RESTORE
This chapter from the BFG Handbook (Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching) presents the gospel through a new "Expression" of God’s Love to RESTORE the Truth.
Chapter 16 from the BFG Handbook (Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching) presents the gospel through a new “Expression” of God’s Love to RESTORE people to the Truth.
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Chapter 16: Restoration
Be clear minded to attain emptiness 1
Hold firm to the stillness
The rising and falling of all things will end 2
I bear witness to their return 3
All comes from dust, and to dust all shall return 4
Returning is achieving perfect stillness 2
Stillness is returning to the nature of God 2
Returning to the nature of God is the Eternal 5
Knowing the Eternal is insight 6
Not knowing the never-changing leads to misfortune
Knowing the never-changing embraces all
Embracing all is impartiality
Impartiality is an attribute of sovereignty 7
And sovereignty is of Heaven
He who is of Heaven is One with God 8
He who is One with God is Eternal 5
Count yourself dead but eternally alive in the Son of God 9
Emptied and Still
“Be clear minded to attain emptiness
Hold firm to the stillness”
Chapter 16 of the Christian edition of the Tao Te Ching, Restoration, reflects on the spiritual journey of returning to God, achieving stillness, and embracing the eternal. It emphasizes the Christian understanding of transformation through Christ, leading to eternal life and unity with God.
The chapter begins with the call to be “clear-minded to attain emptiness” and “hold firm to the stillness.” In Christian terms, this suggests the practice of surrendering worldly distractions and focusing on God’s presence. Philippians 2:5-8 teaches believers to adopt the mind of Christ, characterized by humility and submission to God. This stillness is not passive but an active, faith-filled trust in God’s sovereignty, allowing Him to work in and through us.
The “emptiness” here is not an empty head or a cold heart. It is room. A cup that is already full cannot be filled again. When we let go of the constant noise, the grudges and the worries we keep replaying, we make space for God to speak. The prophet Zechariah, in the verse this line points to, calls the whole world to this quiet.
“Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”
Zechariah 2:13ESV
Notice why we are to be still: because God is coming close. Stillness is not an escape from the world; it is getting ready to meet Someone. St. Peter, in another verse behind these lines, ties a clear mind directly to prayer.
“The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers.”
1 Peter 4:7NRSVue
“Hold firm” tells us that stillness takes effort. Our attention drifts again and again, and each time we gently come back. Jesus Himself often slipped away to quiet places to pray, and He invited His tired friends to come away with Him and rest (Mark 6:31).
“The Christian tradition comprises three major expressions of the life of prayer: vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplative prayer. They have in common the recollection of the heart.”Catechism 2721
“Prayer cannot be reduced to the spontaneous outpouring of interior impulse: in order to pray, one must have the will to pray.”Catechism 2650
Stillness is not empty silence. The Church teaches that prayer takes a decision of the will: we quiet our hearts on purpose so the Lord can fill them.
Your alarm goes off, and before your feet touch the floor you have checked the news, the weather, the group chats and your work email. By breakfast your mind is already full, and the day has barely started. Chapter 16 offers another way to begin: “Be clear minded to attain emptiness. Hold firm to the stillness.” Not because your phone is evil, but because God wants the first quiet moment of your day. A clear mind is ready to receive. A crowded one can only react.
Try this today: Leave your phone in another room for the first few minutes of the morning, and spend them in silence with God.
Rising, Falling and Returning
“The rising and falling of all things will end
I bear witness to their return
All comes from dust, and to dust all shall return”
The imagery of the “rising and falling of all things” speaks to the transient nature of life. Ecclesiastes 3:20-21 reminds us that all come from dust and will return to dust. Yet, this cyclical return leads to perfect stillness, symbolizing reconciliation with God. Revelation 21:1-8 reveals that the ultimate restoration occurs in the new heaven and new earth, where all sorrow ceases, and God dwells with His people. This restoration reflects the eternal nature of God, who is unchanging and sovereign over all creation (John 1:1-2).
Old Simeon saw this rising and falling when he held the baby Jesus in the Temple. He told Mary that her Son would change everything: some would fall and some would rise, depending on how they met Him. Every rise and fall in history is finally measured by Christ.
“…this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed”
Luke 2:34ESV
“I bear witness to their return” is a line of hope. Christians do not believe that people simply vanish, or that they come back as someone else in another life. We believe in the resurrection. The One who wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, and then called him out alive, is the true Witness of our return.
“…I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live”
John 11:25NRSVue
So “all comes from dust” is honest, but it is not the last word. On Ash Wednesday the Church marks our foreheads with ashes to remind us that we are dust. Then, at Easter, she sings that Christ is risen. Our dust is held in the hands of a God who raises the dead.
“Death is the end of man’s earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan, and to decide his ultimate destiny.”Catechism 1013
“Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended. When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death we gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven.”Roman Missal, quoted in Catechism 1012
When the chapter speaks of “return,” it means returning to God, not coming back to earth in another life. Each of us lives one earthly life, and our hope is the resurrection.
The promotion you worked so hard for comes with a boss you can’t stand. The team you love wins the title, then loses its best player. Your favorite coffee shop closes. Your kids, who once begged to hold your hand, now walk ahead of you at the mall. Everything rises and falls. Chapter 16 does not pretend otherwise: “All comes from dust, and to dust all shall return.” But it also says, “I bear witness to their return.” Nothing you love is lost to God. He holds every season, and He has the last word.
Try this today: Name one thing that has recently changed or ended in your life, and hand it to God in prayer, trusting Him with what comes next.
Coming Home to the Nature of God
“Returning is achieving perfect stillness
Stillness is returning to the nature of God
Returning to the nature of God is the Eternal”
Next the chapter shows where all this returning leads: “Returning is achieving perfect stillness.” In the Bible, to return means to turn back to God, to come home. Think of the son in Jesus’ parable who wasted everything and finally headed home. He did not find a locked door. He found a father running to meet him.
“So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.”
Luke 15:20NRSVue
“Stillness is returning to the nature of God.” The stillness we long for is more than quiet; it is a share in God’s own peace. God is never restless or anxious. When we come back to Him, we begin to rest in His peace, the way a child calms down in a parent’s arms. Jesus Himself lived from this return, knowing where He came from and where He was going.
“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God”
John 13:3ESV
And “Returning to the nature of God is the Eternal.” Our return does not stop at the edge of time. It opens onto eternal life, the home God is preparing, where He will live with His people and make all things new.
“In this new universe, the heavenly Jerusalem, God will have his dwelling among men.”Catechism 1044
“This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity… is called “heaven.” Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.”Catechism 1024
After a long week you finally get home, drop your bag, kick off your shoes and breathe out. That feeling of being home is a small taste of what Chapter 16 means: “Returning is achieving perfect stillness.” Many of us live far from that home inside. We stay busy so we do not have to feel how tired or lost we are. God is not waiting with a list of complaints. Like the father in the parable, He is watching the road. Coming back to Him, even after a long time away, is coming home.
Try this today: If you have drifted from God, take one step back today: a short, honest prayer, a visit to a church, or a plan to go to Confession.
Knowing the Never-Changing
“Knowing the Eternal is insight
Not knowing the never-changing leads to misfortune”
To “know the Eternal is insight” highlights the importance of understanding God’s eternal nature. Romans 11:33-34 celebrates the depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge, which surpasses human comprehension. Recognizing God as the never-changing foundation of life allows believers to embrace impartiality, a reflection of His sovereignty. First Peter 1:17 calls us to live as impartial, holy people, showing love and grace to all, as God does.
This insight is not cleverness or having more information. It is seeing life in the light of God, who does not change. Everything else in our lives can shift overnight, but He stays the same, and so does His love. St. James puts it beautifully.
“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
James 1:17NRSVue
That is why the chapter warns, “Not knowing the never-changing leads to misfortune.” If we build our lives only on things that change, like money, looks, approval or success, then when they shift, everything shakes. Jesus told of two houses, one on rock and one on sand. The same storm hit both. Only one stood.
“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”
Matthew 7:26-27NRSVue
The good news is that this insight is a gift, not a test we must pass alone. God promised through the prophet Joel to pour out His Spirit on all people (Joel 2:28). Whoever humbly asks Him for wisdom receives it.
“When we say ‘God’ we confess a constant, unchangeable being, always the same, faithful and just, without any evil.”Roman Catechism, quoted in Catechism 2086
“Let nothing trouble you / Let nothing frighten you / Everything passes / God never changes…”St. Teresa of Jesus, quoted in Catechism 227
“…true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement… but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love…”Catechism 1723
Think of everything you check to know whether you are okay: your bank balance, your followers, the scale, your boss’s mood, the latest headlines. Each one moves up and down, and your peace moves with it. That is what Chapter 16 calls the misfortune of “not knowing the never-changing.” It is exhausting to build a life on things that never sit still. God does not change with the market or the comments. His love for you today is the same as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow. That is solid ground.
Try this today: Notice the one thing you check most often to feel okay, and each time you reach for it today, pray, “Lord, You do not change.”
Embracing All, as Heaven Does
“Knowing the never-changing embraces all
Embracing all is impartiality
Impartiality is an attribute of sovereignty
And sovereignty is of Heaven”
The chapter now draws a surprising line: “Knowing the never-changing embraces all.” When we truly know God, our hearts get bigger, not smaller. God does not ration His goodness to the deserving. Jesus pointed to the sky to show it.
“…for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”
Matthew 5:45NRSVue
“Embracing all is impartiality.” Impartial does not mean cold or distant. It means no favorites. St. Peter learned this when God sent him into the home of a Roman officer, someone he had been taught to keep away from. He walked in and said:
“…Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
Acts 10:34-35ESV
Then: “Impartiality is an attribute of sovereignty, and sovereignty is of Heaven.” Earthly power often plays favorites. God’s rule does not. The true King loves the forgotten as much as the famous, and Jesus asks us to love like that, because the Father “is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35). When we embrace all, we show the world what Heaven’s rule looks like.
“Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity.”Catechism 1934
“The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others and actively serving them becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged, in whatever area this may be.”Catechism 1932
“…God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history.”Catechism 303
Be honest: there are people you light up for, and people you barely notice. The coworker who brings donuts gets your best smile; the quiet one in the corner gets a nod. The relative who agrees with you gets a long call; the one who does not gets a short text. Chapter 16 says, “Embracing all is impartiality.” God has no favorites list, and His love reaches even the person you find hardest to like. Heaven’s way starts with how you treat the next person you are tempted to overlook.
Try this today: Choose one person you usually ignore or avoid, and give them the same warmth today that you give your favorite people.
Dead to Sin, Alive in the Son
“He who is of Heaven is One with God
He who is One with God is Eternal
Count yourself dead but eternally alive in the Son of God”
The chapter also speaks of unity with God: “He who is of Heaven is One with God.” This unity is achieved through Christ, who reconciles us to the Father. Revelation 19:1-3 portrays the ultimate victory of Christ, uniting the redeemed with God in eternal worship. Through the Son, believers are counted “dead but eternally alive” (Romans 6:1-14). This profound truth reminds Christians that dying to sin and living in Christ leads to eternal life, aligning with God’s eternal purposes.
Look at who stands at the center of Heaven in the verses behind these lines. St. John turns toward the throne and sees not a proud ruler but a Lamb, still bearing the marks of His sacrifice (Revelation 5:6). Becoming “One with God” always passes through the Cross. Jesus prayed that we would share His own union with the Father.
“that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
John 17:21NRSVue
The last line of the chapter sounds almost like St. Paul word for word. In Baptism we went down into the water with Christ and came up with His life in us. From then on, every “no” to sin is a small death, and every “yes” to God is a share in His risen life.
“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 6:11NRSVue
“Count yourself” means this is a choice we make every day. We do not wait for heaven to start living this way. We decide, this very morning, that the old self with its pride and fear no longer runs our life, and that the Son of God does. That is true restoration.
“Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, Christians are “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” and so participate in the life of the Risen Lord.”Catechism 1694
“What is essentially new about Christian death is this: through Baptism, the Christian has already “died with Christ” sacramentally, in order to live a new life…”Catechism 1010
“For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.”St. Athanasius, quoted in Catechism 460
This does not mean we stop being human. It means God shares His own life with us in Christ, so that we live as His sons and daughters, now and forever.
Maybe it is the habit you have promised to quit more times than you can count. Or the old hurt you replay whenever you see that person. Or the need to win every argument in the group chat. Chapter 16 has a strong word for these things: “Count yourself dead.” Not you, but the old self that keeps dragging you back. Then comes the good news: “eternally alive in the Son of God.” You are not stuck. In Christ, the real you is alive, and that life grows every time you choose Him.
Try this today: Name one old habit or grudge, and tell Jesus today, “I count this dead. I choose to live in You.”
Living the Chapter
The whole chapter, put into practice
Ultimately, Restoration invites Christians to live with an eternal perspective. By embracing stillness, surrendering to God’s unchanging nature, and being united with Him through Christ, believers experience true restoration. This chapter calls us to reflect God’s sovereignty through impartial love and to trust His eternal plan, finding peace and purpose in His divine presence.
Chapter 16 gives us a path for every day. We start in stillness, letting our minds clear so there is room for God. We remember that everything here rises and falls, so we hold it loosely. We return to God again and again, and in Him we find a peace and an insight that do not change.
Then we go out with open arms, embracing all as Heaven does, and we live as people who have already died with Christ and now share His life. An eternal perspective does not make us careless about this world. It sets us free to love it well.
“Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Colossians 3:2-3NRSVue
“…the expectation of a new earth must not weaken but rather stimulate our concern for cultivating this one.”Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes 39
“The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.”Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi 2
Picture an ordinary Tuesday lived the Chapter 16 way. You begin with a few still minutes before the noise. When the traffic, the emails and the bad news arrive, you remember they will pass. When a hard conversation comes, you speak to that person the way God sees them. When an old habit tempts you, you say no, because you are alive in Christ. Nothing dramatic happens. But by evening your heart is quieter, and the people around you have felt a little of Heaven’s peace.
Try this today: Tonight, look back over your day and ask, “Where did I hold firm to the stillness, and where did I lose it?” Then thank God and rest in Him.
RENEWAL
The Trinitarian M.A.P. is the method for RENEWAL, where God’s Love shapes our MINDSET, Trust in the Son directs our AIM, and Faith in the Holy Spirit guides our PRACTICE.
This chapter offers a new “Method” for the New Evangelization to RENEW our hearts and minds through the Trinitarian M.A.P. Bring this chapter into your day with the BFG Companion App. Pick Chapter 16 and an area of your life, and get Guidance made for you.
Renewal starts in the mind, and Chapter 16 begins right there: “Be clear minded to attain emptiness. Hold firm to the stillness.” Most of our minds are anything but empty: alerts, worries, plans, and replays of what someone said yesterday. St. Peter writes, “The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7, NRSVue). A clear mind is not a blank mind. It is a mind that has set down the clutter so there is room for God, and stillness is where that room begins.
The chapter also teaches us to think rightly about time: “The rising and falling of all things will end.” Jobs, moods, trends and seasons of life go up and come down. “All comes from dust, and to dust all shall return,” just as Ecclesiastes says. That is not gloomy. It frees us. When we remember that everything here passes, we stop clinging so tightly, and we start resting in the One who never passes away.
Try this: Before you pick up your phone in the morning, sit still for one minute and pray, “Lord, clear my mind and make room for You.”
Psalm 46:10NRSVue “Be still, and know that I am God!…”
1 Peter 4:7NRSVue “The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers.”
More Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12:7 · Zechariah 2:13
A still mind needs something to aim at, and Chapter 16 names it: “Knowing the Eternal is insight.” Much of what we chase will have changed by next month: prices, opinions, rankings, whatever is popular. The chapter warns, “Not knowing the never-changing leads to misfortune.” So we aim at what lasts. St. Paul says, “we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). God does not shift with the news. He is the fixed point we steer by.
The chapter shows where that aim leads: “Returning to the nature of God is the Eternal,” and “sovereignty is of Heaven.” Our goal is not just a better week; it is God Himself, and life with Him forever. Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3, NRSVue). Knowing Him is not only for later. It starts today, every time we turn back to Him.
Try this: When you set a goal today, ask yourself, “Will this still matter in eternity?” and then offer that goal to God.
2 Corinthians 4:18NRSVue “because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen, for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.”
John 17:3NRSVue “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
More Scripture: James 1:17 · Hebrews 13:8
Renewal becomes real in how we treat people. Chapter 16 says, “Knowing the never-changing embraces all. Embracing all is impartiality.” God’s love does not pick favorites. St. Peter reminds us that we “call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially” (1 Peter 1:17). So the Holy Spirit trains us to do the same: to greet the coworker nobody likes, to listen to the relative who sees things differently, to be as kind to the cashier as to the boss. Every person is someone God embraces.
The chapter ends with the deepest practice of all: “Count yourself dead but eternally alive in the Son of God.” St. Paul says nearly the same thing: “count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). In Baptism we died with Christ and rose with Him. Each day we live it in small ways: letting a grudge die, letting pride die, letting an old habit die, and letting the life of Jesus grow in its place.
Try this: Pick one person you usually overlook, and greet them warmly by name today.
1 Peter 1:17NRSVue “If you invoke as Father the one who judges impartially according to each person’s work, live in fear during the time of your exile.”
Romans 6:11NRSVue “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
More Scripture: Luke 6:35 · Galatians 2:20
In short: think humbly, aim at what is eternal, live by the Spirit. Be still and let go of what passes, aim at the God who never changes, embrace every person as He does, and live each day dead to sin and alive in the Son of God.
RESPOND
Renewal brings the transformation of our spirit with ardor, empowering us to RESPOND to the call of holiness and make disciples of all nations. This encourages meaningful dialogue to embrace shared truths that transcend cultural and religious boundaries.
Renewal does not end with us. When God restores a heart, He sends it out. Chapter 16 begins in quiet, “Hold firm to the stillness,” but it ends in life: “Count yourself dead but eternally alive in the Son of God.” People who have found that life cannot keep it to themselves. A still heart makes a brave messenger, because it knows what lasts.
In 1983, Saint John Paul II called the Church to an evangelization that is “new in its ardor, new in its methods, new in its expression.” The Gospel never changes. The way we carry it must be alive for our time. Chapter 16 shows why: a restless, always-online world needs fresh words that lead it back to the stillness where God is found.
Ardor is the fire of a heart that has been loved by God. People feel it before they hear a single word. Chapter 16 says, “Hold firm to the stillness.” The fire that lasts is lit in quiet prayer, not in noise.
Use the words people use today: simple, honest and personal. Share your story, not a lecture. Chapter 16 says “Embracing all is impartiality,” so speak to every person with the same warmth and respect, whoever they are.
Meet people where they are: on the phone in their hand. The BFG Handbook and the BFG Companion turn one conversation into a path to Christ and His Church. Chapter 16 says “Knowing the Eternal is insight.” Our tools are simply a way to help people slow down and meet the God who never changes.
Use the words people use today: simple, honest and personal. Share your story, not a lecture. Chapter 16 says “Embracing all is impartiality,” so speak to every person with the same warmth and respect, whoever they are.
What my life was like before I really met Jesus.
How He met me, and the moment things began to change.
What is different now, and the hope I carry. Like the chapter’s “rising and falling of all things,” when did something you leaned on fall away, and how did God hold you then?
Meet people where they are: on the phone in their hand. The BFG Handbook and the BFG Companion turn one conversation into a path to Christ and His Church. Chapter 16 says “Knowing the Eternal is insight.” Our tools are simply a way to help people slow down and meet the God who never changes.
Every chapter has its own song and is written in a language people of every faith can understand. A doorway for dialogue. Chapter 16, Restoration, helps anyone who feels scattered, worn out by constant change, or afraid of losing what they love.
A friend shares a struggle. Together, pick a chapter and an area of life (start with Chapter 16 when someone feels restless and overwhelmed, or is grieving a loss and needs to hear what lasts). In seconds: a reflection, the M.A.P., a saint, a prayer, Scripture, a song and a church nearby. Send it by email, PDF or a share link.
Hard question? Ask it together. Answers are grounded in Catholic teaching, the saints and the BFG Handbook. Talk or type. Try asking together: “If everything changes and passes away, what can I hold on to?”
Pray the Rosary with a guided voice, the daily mysteries and beads that follow along. Pray it with someone, even over the phone. The quiet rhythm of the beads is a simple way to “hold firm to the stillness” and walk with Jesus from His death to His rising.
Catholic churches near anyone, with Mass and Confession times, directions, and one tap to add a time to the calendar. Every conversation can end at a church door. There, in the quiet before the tabernacle, it is easier to “be clear minded” and return to the God who never changes.
Morning, midday and evening prayer reminders, a daily streak and a steady prayer rhythm help a new believer keep going. A gentle call each day to stop and “hold firm to the stillness.”
Free to start, no card needed. Read aloud in 48 languages.
One tool that walks with a person from the first question to the church door.
Jesus sent His apostles first to Jerusalem, then to Judea and Samaria, then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Start where you are. Chapter 16 says “Knowing the never-changing embraces all,” so no one on your daily path is outside God’s embrace, or yours.
- Pray the Rosary together on Pray My Rosary.
- Bless your children at bedtime.
- Share a Guidance with a spouse or child who is struggling.
- Find Sunday Mass times together with Church Finder.
- Before dinner, sit together in silence for a moment, then read: “Be clear minded to attain emptiness. Hold firm to the stillness.”
- Text a verse from your Guidance.
- Ask, “How can I pray for you?” and pray right then.
- Invite a friend to Mass, then go for coffee.
- Send the line: “Stillness is returning to the nature of God.”
- Be the calm, kind one.
- Pray on your lunch break with a reminder.
- Start a small chapter group that meets once a week. Begin with Chapter 16, Restoration.
- Respect the rules: invite, never push.
- Listen for the moment: “Things have been hard.”
- Offer: “Can I send you something that helped me?”
- Share the Chapter 16 song.
- Ask good questions and really listen.
- Share your three-part story.
- Open Ask BFG together when a question comes up.
- When a friend is grieving, sit with them quietly, then share the line “I bear witness to their return” and the hope of the resurrection.
- Visit the sick, the elderly and the lonely; pray the Rosary with them.
- Serve at a food bank.
- Welcome newcomers at Mass.
- Join your parish evangelization team.
- Ask shops, cafés and offices to display a BFG card with a QR code.
- Offer a short lunch talk on faith at work.
- Business owners: offer the Companion to staff as a free gift, never a requirement.
- Go where people already gather, and be the friendly one who listens.
- Pray quietly for the people around you.
- When a talk turns real, share a Guidance or the chapter song.
- Wear or carry a simple sign of your faith, like a cross or a rosary, that can start a conversation.
- On a walk in the park, point to the falling leaves and share that Chapter 16 says “The rising and falling of all things will end,” but God remains.
- Host a Chapter 16 “Restoration” night, a Handbook chapter night, a Rosary night or an “Ask Anything” faith night.
- Show the Companion on a big screen and let people try it.
- We did this at our free conference, The New Evangelization in the Age of AI, at Christ Cathedral.
- Share a Guidance, a chapter song or a Scripture card. Try: “Stillness is returning to the nature of God.”
- One post can reach someone you will never meet.
- Join a parish or diocese mission trip.
- The Companion speaks 48 languages, so you leave behind something that keeps speaking after you go home.
- Every culture knows that all things rise and fall; Chapter 16 opens a door to the God who never changes and to never-ending life in His Son.
- Your parish ministries, the Legion of Mary, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities, prison, hospital and campus ministries, and mission groups.
- Bring the BFG tools to their work.
Things will rise and fall around you. Plans will change, and some things you love will pass. But Chapter 16 calls God “the Eternal,” and says that in His Son you are “eternally alive.” Go from stillness. Go with open arms to everyone. Go with hope. The same Spirit who restored you now sends you, to carry the peace of the never-changing God into a restless world.
Eternal God who never changes, Holy Spirit, set my heart on fire. Jesus, send me to the one You love. Father, make me Your witness today. Amen.
NRSVue © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.