Michael Chisholm

Tell Us Your Story...

Wow…

What an incredible morning of Faith, Food & Fellowship. We were joined this morning by CMF President, Gil Alderete, who was promoting the upcoming Super Saturday Conference. We were also joined by newcomer, Gabriel. Gabriel showed amazing courage as he shared the story of his personal journey, and it was a very powerful story. Frank showed equal courage in sharing his own testimony as well. Hearing the faith journeys of these brothers was a blessing for the rest of the men in the room, and we are grateful to them for their openness.

Featured Scripture

Isaiah 49:3, 5-6

Featured Song

“When Love Sees You (Jesus)” by Mac Powell (Music Video)

In Attendance:
Brandon, Chuck, Cody, Ed, Frank, Gabriel*, Gil, Greg, Julian, Larry, Michael, Mike, Ray, Roger, Tony…with a special visit by Fr. John
*First visit
(15)

Preparing for Next Year

We enjoyed yet another wonderful gathering of men this morning. It was so great to welcome Joe back after a very extended absence, and so kind of Oscar to drop off some delicious tamales even though he couldn’t stay for the breakfast.

This morning we took some time to discuss Matthew’s Gospel of John asking the Disciples to prepare the way for Jesus’ coming, which is exactly what Advent is all about. We also discussed ideas for ways to broaden the reach of Men’s Fellowship within our parish community.

Featured Scripture

Matthew 3:1-12

Featured Song

“Mary Did You Know?” by Mark Lowry (Music Video)

17

Dealing with Adversity – Way to Grow

Another wonderful gathering of men this morning. Chris led the men in a good open discussion about many areas of the topic of dealing with adversity.

One adversity that we face is the messaging in the culture. It is against our beliefs – and young people are particularly susceptible to it. Nonetheless, we are called to use our faith, be a light and persevere. There was the realization that a lot of good is happening in the world, but that it usually doesn’t make the news.

Jesus also explained in his Last Supper discourse, that a soul must painfully be pruned in order to produce more fruit (John 15). Some sound advice for dealing with adversity is to by joyful, prayerful and grateful: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes 5:16-18)

Featured Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Featured Song

“Don’t Lose Heart” by Steven Curtis Chapman (Music Video)

16 CA

Being Nice vs Being Good: The False Virtue of Tolerance

What a wonderful gathering of men this morning! Our largest gathering of the year, and it was so great to welcome some brand new men to our group.

Cody gave an inspired talk on the difference between being nice and being good, and how being nice isn’t always the best course of action - when it means sacrificing our virtues. The men responded well to the discussion.

Featured Scriptrure

James 2:14-26

Featured Song

“Strong Enough” by Matthew West (Music Video)

22 CS

Deliver Us From Evil

Wow…what a beautiful gathering this morning. Special thanks to Jack & Rosa for opening their home to us for our meeting. And much appreciation to Dale for leading our topic today. The Holy Spirit was definitely with us this morning as Dale led us through a discussion on temptation, the importance of resisting, and the power of renouncing evil in the name of Jesus.

We would like to offer a special shout-out to Greg who celebrated his birthday today, and prayers for Mike & Cheryl who are traveling to celebrate their 30th Wedding Anniversary.

Featured Scripture

Dale provided several different scripture references that we reflected on, which can be found here: Deliver Us From Evil

Featured Song

“All Creation Worships You” by Tony Melendez (Music Video)

12 DA

The Truth... What Is It? How Do We Live It?

This morning was a very well attended meeting, and Jack prepared a wonderful discussion on how we look for, find, and act on the Truth. The men had a lot of thoughts on this - especially concerning the culture we currently live in. It takes great strength to live the Truth in today’s world, but that is exactly what God asks us to do.

It was so wonderful to welcome back Greg after a long time away, and also to welcome Chris and Tom for the first time.

Here is a copy of the handout Jack prepared: Truths

Featured Scripture

Jack put together several Scripture references that spoke on “Truth”: Scriptures

Featured Song

“The Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns (Music Video)

19 JR

We Are Sent

Once again, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast gathering with the men. Today’s topic was actually inspired by a Homily given by Fr. Dennis, and we looked at how Jesus summons each of us in preparation of then sending each of us out into the world - to make a difference. Sometimes we are called to make big changes. Sometimes we are called simply to take care of our household. But all of these calls are hugely important, and part of God’s larger plan. The men seemed to really respond well to the discussion, and some very personal stories were beautifully shared.

A special welcome to Oscar who joined us for the first time today, and thank you to Reuben for inviting him to come.

Featured Scripture

Matthew 10:1, 5-23, 26-39

Featured Song

“I Send You Out” by John Angotti (Music Video)

17 HS

Come, Holy Spirit

What an amazing gathering this morning. As Chuck pointed out, the Holy Spirit was definitely in the room with us…

We welcomed two brand new men, Andrew and Victor, and you would have thought they’ve been with us the whole time with how quickly they jumped in and shared right along with everyone else. It was also a particular blessing to welcome back Bill White after a very extended absence. Bill turns 90 in a couple of weeks, so it was great to see him again and wish him a Happy Birthday. And it is with a heavy heart that we had to say Goodbye to our brother, John Craine. The Craine family is leaving to start a new life on the East Coast. John will be greatly missed, and we pray for the safe travels of his family.

Deacon Al led us this morning in a talk about the Holy Spirit, and we spent a bit of time talking about one of the particular gifts of the Holy Spirit: “Courage”. Specifically, we looked at how it takes courage to remain true to our faith while living in this very secular world - especially at our places of employment. The entire conversation was great, and had a lot of participation from the men.

Can’t wait to do it all again next month!

Featured Scripture

Psalm 51

Featured Song

“Undefeated” by Collin Raye (Music Video)

17 AG

7 Habits of Highly Effective Catholics

Once again we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast gathering with the guys this morning. It was so great to welcome Milton back after an extended period away, and Cody’s friend Matt joined us for the very first time - and was by far the best dressed of us all!

Chris led today’s topic discussion, and we delved in to the good, and bad, habits we all encounter as Catholics. The men had some really great things to share about what makes good habits - and how to attain those habits; as well as what it takes to get rid of bad habits… (Spoiler alert - prayer is involved).

Chris also gave a really powerful demonstration. In the photos below, you'll see images of Chris pouring rice into a cup. To sum up his demonstration...

  • He poured rice into a cup

  • The cup of rice stood for our personal will, wants, desires

  • Then he brought out a handful of pretzel balls, which represented God's will

  • He tried to place the pretzel balls on top of the rice in the cup, but there wasn't enough room for all of the pretzel balls to fit within in the cup

  • Next, he removed the pretzel balls, and poured all the rice into a second cup

  • He then put all the pretzel balls into the cup first, and then poured the same amount of rice back in

  • IT ALL FIT, even with room to spare

The point of the demonstration was that when we make room for God to be first in our lives, He makes room for the rest. It was a wonderful visual way of showing this truth about God.

For those interested, Chris has also provided a handout: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Catholics

The Second Saturday meeting date seems to be working well for the men. God obviously led us to begin holding our meetings on these mornings. And we’re looking forward to having Grandpa Kellogg return next month!

Featured Scripture

Luke 12:22-34

Featured Song

“Your Grace Is Enough” by Matt Maher (Music Video)

17 CA

Reaching the Young Adults

Cody led us this morning in a wonderful discussion on what being a Catholic is really like for our young adults, and the challenges this population of Catholics are facing on a daily basis. We explored the ways we’re missing the mark as a Faith, and realized that one of the biggest failures happening in our Church today is the over-emphasis on “inclusion” which is coming at the expense of the moral and theological teachings of our Faith. (We’ve lost sight of the fact that the Catholic Church is already one of the most inclusive faiths around). Somehow we need to become a positive alternative to the garbage our young adults are being influenced by; and part of being that positive alternative means sticking to our guns as Catholics and not compromising our core beliefs - no matter what the rest of the world is screaming.

(And after an extended time away, it was a special treat to have the Picella boys cooking up waffles for us again!)

Featured Scripture

Psalm 10

Featured Song

“I Will Fear No More” by The Afters (Music Video)

14 CS

Fellowship of the Heart

It was so great to see the guys today. We welcomed back a couple of brothers who haven’t been able to join us is a long time, and we were blessed to have a new brother, Chris, join us for the very first time. Today’s discussion topic was based off the book: “Waking The Dead” by John Eldredge. This is a book that Michael C had read and pieced together the information in a presentable format. The focus was on how our hearts are at war with Satan because Satan knows what we can become if our hearts are strong - and he fears that.
(If anyone would like to review the outline Michael used, which includes some of the quotes and reflection questions that were shared, you can view that here: Outline).

Michael also passed around a handout based off material from a second book all about the 7 Deadly Sins by Kevin Vost. You can view a copy that handout here: Seven Deadly Sins

Featured Scripture

Psalm 42:9-12

Featured Song

“Crazy People” by Casting Crowns (Music Video)

16 MC

Conversing with Charity

We had a really well attended gathering this morning, including appearances by both priests!

Mike came up with a great Scripture for us and we spent quite a bit of time discussing how it affected each of us, and then we went into the main topic, also presented by Mike. We discussed the importance of listening and understanding when we’re engaging with someone else - especially someone we happen to disagree with. Making sure the other person knows you really are listening and understand what they’re trying to explain places them in a position to be less defensive and more willing to listen to your own thoughts. James 1:19 sums it up perfectly: “Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”

Special thanks to Cheryl Kellogg and Rosa Ruehlman for the Valentine decorations! And also to Larry Chu and Larry Church for providing food even though they couldn’t stay.

Featured Scripture

John 16:21-33

Featured Song

“Way Maker” by Michael W. Smith (Music Video)

15 MK

Man In The Mirror

Happy New Year!

We had the intention of discussing how to be charitable when communicating with others, but as happens often in our fellowship sessions - the Holy Spirit took over. The men were struck by the featured scripture selection, and in particular we spent a lot of time discussing James 1:23 - “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror.” It was wonderful to hear the different interpretations of how that passage spoke to the different men, and to hear how some heard that as searching for Jesus when looking at yourself in the mirror; and for others it reminded them how instead of looking at ourselves in a mirror, we should be looking through a window to view what others are doing - so we can find where we need to be of service.

We welcomed a new guy this morning, Frank, and it was awesome how quickly he felt comfortable to contribute his thoughts to the discussion.

Featured Scripture

James 1:19-27

Featured Song

“Do Something” by Matthew West (Music Video)

11

Christian Friends

God Is Good!

It was so great to finally be back home in Room A of Potthoff Hall! We had a nice turnout this morning, and the topic for the day was on Cristian Friendship: the importance of it, and how to cultivate it. (The song choices this morning were not the normal Christian variety, but definitely appropriate for the conversation). We look forward to having more men continue to join us as life tries to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

Featured Scripture

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Job 2:7-13

Featured Songs

“You’ve Got A Friend” by James Taylor
”You’ve Got A Friend In Me” by Randy Newman

Persecution

Our last meeting was amazing. The primary focus of it was the idea of persecution and how we as followers of Christ should approach the modern world. How can we continue to live our daily lives while staying faithful to God despite threats of repercussion? How much are we willing to sacrifice? Examples of this persecution were given (i.e., constantly being attacked in public institutions, churches being burned, etc.).

Featured Scripture

Daniel 6:22

Featured Song

“Guilty” by Newsboys (Music Video)

Surrender

This morning was another wonderful gathering, and included three brothers from St. Christopher’s parish (they meet weekly!). Today’s topic was inspired by a video put out by Fr. Mike Schmitz (Ascension Presents), where he explained how “to surrender” something to God does not necessarily mean to “give to” God, or that God will “take it away”. True surrender means to give God “dominion” over the item, allowing Him to control all aspects involved with that item (and sometimes that means it stays with you - but the difference is that God stays with it as well). The link to the video is provided below.

Fr. Mike Schmitz: What Does Surrender Actually Look Like?

Featured Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30

Featured Song

“Let Go, Let God” by Jack Cassidy (Music Video)

The Road to Emmaus

Last month we read through the narrative of the Passion of the Christ and discussed it at length. This went so well that we thought we would try another passage for May. This month we will read through the narrative of The Road to Emmaus, where the risen Lord Jesus encounters two men on the road who tell him all about His own story.

Featured Scripture

Luke 24:13-35

The Passion of Christ

Holy Saturday was our our meeting day for this month, and so we enjoyed a wonderful discussion about the Passion of Jesus Christ. We reviewed a Scriptural account of the Passion and then discussed prophecies that came true because of it; theological questions that came from it; and talked about its impact on each of us.