Totus Tuus missionary teachers gathered from different parts of the country bringing diverse life experiences to help draw local youth closer to Christ during Totus Tuus sessions which started on June 10.
Two teams of collegiate Catholics and diocesan seminarians presented catechetical content and participated in recreational routines for youth attending the week-long day encounters in separate groups of grade school and junior and senior high school students.
The sessions described as a “first opportunity to spread the faith in all things I learned so far” by seminarian Leo Marcotte and as “helping tie it all together” by 16-year-old student Nathan Totwiler were set for 10 locations in the Diocese of Gary and two in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
More than just activity camps, youth were offered the opportunity to pray together – children attend morning Mass, and teens meeting in the evening concluded each session with night prayer, a recent such gathering ending with the beautiful harmonies of a hymn sung in Latin.
In an open question-and-answer period at Queen of All Saints in Michigan City, the curiosity of the youthful believers brought their fellow students to the edge of their seats with a bevy of hypothetical inquiries, specifically about the nature of creation and the universe from friends Aedan Hassett, 13, and Timothy Kelly, 12.
Theresa Ryan, a missionary from Franciscan University of Steubenville, responded, “As long as you believe that God physically stepped in, as it reads in Genesis, and breathed his spirit into man, that what’s truly separates us from animals; it’s what makes us in the image of God. After that it’s kind of up to whatever you believe has scientific backing.”
“What’s beautiful about God is that he creates in abundance,” added Deacon Steven Caraher, who joined the session.
Franciscan student Hope Graham and Nick Malesh, who attends Indiana University, joined Marcotte to help coordinate the QAS Totus Tuus session.
Totwiler, of St. John Kanty in Rolling Prairie, did not pepper the missionaries with questions. Instead, he reserved his energy for introspection during the sessions. He said he found the topics broached enhanced his understanding of Church teachings.
“This has been a really great experience to come and learn more about the faith, though I have a really good basis,” Totwiler explained.
Malesh, 19, is not far removed from the age of many of the Totus Tuus participants. But he said he prepared with reading and prayer so as to successfully reach the students.
“You’ve got the knowledge going in beforehand, you articulate it, and, over time, you refine it. It gets smoother as the time goes on,” Malesh said.
The daily meetings are a source of spiritual fellowship for Graham. Received into the Catholic Church in 2020, the former Protestant said she has found her way to a deep and comforting understanding of the Catholic Faith.
“The Eucharist was the reason I came into the fullness (of the truth). Right now, what is really on my heart is that Jesus is a real person,” said Graham.
Of evangelizing, she said, “I think it’s really needed. I think the world is reaching a tipping point. And I think the Holy Spirit is coming too.”
About 75 students from throughout the LaPorte and Michigan City areas participated in the first-week of Totus Tuus sessions. QAS director of religious education Lara Wozniak believes the good attendance was due in part to the structures in place for youth ministry and the strong reputation Totus Tuus has among local families.
“I see the kids throughout the school year on Sundays because we have a team of catechists who teach them, but this is a great opportunity in the summer when things are kind of slowing down for the kids,” said Wozniak. “It’s really great to see these young missionaries from all over the country who are really on fire with their faith share that with the kids.”
Thirteen-year-old QAS parishioner Charlotte Hammett made new friends from beyond her hometown at Totus Tuus. She said she appreciates the reliable Catholic catechesis, too.
“I’ve been to Totus Tuus before and it always seems like they really know what they’re talking about,” Hammett explained.
Like the older youth at QAS, grade school children at the other first-week Totus Tuus offering - at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Hammond – enjoyed recreational time, which included sports, activities and chit chatting over snacks.
The younger kids happen to get a more generous share of run-around time, as they were supervised by missionaries at a local park. Others, such as seminarian Gianni DiTola, put their back on the line as he led youth running around while doing cartwheels.
Young session participants may have gotten a kick out of kids games such as Red Rover, but some also offered thoughtful responses to questions about what they had gleaned in class.
“I learned something about David, who defeated Goliath. It makes me feel good because now I know about bravery,” said Jonathan Hernandez, 9.
Joselyn Cervantes, 12, said the Totus Tuus instruction helped sharpen her prayer skills.
“They taught us about the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary; I really didn’t know much about them, so it really helped,” she said. “It’s important to strengthen the faith because starting at a new school or in (other challenges) people can lose themselves.”
Fun in the sun remained an important component of the sessions, “It was awesome, we made new friends and we had so much fun together,” Hernandez said.
Missionaries Linnea Loughran and Pancho Guzman Martinez stood nearby corralling the children for a last lighthearted hurrah: spraying DiTola with silly string.
Before wrapping up for the day, two of the female missionaries wished to credit the Blessed Mother for their presence in Northwest Indiana. Loughran said she responded to the promptings from Our Lady to accept the offer by Sean Martin, diocesan director of evangelization, catechesis and family life, who recruited missionaries at his alma mater, Franciscan.
Jennifer Villareal, also a Franciscan student, told how Marian devotion helps her become more of God’s instrument with a “sense of peace, clarity and joy.”
“(Mary) exemplifies what it means to love God and the total gift of self,” she said. “So many of our youth really need her, because where Our Lady is, Christ is.
Villareal added, “My students find so much meaning in that. This world is full of lies, but this is the truth.”