FAITH SHARING IS APOSTOLIC
 

Faith-sharing is about how we encounter God in our lives and how we respond. It leads to a growing purification of our motives and desires, to a growing freedom from our spiritual and material addictions, and to becoming reconciled with our past and ourselves. This work is never finished.

Hearing of encounters with God from others opens us more to our own. Embracing the Christ in us embraces the Christ in all, and embracing the Christ in all embraces the Christ in us. Sharing our faith with others leads us to a deeper caring for them. Receiving each other's stories helps open our hearts to the inspiration of the Spirit Sharing our faith with each other makes us more Christ-like. Faith-sharing is apostolic.

ON DEVELOPING AN APOSTOLIC SENSE IN FAITH-SHARING

1. Begin meetings by asking how what is happening in the sharing affects the poor

2. End meetings with each member, and the community itself choosing some kind of action-step on behalf of the poor

3. Pray to develop more of an apostolic sense in your lives

4. Share how you are developing an apostolic sense, and ask members for their suggestions, prayer, and support

5. Help members come to some important decisions when asked

6. Become informed about some social issue and present to group for prayer and response

7. Do a "suggestion circle" in which one states a concern and then asks the rest for input, and discuss how the community might be of assistance

8. Use newspapers, TV programs, movies, bring in speakers, and so on to become more informed about current issues and events as a basis for prayer and discerning