ᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦᶦ� Good morning. Welcome to the first Unitarian Society of Madison. This is a community where curious and compassionate seekers gather to explore spiritual, ethical and social issues in an accepting and nurturing environment. Unitarian Universalism calls us to work toward equity, love and justice in our congregations and in the world. My name is Elizabeth Barrett and on behalf of the congregation, I would like to extend a special welcome to visitors. We are a welcoming congregation. So whoever you are and no matter who you love, we celebrate your presence among us. This would be a great time to silence our cell phones because in a moment I will invite you to join me in a few moments of silence for contemplation, meditation or prayer as we settle in and come fully into this time and place together. Please rise in body or spirit for our in-gathering hymn. We will join together in number 354, we laugh, we cry, we will sing verse 1 and verse 4. We laugh, we cry, we live, we die, we dance, we sing our song. We need to feel there's something here to which we can belong. We need to feel the freedom just to have some time alone. But most of all we need close friends, we can call our bears. And we believe and in the strength of love and we have thoughts to receive. Then we believe that sharing is an act. We seek elusive answers to the questions of this life. We seek to put an end to the search for truth, equality and blessed peace of mind.  And we've been to question truth is an act. Remaining standing for our opening words in Chalice Sliding. Reverend Gretchen Haley reminds us, whatever you come in anticipating, whatever you expect or worry for our world, for the future, for our lives, let it go. Make space in your heart to be surprised. Make room in your soul for a new story to take shape. Let astonishment be possible at this life that remains a miracle. Imagine here the bursting of joy, relentless and resilient coming in waves, washing over us with music, story, silence and still this dreaming together. And we join our voices continuing her words as we light our Chalice. Together we say, being hope for each other, encourage to believe in this new day dawning for us all. Come, let us worship together. I invite us to turn towards each other and offer a warm greeting. So this morning we have the treat of taking part in something that happens every year. We have done it for all of the service this weekend. We are experiencing together our annual banner parade. Each of our 22 children's religious education classes has created a banner to reflect the things that they talk about, think about, play about and care about in their classes. And so in each of our services from preschool through ninth grade, our children and youth are busy learning and growing together. So in just a moment we will have the classes that are part of the 11 o'clock hour parade through. They'll make their way up onto our chancel and perhaps they will yell out their name, perhaps not, we'll see. And you are very much invited to honor and celebrate them by applauding once they come in. So may we now together celebrate our banner parade. So that is a way of us honoring the ongoing work of children's religious education. I hope you will be sure and take a look at all of our banners that will be throughout the commons area and look at some of the wonderful artwork that has happened. I invite us now to continue with the service rising in all the ways that we do. Turn to number 298 and may we join our voices together and wake now my senses. So one of the wonderful things about growing up in the south had to be the gentle enchantment of long warm summer nights, which I feel the enchantment and longing for deeply today. I particularly recall so many times when I would be visiting with my cousins and it was a rare opportunity for us to get together and how as the night unfolded on the porch together, we inevitably as the lightning bugs were dancing around us and the stars began to make their appearance, we would imagine and talk together. We would talk about some of our favorite stories from the past. It seems like almost every time we gathered and we would share what was happening in our lives and sort of catch up and it seemed like as the night would move on and more and more of the stars would fill the sky, we inevitably would find ourselves dreaming together about what we wished for our lives in the coming years. It seemed like Starlight would draw us to another level, a place of wonder and possibility and I would not have put it together then but it was particularly significant that we were participating in a reverie that has enlivened enraptured human beings for eons, sitting around a campfire or out on a long night pondering and being reminded about our possibilities. It has long invigorated our imagination for we have projected onto stars and their patterns all sorts of fanciful images of heroes and legends and in human exploration stars have helped guide the intrepid, the lonely, the adventuresome and the lost alike as they sought to orient themselves in the realm of deeper dreaming at night. They quickly learned that while a single carefully studied star could offer some direction, it was really the interrelationship of many stars that increased the accuracy of navigating on one's journey. So it seems appropriate that in the congregations that I've served as interim after many months together hours of conversation with you and just experiencing what your life together is like, I found myself noticing in each of them that there were some common patterns that would emerge in both what you told me was essential about this place, what gave you life most here, but also what I observed in your living and doing ministry together. And so I found myself thinking about some of those patterns, those star-like bits of illumination that exist in this congregation and wondering what it would be like to explore them together in this interim time. And I decided not to focus on just one or two because I thought it was important that you think about interrelated constellation of meaning and potential direction that comes from the various components of life that bring greater life to this place. But I didn't want to give you too many of them either because in a congregation this size, perhaps a little paradoxically, it is important to choose carefully and strategically where one puts one's attention and energy less to be too diffuse in the work that you do together. So I came up with five stars that I have heard and experienced from you again and again. And in a few moments after a little reflection and a little music, I will share those five with you. But let me put forth at least one important caveat. Over and over again in every congregation, the number one thing that you told me that brings great life to you is the sense of community in this place. The sense of community of people of all ages and of the diversity that exists. And I believe that that is an essential and shining example of why we are together. But I would also argue that in many ways it is one of the few things that is essentially the essence of the ministry that brings us together. And so it is not necessarily a given, but it is more the sea in which we swim together. And so what I hope to do with the five stars is talk about the ways that those components of our life serve to deepen and broaden our sense of community and purpose together. And so I invite you to turn to the star-like truths to know more deeply the wisdom about our life. To do this, I invite us to bring our full selves to it, including a sense of imagination. And so I invite you to imagine this with me. Imagine one night in the very center of a long and important journey. You pause before it is time for you to rest that evening. And you realize that you are blanketed under a vast and awe-inspiring covering of stars in the night sky. And having traveled such a long distance, you find yourself this night in a place that you have never been. Mysterious, maybe a little foreboding. And also as you look at it now, quite beautiful. And for a moment of insecurity, you think to yourself, what if I am lost? What if I strayed from the right path many, many miles ago? But as you survey the night sky and look at the stars above you, some ancient knowledge reminds you that these points of light will help you navigate forward. That you are not lost. You are finding your way. And as you get ready for sleep and dreaming, you realize that there is a song that begins to form within you, that sings of gratitude and humility, a song that connects you past and present with all that is. It sings of whimsy and possibility. It sings to you of hope, longing and your dreams. May we reflect together to the power of music. So these are the five shining stars that I have seen and you have told me are important to you. Star number one, somewhat appropriately for the timing of this service, is music. Music Plato wrote, gives soul to the universe. Wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. Many congregations find music is important to them, but you really have told me again and again just how essential music is here. In both its variety and the long legacy of strong music directors and amazing music programs, the ways that the hymns and special music bring you into deeper places of understanding your life. In many congregations, this one included music and worship is a conduit to a sort of spiritual direction and connection that many people will say again and again might not otherwise exist without its presence Sunday and Saturday after the next. And it is also a related reality that music is a place that connects people with the realm of emotion in their own life and something about the connection of that music with the evocative way that feelings come to us that is disarming, deeply connected with the powers that exist within and around us that bring a deeper sense of spirit. And often in its own way that connection brings a healing that might not otherwise exist. If music is important and it really is, there are many important components that are raised by understanding this to be one of the shining stars. All of these shining stars offer us gifts, but I believe as we think about the future, each of them also asks us to think carefully about not necessarily always challenges, but components of it that will add complication to our lives and should. The thing is, the question for me that I would pose to you is what vision of music within this congregation will best help you more fully live into your possibilities as Unitarian Universalists. You already experience that what happens here in music is not just entertainment, but deeply soulful work. How can you push even more deeply into that reality as you move forward together? One of the things that I've experienced over and over again about music is that it is a profound source of connection. It is often a bridge-building connector. It allows people of great diversity to experience some powerful things together that they otherwise might not have experienced. But because music is also a place of deep connection with our culture, we find that there is also the possibility that music as experienced in our services and our community together may point to difference as well. The difference between generations and what music speaks to them, the differences in ethnicity and socioeconomic realities, the differences in racial diversity and the particular styles of music that most often speak to the heart and soul. And so it is important for us to be thoughtful about the variety that we bring into this space, especially if we believe, and many of you have said that you do, that this is a space that needs to welcome a wide range of human beings and to create brave space for them here. How can music be an invitation to more people? And what's also true is that because music is a powerful connection with deep feelings, it is not as easy as it sounds to share the sonic space of music with each other because we often become very caught up in the sort of music that speaks to us individually with most power and find it off-putting when the music that happens in services does not speak to us. But as is true of so many components of the shared life, we are asked again and again to consider that what may speak to us, may not speak to other people, and what speaks deeply to someone else may be just an opportunity for us to celebrate the wonder and diversity of who we are together. How can music be a place of deeper connection in spirit in this place? Star number two, justice and peace. Over and over again you have told me of its importance. Mother Teresa wrote, love cannot remain by itself. It has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service. Whatever form we are able or disabled, rich or poor, it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. A lifelong sharing of love with others. The second shining star is indeed the motif of experiencing that justice, peace work, that deep connection with the planet are all at the very marrow of the bones of this place. You have said again and again that it is essential to what happens here, that we work together, think deeply together, that we inspire each other in the important ministry of justice and peace. And for the future, I wonder how it is that this work will ask us to expand and deepen our understandings in its own right. How will it create opportunities for people to act on their values? Our congregations will always have people that are activists and find one of the most meaningful ways that they are more faithful in their lives is by acting for the good of justice and peace in the world. And there are so many other people who join us week after week who also care deeply about what is happening in the world but feel disempowered and overwhelmed by what they experience and long for some meaningful and personal way to engage the world that works for them. How are we doing at being creative and intentional about creating more of those places for people to find that connection? And a related question is how is it that the entire congregation owns that ministry of peace and justice? It is easy for us to let the ministers of a congregation or the staff be the people that take the lead in justice work. And there are times where that needs to happen. But I've also experienced that often it is the case that if it gets out of balance it is possible for people to be glad that someone else has been the public witness to social justice and that that is the end of the work of social justice in some congregations. What would it mean for it to be something that is shared by this entire community? Star number 3 Spiritual deepening Elizabeth Kubler Ross wrote Consciously or not we are all on a quest for answers trying to learn the lessons of life. We grapple with fear and guilt we search for meaning, love and power we try to engage fear, loss and time meaningfully we seek to discover who we are and how we can be truly and deeply happy. This star encompasses so many essential aspects of why First Unitarian Society exists. In our conversations you have talked about the many ways that you feel that your spirit and your intellect are deepened by what happens here that it gives you a sense of meaning and purpose in your life that it brings you a greater sense of connection that it gives you the opportunity to gain perspective. Many of you have said that that happens to you regularly in worship over the weekends together. Many of you specifically talked about a program in the past the quest program that was an in-depth exploration of one's spiritual development. Many of you also listed that the various meditation and spiritual support groups that happen within this place are the avenue that you have found to be deeply meaningful for that sense of deepening and for all of us in various ways. Religious education whether it is for our adults our youth or our children much time, energy and care goes into shaping that so that it continues to expand our understanding of meaning in life. And there is always the case in every congregation that if you do your job well you continue to invite people in your midst that expand more and more what the community means in terms of spiritual deepening. It has been my experience that the people that work most here our most dedicated volunteers our staff and our ministers often have a more complete and fuller understanding of just how diverse you are than many of you do. And so at times there is some tension around the full range of what people ask for in terms of their sense of connection and deepening. What would it be like in this congregation for you to be in a deep enough conversation with each other an open enough conversation so that you knew more fully the range of spiritual understandings and callings that are already present in this place. What would it look like for you to be open enough to embrace the full range of what Unitarian Universalism already acknowledges as its sources of wisdom. What would it look like for our programs to do what they already do well to offer a wide range of experiences that help many different people find meaning in their lives. How will this star help us be more fully ourselves? Star number 4 Small Group Experiences Tandeika wrote this about small groups. They aim to make moments matter again. In gatherings of 6 to 10 people usually meeting at least once a month to build spiritual lives and each member holds on to some moment through personal sharing and by asking for and by listening to the details the texture, the content, the feelings and ideas that are packed into those experiences and as people pay attention to the details of each other's lives this gathered community extends a moment of time until it is filled to overflowing with more thoughts and feelings that turn time into an experience that is not fleeting but rather abiding because all of that group are fully present sacred time begins there. So many of you in talking about what changed your life about this place have talked about your experiences in smaller groups groups like covenant groups in the past are chawa circles some of which have existed for a very long time our current journey circles are another example of covenant groups that seek to offer a meaningful connection and any group that allows a fewer number of people to come together and really share that deeper sense of life can do that work here but in order for small groups to remain alive and resilient and really do their work it asks something of all of us the thing that is I think most essential about these small groups is that they are an opportunity for all of you to minister to each other and to practice that ministry regularly with each other and if you do not regularly participate in some small group within the congregation not only are you not taking part in that but in some way that shared ministry is diminished so even if it isn't your thing to be in a small group I invite you to try to find some way to engage a smaller group of this congregation meaningfully even if you have been there done that in the past in terms of being in small groups the longer that you are without that experience the more that that essential component especially in a larger congregation is absent and over the long haul how will we keep that shared energy to continue to exist and flourish and do their life saving work in number 5 star number 5 so many of you have talked about the spirit of this space as being a big part of what gives you life the beauty and the elegance of the spaces that are a part of first unitarian society are something you speak of reverence Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful for beauty is God's handwriting the beauty of the stone the beauty of the light the beauty of an opening are a message to you this space has many gifts of beauty and as again is true each of these shining stars it offers much but it asks much in return you utilize a lot of your resource to maintain this space which is appropriate for it to be sustained in the future what will it be like to think very carefully to be very thoughtful about how this space is part of the ongoing ministry of this congregation what seems like the appropriate interplay of use of resource and how intentional are you about how this space is an essential part of who you are and what you do to maintain its beauty and its integrity over time each of these stars will ask you to think in ways you can't even imagine now about what it means to be part of this community so you have before you five stars that you have expressed to me are essential what do they say to you today about what you value about first unitarian society is there maybe something that you believe is missing from this list and how is it speaking something essential to you how with each of these are your deepest values conveyed express sustained brought into a greater sense of shared life together and what might these stars ask you as you journey forward I invite you to hold these in your mind for a while I'll share them again with you in the March newsletter and there will be various ways that we will explore these ideas in the coming months how will these stars lead you into a new space in your life together may we explore that in courage and love amen and blessed be as we gather every week we have the chance for that deeper sense of connection not only with each other but with a larger world one of the ways that we do that is in the sharing of our generosity with each other and with a larger community as we prepare to receive this morning's offering I remind you that Centro Hispano is this Sunday's recipient of the 50-50 sharing of the collection we hope that our collection will help them with the mission of reaching out to Latinx youth and families bringing empowerment hope in action to their lives by our generosity may we each find our own generous space as the offering is now given and received our worship experiences are indeed a shared ministry and so we are grateful that Mark Schultz has been our sound operator today we are grateful that artist Kaufman and Joan Heitman have been our greeters and that Pamela McMullen and Samuel Bates have been our ushers we are grateful for the hospitality and coffee making of Rick DeVita and Jeanne Hills every week however our slate of volunteers for worship alone much less other volunteer opportunities is not always filled there's sort of an illusion perhaps that with this many people we have to have like a line of people waiting to volunteer and that is not the case and so we remind you in your order of service that there is an opportunity for you to think about if this form of service is an appropriate way for you to help this place be stronger and do its work better and so two folks Lynn and Elizabeth have offered to say about why they volunteer to be part of our worship experience together so being a worship associate well I enjoy public speaking here in my religious home and having being able to make a statement about how I share we share our unitary and universalist values another great thing is that when you're the worship associate you get to be up here and look around and see all of your beautiful faces it's really so heartwarming to be here and get to do that worship associates sound the gong at the beginning of the service then we do the welcome and then we light the chalice and we're here we would usually get here at 20 minutes to 9 because you're the worship associate for both services and I see that worship associate is not on here but if you want to do that please list your name and what you want to do is really cracker can tell you more so ushering ushering is really fun for ushering you get here 30 minutes before the worship service and for the 11 o'clock service the hymnals are already out so mostly you're handing out orders of service and smiling and saying good morning to everybody and you're ready to help them in a tangible way you're going to maybe assist them in finding a listening device or finding a coat rack or things like that and there's usually a team of usherers three or four people and we work together as a team and that's really nice we pass the baskets for the office of course we count attendance just count how many people are here and we sort the money after the service and when the service is over the 11 o'clock service we gather up all the hymnals and that's pretty much it for that but there's training the first time you do it you get to work with an experienced usher who'll show you all the things that I forgot to say and you can sign up online it's really nice hi I sign up once a month for greeting I just go on our website and I get my calendar and I pick a Sunday for however many months are available on the schedule and that way I know that I'm ready to go and how many of you have ever welcomed someone into your home well you can be a greeter then because that's really what it is you stand up behind the little desk or near it by the front door and you say hello to people and you smile and greeting is important because it's the first peak that people get at ours and it's their first contact and so a smiling welcoming friendly face is really important it helps them feel at home here and just like in your own home you kind of tell them where to sit where the bathroom is where to get a drink of water where to get a service where their children can go and be comfortable during the service as well and it's a nice way for me as a shy person to actually meet a lot of the new people who come here so sign up thank you Lynn and Elizabeth so I hope you will consider being a part of our volunteers for our worship services or some other volunteer opportunity I remind you that the weather coming up this week it sounds very iffy and we try to keep up with weather updates and closure updates on our website it is likely that the weather will be foul tomorrow and so we already know that the men's group tomorrow night is cancelled so we want to let you know that and Drew asked me to remind people that both because of the weather because he currently is struggling with laryngitis to check as a choir member before you come out this week for the rehearsal to make sure that either the weather or Drew's voice not returning yet have cancelled the rehearsal so I hope you during this winter time especially will check the website often before heading out this is a chance also for us to bring our cares together and once a month we take part together in the sharing of joys and sorrows knowing that many of us arrived with moments of deep celebration and joy and moments of great difficulty and hardship in our lives and for many of us it may be meaningful to share that or to hold that together here and so for the next few minutes anyone who wishes is invited to step to the front of the auditorium to light a candle and use the microphone to share briefly what the candle represents you may also come forward to wordlessly light a candle and return to your seat and if you are unable to come forward to light a candle raise your hand and we will bring the microphone to you and light a candle on your behalf we acknowledge in particular that this weekend today is international holocaust remembrance day and so we hold as we begin this time the stories of people that were deeply affected by the holocaust and it's continuing power and possibility of hatred in the climate of the world now our vigilance and our remembrance is essential so now I open the floor for the sharing of our sorrows and our joys together I'm Judy Troia and I'm thinking of my friend Gaya Lysen who is part of this congregation she has been battling bone cancer and she was in the hospital last week and got a new diagnosis of more cancer in her body so she's a st. Mary's care center now hoping to return home so I hope you'll keep her close thank you my name is Sanny Oberhauser and I have a joy to share and it's my granddaughter who's with me this morning and last I guess it was a week ago now she graduated from OCS so she is now enslyn all stead and I'm very proud of her my name is Mike despite the cold and the shoveling that we have snow I think it looks so beautiful well it looks like our new joy is going to let me introduce him today so I just wanted to introduce everyone to Raymond Warren Ivan Carter who is five and a half weeks old nothing I'm going to like one more candle to represent the joys in the sorrows that are present here but yet as of yet remain unspoken we hold those in the fullness of our hearts and community as well may we not take for granted the ways that we share our lives together may it lead us to deeper connection and deeper service I invite us now to rise in all the ways that we do in turn to number one thousand and fourteen in our hymnal in the turquoise or teal hymnal standing on the side of love in our movement there are many folks who are deal with disabilities who have made us aware that the concept of standing sometimes feels exclusive to them and so some of us have begin begun to sing answering the call to love as part of the refrain if that is something you would like to give a try please do we will do the first and the third verse as we sing together the promise of the spirit hope and love abide and so every soul is blessed and made whole the truth in our hearts is a answering the call hands joined together as hearts beat as one emboldened by fate air to broke bright new day is dawn when love will not develop elections of grace answering the call hands joined together as hearts beat as one emboldened by fate air to broke claim we are answering the call of love and now may the stars that guide us on our journey remain vivid to us illuminating our path with their wisdom energizing important work with their fire warming us with their compassion and hope and comfort when we need it most we extinguish this chalice but not the light of wisdom the warmth of community the fire of justice and commitment to our principles these remain until you gather in this place again I invite you to take your seat for one final gift of music in our worship together


I didn't say Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. That's not good stuff. Yeah, this is by the founder of my program. See, he's good. We got you so many things. I self-negative too, so it's fine. They're so great. I believe you. It's a book. I know, he got grease off. Oh, Lord. Look at who takes that. Cause I figured y'all would never buy for yourself. So y'all will probably always get that from me. She always takes perfume, perfume, and cologne. I almost got y'all to Hermès. But I said they ain't on that level yet, but maybe next year I'll get that. That Hermès. Put that to me at way up there or in the room. Wait, what's that? That's your book from you. I'll call this a night, someone. You're abandoning us. This is all about hygiene. Oh, this is for me? Lavender smelling. Keep this suit, cause this is a nice suit. Yeah, that's why I kept it in my room. Birthday gift, since you're abandoning us. How does it feel like in the kitchen? Looking at that picture, realizing that I don't have on your graduation pictures to put on. Oh, I need this chest. I'm just getting my small feet, but I don't have one. The wrapping paper matches my outfit. You never said anything. Is there anything you want to say? Oh, yes. I want to say something I want to say. I thought you were going to say Merry Christmas. Compliments when I wear it, until I took a look at it. Is this a different from? No, it's not from the dollar store. They didn't do it on Virginia. Just a gift was a gift. I baked them myself from scratch. Like, ready to go. You're going to pick up the cat. Who's that? She's like, let me out, please.


Good morning. How are you? Okay, so how many of you were at my workshop earlier this morning? So you probably have an idea of what I'm about to do right now. I'm going to get you to move. I'm going to get you to get up in just a second when I say go, and I need you to find a stranger, and I need you to introduce yourself to them, and I need you to ask them, tell them one critical thing. What's been the most challenging part about being a disciple of Jesus Christ for you? You have two minutes to accomplish your mission. One person shares for a minute, then the next person shares for a minute. I'm really serious. You need to get out of your seats, and you need to go find someone you don't know right now. Go. Should be switching right about now. Should be switching. Thirty seconds. Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Let's not get too friendly. Remember, we are Catholic. Well, I hope you're at the right conference. This is a spiritual warfare in the trenches. When I left my parish in Raleigh, North Carolina, I thought I had a pretty good handle on evangelization. I'd been working in youth ministry and different types of ministry and working on how do I evangelize my own parish when I was a director of faith formation. When I left youth and became the director of faith formation, I asked this committee of adults, I said, what is the greatest problem you have?  Sound familiar?  How do you do it? And so that's why I found this model. But after applying that, beginning to plan for that model, and this isn't a talk about that model, I did notice one critical piece, and that was this, is that if we took the same catechetical content and applied it to this new catechetical model of all generations catechesis, without making it evangelistic in nature, it'll have a very short shelf life. Because the substance of what we're catechizing with is based on one critical assumption, and that is that everyone who gets baptized has already got it. And so we catechize that way, assuming that they know what to do with the information that we give them, and it's so far from the truth, as we can tell, because instead of creating disciples, when our teenagers get their sacrament of confirmation, what do they want to do? Leave the church. Something isn't right. So as I was kind of praying through tonight and saying, Lord, how do we do this, and how do we develop this whole process? I decided to go ahead and launch from a particular passage, and I hope I got this right. This particular passage from Luke, this is from Zachariah, after John the Baptist is born and he makes his proclamation, this is the tail end of it. Thus he has shown us the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness, before him all our days. And as you can see, I've highlighted a couple of particular areas, and that's where I'm kind of going to go through, and the first one is the hands of our enemies. When I was on the road for the first couple of years, and I was just crisscrossing the country, going from parish to parish, doing some preaching ministry, parish missions, staff retreats, things like that, by the way, I've got to tell you that staff retreats, probably the staff are the second most difficult audience to do a retreat for. Second, only to high school Catholic youth, and they do the same thing, they feel like they've already gotten everything they need. Whoa, you guys aren't laughing now. That wasn't a slap, but I think in a lot of ways, you know what happens, we go to the places like this, or we go to a retreat, and it's very hard to take that minister hat off, isn't it? Because we're constantly looking for that next greatest thing. What can we find, some good tidbits that we can use, and then all of a sudden we find ourselves no longer in a position where we open ourselves up to receive what the Lord really has for us to hear individually. And you know as well as I do, from a ministry perspective, that if there's going to be any revitalization in the parish, it has to happen through those who are initiating it first. Amen? That's us. And that's one major roadblock we're going to have to overcome. It's a huge battle. So, I started going out and I was looking at parishes and doing the different things, and I was realizing that, particularly when I was praying, when I was preaching missions, you'd get out there and you'd start preaching to the people, and it was a very weird sensation I began to realize. I felt sometimes when I was at different parishes, like I was in a phone booth talking to a crowd, and they couldn't hear me. That's kind of the sensation it felt like, and I couldn't understand what that was at first. It was just this idea of, it seems like I keep throwing things out there, preaching the gospel, sending material out, and it was hitting the glass and falling down, and it was never penetrating. And as I kept saying, Lord, what is going on? What is happening here? I would have different experiences. I experienced something like that at a particular youth conference. I was with Jim Beckman one time, and I was in the midst of my talk, and Jim comes walking out in the middle of the talk, and he says, hold on one second, let's stop. And then he says, I sense the spirit of oppression over this crowd. Let's pray against the spirit of oppression, and that for me was just, boom, light came on, and I began to realize, hello, that makes total sense. And as I began now with my eyes open and beginning to realize what is this sensation, and I started to pursue more and pray more about this, and say, Lord, what's really going on? What's happening here? I began to realize and then eventually began to see some really harsh realities. Like, for example, did you know that there is a cohort of demons assigned to your parish, and their job is to make sure that your job remains unfruitful? And how naïve it is of us to sit there and think, well, all we need to do is find the next book or the next program, and if we just take that and apply it to our parish, that this is going to bring about the renewal, and not think that there's an enemy out there who's going to counteract everything that we attempt to do, and we're not paying any attention. It's almost like as if we're at a battlefield, and we've got these new weapons, this new program, and we're looking at how it works and how to make it all function, and when we're focused on this, and meanwhile, the enemy has just flanked our lines and is now in our camp, and they're neutralizing the gospel. So for me, I began to realize that I needed help, and in my ministry, instead of going around and soliciting money, I solicit prayer warriors, and I've got about 300 prayer warriors who are praying for you tonight, and their job every week is I send out prayer requests, and when I call parishes and I'm there and they want me to come and do a mission and we're leading up to the mission, I said, okay, so tell me where are the negative activities that you're parish? What's happening that's negative? Because that's how you identify the demonic influences in your parish. What are the negative things that are taking place? Is there gossip? Is there oppression? Seems like nothing seems to be sinking in. Is there a great spirit of fear that's going on where people are just afraid to do anything? The priests are afraid to preach the truth because afraid that people aren't going to be receptive. All of that is open game. And that's how you identify what they're doing in their parish. And once I start getting that list, I bring it to my prayer warriors. And long before I show up, we start praying and asking Mother Mary to begin to start suppressing or destroying these strongholds. And I can't tell you the difference that we recognize, that I recognize when we are actively praying against the influence of the enemy and their strongholds in our parish. Amen. I was in Texas, I won't say where, but I was in Texas in this one small town. And I was on a conference call and I walked across the street to a park and I'm just walking around the park on this conference call. And as I started walking back to the church, I didn't see it, but I sensed that this is a small little town in Texas. Railroad goes through it and there's only one Catholic church in the town. And as I looked at the church, it seemed, I couldn't see it, but it appeared, I just sensed it, that there was this big, massive demon sitting on top of the church and the church was his throne in the town. Seven years prior to me coming to this particular parish to start helping bring about some renewal there, they had not had any sacraments except for Eucharist for 30 years. The enemy's alive and well. The pastor, when I was done doing some training there, the pastor confessed before the whole group, he said, he started to experience some hope that maybe we can begin to turn things around and he's a priest from India and he felt like he wasn't being effective, he was just about ready to go to the bishop to ask to be removed because he didn't feel like he was the right priest for the job. Another parish that I went to, I got there and there was just, there was just, again, something that was just in the way and I couldn't understand why, so I started asking more questions. Well, tell me about what's going on with this town, what's the history of the town and they shared a little bit about the town and how there's one church on one side of the river and another church on the other side of the river and great segregation between the town and the pastor says, well, you know our property, the railroads came through here and our church property on the corner of it is where a huge massacre occurred of Chinese immigrants. The Irish, the railroaders were trying to push out the Irish who were revolting against the payment and they brought in all these Chinese immigrants to continue the railroad and the Irish men, Catholics, went over and slaughtered all these and so the spirit of death was very present and as a community we began to pray against the spirit of death to remove them from the grounds.  I was at this other parish and I was preaching the weekend homily so Saturday comes and it's time for distribution of Eucharist and I'm standing there in my spot and I'm distributing communion and all of a sudden this woman walks up and the body of Christ and she doesn't look at me, no eye contact. Amen, and I give her communion and I'm like, whoa, what was that? Lord, what was that? And I just continue, I'm like, that just disturbed my spirit. What was that? And then a little bit later another woman comes up, same thing, whoa. About five people at that liturgy, that 5 p.m. liturgy came and experienced that same thing, just wham, I'm like wow, Lord, what was that? Sunday, the next thing, two more masses, same thing, another dozen women came up and by the time that second mass was done it was very clear, the spirit of incest was evident and present in this town. And on Sunday night, I usually don't, I kind of keep quiet and just pray and send a note out to my prayer warriors and said, I need you to pray about this but for some reason the Lord just compelled me to talk about it. I said, and I just blurted out, I said, you know, I've never been in a town or a church where I have experienced the spirit of incest as I do so prevalently as I do in this parish. I'm thinking, oh, probably shouldn't say that, doesn't really endear you to the people. It's like, you know, one of the things I went, you can never take that back. So, we're done and every night after the mission we did this social and that cake and cookies and punch and coffee and I'm there and chatting with people and one by one different groups came up and said, Deacon, I gotta tell you, you were dead on about that. Incense runs rampantly in this town. See, I think a lot of times we don't pay attention. You certainly haven't heard much about the enemy in our lifetimes, have we? It's not something that's commonly preached about, which really frankly it needs to be because our people are disposing themselves to more and more evil. An incest, I believe incest is the number one way that people are getting demonized, where they have demons on the inside of them because it's happening all over the place. More and more people are having these experiences and they're just opening themselves up because nobody believes that the devil is real. I was in New Jersey doing an in-service for women's Catholic High School and I read a reference to demons and the assistant principal said, demons, you mean they're real? I thought that was just stuff on television. The prevailing thought, their weaponry is they don't want you to believe that they're real. And then once you come to believe that they are real, then their next weapon is they want to make you afraid. They want to make you afraid. That is their MO. Being rescued from the hands of our enemies. Uh-oh, did I not hit it right? There we go. 1 John 3.8. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. You see, our effort is not just to lead people to God, but it's also to undo the work of what the devil has been doing in our people's lives. But I've got to be honest with you, if you're anything like me, which I suspect you are, a major part of that battleground is to undo the work the devil has done in you. Like for example, I did that opening little exercise. I did that just about everywhere I go now, with groups that I talk about, because I found with large audiences in parishes that if I don't give you permission to reach out and talk to strangers, you won't. Isn't that true? We don't. It doesn't happen in parishes. The very first few years I did parish visitations and did evaluations from an evangelistic standpoint. What would a visitor experience at your parish if they were coming to your parish to, you know, looking for God? And I'll tell you the truth. If I was looking for the love of God, I probably would never go to a Catholic church. I probably wouldn't. And part of it is maybe because I won't understand, you know, some of the solemnity and the prayer before, but oftentimes we go to Mass and we worship the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We experience his Eucharistic presence with perfect strangers and that's satisfactory for us. If I'm a stranger coming to your parish and you don't even want to know my name, how will you ever get to the place to share with me Jesus? See what I mean? And it's not because we're bad people and it's not because our parishioners are bad. It's because there is an enemy out there who is influencing us to great lengths and we're bringing it in our house and we're utilizing it in our house. We're utilizing the same systems. We're putting on the mask just like the world trained us to do. Are we not? Only what we've learned to do is make it a good holy Catholic mask. Praise you Jesus, right? Tell me your family isn't like mine. When my kids were younger, you know what it's like trying to get my five daughters and my wife ready for church? Please tell me your family is like mine. Tell me because I'm telling you what, from my house to the church takes 10 minutes door to door. So I would wake up my family an hour and 15 minutes before mass thinking that, you know, it takes them an hour to get ready, 10 minutes to get there. That means we actually get there and walk down the aisle and sit in our seats for five minutes before mass begins. But you know what happens? Something happens here, somebody's fighting there, and next you know what time is it? Seven till. What am I doing? I get my kids in a car. We start driving down the road.  We're going to church! We're driving around, driving. And then all of a sudden we parked the car. And that's where the miracle happens. The doors open and all of us walk out into the church, like the Partridge family all lined up nice and straight. John, how are you? God bless you. Mary, how's the gallbladder? Bless your heart.  Well, would you sit behind them and pray through them? And pray for them for the entire mass. Right? And then we do what the church, you know, what we're supposed to do, what everyone expects, because it's all about the training we receive. You see, you don't have to be Catholic so long as you look Catholic. And so what do we do? We do the Christian calisthenics. Neal, sit, stand. Neal, sit, stand. Amen.  God bless you. I'll pray for you. The doors, everybody gets in, the doors close.  Please tell me your family was like mine. All right? We have been trained so well by the world and the problem is that we're bringing in so much of the garbage out there and we're still applying it to our Catholicism, our Christianity. And so it's not authentic. And the devil is the one who's been influencing us and the influence is in us and that fear runs rampant in us. Does it not? Tell me, I'm not telling you something you don't already know. We know this. We experience this on multiple levels. As a director of faith formation in my parish, I had this six foot seven father in Raleigh, North Carolina come to the church and he wanted me, I was in charge of confirmation and he said, my son is a baseball player and he can't be at your retreat and I want him to get confirmed so I'd like you to do a private retreat for him. I said, well, gosh, yeah, that's quite a dilemma. No. What do you mean no? I won't do that. Listen, I want my son to get confirmed then I guess you'll have your son miss the baseball game. No, he's going to be at the baseball game. You need to do a private retreat. I'm sorry, I will not do that because I have like another 65 other students and if I do it for your son then I'm going to have no life and I like my marriage and my family.  No, I'm not. You're the priest of your family. You're making the decision.  So finally I just wouldn't budge. He goes, the pastor's going to hear about this. The secretary goes, Ralph, yes? Are you okay? My heart is still in my throat, right? Yeah, he didn't like that. You think? I know, we've all had these experiences and you know, it's not that that father was being bad, he's trying to do the best with what he was given. I know because I was one of those guys that was given the same stuff. Thank God we've made so many corrections on catechetical materials and what we should be doing. We still have some ways to go with evangelization components because the things that I'm finding around the country is that, you know, the mission of the church, right? Matthew 28, go make disciples and it takes two things to make a disciple. Evangelization, connect them with the person of God through the power of the Holy Spirit and discipleship training and what I'm finding is that in most churches we're doing, if we're lucky, 30% discipleship training with zero evangelization and we wonder why our teenagers want to leave the church when they're confirmed. We are not making the connections and the enemy is doing a great job of keeping us in this problem. I'm not again telling you anything you don't know because we're all in the trenches trying to figure out what's going on and I want you to awaken you to the realization that the enemy has been doing so much on them and the easiest way you're going to identify what the enemy is doing to them is examine what he has done to you because it's so prevalent in us. That conversion really does have to happen in us that taking and accepting faith really does have to happen in us. We really have to live from a place of authentic faith if we're going to give it away because you know as well as I do, we cannot give what we do not have. How can we share authentic faith with someone when we don't have it? All we do is push material or give them knowledge but it takes more than knowledge it has to be leading people to entrust God based on the knowledge we have given them but instead we give them knowledge and expect that they know what to do with it and they don't and it becomes this difficult challenge. So, serve without fear. This is a critical piece. How do we serve without fear? Because that's something that motivates us all the time. We respond more to fear than we do anything else. Why do you think it's Satan's number one weapon? It is truly his number one weapon, fear. I do a lot of men's retreats and I was at this one particular retreat in California and I had everything else planned and in the middle of it, right, just ready to start my first talk, the spirit jumped in and took a left turn and I'm like just following the spirit and he basically I turned around and I said, you know guys, I've got six talks ready for you this weekend to help you grow spiritually but here's the truth. The truth is, what is the value of giving you all this great content when you know as well as I do that you're only going to act on whatever it is that your fear will allow you to go to? I mean that's the truth. That is the bottom line and you want to know if we're going to become effective in the New Evangelization I'm going to give you what I believe is a very hard truth and that is that we are not ready as a church in local parishes to implement the New Evangelization. Oh, we're trying. We're looking for books. We're looking for programs. We're looking for the quick, easy fix but there is no quick, easy fix and there is no magic program or no one book or no one process that's going to do it but we do not want to pay what it's really going to take to see the New Evangelization and until we move to that place where we're ready to go there we're going to keep looking for quick fixes. I go around and I hang out with priests once in a while and every once in a while a priest will come up and say, Deacon Ralph, you're doing all these different things why don't you give me one or two great little programmatic things you've done that have really knocked home and set up parish on fire and I just smile. There's only one person, one person who's already at your parish who knows exactly what needs to be done at your parish to bring about the New Evangelization. One person and he is the Holy Spirit but we do not, do not want to go through the effort of what it takes to train an authentic disciple to do. You see, I was at this parish once and we were talking about discipleship and I asked the people and I was just this was a training for the staff and I said how many of you are disciples of Jesus Christ and of course they all raised their hands and I said if you're a disciple of Jesus Christ then answer me this, who are your disciples? Because every disciple of Jesus Christ should be discipling others. That is our identity as a disciple. The Holy Spirit uses a disciple to form and fashion disciples. So who are your disciples? I said to them and this DRE, this wonderful lady who just kind of speaks what she's thinking. She just said I don't have time to make disciples, I'm the DRE.  And then everyone just let that sink in and then they started to chuckle and then it became humorous but the reality was so true. It was so true. We're so busy doing programs that are not functioning that we have no time to actually make those disciples. So we have to figure out how is it that we're going to make those disciples and you see we have to be able to begin to train people up on what to do with the Holy Spirit. I don't know about you but it's the best kept secret of the church. Did you ever get trained at all on what to do and how to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit in your religious education? Has it ever been a part of your formation? And yet everything that happens, is this not true? Do we not hear this in our preaching? Do we not get it from the church fathers where they tell us that everything that is done, it's done because God does it, yes? Then why are we not connecting them to God? Why are we not making sure that they know how to discern the voice of God, to listen to the Spirit and to act and live and operate in the power of the Holy Spirit because that's what discipleship training does. Instead, the people do what they've been trained to do. They come and they become the pew potatoes. And they spud out in church. And they look to the priests and deacons and the nuns and the lay professionals and they say my job is to just occupy time and space and throw some cash in the basket. Your job is to do the work of the church. You see, we basically formed them to be country club members where they come and they pay their dues and they use whatever part of the church they want, but beyond that they have no further responsibilities. And then we wonder why when we say we really need some volunteers. Who's gonna help? And everybody's too busy doing their own thing. Something's not right. Something's got to change. And there's some pretty inherent things that are in the way. First and foremost is this fear. I mean on multiple levels within the life of a parish. Fear of confrontation. That six foot seven dad. Don't want to do that again. How many times do you keep trying to hold the line, hold the line and it's just like a tidal wave of parents that keep coming after you year after year telling you I need you to bend because my kids sports or activities year after year and the line keeps slipping, keeps slipping until basically you just have to bring your kids twice to get confirmed. It's happening. I was talking to a couple of places in Southern California. They're not even offering religious education classes in between the sacrament years anymore. Why? Because nobody's coming. It's all about the carrot, isn't it? I mean religious education only has one purpose, isn't it, is to receive the sacraments. That's what I got. And then I was told I'm done. I mean as a DRE I understand. We like to enjoy our jobs. We don't like the rejection. It's hard. And of course then we're afraid of losing families, right? And that's a pastor's great stress. And God bless these men.  I know, I was talking to a pastor once and he said, you know Ralph, never once have I gotten a letter, never once have I gotten a notebook from the diocese to tell me how to increase the faith life of my parishioners, never once. But every year I get a thick notebook saying how to have a successful BAA, Bishop's Annual Appeal. You want to know a very inherent problem in the church and one that we're going to have to overcome if you want to see the new evangelization? We have to stop serving money first before God.  They're not going to get a phone call because they went through your books every year to check and see how many baptisms and you're not going to have the dean or the vicar general call and say, last year you had seven R-C-I-A people and now you have five, you're down. What's going on? You're not going to get a phone call like that but if you don't bring in your money, oh, you're going to get a phone call. You see what I mean. And so what does that do to our brothers? We need to pray for our priests. God bless them because they got the big targets. You got the smaller ones, they got the big targets because we need them to stand up. And it is hard. Listen. It's hard to stand there at the door, you know, when you say goodbye when people are leaving. Like I remember I just got ordained on my pastor and said, Ralph, you're the married clergy. Why don't you preach on birth control? So I did naively and I shared my story and I talked about it and I said, if anybody wants to email me, please, feel free. I'd love to have more conversations. By two o'clock that afternoon my email was overrun.  People leaving Mass saying the vilest things to you because you decided to speak truth. See, this is where the enemy comes in and says, this is how we're going to hold you down. Because unless you've got some superhuman battle armor on or I don't know what it takes but you got to get a thick skin because this idea of trying to please people, you get it. You try to please one group over here you take off that group. You try to please that group you take off that group and finally you realize Lord I got to just worry about pleasing you because I'm going nuts here. But that's the work of the enemy penetrating our hearts penetrating our lives trying to get you to shut up and not speak the truth. Trying to get you to minimalize what is most important and we lose sight of what's there and we're seeing us there and we're missing the souls. We're missing the flock. We're seeing that they're getting attacked by wolves and now we're not able to help them because we're just licking our own wounds from being bitten. Tell you one really tough thing that one thing I've seen across the country that just is it's grieving my heart and it's alarming me is that the people who are in charge of ministries in these parishes that I'm going to across the country are praying. We are not praying. We're not praying for our people. We're not praying for specific events. We're not bathing our lives in prayer so that we can get connected and have the strength to remain standing when the people need us to stand. We are not praying. We're not connected to God. We're so busy doing that we're not creating the time to be with God. So I had my son he became a youth ministry. He graduated from university. I had $5 so he married in. He's a tall guy. He's not a hobbit like the rest of us.  And I said, absolutely. I would love to. And he goes, where do we begin? I said, that's easy. Let's just imagine that I'm your direct report and that every year I'm going to evaluate you. 50% of my evaluation of your efforts this year is going to be based on one thing.  And so he's like, well, what do you mean? I'm like, you need to pray through everything. So you look at your calendar. How many meetings do I have? I've got three meetings with three kids. Pray for each kid by name. I've got staff meeting. Pray for every person on your staff. I'm meeting with Father. Pray for Father. And then when you're done praying for everything in your calendar, then pray for the appointments that you're going to have that are divinely set up that you don't even know about. Pray, pray, pray, asking for the strength, the courage to stand up because you know you've got a parent meeting. When's the last time we actually prayed with concern for the parents? Instead of vile feelings and thoughts. Guilty is charged.  I am but a sinner. But that's what I would do. I mean, sometimes the anger because I wouldn't do what the scriptures were calling me to do. Forgive. Don't let the sun set on your anger. How many of us have gone to bed each night angry at different people, our own staff people or parishioners because of things they said and they didn't understand. It was misunderstood. And all the while who's in the mix smiling? Satan. Who's in the mix stirring up the nest getting you to focus on anger and hatred instead of love and forgiveness? Satan.  Satan. You see, if we don't pull together and recognize that we're actually on the same team and start pulling our resources it's never going to happen. To happen. If I'm on staff with you and all that happens is that your door is closed all the time that shows me it's an unhealthy parish staff. When you can't have the doors open and there's little quiet conversations chit chatting softly so no one else hears because you're probably talking about them. This is how they work. This is how they penetrate. This is how they win and render us inactive. 2 Timothy 1-7 let me read to you before that we get to 7 I'm going to start from 5 it says this I'm reminded of your sincere faith a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice now I am sure in your lives how is he sure by the way? Is that just an assumption? No. He's sure. How is he sure? He can see it. He can see faith. What does that look like? For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God within you see this isn't just for him for Timothy this is for us listen to Paul's word to us for this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you what is the gift that God gave us? His what? In the face in the form of His Holy Spirit alive and active in us He wants Timothy stir this spirit up in you operate in the life of the spirit that is within you through the laying on of my hands for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather a spirit of power and love and of self-discipline do we believe that people receive the Holy Spirit in sacraments? Yes or no? Why do we continue to live in sin? Why to continue to live powerless? Why is there no power? And why are we just kind of going through the motions continuing to do the same old same old and not even paying attention? You see I'm just a simple guy I'm just a simple habit deacon trying to go out there and do something but you know this is how simple it is for me I want to come and I want to use something I want something to happen I turn on the switch and there is no power there's no light is there a light bulb yet? Is it connected? Yes but there is no power when something like that happens I ask a very simple question why is there no power? So once I ask the question I follow it up why don't we do that in ministry? I'm just curious we never do that for ministry why isn't a kid who confesses who goes and gets a sacrament of confirmation why does he leave the sacrament of preparation process questioning whether he even believes in God why do I not see any active activity of the life of God in him or her? Why don't we ask the question where's the power? I don't know about you but for me my experience was that when I encountered the living God I could not avoid the power he was there how can you not experience the life and love and power and peace and love of God all that he has to offer us and not know that he's there but you know what it looks like? it kind of looks like this come here can I borrow you for a second? what?  JJ thanks for being a victim I mean a volunteer I appreciate that JJ close your eyes out loud as loud as you can to share what you experience physically in your hand right now nothing isn't that what our kids are going through and getting in their sacraments? not what they're getting, what they're experiencing yes or no I don't know about you but that's not the way it's supposed to be back up again if something changes let you face the audience because it's more fun if they see your face okay if something changes you got to scream it out and I need you to articulate what you're experiencing okay? if something changes okay everybody let's just leave the room excellent you can open your eyes almost huh give him a hand thank you did you see his reaction? oh I just encountered someone oh someone besides me is here oh I feel this pulling and rightly so I'm gonna die this is the power that we're supposed to receive Paul tells us when you receive me it's not a spirit of fear but why are we operating in fear because we are not operating in faith what I want to know is have you entrusted your entire ministry to the power of the Holy Spirit are you acting through the Spirit or are you resting on your own abilities because God has much more for the people and he wants to flow through you to minister to your people but sometimes we stop because we think he doesn't want to use somebody like me I mean I have no business being here you've got some big dog hitters over there that are really good I have no business being here except for I finally got the memo Ralph get out of the way and let me roll that's all he wants to do and you guys have amazing powerful gifts that he wants to activate but we don't live in faith we live in a spirit of fear am I good enough I don't know enough how am I going to have the right answers how is this going to happen and we have no trust in God's word did he not tell the apostles I will give you the words but we don't live that we just live the easy stuff go to Mass on Sunday do these things but to live in authentic faith is what the enemy does not want you to do doesn't want you to live that way he wants you to remain totally fearful oh good I got six hours to go to serve in righteousness righteousness well in my workshop this morning we talked about faith and the only way that we can be reckoned as righteous is in faith in faith in Christ is to have authentic faith in him the kind of faith that you entrust to him completely where you really place trust in him for the longest time I was doing ministry purely from a defensive position always afraid that I was going to mess up always afraid I might say the wrong thing and then before then I thought well I can't even let my volunteers do talks because I'm afraid they're going to say the wrong things instead of trying to empower them hey we're human let's make the correction we all learn and move on but instead we're working from a place of defense when we have the king of kings and the lord of lords we're working from a place where we think we are powerless and Satan seems to be dominating our parishes because we don't believe we got a big daddy who's your daddy I mean either he is the king of kings and the lord of lords the god the creator of the universe or he's not and if you believe that that's true then how is it making your ministry different how is it encouraging you to step out and take that leap of faith to put yourself out there to reach out to the stranger and say I don't know you who are you welcome to the parish to allow god to move you to the places that scare the hell out of you because he has a plan for you you see he actually wants to scare the hell out of you and so instead we sit back in fear and we're afraid but Paul says but to the one who without works trusts him that trust is a key thing guys everywhere I go across the country when I'm looking as an evangelist the battlefield when I'm looking in the pews it's the battle for faith I love what Gandhi said Gandhi made he read the scriptures and he said I read your bible and I'm here to tell you I would become a Christian if I could find one I think that was a very condemning statement because we profess to believe but we live our lives as if it's not true or it's not going to happen and the people are watching us the core they're watching what we do that's why I said the only way the new evangelization is going to really engage is if we're prepared to sacrifice to suffer to die and move up to the next level and until we're prepared to do that we are going to remain in the rut we are Jesus told us it was going to happen people are going to hate you because of me but what did he also say remember in Mark 16 when he talked about it was the other Mark and great commission text he said those people who believe will experience and do amazing things through the power of the spirit he wasn't just talking about the apostles he didn't just say in the apostolic times he said those who believe will do amazing miracles are we witnessing that are we teaching that are we teaching people to prepare to do that or are we just saying here's what it means to be Catholic don't get me wrong we can do that but there's so much more we can give but we've got to be ready we've got to be ready it's going to get hard you think Satan has made it hard for us now it's going to get harder it's going to become so much more difficult so much more difficult point it the right way practical applications learn to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit and I have this question for you are you operating in the power of the Spirit not are you just a naturally well organized person to know how to do organizational things do you understand what it means to be operating in the power of the Spirit where the Spirit begins to start working through you where he starts ratcheting up your game because you're letting go and entrusting him if you start asking God you show me how to operate in your power be careful because he's going to start taking away control from you he's going to start taking things away I was sharing with someone earlier and I was ready at this parish to do a parish mission and I spent time and prayer all week long preparing for the mission and I showed up with zero in my book for what I was going to talk about I spent three hours in adoration the day of the first night ready to go I left there with zero on my pad Lord I hope you got something he wasn't giving me anything until I stood on the spot did he say go with this and then from that point on next thing I know he had to take it all away from me all my prior planning all my comfort zone I'd love to have just a bone God give me something he gave me squat because he brought me to a place where he was saying either you're going to trust that I am God and that I want to do this more than you do that I want to be more successful than you do than you are than you want to be until you come to believe that then you're still going to operate purely from your own power learn to be operated by God's power when I was working with a pastor I was doing this training and I had to leave it on a flight at three o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday catch my flight and dinner was done at one and pastor's looking at his watch he says okay let's get started he's looking at his watch as I'm continuing I got this next segment and finally it's like almost two o'clock and he goes deacon it's almost two o'clock we've got to leave in an hour are you going to roll out the plan and I'm like I'm sorry father what plan is that the plan to revitalize our parish isn't that why you came to show us the plan I'm like I don't have a plan for you father and then he just said well excuse me for asking but then why are you here I said I see my mission father is to help you and this parish staff learn how to become led by the spirit because he is the one who knows what to do but you know that is a death that's really hard to die is it not I mean to sit down and learn to wait upon the Lord we got a 16,000 things on the list screaming at us to tell us what to do and we had the time to just sit remember what Jesus told Mary Martha has made the greater choice Mary made the greater choice sorry come on guys it's been almost an hour okay I'm getting a little tired thank you for laughing made me know I did it wrong you know what I mean but we don't like to do that be still stuff you know for me the reason why I'll be honest the reason for me why that was so hard to learn how to do was because I only felt like I was fruitful for God if I was doing stuff I was still earning his love like I said we got to go back and we got to see what the enemy is doing in us so that we can see how we can free our parishioners because they're just like us one of the things I've learned very clearly and that's why I count on my prayer where's heavily is that the battle is always one in prayer always long before I show up if the prayer has been done that's one of the reasons why I think the Steubenville Conferences that particularly the youth because I've had a lot of exposure to those are so amazingly impactful is because of the prayer that goes into it the anointing is heavy and I can tell when I've traveled around the country from conference to conference to which organization has their prayer warrior team intact and functioning because the anointing is stronger in those places it makes kind of logical sense it's not rocket science but it requires our death to be still, to pray to fight and realize that prayer is a very it's absolutely essential it is our lifeline to the power to break away burnout next is parish-wide vision this is another thing that I'm seeing everywhere I go is that you might have 12 staff and when I go in and I ask all 12 staff individually in an interview say we got this guy Charlie over here and we want to evangelize him what does that evangelization look like or what is the mission of the church and I get 12 different answers so it's kind of like Moses coming around and saying okay when you hear the horn blown it's time to go so start packing up second horn means we're leaving in 15 third horn means move out and then when the third horn blows 12 tribes move out in 12 different directions because what's ending up happening is parish staffs are being filled not everybody is blessed or wise to come and get trained like you are and so what ends up happening is you've got all the surgeries and all they're doing is replicating the models they have witnessed and so there is no unified comprehensive vision where everybody on staff is talking and moving in the same direction vision, vision, what is the model you know what would really be cool to see is if a kid comes to mom and says mom why do we have to go to church and mom says because we're supposed to wouldn't it be cool to see mom say because I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ how would it come to get fed to get strengthened, rebuilt so I can go back out and do it again how would that change how our youth understand what it means to be Catholic last but not least minister did I not put that up there okay good minister to achieve the goal that's that whole idea of the light idea what is it that we're really trying to accomplish what's the bullseye what's the target if it's to make a disciple then are we going back to our parish programs and the things that we're doing and are we really doing the honest evaluations and saying does my confirmation program bear the fruit we desire if not then maybe it's time to change but then the question is how do we change what do we do what are we supposed to do because we don't know how to change we're so program dependent we don't know how to do anything outside of that why do you think and yet we're calling for a new evangelization which requires a new movement of the Holy Spirit which is called a new Pentecost but we don't want to wait upon God we don't want to call upon God one last thought as I start wrapping things up and we'll open it up for some questions and answers I was working with a pastor and a staff and I said wouldn't this be amazing if your pastor came to you and said in two weeks we've got to decide how we're going to try to implement this new evangelization endeavor so here's what I want you to do every day this week I want you to go to adoration when you come in I want you to clock in and I want you to go to adoration and spend one hour of your day everyone on staff business manager minister everybody go pray and I want you to ask the Holy Spirit what do you want us to do for this parish for two weeks I want you to do that and on the third on that second Friday we're going to meet in adoration we're going to go to adoration for the first hour and we're going to continue to pray and then we're going to cut out all work for that morning and we're going to get together and we're going to sit in a room and as your pastor I'm going to go around and I'm going to ask east of you what did you hear the Holy Spirit say tell me what would that do to your prayer life Holy Moly would that make you become much more conscious on trying to listen to what the Spirit is trying to say to you because you know what we do right now right let me let's be honest we get together in a staff meeting we sit down we open up with a token prayer oh God come and bless this meeting and then let's pull our resources come out with brainstorming we come up with our plan bless our plan it's true isn't it I know what I'm talking about I was in lots of those meetings instead we don't sit down and go Lord what do you want to do how do you want to transform my parish but here's the key thing before you can become corporate discerner you must become an individual discerner the work must begin in you so as the Spirit begins to prepare your parish for transformation you must be getting prepared interiorly in your heart in your life do you operate in the power of the Holy Spirit are you activated by Him are you making it your aim to be guided by Him it's a very hard thing to learn how to do but that's what we're supposed to be training people in so that they can do it because you see if I can train someone to become a disciple of Christ and I get that connected to the Holy Spirit and then they can listen to the Holy Spirit then begins the next battle to obey the Holy Spirit and then as they start obeying the Holy Spirit they actually start living in the power of the Spirit and then the Spirit tells them directly what they're supposed to do instead of the pastor standing up front what they're going to do and then the people just stare at them and go uh-huh is mass over yet it's a very hard challenge but you know the process is not a 45 point plan but we have to begin to confront the enemy who has already entrenched himself even within our own thoughts and patterns and behaviors and that's why we need the life of the Holy Spirit activated in us Lord you show me an adoration after the Q&A session instead of being a staff member who's coming and going oh great another adoration can we actually approach the Lord and say Lord you show me you show me my heart show me what's in the way is it pride is it fear show me what is in the way so that I can become a much more docile tool for your spirit any questions we have two microphones that are going to be running around here's one right here oh wait we have the first one here first one here and if you come up front if you got a question and then you guys all got to pray that I can answer it but I saw some priests it looks like so I'm covered score gonna come up on the stage but uh Dean can heard my questions for Petrock and decided to take chances with you so we're starting an endeavor I'm on a commission that the bishops asked me to be and it's for youth and young adult ministry in our diocese and I said I'd do it if we could root it in prayer and so we've asked for we're going to launch and ask parents to come to every all school mass and pray for the spirit of indifference to be dispelled at the Catholic high school and the middle schools um and for parishioners to pray for the youth in their parish but honestly I have no background in intercessory prayer I just know it has to happen that way so how do we do it? okay before you start those initiatives you would find a small group of people first find the prayer warriors gather them together and bathe this in prayer for a period of time couple three months whatever four months bathe it in prayer so that and begin to identify you said indifference the spirit of indifference is there so start praying specifically against the spirit of indifference and everything else that you say see there like if you were to say Lord you show us reveal to us what else is there and just start taking the list of all the different things start praying actively against them before you approach the parents to start engaging because they will not be free to engage to ask people who are bound to pray for other people to be unbound isn't going to work so we need to you need to get a core of parents who you know get it and already have the heart for that ask the Lord to bring them to you identify them get them to start praying are we praying corporate I mean together are we gathering to pray yes all the above daily corporately all the above one of my things for pastors I tell pastors I said I believe a pastor needs to have a small group of people seven set five to seven people that they gather every Friday to pray for the pastor so they got to be able to speak they got to be able to keep it all confidential and everything so the pastor can come and he can share his own heart his own wounds his own brokenness his own concerns for the parish where it never goes anywhere because that way we're praying for him and sustaining him and he's got a group of people to do that and then the staff people can come and utilize them as well and then you can invite parishioners to pray also the prayer chains and all the other different tools that parishes have but that there has to be tools that know what's going on in specifics of what to pray for before you start the initiatives like when I do parish missions I would love if they prayed and and bade six months in prayer for that mission before we even get close to doing the mission the people on ground besides my prayer warriors I would love for that to happen great question someone else if you come if there's a lot if you come over here to the microphone and this is one of those pregnant moments okay yes you know the verse be not yoked with unevenly with other believers you know you hear that verse before and we're looking at the high divorce rate that's going on and so you know just how do you strengthen the pre cana you know in our church that's going on to establish the families there you know to solve some of these problems yes okay good I've just got a few minutes here to handle that question but seriously again obviously you're going to hear me say it's going to begin with prayer but I would again go back and here's one of the interesting things you're going to be throwing out questions to me but my disciples when they throw out questions like that I turn around and I say you're asking the wrong person who should you be asking the Holy Spirit but again we isn't it true we're not accustomed to saying I got this serious issue and I don't know how to address it so let me go see if I can find is there an expert in the audience anyone father someone who could and really it's the spirit who knows that answer so I would gather some people together again in prayer and discernment Lord you show me how do we begin to do that obviously there has to be good models right because people grow up to live the models right so we have to figure out how we're going to strengthen the models are we praying for our families our couples because you know you come to Mass and when you're on the altar and you look out at the people you see these married people you know half of them came fighting that morning it's true I mean my car illustration was really spoke a lot of truth to that I mean we do come that way and so we need to pray for those people because we need to show people what a good marriage looks like because right now people are getting afraid to get married because they feel like they're going to fail and so I'm not sure that we're doing a great job of being able to articulate that both from the pulpit and in the ways that we teach and then we talk about it so that's some good ways of doing that other question from your experience with doing intergenerational catechesis and stuff our parish is a very large bilingual community that does mostly curriculum based everything how would you suggest or how did you experience that transition into something more led by the spirit or using a curriculum in conjunction with you know an encounter with God okay so if I understand your question is how do we bring the evangelization into the process of the curriculum right in your experiences how was that how does that transition made well the first of all I looked at the content and I always looked at whatever it was that we were going to teach with a particular goal in the end right and that is how is what we're going to teach today add and make the direct connection to the relationship with Jesus Christ that we're all supposed to be living in how do we make that connection so if I'm doing a teaching on original sin how do I make that connection to the relationship with Jesus Christ doing it to all the sacraments because right now most people think the sacraments are the ends right not the beginning and so but how do I now make the connection to this is all goes back to a relationship with Jesus Christ so in the content the take home kids that we prepared for all of that everything was making a line back to a relationship with Christ really what ended up happening is those parents that came it was a small parish so I had like 500 650 families I had 200 families of the 550 on the roles coming and it was the parents not new people coming to the church it was the parents who were coming that were waking up and realizing they didn't have a relationship with Christ and so we were literally doing opening meetings introducing them to a relationship with Christ leading them to a place of conversion and leading them to pray the prayer of conversion and then talking about what does this conversion really mean because people don't understand that people don't understand like for example it says in the catechism reference number 1131 it's that one text in the catechism that talks about the sacraments or efficacious and nature it's got those hundred dollar church words but the very last sentence is absolutely critical in that it says that the fruits of the sacraments will not come to fruition unless someone is properly disposed well I can't control the Holy Spirit and say excuse me miss receive the spirit BOOM and all of a sudden she's like lit on fire I can't control God like that nor am I supposed to but there are things that I am supposed to do and so I am supposed to lead her to a place of proper disposition and Saint Peter talked about that at Acts chapter 2 you gotta be repentant you gotta be baptized well repentance means you stop acting like your God living by your own rules and baptism we don't do a good job of catechizing on baptism we just talk about the right but we forget about the fact that baptism basically means you die you give God everything when's the last time we led people to make that decision I think what we've fallen back to out of fear it's how do I show you how to add a little bit of Jesus to your already busy life instead of saying it's one or the other your life in the world or your life completely to Jesus Christ and we're so afraid of making people go to that decision because we're afraid they're gonna say no but our job as evangelists is to bring people to that decision it is all Jesus or no Jesus what did the scripture say you can't serve two masters and you can't serve mammon and what are we trying to do teach them how to serve both you can't do both so every meeting everything would focus back at the beginning of the year we would do I wouldn't go with the books I wouldn't go with the content we made up our own meeting and it was evangelistic in nature and saying it all starts with this a relationship with Jesus Christ I think every RCIA program why is it that RCIA has to be a certain amount of months I don't understand if I'm gonna go, remember I told you I'm a simple guy so if I'm gonna go build a house I can't start building a block walls until I got the foundation laid why am I building the walls where there's no foundation because it's because Easter's coming well isn't that what we're doing is based on time not on production why I'm just a simple guy I'm asking the question why why can't we go back to I can't move you on to discipleship training until you're connected with God so for me that's kind of how I did it sorry it was really a long winded answer actually we were talking about original sin earlier just in our discussion so that's funny that you brought it up again thank you anyone else otherwise yes I see that hand that makes no sense to me so I'm not sure if we're done last question so Deacon I really liked everything you said but how do I get my staff on board praise you Jesus bring him to the St. John Bosco amen brother that's what happened yes that really it becomes that question again if you were my disciple and you asked me that question what would I respond back with you're asking the wrong person because who's the one who knows how to reach every one of your staff members it is the Holy Spirit he is the go-to person that we never go to you know we don't we never go to him I don't know why he's the best kept seeker of the church he happens to be God but we never go to him but I mean obviously praying for each of them talking about okay so let's talk about an evangelistic process real quick okay it's the same kind of principle you would use like if you're a parent who's lost kids from the faith know what I'm talking about like I run in contact with these seniors who are grieving because their kids have left the church and they left the faith and I said and they don't know what to do so they asked me how do you evangelize and I said well my first suggestion would be stop telling them what they're doing wrong don't tell them what they're not doing you're not going to church and concern they know what you believe they know what you understand don't do that start using testimony right it's the testimony of the saints that will overcome the kingdom of Satan the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony and so instead of saying that saying here is what happened to me at the John Bosco conference here is what I began to understand here's how the piece has made sense what do you think about this begin the dialogue but long before you begin those kind of testimonies what are you doing praying praying sick mama