'Find Your Greatness' at Sacred Heart, Hopedale

By Margaret M. Russell
The Catholic Free Press
Not good enough? Not holy enough? Don’t pray enough? Don’t let that kind of thinking stop you from attending “Find your Greatness,” Sept. 15 at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Hopedale. You may just discover that what you already do to be good, holy and prayerful is just what you need to do to be “the best version of yourself.”
Karen Barrett found this out when she and a diverse group of parishioners from Sacred Heart recently attended a seminar put on by the Dynamic Catholic Institute, founded by author Matthew Kelly. Dynamic Catholic’s mission, according to its website dynamiccatholic.com, is “to re-energize the Catholic Church in America by developing world-class resources that inspire people to rediscover the genius of Catholicism.”
Mrs. Barrett came away with the realization that “we need to make more time for growing our faith,” she said. “Not only through prayer, but by doing the things Jesus asks us to do.”
About 19 people from the parish attended the program in May at Holy Family Parish in Duxbury, according to Father William C. Konicki, pastor.
“Their reaction was: ‘We’ve got to do this at Sacred Heart,’” Father Konicki said. So he set about getting the program scheduled, thought that others from the diocese might want to participate, and was told that it was the first time a Dynamic Catholic program was to be presented in the Diocese of Worcester.
“Find Your Greatness: Four Habits that will Transform Your Life” is based on a Matthew Kelly book, “Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic.” There are talks about the four signs or habits: prayer, study, generosity and evangelization, Mrs. Barrett said.
“The four strategies given can be applied to any behavior that you feel is keeping you from becoming the best version of yourself. It is, with God’s help, a call to change,” said Dolores Russell after attending the session.
“Every person will leave the event with their own personalized plan to apply the four habits to their own lives,” Mr. Kelly promises in a video on the Dynamic Catholic website.
Sacred Heart parishioners are familiar with Mr. Kelly’s work as the parish is part of the Dynamic Catholic book program. The parish has distributed hundreds of his books, Father Konicki explained.
“It is very successful. We gave out books at Christmas and people are passing the book along to other people,” he said. And, as a result, some people are returning to Church.
“It is great to hear these stories,” Father Konicki said.
The parish also uses the Dynamic Catholic sacramental program for confirmation, first Eucharist and first reconciliation.
Father Konicki said, “The kids are really involved. ... Just to hear a parent of a teen excited that their son is talking about faith and what’s happening in confirmation class,” is a positive step.
Mrs. Barrett said the program helped everybody in different ways; some felt energized and some came away feeling “I am on the right track.”
“Having attended two Dynamic Catholic events, I left inspired and energetic about our Catholic faith. It was wonderful to feel the enthusiasm, as well as meeting and sharing ideas with parishioners from other communities,” Marsha Hawkins said.
Maura Mann, who attended “Passion and Purpose” this past June, said, “Matthew Kelly and his team are passionate about their faith, the Catholic Church and its future. Dynamic Catholic wants to ‘jump start’ the Catholic Church and rejuvenate its members. I walked away from that conference feeling proud to be Catholic and wanting to share that feeling with others.”
Besides what the program does for an individual, the evangelization portion can affect the whole parish, Mrs. Barrett noted. People often feel they are not equipped to do evangelization. But there are simple things anyone can do: “share an intentional moment with someone about your faith, or even praying,” she said.  Sharing a book with someone else is a simple type of evangelization, she noted.
Mrs. Barrett said, “You can find your greatness.” This program makes it possible. And, she said, there is “none of that uncomfortable stuff,” like group sharing.
Each person receives a “Find your Greatness” booklet in which to jot down their personal thoughts. “You don’t pass anything in,” she said. It’s all very private.

For more information go to: https://dynamiccatholic.com/events/find-your-greatness