Appearance Behind Locked Doors by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 12th century

for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you" (Jn 20:19).

Dear Friends,

One of my favorite parts of the Gospel accounts of the first Easter Sunday is the eagerness — the excitement — of the Risen Lord to encounter his disciples and friends. When Mary Magdalene and the women go to the tomb early in the morning, an angel appears to announce that the Lord is risen. Then the angel instructed them to "go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him" (Mt 28:7; Mk 16:7). Their "home base" in Capernaum in Galilee was a 100-mile (160 km) walk from Jerusalem, a journey that would have taken several days on foot.

But it seems that the Lord cannot wait! Rather, just as the women were leaving the tomb to find the apostles, the Lord Himself appeared and greeted them. They rejoiced and worshipped Him. "Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Mt 28:10). Yet that same morning, He appeared again to Mary Magdalene (Mk 16:9; Jn 20:14), then later to two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mk 16:12; Lk 24:13), and to Simon (Lk 24:34). Finally, that very evening, He appeared to the Eleven in the upper room (Lk 24:36; Jn 20:19; cf. Mk 16:14), to offer them His peace and confirm them in their mission. Having rested three days in the tomb, it seems, the Lord Jesus could not wait three more days for His friends to walk home before He shared His joy with them!

Perhaps this is on my mind because this newsletter contains information about our Annual Courage and EnCourage Conference, which returns this year to the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois, from July 28 to 31. I'm sure I am not the only one who is looking forward to our annual "family reunion" and reconnecting with so many of you. Thank God that the ongoing public health crisis continues to abate, and that each day it becomes a little easier to think about traveling and participating in the conference. I hope you will make every effort to join us this summer — I can't wait to see you and share with you the joy of our Risen Lord.

May He continue to bless you and your loved ones, in this Easter octave and throughout the Easter season. Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!! Alleluia!!!

"Lord Teach us to Pray"

Speaker bios, schedule, registration information on conference page.

Spanish registration opens May 15

Clergy Study Day on July 27 (schedule)

The focus of this year's conference will be on developing our interior life, especially as prescribed through the shared goal of Courage and EnCourage members: "To dedicate our entire lives to Christ through service to others, spiritual reading, prayer, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and the frequent reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist."

You are invited to support our apostolate by participating in a spiritual bouquet to pray for a fruitful conference.

One of our plenary speakers at the conference will be Father Sean Kilcawley, the Director of the Office for Family Life in the Diocese of Lincoln. He has focused much of his ministry on healing for those affected by pornography and sexual addiction. He will be speaking to us about "The Three R’s and Continual Conversion."

Fr. Kilcawley gave a compelling talk on chastity

A letter from our executive director was mailed to many of our friends and supporters earlier this week. In case you missed it, here it is:

In his above letter to supporters, Father Bochanski also writes, "Sadly, this Easter finds the universal Church divided on that perennial teaching — the very thing that unites our Courage and EnCourage family — at the highest levels of leadership." He describes how Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich and Cardinal Reinhard Marx have advocated for the Church's teachings on same-sex attraction to be watered down. In response to this apparent violation of their oath of fidelity, Father has written an open letter explaining the harm that such neglect of Church teaching does to those who experience same-sex attractions. He pleads with the cardinals: "Your Eminences, I beg you, please be faithful to your oath." His letter has been published in ten different languages around the world.

Read Fr. Bochanski's open letter to the cardinals  (German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese)

Since our 2022 Annual Courage and EnCourage conference will be focusing on the spiritual life, we are surveying our readers to find out what has been most helpful to you in this area. We'd really appreciate you spending a couple of minutes telling us about your favorite resources for prayer and spiritual reading as well as your favorite retreats. We plan to share the results after the conference so that we can benefit from each other's experiences.

Courage's founding director, Father John F. Harvey, OSFS, was born on April 14, 1918. In fond memory of him, we share a tribute to him from our website and a short video with key highlights of his life:

Our oldest living Courage chaplain, Father James Lloyd, CSP, celebrated his 101st birthday on April 3, and we just had to share this terrific photo of him. For lots more photos, videos, his blog, books, and more, check out frjameslloyd.com

James Beers' carefully researched labor of love, Courage: A Ministry of Hope, is back in print both as a paperbook and in eBook format. From the book description:

Purchase Courage A Ministry of Hope

Fr. Mike Schmitz addresses a common but false presupposition that many people apply to the experience of same-sex attractions, but which actually applies to everyone:

Keep reading on Courage's The Upper Room blog

From the Truth & Love blog. 

Catholic Answers Live has aired several episodes with Rilene Simpson, whose story was featured in Courage's documentary film, Desire of the Everlasting Hills. Not only is Rilene a Courage member, but she is also the lay moderator of an EnCourage group, bringing the added benefit of her own experience of living with same-sex attractions. In their first episode, Rilene and host, Cy Kellett, begin by talking about how parents can best respond when their child first reveals their attractions. Then they take several calls from listeners, covering subjects like the causes of same-sex attractions and how to help a loved one find their identity in Christ. They respond to callers with questions about how to relate to all sorts of people in their lives who identify as LGBTQ+, including grandchildren, parents, fellow parishioners, and friends.

Listen to Rilene on Catholic Answers Live | Watch on YouTube (start at 1:00:10)

Courage Internacional website in Spanish

There is no charge for the study day! We want to make it easy for you to come.

We hope to move forward with the in-person events listed on our calendar, while being mindful of the health and wellbeing of our members. Please be aware that, as the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, we may be required to postpone, cancel, or move these events online. If you have any questions or concerns, you may review our statement, or contact us here. Watch our events calendar for updates.