In June, I had the privilege to join our Indianapolis Chapter for their monthly event. Aside from being a great chapter of 62 members, our third-largest chapter in the organization, they hosted a phenomenal chapter speaker who is apropos for this month’s magazine theme: Heroes in Uniform.
In April, I received a call from Bishop Andrew Cozzens, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Bishop Cozzens is also the chairman of the USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis.
Throughout my eight years with Legatus as both central regional director and executive director, I have had the pleasure of witnessing several individuals who have taken the Legatus mission to heart in an exceptional manner and have gone above and beyond in their help and service to the organization in some truly remarkable ways.
We hoped that when we rang in the New Year, we would truly have a better year than the last. However, as I write this column two weeks into January, it has become apparent that this year may rival 2020 in many ways.
The infamous year of 2020 is finally coming to a close. While it certainly contained some incredible challenges, the silver lining is that it also provided many opportunities for growth, including within Legatus.
There is no question that we are living in a time of great moral confusion. In particular, the value of human life is no longer self-evident, as it was to our founding fathers, but rather is under constant debate and attack.
And as physical gatherings have become so rare over the last several months, I believe our upcoming Summit is more important and offers more value than ever.
Studying and living the Faith is at the very heart of who we are as Legatus members. How we practically implement this can be explored in a variety of ways, but I think it is safe to say that the most applicable scenario now is not one that anyone imagined just a few short months ago.
Like many of you, Legatus has not been immune to the challenges that faced us in the Coronavirus outbreak. As an organization, our staff collectively visits 40+ chapters each month, and this was brought to a screeching halt in mid-March.
Each of us has a mission in life: to get to heaven and take as many with us as possible. Beyond that mission, everything else is ancillary. Because we are human, we get caught up in “life” and lose our true north.
It’s unbelievable that a year has passed by again, as we ready to welcome baby Jesus back into our hearts, and celebrate being Christian. We also look forward to the coming year.
Recently, Legatus Magazine polled members on what topics they would like to see addressed. One of the topics that surfaced was: How can we, as laity, support our priests to be healthy, happy and holy?
In early June, nearly 200 CEOs contributed to an advertisement in The Wall Street Journal, “urging companies to stand up for reproductive rights in the face of ongoing abortion bans in states across the U.S.”
The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart is celebrated on the first Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi and commemorates the love, suffering, and compassion of Christ for all humanity.
Last month I was visiting a chapter on the East coast and as sometimes happens, I was unfamiliar with her and her organization. She was a “local” speaker, so I was a little hesitant. Now, in full disclosure, some of the best talks I have heard visiting chapters have been from the local area.
At the Summit, we announced exciting news that in 2020, we will be going back to having two Summits a year. As a result of our growth, we want to make the Summit available to more of our members.
As we head into the season of resolutions, I think it is a good time to recap 2018 for Legatus and share some of our accomplishments, shortcomings, and our goals for the year ahead.