Merry Christmas!

     Here at SPIRITUS, we have Christmas break to go home and spend time with our families. I am grateful to be able to see my family for the first time since this past summer. I know that they (and my dog) miss me very much. At the same time, I can't help but think about those who have no family. Those that don't have a home to go back to. I am very fortunate to have these wonderful gifts that I often take for granted, and I desire to be appreciative of them. Most importantly, however, is the gift of Christ Himself. I strive to maintain a focus on our Lord Jesus throughout the entire year, but this is a special season in which I am especially attentive to the wonderful gift of my savior who came to earth. Thank you Jesus, for coming to us through Mary your mother. May we never lose sight of You, the greatest gift that could ever be given. What gift can I give to Jesus this year on His birthday? What gift does He desire to give to me? Come, Holy Spirit! Prepare our hearts to receive the infant Jesus!

     -Gabriel Ogle

Green Bay Youth Conference

On December 4th, 2016 I was blessed with the opportunity to bring 5 high school students from Saint Mary Greenville’s Parish to the Green Bay Youth Conference -- a diocesan conference in which over 900 youth were in attendance. This conference allowed for the students to connect and create friendships with other students in the area and learn more about living out their faith in their everyday life. The day included praise and worship, breakout sessions, Mass with Father Peter Mitchell, Adoration with Bishop David Ricken, and Confession. As a previous attendee of youth conferences during my years in high school, it was an eye opening experience to plan and attend a youth conference as a youth minister. From inviting students to finding transportation for the students, the journey of planning to attend a youth conference brought both joys and challenges. However, I am extremely thankful for getting to experience all that it takes to lead students from a parish to a youth conference as a youth minister.

Photo By: Dioceses of Green Bay

(Left to Right) Ashley, Sarah, and Carolyn are parishioners at Saint Mary’s Greenville and in attendance at the Green Bay Youth Conference on December 4th, 2016.

-Anna Haiar

Love the One

Sometimes I find myself seeking to do the will of God in really big ways. Recently though, God has been revealing His will to me in a very different way. I have found God asking me not to love Tens of Thousands all at once, but to love my brother or sister right in front of me. In order to assist me in this endeavor, God has shared this prayer with me: “Lord write on my heart today the name of one person I will meet today in need of your love and show me how to love them as You desire.” What grace this prayer is, an invitation to trust God more, for it asks me to rely on God’s plan of love, not my own. It invites me to live out this simple message, “Jesus I trust in you”

-Zachery Feldker

The Best Advent Ever!

“Make this the best Advent ever!”  For a number of years I have heard this phrase come out the mouths of numerous people, namely Catholic-motivational speakers and priests.  After hearing that phrase I am normally thinking something along the lines of “yeah that is an awesome idea!, I am going to make this my best Advent ever!.”  Usually parishes are helpful in this category and pass out a million of those little blue books or they have a little mountain of  Magnificat Advent Companions so perfectly aligned on a table in the gathering area of the church.  These books are great helpers and in the past I have used the daily reflections to guide my spiritual life, but I always found myself feeling as if there is more that I can do (or not do) to truly “make this the best Advent ever.”  So I am stuck with the question “what can I do?”  if one  thinks about that question too long you find that Advent has passed and it was the more like the most mediocre Advent ever. If I may propose though that one should start with the question “what is Advent celebrating?”, we are looking expectantly towards the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, first in history as a baby being born in Bethlehem, but also we look towards the second coming. As I was reflecting on Advent, the desire to encounter Christ like it was the first time I ever had was on my heart.  Christ makes all things new, and it starts with our relationship with Him.  When Christmas comes I want to experience the joy that Mary and Joseph had when they looked upon that new born child as He lay in a manger, not because of the gifts I get from friends or family, but joy from the ultimate gift of God becoming man to save me and bring me His love personally.  So back comes this question “What should I do in Advent?” Well I do not have an answer for you, but for me it starts with more prayer and from that flows acts of love done because I have been so loved by God that I want to not be able to help loving ALL those around me. I pray that this Advent season all people can prepare a new place in their hearts for our Lord that with that be filled with peace and love.  Pax.  

-Mike Picard

A Dose of Reality

A few months into our mission year, and I was about due for a strong dose of reality.

Now, often times when we think of the phrase, “a dose of reality”, we relate it to a strong, jolting wake up call that pulls us out of a daydream and an overly optimistic unreality. But that’s not what happened to me at all. It’s not as if I’ve been living with my head in the clouds, expecting to perfectly reach the heart of every young person I meet with the love of Jesus. On the contrary, I have been very aware of the reality these teenagers are facing; the divorce of their parents, being bullied at school, losing a loved one to cancer, struggling with the pressures of perfectionism, trying to live up to the unreasonable expectations of this world, or collapsing beneath additional pressures of lust, drugs and alcohol. These are the stories we hear frequently on SPIRITUS, and they certainly have a way of really getting to you and making you feel like the task of restoring faith, hope and love are impossible in such a broken world. Sure, hope can be seen in the hearts of the teens who realize their thirst for God, and even more so in those who are willing to do something about quenching that thirst, but the pain we encounter still wears on us.

For me, a dose of reality came not by realizing more of the pain and suffering of the mission, but by the glorious splendor the mission provides when we persevere. One of the local parishes was gracious enough to host Treasures of the Church, an evangelization ministry in which Fr. Tom brings 150 relics out for veneration, and those of us who were not on retreat where able to attend. Being able to walk around the room surrounded by the bones and remains of so many saints was breathtaking, and I was surprised by the amount of grace and peace I felt just by being there. I’ve been to numerous reliquaries in Rome, and their effect on me was passing. But this time around I was uniquely struck by what I was finally able to put into words as ‘a strong dose of reality’. The saints are so real, and their stories are so raw. Martyrs, mothers, popes, apostles, preachers, servants, laity - holiness is possible in all stages of life, including after death. The profound reality that these holy men and women are actively apart of this mission of evangelization in union with me reached me to my core, and praise be to God, this strong dosage was certainly what I needed.

The grace that was given to me was the realization that yes, our mission is hard and overwhelming. We can’t do it alone. But, praise be to God, we don’t have to. The saints join us in our mission, and through their intercession and the mercy of God, we cannot and will not fail. And that is the truth of the Body of Christ, a truth that is just as real as our sufferings.

A photo of the relic of my patroness, St. Mary Magdalene

-Ashley Lange

Thanksgiving

     At this time of the year it can be so easy to get caught up in the chaos and commercialism of our modern culture. Being on SPIRITUS has been such an amazing gift for me because I am surrounded by people who live in the present, who remain focused on Jesus Christ no matter what life throws at them. My team mates have helped me to stay grounded in the truth that I am a child of God, that I am created to share the light of Christ. We celebrated this holiday with each other by having a team dinner, during which we went around the table saying what we are thankful for, how we appreciate the gifts God has given us. It was so nice to recognize the abundance of blessings we have received throughout the first few months of the mission year. I invite you and your family to do the same. How much joy we receive when we take notice of all the wonderful things God provides us with!

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

     -Gabriel Ogle

Good Music!

Coming from a farm in small-town Minnesota, I was raised on good ole’ country music. Everything from Hank Williams and Johnny Cash to my more currently developed tastes of Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, and George Strait. I pride myself on being able to name the artist and song title to almost every song on the station. There’s nothing better than singing to a new hit with the windows rolled down.  I didn’t think lyrics had much significance on me until my first week on SPIRITUS. We all climbed in the cars to head to our first mass together. What came out of the speakers was my first big wake-up call. Christian contemporary. There I was, sitting amongst these beautiful strangers (we’d just met an hour earlier) all singing along & I’d never heard of it. Song after song, I soon realized no one would be changing it to 100.1 Big Country anytime soon. Woah. Nine months, I thought to myself “can I do this”? Little did I know, this genre switch(foot) was just one of many alterations I would encounter in the upcoming days and weeks. Expanding on this genre switch out, no longer am I filling my heart with songs revolving around subjects like beer and back roads, allowing them to subconsciously desensitize me to the repercussions of mixing Jack Daniels and Jesus. Now songs like Priceless (King and Country) and At the Table (Josh Garrels) are filtering into my heart and I have no reservations believing in the lyrics or belting them out in the hallway. Mind you, this journey is far from over. I don’t plan to switch over completely anytime soon (not all country has bad connotations attached to it), but I am learning to appreciate new flavors of music, music that aligns with my morals, and embrace this part of being a missionary.

-Elizabeth Senkyr

Hugs!

I really like hugs. I know that not everyone likes hugs and I can respect that. I know that boundaries are important and I support that. But I like hugs a lot. I remember last year praying about it once or twice saying, "God, I'd like to be somewhere where I get more hugs." Now I'm at Spiritus and I get a couple dozen hugs every day.


God's been showering me with a lot of blessings here at Spiritus. One of my favorites is this simple opportunity for so many hugs.

God bless!

-Peter Schmidt

Little Moments

SPIRITUS provides many opportunities for the team to grow in Christ. Perhaps my favorite moments though, are the seemingly little ones. For example on one of our days off a few of us went to the Manderfield’s Bakery. We talked, laughed, and grew together. My favorite part of this outing was seeing a grandfather and his granddaughter come in and sit down with pastries. Watching them interact filled me with such joy and made me contemplate the love our Father has for us. On another occasion part of the team drove back from a small retreat in the rain. When we got back some of us danced barefooted in the rain. Thankfully, no one caught a cold after this adventure, but a sense of God’s love and joy was present. These and many more moments have shown me that God’s love can truly be found all around us. However, some of the best little moments are those spent in front of the tabernacle. We are blessed to have a chapel inside of Mount Tabor Center. Here one can always find a peaceful escape to remember what is truly important, which is God’s everlasting love for us. These seemingly small moments have helped me grow so much in my faith. I will forever be thankful for the time spent with SPIRITUS, igniting and growing in the faith.

-Gemma Cowan

Young Adult Formation

Recently, our director Eden was invited to speak at the Pastoral Leadership Conference for the diocese on the formation of young adults. Myself and another second year team member, Mike Picard, were invited along to share some of the ways we have benefited from young adult formation through SPIRITUS. It was such a privilege to spend the day speaking with lay leaders from all over the diocese about the need for young adult programming in parishes. Young adults need space to develop internal prayer and good human habits, but also have an external call and place where they can contribute to the parish community in a meaningful way. Young professionals often receive practical and professional development from work place but lack human, spiritual, and ministerial formation. Society often also forgets that young adults still need guidance and close mentorship which then links them to the greater adult community in the parish and gives them examples of how to accompany and mentor younger members of the parish. Young adults need the parish to provide these things and to be fed by the faith and parishes definitely need young adults as well!!


-Brianna Trifiletti

Little Things Done With Great Love

Praise be Jesus Christ! October is my very favorite month of the year. Not only because I can wear boots, sweaters and scarves after the hot summer months, but especially because of all the incredible saint's feast days! Saint Therese, Saint Francis, Saint Faustina, and Saint Teresa of Avila just to name a few. The Saints have a very special place in our lives and are always desiring our friendships.
Therese came into my life when I was a Junior in highschool and has stuck with me ever since. I know I can count on her to intercede for me and help me to remain childlike and joyful.
I strongly encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit and I guarantee you will have a new friend in no time!

-Alexa Harbor

The Curiosity of Children

“Why did God make flowers?” Six-year-old Lucia asks while playing with her hair and simultaneously rocking back and forth on her heels. She is expecting the answer to be simple, like when she asks for me to read a Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle story or which of the saints is my favorite, but my jaw narrowly misses hitting the floor as I realize the enormity of the question at hand. “You know Miss Lucia, I’m not sure, but I’ll pray about that and let you know when I have an answer.”

Months after this quick dialogue I found myself awake earlier than intended on a day when our SPIRITUS schedule allowed for a little bit of prudent free time, which is to say that I’d planned to sleep in, but this question hit me again like a ton of bricks. “Lord, why DID you create flowers?” At first all I could think is that flowers hold little nutritional value. After all, the difference between a flower and a weed is really just perspective, neither serve much of a purpose but one is considered pretty and the other invasive.

All at once my mind was abuzz with fully formed thoughts rather than groggy ponderings. God doesn’t make junk! In fact, everything that He creates speaks to the true, the good, and the beautiful, and St. Paul reminds us in Corinthians that these are things to which we ought to cling. A flower can’t lie, and something in its nature and beauty reminds us that its life has both value and purpose.

Somewhere along this rabbit trail I realized that we as human persons have a lot in common with flowers. The Lord didn’t have to create us, we aren’t necessary for the rest of Creation to operate; God made us for Himself! Depending on the perspective of any other person, we may be considered roses, dandelions, or even weeds but the life of every human person has dignity, value, and purpose. Some flowers are destined for bouquets, others for gardenscapes, some for the inspiration of poets, and still others are meant to bloom where they are planted. What kind of flower were you created to be?

-Annastasia Eftink

Thankful for SPIRITUS!

Hello dear sisters and brothers in the name of Jesus Christ! 

In this blog I want to share with you my happiness for being part of SPIRITUS Ministries.
I love SPIRITUS Ministries, and I thank God for the opportunity he is giving me to be part of this great ministry. I feel the presence of Holy Trinity in this team; the people are very Godly. Every day of the week we go to mass and visit different parishes around the Mount Tabor Center, including parishes in Neenah and Appleton. I love going to adoration every day in the chapel at the Mount Tabor Center, and during that time I also pray the Holy Rosary to our Blessed Mother, the Immaculate Virgin Mary. I thank you Mr. and Mrs. Foord, all the staff at Mount Tabor Center/SPIRITUS, and donors for their friendship and support in our mission for us to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the State of Wisconsin!

Thanks!

René Abrahan Martínez

You Don’t Have to Work for Love

Slow down, child

You don’t have to work for love

any more

One thing that I am being reminded of more and more lately is that I don’t have to work for love. I don’t have to be perfect, say or do the right thing in order to receive God’s love. God isn’t waiting for me to do the right thing to love me. Because he loves me in my brokenness.

But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

This isn’t always easy for me to remember. In the business of my daily life, living in community, and preparing for retreats and events, I often forget that I don’t have to impress the Father with my works. I simply have to be and to allow Him to love me. Unfortunately, sometimes He has to remind me in more dramatic ways that I am loved as I am for who I am, not for what I do. Thank goodness my salvation and His love don’t depend upon how good I am, because I would never be able to measure up.

So slow down, child.

Let Him love you.

You don’t have to work for His love.

Just be with Him.

Let Him love you.

Mikayla Uchytil

The Journey From The Head To The Heart

Here at SPIRITUS, we are so blessed to have an incredible network of support aiding us in our communal journey, as well as our individual faith journeys. I believe that SPIRITUS helps form our faith in such a way that we can better live it from the heart as opposed to the head.  Blessed (almost Saint) Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said that, ‘the longest journey a man must take is the 18 inches between his head to his heart.”  As evangelizers, it does not suffice to merely know about our faith.  We must also develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, as well as gain insight into how God is working personally in our lives.  In this way we begin to make that transition from living our faith in our head to living our faith from the inside out, from our hearts. 

--Spencer

Beauty

    One of my favorite things about Wisconsin is simply being surrounded by so much beauty. I love the outdoors, and I really enjoy spending our prudent days of self-care (what we call our days off) exploring the beauty all around us. Some of my teammates and I love hiking, so we have gone over to places like High Cliff quite a few times to adventure through the woods. Or other times some of us took the trip over to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, another stunning area of Wisconsin. Or I’m even recalling the nights that we spent at Camp Tekakwitha back in August, where I could look up at the sky and see more stars than I’ve ever seen before in my life.

    We are surrounded by all these breathtaking masterpieces created by God, and we so often take these little things for granted, everyday wonders like the sunset that go unnoticed. But God is so present in this beauty, and a lot of the time it is by exploring His incredible creation I feel closest to Him. Because this beauty truly reflects His glory. No matter how many times I see the sunset, no matter how many times I look up at the stars or watch the snow fall all around me, God never ceases to impress me. To bring my attention to these simple yet so profound works of art because He knows they make me smile. In the middle of a hike, I often take a minute and pause just to listen to the silence, hearing nothing but the birds or the rustling leaves, a symphony so beautiful because it was written by God Himself. Or when I get to the place with the perfect view, I just stop and soak it all in. And as I feel the wind rushing around me, hear Him whisper in it “See all this that I created? You are even more precious to me.” Nothing can compare to the feelings of amazement and wonder, and all that overflows me in these moments is gratitude to God for such beauty and for the opportunities to meet Him in His creation. 

   Throughout my time with Spiritus, I have certainly encountered God through the students on retreats, through prayer, and through my teammates, but another way that I am increasingly coming to experience Him is by just going outside and appreciating the nature around me. And something as simple as that is a prayer in itself.

--Sarah

A Prudent Day of Self Care

Being in SPIRITUS, we often get the question "Do you guys get any free time and if so what do you do?". Things to do around here are much different than what I have experienced from my last few years living in Portland, Oregon. Honestly though, nothing beats being in a beautiful community waking up every morning knowing that what you're doing has purpose by building God’s kingdom. However, even though we are extremely busy about once a week we do get a day we like to call our "prudent day of self care” a.k.a a "missionary’s day without a strict plan of where or what we need to be doing". On these days we like to do all kinds of different things but I think the majority would agree extra rest is a must.

We've had some pretty fun adventures on these days! I can’t lie,one of my favorite pastimes of SPIRITUS has been going to Culvers. As a native Southwestern Arizona girl I didn’t understand the marvels of a cheese curd and the exquisite taste of custard ice cream melting in my mouth!

#enoughsaid

Often one of the team members and I will go and hand out Divine Mercy cards and strike up conversations with the staff. Besides Culver’s though we often go on cool adventures to places like High Cliff for hiking or every now and then to a city.  On one occasion, half the team went to La Crosse, Wisconsin for Alexa's birthday, which was awesome! While we were there we went to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe! It was stunning and we even got to pray with a first class relic of St. Gianna Molla and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. During the day we also went up to the bluffs that overlooked all of La Crosse and you could even see three states from that spot! On our other prudent days of self care one of the main things a few of the team members and I do is go to the YMCA. Often we’ll work out but let’s be honest, most of the time we just love to use the hot tub because the winters here are FREEZING!

May God’s Blessings Be Poured More Abundantly Upon you!

In Christ,
Christen

We Are Back!

Hey World!

SPIRITUS Team 8 begins arriving this weekend and Brian, Brianna, myself and the staff are preparing for their arrivals. It's hard to put into words the life that this building fills with when we are all together, it truly is an incredible thing to behold! I can't wait for retreat season to begin and to serve our church in such a beautiful and necessary way. Please keep us in your prayers!

Jesus, we trust in You! Come, Holy Spirit!

Alexa

Come, Holy Spirit!

 "So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” -Acts1:6-8

There are several things in this world that make me jump for joy, and the Holy Spirit is NUMBER ONE! Today starts the Novena to the Holy Spirit (link below for more information) which happens to end on my FAVORITE day of the year, Pentecost, which is also Team Seven's last day. Can you believe it? Just as the Apostles were sent out, so must we, as a team spread the truth and beauty of Christ and His church! But I am getting a bit ahead of myself; first we must wait.

It can be terribly difficult to wait. I know for myself, being a "Martha" I want to go, go, go and forget that in the waiting He is doing great things. Let us abandon our anxieties to the cross and wait in joyful anticipation for His promise of the Spirit-- the Spirit of CHARITY, of PEACE, of HOPE and of FAITH!

Please keep our team in your prayers as we conclude our year together. We have grown into quite the little family, and though we will meet in the Eucharist, it will definitely be hard to say goodbye to those not returning to Team 8. Thank you all for your loving support of our mission. We pray for you all each day.

Christ's peace!
Alexa

Novena Info: http://thewildgooseisloose.com/pentecost-vigil 

Praising the Lord in Song

King David was an amazing man of God; He fought for God, slayed giants for Him, and united the Lord’s people to Him. All this said, I say that His most manly accomplishment was writing the psalms and pouring out his heart for the Lord and growing in relationship with Him. Some of my favorite shows the absolute vulnerability he had with the Lord. We can unite our souls with his sorrows and joys when finding forgiveness and falling deeply in love with the Lord when praying with the psalms! He also teaches us that we can speak and even sing what is going on in our souls and be vulnerable with the Lord. As for myself, I find I connect through praise and worship and with songs of praise as well. I can pour out my pain or joy through the words and notes that with the Holy Spirit become a beautiful prayer of the heart. Over the past couple of years I have had many opportunities to develop and fall deeply in love with the Holy Spirit by leading and even on my own, doing praise and worship. SPIRITUS has given me both the time and helped motivate me to become a better musician and lover of the Lord by discovering this Charism that the Lord has given me!

--Arthur

God's Amazing Creation

One of my favorite things about Wisconsin is simply being surrounded by so much beauty. I love the outdoors, and I really enjoy spending our prudent days of self-care exploring the beauty all around us. Some of my teammates and I love hiking, so we have gone over to places like High Cliff quite a few times to adventure through the woods. Or other times some of us took the trip over to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, another stunning area of Wisconsin. Or I’m even recalling the nights that we spent at Camp Tekakwitha back in August, where I could look up at the sky and see more stars than I’ve ever seen before in my life.

We are surrounded by all these breathtaking masterpieces created by God, and we so often take these little things for granted, everyday wonders like the sunset that go unnoticed. But God is so present in this beauty, and a lot of the time it is by exploring His incredible creation I feel closest to Him. Because this beauty truly reflects His glory. No matter how many times I see the sunset, no matter how many times I look up at the stars or watch the snow fall all around me, God never ceases to impress me. To bring my attention to these simple yet so profound works of art because He knows they make me smile. In the middle of a hike, I often take a minute and pause just to listen to the silence, hearing nothing but the birds or the rustling leaves, a symphony so beautiful because it was written by God Himself. Or when I get to the place with the perfect view, I just stop and soak it all in. And as I feel the wind rushing around me, hear Him whisper in it “See all this that I created? You are even more precious to me.” Nothing can compare to the feelings of amazement and wonder, and all that overflows me in these moments is gratitude to God for such beauty and for the opportunities to meet Him in His creation. Because throughout my time with Spiritus, I have certainly encountered God through the students on retreats, through prayer, and through my teammates, but another way that I am increasingly coming to experience Him is by just going outside and appreciating the nature around me. And something as simple as that is a prayer in itself.

--Sarah

Little Moments to Make a Big Impact

When you going SPIRITUS there are a lot of things that we as team members get, clothes and a water bottle and a community that becomes family, but the one thing you do not get is a job description. When I signed up to join a core of young adult retreat ministers I had and idea what that meant, but I have never been much of a person for big moments, I really prefer to be behind the scenes. So the spot light of witnessing on retreat ministry has really been pushing me out of my comfort zone. Every big moment on retreat is a real struggle for me, and so the idea of getting up and talking in front of an entire congregation to spread the mission sounded kind of mortifying to me. I couldn't see the way to have small moments in a big parish, but as much as I have loved the interactions with students on retreats, some of my favorite moments of this ministry have been the one on ones I have had with people of all ages in the gathering spaces of churches throughout Wisconsin.   

--Susan 

A Journey From The Head To The Heart

These past months have been an amazing journey; a journey with community, a journey of faith.  Here at SPIRITUS, we are so blessed to have an incredible network of support aiding us in our communal journey, as well as our individual faith journeys.  Above all, I believe that SPIRITUS helps form our faith in such a way that we can better live it from the heart as opposed to the head.  Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta once said that, ‘the longest journey a man must take is the 18 inches between his head to his heart.”  As evangelizers, it does not suffice to merely know about our faith.  We must also develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, as well as gain insight into how God is working personally in our lives.  In this way we begin to make that transition from living our faith in our head to living our faith from the inside out, from our hearts.

--Spencer

What Makes You Happy?

Even missionaries have off days. I think the weather of winter was seriously starting to get to me as blue skies and warm breezes began to remind me of my freedom-seeking desires to be outdoors and the overflowing happiness I receive from the simplicity of nature.

On top of that, my life routines became just that…routine. And the hum drum became even more accepted as “just life” as I started to stay up a little later, eat the extra cookie, and avoid that conversation I knew I needed to have with a friend…you get the idea. I think it’s fair to say we’ve all been there? Ergo, I had to make some changes.

I confess, I didn’t find this picture till just now so I didn’t explicitly use this method on myself but I did pray with these very things to solve my dilemma. I was craving a fuller life and not achieving it in a way that met my expectations.  Truth bomb, doing “holy things” (whatever that means) is not enough to be happy. I know I already knew that and I think you do too but my actions told me some part of me was still missing the point.

So here is my two cents. Have you reevaluated what makes you happy recently? Are you seeking it? Are you settling for less? Now is the perfect time for me to rediscover my Lord, my Happiness, again in human things like hikes and above all in spiritual encounters like adoration. “The glory of God is man fully alive.” (St. Irenaeus) As I dive back into a real life of joy and happiness I hope you may find the courage to do the same. To God be the glory! 

Peace in Christ, Theresa

Last Sunday, I woke up to a beautiful day. The sun was just rising, as I started getting ready for our in-house retreat. I was excited (and a little nervous) for my first team leading experience! However, as the students started trickling in the door, something seemed a little off. This seemed more apparent to me as I started talking to the students.

"Hey, how are you guys doing this morning?" I asked with a smile

"Good." The students at my table replied.

My voice changed to empathetic. "Tired?" 

"Honestly, we don't even want to be here this morning. Nobody does." One girl voiced and the others nodded in agreement. 

I was completely taken aback. Nobody had ever been this honest about their upset. I was a little concerned that the students weren't going to be open if they felt this way; so I did the only thing I could think of. I prayed to the Holy Spirit and Our Lady; and it is amazing how they worked in them. 

All of our small group discussions went over time, because the students wanted to keep talking, most of the students in my small group saw the "Passion of the Christ" movie for the first time and were hit by it, and there were a lot of tears during one on one prayer (tears of healing). By the end, students were thanking us and their evaluations were great.

Truly, when we put everything in God's hands, all worries, the Lord takes care of everything. I thank God for all of these students and gift of this lesson. Praise be to God!

--Tina

Fun, Faith and Fellowship

One of the biggest blessings that I have received in being a youth ministry intern as well as a member of our SPIRITUS retreat ministry, has been the unique opportunity I have had to cultivate a lasting relationship with the youth of St. Patrick's in Menasha. It has been an invaluable experience to be immersed in the day to do operations of the church, but beyond any doubt the best part has been planning and running monthly youth nights where our teens come together for service and fun community building! It is so powerful to see the members of our youth group come together to support the community while building a vital Catholic support system. 

I am so thankful to get to be a part of this growth!

--Susan

The Impact of Our Love for Jesus

As the months pass by and the number of retreats continue to rack up, it is only natural to want to sometimes switch to “autopilot” every now and then while on mission.  With that said, I am reminded of an encounter that I had with a student while on retreat with the confirmation class of St. Raphael’s parish in Oshkosh.  This young man, who happened to be in my small group, was taken back by the level of sincerity and devotion that myself and my teammates had in regards to our Lord and in regards to living out our Catholic faith in today’s world.  I remember him saying how his retreat experience reached a turning point after watching a clip from the movie, The Passion of the Christ.  After seeing how deeply this film moved one of my teammates, he said, “it was at this point that I was faced with a reality check.  I never knew someone could be that devoted to Jesus like your teammate was.”  

Looking back on this particular encounter, I am reminded of just how much of an influence our devotion to Jesus can have on the youth who we serve.  I am reminded that to be on mission is much more than a job.  To be on mission is a whole way of living, a state of being, an attitude.  An attitude of gratitude, since we are bolstered by all of the loving support from so many different people.  To be on mission for my Lord, Jesus Christ, is to be so in love with Jesus that those around me come to see Him when they encounter me.  I believe that is the underlying meaning in the prayer of St. John the Baptist when he says, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”  May the Lord help us to fall so deeply in love with Him that we may radiate Christ from every cell in our body.

--Spencer

Master it is good that we are here!

I sometimes wonder what it must have been like to be one of the disciples following Jesus on simply a normal day, one of those days that aren’t recorded in the Bible.  I ponder in anticipation, as I think to myself and my companions “Is Jesus going to share another new sign today?”   But what if it is a day where it appears as if nothing extraordinary is going to happen?  Perhaps today we are just to walk where Jesus wants to, and maybe not even hear Him speak?  Do we walk in silence then? Perhaps, or as the day goes on and it appears that there will not be an extraordinary sign, I find myself speaking with those around me; we are discussing the extraordinary thing we saw Jesus do just the other day.  Sometimes though I find that after such conversation, I am disappointed that nothing seems to be happening today!  But just when the day appears to be complete, Jesus stops and motions to the sky.  He has led us to a clearing so we might catch a glimpse of the simple yet majestic sunset reminding us all of the glory of creation.

                On those days when we are not on retreat here at SPIRITUS, I find it much the same.  Since we are not on retreat it seems we will not witness Jesus encountering and healing a young person that day; as we often do when on retreat.  Usually then we are excitedly talking about the most recent retreat, and one such encounter, amongst ourselves before seeing to our daily preparation and duties.  That often leaves me then left to walk where Jesus wants to the rest of that day, and strangely some days it seems I find myself disappointed.  The other day was one such day.  But as I was finishing entering responses from the young people from one of the retreats I had helped lead, I came across one last comment.  In response to what would you tell others about the retreat, one young person had written this, “I wish I didn’t have to leave.” 

This comment led me to Peter’s words during Jesus’s transfiguration on Mount Tabor, “Lord it is good that we are here.”  So much so Peter wanted to build tents, safe meeting places, for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses.  At the end of walking with Jesus that day, he pointed out to me how He provides this safe meeting place, or tent, for young people during SPIRITUS retreats that I and my teammates are so blessed to be a part.

-Zachery

Lord, I Need You!

The song, "Lord, I Need You" by Matt Maher is one of my favorites. I listen to it almost every day because it brings me such peace. The Lord gives me comfort through the lyrics because they touch my soul. It's amazing how the Lord speaks to me through music. I love singing that song to the Lord. 

Enjoy the song, dear friends! :) 

--Maddie

Thank You, Volunteers!

As we were working on our spring appeal mailing, stuffing hundreds of envelopes and getting everything ready to be sent out, I realized yet again how grateful I am that there are so many wonderful volunteers that support Spiritus in different ways throughout the year. Seeing all these people dedicating their time to help us with tasks like the mailing, which for most people is probably a tedious task and not how they would typically want to spend their free time, showed me how lucky we are to have these volunteers. From people helping Janette out with preparing meals on retreats, to those who donate food to feed our hungry team, to all the other ways that supporters have assisted us, these small acts of love go a long way. So I just want to thank everyone who has given their time to help support our mission in any way! It certainly does not go unnoticed!

--Sarah

SPIRITUS Formation

As most of you probably already know SPIRITUS is a ministry aimed at reaching the young people of Wisconsin through running retreats for various parishes and schools, but what some of you might not know is that the secondary mission of SPIRITUS is to help form the young adults on the team into fired-up young leaders.  One way we are formed into leaders prepared to lead the future generations of Catholics is through what we call “Formation”, now I know that is not the most clever of names but it helps us team members remember what we are there for.  During the week we usually have Thursdays as our days of Formation, we do not run any retreats but we have speakers give us talks about various topics.  The speakers are usually priests around the diocese but we also do have laymen and women give talks as well. Two Thursdays a month we have what is called Cor Jesu in Green Bay and young adults in the area are more than welcome to attend, and what we do at Cor Jesu is listen to an hour long talk and then have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour.   On top of the talks, the SPIRITUS team reads different books throughout the year that we discuss typically on Thursdays as well.  These books are typically more spiritual in nature and help us to connect our prayer lives with our ministry is some respect.  The formation aspect of SPIRITUS is not just limited to a talk or two a week and discussing a book once a week.  Through living in community, running retreats, interactions with students and D.R.E’s and most importantly prayer are the other ways in which the members of SPIRITUS are formed into the young adult leaders that the Catholic Church needs at this moment in it’s over 2000 year history.  As we continue to be formed please keep us in prayer and know of our prayers for the people of the Wisconsin whom we come in contact with.  God Bless!

-Mike

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! In the past two years I have been trying to build the Kingdom of God by preaching about the Lord’s Love and Mercy. I have experienced an adventure of a life time, seen the Love of God interact with the Children of God of all ages in incredible ways! But the most amazing and beautiful and unexpected thing happened as well in me. The Lord built His Kingdom in my heart! And He continues to do so! Every day my realization of the Lord’s Love for me grows. I see Him Loving me in the sacraments we get to partake in daily, in the formation we receive, in the interactions of my community and the students on retreat! The Father’s Love is so dangerously beautiful it often makes my heart beat so fast it almost hurts! And when I fail or fall or am going through times of feeling distant, I am touched gently in reembrace of the Prodigal Son, for I am a wandering soul constantly being beckoned to come closer like a child being encouraged to take his first steps to his father!

May God bless you and hold you close,

Arthur Richardson