Professor Douglas Bushman of the Augustine Institute has been invited to speak at two events in the Diocese of Corpus Christi Sept. 13-14. Bushman is Director of the Center for Theological Renewal and Pope St. John Paul II Chair of Theology for the New Evangelization at the Augustine Institute in Denver, CO. His invitation to speak was a joint effort by diocesan offices Evangelization and Catechesis and Laity, Family and Life that grew out of a recognition to provide training for family faith formation. 

The first scheduled event is a Friday men’s evening of reflection that will engage an apostolic letter to men, “Into the Breach.” The second event is a day-long formation entitled, “The Family, the First School of Discipleship.” As part of the preparation for these events, Bushman was able to provide a preview of what he will be addressing. 

When asked what stands out in his mind as the central theme that binds together men’s formation and family catechesis, Bushman provided a simple response: Jesus Christ. 

“Jesus Christ will be the central theme, and because love is the central theme of His life and mission, my reflections will focus on the depths of the riches of God’s love,” Bushman said. “The popes of the last forty years — John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis — keep inviting us to discover what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The frequency of this exhortation leaves me with the impression that in their judgment, the lack of a personal relationship with Christ is the source of a crisis in the Church. 

“Many Catholics today seem to think that they have to choose between a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, on the one hand, or a traditionally understood life of Catholic faith based on solid catechesis and participation in the liturgy,” explained Bushman. 

Bushman’s common observation is that the tendency to pull apart elements of faith and set them in opposition to one another weakens the Church. It’s a time in history when “cultural decline in North America is resulting in widespread misery, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is playing out on a gigantic scale as more people are pursuing a fulfillment that is based on the enjoyment of material goods,” he added. 

Bushman said that his presentations will highlight the fact that the “Church has a witness to give.” 

“It is a witness of fulfillment in Christ, a witness of joy and happiness that depend on relationships, with God and with others, relationships that do not depend on ‘this world that is passing away,’ as St. Paul put it. My message will be a challenge to ‘those who have ears to hear’ to build up the Church, and the family, as the house of God, where all of God’s prodigal children can return and experience his joy over their conversion.” 

The men’s night of reflection, “Entering Into the Breach,” will take place at the Diaconate Formation Center at Our Lady of Corpus Christi Campus from 6-10 p.m. It will include a free dinner, a talk by Professor Bushman, and an opportunity to encounter Christ in the sacrament of reconciliation and Eucharistic Adoration. Bushman said that a man who takes time out of his regular Friday night schedule “can expect to have the best and deepest of his masculine and Christian aspirations and convictions affirmed.” 

“He can expect to be challenged to go further and deeper in his vocation in response to Christ’s call, ‘Follow me!’ He can expect to discover new depths in which Jesus means when he says, to each one, personally: ‘I call you, friend.’ For Jesus, a friend is a coworker, a partner, an associate in the greatest of all missions, the mission that the father entrusts to his son. What does it mean to be a Christian man? It means to take Jesus’ relationship with his Father as the source for knowing my vocation, my mission in life, as husband, father, worker and citizen. Those who attend will rediscover that to be a man means to be a son of God in Christ.” 

The following day, Saturday, Sept. 14, parish faith educators and anyone else who would like to learn more about the role of family and family catechesis in the life of the Church are invited to attend the workshop, “The Family, the First School of Discipleship” at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. The day will begin with Mass at 8 a.m. The sessions will take place in the parish hall. 

For the faith educator workshop, Bushman refers to the Canaanite woman who pleaded to Jesus for her daughter to illustrate the love and responsibility that parents demonstrate when they approach the Church to have their children baptized. 

“Parents assume responsibility for the new life of grace as they assume responsibility for biological life. The family is the domestic Church in which one generation of believers passes the faith on to the next generation. And parents will serve their children well if they catechize them by keeping the love of God fully revealed in Jesus Christ at the center. Parents are God’s first representatives to their children. Since God is love, this means that they are ambassadors of Love.” 

Both events are open to any local Catholics who would like to attend. Registration for the men’s night of reflection is free and can be accessed on the diocesan website at diocesecc.org/mensnight/. A link to register for the Faith Educators’ Workshop is available at diocesecc.org/faitheducatorsworkshop.