Summer camp means fun, sun and, in the case of Totus Tuus, a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ. Every summer, Totus Tuus missionaries help kids in northeast

Nebraska understand that having fun and learning about their faith go hand in hand.

Totus Tuus missionaries – camp leaders in college or seminary – are trained on how to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to young people. They are then sent to

parishes across the archdiocese in teams of four to lead week-long Totus Tuus camps. Students are separated into age groups – from first grade to high schoolers – and enjoy lively outdoor activities while learning about the importance of prayer, scripture and vocational discernment.

Johnny Murray, director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at St. Wenceslaus Parish in Omaha, calls Totus Tuus a blessing for young people in the Archdiocese of Omaha.

“It’s such a gift to see our kids come laughing, enjoying and really rejoicing in the faith,” Murray said.

Seminarian and Totus Tuus missionary Alex Kennedy enjoys being a role model for the more than 2,000 campers who participate each summer.

“We’re able to be ourselves and be goofy, be fun, and show the kids that you can be normal and Catholic,” Kennedy said.

Urban Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Omaha, Father Scott Schilmoeller, is proud that many of the kids who attended Totus Tuus growing up return to serve as missionaries later in life – a testament to the positive impact of the program on everyone involved.

“Totus Tuus not only provides a space to grow for elementary and high school age kids but also provides a place for college age students to learn how to lead others in the faith,” Father Schilmoeller said.

Men and women from all walks of life took a brave step toward healing from the wounds of past hurts at the first-ever Come to Me Healing Retreat.

About 75 people attended the retreat March 29 at St. Elizabeth Ann Parish in Omaha, which was designed to help individuals reclaim their identity as sons and daughters of God.

As one participant put it, we “learned about the lies that rob us of intimacy with Christ.” Another said that while at the retreat, the love of Jesus washed “over us, through us and for us.”

The half-day retreat featured talks on God’s gift of restoration and mercy through a relationship with Jesus Christ. There was time for personal reflection and prayer,

as well as the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Mass. Each participant received a blessed faith journal and candle.

Every aspect of the day was carefully designed to help participants embrace the graces of God’s merciful love. Those in attendance appreciated that Jesus in the Monstrance was present the entire time.

After the retreat, all were invited to gather for fellowship.

“It was a rare opportunity to slow down and receive the healing Jesus wants for us,” said Mary Beth Hanus, director of the Archdiocese of Omaha’s Victim Outreach and Prevention Office, which organized the retreat. As one attendee told her, the retreat “soothed my soul.”

Hanus said the response to the first retreat was so overwhelming that additional retreats are being planned in other areas of the archdiocese.