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A Simple Way of Life
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
15 August 2004
Dear Friend in Christ,
This Simple Way of Life is offered to you as a tool, and nothing more. It is a simple tool designed to help you make choices that will shape your life as a faithful disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as with any tool, it will be productive only if you use it.
This little text is not meant to convince you that Jesus Christ is Lord or that you have been called by Him to live in His Church as a student of His Gospel. If you do not yet believe these things, then this document will be of no use to you. If, however, you already "confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead" (Romans 10:9), then our little tool may help you translate your faith into a plan of life for following Christ in the Way of the Cross.
This Way of Life was prepared by eleven parishioners who serve on our Discipleship and Evangelization Leadership Team. I am most grateful for their hard work, and I pray that you will benefit from their labor. Our mission is to help every person follow the Lord Jesus as a faithful disciple, and this Way of Life is offered with that sole purpose in mind.
The New Evangelization to which Pope John Paul II has been calling the universal Church for more than twenty-five years requires that we become Evangelical Catholics who know the Gospel, believe the Gospel, live the Gospel, and share the Gospel. This is nothing other than living by the obedience of faith in the liberating truth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we offer this Simple Way of Life to help each person at St. Mary's respond to the call of the Lord Jesus: Follow me.
Father Jay Scott Newman
Pastor, St. Mary's Catholic Church
Greenville, South Carolina