Discipleship with Jesus truly flourishes when we are faithful to a few basic disciplines. Today, Dave VanVickle dives into four disciplines that are key in the life of a new disciple in order to live a fruitful Christian life.
Snippet from the Show
“Connection is more important than perfection.”
Shownotes
Discipleship with the Lord must eventually turn outward. Once our thirst for Christ is quenched, he will lead us into deserts where we can share his living water.
Shownotes
4 Disciplines of Discipleship
1. Making time for Mental Prayer
Surrender your time and mind to God by silencing your heart and letting God speak to you. Reflect on a Gospel passage for a couple minutes a day and simply listen to God. God can sanctify our souls in powerful ways through mental prayer.
2. Read Scripture
Bathe in the Word of God. Our world is very loud and everyone’s competing for our attention. It is very difficult to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit in our noisy world. The primary way to recognize God’s voice is to seek him in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. The teachings of the Catholic Church found in Scripture and Tradition reveal the face of Christ.
“There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith.”
–CCC 89
3. Address Sin
Sin plays a real and serious world in our discipleship with the Lord. Think of the one sin that is destroying your intimacy with God and uproot it. Allow Christ to transform you and his grace will help you win the battle with that sin. Make a daily examination of conscience and attend confession regularly.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.”
–Hebrews 12:1
4. Make the Eucharist the Center of Your Life
Encounter Christ in the Eucharist and surrender yourself more deeply to Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Learn more about the rituals in the Mass and seek Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
Practical Takeaways
- Take John 3:16 and spend 5 minutes meditating on this verse. You can also meditate on the whole chapter.
- Memorize a scripture verse and learn a new dogma of the Church.
- Name the one sin that is keeping you away from God.
- Learn a new fact about the Mass.
Resources
- Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com
- Text “EKSB” to 33-777 to subscribe and be added to Gomer and Dave’s email list!
- Visit Dave’s website
- Visit Mike’s website
- Activated Disciple by Jeff Cavins
- Ascension is pleased to offer our new and improved online bible study programs and sacramental preparation programs digitally to help you minister with flexibility. Go to ascensionpress.com to view all our offerings!
Meet Your Hosts
Michael “Gomer” Gormley
Michael spent 17 years in full-time parish ministry and is now the Mission Evangelist for That Man Is You!, a men’s apostolate for Paradisus Dei. Michael is a frequent speaker at conferences, retreats, and parish missions all over the US and Canada.
He is the founder and creative director of LayEvangelist.com, and hosts two popular Catholic podcasts: Catching Foxes and Every Knee Shall Bow.
He is married to his college sweetheart, Shannon, and has four beautiful and hilarious children: Kateri, Cecilia, Noah, and Thomas.
Dave VanVickle
Dave VanVickle fell in love with the Lord at the age of fourteen and has since dedicated his life to bringing others into a radical relationship with Christ.
He is a speaker and retreat leader who focuses on proclaiming the universal call to holiness, authentic Catholic spirituality, spiritual warfare and deliverance. Additionally, Dave has over ten years of experience assisting Priests with their ministries of exorcism and deliverance.
Dave married his late wife Amber in 2010. He now resides in Pittsburgh with his five children: Sam, Max, Judah, Josie and Louisa.
Thank you for this- very helpful!!