Benedict VXI on the New Evangelization

To evangelize means: to show this path toward happiness—to teach the art of living. At the beginning of his public life Jesus says: I have come to evangelize the poor (Luke 4:18); this means: I have the response to your fundamental question; I will show you the path of life, the path toward happiness—rather: I am that path.

The deepest poverty is the inability of joy, the tediousness of a life considered absurd and contradictory. This poverty is widespread today, in very different forms in the materially rich as well as the poor countries. The inability of joy presupposes and produces the inability to love, produces jealousy, avarice—all defects that devastate the life of individuals and of the world.

This is why we are in need of a new evangelization—if the art of living remains an unknown, nothing else works. But this art is not the object of a science—this art can only be communicated by one who has life—he who is the Gospel personified.

Why do we need the New Evangelization?

The New Evangelization offers hope. Jesus grants all people rest and comfort from the world's burdens (Mt. 11:28) by offering us the hope of salvation and eternal life. Through the “re-proposing” of the Gospel, the Church seeks to comfort all those who are burdened. The New Evangelization offers the gifts of faith, hope, love and new life in Christ.

The New Evangelization in the United States

The Church in the United States can be likened to the mustard seed. The Church has been present in the Americas since the first missionaries arrived in the 15th Century. Over the past five centuries, the Church's foundation has sprung up and taken root in the U.S., spreading her branches and offering shade to the weary. This can be seen simply by looking at the work of Catholic Charities on behalf of the poor, the network of Catholic schools offering education to millions, and the commitment of U.S. Catholics to the Church's social justice teachings. However, there is still work to do.  The 2008 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) study "Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice Among U.S. Catholics. . . ," provides a glimpse into the beliefs, practices and attitudes of U.S. Catholics. According to the study, only 23% of U.S. Catholics regularly attend Mass once a week, while 77% self-identify as proud to be Catholic. These statistics point to the need for the New Evangelization.  The seed of the Church is present, but the message of Jesus Christ needs to be re-sown and watered for those who have already heard Christ's call, but who have not been fully evangelized or catechized. Truly, the seed of Christ's message has taken root and yielded much fruit in past seasons.  In the spirit of the New Evangelization, it is our hope that the resources on this page will yield even greater harvests for Christ in the future so that all people can dwell in the shade.

For more information on the New Evangelization, go to http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/index.cfm

Magisterial Teaching on Evangelization

"A true apostle looks for opportunities to announce Christ by words addressed either to non-believers with a view to leading them to faith, or to the faithful with a view to instructing, strengthening, and encouraging them to a more fervent life."
#6, Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, Vatican II

"In regard to the apostolate for evangelizing and sanctifying men, the laity must be specially formed to engage in conversation with others, believers, or non-believers, in order to manifest Christ's message to all men."
#31, Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, Vatican II

Evangelization and Stewardship

The publications of Go and Make Disciples, the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter on evangelization and Stewardship:  A Disciple’s Response, the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter on stewardship enhanced Catholics’ understanding of the Church’s mission as including both evangelization and stewardship. Together these two documents emphasize conversion of heart as vital to the overall mission of the Church. In the letter on evangelization, we read, “Conversion is the change of our lives that comes about through the power of the Holy Spirit. All who accept the Gospel undergo change as we continually put on the mind of Christ by rejecting sin and becoming more faithful disciples in his Church.”   The stewardship pastoral letter affirms the same truth: “Beginning in conversion, change of mind and heart, this commitment is expressed not in a single action, nor even in a number of actions over a period of time, but in an entire way of life.”

Every member of the Church is called to evangelize, and the practice of authentic Christian stewardship inevitably leads to evangelization. As stewards of the mysteries of God (cf. 1 Cor 4:1), people desire to tell others about them and about the light they shed on human life, to share the gifts and graces they have received from God, especially knowledge of Christ Jesus, “who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30). Human beings, says Pope Paul VI, “have the right to know the riches of the mystery of Christ. It is in these . . . that the whole human family can find in the most comprehensive form and beyond all their expectations everything for which they have been groping�� (Evangelii Nuntiandi, no. 53).   (taken from Stewardship:  A Disciple’s Response, p.31-32).