Pre-Cana Contacts Wanted!

God doesn't always like my life to be easy. He'll get me to where he wants me to go, but he's gonna make me work for it. For example. The other day I sent out a general message on my social networks.

Pre-Cana Contacts Wanted!

I am in discussions with a publisher who asked for a show of interest in pre-Cana materials (or a full program) intended for well-catechized weekly Mass-goers. If your parish or Diocese has a need for something like this, please leave a comment here with your contact info. Thanks!

I thought people would come stampeding in. This is a need that I can see so clearly. Surely everyone else can, too, right?

I received one response from a very nice gentleman who said he couldn't give me the names of any specific contacts, but he wished me well with my work. At my urging, he contacted his parish informally and received the answer: "Not interested." A few other people chimed in, but no one named a specific parish; nobody gave me a phone number. As I am wont to do, I fell into a (mini) pit of despair. Make that -- fit of despair.

Then God came galloping to the rescue, as he frequently does, in the guise of a priest. The priest was giving a talk on Jesus' parable of the sower. You know, the one where he compares the hearts of his listeners to four types of soil -- hard ground, rocky ground, soil covered by brambles, or fertile ground. The Word of God can only take root and flourish in the fertile soil, of course. Now here's where God comes galloping in (can you hear the hoofbeats?). Then, the priest tells a story of pioneers in the Nebraskan Territories. At first, the pioneers found the soil to be utterly unworkable. After a few years, many pioneers gave up and left. But under the hard exterior was 100 feet of the richest topsoil on the planet. With that soil, said the priest, you could grow enough to feed the world.

And what I heard God say, was that well-catechized weekly Mass-goers with a firm foundation in the Church's teachings on marriage and the practical savvy to live them well can turn into strong families capable of revolutionizing our entire culture. I just gotta keep digging to find them.


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