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May 15, 2026

Marriage-Family-Symp

Regnum Christi Gathers Apostles to Strengthen Marriage and Family across North America

/ Christian Life, Family, Regnum Christi, Regnum Christi News

From May 26 to 29, 2026, Regnum Christi members from across the United States and Canada will gather for the first Regnum Christi Marriage and Family Symposium. This convocation brings together Regnum Christi members of all vocations who are actively leading marriage apostolates across the territory to address a question at the heart of our 2025-2030 mission: How can Regnum Christi, as an apostolic body, best contribute to the authentic renewal of marriage in North America?

Because marriage is the foundation of the family, the symposium will focus specifically on marriage apostolates, gathering approximately 75 participants who are on the front lines of this work in their localities and communities. All Regnum Christi members of every vocation who are currently engaged in marriage apostolates are especially invited to attend.

A Commission at Work

The symposium is being organized by Regnum Christi’s recently established Marriage and Family Commission, created by the North American Territorial Directive College (TDC) as a direct response to the 2024 General Convention’s call to make marriage and family the key apostolic focus for Regnum Christi internationally. Led by BJ and Jeannine Agugliaro, the commission includes Patrick and Christina Jacobeen, Dr. Kathleen Musslewhite, Fr. Peter Hopkins, LC, Fr. Juan Sabadell, LC, and Monica Treviño. Together they have been studying the full landscape of marriage apostolates currently offered across North America, assessing how well existing initiatives work together, and developing recommendations to strengthen alignment and territorial support. At the symposium, the commission will present its findings and open them to discussion, questions, and collective discernment.

Listening Together to the Holy Spirit

The symposium is designed as a working convocation rooted in prayer, genuine listening, and discernment. Participants will have time to hear the commission’s report, assimilate its findings individually and in small groups, and share their own responses and experiences. Special guest speakers include:

  • Adolfo Guëmez, LC, general counselor of the Legionaries of Christ who is also responsible for the adults and married couples are of Regnum Christi’s Life and Mission department in the General Directorate.
  • Diana Villareal, founder of the Centro de Consultoría in Monterrey, Mexico, which provides couples therapy emotional and psychological support, and pastoral accompaniment to families.
  • Julia Dezelski, associate director for Marriage and Family Life at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
  • Paul McCusker, senior director of creative content for the Augustine Institute.

The guiding questions for participants at the symposium are concrete and apostolic:

  • How has my understanding of the challenges/opportunities related to marriage apostolates changed/grown over the years of my involvement?
  • What do I currently see as the top challenges/opportunities for the renewal of marriage in North America?
  • What, if any, is (or could be) Regnum Christi’s unique contribution to marriage ministry and the renewal of marriage in North American?
  • How has God been working most powerfully through the apostolate(s) I have been involved in (what are the bright spots), and what does that tell me about what Regnum Christi’s apostolic “focus” on marriage and family life should look like?

How do I understand what is meant by Regnum Christi being an “apostolic body”, and not only a spiritual family? And how could that affect what Regnum Christi’s apostolic “focus” on marriage and family should look like?

The Mission Ahead

The Marriage and Family Commission will continue its work through August 2026, presenting preliminary findings to the Territorial Directive College in November 2025 and delivering a final report at the close of its term. The symposium is a pivotal milestone in that effort, and in the broader call to unleash the evangelizing power of the sacrament of marriage and form missionary families across North America.

Please pray for the participants in the symposium and for the mission of Regnum Christi as it seeks to contribute to the authentic renewal of marriage in North America.

Regnum Christi Gathers Apostles to Strengthen Marriage and Family across North America Read More »

DMU_Interview

“Helping each person become the apostle Christ is calling them to be” A Conversation with Fr. Carlos Gutiérrez, LC and Fr. Charles Sikorsky, LC, President of Divine Mercy University

/ Divine Mercy University News, Legionaries of Christ, Legionaries of Christ News, Regnum Christi, Regnum Christi News

 

Fr. Carlos Gutiérrez, LC, recently elected General Director of the Legionaries of Christ, is also a graduate of Divine Mercy University’s Masters in Psychology program. In this interview for the Called to Flourish Podcast, Fr. Charles Sikorsky, LC, president of Divine Mercy University, talks to him about how his education and formation have given him insights necessary for his ministry as a priest in the different roles he has held over the years, and now as General Director. 

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW

It was while working with adolescents in ECYD and accompanying young people in spiritual direction in Monterrey that Fr. Carlos recognized a desire to accompany people more deeply and pursued a master’s degree in psychology from Divine Mercy University.

“When I started working in the apostolate and giving spiritual direction to young people, I discovered that there were many things from psychology that I wanted to learn in order to help me accompany the young people I was working with. I really like the spiritual direction program Divine Mercy offers, I find it very useful for priests, because it’s a very good complement to the formation we receive in the seminary.”

Fr. Carlos emphasized that the formation he received shapes how he forms others. One insight in particular stands out to him: the power of helping people flourish by discovering and developing the gifts God has placed in them.

“I really try to make people flourish, to find the best sides of themselves,” Fr. Gutiérrez said. “The talents and gifts they have received from God, they can make them flourish and put them to work for the mission and for fulfilling their vocation.”

 It is accompaniment ordered not merely to correction of vices or faults, but to the positive things God is doing and to the mission, helping each person become the apostle Christ is calling them to be.

When asked what the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi offer the Church today, he returned to the heart of the charism: the lived, personal experience of Christ at the center.

“The Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi share this experience of God, of Jesus Christ as a person that each one has encountered in their work, in their lives, in their prayers — a personal God who is really in contact with me, who is really my friend, right next to me, who enjoys life with me, who suffers with me. That experience of Christ is what we are called to share with the world.”

Find out more about the Masters in Psychology and other programs that DMU offers at www.divinemercy.edu.

“Helping each person become the apostle Christ is calling them to be” A Conversation with Fr. Carlos Gutiérrez, LC and Fr. Charles Sikorsky, LC, President of Divine Mercy University Read More »

26-05-17-PCOTW

A Week of Prayer for All of Our Priests and Consecrated Members: May 17th – 23rd

/ pray weekly, Regnum Christi News

Regnum Christi invites our entire spiritual family and all our friends to join us in praying especially for our brothers and sisters living the consecrated vocations of Legionary priests, Consecrated Women, and Lay Consecrated Men in our territory.

Each week throughout the year, we will pray together for a different group of Legionaries and Consecrated, spanning all the communities across the territory, as our “Priests and Consecrated of the Week.”

Our Consecrated members are men and women who have said yes to Christ’s call to follow him, leaving everything behind to dedicate their entire lives to him and to join him in the mission of building his Kingdom. We come together to support them with our prayer, asking our Lord to strengthen them, hold them close to his Sacred Heart, and give them his deep joy as they live their mission each day.

 

This Week We Pray for

Dominguez_headshotBr. Javier Domínguez is originally from Mexico City, Mexico. Born into a practicing Catholic family, it wasn’t until the death of his grandfather that Br. Javier decided to draw closer to the Church and to God. That same year, he participated in missions with Mission Youth and Family, where he encountered a real and true Christ who loved him. After the missions, he joined Regnum Christi, and after high school, spent one year as an RC missionary. Living with the priests during that year, and experiencing their life of prayer and fraternal charity, eventually led Br. Javier, after much discernment and growth, to enter the novitiate. Today, he is a first-year humanist at LC Cheshire.

Pajerski_headshotFr. Daniel Pajerski, LC is from Raleigh, North Carolina, and was ordained in 2004. In the summer of 2005, he was assigned to work at Everest Collegiate High School and Academy in Clarkston, Michigan, where he oversaw the faith formation programs for the students, faculty, and parents. God blessed him with over 13 years of service there, striving to help students and families to get to know Jesus Christ and their Catholic faith better. Since 2019 he has been serving as president of Our Lady of Bethesda Retreat Center. He is also the superior of the LC community in Arlington, Virginia, assistant chaplain at Divine Mercy University, and assistant chaplain of Regnum Christi Northern Virginia. In his free time, Fr. Daniel keeps in shape mainly through running and is a fourteen-time marathoner, including six Boston marathons.

Silva_headshotMaritza Silva is from Cotija, Mexico, and was consecrated in 1997. She studied in Madrid, Spain, then work at Oxford School in Mexico City till she arrived to the US in 2002. She was assigned to work at Mater Ecclesiae College as the Director of Financial and administrative affairs for 14 years. In 2014 she arrived to Houston, Texas and served as the director of the community of Consecrated Women and director of ECYD girls. She is currently a member of the Consecrated Women’s community in Cincinnati, serving the Ohio Valley in youth work and she continues serving the high school Encuentro group in the Woodlands, TX

Gronotte_HeadshotFr. Andrew Gronotte, LC was born to and raised by Tim and Mary Anne Gronotte, in Northern Kentucky. He has a brother (fr Christopher) and sister Elizabeth. He started his discernment by entering the apostolic school in New Hampshire at age 13. His brother followed him there the next year. A few long years later was ordained in 2016. He began his ministry in Washington, DC, continuing what he did during his pastoral years in the seminary, leading the ECYD boys’ section and managing Camp Castleton in Virginia. After he was asked to serve as assistant chaplain at Holy Spirit Preparatory School in Atlanta, Georgia. He is currently serving Regnum Christi Ohio Valley as the ECYD boys director, coordinator of Camp River Ridge in Indiana, which his late father was instrumental in developing, and is chaplain of Elder High School. During his ministry, he has led many international and local mission trips for families and high schoolers, and led many more camps where many youth have began and deepened their friendship with God.

 

Silva_headshotDaire Ryan is a consecrated woman who was consecrated in 1978. She is currently a member of the territorial directorate community of Consecrated Women in Atlanta, Georgia, serving as a formator for the women’s section, and in marriage apostolates.

 

Scherber_headshotFr. Jerek Scherber, LC grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and is the oldest of ten children. He entered apostolic school at the age of 14, and after high school, continued his formation in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada; in Cheshire, Connecticut; and in Rome. From 2012-2015, he was an assistant formator of novices in Cornwall and then in Cheshire. He then spent one year in Houston helping at a school and running camps and retreats. He was ordained in 2019, and he is currently a member of the LC community in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, where he serves as the ECYD director for RC Ontario.

Prayer for Priests and Consecrated Members in Regnum Christi

God our Father,
We thank you for our spiritual family of Regnum Christi, and for those within it that you have called to total consecration as Legionaries of Christ, Consecrated Women, and Lay Consecrated Men.

We ask you to renew their encounter with your Son Jesus Christ,
who goes out to meet them and reveals the love of his heart to them.
Deepen their personal love for Christ
and their trust in his love for them.
Gather them close to him,
form them,
and send them out accompanied by your Son,
in the mission of forming apostles and Christian leaders who make your Kingdom present in hearts, in families, and in society.

Send your Holy Spirit to sanctify and strengthen them,
And to help them respond generously and courageously to their mission each day.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Week of Prayer for All of Our Priests and Consecrated Members: May 17th – 23rd Read More »

Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

St Isidore the Farmer

/ Uncle Eddy

Dear Doreen, Your last note has caused me some concern.  Are you falling prey to the monstrous “me-ism” pervading today’s college campuses?  Gauging by how many times you referred to yourself (your feelings, your plans, your problems, your opinions, yada yada yada), I would guess that you are.  Perhaps you need a shove out of your Ptolemaic system and back into the Copernican system: the SON is the center of the universe, my dear niece, not YOU! Don’t be offended; I can speak (rather, type) the truth so plainly only because I love you so deeply.  If your poor, incarcerated uncle doesn’t keep you on the path to sanctity, who will? Besides, you are (admit it) quite hardheaded, and subtlety simply doesn’t work with you (never has – even when you were a toddler).  In case you have any doubts about my diagnosis, do the following thought experiment: sit quietly for a moment, and try to clear your mind. Are you sitting quietly? … Now, ask yourself the following question and then answer it, staying calm and recollected: What do I spend most of my time thinking about?… I would wager my life’s savings (which I am sure they confiscated when they arrested me) that your answer (if you were honest) was the little two-letter first person singular accusative pronoun – “me.”  (Maybe you preferred the reflexive – “myself” – the same thing.) Don’t be discouraged; that’s par for the course. But be humble, recognize that this is a sign of immaturity – your self-love is still your motor; your love for Christ and his Kingdom ought to be your motor. Changing motors is this life’s primary task. I have often been struck by our Lord’s insistence on giving as the antidote to that kind of meism.  “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35); “Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”  This great Christian principle has inspired all the saints. Take today’s saint, for instance. Isidore was a poor, uneducated farmer who worked his whole life long for the same rich Spanish landowner.  He had almost nothing of his own (his wife was equally generous; she too is revered as a saint), because the little he did earn he would give away to people in even greater need than himself.  But God showered him with wonderful graces. He was invited to a parish dinner one time, and arrived late (he had stayed overtime in the church, absorbed in prayer). A gaggle of beggars trooped in behind him.  The organizers complained that they had saved enough for him, but not for his coterie of ne’er-do-wells. He assured them that there would be plenty. Turns out, there was. When they went to fetch Isidore’s dinner, they found enough to feed everyone and still have leftovers.  Another time, he was carrying a sack of corn to be ground at the miller’s. It was winter, and he saw a few birds mournfully and hungrily staring down from their perch in the bare branches of a tree. Isidore emptied half the sack of corn onto the ground, much to the birds’ delight and to his companion’s scorn.  But when they arrived at the miller’s, the bag was completely full. And when the corn was ground, it produced double the expected amount of flour. So you see, darling Doreen, the more we give, the fuller our lives become.  The reason behind this law of the universe is simple: God himself is a giver.  Just take a look around you; does the universe look like the product of a selfish, miserly deity?  Hardly. So if we are to be his children, we need to inherit his generosity. Your loving uncle, Eddy

St Isidore the Farmer Read More »

26-05-15-DM

May 15, 2026 – Rejoice

/ Daily Meditations

Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter

 

John 16:20-23

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”

Opening Prayer: Dear God of heaven and earth, I give you all of my distractions so that I may be in union with you for these few minutes of my day. Soften my heart where it is hardened and release me from my selfish and vain ways so that I may be an instrument of your grace.

Encountering Christ:

  1. Weeping or Rejoicing?: On Good Friday and Holy Saturday, we wept and mourned for the Lord in our hearts. The world around us was rejoicing because it was springtime. It can be difficult to explain the foreboding and pain Christians sometimes feel during the Holy Week triduum, but the pain is real because the Lord is so dear to us. The beauty of it all, however, is that by dying with the Lord we also rise with him on Easter Sunday. The forty days of weeping makes the joy of victory so much sweeter. And we are grateful to have a fifty-day Easter season to revel in the joy of the Lord’s Resurrection.

     

  2. From Pain to Joy: Giving birth can be scary because the mother knows there will be pain. All pain is forgotten and replaced by joy once the baby arrives. In the spiritual life, Jesus sometimes stretches our hearts beyond our comfort level. We learn that loving is not an easy task but one that, for all its trials and challenges, brings a joy that surpasses all understanding.

     

  3. Whatever You Ask: Our Lord made a bold promise: “Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” In our prayer life, our petitions are not always answered affirmatively, yet Jesus promised it. St. Augustine clears up the confusion: “Whatever we ask for that would hinder our salvation, we do not ask in our Savior’s name… When he sees us ask anything to the disadvantage of our salvation, he shows himself our Savior by not doing it.”

Conversing with Christ: Risen Jesus, you are the source of my joy. Let that joy take root in my heart so that I can live in your Resurrection and keep in perspective that which makes me anxious. You have conquered death, and I have risen with you!

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will spend five minutes reflecting on your Resurrection and what that means to me in my life.

For Further Reflection: Read Pope Benedict XVI’s reflection on the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus: “Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection.”

Marjorie Davin is a lay member of Regnum Christi who has served as director of the Women’s Section in the Washington, D.C., area. She and her husband have been married for over 30 years and are the parents of four adult children.

May 15, 2026 – Rejoice Read More »

Is It OK to Go to Communion If I Arrive After the Homily?

/ Ask a Priest
Q: A friend told me it is not permitted for me to receive Communion if I arrive late for the Mass, say, after the homily. Is this true? I’ve heard of this before but have never found it given as a Church law anywhere (and this could be a fault on my part). Nevertheless, is there a point beyond which one should not go for Communion if has arrived late, even when he has a legitimate reason for arriving late? Is it a sin? — Augustine

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC:

A: Someone arriving after the homily of a Sunday Mass should seek out and attend a full Mass. Someone arriving after the homily of a daily Mass should refrain from receiving Communion.

Mass should be attended from the start. All the parts of the Mass fit together, from the penitential rite through the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist and on to the final blessing.

Now, it’s one thing if, say, a mom with young children struggles to get to Mass on time but is late. Or if there is something beyond a person’s control, such as a traffic backup due to an accident.

Late arrival at Mass through laziness or carelessness is a form of disrespect to Our Lord.

And to show up after the homily and receive Communion is a bit insulting to Our Lord, since the penitential rite and readings help to prepare a soul for reception of the Eucharist.

For related reading, see one of my colleague’s posts on the topic.

Think of it this way: How would you feel if your bride didn’t show up at your wedding Mass until after the homily?

You would expect better treatment than that. And so does Our Lord.

Is It OK to Go to Communion If I Arrive After the Homily? 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!