Jesus' Sacred Heart and the Infinite Love of God | | |
This stained glass window of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions
(feast day June 3) was made by Courage staff member Theresa.
It lives in the chapel at the Courage International office.
| | Message From Our Executive Director | | |
Dear Friends,
“By His wounds you are healed.” (1 PT 2: 24) This ironic line from St. Peter reveals God’s stunning divine plan to heal us through His suffering and Resurrection. We are all first wounded by virtue of original sin and the lingering effects manifest in concupiscence. We are further weakened by sinful choices. The wounded soul then feels the temptation of despair, yet the Good Lord counters with graced hope. Critical to the virtue of hope is first accepting the infinite love of God. To live and love authentically, we must accept that God loves us more than we can imagine. One must reject the temptation that God stops loving! Confession is a definitive manifestation of such infinite love. But… to apprehend the nature of this love, we cannot just magnify human love to a great intensity, we must understand as Aquinas notes: when man loves he experiences and shares human love. But when God loves, it penetrates deeply into the human heart, and can transform simple virtues into heroic ones; see St. Augustine. Thus, it is only logical, as well as humanly fulfilling, to embrace and prioritize God’s love first. Then all other human affections find their anchor and guide towards the only true fulfillment of their energies: intimacy with Jesus Christ.
Enter the Sacred Heart devotion, so beautifully emblematic of this. June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is rooted in Scripture: Imitate Me for I am meek and humble of heart (MT 11: 29). Also, the lance that pierced His Heart, which poured out blood and water (JN 19: 34), all demonstrate the irrefutable love God has for all us sinners. In the 17th century Our Lord via St. Margaret Mary Alacoque gave more concreteness to this profound devotion. The 12 promises rush to mind.
The Sacred Heart reminds us that God Himself in the Flesh suffered extraordinarily physical wounds of Love. Literally pierced by a lance. Yet in the Resurrected Body, with the wounds still visible, this devotion tells us that all our humanity has been redeemed. When baptized, every part of us is consecrated holy to God. Secondly, that if we seek real intimacy with Christ, we must expect our hearts to be pierced as well, by the adversity of countering the world, the flesh, and the devil. But such piercing then leads to greater purity of heart, dying to self and the freedom that God’s grace gives us. The devil does not want us realizing the transformative effect; he wants us only to think about suffering by itself rather than suffering as the means through which love is purified and thus becomes more joyful, powerful, and hopeful.
The Catechism reminds us: either man governs his passion and finds peace or is dominated by them and finds only unhappiness (CCC 2339). Governing them through grace is not repression and tyrannizing our affections, but instead embracing the challenging love of God and rechanneling the enormous energies of our passions towards holiness. June in the United States is “pride” month; the secular powers declare greater happiness is in capitulation to the passions, rather than God’s loving design. Ironically, the title of the first deadly sin becomes the world’s idea of happiness. We must never forget: The desire for intimacy is first and foremost a desire for God! If He is our greatest love, then His teachings, be it the directives of the commandments, the disposition of the beatitudes, the self-giving of the works of mercy, all will bring incredible joy to the one who willingly surrenders ego to God. The stuff of the saints is that all power and happiness flow from intimacy with God first. The disciple finds no greater joy than this!
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Father Brian Gannon
Executive Director
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Don't forget to register for the
2025 Annual Conference!
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July 31 - August 3
Neumann University, Aston, PA
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Check out just a couple of the amazing speakers
who will be joining us at this year's conference:
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Mark Houck
In September 2022, Mark, his wife, Ryan-Marie, and 7 young children made international news with an FBI invasion of their home. Mark was falsely charged with felony violations and faced 11 years in federal prison and $350,000 in fines for his sidewalk counseling and for defending his 12 year-old son from an aggressive abortion escort. Mark was acquitted on all charges on January 30, 2023.
In addition to his pro-life work, Mark is the founder and president of The King's Men, a non-profit men's ministry which promotes authentic masculinity, fatherhood and beloved sonship. This mission has enabled Mark to travel all around the globe as a sought after retreat leader and conference speaker.
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Neal Lozano
Neal serves as the Executive Director of Heart of the Father Ministries bringing the message of Unbound, Freedom in Christ to the church throughout the world. Neal, a committed Roman Catholic, has more than 50 years of experience helping people find freedom in Jesus Christ. He is the author of nine books including the life-changing book Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance, now in 22 languages, and his latest, Unbound Unpacked: The Exorcising Task of the Believer. His passion is that every child of God would find someone equipped to accompany them in their pursuit of freedom from the damage of past wounds and all the works of the devil.
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Remember to keep an eye on the ever-growing list of
Courage and EnCourage events around the world,
always found at the end of our newsletter!
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Looking for inspiration this June?
Check out this book!
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Written by a friend of Fr. Kyle Schnippel (Courage board member and former Interim Executive Director), Blessed are the Pure: Saintly Motivation for the Month of June serves as a devotional to direct our eyes to God while the secular world celebrates looking only at ourselves. Check out this message written by the author, Stephen A. Codekas, just for our Courage and EnCourage members:
"While a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, I had the great pleasure to stay and learn a priest's heart with Fr. Kyle Schnippel. While with him, I was introduced to the Courage Ministry. I had not heard of this ministry specifically before, but after the first meeting with the local Chapter group, I knew it was a ministry vital not to the Church, but for me as well. Courage at its most basic stands as champion for chastity, something we all must contend with. I was, and am, deeply moved by the men and women who so openly and graciously carry this particular Cross, especially in an age that promotes lust and moral ambiguity. I especially saw this struggle getting harder every June, when seemingly the whole world preferred to take pride in their proclivities. I thought and thought about something to help these men and women keep up the fight. Then it came to me; a monthly devotional, something to help them each day of June to pick up that Cross anew and keep fighting. After three long years of research and prayer, Blessed are the Pure was born. I hope the examples of the saints here continue to help and inspire everyone in Courage and beyond, as those Cincinnati Courage members inspire me."
Order the book here!
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Follow us on social media for the
latest opportunities, news, resources, and inspiration.
Then spread the good news
by liking, reposting, and sharing.
| | Courage Family and Friends | | |
June 3 is the feast day of the patrons of Courage International, St. Charles Lwanga and Companions. Charles Lwanga and his companions were a group of 22 young Catholic converts martyred in Uganda between 1885 and 1887 for refusing to renounce their faith and resisting the immoral demands of King Mwanga II. Charles, a royal court official, courageously protected younger boys from exploitation and led them in spiritual strength. Canonized in 1964, they are celebrated as heroic witnesses to faith, purity, and steadfast conviction under persecution. You can learn more about them and their patronage in this video from our YouTube channel. Join us, please, in asking for their intercession and inspiration throughout our apostolate!
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Courage board member (and director of the Person and Identity Project) Mary Hasson was the commencement speaker at Franciscan University of Steubenville on May 10. She and her husband, Seamus, were also awarded honorary doctorates in humane letters. You can read an article about the commencement here, which also links to a video that includes Mary's address to the graduating class of 2025.
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Our associate director, Fr. Colin Blatchford, gave a Clergy Study Day in the Diocese of Victoria, Texas on May 13. To all of our chaplains and other clergy members - don't forget that we are happy to come to you to provide education on how best to serve and minister to persons with same-sex attraction and their loved ones. Just contact bonnies@couragerc.org for more information!
| | 2025 Monthly Prayer Intentions | | New Chapters and Ways to Stay Connected | | | |
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Courage & EnCourage
around the world
| | Remember to Help Us Keep Chapter Information Up-To-Date! | | |
Do you know if the information for your chapter is accurate on the Courage website? Do you know about a recent change in your chapter? Please take a look at your chapter listing on our website and let us know if there have been any changes. Chapters are organized by state and diocese for both Courage and EnCourage.
You can submit changes directly through our form. Thanks for keeping us informed! Keeping this updated and accurate means that any person who reaches out can find help and support near them.
| | 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. | |
| Resources We Think You'll Love | | |
Andrew Comiskey of Desert Stream Ministries recently wrote an excellent blog post regarding emotional chastity. In this quick but truly beneficial read, Andrew explores the subtleties of emotional unchastity, why the fight to stay emotionally chaste is worthwhile, and some practical tips to help you along the way. Read the blog in full here.
| | A longtime friend of the Courage apostolate, Hudson Byblow, shared an updated version of his testimony, which you can watch here. Stories like these are especially poignant during June, as the secular world celebrates "Pride Month," while we strive to remember that finding our identity as sons and daughters of Christ far exceeds anything this world has to offer. Thank you, Hudson, for continuing to inspire us! | | | |
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Visit our YouTube channel for lots of helpful content like these resources!
Subscribe, like, and share to spread the word.
| | Gender Identity Discordance* | | |
We would like to recommend to you, again, the 5-part video series "The Transgender Movement: What Catholics Need to Know." This EWTN mini-series, originally released in 2022, features many friends and family of the Courage apostolate, and looks at "the hidden cultural forces behind the 'gender affirming' campaign presently sweeping the nation. Host Mary Hasson chronicles the issues now confronting the family and how the Church can respond."
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Courage and EnCourage and Gender Identity Discordance
While the primary mission of Courage and EnCourage remains supporting people living with the experience of same-sex attractions and those who love them, we thought it could be helpful to our readers to occasionally set aside some space in our newsletter to address this topic. For more resources, on the Truth & Love site, go to Resources > Health & Well-Being > Gender Identity Discordance.
* For an explanation of the expression, "gender identity discordance," and coverage of the subject, see the Handbook for Courage and EnCourage Chaplains starting on page 81.
| | For Spanish Speaking Members and Friends | | There's a lot going on in the Courage and EnCourage apostolate all over the world! Don't forget that our website can be viewed in Spanish, and that there is a Spanish language newsletter sent out on the same day as this, our English version! | |
Desert Stream - Living Waters Training
July 12-17, 2025
Kansas City, KS
Watch this video for a personal invitation from Desert Stream Ministries to members of our apostolate!
Register here - and don't forget to use our discount code, COURAGE2025 to save $100!
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Courage Philippines 2025 Conference
August 21, 2025
Archdiocese of Manila
Courage Philippines is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year! Our associate director, Fr. Blatchford will be attending and speaking at their annual conference, whose theme this year is "Sharing the Pearl of Great Wisdom." You can check out their flyer here!
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Encuentro
August 29-31, 2025
For our Spanish-speaking members; this year, we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Courage in Mexico! For more information, you can email oficina@couragerc.org.
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Courage and EnCourage Southern CA Retreat
November 14-16, 2025
El Carmelo Retreat House, Redlands, CA (Diocese of San Bernardino)
Mark your calendars; more information to come soon!
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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.
| | 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. | | | | |
