Evangelization Cards Available

We've just launched some new evangelization cards that are available at $5.00 for a pack of 100.

• You are Peter and upon this rock - the front features a painting of Jesus giving the keys to the kingdom to St Peter.  On the back:  "Discover Jesus in the Catholic Church.  You are invited to attend a Catholic Church near you.  Check the Internet for local listings.  'You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'-Matthews 16:18-20 .  Courtesy of http://1bread.catholic.org."

• Catholic for a Reason - Descriptive phrases that make our faith unique that forms a cross.  On the back: "Rediscover the Catholic Church.  The majesty, the pageantry, the mystery, and majesty of God. You are invited to visit a Catholic Church near you.  Check the Internet for local listings.  A place where you can find faith, hope, love, and the grace of God.  http://1bread.catholic.org "

Email us at One Bread Lay Apostolate  for details.

It's Been Awhile Since I Posted

Hello all:

It's been awhile since I last posted on this blog, and it has become out of date.  The following are some upcoming One Bread Activities:

• Sales and Information Booth at the Ancient Order of Hibernians Irish Music Festival in Moore Square, downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday, September 29, 2012.
• (Tentative) Sales and Information Booth at the Holiday Craft Fair at St. Michael's Catholic Church, High House Road, Cary, North Carolina, Saturday, November 10, 2012.
• Sales and Information Booth and marching in the Raleigh St Patrick's Day Parade, Saturday, March 16, 2013.
• Sales and Information Booth at the Ignited by Truth Conference, Jim Graham Building, North Carolina State Fairgrounds, April 12-13, 2013.

We'll post more information and pictures soon. God bless you.

Raleigh St Patrick's Day Parade: Catholic Youth Compete for Evangelization Award

Raleigh area Catholic youth are invited to compete for the annual Catholic Youth Evangelization Award by marching in the Raleigh St Patrick's Day Parade with other One Bread Catholic Evangelists. The youth group with the best performance in the parade will win the prize.

To learn more or to register your group, click Catholic Youth Award Entry Form.

Informal youth groups made up of a couple of friends can compete for the award - your group does not have to be sponsored by the parish. So parents, encourage your son or daughter to gather their friends and join in the fun. Even if a handful of youth participate, they'll add so much to the spirit of the parade.

Below is a picture of last year's Catholic Youth Evangelization Award winners. They entertained the Raleigh St. Patrick's Day Parade spectators with their skateboarding skills.

One Bread Evangelizes in Raleigh St Patrick's Day Parade

The Raleigh St Patrick's Day Parade is Saturday, March 15, 2008. One Bread Lay Apostolate will be marching in the parade again this year and invite you to join us in this fun evangelization activity for the whole family: Moms, Dads, Children, Infants, Teens, Young Adults, and Grandma and Grandpa. Anyone who can walk or be carried in a stroller is invited to participate.

Each year, One Bread Participants wear Catholic Evangelist T-shirts and distribute prayer cards that tell who St Patrick is and invite the spectators to attend Mass at a Catholic Church. Last year, we distributed over 2000 cards and hope to distribute at least twice that many.


"Many people are not knowledgeable about Church history," said Karen Matthews. "They think St Patrick’s Day is about shamrocks and leprechauns. We want to bring back the spiritual aspect of the holiday and use the parade as a teaching moment to tell the world about one of the world’s great evangelists."

Ms. Matthews said that last year the spectators were glad to receive the cards they distributed and to learn more about the man who converted the Irish people in the 4th Century from paganism to Christianity in a span of 33 years.


One Bread Lay Apostolate is a group that encourages lay Catholics to be proactive about spreading the truths of their Catholic faith and to seek ways to promote the Catholic identity in contemporary culture. They primarily evangelize on the Internet by providing free information about the Catholic Church to anyone requesting it from their website at http://1bread.catholic.org/.

After the parade, One Bread continues to evangelize by offering free information about the Catholic Church at their booth in Moore Square, where they also sell food, soft drinks and Catholic books and gifts.

A Faith Based on the 12 Apostles

The Da Vinci Code. The Gospel of Judas. What's a Christian to Believe?

You may have been taught that our Christian faith is based on the bible. Well, what if I told you that the books that were deemed to be the inspired word of God were not declared so until around the 4th Century. And the first printed bible didn't exist until the invention of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg in Germany. He printed the first bible around the year 1455. Read more about Guttenberg

The first mention of the official list of the books of the bible or canon ("kanonika biblia") was at the Council of Laodicea that took place some time prior to the Council of Ephesus, held in 325. The synod in Hippo in the year 393, and three synods in Carthage (393, 397, and 419) all listed the official books of the bible. This determination was made based on the oral tradition of the Church (what the Church leaders had learned from the Apostles) and the use of these scriptures in the Church services. St Augustine was a participant and leader in all of these synods.

As we are well aware today, just because someone writes something down, doesn't make it the truth. A written lie is just as much a lie as a spoken lie.

There were many ancient texts that didn't make it into the bible. Some of these are: Gospel of Thomas,Gospel of Truth, Gospel of the Twelve, Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Basilides Gospel of the Egyptians, Gospel of the Hebrews, Gospel of Matthias, Preaching of Peter, Acts of Andrew, etc. The reason these gospels didn't make it into the bible is because they didn't square with the oral testimony given by the Apostles. So the discovery of a gospel of Judas or a myth about Mary Magdalene shouldn't alarm us.

Our faith is not based on myths, it is based on the eye-witness testimony of 12 credible men, the Apostles who were personally chosen by Jesus. Albeit, Judas was one of the original Apostles, but after he betrayed Jesus he killed himself. And the remaining 11 Apostles chose Matthias to take his place (Acts 1:26). One of the criteria for choosing a replacement for Judas was that this disciple walked and talked with Jesus, in other words, that the person was an eye witness to what Jesus taught and the miracles he performed.

For more information read: Canon of Scripture

Lent

In darkness shines
a lone light of faith,
and through the emptiness,
He comes to fullness in prayer.

Tears, my drink,
A heavy heart, my food:
These are His joy,
and His joy becomes mine.

Spend a Day

Spend a day before God,
and what becomes of fear,
what becomes of pride?

Spend a day before God,
and what becomes of love,
and what of humility, too?

Spend a day before God,
and the talk between the two
that make the whole
is less a groan or mumbled breath,
and more an awakening,
a condition of the soul.

Catholic Group to Evangelize in St. Patrick's Day Parade

For the third year in a row, One Bread Lay Apostolate, a worldwide Catholic Evangelization group based in Sanford, North Carolina, will be marching in the Raleigh St. Patrick’s Day Parade to spread the good news. This year’s parade is scheduled for Saturday, March 11.

As with many holidays that have their origins as Christian feast days, St Patrick’s Day has become secularized and its Christian meaning obscured. One Bread seeks to bring back the true spiritual meaning of these holidays by using them as evangelization opportunities and a means to educate people about Christ, his holy Catholic Church and the heroes of the faith, like St. Patrick.
 
Parade participants will be wearing Catholic Evangelist T-shirts and distributing St. Patrick prayer cards with a bio of St Patrick and an invitation to attend Mass at nearby Catholic Church on the back of the cards. The Diocese Web site is listed on the cards so people can go online to locate a Catholic church close to them. They also include a link to the One Bread Website (http://1bread.catholic.org) where they can receive free information about the Catholic faith.

To encourage youth groups to participate, One Bread will be having its first annual "Catholic Youth Evangelization Award." The youth group with the best costumes, signs, and performance in the parade wins a trophy, St Patrick medals, and more.

After the parade, One Bread will be hosting a fundraiser by selling baked Irish goodies, drinks, and religious items including books, jewelry, rosaries, and many Irish gifts. There will also be FREE information about the Catholic Church available for people to pick up and take home.

One Bread is a Catholic lay apostolate dedicated to evangelization and primarily evangelizes on the Internet through their Web site http://1bread.catholic.org. Now in their fourth year of operation, One Bread has distributed hundreds of free pamphlets and rosaries to countless of people who have requested them from around the world.

A Prayer for Darkness

Lord, thank you
for the clarity
of darkness,

and thank you
for the simplicity
of loneliness,

for alone in the dark
I find you,
my most bright companion.

--In Christ, our most bright companion,

Tim Guile, Okinawa, Japan