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February 19, 2024

Fr. Aaron Smith, LC, Named as New Delegate of the Territorial Directive College of Regnum Christi in the North American Territory 

/ Legionaries of Christ, Legionaries of Christ News, Regnum Christi News

The Territorial Directive College of Regnum Christi (TDC) announced today that Fr. Aaron Smith, LC, has been named as the new TDC Delegate, effective June 1, 2024. Following a comprehensive global search to find a replacement for Cathie Zentner, the current TDC delegate who will be retiring from this role in the summer of 2024, the College offered Fr. Aaron the role, and with the consent of his superiors, he has accepted. In searching for the new delegate, the College was looking for someone of any of the four Regnum Christi vocations with the skills and qualities needed to provide continuity to the teamwork that is in progress, facilitate and engender collaboration across vocations and levels, and provide direction and support to the Regnum Christi leaders in the territory.   

  

In sharing their decision, the College stated, “In this process, it became abundantly clear that Fr. Aaron was the strongest candidate for this important role. He is on fire for the shared mission, has relevant breadth and depth of experience, has maintained healthy relationships with many key stakeholders, knows his strengths and where he might need support, and is completely aligned with the importance of the three ‘pivot’ capabilities mentioned above. The members of the TDC are united in our conviction that Fr. Aaron is the right person for this role at this time in our history.” 

  

The role of the TDC delegate is one of significant impact on the growth and development of the Regnum Christi mission in the North American Territory, as outlined in #4.3 of the Regulations for the North American Territory of the Regnum Christi Federation. The TDC and the Mission Support Team expressed deep gratitude to Cathie Zentner for her groundbreaking work in this position, and her 25 years of service in an executive capacity in Regnum Christi. Over the past five years, Cathie has worked with the Mission Support Team to put in place the structure and processes appropriate for the roll-out of the Federation. With that foundation in place, Regnum Christi members across this territory “are now looking outward, beyond internal structures, and are poised and eager to extend Christ’s kingdom,” assured Cathie. In his new role as TDC Delegate, Fr. Aaron will be instrumental in leading this growth of the shared mission through his work with locality leaders, actively motivating them and instilling a shared sense of accountability for the gift of the Regnum Christi charism.  

  

This is a homecoming for Fr. Aaron, who is currently serving as Regnum Christi International Communications Director in Rome. He was born in Forest Lake, Minnesota, and has a brother who is also a Legionary priest, Fr. Jason Smith. He attended the apostolic school of the Legionaries of Christ in 1995, entered the novitiate in 1996, and was ordained a priest in Rome on December 24, 2010. After serving in youth work in Florence, Italy, and Santiago, Chile, he was named Regnum Christi Director in Detroit in 2014, as well as head of the board of Everest Collegiate in Clarkston, MI, until he was asked to take on the role of International Communications Director in 2017. For the past six years he has also worked with Regnum Christi in London, England, and is currently the Regnum Christi Director for that locality. While working in the United States and during his time serving in Rome and London, Fr. Aaron has been deeply engaged in the renewal of Regnum Christi and the development of ECYD, Mission Youth, and Regnum Christi young adult work. He has also been instrumental in building collaboration and communion among the vocations of Regnum Christi, both in his work in the locality and internationally. 

  

As he prepares to move to Atlanta, Georgia to take on this new role, Fr. Aaron reflects, “I’m really humbled by the opportunity to serve in this capacity. To collaborate with my brothers and sisters in Regnum Christi to make Christ, the Kingdom in person, present in the here and now of this world is a true gift.” 

Replacing Fr. Aaron in Rome as the new Regnum Christi International Communications Director will be Raúl Rodríguez of Monterrey, Mexico. Raúl holds a degree in Marketing from the IEST – Anáhuac University. His professional career has spanned more than 15 years in educational marketing, institutional communication, and public relations. He has worked with the UNID system, in the network of Semper Altius Schools, and since 2020 he has been the Director of Communication for Regnum Christi in the territory of Northern Mexico. Raúl is a husband, a father, and a lay member of Regnum Christi. He and his wife work together apostolically in the Newlyweds program of Familia Unida, as well as in Juventud y Familia Misionera. 

 

Raúl Rodríguez

Fr. Aaron Smith, LC, Named as New Delegate of the Territorial Directive College of Regnum Christi in the North American Territory  Read More »

February 19, 2024 – Holiness and Community

/ Daily Meditations

 

 

 

 

 

Monday of the First Week of Lent

 

Matthew 25:31-46

 

Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

 

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are my Savior and Redeemer. I place all my hope and trust in your divine heart. United to you, all things are possible—even my holiness. With childlike faith and trusting you without limits, I know that I will experience the triumph of your grace in my life. I wish to grow in holiness today, so that I will love you, my God, above all else. Amen.

 

Petition: Lord, help me to appreciate that growth in holiness occurs within a Christian community.

 

  1. Holiness Is Essentially Seeking the Good of Others: The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called: it ‘governs, shapes and perfects all the means of sanctification.’” And quoting St. Therese of Lisieux, it reminds us:

 

If the Church was a body composed of different members, it couldn’t lack the noblest of all; it must have a heart, and a heart burning with love. And I realized that this love alone was the true motive force which enabled the other members of the Church to act; if it ceased to function, the apostles would forget to preach the Gospel, the martyrs would refuse to shed their blood (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 826).

 

In today’s Gospel Jesus grants eternal life to those who did good to others, whom he identifies as his very self. Contrariwise, he sends to eternal damnation those who did nothing to help others, whom he identifies as his very self.

 

  1. Holiness Necessarily Entails a Dedication to the Christian Mission: Hand-in-hand with genuine charity is our sense of Christian mission. There is no genuine holiness apart from a radical orientation toward the spiritual and material good of others. In a word: there is no holiness without mission. As Pope Saint John Paul II reminds us:

 

The universal call to holiness is closely linked to the universal call to mission. Every member of the faithful is called to holiness and to mission. This was the earnest desire of the [Second Vatican] Council, which hoped to be able “to enlighten all people with the brightness of Christ, which gleams over the face of the Church, by preaching the Gospel to every creature.” The Church’s missionary spirituality is a journey toward holiness… (Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio, 90).

 

Our times cry out for this kind of holiness, one enflamed by the ardent determination to bring as many of our brothers and sisters as possible to Christ.

 

  1. Holiness Occurs Within the Christian Community: This universal call to holiness and mission is meant to be fostered within the context of a Christian community. We are meant to spur each other on by our devotion, good example, generosity, and encouragement.

 

Dear brothers and sisters: let us remember the missionary enthusiasm of the first Christian communities. Despite the limited means of travel and communication in those times, the proclamation of the Gospel quickly reached the ends of the earth. And this was the religion of a man who had died on a cross, ‘a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles’! (1 Cor 1:23). Underlying this missionary dynamism was the holiness of the first Christians and the first communities (Pope Saint John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio, 90).

 

Do I strive to build up my family and Christian community with missionary awareness? Do I value the example and help I receive, and do I strive to help others along this same path of holiness?

 

Conversation with Christ: Lord, make my holiness real. Let it be characterized by a heartfelt, growing and universal love for all people. Let my heart beat in unison with yours. Open my eyes to all the good that I can do for my brothers and sisters, and don’t allow me to walk away from any opportunity to show this world your love. Amen.

 

Resolution: I will take some time today to examine my conscience and honestly assess the spontaneity, depth, and extension of my charity towards others, especially those I supposedly love the most.

February 19, 2024 – Holiness and Community Read More »

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!