The SPIRITUS Impact

When asked the question of how SPIRITUS has impacted my life and the lives of youth everywhere in Wisconsin, I can’t help but think of St. John Paul II’s words at World Youth Day in 2000. He said, “It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise.”It is precisely the mission of SPIRITUS to ignite the Catholic faith and to awaken a sense of joy and peace that can only be found through a genuine encounter of Jesus Christ himself.






Everyday I get the chance to awaken my faith and meet Christ through the gift of Mass, Adoration, and communal prayer with my team. I can’t stress how much this can transform a person as it deepened my commitment in not finding my worth in people or things but rather through a deep intimacy with my God who is closer than my own heartbeat. SPIRITUS has shown me that less truly is more, for the more time I give to God and others the more I truly receive. The more I let go of my wants and desires, the more freedom I experience in being the woman who God has created me to be.





By interacting with the youth on retreats and in the parish of St. Therese I get to see students experiencing the peace that God so longs to show them especially through one on one prayer. Many of the students are hungering for that peace in their busy schedules and are looking for that intimacy. By taking the time to reflect and hear witnesses they themselves are being ignited to seek and knock on the doors of their hearts which God so lovingly resides in. It is through the knock of SPIRITUS that a simple note of an instrument can become a grand symphony of divine mercy.






-Christen Sheffer

God is good, ALL THE TIME

Praise the Lord!

It has been one heck of a week here at SPIRITUS; traveling to retreat locations, meeting a lot of young people, listening to raps about Saint John Paul II (Giovanni Paolo!), and spending sometime at the Salvatorian cottage in Calumetville. Right now I feel a lot like Patrick (see above photo for more details); a little run down. Sometimes the business of the world can get overwhelming and it becomes easy to lose our sight, to stop "seeing things the way God sees them," and to get caught up or tangled by the little things of life. That is why I love the Gospel of the Blind Beggar; " 'What do you want me to do for you?' He replied, 'Lord, please let me see.' " When life gets overwhelming it is really easy to "wrap up in ourselves" and lose sight of the Gospel, but it is precisely in these moments (when we feel like Patrick) where God can do the most work. In the times when we are very aware of our dependence on Him for everything, amazing things happen. I have had some of the best experiences on retreat this past week, even though I had no idea what was going to happen or how things would turn out and felt like panicking more than once; we can be assured of God's answer whenever we call on Him in sincerity and truth. FOR ALL OF YOU WHO FEEL OVERWHELMED; take courage! Trust in the Lord, let the psalm response from yesterdays (11/17/15) Mass saturate your own heart, "The Lord upholds me;" also, watch this video from Father Mike Schmitz (it is some "hot sauce"). Viva Cristo Rey!

Blessed

Blessed. That’s the one word that succinctly describes my first two months here on the Spiritus team.

When I first arrived at Mt. Tabor center back in August, I didn’t know what to expect. Even though I’ve known the Spiritus teams for five years, I still didn’t understand fully what the Spiritus team did on a day by day basis. What I knew about the Spiritus team was based on my interactions with the teams periodically throughout the months, especially in the Ignite and Inspire events, the Spiritus lead biweekly Bible studies for teens/young adults. However, I never would have been able to guess just how busy the Spiritus life is. Who would believe that running around prepping and giving retreats, receiving formation, and living in community would be so busy? Yet, even on the busy days, there is something so immeasurably beautiful and peaceful about being here. There isn’t more than a day that goes by without the song “Set a Fire” by Jesus Culture running through my head. It is truly amazing how God places a calling on our hearts and then equips us with all the tools necessary to succeed! Plus He provides an indescribable peace and joy just to top it off because He can. God is so good!

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” Luke 1:46b-47


Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
God Bless!

 

 

Have fun today!

Retreat Season has begun? Bring it on!

Hi everyone!

Upon walking into Mount Tabor around this same time last week, anyone could tell that the team had the first retreat jitters. Yeah, I will admit, I was nervous even after all of the rehearsals and prayer, but after morning Mass before the retreat, the Holy Spirit really took over.

All of our sessions had a strong sense of power behind them and some of the details we had mentioned were not even originally planned! The students of Briggsville and Portage seemed closed off at the beginning of the retreat, but really opened up in small groups, and thereafter, almost every student went to Confession.

God is so good! This retreat exactly as He had planned and I am so blessed to be a part of it. The jitters are gone now, so bring on the next 149 retreats!

Hello!

I am truly blessed to be here on SPIRITUS! God is so good. When I was packing all my stuff into my car and preparing to make my way to Menasha, Wisconsin, I had no idea what amazing blessings God had in store. I am so thankful for the men and women on SPIRITUS Team 7. It's only been three weeks and I have already learned so much from them. A couple days after arriving at Mount Tabor, we had the opportunity to go to Camp Tek for a few days. During the time we spent at Camp Tek, we were able to get to know each other better and bond as a team. The atmosphere at Camp Tek was quite peaceful and allowed us to connect with God in a beautiful way.


As we prepare for the upcoming retreats, I pray that God use each one of us and the gifts we have been given, in order to bring the young people we encounter closer to Him. I am looking forward to growing deeper in faith with my team members and encouraging each other, as we prepare to serve the youth. May the praise and glory be given to God throughout this year!

Be encouraged!

Welcome Back!

This year has many new changes for me, I am coming back as a Servant Leader, I will have a new community, I took the boat over from Michigan instead of taking the train, and is just to name a few! The changes so far have been good, I have not met my new community yet but I have been filled with anticipation all summer long and I only have one week to meet them. But I have also been able to reconnect with a few of my community members from last year before everything starts again and that has been such a blessing as well!!!

I am so blessed and excited to have another year and opportunity to grow in holiness and be apart of something greater than myself. I love retreat ministry for many reasons, but I think the main reason is because I get to meet so many people and listen to them. I have learned many things this past year but one thing seems to stand out, we are all poor in some way. I get to listen and console the Heart of Jesus through being a loving presence to His children!!! I have never known a greater joy than living for others, and Spiritus is such an amazing avenue to love Christ in the hearts of so many people!

Here's to the Best Friendships!

Hello Blog Readers!

It's been pretty quiet here on the blog since all of Team 6 is gone except me. I'm working here at the Mount Tabor Center for another month as the Coordinator for the Totus Tuus program for the Diocese of Green Bay but also helping to prepare as Team 7 begins their journey of SPIRITUS in a little over a month and a half!!

As I'm sitting here in Menasha at the Mount Tabor Center, where I've spent most of my days these past three years, I am reminded of how blessed I am. How blessed these past three years have been. I can go on and on and tell you about how much I've learned about ministry, evangelization and leadership (because I've learned SO MUCH) but in reality, it's the relationships that come to my mind right now. The relationships with the students, of course, and the staff (they are all so awesome and we couldn't do this ministry without them!!!), but also with the young adults I've spent my time with in this mission. Some of the best friendships I've ever had are with my teammates from the past three years and I'm forever grateful for that. These friendships are based on faith, on joy, on loving one another the best we can. And to be honest, I'm not sure I believed these types of friendships existed until I found them on SPIRITUS. I even think about today and the fact that over the course of this morning I've talked to multiple of my teammates through texting, Facebook, email, snapchatting, and even making plans to hang out later this evening. Thank goodness for social media and the internet! Distance doesn't matter, because we have formed such a beautiful bond through SPIRITUS that has only continued to grow after we've gone our separate ways.

So if any of SPIRITUS Team 7 is reading this...get ready! You're entering a unique and wonderful community. Not only with each other as Team 7 but also with all of us alumni that have participated in the mission before you. It's a beautiful thing.

And if any of my friends from SPIRITUS Teams 4, 5, and 6 are reading this...I MISS YOU!

God is Good!

This year has been a blast. I am so deeply in love with Jesus and with His mother Mary. My life has been so blessed and the graces are just piling up and overflowing out of me. The family that has been formed and the community that has come from nine months is amazing.

The Lord knew what He was doing when He sent me here and honestly I had no idea what He was doing. That seems to be how it works a lot of the time. God’s will is something I could have never imagined and turns into a ocean of grace. I always find that whenever I am uncomfortable, God brings this amazing comfort to me for stepping out into an unknown abyss.

We just had our closing retreat and all I can say is that this year has been so Holy Spirit filled. If I could recognize Him working as much as He does in my life I would probably be sitting in this heaven like state. SPIRITUS is just God sent, this family is wonderful.

You can only get what you give, “Give and you shall receive”. The thing is, when you REALLY give, actually fully give of yourself, the Holy Spirit takes you on this ride that makes your heart just want to pour love on everyone because God is that good!

May God bless you all and may you truly know what is means to be a Missionary Disciple!

Love, Layne

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. John 1:14

A pilgrimage The Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe

       A week ago, on one of our days off, we were able to go to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I was so struck by beauty. Everything was stunning, even the car ride there and back was stunning. There were rolling hills that slowly turned into bluffs. Spring was just beginning and there was a lot of green starting to burst forth from the ground and the trees. 

      The shrine itself, was one of the most beautiful things I have seen. It was massive, beautiful stone was everywhere. the alter was gorgeous and walking in there were first class relics of six amazing saints. When I first walked in, I had to stop and look around to take it all in. one of my teammates told me to look to my right, and there was a relic of St. Therese of Lisieux! She is one of my very favorite Saints, and have begone to really have a relationship with her this year. So needless to say I got VERY excited!!!

      After mass we went on a rosary walk, explored the area then drove to Lacrosse and grabbed some amazing food and ice cream! It was such a beautiful day!!! It is something I will never forget and I hope I have the ability to go back soon! And I strongly encourage you to go as well!

God bless you and keep you close!

Arthur