HADDON TOWNSHIP – A sister. A father. A grandparent. A friend.
Many Catholics can name someone close to them who has drifted away from the Church and from faith in God.
How to accompany these loved ones is what drew dozens to the “Helping Others Say Yes to Jesus” workshop held Sept. 27 at Saint Joseph the Worker Parish.
In his presentation, Deacon Anthony Cioe offered practical steps to help Catholics evangelize and gently encourage those who have fallen away from active participation in Church life. He said it is important for all people to know they are called by God for specific reasons.
“God has a calling for each of us, and God empowers us to live out that calling,” said Deacon Cioe, who serves in Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Turnersville, and is director of the ManUp South Jersey spirituality conference.
Father Mark Matthias, pastor of Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, provided a handout that summarized key actions one could take. These included: wearing clothing with Scripture verses; distributing prayer cards; recommending music, movies and TV shows that communicate Christian messages; inviting others to events rooted in faith.
He also emphasized the need to commit to prayer, a point exemplified at the workshop, as the day began with morning Mass and a Miraculous Medal Novena in the Saint Vincent Pallotti Chapel.
Deacon Cioe guided participants through reflections on their own faith journeys and encouraged them to consider specific ways they might respond to God’s call in their lives. One attendee described using local Christian radio as a way to spread messages of faith. She explained that by sharing songs and programming with loved ones, she found an avenue to connect them to uplifting spiritual messages, reinforcing the presentation’s advice to use music and media as tools for evangelization.
Attendees also discussed ways they could work together to create a more welcoming parish environment and to extend invitations to those who have not attended Mass in some time.
Janet Dash, a parishioner at Saint Joseph the Worker, expressed hope that the event – sponsored by the diocesan Office of Evangelization – would inspire others to take action. “I hope people take from this seminar a more in-depth love of Christ with the hope to bring family members back to the Church and to Mass.”
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