The Catholic Messenger

12/12/2025

Aaron Gunsaulus’ love of service and Scripture defined his life as a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC).

“As a pastor in a reformed denomination, I was probably the least likely to become Catholic,” he recalled, acknowledging that at one point in his life he had a “pretty significant anti-Catholic streak.”

After 15 years tending to the spiritual needs of his flock, a series of unusual events led him, his wife Cami and two of their children to enter the Catholic Church at this year’s Easter Vigil.

Read the full story in the Dec. 11 Catholic Messenger or at this link!

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(This is the second part in a series.) By Dan Russo The Catholic Messenger NEWTON — Aaron Gunsaulus’ love of ...Read More

12/08/2025

ADVENT WEEK II REFLECTION by LUKE GREGORY

As a father of three young children, the temptation of becoming distracted by society’s bombardment of advertisements for a certain gift or toy is a real struggle, especially since the shopping push seems to begin earlier and earlier each year. For in­stance, this year, I went to a grocery store the day after Halloween and noticed that they already had Christmas candy on the shelves! ’snotevenThanksgivingyet

Thanks be to God that the Church, in her wisdom, selected the readings for each week of Advent with the focus of this liturgical season in mind, thereby helping us to fight off the temptation of consumerism by maintaining our focus on what is truly important about Advent.

Read the full reflection in the Dec. 5 Catholic Messenger or at this link.

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(This is the second in a series on the Sunday Scripture readings of Advent.) By Luke Gregory For The Catholic ...Read More

12/07/2025

People throughout history have imagined God as “a cosmic jerk who is out to get us,” lay evangelist Chris Stefanick told a packed house at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport. “That’s a nightmare,” he said, but “God created you for joy.”

During evening presentations in Iowa City and Davenport last month, the Colorado-based speaker and author emphasized the importance of Christian joy. That joy, he believes, is rooted in God’s love for each and every one of us. “It’s not about your perfect love for God, but his perfect love for you; you have to simply say ‘yes’ to the love you could never earn,” he said to the Davenport crowd. “We have to remember the love story,” because without that, religion becomes nothing more than a “to-do list.”

Read the full recap in the Dec. 4 Catholic Messenger or at this link!

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By Lindsay Steele The Catholic Messenger People throughout history have imagined God as “a cosmic jerk who is out to ...Read More

12/05/2025

An estimated 16,000 youths and adults gathered for the National Catholic Youth Conference Nov. 20-22 to celebrate their shared faith. About 370 youths and 130 adults - including first-time attendee Bishop Dennis Walsh - traveled to Lucas Oil Stadium and Con­ven­tion Center as part of the Dio­cese of Daven­port’s official con­tin­gent.

“I was surprised how many people were there to praise and show how much they love God,” said Aubrey Hahn of Holy Family Parish in Riverside. “When the cameras would scan the crowd of the young people you could tell they were deep in thought, that right in that moment it was only them and God. To see kids praising God was an amazing thing… you normally don’t see that.”

Read this week's Catholic Messenger to hear more highlights from the diocesan delegation!

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By Lindsay Steele The Catholic Messenger INDIANAPOLIS — An estimated 16,000 youths and adults gathered for the National Catholic Youth ...Read More

12/03/2025

A thunderous roar resounded through Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Nov. 21 when Pope Leo XIV appeared on a huge screen from the Vatican for a virtual encounter with NCYC participants.

Logan Vittetoe of St. Thomas More Parish in Coralville served on a national youth panel that met on Zoom in October to develop a list of questions for Pope Leo. The questions, sent to the pope in advance, touched on themes of technology use, artificial intelligence, forgiveness, hope and the Church’s future. “The most meaningful part of collaborating with teens from across the country was realizing how similar our experiences and concerns regarding the Church are, even though we all come from very different backgrounds,” Vittetoe said.

Read the full story in the Nov. 27 Catholic Messenger or at this link.

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By Lindsay Steele, Lauretta Brown and Gina Christian The Catholic Messenger INDIANAPOLIS (OSV News) — A thunderous roar resounded through ...Read More

12/01/2025

Rest in peace, Fr. Marty 🩶

Share memories & support the family

11/24/2025

Podcast time: St. Martin de Porres society celebrates 40th anniversary
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https://catholicmessenger.net/2025/11/catholic-messenger-conversations-episode-75-st-martin-de-porres-society-celebrates-40th-anniversary/

11/22/2025

University of Iowa guard Taylor McCabe is known for draining three-pointers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but with God in her court, she knows life is about more than just basketball. “I know that God made me to be a person, not just an athlete, and that my athletic abilities are only part of what he has planned for me,” said McCabe, who recently began her senior season with the Iowa women’s basketball team.

McCabe attends Mass at Newman Catholic Student Center and participates in a weekly Bible study. The Iowa Athletic Department recently selected McCabe as its 2025 Newman Catholic Student Center Athletic Scholarship recipient. “My faith has been a steadfast foundation for me all my life,” she said, crediting her parents and grandparents for emphasizing the importance of being kind to everyone and trusting God.

Read the full story in the Nov. 20 Catholic Messenger or at this link!

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By Lindsay Steele The Catholic Messenger (Editor’s note: This is the final in a series about the intersection of faith ...Read More

11/15/2025

In light of the food insecurity caused by the SNAP situation, Catholics across the Diocese of Davenport have been doing their best to help those in need. At St. Joseph Catholic School in DeWitt a group of nine dedicated eighth graders is leading an annual food drive involving all 189 students.

“Every student in each class will bring in cans and food,” said Hailey Geffers, one of the student-leaders. “Eighth graders are assigned a class. All of eighth grade helps equally. After our food drive is done, we walk it there.”

The food will go to The DeWitt Referral Center. The non-profit agency has a food pantry, among other programs. The delivery is planned for Nov. 19.

This year’s goal for items was reduced from roughly 3,000 to 2,500, but families are stepping up regardless of hardship within the community.

“As of today (Nov. 10), we have 1,844 items,” said Principal Sharon Roling. “With four days to go, we only need 656 items. I am confident we will not only meet our goal, but exceed it. The floor spaces in my office will soon be covered.”

Read the full story in the Nov. 13 Catholic Messenger or at this link.

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By Dan Russo The Catholic Messenger DAVENPORT — Servers at St. Anthony Parish’s McAn­thony Window gave out hot meals to ...Read More

11/14/2025

Being there for people meant more to Father Guillermo Treviño than being admired by them, though the two often went hand-in-hand. Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport was packed for Father Treviño’s funeral on Nov. 7, and countless others whose lives he touched watched from home via livestream. His life’s story has drawn national attention.

It makes me sad to know that, as Father Treviño embarks on his biggest adventure of all, he will not be able to share photos and captions with us. During the funeral, Father Rudolph Juarez joked that he was waiting for the late priest to send a “selfie” from Heaven.

But, as Father Juarez said during the homily, it’s not up to us to ask why. Instead, we should be asking how we can love God and be present to others the way Father Treviño was.

Read the full reflection on the op/ed page of this week's Catholic Messenger or at this link.

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By Lindsay Steele Guest Column I was working from home on Oct. 31 when my husband walked in with shocking ...Read More

11/13/2025

BREAKING: US bishops approve 'special pastoral message' on immigration. Read the full story here: https://www.osvnews.com/breaking-us-bishops-approve-special-pastoral-message-on-immigration/

11/11/2025

Finding ways to use people’s gifts fully, creating an “evangelical frame of mind” and improving lay formation are three issues that will be on the agenda of church leaders who hope to chart a bright future for the Diocese of Davenport.

These topics are coming into focus in light of the recent release of key findings from a diocesan-wide survey on Baptismal Identity and Lay Ministry, which concluded in September.

“This study offers crucial insights into how lay Catholics perceive their vocational call and their level of engagement within the parish structure,” Bishop Dennis Walsh wrote in a Nov. 4 letter to diocesan priests.

Read the full story, and get a link to the full report, in the Nov. 6 Catholic Messenger or at this link.

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By Dan Russo The Catholic Messenger DAVENPORT — Finding ways to use people’s gifts fully, creating an “evangelical frame of ...Read More