Ministry Moments: June Updates From Our Partner Parishes
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
This past week was the start of our summer young adult intern experiences and simply put... what a game changer it is to have these young adults bring their energy, passion and new insights to the table.A small group of our Spanish-speaking YA’s volunteered to run the Quinceanera retreat for those that will be celebrating that event in the next few months. It was a wonderful opportunity for them to interact with the younger Hispanic girls of our parish. Our English-speaking YA’s were invited to learn the basics of our new podcasting equipment. I assumed they would be tentative about the idea, but I wanted them to know the option is there. The one young man who attended the session invited 3 other YA’s to join him the very next day. They are super excited about the opportunity and really want to get something started. The Spanish-speaking group is already on board. Both groups will brainstorm topics, present ideas to our pastor, and then hopefully publish their first episodes. We are all thankful for this grant that has made this a possibility for a fruitful and far-reaching way to share the Catholic faith.
It was beautiful watching our young adults and parish community come together to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost! Our Young Adult Ministry partners with our Youth Ministry in hosting an International Food Festival. We begin with a bilingual Mass celebrated by the bishop and then people host tables with food samples and cultural artifacts from their family's heritage. We also have several cultural dances, performances, and music. It is such a terrific opportunity for our community to join together to share in faith, fellowship, food and also learn from one another. This was our second year hosting the International Food Festival and it seems to draw in roughly 800 people. It is a huge endeavor, but seeing the impact always brings me to tears and confirms that the Holy Spirit is ever present and moving in the hearts of our parishioners.
This is around a young lady who joined our parish as a catechist for second grade. She felt called to pax Christi and to this particular sacrament because she wanted to share her love for Jesus with those preparing for First Communion. In the course of her time with Pax Christi she has discerned entering Consecrated Religious Life and will be entering as a postulate with the Benedictine Daughters of the Divine Will in Tennessee.
On Saturday morning our Saint Vincent de Paul hosts a Saturday breakfast for the poor and lonely. On Mother's day weekend, my family was scheduled to run the breakfast. I wasn't at the breakfast on time that day, but my husband had called to ask for extra help, though my father in law said it wasn't necessary, so I showed up and shortly after we saw this woman walking by with her three kids and my husband told me I should go talk to them. With little hesitation I introduced myself to her and when talking with her about how she found out about us, she shared that a homeless man invited her to come to the free breakfast that we have. She said she felt a calling that she was supposed to go to this breakfast to meet others in the community. Her life story really resonated with me, and I enjoyed our conversations and her kids were so kind and joyful. I told them about our parish and shared my number with her and invited them join us at Mass. I was so grateful that the next day, Mother's Day, my new friend was able to attend Mass with her family and sit with us. My friend and her husband have little knowledge about the Catholic faith, but they are learning bit by bit each weekend and have continued to come to Mass. They look forward to learning more and even attending the OCIA classes in the fall. I'm so excited for what's in store.
Here is a story from a young adult who just got back from one of our mission trips:
This mission more than anything, has been a wellspring of grace and encounters with Christ. So often our Lord surprises me with His presence in ways that continue to give me pause and allow me to reflect on His wondrous mercies in utter astonishment. It can be through His sacraments, devotions of the Church, prayer, His magnificent creation, but I think most unexpectedly of all: through broken, sinful man, each one made in the image of God.
During the time spent at the coffee garage in downtown Omaha, I had the absolute privilege of encountering Christ through a man named Brian. I approached Brian after he got his oatmeal, orange, water, and coffee from the group members serving from within the garage. I introduced myself and noticed how happy he was, smiling even. Here was a man who had little more than the clothes on his back, yet was more joyful than I was. This was only the beginning of my mysterious encounter with Christ through Brian.
As I asked him questions about his life, he began to paint these elaborate stories. Although I’m sure they were Hollywood-screenplay worthy stories, I was only able to understand small fragments of them because of Brian’s quick speech and low voice. All I could do was nod my head, interject with small quips, and try to mirror his facial expressions as he recounted his life. At first I was frustrated, but then I realized how it didn’t matter. What was much more important than understanding, was experiencing his presence in that moment. Just sitting there, spending time with him, doing my best to grasp onto every intelligible word I could, and just simply rest in the cool of the Nebraskan morning with him.
Brian continued talking, but between stories would begin to offer me his water, his oatmeal, his orange. I began to think to myself, Who is this guy? He has no possessions, and no guaranteed food source, yet offers me his food? I couldn’t comprehend how or why he was so charitable, especially to me, a stranger he had only known for 30 mins. I imagined myself in his shoes. I think I would be the most miserable soul on earth if I was homeless, in the depths of despair and depression, completely unable to continue with life. Yet Brian was willing to sacrifice his meal so that I would have something to eat.
Brian allowed me to pray for him, give him a St. Francis holy card (which he promised to keep forever), and a hug before we left for lunch. As I began to dig into my more-than-substantial meal that I had packed, I reflected on my encounter with Brian and asked the Holy Spirit to guide me. He gave me grace to see how much Brian exemplified Christ.
How often do we understand the Almighty? In all of His glory and power. The very identity of God has been pondered by theologians throughout the ages, and the best they’re able to come up with is what God revealed Himself to us as: the Holy Trinity. Any attempt to explain God more than Father, Son, and Holy Spirit utterly fails to capture who He truly is. This is a mystery, only able to be accepted through faith. It’s impossible to truly understand God, yet even in His infinitude, His holiness, His perfection, He calls us into a relationship with Him. Not to understand, but to simply commune and be one with Him through Christ. How similar is this to my encounter with Brian? I only understood about ten percent of what he told me, but it didn’t matter! Our Lord just wanted me to enjoy Brian and for Brian to enjoy me, and through that, we built a connection. And for Brian to offer me everything he had so that I could eat一how much more did Christ offer Himself so that we could have life? Our Lord used Brian to remind me of His self-sacrificial love, and how I am called to the same standard. But it also allowed me to realize how unwilling and selfish I was to give things up for the good of others. Through Brian, Christ reminded me of how poor in spirit I was. That I have a long way until I reach spiritual perfection, and that it’s not even possible without God’s grace. Brian helped me to see how broken and helpless, in need of the only one who can truly save me from myself. But only in my weakness and humility can the Lord reveal His power. St. Paul wrote, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me!” It is now my prayer that in everything I do, I die to myself, and exemplify Christ.
Recently we have been seeing an influx of young adults who are not Catholic inquiring about the faith and asking to attend Mass. We love connecting with them personally so after meeting with each of the latest 4 young adults who inquired this month, we were able to plug each one of them into one of our many young adult ministries. 3 of the 4 have already signed up for O.C.I.A. and are continuing their journey in faith with our community.
I had a beautiful moment of grace this past month. I had a former camper-now young adult who had fallen away from the faith for many years. His mom always asked me to pray for him and miraculously one day I looked down from the loft and noticed him at Mass. He had come for the first time thinking his mom was at her parish only to be seated in our full church by an usher right next to his Mom. God definitely had a sense of humor but it has been beautiful watching him reconnect with his faith and see the joys of the Gospel coming alive in his life. Running into young adults at the Duncan Hines Day Festival in BG, Corpus Christi Procession at the parish, lots of fun!
Last week, I was meeting with someone who was interested in becoming Catholic, when I saw 6 young adult men walking down the hallway of our church from one of the meeting rooms. They entered the church and went into the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Later, after my meeting, I managed to catch up with them as they were leaving. They had decided, on their own, to start meeting for Adoration, Lectio Divina, and discussion and would like to get other guys to join them.