Fiat Farewell

As I write this blog post, the walls of the Fiat House are starting to look quite bare. In fact, they look quite a bit like they did during those first few weeks when we first moved in.  Tomorrow morning at 8:30, a small crew of friends will be coming to help me move my belongs to the Wild West (St. Anna, MN) and I will be saying my farewell to Fiat House.  In three weeks when April moves out, the Fiat House itself will be saying farewell as the Lord in His infinite wisdom, has decided to close the chapter of Fiat House to begin writing something new for the both of us.

Last night April and I reflected on all of the beautiful ways the Lord used Fiat House for His Glory.  We remembered our first party where we unveiled our house name, we recalled the joy of our first 5k and the yearly advent retreats we coordinated.  We also reminisced about all the wonderful people who gifted us with their presence for Fiat dinners. One of the greatest gifts of this house was the beautiful friendship formed with our first roommate, Marita.

I could go down memory lane for hours, and you could too if scrolled through the archived blog posts.  But what I have been reflecting on most from my time here at Fiat House isn’t so much the memories of the house, but its purpose.

When I first moved into Fiat House I was restless to organize its vision and mission.  The Lord had mysteriously called this house forth and  I was anxious to use my gifts to help Him shape it into something organized, structured and well run.  In my mind we were a discernment house for young women interested in consecrated life.  I thought of many ways we could accomplish this goal: Fiat 5ks, nun runs, and collecting materials on various religious orders.  I thought that this house – through April and I – was meant to serve other women.

Gradually over time, the Lord began to strip me of the supports of my coordinated efforts and plans for this house.  Life at the Fiat House began to slow down and the house began to flower into something completely different from what I had thought.  I began to realize that this house wasn’t for other people’s formation, it was for our formation.

As the house began to independently take shape, I would get increasingly more annoyed with the questions: “so what exactly is Fiat House?”  “what do you ladies do?”  “What’s its purpose?”  I felt vulnerable and stupid with these questions because I didn’t know the answers.  I couldn’t see or explain what the Lord was doing, but His movements were palpable.  I couldn’t do anything besides surrender my plans to the mystery of His and let Him take over.

Increasingly over time, and with the help of one of my favorite books, Reed of God, it became clear that Fiat House was meant to be an almost four year Advent for both of us.  In Reed of God, Carell Houselander describes  Advent beautifully: “Advent is the season of the secret, the secret of the growth of Christ, of Divine Love growing in silence,  It is the season of humility, silence and growth.”

Humility. Silence. Growth.  These three words sum up some of the greatest lessons learned at Fiat House.  In the hum drum of our quiet life here, the Lord began to grow.  Like an expectant mother, I couldn’t initially see anything happening, but I knew he was there and I soon began to feel His presence more and more.  Perhaps on the outside nothing exciting appeared to be happening in my life.  I had my usual routine of work, grad school classes and such, but on the inside, everything was changing!  The Fiat House was a physical reminder of what the Lord was doing interiorly. Just as the Fiat House was an empty space for the Lord to work, my heart was to become an empty space for the Lord to grow.  Mother Teresa says “God cannot fill what is full.  He can fill only emptiness, deep poverty, and your “Yes” is the beginning of being or becoming empty.  It is not how much we really “have” to give, but how empty we are, so that we can receive Him fully in our life and let Him live His life in us.”

I also began to realize that my own “fiat” wasn’t a magical moment when I courageously  said my “yes” to God for the great mission for which He was going to call me.  My “fiat,” modeled after the blessed Mother’s Fiat, was meant to be a spousal “I do.”  A complete gift of myself to the Lord to do with me as He willed.  On paper this seems lovely, but through the tears, trials and pains of purifications, I began to know what kind of commitment was required to be a spouse of Christ.  The Lord began to teach me about my daily “fiat…”  the daily “yes’s” that require self denial to accomplish His will.  The Lord uses our obedience to flower within us. Every “Yes” to Him is a “No” to our self and therefore allows Him space to continue to grow in our hearts.  Mary was full of grace and God-Bearer because she was obedient.

As the physical Fiat House comes to an end, the Lord is asking us to continue the Fiat House in our hearts: an empty space for Him to grow and flower within us.  As He continues to grow with in us, He is asking us to take Him out to the new people we will encounter through our new ministries and endeavors.

As we wait in hopeful expectation for the next chapters to be written, in some ways, April and I are approaching yet another Advent.  I wait in hopeful expectation as I begin my new job as New Evangelization Coordinator at the parishes in the Holdingford area, and April waits in hopeful expectation as she begins her new endeavors elsewhere (you’ll have to ask her in person where she’s off to.  Hint: it’s a bit farther than my new location in St. Anna…)

As we journey in this season of Advent, let’s be attentive to the Lord growing in silence.  And let’s not shortchange this Advent season of growth.

Dear Jesus,

help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with Your Spirit and Life.

Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that my life may only be a radiance of Yours.

Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come into contact with may feel Your presence in my soul. Let them look up, and see no longer me, but only Jesus!

Stay with me and then I will begin to shine as You shine,
so to shine as to be a light to others.

The light, O Jesus, will be all from You; none of it will be mine.
It will be You, shining on others through me.

Let me preach You without preaching,
not by words but by example,
by the catching force,
the sympathetic influence of what I do,
the evident fullness of the love my heart hears for You. Amen.

– A prayer by Cardinal Newman

Steubenville Youth Conference!

8 girls in a 12-passenger van. Sleeping bags. Car food. Guitar. 1,000 miles cross country…one way.

Sounds like a pilgrimage to a Steubenville Youth Conference!

Listening carefully to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Fiat House (and by that, I mean Kristin. She’s the brains of this operation) decided to spearhead a trip/pilgrimage out to Ohio for a summer youth conference. It didn’t take much to collect a few high school girls who thought it would be fun to go along. A couple fundraisers, one preparatory meeting, a handshake at the van rental place, a LOT of prayers,  and we’re on our way!

We’re pumped to go. The both of us had very spiritually important and powerful experiences through a youth conference just like this when we were in high school. We’re positive that the Lord has specific graces in store for each of the girls who will be going with us.

High point of the conference: Eucharistic Adoration

Pray for us! We’ll be at the main university campus in Steubenville all weekend, along with stops in Chicago for some service work and R&R when the conference is concluded.  

Franciscan University campus. Our Alma Mater!

National protests against Planned Parenthood this Saturday!

If we ever needed to raise our voices, it’s now!

A string of nation-wide protests in outcry over Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of fetal tissue caught on video is underway. It’s not the first step to bring down and defund the abortion giant with seemingly no regard for human dignity, but it’s an important one. And if you can come, show your support!

If you’ve known about Planned Parenthood’s antics in the past, it’s no surprise that they need to be stopped. If you’ve just recently been enlightened by the increasingly horrific videos that have been released each week since July, then you now know, too, how bad it is. Any “Planned Parenthood sells baby parts” search will do, but beware, they are graphic; I haven’t even watched the most recent one because it looks so bad.

There are protests all over the nation, and there will also be one here in St. Cloud this Saturday, August 22 from 9-11 am. For more information, go to the Office of Marriage and Family of St. Cloud website. You can also check out their Facebook page. Unfortunately, the national website that shows the location of all the protest sites has been suspended, but with just a little homework, you can find out if there’s one in your area.

It’ll be a time of real solidarity with those who have been exploited and wounded. See you there!

When we’re not planning a 5k….

…there’s no telling what could happen!

It’s true. This year, we aren’t having the Fiat 5K at the Farm. Why? you might ask. Praying about it and coming to the conclusion that we weren’t at peace with putting on another one. They were awesome, and we loved getting everyone together, but onto other things, I suppose.

It’s made for a restful sumer. We had a lot of beautiful things to enjoy, with time to do it!

Akin to the Whitney park bleachers

Surely that’s a Mississippi Saint sliding in safely!

Many a Tuesday, we walked just a few blocks from our house to Whitney Park to watch the Mississippi Saints, our parish softball team, play in the church softball league. Hands down, the Saints have some of the best, most spirited fans.  And the games were a ball (ahem) to watch. Plus, the season isn’t over yet! Playoffs continue this Tuesday.  Since I didn’t get any actual pictures, these close substitutes will have to do

We hosted two missionaries from the Neo-Catechumenal Way, one from New York and one from Colorado. It is not an exaggeration to say that it was deeply moving event to encounter these two lovely women. They came to St. Cloud with NO money, NO contacts, NO cell phones. They had only the clothes on their backs and a small sack.

Probably what it felt like to them

The Neo-Catechumenal Way (sometimes known as simply The Way) seeks to provide post-baptismal formation to adults who are already members of the Church. They form small groups within the parishes to deepen their baptismal committments to Christ. Many members seek to do a week-long mission, in which they are picked at random, two by two, and sent to a random diocese. Literally, picked out of a hat. And that’s how they ended up in St. Cloud. They spent only a night with us, not expecting anything, but rather receiving whatever we gave to them. They told us how the Lord had worked in their lives, even resurrecting a broken marriage. They brought us a word of Hope, reminding us that our God can do anything!

We resumed our summer Women’s group, this time with a monthly rather than weekly meeting time. Some time talking about prayer here, a Rosary walk there, and always yummy treats. Good times with the local ladies.

Quintessential fair food – the funnel cake

Not to mention a priestly ordination (Fr. Gabriel Walz!), the Stearns AND Benton County Fairs, bridal/baby showers, family vacations. All mixed in with the appropriate dose of summer sunshine, neighborhood walks, parades, trips to the lake, fresh fruit smoothies and lounging on our “hill” in the front yard.

Ahh, summer has been good.

An easy way to be united – 9 days of prayer for life

Beginning today (Saturday, January 17th), the US Bishops have asked the faithful to join them in 9 days of prayer for life. Usually referred to as a novena, you can click here to access the USCCB Website (or search “9 days for life”) and sign up to receive the prayer, reflection, and sacrifice (yikes! Don’t worry, they’re do-able) of the day.

Why now?

Because the anniversary of Roe v. Wade is soon approaching (next week), and it’s vital that we pray as a community of faith to help women heal from abortion and end abortion all together.

So we’ll pray together

With our bishops

Beginning today!!

I’m sure Pope Francis will be praying with us as well

Not able to start today? No problem. Just jump on the bandwagon whenever you get the chance. Better late than never, but since God is outside of time, can you ever really be too late?

Hmmm…Another day, another blogpost.

All pictures from http://www.usccb.org

One more Catholic in South Korea (or Hyehyon’s baptism) – an experience of the universal Church

Mrs. Kim, Mr. Kim, Deacon John Wocken, Fr. Bob Rolfes, Hyehyon, and Kristin

On Sunday, December 27th, a crowning moment of glory arrived: our friend, Hyehyon, was baptized in the Church. She choose Christ and became a Christian in baptism, and she also received the sacraments of Confirmation and the Eucharist. It’s what’s officially called Sacramentum amplitudo slam. Or in laymen’s terms, a sacramental grand slam (thank you, Wiki Translator).

Who is Hyehyon? Hyehyon is a foreign exchange student from South Korea. Her parents were also here in the States, with her father teaching at St. Cloud State for a year. She’s 22 and majoring in Literature.

(In Korean, her name sounds airy and smooth. To try to spell it like they say it would be futile. But if you speak American (and specifically, Minnesotan), her name can sound something like, “Hey Young,” which is what I saw in my head every time I said it. A little choppy.)

Back to the matter at hand. It’s a crowning moment because of what actually took place in her soul, but also because of the months of preparation that took place to prepare her for the big day. Kristin, her teacher and godmother, took one-on-one time (beginning in the summer) to explain what it means to be a Christian and live the Christian life. That’s no light job, especially to instruct someone who hasn’t grown up in a Christian culture. Who is Jesus? The Trinity? What is free will? What is grace? Sacraments? And our phraseology like “Going the extra mile” and “A wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing” have biblical roots, but that was news to Hyehyon and had to be discovered in Scripture.

Months of RCIA followed, and right before she was to leave home for South Korea, the big day arrived.

I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Alleluia!

After the Baptism at Mass, the Fiat House threw a party for Hyehyon and her parents. It was a great success, and really a joy to celebrate with the Catholic community.

A few snapshots from the party:

Wall decorations created just for the occasion, right above some snacks

Hyehon visits with her guests

Guests squeezing into the cozy Fiat living room

Congratulations, Hyehyon!! We are so happy to have you in our universal family!

Fiat House: Only TWO of us??

Once upon a time, the inhabitants at the Fiat House took pictures like this:

and this:

 

But in the past couple of months, it’s looked more like this:

and this (at Whitney Park)

Besides our change in hair and skin color, you may have noticed that there is one less person in those pictures. Very astute. That’s because our roomie, Marita, came to a place where she believed God was leading her elsewhere. And we agreed that it looked as if she was ready to begin the next phase of her life outside the Fiat House.

It’s one of the biggest challenges and blessings of the Fiat House. Welcoming whoever God brings here necessarily means that somewhere down the line, He’s going to move them elsewhere. It’s part of the process here that makes it unique. The Holy Spirit brings women here to have a supportive, prayerful place to come to know His voice and His promptings better. When that time is up, He moves them swiftly to the next phase.

So after our goodbyes (which are tempered since we get to spend time with Marita quite a bit), we adjusted to back to two schedules to coordinate.

As we speak, we are certainly actively listening and ready to respond when the Holy Spirit brings the next woman to live here.

Could this be you in the picture?

Let us know if you think it is! It’s really fun here.

JPII’s greatest parting words

Happy feast day of St. John Paul II the Great.

May he help us always remember that living with Christ is wonderful adventure!

Find yourself in the Fiat 5k picture slideshow!

THANK YOU to everyone for coming to our 2014 Fiat 5K at the Farm! We are so thankful for your presence , the beautiful weather (Jesus, you’re the best), everyone who helped out, the dairy industry, etc.

Congratulations to our male winners: Michael Marschel and Isaac Millner, and to our female winners: Hannah Weber and Gail Gertkin (sp?). You give us something to shoot for next year!

Scroll through the slideshow and see if you can find yourself or your friends! They are in no particular order. If there is a picture you’d like to keep, comment on our blog or send an email (fiathousestcloud@gmail.com) and we can get those to you.

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Sneak peek at 5k pics – more to come!

First leg of the run by the hay bales!

 

Maggie Molitor dancing to the 5K tunes!

 

Rural bystanders

 

If you have Fiat 5K pics for us, send them our way! Email address: fiathousestcloud@gmail.com