Thankfully, I came on SPIRITUS which has radically changed my lifestyle both physically and spiritually. I am now on a daily regimen of morning and evening prayer, daily Mass and spiritual formation weekly. Yes it was hard for the last 7 months facing the demons that have haunt me for trying to change my life since I have been in SPIRITUS, but with persistence and trust in the Lord I know that He is transforming me here. I made a General Confession the other day where I divulged to the priest my whole life story and it was amazing though pretty nerve-whacking. I feel a lot better and already on a better path. I just say take it one day at a time. Praise the Lord and let us follow the Cardinal's advice and strive to put Jesus at the center of our life.
SPIRITUS Team 8
Thursday, March 28, 2013
To Know Jesus
"To know Jesus, to hear Jesus, to love Jesus, to trust Jesus, to obey Jesus, to share his life in the deepest fiber of our being, and then to serve him in his people -- this is our goal." This quote was made by Cardinal Dolan in his book that is addressed to priests, but it is very relevant to every Catholic. So many times in my life I have professed to know Jesus, to love Jesus, to trust Jesus and so on yet I am farther away on the path to heaven then when I first started. I have studied about Jesus, but never really got to know Him. I have talked about Jesus, but never really talked to Him. Basically I have been going through the motions for most of my life.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Power of the Holy Spirit
So yesterday was my 2nd year anniversary of receiving the sacrament of Confirmation! How awesome, right?!
It's pretty wild to think that I've only really been an adult in the Catholic Church for the past 2 years even though I'm 23 years old and had a conversion of heart back when I was 18. It took me FOREVER to finally receive Confirmation. But God has quickly transformed my life because I chose to be anointed by the Holy Spirit.
First of all, I would not be apart of SPIRITUS if it were not for the Holy Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I have been able to stand up to nearly 5,000 youth over these past few months and witness to each and every one of them about my faith. I have been able to pray one-on-one with them, praise the Lord, laugh, cry, and just go crazy. All of this was not normal behavior for me before I came back to the faith.
I was an extremely selfish person growing up. I did not care or think about anyone but myself and what made me happy. This way of living left me feeling empty and alone. Not to mention, I had given my heart to a guy way before I even knew was love was. After he left me, I felt even more empty and alone. I had no idea what to do, where to go, who to trust. I found myself at a crossroads--either fall back into my selfish ways or live for something greater. I chose the second path, led by the Holy Spirit.
I am not a saint, at least not yet :P, but one day I hope to be. Being led by the Holy Spirit with our the Catholic faith is the best way to achieve that goal. The "rules" and "laws" of the Catholic Church are a roadmap that will lead us to Heaven, if we chose to follow them. And of course there is freedom within this that people don't understand! Because God is Love, and love is free.
So before we enter into this Easter Triduum, I challenge whoever is reading this right now to give your life to the Spirit and see where He leads you. Yes, it's a scary road, but think of it as a roller coaster--it has it's ups and downs, but at the end of the ride, you want to hop on for another go.
May the Peace of Christ enter your hearts during this Easter season.
+JMJ+
First of all, I would not be apart of SPIRITUS if it were not for the Holy Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I have been able to stand up to nearly 5,000 youth over these past few months and witness to each and every one of them about my faith. I have been able to pray one-on-one with them, praise the Lord, laugh, cry, and just go crazy. All of this was not normal behavior for me before I came back to the faith.
I was an extremely selfish person growing up. I did not care or think about anyone but myself and what made me happy. This way of living left me feeling empty and alone. Not to mention, I had given my heart to a guy way before I even knew was love was. After he left me, I felt even more empty and alone. I had no idea what to do, where to go, who to trust. I found myself at a crossroads--either fall back into my selfish ways or live for something greater. I chose the second path, led by the Holy Spirit.
I am not a saint, at least not yet :P, but one day I hope to be. Being led by the Holy Spirit with our the Catholic faith is the best way to achieve that goal. The "rules" and "laws" of the Catholic Church are a roadmap that will lead us to Heaven, if we chose to follow them. And of course there is freedom within this that people don't understand! Because God is Love, and love is free.
So before we enter into this Easter Triduum, I challenge whoever is reading this right now to give your life to the Spirit and see where He leads you. Yes, it's a scary road, but think of it as a roller coaster--it has it's ups and downs, but at the end of the ride, you want to hop on for another go.
May the Peace of Christ enter your hearts during this Easter season.
+JMJ+
Friday, March 8, 2013
Formation with the Bishop!
Thursdays are always one of my favorite days of the week here on SPIRITUS. Every Thursday we have formation as a team, and on the first Thursday of the month we have spiritual direction. Yesterday was exceptionally special for us! Jared and I headed up to Green Bay for spiritual direction with Fr. Schuster. (As an alumni of UWGB, anytime I get to go up to Green Bay I'm happy!) Then we met the rest of the team at Old Chicago for dinner which was quite a treat!
The big event of the night happened after dinner, we headed to the diocesan campus to meet with none other than His Excellency, Bishop Ricken, who led us in formation about Pope John Paul II's encyclical Redemptoris Missio, or the Mission of Christ the Redeemer. If I were to summarize what Bishop's message was in two words it would be easy...SAVE SOULS. He talked about how each one of us is to bring the good news of Jesus to everyone we meet, not to water down information, or because it makes us a good person, but because they deserve to know the truth! It was also awesome to just be in the presence of a Bishop, but also a man who is so personable and humble. Being around Bishop Ricken inspired me so much. I could tell that what he was telling us and teaching us, is not something he takes lightly. He shared with us how Mass attendance has been declining 3% every year for the past several years, and this is something he is truly worried about, and something that he is actually working to change. Again he is not trying to just fill the pews at Mass, he wants souls to be saved.
Bishop also talked to us about how much he supports our team, and how important he believes SPIRITUS is. I did not expect to go into formation with Bishop Ricken and have him thank us, but that is exactly what happened. I could tell that he genuinely cared about us. He even went around the table and asked each one of us what we are thinking about where God is calling us in our future vocation. Although many of us are still discerning, and do not yet know what our call is, Bishop Ricken told each one of us he would pray for us. Knowing that our wonderful Bishop is praying for us, helped to re-inspire me to go out to inspire other Catholic youth!
The big event of the night happened after dinner, we headed to the diocesan campus to meet with none other than His Excellency, Bishop Ricken, who led us in formation about Pope John Paul II's encyclical Redemptoris Missio, or the Mission of Christ the Redeemer. If I were to summarize what Bishop's message was in two words it would be easy...SAVE SOULS. He talked about how each one of us is to bring the good news of Jesus to everyone we meet, not to water down information, or because it makes us a good person, but because they deserve to know the truth! It was also awesome to just be in the presence of a Bishop, but also a man who is so personable and humble. Being around Bishop Ricken inspired me so much. I could tell that what he was telling us and teaching us, is not something he takes lightly. He shared with us how Mass attendance has been declining 3% every year for the past several years, and this is something he is truly worried about, and something that he is actually working to change. Again he is not trying to just fill the pews at Mass, he wants souls to be saved.
Bishop also talked to us about how much he supports our team, and how important he believes SPIRITUS is. I did not expect to go into formation with Bishop Ricken and have him thank us, but that is exactly what happened. I could tell that he genuinely cared about us. He even went around the table and asked each one of us what we are thinking about where God is calling us in our future vocation. Although many of us are still discerning, and do not yet know what our call is, Bishop Ricken told each one of us he would pray for us. Knowing that our wonderful Bishop is praying for us, helped to re-inspire me to go out to inspire other Catholic youth!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
SPIRITUS Takes Part in Men's Conference at St. Pius X Catholic Church
On Saturday March 2, the men on the SPIRITUS team led high school students in a day of formation at the Men's Conference held at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Appleton, WI. The formation drew upon the theme of what it means to truly be a man of the faith.
I very much enjoyed listening to my brothers discuss three people that emulate being a man of the Catholic faith: St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Ignatius Loyola, and Blessed Pier Giorgio. My brothers discussed some important characteristics that define what it means to be a man of faith. These included sacrifice, courage, and mission.
The students were intrigued by the witness of these holy men. They learned about how St. Kolbe sacrificed himself by death through starvation at a Nazi concentration camp so that a father wouldn't have to. They learned about the life of St. Ignatius, his courage and willingness to endure great pain without complaint and his drive to become saintly. And they learned about Blessed Pier Giorgio's mission to attend to the sick and to live modestly even though he came from a wealthy family.
Furthermore, students learned about brotherhood and the importance of helping each other overcome the temptations and challenges in life, to follow God's path, and to be active in the faith. We all listened to Brother Mark's witness to the faith and how his strong faith today is rooted in the assistance of a friend from the past who really brought him into playing an active role in the Catholic Church.
For my part, I greatly enjoyed teaching students about the deadly sins and the virtues to help overcome them. With the help of my brothers, we made learning these virtues through special interactive activities really fun. And I can say first hand, the students thoroughly enjoyed it!
After a wonderful day connecting with students at the conference, I attended Mass with Brother Aaron, which was special in that the Mass was led by our very own Bishop David Ricken.
It is days like these that I give great thanks to God for the great blessings He has given me. It is truly a blessing to take part in such a wonderful ministry, and it is truly a blessing to be Catholic and to fully take part in the Christian faith, beginning with full participation in the celebration of the Mass.
I very much enjoyed listening to my brothers discuss three people that emulate being a man of the Catholic faith: St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Ignatius Loyola, and Blessed Pier Giorgio. My brothers discussed some important characteristics that define what it means to be a man of faith. These included sacrifice, courage, and mission.
The students were intrigued by the witness of these holy men. They learned about how St. Kolbe sacrificed himself by death through starvation at a Nazi concentration camp so that a father wouldn't have to. They learned about the life of St. Ignatius, his courage and willingness to endure great pain without complaint and his drive to become saintly. And they learned about Blessed Pier Giorgio's mission to attend to the sick and to live modestly even though he came from a wealthy family.
Furthermore, students learned about brotherhood and the importance of helping each other overcome the temptations and challenges in life, to follow God's path, and to be active in the faith. We all listened to Brother Mark's witness to the faith and how his strong faith today is rooted in the assistance of a friend from the past who really brought him into playing an active role in the Catholic Church.
For my part, I greatly enjoyed teaching students about the deadly sins and the virtues to help overcome them. With the help of my brothers, we made learning these virtues through special interactive activities really fun. And I can say first hand, the students thoroughly enjoyed it!
After a wonderful day connecting with students at the conference, I attended Mass with Brother Aaron, which was special in that the Mass was led by our very own Bishop David Ricken.
It is days like these that I give great thanks to God for the great blessings He has given me. It is truly a blessing to take part in such a wonderful ministry, and it is truly a blessing to be Catholic and to fully take part in the Christian faith, beginning with full participation in the celebration of the Mass.
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