Epiphany Parish: Renewal and Action!

A Field Report by Ms. Merilyn Coslow

Prepared originally for the weekly parish bulletin at Epiphany Parish

You may have heard about the Why Catholic? renew process happening here at Epiphany and throughout the Archdiocese of Louisville, while wondering what it is all about.  Why Catholic? is designed to highlight select teachings around which faith-sharing takes place in small groups.

The process enables participants to discover and embrace their own personal faith story and allows them to reflect on, and answer, the questions, “What does it mean to be Catholic?  How did I become Catholic?  Why do I remain Catholic?”  

Why Catholic? is also designed to balance prayer, sharing on Scripture, and reflection on the teachings of our faith, providing a full and fruitful faith-sharing experience for the participants.

Our journey is beginning with “The Celebration of the Christian Mystery: Sacrament."  This book explores how we celebrate our faith in sacramental liturgy.  At the end of each weekly faith-sharing session, there is an opportunity for “living the Good News” by determining a specific action (individual or group) to take that flows from our sharing.

While our group may be small in number, it is large in heart and ideas.  During our session “The Body of Christ at Prayer” we discussed the reflection section called United in Christ.  Each member in the group shared how they felt they lived their everyday life as the common priesthood of Christ where individually and as a community we are members of the Body of Christ. 

One person mentioned that she felt a responsibility and desire to help a lady in Shelbyville distribute various items to families in need in that area.  The group immediately wanted to pitch-in and help.  As a result, the group decided that one week, we would supply towels, blankets, and sheets to these families.  The next week we decided we would make Easter baskets for the children of these families.

Our faith-sharing sessions have not only awakened and renewed in us individually the various aspects of the sacraments, but they have brought us together to minister to the needs of others!