April 2020
Dear Friends,
The Christophers wish everyone a blessed end of Lent and start of the Easter Season.
It is a time to give thanks for the sacrifices Christ has made for us and to recommit ourselves to
living lives of sacrifice for those in our midst. We pray that all Christophers around the world feel
the love of God touch their hearts in a special way during this time of year so that we have the
strength to turn outward towards the world in service to others.
Last month we hosted our Christopher Leadership weekend course at the University of
Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. Seventeen people graduated from this year’s course,
9 seminarians and 8 laypeople, mostly catechists. In our questionnaire about their experience,
one participant wrote of the insights they received through taking the course and perfectly
captured the idea underpinning the style of leadership that we teach, saying:
I had more insight into my personal mission. I think it is important
to distinguish worldly leadership from Christ-like leadership
(“I am among you as one who serves”).
This is exactly the kind of insight The Christophers wish to spread through our Leadership Course. Thanks to our donors for making it possible for us to host these weekends every year. With your support we can empower the next generation of priests and laypeople to make a difference in the world. We recently heard from a friend of The Christophers who shared a memoir with us of her spiritual journey. In her letter, she recounts her family receiving our materials when she was a little girl and says:
I loved reading them! They were always such a blessing and
encouragement. As I got older, I quit reading them, until very
recently – they came across my path – after about 45-50 or so
years!!! I am just as excited to read about these stories of people
who have experienced such healing & hope in the Lord…
We love to receive communications like this and to hear of the seeds of hope of our longtime mission coming to fruition in people’s lives. We know our positive message plants those seeds in the hearts of all who encounter our materials at any point in their life. There is no predicting how those seeds will grow or how long it will take, but we are so pleased to play some small part in the spiritual awakenings of people called by God to discover their purpose in life.
The Christophers’ recently released our He is Risen Prayer Card and friends of The Christophers can be expecting to receive a copy of this in the mail just in time for the Easter Season. It is a beautiful reminder of the way Christ’s resurrection can enter our lives when we open our hearts to the reality of His profound gift of self to each and every one of us. Please feel free to call, write, or email for extra copies to circulate during the Easter Season.
Thanks to our donors for making all we do possible. God Bless!
Joyfully,
Mary Ellen Robinson
Vice President/COO
