Unexpected Graces

As our Christmas break approaches, it seems like an appropriate time to look back on my time with SPIRITUS. When I started my first year, I didn’t really know exactly what to expect. I only knew that I would have an opportunity to serve, and through that service, to grow in my faith. What I didn’t realize was that in my first year with SPIRITUS, I would become more joyful, more open to the Holy Spirit, and more confident.

In my second year, I’ve seen growth as well. I’m learning more about the Church and more about how best to reach the youth. I’m continuing to develop skills that help me better minister to others. I’m finding an ever deeper desire in my heart to spread the Faith.

I’ve also seen a great response from the youth this year. Last year, learning and growing took up a lot of my focus, but this year I feel a little freer to really see what is happening in the hearts of the youth we minister to. On one retreat, a young woman in my small group expressed that she had no belief in God and did not feel like she could trust any of her peers. But she was willing to share her opinions, and just from that openness, God was able to break down some of the walls she had built between herself and others.

Transformed From The Inside Out

This Ministry is impacting students in so many different ways. Each retreat has left me in awe of how God works in incredible ways, seeing the changes in the students faces, in their attitudes and most importantly a change of heart. I see so much potential in the youth today, so much passion, and a craving for change in the world we live in, that's where this ministry has it biggest BAM! This ministry is full of variety with the personal stories of the team members, small groups (students opening up and sharing a little bit of their life with us), 1:1 prayer (allowing the Holy Spirit to be with us, letting Him guide us through prayer), praise and worship (allowing the students to be silly, and out of their comfort zone), in these essential ways of using our faith in everyday life. One student mentioned, "being here has been a wonderful experience, it has taught us how our faith really is." That right there is very necessary telling the truth about our Catholic faith, sharing the stories, those real personal stories, letting them see that they are not alone, there are others in their classroom, in this world that have similar struggles. There is hope, and most importantly life does change when you let Jesus into your heart.

Now where to even begin, on how this ministry has impacted me, its been 4 months with SPIRITUS, it has been busy-wonderful four months of my life thus far. It has been challenging in so many areas but very trans-formative in others. I have grown so much, in prayer, ministry, community, formation, direction and most importantly, I've experienced a change of heart. This is why I am such an advocate for experiences from Jesus’s heart to our own.  I've been changed from the inside out as we say on retreat. I am more open, I am letting people in (in community and students on retreat), I am more determined, peaceful, courageous, joyful and confident. In allowing Jesus to work in me, He is molding me with a heart for Ministry. For that I am eternally grateful. I'm here because of Him, to bring others to Him and our faith. 

Spiritus transformation for me and the youth

What has my life been since I started with this ministry?  It has been a struggle no doubt about that, but as the fourth month starts with SPIRITUS I am very glad that I am here.  This ministry has forced me to go deeper within myself then I have ever had to do before.  I am no longer afraid to speak to the youth which is a very big plus for me.  Also through prayer, ministry and community life I can tell that Jesus is challenging me to become the man Christ made me to be.  

I am very excited with this ministry.  Already I can see the difference of what we do in the hearts of these youth.  At the very least they come to us with a little flame for Christ so when they experience these retreats most of them literally transform in front of our eyes to a blazing furnace for Christ.  This ministry is definitely needed in our times to combat the Culture of Death that pervades every aspect of our society so I just want to a big "Thank You" to all of our supporters.  With your support we can ignite the flames of love for Christ in these youths as well cultivate leaders in nine young men and women for the armies of Christ.

May God bless you this Christmas,

Robert Jennings, SPIRITUS Team

The Most Fulfilling Four Months of My Life

When I first read about SPIRITUS on the internet, I really didn't know what to expect. Now that I have been able to be a part of the SPIRITUS Team, I can say with certainty that what has happened over the course of this Fall semester has been greater than I could have ever thought possible.

SPIRITUS has provided me with an opportunity that is extraordinary: I can center my life wholly and completely on Jesus Christ. From the time I wake up in the morning until the time I fall asleep at night, all that I do is centered on becoming closer to God and imitating Jesus in my life.

There have been struggles on the path, but these struggles are what help me grow so I can become closer to Him in my life. Living in community has kept me accountable for how I live and has helped me maintain my focus on Jesus.

I have grown tremendously as a result of continuous spiritual development and living in community with others who share the same Catholic faith as I do. From daily Mass, to reciting the Liturgy of the Hours, to participating in formation and spiritual direction, I have had the opportunity to grow in Christ and learn to let my soul "magnify the Lord."

And this is what our ministry is all about. While we could never live up to Mary's "magnificat" in its purest sense, we learn to grow closer to God through her and to imitate her in virtue and her devotion to God. By magnifying the Lord, we deliver the message of Christ to the students we meet on retreat, in youth ministry, and Bible study.

We show students an example of how to live an alternative life than the one's preached by the world. We ignite the faith in Catholic youth and kindle the flames for God within their hearts. And for those who do not know Jesus, we introduce them to Him through intellectual, spiritual, and personal experience.

Through evangelizing the youth, I am able to fully live out the Gospels and imitate Jesus Christ like I have never had the opportunity to do before. And for that, I am ever grateful!

Life Changing

When I applied for Spiritus, I had no idea how life-changing it truly would be.  Even to this day, it amazes me how transformed I'm really becoming by being apart of this ministry.  Not only does this ministry give us, the team members, a chance to meet and witness to students all throughout the state, but it calls us on to do even more with ourselves--to truly open our hearts to the workings of the Holy Spirit.

I am so grateful to be apart of this ministry! It has truly transformed me into the person I feel God wants me to be.  By being apart of formation days, meetings with my spiritual advisor, living in community, and daily prayer my love for Jesus Christ has truly grown to a depth that I never thought could exist.

What I learn and attain through formation and prayer on the team, I am able to attend to the needs of the students we see on retreat.  At the end of the day, the students are really craving for a real and true witness.  They want to see what "normal" people have gone through and why Jesus is so important.  They need something they can hold on to and grasp.  And that's what I try to do. I try to be completely and totally real with the students. I tell them the experiences I faced growing up and why I needed God in my life.

Majority of the time, I feel like the one being ministered to on retreat. I look at the students we see and it calls me on to love God even more. I am truly honored and blessed to be apart of this life-changing ministry!

It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas

True meaning of Christmas

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception :) the first week of Advent came and went by so quickly. What did you do? Did you take the time to slow down? Did you take that first step in growing closer to Jesus Christ? Did you take a moment to reflect on all the blessings the good Lord has blessed you with? As the new year is starting I've made a promise of my own, to grow deeper in my relationship with Jesus Christ. Allowing Him to lead me, to seeing things as they are beautiful, treating people with kindness and respect,  growing in obedience, growing in patience with my brothers and sisters, re-establishing the relationship with our Blessed Mother. Now I know that's a long list, but little by little it'll become apart of me. I've already taken the first step, the rest will be easy with the help and grace from God. After all Advent is the season of changing, learning, growing and molding us into the person Jesus wants us to be.

Happy Feast and Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Mother

 This week we've been blessed with busyness and Christmas decorating around Mount Tabor :) the week started off with Inspire/Teen Disciples on Monday we discussed 'Marian Apparitions' speaking about the importance of having a special relationship with our Blessed Mother for she is the way to her Son, the different areas where she appeared. Tuesday we were honored to have a luncheon-Celebrate with the Board Members and some of the Benefactors of SPIRITUS, they were a wonderful group. Shout out to TOM, thanks for the delightful conversation. Ended the great day, going to the YMCA, connecting the body and soul in exercise :) 

Nothing like playing Pictionary  with the brothers & sisters!

Wednesday night was spent at Nativity Parish in Green Bay with 6-8th graders, where they learned the importance of being the superheros in this world we live in. Following the example of those whom walked amoung us, the Saints, how each of us are called to be just that a Saint. Thursday brought Formation with Sr. Mary Ann and Sr. Julie Ann they spoke and walked us through the journey of Our Blessed Mother, noticing a pattern here? It was fantastic, and so needed, giving me that extra push in the right direction. Followed by Spiritual Direction where more goals were set, good discussions, prayers, beginning to stretch this soul of mine. Ending the night with ushering at Xavier High School and seeing Christmas Stars, full of Christmas spirit. Yesterday, Friday was filled with laughter, Christmas decorating, Christmas music on full blast, putting up the tree, and preparing this home for Jesus. Oh, and some of us got to spent the afternoon at Drop In (after school funnness, 6-8th graders from Seaton Middle School spend Friday afternoons from 3-5pm hanging out with members from the SPIRITUS team). Mass and Adoration at Fr. Carr's Place 2 B, concluding with playing Pictionary with the brothers and sisters (pictures below). Sounds like a wonderful, ever so blessed week to me. Happy Saturday and Happy Second week of Advent. Peace and God Bless! 

"Its a soul sister kind of thing."

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful...... -Colossians 3:12-17

Uncovering Mysteries of the Eucharist

As of late, I have been diving deeper into the Catholic faith, uncovering mysteries that lie within the Sacraments. Today, I would like to discuss a few points about the source and highpoint of our faith: the Eucharist. CCC 1324.

We know that we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. But what, exactly does this mean? For much of my life, I have been drawn to the Eucharist, but only recently have I began to understand more about what it means for us.

A passage that has really helped put into perspective my attitudes toward the Eucharist comes from John's gospel.

Jesus says, "I tell you solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day." John 6:53,54.

When receiving Jesus, we take on His divine nature. CCC 1374. God cannot be present in the state of sin, and so when we receive the Eucharist, we receive His great mercy and are cleansed of venial sin. Free of sin, Jesus resides in us as we go forth into the world. CCC 1394.

Furthermore, While celebrating the Mass, we are not just celebrating with others at our parish or even all the faithful around the world. We are also celebrating the same Mass with the angels and saints in heaven.

"Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding in his hand a live coal which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. With this he touched my mouth and said:
         'See now, this has touched your lips, your sin is taken away, your iniquity purged.'" Isaiah 6:6,7.

There is only one Mass and that Mass is praised in heaven. When we go to Mass, we are joining in on the Mass of Heaven. When we receive Jesus, we experience heaven. CCC 1370.

"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me." Jn 6:56,57.

Heaven abides in Jesus and when we receive Jesus, we receive the Communion saints in heaven. CCC 1396.

Discussing this Communion in his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul states, " The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread."

After discovering this reality, for me it brought ever more meaning to the Lord's prayer. I began to have a better understanding of what the Father means by "Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven."

Jesus calls us to center our lives on Him and live as Saints on Earth. We are not supposed to wait until we die before experiencing His glory and being Saints. That life begins here and now.

In a way, we often separate our lives between this life and the next. However, for me, I can no longer think this way. We only have one life and that life is eternal. We cannot wait until Purgatory before we cleanse ourselves and seek heaven. This is something that we should seek to do now. Because now is heaven and heaven is now, and failure to seek God on Earth is a failure to seek His Glory in heaven.

FIRST TEAM 4 VLOG UPDATE!

VIDEO BLOG! Who would've thunk that Team 4 could do video updates?! Anyway, this is Callie updating for Spiritus. I got too lazy to type and decided uploading a video might be fun!

Happy Feast of Christ the King! Viva Cristo Rey!

Blessed are the pure of heart...

"Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God."
Matthew 5:8

God has a HUGE plan for every single one of us!! As Pope Benedict XVI says, "we were not created for comfort, but for greatness." God calls us on to greatness, he wants to see us do awesome and magnificent things.  I absolutely love this quote by Pope Benedict XVI, but sometimes I don't really feel strong enough to do what God calls me to do.

This ministry is extremely rewarding in the sense that I get to spread God's message to students all throughout the state of Wisconsin, but I also have taken so much from the students themselves.  I have truly discovered God's presence in each person I see on retreat. And it blows my mind the way God works.

This ministry also does have some costly side effects to it: lack of sleep, maybe some stress, and most of all spiritual warfare. We are going out and being Jesus to students that may have never experienced Him before which does not make Satan a happy camper.  So we face certain battles and struggles we need to overcome. But this is our Catholic faith!! Jesus overcame the cross, and we are called to fight these battles, whether physical or spiritual.

But I have found the only way you can truly be strong in fighting this type of warfare is by being pure of heart. Purity is our strength and our weapon! Which is why Satan has been attacking it and reducing it to a meaningless idea in society.

Purity, especially in today's world, seems to be an outdated and bizarre concept. "Just do what makes you feel good," or "YOLO" have become the anthem cries of our modern world. But as Catholics we are not called to be in the world.  Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds." As Catholics, we are called to be different!

Saint Joan of Arc, (one of my patron saints and my home girl), was 19 years old when she was called by God to lead the French army into battle. 19 years old! Even from a young age, she felt a strong and huge desire to remain pure of heart her whole life, this was the only way she truly felt close to God. Even after her father made plans for her to marry, she refused and said the only person she is fit for is God. This purity is what lead her into battle.  This purity is what kept her strong as she was martyred by being burned at the stake.  This purity is why allowed God St. Michael, St. Margaret, and St. Catherine appear to her and give her words of counsel and guidance. This purity is why Joan of Arc is a saint! She was called for greatness by God and her purity allowed her to accomplish this.

Our world is growing darker by the day. But we are called to be that light. We are called to be so much more than another generation in this society. We are called to live a life of greatness for our God. And the only way for us to accomplish this is through purity.

So my challenge for you is to pray for this virtue. Pray for the strength to live out purity. Pray to understand why this is such an awesome weapon in time of battle.

God can only speak to us if we are pure at heart. We can't accomplish His will if we do not live out and understand this wonderful virtue.

St. Joan of Arc, pray for us!

The Beauty of Busyness!

I am writing this post in the midst of a busy week for SPIRITUS. We are so blessed to see a ton of students on many different retreats throughout this week! This past weekend the team traveled to Kaukauna, Plainfield, Neenah and Manawa to lead retreats for some wonderful students! 

It is during weeks like this, filled with many retreats, that I realize what a blessing this ministry is. The opportunity for our team to reach out to over a hundred students in the span of a week is awe-inspiring for me. We are given so many moments to teach students what God has so graciously taught us about His love and mercy, and also to listen to the joys and sorrows that each student is facing in their own life. There are so many opportunities to connect with students whether it is talking about deep faith issues, or through fun activities and song. While long days of retreats can be draining, I have found that the more time that I spend with students, the more energy I have and the more confident I am that SPIRITUS is exactly where I need to be. It is truly a blessing. May God keep blessing our team with amazing students on retreat and continue to show us the beauty of busyness!