VALPARAISO – Oftentimes an individual or an organization needs a pick-me-up. A new venture into a popular Catholic parish mission project provided that energy and much more for the faithful at Our Lady of Sorrows.
Parish leaders and church members have had time to let the recent Rescue Project sessions settle into their minds and hearts. After the nine meetings ended on April 22, participants reflected on the efficacy of the ACTS XXIX-produced video and workbook classes, and some believe the initiative touched souls and may have a long-term impact.
“This project will determine the future of (local) parishes,” said Father Paul Quanz, pastor of OLS and administrator of St. Mary, Otis; St. Martin of Tours Mission, LaCrosse; and Sacred Heart, Wanatah. “There have been two initiatives in the 12 years I’ve been in parish ministry that have floated through the Catholic domain that, if embraced ... the Church would have a much brighter future. One is the Rescue Project, and the other is Christ in the City.”
The busy pastor said the program came to light just as he was asking questions about his churches, such as “How healthy are we?” Adjusting Mass schedules and deliberating about other details was not as important as reviving the parishes with good theology and an emboldened sense of evangelistic responsibility.
Father Quanz added that having a plethora of downloadable and distributable materials in multimedia and printable formats makes this “incredible” religious product an inexpensive and potentially high-yield investment.
The Sutliff family attended the spring offering of the Rescue Project, where Alan and his wife Kristi were joined by their 17-year-old son Christian. Each found the presentations featuring ACTS XXIX founder Father John Riccardo of the Archdiocese of Detroit to be compelling.
“It totally clicked,” Alan Sutliff said about how his deep theological questions were answered in small discussion groups. “We would have those conversations about what was the impact, or what did we see in those (Rescue Project) chapters ... When your head is spinning after watching an episode, we thought, okay, let’s focus.”
Being from an engineering background, Alan Sutliff said he had a difficult time understanding how a certain tenant of belief, spoken in the Nicene Creed, saying that “Jesus descended into hell,” fit into our faith. “I never could wrap my mind around, ‘What was the purpose of that?’”
He continued, “We talked about Jesus destroying death ... Father Riccardo expressed that in a way I’d never heard before. If you watch those episodes – a couple of words, and the way he explained it – for me it was just, ‘Wow, that totally made sense.’”
Utilizing an accompanying “story guide,” participants navigated through salvation history as presented in four key focus areas representing God’s redeeming relationship with His people: “created, captured, rescued and response.”
In 2019, Father Riccardo started the ministry “to proclaim the gospel in an attractive and compelling way and to equip clergy and lay leaders for the age in which God has chosen us to live … that also offers people a way of seeing reality, and of making sense of the world, history, and life that is vastly different from the story our modern culture tells.”
Michigan-based ACTS XXIX is so named because the Book of Acts has 28 chapters, and the group advances the idea that today’s Church fulfills the next chapter in living the Gospel.
Ultimately, Alan Sutliff found that the ACTS XXIX initiative helped to bring about the change he personally needed. “I’ve got to improve my relationship with Jesus,” he said.
“I would totally encourage using this program,” explained Sutliff. “It meets you where you’re at. People are going to find something that speaks to them; they're going to walk away touched and hopefully changed.”
From the perspective of a teenager, Christian Sutliff felt that the ACT XXIX presentations spelled out the extreme contrast between good and evil and how Jesus’ life, death and resurrection makes all the difference in the world.
“It goes into depth about how important it is that Jesus died on the cross and saved us and how doomed our world would be if that never happened,” Christian Sutliff said.
The teen also agreed with his dad that the Rescue Project offered people at all points on the belief and commitment spectrum, something to latch onto and learn about.
From the program’s first chapter, “The Importance of Stories” to the concluding chapter, “Getting Clarity on the Mission,” Father Quanz believes The Rescue Project is chock full of solid Catholic theology that is presented through a unique and engaging lens. He said the lessons don't shy away from demonstrating that, especially in today’s culture, the enemy sows evil deceptions and tries to entangle those seeking to live a Godly life to experience “deaths of despair.”
St. John Chrysostom, is quoted in the story guide speaking to God’s victory over sin and death, “Let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free ... O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory?”
To take the message of God’s intervention in the world and his continued outpouring of grace, Father Quanz said he would gladly help to further present the Rescue Project among the Valparaiso and rural Porter County faithful – and let the laity take it from there.
“We’ve seen this, we’ve had these parish experiences ... I’ve tried to push them saying, ‘Okay guys start having your parties in your houses. It’s not meant to be just ‘Father does it,’” the Valparaiso pastor explained.
Reiterating that participation at Mass and reception of the Holy Eucharist is the center of the spiritual life of a Catholic, Father Quanz believes it is prime time to expand the kingdom, with some inspiration and with the help of an advocate.
Father Quanz concluded, “It's up to the Spirit; if it’s meant to fly, He’s going to take care of it.”
Caption: Our Lady of Sorrows faithful and guests participate in a session of ACTS XXIX's The Rescue Project in Franciscan Hall at the Valparaiso parish in April. More than 60 people attended nine separate presentations over a three-week period, which focused on a Scripture- and catechism-based theology about redemption in today's times through Jesus Christ. (Provided photo)