48 hours straight..

I received this e-mail from a fellow missionary and thought I should pass it on.  For two days straight, individuals of all faiths and backgrounds will be reading the Bible.  Now that is spreading the word of God. 

"Brothers and Sisters! 

Right now, at this very moment, an amazing event is happening at the University of St. Thomas!  We are well into a continuous reading of the Bible, out loud, stopping only for masses!  Check it out and spread the word!"

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/livenow?id=6660281

WOW, what a weekend!

That is all I have say about the weekend.  "WOW, what a weekend!" This year at UMKC we hosted a local retreat for out student leaders. I am going to honest with you and let you know that we are not in any means expert at hosting retreats. Each of my teammates has something special to offer the students. If it's in their ability to get people excited or in a prayerful mood.  We have been praying to Our Lady of Perpetual Help to protect us. 

My two favorite highlights of the weekend were Ready, Set, Go and Outreach.  Ready, Set, Go, was a talk assigned to an employee of the diocese.  She is a dynamic individual and more than willing to preach the truth to anyone she meets. She was doing just that this Saturday morning at Planned Parenthood that she was not able to make it on time for her talk.  So the Holy Spirit guided me to lead the talk about the Go Gospel.  One of my favorite subjects to talk about.  We cannot give what we don't have.  I lived a life of mortal sin and I was personally attempting to evangelize my peers, but nothing was working. It's because I was not providing Jesus to them, I was providing my sinful self.  If we want to evangelize other souls, we need a clean soul.  We need to be cleansed. It's only through the sacrament of confession and true repentance can we bring souls to Christ.  

But guess what, even with a clean soul we will not necessarily bring others to Christ. We need to know how to influence others. One of the biggest mistakes we make is being rude without even knowing it. Such as: timeliness, not giving them our full attention, distractions, not listening, making side track remarks, ect.  We need to talk to others like we are talking to Jesus.  Yes, that is right, talk to everyone you encounter as Jesus. The lady in the elevator this morning to the man ahead of you in line for lunch, treat them as Jesus. Now that is something to pray about for Lent. 

The outreach was amazing... here is an excerpt from my newsletter. 

"We split the student leaders up in groups with a missionary and told them go have fun! My group tried to have conversations, but it’s hard trying to make small talk and plug in our Savior in the conversation.  We met a couple who had promise rings and I talked to them about the importance of chastity and keeping God always number one in their relationship (plus words of encouragement and thanks for their witness). We also ran into some girls that were just at the mall to meet some boys, we tried to convince them that Jesus is the best boy to meet; I know the Lord will bring fruit through that conversation.

Here is excerpt from a student I have been discipling for quite a while now named Tiffany Bell and what the weekend meant to her!

“FOCUS student leaders had the opportunity to spend the entire weekend away from campus growing in relationship with one another and our Lord.  We were able receive the Sacraments and spend time in prayer as well as hear talks by our missionaries as well as other FOCUS staff members.  The retreat fueled me for the semester, reminding me of what is truly important as I live my life as a college student.

By attending and leading a FOCUS Bible Study, I am able to spend time in fellowship with other Catholic students learning about God's plan for our lives.  Events hosted by FOCUS have given me the friends that I need to support me in my struggle to live a holy life as a college student. Discipleship with Jacqueline as helped me to grow deeper in my spiritual life, giving me the tools to strengthen my prayer life as well as help others along their journey.  The work that FOCUS has done here at UMKC has truly changed the way I live my life.

Who says you cannot spread the gospel anymore?

Tim Tebow at the BCS championship game, wrote “John 3:16” on his eye black.

If you are curious follow the links below...

http://www.collegeotr.com/college_otr/tim_tebows_john_316_eye_black_causes_an_unholy_controversy_17875

http://www.nowpublic.com/sports/john-3-16-tim-tebow-switches-phil-4-13-eye-black-message

Blessed Andre Bessette, Pray for us

Many of you are wondering who is Blessed Andre Bessette, and to be honest I had not either until today. It's the final week of break before students start arriving back on campus and I have never felt this ready and nervous at the same time for the semester to arrive.

Blessed Andre was a man whose parents were ill at a young age and by the time he was twelve he was a adopted by a farmer (his uncle). Throughout the ages of 12-25 he had to work to keep his stay at the farm. By the age of twenty-five he applied to the seminary, but refused because he himself had poor health. Finally an order called the Congregation of the Holy Cross took and made him the doorkeeper. He was faithful to this job to the end, but not just faithful, he treated each individual that came to the door as Christ.

"On his windowsill, facing Mount Royal, was a small statue of Saint Joseph, to whom Andre was especially devoted. "Some day," he believed, "Saint Joseph will be honored on Mount Royal." Andre had a special ministry to the sick. He would rub the sick person with oil from a lamp in the college chapel, and many were healed. Word of his power spread, and when an epidemic broke out at a nearby college, Andre volunteered to help; no one died. The trickle of sick people to his door became a flood. His superiors were uneasy; diocesan authorities were suspicious; doctors called him a quack. "I do not cure," he always said. "Saint Joseph cures." By his death, he was receiving 80,000 letters each year from the sick who sought his prayers and healing. For many years the Holy Cross authorities had tried to buy land on Mount Royal. Brother Andre and others climbed the steep hill and planted medals of Saint Joseph on it, and soon after, the owners yielded, which incident helped the current devotion to Saint Joseph by those looking to buy or sell a home. Andre collected money to build a small chapel and received visitors there, listening to their problems, praying, rubbing them with Saint Joseph's oil, and curing many. The chapel is still in use." (http://saints.sqpn.com/sainta65.htm)

So basically, what I am trying to say, if we are doing our work for Jesus that it should be extraordinally. It should turn a few heads and make people wonder. So if you think your work is not making a difference in the world. As yourself if you are working as if Jesus is your client?

Finding Joy in Jesus.

Each year we have this great opportunity to sing to Jesus for his birth. I know this year is very troubled because troubled economic times, but there is great joy in Jesus. Most of us have family and friends who love us and to be honest that is the greatest gift God could ever give to us.

So find joy in Jesus through you family and friends. Tell them Thank you and humor the Lord with a little joy this Christmas. You never know the joy but spread to others.