Hundreds experience belonging through Bishop Dolan’s small faith community program

As Jean Loudenslagel filled a pitcher with fresh homemade lemonade, she looked around at those who filled her dining room table and smiled. The diverse group of believers, from the 30-year-old young professionals to the 80-year-old widows and widowers, laughed and connected with ease as they shared a meal together.  Loudenslagel never could have imagined that these fellow parishioners, who had been strangers six weeks prior, would become like family.  And it all started with a stirring from the Holy Spirit and a simple invitation. 

Christ in Our Neighborhood (22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Cycle B)

NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small groups that gather in the home weekly to discuss and pray through the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. Find out more at Christ in Our Neighborhood - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix (dphx.org) This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is: How have you come to enjoy the Banquet of the Lord?

Christ in Our Neighborhood (21st Sunday in Ordinary Time: Cycle B)

NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small groups that gather in the home weekly to discuss and pray through the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. Find out more at Christ in Our Neighborhood - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix (dphx.org) This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is: What pulls you or entices you to return to your former way of life?

Christ in Our Neighborhood (20th Week in Ordinary Time: Cycle B)

NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small groups that gather in the home weekly to discuss and pray through the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. Find out more at Christ in Our Neighborhood - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix (dphx.org) This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is:  Is the Eucharist the source and summit of your faith?

Christ in Our Neighborhood (19th Week in Ordinary Time: Cycle B)

This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is:  How does the Bread of Life support and sustain you on your journey? Think back to a time when you’ve fasted from food — maybe it was Good Friday or maybe it was before a medical procedure. Remember that feeling of gnawing hunger? That realization that if you had to run a mile, it was going to be exceedingly difficult if not impossible? It’s because your body was out of fuel, out of energy.

Christ in Our Neighborhood (18th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Cycle B)

This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is:  Are you a person who needs daily assurance that God is with you? Are you able to trust in Christ who satisfies your every hunger? I find that on the days I don’t make enough room for prayer, things don’t go as well as they could have.

Christ in Our Neighborhood (17th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small groups that gather in the home weekly to discuss and pray through the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is: In what way does the Eucharist on Sunday feed you and satisfy you? 

Christ in Our Neighborhood (16th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is: When you begin your service to God in the Church each day, do you invite Jesus to guide you? You have to love the premise of this question: It presupposes that each of us is serving God in the Church each day. But are we really?

Christ in Our Neighborhood (15th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small groups that gather in the home weekly to discuss and pray through...

Christ in Our Neighborhood (14th Sunday of Ordinary Time)

This coming Sunday, we celebrate the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The question the Christ in Our Neighborhood reflection asks us is: How do you honor Christ the True Prophet even when you do not feel His presence? This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak, when it comes to faith. We don’t always “feel” the presence of God, but we can know it and believe it.