Do you know someone who has left the Church?

Most of us do not have to look very far to find “non-practicing Catholics”
in our circle of family and friends.

Many of us are concerned about these loved ones; however,
we don’t know how to help them.
Obviously, most of them are searching,
but how can we help them find their way home?

As baptized, practicing Catholics, we have a precious gift of faith
and love from the Lord that needs to be shared with
our non-practicing brothers and sisters.

First, we need to pray for them.
Secondly, we need to extend a personal invitation to them
to come home to the Catholic Church.
Most non-practicing Catholics are waiting for an invitation to return.
Many mistakenly think they are excommunicated and not welcome
to return for a variety of reasons.
Many non-practicing Catholics carry a tremendous amount
of guilt and misinformation about the Church,
so they are afraid of approaching the Church for fear of being rejected.

You can make a tremendous difference in someone’s life
simply by reaching out to them and telling them that we miss them
and would like for them to come back home to our Church family.

Here at St. Mary of Gostyn we have a special program to help
non-practicing Catholics return to the Church,
called Catholics Returning Home.
The next series will begin April 8, 2008.

For more information, call Bob Jurish at (630) 969-5169.

Week 1: Welcome, Overview of the Series…
April 8
Faith Sharing

Week 2: Stories of Faith…
April 15
Why I left and Why I returned

Week 3: The Church Today…
April 22
Changes since Vatican II

Week 4: Walk Through the Mass…
April 29
Walk-Through of the Mass

Week 5: Sacrament of Reconciliation…
May 6
The Church Today

Week 6: The Nicene Creed…
May 13
What We Believe

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