{"id":12332,"date":"2020-07-10T18:08:46","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T22:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fallriverdiocese.org\/?p=12332"},"modified":"2023-11-06T17:49:32","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T17:49:32","slug":"bishops-blog-call-to-discipleship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fallriverdiocese.org\/pt-pt\/bishops-blog\/bishops-blog-call-to-discipleship\/","title":{"rendered":"Call to Discipleship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\nBy our baptism, we are called to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple continually learns, lives, and witnesses to her\/his faith. As a diocese, we look to support parishes, families, and individuals <\/span>in their mission<\/span><\/a> to be active, informed, and faithful witnesses of Christ and his Church. In Activity #8, of my pastoral letter <\/span>Reflection on Five Years \u2014 Continuing the Mission<\/span><\/a>, I presented findings and proposed goals for forming life-long disciples. As I stated in the letter, “Faith Formation is not just passing on knowledge, but helping people to meet Christ, know Him, accept Him, love Him, and follow Him.”<\/span>
\nJesus illustrates in his encounter with <\/span>the woman at the well<\/span><\/a>, how at the core of being a disciple and evangelizer, is meeting people where they are, not only physically but also spiritually. Opportunities for faith formation should include virtual and in-person options, and accommodate the needs of someone who is new to the faith, on a journey back, or is a long practicing Catholic. The formation offered must be tailored to the audience, as the reflection covers, plans need to look at the needs of students, parishes, individuals, and seniors. Each has a unique dynamic and going forward, we have to be better prepared to meet a broader spectrum of faithful. <\/span>
\nTo excel in supporting life-long learning, we should also give more considerable attention to alternatives for adults to grow in their faith. The experience of Mass on Sunday ought to encourage people to want to go deeper, not just for themselves, but to provide knowledge and a framework for sharing the faith with others. <\/span>
\nThrough conferences, camp and retreats, social media, and various outreach programs, the diocese commits to exploring new innovative ways to catechize, while continuing to embrace those programs and methods that presently enjoy success. We look forward to being able to resume all of these programs when it’s determined that it’s safe to do so.<\/span>
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The Catholic Appeal<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We can share in the work of evangelization through the Catholic Appeal, which typically wraps up June 30th, but has been extended due to the late start the pandemic caused. More than a dozen agencies and apostolates funded by the Catholic Appeal assist and minister to more than 100,000 individuals and families, especially in the area of forming life-long disciples. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n