Denver Catholic

49 DENVER CATHOLIC | JULY 2022 "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35) DISCIPLE OF THE MONTH Volunteer Shares her Fire for Christ with Youth Con g r atulations YESSICA GUERRERO, for being the Archbishop's Catholic Appeal, "Disciple of the Month." If you know someone else who is courageously spreading the Gospel, please share his or her story with us at give.archden.org/nominate and they may become the next "Disciple of the Month." "It's not enough to love the young; they must know that they are loved," said St. John Bosco, known as a priest and educator of youth. For five years, Yessica Guerrero has been living the inspirational messages from Bosco and sharing her love of Christ as a volunteer at Our Lady Mother of the Church in Commerce City. She created and grew one of the most successful youth groups in the archdiocese, earning her recognition as Archbishop's Catholic Appeal "Disciple of the Month." "She is involved, she is so active and so spiritual at the same time – she's on fire," Monsignor Jorge De los Santos said. "She has been a blessing to my parish." Guerrero never wanted to be a youth group leader, but she was called to the Church as a teen and God led her to volunteer. The Holy Spirit also guided her recently to become a middle school theology teacher at Blessed Sacrament in addition to her volunteer work. This "youthful" youth leader lets teens know that Christ can be fun and joyful, and she has grown the parish group from 20 teens to about 70 members today. Monsignor De los Santos noted that she is even bringing the whole parish community together through events like a family volleyball tournament. The kids that Guerrero works with are often isolated and in need of connections, friendships and commnication with others and their friend Jesus. She often observes that mobile phones have isolated them even more and created a need for instant gratification when the life of prayer is not like that. Guerrero's youth put down their phones and are learning to make a connection to the Eucharist which they celebrate through monthly adorations. "They recognized they needed something, and they knew where to find it," she said. D I SCI P LE O F TH E M O NTH

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