Catechism

An Opportunity to Learn

Dear Friends,

As we are all reeling from the abrupt change in our lives, the fear, the concern for our health and those we love, the economic damage, and the uncertainty of it all, it’s helpful to remind ourselves of the opportunities God has given us.  We are certainly realizing what is most important in our lives, spending more time with our families, and deepening our faith. At RCSpirituality, we have always provided online resources to help in your faith journey. Today, we are pleased to announce RCSC 101:What We Profess, a new online course that will help you firm up the basics.

Since I was a teenager I wanted to study and share my Catholic faith.  More than mere ideas, I knew that the Church’s doctrine had to make a difference in my life, my way of perceiving the world, and my place in it.  God has offered me many opportunities throughout my life to dive deeper and to share the treasures of what we believe with others.

Perhaps you are feeling a tug at the heart, not just to go deeper, but to get an overview of WHAT WE BELIEVE as Catholics.  RCSC 101: What We Profess is an overview of Part I of the Catechism of the Catholic Church called the CREED: WHAT WE PROFESS. In it, you cover themes such as:

  • What does it mean to say “I BELIEVE”?
  • What is dogma?
  • Why do other Christians follow sola scripture, but the Catholic Church acknowledges tradition as part of revelation?
  • Why do we follow a Pope?
  • Who is Jesus Christ and how did the Church come to a deeper understanding of his person and salvific mission?
  • Why do we honor Mary and the saints?
  • What is the Church and how are we a part of it?
  • What does the Church teach about heaven, hell, purgatory, and the resurrection of the body? 

I hope you’ll consider joining us personally or with a group to delve deeper into the significance of what the Church teaches.

This may be just the opportunity you need!

In Christ,

Jennifer Ristine
Instructor
RCSC 101 – What We Profess

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“Ask a Priest: What If Members of My Church Group Don’t Dress Modestly?”

Q: I’m having trouble with some requirements about fraternal correction. They are: a reasonable hope that the correction will be heeded and the sinner will amend their ways, and if someone else is more qualified and likely to correct them. So, for example, in my church group, I see some girls wearing tight pants or immodest clothing. And one of the group coordinators has a Facebook page in which she dresses quite immodestly and posts pictures on her profile. So my question is, am I obliged to correct them? I don’t have much rapport with them, only know them from the group and don’t talk much with them. There is a priest who frequents our meetings, so he is more qualified to correct them — although maybe not likely to do it. And all of them are nice Catholics who are trying to grow, so maybe my correction might do them good but I don’t know. Maybe they will think I’m nuts or too strict. And, of course, the Church has no set rules for modesty, which makes it hard to tell them anything. – K.D.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: You touch on a very important topic, one of those elephant-in-the-corner issues. It’s big, everyone knows it’s there, but not enough people speak about it openly.

So to start out: No, you aren’t nuts for being concerned about these young women.

And while the Church doesn’t issue set rules on how to dress, it does offer important principles. The Catechism in No. 2521 says:

 “Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity.”

I don’t know all the details of your situation. But it might be a fair to venture a few observations.

First, the fact that these young women are involved in a church group shows a lot good will. So let’s assume that their hearts are in the right place.

Second, they have been influenced (poorly) by the wider culture. Modesty is not a strong point of media, including social media. Young people feed on and mimic what they see on a screen, like fish feeding on polluted riverbeds.

So what path might start to lead to a solution? A few suggestions might help.

First, pray for the young women in your circle. Pray that the Holy Spirit open their hearts to the beauty and dignity of modesty.

Second, think of programs and activities that might attract the attention of the young women. This could range from theology of the body courses, to activities used by groups such as Pure Fashion.

It’s good to help the young women understand that modesty isn’t prudishness. Modesty can help them to understand and appreciate their own dignity, and it even enables them to radiate a deeper beauty.

Third, you might ask that priest who frequents the meetings for his ideas. He might not want to bring up the topic of modesty directly with the group, since it might come across as a public indictment of the young women sitting in front of him.

Rather, he might prefer another approach, such as giving a mini-retreat on the Blessed Virgin Mary and her qualities. This kind of thing could be used against the background of the theology of the body courses or similar events.

Along the spiritual lines you might also doing something about the life of Maria Goretti. Perhaps you could show a video on her life and have a group discussion afterward. Videos on modesty (check out YouTube) might do the trick, too.

It might help, too, to invite a guest speaker to address your group — for instance, a college coed who is involved with campus ministry or pro-life work. Such a student could touch on the value of modesty and connect with her listeners in a convincing way.

You might find ideas on the FOCUS website and the Life Teen site.

In short, you want to look for ways to promote a culture of modesty. Help the young women to understand that by their modesty they can also help the young men around them be better persons.

You might also look at some of the books out there on modesty (an Internet search helps) and share them with the young women.

If you can raise awareness and present modesty as a positive thing, the young women might embrace it quickly. The virtue of purity can still resonate deeply in young hearts.

None of the above is intended to be the last word in this area. But maybe some of these points will help. The battle for modesty is worth the effort.

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“Ask a Priest: Can I Be Bisexual and Christian?”

Q: Someone told me I can’t be Christian and bisexual. They said I wasn’t a real Christian. Is this true? – J.R.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: It is good to remember that your core identity is that you are a son of God. You are not your “sexual identity.”

As a loving Father, God only wants the best for you. As a baptized Christian, you are incorporated into the mystical body of Christ and are called to follow the ways of Jesus.

Among the things Jesus asks of us is to live chastely. This means we are called to use our God-given gift of sexuality according to his plan. This means that intimate physical relations are proper only to a husband and a wife who are open to life.

As to your specific question …

Are you a Christian? If you baptized validly, yes, you are technically a Christian. If you believe in the divinity of Christ and the other tenets of the Gospels, yes, you could say that you are a believing Christian.

But if you are living a life that isn’t in accord with Christian teachings about sexuality, then you are a Christian who, well, isn’t living in accord with the Gospel.

In one sense you aren’t alone. We are all sinners. We are all a work in progress.

And while it’s one thing to struggle with failings and weaknesses, it’s quite another to embrace a lifestyle that is openly contrary to Christian principles.

You might ask yourself a few questions.

First, do you see a bisexual lifestyle as being in accord with Jesus’ teachings? If not, are you willing to cut with this lifestyle?

That someone has raised the issue with you, and the fact that you sent in this question, might be a sign that the Holy Spirit is trying to nudge you in the right direction.

If you have a problem with same-sex attraction — which is probably closer to the problem you are facing — then it’s good to remember that God is calling you to live chastely and to refrain from any kind of homosexual behavior.

Experiencing same-sex attraction isn’t a sin in itself. It’s when we choose to act on it that it becomes sinful. This is a distinction to keep in mind.

We all experience feelings or tendencies that we need to resist and govern so that they don’t lead us off the path of true happiness. Those feelings and tendencies come from our fallen human nature and the fallen world we live in. Same-sex attraction is one of those.

Jesus’ teaching lead us to true, lasting happiness in this life and the next. For God knows better than anyone what is best for us, since he created us.

Two numbers might be worth quoting from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2358. The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection. [end quoted material]

Note those last words, “Christian perfection.” That means you are called to be a saint. If Christ is asking that of you, he would certainly give you the grace to achieve holiness — if you do your part.

For more reading, you might look at:

Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay

Homosexuality and the Catholic Church

In the meantime try to maintain a solid prayer life. And read a bit of the Gospels daily. Count on my prayers.

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“Ask a Priest: Is It OK That I Don’t Take Stories of Jesus’ Miracles for Real?”

Q: Could I make it to heaven if I believe in good morals but don’t view the stories of miracles performed by Jesus as history? Rather, I view them as teachings of good morals (helping others and doing good). I don’t look at the Bible in literal ways because it has been told and retold, written and rewritten, translated and retranslated so many times. It’s hard for me to take the stories for what they are, rather than interpreting them as lessons that tie back to the Commandments. – C.S.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: It might be worth quoting a few numbers from the Catechism that appear under the section “The Mysteries of Christ’s Life”:

515 The Gospels were written by men who were among the first to have the faith and wanted to share it with others. Having known in faith who Jesus is, they could see and make others see the traces of his mystery in all his earthly life. From the swaddling clothes of his birth to the vinegar of his Passion and the shroud of his Resurrection, everything in Jesus’ life was a sign of his mystery. His deeds, miracles and words all revealed that “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” […]

547 Jesus accompanies his words with many “mighty works and wonders and signs,” which manifest that the kingdom is present in him and attest that he was the promised Messiah.

548 The signs worked by Jesus attest that the Father has sent him. They invite belief in him. To those who turn to him in faith, he grants what they ask. So miracles strengthen faith in the One who does his Father’s works; they bear witness that he is the Son of God. But his miracles can also be occasions for “offence”; they are not intended to satisfy people’s curiosity or desire for magic. Despite his evident miracles some people reject Jesus; he is even accused of acting by the power of demons. [end quoted material]

You’ll notice that the Catechism doesn’t speak of “alleged miracles.” The miracles are taken as facts in the life of Christ. After all, miracles would be easy for him as God.

If God can create the universe out of nothing, it shouldn’t be so hard to believe that Jesus could feed the multitudes with a few loaves or even raise people from the dead.

It’s true that the Bible can be read at different levels. This is especially important in the Old Testament, which sometimes uses very stylized types of writing to transmit deep truths. This is a far cry, however, from dismissing the accounts of miracles by Jesus.

You might ask yourself what the source of your skepticism is. Has rationalism crept into your thinking? Have you exposed your faith to attacks?

A tenet of our faith is believing that the Bible is the inspired word of God. That doesn’t mean we should read it as a history textbook – it’s much more complex than that — but it does mean that we should accept that whatever is in the Bible, is there because God wanted it there.

There are no “mistakes” in the sense that something slipped in there when the Holy Spirit was distracted. On the contrary, the Holy Spirit could easily oversee the whole process of writing and editing and compilation of Scripture. In any case, we believe in the inspiration of Scripture because we believe in the Church that has guarded Scripture and passed it down generation after generation.

This doesn’t mean that the Bible is easy to interpret. Scripture can be very perplexing at times. That is why we need to be humble and to be open to what the Church teaches.

This doesn’t prohibit us from having personal interpretations of Scripture. I might read the parable the good Samaritan, for instance, and come away with a personal interpretation that says, “Jesus is asking me to reach out and help my Buddhist neighbor across the street.”

I cannot, however, read an account of the last supper and say, “Jesus was only speaking symbolically about giving us his body and blood in the Eucharist.” That would be a private interpretation which contradicts the official Church interpretation that the Eucharist truly is the body and blood of Christ.

As to whether your skepticism about miracles will bar you from heaven, that’s a different issue. God alone is the judge of souls.

Ideally you should pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit and delve into what the Church teaches in regard to the miracle accounts.

In general you want to be careful about skepticism, since it can metastasize over time. Catholicism is a unified whole, and to deny one part is to open the door to doubting other parts as well. If Scripture is flawed, that would undercut the credibility of the Church which oversaw its compilation. Which in turn would undercut Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit would guide Our Lord’s followers “to all truth” (John 16:13).

My suggestion is to keep up a regimen of prayer, sacraments and acts of charity, and try to take the Gospels at face value. The Holy Spirit will be there to guide you.

For more reading you might want to see the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s “Interpretation of the Bible in the Church.” May some of this help you appreciate the richness of Scripture.

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“Ask a Priest: What If a Relative Is Dabbling in New Age Stuff?”

Q: I have a relative who has been posting messages from a certain website. In this last one, which she posted on Facebook, it referred to this Angel 818 and all these things that would happen. It sounds like New Age stuff. I think she is a baptized Catholic and says that she prays to Jesus and Mary, but this doesn’t sound right. We are close relatives but not that close. My inclination is to write her a letter explaining as charitably as possible that these messages are incompatible with Christian belief and to be careful. Should I do so, or just pray for her and mind my own business? My guess is that it might be the end of what little relationship there is between us, but I don’t want to avoid a work of mercy if it is my duty to do so. – M.L.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: Your concern for your relative is praiseworthy. While we aren’t called to go around policing others, we are called to look out for their spiritual well-being as best we can.

The key here is to do something out of love and out of a genuine desire to help a person.

Human nature being what it is, it’s good to take into account how a person will receive a certain message. It’s one thing to say the right thing. It’s another to say the thing in the right way.

So how might you proceed? A few points might be worth considering.

First, your relative says that she prays to Jesus and Mary. That’s a good sign. That shows that she has some kind of a spiritual life and that she might be trying to live it as best she knows how. So there is good will here.

Second, this mention of Angel 818 gives you a pretext for dialogue with her. For starters, you could even compliment her on her interest in angels, etc.

This in turn could be an opportunity to bring her closer to the faith. For the Holy Spirit might use this moment to touch your relative’s heart and enlighten her mind, through you.

Third, you might want to check out that website (assuming that it won’t hurt your faith) and see if you can detect some of its specific flaws. Then, look in the Catechism for numbers that refute the site.

You might ask your relative how she found the site and what she thinks of it. Do a little probing. Again, with the help of the Catechism, you might be able to address some of her specific points.

Before doing any of the above, it would good to pray for guidance. Ask the Spirit to open your relative’s heart.

If your e-mails or calls come across as loving and respectful, that will help your relative be open to what you have to share.

You might want to be prepared to suggest some reading to her. One suggestion is a posting from Peter Kreeft: http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/angels.htm. I hope some of this helps.

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“Ask a Priest: Gay and Virgin – Am I on the Right Path?”

Q: I’m sort of a rare individual. I have never smoked, never did any drugs, don’t drink alcohol, never been violent with others. I am still a virgin. Now the punchline: I’m a gay, 55-year-old gentleman. I’ve always lived alone since I left my parents’ home at 20. I knew I was gay since I was around the age of 7. The Bible passages that have really helped me to stay clean are the following: The five out of 10 virgins that kept the oil reserves full; “Blessed are those who are pure of heart — they shall see God”; and “Be holy as your Father who is in heaven is holy.” Have I been on the right path and does my sacrifice have any value? I think so! I pray and offer my life and myself to God the Father united with Jesus crucified for all the gay and transgender people of the world, for their conversion. I received the grace of chastity and held on to it — it was a blessing from God because my virginity was my strength over all these years. Father, I would very much appreciate your comments. – R.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: You are definitely on the right path! Your sacrifice has clearly born fruit for Christ’s Kingdom and will continue to do so.

It seems as though you have had a great grace from God. You have lived precisely the way that the Church counsels those with same-sex attraction to live: chastely.

It sounds as though you have dedicated your life to prayer, Scripture reading and, I’m guessing here, the sacraments.

In a sense you are living out what the Catechism in No. 2359 says:

“Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”

You have therefore given glory to God through your chaste living. And you might have been a model for many people over the years without realizing it. This is the kind of thing that will be revealed at judgment day.

It is wonderful, too, that you pray for people with same-sex difficulties and related issues. That, too, is a great work of mercy.

Stay close to the Blessed Virgin Mary, continue to pray and do acts of charity and mercy, and you can become a saint. I hope you achieve that.

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Today’s secular world throws curve balls at us all the time. AskACatholicPriest is a Q&A feature that anyone can use. Just type in your question or send an email to [email protected] and you will get a personal response back from one of our priests at RCSpirituality. You can ask about anything – liturgy, prayer, moral questions, current events… Our goal is simply to provide a trustworthy forum for dependable Catholic guidance and information. So go ahead and ask your question…

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“Ask a Priest: Why Is the Bible Silent on Jesus’ Early Manhood?”

Q: Why were the accounts of Jesus after age 12 not recorded or revealed to the public? Someone told me that it’s not important and was uneventful. I know Christ gave us everything we needed when he began preaching and performing miracles. Even so, Jesus is one in being with God, so wouldn’t even the smallest, most uneventful thing still be somewhat important — or at least give us a better understanding of Our Lord? He was, after all, astonishing the doctors in the Temple with his knowledge at the age of 12. It would seem we could have learned much from Jesus during those missing 18 years before his public ministry. What are your thoughts? – F.M.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: Thanks for your note. At first glance it does seem unusual that there is that biblical “gap” in the account of the life of Christ.

You touched on part of the answer, however. God gave us what we needed to have included in Scripture, no more, no less. We, of course, don’t rely solely on Scripture for our faith. We also rely on Sacred Tradition, the oral teaching of Jesus that was passed down through the apostles. Without Tradition we wouldn’t have had Scripture. But back to your question. 

Perhaps the “gap” was to emphasize how hidden a life Jesus led. The Catechism dedicates a few numbers to this very topic. Permit me to quote them in full:

The mysteries of Jesus’ hidden life

531 During the greater part of his life Jesus shared the condition of the vast majority of human beings: a daily life spent without evident greatness, a life of manual labor. His religious life was that of a Jew obedient to the law of God, a life in the community. From this whole period it is revealed to us that Jesus was “obedient” to his parents and that he “increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.”

532 Jesus’ obedience to his mother and legal father fulfills the fourth commandment perfectly and was the temporal image of his filial obedience to his Father in heaven. The everyday obedience of Jesus to Joseph and Mary both announced and anticipated the obedience of Holy Thursday: “Not my will…” The obedience of Christ in the daily routine of his hidden life was already inaugurating his work of restoring what the disobedience of Adam had destroyed.

533 The hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus by the most ordinary events of daily life: The home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus — the school of the Gospel. First, then, a lesson of silence. May esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable condition of mind, revive in us … A lesson on family life. May Nazareth teach us what family life is, its communion of love, its austere and simple beauty, and its sacred and inviolable character… A lesson of work. Nazareth, home of the “Carpenter’s Son”, in you I would choose to understand and proclaim the severe and redeeming law of human work… To conclude, I want to greet all the workers of the world, holding up to them their great pattern their brother who is God.

534 The finding of Jesus in the temple is the only event that breaks the silence of the Gospels about the hidden years of Jesus. Here Jesus lets us catch a glimpse of the mystery of his total consecration to a mission that flows from his divine sonship: “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s work?” Mary and Joseph did not understand these words, but they accepted them in faith. Mary “kept all these things in her heart” during the years Jesus remained hidden in the silence of an ordinary life. [end quoted material]

So there you have it. In its own way, the silence of Scripture on Jesus’ hidden life is meant to speak volumes.

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“Ask a Priest: How Can I Help My Agnostic Sister?”

Q: I seem to be having a dark night of the soul. I asked my sister if she has prayed about her rather difficult situation, and she said she doesn’t believe in prayer. This hit me pretty hard because I thought, even though she has been away from the Church for years, she still prayed to God. Since I learned this, I would call her an agnostic. She is a nurse practitioner and highly intelligent and can be condescending. During our conversation, I mentioned the topic of near-death experiences that to me had seemed compelling and might be indicative of the afterlife and God’s existence. But now I’m quite skeptical after talking to my sister. She believes near-death experiences are nothing more than the result of brain activity (hallucinations) and have nothing to do with life after death. Also, my sister believes God is just energy and not a person. Please pray for us. I am horrified at the possibility that the God of the Bible doesn’t exist and there is no heaven. I hope this spell passes as it is an awful feeling. Please give me your best feedback. – K.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: You mention that your sister is highly intelligent. Perhaps she is very good at being a nurse. One of the qualities of professionals in any field is that a person doesn’t stray outside his bounds of competence. In that case, your sister might know a lot about nursing, but her judgments about the existence of God and the power of prayer are a bit outside the bounds of medical science.

So I don’t think you need to worry about God not existing. He exists, all right, and he created everything we see around us.

Heaven exists too. It is simply the state of being with God. It is perfect happiness, perfect bliss — what all of us dream for.

It sounds as though your sister has lost, at least for now, whatever faith she had. I won’t try to guess why. You mention that she is going through a difficult situation. Perhaps this situation has wreaked havoc on her spiritual life.

What I would recommend is that you put her high on your prayer list. Faith is a gift, and as a gift it can be lost through neglect. But it can also be regained with the grace of God and lots of prayer. The key thing is that you might need to do the praying for her for the foreseeable future.

I can’t speak much about these near-death or life-after-death experiences. Perhaps God gives certain people a grace to experience something supernatural. That is his prerogative. But it is not a matter of formal doctrine, per se. It might be what we call a private revelation — if it helps people, it helps them. But it isn’t the core of Catholic teaching.

In the meantime you want to be sure to guard your own faith. If we spend too much time with people who are irreligious or anti-Christian, their influence can wear off on us. You don’t want that to happen.

Your relationship with God is the most important one of your life. This doesn’t mean that you cut off your relationship with your sister. On the contrary, you want to help her as best you can.

But if a simple conversation with her is enough to shake your own faith, you need to keep a healthy distance from her.

Guarding your own faith will a way to help her. For that reason you might to make time for prayer each day. Frequent the sacraments if you are Catholic. And take time to study the faith. Helpful here would be the Catechism or its Compendium.

Perhaps your sister might be open to reconsidering her own ideas. Perhaps she would be willing to listen to Peter Kreeft’s Faith and Reason.

Or she might be interested in Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, which explains how these “life after death” experiences can’t be just brain activity. The author used to be an atheist.

These works might be available through a local library system.

Above all, keep praying for your sister.

 

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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!