Boot Camp Announcements!

Here are some extra deets (details) about the upcoming Student Missionary Boot Camp!

Registration envelopes are available at the front desk of Newman, please return them to the front desk or a missionary by Monday, September 23!

Please meet at Newman on, Friday, September 27th at 4pm to carpool out to Camp Kitaki! We will need drivers for those who don't have vehicles so please meet at Newman so we can get that all figured out.

The retreat ends on Sunday. September 29th at 2pm.

We are all praying a novena for the success of this retreat. It is a novena to the Holy Spirit (surprise, surprise!) and the novena can be found via hard copy at the front desk or via web-based copy via the Facebook page (here).

Packing List
-sleeping bag
-pillow
-Rosary
-towel
-toiletries
-Bible
-a writing utensil (pen, pencil, quill, etc)
-comfortable and modest clothing

If you have special needs (dietary, emotional, I'm-going-to-be-late, etc) please talk to one of the missionaries! Or email me if that's easier (caitlin.marmie@focus.org).

If you have questions or concerns please let us know. It's going to be a great weekend!

SCHEDULE

FOCUS Student Missionary Events for 2013-2014

September 13: Upper Room 7pm-9pm

September 27-29: Student Missionary Boot Camp

October 25: Upper Room 7pm-10pm

November 15: Upper Room 7pm-10pm

January 3-7: Student Leadership Summit

January 31: Upper Room 7pm-10pm

February 21: Upper Room 7pm-10pm

March 14: Upper Room 7pm-10pm

April 11: Upper Room 7pm-10pm

May 2: Launch Night and Board Dinner 6pm

10 Reasons why you should come hear MATTHEW KELLY

On September 9, at 8:30pm Matthew Kelly is coming to UNL and speaking in the Union.

That sentence alone should be enough to get your butts there, but if you need more convincing, here are 10 reasons why you should come on September 9, at 8:30 to hear him speak.

10. He is from Australia and has an Australian accent.
That one is pretty self explanatory.

9. He is a prolific writer.
He has written a ton of very successful books like;
"Rediscover Catholicism", "The 7 Levels of Intimacy", "The Rhythm of Life", "The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic"

8. And he gives them away for cheap so that Catholics all over the place can have these resources.
You can check out his website here to investigate said resources.

AND if you come to the event you get a FREE COPY of "Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic" and the chance to have Matthew Kelly sign it!

7. He is an entertaining, dynamic, and engaging speaker.
Catholics are all about speakers and sometimes well-meaning speakers can be a little dry, but not Matt (we are not on an actual first name basis). You can check out the Dynamic Catholic YouTube channel to listen to some snippets of his talk about the 7 pillars of Catholicism.

6. He has audio CDs that I actually listen to.
I always want to listen to motivation speakers in the car instead of the Top 40 garbage but rarely do I make it past the introductions of these CDs. But I've listened to almost every single one of Matthew Kelly's talks. You can check out excerpts via Lighthouse Catholic Media's website.

5. He reaches a wide audience.
It doesn't matter if you've been to Catholic school your whole life, have a degree in Theology, just became Catholic, or aren't Catholic at all; the way Matthew Kelly speaks gets right to the heart of things regardless of where you are in your faith journey. Who doesn't want to become the best version of themselves?

5a. So bring your Bible study, friends, dorm mates, roommates, class mates, family, neighbors, etc.

4. He is a partner for Floyd Consulting
Floyd Consulting is a consulting company based out of Chicago that helps business create the best version of themselves through goal setting, training, retreat, speakers (like Matthew Kelly), and creating a balanced work life.

3. But seriously it's a big deal
Here is a very impressive list of many of the companies (many of them Fortune 500) who use Floyd Consulting.

2. He says great things like this:
In an Interview for Catholic Digest (whole interview found here)

"What advice would you give to a Catholic struggling with the Church today?

Explore it. Most people don’t understand what it is. If there’s any issue that you massively disagree with, delve into that. There are answers there. Our personal biases and prejudices get in the way. Most of the time when we’re saying the Church is wrong, we’re just saying it’s inconvenient. That doesn’t mean it’s not true."

1. And things like this:

“The notion of freedom proclaimed by the modern world is anti-discipline. But true freedom cannot be separated from discipline.”  Rediscover Catholicism

“Many people falsely believe that if you want to be holy, you are not allowed to enjoy life...Holiness brings us to life. It refines every human ability. Holiness doesn't dampen our emotions; it elevates them. Those who respond to God's call to holiness are the most joyful people in history. They have a richer, more abundant experience of life, and they love more deeply than most people can every imagine. They enjoy life, all of life.”  Rediscover Catholicism.

In general, we are extremely fortunate that Matthew Kelly will be visiting our campus with all his wisdom and Australian accent-ness. 

So we will see you on Monday, September 9 at 8:30 in the Union Ballroom. If you have any questions you can ask any FOCUS missionary or you can email me at caitlin.marmie@focus.org !

Free Agents

What's that?

Perhaps you are a current FOCUS student missionary who (for many reasons) no longer has a discipler. This might be because your FOCUS missionary moved to a new campus or got married, or maybe your discipler was a graduating senior who managed to graduate.

 Regardless, no worries! You are not a sheep without a shepherd, but there are some changes to how we handle this situation.

What do we do? I’m freaking out!

Don’t freak out. Here’s what you need to do.

If you are interested in having a formal mentor (whether that’s an official FOCUS missionary or an older FOCUS student leader):

1.       Pray about it

2.       Talk to them about it

Why are you kicking us out of discipleship?

We aren’t kicking you out, we are empowering you with more responsibility. In the after-college-world, you’ll probably be in the market for a mentoring relationship, but in the real world your employer probably won’t match you up.

FOCUS UNL attempted to match students up with new missionaries but often it resulted in awkwardly forced relationships and little spiritual growth. Not a good combination.

Ultimately all discipleship is with Jesus since we are His disciples. What you are looking for now is a mentor who can assist you in growing closer to Christ.

Don’t you like us?

We LOVE you and this is why we are adopting this new process. This way you can work to form honest and authentic relationships in order to grow closer to Christ.

If you need help or have questions we are more than willing to help you discern through it!

But the initiative is definitely placed on you. 

We would like for all free-agent student missionaries to have a mentor by the Student Missionary Retreat (September 27-29)!

Important Mandatory Dates

 Friday Aug 23-24th Parish Retreat (starting after 530 Mass and ending after the Commissioning Mass at Noon)

LAUNCH NIGHT

ATTENTION ALL STUDENT MISSIONARIES:

You are formally invited to the 6th annual Launch Night!

We hope to see you there!

Like Sheep in the Midst of Wolves

At tonight’s FOCUSgreek event Sister Mary Helen shared some of her experiences from her time as a Gamma Phi Beta and how her prayer life drew her closer to God throughout her years in the house, eventually leading her to discern religious life.  She spoke of the friendships she made and some of the things she faced while living her faith out in the Greek community.  During her talk she kept referring to how she turned to Mathew 10:16 when things seemed to be getting difficult.  Praying with this verse afterwards, I was struck with how relevant it is to living a Christian life while in a fraternity or sorority. 

Mathew 10:16

"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.”

Let’s start from the beginning; I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves. The term midst of wolves is a pretty accurate description of what it is like to live on a college campus, let alone in the Greek system.  There are so many people out there willing to attack who you are as a person, what you stand for, your values, and your beliefs.  It seems to be especially hard to be a true Christian who lives out their faith without getting looked down on by a majority of the student body.  I think that recently there have been plenty of examples of people standing up for their faith, but getting attacked for voicing their opinion. If something goes against what society tells us is correct, standing up for it only bring stares and snide remarks.  But yet, even with all of this turmoil and uncomfort, it is God who is sending us out into this world.  He has a special plan for us and wants you and me to be directly in the middle of the Greek system, and often in the heart of sin.

 We are His sheep; he has a purpose for us and wants to lead us home.  Sheep are often looked upon as these clueless animals who just roam the pastures trusting in their shepherd.  Well maybe, just maybe, that is what God is calling us to do.  We don’t need to know the answers to everything or win every battle; we just need to be sheep.  We need to be the sheep that always trust in their shepherd. If we trust God, our shepherd, with our whole heart, we go about living our lives not in fear, but in peace and joy because we know that we are safe because the Lord is always there watching over us and wanting to steer us from danger.  If we live our lives with our Shepherd as our guide, we should never worry, even with the threat of wolves in the distant because as long as we follow the path the Lord has laid out for us, He will lead us safely home. 

“be shrewd as serpents”

To be shrewd means to be cunning, good with judgment, or having a clever awareness.  He tells us to be shrewd as serpents referring to the slyness that serpents have as they move around, always slightly out of reach and slipping away from danger.  Think back to Adam and Even in the garden, the serpent didn’t tell them that God didn’t exist; he simply tried to enter into their hearts and convince them that they could be like God if they would only eat the fruit.  What if we lived our lives like this; if we looked through other people’s eyes to see into their hearts and find their emptiness? We would be able to find their confusion and present them with the truth of God that would reach their hearts on a personal level. 

What if we had the cunning awareness that Jesus possessed as he spoke in the temples? He was aware of objections that may come his way and knew the best response before he was even questioned.  However, he wouldn’t use argument to win them over; instead he would answer a question with a question, stopping the claims against him and causing those around him to think deeper. Jesus teaches us that it is important to be aware of the attacks the world may throw at us and be ready to question the world back. 

“simple as doves”

We can all take a lesson from the doves; the birds that fly around free, not held down by the world, but spend every day enjoying the gift of life God gave them.  Doves are not worried about possessions or money or the opinions of others.  They don’t carry suitcases around with material objects they think will make them happy.  Instead, they let each day guide them in a new direction, following the divine call where ever it may lead them.  What if we could live a life like this? Not letting anything hold us down and always being open to where the Holy Spirit may call us?

I challenge you to take five minutes and read the rest of this verse below.  Close your eyes and open your ears.  What is God saying to you as He speaks these words to you?  Is he giving you support? Is he asking you to be a witness? Is he calling you to be courageous?  

"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”