“At the annual “Red Mass” at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, I joined the University of Notre Dame Law School community and the Saint Thomas More Society of South Bend in invoking the guidance of the Holy Spirit upon all who serve in the legal profession and public life and upon the Law school students and faculty. We pray that the Holy Spirit may grant them wisdom, understanding, counsel, and courage as they pursue justice and work for the common good.” —Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades

For Ryan Norden, preparing for the diocesan synod began with listening. This past summer, the Notre Dame senior spent his days as a Totus Tuus missionary and his evenings in the homes of host families across the diocese. “Every night we’d sit with a different family, and they’d tell us about the struggles they were having with faith, or what was going well in their parish,” he says. “We were just taking it in.” Norden, who serves on Bishop Rhoades’ diocesan pastoral council and as a synod delegate, calls it “the synod model in miniature: Nobody has everything figured out, but everybody has something figured out.” He’ll take those experiences with him to the synod’s first session, set for Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in South Bend. In a Q&A with Vibrant Catholic, Norden shares his thoughts on synodality, how he’s been preparing through prayer, and what it means for the faithful of the diocese.

“I love Jesus, but I don’t need the Church.” It’s a common sentiment, but it misunderstands what the Church actually is. In this primer on Catholic ecclesiology, Monsignor Michael Heintz explains why the Church isn’t a club we join or an organization we choose, but the Body of Christ, the place where Jesus continues to save the world today. In his article for Vibrant Catholic, Monsignor Heintz offers a clear, accessible read for anyone who has wondered why following Jesus means belonging to His Church.

On Friday, Oct. 23, students from Catholic elementary schools across the South Bend area gathered at Purcell Pavilion at the University of Notre Dame’s Joyce Center for the All-Schools Mass, celebrated by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades. The Mass is held each year around the Solemnity of All Saints. In his homily, Bishop Rhoades urged each student to pray and listen for God’s call about their vocation, whether to the priesthood, religious life, or marriage. Like the young Samuel, they can say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” “We’re only going to really be happy in our lives if we do God’s will. That’s where we find peace,” he said. “Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will. Those should be words that we all say.”

"As we draw closer to the Synod, please go to the divine furnace of prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to guide the Synod delegates. Pray that the result of our Synod will be a holy wildfire — not a fire that destroys, but a fire that spreads the light of the truth of the Gospel and the warmth of the love of God revealed in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, his Son." —Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades

“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening!” 🙏 At the All-Schools Mass at the Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday, Bishop Rhoades told the story of young Samuel, who heard God calling him in the night, and asked every student to pray Samuel’s words. He urged the boys to ask whether God might be calling them to a priestly vocation, and asked the girls to consider religious life. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few,” he reminded them, and he asked everyone to pray for vocations. The fourth-grade students came dressed as the saints who answered God’s call before them. 😇 Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke of Ekwulobia, Nigeria, a diocese blessed with 84 major seminarians, concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Rhoades and echoed the call for students to pray for vocations. He urged them to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit so they can hear God’s voice. His prayer for our students: “May the Lord from here raise more popes, more priests, and, above all, more citizens of heaven and more saints.”

"It was a blessing to celebrate Mass with the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration in Mishawaka and to give thanks to God for the jubilarians celebrating many years of faithful consecrated life. Through their ceaseless prayer before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, sisterly love, Franciscan joy, and generous works of mercy, these sisters are a great gift to our diocese and to the Church. May the Lord continue to strengthen them in their vocation and make His love known through their joyful witness." —Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades