Saint Benedict Parish is rich in opportunities to live and grow in faith. It seems like there are always new ways to satisfy our appetite to know God more fully. I’m happy to share with you a new Lenten Study: The Rescue Project. This intriguing title sparked my curiosity. This program will be a feature offering during this Lenten season, and you can participate, along with everyone else in the parish!

So, what is it?

The Rescue Project is an eight week program with a simple format: Groups
of 10 or so people sit together at a table with a snack and get to know one another. Then all of the groups pray together, watch a video, and have small group discussion at the table.

This program comes from Acts XXIX, a church movement founded and led
by Fr. John Riccardo, a priest from the Archdiocese of Detroit. “We passionately believe that the most urgent task is the compelling proclamation of the Gospel, one that not only shares it in an attractive and concentrated way, but a proclamation that also offers people a way of seeking reality and making sense of the world, its history and life that is vastly different from what modern culture tells us,” the introduction to the program begins. “Until this happens, the Christian faith is often experienced as a mere set of rules and disciplines. Simply going to church isn’t likely to lead a person to embark on the great adventure of following Jesus and continuing his mission — the rescuing of this world.”

Fr. Riccardo invites and urges us all to become missionary disciples. He wants us to clearly understand Jesus’ commission for us. He says that when we dive into the Gospel together, our goal should not be to merely learn something, but to experience something; it is any opportunity to let God overwhelm us. Fr. Riccardo says that as we encounter God, we must ask him for specific graces. These graces accompany us as we ponder what it all means: to be created; to be captured; to be rescued; and, ultimately, to respond.

You are invited into this exciting encounter with the Gospel and faith journey called The Rescue Project. It is designed for everyone, whether you are just starting your faith journey, or have been walking with Jesus for many years. Registration is open now at saintbenedict.ca/rescue. The course begins on Tuesday, March 14th and continues for eight weeks.