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Join Us

There are many ways to join the Archbishop's Commission for Missionary Disciples in our mission to create a culture of missionary disciples in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The primary way is prayer and your own personal response to Jesus' command to "make disciples" in your sphere of influence.  Below are some additional ways you can be involved.

Upcoming Events

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  • For a list of upcoming missionary discipleship events, visit phillyevang.org/events.

  • And, subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter to stay up to date on ways to get trained in missionary discipleship and how to launch a movement in your sphere of influence. To preview and subscribe, visit phillyevang.org/newsletter. 

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Till the Soil in Your Neck of the Woods

As the Commission works on projects and initiatives for the conversion of our local Church to a culture of missionary discipleship, you can get started in your neck of the woods, whether it be your family, parish, school or other ministry. By launching a movement for missionary disciple formation, you are helping to foster the transformation of our local Church. 

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Start Studying

The books, videos and articles below come highly recommended by the members of the Archbishop's Commission for Missionary Disciples, past and present. They are excellent resources for becoming acquainted with the great mission to make missionary disciples:

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Be Inspired

Below you will find some favorite quotations from our Commission Members, past and present. Use them to be inspired and also share them with others to help spread the word about our mission to evangelize: 

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Miriam's favorite: "I was ordained to save souls." St. Rafael Guizar y Valencia, Fifth Bishop of Veracruz

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Sr. Linda's favorite:  “Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things …I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participate in his sufferings… I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”  Philippians 3: 7-8, 10-12

 

Msgr. McCulken's favorite: “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.””  Mt 28:18-20

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Wanda's favorite: “…the vital core of the new evangelization must be a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the person of Jesus Christ, that is, the preaching of his name, his teaching, his life, his promises and the Kingdom which he has gained for us by his Paschal Mystery.” Pope St. John Paul II, Ecclesia in America #66, Apostolic Exhortation.

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Chris' favorite: "To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth - that is not living, but merely existing." -Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

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Kurt's favorite: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (n. 1, Deus Caritas Est). Likewise, at the root of all evangelization lies not a human plan of expansion, but rather the desire to share the inestimable gift that God has wished to give us, making us sharers in his own life." Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio, September 21, 2010

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Fr. Biedrzycki's favorite: “…it is important always to know that the first word, the true initiative, the true activity comes from God and only by inserting ourselves into the divine initiative, shall we be able to become – with him and in him – evangelizers.” Pope Benedict XVI, Meditation during the First General Congregation, 10/8/2012

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Jane's favorite: "’Rescued people, rescue people.’ When someone experiences the radical transformation that Jesus brings, they can't help but do everything possible to share the message of the gospel one-on-one with others, and to transform institutions, structures, and everything else they encounter in order to help God get his world back."  Riccardo, John. Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel. The Word Among Us Press, 2020. 

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Gina's favorite: “Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you."  Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel), par. 164

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Meghan's favorite: “The first word, the true initiative, the true activity comes from God and only by inserting ourselves in to the divine initiative, only by begging this divine initiative, will we too be able to become — with him and in him — evangelizers.” Pope Benedict XVI, Meditation, Synod of Bishops, October 2012

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Minta's favorite: “To be evangelizers of souls, we need to develop a spiritual taste for being close to people’s lives and to discover that this is itself a source of greater joy. To be Mission is at once a passion for Jesus and a passion for his people.” Pope Francis, The Joy of The Gospel #268

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Maria's favorite: “My little one—come—come—carry Me into the holes of the poor.—Come be My light.—I cannot go alone—they don’t know Me—so they don’t want Me. You come—go amongst them, carry Me with you into them.” Jesus to St. Teresa of Calcutta

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Sr. Maeve's favorite: “For the religious, the only measurement of success is precisely this:  that I have emptied myself, I have given myself over totally and entirely to the Will of Almighty God.  My response to the 'I will not serve' of Adam and Eve, is 'Here I am Lord.  Send me.  I will serve.'  The response to the disobedience of the world is the response of Mary: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to thy word.'" Cardinal O’Connor, 4th Discernment Retreat to the Sisters of Life; July 5, 1992 Morning Conference: The Vow of Obedience

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Fr. Hennelly's favorite: "I dream of a 'missionary option', that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation. The renewal of structures demanded by pastoral conversion can only be understood in this light: as part of an effort to make them more mission-oriented, to make ordinary pastoral activity on every level more inclusive and open, to inspire in pastoral workers a constant desire to go forth and in this way to elicit a positive response from all those whom Jesus summons to friendship with himself." Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 27

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David's favorite: "Allow me to go immediately to the heart of my message. Here it is: Jesus Christ needs you to build His Kingdom on earth. And the Church needs your special talents, as individuals to carry out her mission of communicating Christ." - Pope John Paul II

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John's favorite: "Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours, yours are the eyes with which He looks with compassion on this world..." St. Teresa of Avila

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