Earlier this month, Totally Thine had its kick-off event on October 13th in Grand Terrace, California. By very general ministry standards, it was a successful night, with over 60 young adults attending. There were many laughs and food to be shared, ongoing discussions the whole night, and even some phone numbers were exchanged. This could not have been possible without the help of the Serran volunteers from the San Bernardino vicariate, the Totally Thine Ministry team, including Fr. Hau, and last but not least, God. A lot of thought, prayer, and action was taken before this kick-off night, and this is what I want to discuss further. Regarding youth and young adult ministry, success is not measured by how many people attend your night but by how much thought, prayer, and preparation goes into the night. This goes for the entire ministry team. Let me explain. The idea for this ministry was something that God kept placing in my heart for quite some time, and I knew I had to do something about it. It was shortly after I married my wife in April of 2022 that I thought: how great would it be to have a ministry dedicated to people who wish to discern marriage guided by our beautiful faith. Every good ministry addresses a specific need. It is getting more difficult to meet others and date others who have the same intentions. This certainly disrupts the true spirit of discernment, especially for those who are seriously considering marriage. Marriage, within the context of our society, has declined since the 1970s, and the median age for first marriages has increased over time for both men and women (https://www.axios.com/2023/02/25/marriage-declining-single-dating-taxes-relationships). Within the context of our Church, sadly enough, marriages are declining at a similar rate despite there being an increase in the number of churchgoers (https://catholicvirginian.org/news/dating-crisis-fuels-freefall-of-catholic-marriages/). What is going on? If marriage is a sacrament thought of and created by God, who should we seek for answers? God. Many do not see marriage as important and, even worse, do not see it as a primary call to sanctity (the Latin root for vocation is 'vocare,' which means 'to call'). This is the specific need that I wished to address with this new ministry. I reached out to Fr. Hau on August 7th, and on August 10th, we had dinner and discussed the plans for this new ministry. We began to assemble a team, and on August 21st, another married couple joined, Jesus and Valerie Jacobo. We officially met about a month later, on September 18th. We planned diligently for our kick-off night on Friday, October 13th, the day of the final appearance of Our Lady of Fatima. Our name comes from Our Lady's famous Totus Tuus, and we truly believe she is walking with us as we work together to win hearts for her Son and holy marriages for the Church. This is how our ministry was born, and there is still much work to do. Something like this, at this magnitude, has yet to be done before, so a lot of our planning was guided by the Holy Spirit through prayer. The last important piece to a successful ministry. This shouldn't just be done by a single person but by the entire team and, beyond that, by a whole prayer team. It does not matter how much thought, prayer, or action is done; if there is no prayer, then the entire night is misguided. As we continue, we ask that you keep us in prayer. For our ministry efforts so that we continue to listen to the Holy Spirit, continue to walk alongside our Blessed Mother, and build holy marriages for the sanctification of souls. If you are interested in staying in touch and communicating, please follow our Instagram page @totallythine, or email us at totallythineministry@gmail.com. Our next night is November 17th. We will discuss the paradox of love as described by Ven. Fulton Sheen. The condition of the human heart which switches between feeling as if they are not loved enough to feeling as if they are loved too much. It will be a great night; we would love to see you there. If you would like to attend, please use our registration link below: With Charity, Josue Marin, Founder of Totally Thine