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Courtesy photo. (Real Life Catholic)
Feb. 3, 2021
Nicholas Wolfram Smith
As Lent approaches, Catholics in the archdiocese have been invited to join The Search, a seven-week faith-filled exploration of the perennial human questions about the meaning of life.“It’s a great way to enter into the Lenten season. It’s something different to help us grow in our faith and if we could encourage someone in our family to watch it with us, it will help them grow too,” Father Cameron Faller, archdiocesan vocations director, said.
The seven video episodes in the series, which is produced by Real Life Catholic and the Augustine Institute, promise to look at the bedrock questions people encounter about their purpose in life or how to find meaning and happiness. Chris Stefanik, a popular Catholic speaker and president of Real Life Catholic, will host a live weekly show during Lent discussing each video.
Father Faller said the series “really gets back to the basics of the faith, the fact that we’re all searching for something.”
The show is aimed at small groups who will watch the videos and use them to launch faith-sharing discussions. Small group discussions with less than 10 people have been praised for the ability to form deep connections among participants and are seen as an important tool for discipleship in the church. Father Faller said small groups also foster something the church can often lack: talking about each person’s reasons for belief.
“We don’t often talk about our faith,” Father Faller said, adding that it can be simply taken for granted and never discussed or presented in an “overly harsh” way that leaves no room for questions or personal growth. The presentations can also be an avenue to invite people who don’t attend Mass to reawaken their interest in the faith, he said.
A series like the Search that builds on basic questions about faith is also important during a pandemic that has largely separated people from the normal rhythm of religious practice.
“Anytime there’s a tragedy or crisis it makes you reconsider your daily actions. I do think the pandemic has raised questions in people’s minds, why do I do what I do, so this comes at a good time,” he said.
The Search is available through a parish subscription to FORMED or at https://coaching.reallifecatholic.com/thesearch.