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Four years prior, I viewed a video on YouTube featuring a woman who was accomplishing remarkable work supporting underserved children in downtown Columbus, Ohio. She had established a center for after-school programs, where youth could gather to enjoy a snack, complete their assignments, learn about Jesus Christ, and interact with one another in a secure setting.
What a fantastic endeavor, I mused. Then I continued to observe. There was a purpose behind her efforts. Isn’t there always a motive? However, Rachel Muha’s was truly remarkable.
Rachel Muha
In 1999, Rachel experienced the devastating loss of her younger son, Brian, who was brutally murdered following the abduction of him and his roommate from their off-campus residence at the Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Brian, a talented and compassionate 18-year-old from Westerville, Ohio, had a promising future. He aspired to become a physician — to serve, as you might expect, underprivileged children.

You’ve encountered them at your church, on television or YouTube, or listened to their podcasts sharing uplifting narratives about their spiritual journeys.
At times, their names are familiar, bordering on celebrity fame, while at other times, they may be entirely new to you. Yet, here they stand, interpreting Scripture, guiding individuals on how to discern God’s voice, and how to understand Christ. They might perform songs and strum a guitar or tell jokes to help you feel at ease. It could even be an entire group performing together.
They are speakers of the Catholic faith, responsible for organizing youth conferences and marriage initiatives. They address men’s gatherings, women’s assemblies, youth groups, senior citizens, and all demographics in between.
Numerous individuals are balancing their evangelistic efforts with other full-time employment, or perhaps this is their primary vocation. They depart from their families when they hit the road, or occasionally they journey as a couple to share their testimonies collectively.
They can become exhausted from the constant traveling and organizing. They long for their partners and kids. They may even doubt their own significance and ponder why God chose them, an individual so average, to share his message. Yet they agree because God did choose them. Thus, they find themselves in a nearby church, on the journey, or in the studio, disseminating the Good News.
Here are a few of their narratives.
Jon Leonetti: ‘I felt a divine calling to take this path’
Jon Leonetti shares an anecdote regarding an individual inquiring of his spouse, Teresa, how she manages to remain married to a man who is away for travel seven months each year.
“Since he is on the road for seven months annually,” she joked.
It’s closer to 80 days annually, he shared with Our Sunday Visitor, that he conducts around 25 parish programs and five or six men’s conferences across the United States and Canada. The support from his wife, accompanied by her sense of humor, bolsters his mission to spread the gospel.
Leonetti, residing in Des Moines, Iowa, alongside Teresa and their three kids, aged 2, 6, and 9, holds a master’s degree in moral theology and is a well-known Catholic speaker, radio personality, and author of five books. The upside of his demanding schedule is that his other role of coaching entrepreneurs takes place from his home office.
“It definitely isn’t always simple to be apart, but when I’m at home, I’m really at home,” he remarked.
Leonetti aimed for a calling since the fifth grade, but he felt something was absent when he joined the seminary to train as a diocesan priest. Being tied to a parish was not his desire, nor did he find fulfillment in the experiences of the religious orders that he also considered.

“It doesn’t take canonization to be a saint, and holiness isn’t something accidental that happens in one day.”
— Jon Leonetti

In the meantime, he had been delivering presentations to church congregations, and one speaking opportunity resulted in another.
“I sensed it deep within me that God was leading me towards this path,” he stated.
He departed after three and a half years in the seminary, returned home, and established a grilled cheese stall close to a college campus. From 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., he sold sandwiches to students to sustain himself as he broadened his mission.
Leonetti’s central theme in all his efforts is that everyone is destined to be saints, asserting that there is no other significance or goal in life apart from striving to be saints and to dwell with God in heaven for eternity.
“Being a saint doesn’t require canonization, and holiness isn’t a random occurrence that happens overnight,” he remarked. “Consider the lives of the apostles. They certainly didn’t have it figured out. They were flawed and they were sinners, but they had a clear understanding of the vision that encompassed holiness, sanctity, and eternal life with Jesus Christ. The battle to achieve this is genuine. We contend with all the issues that every one of us faces.”
He mentioned that he faces his own difficulties, one of which is relinquishing control.
“For a long time, I believed that if God wished to accompany me, I had tucked Him away in the trunk, but now He’s seated beside me,” he expressed. “What I’m understanding is God’s purpose for me.”
His belief has deepened through his service, and as a family-oriented individual, he can relate to what other partners and caregivers are going through in their experiences.
“It has made me realize that we are all flawed and in need of redemption, regardless of how well we believe others are doing,” he stated, “Everyone is engaged in their own struggle.”
Learn more about Jon Leonetti and his ministry at jonleonetti.com.

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