Archdiocesan Young Adult Day Speakers Saturday March 21, 2020 "Your Burning Heart is Holy Ground" Register at www.archgh.org/yacm
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Archdiocesan Young Adult Day Speakers Saturday March 21, 2020
“Your Burning Heart is Holy Ground” Register at www.archgh.org/yacm
Rev. Nicolas Ramirez, Pastor St. Frances Cabrini. I’m the oldest of 3 children to Manuel and Leticia Ramirez and
my siblings are Laura and Jacob. God has blessed me with the most awesome gift of calling me to serve Him as a
priest and since he knows that I love adventures, I could not have imagined a mission more adventurous than
priesthood. Currently, I serve as the pastor of St Frances Cabrini, who was also an adventurous and heroic
woman. She and I have much in common, but the singular most important thing in common is our Love for God.
Christ is alive and I am filled to overflowing when I meet Him in service to those whom he has entrusted to my care
Topic: “Encountering Christ that is Alive and wants you alive!”
Rev. Richard McNeillie, Director of Office of Vocations. He is a native Houstonian and a graduate of local Catholic
schools. Although his interests growing up were in creative writing and film, he ended up at St. Louis University,
pursuing philosophy and finance degrees. There too, with the help of friends, he began discerning his vocation for the
first time. After graduating in 2005, Richard began working in St. Louis for financial advisers, but then returned to
school to enter a PhD program at Bowling Green State University (Ohio) in philosophy. There, while living in the
local parish’s on-site Newman center, he further considered a vocation as a diocesan priest. After two years, he left
the program and entered the seminary in 2008. Fr. Richard is currently the director of the Office of Vocations.
Topic: “Discovering God’s Voice in Your Heart” Ever get confused about what God might be saying to you through
prayer? Learn to listen with confidence the different ways in which God speaks to your soul.
Matt Regitz after graduating from Texas A&M and pursuing an oilfield sales career Matt took a leap of faith and
became the youth minster at his parish in Houston, Texas. He received a master’s in theology from the University of
St. Thomas and is still sharing the Gospel with teens across the country. Matt and bride, Stephanie, started Survive
and Thrive Ministries to share their story of healing and hope with other families. The Regitz clan, which includes
their four kids at home and a daughter in heaven, Mary Clare, love soccer games, barbecues, minivan road trip, and
the communal life.
Topic: “From Boring to Bold: From Maintenance to Mission” Being a follower of Jesus Christ does not simply
mean what Church you attend or what box you would check on a survey. It requires something fuller, more
conscience, more active than mere attendance. We can maintain the status quo and simply settle in to our pews as
spectators at Church week after week, or we can be launched out the doors of the Church and into our communities
as disciples with a mission. Following Jesus is not boring; let’s discover how to pursue His mission for each of our
lives with courage, boldness and enthusiasm.
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Archdiocesan Young Adult Day Speakers Saturday March 21, 2020
“Your Burning Heart is Holy Ground” Register at www.archgh.org/yacm
Matt and Stephanie Regitz after getting set up for a costume party in 1999 at Texas A&M in College Station, Matt
and Stephanie Regitz soon realized God had some big plans for them. Married in 2001 at the Corpus Christi
Cathedral where Matt had proposed, they honeymooned in Rome and were blessed by Saint JPII. Three years later
Matt was in full time ministry having left oil field sales, and they were blessed with their first born daughter Mary
Clare. Their time with her was cut short as she beat them to heaven tragically passing in her sleep at 2 years old. The
following year they had two 14 week miscarriages. Surviving eventually turned into Thriving with lots of prayer,
authentic friendships, and intentional choices to allow God to bring healing. Thirteen years later with 4 children
under their roof they live a busy fulfilling life of ministry amidst soccer games, minivan traveling, and back porch
living hoping their story, life, and ministry bring hope to those wanting to thrive in their own vocation, work, and
life.
Topic: “Discernment on Purpose - An eternal perspective in a temporal world” [Talk for Married/Engaged
couples] Choice seems to reign supreme in our culture. We choose who to vote for, how we take our coffee, and
what our next binge watch will be on Netflix. Researchers estimate that we make 35,000 remotely conscience
decisions per day; 225 of those on food alone! But as the stakes get higher the decisions get harder and the
consequences more profound. Lifelong choices take more than our gut reaction, weighing the pros and cons, or
asking for a little advice. Yes, it may take those as well, but a decision during marriage and as a couple should
involve more than temporal efforts. This is where discernment comes in. So let’s talk about how to prayerfully
choose well, with purpose, and with an eternal perspective.
Rev. Kingsley Nwoko, STL a Catholic Priest for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. He is a Parochial Vicar of
St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in the Woodlands. He is a graduate of Pontifical Institute of St. John Paul II, for
Marriage and Family Studies, Vatican City, Rome and he is also the founder of Emmaus Missionaries of Love.
Topic: “Discernment of Relationships Pathway to Destiny” You have a greater destiny in the world, and there are
others who are part of this destiny and who will play a significant role in its discovery and expression. You need a
true ally, not merely a friend. You need someone who recognizes your deeper nature and respond to this naturally. So
many people are losing their lives, their time and their energy involving in relationships that have no greater capacity
or greater destiny for them. But you have a greater destiny and a greater purpose. You must follow this pathway and
not give it up for beauty, wealth or charm.Take a time to discern your relationships, and you will become strong and
mature enough to engage a person with whom you will share a greater destiny. You will find them, and they will find
you. And you will be ready for one another.Take your time. Do not hurry into any relationship.
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Archdiocesan Young Adult Day Speakers Saturday March 21, 2020
“Your Burning Heart is Holy Ground” Register at www.archgh.org/yacm
Claire McMullin, Campus Minister University of Houston
She was a teacher in her former life and came to the Catholic Newman Center at the University of Houston 5 years
ago after 9 years in parish ministry. As a certified spiritual director helping college students draw closer to God and
the love He has for them is one of her passions! She loves to explore different cultures through travel or journeying
through stories of the Saints or travel memoirs. When she’s not at work, Claire can be found studying with coffee at a
local coffee house or exploring interesting dishes with her husband of 16 years. Learning new things is exciting to
her, and she is currently working on her Master’s Degree in Faith and Culture at the University of St. Thomas.
Topic: "If You Want to Go Far, Go Together" Pope Francis continually stresses the importance of community
and accompaniment to work against individualism and selfishness. The spiritual life is one where we walk with
others on the pilgrimage towards God. We must go together. It is especially helpful to have a Timothy, a Barnabas,
and a Paul. We need someone to mentor, someone who is working in the vineyard alongside us, and someone with
maturity and insight who can guide us. This workshop will look at these areas of mentoring, walking together, and
being mentored in light of Christus Vivit and in the wisdom of Scripture. We will also seek to answer the questions of
‘Who?’ and ‘How?’ concretely providing resources and time for looking at who the Lord has already placed in lives
with the intention of growing in an intentional relationship.
Rev. Ray Cook, OMI Rice University Campus Ministry. Fr. Ray is an Oblate of Mary Immaculate and has been the
Director and Chaplain for the Rice University Campus Ministry. Fr. Ray is currently studying to become a Doctor of
Ministry and is a Homiletics Candidate. In addition Fr. Ray is the Chaplain for Serra Club in Houston and the
Provincial Councilor for US province of Oblates
Topic: “John of the Cross : Dying of Love”
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Archdiocesan Young Adult Day Speakers Saturday March 21, 2020
“Your Burning Heart is Holy Ground” Register at www.archgh.org/yacm
Sr. Celestina Menin, AVI, Texas A&M Campus Ministry- Born in Varese, Italy, Sr. Celestina joined the religious
Community of the Apostles of the Interior Life in 1997. She studied at the Pontifical University of St. John in
Lateran in Rome, earning a BA in Philosophy and one in Sacred Theology. Between 1997 and 2006 she ministered in
Rome, and for one year at the Catholic Center of the University of Illinois, in Champaign Urbana, IL (2000-2001). In
Rome she was also head of the house of formation for two years. She moved back to the United States in 2006, and
she ministered for two years at the Catholic Center of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. On August 16 th 2008
she arrived in Aggieland. She has been ministering at St. Mary’s Catholic Center since then offering spiritual
direction, evangelization, Catholic formation.
Topic: “Following the Good Shepherd with a discerning heart” Discernment is about recognizing and following
the voice of the Good Shepherd as he leads us to the fulfillment of our lives and our mission with him. It is steeped in
the loving relationship with him, nourished by prayer, and aided by a growing understanding of the discernment of
spirits.
Sr. Tatum McWhirter, AVI, Texas A&M Campus Ministry -She is from Hastings, Nebraska. Before entering the
community of the Apostles of the Interior Life in 2009, she graduated from Benedictine College. As part of her
formation in Italy, she studied at the Pontifical University of St. John in Lateran in Rome. She returned to the United
States in the fall of 2015 and began her ministry at St. Mary’s Catholic Center in College Station, Texas.
Topic: "Lord, teach us to pray!" Sometimes it is important to go back to the foundations of prayer and recognition
that "we do not know how to pray as we ought" (Romans 8:26). We are all students in the school of prayer. Sr.
Tatum will be sharing her story of how she realized her need to learn how to pray and how daily prayer began to
change her life. The workshop will include a guided prayer experience so that you can learn a method of daily prayer
to begin tomorrow.
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Archdiocesan Young Adult Day Speakers Saturday March 21, 2020
“Your Burning Heart is Holy Ground” Register at www.archgh.org/yacm
María Cruz Ortiz García, Misionera del Santísimo Sacramento y María Inmaculada, of Spanish origin but with a
universal heart. Has experienced in her life the need to be accompanied to discover and fulfilled God’s dream in her
life and accomplish the project that she has engaged. Professor and religious sister, Eucharist missionary that desires
to live eucharistically and bring many hearts to Jesus and Mary.
Topic: “Living Your Vocation/Call to Holiness at the Work Place” Filled with the love of Christ, young people
are called to be witnesses of the Gospel wherever they find themselves, by the way they live. Do not be afraid to go
and bring Christ into every area of life, to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away and most
indifferent. He invites us to be fearless missionaries wherever we are and in whatever company we find ourselves: in
our neighborhoods, in school or sports or social life, in volunteer service or in the workplace. Wherever we are, we
always have an opportunity to share the joy of the Gospel. He is counting on your courage, your boldness and your
enthusiasm. (Pope Francis, Christus Vivit)
Focolare Young Adults Kathrin Meier and Zach Weik are two young adults from the Focolare Movement which is
an international ecclesial movement that includes people of all ages and walks of life with the simple ideal of living
the Gospel in every interaction: in particular, the passage from John 17:21, “...that they may all be one...” In the
1960's Pope Paul VI approved it with the official name the “Work of Mary” because, as Mary brought Jesus into the
world, the movement’s aim is to bring Him spiritually into the world by living his words "Where two or more are
gathered in my name, there I am in their midst."
Topic: “Jesus in our Midst - finding God’s gifts within us through others” Learn how to unveil the gifts God has
given to you by living with Jesus in our midst and learn how that helps us discern the will of God for us as
individuals and collectively. Hear experiences of how young adults of the Focolare movement live collective
discernment.
Tribeza Music Band coming from Chicago https://www.youtube.com/user/TribezaTV/featured
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