“Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

As he is about to ascend into heaven, Our Lord Jesus commissions his disciples to carry forward the mission of the Church, which is essentially the continuation of His own threefold mission as Priest, Prophet, and King.

JANESVILLE — Currently, St. Patrick Parish in Janesville is in the midst of a capital campaign to restore the interior of its church. This renovation seeks not only to repair structures that were falling apart but to restore beauty. Some might ask what this has to do with Go Make Disciples. Isn’t the church building some separate thing to evangelization and catechesis?

MONONA — “I think that it was an incredible experience and one that no one is going to forget any time soon,” said Rebekah Scaperlanda about the parish mission held at Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Parish in Monona earlier this month. Scaperlanda is the middle and high school catechesis coordinator at IHM and recently took the role of team lead for Go Make Disciples at the parish.

JANESVILLE — The days of March 30 to April 1 marked a time of generosity and faith as more than 600 people came to pray at St. John Vianney Parish in Janesville. The reason was the inaugural St. John Pray-A-Thon, a marathon of prayer designed to draw attention to the importance of prayer by both inviting people to pray in the church and gathering people’s intentions to be prayed for.

WISCONSIN DELLS — “It looks small because it starts small,” said Elizabeth Monaghan, describing the work she’s been doing since taking the position of Director of Apostolic Mission at St. Cecilia Parish in Wisconsin Dells. She started her position there on August 1 and has spent the last several months forming lay leaders who will then go on to form their own small group apostolates.

PINE BLUFF — When Bishop Hying first called parishes in the diocese to embark on the Go Make Disciples initiative, we knew that we had a great opportunity in front of us at St. Mary Parish in Pine Bluff. The parish has been growing steadily, and new families, often young couples with children, are joining every day.

MADISON — The morning was in English and the afternoon in Spanish. All of it was joined together by time for Eucharistic Adoration with prayers in Spanish, Latin, and English, and two talks by Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison.

VERONA — It’s 4 p.m. on a Sunday night. The Sunday morning Masses are over, and yet a couple of hundred people have gathered in the church again.

As we begin October, which is Respect Life Month, the Church calls our attention to the dignity, beauty, and inviolability of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God. very person is sacred from the moment of conception to natural death, deserving of respect, welcome, nurture, and love.