Establishing an Effective Prayer Ministry - Part 3

In every church there are people who are gifted for intercession. It is important to identify who these people are and begin to equip and encourage them to take their place in the prayer ministry. Intercessors are able to press through in prayer in situations where many will just give up. They are instrumental in under girding the ministry of prayer as well as in imparting their understanding of prevailing in prayer to those just discovering prayer in their own lives. It may be helpful to encourage... Read more »

Establishing an Effective Prayer Ministry - Part 4

One of the most significant ministries that can be developed is that of a prayer shield or Pastors Intercessory Team (P.I.T. Crew). This ministry is developed to encourage the congregation to begin to intercede on a daily basis for their pastor and other leaders in the church. C. Peter Wagner speaks of three basic levels of intercessors for leaders: “Level Three intercessors have a distant relationship with the leader. In some cases, these intercessors have never met the person(s) they are... Read more »

Establishing an Effective Prayer Ministry - Part 1

There is perhaps no more important a ministry in the Church than that of prayer. The Church cannot rely on programs, marketing strategies, or slick presentations in order to grow and complete the mission given to it. The Church needs the power and presence and direction of the Living God. The Scriptures are replete with instances demonstrating the importance of prayer. Jesus made clear the importance of prayer in the Church when he said in Matthew 21:13: “It is written,” he said... Read more »

I Want To Know My Future

She shouted with absolute conviction each word, “I want to know how my life is going to turn out before it happens! Didn’t Christ know that He was destined to be crucified on the cross? Didn’t He know everything about His life before it happened.” I was shocked over her request wondering just how serious she was about knowing the complete picture of her future. Just thinking about her words was enough to get my mind roaming over my past and pulling out every part of my... Read more »

How did the Penitntial Season of Lent form?

Lent is the period of 40 days of fasting that is preceding Easter. Often this 40 day period is paralleled with the story of Jesus being in the desert for 40 days being tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1-11) and this is the reading for the first Sunday of Lent to remind us of that parallel. Originally Lent was no more than a word used for the Spring Season, similar to Autumn being referred to as fall. But in Modern time its a period for fasting, prayer and alms giving. The 40 days in the Catholic... Read more »

Rosary Has a Long Tradition of Necessity

The rosary has a long and honored tradition and its present form it can be dated back to the last 14th century. The present day rosary seems to have been the work of the Dominican fathers however there is parts that actually date back to St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominican order. St. Dominic was handed the method to pray the Rosary directly from The Blessed mother. And according to Alan de la Roche St. Dominic revived the rosary on this revelation. At the time St. Dominic was fighting the... Read more »

RCIA is the Call for Conversion

The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults or RCIA is something you may see advertised in your parish bulletin but not really know something about. You may be asked to be a sponsor but not really know what it means or if you can even participate in the process. But over the course of the last 30 years the RCIA programs, has gone though a major transformation that in the end returns the process to the roots of the early church even though it is still in its infancy relatively speaking. Its seems... Read more »

What is the Liturgical Calendar

Though each calendar year there are seasons in which the church enters. Just like summer, winter and fall, the church also has seasons. Most people are familiar with the names of each of the liturgical calendar. The season are Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter and of course, Ordinary Time. These are the basic division of how the Liturgical Calendar is divided. The churches use this way to decide what readings are used, when Feast Days and Solemnities are observed. Many of the Solemnities are placed... Read more »

A Review of Sacraments of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church since its inception has set itself aside from all other organized religion by being a sacramental church. As a Catholic you will often hear of the sacramental church and if raised Catholic as a child had these sacraments bestowed on you as grew up as both a person and a Catholic. The seven sacraments can be traced to Jesus himself. He gave each of these sacraments us and the Apostles upheld them during the formation of the early church. Each of these sacraments has special rites... Read more »

Fat Tuesday Party Roots Reach Back to Catholic Church

Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras are most likely is never thought of as being rooted in any church let alone the Catholic Church. Its loud its raucous and its as far from the church as possible. In many ways the roots of the holiday have been forgotten and it has become a very secular celebration that is sometimes on the edge of good judgment. Most of all it’s become one large party and a exclamation point on the decay within our society. But it is amazing to look back and wonder how did we get... Read more »