By Brodie Bertrand
Contributor

For Ruth Krol, a parishioner at St. Columba Church, becoming an “evangelizer” was a challenge and an almost otherworldly experience. But, in the end, it’s one she wouldn’t trade for anything.

“It started as little sparks and now it’s blazing,” said Krol about her year-long journey learning to evangelize. Krol volunteered to experiment with a new evangelization plan at her parish called Spreading the Holy Fire.

Unusual? Yes.

“As Catholics, we are not used to sharing our faith,” said Krol. “We’re isolated in our own beliefs. Even the word ‘evangelization’ is scary because it’s so commonly used in Protestant religions. But the fact is all of us are called to internalize evangelization and say, ‘Yes, that’s right, I’m called to give Christ to others.’”

Spreading the Holy Fire is a plan developed by the archdiocesan Office for Evangelization. The director, Franciscan Father Joseph Kruszynski, thinks the time is right and the opportunities great. “It’s a way for people to share their faith; it’s concrete,” he said.

The plan provides a “template for action” for every parish, archdiocesan agencies and “within the heart and mind of every Catholic,” Kruszynski added.

He said the mission was developed in response to the U.S. Bishops’ pastoral letter, “Go and Make Disciples, a National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States.” Cardinal George hopes to implement Holy Fire in every parish within the next four years, Kruszynski said. It operates now in six pilot parishes where evangelizers like Krol have learned to make it a part of their daily life.

Krol said it’s changed her.

“Spreading the Holy Fire, or evangelization in general, is not a list of things to do or a program to sign people up for,” said Krol. “It’s a way to become—a call to conversion. It’s learning how to be instruments of God.”

Evangelization starts at home, with the Catholics already around us who may need to be reminded of the role God plays in their lives.

The plan guides parishioners through a series of goals and strategies. Each parish—and parishioner—discerns how to implement evangelization. The first phase is a call to believe and strengthen the faith through personal reflection and prayer.

“I started by working on my own relationship with God,” said Krol. “I was literally evangelizing to myself. It takes a while to give up control and turn your life over to God. Every day, I’d have to remind myself what was important. Once I spent enough time with God, though, I began to feel the flame everyone was talking about inside me.”

Krol said it took her more than a year to develop the strong belief in God she has today. It was the next step that would put her to the test. The plan then directs parishioners to share what they’ve experienced with God by describing their faith to others and welcoming people into the parish.

Krol and her fellow St. Columba parishioners started small: they created a group run by four women whose purpose was to inspire a sense of welcoming in every facet of the parish. They quickly developed welcome cards to place in pews, which caused eight new families to join the church.

The committee also created “new neighbor” packets filled with facts about the neighborhood, churches in the community, banks, and services. The parish encouraged people to pass the packets out to new residents. To show unity towards welcoming, they also distributed small wooden “W” (for “welcome”) pins for people to wear and erected a sign outside the church’s entrance that read, “All are welcome.”

“I learned welcoming can mean a lot of things,” said Krol. “It can mean participating in fellowship after Mass or it can also be a way for me to reevaluate how I treat people around me—other parishioners, people in other religions, neighbors—anyone I come in contact with. I discovered I’m sharing my faith when I treat others with respect—it’s a form of evangelization.”

Pat Cloutier can’t describe what’s going on at St. Columba, her new parish, but whatever it is, it’s causing her to get more involved in church than ever. Cloutier and her husband, Roy, joined the parish less than two years ago, and she’s already a lector, works on a committee and even serves on the parish council—something she never dreamed of doing.

But what Cloutier can’t figure out is why this parish is so unlike any other. “The minute I walked into St. Columba, I knew something was different,” she said. “Everyone was so genuinely warm and friendly. I knew instantly that this was the place I needed to be.”

What Cloutier didn’t realize was the welcoming feeling within the parish was a result of Spreading the Holy Fire, a new archdiocesan plan for evangelization just getting under way in some parishes. The parish made efforts to evangelize parishioners in any way possible. For Pat Cloutier, those efforts took root.

I didn’t know it was evangelization,” she said. “I just know that I went there and I was drawn because everyone was so kind, it felt like family.”

Parishioners like Ruth Krol helped give Cloutier that sense of community. The minute Cloutier met Krol, she said she identified a strong faith life. Cloutier said Krol wasn’t preaching like an evangelist, but her spirituality was evident as it bubbled out of her with kindness and concern.

All the warmth and friendship Cloutier received from parishioners encouraged her to go out on a limb and volunteer. “Before I knew what happened. I was on the parish council,” she said. “Now, I’m able to give back to the community a little what they gave to me.”

The final task in the three-part plan for Spreading the Holy Fire is to transform society and the world by reaching out to address social injustice.

“My parish hasn’t reached the whole world yet, but we’ve moved beyond the parish grounds,” said Krol. “As a parish, we’ve looked at our relationship with the community and found ways to make it better. In December, we worked with the local St. Vincent de Paul organization to serve underprivileged families. Nearly 120 kids showed up to our first annual Christmas party for needy children. Now, we want to set up job services and GED preparation in the parish to help the parents find better jobs.”

In addition to helping their disadvantaged neighbors, the parish organized a Taizé prayer service of chant and silent reflection so parishioners could try new forms of prayer. The service attracted around 50 people from other parishes and religions that joined St. Columba in prayer.

“There’s no end to transforming,” said Krol. “I get excited about all the ideas we formulate. Our neighborhood is changing with a large Hispanic population moving in, so we’re looking at new ways to welcome them. This year for Mother’s Day, we brought back the May crowning of the Blessed Mother. The parish continues to rejuvenate itself and looks for ways to reach out to surrounding neighborhoods. It’s never over.”

The sense of community may have gown and changed under the Spreading the Holy Fire model, but Krol, too, has changed.

“It’s amazing how my view on evangelization has changed in one year,” Krol said. “My prayer life has improved dramatically and I’m able to see Jesus within other people. Before, he was separate, but now I see him in everyone.”

A year ago, she said she would sit next to the same people at Mass every Sunday and never know their name. Now, parishioners wear nametags and greet each other on a first-name basis. That, Krol says, is Holy Fire at work.

St. Paul, Gurnee

St. James,
Arlington Heights

St. Mary of the Woods, Chicago

St. Isaac Jogues, Niles

Old St. Mary, Chicago

Our Lady of Sorrows
Basilica, Chicago

St. Charles Borromeo,
Melrose Park

St. John Bosco, Chicago

St. Denis, Chicago

St. Alexander,
Palos Heights

St. Philip Neri, Chicago

St. Dorothy, Chicago

For information on Spreading the Holy Fire, call (312) 751-5353