STEP ONE

THE CHOICE TO BE A CHRISTIAN
Read and pray over Reaching Jesus: Introduction and Step One
(pages 1-28).

The goal of this session is to understand personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and to commit ourselves to interacting with him.

Mass Focus

The Introductory Rites (from the Entrance Song through the Opening Prayer): The Mass begins with a proclamation of the Good News that we are celebrating (Evangelization). Listen to the words. Let them remind you of what Jesus came to do for us as Savior. Recall your experience of "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ;" your experience of God’s mercy and love. Let your heart rejoice in the words of the Gloria. Praise God. Appreciate your faith. Be glad in the Good News. Reaffirm your trust in Jesus as Savior, your resolve to involve him in your life.

Symbol: To keep me aware of Christ’s presence in my life I will put a candle in the following place(s):

Reminder: Am I going to a meeting on this chapter? If so, when and where will it be?

Opening Prayer: (page 13) Use this prayer before reading each chapter, at the beginning of meetings, and each time you sit down with the workbook.

Scripture Reflection

John 1:38: "Jesus turned and said to them, "What are you looking for?" What am I looking for in life? Where do I hope to find it?

Inventory:

If I were writing the history of my life, what three choices could I identify which made me the person I am today

Who has the most influence now on how I act?

On the left list things you started doing because of other people’s suggestion, example or influence. On the right list things you do in conscious response to Jesus.

What part of my life am I the most satisfied with? What part am I the least satisfied with?

Input:

When and where did I read and pray about the chapter?

What does this chapter say it means to be a Christian?

What struck me the most in Chapter One?

Do I have any difficulties that came out of this chapter?

Insight:

Who has helped me handle something better in my life? How did I get that help?

Where do I think I have the most need for Jesus’ help in my life? How can I get it?

What reminds me of people I love? Something I see, hear, taste, smell, feel?

What reminds me of Jesus? How could I consciously interact with Jesus all day long?

INITIATIVE

What concrete action will I take now to start giving Jesus Christ an active part in everything I do? What will I use to remind me to interact with him all day long? When will I begin?

REALITY CHECK: Is this decision so concrete I can picture myself doing it?

Reading and Closing Prayer

Reading: "For God’s Word, by whom all things were made, was himself made flesh so that as the perfect human being he might save all people and sum up all things in himself. The Lord is the goal of human history and of civilization, the center of the human race, the joy of every heart, and the an-swer to all its yearnings…. Enlivened and united in his Spirit, we journey toward the consummation of human history, one which fully accords with the counsel of God’s love: ‘To re-establish all things in Christ, both those in the heavens and those on the earth’ (Ephesians 1:10)."

"The Lord himself speaks: ‘See, I am coming soon…. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end’"

[Rev. 22:12-13; in Vatican II, The Church in the World, #45].

Prayer: Lord, it is good for us to be here. Draw us now more deeply into relationship with you. Let us see your face. And let the light we find shining in you take up its dwelling in our hearts, illuminate our minds and our desires, and shine through us to bring the whole world into the joy of your presence. We ask that the candle we light in our homes these days will keep us aware of your abiding presence among us. This we ask of you who are Christ the Lord.

Amen.