This season, look for ways to reach out to others and walk with them in faith
The ongoing Eucharistic Revival Year of Mission calls Catholics to accompany others on the path to Jesus.
If we haven’t yet taken up the mission to Walk With One, an initiative launched after the National Eucharistic Congress in July to encourage Catholics to identify one person to walk with in faith, Advent is a great time to start.
In the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the Year of Mission aligns with Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski’s pastoral vision for evangelization, “Disciples Make Disciples.”
“Each one of us has someone in our lives who God is asking us to forge a new path toward,” Archbishop Rozanski wrote in the document. “Whether it is the son or daughter who no longer attends Mass, the coworker you share a beer with, or the family on the soccer field you see every weekend, we are each called to go where God needs us to share His good news.”
Over the past few years, Incarnate Word parishioner Vickie Schroeder has walked with two adult daughters as they returned to Mass and helped a casual acquaintance-turned-friend enter the Church.
When one of her daughters had an unexpected pregnancy, Schroeder was there to support her. The two would spend hours just sitting and talking, which opened the door for Schroeder to share not just about the practical parts of having a baby but also the ways that motherhood helped her grow closer to Jesus, she said.
“I told my story about after I had my first baby. I was always a practicing Catholic, but kind of minimally. When I had our first kid, I just told her how all that changed, that I remember holding him and just saying, ‘I want heaven for this baby, and how does that work?’” she said. “That was the real driving force, I’d say, to really get back into my faith.”
She asked her daughter if she would be interested in coming back to Mass with her sometime. “And she said yes, and she said that she felt God was really stirring her to come back but she didn’t know where she should go.”
Now, they attend Mass together every Sunday. “She needed that person to be with her, to talk to her and to accept where she was and to just bring her back,” Schroeder said.
This kind of personal invitation to come back to Mass is one way the Eucharistic Revival team is encouraging Catholics to walk with others this Advent: Look around your parish community, seek out someone who has been away and ask them to join you for Advent or Christmas Mass.
Another opportunity evolved over about five years for Schroeder. She got to know Linda Chamberlin while teaching and tutoring Chamberlin’s grandson, chatting with her after sessions a few times a week. Over time, the women became friends.
When discussing a difficult situation one day, Schroeder shared that she draws strength from daily Mass. Chamberlin, a devoted Protestant, starting asking questions about the Church. The two started meeting every Tuesday morning for breakfast to talk more about faith, and after awhile, Schroeder invited her to come see what Mass was like.
Chamberlin started attending Christian Initiation sessions to learn more about Catholicism. She decided to enter the Church, and though she wasn’t ready in time to receive sacraments at Easter, Schroeder continued formation at their weekly breakfasts, and Chamberlin was received into the Church in July. Now, they’re both daily Massgoers.
In all these situations, the most important thing Schroeder did was pray, she said. Before conversations with her daughters or Chamberlin, she’d ask God, “Just let me know what you want me to say, if you want me to say anything, and then just guide our conversation,” she said. “I prayed for them when I was with them, I prayed for them when I was not with them. And I always ask God to show me what His will is and to give me the strength to do His will and not my agenda.”
Our job isn’t to have all the answers, Schroeder said; it’s to dig into real relationships with others and listen to God’s promptings to invite them toward Him. “When you’re with people and when you love them, like when you can really love them without expecting something in return or having all those qualifiers on it…that’s the big difference.”
Walk with others during Advent
Sunday, Dec. 1: Choose someone to pray for throughout the Advent season. Ask God for opportunities to share the faith with that person in the coming weeks.
Dec. 2: Do something kind for a neighbor, like raking leaves or inviting them for coffee.
Dec. 3: Participate in the #iGiveCatholic campaign by donating to a parish, school or ministry that shares the Gospel.
Dec. 4: Write a note thanking someone who has walked with you on your faith journey.
Dec. 5: Invite someone to an Advent event at your parish or the Advent Day of Reflection with Archbishop Rozanski at 1 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.
Dec. 6: Celebrate St. Nicholas Day with small gifts for your family, or bring treats for your coworkers. Explain what the feast day celebrates.
Dec. 7: Call a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while. Ask how you can pray for them this week.
Sunday, Dec. 8: Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know after Mass; make an effort to say hi next time you see that person.
Dec. 9: Make a meal for a family that recently had a baby or donate diapers to a diaper bank, maternity home or other agency.
Dec. 10: Invite someone to go with you for quiet time in eucharistic adoration.
Dec. 11: Participate in a Giving Tree and pray for the person who will receive your gifts.
Dec. 12: Go out of your way to be kind to retail and delivery workers.
Dec. 13: Go to confession. Invite your spouse, child or a friend to go, too.
Dec. 14: Pray around an Advent wreath each night with your family.
Sunday, Dec. 15: Include a small prayer card or saint medal in gifts you prepare for others.
Dec. 16: Display Catholic art in your home. This can open the door to conversations about faith.
Dec. 17: Bring cookies or sing carols to residents of a nursing home.
Dec. 18: Volunteer your time to prepare food or serve dinner to people who are unhoused.
Dec. 19: Listen to religious music while baking cookies with children or friends.
Dec. 20: Invite someone to join you for Christmas Mass and make plans to spend time with them before or after.
Dec. 21: Write a letter to your parent or grandparent telling them how much you appreciate something they did.
Sunday, Dec. 22: Visit or call someone who has recently lost a loved one, listen to them and pray for — or with — them.
Dec. 23: Talk a walk and pray the Rosary for someone.
Dec. 24: Look for opportunities to share about your own faith journey in ordinary conversations at holiday gatherings.
>> Feast of the Immaculate Conception
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Monday, Dec. 9, is a holy day of obligation. Catholics are required to attend Mass for the feast day, which celebrates the Blessed Mother’s conception without sin (not Jesus’ conception — that’s celebrated on the Annunciation). Mary, under the title of her Immaculate Conception, is the patroness of the United States.
The Immaculate Conception is typically celebrated on Dec. 8, but since Dec. 8 falls on the Second Sunday of Advent, the solemnity is transferred to the next day this year. Previously, when the date of a holy day of obligation was transferred, the obligation to attend Mass was removed. But earlier this year, Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance, clarified with the Vatican the guidelines to follow when such a situation arises in Advent, Lent or Easter.
While some dioceses in the U.S. have dispensed the faithful from the obligation to attend Mass, the obligation remains in place in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
