July 31, 2026

26-08-02-PCOTW

A Week of Prayer for All of Our Priests and Consecrated Members: July 2nd – 8th

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

Lixey_headshotFr. Kevin Lixey, LC is from Flint, Michigan and was ordained in 2001. He has served as the vice rector of the Legionary novitiate in Connecticut, the head of the “Church and Sport” section of the Pontifical Council for the Laity at the Vatican, the director of the Regnum Christi women’s section in Atlanta, and the international director of the Patrons of the Arts in Vatican City, among other positions. Fr. Kevin has also written several books and articles and is fluent in four languages. He currently resides in Cupertino, California, where he serves as a community councilor for the LC community and the local RC director of the San Jose locality.

Pirie_headshotMary Patt Pirie is from Akron, Ohio, and was consecrated in 1994. With degrees in education and development and in moral theology, Mary Patt has worked in formation, education, and apostolates with adolescents and university students in Mexico, Spain, the United States and Italy. She has served in various capacities on the general direction team of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi in Rome since 2012. She is currently focusing on doctoral studies in moral theology.

Schmitz_headshotFr. Matthew Schmitz, LC grew up in Minnesota and was ordained a priest in 2013. His first assignment was as chaplain and teacher at Dublin Oak Academy in Ireland. He continued to serve in school chaplaincy in Texas and California. Fr. Matthew is currently the spiritual guide and chaplain for RC Philly.

Johnston_headshotNaoise Johnston was born in Saskatoon, Canada. With an undergraduate degree in philosophy and English and a master’s in information studies, she entered the consecrated life in Regnum Christi in 2002, in Dublin, Ireland. After completing her religious formation in Rhode Island, she continued working there in Mater Ecclesiae College until 2015 as accreditation liaison, professor, librarian, and community director. From 2015-2025 she served full-time on the territorial council of the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christ (CRC). While a council member dedicated the majority of her time to supporting the ongoing formation and mission assignment projection of the consecrated women, acting as Safe Environment Coordinator for the CRC and more. Naoise is currently working in Rome on an assignment for the Dicastery for Religious Institutes and Societies of Apostolic Life and is responsible for supporting and monitoring the Consecrated Women’s formation and studies on behalf of their general government.

Shininger_headshotFr. Brian Shininger, LC is a native of Defiance, Ohio and was ordained in 2005. He began his priesthood as Vice-Rector at the Legionaries’ minor seminary in Colfax, California, then spent two years in Mexico City as a Regnum Christi men’s chaplain. In 2012, Fr. Brian moved to San Jose, California where over the course of 13 years served as superior of the Legionary community, hospital chaplain, Regnum Christi local director and Regnum Christi women’s chaplain. He co-founded the Divine Mercy Healing retreats at Our Lady of Santa Clara Retreat Center and is a chaplain for All Things Women. Currently he resides in Raleigh, serving as the Regnum Christi chaplain for North Carolina and superior for the Legionary community.

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: July 2nd – 8th Read More »

Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

St Ignatius Loyola

Dear Laura, I do wish you would be careful what you read.  I have never understood those parents who become so delighted when their children start preferring weird books to television; “reading” in and of itself is not a morally positive thing, you know.  Just because you spend all your free time (and some of your not-free time) reading doesn’t mean you’re spending that time well – it depends on what you’re reading.  Cookbooks would be fine – the Revolutionary Handbook wouldn’t (that’s the little volume that was smuggled into the seminary where Joseph Stalin was studying to become a priest; it helped turn them all into the bloody revolutionaries that they became).  I vividly remember that you are more than mildly fastidious when it comes to what you put into your stomach (you always sneered at me when I took a second helping of those tasty-but-greasy French fries); do you take as much care about what you put into your mind and your imagination?  Take a lesson from today’s saint. Ignatius (Iñigo in the original Spanish) was a Christian knight from a noble family in the north of Spain.  He inherited all the swashbuckling worldliness of the flashiest Spanish gallants, and as a young man, he threw himself into the battles with France that raged in the borderlands surrounding his home.  There he was blasted with a cannonball and had to spend months recuperating (he ever after walked with a limp). Bored stiff, he asked for some chivalric romances (like Renaissance Danielle Steele stuff) to read.  None were available in the castle (hats off to his parents), but there was a “Life of Christ” and a few volumes of lives of the saints. To pass the time, he began to read them. Soon he began to relish them. By the time he could move freely again he had been firmly convinced of the vanity of earthly glory and vowed to make a pilgrimage to Mary’s shrine at Montserrat.  There he began to lead a truly Christian life, laying deep foundations of intense and heartfelt prayer and building up an impressive spiritual edifice of self-denial, charity, and dedication to the Kingdom of Christ. He went on to make another pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and then to take up studies for the priesthood in Europe’s greatest universities (although he was twice as old as most of the students).  Through it all, he made “all to the greater glory of God” into his personal motto, and gathered fellow students around him in order to be able to do more for the cause of Christ. Eventually, he formed the religious order now known as the Jesuits, which has had more of an impact on the world, perhaps, than any other institution besides the Church itself. Since its foundation in 1541, there has never been a day in which the earth has not been blessed with the presence of a Jesuit who was later canonized as a saint.  And it all started because he read good books instead of bad books. Remember him the next time you reach over to pick up the latest issue of Cosmopolitan at the grocery store checkout counter.  With sincerest prayers, I remain, happily, Your uncle, Eddy

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How Can I Stop Lying So Much?

Q: How can I overcome the sin of lying? I pray every night and every morning on this and have failed. I am getting discouraged because through prayer I can conquered my other sins (porn, lust, greed, etc.), but the sin of lying I can’t overcome. I read Scripture to help, but nothing is working. Proverbs 6:17 says that the Lord hates liars. Please help. — M.S.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC:

It might be good to keep John 8:32 in mind: “The truth will set you free.”

Ask yourself why you lie so much.

It might be because you are afraid that people will reject you if they know the mistakes you make.

My advice is this: If you mess up, just be honest about it. People will probably love you more, not less, if they perceive that you are honest and humble.

Many people sense when someone is lying, so attempts to hide the truth usually backfire. Worse yet, we can start to believe our own lies, which leads to other problems.

If you want to overcome the vice of lying, start working on the opposite virtue.

Be quick to admit a mistake or to apologize if you misjudge a situation. Consider coming clean on lies you’ve told in the past (using prudence, of course).

Also, force yourself to be precise in your speech and e-mails. Instead of saying, “Yeah, I went there hundreds of times,” say, “Yeah, I went there once a month for two years.”

It might help to go to confession frequently, and to start making reparations for the lies that have hurt others. This includes prayers and almsgiving and mortification.

For a related resource, see this video by Father Mike Schmitz.

Count on my prayers.

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26-07-31-DM

July 31, 2026 – The Rejection at Nazareth

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

 

Matthew 13:54-58

Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to be your disciple, faithful to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit and sagacious in sharing the good news with those I love.

Encountering Christ:

  1. Our Native Place: What brought Jesus to his native place? To see his mother? To preach to the people he knew from his childhood days? What was in his heart? Like ourselves, perhaps Jesus was most interested in those he cared for from childhood. He wanted them to discover the light and the truth. But those with whom we are closest are often the hardest ones to talk to about the faith. When our loved ones reject our faith, it can feel like a personal rejection, especially when the faith means so much to us. Let’s ask the Lord for strength and wisdom to share what is important to us with those we most love.

     

  2. They Took Offense at Him: Imagine the suffering heart of Jesus as his teaching was rejected in his own native place. What is his outward reaction? He did what he could without forcing their hand. He knew that they were free to choose to believe or not to believe. His sadness was not directed at himself because he was personally rejected, but at their hard-heartedness. He was sad for them, for what they would miss out on—the gifts that the Father so longed to give them. He was sad that they did not recognize the call to live in the Kingdom of God for which they were created. When we find ourselves rejected, we can ask to have a heart like Christ’s and offer our sadness or hurt for the good of those who reject us.

     

  3. Mighty Deeds and Faith: The Gospel says that Jesus did not work mighty deeds among them because of their lack of faith. This speaks of the power of faith. While faith is a gift, it is also a human act of opening the door. We welcome the Lord’s action and presence in our lives. With faith, we “give God permission” to do what he sees fit to do. Faith also implies trust that God seeks to give us good things. Faith permits God to perform salutary actions, which heal the deepest wounds and orient us toward the greatest freedom found in union with God through the grace of Jesus Christ.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of faith and for wanting to give me the gift of friendship with you. Help me to welcome this gift daily and share it with others. Give me courage and wisdom so I may also be a channel of your grace to others.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will be attentive to opportunities to share the good news with others through my words, deeds, and silent prayers.

Jennifer Ristine is a consecrated woman of Regnum Christi dedicated to spiritual and faith formation through teaching, conferences, writing, and spiritual direction. While serving in Ancient Magdala she wrote Mary Magdalene: Insights from Ancient Magdala and “Nine Days with Mary Magdalene.”

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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!