Over the last week, I enjoyed my Easter break. I spent time camping with my older boys in the Suwanee River State Park; I spent time with the entire family at the beach in the Panhandle; and I relaxed at home with a movie night to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens. All these activities helped me recharge mentally for the upcoming fourth quarter of the school year. However, the event I feel best prepared me to face fourth quarter recharged me spiritually -- that was spending an evening listening to internationally acclaimed speaker, bestselling author and business consultant Matthew Kelly speak in Orlando.
Much of Kelly's message is to motivate Catholics to take back their faith..."Be bold. Be Catholic," is a common tag line. His talk included an impressive amount of information gleaned from a four year study by his Dynamic Catholic organization on the behaviors and trends of Catholics. The information was bleak. One of the more startling statistics: close to 83% of teens will no longer practice Catholicism within 7 years after being confirmed. This hits especially close to home with our CKS 8th graders being confirmed this weekend.
To reverse this trend, we as Catholics cannot be content with the status quo. We must change the way we play the game. He offers three game changers to help all Catholics deepen their relationship with Jesus and help foster a lifetime of faith practice. He encourages us to choose one at a time:
Game-changer #1--Read the four gospels from start to finish over and over again for a year.
- Read for 15 minutes each day and reflect on what was read. Why? How can we know Jesus is we don't know his story? Get to know him in the Gospel.
Game-changer #2--Go to confession once a month for a year.
- Like getting a shot, few of us are thrilled by the idea of confession, but we all need it. Behind great athletes, great inventors and great leaders are a team of mentors or coaches. To be great Catholics, we need spiritual coaches. Allow God to coach you through the intercession of the priest at confession.
- When our students are in class, we expect them to take notes. We know taking notes activates parts of the brain that increase thinking and memory. Why does it feel awkward to take notes in Mass? Each week ask God to show you one way to become a better person through the Mass. Write one thing down every Sunday and keep it in a journal
This morning at assembly, I challenged our students to keep a Mass Journal for our Wednesday school mass and Sunday. I encourage you to help them. Here is a direct link to the Dynamic Catholic website where you can get a free journal: http://dynamiccatholic.com/free-resources/the-mass-journal/
I hope this practice helps our students make the most of the special time we get to spend with God each week.
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