This week, I want to share my testimony with readers, beginning with my calling into ministry…
THE homilies were dry. The music was dreadful. And the congregation was distant and disconnected. Whenever I left Mass from my parish some 25 years ago, I often felt more isolated and cold than when I came in. Moreover, in my early twenties then, I saw that my generation was completely gone. My wife and I were one of the few couples that still went to Mass.Continue reading
Leading a youth retreat in Alberta, Canada
This is a continuation of Mark’s testimony. You can read Part I here: “Stay, and Be Light”.
AT the same time that the Lord was setting my heart on fire again for His Church, another man was calling us youth into a “new evangelization.” Pope John Paul II made this a central theme of his pontificate, boldly stating that a “re-evangelization” of once Christian nations was now necessary. “Whole countries and nations where religion and the Christian life were formerly flourishing,” he said, were now, “lived ‘as if God did not exist’.”[1]Christifideles Laici, n. 34; vatican.vaContinue reading
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Christifideles Laici, n. 34; vatican.va |
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The following is a continuation of Mark’s testimony. To read Parts I and II, go to “My Testimony”.
WHEN it comes to Christian community, a fatal mistake is to think that it can be heaven on earth all the time. The reality is that, until we reach our eternal abode, human nature in all its weakness and vulnerabilities demands a love without end, a continual dying to oneself for the other. Without that, the enemy finds room to sow the seeds of division. Whether it is the community of marriage, family, or followers of Christ, the Cross must always be the heart of its life. Otherwise, community will eventually collapse under the weight and dysfunction of self-love.Continue reading
Mark and Lea in concert with their children, 2006
Mark’s testimony continues… You can read Parts I – III here: My Testimony.
HOST and producer of my own television show; an executive office, company vehicle, and great co-workers. It was the perfect job.Continue reading
Mark’s testimony concludes with Part V today. To read Parts I-IV, click on My Testimony.
NOT only did the Lord want me to unequivocally know the value of one soul, but also how much I was going to need to trust in Him. For my ministry was about to be called in a direction I did not anticipate, though He had already “forwarned” me years before that music is a doorway to evangelize… to the Now Word. Continue reading
IT was in 2009 when my wife and I were led to move into the country with our eight children. It was with mixed emotions that I left the small town where we were living… but it seemed that God was leading us. We found a remote farm in the middle of Saskatchewan, Canada lodged between vast treeless tracts of land, accessible only by dirt roads. Really, we couldn’t afford much else. The nearby town had a population of around 60 people. The main street was an array of mostly empty, dilapidated buildings; the schoolhouse was empty and abandoned; the small bank, post office, and grocery store quickly closed after our arrival leaving no doors open but the Catholic Church. It was a lovely sanctuary of classic architecture — strangely large for such a small community. But old photos revealed it brimming with congregants in the 1950s, back when there were large families and small farms. But now, there were only 15-20 showing up to the Sunday liturgy. There was virtually no Christian community to speak of, save for the handful of faithful seniors. The nearest city was almost two hours away. We were without friends, family, and even the beauty of nature that I grew up with around lakes and forests. I did not realize that we had just moved into the “desert”…Continue reading