During this presentation, Fr. Frank Donio, S.A.C., director of Catholic Apostolate Center, Washington, DC, USA, offers practical ways in which members of the UAC can provide formation for the baptized to live apostleship/missionary discipleship as co-responsible for the mission of Christ and the Church. Fr. Frank, a member of the SAC Immaculate Conception Province, is also national formation promoter in the USA, a past president of the National Coordination Council in the USA (2001-2010), and a former member of the General Coordination Council (2005-2018).
How can we implement the Gospel? Although this is a difficult question, it is a very important one to answer. For us Christians, it is not enough to hear the Gospel. We are called to put it to action in our own life. Sometimes it is difficult to take action. How should one do it? The good news is that we are not alone in answering this question. We have examples of many who have asked it themselves and used their lives to answer it. Every time the Catholic Church declares a person blessed or a saint, she gives us an example of how the Gospel can be lived. Blesseds and saints are role models for our faith journey. Even if every one of us has to find out individually what God is calling us to and how to live the Gospel, the blesseds and saints can help us learn how to answer this call. How can the soon-beatified Pallottine Father Richard Henkes, S.A.C. be an example for our life and for our quest for God? When I read Fr. Henkes’ biography, I learned that he tried to live out the Gospel even when it seemed inconspicuous and less effective. Three situations in his life illustrate this.