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February 1, 2009

A season for evangelization

By Father Jordan J. Kelly, O.P.

The celebration of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is commented upon as the event from which Jesus began his public ministry. The Sunday readings following this feast speak of his ministry leading us to our annual Lenten Retreat. As Jesus was busy about his Father’s business, so are the faithful of the archdiocese the Office for Evangelization.

  • On Jan. 31, at Saint Mary in Lake Forest, the first of three Visits for Evangelization with Cardinal George took place. Subsequent gatherings will be held Feb. 21 at St. Frances of Rome Parish in Cicero and Feb. 28 at Rosary Hill Retreat House in Justice.
  • On Feb. 7 at Maria High School, Parish Leadership/ Evangelization Day will offer parish staff members, priests, deacons and all parishioners new tools and deeper courage to continue the great work of evangelization. Be sure not to miss Hector Molina’s fiery keynote address, in both English and Spanish.
  • On Feb. 27 and 28 the Office for Evangelization will sponsor the Chicago Evangelization Institute 102. Held at Rosary Hill Retreat House, these two days seek to give people who are working with evangelization in their parish the tools and courage to do so. The Institute is offered in English, Polish and Spanish. For information, call Liz Johnson at (312) 534–5296 or go to www.goingforth.org and click on the “Calendar of Events.”

Throughout this season and the entire year, members of the Office of Evangelization are visiting parishes, working to build evangelization teams or strengthen what teams are already doing. If you would like someone from the Office for Evangelization to come and speak at your parish, please contact me at (312) 534-5353.

Kelly is director of the Office for Evangelization.