One of the things we like to do as members of SPIRITUS is come together as households (men at the St. Bernadette's rectory and women at Mt. Tabor Center) and share our personal faith with each other. Tonight we used the Gospel reading from today as a jumping-off point for our discussion.
It's the Memorial of the Passion of John the Baptist, and that means we heard a very intense story today at Mass. It was a good place for us to begin sharing our lives and our faith with one another. Fr. Don and Fr. Andrew, the priests in residence here at St. Bernadette's, joined our discussion as well, bringing their insights and knowledge.
It's a great privilege to be able to discuss these things with not one but two great priests who have not only given their lives to Christ, but also generously extended hospitality to the men of SPIRITUS. It's not a privilege just anyone gets. (I never would have thought, before joining SPIRITUS, that I would have an opportunity to get to know a priest well enough to just sit down and have a deep conversation in the living room!) It's just one of the ways in which being part of SPIRITUS is a tremendous blessing. Of course, the greatest blessing is simply serving God.
SPIRITUS Team 8
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
New Year, Same Mission
Now that we're back at Mt. Tabor Center and learning our retreat sessions, I've been thinking about Mission: preparing for the mission, the meaning of mission, the importance of focusing on the mission... What is the mission?
During our opening retreat, Fr. Schuster (our team chaplain) asked us what our mission statement is. I'll confess that we had to look it up, but here it is: "The mission of SPIRITUS is to inspire young Catholics as disciples of Jesus so they will spread the Gospel and renew the Church!"
Let's break that down a little. SPIRITUS, of course, is us. The mission is what we do; it's our purpose. Young Catholics are those we meet on retreats: the youth of Wisconsin, ranging in age from 2nd-12th grade, whether they attend Catholic schools or are preparing for Sacraments of Initiation (mainly Confirmation, but also First Communion). We want to inspire them, or "set them on fire" by filling them with enthusiasm and excitement for their role as disciples. As a flame spreads from one candle to another, so our enthusiasm for our Faith should be contagious!
Disciples of Jesus are the followers, literally the students, of Christ Our Lord. We want the youth to learn from us to imitate Christ and put him at the center of their lives. But we also want these disciples to be true disciples, who not only live the way Jesus has shown them, but also pass it on to others. The Church is all of us who believe, and it is the youth who are the future of the Church. In fact, I once knew a priest who pointed out that the youth are really the present of the Church; they are here and now! In any case, twenty, thirty, forty years from now, the Church will only be vibrant if today's youth make it that way. They are the key to renewal!
Fr. Schuster also spoke to us a little bit about the importance of keeping the mission central to our ministry. Everything we do can either advance the mission or hinder it. Personally, I think our mission is a pretty important one, so I don't want to hinder it in any way! That means keeping the mission in mind and considering how everything I do might impact it, either positively or negatively.
It's also important to remember that "mission" comes from the Latin missio, which means "act of sending". We don't do this mission ourselves. We don't come up with it ourselves. It is something given to us, something we are literally "sent" on. God has called and sent us to be His messengers to the youth of Wisconsin. That's a big responsibility!
That's why it's so important to be prepared for our first retreat on September 8th. Please pray for SPIRITUS as we continue to train for this important mission with which God has entrusted us!
During our opening retreat, Fr. Schuster (our team chaplain) asked us what our mission statement is. I'll confess that we had to look it up, but here it is: "The mission of SPIRITUS is to inspire young Catholics as disciples of Jesus so they will spread the Gospel and renew the Church!"
Let's break that down a little. SPIRITUS, of course, is us. The mission is what we do; it's our purpose. Young Catholics are those we meet on retreats: the youth of Wisconsin, ranging in age from 2nd-12th grade, whether they attend Catholic schools or are preparing for Sacraments of Initiation (mainly Confirmation, but also First Communion). We want to inspire them, or "set them on fire" by filling them with enthusiasm and excitement for their role as disciples. As a flame spreads from one candle to another, so our enthusiasm for our Faith should be contagious!
Disciples of Jesus are the followers, literally the students, of Christ Our Lord. We want the youth to learn from us to imitate Christ and put him at the center of their lives. But we also want these disciples to be true disciples, who not only live the way Jesus has shown them, but also pass it on to others. The Church is all of us who believe, and it is the youth who are the future of the Church. In fact, I once knew a priest who pointed out that the youth are really the present of the Church; they are here and now! In any case, twenty, thirty, forty years from now, the Church will only be vibrant if today's youth make it that way. They are the key to renewal!
Fr. Schuster also spoke to us a little bit about the importance of keeping the mission central to our ministry. Everything we do can either advance the mission or hinder it. Personally, I think our mission is a pretty important one, so I don't want to hinder it in any way! That means keeping the mission in mind and considering how everything I do might impact it, either positively or negatively.
It's also important to remember that "mission" comes from the Latin missio, which means "act of sending". We don't do this mission ourselves. We don't come up with it ourselves. It is something given to us, something we are literally "sent" on. God has called and sent us to be His messengers to the youth of Wisconsin. That's a big responsibility!
That's why it's so important to be prepared for our first retreat on September 8th. Please pray for SPIRITUS as we continue to train for this important mission with which God has entrusted us!
Friday, August 24, 2012
SPIRITUS Returns!
Greetings!
It's been a long time, but SPIRITUS is back and hard at work preparing for another year of exciting youth retreats as part of the New Evangelization!
The new team arrived on August 19th and almost immediately jumped into training. Our opening retreat started on Monday at Mount Tabor and continued throughout this past week at Camp Tekawitha. It was great to be back at Camp Tek... Last year's opening retreat was at a different location, with less space for recreation and without a chapel, so the other returners and I really appreciated the change! Having Jesus present in the Eucharist so close by always makes a huge difference.
Daily Mass with Fr. Schuster, our chaplain, was probably the highlight of our opening retreat for me, but we also spent a lot of time getting to know each other and going over all of the basics of living in community and growing in holiness. This formation will continue throughout the year, of course, but for now, all of our new team members can confidently approach the year knowing that they are prepared for the challenges and blessings of our daily lives on SPIRITUS.
We will continue our training next week, but we'll also be making some public appearances as a team at St. Patrick's and the TCCES Opening Liturgy this Sunday. Look for SPIRITUS at Mass!
-Jared
It's been a long time, but SPIRITUS is back and hard at work preparing for another year of exciting youth retreats as part of the New Evangelization!
The new team arrived on August 19th and almost immediately jumped into training. Our opening retreat started on Monday at Mount Tabor and continued throughout this past week at Camp Tekawitha. It was great to be back at Camp Tek... Last year's opening retreat was at a different location, with less space for recreation and without a chapel, so the other returners and I really appreciated the change! Having Jesus present in the Eucharist so close by always makes a huge difference.
Daily Mass with Fr. Schuster, our chaplain, was probably the highlight of our opening retreat for me, but we also spent a lot of time getting to know each other and going over all of the basics of living in community and growing in holiness. This formation will continue throughout the year, of course, but for now, all of our new team members can confidently approach the year knowing that they are prepared for the challenges and blessings of our daily lives on SPIRITUS.
We will continue our training next week, but we'll also be making some public appearances as a team at St. Patrick's and the TCCES Opening Liturgy this Sunday. Look for SPIRITUS at Mass!
-Jared
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