The Lord is Kind and Merciful

Sharing the Real Presence

Author

Griffin Rain
March 29, 2025

In This Newsletter

  1. The Lord is Kind and Merciful by Griffin Rain

  2. Where is God These Days?! by Bonnie

  3. Upcoming Events

  4. Volunteers Needed

The Lord is Kind and Merciful
By Griffin Rain

The other day, after attending the 7:00 a.m. daily mass at Gesu, a man came up to me and told me that this was the last time that he would come to the Catholic Church. He is a protestant Christian now, but his friend told him to give one more chance to the Catholic Church. While I was having a conversation with him, a kid who was probably in high school or early on in college came up to us and told us that he wanted to convert and become Catholic. The man who I was talking to told him, “don't,” and the kid quickly went away. After this, I called the man out and told him that even if he is not going to remain Catholic, someone just came up to him and said that he wants to give his life to Christ, and he told him not to. The Bible says some harsh things about those who cause little ones to go astray.

It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. Luke 17:2-3

He acknowledged his fault and agreed to pray for that kid. We continued having our conversation and made plans to have lunch later that day to talk further. I called him around lunchtime and he said that he was running late and would give me a call when he was back near downtown. I had some other things going on, so it was going to be very difficult for me to change times and meet him, but he never called. I knew that in my weakness, God was being merciful to me. Later, as I was on my way to go and evangelize, I was running late, so I decided to take the bus instead of walking. As I got on the bus, there he was in one of the front seats. He shared with me that his phone had died and that was why he wasn't able to contact me. God gives us another opportunity after our failures. We talked while on the bus and when we got off the bus, he joined us for our evangelization. While we were out evangelizing, we continued our conversation and he said that he was going to plan to go to confession and come back to the church.

This interaction makes me think of how kind and merciful God is. I was too busy to give this man the time he needed, but God in his kindness allowed us to be reconnected on the bus and continue this conversation about being reconciled back to God in His church.

Where is God These Days?!
By Bonnie (Missionary Associate)

Recently, during bus evangelism, I had an eye-opening experience regarding the need for laborers in the vineyard.

"I don't matter, I am no one," a bus passenger cried out. "Why doesn't God speak to me like he did to Moses? He doesn't seem to want to communicate with us any more!"

"Good question," I acknowledged to the person, who was in obvious pain. "I feel your pain on that one. Where IS God since Moses, and how can we know Him? God revealed himself to us in His son Jesus, the fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy, and made Himself known! He walked among us and taught us so many things about how to live and most certainly how to communicate with Him. He also showed us that we do matter, that we are someone of importance to Him, that we matter indeed!"

"Where can I find out more about this and whom can I talk to?" this person further lamented.

Epically, the bus was heading directly down 12th St. toward the giant rose window of Gesu Catholic Church, where the passenger was directed to go and find more answers.

"Is there someone I can talk to there about all of this?" they queried.

“Yes, there is a priest whom you can contact to ask more questions,” I explained.

This powerful experience led me to tears for this man and many prayers.

“How many more, Lord, how many more?” I pondered during adoration, as I asked of Him, "Lord, can I do this work for you?"

The whole world is crying out for salvation, asking, "God, are you there? Do you hear us? Do we still matter to you?"

We must ask ourselves, can we, or rather, WILL we, do the work?

"But how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?" Romans 10:14

Thank you to Griffin for leading us workers to the vineyard.

Please pray for us as we go out seeking to help and to heal, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Upcoming Events

Be sure to check the bottom of our homepage for our upcoming events calendar.

Men's Open House Discipleship Night - Join us for the Men's Open House Discipleship Night on Friday nights at the Street Disciple House. We will have this each Friday going forward. This Friday, April 4th, we will be having Brett Pavia coming to discuss Lectio Divina. It will be an open house, so come when you can.

The plan for the night is to prepare dinner from 5pm until ready; eat; 6:30pm Evening Prayer; 7pm Formation with Brett on Lectio Divina; 8:15 to 10pm game night/social. We will conclude with Night Prayer at 10pm. Feel free to invite friends!

Also if you would like to help with organizing the night, communication, cooking, finding speakers, etc., please let us know!

Come and See – We are encouraging men who are interested in our way of life to visit for a come and see. We encourage longer visits such as a week-long visit. We are open to having visitors most weeks so if you have a week that will work for you, contact us and we can have you for a visit. To set up a visit call/text (414) 235-7307 or e-mail [email protected]

Lunch in the Park - We will be serving food at the Cream City Garden homeless camp (1307 N 13th St) on Saturday, April 19th, from 11:00am to 1:00pm. Volunteers are needed on two teams - Kitchen Team and Evangelist Team. Please contact us if you can make it. We begin at the Street Disciple House at 11am. You are encouraged to join us for Mass beforehand at the UWM Panther Newman Center at 9am.

Missionary Associates – Join us for our next Missionary Associates Dinner. This month it will take place on Monday, April 28th. This is for people who volunteer with the Missionaries or are interested in volunteering/supporting our work. We hope that this continues building up the community around the Missionaries, getting to know others and energizing more people to start working for the salvation of souls here in Milwaukee. This occurs at the Street Disciple House located at 2126 W Michigan St, Milwaukee, WI 53233. The schedule for the event is as follows:

  • Evening Prayer 5:30 pm - 5:45 pm

  • Short talk from Griffin with discussion 5:50 pm - 6:10 pm

  • Dinner and socializing 6:15 pm onward

If you can't make it this time, plan for the 4th Monday of each month. If you would like to be on our text updates list, please text (414) 235-7307 your name and we will add you.

Disputatio - Come expand your mind and refine your reasoning skills. This event will consist of the following: three (or so) volunteers from those who attend will do their best to answer a question (they will not know the questions beforehand). These questions could be philosophical, theological, or cultural. Each volunteer will then respond to three objections taken from the audience and will afterwards have the opportunity to restate or change their original position.

The questions can range from goofy to grim. The only similarity between all the questions is that each will provide opportunities for us to improve our ability to reason.

Tea and scones will be provided as refreshments and, weather permitting, the event will be followed by a fire outside.

There is nothing you need to do to prepare. You need simply arrive at 6:30pm on Sunday, the 30th of March. The event will take place at the Street Disciple House: 2126 W Michigan St. Milwaukee, WI, 53233

Aaron Brown, Master of Catholic Studies, will be sitting in the Hot Seat first!

Please feel free to invite anyone you think would enjoy this event. This event is for everyone who loves the truth, religious or not. Come ease the body and strain the mind!

Holy Week Pilgrimages - Mark your calendars for our Holy Week pilgrimages. After the 7pm Holy Thursday Mass at Gesu Catholic Church on April 17th, we will have a bike blessing followed by a seven churches pilgrimage by bike. On Good Friday, April 18th, after the noon liturgy at Gesu Catholic Church, we will be having our Way of the Cross pilgrimage to pray one station at each closed Catholic Church or institution on Milwaukee’s Northside. More details coming soon!

Volunteers Needed
(Contact 414-235-7307 to help)

  • Fridays at 3pm - Way of the Cross through the city streets. Meet at 12th and Wisconsin Ave.

  • Saturdays - big group evangelization at a high foot traffic area 10:30am - 2:30pm.

Needed Items
(Click underline for link to donate)

  • Street Disciple House Items

    • Twin size box springs & frames

    • Matching couches for living room

  • Street Evangelization/Preaching Items

    • Amazon List (pamphlet racks, hard drive, microphone, camera battery, note taker Bible, voice recorder)

  • Financial Donations for Missionary Formation & Operation of Street Disciple House

  • Wood 2x4's (8ft) for the weekly Way of the Cross

About the Missionaries of the Real Presence

The Missionaries of the Real Presence aims to assist in the apostolic renewal of the church by intentionally discipling men living in community and encouraging missionary vocations in the church. We participate in Christ’s evangelizing work for the salvation of souls, especially seeking out those who have been spiritually neglected. We introduce people to Jesus through intentional conversation, preaching, teaching, and prayer. We engage in direct evangelization in the public forum on the city streets, on public transit, and in homes, and share the good news of Christ with those we meet. All of this flows from a life of prayer and union with Jesus as our source.

Support the Mission, Join the Mission

If you appreciate the work we are doing, consider supporting our mission financially here.

Volunteer with us with our street ministry and house visits here.

If reading about some of our stories inspires you, come and see what life as a missionary is like and visit us for a day or longer for prayer and ministry as you discern here.

If you want to learn how we evangelize, consider watching videos on our YouTube Channel, Missionaries of the Real Presence.

Check out our Facebook or our Instagram.

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