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Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter by Pietro Perugino 1481–1482 in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
"I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19)
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Message from Our Director | |
I remember the first time I saw the late Pope Benedict XVI in person: I attended the beatification of now-Saint John Henry Newman in Birmingham, UK, and was fortunate to be seated to the side of the altar. At the end of the Mass, the Holy Father came close to venerate the relics of the new Blessed, and then turned to smile and bless us priests who were nearby. I remember feeling that, for the first time, I really understood what Saint Luke meant when he wrote, in the Acts of the Apostles, that the first Christians in Jerusalem used to bring their sick loved ones out to the streets, so "that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them" (Acts 5:15). | |
Pope Benedict XVI blesses priests, including Father Bochanski, at the beatification of John Henry Newman at Cofton Park near Birmingham, England, on September 19, 2010. Click the photo for a full-size view where you can spot Father among the other priests. | |
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What a blessing it is for our apostolate that we serve and dwell in the heart of the universal Church, bound together by our fidelity to the Successor of Saint Peter! What gifts we have received from the three popes who have led the Church in the 42 years since our founding! To name just a few:
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Pope Saint John Paul II taught so clearly about the nature of human sexuality and the importance of chastity, both in his important book Love and Responsibility and his landmark series of audience talks about The Theology of the Body.
- In his encyclical letter on the Holy Spirit, Dominum et vivificantem, John Paul reminded us of the impact of the Original Sin on our desires and choices, and in Veritatis splendor he foresaw the relativism and subjectivism of the modern age and showed us how to analyze and confront it. And he once told a Courage member during an audience that he believed that "Courage is doing the work of God!"
- As prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then-Cardinal Ratzinger laid out clear principles to guide the pastoral care of people who experience same-sex attractions (1986), clarified the application of the Catechism's call to avoid "every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard" (1992), and addressed the reality of same-sex civil marriage and its impact on society (2003).
- As Pope Benedict XVI, he dedicated his first encyclical, Deus caritas est, to the topic of Christian love, and his third encyclical, Caritas in veritate, to a discussion of what that love looks like in action.
- He also confronted the question of gender identity discordance and explained how the answer is to be found in an authentic Christian anthropology (2012).
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Pope Francis began his pontificate with a call to authentic accompaniment of our brothers and sisters who experience same-sex attractions, "starting from their situation ... with mercy" (2013). He has modeled that accompaniment in his pastoral interactions, and has made it clear that "before all else comes the individual person, in his wholeness and dignity. And people should not be defined only by their sexual tendencies" (2016).
- In his apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, Pope Francis reiterated the Church's teaching about both the nature of marriage, and the importance of treating our brothers and sisters with respect, compassion and sensitivity. In an inter-faith and ecumenical gathering at the Vatican, he noted that the complementarity of the sexes in marriage is "a great treasure ... not just an asset but a thing of beauty" (2014) and approved the CDF's clarification that it is not possible for the Church to bless same-sex unions (2021).
In these days between the feasts of the Conversion of Saint Paul (January 25) and the Chair of Saint Peter (February 22), we are especially called to pray and work for the unity of all Christians, beginning with the unity in charity, faith and practice among all Catholics. The way that some Catholics (even some clergy) claim to carry out the pastoral work of the Church while opposing or ignoring the Church's moral teaching is a grave scandal, and causes great suffering for members of Courage and EnCourage, who strive to follow that teaching, sometimes at great personal cost. But we must not become discouraged! "It is the paradox of history," G.K. Chesterton once wrote, "that each generation is converted by the saint who contradicts it most."
Personally, my favorite among the late Pope Emeritus' many writings is his encyclical on Christian hope, Spe salvi. In a breathtaking phrase, he proclaims that "The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life."
The foundation of our faith, and the impetus for our charity, comes from our deep and abiding hope in the plan and the promises of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps the most poignant is the solemn commitment Our Lord made to the first Pope, and through him to the whole Church: "I have prayed for you," he said to Peter at the Last Supper, "that your faith may not fail" (Luke 22:32). Constantly hoping in the Lord's promises, and staying close to our Bishops and to our Pope in the heart of the Church, we live differently. Fearlessly, trustingly, joyfully, faithfully, we truly live a new life!
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Father Philip G. Bochanski
Executive Director
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News
- Update Your Profile for Messages Related to Your Interests
General Resources
- St. Francis de Sales's 400th anniversary
- Be Reinvigorated by Conference Talks
Courage
- In Prayerful Memory and Gratitude for Pope Benedict XVI
- Musings on Same-Sex Attraction from Ireland
EnCourage
- Hope that God Will Bring My Children Back to the Faith
- EnCourage Nightly Prayer Call
Courage Internacional — For Spanish-Speaking Members and Friends
- January Newsletter in Spanish
Pastoral Resources
- Teacher Workshops on "LGBTQ Issues"
- EnCourage Prayer: Litany for Our Loved Ones
Events
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Update Your Profile for Messages Related to Your Interests | |
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Would you like to be notified about special opportunities? We occasionally send messages to specific segments of our subscriber list. For example, we have sent emails to Courage men for Sports Camp, to EnCourage members for EnCourage retreats, and to clergy and others involved in pastoral care about opportunities to be equipped for ministry. Also, for regional events, we sometimes send emails to those who live in nearby states.
What's more, you can also sign up to be on specific email lists, like The Upper Room blog on the Courage site or the Truth & Love blog for those engaged in ministry.
To ensure that you receive the messages you want, just click the "Update Profile" link at the bottom of this email and follow the instructions. When you get to the "Update your profile" page, be sure to add your country and state and check the boxes for all of your areas of interest.
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St. Francis de Sales's 400th anniversary
Through our founding director, Courage was built on his spiritually
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The date of the publication of this newsletter, January 24, is the feast day of Saint Francis de Sales. The 400th anniversary of his death was marked by Pope Francis in December with a special apostolic letter, Totum amoris ("everything pertains to love"), the title of which was selected because "these words summarize his spiritual legacy."
The founding director of Courage, Father John Francis Harvey, was a member of the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales (OSFS), and was thus deeply influenced by the saint, such that much of the spirituality of Courage springs from Francis de Sales's teaching and example. Father Harvey writes about both St. Francis and Courage in an autobiographical essay that was incorporated into the book, Called by Name, part of which was shared as a handout in our 2022 conference folder. Here is an excerpt:
As St. Francis de Sales lay on his deathbed, speechless from a stroke, the Visitation nuns asked him to write down the three most important virtues in their way of life. He wrote: “humility, humility, humility.” Humility, the loving acceptance of one’s limitations, joined to a trust that God gives us strength to carry out his will, is central to the Salesian way of life.
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Be Reinvigorated by Conference Talks
God meets us with mercy where we are but always invites us to more
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One of the presentations at the July 2022 Courage & EnCourage Annual Conference was a powerful talk by Father Sean Kilcawley. He spoke of how God meets us with His merciful love, especially in those places in our lives where we experience the greatest shame. He first says to us, "I love you right where you are." Then he continues, "But, I want more for you." He calls us to conversion through Repentance, Reconciliation and Redemption.
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In Prayerful Memory and Gratitude for Pope Benedict XVI | |
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With the entire Church we mourn the loss of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and pray for the repose of his soul. We are particularly grateful for the treasury of wisdom he has left as a legacy for us. Especially edifying for Courage members is his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est ("God is love"), in which he reconsiders the understanding of eros in light of the love of God.
“Love is indeed 'ecstasy,' not in the sense of a moment of intoxication, but rather as a journey, an ongoing exodus out of the closed inward-looking self towards its liberation through self-giving, and thus towards authentic self-discovery and indeed the discovery of God.”
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Also of great value to us in Courage is the foundational letter to the bishops of the world on the pastoral care of persons who experience same-sex attractions that he wrote in 1986 as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger when he was the Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. At our offices, we still have some copies of a 1987 publication of this document which we have mailed to many Courage and EnCourage members through the years.
May his soul rest in peace and perpetual light shine upon him.
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Musings on Same-Sex Attraction from Ireland | |
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On our blog, a Courage member from "across the North Atlantic swells" tells his compelling story of his winding journey to a deeper union with God:
I once heard Mother Angelica say that if you didn’t experience a certain degree of love, kindness, security and peace as a child, then you didn’t have a childhood. Everyone’s story is different, but I would tend to agree with her. I also heard her tell a joke about the Irish and alcohol, which put me off her initially until recent years. Now, I love her. None of us are perfect, and I read her literature regularly. …
Continue reading "Musings on Same-Sex Attractions"
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Hope That Christ Will Bring My Children Back to the Faith | |
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Maggie Green, author of the St. Monica Club, does a remarkable job of capturing the experience of parents whose children have strayed from the Lord and then she offers perspective and hope. Here's an excerpt of her writing that was published on Catholic Exchange.
… It felt like trying to maintain a sandcastle against the high tide of the world. It felt like the world would win and children would leave. As parents, it felt like the waves crashing over. You look for that moment when you guessed wrong, and you view each step away a little like proof you failed as a Catholic in your darker moments; easy prey for despair and frustration. …
Read "I Still Have Hope"
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EnCourage Nightly Prayer Call | |
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Every evening at 9:00 p.m., Eastern time, EnCourage members gather by phone to "pray for our loved ones, for ourselves, for Courage and EnCourage members, for our priests and chaplains, and for other intentions." Find more information by selecting "EnCourage Prayer Call" under "Programs" on our site.
Visit the EnCourage nightly prayer call page
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For Spanish Speaking Members and Friends | |
January Newsletter in Spanish | |
Teacher Workshops on "LGBTQ Issues" | |
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The Sophia Institute for Teachers has a series of workshops called Christ in the Classroom, three of which do an excellent job of equipping teachers to help students have a compassionate, authentically Catholic perspective on same-sex attractions and gender identity discordance, as well as guiding them on how to best serve students for whom this is a personal experience. The workshops include insights from experts on the subject as well as personal testimonies. In the episode on gender, Monica Ashour, the co-founder of the Theology of the Body Evangelization Team, encourages teachers: "Have confidence that the truth will set everyone free. ... This is God's given truth. Nothing from God could be bad. ... He's a loving God!"
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EnCourage Prayer: Litany for Our Loved Ones | |
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A priest chaplain shared this Litany for Our Loved Ones at a recent gathering of clergy chaplains. This litany is modeled from the Litany of Trust written by the Sisters of Life and helps us pray for those we love and specifically addresses the desires of those who have a loved one who experiences same-sex attractions or gender identity discordance.
This litany can be used in EnCourage meetings to bring the members together in prayer or in Courage groups to unite themselves in prayer with EnCourage members and their families.
Litany for Our Loved Ones
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Truth & Love, an initiative of Courage International, is a multifaceted Catholic resource for anyone seeking the tools to support men and women who experience same-sex attractions. | |
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Courage and EnCourage Day of Recollection
March 4, 2023, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Registration Open!
Visit Event Page | Flyer (schedule and registration info)
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Courage and EnCourage South Retreat
March 24–26, 2023, in Birmingham, Alabama
Registration Open!
Visit Event Page
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Courage Women's Retreat
March 16-19, 2023, in Pittsburgh Area
Save the date! Details coming soon on our event page.
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Courage & EnCourage Annual Conference
July 27–30, 2023, at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas
Save the date!
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Watch our Events Calendar regularly for updates.
NOTE TO CHAPLAINS: You are encouraged and more than welcome to participate in all Courage & EnCourage events. Please feel free to reach out to the event organizer to see how you can be involved.
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Disclaimer: Courage does not necessarily fully endorse all of the ideas included in resources that are not produced by Courage, but we still like to share items that we and our members have found to have considerable helpful content. | | | | |
