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Catholic Apostolate Center Newsletter
From the Director's Desk
"Do we love the Church as our Mother,
who helps us to grow as Christians?
And how do we go beyond ourselves
in order to bring Christ to others?"
(Pope Francis, General Audience, September 11, 2013)
Stop for a moment and re-read again the two questions above. Reflect on how you would answer them. Pope Francis reminds us in his first encyclical, Lumen Fidei, that our growth as a Christian is not an individual act.
"It is impossible to believe on our own. Faith is not simply an individual decision which takes place in the depths of the believer's heart, nor a completely private relationship between the "I" of the believer and the divine "Thou", between an autonomous subject and God. By its very nature, faith is open to the "We" of the Church; it always takes place within her communion" (Lumen Fidei, 39).
The Church is the place where we are nurtured by Christ through the community of faith, where we grow in Christ through the sacraments, and where we encounter Christ in those around us, especially in the poor and the suffering. We cannot remain in our comfort within the Church, though. We need to move outward to others and assist them in encountering Christ.
Our growth as Christians is a life-long process. There is always more that we can learn, understand, and experience in faith, especially the teachings of our Church. Bringing Christ to others as an apostle or, as Pope Francis emphasizes, a missionary, makes a demand on us to know and live the faith. Being catechized does not simply mean knowing the faith, it means witnessing to it in our lives. On-going formation in the faith, being catechized, is a dynamic process that is for life!
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Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C.
Director
Catholic Apostolate Center
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Our growth in faith is not simply our action alone, however, it is the work of Christ within us and the relationship that we have with him nurtured through prayer.
This edition of our newsletter has
May the love of Christ urge you on!
In God, the Infinite Love,
Fr. Frank
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One of the great aspects of Catholicism is that the Church offers us numerous ways in which we can pray. God has created each of us as unique individuals which means different means of prayer will resonate differently within each of us. The important part is that we find the means of prayer that works for us, as individuals, throughout our day. Without finding the time to pray daily we are likely to miss the times in which God is trying to speak to us. Likewise, we could also miss out on the opportunity to speak with Him and offer simple prayers of thanksgiving for a good day or turn to Him when facing challenges. 
Pope Francis asked that September 7 be a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria. Around the globe parishes, organizations, dioceses, men and women, Catholics and non-Catholics alike united in praying for a peaceful solution to this crisis. Pope Francis led a prayer vigil in St. Peter's Square and delivered the following remarks:
"Clearly, what God wants above all is our will which we received as a free gift from God in creation and possess as though our own. When a man trains himself to acts of virtue, it is with the help of grace from God from whom all good things come that he does this. The will is what man has as his unique possession." 
