The Parish Mission
Welcome to Real Presence on the Streets!
This newsletter features a letter from our pastor at St Rose on the effect the missionaries have had on him and the parish and a reflection from one of our missionaries doing street evangelization on the Northside of Milwaukee 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
Missionaries For a New Apostolic Era
Parish as the Center of Catholic Life
Prayer Intentions
Missionaries For a New Apostolic Era
Reflection from Father Rafael Rodriguez, Pastor of St Rose of Lima Catholic Parish
Who are these young adult men that call themselves Missionaries of the Real Presence? I am Father Rafael Rodriguez, Pastor at Saint Michael and Rose of Lima Parishes, and I would like to share with you how I came to meet this unique trio that is bringing the love and warmth of Our Lord Jesus Christ to our parish community and to our neighbors in the Milwaukee Central City. This is a human look on the personal and spiritual gifts these young devout men bring to our parish’s recently created apostolate of the Missionaries of the Real Presence.
On a windy and pleasant summer morning after Mass, I was sitting by myself on a small retaining wall between the St. Michael’s parish rectory and the church. Down the street I noticed a bearded young adult on road bicycle loaded with more things that it could ever transport, trying to park by the sidewalk close to where I was sitting. His attempt to park his bike ended up in a crash landing… he was carrying too many things to keep his bike in balance. A real metaphor of what happens to us when we overload ourselves with too many preoccupations and little faith in God’s divine providence. Anyway, this is how I met Jerome Forget who is now a volunteer missionary at Saint Rose of Lima Parish. Jerome is from St. Louis, Missouri, and a Creighton University business school graduate. Jerome is a multitalented, skillful handyman. If you need something for your house, rest assured that Jerome will find it and install it for you! He is fluent in Spanish, plays the guitar, and most importantly has a profound love for Jesus and His church. Jerome spends most of his free time in the church praying, meditating, and practicing music for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. His prayerful and caring presence permeates all that Jerome does, and humility is his personal mark.
Griffin Rain is one of a kind! This young man born in Dayton, Ohio and raised in Tampa, Florida used to sporadically come to the 9:00 a.m. Mass at St. Michael’s when we still had the weekday Masses in a small chapel in the parish rectory. Griffin attended Marquette University business school and graduated in 2020. I first remember Griffin’s profound reverence for the Blessed Sacrament, falling on his knees, literally hitting the floor to receive Holy Communion. On one occasion after confession, he told me he was looking for a parish to belong to after graduating from Marquette. Knowing of his involvement in campus ministry and other church related activities, I asked him if he had ever considered the priesthood. So, one day I invited him to come along for an anointing of the sick and a visit to Saint Francis de Sales Seminary. This was a turning point for Griffin, as he then started a more intentional discernment and prayer life. When the pandemic hit we offered him a place to reside, further participation in parish ministry and freedom to bring his bicycle along. He is an enthusiastic bicyclist. Griffin was admitted at our local diocesan seminary and completed a year of pre-theology studies and priestly formation. If I have to somehow describe Griffin, I would say that he is “intense” and passionate in what he does. He loves to meet people and engage in long faith inspired conversations. Griffin’s discovery of God’s merciful love in his own life experience is something he feels urged to share. You find in this pious young man a peculiar and yet wonderful combination of passion for traditional, rich Liturgy and a sincere love for the poor (orare et caritas dei).
Last but not least is Steven Kehoe, a delightful faith filled presence among us. Steven is from Springfield, Illinois and graduated this year in business/finances from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Steven comes to us via the Cor Jesu community in Milwaukee. Inspired by Griffin’s missionary charisma, Steven applied to our newly created parish apostolate and joined us in August of this year. Steven feels called to religious life and so he, as well as Griffin, is checking out different Catholic religious orders and communities around the country as an important part of his discernment process. Steven’s prayerful life and readiness in service inspires all of us in the house. You don’t have to ask Steven twice to extend a helping hand, not even once, because he has the gift of diakonia and can anticipate the needs of others. Quiet and yet a great conversationalist, Steven possesses a vast vocabulary for the delight of those who hear him speaking. He is gifted in speaking and singing, singing liturgical hymns and rap, yes rap!
If you noticed, our missionaries love to ride bicycles. They all graduated in business but decided to work for the Lord and not for the market. Most importantly, they share a common passion for Christ and His Church.
These young men are discerning a vocation to religious life or the priesthood through prayer and serious involvement in a most needed apostolate for this new era in the Catholic church. They are fervent about the Liturgy of the church and have a fearless love for the poor and for those ignored by society. Our missionaries go on the streets of our city with a courage that only the Holy Spirt can inspire. They strive to respond to what St. John Paul II called the urgent need for a "new evangelization" and what Pope Francis calls “reaching out to those in the margins of society who are marked by tribulation, violence, suffering and injustice.” Their mission is not another social outreach but a spiritual one, seeking out those in most need of God’s divine providence, of prayer and the sacraments of the church.
Their apostolate is bearing its first fruits, many non-practicing Catholics are coming back to receive the sacrament of reconciliation and getting involved with the parish on a regular basis. Others who have had no experience with the Catholic Church are now joining us on a regular basis for prayer in the church and are considering becoming Catholics and joining RCIA. Their presence is inspiring our parishioners and those of us who minister in our congregations.
Their mission is presence. To be present, to encounter Christ present in those they meet, Christ present in themselves and Christ’s real presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. And through Christ’s presence they strive to work for the salvation of souls.
May the Lord bless our missionaries, protect them, and continue to inflame their hearts with the fire of His merciful love.
Parish at the Center of Catholic Life
Reflection from Griffin Rain, In-residence Missionary
Many Catholics are unaware that every parish has a parish boundary and the pastor and that parish is responsible for the soul of each person Catholic and non-Catholic in the boundary. This is often disregarded in our church, but it is not something we should disregard. When the church is at the center of our community it can have tremendous impact in the lives of all nearby it and bring more people into the life of the church. The key to rebuilding the parish is to reach the people nearby the church. People that go to their local parish are able experience more of the life of the parish that happens all week and contribute to that life thus making a stronger parish community and one that can welcome our neighbors in. Many people attend churches far away from their home because they like the style of liturgy, political leanings, music, pastor, the parish activities and service opportunities or have a family connection to it. Commuting to a parish limits our ability to be involved in the neighborhood of the parish and destabilizes the parish. If we go to the parish we live near, we are able to participate more fully with the mission of the church in our specific area. Many parishes that are in poor areas like ours are commuter parishes and become like islands. People from the suburbs come in on Sunday to go to Mass and go back home not having much connection to the neighbors of the church or doing any outreach to the neighborhood. Often times the kids of the commuters will not have the same connection to the parish as the parents who used to live near the church and so they stop attending or go to another church. Commuter parishes often have few activities outside of Sunday Mass. If there is nothing going on at a parish, what are we going to invite people from our neighborhood to? They want to be involved, but there is not much going on at the church for them to come and put it at the center of their lives. It is clear that a side effect of going to parishes that are outside of our parish boundary is a Sunday only mentality.
One of our goals as missionaries to our neighborhood is to bring the parish back to the center of the neighborhood. We have been doing this with our daily recitation of the liturgy of the hours open to the public, devotions through the neighborhood such as weekly way of the cross processions, rosary walks and street evangelization to our neighborhood. We are making it so the parish has things all week for those in the neighborhood and inviting those from the neighborhood to come. Some fallen away Catholics from the neighborhood have come back and some non-Catholics have begun the process to become Catholic. As we invite our neighbors who live near the church, they often invite their friends and neighbors who also live nearby. People who live nearby come to many more prayer services, devotions and volunteer opportunities and help make the community vibrant again. This is why our focus of the mission is on the parish boundary of St Rose. We try to reach the people in our parish boundary first because they can have the parish at the center of their lives since they live right here.
I think two examples of people we have worked with would be good to see how the parish being close to where we live helps to see the importance of being nearby the parish. Jodee came back to the church in the past couple months and she lives two blocks from the church. She will often show up for different prayers we have at the church, volunteer with us, and invite friends and neighbors to join her for Sunday Mass and will walk to the church. She is able to be much more involved in the church than others who live far away from the church. Allen is another Catholic who has recently come back to the church. Allen lives on the other side of town, around a 45 minute bus ride each way. Allen is sick with cancer and does not drive. He lives one block away from St Hyacinth Catholic Church which he could make it to himself, but wants to come to St Rose because we helped him come back to the faith after being away for a long time and he has the community here. We have recommended him to go to St Hyacinth since it is easy for him to get to, but he has yet to go there or make it back to St Rose. If he were to go to his local parish, he could make it to Sunday Mass with ease and start to build community with those near him that can be more present to him and his spiritual and corporal needs.
This article talks about best practice for Catholic parishes and I don’t want everyone to go and leave their current parish they are involved in if they commute. If you are not very involved at your parish, maybe you should attend your local parish and see how to get involved. For those without a parish, consider registering for your local parish and seeing how you can get involved there. You will be much more fruitful at your local parish than continuing to parish hop. For those who may be moving soon, consider your parish when you move. If you want to attend a certain parish and you have opportunity to live near it, do that! The parish is a place of stability for our life as Catholics and a place that we need to grow roots in to allow the faith to blossom in our communities. It will take time, but as our parishes start reaching those nearby, they will start to grow again.
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 at St. Rose of Lima and we need your prayers!
Please keep those who have expressed interest in becoming Catholic
Emmanuel, Jonny, Taylor, Jay, Willis, Scott, Derrick, Romie, Vera, Deborah, Mario, Vygar, Sharon
Please keep those who are in RCIA classes in prayer
Jeffrey, Marcus
Please keep those who are fallen away Catholics that have expressed desire to come back to confession and church in prayer
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
Julian, Jeff, Kurt, Steven, Allen, Jodee
Please pray for those looking for a sign
Nerdo
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 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.
If you appreciate the work we are doing, consider supporting our mission financially.
Join the missionaries for a day of street evangelization or inquire about becoming an in-residence missionary