TWO NEW Saints

        Today is Divine Mercy Sunday and it is also the canonization of two AWESOME popes, Saint John Paul II and Saint John XXIII. Although, I do not know much about Saint John XXIII I know he deserves the title of AWESOME for two reasons : one he was the Pope and two he is now a Saint. Probably anyone reading this knows why Saint JPII is considered AWESOME.
        Now, I am not going to talk much about these two new Saints because your news feed whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, or Email has already told you what you need to know.  I want to talk to you all about becoming a saint, whether it be a little s saint or a big S Saint. We are all called to be saints, as in get to heaven. We are all different and we are all called to be saints in our own way. The Catholic Church shows us that through the many different saints we have in our church.  Live your life out to become the saint you are meant to be. I hope to see you all on the other side in God's full glory!
         I will leave you with a quote from Saint John Paul II and Saint John XXIII

  "Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." -Saint John Paul II

  "Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do." Saint John XXIII

Because of Him

Happy Easter, He is Risen!!! I hope all of you had a beautiful Tridumm. I pray that this season of joy, hope and love brings you ever closer to our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that this Easter season you see just how much the Lord's love runs so deep. That these next fifty days leading up to Pentecost you journey with the Lord, sharing with others the hope, peace, joy and the courage to change it all around for Him.

Just as Pope Francis said in his Easter message,

"That is why we tell everyone: "Come and see!" In every human situation, marked by frailty, sin and death, the Good News is no mere matter of words, but a testimony to unconditional and faithful love: it is about leaving ourselves behind and encountering others, being close to those crushed by life's troubles, sharing with the needy, standing at the side of the sick, elderly and the outcast. "Come and see!": Love is more powerful, love gives life, love makes hope blossom in the wilderness." -Urbi Et Orbi, Pope Francis

I feel like he is somewhat speaking to us here on SPIRITUS, as we encounter the children, teens and youth adults in this ministry, sharing Jesus' love with them. I love Pope Francis. I am so thankful for this reminder, it gives me that little push to make that change this Easter season haha. One more time, I pray that this Easter season fills you with joy, hope and love. Christ is Risen, Alleluia!!!

What a Great Day Looks Like

Hello! It's been a long time since I've posted anything up here, but I just wanted to share some of the AWESOME things going on with our SPIRITUS Youth Ministry at Resurrection Parish in Green Bay.

Yesterday was a long, crazy day, but it was soooo awesome! The entire Green Bay team dropped by Notre Dame Middle School (right next door to where Noah and I live!) to visit one of our fellow youth ministers and get some fantastic insights into how to build great relationships with the youth we minister to. Then, it was off to the office for a whirlwind of preparation for our Young Neighbors in Action retreat. The YNIA group at Resurrection consists of 19 teens and 5 adults who will be taking a mission trip to Nebraska this summer. (Young Neighbors in Action is a ministry of the Center for Ministry Development. You can read more about it here.)

First, the teens were given their sweet T-shirts, designed by them at our last meeting back in January. Then, everyone piled into cars to visit the Oneida Cultural Center, where we learned a LOT about the culture and history of the Oneida Nation. The YNIA trip in July will take place at the St. Augustine Mission, which serves the Omaha and Winnebago tribes, so this background gives our teens just a little bit of a head start on understanding the people they will be serving.

After that, everyone returned to Resurrection for some pizza and other treats. The students enjoyed the chance to stretch, chat, and absorb the information they had just taken in. Meanwhile, we were busily running around, printing out some last-minute handouts for the students. I also had to go pick up the pizza, which I like to think I delivered at exactly the right time. (Though I don't think anyone is about to hire me as a pizza delivery driver!) In any case, the teenagers were quite hungry and devoured the food.

After a short presentation about our deep obligation as Catholics to enter into the mission of Jesus by "proclaiming good news to the poor" (see Luke 4:18) and a great discussion about how to prepare our hearts and souls to do that on the YNIA mission trip, we got to the most anticipated part of the night: PAINTING! I was able to get last-minute permission on Tuesday to let the teens paint our youth room (thus leading to a last-minute trip to purchase paint that made my day much more exciting than expected, to say the least), and they did an AWESOME job! Take a look!

Just adding a little color.

A small army of dedicated teenagers attack the large, white wall.

Working as a team. 

Painting a wall yellow naturally puts a smile on your face!

After the teens left for the night, Julie got into the painting as well. I don't have a picture of the entire wall, but this gives a pretty good idea of what it will eventually look like.

Do You Have a Favorite Bible Story?

Hello blog readers! I pray that Jesus is blessing you abundantly and Mary is helping you love like her!

For our youth ministry programs, Friday is a day we look forward to. On Fridays we have a program called Drop-In for middle school students. It's a time where middle schoolers can come hang out, eat snacks and learn a little about their faith in the process. Every week we have a Bible verse from the upcoming Sunday's Gospel reading and we usually do an activity that helps teach about the Bible passage. Today I was starting to get ready for this Friday's Drop-In by reading the Sunday's Gospel. And guess what?! It is my all time favorite Bible story! I started reading it and a huge smile spread across my face as I read about how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Now you might be asking, why does Rachel love that Bible story so much? Well let me explain.

In the Gospel of John, it tells us that Jesus got word that his friend, Lazarus, was ill and was about to die. Jesus and His apostles travel to see Lazarus but he is dead before they get there. When Jesus arrives both Martha and Mary (Lazarus' sisters) meet Jesus and tell Him that Lazarus has died. Then comes my favorite verse of the whole Bible (John 11:35) that says, "Jesus wept". That's it. It's the shortest verse in the Bible but my absolute favorite. It's my favorite because Jesus shows His humanity. He also shows us that we are not alone, especially if someone close to us in our life has died. Jesus loved Lazarus and when He heard that he had died and saw his sisters crying, He wept himself. This passage gives encouragement to us all that no matter what we are going through in our lives, Jesus is right there with us. When we cry, He's right there beside us crying too. This idea has given me so much comfort, especially the past few years, as I have dealt with the death of someone close to me.

But the story doesn't end there! Jesus then brings Lazarus back to life. This is where Jesus shows His divinity and gives a foretaste of His own resurrection. I can't read that story and not get pumped because GOD WINS! Death isn't the final answer. Salvation is ready and waiting for us. Praise the Lord!

That, in a nutshell, is why I absolutely love this Bible story. I could just keep writing more and more about this story but this post is long enough already. But I do have a question for you: do you have a favorite Bible story? If so, leave a comment because I would LOVE to hear them!