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LEAGUE OF EUCHARISTIC GUARDIANS

FISHERS OF MEN

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Part IV

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Overview
Purpose
Justification
Structure
Announcements
Methodology
Formation
The Proclamation
Points to Remember

Overview

Come after Me and I will make you fishers of men! (Mt 4:19)

Fishers of Men is a lay evangelization effort, under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe, wherein teams of Guardians go door-to-door, house-to-house, within the boundaries of the parish, to inform the people about the adoration chapel, inviting them to visit Jesus and participate in Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration by becoming a Guardian.

Purpose

By making sure that everyone is both informed that Jesus waits for them in the adoration chapel and invited to participate in PEA, the Fishers of Men ensure that the adoration program will continue and grow.

Justification

Justification for this effort is found in the documents of Vatican II and the teachings of Popes Paul VI and John Paul II regarding evangelization, namely that: the laity are called to holiness and to an active participation in the evangelical mission for which the Church exists; Jesus Himself, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, is the subject of all evangelization; and the best evangelization is one in which the evangelized themselves become evangelists. Much simpler is the command of the Master to the servants: "Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled." (Lk 14:23)

Structure

Fishers of Men is open to all Guardians who wish to participate. It is, however, advised that the Coordinator, Division Leaders and Captains do not participate so as not to detract from their obligations to maintain the PEA program. An individual will be selected and trained, with the help of the Diocesan Promoter and confirmed by the parish priest, to lead the effort; such individual being designated as the Chief of the Fishers of Men and, by virtue of his/her selection, becoming an officer of the parish Chapter of the League of Eucharistic Guardians. Normally, the Fishers of Men will be implemented two to four months after PEA is established in the parish.

Announcements

Announcements can be made periodically during the Sunday Masses to let people know that: "Lay volunteers are in the process of visiting all of our homes in order to explain PEA and invite your family to participate. The visit is brief and there are no obligations. Won't you please cooperate?"

Methodology

A specific day and time of the week is chosen to conduct the apostolate. This will, generally, remain the same from week to week and should be chosen based upon the following criteria.
- What day and time is best to visit families at home?
- What day and time is most convenient for the Fishers?
A specific area, be it a subdivision, neighborhood, street or group of houses, is chosen for the week.
- This selection should be made in a methodical way. Specifically, the Chief should acquire a map of the parish and choose a starting point from which the Fishers will work their way through the entire parish.
- Make sure to approach every house and not leave anyone out. Previous lack of activity in a parish is not an accurate gauge in determining who will respond. Avoid the temptation to skip certain houses because you might think the people are not interested. This invitation appeals to lapsed Catholics, non-Catholics and even non-Christians!
- The number of houses chosen each week should be commensurate with the number of Fishers. Two or three houses should be adequate for each team of Fishers.
- Whether it takes six months or five years to visit every house in the parish is irrelevant. The Chief needs to pace the efforts of the Fishers so the program will be constant, steady and sure rather than sporadic. Trying to do too much at once can cause "burnout". Witnessing to our faith in Jesus should be joyful, don't let it become stressful.
- Once every house has been visited, the Fishers can start all over again from where they began. This is a continuing program.
Fishers are sent out in teams of two with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and other materials, to knock on doors and conduct the evangelization as discussed in the following pages.
Fishers should dress and comport themselves in a consistent manner that will not dissuade people from inviting them into their homes. During their weekly apostolate they should wear the insignia discussed in PART III of this PEA Kit. Additionally, they should wear blue armbands with white letters indicating their role as Fishers of Men.
After visiting the houses assigned to them for the week, all of the Fishers should gather together with the Chief for an after action review.

Formation

Some Guardians might want to evangelize but feel they lack the ability. The following principles are presented for their benefit.

Principle I

St. Alphonse Liguori, speaking of giving witness to our faith, explains that it is not a matter of the knowledge one has in his head but rather of the love one has in his heart.

The first, last and most important thing is that we hold fast to Love Incarnate; through prayerful participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, devout reception of Holy Communion, and by our weekly holy hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Love is most perfectly preserved and nurtured in a committed, faithful and personal relationship with our Savior.

In these quiet moments with Him we receive the inspiration, motivation, courage, guidance and grace we need. Here also we learn to love Jesus with the Heart of Mary, through our consecration and praying of the Holy Rosary. With each holy hour our Blessed Mother works through us more and more, because her desire that Jesus be raised up in love and glory through Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration is greater than ours could ever be.

Principle II

Evangelization, or giving witness, is simply a matter of letting the love within us pass through our lips in the form of words. To think that we need many years of formation is a misconception. Our understanding of the Catholic Faith is never complete; it deepens with each day of our earthly pilgrimage. What is required is that we share our conviction of Jesus' infinite love for us in the Blessed Sacrament, in accordance with the teachings of the Church. And this is something we can do now.

This is why Pope John Paul II, recalling the words of St. Peter, told the youth gathered in Rome for the first World Youth Day (1985), to simply "be always ready to explain the hope that is yours in Christ Jesus".

You might protest that the willingness to proclaim our faith, hope and love is certainly the primary requirement, but whether we are effective will depend largely upon our proclamation. This is true.

Principle III

We must have a clear and compelling proclamation, or kerygma. There is no message more compelling than a love story and there is no greater love story than Jesus' Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. This love story was clearly and effectively proclaimed by Our Lady of Guadalupe 500 years ago in Mexico and converted a whole nation. Hers is the proclamation we adopt for our own evangelization.

The Proclamation

The proclamation itself is a very simple eight-step process.

Knock on the door, introduce yourself as a member of the parish, and ask if they might invite you in and gather the family so that you can inform their household about the 24-hour adoration chapel your parish has opened for them. Assure them that your presentation will be brief, has no obligations, and that you will be leaving a small gift for their family upon completion.
Begin by asking them to hold their questions until you've finished your presentation. Then place the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe so that all may see and begin the proclamation.
Once you have finished, invite them to ask any questions. If they have no questions, open the conversation by giving each of them a copy of the pamphlet entitled Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration: One Lord, One Body, One People. This provides the opportunity and content for a catechesis regarding the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and the motivation for making a weekly holy hour.
Invite them, as individuals or as a family, to commit to a specific hour each week and, thereby, become Guardians. Assure them that they are free to change their hour at any time, for whatever reason, and that we have a substitute system in place for those times that they can't attend their scheduled hour. Explain that they will be contacted and invited to an orientation seminar if they would like to make this commitment and, for this reason, you need their name and phone number.
Make an appeal for the night hours, specifically that we need people for all of the hours, but the hour for which they are most needed is one of the hours in the middle of the night. Explain that sacrifice is the language of love and leave them with copies of the pamphlet entitled Value of Sacrifice.
Inform them that, even if they do not make this commitment, the chapel is there for them and they are all welcome to visit Jesus anytime they want. For this purpose, flyers that include a location map of the parish and chapel as well as the days and hours the chapel is open should be prepared in advance and left with each individual.
As a gift, present them an image of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, to be enthroned in their home with the prayer underneath. Each should be given a prayer card of the same. To close, lead them in this brief prayer.
Thank them for their time, patience and attention.

Points to Remember

The message is effective because it is simple. St. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said to his disciples: "Behold the Lamb of God." And Scripture says that: "They went and followed Him." The Lamb is Jesus in the Eucharist and our message is the same as that of St. John the Baptist. By proclaiming it we become sign posts that point others to Jesus and invite them to follow Him. He does the rest. This is the very heart of evangelization.

Another reason for the great success of this program is that it appeals to the faith of the listener. Faith requires response. An evangelization must invite a response otherwise the message will be forgotten; neither taking root nor growing. Jesus spoke of this in His parable of the seed. And this is why the Acts of the Apostles explains that after preaching to the Jews, on the first Pentecost, St. Peter immediately invited them to be baptized. Our evangelization invites the listener to make an immediate and simple response of faith by committing to a weekly holy hour with Jesus.

The words must be proclaimed. Do not simply distribute the message as your results will fall dismally short of those that come from a personal proclamation. The reasons are many, the simplest is this: The proclaimed word is more compelling than the written word, that is why Christ proclaimed the Gospel! Your proclamation bears witness to your faith and inspires faith in the listener. Your personal invitation yields a generous response because it is influenced by the grace present in, and by virtue of, your act of giving witness to Christ.

If a person does not respond, this does not mean that your efforts are futile. Many will sign up as a result of your efforts. And those whom you have approached "unsuccessfully" might visit Jesus later in their lives as a result of the seed of faith that you planted. Remember how Jesus taught us that one man sows, another waters and yet another reaps the harvest.

Our perseverance in evangelizing cannot base itself upon success or failure. Though we are rightly saddened when people do not respond to our invitation, we must not get discouraged. When we experience rejection, and all of us will, we must remember that it is a very special gift from our Lord, reserved for those who wish to be very close to His Sacred Heart, where He allows us to share in the rejection and pain which He Himself suffers. It can be for us a sweet and fragrant offering which we place before Him in our holy hours of prayer. In this way He will give us the grace and strength to persevere, assuring us that we will be forever blessed for each instance that we are willing to expose ourselves to rejection for love of Him.

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