“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and decisive direction.” -Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, no. 1
The Diocese of Camden’s Discipleship and Leadership Office serves the people of South Jersey by working with clergy and laity to form disciples and leaders within parish communities and across the diocese. We enter into the family of God through our baptism and it is rich with great grace and responsibility. We are called to live radically for Jesus – to shout the Gospel with our very lives. When we live this way, we answer the second imbedded call in our baptism and that is to missionary discipleship which means forming others for Jesus.
We must be the witnesses the world needs by sharing the great story of Jesus – His Birth, Life, Death & Resurrection – and our own stories sharing the faith of our lives with another human being. This is how we transform lives – one person at a time.
Each of us is here now and planned for all of eternity to be here. Each of us has an irreplaceable mission which no one else can accomplish. The Great Commission Jesus delivered to the Apostles on Ascension Thursday is exactly the same for us today in the 21st century: “Go! And make disciples of all nation.” Our times are different yet the mission remains the same. We are called to be ‘fishers of men’, and we must be about this work.
What is the old saying – “God does not call the equipped. He equips those He calls.” The Office of Discipleship and Leadership contributes to the equipping offering training, customized resources and learning experiences to enable the 21st century Catholic Christians to live ‘the Joy of the Gospel in South Jersey’.
When the word fire is used in Sacred Scripture it is a symbol of God’s presence, love, judgement and divine purification. Fire also represents the Holy Spirit and the power to effect change. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the shared responsibility for the Church by the laity and clergy we shall set holy fire to the earth in the Diocese of Camden and change the lives many.