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March 19, 2024

Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Ask a Priest

“Ask a Priest: If a Priest’s English Isn’t Good, Could I Switch to Online Masses?”

/ Ask a Priest
Q: I am an 81-year-old woman who sometimes has problems getting around but try to get to Mass every Sunday. Our country parish is small, and we just got a new pastor. I and others all have the same problem: We cannot understand anything he is saying, and we just give up on the sermon as we can’t follow it. He is from another country. I do understand that we have a major shortage of priests, and we take what we can get, but I get nothing out of Mass anymore. I have gone online and found some wonderful Masses with singing, etc., and I really enjoy hearing them. But am I really doing the right thing? I just wish we had an English-speaking priest so I could enjoy my church Mass. Thank you. – P.C.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: You are fortunate that you at least have a priest who can celebrate the Eucharist. Many parish churches don’t even have that anymore.

It remains important that you attend Mass if you can. Even if you don’t understand much, the Holy Spirit can still bestow graces, especially through the Eucharist.

If you find that online Masses help, you could use them as a supplement but not as a substitute for the real thing.

If you hope for native English-speaking priests, it would be good to pray for vocations and to spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. “Ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Luke 10:2).

And pray for the priest you have. It probably hasn’t been easy for him to leave his homeland and to minister in another language.

For more ideas, see the U.S. bishops’ conference webpage on vocation promotion.

 

“Ask a Priest: If a Priest’s English Isn’t Good, Could I Switch to Online Masses?” Read More »

Lenten Resolutions to Improve Your Relationship With Food

Lenten Resolutions to Improve Your Relationship With Food

/ APP News Feed, Blog, Regnum Christi News

“It’s complicated.”

 

That’s how I’d describe my relationship with food. And let’s face it: living in this body- and beauty-focused world can be tough on the old self-image. On any given day, you can probably find me wishing I were thinner or fitter, or wondering if I should be hopping on the newest fad diet. And it’s easy for me to only see food as “good” or “bad,” as something to control (or else be controlled by), instead of what it is truly meant to be: nourishment.

 

If you’re like me, and longing to re-establish a healthy and uncomplicated relationship with food, here are some things I’ll be trying this Lent. Choose one resolution from each category, and approach Lent as the season of healing that it is meant to be.

 

Fast…

…from mindless eating

 

Eat intentionally, by not doing anything else (like working, watching TV, or scrolling through your phone) while you eat. Don’t eat standing up; always set the table or place when you eat, even when you’re eating alone. Eat when you’re hungry, and not when you’re not, paying attention to your body’s cues that you’ve had enough.

 

…from needing to see “results”

 

“Our progress has nothing to do with the body, which is the thing that matters least,” says St. Teresa of Avila. Focus on fidelity to your Lenten resolution, and not the physical fruits it might produce, by ditching the scale, and even tucking your full-length mirror away in the closet.

 

…from food that won’t give you the added benefit of weight loss

 

If you like the idea of traditional fasting from food, but fear you will focus more on the physical benefits of fasting than on the spiritual, fast from food items that won’t cause you to lost weight (like artificial sweeteners, salt and pepper, or ice in your drinks).

 

Pray…

…grace at every meal (and snack!)

 

Get in the custom of praying before every meal, even if it’s just a midday coffee or a small evening snack. Build the habit of gratitude for every bite.

 

…the Word of God daily

 

“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Remember that your daily prayer is the greatest nourishment you will receive each day, and make extra time and effort to contemplate the Gospels this Lent.

 

…for virtue 

 

Instead of focusing on being thin, or even fit and healthy, which in itself does not necessarily make us more available to God’s love and mercy, concentrate on the virtues. Pray for detachment from the bad habits you might be clinging to, self-mastery over your passions, fortitude in the face of temptation, and temperance in all things.

Give…

 

…time, food, or money to the hungry

 

 Spend time this Lent around people who might not have the privilege of overeating, eating according to a specific diet, or being picky about what they eat by volunteering at a soup kitchen or donating to a food bank.

 

…a meal to someone in need

 

Once a week, deliver a meal to a person or a family in need, like an elderly neighbour who lives alone, or a family with a brand new baby.

 

…your time 

 

Make a point to meet someone for coffee, invite a family for brunch or supper, or have friends over for drinks once a week, acknowledging that food is meant to nurture relationships as much as it’s meant to nourish our bodies.

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Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

St Joseph, Husband of Mary

/ Uncle Eddy

Dear Giuseppe,

Difficulties praying?  Not to worry.  There are solutions.  I can tell you some of them, but it won’t make a hoot of a difference unless you decide to put them into practice.  Are you ready for that?  Since you wrote to me about it, I assume you are.  So, here goes.

First of all, I should say that I’m not making these up myself.  These are tried and true principles of prayer that the Church has inculcated in its faithful for centuries.  In fact, they go back to the very beginnings of the Church, to the life of its universal patron, St Joseph himself (who just happens to be today’s saint).

The key to fruitful prayer can be summed up in one word: listening.  Prayer is a conversation.  If you do all the talking, the conversation will break down.  You have got to develop the habitual attitude of listening in order to grow in your prayer life.  But there’s a problem here: that attitude is dangerous.  We all know deep down that if we listen to God, he will probably ask us to do things that appear difficult, or uncomfortable.  That’s because love is satisfied only with the best for the beloved, and the best is usually not the most comfortable – at least, not in this fallen world.  So putting on the habitual attitude of listening requires deciding beforehand that whatever God asks you to do, you’re going to do it: it requires the virtue of humility, of obedience to God’s will.

That was St Joseph’s great characteristic.  He was always ready to obey.  Scripture shows him as the man who was always obeying God’s will, even though God’s will was always burdensome for him.  He had to marry a woman who got pregnant out of wedlock; he had to live in perpetual continence; he had to support his family on little income (we know he was poor because of he and Mary offered two doves when they presented Jesus in the temple instead of a lamb); he had to shelter his wife in a cave when she was going to give birth; he had to flee at night on the spur of the moment across the desert to Egypt with a newborn baby and its mother; he had to come back a couple years later only to flee again from Judea to Galilee in order to avoid another tyrant’s potential wrath… God was always asking him to take the narrow road.  And Joseph always obeyed, because he was always ready to obey, because he understood that God was God, and that he himself was not God.

And that’s the basic attitude that will help your prayer more than anything.  When you pray, you are lifting your heart and mind to God.  Prayer is first and foremost about God, not your feelings.  It’s a conversation.  God wants to hear what you have to say, but he also wants you to hear what he has to say.  And if you’re not ready to listen, he’s not going to say anything.   He is not rude: he’ll let you blab on and on until you bore yourself into abandoning prayer altogether, though it will hurt him to let you do so.  He’ll try to edge in a word here and there, when you stop to take a breath, but if you’re not ready to hear, if you’re not ready to obey, he’s not going to force himself on you.

There’s a lot more we could say, and I’m sure we will in future exchanges.  But let’s leave it at that for now.  Ask St Joseph to say a prayer for you.  The attitude of listening is hard to develop in today’s egocentric, individualistic society, but I am sure St Joseph will be glad to lend you a hand.

Your loving uncle,

Eddy

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March 19, 2024 – A Heroic Example

/ Daily Meditations

 

 

 

 

 

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

 

Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a

 

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

 

Introductory Prayer: Lord, in spite of difficulties I trust in your love and mercy. I believe in you, I hope in you, and I love you above all things. These ingredients—faith, hope, and love—will help strengthen me for today’s battle. Lord, I entrust myself to you unconditionally.

 

Petition: Lord, grant me a clean conscience like that of your foster father, Joseph.

 

  1. My Situation: A danger could exist on our spiritual journey. When everything is quiet, works well, and is intelligible, or when others esteem our efforts, our life seems to flourish. On the other hand, when everything is tough, humiliating, or painful, a repugnance seems to cast a gray cloud over us. We may even begin to wonder if God still loves us. We need to keep our faith in God strong always. Joseph is a good example for us to emulate, for he did not become discouraged easily when undergoing trials.

 

  1. A Clean Conscience: Joseph, a just man, wanted to believe Mary’s story, but the facts were too harsh to comprehend. He loved and cared for Mary, but he felt betrayed. Since he had a clean conscience, he tried to dismiss the perfect dream of taking Mary to be his wife and decided to divorce her quietly. God, seeing Joseph’s honesty, communicated to him the truth about Mary’s integrity. A message in a dream was enough to convince his willing heart. How willing am I to believe the works of God in my life? How willing am I to fulfill God’s will?

 

  1. Not All Is Easy for a Just Man: God chose a man of great integrity and detail to shoulder the daunting responsibility of raising his Son. Would Joseph ever have imagined that five months after taking Mary into his home he would have to take her to Bethlehem without any comforts or security during the journey? Would he ever have imagined that he would have to flee to Egypt, dodging swords and soldiers? This was the price he paid for being an honorable man. However, the Lord rewarded Joseph with being the foster father of the Creator of the Universe, with all the blessings and satisfactions that this would imply.

 

Conversation with Christ: O Christ, King and Lord, your foster father St. Joseph provides me with an example of courage in bearing serenely the weight of life’s crosses and difficulties. Help me to see the beauty of giving limitlessly and surrendering my life to you.

 

Resolution: I will chat with St. Joseph at some moment during the day, asking him to teach me how to be serene in times of trial.

March 19, 2024 – A Heroic Example 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!