“Saint James reminds us in his letter that faith without works is dead,” writes Fr. Jim Fenstermaker, C.S.C. “I have been impressed in my four years here at Holy Cross Parish by the level of social outreach offered by our parishioners. Our social ministry is coordinated by our Social Action Commission chaired by a very active and committed parishioner involved in a number of parish activities.” Read More

“Visiting the sick is one of the seven corporal works of mercy. It is also one of the most fulfilling aspects of the ministry of a parish priest, and one of the most appreciated by his parishioners,” writes Fr. Jim Fenstermaker, C.S.C. “One of the lessons I learned early in my priesthood was the importance of visiting the sick and homebound of the parish.” Read More

“Two words you may have noticed repeated throughout this blog are ‘fellowship’ and ‘meal,’” writes Fr. Jim Fenstermaker, C.S.C. “It’s not surprising that the two are paired together so often. In a sense, isn’t that what Eucharist is all about? As parish priests, we strive to strengthen the sense of fellowship at our Sunday Eucharist so that our parishioners then go forth to spread that fellowship, that communion, with all they meet.” Read More

“‘Jesus lives here.’  That was one of the responses that we received from our students when we asked them to reflect on their experience of St. Adalbert School and what makes it special,” writes Fr. Peter Pacini, C.S.C., the pastor of St. Adalbert & St. Casimir Parishes in South Bend, Ind. “That first grader stated succinctly, and with a wisdom revealed only to children, why our educational mission at St. Adalbert’s matters. … St. Adalbert School is a beacon of faith and hope for children growing up in a very tough environment.” Read More

Working with children is certainly one of the delights of parish ministry.  As priests, we have a wonderful opportunity to shape these children’s perceptions of church and religion from the very beginning of their faith lives. At a recent Sunday mass, one of the young children said to his parents during my homily, “If God doesn’t stop talking soon he’s going to lose his voice!”  I’m hoping it was because my voice was a bit sore and not due to the length of my homily!  Read More

“These folks don’t make this sacrifice in order to get a better job or increase their salary,” writes Fr. Don Fetters, C.S.C., about the adults enrolled in our Peruvian parish’s School for Pastoral Leadership. “For them the School for Pastoral Leadership opens the door to serving the parish and chapel communities as volunteer chapel coordinators, directors of liturgy and social action, Bible teachers, leaders in the ministry to the sick, etc. They become the ones who make the parish work—guaranteeing the essential services that are needed to get the gospel message around and to put it into practice.”

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“This is a busy and exciting time of the year in a parish, as you well know from your own home parish,” writes Fr. Jim Fenstermaker, C.S.C., pastor of Holy Cross Parish in South Easton, Mass. “Advent is one of my favorite liturgical seasons in which to preach, with that dual focus on the first and second comings of the Lord.” Read More

“I still remember one our parish staff members saying to me, ‘I’m glad it’s you and not me,’” writes Mr. Rob Curtis, the Pastoral Minister at St. John Vianney Parish, about finding out he would be the point person for implementing the new translation of the Roman missal. “However, a year later, … I have come to realize this was not the work of one person in preparing the parish, but became the collaborative work of the parish pastoral team and is a great example of how the ordained ministers and lay ecclesial ministers work together.” Read More

“We see the introduction of the new Mass translations as a wonderful opportunity to catechize our parishioners on the meaning and importance of the Sunday Eucharist in their lives and the life of Holy Cross Parish,” writes Fr. Jim Fenstermaker, C.S.C. “Our hope is that, by the beginning of Advent, we will be a parish that is more fully celebrating and living the Eucharist.” Read More

 “While we strive to teach our parish children the fundamentals of their Christian faith and Catholic religion so that they understand what they are participating in at Church,” writes Fr. Jim Fenstermaker, the pastor of Holy Cross Parish in South Easton, Mass., “our most important task is to help them develop a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.” Read More

Fr. Jim Fenstermaker, C.S.C., the pastor of Holy Cross Parish in South Easton, Mass., has sent us his second post for us in his series this year on parish ministry in the Congregation. His post reveals how the charism of Holy Cross impacted the vision of his parish in its new three-year pastoral plan. Read More

Today, we cover our parish bases with a new monthly contributor to our blog, Fr. Jim Fenstermaker, C.S.C., the pastor of Holy Cross Parish in South Easton, Mass. As we learn in his post today, Fr. Jim's life in Holy Cross has led him to several different ministries, but now he loves his work as a parish pastor ... and this year he will be sharing that ministry and joy with us here.  Read More

Today at Spes Unica we continue rolling out our new line-up of contributors for this coming year with another feature we are extremely excited about.  From the very beginning of the life of our Congregation, an essential part of the Holy Cross family has been our lay collaborators.  They not only join us in what we do, but they also help make us who we are.  It is impossible to imagine our lives, our mission, or our vocations without them, and so to help those discerning with our community, we want to include their voices on our blog as well. And so today, meet Mr. Rob Curtis, the Pastoral Minister at St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, AZ.  Rob introduces himself by sharing how God led him to Holy Cross and what has led him to fall in love with the Congregation. Read More

Fr. Vince Kuna, C.S.C., our parish correspondent has checked in with his June blog post. It fittingly comes to us from his assignment in Colorado Springs as we transition from the Easter Season back into Ordinary Time. Read More

Mr. Brian Ching, C.S.C., our faithful blog correspondent this year from St. John Vianney in Goodyear, AZ, has checked in with his last post.  As he explains in the post, he has finished his pastoral intership there and is moving back to Moreau Seminary to finish his final year of formal studies before final vows and ordination.  In today's post, Brian reflects with us on all St. John Vianney taught him about being a religious and priest in service of God's people.  A big thanks to Brian for how he has helped us learn this year through the experiences he has shared with us on Spes Unica.

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With it being the second Tuesday of May, Fr. Vince Kuna, C.S.C., has sent in his latest post in his series Diary of a Mountain Priest, chronicling his adventures as a parish priest at Sacred Heart Parish in Colorado Springs, CO. Read More

It is the first Friday in May, believe it or not, and so our regular correspondent, Mr. Brian Ching, C.S.C., has checked in from St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, AZ, with this month’s installment of his blog, Learning the Ropes. It is party time, as we will see … Read More

Fr. Vince Kuna, C.S.C., has sent us his latest blog post from his post out at the Tri-Community of Holy Cross parishes in Colorado Springs, CO. In his classic style, Fr. Vince gives an insight into what priests do on their "day off". Read More

Temporarily professed seminarian Brian Ching, C.S.C., has checked in with his latest post from his pastoral internship this year at St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear, AZ. This time he shares how his experience of the “tidal wave” that is Ash Wednesday at SJV led to a tidal wave of grace in his own life and discernment. Read More

Fr. Vince Kuna, C.S.C., checks in this month with another of his characteristically funny, yet deep reflections on his life and ministry as a parish priest in Colorado Springs. Most students at St. Mary’s High School like Father’s faux-hawk. They should. What a treat it must be to have the clerical version of David Villa come to your classroom once a month to teach you about God. And to have each lecture punctuated with a reminder that God loves each of them deeply and equally, but that Fr. Vince is His favorite…truly grand. Read More

Recently our pastor announced to the parish that he was being reassigned to a new parish and that a new Holy Cross priest would be coming to take over as pastor in the summer. While our parishioners were certainly saddened by the news, I was surprised by the number of parishioners who came up to me to say that though they were sad, they were encouraged that our pastor was going to be replaced by another Holy Cross priest, and how thankful they were to be at a parish staffed by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Read More

Some people run marathons; others read marathons ... at least according to our monthly blogger, Fr. Vince Kuna, C.S.C., as he shares with us this month about his fundraiser for the youth group of his parish. Read More

We return today to our regularly scheduled post of “Learning the Ropes” from Mr. Brian Ching, C.S.C., who joins in the spirit of Catholic Schools Week. He shares about the spirit of Catholic Education at St. John Vianney. Read More

Our celebration of Catholic Schools Week continues today with the perspective of one of our dynamic, young pastors, Fr. John DeRiso, C.S.C., who shepherds St. Joseph Parish and School in South Bend, IN.  Under his leadership, St. Joseph has reached record enrollment and is one of the leaders in the whole state of Indiana in terms of its students' achievements.  Today, though, Fr. John shares how it is not just the children who are learning at St. Joseph Grade School. Read More

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Catholic Schools Week. So on the eve of that great week, it is a great joy to share the news that one of our Holy Cross pastors, Fr. Neil Wack, C.S.C., was named a Distinguished Pastor by the National Catholic Education Assocation (NCEA) for his "outstanding support of Catholic Education". Fr. Neil is pastor at the parish he grew up in as a child - Christ the King Parish in South Bend, IN. Read More

By the decree of The Most Reverend John Vlazny, Archbishop of Portland in Oregon (US), the Downtown Chapel, which had been formally known as St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, has been renamed for the first saint in the Congregation of Holy Cross. Effective as of January 6, 2011, the landmark parish at the intersection of West Burnside and Sixth Avenue is now St. André Bessette Catholic Church, perhaps making it the first parish in the world – or at least the first in the United States – to bear the name of this saintly Holy Cross brother. Read More

From the shadow of Pike’s Peak in Colorado Springs, CO, Fr. Vince Kuna, C.S.C, has sent in his latest blog entry sharing his adventures as a parish priest. Today he shares how the needs of the people of God in our midst, often in our very neighborhoods, call us to a deeper witness. Read More

In his monthly post, Mr. Brian Ching, C.S.C, shares how he came to see Mary, Our Blessed Mother, in a new light after the Guadalupe celebrations at St. John Vianney Parish this past year. As you will see, they really are celebrations! Read More

Christ the King Parish School, a Holy Cross parish and school in South Bend, IN, was recently featured in the local diocesan newspaper Today's Catholic. Read More

Each year in December, the Downtown Chapel, our Holy Cross parish in Portland, OR, teams up with local photographers to offer professional-quality portrait-sittings to members of the Old Town community it serves. Read More