Fall/Winter 2022 Newsletter

FROM THE DESK OF THE PASTOR

Dear Friends,

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to write my first “Letter from the Pastor” for the Ram Catholic Newsletter. I was excited and maybe a bit nervous last summer about learning that I was being moved to Saint John XXIII, home of the Ram Catholic Campus Ministry. I, as well as most priests in the Archdiocese of Denver, understand the importance of this parish in its critical mission of forming the next generation of vibrant Catholics. Saint John XXIII also serves the Archdiocese of Denver as one of the primary sources of religious vocations, including those to the Priesthood. Several Ram Catholic alumni currently serve as priests throughout Northern Colorado, and others are in priestly formation at Saint John Vianney Seminary. The gravity of my responsibility as the pastor of this parish is not lost on me. However, I am strangely comforted that I am not equal to the task. I must surrender wholly to Christ and trust that He will work through me to fulfill the monumental undertaking I have been assigned. And that is precisely what I have done over the past six months. I have witnessed God making changes and working things out as only He could.

This January, I was blessed to attend the SEEK conference hosted by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). I cannot describe how incredible it was to witness and participate in Mass, Adoration, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation alongside 17,000 Catholic students from various universities. Ram Catholic brought 60 students to this conference, and after hearing from many inspirational Catholic speakers at the conference, they returned spiritually on fire for the spring 2023 semester at Colorado State University. Our Campus Ministers and FOCUS Missionaries are enthusiastic about reaching out to even more students this semester through men’s and women’s nights, Bible studies, the Candlelight Mass, and Adore nights.

As for me, along with Father Michael Freihofer, whom the Archbishop assigned to Saint John XXIII Church in October as Parochial Vicar upon Father Mason Farley’s sabbatical, we are humbled, yet eager, by the grace of God, to serve In Persona Christi to create loving and merciful encounters between Jesus Christ and Students through the Mass and Reconciliation.

Thank you for your continued support of this vital ministry. I know that sometimes when there is a change in leadership, one can question if the ministry will continue or if support is still needed. However, I want to assure you that the Ram Catholic ministry is moving full steam ahead. Father Michael and I are committed to allowing God to work through us to reach as many students as possible as they represent the bright future of our faith. Current Ram Catholics are already evangelizing their peers and preparing, after graduation, to transition to vocations in the workplace, family life, and religious orders with a love and zeal for God and the Catholic faith!

Along with Father Michael, we look forward to opportunities to meet those of you whom we haven’t met in person. Please know of our prayers for you, and we beg for yours.

Sincerely,

Fr Joseph Lajoie

WRITTEN BY: KALEY ANDERSON

Ram Awakening

As a freshman at Colorado State University, attending the Ram Awakening retreat for the first time was such an amazing experience. Having time away from the busyness of school allowed me to connect with other students of Ram Catholic and build new relationships on a foundation of faithfulness.

During our time on retreat, we listened to the testimonies of our leaders and peers and were moved by their stories of journeying in the faith. These talks were accompanied by fun activities and competitions that made for great memories of laughter. Although these parts of Ram Awakening were so entertaining and unforgettable, the moments that I will remember most vividly are the opportunities that I was given to grow closer to Christ. Through daily Mass, confession, individual time in prayer, and Adoration, I began to truly sense God in a way that I was not able to do during the hustle of everyday life in my normal surroundings. In an area with very little cell service, a small amount of traffic noise, and no pressure to work on homework, the silence of the mountains elevates the voice of God in your heart if you really listen for Him.

One of the most impactful moments of Ram Awakening was the experience of receiving a personal benediction during Adoration. As Father Mason carried the monstrance to each person, it was so visibly evident that Jesus was present in the eucharist as we were each experiencing a unique connection with Him. Because of valuable moments like this, Ram Awakening is such a great opportunity to have your soul lit on fire for Christ.

Returning home, myself and many of my friends felt that we had been refreshed by our time on retreat. I felt so blessed to build friendships with others in the faith and I am so appreciative that I committed to spending the weekend with Jesus, fully dedicating that time to Him. The Ram Awakening retreat is the best opportunity to refocus your perspective on your day to day activities and reshape your priorities around the teachings of Jesus Christ. Thank you to all of those who contributed to allow us the gift of going on the Ram Awakening retreat!

WOMEN’S NIGHTS

By Kelly Griess

This year, Ram Catholic has started to host Women’s nights every Tuesday. When I first heard about the idea, I was so excited because my heart was already on fire for authentic femininity and I was looking forward to getting closer to the women in my community and I wanted to learn more about how I could better understand my own heart. Plus, what better way to spend a Tuesday night than being surrounded by all my friends?

On our first women’s night, we spent time getting to know the women in the community that we might have never talked to before. The campus ministry team and the FOCUS team prepared flowers for us to make our own bouquets, and they even brought items to make cookies. I mean what better way to start off women’s nights! This was a great way to break the ice and make all of us feel more comfortable with opening up and talking to new people.

Moving on to the next week, we started to talk about what it meant to be a daughter of God. For three weeks we would hear

talks given by women who shared their experience of being a daughter and we also listened to Father Joseph talk about what it means to be a spiritual father. After the talks, we broke out into small groups and dove deeper into the meaning of daughterhood. These small groups aren’t made up of our closest friends, instead, they include a mix of all ages and women who we might not be close with. This space of being in a small group with “strangers” can seem pretty scary, but instead, it opened our hearts even more to not only loving the Lord more but being able to love each other.

WOMEN’S NIGHTS

For the next three weeks, we talked about what it meant to be a sister. Again we heard different women give talks about sisterhood and friendship. We are also starting to talk about the feminine identity of “bride” and “mother”. These nights have been something that I look forward to each week because I love seeing how God is moving in the other women in my community but also what He brings up in my own heart. I feel like women’s nights have helped me get closer to God and have allowed me to learn more about myself and other women.

It is so important to invest in the women that you surround yourself with and that is exactly what women’s night does. I have laughed, and I’ve shed some tears, but I’ve gained so much love and respect for the women of Ram Catholic. Sometimes it’s hard to tell where the Lord is calling me, or if I’m doing anything right, but I never doubt anymore who I am. I am a daughter of God, I am a sister to the women in my community, I am the bride of God, and I’m a mother.

MEN’S NIGHTS

By Josh

Men’s night is a new event this academic year that allows the student men to join together in community and learn more about Godly masculinity and how to live out of the reality of what it means to be a man spiritually, physically, and mentally.

We usually have a nice, hot fire going and we get to have Zach and Granger (men’s campus ministry), one of the focus missionaries, or priests give a talk. The talks have been very Holy Spirit driven and have been inspiring us men to truly embrace our masculinity and execute that in real life. We usually go from the talk to then sharing all together how it applies to us and how we can grow through the subject of the talk and live it out and whoever wants to speak, can. From there we break off into smaller groups and talk about how the talk applies to our masculine selves and the lives we live.

Men’s night is a great place for every male student, because the world has

taken spaces for men that have existed for hundreds if not thousands of years and disbanded them or made them agender. Today men are raised and live in a society where masculinity is a hush word and when it is spoken of it is bashing masculinity as “toxic”.

In men’s night we are reclaiming what it means to be masculine and to live out of that masculinity in the way that God intended it. Men’s night is great because the students can talk about manly things and be supported and affirmed in themselves with a true fraternity.

Men are made for dominion and ownership over their lives and those God has given them responsibility over and men’s night is training men for dominion because if strong, holy Catholic men aren’t going to have dominion and ownership over this world then that role will be given to weak ungodly men.

“God blessed them, and he said, ‘increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the flying creatures of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth”

Gen 1:28

I RAN TO JESUS

By Haley Van Horn

If you had told me two years ago that I was headed to school at Colorado State University, letting go of my lifelong run toward collegiate sports, and immersing myself in the Catholic community, I probably would’ve laughed in your face, and told you that you’re crazy and to leave me alone. My heart was hard, my soul was focused on temporary things, and my life was full of brokenness, hurt, and confusion. I didn’t care about anyone or anything. But the Lord had different plans for me.

He asked me to let go of all that I was attached to and trust Him on one special occasion at Candlelight Mass while visiting my brother up in Fort Collins. And so there I was in the Freshman dorms at CSU, completely lost and confused as to why I was there, yet I had a deep

knowledge and trust that I was supposed to be right where I was, doing exactly what I was doing. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard.

I didn’t know what life looked like without the lens of an athlete on my eyes. I realized I actually had to meet people; they wouldn’t just be on my team. I couldn’t go to my coach’s office to get food and relax away from all the chaos. My identity didn’t consist of just playing basketball. So what did it consist of? Who and what would I go to, to get away from the chaos and to talk when I had a lot of thought running through my mind? Who would I choose to surround myself with when they weren’t just placed right in my life?

Well, the answers to all these questions are a lot longer than this page but in shorter terms, I ran to Jesus when I needed to talk; he gave me lots of grace and spiritual food necessary to fight the good fight. I found my identity first and foremost as a daughter of a very merciful Lord. And in running full speed into the church, I found many people doing the same who I could not thank enough for their support and love in the race toward eternity.

Throughout the year, one of the most important things I learned was the importance of community and surrounding oneself with those who push you and help you to become exactly who you are meant to be. You see, I knew Jesus my whole life from

afar, but it wasn’t until I realized that He is in everyone and everything around me that I realized that I can even encounter Him through others in a very real way.

College comes with many unexpected experiences, most of which were not necessarily easy yet very necessary for growth, just as most people experience in life. One thing my mom engrained in my head growing up is that when you don’t know what to do or where to run, run to the church. So not knowing anyone or anything, I found myself in the pew of St. Johns praying for the Lord to show me what I am doing here and why He has led me here. And he met me where I was at, just like He does with me and you every day. He loved me in my struggle, my hurt, my pain, and my confusion. He saw me as I was and took me by the hand and led me through my life in a way I had never experienced. More and more I found myself frequenting daily Mass, confession, adoration, Tasty Tuesday, Candlelight Mass, and bible study, among other activities.

Without people to push me and encourage me in my faith I would be in a whole different world living an entirely different life. Community is so very necessary and while I sometimes find myself pushing others away out of defense mechanisms, the reality is that we are meant for community. Jesus had His and He gave us those around us to

help us in our life too. Sometimes it’s not easy for me to live in community; it means hard conversations, putting others before yourself, sacrificing with love, schedule changes, and much, much more. But the other side of it means growth and joy and peace and laughter and support and learning and love - and it is so worth it.

Lately, I have been struggling with the word vulnerability, with how much it is used and said in just about every talk or conversation I have with a Catholic. After reflecting on why this began to happen, I realized it is because it hurts. Vulnerability means opening up and allowing oneself to be hurt and to feel the hurt that may be uncomfortable. And it is terrifying. But oh the freedom that comes with it.

To allow light to be shed and love to be poured into that wound, only through Jesus, is far better than the pain that comes with allowing the deep parts of ones heart to fester and grow until the pain of holding it all in becomes unbearable. So I guess if I were to sum up how the Lord has worked in my life throughout the past year and a half, I would tell you that He has given me the community I didn’t know I needed and the grace to follow Him every day, even in my failures, that I might lead others to Him in the specific and unique way that He has asked me to.

CANDLELIGHT MASS

By Cara Fabian

Candlelight Mass is so special and such an amazing way to connect with Jesus. I had never experienced a Candlelight Mass before attending St. John’s and it has opened my eyes and heart to delve deeper into love and faith in Jesus Christ.

Candlelight Mass is your typical weekday Mass, but held with candlelight as the only source of light. These Masses are typically held at night, where the candlelight is so striking in front of the darkness. It is also so much more quiet and calm than a regular Sunday Mass. It truly is a time to reflect in everything God has brought into your life and in everything you are able to give. It also allows you to dive deeper into praise and worship during Mass, as the dark diminishes the ability for others to watch, which is something I am very mindful of at Sunday Mass.

My first Candlelight Mass was in August of 2021 and I remember how it affected me so vividly. I was in a place in my faith where I was not sure if I was meant to be so greatly loved by Jesus and by my friends, and Candlelight was the place where I was able to let go of my earthly worries and just reflect on how Jesus and Catholicism have impacted my life so greatly in ways I had not realized. During most of the Mass, I was very stoic and stiff (it was my first Mass at St. Johns after all), but right after receiving communion, I remember my walls breaking down and the tears flowing. It was such an emotional experience; the candles lit up the tabernacle so beautifully, the music was so moving, and the Holy Spirit was so present. I felt the love of God surrounding me, and everyone else present in that sanctuary. I so specifically remember that after that initial wave of pure joy washed over me, I was so calm and relaxed. I am that girl who struggles with focusing in Mass a lot, especially after Holy Communion, and at Candlelight I have never wanted that individual prayer time to end.

Candlelight Masses have shown me how deep everyone’s faith and trust in God is here at Ram Catholic. It showed me a new depth of how deep God’s love for me really is. It gave me a taste of how deep I can fall in love with Jesus, specifically at St. Johns XXIII. I was someone who showed up to Candlelight, expecting nothing more than a typical Mass, and I received one of the most precious experiences I will ever receive.

PHI KAPPA THETA

Phi Kappa Theta actively develops men to become effective leaders who passionately serve society, fraternity, and God.

Phi Kappa Theta is a Catholic fraternity that focuses on the development of men in spiritual, intellectual, social, fraternal, and leadership skills. Phi Kappa Theta actively develops men to become effective leaders who passionately serve society, fraternity, and God. Being a member of our organization means meeting the expectations of being a gentleman, and striving to become the best version of yourself. We currently have 20 members and are always looking to meet new people who may be interested in joining our mission!

We are also very involved with Ram Catholic at St. John XXIII. Brothers of Phi Kappa Theta typically sit together at mass, help with ushering, and set up Sunday Night Supper. Being the only Catholic fraternity on campus, Phi Kap takes pride in developing our spirituality for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Our chapter also hosts many events throughout the year. We engage in community service, donate to organizations through philanthropies, and host a couple Phi Kap special events such as the Beloved Dinner every year. The Beloved Dinner is our key event where we host a fancy dinner for the women in our community, showing them respect and chivalry, accompanied with a 3 course meal, entertainment, and a talk from one of the brothers.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

BY OLIVIA BERLINGERI

Ram Catholic is made so unique by the diverse forms of service that each person desires to provide. One of the best ways that I have found to serve charitably is to serve food to the homeless. A few friends and I will go to Fort Collins Rescue Mission early some mornings to serve breakfast to the men at the shelter. Fort Collins Rescue Mission is a Christian shelter for men suffering from homelessness. This shelter provides many permanent beds for individuals who are part of the community as well as other services.

The breakfast shift for volunteering is 6-8 AM. Usually you are asked to help prepare parts of future meals and to plate the meal being served. This experience is so unique and beautiful. The men in the shelter are always so gracious and it really shows another piece of the face of Jesus Christ. In my experience I have not always found it easy to piece together the full picture of Christ’s heart with people who are in a completely different situation than me, but this has been an amazing way to see that. Even just making eye contact with someone who is suffering greatly and offering them your smile can do such beautiful things in their heart and in your own. I am so grateful for the opportunity to do this and for the community who will join me.

JOIN US

MASS SCHEDULE

MONDAY // 8am

TUESDAY // 8am, 5:30pm

WEDNESDAY // 8am, 5:30pm

THURSDAY // 8am, 8pm (Candlelight during school year)

FRIDAY // 8am

SATURDAY // 8am Vigil: 4pm, 6pm (Byzantine)

SUNDAY // 8am, 10am, 11:30am (Latin Extraordinary), 5pm (Student Mass, followed by Sunday Night Supper)

RECONCILIATION

MONDAY // 8:30am

TUESDAY // 8:30am, 4pm

WEDNESDAY // 8:30am, 4pm

THURSDAY // 8:30am, 8pm

FRIDAY // 8:30am

SATURDAY// 8:30am, 2:30-3:30pm