What is Living Our Faith?

 
Being Catholic means being true to our Baptismal promises …
answering God’s call to live as Christ did here on earth …
building up not just our community, but all communities…
Join all Catholics as we come together as one…
Living Our Faith.

Living Our Faith is an initiative launched by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in December 2007 that:
• Invites people to Meet Christ.
• Teaches people to Know Christ.
• Inspires people to Live Christ by serving Him and others.

Living Our Faith is a broad identity-building, awareness effort that serves as a large umbrella for other diocesan initiatives. Planning began in 2005 and focused on three key areas:
1. Inspiring Catholics to recognize the power and effect of Jesus and His Church on their lives;
2. Encouraging more active participation in the life of the Church, especially the sacraments and Sunday Mass, as well as the parish community; and
3. Creating a sense of connectedness throughout the diocese and among our parishes.

Over the last five years, there has been a great deal of attention paid to a very negative aspect of the Catholic Church. Despite this, there are wonderful, meaningful things that happen each and every day within the Catholic community of southeastern Wisconsin. Living Our Faith allows Catholics to turn their focus to the positive and emphasize the joy of being Catholic.

All along, the intent of this effort is to steer people to parishes, renewed and seeking to deepen their faith. For the most part, the diocese is not a direct service provider to the people of God. But, archdiocesan staff does have the ability to tackle issues on a broad level that will benefit our entire Catholic community. Mass attendance and the quality of parish life are two important issues facing our Church and Living Our Faith can be an important step in beginning to address these issues.

The launch of Living Our Faith has been supported in three key means:

1. Each parish in the archdiocese has been provided with a tool kit that will be filled with items to promote Living Our Faith in parish and school communities.

2. Web site – LivingOurFaith.net is dedicated to information and resources associated with this effort. This web site features stories focusing on Inspiring, Teaching and Serving, as well as resources for singles, couples, and families, a Catholic viewpoint on topical issues, how to find a parish and/or school, and a weekly reflection from Archbishop Dolan.
Another key feature of LivingOurFaith.net is a section dedicated to Sharing Our Resources – these will be online resources that parish staff and leaders can access to learn best practices and serve as a connection for everyone throughout the archdiocese.

3. Catholic Knights presents Living Our Faith with Archbishop Timothy Dolan – a weekly 30-minute television program that shares inspirational and informational stories from across the archdiocese. The program airs on Saturdays on WISN TV 12 (11 a.m. – December; Noon – January through March) from December 1-March 22 and on Time Warner Cable's Wisconsin On Demand, Channel 1111.
Each program features an in-studio guest, an "Ask the Archbishop" segment, and a weekly reflection from Archbishop Dolan.

Living Our Faith

Lord Jesus Christ, you are Son of the living God.
Through our baptism, we are empowered with your disciples
to share in your ministry and your love with all the world.

In faith and through the Church,
we have met you.
Without seeing you, we know and love you.

Send the grace of your Holy Spirit
to all the Church in southeastern Wisconsin,
that with your blessing
We may share your mission in our time,
so that
others will meet, know and love you,
and with us, live our faith joyfully.

We ask Mary, your mother and ours,
along with St. John the Evangelist our patron,
to pray for us.
We ask all this through you,
Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Published with ecclesiastical approval
+Timothy M. Dolan
September 1, 2007