Education through evangelization.

The International Crusade for Holy Relics is a group of devoted individuals joined together to utilize their specific talents to create and support an Evangelization and Education program for the spiritual benefit of the youth of the Catholic Church.

Evangelization through education.

As I have traveled the United States, I have become increasingly aware of the necessity of bringing the relics and the lives and legends of the saints to the schoolchildren. It was very apparent that this ministry could keep the saints alive in the hearts and minds of the faithful while catechizing and evangelizing the faithful and curious are like.

It is with this in mind that I have decided to create a special organization that will specifically target the primary and secondary catholic schools throughout the United States.

As I have flown between cities, from cathedral to cathedral, I have often looked out the window at the vastness of America. There is so much open space dotted with small towns and villages. As I look down I see a tremendous need, I need to travel throughout the U.S. from town to town, parish to parish. The faithful in large cities often get the opportunity and spiritual benefits of participating in special events at the diocesan level, while the faithful of surrounding areas do not.

In the same spirit of the traveling faithful, who through their pilgrimages to the relic shrines of the saints opened up the trade routes of Europe, I would like to create a traveling exhibit and catechism program based on the lives of the saints.

A five-year program approved and endorsed by the Catholic Church hierarchy and privately funded could educate as well as evangelize the youth of America. In the catholic school system were actual catholic student enrollment is mixed with non- catholic, this could allow the children to take home stories of the saints. This would be a perfect form of ecumenism without watering down doctrine or dogma. The parents of Catholics and non-catholic students could publicly venerate the saints at their local parish.

The mission of the ICHR is to bring schoolchildren, the faithful, and curious alike to Christ through the lives of the saints. To Christ through the saints is not a novel concept. It has been the base of evangelists from the first moment Christ sent out the Apostles to, teach all nations.

The church hierarchy across the United States has shown extraordinary support for the Tilma of Tepeyac Tour and the Relics of the Passion Tour. For this unprecedented support of the Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops, I am extremely grateful as I am sure the hundreds of thousands of faithful are.

At this point I move forward to address a need. Over the past few months I have been invited to be a guest speaker and exhibitor at the Hispanic Eucharistic Congress in Chicago, the National Youth Conference in Atlanta Georgia, and the SCRC conference in Los Angeles.

Through these wonderful experiences as well as my various tours, exhibits, and retreats, I have noticed an underlying current. The faithful and the curious alike are hungry, hungry for the lives of the saints. They are hungry to have a foundation to build their spirituality upon.

I believe that through a strong education and understanding of the lives and legends of the saints, the faithful can imitate the spirituality and build a foundation that is much needed for their journey from childhood through the teen years and safely into the young adulthood.

With all our frailties and the many distractions, diversions, and temptations we become weak and fall away. Only with a strong foundation can we (the members of the body of Christ) build a lasting faith, a faith supported by the pillars of our community the communion of saints.

BUILDING FAITH UPON A FOUNDATION

How can you and the ICHR accomplish this?

1. By filling the holes in the spiritual advancement of the teens and young adults.
HOW: Books, CD’s, podcasts, and the “3 minutes with a Saints” series.

2. Foundation – Build faith on a lasting foundation.
The person finds the charism of spirituality of a saint to build his or her foundation upon.

HOW: Through a traditional program based on the Communion of saints.

A. At the invitation and approval of a Diocese.
B. Parish and grassroots level, state by state across the USA.
C. Serve the Catholic educational system (primary, secondary, high school, and college) during the weeks visit.

3. Get recognized affiliations involved. i.e.: catechists

4. Establish “Friends of the Saints”.

St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”