Main Menu
RC DAILY MEDITATIONS
RC DAILY MEDITATIONS

September 9, 2025

Mass Request Website

A new way to come to the altar: Mass requests made simple and sacred

/ Christian Life, Legionaries of Christ, Regnum Christi News, Weekly Message Blog, Whole Territory

The Legionaries of Christ Mass request team is overjoyed to announce the launch of their brand-new, state-of-the-art Mass request website—a beautiful, prayerful space created to bring your intentions to God’s altar in a new and inspired way.

The custom of requesting a Mass to be said for loved one is a long-standing tradition in the Church. It is a heartfelt act of love and spiritual unity, and the utmost prayer of intercession.

The new Mass request website will guide you, inspire you, and pray with you, whether you’re seeking to:

  • Request a Mass for a loved one, living or deceased
  • Discover the beauty and spiritual power of the Holy Mass
  • Explore special devotions like Gregorian Masses or Novenas
  • Deepen your Catholic faith and prayer life

Thoughtfully designed, the new Mass request website is more than a technological update—it is a tool for evangelization, an offering of love, and a platform that upholds the sacred dignity of the priesthood and Mass. It also helps support Legionary priests in communities throughout the world through the stipends received for the Masses requested.

At the new Mass request website, you’ll find:

  • A simple, reverent way to request Masses, celebrated with care by Legionary priests, most of whom serve in North America
  • Helpful guidance and answers to your most important spiritual questions
  • Reflections, testimonies, and stories of healing, grace, and hope through the power of the Eucharist
  • Opportunities to support priestly formation
  • A dedicated section for enrolling in Our Lady of Sorrows Purgatorial Society and Perpetual enrollments

The Legionaries of Christ Mass request team is eager to welcome you to this new spiritual home online, which launched September 4th. “The hope is that the website brings a spiritual connection between the altar and the soul,” says Barbara DiSpirito, member of the development team. “Our goal is to help individuals and families experience the mercy, hope, and healing of the Eucharist in a profoundly personal way.”

Find out more about what the new Legionaries of Christ Mass Request Program has to offer by visiting their website at lcmassrequest.org, or sign up to receive their newsletter, Come to the Altar, for reflections, Mass intentions, novena reminders, and much more.

If you have any questions or requests, please contact Barbara DiSpirito at contact@LCMassRequest.org or call (470) 682-3906.

“By giving donations for the celebration of the Mass, the faithful associate themselves more closely with Christ’s act of offering Himself as a victim and in so doing experience the effects of the Mass more fully.”

Pope Paul VI
Firma in Traditione, June, 1937

A new way to come to the altar: Mass requests made simple and sacred Read More »

Savanna Plunkett Discernment

From a Dominican Convent to the Candidacy: Savanna Plunkett takes the next step in discerning consecrated life

/ Christian Life, Consecrated Women, Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi News, Regnum Christi News, Weekly Message Blog, Whole Territory

Savanna Plunkett’s first call to the consecrated life came from an invitation from Fr. Mike Schmitz and involved eight years in a Dominican convent. Now she and four other young women enter the Candidacy program to continue to explore their vocation to become Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi.

These five women—from the United States, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico—spent the summer in the Summer Discernment Course in Monterrey, Mexico, where they followed the daily rhythm of prayer, formation, and community life, all with a single goal: to listen more closely to God’s call.

On August 9th, they each took the next step in this profound discernment process by formally beginning the Candidacy.

Path of formation toward consecrated life

The Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi are called to a profound intimacy with Christ, and to respond to this love with exclusive and total dedication to him through the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, all lived within community. As lay women, they seek to be “in the world but not of the world” (John 17:15-16), living out missions of evangelization and accompaniment, according to their own personal and unique gifts.

The path of formation to becoming a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi is about transformation into Christ and adequate preparation to be an apostle in the world.

The stages of initial formation begin with the Summer Discernment Course, which is a period of accompaniment designed to help clarify a possible call from God to consecrated life. This 7-week vocational discernment course runs from June to August in Monterrey and allows the participant to experience the life of the Candidacy and determine whether she is ready to take the next step in formal discernment.

Savannah Plunkett Discernment

That next step is the Candidacy program, a two-year period (similar to the novitiate for priests) that takes place in Monterrey, and provides the candidate with the opportunity to experience day-to-day living of the consecrated life. This stage also gives the candidate time and space to develop a deeper relationship with God and to learn more about herself and about the consecrated vocation, spirituality, and way of life.

At the end of the Candidacy program, the candidate will make her first vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, officially becoming a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi. She will dedicate herself to three years of study, community, and confirming her vocation before renewing her temporary vows.

During the final stage of apostolate, the Consecrated Woman continues her formation while integrating the apostolic dimension of the consecrated life, confirming her vocation and, at the end of those three years, making her final vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Society of Apostolic Life of the Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi.

The entire process, from entrance into the Candidacy program to making these final vows, lasts approximately eight years.

Meet Savanna Plunkett

Savanna Plunkett is one of the five candidates who has just begun the Candidacy stage of this deep discernment journey toward consecrated life (joined by Liana Almeida of Brazil, Lucía Allande of Mexico, and Mariana Segura and Andrea Rother of Colombia).

Originally from California, Savanna first heard the whispers of a vocation while attending a high school youth conference led by Fr. Mike Schmitz in Steubenville, Ohio. At the end of the conference, Fr. Mike invited anyone who might feel called to the priesthood or consecrated life to stand. At that moment, Savanna experienced, not a pressure, but a gentle invitation from the Lord to stand.

But Savanna had remained seated—at the time, she was certain that the consecrated life was not for her.

However, that first gentle invitation stayed with her, and Savanna, at 16 years old, decided to explore what this call might mean. Online, she looked up “a day in the life of a nun,” and after watching an Oprah interview of a community of Dominican sisters, at 19 years old, she entered the Dominican convent. There she remained for eight years, experiencing with joy the Dominican life, community, apostolate, and the opportunity to give herself completely to God.

But during her time with the Dominicans, Savanna noticed some desires within her heart that were not being fulfilled in the convent. “I had a deep longing for more prayer and contemplative life, and I also had a longing for an apostolate that wasn’t necessarily teaching,” says Savanna. “I felt called to accompaniment and to walking with people on their journeys, helping them in their spiritual life.”

Savannah Plunkett Discernment

Savanna left the community where she had spent the last eight years of her life in order to take time to more deeply discern where God was leading her. During this time of discernment, she attended a 30-day Ignatian retreat at Our Lady of Santa Clara Retreat Center, which is owned by the Legionaries of Christ, and served by the Legionary community of Cupertino, California. “It was the first time that I had done this deep discernment, figuring out what was in my heart, what was the charism there, what desires were there that were leading me to understand God’s call,” says Savanna. And it was here that she met Legionary priests, whose own charism resonated so strongly within her.

“I saw these men living what was in my heart.”

Feeling drawn to the spirituality of these Legionary priests, Savanna asked if their congregation had religious sisters, and it was then that she was introduced to the vocation of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi. Here, a new door opened for Savanna—she felt that all the unfulfilled desires of her heart were contained there, within the Regnum Christi charism and spiritual family, and within the life, mission, and spirituality of the Consecrated Women.

Pursuing this call, Savanna attended a Come and See visit with the Consecrated Women, where she was able to spend time with the community and experience how they lived out, day to day, the charism and spirituality of Regnum Christi. More than anything, she was looking for the answers to her deepest questions: Would this be where she found fulfillment of the unmet desires of her heart? And could the contemplative and apostolic life that she was searching for be found outside of a religious community, outside of the convent?

The answers became clear to her one evening during that weekend:

We had a bonfire with the Legionaries of Christ, with some Regnum Christi lay families, and with the Consecrated Women. And seeing their vocation lived in the context of the greater family, with all its dynamics, was confirming for me that the longing I had had on my heart—for a real family, a religious family, a family in the charism, a family working together—was being met in a particular way in that moment.

This moment led to Savanna attending the Summer Discernment Course in Monterrey, where she was able to further discern her call by experiencing the daily life of the Consecrated Women:

The discernment program was just so lifegiving and fruitful for me because it was an opportunity for me to really live the life of the Consecrated Women, and ask, is this what’s in my heart? Is this fulfilling the longing that’s here? Being able to go into apostolate, go into community life, journeying with all the aspects of the life in a way that truly shows me what this life looks like, and ask, is this fulfilling the longing in my heart?

Savanna now continues her journey along the path of discernment—along with Liana, Lucía, Mariana, and Andrea—as she begins the two-year Candidacy program with openness and trust in God’s plan.

Feeling a deeper call?

To learn more about the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christ, visit their website at consecratedwomen.org or follow them on Instagram or Facebook.

To find out more about the vocation to consecrated life, visit their Discernment Resource Center, or chat with Jacquie Lustig, assistant vocations director for North America, at (470) 835-7082 or email jlustig@regnumchristi.net. You can also check out this playlist of the Stages of Discernment with the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi on YouTube.

The Come and See weekend with the Atlanta community of Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi is a great way to experience the daily life of the consecrated vocation. The next event will be held October 23–26, 2025, and includes time for prayer and reflection, daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, opportunities for confession, spiritual direction, an interview with the vocations director, and the chance to learn more about the vocation and mission of the Consecrated Women. Find out more here.

From a Dominican Convent to the Candidacy: Savanna Plunkett takes the next step in discerning consecrated life Read More »

“Ask a Priest: May I Date a Lutheran?”

/ Ask a Priest
Q: Hi, I have a crush on a girl. She’s Lutheran and I’m Catholic. We spend a lot of time together and get along very well. We are both very modest and believe that sexual stuff should wait for marriage. I would love to spend every day with her and date but minus the sexual stuff. What is the Catholic teaching on this? Should we just stay friends? – Allen

 

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC A: It’s great to hear that you both believe that sex is only for marriage. The practice of chastity makes for healthier relationships all around. Now, decisions regarding dating are prudential ones that only you and this young woman can make. No one can make them for you. A few things are worth noting. Ideally, dating should be done with an eye toward marriage. You want to look for signs that this person might make a good wife who could help you and your children get to heaven. For the record, the Church doesn’t encourage mixed marriages. Differences in religion can be a source of tension as the years go on. The Catechism in No. 1634 says: “Difference of confession between the spouses does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in placing in common what they have received from their respective communities and learn from each other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ. “But the difficulties of mixed marriages must not be underestimated. They arise from the fact that the separation of Christians has not yet been overcome. The spouses risk experiencing the tragedy of Christian disunity even in the heart of their own home.” Now, you mention that you have a crush on this young woman. That is reason enough to put on the brakes a bit. Having a crush can blur your way of thinking. This is understandable. It’s important that you both learn each other’s values and hopes, as well as your limitations. Learning about each other in a healthy way requires boundaries. You mention wanting to spend every day with your friend. Be careful about spending too much time together, since that can lead to temptations you don’t expect. Rather, you might want to take things slower. Plan your activities to occur in public places. Try to mix with other people. And vary the activities. All this will help you to understand each other’s likes and interests and how you interact with others. You will also want to understand each other’s religious views. One of the conditions for a mixed marriage is that a Catholic has to promise to raise the children in the Catholic faith. Would this be a source of difficulty? In the meantime, cultivate your prayer life and sacramental life. And look for opportunities to share your faith with your friend. Then, see how things develop. Count on my prayers.  

“Ask a Priest: May I Date a Lutheran?” Read More »

Wait… And Hope

/ Weekly Message

Dear Friends,

 

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord (Psalm 27).

Toward the end of The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantés offers sage advice: “Never forget that, until the day when God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words: ‘wait’ and ‘hope.’” If that is human wisdom, this is because it’s first divine wisdom, expressed throughout God’s Word in various ways.

Contrast this with the attitude of Babel’s builders, repeated often throughout history: “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth” (Genesis 11:4). Each person’s history also carries this inheritance of sin. It is difficult to wait for God. It is difficult to trust him. We don’t want to rely on God; we would often prefer to earn our own way. We want not trust, but control.

And yet, when the Lord finds someone willing to wait and hope, his gentle omnipotence works new wonders. Each September we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows; each September we recall Our Lady faithfully waiting and hoping at the foot of the Cross, trusting that, somehow, God’s promise would be fulfilled and that “of her Son’s kingdom there would be no end” (Luke 1:33).

Mary reminds us, too, that this is no stoic resignation, but rather active receptivity of the very highest order: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” In this waiting and this hoping, the expression of her acceptance of God’s loving plan, Our Lady cooperates in the redemption of the entire world – at that moment she is already Mother of the Church and Queen of Apostles.

What might that mean for me? Where is the Lord inviting me to wait and to hope, to be strong and to let my heart take courage in him, and thus to cooperate with him in his plan of redemption?

God bless,

Fr. John Pietropaoli
Two Priests and a Mic podcaster

Wait… And Hope Read More »

September 9, 2025 – Thy Kingdom Come

/ Daily Meditations

Listen to the audio version

Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest

 

Luke 6:12-19

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

Opening Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, open my heart and mind to encounter your truth. Imprint your truth and love into my heart so that I can continue the work of your Apostles in your Kingdom here on earth.

Encountering Christ:

  1. Called to Be Apostles: Jesus had been gone all night long, and when he returned in the morning, he “called his disciples to himself.” Jesus invited all who were there to hear the decisions he had made in prayer. Then he called each of the Twelve to apostleship by name. One by one they stepped forward, accepting the offer to build up the Kingdom of God in a unique and powerful way. These were called to a great service, a service of apostleship, to leadership. Like the Apostles, each of us has a unique vocation to follow him as his apostle of peace, his ambassador in the world today (cf. 2 Cor 5:20).

  2. The Twelve: The number twelve has a major significance in our Judeo-Christian tradition. For example, there were twelve tribes of Israel, symbolizing God’s power and the completeness of Israel’s government (1 Kgs 4:7). Speaking of the Twelve Apostles, St. Augustine wrote, “Twelve is a sacred number…These twelve were to make known the Trinity [three persons] throughout the whole world—that is throughout the four corners of the world. That is the reason of the three times four” (Tractates on the Gospel of John). This Gospel verse contains foreshadowing of Judas’s betrayal, which for a time reduced the Twelve to the Eleven. But even then, Peter knew that one would need to replace him to complete the Twelve, and the Holy Spirit directed them to choose Matthias to replace Judas (cf. Acts 1:12-26). The government in Christ’s Kingdom had to become complete again. Do we see ourselves as subjects of Christ the King, or are we self-reliant? How can we grow in trust and submission to Our Lord, who governs us through his Church?

  3. Kingdom of Mercy: In this Gospel passage, Luke is showing that the Kingdom of Christ has come. Christ established his majestic government of Apostles, then he went out to encounter the world filled with sickness and tormented souls. He brought the people his peace and healing through his power and glory. The world thinks of status and prestige as its marks of royalty, but Christ turned that idea upside down and showed that real power and majesty are manifested through works of mercy. This is how his Kingdom shall come: full of hesed, God’s merciful love. We are called to share God’s merciful love with whomever we meet.

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, I adore you as my Lord, my God, and my King. I am sorry for the times when I have rejected your authority through my sins. Thank you for establishing your Kingdom here on earth. Please give me the fortitude to be your apostle and extend your reign of mercy, compassion, and love. Christ our King, thy Kingdom come!

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray this scriptural decade of the rosary, focusing on the Proclamation of the Kingdom: USCCB Third Luminous Mystery.

Carey Boyzuck, MTS, is a wife, mother, freelance writer, pastoral assistant, and lay member of Regnum Christi. She blogs at www.word-life-light.com.

September 9, 2025 – Thy Kingdom Come Read More »

Scroll to Top

Events

Donate

Looking for another country?

Contact Regnum Christi near you

News & Resources

Main Menu

News & Resources

The Regnum Christi Mission

The Regnum Christi Family

The Regnum Christi Identity

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!