Newsletter | February 6, 2019 | Issue 156
"You are called to be an Apostle!"
2019 Mid-Atlantic Conference

The  Catholic Apostolate Center  is pleased to have a presence at the  2019 Mid-Atlantic Congress  taking place February 14-16. The  Mid-Atlantic Congress  (MAC) is an annual conference held in Baltimore, Maryland 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 will give two different presentations at the  Mid-Atlantic Congress  in collaboration with our partners at the  Archdiocese of Washington  and the  Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
 
Center Staff  will be giving the following presentations: 

Using Social Media and Digital Resources to be Catholic Evangelical Witnesses

What Now? Vocational Discernment and Accompaniment After the 2018 Synod

You can learn more about MAC by visiting their website  here .
World Youth Day and Panamá in the Capital

Panamá in the Capital occurred on January 26, 2019 at The Catholic University of America amid the World Youth Day 2019 (January 22-27) celebration happening in Panamá.

The Catholic Apostolate Center was pleased to co-host this event (see our last newsletter here for the full list of co-hosts), in addition to having Fr. Frank speak as well as Kate Fowler,  and Brian Rhude as MCs on the St. Vincent Pallotti Stage.  
Center Assistant Director of Programs, Jonathan Sitko , wrote a captivating reflection on the experience o f Panamá in the Capital for the Center’s Ad Infinitum Blog . He writes: “For the Church, the importance of evangelization through the current generation of young people is critically important for the vitality of the Church in the present and for the cementing of the future of the Church.” You can read the full blog post by clicking here .

Be sure to check out the video of the panel Fr. Frank participated on. You can click on the picture or here .

Fr. Frank shared an important message with the participants: You are called to be an Apostle! View his full message by clicking here .

Pope Francis, in his message to the 14th International World Youth Day in Panamá offered these words, “You, dear young people, are not the future but the now of God. He invites you and calls you in your communities and cities to go out and find your grandparents, your elders; to stand up and with them to speak out and realize the dream that the Lord has dreamed for you.”
Lent

Lent is officially one month away – Ash Wednesday is March 6.
It is not too early to start thinking about how you can make the most of this year’s Lent as we plan to journey with Christ in the desert and await his glorious resurrection.

Our Lenten Resource page offers you e-books, podcasts, webinars, videos, blogs and more that cover all aspects of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We encourage you to use and share our resources. 
Our Sparks from Ashes: Lent and Ash Wednesday as Moments of Evangelization webinar is a great place to start thinking about Lent. Paul Jarzembowski , Coordinator for Youth & Young Adult Ministries & Assistant Director to the Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops delivers insightful and concrete remarks about Ash Wednesday and Evangelization. You can click on the photo to view the video, or here . 

Visit our Lenten Resource page by clicking here . 
On Mission Podcast

On Mission is the  Catholic Apostolate Center’s newest podcast initiative that features roundtable discussions between  Fr. Frank ,  staff, and collaborators  of the Center on topics of relevance in the life of the Church today. Each episode attempts to look at these various topics through the perspective of the everyday Catholic, the spirit of St. Vincent Pallotti, and the vision of Pope Francis. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast on  iTunes  or  Android  and to listen, like, and review them!

We encourage you to listen to our episode on Lent. Listen as the discussion focuses on how to be practical and effective with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in order to answer our call to be Apostles.

You can find our Lent episode here .
Recent and Upcoming Activity with the Center

On January 23, Center Director Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C. and Administrative Associate Brian Rhude presented at St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel, Maryland, on the occasion of Pallotti High’s “Pallotti Week.” Fr. Frank also celebrated Mass.

On February 7, the Center is co-hosting the Conference for Catholic Campus Ministers (High School) with The Catholic University of America’s School for Theology and Religious Studies. Fr. Frank and Nicole Perone, Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut will be giving keynote addresses, which will be available for viewing after-the-fact.  
Fr. Frank will be facilitating a day of discernment and planning for  Bon Secours Young Adults  on February 9.

Lastly, on February 27, Fr. Frank will be facilitating a session on leadership for the New Leaders’ Workshop, for the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM).
ON THE BLOG
Who is He whom I have sacrificed my life to?

It was a sunny but cold day in October. Twenty young men in long, dark habits knelt in the big, roomy church. The melody of the old organ, played by an invisible musician, echoed through the building. That melody was unknown to me. On that day, I believed that every corner of that church and my heart were full of the melody of glory. 
St. Paul Miki and Companions
St. Paul Miki and Companions are also known as the “Holy Martyrs of Nagasaki.” They were assassinated in Japan because of the rampant hatred for the Christian faith in 1597. St. Paul Miki and his companions were martyred by crucifixion. From the cross, Paul Miki gave his last catechesis while commending his soul to God: “I sincerely forgive the king and those who caused my death, and I ask you to receive baptism.” 
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