At the end of the historic Eucharistic Congress that took place last July in Indianapolis, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston and chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Board, challenged the nearly 60,000 members of the faithful gathered in Lucas Oil Stadium to take their love of the Eucharist and the Church back into the world with them and identify one person in their life to intentionally evangelize.
Bishop Cozzens stressed that the authentic renewal envisioned three years prior to the National Congress would only happen through those present embracing the call to Eucharistic mission.
He reminded the pilgrims, “What you received as a gift, you must give as a gift!”
The bishop then invited the faithful to “walk” with one person who is currently away from the faith; to pray for them and befriend them and then invite this person to take one step closer to Jesus and His Church.
If every one of our 70 million Catholics invited a friend, loved one, or neighbor to the faith, the landscape of our nation and the world would radically change.
Walk With One initiative
This simple four-step plan of “walking with one” is something the U.S. bishops are asking all of us to do as we prepare for the Jubilee Year of Hope which coincides with their proposed Year of Mission.
In the Diocese of Madison, Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison is encouraging all the faithful to learn about and embrace this four-step plan during the upcoming four weeks of Advent.
To assist with this effort, the diocese is offering the Walk With One Advent Study which can be used by individuals, families, or small groups.
Materials, including videos from Bishop Hying, study guides, prayers, and more are available at MadisonDiocese.org/WalkWithOne
As St. Paul VI stated in his apostolic exhortation on evangelization Evangelii Nuntiandi: “The Church exists in order to evangelize.”
These powerful words remind us that our primary mission as followers of Jesus should be directed toward those who have not yet heard the Good News, but it is also directed toward those who no longer practice their faith.
Each of us is called to evangelize, and it is the Holy Spirit who can direct our efforts to lead our brothers and sisters into an intimate relationship with Jesus and experience His infinite love.
The question to consider, then, is: Who is that specific person the Lord wants me to accompany into a deeper relationship with Him?
Walk With One: Step one
The first step in the Walk With One initiative is to identify that person — a family member, a friend, a neighbor, a co-worker, or an acquaintance — who needs God’s grace and is longing, lost, or feels alone.
Knowing which person you are to accompany may not be obvious.
That’s why it is important to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance regarding who He wants you to reach out to on this journey of faith.
Such identification must be done in complete humility and with intense prayer.
Commit quiet time to reflect upon the possibilities. Perhaps write down specific names that come to mind and begin lifting them up to the Lord.
This first step of prayer and identification is linked closely to the Gospel for the First Sunday of Advent (Lk 21:25-28, 34-36) in which Christ urges his followers to be vigilant and to pray.
We need to be vigilant evangelizers, looking around and identifying those people in our lives who have fallen away from the practice of the Faith, are estranged from the Church, or perhaps never really knew Jesus at all in the first place.
We also need our evangelization efforts rooted in prayer and the Eucharist. Spend some time before Our Eucharistic Lord with the list of people you have compiled and seek the enlightenment needed to zero in on that one person God wants you to walk with during this Advent season.
Be sure to also pray for the grace you need to be courageous, hopeful, and filled with zeal so that God can use you as an instrument of invitation.
Be bold and begin your Advent journey by prayerfully discerning who God wants you to walk with on this four-week personal pilgrimage in anticipation of Jesus’ birth.
What better Christmas gift can we give someone than the gift of faith!
Michael D. Wick is the director of mission for the Diocese of Madison.