Nic Frank spoke to us this afternoon about families and the impact that we can have on our own family. He began by making a comparison to Canada’s own All Dressed Ruffles. If you took out any of the flavors, these chips wouldn’t be the same. Something would be missing. The same can be said for our families. If we took away any of its members, they would be changed. Something would be missing.

Everyone’s family is different, but regardless of the family you come from, our hearts long for family. We were brought into this world through family and they are all around us. That being said, it is easy to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to the families we see on TV shows and social media. It can be easy to begin asking ourselves “Is this as good as it gets? Could it be better?” Additionally, some families have been taken down a path that no one intended. The path of divorce, addiction and other hurts can be devastating.

Continue reading

For the women’s session, the men left the building so Lisa Cotter could just address the ladies. She stressed the importance of our female friends because being feminine can be complicated and only women truly understand what it is like to be a woman. We need each other. But how do we create deep and lasting friendships?

Three Types of Friendship

Aristotle said there are three different types of friendship:

Friendships of Utility– This type of friendship is based on someone being useful to you, like a friend from a class.

Friendships of Pleasure– These friendships are based on the fun times together (teammates, friends from a club, etc.)

Friendships that are useful or pleasurable are not necessarily bad, but as soon as the usefulness or pleasure is not there, the friendship ends.

Friendships of Virtue (Excellence)– These friendships are based upon doing the right thing at the right time, in the right way. These are deepest forms of friendship.

Continue reading

Natalie from LEAD is a member of St. Mary’s Parish in Cape Girardeau, MO which is in the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. This fall she will be a senior at Notre Dame High School.

Today she shared with us how God changed her life through friendship.

She grew up Catholic with very involved parents.

And yet, as she entered high school, she wanted to fit in and took on a negative attitude – and a big part of this was that she began gossiping about other people. This left her feeling empty and unloved.

Continue reading

This morning as we gathered for Mass, Fr. Chris Martin shared with us times in his life where he did not feel like he belonged. Many of his stories took place outside of the country. Being 6’4 he often stands out, but one story in particular was when he traveled to Calcutta, India to teach with the Missionaries of Charity. Fr. Martin likened the Sisters to the Marine Corp. of the Catholic Church. Every morning, the Sisters would go to the trash dump down the street and pick up the children that had been thrown away and would bring them back to their house to care for them. He was amazed by their amount of charity and love and he did not feel as if he belonged.

Continue reading

Marilyn from LEAD is a member of Immaculate Conception of Dardenne (ICD) Parish in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. She went to high school at Timberland High School in Wentzville, MO and this fall she will be a freshman at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.  Tonight she shared with us how she has experienced the love of God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

As a high school student, she went on a retreat with her parish, and while there she was filled with deep sorrow for her sins. She decided to go to Confession and felt a huge embrace from God – like a hug.

Continue reading