This summer, the Diocese of Madison Office of Marriage and Family hosted Go Make Disciples @ Home events at St. Maria Goretti Church in Madison and St. John Vianney Church in Janesville.
Go Make Disciples is the diocesan evangelization initiative. It is an ongoing effort to live out the mission of the Church, which is the mission of Christ — to proclaim the Gospel to every creature, to make disciples, and to lead everyone into a deep, fruitful, and saving relationship with the Lord.
“We had many families asking ‘What does it look like?’ for them to be a part of Go Make Disciples — especially moms who stay at home,” said Matt Regner, marriage and family coordinator for the Diocese of Madison.
“We wanted to invite families to a way to Go Make Disciples that fit them and their vocation. Not that they have to go out and do more things, but that Go Make Disciples starts in the home.”
Regner added that he is excited about these new events that will help parents and families know how to enrich their marriage and family life through discipleship with Jesus and being a witness to others.
Missionary discipleship
The evening at St. Maria Goretti began with dinner and time to take kids to the supervised bouncy house and playground so parents could listen to talks from Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison and Ryan and Mary-Rose Verret.
Ryan and Mary-Rose are the creators of Witness to Love, a marriage formation program that many parishes in the Diocese of Madison use.
In 2023, they were appointed consultants to the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life by Pope Francis.
Bishop Hying invited the Verret family to Madison to present a training in 2020.
They met again when they attended the World Meeting of Families in Rome in 2022.
After spending an evening together, Bishop Hying wanted them to come back to the diocese.
The Verrets were excited to return and talk about their book, The Road to Family Missionary Discipleship, and what it looks like to be a ‘missionary family’.
Bishop Hying thanked the families for coming to the event, especially since many of them had just traveled back from the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis the day before.
He spoke about how being parents and faithful spouses is how families can Go Make Disciples.
“We know as Catholics we have this beautiful spirituality of marriage and family life. And we dare to call the family the domestic Church,” Bishop Hying said.
“It’s within the family that we first come to know God. The most important way we can be disciples and make disciples is to live a marriage and family life as God intended.”
Bringing it home
Mary-Rose and Ryan spoke about their own family and how as parents they too can Go Make Disciples.
“We want you to go home tonight and reflect that your marriage is not only beautiful, but it’s sacred and a gift,” they said.
“There is so much brokenness in families that sometimes we don’t understand the gifts we have.
“One of the most important things about going and making disciples is your witness — your witness to God’s faithfulness, and to the love that He has for you.
“You live that through the dedication you have to your spouse and your children.”
Mary-Rose and Ryan shared their tips and struggles with marriage and family life and how they try to keep Christ at the center of their home and marriage.
“I heard this line that I want to share with you: ‘Alone we go faster but together we go longer.’
“You don’t have to do marriage, to do family life, alone,” they said.
They added that evangelizing doesn’t happen just in soup kitchens and knocking on doors, but that it happens in simple ways and simple places.
Examples such as inviting people into your home or sharing something with them at the library are all means of evangelization.
They also spoke on the importance of community and having other Catholic families to talk to and have friendships with, not only to share struggles but to rejoice in the victories and grow in the faith.
They encouraged families to get together with another Catholic family once a month for dinner or coffee and to pray the Rosary together.
Throughout the evening, the kids were having the time of their lives playing on the playground and enjoying their own little community too.
The Office of Marriage and Family is excited to provide more resources and coordinate upcoming Go Make Disciples @ Home events through the rest of this year and into next year.
For more information, go to madisondiocese.org/go-make-disciples-at-home.