Well, that’s actually what we’re asking you: What is it? What is One Thing you can do to help nurture your faith life? What is One Thing you can do – above and beyond what you are already doing – to enter into a conversation with God, to express your faith, and to live as Jesus would have us live?
Those are certainly high expectations to meet! It can be overwhelming to do no matter how much want to be able to show our love for God. That is why we are asking you to focus on just one thing. Your One Thing.
This is a parish-wide initiative that started as a challenge to our Youth Group. Each member of the High School Youth Group has dedicated themselves to doing one extra thing to bring them closer to God. Now we want to share that challenge with everybody in the St. John community.
Once you have decided what Your One Thing will be, enter it in the space below. If appropriate, we will display it (anonymously) on our Inspiration Board. If you would like a motivation check-in email from time to time, include your name and email address (this is totally optional!).
Why submit this? We are looking for inspiration and motivation! Everything is anonymous – only enter your name or email if you would like a little friendly check-in time to time. Entering Your One Thing above will help inspire others and show our unity in this effort to live out our Year of Faith!
Maybe it is a Rosary once a week, or a Divine Chaplet of Mercy once a day. Maybe it is remembering to thank God before every meal, wherever you may be eating. Maybe it is 5 minutes of prayer with absolute attention to God: no phone in the room, no television or computer to distract, just you and God.
Find something. If five minutes a day is what you can give, start with that. If you need ideas or suggestions, ask Fr. John, Fr. Gilmary, Jen or Pete!
“So what’s the deal with the hash tag, anyway?” No, we’re not just trying to be trendy. Once you’ve found Your One Thing, we want you to share it! If you use Twitter, go on once a week and let us know how you are doing with it. Use #YourOneThing in your tweet so we can find it!
And if you’re not already following St. John online, find us and add us to your list:
Now go out and own it. Only you can be held accountable for this, and we are here to provide as much support and advice as you want. Make Your One Thing part of your daily, weekly, and monthly routines. Push yourself to stick with it, even when you are tired or don’t think you have the time. Take the time.
So once you’ve done all of this, what comes next? It’s up to you! If you have successfully worked 5 minutes of prayer into your daily routine, try making it 10 minutes. If you are attending one extra Mass each week, why not also try participating in reconciliation once a month?
Remember, Your One Thing is a starting point, and it’s important to get off to a good start! We want you to be able to find something and make it a part of your routine. But we don’t want your faith to be routine.
Push yourself to grow. Continue to ask yourself, what can I do to show my love to the Father? Take it step by step. And together we can all grow closer to our God in Heaven!
