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Help us save souls!
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In the Gospel Acclamation for Sunday’s Mass, we hear these words from 1 Peter: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation; announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Every member of the Catholic Church is a sharer in the priesthood of Christ. This grace enables every Christian to minister to the spiritual needs of others and save souls whenever possible.
IHM’s Welcome Home for Adults sacramental preparation program is one of many programs ministering to the spiritual needs of others. This Order of Christian Initiation for Adults program is called Welcome Home because we invite all who desire to fully enter the Catholic Church. Over the years, the program has welcomed and prepared adults to receive the Sacraments of Initiation including Baptism, Confirmation and 1st Holy Communion.
During the past year, we have seen enrollment nearly double with 110 adults attending our classes. These adults came to class on their own because they want more out of life than what they are getting right now. All want a relationship with Jesus. All want to go to heaven.
Our program has grown thanks to the Holy Spirit. We have seen a sizable increase in the number of young adults from 18 to 34 thirsting for Jesus and to learn about the church he founded 2,000 years ago. In one way or another, these adults have said yes to God so our job is to help them in any way we can. Our job as a parish is to accompany our neighbors to the heart of Jesus.
Deacon Jerome and I would be the first to tell you that we could not do it without our lay team of volunteers. Many of our volunteers are cradle Catholics while other volunteers are former Welcome Home students. Our lay team has been and will continue to be an integral part of the OCIA program. Without them we would not be able to be as successful in saving souls.
Which brings me to these three major points:- If you are an adult in need of the Sacraments of Initiation of Baptism, 1st Holy Communion and Confirmation, please talk to Deacon Jerome or me. We will be offering three different classes in the coming months. You can reach us at [email protected] or [email protected].
- Because of the growth of the program, we need more volunteers. You don’t need to be a theologian, a biblical scholar or someone who has taught religious ed classes in the past. We are looking for people who love God and desire to walk with others who are seeking the Truth and the Sacraments. All our faith formation programs are growing and all the programs from children to teens and adults can use more help. Please scan click the link at the bottom of this column to learn more on how you can help.
- Finally, I want to ask you to pray for all our faith formation programs, its students, volunteers and staff here at IHM. I would invite you to also pray to God as you discern if you are being called to help us with one of the faith formation programs.
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