NOTE: Christ in Our Neighborhood is a parish-based program consisting of small Christian communities that gather in the home weekly to prayerfully discuss the upcoming Sunday Mass readings. It’s easy to form a community and you can find out more by searching “Christ in Our Neighborhood at the Diocese of Phoenix website, dphx.org.
This coming Sunday, we celebrate the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Christ in Our Neighborhood commentary asks us: What are the areas in my life where I need to decrease so that Jesus can increase?
It’s been said that if people don’t worship God, they often end up worshipping themselves. Even for those who are Christian disciples and active Catholics, it can be tempting to want to be in the spotlight or be in control in our various ministries and apostolates.
We only have to look to the example of the humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary who bore the Savior of the world. Notice what she says just before the miracle at the wedding feast in Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.” Mary points the way to her divine Son, not herself. She gives us a model of how to entrust everything to Jesus and let the focus be on Him.
For those who lead ministries, empowering others to lead is one way to take the focus off of ourselves while simultaneously encouraging the growth of the ministry. If you lead a Christ in Our Neighborhood group, that means encouraging others to begin groups of their own.
The Christ in Our Neighborhood movement is growing and expanding thanks to this vision of empowering others to lead.
If you haven’t joined a Christ in Our Neighborhood small group yet, perhaps you are being called to start one yourself. Check out our website today to find out more: dphx.org/Christ-in-our-neighborhood.
Watch the video of the weekly podcast segment featuring Christ in Our Neighborhood with Bishop Dolan by clicking HERE.
To sign up for our weekly Christ in Our Neighborhood newsletter that has everything you need for your next meeting, visit: https://phoenixdiocese.flocknote.com/CION
