MANITOWOC — “I’ll be there.” That’s how Jami Duvall, liturgy and baptism coordinator for St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Manitowoc, says Deacon Alan Boeldt answers when the parish needs him.

Deacon Boeldt, 87, will celebrate 35 years as a deacon on September 21.

“Deacon Al’s ministry is important to our parish and to the Manitowoc community. A big part of his ministry is funerals and connecting with families who have lost loved ones,” Duvall said.

Deacon Boeldt knows what it’s like to lose a loved one. He lost his wife of 53 years, Karen, 12 years ago, and still tears up at the mention of her name.

Karen, his Irish-Catholic girlfriend those many years ago, was the reason he embraced Catholicism.

A life-long Manitowoc resident who was raised in another faith, Deacon Boeldt recalls Karen’s answer when someone asked if they were going to marry: “If he doesn’t change, it’s not going to happen.”

She was, of course, referring to his faith.

So, Deacon Boeldt said “yes” to both. He was baptized Catholic in early 1960, and they were married that October. They leave a legacy of two children, four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

Deacon Boeldt was confirmed in the church in his 40s. “I became very involved (in the church and its school) as a lay person in many capacities,” DeaconBoeldt said. “I felt that the Lord was calling me.”

He didn’t know much about the diaconate except what he observed in church, but he pursued it thanks to encouragement by church leaders and his own desire to serve God.

Deacon Boeldt took part in the commissioned ministry program in Green Bay, led by the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity of Manitowoc, and was received by Bishop Adam Maida into a year of candidacy for the permanent diaconate in 1990.

He was ordained on September 21, 1991, at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Green Bay by Bishop Robert Banks. Deacon Boeldt was assigned as a permanent deacon to St. Paul Catholic Parish until it closed in 2005 and was then reassigned to St. Francis of Assisi.

“We are a unique parish. We have three sites. From early on, to me it was important that I participate in serving at all the sites,” Deacon Boeldt said.

Connie Heinzen, communications coordinator and pastor support for the parish, shared her appreciation for Deacon Boeldt’s ministry and service. 

“In my 20-plus years of knowing and ministering with Deacon Alan Boeldt, I have come to know and love this kind man who has a true heart and love for the Gospel,” Heinzen said. 

“He is Jesus walking among us, having a particular gift for ministering to those on the fringes of society. He is a good-hearted and friendly member of our parish team. Whenever he is in our office, he makes a point of stopping to say hello to each one of us, never too busy to sincerely ask each of us how we are doing.” 

Heinzen also praised Deacon Boeldt for “the joy he brings to our parish Masses and the big smile on his face … as he blesses the pets of our parish families each October (in conjunction with) the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.”

Deacon Boeldt said he looks forward to Mass. “That’s what community is all about. It all begins when you gather for worship … when you journey in God’s oneness, his peace and in his love.”

As a long-time member of the men’s community chorus, Deacon Boeldt said that he is particularly inspired by the processional hymn, which brings everyone together.

As a deacon, he serves with the priest during Mass, proclaiming the Gospel, offering intercessory, leading the sign of peace and closing the Mass.

“It’s not only when I’m in the sanctuary. I come early to welcome people who gather for community. Then, when they leave, I thank them,” Deacon Boeldt said.

Another way Deacon Boeldt connects with parishioners is through countless patient visits in the hospital, where he offers comfort to those who need it. And, of course, he offers solace to those who lose their loved ones.

“I’m shy of 40 funerals this year,” Deacon Boeldt said in June. “I’m there to bolster and support the families during this time. It can be very sorrowful. You become as one. At least I feel that. I keep loved ones in prayer throughout the balance of the year.”

In his earlier years, he was active in St. Paul Parish as a secretary trustee, on the parish council, a member and president of the school board of education, a member of the finance committee, a lector, a communion distributor and a lay minister of the altar.

He also served as a small- and large-group leader for the Renew program, led an evening Bible study and reflection program, participated in the parish FOCUS and Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and Children programs, and trained youth to be servers for Mass.

In addition, he was a youth catechist in the parish CCD religion instruction program and helped prepare individuals for Confirmation.

KAUKAUNA — Reflecting on his 50 years as a priest, Fr. Don Zuleger points to his passion for Scripture that led him to teaching the Bible whenever the opportunity arose.

“That formed an identity in my priestly ministry as somebody who knows a little bit about Scripture,” he said. “Don’t call me a Scripture scholar. I’m not a scholar. I love the Bible, and I can teach a little.”

Fr. Zuleger, who celebrated his 50-year anniversary of ordination to the priesthood on June 6, credits time spent in the Holy Land as a seminarian for developing his love for the Word of God. 

“When I was in Collegeville (Minnesota, St. John University) for theology, they started a Holy Land experience,” he said. “They would take a group of seminarians for a semester in Jerusalem. We studied in the Holy Land. Through that great experience, I fell in love with the Bible. I fell in love with biblical geography.”

St. John offered graduate-level degrees in theology, so Fr. Zuleger completed extra coursework in the Holy Land to earn a master of arts in biblical studies. He hoped to teach Scripture immediately following his ordination in 1976.

“They didn’t have a teaching position, so I was put at the parish in Two Rivers (St. Luke),” Fr. Zuleger said. “After two years, I moved on to Marinette. I spent seven years at the Catholic high school (Catholic Central). I taught juniors and seniors. I was principal for one year. I had my first parish (at Sacred Heart of Jesus) in Marinette.”

In 1985, Fr. Zuleger, who grew up the oldest of 10 children in South Darboy, returned closer to home. He was appointed to teach and serve as chaplain at Xavier High School in Appleton.

“It just so happens that my youngest brother, John, the 10th one in our family, was at Xavier High School. I was assigned to teach all the seniors, so I had my brother. I was a senior in high school when he was born. We had never really lived together other than on vacation breaks. The first day I had to make an example of him,” said Fr. Zuleger with a laugh. “He came late to class. I called him out on it.”  

While serving in education at Xavier, Fr. Zuleger ministered as associate pastor (parochial vicar) at St. Pius X Parish in Appleton. In 1996, he became pastor at St. Joseph Parish, Green Bay. 

“I was at St. Joe’s for 15 months. Then I had a chance to go back to Appleton to become pastor at St. Pius X Parish, which was growing exponentially,” he said. “I was there from 1997 to 2005.”

In 1999, Fr. Orville Janssen died. Fr. Janssen, the founding pastor of St. Bernard Parish, Appleton, was the leader of the longtime Bible study in the Fox Valley that was regularly attended by more than 100 members. Fr. Zuleger had filled in for the Bible study while at Xavier, so he received a call to lead after Fr. Janssen’s passing.

“I told them that three things needed to happen,” Fr. Zuleger said. “They had to move it from St. Bernard to St. Pius. They can’t call it ‘Fr. Orville’s Bible Study’ — it’s the Fox Valley Bible Study, and you have to open it up to women. There were a few women when I filled in, but they needed to expand it. The Bible study started from a men’s retreat at Monte Alveron (Retreat and Spirituality Center in Appleton).”

The Bible study, which continues to this day and has always been run by lay people, moved in 2005 to St. Bernadette Parish, Appleton, when Fr. Zuleger was appointed pastor.  

“I’m a contextualist — broader content. It wasn’t the kind of Bible study where you read a passage and are asked, ‘What did it mean to you?’ I gave historical background and looked at word origins. We would get into a book of the Bible and it would take us eight to 10 months,” Fr. Zuleger said.

“After 10 years, some people were asking to do the Book of Revelation. I put them off. Finally we got into the Book of Revelation. About half way through, I said, ‘You know, I can sum up the Book of Revelation in two words: God wins. That’s the only thing you need to know,’” he added with a laugh.  

While at St. Bernadette, Fr. Zuleger was also appointed to serve at Sacred Heart Parish, Appleton. His last parish assignment was as pastor for a year at St. Mary Parish, Black Creek, and St. Lawrence Parish, Navarino, prior to the pandemic.

Fr. Zuleger’s teaching positions extended beyond his Catholic high school appointments. He taught humanities classes for eight years at Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, while serving at Xavier.

“I taught ‘World Cultures and Religions’ and ‘Historical Movements and Western Thought,’ basically looking at philosophies that formed the foundation for Western Civilization,” he said. “Unfortunately, they had a terrible textbook, so there was a lot of extra work. It was a program for adult learners.”

He also taught Scripture in the commissioned ministry program for the Diocese of Green Bay. Fr. Zuleger said that his path has crossed over the years with many deacons he had in class.

Currently, Fr. Zuleger celebrates Mass twice a week in Schmidt Chapel at St. Paul Villa where he resides. He also appreciates opportunities to hear confessions.

Fr. Zuleger’s call to the priesthood was received at a young age during prayer after making his first holy Communion at Holy Angels Church in Darboy.

“I was praying, ‘Thank you, Jesus, thank you, Jesus, now what do you want me to do?’ I heard a voice say, ‘I want you to be a priest.’ What? That stuck with me,” he said. “I told my family from that time on, and with the encouragement of the Bay Settlement Franciscan Sisters that we had as teachers at Holy Angels, they fostered me going into priesthood.” 

He humorously credits his family situation for spurring him to go to Sacred Heart Seminary in Oneida for high school and college.

“We had nine kids at the time and one bathroom, with six sisters,” he said with a smile.

While at Sacred Heart, Fr. Zuleger and classmates commuted to St. Norbert College in De Pere, where he earned a bachelor of arts in religious studies. He said that he fondly remembers Fr. Willie Van De Loo among his teachers in Oneida before moving on to Collegeville.

Fr. Zuleger was ordained a priest at Holy Name Church in Kimberly by then-Auxiliary Bishop Mark Schmidt. In celebration of his jubilee, Fr. Zuleger concelebrated Mass at the Kimberly worship site of Holy Spirit Parish. Most of his nine siblings are still in the area. A family dinner followed Mass. 

“We had 110 immediate family (members present),” he said.

Each jubilarian was invited to share their thoughts on the following: 

1. 1. Share one powerful moment when you experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life or ministry. 
2. 2. Give one example of how you are reclaiming Sunday and keeping Sunday sacred through worship, rest or charitable service.

Fr. James Massart

60 years

“I experience the presence of the Holy Spirit, not by trying to explain it, but by allowing it to unfold. Rather than attempting to sort it out, I simply try to remain open and let it happen, trusting that God is at work in ways beyond my understanding.”

“As a senior priest, I continue to serve in every way I can — celebrating Mass and hearing confessions. In between these ministries, I celebrate Mass with my family, which has been deeply meaningful to me.”

The Most Rev. Robert Morneau,
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Green Bay

60 years

“Back in the autumn of 1983, I read a poem, ‘To Live with the Spirit,’ by the Carmelite Jessica Powers. She wrote: ‘To live with the Spirit of God is to be a listener … To live with the Spirit of God is to be a lover.’ The poem reminds me, time and time again, that our Christian life is about listening and loving, obedience to God’s will and caring for one another. I thought that this might be what life is all about.” 

“Perhaps we can reclaim Sunday by appreciating more deeply that the Eucharist is a serious conversation that fosters union with God and one another by way of painful transformation. The journey of faith is a graced adventure; Sunday keeps us in touch with the great narrative of creation, the Incarnation and the Resurrection.” 

Fr. Richard Getchel

50 years

“I don’t believe there has been one powerful moment, rather multiple moments. Having been ordained in 1976 on the Vigil of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is a guiding force in ministry. I regularly think about and reflect on the quote of Cardinal Suenens from his book, ‘A New Pentecost?’, ‘Always expect the unexpected from the unpredictable Spirit of God. From one day to another … one year to the next.’”

Fr. Harry Hafeman

50 years

“A most powerful moment happened just recently. I had my knees injected with a steroid, and the pain went away. Every day is a miracle. I find these little miracles have happened all my life, and I am truly grateful. The Holy Spirit works through the good and troubled times. The difficult time is an opportunity for growth to change my thoughts and actions and to turn to God even more than I did before. The challenge is the most powerful moment of my life. I trust in God’s goodness as my closest and dearest friend.”

“I pray the Breviary, the prayers of the Mass, keeping Sundays sacred for family, friends and those who ask for my prayers. I like people to feel good and happy. Many have bottled up emotions with guilt to get rid of in their minds and hearts. God can forgive them completely as though it never happened. I feel joy that they can find relief in a trusted friend. I find joy by serving others, especially by serving the Lord as his disciple, follower and friend.”

Fr. Michael Dory

50 years

“The Marines I was serving with in 2002 just returned from a nasty firefight outside of Baghdad. I was sitting on a crate of water when this very young (they all were young) Marine walked up to me and asked if I was a priest. I said I was. Then he said, ‘Padre, I think I killed a few of the insurgents today. Did I sin?’ St. John’s Seminary did not prepare me for such a question, nor any time I served as a pastor. I paused and prayed for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. After that pause, the words came to me.”

“Reclaiming Sunday. Easy, I have Mass at Luke Air Force Base every Sunday for the young and old members of the Air Force, always uplifting.”

Fr. Donald Zuleger

50 years

Read Fr. Don Zuleger’s interview on pages 24-25. 

Saturday, Sept. 19: Confirmation Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, De Pere, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 20: Confirmation Mass with St. Joseph Parish, Appleton; St. Paul Parish, Combined Locks; and SS. Peter and Paul Parish, Hortonville; at St. Mary Parish, Appleton, 3 p.m.

Sept. 23-25: Beatification Mass for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, St. Louis, Mo.

Sunday, Sept. 27: 100th Anniversary of Fall Festival Mass, St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, Neva, 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 3: Mass and Blessing of St. Carlo Acutis Adoration Chapel, Oshkosh, 10 a.m.

Sunday, Oct. 4: Diocesan-wide Confirmation Mass at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Green Bay, 2 p.m.

By Maria Foss | For On Mission

CHILTON, WI – Fr. Allen “Al” Geiser, a senior priest for the Diocese of Green Bay, died September 13, 2026, at the age of 77. 

He was born on March 10, 1949, in Appleton, Wisconsin, to Gregory and Celestine (Wagner) Geiser. After attending Chilton High School, Fr. Geiser went on to St. Thomas College and St. John Vianney College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He earned a B.A. in political science and a master of divinity at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois. 

Fr. Geiser was ordained a priest on June 2, 1990, by Bishop Adam Maida at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. He began his ministry as parochial vicar at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Kimberly and in 1991, he moved to St. Mary of the Annunciation Church in Kaukauna. Following his ministry in Kaukauna, Fr. Geiser spent two years as parochial vicar at St. Mary Church (now Most Blessed Sacrament) in Oshkosh. 

From 1993 to 2008, Fr. Geiser served at St. Patrick Church in Askeaton, where he began as a temporary administrator and later became pastor. He took a leave of absence in 2008 for health reasons, and shortly after, he entered senior status. During this time, Fr. Geiser was the chaplain at McCormick Memorial Home for the Aged in Green Bay. In 2019, he retired.

Visitation will be held on Monday, September 21, 2026, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 54 E. Main St., Chilton, from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m., with a concluding prayer service beginning at 6:30 p.m. Visitation will continue at the same location on Tuesday, September 22, from 9 a.m. until the time of the funeral Mass.  

The funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, September 22, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 54 E. Main St., Chilton, with the Most Reverend David L. Ricken as celebrant and Fr. James Lucas as homilist. Burial will follow at a later date, in St. Mary Cemetery, Chilton, in the priest section.

All priests are invited to concelebrate. Please bring your alb and a stole and chasuble will be provided. Members of the Leo Benevolent Association are asked to offer their three prescribed Masses for the repose of his soul. 

Sunday Readings for Sept. 19 and 20, Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Fr. Edward Looney | For On Mission

October 9, 2026, will commemorate the 167th anniversary of Mary’s apparition in Champion, received by the Servant of God Adele Brice. In the message, Mary first spoke about conversion, stating, “I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners.” In our daily battle with sin, it’s comforting to know that Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Queen of Heaven, is praying for us sinners in this moment and for our conversion.

The Christian life is all about conversion, continuing to root out sin and vice, and becoming perfect like our Heavenly Father is perfect. For some people, there is an initial moment of conversion, where God breaks through and convinces the person’s heart that something needs to change in their life. In fact, a pilgrimage to the Shrine in Champion could be one of those breakthrough moments that facilitates conversion.

A person may also become dissatisfied with their sins and reach a breaking point, deciding for themselves that they need to turn to God. At this moment of conversion, a person seeks out the Sacrament of Reconciliation and, in their act of contrition, resolves to avoid the near occasions of sin.

Other times, conversion is slow and happens over time. We hear the Scriptures, and they keep chipping away at the sins of our lives. We read the writings of the saints and are challenged to live differently. A private revelation, like an apparition, awakens us spiritually. A talk at a conference or retreat inspires us to take action.

Conversion is on my mind, not only because of the Champion apparition, but because of what we hear from Isaiah in the first reading this weekend: “Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving” (Is 55:7). Conversion is happening. If we recognize that our ways or thoughts are not of God, now is the time to walk the path to mercy and forgiveness. Conversion happens when we begin to make our thoughts and ways like the Lord’s.

As the Psalm reminds us this weekend, the Lord is near to all who call upon him. He is near to the sinner who calls out from the throes of misery, and he brings mercy. If you desire to walk the path of conversion, ask the Lord for the grace you need in this moment, knowing that Our Lady is already praying with and for you.

The readings for Sunday, Sept. 20, can be found at Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB.

By Scott Cason | On Mission

GREEN BAY, WI — In 2015, Pope Francis published his second encyclical, Laudato Si’, which was inspired by the words of St. Francis of Assisi in his poem on spirituality, Canticle of the Creatures. In the poem, St. Francis praises God for providing all the earth’s creatures, the sun, the moon, wind, water, fire, and “Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us.”

Pope Francis uses Laudato Si’ to call on all of us to protect our common home. He further calls on us to develop a “loving awareness” of this home we share and to act on the values we hold dear (LS 220). Laudato Si’ is a detailed encyclical that addresses seven environmental, sustainability and social justice goals. At Resurrection Parish in Green Bay, the Care for Creation Committee (CFC) is hard at work during the Church’s fall Season of Creation, turning the vision of Pope Francis’ encyclical into reality in their corner of God’s creation.

Parishioner Nancy Mathias leads the CFC and is the driving force behind the group’s good work. Mathias is a retired St. Norbert College administrator, and she and her husband, Bill, have been active environmentalists for a long time. “For us, it began with camping in our national parks and just loving gardening and being outdoors,” Mathias said.

Mathias is also one of the co-chairs for the parish’s Spade Brigade Committee, which manages some of the gardens on the Resurrection Parish campus. In this role, she has spent a lot of time caring for God’s Creation by doing “small things.”

“Pope Francis has a couple of beautiful, little quotes about just the effort that you put into small things that lead to a kind of culture shift. I think about everything we have here on earth, the water we use and the little bit of land that we manage, and I think, ‘What can we do that would contribute to God’s creation?’” Mathias said. 

Mathias believes it is important in this kind of work to reach across boundaries and connect with people of other faiths and life experiences, particularly our Native American neighbors, the first caretakers of this land.

Committee member Kevin Erb, an outreach program manager at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension’s Natural Resources Institute, has always been interested in the environment. Having grown up on a farm, however, he tends to look at things from a more practical standpoint, combining what makes economic sense with what makes environmental sense. 

“For me, service with the Care for Creation Committee has been a way to connect my personal beliefs with my faith in ways I hadn’t thought about previously,” Erb said. He believes his work with the committee has led him to look more closely at his faith and what Scripture says about caring not only for creation, but for each other as people of God.

The CFC has taken steps to reduce the parish’s energy costs by becoming more energy efficient and taking advantage of the electronic controls already in place in the parish’s HVAC system. This saved the parish more than $10,000 last fiscal year. 

The committee has also partnered with several community organizations to create the “Great Green Bay Declutter” event, allowing residents across Northeast Wisconsin to dispose of and properly recycle electronics and appliances at no charge. The event collected eight semis’ worth of material, keeping it out of landfills. More than 800 eyeglasses were also collected and made available to Wisconsin residents and Central American missions.

The CFC has also partnered with Spokes of Hope, a ministry in Green Bay, to provide safe, well-serviced bicycles to people who depend on them as their primary transportation. In the first year of their collaboration, they collected over 70 bicycles.

The biggest breakthrough came in 2025 when, in one day, the CFC and volunteers collected more than 10,200 pounds of electronics, steel, and other recyclables and kept them out of landfills. 

“We learned the lesson never to do that again on Palm Sunday because it took us a better part of a week to clean up the parking lot,” Erb said.

Jeff Langan, a retired nuclear engineer, joined the group when the parish council assigned him to serve as liaison and has become a very active member. Langan believes we should consider the world we live in as a gift from God. 

“I think the CFC helps people understand the impact of their decisions on our environment,” Langan said. “Educating people on what they can do to avoid contaminating and spoiling our environment is how we pursue the goals of Laudato Si’.”

By Rachel Kettner | For On Mission

KIMBERLY, WI — Valley Area Special Needs Religious Education (VASNRE) is a program for people of all ages with disabilities to experience religious education in a way better suited to them than most traditional religious education programs.

Based at Holy Spirit Parish in Kimberly but serving the entire Fox Valley, VASNRE was started in 1964 by Althea Valentyn, who ran the program out of her home. Two of Valentyn’s grandsons are now priests in the Diocese of Green Bay: Fr. Scott Valentyn and Fr. Ben Pribbenow.

The VASNRE program accepts students of all ages and abilities, regardless of where they are on their faith journey.

“We like to say that we serve ages seven to 97, but that’s just a fun way to put it,” said Gretchen Ortner, religious coordinator for VASNRE. “We serve each individual’s needs, because so many of them have different types of disabilities, and different cognitive levels and learning levels. Also, so many are at different stages in their sacramental prep.”

Since its founding, the program has grown in both the number of students and volunteers, but the mission remains the same. Following the legacy of Althea Valentyn, all that is required is an open heart.

“(VASNRE) wasn’t affiliated with the diocese; it wasn’t affiliated with any parish, just out of her own home, just something she saw that parishes in the diocese were lacking,” Ortner said. “She wanted to be able to serve her fellow parishioners with disabilities. Althea passed away in 2017, but the program is still really thriving.”

“My grandmother was a woman of deep faith,” Fr. Scott Valentyn said. “She was the type to fix a problem when she saw a problem. In this case, she saw that there were children with special needs who were unable to participate in a religious education program and, as a result, unable to receive many of their sacraments. So, she took it upon herself to fix the problem.”

Each year, the program serves around 20 students, with nearly just as many volunteers to help with whatever is needed.

“Some students have been in the program for 30-40 years, and some volunteers have been with the program for 30 years as well,” Ortner said. “This is the start of my fourth year, but in some ways, it feels like I’ve known these people my entire life.”

The class meets every other Saturday morning from September through April in a classroom at Holy Spirit.

Ortner, who also works at Fox Valley Autism in Appleton, said VASNRE is a great way for people to welcome and support those from our parishes who have different abilities.

“So many of the students, so many people with disabilities in this day and age, still don’t feel completely welcomed in the Church,” she said. “Our students are in our parishes, whether you see them or not, and they are also children of God who deserve to know that they are children of God, and that they’re loved. Many of them didn’t hear that a lot growing up.”

For those looking to get involved or help with VASNRE, Ortner asks for prayers and greater awareness.

“We want to be able to continue serving students in the best way, and each year that could change,” she said. “How we serve them, or where we serve them, what we do, can always change. So, we want prayers to be able to continue to follow God’s calling and do that.”

“Parishioners can better serve those with disabilities in our parishes by first simply recognizing their presence,” Fr. Pribbenow said. “Have a conversation. Get to know them. There is nothing worse than indifference. We must recognize people with disabilities and then uphold their inherent and infinite dignity. When we do so, we often come to notice their authenticity and joy for life. These people are not second-class Catholics. Their faith and devotion are real.”

Over the past six decades, VASNRE has impacted hundreds of families across the Fox Valley and beyond.

“In my second year as a priest, I was able to celebrate my grandmother’s funeral Mass,” Fr. Valentyn said. “Quite possibly the most moving part of that Mass was during Communion. I had many of her former students in my Communion line, and it dawned on me that if it weren’t for my grandma and others like her, these former students probably wouldn’t be able to receive Communion for lack of adequate sacramental preparation. It was a powerful witness to how much good one person can accomplish by cooperating with the Lord’s call, not just to love him above all things, but to also love our neighbors as ourselves.”

For those interested in signing up for VASNRE as a volunteer or a student, reach out to VASNRE@holyspirit-parish.org.

Sunday Readings for Sept. 12 and 13, Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Lyn Zahorik | For On Mission

Peter is my spiritual twin in this Sunday’s Gospel — the disciple who blurts out the question everyone else is thinking but is too afraid to ask. He wants clarity. He wants limits. He wants forgiveness to be something he can measure, chart, and maybe even put into a spreadsheet if Jesus would just give him the numbers.

And honestly? I get him. Most of us do. We love black‑and‑white. It feels safe, predictable, as if holiness could be managed if only we just follow the rules. But Jesus keeps pulling us into the shimmering middle — the place where the heart is stretched, where compassion costs something, where forgiveness feels like surrender.

So, Peter asks, “How many times do I have to forgive?” Beneath his question is the heartbeat of every human soul: “Lord, just tell me how much is enough.”

Instead of giving Peter a number, Jesus gives him a math problem that doesn’t make sense: “Not seven times, but seventy‑seven times.” Which is Jesus’ polite, scriptural way of saying, “Peter, stop counting.”

This is where the Gospel becomes deeply spiritual — and deeply uncomfortable. Jesus knows we are rule‑loving creatures. He knows we want forgiveness to be neat and tidy. He knows we want mercy to come with expiration dates and usage limits. And he knows that if he gave us a number, we would absolutely keep score.

So, what does Jesus do? He doesn’t give us black‑and‑white. He gives us grey. Holy grey. The kind of grey that makes us squint and mutter, “Lord, this would be so much easier if you’d just tell me exactly what to do.”

Forgiveness, in Jesus’ world, is not a transaction. It’s a transformation. It’s the slow, holy work of letting God reshape our hearts until they resemble his — wide, generous, not keeping count. Let’s be honest: transformation is not our favorite posture. (I personally prefer postures that involve chai tea, a comfortable chair, and maybe a snack.)

Next, Jesus tells a parable — the servant, forgiven a massive, unpayable debt, then refuses to forgive a tiny one. This is where Jesus gently, but unmistakably, offers us a mirror. The parable isn’t just a story; it’s a spiritual diagnostic test. Jesus is saying, “Look at yourselves. Look at how inconsistent you are. Look at how much mercy you expect and how little you want to give.”

The contrast in the parable is almost comical — cosmic humor with a moral edge. A king wipes out a debt the size of a national budget, and the servant immediately hunts down someone who owes him pocket change. It’s Jesus’ way of showing how absurd it is when we cling to grudges while standing knee‑deep in grace.

So maybe the invitation this Sunday is simple: step into the grey. The sacred grey. The place where God does his best work — the messy, human, heart‑stretching place where forgiveness becomes not a rule, but a way of life. Not in our certainty, but in our surrender; not in our rules, but in our relationships; not in our counting, but in our becoming.

The readings for Sunday, Sept. 13, can be found at Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB.

Brianna Healy, Aymara Morales and Thomas Pollack are members of a vibrant, new young adult group offered through the Diocese of Green Bay’s Evangelization Mission Team. The RUAH Group (RUAH meaning wind, breath, or Holy Spirit) focuses on working collaboratively to grow in faith together.

The Diocese of Green Bay is blessed with several active young adult groups that gather in parishes to share life and faith. From book clubs and movie nights to adoration and worship events, groups like RUAH are working to equip and empower young adults to draw on the inspiration and grace of the Holy Spirit to guide their faith journey at every step. 

“The Holy Spirit is working through this group,” Healy said. Within the first few months of her involvement, she has felt her relationship with the Holy Spirit grow and has seen him working more clearly through people and situations. “The program has helped me grow in relying on the Holy Spirit to guide me in prayer and recognize my own gifts,” Healy said.

Morales participated in the third RUAH Group session on Aug. 8 and clearly sees the value in this new initiative. She knows many young adults long for a place to belong with others who share the same faith and beliefs. Through RUAH, she hopes to learn to facilitate fellowship and faith formation initiatives that will build a stronger community in her parish.

Meet Brianna Healy

Healy’s faith formation began in middle school, when she joined a youth ministry program. “God gave me my amazing friend, Mary,” Healy said. “We grew in friendship and faith through high school and served on several mission trips.” On one of these mission trips, the pair met the young adult ministry coordinator from their parish, whom Healy calls “a captivating beam of joy.” 

After a few years, the coordinator passed the baton to Healy and her friend. In this role, Healy felt blessed to be part of an incredible community that experienced powerful encounters with the Lord. During a retreat, she met her boyfriend, and she treasures the beautiful, Christ-centered relationship they are building.

At the time, Healy was also working as a public school teacher, but after attending a meeting that she found spiritually deflating, she left that position. Soon afterward, she received a phone call from her parish asking whether she would be interested in teaching children about Jesus full-time. “That was a huge Holy Spirit moment for me,” Healy said. 

She now serves in both young adult and faith formation ministries at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in De Pere, where she sees Jesus’ presence in the communities she serves. 

“Christ has been working through the young adult community in ways that bring joy, encouragement, sincerity, love, and wisdom to my life,” Healy said. “All of the major breakthroughs in my life — my relationships, friendships, roommates, and jobs — have stemmed from my faith.”

Meet Aymara Morales

Morales finally said “yes” to the Lord after feeling called for some time to teach Confirmation. She is beginning her third year in this role but knows she is still learning. “I’m learning so much in the process, but I came in with the hope that I can help other young girls understand and learn the aspects of our faith that I had to learn on my own,” Morales said.

The more she learns, the more she falls in love with the Catholic faith. “I evangelize with less and less fear,” Morales said. More importantly, she believes she is planting seeds that she hopes will move her students to understand the beauty of the Catholic faith and how much love Jesus has for each one of them.

“I see Jesus at the start of every day, when I give him my day, the good and the bad,” Morales said. “I always tell him, ‘Lord, I give you this day and all my work for your greater glory, for the good of my soul and my salvation, help me to bring you to others and others to you.’”

Meet Thomas Pollack

A junior at St. Norbert College in De Pere, double majoring in business administration and sacred music, Pollack believes the RUAH Group’s commitment to prayer has been an essential element of its impact on his life. “I’m not usually a social person, but it is transformative to learn how to pray with and over other young adults,” Pollack said. 

Pollack has learned to trust in God’s will, and as a result, he has begun to see the fruit of that trust blooming in his life. “I had never seriously considered becoming a sacred music major until I started receiving little signs from God,” Pollack said. “I knew that God was calling me to serve the Church through the gifts he had given me.”

While he has been musically inclined his whole life, it was only when he invited God into those talents that he truly began to feel fulfilled in making music. “I have followed God’s will one step at a time, and he has continued to multiply the opportunities to use my gifts in his service.” Through trust and obedience, Pollack experiences the true jubilation of singing the praise of his glory.

Click here to learn more about Young Adult Ministry programs offered by the Diocese of Green Bay.