Committed to an Institute

How many Parishes still have door-to-door missions?

"The IVE took St. James about a year ago, and one of the first things that they did was hold a popular mission--going door-to-door within their parish boundaries--and trying to bring lapsed Catholics and non-Catholics alike into (or back into) the Church. They had 60 baptisms as a result of the mission, and were able to re-start all their CCD programs. Fr. Franco pointed out to me that very few pastors today remember that they are responsible for the souls of everyone in their parish boundary, and that too often today parish priests are content simply to minister to whoever comes to mass, rather than seeking to bring people back to the Faith. They have free ESL classes now 3 days a week, daily Eucharistic adoration and Benediction, and the recitation of the Divine Office every morning and evening! And then there are all the other devotions that are growing within the parish, and the spiritual blessings that grow with them. For example, this Sunday (16 Oct), in honor of the end of the Year of the Eucharist, they're having a Eucharistic procession from St. John Baptist De La Salle Parish (the other IVE parish in the DC area) to St. James--its probably going to take an hour or more (!), and yet I know that there will be tons of people (and many of them young) who come out for it."

Comments