Issue 133
February 22, 2018
Director's Desk

Reviving faith and rekindling charity through forming apostles is at the core of the mission of the Catholic Apostolate Center. It reflects the charism of St. Vincent Pallotti , our patron. We strive to rekindle the fire of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and minds of all the baptized, grow that fire in our communities, and spread it throughout the world. In his Lenten Message for this year, Pope Francis talks about why there is need for rekindling charity among the People of God:
 
"Love can also grow cold in our own communities. In the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium , I sought to describe the most evident signs of this lack of love: selfishness and spiritual sloth, sterile pessimism, the temptation to self-absorption, constant warring among ourselves, and the worldly mentality that makes us concerned only for appearances, and thus lessens our missionary zeal."
 
Through our many and varied resources  available on our website to our consultancy services, the Catholic Apostolate Center 
wants to assist you in your own formation as an apostle or missionary disciple , but also in the formation of others. 
At the recent Mid-Atlantic Congress for Catholic Leaders in Baltimore, which we co-sponsored, our Center team shared ways that all can be on fire with missionary zeal. I invite you to listen to the podcasts of those presentations at the links below.
 
On this Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, we are united with his successor, Pope Francis, in his call to not let charity "turn cold within us."
 
May the Charity of Christ urge us on!
 
In God, the Infinite Love,

In This Issue
2018 Mid Atlantic Congress
February 15-17
 
The Catholic Apostolate Center extends a warm "thank you" to all who were able to join us at the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Congress which was held February 15-17 in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Catholic Apostolate Center was  pleased to be a Platinum Sponsor of the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Congress,  an annual conference held that seeks to bring best practices of Catholic pastoral ministry, administration, faith formation, prayer, and worship to Catholic leaders at the diocesan, parish, and school levels.  
 
Center staff members   gave  four different presentations at the Mid-Atlantic Congress in collaboration with our partners at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops , Archdiocese of Washington ,  Catholic Volunteer Network ,  National Catholic Educational Association, and the   United States Catholic Mission Association .  
  
Center Staff, Collaborators, and Advisors  presented  at the following presentations:  
  • Collaborative Pastoral Planning
    • Featured:
      • Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C., Catholic Apostolate Center
      • Barbara Humphrey McCrabb, USCCB  
      • Dr. Susan Timoney, Archdiocese of Washington 
  • Principal as Lay Ecclesial Minister
    • Featured:
      • Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C., Catholic Apostolate Center  
      • Dr. Barbara Edmondson, National Catholic Educational Association 
  • Encounter - Accompany - Community - Send: Missionary Discipleship Formation
    • Featured: 
      • Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C., Catholic Apostolate Center 
  • Young Adults on Mission
    • Featured: 
      • Jonathan Lewis, Archdiocese of Washington  
      • Dr. Donald McCrabb, United States Catholic Mission Association  
      • Katie Mulembe, Catholic Volunteer Network  
      • Monica Thom Konschnik, Catholic Apostolate Center
To listen to the presentations, please visit our Living as Missionary Disciples Resource Page by clicking here!
Lenten Resources


"At the root of all his ills was the failure to heed God's word. As a result, he no longer loved God and grew to despise his neighbor. The word of God is alive and powerful, capable of converting hearts and leading them back to God. When we close our heart to the gift of God's word, we end up closing our heart to the gift of our brothers and sisters." - Lenten Message of Pope Francis 
 
 The Catholic Apostolate Center is pleased to share with you its  brand-new e-book entitled Lent and Easter . As Center Director, Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C. mentions in the foreword, "When our  first e-book was published in 2014, I wrote that it was our hope that all those who read it would 'reflect on and strengthen their relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God, the Infinite Love.' Now it is with much happiness that we release our next e-book, Lent & Easter ." 
 
The latest e-book features blog reflections from the Catholic Apostolate Center's Ad Infinitum Blog that coincide with both Lent and Easter. We hope that this resource will aid your spiritual journey through Lent.      

The Catholic Apostolate Center invites you to visit our Lenten Resource Page .  There you will find blog posts, podcasts, webinars, prayers, and more to help you in your Lenten journey!
 
We have included resources from sites such as Salt + Light TV , the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops , the Archdiocese of Washington , the Vatican , and Catholic Volunteer Network . 


To check out our Lenten Resources, click here ! 
Lenten Reflection  Guide


The Catholic Volunteer Network  and the  Catholic Apostolate Center  have  again created a Lenten Reflection Guide featuring written reflections from current and former volunteers from long-term, faith-based programs. The  guide  offer s weekly  suggestions, prayers, and reflections .  To view the guide, please click here.
 
We have  created audio versions of the reflections for each  Sunday   of Lent. These reflections, featured on the Catholic Apostolate Center Podcast Page leading up to Easter, help us to immerse ourselves more fully in this penitent season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. You can find these podcasts on our  website , on  iTunes , and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Lay Centre Annual Benefit
  
On February 5,  Catholic Apostolate Center staff members  attended the Lay Centre's Annual Benefit in Washington, D.C. Cardinal Joseph Tobin, C.Ss.R  was the main speaker and welcoming remarks were offered by  Lay Centre  Director, Dr. Donna Orsuto , who is an  advisor  of the Catholic Apostolate Center.   
 
To view Cardinal Tobin's presentation, please click  here .    

In the video  from the Lay Centre event , t wo of the  young adults who asked  Cardinal Tobin  questions were   members of  Apostles on Mission , an initiative that  the  Catholic Apostolate Center , in collaboration with the  Archdiocese of Washington's Office of Young Adult Ministry ,  has created  to give young adult Catholics the tools and experience needed to be evangelizers to their families, parishes, and communities.    
 
To learn more about Apostles on Mission, please click  here .   

The   15th Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment will be held in Rome in 2018. The Catholic Apostolate Center is pleased to  offer a resource page for the Synod, where you can find information about the Synod itself, in addition to information about the Synod topics.   
 
To view our Synod resource page, please click  here .  
Consulting Services

The  Catholic Apostolate Center welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with your ministry to help you achieve your goals, plan for the future, and engage your community. 

We offer custom-tailored consulting packages that fit your needs and the needs of your ministry in the area of young adult engagement and formation, in addition to missionary discipleship and evangelizing through social media. 

We are happy to offer our services to you in any way that might be of assistance to you and your ministry. Our experts will guide you through a chosen topic and offer creative and innovative solutions.  
 
We seek to meet you where you are now, and walk with you on the road. 
 
To learn more about Catholic Apostolate Center Consulting, please click  here. 
St. Joseph's College of Maine Online Theology Program
   
The Catholic Apostolate Center and St. Joseph's College have joined together in a cooperative alliance that provides educational benefits to individuals and organizations affiliated with the Catholic Apostolate Center. This includes a waiver of the application fee and a 10% tuition reduction. The Online Theology Program has over 450 students in undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs. 

To learn more about St. Joseph College of Maine, click  here .
Wellness Series Webinars
The  Catholic Apostolate Center , in collaboration with  SLI Connect , is pleased to announce a webinar series that will occur this summer entitled "Self-Care for Healthy Ministry".   
 
The webinars will be scheduled as follows:  
 
Tuesday, June 5, 1:00-2:00 pm Eastern  
Spiritual Self-Care: A Foundation for Healthy Ministry  
Rev. David Songy, O.F.M.Cap., S.T.D., Psy.D., explores strategies for spiritual and emotional self-care to support healthy, sustainable ministry.  Register here !

Tuesday, July 10, 1:00-2:00 pm Eastern  
Building Resilience to Beat Burnout 
Taryn Millar, Psy.D., offers skills for building personal resilience and preventing ministry burnout.  Register here!
 
Tuesday, August 28, 1:00-2:00 pm Eastern  
Grace Under Pressure: Increasing Your Stress Tolerance  
Emily R. Cash, Psy.D., identifies healthy ways to manage our response to stressful situations.  Register here! 
 
Please register and share these webinars with others in your ministry!
Ad Infinitum Blog: The Bodily Life: Spiritual and Physical Wellness
   
" Working in parish ministry can be extremely rewarding, however, it can also become consuming and drain you spiritually, physically, and emotionally. We live to serve, love to create and  often times  find ourselves at the battlefront of spiritual warfare. Take a moment  to ask yourself honestly, ' Am I t aking time to replenish myself?' It can be difficult to take a step back and focus our time and energy on our own revitalization. We get so used to giving of our time and ourselves to the work of the church that we may feel guilty if we turn those energies on ourselves. "  
 
To read more from Elaine Seckar's blog post, please click  here ! 
The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle
February 22


The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter is celebrated to remember the words that Jesus said to the Apostle Peter; "You are Peter, and on this  rock  I shall build my Church." The chair serves as   a symbol of authority, particularly of the papacy, in which it further emphasizes the role of both a teacher and pastor.  

"Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in hea ven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven "  ( Matthew 16:19 ).  

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Catholic Apostolate Center
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