Breakout Sessions

Divine Worship Guided by Mary
"With wonderful care she nurtured the first Christians by her holy example, her authoritative counsel, her sweet consolation, her fruitful prayers. She was in very truth, the Mother of the Church, the Teacher and Queen of the Apostles, to whom, besides, she confided no small part of the divine mysteries which she kept in her heart.” (Pope Leo XIII). The mysteries of Mary are most fully encountered in the Most Holy Eucharist. In this presentation, Fr. Greg Bahl will present reflections on the Eucharist and Divine Worship guided by the example of Mary, Queen of the Apostles.

Fr. Greg Bahl, a priest of 17 years, serves as Director of the Office of Worship for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, as well as chaplain to Mount Mercy University, and the Convent of the Sacred Heart.  Preparing for priesthood at a monastery, St. Meinrad Archabbey, he experienced the power of great liturgy and expressions of faith modeled by the monks. Fr. Greg went on to earn a Doctorate of Ministry from the University of Saint Mary of the Lake (Mundelein, IL). His training emphasizes theological reflection, applied (practical) theology, and liturgy.  


Don't Box God In: How to Discern God's Will for Your Life
It may be easy for us to see God active in the Bible, creating the world, guiding the people of Israel through great signs, and speaking through the prophets. It may be easy to see God active in the miracles of Jesus, in His Resurrection, and in the descent of the Holy Spirit. It may be easy to see God active in Mass and in celebrating the sacraments. But are we keeping God's activity boxed into the Bible and Church? How is God active in our daily lives? Relying on the recent catechesis of Pope Francis regarding discernment, learn how we, as young Christians, can see God active in our lives, leading us to gifts God wishes to give us.

Fr. Mark Murphy, ordained a priest in 2014, is the Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Dubuque and the Chaplain of Saint Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Prior to his current assignment, Fr. Murphy has served at several parishes in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. He also holds an engineering degree from Iowa State University, and is a submarine veteran of the United States Navy.  


Making the Consecration To Jesus Through Mary
Though God could have become incarnate in any way he pleased, out of gratuitous goodness he chose to become incarnate through the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesus gave Mary to all of us on the cross as the surest and shortest path to him. Since St. Louis de Montfort proposed this sure and short path to Jesus in the early 18th century, many Saints and Blesseds have made the consecration to Jesus through Mary. In the last hundred years, Sts. Maximillian Kolbe, Mother Teresa, and John Paul II all found this consecration as a sure way to grow closer to Christ. In this session, we will discuss what this consecration is and why it is so effective in facilitating growth in holiness, and provide a free, easy-to-use online tool to assist in making the consecration as described in St. Louis de Montfort's original work.

Deacon Scott Zogg is the husband of Mary Zogg, and the father of four grown children. He worked as an engineer and leader at Collins Aerospace for 35 years. In 2017, Scott was given the gift of being ordained a deacon for the Archdiocese of Dubuque and in 2020 he was blessed to be able to retire early from his career so that he could devote himself to ministry full-time. Deacon Scott is currently assigned to the parishes of St. Pius X in Cedar Rapids and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hiawatha. He also serves as director for the Christian Experience Weekend in the Cedar Rapids Deanery, and as the Spiritual Advisor for the Cedar Rapids Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.


The Virgin Mary: Icon of the Church
Although there are several issues and debates facing the Catholic Church today, almost all of them come down to a single question: What is the mission of the Church? This session will focus on the topic of mission—both the mission of the Church, and how our individual vocations fit within the Church's mission—through a discussion of the Virgin Mary. From the earliest centuries, theologians, saints, and popes alike have called the Catholic Church a "Mother," a body which "gives new life" to the faithful through the sacraments. In the twentieth century, the Second Vatican Council and recent papal teachings have encouraged the faithful to think about this deep connection between Mary and the Church as a source of wisdom and guidance. This session will explore that connection more fully: How does the Blessed Virgin Mary help us better understand what the Church is called to be, her mission, and how we should perform that mission in our daily lives? We'll discuss each of these questions by looking at the Blessed Virgin as an icon of the Church.

Dr. Travis Lacy is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Mount Mercy University, where he began teaching in the Fall of 2021 after completing his Doctorate in Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Raised in devout, Evangelical-Protestant homes, both Travis and his wife, Shannon, are converts to Catholicism and have come to love the Virgin Mary after years of dismissing Catholic Marian teaching and piety as "unbiblical." They live in Cedar Rapids with their four children: Edith (7), John Henry (6), Drew (4), and Miriam (1).

 

Spanish Breakout Sessions:

Bajo el Manto de nuestra Madre
Como hombres, a menudo sentimos que tenemos que ser fuertes y valientes a los ojos de los demás, especialmente de nuestras familias. Si bien esto es cierto, nuestra fuerza no proviene de nosotros mismos, sino de una relación con Dios Padre. A través de nuestra santísima madre, podemos aprender a vivir en relación con Jesús y el Padre y así ser hombres verdaderamente fuertes y valientes, amorosos y fieles.

Padre Michael McAndrew fue ordenado sacerdote de la Arquidiócesis de Dubuque en 2019. Actualmente se desempeña como párroco de St. Patrick en Tama, St. Joseph en Chelsea y St. Michael en Belle Plaine. Él es apasionado por compartir el amor de Dios a través del Espíritu Santo con los demás. Siendo de origen hondureño por parte de su madre, el Padre Michael es particularmente aficionado al ministerio en español.



La importancia de María en nuestra vida y el Santo Rosario
·La importancia de nuestra Madre Santísima en nuestra vida de fe.
·La importancia de imitar a la Virgen María y sus virtudes.
·Como la devoción del Santo Rosario nos guía hacia el conocimiento de Jesús a través de ella, llamando al cambio de vida y a la conversión acrecentando nuestro compromiso bautismal.

Diácono Rigoberto Real nació en México. Él y su esposa Martha tienen cuatro hijos y una nieta. En 2002 se mudaron a Waterloo, Iowa desde Santa María, California. El 11 de julio de 2009, fue ordenado diácono permanente y desde entonces ha estado sirviendo en la Arquidiócesis de Dubuque y estuvo asignado a la Iglesia Reina de la Paz en Waterloo durante trece años hasta mayo de 2022.