Happy Easter from the Missionaries of the Real Presence
Real Presence on the Streets: Easter Edition
This newsletter features two articles from the missionaries as well as some ways you can pray for us and those who are growing closer to Christ through our ministry. We hope this encourages our readers to grow in their faith and grow in zeal for the work of the salvation of souls.
In this newsletter
Cultivating a Spirit of Prayer
Perseverance of God
Prayer Intentions
Cultivating a Spirit of Prayer
Reflection from Steven Kehoe, In-residence Missionary
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought” (Rom 8:26). Prayer is the central aspect of our spiritual lives, in fact, our spiritual life can only be as healthy as our prayer life. It is the true gauge of our wellbeing because even our physical wellbeing is intimately tied to our spiritual health. Prayer can also be vivified through discussing it with others in spiritual conversation. Discussing prayer with others is like praying not just between ourselves and God (though this is entirely sufficient) but with others in a communal conversation with God.
I had the joy of such conversation over Easter in discussing the Psalms and their interpretation with some of my family. And the fruits of that conversation are still resonating. It is the type of conversation one wants to never end, just like St Scholastica had with St Benedict, her brother, when after unsuccessfully persuading him to stay the evening to continue conversing invoked God’s aid in having a thunderstorm come to persuade him to stay instead. A type of conversation that opens one’s mind to the infinitude of God making you think about and desire to know, love, and serve Him more.
Unfortunately, many people do not know how to pray or know of the vivastic effects of prayer. And it certainly shows in their lives. At this point, it is not shocking to find many we encounter in our ministry engaged in sinful habits because they neither have the spiritual vigor to recognize the depravity nor stay away from it even if it is recognized. Simply put, they do not know how to pray as they ought. But there is still such great hope for them because the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
If they are willing to learn, the Spirit can teach them. We as missionaries become the teachers directed by the Holy Spirit to encounter them and converse with them about God. Throughout a conversation it certainly remains a challenge to direct their hearts back to God from the various rabbit holes of worldly considerations that arise because you are conversing with a mere infant in the spiritual life but perseverance is key. They know very little about God, His actions in our world, and His love which endures forever. But that is why we are there, to teach them, not just a catechism lesson but an unpacking of God in His infinite loveliness as revealed particularly in scripture or tradition. A guided meditation of sorts particular to that person’s situation because the cross applies to all times and places. We find those who are suffering, but Christ suffers with them; those simply enjoying the weather, but it is God who fashioned the earth not to be a waste but to be lived in; those addicted to some sin, but Christ in His redemption broke the bonds of sin and death; those who are lonely, but we may refresh them with an invitation into the community of the Church that remains always present to signal God’s enduring presence and friendship with us.
It is God that satisfies our every need and our mission is to excite these understandings within others. And as they begin to understand, then they begin to think more and more about God on their own. These encounters are what we as missionaries spend the whole of our day preparing for and doing. My whole day is spent in contemplating God, learning methods to converse with others about Him, and sharing the fruits of that contemplation with those I meet. And it is a true joy to spend my time in conversing and in teaching others to enjoy spiritual conversation too. May the joy of the risen Christ be yours as well.
Perseverance of God
Reflection from Griffin Rain, In-residence Missionary
It is clear through the Bible and history that God is always seeking out man and trying to help draw us closer to Him. He did this through the covenants of the old Testament and then through His only son our lord, Jesus Christ. We are often quite hardened of heart and don’t cooperate with God's graces, but despite our hardness, he still is able to reach us. You can say that God has perseverance in his love for us. We too as Catholics and missionaries need to cooperate with God’s grace and have perseverance for bringing people closer to God. It is clear that when we grow closer to him and while we are still weak, the devil tries to tempt us and redirect our path.
As missionaries, we have been doing weekly catechism classes to help prepare people to come into the church. At times this has been difficult and makes me think of the wandering and the return of the Jewish people throughout the old Testament. Some days someone finally understands what God is saying through the church and the next week it is forgotten and has to be reminded of. Other weeks it is a cancellation of the class that we had to find another time to meet because of something else that came up. Despite these obstacles, God still perseveres and needs us to assist in this.
This year we were able to help prepare both Robert and Jeffrey to receive all of the sacraments of initiation at Easter. We have been meeting with them weekly or more often for around a half a year. It is interesting because the closer we got to baptism, the clearer it became there was some outside force trying to get in the way and cause things to be called off. Whether that be through family and housemates trying to talk one out of joining the church or some other reason, the devil does not want people in the Catholic Church and will do what he can to distract and redirect our intentions toward other things so that we put off the good things God wants. The Catholic Church is the church that Christ established for our salvation and that of the whole world. The sacraments are the means of giving us the grace necessary to habitually live for God. Despite all the temptations and distractions, God is still able to give us the grace we need to make our way into the church. We saw in the weeks before Easter, many challenges arise and caused them to be distracted with other things. As we have seen, God never gives up on us or those who he loves and so we know that each person we minister to is cared for by God. He doesn't give up and neither should we.
Prayer Intentions
We would encourage our readers to pray for those who we have been working with in our outreach ministry. There is much fruit happening with the missionaries and we need your prayers!
Please keep those who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic in prayer
Julia, Anthony, Maya, Emmanuel, Jonny, Jay, Scott, Derrick, Romie, Vera, Deborah, Mario, Vygar, Sharon, Willis
Please keep those who recently entered the Catholic Church in prayer
Jeffrey and Robert
Please keep those who are in RCIA classes or private instruction in prayer
Marcus
Please keep those who have decided not to continue in RCIA classes in prayer
Chris, Taylor
Please keep those who are fallen away Catholics that have expressed desire to come back to confession and church in prayer
David, Skip, Maria, Pinto, Anne, June, Tommy, Christine, Conrad, Christine, Jenson, Monica, Julian, Jonny, Sandy, Rose, Kevin, Judy, Kevin, Tom, Daniel, Richard, Daniel, Daniel, Tori, Francisco, Evelyn, Vincent, Slyvia, Tate, Blanch, Yvonne, Wayne, Dave, Christine, Kris
Please keep those who have recently come back to the church after encouragement from missionaries in prayer
Valarie, Charles, Charles, Julian, Jeff, Kurt, Steven, Allen, Jodee
Please pray for any men who are discerning becoming a missionary
About the Missionaries of the Real Presence
The Missionaries of the Real Presence are a group of lay men who live in common at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Parish, and moving soon to St. Catherine Catholic Parish in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We are dedicated to prayer through daily recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours in the church open to the public, Evangelization to the neighborhoods surrounding our parish and assisting in parish ministries.
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