Mission Home

This Summer OLG Youth traveled around the Twin Cities serving those in need in our community. We could be found doing anything from gardening all the way to bringing communion to those in need. Our motto was that You don't need to travel thousands of miles to be the hands and feet of Jesus" and BECAUSE Mission Home this summer was such an amazing experience... we didn't want it to end! 

Soooooooo now we have Mission Home all year round! For more information click here 

God Showers Blessings on Us: Gabri Update

With trust and open eyes, we will see how wonderfully He blesses us daily

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I was so blessed to be able to spend a week in Minnesota and speak after the Masses at my home parish, Our Lady of Grace. I am so grateful to Fr. Kevin for supporting me and allowing me this wonderful opportunity. I also shared my vocation story with the 2nd and 8th graders at OLG School, the youth group, the Serra Club at OLG, and St. Lucy's Guild at St. Patrick's Church. I am so grateful to all those who worked with me and allowed me to speak to those groups. I am also so grateful to all those who I met with as well as those who felt called to support me after hearing me talk after Mass. Thanks to all of you, I greatly increased the amount I have raised! God truly blessed me through you.

On the Feast of the Archangels, Sep. 29, Kayla (pictured above) and I officially entered the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in Tyler, TX, as affiliates. This initial stage of formation lasts from six months to a year. I am so blessed to be able to start this stage while I'm working with Labouré. At our small ceremony, we received our beautiful affiliacy medals (it has the Holy Family on one side and our Mother Foundress on the other), our breviary, and our community prayer book. I was so excited to receive these simple yet beautiful items that I now use daily. Thanks to your support and through God's grace, I am getting closer to being able to progress through the other stages of formation!

Sep. 29 was so beautiful, not only because I officially became an affiliate, but because I experienced how true it is that your family grows bigger when you enter religious life. First of all, the sisters warmly welcomed me into their family. Second of all, Kayla's family, who lived close enough to drive for the ceremony, enthusiastically welcomed me into their family as well. They invited me to join them whenever they visit Kayla or when Kayla visits them. Being in a different state than my own family, that meant a lot. Often times, God uses people like that to make us feel welcomed and loved by Him. We just have to be open to seeing His hand in it. I am excited to get to know my new family additions and home with which God has blessed me.

LifeNight Wrap up!: October 31st and November 8th

Greetings everyone!

On Halloween we had a scary good time carving pumpkins, eating cookies, playing sardines, and psychiatrist! It was a great night to just hang out and have fun! Check them all out below!

THEEEEEEN last night we talked religion and politics! We shared about what voting means to us, and why it matters. Everyone was given a challenge for the week- to find an opportunity to pray for ONE HOUR for our country! Check out the take home sheet HERE.

LifeNight

LifeNight's are a mixture of faith and fun, and are open to everyone who is in high school! Each LifeNight has a fun game, a testimony or teaching about a different topic of our faith, discussion, and closing prayer.

At LifeNights you will be able to talk about a variety of issues and experiences with friends and young adult leaders so that together you can grow in faith and discover how a relationship with God will help you have the best life possible! This is an incredible time to connect with friends and God in the midst of our busy lives. See more.....

LifeNight

LifeNight's are a mixture of faith and fun, and are open to everyone who is in high school! Each LifeNight has a fun game, a testimony or teaching about a different topic of our faith, discussion, and closing prayer.

At LifeNights you will be able to talk about a variety of issues and experiences with friends and young adult leaders so that together you can grow in faith and discover how a relationship with God will help you have the best life possible! This is an incredible time to connect with friends and God in the midst of our busy lives. See more.....

Zombie Extravaganza!

 

OLG Discipleship Leader: November News and Announcements

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November 2018 View this email in your browser Greetings all! Just a friendly reminder that ZOMBIE SARDINES IS THIS SUNDAY!  I need as many of you as can come- It's gonna be an awesome event! We are setting up at 5:30PM. AND make-up starts at 6PM. I'll have Pizza for dinner. Remember- if you know anyone that you think would be great for Core Team PLEAAASE invite them to attend the event on Sunday! This is a great opportunity to share with others what we do :) Which is TERRIFY HIGH SCHOOLERS. BWAHAHAHAHAAHAAAA!  See you Sunday, and please let me know if you can come! God bless!  Don't forget about the challenges!  1. Frequent the Sacrament of Thanksgiving. The Greek word Eucharistia means thanksgiving. We call it “Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving to God…[it] recalls the Jewish blessings that proclaim (especially during a meal) God’s works” (CCC 1328). When we participate in the celebration of the Eucharist, in the Divine Liturgy of the Mass, we attend the most profound Thanksgiving meal, the heavenly banquet. So look at that! You can have the best Thanksgiving dinner every day at mass! 2. Share a meal. All of our Lord’s greatest teachings were done over a meal or right after a meal. Food is such an important part of our Catholic theology. Jesus’ first miracle was the wedding at Cana, then there was the feeding of the 5,000, dining at Martha and Mary’s house, instructing Jarius’ daughter to be fed after she was healed, etc… all culminating in the Last Supper, the first Eucharistic meal and pointing through Jesus’ sacrifice of His body on the cross, to the heavenly banquet we all look forward to. So sit down with loved ones and just eat together. Laugh, enjoy company, have no agenda, just be – oh and eat! 3. A raisin in your stuffin’ praisin’. Did you know there are 9 different words in Sacred Scripture for “thanks”? There are 4 Hebrew words in the Old Testament and 5 Greek words in the New. Two of these, yadah and towdah, also mean “to give praise.” Psalm 100:4 says, “enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name!” To Praise the Lord, is to pray recognizing the Lord as God, simply because He is God. It means to extol Him for His own sake and to give Him what is due to Him. Thanks and praise go hand in hand like turkey and gravy. 4. Have a Job Thanksgiving. Have you ever read the book of Job? Job was the most righteous man of his day, and blessed by the Lord. Satan was not happy about this, and bet that Job would curse God if the Lord allowed Job to be afflicted. So he did. In one day almost all of Job’s livestock and livelihood was killed and all of Job’s sons and daughters were killed. But Job did not curse the Lord. So Satan afflicted Job’s health, but Job was faithful. Instead of saying, “WHY SWEET LORD ARE YOU ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN TO ME!?” which, lets be honest, that is probably what I would do, Job thanked the Lord. He praised the Lord. He blessed the Lord. One of my favorite verses in scripture is, “the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). When the Lord gives do you praise and thank Him? When He takes away do you do the same? Give thanks for afflictions, hardships and difficult things in your life. You can do it!! I know from personal experience that, even in the worst situations, giving thanks and praise softens our hearts to get through it. 5. Give until it hurts. Mother Teresa once said, “I must be willing to give whatever it takes to do good to others. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts.” This woman knew the true meaning of giving. We must make a sacrifice of ourselves for the good of another. It is not until our gift really costs us, (not limited to money) a part of us – our comfort, security, etc…, that we have given fully. I challenge you to give until it hurts this Thanksgiving. In giving that gift, you will find the greatest joy and fulfillment. Even more filling than cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and stuffing. 6. Drop some names. Actually, only drop one name. Jesus Christ! Psalm 105:1 says, “O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples!” One of the greatest ways to give thanks to the Lord is by letting others know about the “wondrous things” (Psalm 98:1) He has done in your life. Think about it. When you get the greatest gift ever, after thanking the giver, what do you do? You run and tell someone! God proclaim Jesus’ name! 7. Get out. (and serve that is). Especially when we are in a spiritual rut, the quickest way to recognize the Lord is active and at work in our lives is to make a gift of ourselves, to go outside of ourselves. When we serve others, when we make a gift of our time and talents, when we recognize the need in our brothers and sisters around us, we often recall all the blessings in our lives. When we are reminded of these blessings, we are presented with an opportunity to give thanks. So, rake that elderly neighbor’s yard! Volunteer the heck out of that soup kitchen! Go party with the elderly in a nursing home! Or just sit and play with your sibling – and make sure to tickle them. 8. Pull a 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Giving thanks is so necessary, because it gives meaning to ALL things in our life. It places ALL things in context, in the context of a person – Jesus Christ. Here is my challenge to you – give thanks, some kind of thanks – every. single. day. Your life will be transformed! (The original article written by Maddy Bernero can be found HERE)  Check out this video on Gratitude!  LifeNight's are a mixture of faith and fun, and are open to everyone who is in high school! Each LifeNight has a fun game, a testimony or teaching about a different topic of our faith, discussion, and closing prayer. Join us on October 24th from 7:30- 9:00PM! You won't want to miss out! See more...   Check out our LifeNight Wrap-up Blog below, annnnnd some of the photos from our last LifeNight!  This last LifeNight that we had was especially awesome because we got to hear from Gabri, an OLG School and Youth Ministry Alum. She came to share her story about vocation, and encouraged us all to search for what God is calling each of us to do! See her story below, AND to read more about Gabri and how to help her- click here!  Extravaganzas are HUGE game nights that all are invited to! From shooting zombies, solving an escape room, and joining in REAL LIFE CLUE- there is something for everyone! So grab some friends and come on down!  See more...   Check out what we are doing on the 28th after the Sunday the 6PM Mass!  All Saints day: Thursday, November 1, Mass times 6:15 AM 9:00 AM 6:00 PM Holy Day of Obligation Monday, November 5, 7:00 PM Candlelight Mass of Remembrance Our Lady of Grace will remember those who have gone before us. The names of those who have passed this year will be read as part of our prayer. Light reception to follow in the Commons. UNLEASHED is a small group for all high school youth that is designed to help us all GROW as disciples and missionaries for Christ. Each series lasts a few weeks and will focus on a different topic in a unique way. UNLEASHED is a great opportunity to grow in your faith, meet new friends, and learn how to share your faith with others! See more... Every month, our Youth Ministry offers to our parish’s teens many Christian Service opportunities. We are called to help make a difference in our parish, community and world. Jesus Himself was our model of how we should serve! See more...   Register for our upcoming Mission Home event below!  Mission Home:  Second Harvest Heartland   11/3/2018 from 9-11:30AM here! VOCATIONS Vianney Visit  Begins with Registration Thursday, November 15, 4 – 6 p.m. Concludes Saturday, November 17, 11 a.m.  Saint John Vianney College Seminary, St. Paul Vianney Visit provides high school sophomores through college age men (ages 16-24) the opportunity to take a closer look and experience college seminary. Attend Mass, prayer, and spiritual conferences with SJV priests and hear testimonies from SJV seminarians. There is no charge for the event. All meals are provided.   Register online or call 651-962-6825. Please contact Director of Vocations Father David Blume to let him know of your interest in the Vianney Visit. Father Blume can be reached at 651-962-6890 or by emailing stpaulpriest@10000vocations.org Operation Andrew Dinner Tuesday, November 20 6 – 8 p.m.  Archdiocesan Catholic Center, St. Paul Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Father David Blume, Director of Vocations, invite men discerning the priesthood, ages 16 – 50, to dinner and conversation with vocations testimonials on priesthood and religious life. It is typical for a pastor, religious or youth minister to accompany each discerning guest.  Register online before November 16. Email stpaulvocations@10000vocations.org or call the Office of Vocations at 651-962-6890. Please print and post the flyer. For discerners under age 18, please provide the Consent and Indemnity Form. 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