Praise the Lord!
Just yesterday my SPIRTUS bros and....gal friends had a really inspiring day of prayer and formation yesterday! Being able to go down to the Holy Resurrection Monastery of St. Nazian's and spend some time with our brothers of the Eastern Catholic Rite was a blessing. Bing able to join in the Byzantine form of the mass called Divine Liturgy was a powerful experience that of course reached its climax in the reception of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

One thing about the Divine Liturgy that really struck me was that between the altar where the sacrifice of the mass was taking place and the place where we were there was a wall with three doors. The door on the left had a picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary or as our brothers at Holy Resurrection Monastery would call her the Theotokos meaning: one who gives birth to God. The door on the right had a picture of the Christ displayed in both justice and mercy. The door in the middle was open but it had a curtain or a veil that was able to be slid so as to cover the door. I was told by a brother there named Brother Ambrose that this seeming separation between the priest and the people was far from that. The three doors and icons formed what is called an Iconostasis and its purpose was to help us remember that not only are the priest and the faithful participating in this Divine Feast but all of heaven the thrones, the choirs of angels, the cherubim, the great six-winged seraphs, the great elders, patriarchs and prophets, the martyrs, and all the saints have come to worship the Ancient One, God Almighty through the Body and Blood of His Son, Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit in this tiny little chapel where we stood. It is amazing that we were not overcome with the weight of such glory! And we knew heaven was there, not just because of the Iconostasis which by the way was pretty sweet, but because when we went up to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ we had faith. "Blessed are they who have not seen me and yet believe." Brothers and sisters Christ had called us to believe, to believe in His divinity, His mission, His death and resurrection, His ascension and glorification, His second coming, and in the everlasting love that we got to get a little taste of during the Divine Liturgy at Holy Resurrection Monastery in St. Nazian's Wisconsin.

To Really Give the Devil a Good Fight

Hello blog readers! I hope and pray that God is giving you endurance to get through the last few months of winter. We have been keeping busy with our retreat schedule which helps us forget about the weather…for the most part. This past weekend we experienced spiritual warfare on our retreat. Satan tried to trip us up through certain incidences such as losing car keys, waking up late, and ultimately discouragement. Luckily, we were able to pinpoint that this was happening to us in order to not let it get to us. To quote some lyrics from Danielle Rose’s song, “The Saint That Is Just Me,” it was somewhat a compliment that we were getting attacked because we were, “to really give the devil a good fight.” There was quite the happy ending to this retreat; even if we didn’t see the results we trust that God used us to better His kingdom. One of my favorite books of all time is “The Screwtape Letters,” by C.S. Lewis. If you have not read it, go pick up a copy NOW! It has great insight on spiritual warfare and the tactics that Satan uses to get to us. I knew that going into SPIRITUS not everything would be easy. There would be trials or things that would prevent us from our work, whether division between teammates or anxiety about sharing our stories with the youth. Despite these things, we are beyond blessed that God has already won this battle. He helps us stay focused on what is important, for instance God really opened my eyes on a retreat to why the mission of SPIRITUS is vital. We had time for the students to ask us questions in a panel format. One question that shocked me was, “Is the youth worth it?” My initial response was, “YES!” It hurt to know that some of these youth feel unworthy or that they think we are wasting our time on them. Even if the students seem discouraged or completely closed off doesn’t mean God is not working on their hearts. Even if one student experiences God’s love, it is worth it! Their heart is worth it! Their soul is worth it! “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 8:38-39

Forgiveness

1^st John 4:20-  “If any one says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

It is clear that not hating others presupposes being able to love God. This can be a major block from having a relationship with God. Throughout our lives, people do things to us that hurt us and upset us. We feel that people treat us unjustly and we can respond with hate. Making judgments about the people one has a hard time with, fuels the problem. But there is good news; forgiveness is the way to set you free. Jesus often mentioned how we need to forgive and how necessary it is to be a disciple.

Often, we try to forgive others from the head but the heart doesn't let it go. I have found in my life that confession helps to forgive others. When we receive the mercy and love from God, it is easier to have mercy and love for others. There is also a reward for forgiving: Luke 6:37-“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Therefore, the more that we don’t judge or forgive the more we will be rewarded now and in heaven. 

God Bless,

Dennis

The Power of One

Hello bloggers! I hope life finds you doing well, loving this wintery weather. I sure am, haha. I've been meditating one the phrase above, "The Power of One," seems to be everywhere these days. Especially in a conversation I had with one my sisters in Christ. As we were talking, it was wonderful to see that someone else shared the same thought, "Even if I only touched one kid's heart during this year, that's a job well done." Well something to that matter. Hold on to that thought.

We're in the busiest time of ministry with many retreats, bible studies, youth ministry events, with all of that a thought creep-ed into my mind, "Am I really making a difference?" Granted those are are all lies from Satan. As I met with my Spiritual Director last week she said that JESUS Christ was that ONE. It all started coming together. Jesus Christ made the ONE sacrifice on the cross for us. Jesus Christ is the ONE whom loves us with that agape love. How blessed are we to have someone grow through that.... He is the ONE we live for. His death and resurrection is little pieces  that we go through in our lives, its the mystery of our faith. Jesus Christ will be the ONE to touch the hearts of all the youth we minister to. How beautiful is that.

Even though these doubts may cross our minds from time to time, let us remember Jesus Christ is the ONE, He made all things new and continues to do so. For this and so much more, I am so thankful. Let us go be examples of Christ to one another, striving to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. Thank you and God Bless. Have a blessed week.

"One SONG can spark a moment. One FLOWER can wake the dream. One TREE can start a forest. One BIRD can herald spring. One SMILE begins a friendship. One HANDCLASP lifts a soul. One STAR can guide a ship at sea. One WORD can frame the goal. One VOTE can change a nation. One SUNBEAM lights a room. One CANDLE wipes out darkness. One LAUGH will conquer gloom. One STEP must start each journey. One WORD must start a prayer. One HOPE will raise our spirits. One TOUCH can show you care. One VOICE can speak with wisdom. One HEART can know what is true. One LIFE can make a difference." -- Author Unknown --

Why retreats?

After being apart of over 40 or so retreats this year, I have found that it is very important for us in our ministry to step back and reflect on why we do the work that we do.

First off, why put on retreats? 

The sole purpose of a Christian retreat is to take time from the busyness of life in order to reconnect with the Lord. As simple as that may sound, I have found that when I am caught up in the busyness of our ministry I can sometimes forget this essential purpose. I can become distracted and look at our retreats as opportunities for us to educate students on our faith and bring them insightful stories, when in reality what is really happening is much more spiritual than that.

What we are really doing is planting seeds of conversion and offering students an opportunity to renew their relationships with Christ, our Lord.

As I reflect on my own experiences on retreat when I was in the student's shoes back in high school, I recall many occurrences when I felt that renewal of reconnecting with God. I always felt a joy and peace afterwards, which always came unexpectedly (because I rarely would go into retreats very enthusiastically). Although I would often times stray away from the spiritual life shortly after, I am so thankful for those opportunities because I truly know that they eventually led me to a deep conversion of heart to our Lord.

It is truly a blessing to see students undergo that same transformation I experienced while I am the one leading them on retreats. This spiritual conversion, which we witness in students, is why we put on retreats and why I look forward to many more to come.

Evangelism Through Holiness

It is easy for the evangelist to get caught up in his/her own work. Constantly analyzing his performance, developing the feeling that if only he works a little harder and a little more and if only he perfects his work, then he will bring more souls to Christ.

But what is missing from this is the truth that the Holy Spirit is the only One Who brings souls to Christ. We are nothing more than vessels for accomplishing the Spirit's desires. It is only by way of grace then, that we can accomplish anything for God.

Jesus tells His disciples in His last discourse to them, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whosoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Therefore, it is the increased capacity to retain God's grace that improves our own abilities to go about accomplishing the work of God. And this is why it must always be the foremost priority that the evangelist center his ministry around his personal spiritual growth in Christ, who then gives him the capacity to fulfill the Spirit's mission.

Jesus further says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you, the Spirit of truth" (John 15:15).

I encourage you brothers and sisters in Christ, to seek out God in everything and desire first to have a strong relationship Him. In doing this, He will show His love for you through the gift of grace, to go forth and be His witnesses. Keep in mind, though, this does not mean one can neglect his duties. For it is in genuine love for God that he will seek to do the best that he can in all things relating to God's ministry.

Let's pray for some nice weather!

When I joined SPIRITUS over a year and a half ago, I knew that I would grow a lot spiritually.  I knew that my prayer life would be extended, that I would be going to Mass most days, that I would be going to the sacrament of reconciliation more.  All of these things have definitely happened, but one thing that I was not expecting was to learn more about and fall in love with the many saints that we have in our Church.  I have found so many wonderful friends like Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Vincent DePaul and many more who draw me closer Jesus. 

Today at Mass I learned about St. Scholastica, who is the sister of St. Benedict. She is the founder of the women's branch of Benedictine Monasticism.  One day she met up with her brother and when St. Benedict indicated that it was time for him to leave she asked him to stay he said he had to get back to his monastery. St. Scholastica then put her head on the table and spent some time praying.  Then a wild storm started outside the guest house they were in. St. Benedict asked her what she had done, and she replied with, "I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and he did listen." St. Benedict stayed with her and continued their conversation all night.  Three days later he saw his sisters soul leaving the earth and ascending to heaven. 

St. Scholastica teaches us the power of prayer, may we follow in her footsteps to trust completely in our Holy Father, and of course turn to St. Scholastica as we pray for some warmer weather!

Exploring Wisconsin

Hello from a busy SPIRITUS team! We just finished up Catholic Schools Week which was awesome and we are getting ready for more amazing retreats ahead. There is such joy in doing God's work!

As I've been reflecting more and more on my time here on SPIRITUS, I have come to realize a really cool blessing about the ministry that isn't as noticeable. Since our team travels throughout the state, we get to see so many parts of Wisconsin. I'm from Appleton so I have been a Sconnie for life but to be honest, I haven't seen that much of Wisconsin. I have mostly stayed in my little Appleton bubble that extended to Madison when I went to UW-Madison for college. Even moving to Menasha (which is right next to Appleton) was a new experience for me. I hadn't really ever been to Menasha much growing up even though it was right next door.

Not only do we get to see all sorts of towns and cities of Wisconsin but we also get to visit so many different churches. It is cool to see the various designs and layouts of the parishes and how each has their own uniqueness to them. I love seeing all the stained glass windows, the statues, the tabernacles, and the crucifixes. Wow, I sound like a Catholic nerd! But I love it nonetheless. There are some beautiful churches all over the state and I'm glad I've gotten the opportunity to explore and see more of them over the past year and a half.

I also love to meet all the various priests at these churches. They all bring so much to the Church and I am so thankful to each and every one of them for showing the love of Christ every single day. SPIRITUS has helped me realize how amazing priests are and how lucky we are to have them!

I'm ending this post with all challenge for all you blog readers out there: go out and see the beauty of the churches right in your backyard and pray for all the priests who are leading them!