EVANGELIZATION RESOURCES

In What Matters Most, University of Notre Dame theology professor Leonard J. DeLorenzo urges youth ministers, teachers, and parents to help young people redefine success in light of their call to discipleship--completely saying yes to God.

In Luke's account of the Annunciation, Mary offers a true model of discipleship for young people to follow. Her example will empower them to make choices about how to live their lives as a courageous yes to God in everything they choose--just as she did.

DeLorenzo, who served as the long-time director of Notre Dame Vision--a program designed to help young Catholics find their true calling as disciples of Jesus--shows how Mary exhibited four habits that will guide young people to make important life decisions:

Pat Gohn knows what her one thing is: "More than any single factor in my life, belonging to Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church has had the greatest impact on me. Faith gives meaning to everything in my life."

In this passionate and unapologetic account of why her faith in Christ and the Catholic Church are the source of meaning and joy in her life, Gohn--popular speaker, retreat leader, catechist, and author of Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious--invites you to become more confident in the power of the Catholic faith to transform your life as well.

Being a cradle Catholic, cancer survivor, wife, and mother are all a part of Gohn's story. But in this appealing, personal book, she shares why her relationship with Jesus and her confidence in his Church are so much bigger than her medical diagnosis, more powerful than her family history, and more significant than her career path.

Gohn ardently shares why belonging to the Church will strengthen and nurture your relationship with God. It will keep you connected with Jesus and the sacraments--conduits of grace, forgiveness, healing, wisdom, and renewal. Belonging to the Church connects you to millions of others around the world, to the saints, and to your loved ones in heaven. These relationships are at the heart of Catholicism. In this time when life and society are so fragmented, the joy of belonging to a community--as imperfect as it can be--easily outweighs the agony of separation or isolation.

Gohn's confidence in her faith emerged despite and even out of a struggle with disillusionment. Working in a parish when news of the sex abuse scandals broke in Boston, she confronted heartbreak and anger within herself and her fellow parishioners. Yet she never left the Church and relates how she found a way to dig deeper and discover reasons to stay faithful.

Each of the nine chapters identifies a dimension of the Catholic faith that is a source of Gohn's confidence, including the Incarnation, God's plan, the Fatherhood of God, the friendship of the Holy Spirit, and the love of neighbor. Each chapter also features reflection questions to challenge you.

Not long ago, veteran Youth Minister Everett Fritz counted the number of his former Youth Group members who were still practicing the Faith.

The result? Almost all of them had left the Faith!

Fritz learned that other parishes reported similar staggering losses, pointing to a grim truth: today's Youth Ministries simply do not form young people into lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.

Not satisfied with these dismal results, Fritz devised a different way of forming young people in the Faith. It's an approach that can truly transform the spiritual lives of young people by applying the same one-to-one personal method that Jesus Himself used to form his twelve original disciples . . . only one of whom was lost!

Fritz has worked with countless parishes, helping them make the shift to a small-group discipleship structure. You'll learn to avoid the many pitfalls and common mistakes parishes make, as well as ways you can easily build the volunteer base needed

Kreeft provides thoughtful, lucid, and persuasive answers for believers, unbelievers, and seekers to consider. As always, Kreeft is insightful, inspiring, and entertaining. This book is ideal for those exploring faith for the first time, as well as for confirmation and religious education classes. It's an intellectual and spiritual feast! This is vintage Kreeft.

The good news of the Gospel is as exciting as a murder mystery. For at its heart there is a murder: the murder of God two thousand years ago in Jerusalem. And this God is the greatest of mysteries: who He is and why He put us here, and why He came here and what His plans are for us. The story is literally a matter of life or death - eternal life or death.
-- Peter Kreeft

Be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you.
-- 1 Peter 3:15

We can't just talk about Christ's presence in the Eucharist; we have to believe it, celebrate it, and live it both individually and as a community of the faithful. And we must cultivate a culture in our parishes that treats Real Presence not only as an important Catholic doctrine, but also as the most important part of parish identity.

In Becoming Eucharistic People, theologian Timothy P. O'Malley, author of Real Presence, outlines four essential dimensions of a Eucharistic culture in a parish--one that fosters reverence and unity among the faithful, includes every dimension of human life in the mystery of Christ's Body and Blood, and invites people back to parish life or to become Catholic for the first time.

O'Malley--director of education at the McGrath Institute of Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, academic director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, and a member of the executive planning team for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Eucharistic Revival--shows what it means to foster a parish culture where the Eucharist infuses the worldview, priorities, and practices of its members. O'Malley leads you through discovery and discernment about how to create a parish culture where each person is called to holiness and receives the spiritual, theological, and pastoral help they need to meet Christ fully present in the Eucharist and to become a witness to him in the world.

O'Malley will help you reflect on four essential facets of a Eucharistic parish culture:

O'Malley says that when we reflect Christ's Real Presence to others, our parishes will become sacred spaces in which every person is led to deeper communion with God and with their neighbors.

Online resources, including ideas for parish retreats, teaching resources, and videos based on this book and the US bishops Eucharistic Revival are available from the McGrath Institute for Church Life.

Books in the Engaging Catholicism series from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame help readers discover the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith through a concise exploration of the Church's most important but often difficult-to-grasp doctrines as well as crucial pastoral and spiritual practices. Perfect for seekers and new Catholics, clergy and catechetical leaders, and everyone in between, the series expands the McGrath Institute's mission to connect the Catholic intellectual life at Notre Dame to the pastoral life of the Church and the spiritual needs of her people.

The only work that exclusively features the conversion stories of theologians, this book provides a unique vantage point on the intellectual challenges faced by those being drawn to the Catholic Church.

The men and women featured here come from a variety of backgrounds: Agnosticism, Secularism, New Age thought, punk rock, and various stripes of Christianity. Their theological vocation had specially prompted them to question their own intellectual presuppositions once they encountered Catholicism, which only gained in credibility the more they studied it.

Although it was the theological truth of the Catholic faith that initially captured the attention of these theologians, each of these essays tells a fully human story. They are not collections of arguments, but stories of grace. Among the ten converts are Scott Hahn, Lawrence Feingold, Melanie Barrett, Petroc Willey, and Jeff Morrow. Each story offers a fresh glimpse at God's work in the world.

Is there credible proof that Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God? In The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel, former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune and New York Times bestselling author, retraces his own spiritual journey from atheism to faith and builds a captivating case for Christ's divinity.

In this revised and updated edition of The Case for Christ, Strobel cross-examines a dozen experts with doctorates from schools such as Cambridge, Princeton, and Brandeis, asking hard-hitting questions--and taking a deeper look at the evidence from the fields of science, philosophy, and history.

In his comprehensive investigation, Strobel doesn't shy away from challenging questions, including:

Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award and twice nominated for the Christian Book of the Year Award, The Case for Christ has been adapted into a major motion picture and has now sold over 5 million copies worldwide.

This edition includes scores of revisions and additions, including updated material on archaeological and manuscript discoveries, fresh recommendations for further study, and an interview with the author that tells dramatic stories about the book's impact, provides behind-the-scenes information, and responds to critiques of the book by skeptics.

Strobel's thorough examination reads like a captivating, fast-paced novel. But it's not fiction: it's a riveting quest for the truth about history's most compelling figure. Discover The Case for Christ today.

Praise for The Case for Christ:

"Nobody knows how to sift truth from fiction like an experienced investigative reporter, or to argue a case like someone trained at Yale Law School. Lee Strobel brings both qualifications to this remarkable book. In addition to his own tremendous testimony as atheist-turned-Christian, the author marshals the irrefutable depositions of recognized "expert witnesses" to build his ironclad case for Jesus Christ. The Case for Christ sets a new standard among existing contemporary apologetics."

--D. James Kennedy, PhD, senior minister, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church

In this concise and engaging book, Andre Regnier draws on decades of experience as a Catholic evangelist to suggest a concrete, adaptable and life-changing approach to evangelization. Providing an intuitive introduction to the Christian concept of conversion, as well as a practical guide to engaging in spiritual conversations, Clear & Simple goes beyond any particular evangelistic program to communicate the heart of relational ministry and care for souls: intentional spiritual conversations.

Here is a timely resource that not only equips readers to respond to the Church's call to mission, but proposes an approach of evangelization fostering greater faith, hope, and charity in the Catholic evangelist.