The Perks of Living with Priests

Tonight was quite literally awesome.

The men of SPIRITUS live in a rectory with two priests, Fr. Don Zuleger and Fr. Andrew Kurz. Getting up and walking across the parking lot to go to morning Mass at St. Bernadette Parish in Appleton is great for us, since it means we can sleep late (which some of us really enjoy doing on occasion). But the real perk of living with the priests is nights like tonight.

Mark, our coordinator, scheduled some "House Adoration" time this evening--time for the men and the women to pray in front of the Eucharist as separate households, rather than as a whole community together (which is how we normally do our weekly hour of Eucharistic Adoration). For the men, this turned out to be rather providential, as Fr. Andrew arranged to preside at private Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for us in the side chapel at St. Bernadette's. During our Holy Hour, we also prayed Evening Prayer and Night Prayer, concluding our time with Benediction. Thank you to Fr. Andrew for bringing us Jesus and leading us in prayer!

What Is Discipleship?

During our team formation last week we looked deeper into the topic of discipleship. It seems like a common idea among Christians is that you need to be "a disciple of Christ". But what does that really mean? That has been a question I have been asking myself lately and, essentially, I believe that being a disciple means simply to follow what Jesus said and did. That may seem like the easy, obvious answer but if we really think about it, it's something that we have to keep being reminded of every single day. Not just follow the commandments of Jesus that we think are easy or convenient, but those actions and commands of Jesus that make us cringe or stretch us outside of what we are comfortable with. More so than just following Jesus, we need to help others follow Him too.

What is at the center of all that Jesus said and did on this earth was to help others become His hands and feet that would do His work after He left. That is where discipleship really comes into play. We are to follow Jesus' example by guiding and supporting people we meet so that they can spread Jesus' teachings. Hopefully they will lead others into this chain of discipleship that reaches all the way back to Jesus himself. Jesus taught the apostles to proclaim His message who, in turn, taught others. This process has continued throughout the centuries and is still working today. We are all called to this type of discipleship. Now if you're anything like me, you might be doubting your ability to disciple someone. Many times I do not feel equipped to help someone else in their faith. I don't know enough about the Church, I haven't read enough books or I don't have all the new translations of the Mass memorized. In reality, all those reasons are exactly why you would be perfect to disciple someone. Because you are broken. Because you still need to learn. Discipleship is about working together with others to make Jesus the center of your life. When you teach someone else how to be a disciple of Jesus, you will learn more about yourself and about faith than you can even imagine. I find the thought of having an all-knowledgeable, perfect person that wasn't struggling with anything teaching me about Jesus as rather unappealing. I can't relate with that. So it's okay to not know everything because it is through that that we can relate to others, grow ourselves and encourage others to do the same. Discipleship is something we all need to take seriously because it is all our calling. We are all called to spread the teachings of the Catholic Church and to help others in the same journey. We must follow what Jesus says in John 13:15, "I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do".

As God's children, let us remain in the peace of God.

Here is a piece by St. Cyprian on the Lord's Prayer

As God's children, let us remain in the peace of God.

"Christ has clearly added a law here, binding us to a definite condition, that we should ask for our debts to be forgiven us only as much as we ourselves forgive our debtors, knowing that we cannot obtain what we seek in respect of our own sins unless we ourselves have acted in exactly the same way to those who have sinned against us. This is why he says in another place: By whatever standard you measure, by that standard will you too be measured. And the servant who had all his debt forgiven him by his master but would not forgive his fellow-servant was cast into prison: because he would not forgive his fellow-servant, he lost the indulgence that his master had granted him.

  And Christ makes this point even more strongly in his teaching: When you stand up to pray, he says, if you have anything against anyone, forgive it, so that your Father who is in heaven may forgive your sins. But if you do not forgive, nor will your Father in heaven forgive you. On the day of judgement there are no possible excuses: you will be judged according to your own sentence, and whatever you have inflicted, that is what you will suffer.

  For God commands us to be peacemakers, and to agree, and to be of one mind in his house. What he has made us by the second birth he wishes us to continue during our infancy, that we who have begun to be children of God may abide in his peace, and that having one spirit we should also have one heart and one mind. Thus God does not accept the sacrifice of one who is in disagreement but commands him to go back from the altar and first be reconciled with his brother, so that God may be placated by the prayers of a peacemaker. Our peace and concord are the greatest possible sacrifice to God – a people united in the unity of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

  Not even when Abel and Cain were making the first sacrifice – not even then did God pay attention to their gifts. He looked into their hearts, and the gift that was acceptable was the one offered by the one who was acceptable in his heart. Abel, peaceable and righteous in sacrificing in innocence to God, taught the rest of us that when we bring our gift to the altar we should come, like him, with the fear of God, with a heart free of deceit, with the law of righteousness, with the peace of concord. He sacrificed in such a way, and so he was worthy to become, afterwards, himself a sacrifice to God: he who bore witness through the first martyrdom, who initiated the Lord’s passion by the glory of his blood, had both the Lord’s righteousness and the Lord’s peace. Such are those who are crowned by the Lord at the end; such are those who will sit and judge with him on the day of judgement.

  But he who quarrels and stirs up discord, he who is not at peace with his brethren – the Apostle and holy Scripture together testify that even if he meets death for the sake of Christ’s name, he will still be held guilty of fraternal dissension, for it is written,whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and the murderer cannot attain the kingdom of heaven or abide with God. No-one can be with Christ who preferred to imitate Judas rather than Christ."

Sharing the Faith with St. Mary Central's Sophomores

SPIRITUS hosted St. Mary Central's sophomore retreat at Mt. Tabor Center on Tuesday, Oct. 23rd. The SPIRITUS Team had a wonderful time sharing the Catholic faith. We had great discussions about how the students live out their faith in high school, including the struggles and barriers that exist that keep us from developing a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and a deeper Catholic faith.

Perhaps the most rewarding part of the retreat for me was praying with individual students regarding their specific needs. Mt 20:18 states that where there are two or more gathered in His name, there He is among them.

I felt the presence of God on this retreat. The SPIRITUS team will continue its prayers for the students of St. Mary Central and wish them all the best as they continue the school year.

Life Is For Loving

Happy Sunday! This weekend was too good for words. Yesterday we had yet another wonderful retreat experience with All Saints Parish, the day started off busy with 20 students, they were quiet at first but as the day progressed they turned into a lively bunch. As the team members gave their sessions I noticed a change in atmosphere and how comfortable the students had gotten. The students began to open up more. One thing that really stood out from this group was their desire for life, and a desire to go deeper with our Lord, it simply blew my mind.

I can not believe it has been TWO months since we started our journey with SPIRITUS, I remember coming in scared, missing my family in CO, with a list full of questions, to taking that leap of faith. So far on this journey I have learned vulnerability, confidence, patience, and a hunger for understanding. Patience learning how to be patience with myself, others around me. Patience with the different personalities of team members, the different retreat groups (3rd-12th graders). Confidence, I'm learning to be okay with the gifts that I have been given to me, learning how to live with amazing brothers and sisters, learning to cook, speaking in front of tons of students, performing dramas, singing, and really being stretched out of my comfort zone. Vulnerability, allowing people to see me to the depths of my core. I have heard stores that have incorporated themselves into my soul. The struggles that the youth have had to endure, the pain in their eyes, their enormous hearts, seeing inspiration in every corner, it has opened my eyes to so many different things. It has allowed me to listen to each story and let them change my life, my view, and my heart. These two months I've had the chance to get to know this vibrant ministry that is now apart of me. I am in awe of what SPIRITUS, God, the youth have done to a small town girl like me, I have learned from my brothers and sisters, the youth, Jesus Christ, and all the challenges. How being vulnerable allows us to be human, it gets us to the rawest of emotions, it’s a glimpse of the soul on fire. Now this hunger for understanding, I am hungry to know more about Jesus, the youth we'll continue to encounter, my brothers and sisters, this ministry, the struggles, more stories, to change me, to mold me. There is more to come, but for now ponder on this quote from Mother Teresa. Remember life is for loving.

"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it." -Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

OOOOOHHHHH and welcome to the family of saints :)

Saint Pedro Calungsod!
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha!
Saint Marianne Cope!
Saint Jacques Berthieu!
Saint Giovanni Battista Piamarta!
Saint Carmen Salles y Barangueras!
Saint Anna Scheffer!

Retreats: Bringing Out the Child in All of Us

We had two retreats earlier today: first, the freshman Challenge Retreat for St. Mary Central High School in Neenah, WI and second, a Faith on Fire at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Manawa, WI. The Faith on Fire was particularly interesting, because there were students from grades 4-11 all at the same event.

First of all, it can be a bit challenging to present a message that is accessible to such a wide age range. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit empowers us to do whatever is necessary, if we only stay open to His inspirations! I can confidently say that the students at Sacred Heart have learned a great deal about their faith, particularly about the Communion of Saints.

Second, working with a range of grade levels all at once gives us a great perspective on a topic that appears frequently in the Gospel: childlike faith. I was privileged to stay with the younger grades this evening while the older students broke up into small groups with some of my SPIRITUS teammates. The openness of the younger children is absolutely incredible! They may have learned more than even the older students, simply because they were willing to accept us as teachers without being "too cool" to be there.

Finally, I think it was good for the older students to see the openness that the young ones have. During praise and worship, we really get a chance to see whether or not students are open to the Holy Spirit based on whether or not they are able to step out of their comfort zones to sing songs for Jesus and even do some silly hand motions. The younger kids don't have any problem doing this, but the older ones tend to struggle a little. However, being around younger students really helps them to rediscover a bit of that childlike openness that they've lost over the years. I think it really made a difference tonight!

I pray that God will help all of us to trust in Him with childlike faith, not worrying about what others will think, but doing whatever He asks of us with enthusiasm, joy, and complete trust.

Trusting in God's Providence and the Lourdes Freshmen Retreat

The SPIRITUS Team traveled to Oshkosh on Wednesday for a Freshmen Retreat with Lourdes High School. We enjoyed interacting with the students and sharing the Catholic faith with them.

The most memorable activity for me was a trust activity that involved blind folding partners and guiding them. It reminded me of a time when I encountered a blind man waiting to cross a busy street in Minneapolis. He had miscounted the number of streets he had already crossed and when I came to him, he should have crossed the street to his left instead of going straight.

When I began to converse with him about where he was going, he began to panic because he realized that he went too far. I was new to Minneapolis, but did my best to help him find his bus stop.

When the walking signal turned green, I guided him back across the busy street with my voice (he was too proud to let me actually hold his arm) and helped him find his way to a bus stop that would take him to the right place. Half way across the street, a car turning left did not yield, but blew on passed us. The man became petrified. I could see the car wasn't going to hit us, but the blind man could only hear a car coming at him.

I was a complete stranger to him, and yet he had to trust me with his life.

The activity on the retreat did not put the students in such an extreme position, but it does provide an important point about our relationship with God. Oftentimes, God asks us to go on paths completely blinded. Sometimes we are pushed out of our comfort zone, put in stressful situations, and the path God is taking us on doesn't seem to make sense to us. But we must trust Him and let him guide us on His path, despite not knowing where we are going. It is difficult to let go of our own crafted plans and to blindly surrender to God's Providence. It takes great faith and it is what God asks of us.

Laughter Filled The Air

This past Sunday, September 30th we had our eleventh retreat of the year so far with SS Mary & Hyacinth, Antigo. We had 28 seniors join us at Mount Tabor, it was a wonderful experience. As the retreat started rolling, the students were fully engaged. Leading ice breakers for the first time and small groups on my own without a co-pilot was a whole new experience on its own.

As I gave my session towards the end of the retreat, the room was filled with laughter and they taught me something important that afternoon, learn to embrace the awkwardness and laugh at yourself a little. Enjoy the little things in life, for those are the ones that matter most.

This past week was oobber busy and there are more retreats coming, but with this busy schedule I have had lots of time to reflect on all the good things in life, how privileged we are to have this life. I dare you, find those bits of happiness in stressful/busy times, in those moments where you think gahhh I just can not do all of this, think again you can!

Happy feast of the Guardian Angels may they be watching over you.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoice and with my song will I praise him. - Psalms 28:7

Faith on Fire at St. Edward in Mackville

On Saturday September 29, SPIRITUS visited St. Edward Parish in Mackville for a short retreat for high schools students. Team members shared stories about their faith journey and led discussion and brainstorming with students about creative ways to live out the Catholic faith.

The team also discussed taking knowledge learned about the faith and removing barriers that may keep the knowledge of the faith from being put into practice through acts of charity.

So exited!!!  We are going to start our Inspire/Teen Disciples in three locations tonight.  Hope to see you all there. :) Here is a description of it:


Your Questions - God's Answers
Tackling Real Issues!

1st & 3rd Mondays from 5:45 PM to 7:15 PM

Three Locations!

Mount Tabor Center
522 Second St.
Menasha, WI 54952

St. Matthew Parish
130 St. Matthew St.
Green Bay, WI 54301

Holy Family Youth Center
678 Western Ave.
Fond du Lac, WI 54935


Make friends in faith! Get answers to YOUR questions! Discover who Jesus is calling you to be! Grow as radical Catholics! Hang with the SPIRITUS team!

FREE FOOD!!! This is our kick-off meeting, so that means it's time to PARTY! Join us for food and socializing as well as an opportunity to give us your input about what topics we should cover this year!

(This is event is for Young Adults. Please invite any young adults (19-39) you know in the area who might be interested!)

What to do before you pray

St. John Cassian's thoughts about what to do before you pray."To be able to offer our prayer with that earnestness and purity with which it ought to be offered, first, all anxiety about carnal things must be entirely got rid of.

Next, we must leave no room for not just the care but even the recollection of any business affairs, and likewise must also lay aside all backbitings, vain and incessant chattering, and buffoonery. Anger above all and disturbing depression must be entirely destroyed, and the deadly taint of carnal lust and covetousness be torn up by the roots.

Then there must be laid the secure foundations of a deep humility, which may be able to support a tower that shall reach the sky; and next the spiritual structure of the virtues must be built up upon them, and the soul kept free from all conversation and from roving thoughts, so that thus it may little by little begin to rise to t he contemplation of God and to spiritual insight.

Whatever our mind has been thinking of before the hour of prayer, that thought is sure to occur to us while we are praying--for the mind in prayer is formed by its previous condition. When we are applying ourselves to prayer, the images of the same actions and words and thoughts as in our previous condition will dance before our eyes. They will make us angry or gloomy, or recall our former lust and business, or make us shake with foolish laughter at some silly joke, or smile at some action, or fly back to our previous conversation.

So if we do not want anything to haunt us while we are praying, we should be careful before our prayer to exclude it from the shrine of our heart."