An Important Message From Father Fessio Dear Fellow Catholic, I’m writing to announce an exciting new initiative of Ignatius Press, a new “partnership for evangelization” which can multiply the good work that has been accomplished since our founding in 1978. Ignatius Press has entered into partnership with Theater of the Word Incorporated, a Catholic theater troupe whose mission is to give flesh to the Word of God through drama, to touch hearts as well as minds, and to reach our visually-oriented culture, especially young people. With a multi-media production that includes music, witnessing, and one-act dramas, our actors proclaim God’s grace in a very powerful way. These touring shows focus on the lives of the saints, the gifts of the sacraments, the evils of abortion, and more. We’re off to a great start. TWI will be premiering a 10-part series on EWTN in 2008. And some very talented graduates from Ave Maria University have already had a very successful year’s trial run with youth groups, confirmation retreats, parishes, and high schools. Every time these performances have been put on, TWI receives requests for more. Souls are being touched. And lives are being changed. The director of TWI, Kevin O’Brien, is, with his family, a convert to the Catholic faith. For years he has been very successfully directing and acting in his own non-religious troupe, called Upstage Productions. Now he wants to use that experience not only to entertain, but to bring God’s Word and the teachings of the Catholic Church to audiences nationwide. Theater of the Word Incorporated will also put on fundraiser shows for parishes and Catholic organizations—but with a difference. They will be entertaining (game shows, dinner theater) while making some serious points and correcting some widespread errors. And here’s an added blessing for TWI: the courageous and intrepid Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, where Kevin lives, is so enthusiastic about Theater of the Word Incorporated that he has not only made available for use his John Paul II Theater, but has personally contributed to the effort and offered to promote TWI vigorously in his archdiocese. But to accomplish what Archbishop Burke and we are hoping for, we need your help. Why? First, we are just getting started. We need help in getting the word out. CLICK HERE to visit our website and see a sampling of what TWI offers. If your parish, youth group, school, or other organization would possibly be interested in hosting a performance, please call us at 1-888-840-WORD (1-888-840-9673) or click on homepage, www.thewordinc.org. Secondly, we need patrons. While Upstage Productions has been putting on over 200 performances per year—and supporting itself—we know that youth groups and schools will not have the resources that dinner theaters or country clubs have. And if we are performing for young people, we can’t expect that passing the hat will be much of a source of revenue. TWI is not just entertaining. It is changing lives and awakening young people to the joys and riches of our Catholic faith. Here are only a few of the many comments of praise that TWI’s work is receiving from Catholics around the country:

“They did a fantastic presentation … We’d love to have the troupe come and visit us again next year." — P.J. Winn, Director of Resurrection Catholic Church , Block Party, Riverview, Florida “The students still talk about it.” — Tim Maag, Theology Professor, St. Mary’s Catholic High School, Monroe, Michigan “The message was very powerful. The presentation was very lively and well dramatized.” — Mary Lynch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

To make your donation online and to find out about the exciting premiums we’re offering, go to our website, www.thewordinc.org, and click on “Donate.” You can also call us toll free at 1-888-840-WORD (1-888-840-9673). Please consider being a patron in these important foundational years. Even a small contribution on a monthly basis can make our effort a self-sustaining apostolic success. Whatever you can give for this important work will be appreciated. And most importantly, please remember TWI in your prayers and sacrifices. Finally, we have an ambitious dream. We want to establish a small community theater in Ave Maria town in Florida as the base for nationwide evangelization. Why Ave Maria town? Because I have found that the students at Ave Maria University, where I am Theologian in Residence, have extraordinary talent in acting, singing, and performing. And they have come to Ave Maria to deepen their understanding of the faith to be able to evangelize our culture. It’s a natural “farm system” for Theater of the Word Incorporated. Your generous donations will not only help us to support and expand this apostolic initiative. They can help us establish a permanent center where we can prepare future media apostles and engage our culture, especially our youth who are yearning for much more than this world can offer. Sincerely yours in Christ, Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J. Founder and Editor of Ignatius Press P.S. Chesterton was right when he said that our age is influenced more by art than thought. Theater of the Word influences the minds and hearts of people through both art and thought. Please help us reach our world with these powerful, faith-building, and pro-life dramas. CLICK HERE to become a patron of Theater of the Word Incorporated today!

Does the troupe dramatize the Llife of Christ, viz. certain of His epocal moments such as giving of the Beatitudes, his tension with the disciples's erroneous view of messiahship and the fruit of that discussion,,some of His miracles and astonishing events, the Washing of  Disciple's Feet, His prayer in Gethsemane, His Desert Temptations, the Last Supper, the Road to Emmaus, the Eucharist debate in John 6, and especially the beautiful and true Catholic view on marriage? I need to know more.

Thank you wljewell.