My husband, Galen, is my best friend. He is a Third Order Secular Franciscan and a brewer at Hofbrauhaus.
I could write an entire book about how awesome he is, but in the end, you would only know about him. You wouldn’t really know him unless you met him and had a conversation with him over a beer.
It is very easy to learn about Jesus. We have the Bible, the Catechism, and countless resources including our new parish subscription to
FORMED. But knowing about Jesus isn’t enough, we have to get to know him personally and develop a relationship with him.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus meets the fishermen Simon, Andrew, James, and John and invites them to follow him. They didn’t have a Bible study program, a theology book, or a documentary series. All they had was an encounter with him, and they changed their life to follow him.
How do we encounter Jesus? If only we could sit down and have a beer with him! But we can meet his physical presence in the Eucharist every Sunday, or even every day! Jesus gives us this incredible gift because he wants nothing more than to be in relationship with us. We also encounter his spiritual presence through prayer. We can have an honest conversation with him any time. He is ready.
Joe Paprocki, a catechist and blogger for Loyola Press, said, “Faith formation is more than a subject to be taught. It is an invitation to a way of life.” Whether we are participating in a study group at the parish, reading a spiritual book, or watching a movie about the life of a saint, it is an invitation to go deeper, to encounter Jesus, and to change your life to follow him. You are invited! Go to
formed.org/signup to check out an amazing collection of digital resources for your whole family that you can access from any device!