StCYM: Moving Forward! III (6 MAY 18)

We concluded our series "Moving Forward!" with a discussion on responsibilities regarding various decisions that need to be made in high school. These discussions addressed key aspects of decision making that are important to include. We also had time to play games (as promised) and write letters to the eighth graders. We concluded with a word storm prayer regarding decision making.

When discussing responsibilities we identified a preparation process before taking the big leap. For example, when applying to a college it is important to do the things necessary to make the application stand out. Simply applying will make it difficult to gain acceptance. A student needs to be involved in high school to make their application mean something. This involvement includes getting good grades and being involved in various clubs.

We also discussed our responsibilities regarding the Faith. We are responsible for following the Church's teachings. Participating in the Sacraments and serving others are major responsibilities that will impact our disposition and can positively influence our decision making process. When making a major decision it is important to go to Mass regularly and pray fervently. Doing this will not only create a stable structure, which creates peace, but it will also get God involved in our lives. God wants us to involve Him verything we do.

Moving forward (see what I did there?), we will learn about Mary the Mother of God, enjoy the weather, invite the 8th graders for another open house, and conclude the spring semester with a cookout. I look forward to what summer has in store and what the Holy Spirit will do in this ministry.

Discerning the Will of God: Discovering Yourself

Much of a person discerning a particular vocation is geared toward finding God. This is certainly good, because to realize God's Will requires a relationship with God. This is common for me as well. However, I often lose myself when looking for God. Sure, gaining God and losing oneself is biblical (Matthew 16:25), but when does looking for God turn into building God? When does discerning God's Will become building God's Will? In recent months I have answered this question.

Over the past few months a great amount of healing took place. I finally reached the freedom to choose or the equilibrium required to make the best decision regarding the clarity from God through discernment. I finally opened the door to my heart after leaving it sealed off for years. This was all thanks to God's goodness, a great group of friends, a persistent youth minister, and an amazing vocation director. In discussion with our vocation director, I was referred to an amazing book titled "Living Celibacy" by Gerdenio Sonny Manuel, SJ. It discussed celibacy from a psychological perspective, which was very helpful. It turned out to be my next "Apostolicam moment".

My last Apostolicam moment came in 2012 when I was at a Latin Mass with my Lutheran seminary class, which moved me to return to the Church. This time I was moved to open the door to my heart. When I opened this door I addressed what was within it through prayer, therapy, and great conversations with friends and priests. When I reached equilibrium I could no longer deny what I was doing for the past several years; I was not receiving my vocation, I was building one. I was constructing my tower of Babel and it was time for it to come crashing down.

For a few weeks following this I discerned where my mind AND heart were being led. I can say with confidence they are being led, not forced, away from the priesthood and toward marriage. This may come as a shock to many of you because of my stubborn stance regarding where I wanted to go despite what it would do to me. Going back to Matthew 16:25, I was seeking to make my life and ignore Christ's call. I was losing myself to my tower of Babel. I was attempting to construct the Will of God. When I opened the door to my heart, the Holy Spirit was so clear and this clarity requires action.

Since rediscovering all of myself, my life has improved. My prayer is more fruitful and my relationship with God is stronger. I am filled with true joy once again and my friends and colleagues have noticed. Even people that didn't know my much of my discernment recognized a refreshment since making this decision to discern marriage. This joy is from God and it is beautiful beyond words. I have a hard time putting this refreshment into words.

Thank you all for your many years of prayers and support. Thank you for your patience and love it means a lot to me. I apologize for any pain I caused due to my blindness. God is good! God will provide! I am overjoyed by God's goodness. To Him belongs all praise and glory. Now that I have allowed my heart to have a say, I can move forward glorifying God better than before! I am excited for what the future holds! Thank you again and God bless you all!

Pax,

Johannes


Deus invictus! Deus providebit!

StCYM: Moving Forward! II (29 APR 18)

This week we met, once again, to continue our series called "Moving Forward!". And, once again, we had no time for games because of the good discussions we were having. Next week, I promise, we will have time for games. I love how the discussions are going! I can see the underclassmen really opening up to the upperclassmen and a bond is growing and discipleship is beginning to exist. This is a beautiful direction that I envisioned the group going in. God is certainly good!

Before we entered into the discussions we played a decision making game called "bomb shelter". In this game the group is in a post-nuclear scenario where they are in a bunker with two years of supplies until the radiation goes away. However, the shelter can only sustain a certain number of individuals. The group had to decide who had to go. The purpose of this exercise is to analyze how decisions are made. The goal was to identify those methods and question their moral rigidity. We learned that most decisions were made due to stereotypes. 

Last week we discussed our disposition before making big decisions. This week we looked at how to go about making decisions. We asked ourselves three questions when facing a big decision; "what does my heart say?", "what does my mind say?", and "what does God say through His Church?". In the small groups we then discussed how fears and peer pressure can impact our decision making abilities. Among the major decisions were dating, post high school endeavors, and friendships. We also discussed how Church teaching should influence our decisions and how it can challenge us when society teaches differently.

Next week we will discuss taking action, since clarity requires that we do. We will go into how to move forward after big decisions are made and what the consequences are. We will also prepare for the 8th graders that are returning on 20 May for their second open house visit to StCYM. It will be a great time. And, yes, we will have time for games!

Pax,

Johannes

StCYM: Moving Forward! I (22 APR 18)

This week we started our next series I've titled "Moving Forward!". During this series we will discover how we move forward following the soul training we received during Lent. We will focus on discerning major life decisions that currently apply to our lives (what to do after college, what extracurriculars to be a part of, which relationships to maintain or end, etc.). Discernment is not just for a particular vocation, it is something we ought to do for every major life decision.

We began this week by looking at our disposition. Throughout this series we will use Ignatian rules for discernment. To begin a proper discernment, the key is to have the proper disposition. To have the proper disposition we need to recognize what our current state in life is. We discussed questions such as "How is my spiritual, emotional, mental health?", "What are things that hold me back?", "How is my prayer life?", "Does God seem close or distant?", "Am I in any toxic relationships/friendships?", "How is my relationship with the Church?" and others. The discussions were good and lasted the entire evening. We didn't even have time for games!

The teens mentioned how relevant these discussions are in their lives at the moment. They have big decisions to make that require good discernment. This is why providing the tools to discern properly is very important to teens at this stage in their lives. What teens do now can have an impact on what they do 10 years from now or maybe more. Including God and others in our decision making process in a healthy way will produce the good fruit we are all called to produce. Next week we will continue this discussion by discussing how to move forward once we have the proper disposition. Please pray for the teens as they are making their major decisions.

Pax,

Johannes

StCYM: 8th Grader Open House (15 APR 18)

I am very grateful to God for the direction StCYM is moving. I am seeing teens step up and take ownership of their faith and encouraging their peers to do the same. This continued during our eighth grader open house last night. Two of the freshman gave a brief talk on their transition from eighth grade to ninth grade. The group also discussed what StCYM does and what its purpose is. It was amazing to see the teens take charge.

Last night we had a full house. We began the night in prayer and transitioned into our group sessions. I divided the group in two. One would stay downstairs while the other went upstairs. One group talked about the transition from middle school to high school, while the other group discussed what happens at StCYM and what people would want to see happen. After 15 minutes or so we switched. Following the group sessions we transitioned into game time! We had teens playing on the Wii and, the classic, Scattergories. The game room was also filled with teens playing Foosball, table tennis, and air hockey. It was a night of great energy. The food was great too.

I am excited to see where this goes. It was great to see the eighth graders and the first timers that were invited. Our next eighth grader open house is scheduled for 20 May. If it is anything like last night, it will be an amazing one too. We have great things planned here at StCYM and the Holy Spirit is very much at work in all of it. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. It means a lot to us as we continue to journey on the narrow path.

Pax

Lent for the Busy Person

You may be like me on the day before Lent, better known as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday in the US, and make a list of Lenten promises to God. This list will include sacrifices, prayers, activities, and other things you will give up or do for Lent. If you are like me this list starts out fairly large. Not to boast, but here is an example of what my first list looked like:

If you are having trouble deciphering my beautiful calligraphy, the list reads:

1. No fast food 2. Facebook only on Fridays (Adoration Friday of course) 3. Daily Scripture reading 4. Finish "Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration" by Pope Benedict XVI and 30 day consecration ("33 days to Morning Glory" by Michael E. Gaitley) 5. Daily Rosary and Divine Chaplet 6. Daily Holy Hour (Eucharistic Adoration) 7. Gym three times per week.

You were probably chuckling by number four or five. What makes me chuckle is the line after the list which reads, "I think this is doable...." and then I add, "Also, praying more in Latin and Deutsch (German), and bed before 12am." To anyone counting, that is nine Lenten promises! Yes, nine! Sure, for a college student with a light course load this is possible, but I am not a college student with a light course load. You should have seen the reaction my spiritual director (Fr. Sean) had when I recited this list to him during my session with him. He had some good advice on how to refine this list. He broke it down into three categories (prayer, fasting, and alms giving). Here is my list following spiritual direction:

Again, my amazing calligraphy reads:

1. Prayer: a. Holy Hour three times per week minimum b. Daily Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy

2. Fasting: a. Facebook (one post per day [must be spiritual], and no more than one total hour surf time per day)

3. Alms giving: a. Volunteer three times during Lent

4. Spiritual Reading: a. Finish "Jesus of Nazareth" and 33 Days to Morning Glory

Again, looking back this is a jam packed Lent. Lent is supposed to be challenging, absolutely! Lent is a time to wrestle with our faults and find ways to eliminate or reduce them as we walk with Christ. I must admit, that I have not been proactive enough in following through in this refined list. I know that I could offer up three hours a week for Eucharistic Adoration. I already do an assigned hour on Fridays. I  know I could be reading the amazing work by Pope Benedict XVI instead of watching the WWE Network (which is awesome by the way). With work and prayer, I can commit to this list. Instead of volunteering, I have given money to Harvest for Hunger instead almost each time that I buy something at work. Since I seem to go two weeks to a month with out a day off, finding time to volunteer is difficult, so I made an adjustment.

At this point you may be wondering when I'm going to come up with ideas for you the busy person. The idea is this; make your initial list, reflect on your daily duties, and then discuss this list with friends, family, or a priest. You will find that you can refine this list and still have a fruitful Lent. Lent is not simply about abstaining from things. Lent is about spiritual growth. The goal is to come up with a list of things that will help you grow spiritually. Our relationship with Christ and his Church matters, and Lent is a time to get back to the basics. These basics, as Fr. Sean (my spiritual director/Confessor) puts it, are prayer, fasting, and alms giving. Find one thing that you can do or sacrifice in each of these categories, and Lent will be a fruitful one for you.

God knows our lives better than we do. God knows we are busy. Let us not feel guilty for having to trim our Lenten promises down to size. Let us, instead, be joyful that we are seeking a closer relationship with our Lord and his Bride, the Church. Lent is my favorite time of the year for this reason. I am so glad the Church has set aside a time to reflect, pray, and sacrifice to draw closer to God. Let us march forward toward Christ.

Here is a simple list you might be able to implement if you are having trouble:

1. Prayer: 10-15 minutes of prayer each day. Doing this around meal times is a good way to set aside time for it. Before bed is also a good time. Go to Confession more frequently.

2. Fasting: Limit social media time or Internet time to 1-3 posts per day if you are a frequent user. Or limit TV time to 1-2 hours a day if you watch a lot of TV. Do a good fast on Fridays (one meal and two smaller meals or snacks that do not add up to the one meal), or go 24 hours without eating (health permitting).

3. Alms giving: Pick a ministry and donate your time, money, or other resources throughout Lent. At Walgreen's they are supporting Harvest for Hunger. I simply add $1, $5, or $10 (on paydays) to my bill. This is a quick easy way to help feed the hungry.

I hope this list helps. Sometimes when it comes to our spiritual lives, less indeed is more if our mind, body, and soul are fully invested. I pray you have a blessed Lenten season. Please pray for me as I seek to better fulfill my Lenten promises. Please continue to pray for peace, especially in Ukraine and Venezuela. Let us be a witness to the love which conquers all. Credo Domine.