2017 USCCB Convocation Participants Guidebook and Journal | Page 8

Introduction
Key ways to prepare for the Convocation include the following:
• Pray for the Convocation (and those who are part of it),
that the gathering may bear much fruit and advance the
work of forming missionary disciples in the United States.
• Read and discuss this guide with your team, using it to
help prepare for and implement the Convocation
• Read and study Pope Francis’s The Joy of the Gospel
(Evangelii Gaudium)
• Familiarize yourself with the US bishops’ statements,
resources, and documents on evangelization and mission-
ary discipleship (refer to the appendix in this guide, and
for the most up-to-date list, go online to the USCCB web-
site: http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-
teach/new-evangelization/index.cfm). Please note the most
recent USCCB resource, Living as Missionary Disciples: A
Resource for Evangelization (2017).
We, the USCCB Bishops’ Working Group on the Life and Dignity
of the Human Person, will be preparing for this Convocation by
praying for and accompanying you as you make plans to con-
vene in Orlando this summer or to participate digitally. We walk
together with you on this journey and look forward to the great
fruits that will come about because of this shared experience of
the faith.
We dedicate the Convocation of Catholic Leaders to the Blessed
Virgin Mary, Mother of Evangelization, especially under her
titles of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, and
the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States. Our
Lady of Guadalupe, Mary Immaculate, pray for us!
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