Holy Family at Home, photo/art by Kristyn Brown

See more at The Saints Project (their mission). Used with permission.

Dear Friends,

Recently, I saw a very clever illustration online. It depicted a boy, around four or five years old, standing in the doorway of the kitchen where his mother was preparing a meal. Very enthusiastically the boy was calling, "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!" — ten times in all. I should also mention that both the boy and his mother (who was dressed in blue) had halos drawn around their heads, which helps to explain the caption to the drawing: "The First Decade of the Rosary"!

When we call upon our Blessed Mother, whom we celebrate during the upcoming month of October as Our Lady of the Rosary, the Lord Jesus wants us to approach her with the same childlike, joyful confidence that he gave her in their home at Nazareth. The mysteries of the rosary call us to meditate on every aspect of our life in Christ, who teaches us how to embrace his Word as well as how to pursue the Goals of our Courage and EnCourage apostolates. From the joyful mysteries, we learn to receive God's Word and accept our vocations. In the luminous mysteries, we perceive our model of discipleship. The sorrowful mysteries teach us how to offer our sufferings along with those of the crucified Christ. And the glorious mysteries prompt our hopeful perseverance throughout this life as we strive toward our ultimate goal of eternal life with God in heaven.

Saint Joseph, too, teaches us how to rely confidently on the help of Our Lady, especially amid the burdens and stresses of daily life, and the questions we often face about God's plan for us. The Scriptures always say of Saint Joseph that "he did what the Lord commanded him to do," and we know that he did it all for his Holy Family, keeping his eyes and his heart always fixed on Our Lady, and making any sacrifice necessary to protect and nurture the life of Christ entrusted to him. What better model could we have in our pursuit of virtue than this? Perhaps this October, during the Year of Saint Joseph, we could make a special effort to pray the Rosary with Saint Joseph, reflecting on how the lessons of the mysteries were reflected in his life, and can be formative for our lives as well.

The mysteries of the Rosary present us with special moments in the life of Christ, to inspire and challenge us to imitate him. With this in mind, I would like to draw your attention again to the Courage and EnCourage witness blog that we began about six months ago, called The Upper Room. Every few weeks a Courage or EnCourage member or chaplain has shared an inspiring story of a turning point in his or her life and pursuit of virtue. I hope that you will take some time to read their posts. I would also like to invite you to prayerfully consider writing a post for The Upper Room, to share an important encounter or moment in your story that brought you to Courage or EnCourage, or strengthened you in your pursuit of the Goals. You can always share your story anonymously if you wish. For more information, send us an email.

Be sure that you and your loved ones will be in my prayers, especially when I pray the Rosary, and please continue to pray for me!

We are already making plans for the 2022 Courage & EnCourage Annual Conference on July 28–31 at the beautiful University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois. We would like your feedback about the likelihood of your attending so we can let the venue know which of their facilities to reserve for us.

The Upper Room blog is where Courage and EnCourage members and chaplains share stories of God's work in their lives. The latest posts can be found in this newsletter.

We'd like to invite you to prayerfully consider how you might be able to give glory to Him and encourage the Courage family by submitting a post for the blog. It doesn't have to be long; a simple account of a turning point, a significant incident, or a moment of inspiration would be great! It's fine if you wish to remain anonymous.

Did you miss the 2021 Courage & EnCourage Annual Conference? If you attended, would you like to relisten to a particularly inspiring message or catch up on the presentations you missed? Most of the talks and homilies from the conference have been uploaded to the resources section of our site (Resources tab > Conference Presentations > 2021).

For a great example of how to implement Father Bochanski's recommendation to pray the rosary with Saint Joseph, check out this Ascension Presents video in which Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, shares the prayer that has brought him the closest to Joseph. He explains how he meditates on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, paying special attention to Saint Joseph in these scenes: his experiences, his role, the movement in his heart, and his prayer.

Father Bochanski had a wide-ranging conversation about our apostolate with longtime Courage friend, Father Robert McTeigue, SJ, on The Catholic Current radio show. They cover some highlights of the conference with its theme of "St. Joseph: Model of Courageous Love." They go on to provide valuable insights for every audience, from Courage and EnCourage members to those involved in pastoral care. Both priests honor the members of Courage, most notably when Father McTeigue says:

Listen to "Models of Courageous Love" on The Catholic Current

Last night at the Courage meeting one of my brothers said something that rang a bell with me. He said something like, I feel like I own my friends. This reminded me of an old friend of mine who used to refer to me as “my Garrett” when we would hang out. I also remembered telling my best friend to call my mom “Mom” and then when he started doing so, I rescinded the offer because my mom is mine.

… When I think about my story, there was a long and lonely chapter where I thought that same-sex attraction was the roadblock to my happiness. Until I ‘fixed’ this part of my life, I could never be in friendship with God, or in proper friendship with others. I bought into the lie that I couldn’t come before my Father as a broken man, that I had to come with something worth presenting. Only then would we get to be friends. So, for a long time, I didn’t hand my struggle with SSA over to the Lord. I also didn’t share it with anyone I knew. …

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Our beloved founding director, Fr. John Harvey, OSFS, liked to say, "Our members are our best ambassadors." The Upper Room blog is where members and chaplains share their stories of God's work in their lives. Don't miss a single post! Subscribe by clicking "Update profile" at the bottom of this email or visit CourageRC.org > Resources (dropdown)> Blog. If you would like to contribute to the blog, send us an email.

The challenges of discerning one's vocation are unique to every person, and people who experience same-sex attractions are no different. Father Philip Bochanski offers guidance for people trying to discern God's plan for them in the latest episode of Living With Courage, as he responds to some important questions often asked by Catholics who live with same-sex attractions:

View Living with Courage, Episode 4: "What's My Vocation?"

Check out the entire Living With Courage playlist

Visit our YouTube channel, and click the "Subscribe" button today.

Then "like" and share our videos to help others find us.

We've uploaded another video for those who have loved ones who experience same-sex attractions or gender identity discordance. The common questions that Father Bochanski addresses include:

Check out the entire EnCourage: A Family of Hope playlist

Manny Gonzalez is a member of Courage. He worked as an intern with Courage over the summer and is now a senior at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Listen to Manny telling his story with Jason Evert.

Courage member, Manny Gonzalez, responds to another question from EnCourage members: "How would you recommend we respond to disagreement, pushback, and anger from loved ones, so that we can maintain a loving and respectful relationship with them?"

Courage Internacional website in Spanish

Courage associate director, Father Colin Blatchford, has written a two-part series on the Truth & Love blog on the meaning of some key words that are frequently used in erroneous and harmful ways in the culture. He unpacks the significance of words like "equality" and "discrimination" and proposes better ways to think about these concepts in the light of our faith.

Check out the latest posts on the Truth & Love blog:

To subscribe to the blog, click "Update profile" at the bottom of this email.

The second half of the Handbook for Courage and EnCourage Chaplains focuses on EnCourage, an apostolate that provides pastoral care for families and friends of people who experience same-sex attractions or gender identity discordance. Chapter 2 in this section, "Formation," elaborates on the second of the Goals of EnCourage, “To gain a deeper understanding of the needs, difficulties and challenges experienced by men and women who experience same-sex attractions.”

More and more parents are coming to Courage to seek guidance in supporting their son or daughter who experiences gender identity discordance. Father Bochanski addresses some common concerns:

At the 2021 Courage & EnCourage Annual Conference, there was a special series directed to parents of children who experience gender identity discordance. Three of the talks in this series are now available for viewing on our site.

"While the primary mission of Courage and EnCourage remains supporting people living with the experience of same-sex attractions" and those who love them, the apostolate is frequently "called upon to provide guidance in regard to the 'transgender' question as well." "EnCourage chapters in various places are already serving families of people with confusion over their sexual identity. …[P]ermission is extended to all EnCourage chapters to welcome such members … on an informal basis" (Handbook, p 81-85).

Accordingly, we offer a number of resources on the subject of gender identity discordance at TruthandLove.com. Truth & Love is an initiative of Courage designed to provide formation and deeper understanding for those involved in ministry, families, and all who desire to provide authentic Catholic support.

We hope to move forward with the in-person events listed on our 2021 calendar, while always 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.