Fun fact...this blog thing tells me that almost half of the people viewing the blog this month are viewing it from Russia...Soooo Здравствуйте! to the Russians, I guess! :)

Also, have you ever been to northern Minnesota? I was blessed to go on two trips up there in the past 2-3 weeks. Remarkable! So blessed to have these opportunities. Here's a few pictures!

Beautiful!!

The sun is much larger up north ;)

This is the lake we stayed on. So peaceful.

But now...back at St. Francis and ready for action! Lots of great stuff is coming up! Here's a quick rundown:
August 6th - Just Show Up Retreat - Our last one of the summer!
August 12th - St. Francis of Assisi Parish 75th Anniversary! It will be a wonderful afternoon of food, games, and music! Come join us!
August 13th - S'more Catholicism - HS Youth Group, this is your night! Last bonfire of the summer :(
August 20th - MS Youth Night - Last one of the summer as well!
For all events, permission forms are required, and can be found HERE!!
More Youth Group events will be happening in the Fall, but for now, that's the schedule for summer! If you have any input for activities/events/etc in the Fall, contact me! youthminister@stfrancis-church.org!

In other news, today is the Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola! This man knew how to pray...how to really discern the will of God.  Many books and courses and talks have been developed based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Praying in this way, with a spiritual director, can really help one to discern in what ways the Lord is calling them.  Check it out - HERE!

      

As always...Be Holy!

Happy Tuesday!

Just wanted to let you all know of some of the events going on over the next few weeks. I will be out of town for a week! My first vacation since starting! I'm excited.

Here's the scoop! All forms for these events can be found HERE!! Simply download, print off, fill out, and bring!

July 23rd - Middle School Youth Night
Sit back, relax, and enjoy watching Evan Almighty! (Catholic News Service Review can be found HERE). Bring a friend and some popcorn or other movie snack! 6-8:30PM in the Activity Room.

August 6th - Just Show Up Retreat #2
High School students! Join us as we again travel to LaCrosse for an afternoon/evening full of beauty and adventure! We will be checking out the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, visiting Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, and hanging out with some Sisters for ICE CREAM! Come learn what Pelicans have to do with the Catholic Church! We will depart St. Francis around 1:00pm, and return around 10:30pm. Cost is $5 to help with gas. Bring a few bucks for dinner too.

August 13th - S'more Catholicism
Details are still being worked out on this one...apparently 6-8:30pm on a very hot day is NOT a good time for a bonfire...who knew!

Also going on:

United Way Running Start for School

St. Francis Parish is again a drive and drop site for the United Way Running Start for School program.  Last  year, St. Francis collected over 800 items! This year, more than 7,000 low income students in Olmsted County are unable to afford school supplies.  This gives us an opportunity to help!

You will find two donation bins in the Gathering Space starting this weekend. While shopping for the upcoming school year, please consider purchasing a few extra

supplies to drop in the bins.  Backpacks, folders, pencils, notebooks, scissors, glue...pretty much anything!

The drive runs from July 14th - August 6th, with a friendly competition between the middle school and high school students! The winners will receive a prize...which has yet to be determined! Exciting!

Get involved! Become Saints! What else is there?  Be holy.

           

Happy Feast Day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel!

Besides bringing to mind a delicious sugary snack(which is NOT what the Mountain is made out of, unfortunately. It's just another typical mountain), Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to Mary as the patroness of the Carmelite Order.  The Carmelites were hermits living on Mount Carmel, which is a mountain in the Holy Land, during the 12th and 13th centuries.

The most well known association with Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a devotion known as the Brown Scapular.  In 1251, in England, Our Lady appeared to Saint Simon Stock(who was a Carmelite), and handed him a brown woolen scapular.  She said, "This shall be a privilege for you and all Carmelites, that anyone dying in this habit shall not suffer eternal fire."  Over the year, the Church extended this privilege to all Catholics who are willing to be "invested" in the Brown Scapular, who wear it always.

Why wear the Brown Scapular? Because it is a constant reminder to tell Our Blessed Mother every moment of the day that we venerate her, love her, and trust in her protection and prayers! Praise the Lord! (You can learn more HERE)


Other news...the Steubenville North Youth Conference was fantastic! Roughly 1,300 high school students from throughout the US and Canada spent the weekend learning how to live a joyful Catholic life, and spent time praising and adoring the Lord! It was a powerful weekend for all who attended. Be sure to thank those volunteers!

Also! Tonight at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, we will have our first bonfire of the summer!! 6-8:30pm! Yes, I know it won't really be dark, but it'll still be fun. :) Come join us! Forms are HERE!


BE HOLY!

Happy Thursday!

There is a big misconception out there that Saints are old fashioned. That they are all hundreds of years old, and that no one lives a life of holiness any more...this kind of attitude gets a big fat FALSE!! Holiness DOES matter. Holiness is definitely still relevant today! In the words of Matthew Kelly, Holiness is simply becoming "the best version of yourself." The person that God wants you to become.  That is Saintly living!

Another misunderstanding about Sainthood, is that you need to be a priest or religious brother or sister in order to become one. Again, FALSE!

Today is the Feast Day of two married people who are on their way to Sainthood.  Their current title is Blessed, instead of Saint. They require one more miracle before official declaration of Saint. (For more information on Saints and the process of how they are recognized, visit HERE!)

May I introduce...Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin.

They were the humble parents of St. Therese, a wonderful Saint in our Catholic tradition.  They worked "normal" jobs, were "normal" people, but lived out their faith in their daily lives.  They got married, had children, and raised those children within the Catholic faith which they loved so much!

Check out this link for just a bit more info about them! HERE!

Blessed  Luis and Zelie Martin, pray for us!

Be Holy....Be Saints!!

Buon giorno!

Today, July 11th, is the Feast Day of St. Benedict of Nursia. St. Benedict...does that sound familiar? I hope so! This is the Saint that Pope Benedict XVI is named after! Saint Benedict is the twin brother of St. Scholastica.  How neat is that? Twins who both became Saints together! This could be you! (If you have a twin...) Here are some quick facts:

He was born in 480 AD, and is the patron saint of people suffering from poisoning, kidney disease, and students. St. Benedict is the patron of these particular groups because 1)someone tried to poison him, but once he blessed the cup,the poison was neutralized, 2) the poison was supposed to cause kidney failure, and 3) St. Benedict required all monks in his monasteries to study and read for 4 hours a way!

You can learn much about him HERE! 

There is also a pretty neat medal that goes along with this devotion. 

For a detailed description of what is on the medal, and the blessings that it contains, check out this website HERE! I would definitely recommend checking it out!

Please pray for the Pope today on this Feast Day of Pope Benedict XVI!

Short but sweet.

The Middle School Youth Night that will be held this coming Monday has a Location Change! The Activity room is not available, so we will be meeting in the St. Clare Room instead. See you there!

6-8:30pm

Forms are HERE!

July 6th - Today is the Feast Day of Saint Maria Goretti

St. Maria Goretti...where do you even begin...Such a model of purity!  She always lived a pure and chaste life, even when her eighteen year old neighbor, Alexander, tried to rape her when she was 12. He had often tried to convince her to act in impure ways, but she always resisted, reminding him of the sinful nature of those actions.  Even when he tried to rape her, she said she would rather die than submit to him. This angered Alexander, who grabbed a knife and stabber St. Maria 14 times.  She died shortly after, but not before forgiving Alexander.

Alexander was put in prison for 30 years, still not sorry for his actions.  Until...he had a dream that he was standing in a garden with St Maria, who gave him flowers to show her forgiveness.  The next day, he was a changed man who strived to reform his life. Upon being released from prison years later, he went straight to St Maria's mother to seek forgiveness.  She responded - ""If my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withhold forgiveness," she said.


When St Maria Goretti, was canonized, Alexander was right there to see it happen. Praise the Lord!


She is a patron Saint of youth, young women, purity, and victims of rape. 
Saint Maria Goretti, pray for us!  (Find this info and more HERE!)




Previously this week, we had another Feast Day of one of the patrons of Youth:


July 4th - Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati!

“The faith given to me in baptism suggests to me surely: by yourself you will do nothing, but if you have God as the center of all your action, then you will reach the goal.”

Although not yet declared a Saint, Pier Giorgio lived a very joyful, holy life.  His youth was filled with hiking, games, mountain climbing, hanging out with friends, and just having a good time! He also studied hard and did well in school.  In addition to this very "normal" behavior, Pier Giorgio was also a very devout young Catholic.


He would attend daily Mass, pray every day, and constantly try to get his friends to go with him.  One common practice would be to challenge his friends in a game of pool...If they won, he would pay money, if he won, they would come to Eucharistic Adoration with him! He also served the poor selflessly, often selling his own possessions to be able to provide for them.  He died at the age of 24, after catching polio from one of the people he was serving.


Truly a model of joy and youthfulness...a man who desired to love God with all his heart, and to live that love with everyone he met!


Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us! Find much more about Blessed Pier HERE!




Be imitators of these two! Be holy! Be Saints!!

Praise the Lord! Back in action! 


I apologize, things have been pretty busy around here. Last week, I took a trip up north to visit friends, and while there, stopped by Extreme Faith Camp, a trip we may be adding to the Summer Youth Schedule next year! Check it out! There was a bit of flooding this year, as you can see:

Then on Monday, a small group of students and young adults went on a retreat/pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as well as to a Holy Hour in LaCrosse, WI.  Although small, it was a blessed day with great experiences, wonderful people, and delicious ice cream! Consider joining us for the next one on August 6th!

Main Altar at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Shrine for the Unborn

Part of the group!

July 4th was another exciting day with Mass, ending the United States Bishop's call for the Fortnight for Freedom.  In this time when our religious liberty is under attack, they asked that we would pray intently for this most important freedom. Continue praying! After Mass...food and fireworks! Hopefully you all were able to catch a good fireworks show! 

Be Holy!