With trepidation, I walked from the airport into the cold northern wind to my waiting ride. The man who offered his hand in greeting had a warm smile and easy demeanor.
But like many men I would meet over the next 24 hours, he struggled with the absence of snow in the driveways and the thinness of ice on the lakes. Yes, the mild winter had disheartened the hardy men of the North and left them without opportunity to use their snow blowers, without opportunity to ice fish.
Yet, in allowing me into their homes, these stolid, soft-spoken men (and their more easily speaking women) showed they retained their courage. I had come to Minnesota to lead them in a conversation about the Action Plan for our Mission. (If you have no idea what the plan is, for heaven’s sake click on the hyperlink and at least read it.)
After a tummy-warming dinner, great conversation and a fitful sleep (people were friendly, but I was still a White Sox fan in Twins country, a Bears fan in the land of the Vikings), I joined 25 of the local Regnum Christi leaders for “the conversation” and making plans for the upcoming year.
I warned the group (especially the guys) that the idea of this conversation is to review the action plan and react to the way it describes Regnum Christi, its mission and how it goes about serving its members and the Church. To do this you have to share your feelings and emotions – even talk about how you have handled the events of the past couple years. (But you don’t have to stand in a circle, hold hands and sing kumbaya.)
So….we showed a nice introductory video featuring Fr Luis Garza LC, our territorial director. We had a presentation on the plan. We showed the great new presentation about Regnum Christi by Fr John Bartunek LC (You can view and download it on the Regnum Christi website). And we talked…good things, bad things, disappointments, opportunities…it all got laid on the table, processed and put it its place. That was the idea and I had the sense it worked. It will be a good year for Regnum Christi in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
And for me, it was a day of gratitude and hope…gratitude for being among friends with whom I share a powerful Catholic faith and the charism of Regnum Christi…hope spawned by their determination – and the vocations in several of the attending families.
If you haven’t had your local conversation around the action plan, I encourage you to give it a shot. The worst that can happen is you’ll be reminded of how many real friends you have in Regnum Christi.
