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Catholics Come Home In the News

Stay informed about Catholics Come Home!

Front Page Story of today’s ‘The Boston Globe’ features CatholicsComeHome.org

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The Archdiocese of Boston will be partnering with CatholicsComeHome.org to air a partner initiative this Lent 2011.  Today’s front page story from The Boston Globe features this partnership, see excerpt below:

A call to Catholics to ‘come home’ again

Boston Archdiocese aims ad campaign at inactive parishioners

By Globe Staff | Globe Correspondent / July 21, 2010

The Archdiocese of Boston, in an effort to bring lapsed Catholics back to church, is planning a major public relations campaign in the coming year that will use television ads, parish events, and personal invitations to urge inactive Catholics to “come home’’ to their faith.

The campaign is planned as the Catholic Church faces huge challenges.  Nationally, 10 percent of all American adults are former Catholics, according to a recent study. In the Boston Archdiocese, weekly Mass attendance has plunged from 376,383 in 2000 to 286,951 last year, according to the church’s own annual count.

“Each time we go to Mass. . . . the pews seem emptier and emptier,’’ said Janet Benestad, secretary for faith formation and evangelization at the archdiocese. The goal of the campaign, she said, “is to say to folks, ‘We are diminished by your absence . . . and we want to issue a genuine invitation to return to the practice of the faith.’ ’’

Visit CatholicsComeHome.org each day to grow in your faith.  Also, please pray for all who will be reached this Advent 2010 and Lent 2011 through the many CCH diocesan partner initiatives that will be airing!


A Great Message From A Catholic-in-Action:)

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We received the inspiring message below from Sharon in California, who is actively involved as a volunteer in the returning Catholics programs at her parish:

“Having been involved with “Remembering Church”, “Catholics Returning Home”, and now “Catholics Come Home” since I returned in 1996, I dearly love all the people in all the classes we’ve had. We hear so many stories….some are similar, and others one of a kind, but all missing the Heart of the church, Our Lord Jesus Christ. So many tell of trying other churches, and always feeling something is missing. The Holy Eucharist, holy water, incense, prayers that never change etc. This is a ministry that calls to you and you never want to leave it. Sometimes when I have a couple of extra Catholic Come Home cards with me, I will leave one in an obvious place and hope the Holy Spirit leads someone to it. Thanks for all the updates.   In Christ, Sharon,  CA”

Get involved in your parish, and give away the ‘gifts’ God has given you!
Visit CatholicsComeHome.org each day to grow in your faith…

and always remember to “keep the faith…but NOT to yourself!”🙂

CCH Recommends…

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Mega Church PastorCheck out Allen Hunt’s new book, Confessions of a Mega-Church Pastor!

The book details Hunt’s discovery of the hidden treasures of the Catholic Church and the many beautiful elements of the Faith that many Catholics take for granted. His moving story reminds us that personal holiness is the key to doing God’s will and becoming the people God created us to be.

Happy Feast of St. Bonaventure!

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“Lord Jesus Christ, pierce my soul with your love so that I may always long for you alone, who are the bread of angels and the fulfillment of the soul’s deepest desires. May my heart always hunger for you, so that my soul may be filled with the sweetness of your presence.” -St. Bonaventure

Read more about St. Bonaventure, doctor of the Church.

Saint Bonaventure, pray for us!

TV ads inspire a Protestant student to become Catholic!

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Catholics Come Home

Another inspiring story we received from an individual whose life was changed after seeing a CatholicsComeHome.org TV commercial!

Meet Harrison:

Harrison was raised Methodist and later joined the Charismatic Protestant movement, but found himself looking for something more. He began studying Catholicism and came across a Catholics Come Home TV commercial in 2009. After watching the commercial “Epic,” Harrison was moved to visit CatholicsComeHome.org and watch all of the Catholics Come Home commercials.

“The commercials communicated a longstanding vitality in the Catholic Church that I had not experienced anywhere else,” Harrison shared with us. “In the ‘Epic’ commercial, I felt like the beauty and riches of the Catholic Church I had so often read about had been condensed into a brief, but powerful video.”

Harrison says that “Epic” brought him to the edge of tears.  “The universality and beauty of the Catholic Church reached out to me. I felt like the Church was extending an invitation for me to come home, not to a home I left, but the home no one had ever told me about.”

On Easter 2010, Harrison entered the Catholic Church and finally found the home he had been looking for. A graduate of Oral Roberts University, Harrison is now studying Catholic theology in graduate school at Ave Maria University in Florida!

“I am being well prepared to someday teach others about the beauty and truth I’ve found in the Catholic Church.”

The Catholics Come Home TV commercials and website are helping thousands on their journey home to the Catholic Church.

Will you help someone by sharing one of the CCH TV commercials or website with a friend or two today? It’s as easy as including a link in an email to a relative, friend, coworker, or neighbor away from the faith, and saying something like, “I recently came across this TV commercial/website. Let me know what you think about it…”

Thank you for your participation in the evangelization mission of the Church. With your donation of $500, $100, $25 or any amount, you can help air more commercials that could bring someone home to the Catholic Faith, the Sacraments, and the Church started by Jesus 2000 years ago!


Sincerely,

Tom Peterson and your CatholicsComeHome.org team


CatholicsComeHome.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media apostolate, dedicated to producing and airing Catholic evangelism television ads on local, national and international television networks.

CCH Recommends…

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Grab today’s CCH-recommended book from Amazon!

Back to VirtueBack to Virtue: Traditional Moral Wisdom for Modern Moral Confusion, Dr. Peter Kreeft

“Kreeft issues a clear call to all Christians to get back to their active pursuit of real virtue in their daily lives. This in-depth analysis of the meaning of the virtues and their connection with the Beatitudes also summarizes a scriptural and theological wisdom on leading a holy life. Includes the accumulated wisdom of St. Paul, C.S. Lewis, and many others.”

Pope Benedict’s Prayer Intentions for July 2010

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Let us join our Holy Father in prayer for his following July 2010 petitions-

74633849po101_pope_assisiThe Holy Father’s general intention is:
“That in every nation of the world the election of officials may be carried out with justice, transparency and honesty, respecting the free decisions of citizens.”

His missionary intention is:
“That Christians may strive to offer everywhere, but especially in great urban centres, an effective contribution to the promotion of education, justice, solidarity and peace.”

Lord, hear our prayer.

Have you ever been asked:
Where does the Pope get his authority to lead the Church on earth?
What do Catholics believe about ‘apostolic succession’?
Visit CatholicsComeHome.org to ‘brush up’ on your answers to these important foundations of our faith!

Did you know this?

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Catholics Come Home Question of the Day:

What is the difference between a cathedral, a basilica, and a shrine?

studyFind out here.

Fun fact (from above article): There are over 1400 minor basilicas around the world, 527 just in Italy alone.

Share our Catholics Come Home blog with a friend today! God bless.

Your Catholics Come Home team

Supportive E-mail We Received From Wendy in WI!

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We are blessed with many supportive messages and conversion stories that we receive via e-mail.  Hope the message below from Wendy in Wisconsin inspires your day:

“I was so impressed by your beautiful tv commercials, I had to come check you out. I was away from the Church for many years, and have been “home” for about 12 years. I am a Eucharistic Minister & Catechist in my parish, and I am very interested in helping others to find their way into the Church. I will be sharing your information with my parish and friends who have fallen away from God. Thank you for starting such an important ministry! God Bless You!” – Wendy, WI

Visit CatholicsComeHome.org and rediscover the richness of your Catholic faith!

Archdiocese of Chicago: Catholics Came Home After Ad Campaign

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Chicago Breaking News

Archdiocese: Catholics came home after ad campaign

June 30, 2010 5:12 PM

Mass attendance went up more than 8 percent in most parishes between October and February according to a count taken after a “Catholics Come Home” advertising campaign, according to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.

The evangelization effort, which ran between Christmas and Super Bowl Sunday, featured a series of 2,000 ads that aired on 16 channels. The ads included testimonials from lapsed Catholics who had returned to the church and mini-documentaries of the church’s historic presence around the world.

The message was that no matter what mistakes have been made, people can find forgiveness by going back to church.

The Chicago Archdiocese’s Office for Evangelization released the report on the attendance increase with the caveat that its Office of Research and Planning conducted the count at the beginning of Lent, when traditionally more people attend Sunday Mass.

Additional surveys distributed to pastors showed that 88 percent think the archdiocese should use media to evangelize in the future; 71 percent thought the initiative benefited their parishes; and 52 percent reported an increase in confessions.

The Catholics Come Home campaign  was a collaborative effort of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Dioceses of Joliet and Rockford.

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