April 5, 2024

Francisco Gámez Speaks on the Impact the General Convention will have in the Evangelizing Work of Each Territory

RC General Convention | April 29- May 4, 2024

 

Francisco Gámez, a lay member on the General Directive College of Regnum Christi, speaks about the impact the General Convention will have in the evangelizing work of each territory.

 

Find out more about the General Convention here.

 

 

 

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Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Ask a Priest

“Ask a Priest: What If I Didn’t Raise My Daughter in the Faith Well?”

Q: My daughter will be giving birth in a few months’ time and has told me she will not baptize the baby. This is really upsetting, and I blame myself because I was a bad model for her. For example, I did not instruct her in the Catholic faith or send her to a Catholic school and only baptized her when she was 7 years old. I turned my back on the Church for decades and only returned about 10 years ago, by which time she had left home so she does not relate to the Church. And advice would be gratefully received. – J.F.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s decision not to baptize her baby.

As you imply, this decision is linked to the shaky formation in the faith she received when growing up.

But there is always hope. “For God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

The first thing would be to intensify your prayers and sacrifices for your daughter and her family. Think about attending Mass more frequently, if not daily. Have a Mass celebrated for your daughter and the baby.

In the meantime, try to learn more about your faith. The better you know your faith, the better you might be able to explain it to her.

If it’s opportune, apologize to your daughter for not doing a better job in raising her in the faith. If she sees you repentant and humble and leading a devout life, that might give her something to ponder.

To learn more about the faith you might check out this list of books:

https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-ultimate-apologists-reading-list

Other suggestions would be:

Search and Rescue: How to Bring Your Family and Friends Into or Back Into the Catholic Church, by Patrick Madrid.

The Essential Catholic Survival Guide, by Catholic Answers.

U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults.

For now, have patience. It might take a while for your daughter’s conversion. But remember, God loves your daughter and her baby even more than you do. So there is reason for hope.

Count on my prayers.

 

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Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

Saint Maria Crescencia Hoss

Dear Chrissie,

I think your diagnosis is a bit off.  Your “depression and anxiety” may have many different causes.  Without a doubt, however, judging by the updates you have been sending me, one of them is your vanity.  Vanity is a terrible thing.  It puts your self-esteem at the mercy of other people’s superficial, unpredictable, unsubstantial, and fickle opinions (“What will they think of me if…?”).  If your sense of self-worth is dependent on something as undependable as that, it’s no wonder you are so given to depression and anxiety.  This is where prayer and spiritual reading comes in.  You have to strengthen your deep-seated Christian convictions.  Your life is important and meaningful not because of popularity or membership in a sorority or a stellar report card or any other super-achievements, but because of Christ and his love for you.  Go back to that.  Make it your anchor, just as today’s saint did.

She was born in Bavaria, today’s southern Germany, the seventh of eight children.  At an early age she felt a call to give her life completely to Jesus.  But her family was poor.  She had no dowry, and entrance into convents in those days required dowries (just as marriage did).  The superiors refused to admit her.  But she persisted in her efforts.  Finally, the town’s mayor (who was actually a Protestant), came to her defense and convinced the superiors of the convent to let Maria join their community.

You can imagine how they welcomed her – not at all.  She was ostracized, made fun of, given the worst jobs, and otherwise maltreated.  It would have been easier for her to give up.  But she knew Jesus wanted here there, and she wanted only to please him.  So she was able to endure her sisters’ mistreatment.  Not only that, but she actually took advantage of it to grow in intimacy with Christ, finding more and more comfort in his love, because precarious human comforts were less and less available.  She responded to abuse with patience, and to disdain with kindness, year after year.

Eventually, the other nuns realized that even if she hadn’t brought a monetary dowry into the convent, she had brought a spiritual one: holiness.  They began to respect and revere her, and eventually she was even elected superior of the community – a position that she was forced to accept against her will.  But she carried it out with wisdom and love, unruffled by the rumors, the gossip, and the criticism that so often go along with positions of authority.  All because she had learned to live seeking first to please God, not popular opinion.

There is a lesson in that for you, my sensitive niece.  I will pray that you learn it well, for your sake and for the sake of those souls Christ wants to touch through you.

Your loving uncle,

Eddy

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April 5, 2024 – Fire of Mercy, Fire of Love

 

 

 

 

 

Friday in the Octave of Easter

 

 

John 21:1-14

 

Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.

 

Introductory Prayer: Lord, you are the source of all life because you are life itself. Your Resurrection gives me the hope of being raised from the dead to rejoice with you forever in heaven. I need to dwell more often on the good you have done for us and on your promises to those who put their trust in you. Thank you, Jesus, for taking up your life again and leading the way home to heaven. I love you, and I want to follow after you with all my heart. I want to cooperate more fully with you in bringing many others there with me.

 

Petition: Lord, grant me the grace to seek your mercy and offer it to others.

 

  1. “I Am Going Fishing”: In a meditation earlier this week we saw how the two Apostles, Peter and John, entered into the tomb. Scripture notes that John believed, yet it is silent on the subject of Peter’s faith (cf. Jn 20:8). Peter had to resolve something in his life before his faith would completely commit him to Our Lord. In his heart Peter is mulling over his past infidelities. When men feel uncomfortable in situations, they tend to seek out familiar, daily securities that can restore their self-confidence and worth. For Peter, that security was fishing, and so he goes, inviting along the other Apostles who had also abandoned Our Lord in his Passion. Perhaps their own discomfort is why they so readily joined Peter… Do I have the interior wherewithal to turn back to Our Lord when I have offended him? Do I have a spirit of reflection, humility and courage?

 

  1. True Friends Bring Us Back to Our Lord: Perhaps John entered the boat with different intentions than did Peter and the rest of the disciples. Perhaps this fishing trip reminded him of the previous trip that brought Peter to repent and declare, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (cf. Lk 5:1-11). Acting on this inspiration, John may have entered the boat to stay close to Peter until an opportunity of reconciliation would arise. The opportunity came suddenly when John spotted Jesus on the shore and shouted out, “It is the Lord.” John did not abandon Peter. Neither are we to abandon each other. We all have “baggage” in our lives. It’s comforting to have a friend who brings us back to the Lord. We also need to know how to approach others with humility and understanding to bring them back to the Lord. Am I a friend to others like John was a friend to Peter?

 

  1. From the Fire of Betrayal to the Fire of Mercy: As Peter arrived on shore he saw the charcoal fire. How it must have rekindled his sorrow of the night before Our Lord’s Passion when, as he warmed himself by a fire, he denied Jesus by saying, “I do not know the man!” (Mt 26:72-74) How he must have wished he had said other words, like when he declared, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). Peter’s history, like ours, wasn’t always written with constant fidelity. But Our Lord invites all to the rich banquet of his mercy: “Come, have breakfast.” Our Lord returns kindness for evil, leaving us with a real and eloquent illustration of the Beatitudes (cf. Lk 6:27-38). The disciples didn’t need to ask him, “Who are you?” Three years of seeing Jesus forgive sins and cure the sick helped them to know Jesus as the Merciful One. Do I know him by that name?

 

Conversation with Christ: Lord, may I always understand that your act of redemption doesn’t end just with the forgiveness of my sins. It ends with my heart changed and willing to forgive and even to serve those who have wronged me. Allow me to spread your charism of love everywhere.

 

Resolution: I will do a significant but hidden act of charity to someone whom I find difficult to be with, perhaps even someone I consider to be my enemy.

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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!