The new guy has arrived!

Hello! I'm a new addition to the team in Menasha. My name is Scott Dimler and I come from Los Angeles, CA. I was away for the first half of the year while finishing my B.A. in Religious Studies at California State University, Northridge. I was able to join the team a little late into the year, and at it's busiest time! Even though the pace of Spiritus at this time is quicker than normal I have been able to adapt very well thanks to all of the support I have received from the team! Giving talks, leading small groups, and running retreats seemed like something I could never do after missing so much time here, but my team members have been encouraging me every step of the way!

The team member here have been so friendly and willing to help me. I am amazed at the amount of growth in myself and the knowledge I have gained in only one short month! I look forward to the rest of the year and all of the other wonderful things I will learn as I continue on my journey with Spiritus.

Don’t Pet the Sweaty Stuff

Living in community is hard.  For anyone who has ever grown up in a family (almost all of us), you know this.  Many times, we take each other for granted, do the little things that we know will push the buttons of the people we live with, and become possessive about what’s mine.  We so often get caught up inside ourselves and our own worries or aspirations, that we don’t leave time or space for the others in our lives.  

Five days before I came to Wisconsin for SPIRITUS, a very dear friend of mine died unexpectedly.  When I first came to SPIRITUS, I was in a very deep state of mourning, and struggling through my own stages of grief.  Yet, even from the beginning, the not-yet-formed community of SPIRITUS Team 6 was there for me, ready to help me carry my burdens and provide companionship along the way.  

As we continue further into the year and become more comfortable with our new living/working situation and each other, we sometimes get caught up in the day-to-day little things, and lose sight of the mission to which God calls us: To love each other and help bring each other closer to Him.  

To satisfy my own curiosity, I am currently reading the book The Five Love Languages, by Dr. Gary Chapman.  In this book, Dr. Chapman discusses what he believes to be the five ways that fill peoples’ ‘love tanks’: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.  Reading this book has brought me much insight as I’ve discovered new ways to show my teammates how much I care for them in a way that reaches their hearts and lets them be loved the way they need to be loved.  

What does all I’ve written have to do with each other?  A few days ago, I discovered an unread message in my inbox from my friend who died just before I came to SPIRITUS.  When I opened the message, I was able to relive some of our conversations from 2006 until his death.  As I was reminiscing, one of my teammates invited me to Adoration, which I accepted.   While at Adoration, I realized that I have received the gift of presence (which is the best gift someone can give to a person whose love language is gifts) from not only some friends from back home, but from my teammates as well.  Even though we struggle with each other, we struggle together.  When issues come up, we have to respect—literally “to look again”at—each other, and assume goodwill.  We have to believe there is good in the world.  Finally, as my uncle told me, we need to remember: “Don’t sweat the petty stuff, and don’t pet the sweaty stuff.” ☺  

Peace!

Katie

A Life Centered on Christ

God graced me with the opportunity to witness to young people again this past weekend at a confirmation retreat for a parish in Oshkosh, WI. I’m the type of person who would like to keep her interior world hidden. I can be a quiet person, and my experience of God is so personal for me. But I am reminded again and again in SPIRITUS that we are called to step outside of ourselves because what seems like something only we go through is actually very relatable to others. In each moment of the personal, there is an experience of the universal. Maybe that sounds a little abstract, but as I shared with high school teens about my experience discerning my vocation by traveling down to a convent in Nashville, TN, I could see that the Holy Spirit worked in our hearts to connect us.

I shared with them the nugget of wisdom I realized: our lives are not meant to be compartmentalized. Too often in teens' lives, they have such a steady flow of events and clubs to attend and assignments to complete that they are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. When they do get a down moment, they just flop into bed, falling fast asleep. Not having enough time for prayer is a constant theme on these retreats. But isn’t it a constant theme for many of us? The Sisters in Nashville, TN, gave themselves over to God in a courageous way, and through the witness of their lives, we can see that it is possible to be crazy busy and still find time for prayer and recreation. They are some of the busiest, well-scheduled people I know. They care about their students with hearts almost bursting! The key is that everything they do is centered on Christ. Every moment is a moment for gratitude. Every moment is a moment we can love. When we give thanks and we love, that is when we are most fully alive and living in the present moment.

In our culture, we need to re-center ourselves on what is most important, reconnect the fragmentary parts of our lives into a rich fabric of our being, into the beautiful tapestry God has envisioned for us. God loves us abundantly and is with us all the time! When we live a life in Him, we are happier and more productive. I believe those teens on retreat wanted to be good and wanted to be happy, and I believe most of us do too. Let yourself relax into the presence of God. Take the risk of centering your thoughts on Him and letting Him take the reins throughout your day. Watch yourself come alive in the peace that is Christ’s love. You are loved. I thank those Sisters and the teens for reminding me of the grains of universal wisdom which can be found in the particular moments of my life when I have the courage to share them.

Life Matters

Friends,
The March for Life is tomorrow, January 22nd. This is the 42nd March for Life and it has now been 41 years since abortion was enshrined into law in the United States.

How is this year different? One third of my generation was killed through abortion, and it's still happening every day... and I still live day to day as if everything is fine. I have my petty arguments and pointless worries and silly miscommunications... and children are dying.

On SPIRITUS, we understand how important prayer is, and we pray every day for an end to abortion and for peace and healing for those poor women (and men!) who feel like they have no other option and have chosen or have considered choosing abortion. We pray for the poor and the sick and the hurting and the underprivileged and the forgotten.

Prayer is certainly the most powerful thing we can do to change the mentality of the culture. In the oft-repeated words of Pope Blessed Pius IX, “Give me an army saying the rosary and I will conquer the world.”

But praying isn’t enough. Just like in every part of our lives, prayer should spill over into action. We on SPIRITUS are unfortunately too busy (and poor!) to march in DC, but we got to participate in the send-off Mass at St Pius X in Appleton last night. What a glorious celebration for life!

What else can each of us do? Many blessed souls pray outside of abortion clinics, and that is an especially large sacrifice for those of you crazy enough to live in Wisconsin for years on end. Many write their congressmen and other government officials for the respect for all human life. Many serve at soup kitchens and shelters. Some visit the sick and imprisoned. Some teach young people the Gospel of peace and charity.

I chose three years ago to stop drinking all beverages besides water (and the Blood of Christ at Mass) until abortion ends. I’ve received reactions all over the board when I tell people. Some tell me I have an incredible commitment; some pretend what I said was ordinary. Some believe I will be drinking hot chocolate and sweet tea again within 10-20 years. Others are certain I am foolish because I will never drink anything besides water again. Some others ask me why I have to do something so overt and tell me I’m just trying to attract attention to myself.

Friends, I don’t care what you do to bring awareness and change to the lack of respect for human life in our world today. But each of us is responsible for doing something. More importantly, each of us is responsible for not backing down. Whatever you do, it isn’t insignificant.

SPIRITUS teaches me this every day. There is nothing insignificant. Because every decision has the capacity to bring you or others closer to God. Everything matters. Every person matters. Every moment matters. Live life like it matters.
(full blog post may be found here)

- sam
@TheAfroSam
facebook.com/TheAfroSam
spiritussam@gmail.com

Stories from Music City!

Hello Faithful Blog Readers!

I'm finally getting around to writing this blog post that I've been dying to write. I don't know how I'm going to contain all I want to tell you in a few paragraphs but I'll try really hard.

The beginning of 2015 was pretty memorable for a few of us team members. We spent it in Nashville at the SEEK2015 Conference. The conference was for college students from all over the nation (there were over 10,000 of them there!) and the days were filled with top Catholic speakers, Mass, confession, adoration, games, fun and more. Oh, I almost forgot, SO MANY priests and religious sisters and brothers were there. Praise the Lord! I don't know how you can see so many priests and religious and not smile. Plus, a few of the sisters across the hall from us brought a mini basketball hoop and a basketball. Who says being Catholic isn't fun?!

Are you wondering why SPIRITUS was there? Well, we had a booth to let the many, many, many college students know about this hidden gem of a ministry here in Wisconsin.We had a ton of students from all over the country come stop by our booth and learn more about SPIRITUS. It was a beautiful sight! Plus we gave away free t-shirts so who knows there could be someone states away wearing a blue SPIRITUS shirt at this exact moment. That'd be pretty cool!

Not only did we talk with many college students but we also had the opportunity to hear many of the amazing speakers. The wonderful speakers that I was lucky enough to see included Sister Mary Gabriel, Lisa Cotter, Matt Fradd, Abby Johnson, Dr. Timothy Gray, and more! We also heard Father Mike Schmitz talk on the Eucharist. It was incredible - here's the link to his talk: http://vimeo.com/115924659 (I might have been Father Mike Schmitz obsessed all conference!) The last night we even got to see comedian Jim Gaffigan! If you haven't heard of him - youtube him and then proceed to laugh nonstop.

Overall it was an AMAZING conference and I'm so blessed to have been able to attend. I'll leave you with a few pictures that I found from the conference...

                                                   The line for the Sacrament of Confession!

This is just the women!

                                                      

Evangelization is for Everyone

For formation the past two months we have been reading Pope Francis’ The Joy of the Gospel. In his Apostolic Exhortation, Pope Francis reminds us that everyone in the Church, not just priests and religious,has a duty to spread the Gospel. “All of us are called to offer others an explicit witness to the saving love of the Lord, who despite our imperfections offers us his closeness, his word, and his strength, and gives meaning to our lives” (121). We are not alone in our mission of spreading the Gospel, because the Holy Spirit strengthens and guides us. We are only able to evangelize be Christ is working through us, and it is ultimately His love that flows from our hearts into others.

Sometimes I think to myself, “I don’t have a crazy conversion experience like St. Paul, or I’m not as holy as the saints. How do I share my faith with others?” The Pope is asking us to share our everyday experiences of God’s love with those around us, no matter where we are at in our faith journey. Something I learned from my spiritual director that has helped me recognize God at work in my life is praying this prayer every morning. “God open my heart to the gifts you want me to receive, and open my eyes to recognize them”. At the end of the day I reflect on what God has done, and that way I have examples to tell other people.  

Going back home for winter break I was able to evangelize by talking with my family about my experiences at SPIRITUS. I shared how I’ve seen God working through my community members. Whenever I need an encouraging they always have the right things to say, and they treat me with love and compassion. My family also has taken in an exchange student from China, and this was her first Christmas. I had the opportunity to explain the meaning of Christmas to her. I don’t think she fully understood everything I told her, but that’s ok. Evangelization is not just talking about our faith, but also bringing Christ’s love to others. I was able to evangelize to the new member of my family by simply loving her- by treating her as a sister and spending time with her.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to evangelize by sharing what God has been doing in my life with family and friends, and I invite you to accept this challenge as well.