FOCUS Spiritual Impact Retreat

A few weekends ago we had a Spiritual Impact Bootcamp. The retreat was packed with talks, time for prayer, and Mass and Confession.

Joseph and Jessica are two FOCUS missionaries that go around to different campuses and put on these retreats. Joseph was a missionary at UNL when I was a student and it was awesome to have him come to Loras. Both Jessica and Joseph did so much to prepare for the retreat, with countless prayers for all of us and the students.


About 30 students came on the retreat, including a few soccer guys Tyler has been getting to know. It was amazing to hear the students' testimonies after the retreat. I believe we all were touched by the Holy Spirit in some way and it is exciting to see lots of the students have a greater zeal and boldness for sharing their faith.


On Saturday of the retreat we had two times during the day for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There were a few people from Loras who came to play and sing praise and worship music during adoration.

Joseph and Jessica, along with a few other missionaries that had been on this retreat before, were the prayer team and they went around and prayed with everyone individually. This was a beautiful time for healing and surrendering to God. Confessions were available as well.

The talks were amazing. They were about the power of the Holy Spirit, understanding the gifts and charisms of the Holy Spirit, healing, and prayer. Joseph and Jessica alternated giving the talks.

On the last day we had time to practice a 5 minute prayer exercise, preparing us to pray with people. This was a beautiful opportunity to use our gifts and to actually pray with others.


I feel like this blog doesn't do the retreat justice in any means. Overall it was a life-changing weekend but we realize it doesn't end here. We are all called to pray for the Holy Spirit to renew his power and work in our lives!

Here is a beautifu prayer that we all prayed leading up to the retreat:

Prayer of Renewal of Retreat Participants

O HOLY SPIRIT OF JESUS, Come to me as wind and fire and ignite my life with renewed faith, hope, and love. Help me to grow in the life of grace and to reflect Your presence in my life. Unlock in me, O Lord, my unique spiritual gifts, as you give me the courage and faith to use these gifts in the service of the church and Your people. Enable my parish, my family, and my community to respond to the challenge of the Gospel. Bless the young, support the old, and sustain all those who minister to Your people. Be the wind and fire that brings new life to Your Church, to me and to the society in America. Let this retreat bring about in me a New Spiritual "Stirring" called for by Pope Benedict XVI, for the greater glory of Your Name and for the betterment of mankind. I ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Our Father...
Hail Mary....
Glory Be....

Darrell Miller at Loras College

Here is the press release Tyler wrote:

On Wednesday evening, March 7th, former member of Major League Baseball’s
Anaheim Angels and convert to Catholicism, Darrell Miller, spoke to students and
members of the local community at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. Eighty people
were in attendance as Miller talked about his journey to the Catholic faith and the
Christian’s call to commit their entire lives to Christ without holding anything back.

During the final prayer, he did an “altar call” of sorts, asking those people who
did want to commit to Christ to raise their hands. Over twenty people raised their
hands, including several student-athletes. It was a privilege for Varsity Catholic at
Loras College to have Mr. Miller come speak.

Darrell Miller is a recent inductee into Sports Faith International’s Hall of Fame and currently serves as the Vice President for Major League Baseball’s Youth and Facility Development. He is also a board member of Catholic Athletes for Christ. He is a dynamic speaker and loves to travel around the country sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


A few additional thoughts (from Dene'): This was an awesome day! Tyler picked Darrell up from the airport in the morning and got to spend the majority of the day with him. The team and I joined them for dinner before the talk and we all shared a lot of laughs. Our favorite question of the night came from Fr. Boone who asked Darrell, "What is it like to have your own wikipedia page?" We all enjoyed getting to know Darrell and loved the witness he gave for his faith and relationship with Jesus.

Tyler with Darrell and the Athletic Director before the talk.

Darrell talking to a baseball player after the talk and meeting students.

ROME: Friday (last day!)

Friday, October 7th was our last day in Rome and how beautiful that it was the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary!

We started the day with Deacon Victor’s first Mass as a Deacon. It was a beautiful church and Deacon Victor gave a very touching homily and I don't think there was a dry eye anywhere in the church!

We took a group picture. It was very special to be at Deacon Victor's first Mass!

Here's a statue of Padre Pio helping Jesus carry his cross.

Relics of Padre Pio

John Paul II’s beanie, called a zucchetto (which we could touch!) We heard a story that the pope would leave his zucchetto at a church after visiting it (for a relic after he was dead) and the church would give him another one. That is why there are several zucchettos of JP II around the world.


After Mass Tyler and I walked back to St. Peter’s Square and met Fr. Boone (the Priest from Loras College who was also in Rome while we were there.) It was a very cloudy day and started to rain as we were walking (the only day it rained while we were in Rome.)

He took us to his favorite Italian restaurant for lunch. It was a blessing to get to spend time with him in Rome and Tyler and I keep saying how we need to have him over for dinner and make home-made pasta for him. (He went to the seminary in Rome for four years before he was ordained a Priest so he has fond memories of real Italian pasta.)

And what do you think we did after lunch? Had gelato of course! We had to squeeze in a few more before we left.


















Then we got on a bus at the hotel and went to the last two Major Basilicas, St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major, as well as a little church along the way that held an amazing surprise for me!

First we went to St. John Lateran. Here is a website for a virtual tour of the Basilica since our pictures don’t do it justice. http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_giovanni/vr_tour/index-it.html


This Basilica is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome and therefore is called the Pope’s Cathedral. Among other special notes, it is said to have the relic of the head of John the Baptist.



After visiting the Basilica we went across the street to the Scala Sancta, the Holy Stairs. This was a beautiful experience. I had read about it, but it’s not the same as being there. It is said that St. Helena had these stairs brought over from Jerusalem to Rome. These are the steps that led up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate which Jesus climbed during his Passion. The steps are covered to protect them from the thousands of people who come and the tradition is to ascend the steps on your knees while praying some form of prayer remembering Christ’s passion.

I will always remember this prayer experience. It was very painful to ascend the steps on my knees, but I couldn't help but think about the pain Jesus suffered before and during his crucifixion.

Then we went to very small, not well-known church that was on the way. It was the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. On the way, someone was telling us about a young Roman girl who was buried here. She died at the age of 7 from bone cancer. When we got to the church and I saw her tomb, I started to cry.

To rewind a bit, some of our good friends from Ave Maria, FL have had this beautiful devotion to little Antonietta Meo, also known as Nennolina. My friend Christine had told me a little about her and I had seen a prayer card at her house. So when I saw the picture by the tomb and her name, I realized that this was the tomb of the little girl that our friends have talked about! It was a beautiful moment and it begun a love and devotion for Tyler and me to little Nennolina in praying for our future children.

We were able to pray in front of her tomb, and to see some of her toys and clothes.

She offered up her suffering from her cancer to Jesus in the most beautiful way. She wrote over 100 letters to Jesus and Mary and one of her quotes was, "When I suffer, I immediately think of Jesus so I don't suffer anymore! It's simple not to suffer: don't think of your pain, but think of Jesus', because He suffered so much for us that you won't feel anything yourself."

Before she died, she told her mother,"In a few hours, I will die, but I will not suffer anymore, and you shouldn't cry. I should have lived a few days longer, but Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus said, "it's enough!" After she died, her mother had a vision where she saw Antonietta in heaven.

It was so special to be there in the church where she was Baptized and spent much of her time in prayer. Tyler and I took a few holy cards that were touched to her tomb and continue to ask for her intercession for our future family. Her canonization is in process and one miracle has been attributed to her. If you want to read more about her, check out http://www.nennolina.it/bio_index_EN.htm

Then we went to the last of the four major Basilicas, St. Mary Major. This was one of the first churches built in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I think it interesting that the building of the basilica was started right after the Council of Ephesus in 431 which proclaimed Mary was the Mother of God.


It was very dark inside, in lots of places (like the other churches of Rome) you had to put coins in to light up the paintings. The ceiling was laden with gold from the New World.

A few pictures of us hanging out in front of the Basilica before we left for dinner:


Then we got back on the bus and went to our last Italian dinner.

We had spaghetti with mushroom and peas to start off with.

Then veal in a lemon sauce with a side salad.

And for dessert, a white cake.

We all shared lots of laughs and even more with the after dinner liquor.

Finally to end our trip to Rome, we walked to Trevi fountain.


It is a tradition to go there on your last night in Rome and to throw a coin into the fountain, which means you will return to Rome. We liked that thought!

And of course what did we do on our walk back to the hotel? You guessed it...got gelato for the last time.

I have to include this last picture to end the blogs about Rome. Tyler had a great attitude about not being able to watch college football while we were away (except if you remember about the adventure in Assisi) and the minute we got into the airport in the states, guess what was playing? College football. Not just one game, but several games.


Tyler and I often think back about our adventures in Rome with his parents and everyone on the trip. We are so thankful for the experience and miss it a lot. We look forward to going back one day and visiting some of our favorite places as well as exploring new ones!

Rome: Catacombs and Domine Quo Vadis

It's been quite a while since I've blogged about Rome! There is this one and then one more day so stay tuned!

After the Deaconate Ordination we had some free time, so Tyler and I went on an adventure. Really the only thing that I wanted to do in Rome that wasn't on our itinerary was to see the catacombs (where the early Christians were buried.) I had heard about them from others who had traveled to Rome and I was fascinated by the thought that we could actually see them.

The early Christians had to bury their dead outside the walls of Rome so the catacombs are all on the outskirts of Rome. It was so peaceful and beautiful!! Especially compared to the hustle and bustle of the city. Lots of trees, beautiful flowers, and an amazing skyline of the city.

Tyler flagged down a taxi and we started our adventure. We didn’t know where we were going or what we would do when we got there, but we went for it. We told the cab driver we wanted to go to the catacombs on the Via del Appia (I had read about them before and the Appian Way is the road that all the early Christians walked when they entered or left Rome, and is also the road Paul traveled.) The cab driver started naming some of the specific catacombs, and I chose the one that sounded the most familiar.

Here is a map of the three catacombs close together. We went to the one in the middle.

He took us to the catacombs of San Callixtus. It took about 30 minutes to get there, and wow, that was an adventure. While in Rome we had walked everywhere or took a huge tour bus and had always looked on in amazement at how people drove. I don’t know how they don’t get into hundreds of accidents everyday. The streets were so narrow and the drivers didn't really follow street signs, or if they did they had their own way of doing it that I didn't understand. Anyway, after lots of Angel of God prayers we got there.

We got there and looked around and it was perfect timing because there was a tour starting in a half hour. So we got tickets, went to the gift shop (bought a little pamphlet on the catacombs) and then Tyler got an cappuccino from a machine (like a vending machine only it came out in a little Dixie cup with a straw to stir it.)

The tour was very interesting. Starting in the first century, the early Christians used the underground tombs as meeting places (but risked their lives because if the guards went down and found them they would execute them that day) places to pray, and a place to bury their family members.

We saw a very small part of the catacomb, but the tour guide said there were about 5 or 6 acres of underground passageways and that over half a million Christians were buried in the catacombs.

Later when the catacombs were not being used, barbarians came and stole the marble tombstones and the bones. Plus they were abandoned for over a 1000 years After Christianity became legal church buildings were built and Christians moved the relics of the saints to the churches so they had no =reason to go into the catacombs to pray or venerate their dead.
When they started to excavate whatever was left in the catacombs, sometime in the 1800s or so, they moved what ever was found to a special place and so we didn’t see anything except empty places where we knew Christians had been buried.

When we came up out of the catacombs I took a picture of where we had been (no photographs were allowed underground).

One thing that I will always remember is we got to go into a room in the catacombs that was where around six of the early Popes were buried. We also went into a room where there was the bottom part of an altar and that was a place where the early Christians celebrated Mass. I can't describe the feeling of standing in that room, knowing the early Christians celebrated Mass right there, in danger of being killed...it was amazing. We also got to see the place where St. Cecelia was buried.


The biggest blessing of our adventure was God leading us to the Domine Quo Vadis Church. I had read about this before coming to Rome, had no idea where it was (although had heard it was on the Appian way near the catacombs) and as we were leaving the Catacombs, we literally walked right up to this church!

This is where tradition says that Jesus appeared to Peter as Peter was fleeing Rome. Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, where are you going? (Domine, quo vadis in Latin) And Jesus said to Peter, "I am going to Rome to be crucified again." Then Peter went back to Rome and was crucified.

This was both Tyler's and my favorite church. It was beautiful. It was very small, old, and not very ornate. But the paintings were beautiful!

As we entered, there were footprints in a marble slab that is said to be a miraculous sign left by Jesus.

Here are some of the beautiful paintings.

Jesus being crucified:

Peter being crucified upside down (by his request because he said he wasn't worthy to be crucified like Our Lord):


Out of our whole visit to Rome, these two experiences (the catacombs and this Church) really stand out to me. What a blessing that God took us on this adventure and we will never forget it!