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Verso L’Alto! (Part I of IV)

Published by Jimmy Mitchell on August 10, 2011 under Missionary's Blog

Four years ago, a good friend sent me on a very specific mission while on pilgrimage in Rome, Italy. I returned home with second class relics of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, along with first class relics of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. James the Apostole. A few months ago, I returned to Rome for the first time since my previous visit. Little did I know that I would come home to the makings of a miracle.

Seventeen years ago, a young man by the name of Marshall Billingsley was born in Phoenix, AZ. The oldest of seven children growing up in a beautiful Catholic community, Marshall was (and still is) kind, athletic, and quick-witted. I met him three years ago after he had long-since moved to Nashville, TN - when he still had shaggy blond hair and a goofy but constant smile. Two years later, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Ewing’s Sarcoma, a very serious bone cancer that is prevelent in adolescent males. The cancer had begun in his hip (a pain he had been describing to me for nearly 6 months at that point) and already spread to his lungs. After being told that he only had a one-in-five chance of surviving, he turned to his doctor and said, “Well, I am going to be the one.”

Playful yet fearless, Marshall never lost his sense of humor as he began an aggressive fourteen rounds of chemotherapy treatments, in addition to two surgeries and an additional fourteen rounds of radiation. Quite simply, the doctors had to begin treatment quickly and push Marshall literally to his physical limit if there was any hope of the cancer going into remission. As the year progressed, so too did the tumor in his lung, even though most of the other cancer cells throughout his body were dying off. As he fought bravely, he brought smiles to countless faces in the hospital, his family, and the greater community of Nashville.

(to be continued next week)

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Send a Note

Published by Jason Craig on July 19, 2011 under Missionary's Blog

Dear Blog Readers,

I just got off the phone with a handful of men that give a considerable amount of their mind and heart share to .. well.. everyone around them, and especially the boys and men of Fraternus. It can take quite a bit out of them, and a lot of the praise goes (rightfully) to the boys having serious conversions, but I think it’s a great idea to send those men a note every now and then.

Not a text or email, but a note or letter. If you know someone who works for or volunteers with Fraternus, make the sacrifice of the tree, your ink, your time and even a stamp to show them they’re appreciated. Picture them tearing into it with delight, reading the few sentences and then trying to find a place to stash it (it’s hard since we don’t live in a world of letters these days). I bet it will make their day, and if we all make it to heaven, we can look back and see all the good that paper, ink and stamp did.

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Bosco Ball… it may just change your life!

Published by Jimmy Mitchell on July 18, 2011 under Missionary's Blog

Nothing has forged the bonds of brotherhood in Nashville, TN over the past week like Bosco Ball. Affectionately renamed, we first heard about this addictive game at Covecrest. Between the great men living at my house and the Fraternus Brothers and Captains who seem to stop by with consistent frequency, Bosco Ball has taken over all sense of recreation for most of us. Check it out.

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A Week That Changed My Life

Published by Jim Havens on July 13, 2011 under Missionary's Blog

The following was written by Drew Kratt (left), a 22-year-old college student who got his first taste of Fraternus at Fraternus Ranch 2011 (a short video testimony that Drew shared with his Parish can be found at the bottom of the post):

I begin by reflecting on my week at the Fraternus Ranch. I find I am asking myself, "Why did God choose me? Why did He pull me, of all people, out of the muck and into the Light?" I am a sinner like everyone else and I feel that I am more of a sinner than most. Whatever the reason may be, God had something in mind the day I received a phone call from my mother asking if I would be willing to drive Wil, my younger brother, down to Georgia for a Church retreat. My first response was "No Way! I have better things to do this summer in college than some Church camp. Nevertheless, I said we would talk about it on my grandpa’s birthday.

When I arrived home for my grandpa’s birthday, I still had every intention of declining the invitation to Georgia. I thought there was absolutely no way I was going to be caught dead at a Church camp. At the same time, my younger brother was returning from Extreme Faith Camp. Earlier in the year, he went on a mission trip and another retreat as well. I was talking to my mother and I asked her, "What’s his deal? Why is he so into the Church and everything?" She looked at me and said, "Because of you. You were his inspiration." It was at that point that my stomach dropped and God finally got through the wall I put between Him and my heart. I remembered everything. I remembered all the activities I was involved in through the Church when I was in middle school. I remembered how into my faith I was at that age and I couldn’t believe my brother was watching and paying attention. I started to wonder how I wandered so far off the path. I knew right then that I would be going on this trip.

I was skeptical at first when it was just four of us driving down to this Ranch. I was like, "Great. It’s going to be my brother and two older guys I don’t know very well in this truck for 18 hours!" But the ride down there was filled with so much brotherhood and in-depth conversations, that I didn’t even notice the time go by! The ride alone was like a retreat in itself for me. Jim Havens, one of our Captains, explained to me the beauty of the Eucharist and really what a sacred Sacrament it is. That it is truly Jesus Christ, body and blood. When looking at that fact with the reverence it deserves, we need to be clean and pure temples in order to have Christ enter into us. Then Jim told me of the freedom in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I was always skeptical about telling a priest my darkest secrets and didn’t go to Confession. However, when Jim described the way that the priest was, in fact, Jesus and that your sins were completely forgiven in God’s eyes after absolution, I was all for Reconciliation. Especially after understanding the sacredness of the Holy Eucharist, I want my body and soul to be in a State of Grace.

Once I got to the Ranch, I had one thing on my mind: where is a priest? I wanted to go to Confession in the worst way possible! I found Father Mike Nixon, who is just an amazing man and priest. I said, "Father, I haven’t been to Confession in 5 years so I am going to need a lot of help to get through this." Then I poured it all out. I mean every last secret that I had that had been bothering me. In years past when we had to go to Confession in school, I wouldn’t tell the priest my real sins. I was always too embarrassed to tell him the real sins that I had committed. So in a sense, this was my first true confession. I was brutally honest, not only with God and the priest, but most of all myself. It really opened up my eyes to what I’ve done. It helped me be transformed and be truly sorry for my sins. When Fr. Mike laid his hands on my head and gave me absolution, a surge of energy went through me. I got goosebumps everywhere and an overwhelming sensation of peace fell over me. It felt as if an enormous weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I started to sob and for the first time I was crying tears of joy. I was overwhelmed by this feeling and finally realized that this is what it feels like to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I was, for the first time in a long time, in the State of Grace. And I needed to tell everyone! I was going up to the seminarians that were there and people I have never met and I was telling them my story. It was an amazing feeling.

The only thing I was waiting for now was Communion. I wanted nothing more in my life than to receive Jesus in a State of Grace and be in union with Him and the entire Living Body of Christ. I was actually excited to go to Mass and take part in the most Holy Sacrament! When presented with the Host and asked, "The Body of Christ", I answered with every fiber of my being, "AMEN!" I was overfilled with his grace and blessings. I felt so thankful that I said yes to going on this trip. The best part about this was that this was only the first day of camp! What an amazing start to an awesome week of white-water rafting, high ropes and fun activities! I grew more in my faith in that one week than I did throughout my nine years of Catholic schooling. This is just a portion of my testimony as to why Fraternus is such a great program and why young guys everywhere (and their fathers) should seriously consider joining. I promise it will change your life.

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Mercy… an unspeakable joy!

Published by Jimmy Mitchell on July 10, 2011 under Missionary's Blog

Every time we fall, we have an opportunity to rejoice in God’s mercy. Like the parable of the prodigal son, we can always come Home to our loving Father, for He is always calling us back to Himself!

O happy fault that always leads us back to God’s mercy! Can you imagine glorifying Him in any better way than in His mercy? Run to Him! Begin… and begin again!

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