First Time Visitor?
Are you seeking answers to life’s “Big Questions?”
Do you wonder who Jesus Christ really is?
Maybe you’ve heard curious things about what Catholics believe, and wonder what the truth is . . .
Or perhaps you were baptized Catholic but stopped practicing the Faith for whatever reason.
If so, you’ve come to the right place! Catholics have been following Jesus of Nazareth and leading others to Him for 2000 years. We believe that Jesus will give you answers that truly satisfy your heart. As St. John Paul II said, “Jesus is the answer to the question that is Man.”
But who is this Jesus, anyway?
The Kerygma: The Great Story of Jesus
Everything we believe and do as Catholics rests on the firm foundation of the Kerygma, or the Great Story of Jesus.
- God loves you and wants you to be part of His Kingdom.
We Catholics proclaim that God is love. He created you, and everyone, for a life with Him full of love, peace, truth, beauty, goodness and meaning. It is a life that begins now, lasts forever, and can never be taken away. “I came so that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) - Sin destroys life and separates you from God.
Nothing is so destructive in our life and this world as sin. It is desire gone wrong, and it is rooted in the lie that creation rather than the Creator can help and save us. Each sin is like a brick in a wall that ultimately separates us from God. “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) - Christ Jesus died to save you.
Our way to God was cut off by sin. By dying on the cross, Jesus broke down the wall that sin had put up between us and God. Rising from the dead and ascending into heaven, He has re-opened the way to the Father, our hearts’ true desire. “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) - Repent and believe the Gospel.
To repent means to feel sorrow for our sins and to come to understand and accept the Gospel–that the Lord loves us, is calling us and wants to save us from our sins. Each of us must come to believe in this Love God has for us and accept the promise and salvation of His love: Jesus Christ and the saving truth He proclaims. “Repent and believe in the Good News.” (Mark 1:15) - Be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.
In baptism our sins are washed away, we are incorporated into Christ, and we become a member of His Body. The Holy Spirit–the life, love, serenity, joy and wisdom of God–comes to dwell in us and begins the work of transforming us into His disciples. “No one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:5) - Abide in Christ and His body, the Church.
We must continue to grow in this relationship with Jesus and His Father in the Holy Spirit by sharing in the life of the Church, which is Jesus’ Body in this world. In the Eucharist, we receive Jesus’ own Body, Blood, soul and divinity, and we are nourished for the lifelong journey of being a disciple of Jesus. When we stumble and fall, as we certainly will, we receive His healing grace in the sacrament of reconciliation. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me with never thirst.” (John 6:35) - Go and make disciples.
Each of us who has heard and answered Jesus’ call is called in turn to the joy of proclaiming the Gospel to others. “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)
Interested in learning more? Would you like to visit our parish? Just need someone to talk to about God and faith? We would love to talk with you and share with you the joy of being Jesus’ disciples in the midst of the Church He founded! Just click this link to send an email to a member of our Evangelization Team. We’ll be back in touch with you soon!
*We are indebted to Monsignor Charles Pope’s blog, The Message and the Plan, and to Sherry Weddell’s book, Forming Intentional Disciples, for this presentation of the kerygma.