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Part III Continued
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The Personal
Mandate: Becoming a Disciple
Personal
Objective One: Commitment
Each Catholic will recommit
her/himself to Jesus Christ as a disciple by embracing
evangelization as their personal mission.
Strategies
- Accept God’s invitation
to personal conversion, to know and love
Jesus as Lord and Savior.
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- Create a daily plan to evangelize by
being “intentional” in what
you say and do.
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- Pray daily for the grace and power of the
Holy Spirit to be more of a disciple of Jesus
Christ by growing in faith, hope, and love.
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- Take a personal inventory on a regular
basis (daily) by examining your conscience,
your intentions, and your actions.
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- Pray daily for the spread of the Gospel
and for all of the disciples of Jesus,
especially the Church’s official
ministers and our Cardinal Archbishop.
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- Renew your Baptismal Promises on a regular
basis (daily if possible) as a sign of
your commitment to discipleship and evangelization.
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- Develop a mindset of “being sent” to
share the Good News with everyone.
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- Witness to the Gospel and to Jesus Christ
by living as a faithful, practicing Catholic.
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- Write a personal mission statement in light
of evangelization and discipleship.
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- Support the Church by exercising Gospel
stewardship of personal time, talent, and
treasure.
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Visible Signs
- Individual Catholics have a sense of
personal mission and of “being sent.”
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- Individual Catholics are volunteering for
church programs, ministries, and outreach.
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- The witness of individual Catholics is
noticed at home, in the parish, and in the
neighborhood.
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Personal Objective
Two: Believe
Each Catholic will respond
to God’s
grace to grow in personal holiness by deepening
his/her personal relationship with Jesus and
His
Church.
Strategies
- Actively participate in the Sunday Eucharist
on a regular basis.
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- Try to share in the Eucharist more often
than Sunday.
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- Cultivate a daily practice of personal
prayer and conversation with God.
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- Actively celebrate the Sacrament of
Reconciliation as a part of your spiritual
life.
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- Encourage family members to participate
in celebrating the Sacramental Life of
the Church, especially the sacraments
of the Eucharist and Reconciliation.
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- Develop a deeper appreciation for the Sacred
Scriptures by reading and reflecting upon
them on a regular basis, especially the readings
of the liturgical day.
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- Participate in faith-sharing prayer
and other spiritual formation events like
retreats, parish missions, days of reflection,
and the like.
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- Join in a small faith-sharing group or
small Christian community to share prayer,
faith, and Scripture.
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- Study and reflect upon the rich heritage
and teachings of the Catholic Church as expressed
in the Catechism of the Catholic Church or
other such documents and share them with
others.
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- Develop a daily, personal spiritual regimen;
e.g., morning and evening prayers, prayer
before meals, examination of conscience,
Scripture reading, personal devotions,
Mass, etc.
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Visible Signs
- Catholics actively and regularly participate
in the celebration of the sacramental life
of the Church, especially the Holy Eucharist.
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- Individual Catholics are alive with an
informed faith, a vibrant hope for the
coming of God’s Reign, and a joyful love of
God. God’s presence is experienced
and witnessed.
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- Individual Catholics are enthusiastic about
being Catholic.
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Personal Objective
Three: Share
Each Catholic will reach out to share
the Good News of Jesus Christ with everyone and
especially newcomers, inactive Catholics, the
marginalized, and the unchurched.
Strategies
- Become a sharing person who freely witnesses
to the Catholic Faith and recount personal
experiences openly with others.
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- Know the outreach ministries of the
parish and invite fellow parishioners,
friends and family members to enroll in
outreach sessions.
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- Invite a new parishioner, neighbor,
or friend to dinner or a social event
to build a friendship based on Christ’s
love.
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- Develop a welcoming atmosphere at home
by being present for family meals and
other family celebrations and special
occasions.
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- Visit a new parishioner or neighbor
in his or her home to build community
and communion.
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- Witness the Gospel to the unchurched
and to those who have never heard of Christ
and His Church by word and deed so that
they may come to know of God’s love
for them.
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- Become a minister of care and bring
Holy Communion to the homebound and hospitalized.
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- Practice hospitality in the parish,
in the neighborhood, in the workplace
by listening, encouraging, affirming,
and celebrating others
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- Celebrate the diversity and faith of
people from different ethnic and cultural
backgrounds by sharing stories and entering
into conversation and dialogue. (Resources:
The pastoral letter of Francis Cardinal
George Dwell in My Love (April 2001) and
the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ statement
entitled Welcoming the Stranger Among
Us: Unity in Diversity)
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- Reach out and welcome Catholics who
have become inactive in the practice of
their faith by listening to their stories
and inviting them, when ready, to return
to active participation in the Church.
(Resource: A Time to Listen...A Time to
Heal: A Resource Directory for Reaching
Out to Inactive Catholics, U.S. Catholic
Bishops Handbook, November 1998)
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Visible Signs
- Inactive Catholics are being invited
to return to the practice of their faith.
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- Individual Catholics express a joyful
spirit of hospitality.
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- Individual Catholics live out the paradigm
shift of the Second Vatican Council by
being focused on outreach to all and not
just to practicing Catholics.
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PERSONAL OBJECTIVE FOUR: TRANSFORM
Each Catholic will
participate in the transformation of
society and culture by living and
proclaiming the Gospel of Life.
Strategies
- Develop a deeper
gratitude and practice of
sacrificial
love in families to mirror the love of Christ and
strengthen the omestic church. (Resource: Follow
the Way of Love: A Pastoral Message of the U.S.
Catholic Bishops to Families)
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- Develop and practice
a spirituality of work
so that
all employers and employees are transformed by
just labor relationships.
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- Seek out opportunities
to witness to Christ
through social programs and church-sponsored
outreach ministries. (Resources: Everyday
Christianity: To Hunger and Thirst for Justice and In All
Things Charity: A Pastoral Challenge for the New
Millennium, U.S. Catholic Bishops)
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- Practice faith by witnessing
to the Gospel in all
areas of your daily life including family, neighborhood,
workplace, politics, the arts, the sciences,
media, and other areas.
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- Exercise political rights
in accord with Gospel and
Catholic values by voting, campaigning, and
becoming involved in the political process to shape
a political environment based on Gospel values of
respect for the dignity of the human person. (Resources: Living the
Gospel of Life: A Challenge
to
America's Catholics
and Faithful Citizenship
by the U.S.
Catholic Bishops)
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- Discern and practice
the wise use of those contemporary
media which affirm human
life and Gospel values,
including reading materials
and viewing programs that
are in accord with Catholic
values and beliefs. (Resources:
Family Guide for Using
the Media,Your Family and
Cyberspace, Civility in
Media, Renewing the Mind
of the Media, Family Guide
for Using the Media, U.S.
Catholic Bishops)
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- Work in your neighborhood,
parish, and home to foster
cultural diversity and
racial justice.
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- Be involved in parish
and local service groups
in
your neighborhood which serve the needs of the
neighborhood.
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- Develop an appreciation
of the arts and their
messages in order to hear the signs of the times
and discern the Holy Spirit's voice calling for
transformation.
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- Study and reflect upon
the social teachings of the
Church.
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Visible Signs
Individual Catholics are involved in
putting into
practice the social teachings of the
Church.
Persons are transformed
in their personal lives as
they are affected by the power of the
Gospel.
People everywhere recognize
the transforming
presence of Jesus in the workplace,
neighborhood, parish, and home in
the quality of human
relationships.
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Reflection Questions
- Of what importance
is the Parish Mandate? How does the Parish
Mandate relate to the Personal Mandate?
- How does your
parish implement the strategies commit,
believe, share, and transform society?
What resources does it need?
- What visible signs
appeal to you the most? Why?
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Part III Continued
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