August 26, 2022
My sisters and brothers in the Lord,
Welcome to Week 34 of Disciples Together on the Way! We’ve made it to week 34! Alleluia! Do not grow weary – we are nearing the summit! Anything worthwhile demands hard work and commitment. So, I encourage you to continue with our weekly challenges to grow closer to Jesus and in turn grow as a disciple of Christ.
If you’ve missed a week or two or more of our year long pilgrimage, please do not be discouraged – begin anew and God will complete the good work He has begun.
Saint Monica, whose feast day we celebrate tomorrow, is a great model of perseverance. She spent 17 years weeping, sacrificing and praying for her son’s conversion. In her steadfastness, Saint Monica lived to see her son, Saint Augustine of Hippo, be baptized by Saint Ambrose as an adult convert to Christianity. And, ultimately, he become a bishop and a Doctor of the Church.
As a disciple of Christ, we are called to learn from and to stay close to our Lord. We can do this in many different ways, however one thing is necessary – to make a commitment to follow Jesus down the path which He sets before us. MARCH ON! Continue to join me in these weekly challenges to grow closer to our Lord as a disciple – all for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
This week’s challenge will be a little different from previous weeks as we take a pause from beginning a new challenge to refocus on a challenge that we’ve already done. Think about a challenge that was presented over the past 8 weeks. They focused on the virtues and then on intercessory prayer.
Think about a challenge that was presented over the past eight weeks. They focused on the virtues and then on intercessory prayer. Here they are again with hyperlinks to a webpage with more details:
Week 26 | The Virtues | Every day this week, recite the Litany of Humility
Week 27 | The Virtues | Invite a family to your home for a meal or take a meal to a homebound person
Week 28 | The Virtues | Moderation: At meals, eat less than you desire and don’t tell anyone
Week 29 | The Virtues | Overcoming the Deadly Sin of Anger
Week 32 | Intercession | Pray for Your Beloved Dead
Week 33 | Intercession | Pray for someone who is lapsed from the Faith
Did these challenges come easily? Were there some that seemed more difficult to stick with? Spend some time in meditative prayer examining how the challenges from the areas of virtue and intercession have gone over the past several weeks. Ask the Lord to show you where you need to spend some more time and effort cultivating the habit of a good disciple. Then, repeat a particular challenge from these past eight weeks.
The more we do something, the better we get at it! When we fall short, we must get up, dust ourselves off and begin again. As the 20th century Spanish priest, Saint Josemaria Escriva said: “To begin is for everyone. To persevere is for saints.” So, let’s persevere together!
I’ll be back with a new challenge next week. Until then, may God bless you abundantly throughout this week, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing