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 Have you felt disconnected from God lately?

Do you wish you knew about the Catholic faith?

Are you missing interacting with other people during this time of social isolation because of COVID? 

 

Then you should think about joining a Faith Study at St. Maurice!

 

What is a Faith Study?

Catholic Christian Outreach, known as CCO to many of us, created their Faith Study series to support their work of evangelization and disciple-making on university campuses across Canada.  They use these studies to connect with university students, lead them to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, accompany them on their faith journey, and ultimately form them as missionary disciples, able to share their faith and joy in Jesus Christ with others.

The Faith Study series comprises five different studies, ranging in length from 6 to 10 weeks and intended to be taken in sequence.  Our hope at St. Maurice to be able to offer the whole sequence on a two-year cycle once our faith-study program is firmly established.  Here’s the sequence:

1.  DISCOVERY invites participants to encounter Christ through a simple but challenging look at the Gospel message (6 weeks)

2.  SOURCE introduces participants to the Holy Spirit and the impact that the third person of the Trinity can make in the lives of faithful Catholics (6 weeks)

3.  GROWTH examines the fundamental practices which nurture our Christian life such as prayer, sacraments and fellowship (6 weeks)

4.  TRUST helps participants grow in trusting the Lord in all aspects of life so as to live in greater freedom (7 weeks)

5.  COMMISSION focuses on revealing our missionary identity as Catholics and its necessity in approaching our apostolate and personal growth in holiness (10 weeks)

 

CCO Connect: Parish

CCO now offers their faith studies to parishes through a program called CCO Connect: Parish.  Parishes that partner with CCO through this program receive specialized coaching in using CCO materials and methods.  St. Maurice joined this program in September 2020, and offered its first faith study, called DISCOVERY.  Twenty parishioners completed this course before Christmas and moved onto the next study, called SOURCE. 

Based on our fall experience, here at St. Maurice Parish we believe that the CCO Faith Studies are a wonderful resource for both our parishioners and those exploring the Catholic faith to hear the Gospel message in a dynamic way, to have the opportunity to respond, and then to be equipped and sent forth to share the Gospel with others.  

 

Study Schedule

Please email faithstudies@stmauriceparish.com for more information.

 

How does a study work?

You will be assigned to a study group of 5-6 members, led by a trained leader.  The leaders are some of our own parishioners, CCO alumni, and CCO missionaries.

You will be provided with a study guide (at a cost to you of $10), which includes scriptural readings and questions to answer in preparation for each lesson.  Preparation takes about 20-30 minutes, but if you don’t get it done, you’ll still get a lot out of the discussion.

You will join your group for lessons, one per week, each lasting one hour.  Because of ongoing COVID restrictions, these meetings will be held online using Zoom or another format, so you will need access to a computer or smart phone.

Note:  Depending on registration numbers, we expect to be able to offer more than one DISCOVERY study group at this time.  Typically groups meet during the evening, but a daytime study is possible if we have a leader available.  Which days of the week the studies will be offered depends on the availability of both leaders and participants.   

 

What will we be studying?

DISCOVERY explains the good news of Jesus Christ in a clear and simple way.  Even if you’re mature in your faith, you’ll learn something new and think about things you already know in new ways.  This study comprises these six lessons:    

1.  God's Love - God knows and loves us personally.
2.  Love's Initiative - The Father takes the initiative to reconcile our relationship with him.
3.  Jesus Christ, Our Lord - Jesus of Nazareth is truly God.
4.  Jesus Christ, Our Saviour - Jesus saves us from our sins through his passion, death and resurrection.
5.  Love is Offered - We are invited to receive the gift of salvation and live a new relationship with God.
6.  A New Life - We live our personal relationship with God both individually and communally. 

 

Come and make an important DISCOVERY with us!

Kerri's CCO Faith Studies Testimony