Reaching the Young Adults

Cody led us this morning in a wonderful discussion on what being a Catholic is really like for our young adults, and the challenges this population of Catholics are facing on a daily basis. We explored the ways we’re missing the mark as a Faith, and realized that one of the biggest failures happening in our Church today is the over-emphasis on “inclusion” which is coming at the expense of the moral and theological teachings of our Faith. (We’ve lost sight of the fact that the Catholic Church is already one of the most inclusive faiths around). Somehow we need to become a positive alternative to the garbage our young adults are being influenced by; and part of being that positive alternative means sticking to our guns as Catholics and not compromising our core beliefs - no matter what the rest of the world is screaming.

(And after an extended time away, it was a special treat to have the Picella boys cooking up waffles for us again!)

Featured Scripture

Psalm 10

Featured Song

“I Will Fear No More” by The Afters (Music Video)

14 CS

Fellowship of the Heart

It was so great to see the guys today. We welcomed back a couple of brothers who haven’t been able to join us is a long time, and we were blessed to have a new brother, Chris, join us for the very first time. Today’s discussion topic was based off the book: “Waking The Dead” by John Eldredge. This is a book that Michael C had read and pieced together the information in a presentable format. The focus was on how our hearts are at war with Satan because Satan knows what we can become if our hearts are strong - and he fears that.
(If anyone would like to review the outline Michael used, which includes some of the quotes and reflection questions that were shared, you can view that here: Outline).

Michael also passed around a handout based off material from a second book all about the 7 Deadly Sins by Kevin Vost. You can view a copy that handout here: Seven Deadly Sins

Featured Scripture

Psalm 42:9-12

Featured Song

“Crazy People” by Casting Crowns (Music Video)

16 MC

Conversing with Charity

We had a really well attended gathering this morning, including appearances by both priests!

Mike came up with a great Scripture for us and we spent quite a bit of time discussing how it affected each of us, and then we went into the main topic, also presented by Mike. We discussed the importance of listening and understanding when we’re engaging with someone else - especially someone we happen to disagree with. Making sure the other person knows you really are listening and understand what they’re trying to explain places them in a position to be less defensive and more willing to listen to your own thoughts. James 1:19 sums it up perfectly: “Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”

Special thanks to Cheryl Kellogg and Rosa Ruehlman for the Valentine decorations! And also to Larry Chu and Larry Church for providing food even though they couldn’t stay.

Featured Scripture

John 16:21-33

Featured Song

“Way Maker” by Michael W. Smith (Music Video)

15 MK

Man In The Mirror

Happy New Year!

We had the intention of discussing how to be charitable when communicating with others, but as happens often in our fellowship sessions - the Holy Spirit took over. The men were struck by the featured scripture selection, and in particular we spent a lot of time discussing James 1:23 - “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.” It was wonderful to hear the different interpretations of how that passage spoke to the different men, and to hear how some heard that as searching for Jesus when looking at yourself in the mirror; and for others it reminded them how instead of looking at ourselves in a mirror, we should be looking through a window to view what others are doing - so we can find where we need to be of service.

We welcomed a new guy this morning, Frank, and it was awesome how quickly he felt comfortable to contribute his thoughts to the discussion.

Featured Scripture

James 1:19-27

Featured Song

“Do Something” by Matthew West (Music Video)

11

Christian Friends

God Is Good!

It was so great to finally be back home in Room A of Potthoff Hall! We had a nice turnout this morning, and the topic for the day was on Cristian Friendship: the importance of it, and how to cultivate it. (The song choices this morning were not the normal Christian variety, but definitely appropriate for the conversation). We look forward to having more men continue to join us as life tries to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

Featured Scripture

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Job 2:7-13

Featured Songs

“You’ve Got A Friend” by James Taylor
”You’ve Got A Friend In Me” by Randy Newman

Persecution

Our last meeting was amazing. The primary focus of it was the idea of persecution and how we as followers of Christ should approach the modern world. How can we continue to live our daily lives while staying faithful to God despite threats of repercussion? How much are we willing to sacrifice? Examples of this persecution were given (i.e., constantly being attacked in public institutions, churches being burned, etc.).

Featured Scripture

Daniel 6:22

Featured Song

“Guilty” by Newsboys (Music Video)

Surrender

This morning was another wonderful gathering, and included three brothers from St. Christopher’s parish (they meet weekly!). Today’s topic was inspired by a video put out by Fr. Mike Schmitz (Ascension Presents), where he explained how “to surrender” something to God does not necessarily mean to “give to” God, or that God will “take it away”. True surrender means to give God “dominion” over the item, allowing Him to control all aspects involved with that item (and sometimes that means it stays with you - but the difference is that God stays with it as well). The link to the video is provided below.

Fr. Mike Schmitz: What Does Surrender Actually Look Like?

Featured Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30

Featured Song

“Let Go, Let God” by Jack Cassidy (Music Video)

The Road to Emmaus

Last month we read through the narrative of the Passion of the Christ and discussed it at length. This went so well that we thought we would try another passage for May. This month we will read through the narrative of The Road to Emmaus, where the risen Lord Jesus encounters two men on the road who tell him all about His own story.

Featured Scripture

Luke 24:13-35

The Passion of Christ

Holy Saturday was our our meeting day for this month, and so we enjoyed a wonderful discussion about the Passion of Jesus Christ. We reviewed a Scriptural account of the Passion and then discussed prophecies that came true because of it; theological questions that came from it; and talked about its impact on each of us.

Coping With Lockdowns

It was great to be back after having to miss last month due to COVID concerns. We covered what we’d planned to discuss in January: With churches still hobbled by lockdown restrictions, how are you doing with your spiritual life? How are you growing closer to God? Do you have any goals to grow in your relationship with Him this year?

As always, it was wonderful to listen to what the men all had to share.

Walking With Christ

We enjoyed a very intimate gathering this morning, with only seven guys able to join us - but even with limited numbers we were blessed by the addition of a brand new young man named John David (thanks for the referral, Cody!).

Last year at our Advent meeting we invited the men to share stories of where they encountered Christ on a very real level at some point in their lives, and we were blown away at the stories that were shared. The Core Team decided last year that this was a wonderful topic to bring up for the December meeting every year, so we again invited guys to share - and once again, it was a wonderful experience to listen to the conversion stories of some of our brothers. Jesus meets us where we are, and is constantly tracking us down. As we continue into this Advent season, it’s a great time for us to be looking out for where God is present in our lives - even in these crazy times - and how He is working hard to pursue us and make us His.

Featured Scripture

Isaiah 43:1-7

Featured Song

“Miracle of Love” by Chris Tomlin (Music Video)

Wake Up, America

It was amazing that on a rainy morning in November, we actually had our highest turn-out yet since the shut-downs. We moved our meeting to the Chisholm garage to keep dry (leaving the doors open to keep air circulation going). This morning we focused on how as a country we have lost focus on how God is the one in charge - not our political leaders; and as such, it is God whom we should be focusing on with regards to the decisions we make, conversations we have, and where to take our concerns. It was wonderful to welcome back Matthew this morning, and so great that Chris was able to join us for the first time. To have three young men (Cody was there as well) participating in a group like ours brings graces that the young men aren’t even aware of.

Featured Scripture

1 Corinthians 2:6-10

Featured Song

“While You Were Sleeping” by Casting Crowns (Music Video)

Moving Forward

These in-person gatherings have been such a blessing for the men who have been able to attend, and today was not exception. This morning we discussed what it means to discern God’s will. We talked about what God’s will even is, and then how to learn to listen to God’s voice when it comes to knowing what His plan might be for each of us individually.

Featured Scripture

Romans 12:1-8

Featured Song

“All Things New” by Steven Curtis Chapman (Music Video)

Dealing With Adversity

We enjoyed another wonderful gathering this morning. There were nine of us again, but we welcomed four different men back this time. It was so great to see everyone, and we had a really powerful conversation about the adversities we’re all facing, and the importance of keeping the faith in God - especially during our trials. We can’t wait to do this again next month.

Featured Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-11

Featured Song

“Praise You In This Storm” by Casting Crowns (Music Video)

Coping with COVID

It was amazing to be back with the guys, gathering once again for Faith, Food & Fellowship. A special note of appreciation to Jennifer Chisholm for opening her backyard to us this morning. There were nine who were able to join us, including two brand new men… Blake and Christopher. We were also especially grateful to have Deacon Al come bless our meeting space last night. Dale mentioned truly feeling a presence of the Holy Spirit around us, and I think we all felt the same. It was just great to be able to talk with fellow Catholic men, and discuss all that’s been going on for each other during the past few months. We looked at the challenges we’re all facing in these times, and talked about how to keep pushing through - by relying on and trusting in God and His divine plan.

Let’s do it again next month!

For those interested, here is a really great article written by Msgr. Charles Pope for the Catholic Register that talks about his views on all that is happening in our world today: "Do Not Be Afraid”

Featured Scripture

Job 38:1-13

Featured Song

“Who You Are To Me” by Chris Tomlin (Music Video)

Pray It Forward: Discovering Your Unused Prayer Potential

After what felt like two months, it was great to welcome guys back for our first Fellowship breakfast of 2020. As always, it was wonderful to see some faces we haven’t seen in several months. It was also very nice to have Fancisco Munoz join us and give a nice promotion for the upcoming Super Saturday Conference in March.

This month’s topic was on prayer, and we looked at what prayer means to all the guys; discussed a little of the challenges we all face trying to find time to pray - or how to pray; and then we looked at some tools for strengthening our personal prayer lives. Here are some additional resources for discovering our own unused prayer potential from Fr. Mike Schmitz of Ascension Presents…

Why Is Prayer So Hard?

Tips For Praying

Featured Scripture

Matthew 6:5-13

Featured Song

“When God’s People Pray” by Wayne Watson (Music Video)

Discovering Where God Has Been In Your Life

The meeting was a week later this time, and was the first Saturday of the month instead of the last, but it was still nicely attended considering all of that. Today we opened the floor to all of the men so that we could hear personal stories/testimonies from the guys. The stories that were shared were amazing. It’s always incredible to see where God has operated in the lives of those around us. It was a beautiful way to kick off this Advent season.

We also gave a shout-out to our devoted brother, Greg Conner. Not only has Greg not missed a single meeting in over two years, but he also provides eggs for us every month. We’re blessed to have Greg in our group.

Chris found this conversion story, and he wanted to share it with everyone. It’s the story of Roy Schoeman, a former Professor at Harvard Business School, as he speaks about his acceptance of atheism when he went to university and how it dragged him into a pit of hopelessness. He shares how God personally intervened in his life in a miraculous way. Now working as a Catholic speaker and inspiring thousands of believers and nonbelievers with his story, he has found the true meaning of life and the overflowing ocean of God's Love… Conversion Story

Featured Scripture

Romans 13:11-14

Featured Song

“Breath of Heaven” by Amy Grant (Music Video)