Congrats to all who helped raise $7,000!

For more information on the HHS Mandate check out this links:

Homily from a priest from St. John, Indiana on the HHS mandate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltTd81XpDnc

USCCB:

http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/

Join us for Divine Mercy Sunday starting at 5:30 pm for a Eucharistic Procession through downtown.  Following the procession there will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and confession will be offered.  At 7pm we will celebrate the Holy Mass.  Following Mass we will have our monthly social with an Easter party and talent show!

If you would like to enter the talent show or have any questions please send an email to Brian Lee with the following information:

+ Name of Act:

+ Names of those in the Act:

+ Description of the Act:

+ Estimated Time (must be under 5 min):

Main Contact Person Information:

+ Name

+ Phone

+ Email

We look forward to seeing you there!

+ A group from the Lenten Series activity with their finished ball of yarn for the homeless mats!

This past Friday was the third Lenten Series young adult event this year and I have been fortunate to have been a part of all three.  Just like the first two events there was another great turnout for this one.  It has been really awesome to see such a big group of young adults gathering together every week to do what they can to serve and provide for the less fortunate during this Lenten season. The night started once again with everyone processing around the perimeter of the Church, lead by Father Nagel, praying the Stations of the Cross.  Instead of using the same manuals to pray the Stations as we did the previous two weeks a new handout was given.  It was a different version of the Stations that I have not prayed before.  I enjoyed the version we used because it was centered on finding peace in our hearts.  I think that is something that the vast majority of us strive for in our lives and it’s a journey that can seem almost impossible at times.  One of my closest friends was there and mentioned to me how this version of the Stations really spoke to him for that very reason.  It can be a huge confidence boost for people to be able to pray comfortably around their peers, especially in the young adult world.  When I reflect on the experience it makes me think of the verse Mathew 18:20 that says, ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’  I think this verse really comes to life at these events because everyone puts aside their fears and just enjoys spending time and praying with each other.

After the Stations everyone gathered to listen to a talk given by a couple of the St John young adults..  The first talk was given by Kevin Duffy! It was a firsthand experience of his trip to Haiti and how humbling it was for him.  He had expected to go down there and serve in every way that he could but in turn he was humbled because the people of Haiti prepared banquets for him that they themselves would never see.  To me this shows how the less fortunate people of this world are some of God’s most precious.  When others come to help them they are very gracious and the love that God has blessed them with pours forth.  It is a love that I wish more people in this world would feel for each other.  The second talk was given by Brenna Holder!  It was more of a meditation asking us to close our eyes and imagine ourselves sitting at home peacefully and then stripping away everything that we are accustomed to by imagining ourselves at a bus stop without anywhere to lay our head.  This was also a humbling experience because how many times do you see people suffering on the streets without a home and not try to relate to how they must feel.  By imagining ourselves in the same place I had a great deal of compassion grow within me and a strong desire to help those who are in need because if it were I in their shoes I would look for others for help as well.

After the talks it was time to move onto the hands on activity. This was the first of the Lenten events that I have attended where I did not know what the activity was going to be.  I knew the series was to be anchored around clothing the naked and sheltering the poor but I had no idea what type of activity they had planned.  We began to learn that we would be cutting up plastic grocery bags to be woven into mats for our homeless friends in the community.  It was intriguing to me that this can be done with mere plastic bags but I was nervous because I am definitely not honed in on my ‘home ec’ skills.  Once it was described that all we would be doing is just cutting the bags into strips and tying them together to form long chains I had a little sigh of relief.  It turned out to be fun because a friendly competition arose as everyone tried to create the biggest ball of ‘plastic yarn’, as you could call it.  By this point though I was starving because the whole time we were cutting the bags I could smell all of the food waiting in the next room.  Finally when the activity was all said and done we got to dig into some grub which did not disappoint.  The food capped off another great young adult event and I was thankful that I went, not only for the fun times and the good food but mainly because we did a small part to help provide a restful place for some less fortunate people.  It may not seem like we did much but every little bit helps and this event especially opened my eyes as to how something as simple as a plastic bag can be turned into something of such valuable use.

-Brian Bibb, St. John’s Young Adult

+ Lenten Series Group learning about water filtration systems.

Greetings! My name is Bryan Trach. I am a junior studying CIT at IUPUI. When Fr. Rick announced that this year’s topic for the Lenten series would deal with the Corporal Works of Mercy I was extremely excited. Growing up I learned about and studied them in grade school. I was fascinated that the church had put together a list of seven ways in which we can help those who are most in need in our community and around the world. I loved volunteering in high school but was able to only work on one or two of the Corporal Works of Mercy so I was excited to practice the other points with the St. John’s community!

Starting the night out with stations was a terrific way to put the evening into perspective. We focus on Jesus’ death and how he suffered an immense amount of pain to ensure our sins shall be forgiven. If Jesus can give his life and everything and everyone (it can be easy to forget that Jesus was also human and had special relationships and friendships that meant a lot to him just as you and I have) that he came to know while on earth and give all of this up for us and our salvation then shouldn’t we be able to sacrifice just a couple of hours a week to those who are in need?

Fr. Rick gave an awesome talk to help kick off Friday’s Lenten service. He then went on to introduce Bill Farrar. I had heard of Fountains for Hope, the mission that Bill founded, while I was discerning a mission trip to Haiti and Fr. Rick told us about Fountains of Hope and how they helped St. John’s send a water filtration system to Haiti to help with the cholera outbreak. Hearing this story left a big impact on me and I was excited to finally meet the guy who was helping to change thousands of people’s lives!

Bill is an awesome testimony of someone who is truly open to God’s call. His work with Fountains of Hope in no way was what he studied in college or anything like that. This really struck me because I hope to be working in the IT industry in a year from now. This means I would be naive to think this is the only way God will use me. This is an important message that certainly applies to everyone no matter what their vocation is.

Bill went on and talked about how effective the water filtration system is. I was shocked to hear that areas where there is a water filtration system trips to the hospital decreased by up to 26%. This goes to show how necessary clean water is. After sharing some of his knowledge and stories Bill lead us outside to show us how to set up a system. I was amazed at how simple the solution was. Not only was the system easy to setup and understand but it was efficient. It can treat up to 1,000 gallons of water in only 20 minutes on just 1/3 cup of salt. Bill explained to us that the only two parts that needed attention were the salt and battery. He said salt is available in all countries and can be found for cheap and he also told us about how he includes a tiny fold up solar panel that can recharge the battery.

After Bill gave his talk we went inside to eat dinner. My mind was blown away at the fact that so many people in our world are dying while there is a solution to fix the problem. Of course with everything in life this solution cost money. Bill reminded us that even though we are college students on tight budgets that prayer is just as good as cash and that prayer is extremely powerful and will make awesome things happen!

As the night came to an end I asked Bill how he deals with crime in the 3^rd world countries that he often visits. He said that even though he tries to avoid the bad areas he still has had a couple close calls. Bill is an example of a modern day saint because through the miracles that he is working Bill is bringing a basic need to those who need it most even if it means putting his own life in harm’s way.

-Matthew 25: 35 “…for I was thirsty and you gave me drink…”

+ One of several rollout groups serving the homeless in the City of Indianapolis

My name is Rachel Worden. I’m a parishioner of St. John’s and so thankful to be involved in the young adult community here!  When asked to write about my experience from last Friday evening, my mind went back to before the series began. Let’s just say, learning about the Corporal Works of Mercy didn’t hold as much appeal to me as learning about Christ in the Eucharist (the topic of last year’s series). As indifferent as I was going into the night, it ended up being a beautiful experience and I can’t wait for the next week! In several aspects of my life, God continues to show me that sometimes just showing up is enough for Him to light a fire in my heart.

I’m constantly amazed at how many young adults participate in events at St. John’s and this night was no different. About 100 people had come out on a Friday night to pray the Stations, be in community with one another, deepen their faith and serve the poor. After some catechesis by our ECHO apprentice and an intro to a local homeless ministry, Operation Leftover, we split into groups and hit the streets of downtown (granola bars and fruit snacks in tow). Having never done much inner-city ministry, I was nervous although my whole thought process had changed from when I’d set out that evening. I may be biased, but my group was absolutely amazing. [Insert shout-out, you know who you are] I’m sure the other groups had similar sentiments- when you do the work of Christ, with a spirit of charity, the joy is contagious!

Our group decided to walk/frolic over to the Wheeler Mission and give them some of our donations (which we named ‘reverse trick-or-treating’) while keeping an eye out for anyone else we could help. It was a cold night and we hadn’t found any homeless men or women to minister to until we were almost back to St. John’s. I found out later, some were praying for St. Anthony’s intercession to find people. [Insert saintly shout-out] We went an extra block or so out of the way and there, under a bridge, we finally found two new friends.

The first man we met was Tony. (It must have been a slow night in Heaven… What a sense of humor!) Tony appeared taken aback when we kind of converged on him from out of nowhere, but quickly relaxed and seemed glad to have the company and snacks. I was moved when he asked if we would pray with him. As we grabbed hands and huddled up, I understood what God was trying to tell me; this was family. It didn’t matter that I had met this man five minutes before or that I had met some of my group an hour before or that I wasn’t directly related to any of them. We are all His children and precious in His eyes.

+ Cecil, a homeless man we met, served, and prayed with on the street.

The next man we met was Cecil (see above picture). Again, by God’s grace, I looked past the stereotypes, past the cardboard boxes and worn clothing, to my brother in need. As we stood around Cecil, offering listening ears and words of encouragement, the Spirit was stirring in my heart. Over and over he said that he didn’t know what he had done to deserve this situation but he knew God could bring him out of it. He grew up Catholic but hadn’t been in a church for quite some time. After we encouraged him to return to the Sacraments, welcomed him to spend time at the church, said our goodbyes and exchanged promises of prayers, I waited. I felt like I needed to say something more to him so I took a knee and he took my hand as we searched each other’s eyes for a moment. I let him know that it’s not always something we’ve done that causes a particular burden. We all have crosses in this life and suffering is the best way to unite with Christ. He said he’d been thinking about that and he knew one thing for sure; he was not going to lose faith. After the moment, which seemed to be frozen in time, had passed, Cecil and I exchanged more promises of prayers and I rejoined my group for the walk back to church. For those who know me, this experience was not typical of my personality and it was very much out of my comfort zone but it was also one of the most grace-filled moments of my life. I saw the face of Christ, I touched His hand, I showed Him love, and He changed my heart. I finally realized that if I want my Father in Heaven to see me in the light of Christian charity, I need to show that same Love to everyone I meet, no matter the circumstances. “Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…’ “. (Matthew 25:34-36)

Much love and many prayers for a fruitful Lent!