Our Lady of Coatlaxopeh

In 1519 when the Spaniards first arrived in what is known today as the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, they encountered the native Mayan peoples. The first thing that the Spaniards did was to inquire the native Mayans about the name of their land (naturally asking in Spanish) . As the natives looked at each other in confusion asking “Uk Athan, Uk Athan” which means “What are they saying? What are they Saying?,” misunderstanding their language, the Spaniards declared that this must be the land of “Yucatán” which was a similar sounding word in Spanish.

In 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego— a native Aztec. As the story goes, Mary conversed with Juan Diego in his native language of Nahuatl which is an Aztec dialect. When Juan Diego told the bishop of his conversations with the Blessed Mother, and what she called herself, the bishop believed that Juan Diego had said “Guadalupe”- a location in Spain, and thus common word in the language of the Spaniards… It appears that this could have been similar to the “Yucatán” incident as modern day studies have taken a second look at what Mary might have actually called herself in her visitation to Juan Diego. Many scholars now believe what Mary actually called herself in the Nahuatl language was “Coatlaxopeh” which means, “she who breaks, stamps out or crushes the serpent!”

Imagine this in light of the timing of her appearance—a time where hundreds of thousands of humans were being sacrificed on pyramids covered with symbols of serpents!

One Year, So Fast!

On November 24, Ali and I celebrated our one year anniversary. I am thankful for such a wonderful wife, and a year that has allowed us to grow closer than imaginable.

This week we launched our brand new FOCUS Missions website! On it you will see all our future mission trips, pictures, videos and more! Students and missionaries are able to apply to lead or participate in a Spring Break or Summer mission directly from the site.

Check it out at www.FOCUSMissions.org!

FOCUS vs. AI

As you know, I am a missionary for FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. What you may not know is that my wife Ali, works for the Augustine Institute. This past weekend the two Catholic organizations battled on the football field for bragging rights.

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Now, I wish I could say that I was able to lead FOCUS to victory...

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But I cant. We lost the game 20-12. But the 2 Catholic organizations came together in way they never had before. So in a different light, we all walked away victorious!

A week ago, my co-worker and I joined a protestant ministry similar to FOCUS, called InterVarsity, on their Summer Project Leader Training just west of Colorado Springs. We learned a lot about how to better operate a missions program and how to initiate these ideas into the FOCUS Missions program.

It was an even better experience that we were able to share our faiths together through discussion and prayer. You know, the battle between Catholicism and Protestantism doesn't have to be a battle at all. If we continue to open up in discussion and prayer, it is amazing what the Lord can do with that.

Married Men's Camping Adventure

It was a goal of mine to gather a group of married men and go camping together. There are two main benefits I saw that could come from this.

1. We could have a dang good time hanging out!

2. Discuss and pray together about what it means to be a husband and father in the world today and how we can do that better.

It was an amazing time, and I hope we can gather for another camping trip soon!

A Living Saint? Quite possibly...

A recent visit of mine was to Miliken, CO. I was following up with a contact card that I had been given after a parish talk and I was seeking to inform Veronica a little more about FOCUS and how she could join my mission with FOCUS.

I arrived at her home and we sat down on opposite couches. The walls were covered with family pictures and a picture of her parents wedding lay before us on the coffee table. I asked about 2 certain pictures of children, and she told me they were hers. I realized that this was not only her home, but that of her parents as well.

As I presented what FOCUS was and what we do she seemed to not only be interested in what I had to share but enthusiastic as well. It turned into an exciting time of story sharing as we swapped our experiences with college students, friends and family members in the Catholic Church.

At the end of the conversation I asked Veronica if she would like to join my mission with FOCUS by becoming a monthly donor. She replied with a zealous, "Of course!"

As I usually do, I asked her some of her prayer intentions so that I could keep them in mind during my daily prayer. The first thing was her family, for continued love and support. She then slowed in her speech, as she mentioned her next prayer request. "Well, I might need another job soon and it is hard finding one in this economy."

I reminded her that I would pray for her, and thanked her for her partnership in my mission. We parted ways and I got in my car to head home.

The ride home was not filled with the noise of 1600AM, ESPN Radio as it usually is. This time I spent the drive in silence thinking about my new mission partner and her last prayer being that she needs to find a new job. In this economy, with two children, no husband and living with her parents for support...well you just can't get much more generous than that.

New Orleans, LA

Logistics
On March 22-28, 2009, a group will spend one week in New Orleans working on the hurricane reliefs efforts in the rebuilding of homes. Working through an organization called the St. Bernard Project, this will be an amazing opportunity. Depending on the stage of re-construction, the group will be gutting, painting or reconstructing anything else they need to do in order to get the house to a livable condition. Once they complete the stage of renovation on one house, they will move on to another house and continue this process until their time of one week is complete.

Mission with Vision
By helping out to those in our own country, the mission participants will encounter poverty and hardship in their own backyard. Through the service and works of mercy, we hope to enrich each member with a similar sense of mercy in their own lives and the desire to serve the poor wherever they are in life. Through daily mass and prayer we also hope to draw each member into a deeper relationship with Christ.

Next Year's Missions...

Looking into next year, the Missions program wants to expand its college student participation by doubling the involvement. We have proposed our trip destinations and we are hoping to organize a total of 14 mission trips between Spring Break and Summer of 2009.

I decided I wanted to share a little about each one of these missions and what they entail. I will begin with one is was started by my partner in the Missions program.

San Luis Potosi, Mexico

This is a mission filled with prayer, service, Mass, and fellowship all with the goal to build God's Church physically and spiritually. Participants have consistently been moved by the authenticity of Mexican hospitality, the mutual outpouring of generosity, and the impact of a people who deeply value friendship over efficiency. It has been very consistent as well that mission participants leave this mission with a new perspective on life.

After our mission in rural Mexico, we will travel to the heart of Mexico City, population 25,000,000, to begin pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe. We will tour Aztec ruins, right in the heart of Mexico City, and be reminded of the ancient Aztec culture that sacrificed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives in the name of false gods. It was only with the arrival of Christianity and ultimately the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe that these sacrifices stopped. In Mexico City, Catholic Churches are built right over these ancient temples, often having been constructed out of the very same stones that constituted the Aztec structures. In a profound metaphor that reflects our history of salvation, the colonial structures of times past are being over taken by new modern development and human sacrifices in Mexico City have once again been legalized in the form of abortion. During our pilgrimage we will once again implore the intercession of Our Mother for the defense of life, the sanctification of our society, and the grace to be able to cry the gospel with our very lives.

Parish Talk #2

On September 20-21 I will present the vision of FOCUS at 5 Masses. Again, like the past parish, 2 of these Masses are in Spanish.

So far, all the parishes I have been accepted to speak at have a Hispanic heavy attendance. I feel it is my destiny to reach out to these people and teach them about FOCUS, which in turn will hopefully bring them closer to the Lord and his Church!

Esta son las mananitas...

With the traditional Spanish version of Happy Birthday, Las Mananitas, playing in the background and a cubicle filled with balloons and streamers, I was welcomed into work on my 26th Birthday!

I am grateful for all my family and friends who have sent warm wishes on this day.

"Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth!" -Lou Gehrig

Gloria y su familia...

At my parish talk after the 5:00pm spanish mass, Gloria Lopez gave me a contact card to follow up with her about FOCUS.

On August 5, at our 4:00pm meeting, her family was a living example to me what it means to give what you have, so that others may live.

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Driving into Docono, CO and passing my new favorite Mexican restaurant, El Taco Loco, I was nervous about presenting FOCUS in Spanish. I said a few quick prayers as I pulled into the trailer park where Gloria lived. My stomach churned as I began to prepare myself for the first time that I may be turned away and told that a financial donation was not possible.

I slowly pulled up to the bright pink trailer house with the last name, "Lopez" on a plaque that hung slightly crooked on the outside. This was it. I grabbed my bag and proceeded towards the house. A man with no shirt on met me at the front door and I asked him, "Buenas tardes, esta Gloria?" He replied, "Si si, pasa le."

I entered the house to find photos of a Quincenera covering every wall space possible. The man called for Gloria as he passed through the living room to the back of the house. Gloria returned with a big smile and the man, her husband, returned now with a shirt on and a smile as well.

They pointed to a chair for me and asked if I was thirsty. "No gracias."

In the spirit of Hispanic hospitality they summoned their daughter to bring me some tea anyway. With a smile I accepted and I began my presentation of FOCUS.

Huddled together on a couch opposite of me, they followed along in the Vision book that I presented from. With love in their eyes and an acceptance in their smile for my rough Spanish, it was hard to hold back tears. This was a family of five, supported fully by the mom, as her husband could not find work, and they were interested in FOCUS and how it was helping college students across the country.

As I neared the end of my presentation, I knew I was going to have to make "the ask". Slowly and steadily I looked into their eyes and asked, "Entonces, quiren ser companieros de mi mision con FOCUS?"

Gloria, stumbled through her words and replied in Spanish, "We can't give much. My husband doesn't have a job and I am supporting the entire family. But we would like to give $20 a month in support of your mission."

I expressed how grateful I was for their contribution, told them how to sign up for monthly reminders and ended our time together with a hug.

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Gloria reminds me of the woman in the Gospel of Luke who gave only two pennies, but it was worth more than the gold pieces that the Kings threw in due to the fact that it was all she had to give.

FOCUS Parish Talks

This past weekend I spoke at 6 masses between the two parishes of St. Theresa in Frederick, CO and St. Scholastica in Erie, CO. I shared what FOCUS does and how each parishioner can become a part of my specific mission.

As I mentioned in a past entry, ALL of my income comes from those who decide to become mission partners by supporting me financially.

After the weekend was over, I received the contact information for 26 people who wanted to become a monthly donor for this mission and another $700 in one time donations.

A weekend like this makes me feel numerous things. First, that I need to continue putting all my faith in God that he will provide for me. Secondly, how inspiring it is to see so many people believe in the FOCUS mission and want to become a part of it!

I have included my speech below if you are interested in reading what I presented at the masses.

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"I’d like to start off with a question. Now, you don’t have to raise your hand, but:

How many of you have a family member who left the Catholic faith in college?

A brother, a son, sister, a daughter?

Hello! My name is Steve Pries, and I’m a full-time Catholic missionary for FOCUS - the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. FOCUS is the largest Catholic campus ministry program in the United States today. FOCUS takes college graduates, trains us, and puts us right back onto the college campus where we share the good news about Jesus!

But before I tell you about FOCUS, I have some news that may concern you: In a recent study of Catholics aged 18-25, many of them college students, almost HALF of them said they attended mass at most only a few times a year!

The good news, though, is that FOCUS is changing this trend. In just 10 years since our inception in 1998, we’ve brought thousands of college students on 36 campuses in 22 states to Catholic Bible Studies. Of those involved in FOCUS, 42 young women have entered the convent and 140 young men have entered the seminary, for a total of 182 vocations in just 10 years.

FOCUS is not just building up future priests and nuns – but also future doctors and lawyers, husbands and wives - who are in love with Christ and His Catholic Church.

Before I accepted this full-time position in charge of missions and pilgrimages for FOCUS, I was a student at Colorado State University involved in Bible Studies with FOCUS. This brought me to the 2006 National Conference, when I was inspired to sign up for the Camino de Santiago, a 200 mile walk across northern Spain. In July of that same year I joined 4 FOCUS missionaries and 3 others students like myself on this amazing pilgrimage. It was a 12 day walk and on day 2 I got my first blisters. About half way through the trek, I didn’t think I was going to finish. With the Lord’s grace and some assistance from a fellow pilgrim, I walked into Santiago on July 24! My life changed in those 12 days of walking, and so do the lives of the many others who participate in FOCUS Missions.

FOCUS is truly a front row seat to watch God work miracles in students’ lives.

Now I hope to go and make the same impact as a program manager for Missions & Pilgrimages, as a full-time Catholic missionary. But please know that as a missionary my health care, insurance, rent and personal expenses come from the faithful like you.

I will give by going - and you can go by giving.

Specifically, I need to raise $3,000 in monthly support by September 1 so that I may carry out my mission. I ask you to prayerfully consider joining my support team at $25 to $100 per month. FOCUS is a nonprofit organization, so your gifts are 100% tax deductible and there are no minimum or maximum gift amounts.

In your pews you will find contact cards. Notice there is no return address on them, because I will be in the back of church after Mass to collect them from you and answer any questions you may have. If you are at all interested in joining me this year for this awesome adventure for Jesus, please fill out your card now and hand it to me after mass.

Here are just a few of the benefits of adopting me as your missionary:

1. God blesses both the missionary (gesture to yourself) and their mission partners (gesture to the people) for their generosity

2. Each day I lift up your intentions during my morning holy hour, my rosary and mass, and

3. You’ll receive my quarterly newsletters and other correspondence updating you on my position with FOCUS and the exciting missions that are happening

It is very important that when you fill out your card, you return it to me after mass so that I’m able to contact you in the next week and share with you more about FOCUS and our vision for life.

I’d like to close with a story: I was on the trip I had mentioned earlier and I had just arrived at the first shelter in Spain. I found a top bunk with a small book on it, and thought someone had just set it down but had no intention to reserve the bed. As I climbed onto the bed, a man with long hair and a beard came walking into the room and politely explained in Spanish that I was getting onto his bed. He pointed to the next one over and told me that I could sleep there.

I noticed this man now lying next to me reading his book and it seemed he had no other possessions. I asked where his pack was. "I don't have one." What? He is going to do the whole Camino with no pack? No change of clothes? Nothing?

I grabbed one of my own shirts and offered it to him. He politely accepted the humble gift.

The next day we both went on our way, and we did not run into each other the rest of the way. 12 days and 200 miles later in the streets of Santiago, I saw this "Man with Nothing" walking by with the shirt I had given him! Overwhelmed with joy I yelled in his direction and ran after him. In a couple awkward seconds I reminded him who I was and pointed at the shirt that he was wearing. We laughed together, shared a hug and snapped a quick photo.

Each time I look at that photo, I do not see a man that I gave a shirt to. I see the beginning of my conversion to Christ and His Church. It has been said that a week on a mission trip with FOCUS is like a year’s time in a Bible Study on campus. My job with FOCUS is to provide these life changing opportunities to college students across the country.

I hope to meet you after Mass. Thank you for your time and God bless you."

St. James, The Pilgrim

In today's homily at mass, the priest explained that St. James was so devoted to preaching the life of Christ that he wanted to go to the ends of the earth! At that time the farthest West point on earth was the western coast of Spain. Today, the city of Santiago de Compostela resides on the north-west corner of Spain.

St. James spent his time evangelizing that part of Spain until 44AD, when King Herod Agrippa had his executed to please the opponents of the new Christian movement. St. James was the first apostle to be martyred.

Today, St. James remains lie in a tomb under the Cathedral in Santiago. Like my previous story, pilgrims from 44AD to the present day spent days, weeks and months walking from France to this sacred site to venerate the tomb.

St. James was one of Jesus' three best friends, along with St. Peter and St. John.

On this feast day of St. James, remembering his evangelistic zeal, pilgrims who are on the pilgrimage, have gone or will go can share in two simple words, "Buen Camino!"

When life gives you lemons...

It was a Thursday morning and I got a call from a Trip Director or the mission trip to Toronto. The group was scheduled to leave 48 hours later on a Saturday morning.

"Steve, I'm in a bit of a crisis. The group who we were going to work with in Toronto just called and told us that they don't need us anymore."

"What you mean? Do they know that we have 9 women who have been planning on going to Toronto to do service work for months and have paid a lot of money to do this?"

"Yeah, there is nothing they can do."

The Trip Director and I spent all day Thursday and half of Friday calling every non-profit in the Toronto area looking for volunteer opportunities for 9 women to fill up 2 1/2 weeks. After dozens of phone calls, we were able to get enough work to fill their time in Toronto.

I do not know why this happened. I do feel, however, that the Lord is going to dramatically change someone's life out of this. The group gets back on the 28th of July and I am excited to hear the stories of the trip and all hey encountered!

What doesn't kill you...

"Have you not heard the parable of the vine and the branches from the lips of the Master? Console yourself: He demands much of you, for you are the branch that bears fruit . And he must prune you, so that you'll yield more fruit. Of course that cutting-that pruning- hurts. But, afterward, how luxuriant the growth, how fruitful your works!" -St. JoseMaria Escriva

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Today a fellow FOCUS missionary lost her mother after losing her father only 5 short years ago. Being 1 of 5 in her family, they have lost their two and only parents. I first think about the unbearable suffering that she must be going through right now.

I am very close to my mother and father and I cannot even imagine the pain I would endure if I lost both of them in 5 years. It makes me understand how blessed I am to have such wonderful parents and secondly that they are still playing an integral role in my life.

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Suffering sucks. There is no way around it. We all suffer at some point, and the hard part is that we naturally strive for happiness in our lives. It's true, EVERYONE wants to be happy. The homeless guy holding the sign on the corner, the drug addict, you and me. We all have this desire within us. The strive for ultimate happiness. The wall that tries to prevent or even destroy our happiness is suffering.

What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger! Right?

A coworker asked me after hearing the news about our fellow missionary, "I know we all have to suffer, but why is it that some people have to suffer way more than others. It just doesn't make sense."

I wish I had the answer to that, but all I can do is sit and ponder the thought and be thankful for what I have that is so good in my life.

Necessary love.

Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. It was the third-strongest hurricane on record that made landfall in the United States. Katrina formed on August 23, 2005 and caused devastation along much of the north-central Gulf Coast. The most severe loss of life and property damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed.

At least 1,836 people lost their lives in Hurricane Katrina and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. The storm is estimated to have been responsible for $81.2 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

Thousands of Americans fled to the assistance of many families who lost their homes to aid in the recovery process. At the rate that help is coming, it will be more than ten years before New Orleans will be back to the way it was.

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In the Spring of 2006, a group of Catholic college students set out to New Orleans to give what they could to the revival of the city. In one week's time, they gutted 3 separate houses which prepared them for the next steps of bringing them back to livable condition.

The families were forced to leave the city as they quickly scrambled to gather what they carry and leave their possessions, their homes, their friends and everything else behind. We entered the homes to find clothes, furniture, food and anything else you can imagine still in the home.

With shovels, crowbars and trashcans we removed all the drywall and left behind possessions from the house. All that we were instructed to leave was the beams. We later sprayed these with a bleach and water formula to kill any mold . Private contractors would eventually put up more dry wall and carpet.

We made huge piles of everything from inside the home, just outside on the curb. We never found out who would pick up the trash and when they would come.

Sometimes the families would send someone to gather any heirlooms that may have been salvageable. Sometimes they would even come themselves to see what they might be able to gather from the pile of ruble.





We were fortunate to meet the couple who owned the home and had lived there for more than 20 years. We shared lunch together as they told us stories of what they had encountered during this tragedy. "Corporal works of mercy" is what the Church calls it. After a week like this, I think I also want to call it "Necessary love".

The Power of Prayer...

It was the summer of 2003, I was in Juarez during my 7 month stay as a missionary.

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One of the groups from the US had come down for a week to build a home. This group I remember was from Arkansas. As one of their nightly activities, they wanted to take a bunch of rosaries around to the neighborhood families and ask them if they wanted to pray.

I decided to take them to a back neighborhood that was filled with cardboard houses, dirt floors and no running water. Specifically I took them to a family who had become special friends to me. Upon each arrival, the mother, Marla, would yell for her 8 year old son, hand him two small coins and off he went to the local store to purchase some Coke to quench their visitor's thirst. This was always such a gift from the family, knowing that they could not afford Coke for the family, and would rather give it as a gift than drink it themselves.

So with a glass of Coke in hand, the 3 group members from Arkansas, myself, Marla and her son all prayed together in 2 languages. After the prayer, in tears, Marla confessed to praying for a new home for her family of 6. This inevitably brought the rest of us to tears as well, as we hugged, thanked her for her time and headed back home.

On the way back, I told the group members that since I met the family it had been a dream of mine to build them a house, but there was no way that would happen as there was a 3 year waiting list before a family could get a house built by the program. It was just a dream...

The night before the group left, two of the members cornered me and asked if they got the $3,500 needed to build a house and the man power to do it, if we could skip to the front of the line to build a house for Marla's family. "Well, I mean, yeah I think so," I replied. "Good, then get us on the calendar, because we want to do it!"

After raising more then $5,000 for the current house, they put their funds together to raise yet another $5,000 just to help make a dream of mine come true. I called some friends from Colorado, and they made the trek down to Juarez to help get the house built.

Only weeks before my departure back to the states, I led a group in the building of Marla's house. Each time I go back to Juarez I make a special trip to see the family. Each time I am greeted with a glass of Coke, hugs and tears from the family. They have a picture of me with the family above their kitchen table and I smile every time I see it.

It was Marla's dream to get a one room cinder-block house for her family, and my dream to build it. But I believe that without the prayer we shared on that hot summer day, neither dream would have come true.

The Man With Nothing...

We had just arrived at the first alburgue, or hostel, in Leon, Spain. This was the first city and starting point for the Camino de Santiago. The alburgues were "host houses" sometimes sponsored by the government, sometimes private and other times by a religious order. This particular one was run by a group of nuns. They had multiple rooms filled with bunk beds for pilgrims top stay the night for only a donation.

The three other guys and myself wearily entered the largest of the rooms with probably more than 50 bunk beds. Because of the vast amount of pilgrims during the summer, each pilgrim reserves his bed by simply placing his pack on the bed. It is then easy to see which beds are taken and which are available. I found a top bunk with a small book on it, and thought someone had just sat it down but had no intention to reserve the bed with a small book. As I has getting up onto the bed, a man with long hair and a beard came walking into the room and yelled politely in Spanish that I was getting onto his bed. He pointed to the next one over and told me that I could sleep there.

That night I went through my bag to see what I could get rid of, because a short walk through the city proved to me that I had well over packed and there was no way I was going to carry all that I had another 200 miles! I noticed this man next to me just lying there reading his book. I asked where his pack was. "I don't have one." What? He is going to do the whole Camino with no pack? No change of clothes? Nothing? Like I said we had 200 miles to go and 12 days of straight walking, and this man had nothing to his name but the clothes he had on his back and a small book.

I grabbed one of the shirts I had decided to get rid of and offered it to him. He politely accepted the humble gift.

The next day we both went on our way, and we did not run into each other the rest of the way.

12 days and 200 miles later in the streets of Santiago, I saw the "Man with Nothing" walking by with the shirt I had given him! Overwhelmed with joy I yelled in his direction and ran after him. In a couple awkward seconds I reminded him who I was and pointed at the shirt that he was wearing. We laughed together, shared a hug and snapped a quick photo.

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It's funny to think that sometimes we just want to get rid of something because we have too much, and that something can sometimes change the life of another, even in a minor way. The "Man with Nothing" taught me a valuable lesson that day. What I may not need, others might.

Why I Chose to be a FOCUS Missionary

So many people have asked me why I would leave a salary paying job to become a missionary for a Catholic Organization when I will have to raise my own financial support. From an outside perspective this raises a good point. The comment I get most is, “Do it while you’re young!” The reply I do not give, but think is, “Actually I would it would be awesome if I could do this for life!”

Wait a minute…raise my own support for life? Crazy right? God only knows…

While studying at Colorado State University, I joined a Bible Study led by a FOCUS missionary, and my life began to change. I entered a mentorship, or discipleship, under Adam Ybarra and began to have my own disciples as well. I was being formed and forming others in their lives of how to better live out the Gospel of Jesus. My habits began to change. My desires began to change. My hobbies began to change. My entire life, all that I knew, changed dramatically. The hard question was not “How long will this last?” or “When will this be over?”, rather it was “What do I do with this new change?”

Ali and I got engaged on a beautiful snowy Christmas Eve in 2006. We moved out to Atchison, KS and began working for Benedictine College. “One of the best Catholic colleges in America!” We loved it there. We loved our jobs, our friends and our perfect 3 bedroom and 2 bath house that we rented for a mere $600/month! Our lives were set for success. What else could we want?

The answer to the previously stated question, “What do I do with this?” began to repeat itself in my mind. Is there more to do for Christ and for the faith? FOCUS has been changing lives for years now and has been stated to be the biggest thing to hit the Catholic Church in America in years and possibly ever! I wanted to be a part of something bigger, something like FOCUS!

Since freshman year of high school I have been on a total of 8 mission trips or pilgrimages including: San Antonio, San Francisco, San Diego, Washington DC, Juarez-Mexico for 7 months, Rome, Fatima-Portugal and The Camino de Santiago in Spain. I have always had a desire to serve the poor and needy or to grow in my faith by experiencing historical sites. For almost 3 years now, FOCUS has been sending missionaries and students from across the country, to places all over the world.

I did the Camino de Santiago with FOCUS in the summer of 2006. Now, FOCUS is going to six different countries including: Canada, Spain, France, Mexico, India and Costa Rica. After experiencing a FOCUS pilgrimage, I knew this was precisely the avenue that I wanted to get involved in.

I am now one of two in charge of coordinating, planning and leading all missions/pilgrimages through FOCUS. This really is a dream job! I know that this job is where my heart is. Missions and pilgrimages have been a part of my life for the last 10 years. I know that the Lord has amazing plans to use this program to change the hearts and lives of many college students to come.

Changing hearts, Saving lives...

About 5 years ago I spent 7 months in Juarez, Mexico. During my stay I built 20 houses for poor families. These houses were one room, cinder block houses. Nothing special, and nothing extravagant. Just a roof over their heads. Now, I can go on and on about my time in Juarez, and maybe I will later, but for now I have a story from there that I will never forget.

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I was in El Paso, the border town to Juarez, for the afternoon picking up a fellow missionary from the airport. I was with Frank, a friend from Colorado who had come into Juarez earlier that day for a build that week. We stopped at McDonald's for a quick bite to eat before heading to the airport.

As we were walking into the restaurant, a man came out of the enclosed dumpster area and asked us for a dollar. I took a quick look at him and said, "Sorry man, all I have is pesos." He replied, "I could really use some help." At this he showed me his arm where he was bleeding profusely from cuts he had given himself. In his other hand he held a piece of broken glass. I called out to Frank, "Call 911!"

At this, the homeless man began to cut himself again right in front of us. Only two words screeched from my mouth, "Oh God!"

He began to walk away from us while he continued to cut himself repeatedly. Frank came back and told me that the paramedics were on their way. Frantically, Frank grabbed a flyer from a nearby car to try and distract the man, but he wanted nothing to do with Frank or his effort to distract him.

I walked up to him and asked him his name. "Dave" he reluctantly replied. "Dave, my name is Steve. Do you know the Lord's Prayer?" Dave momentarily stopped his cutting, looked at me and with a gruff replied, "Yeah."

I began, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name..." Dave only said about every other word, but his cutting began to slow down. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." Dave slowly raised his tear soaked eyes towards me. As I began to weep with him, we finished the prayer together. The piece of green broken glass that he had in his hand slowly fell to the ground as we both finished the prayer together, "Amen."

At this point, the paramedics swooped in, grabbed Dave and began to dress his wounds. The whole time, Dave and I locked eyes. We didn't lose eye contact until after they loaded him into the back of the ambulance and the door slammed shut. Tears were still rolling down my cheeks.

"He did a number to his arm, but he'll live," claimed the paramedic. "He would've died had you not called us."

Frank and I stood frozen in place until the ambulance left our sight.

I returned to Juarez that afternoon for another 4 months, but I will never forget that hot El Paso day in the McDonald's parking lot. I will never forget Dave and the prayer we shared.

God changed my heart that day, and saved Dave's life...

A just wage...

As many of you know it is nearly impossible to work in a ministry job or for the Church and make a wage that is suitable to raise a family. This is a fact and unfortunately, the Church cannot afford the amazing men and women in the world to work for Her efforts.


Fortunately, FOCUS believes in a just wage for the worker (Luke 10:7). FOCUS provides a system that allows anyone the ability to earn an income suitable to raise a family. The system set forth works. From the top down, everyone has Mission Partners who provide their financial support. At the same time we, as missionaries, must not solely seek the gift of the financial support, but instead the partnership in spreading the Gospel (Phil 4:8-20).


Mission Partners are people who invest in the program of FOCUS by financially supporting missionaries in their work (Malachi 3:7-10). By monthly donations, completely tax exempt, missionaries are able to pay for the same bills everyone else has including rent, insurance, food etc. Without the support and partnership of Mission Partners, we at FOCUS could not do the work we do and college students across the nation would not receive the outreach they currently do.

In the beginning...

Twenty plus years ago a college student came to know and love Jesus Christ through the efforts of Campus Crusades for Christ. Men invested into his life and truly helped him understand what a Christian fellowship was all about. Later converting to the Catholic faith, this former student wanted something similar for catholic college students and he dreamt a dream.

Ten years ago, Curtis Martin began the mission of FOCUS (Fellowship Of Catholic University Students). With a similar vision for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ as the Crusaders, FOCUS leads small group Bible studies and large group outreach events at over 35 universities nationwide. FOCUS sends out groups of 4-6 missionaries, recent college grads, to each college to begin a Catholic outreach program. This program, in its short tenure, has helped bring 108 men into the Catholic seminary and 33 women into the religious life.

In my own life FOCUS has also played a huge part in my life. Besides marrying the most wonderful missionary in the history of the program, FOCUS has helped me to come to understand, know and love my faith more than I ever thought imaginable.

Boot Camp

Greetings from “missionary boot camp” in the heart of the Historic Carolinas! It’s only been five short days since I set foot on Belmont Abbey College, for FOCUS New Staff Training, but boy, talk about a change in routine! I’ve quickly gone from home-life to dorm-life, poker to prayer and daily meals to daily Mass…and I’m having a blast! With 196 other fun and exciting missionaries right alongside me, we are preparing ourselves to go out and preach the gospel!

As some of you may know, I recently accepted a full-time position with FOCUS—the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. In past years, my involvement with the FOCUS teams at Colorado State University and Benedictine College have reminded me of the incredible need so many of our nation’s college students have: to see people similar in age committed to the heroic pursuit of strong values and virtues as they search to find their identity.

Two years ago I traveled with a group of FOCUS missionaries and students to northern Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago. This walk was almost 300 miles, and I can easily say that it changed my life. Knowing the personal impact that the trip had on my life, I now have the desire to give this same opportunity to other missionaries and students from across the country. For this reason, I have entered FOCUS to work specifically on coordinating the missions and pilgrimages for the entire FOCUS organization.

Today, I can truly say that FOCUS is a front row seat for watching God work miracles in young peoples’ lives. Now, I hope to go and create the same effect through the Mission Programs and Events Department of FOCUS Headquarters as a full-time missionary.

FOCUS takes recent college graduates like myself—trains us, and puts most of us right back onto the college campus where we help bring students closer to Christ and the Church. Sent out in teams, missionaries invest their time in students’ lives through Bible Studies and one-on-one mentorship. The goal of FOCUS is to win students for Jesus Christ through close personal relationships, and then build them up to be peer leaders so that they can do the same for others. Since 1998, FOCUS has helped thousands of students.