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TERESITA’S REFLECTION ON JOY

In May 2025 I joined Vagabond Missions. I felt drawn to the opportunity to invite those far from Christ into a relationship with him. St. Katherine Drexel said: "If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy which invites us. Press forward and fear nothing."

I couldn't help but laugh at being asked to reflect on this quote because an ongoing question I was just wrestling with is how to respond to the Gospel's exhortation to rejoice always and count it all joy. I'm reminded of what Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl attested to; it is not the attainment of an emotional happiness which most truly drives and fulfills man, but that of meaning. The Good News is that the deepest meaning of our lives IS attainable in Christ. We are afraid when we believe our meaning will elude us...yet neither "death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things" (Rm 8:38)...nothing can keep us from the God who is the Fulfillment of all desire when we give our will to Him.

That fact is more than enough cause for the kind of rejoicing that can never be taken away by something as powerless as the day's pains. From Romans 8:18-30 we recognize that left to itself creation groans under the bondage of being completely incapable of reaching its meaning; yet by living in the Spirit we will be set free in Christ to attain that meaning in the freedom of being children of God.

The Spirit convicts us to stake our lives in the present exile on the fact that "love of God and neighbor" is all that matters in the last analysis. We do not pursue the bread of happiness which will leave us hungry but learn to say with Jesus “My food is to do the will of him who sent me." (Jn 4:34). It was "For the joy that was set before him [that Jesus] endured the cross (Heb 12:2). The Spirit alone can give us the gift of that kind of Joy by which we "open wide our hearts" and "press on without fear" toward the light of Christ which will be ours if we seek Him. This is why we can get up and show up everyday, and why, when a young person walks in the door, no matter what they bring with them, we can greet them with excitement.

Hello again!

This update is coming out a bit later than anticipated, but I promise it was worth the wait! February was quite an eventful month, especially with the start of Lent, and things have been going great on campus. The pictures and events below are just a few of the best moments of the month, but there is so much that just can’t fit into one update. I hope you find joy in these updates, just as the memories themselves fill me with joy right now.

Please continue to keep me, my team, and our students in your prayers. If you would like prayers for something in particular, please contact me with requests at any time!

The Sisters of Life

Early in the month, the Sisters of Life visited the Auraria Campus to speak to our students. They joined us for our weekly tabling on campus, meeting people and handing out stickers and prayer materials. We got a lot of great engagement from students walking by, and quite a few of them stopped to talk and pray with the sisters.

Later in the evening, the sisters gave a talk at the student center during dinner. They also invited our female students to attend the women’s night that they host at the convent once every few months!

The Brolympics

Taking inspiration from the Olympic Games in Milan, we decided to host our own version for the February men’s night. The men competed in events such as cup pong (with water), sports/saints trivia, a rock-paper-scissors championship, a ping-pong tournament, a pushup contest, a competition to see who could hold up buckets of water the longest, and more!

Even though my team didn’t take home the gold, we at least made the podium with bronze. The men in attendance had a great time, with a few of them coming to the student center for the first time ever just to compete!

Crosses and Chainsaws

In the middle of the month, we once again travelled to the Sacred Heart Retreat Center in Sedalia to do some manual labor around the property. I volunteered to cut down tree limbs with a chainsaw, while other members of the group helped move around furniture (and smash old pieces with a sledgehammer). There were plenty of moments of fun (such as me wheeling around Andrew on the dolly), and we got to end the day in the best way possible, the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

In Matthew 5:30, Jesus says, “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.” Trees probably can’t go to hell, but I’d like to think that if they could, we helped make sure that a few of them won’t.

The Jesuits were also kind enough to invite us to attend one of their retreats in April, so you can look forward to hearing about that in a coming update!

From Dust You Have Come…

Just before the start of Lent is Mardi Gras, and what’s the best thing to have just before 40 days in the desert? A party, of course! We celebrated in style, with lots of formal attire, karaoke, crawfish etouffee, gumbo, and good company. Our very own Louisiana-raised Bayou boys cooked for us, ensuring that even in Colorado, we could get the authentic Cajun experience.

…And To Dust You Will Return

The day after the Mardi Gras party was Ash Wednesday, signifying the start of the Lenten season. We were on campus a large portion of the day promoting both of our masses, and even ran into quite a few people who had already gone to different parishes and received their ashes earlier in the day. When we weren’t doing outreach, we were either preparing the meal of tomato soup and grilled cheese or attending mass ourselves. We had great crowds show up for both the 12:15PM and 5:30PM masses, with many new faces coming by for the first time! Please pray for all of the students we encountered, that they may embrace Christ in this season of Lent and beyond.

Many people give up things such as social media, alcohol, nicotine, or sweets for Lent, but a group of us at Saint Elizabeth’s decided to give up something different: our hair. My teammate Jonas got to put his barber skills to use turning us all bald, and by the end of it 9 of us had gotten the cut. Unfortunately, everyone told me that I looked good without the hair, and as much as I hate to admit it, I kind of agree with them.

On a more serious note:

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the three pillars of Lent. Through these practices, we can grow in our relationship with the Lord as we prepare to celebrate His Resurrection on Easter Sunday. These are not just for Lent, however, and Jesus makes it clear that we are expected to partake. In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus tells his disciples not to practice these for the adoration of men, but the language is very particular: “whenever you pray”, “whenever you fast”, “whenever you give alms”. There is no “if”.

Prayer and almsgiving are important, but I want to touch on fasting in particular. Fasting is often associated with the penitential aspect of Lent, but it is also a spiritual discipline that helps to focus our attention on prayer. By denying our human appetites, we ensure that our desires are subject to our reason and will. This self-mastery is required to always choose the good that God offers us each day, and Lent gives us the special opportunity to do this for over a month!

Fasting is also EVERYWHERE in the Bible. Jesus fasts for 40 days just before the start of His public ministry (Matthew 4:1-11), Moses fasts for 40 days before the Lord on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:28), the apostles fast multiple times throughout the early church (Acts 13:2-4, Acts 14:23), and so much more. Fasting helps put all other desires aside to focus on God alone.

As this newsletter is coming out, we are just past the halfway point in Lent. Even if you have broken your fast, this is a perfect time to pick it back up and finish strong!

February has been a packed month with everything seeming to happen all at once. In settling in to the Spring Semester and beginning Ash Wednesday to leading our annual Men’s retreat and preparing for our upcoming mission trip, it has been an incredible blessing to be here and God has shown me His Face in the incredible experiences that I have gotten to partake in since saying yes to being a missionary here at ASU. In all things there is a sacrifice when we say yes. They say one yes is a thousand no’s, and this has proven true, but God has shown that all of those no’s have not taken away anything that makes life true, good, and beautiful.

Mass Hike
This was a special blessing where my students Cameron, Elias, and I hiked up South Mountain in Phoenix with a young adult group from the area and celebrated mass on top of the mountain. It was a unique grace to see Christ at work and as the Creator of all those things we could see around us. We were with a group of about 30 other young adults from around the area, and our priest Fr. Carlos was able to say mass just as the sun was rising over the mountain.

above: Fr. Carlos saying mass

above: Cameron and I after mass on the mountain

Men's Retreat
This year at ASU we had our second ever Focus Men’s retreat. This year we partook in the Father’s House retreat, especially focusing on the parable of the Prodigal Son and the question of what does it mean to truly view God as Father? We brought 40 men to our retreat at Emmanuel pines in Prescott, AZ, including 3 priests and two Franciscan friars. In the big question of how we view God, we dove into our own experiences with fathers and how though none of us have a perfect experience with our own father, we can be confident in the Father who has prepared a place for us in his house and who upholds us in our lives come what may in the way of either joy or suffering.

Service Dinner
As a chance to learn how to serve and cook and excellent meal, the men teamed up and put together a dinner for the ladies in the community. They learned how to set the table properly, cook a full four course meal, and provide a little entertainment.
The men served a full charcuterie board for the Appetizer, chicken Alfredo for the first course, bacon wrapped pork for the second course, and finished it off with a brownie and ice cream for dessert. The men also played guitar. It was a really great opportunity to throw a party and come together to enjoy a home cooked meal and good company. It also provided an opportunity to teach a lot of our student what it means to serve one another and how we can give ourselves for the building up of those around us.

Lent
Lent is a transformative time for the Church and her members. The college campus is no exception to this rule. Starting with Ash Wednesday, we have seen a record number of people coming into the church for mass and services with a estimate being around 3,500 students. It has been awesome to invite our disciples into the mission of the church as many of them are starting their own bible studies and inviting their fellow students to walk with them in mentorship and discipleship
I am also able to see my students commit to Lenten practices that go beyond what I would hope for them as we train our bodies, minds, and will with practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving so that when we face temptation and suffering in our lives our virtues that we have developed during this time will not fail us, and my students give great hope and encouragement to me as we partake in this season of Lent together.

Thank you again for all your support!

Prayer Intentions

• For my disciples Daniel, Cameron, Michael, and Anthony as they lead their bible studies
• For the greater conversion of Arizona State
• For an impactful Holy Week and Easter
• That we may all persevere to the end of the semester

Welcome to the first newsletter!

Full disclosure....I wanted to send this letter out in August and as I’ve been working on it the date at the top has changed numerous times. 😅 My comfort is the main reason it’s taken so long is delving into the daily life on mission with the teens. (: Our mission is very unique and so I thought the first letter would be a good time to introduce things I will refer to in future newsletter’s so that they will come with better context. I’m excited for the next one where I’ll be sharing more stories and pictures of the mission year so far. You can find in this one:

• An introduction of my team mates, the staff based in Wichita, and each of our roles.
• Some key terms we use repeatedly and abbreviate which also explain our Outreach
• A Week in the Life of the Wichita missionaries
• I’ve been asked about how the timeline for Vagabond works as well as how my time has gone, and many of you also are friends of my parents and ask how things are going with them so I thought I would combine those three into a Timeline found in the video below.
• Support Raising is truly one of the first important aspects of mission. I grew a lot and thought it would be fitting that the first “Glory Story” I share be about God’s Providence through you in that journey. So I wrote you a letter about it and also a “litany” of Thanks which refers to special details of how I felt cared for through each of you. I do hope if you don’t read the other parts of the newsletter that you read that part at the very bottom! 😄

I pray for you in our Holy Hours each week if you’d ever like to send me your intentions they are most welcome. God bless you all!

-Teresita

Key Terms Explained:

• Jesus Class - This is where we teach a smaller group of teens about core aspects of the faith. For this interested in becoming Catholic it functions as OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) in anticipation of their Baptism and life in the Church should they discern to become Christian. Many however attend Jesus class without being a part of OCIA. On these days we feed the kids brunch and take them to Sunday Mass at the local parish (Holy Savior).

• Relational Ministry “RM” - Is intentional quality time spent with teens individually (in public or with multiple staff present), in pairs, or in smaller groups, outside of programs. The opportunities of what this looks like are vast but the goal is to foster true friendship and community, as well as to build a foundation of trust which opens up a safe place for them to be seen, known, and cared for, and to receive informal mentorship coming from places that often lack stable emotional support from other adults. Some common activities include: A chat over food, a walk, chatting over errands/store trips, park time, Adoration trips, gym time, baking or cooking together, mini road trips, cheering them on at sport or Danza activities, indoor games, serving the community and so on.

• Contact Work “CW” - We can’t wait for teens to accidentally stumble into a church one day if ever that were to happen....so we go out to them! Nationwide this has looked like striking up a basketball game with kids at a public park, getting into a conversation at a bus stop with an invite to something like a hot dog night, walking through the projects, handing out popsicles in their neighborhoods on hot summer days. In Wichita we currently have two public High schools that allow us to come in and table at lunchtimes where we pass out candy and fliers, having conversations with teens, letting them know what we do and inviting them to join a community of their peers across all different schools.

• Breakout - This is our “wide net” where about 30-40 teens can come on Tuesday nights for a full meal, chill hangout time followed by high-energy group games, and a 10 minute talk about Jesus and how the good news applies to situations they may face. These talks are intended to be engaging, simple, and accessible to teens without a background in the faith. This is a mixed group of teens that come regularly, new teens we meet through Contact Work, and that fit a range from being into the faith to being unsure about the faith but desiring the community.

• Bible Study - This is a smaller crew of about 15-25 kids that may be seeking for something more in the faith and are often regulars that come to nearly every program. We begin by reading from the Scripture, often the Gospel that will be read at Mass the upcoming Sunday, listen to a missionary share explanations and reflections about the passage, then break into 2-3 men and women’s small groups that each eat together and then have a discussion relating the passage to their lives. A small group might end with the teens sharing prayer intentions and praying aloud to God in the moment, followed by some free time before rides home.

• Discipleship Groups - Each missionary takes care to evaluate what stage in relationship they are with teens that come -Acquaintance, Friend, Spiritual Friend, Disciple and comes up with Actions to try out each week in order to deepen these relationships and encourage teens to encounter Jesus and grow toward the path of discipleship. Each missionary has particular core teens that they focus on connecting with while at the same time an overlap remains of multiple missionaries and staff members pouring into the same teens.

• UNDERGROUND - This is the name for our youth centers across the country and the main name the kids know us by. It came from the first one in NY having been underground and then it stuck!

• Vagabond - A Vagabond is someone who wanders from place to place without a home. Historically the term is used derisively reflective of the contempt that is so often shown to those struggling. We recognize that Jesus was treated as a vagabond even saying about Himself “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man* has nowhere to rest his head,” (Mt 8:20). From the time He was in the womb and found no room in the inns, His escape from murder into Egypt, to His public ministry were they tried to drive Him off a cliff (Lk 4) and He was spoken of and accused derogatorily (Jn 8:48), was condemned for His association with sinners (Mt 11:19), went hungry, and ultimately was mocked and humiliated during His Passion and Cross where when thirsty He was given bitter gall. Meanwhile these kids often wander around without a stable home emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and at times physically. While society may forget about them or think of them derisively we want to acknowledge how we are all Vagabonds, like Jesus, not yet at our final Home in heaven but while on the journey making a home in each other’s hearts which also then gives Jesus a place to lay His head within each of us.

• Youth Advocacy Meetings - There is a collaboration of organizations around the city that work in youth advocacy in the inner city and we attend meetings with in order to be available as a resource for teens moving from their opportunities and needing ours and vice versa.

• Underground Community Youth Advisory Council “UCAYC” - We started a council among the teens where they get to take the lead on sharing what issues they see in their communities that they are going to come up with a plan to do a project together to address.

• Revival in the City - Once a month we bring teens together for dinner followed by a time or praise and prayer during Adoration at the local parish where the teens have a chance to spend time with Jesus and hear a guest share some helpful words as well as the opportunity to pray with a priest or attend Confession.