Some of my favorite calls lately have been search calls from Adult Adoptees. It is always very interesting when someone makes their very first phone call in the search for their birth family. The voice on the other end of the call is often filled with fear, but I can hear the excitement and wonder…

I have been working with a family now almost continuously for over six years. They first came to Catholic Charities at the end of 2010 hoping to become parents through adoption. Earlier that year, the couple became married. They always knew they wanted children, but because of medical issues the wife was informed by her…

Sometimes the adoption journey can be a long process, but in other cases, one phone call can change an adoptive family’s life in a matter of days! A young couple came to Catholic Charities in 2015 after struggling for several years with infertility. After successfully completing their home study, they began the process of waiting…

When I think of the past year and try to focus in on one particular success story, I find that difficult. Since I am relatively new in the field, I had a naive sense of what adoption truly was. Sure, I had done my internship years ago and understood the concept of grief and loss;…

We have all heard the saying “practice makes perfect” and that “greatness requires 90% sweat and 10% talent”. But as every athlete knows, you also need a great amount of God given talent and good luck to become one of the best. For those of us that have practiced some sort of sport know that when…

One of the readings from the Gospel of John during this Easter season said: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Many times we choose the darkness rather than the light because we do wicked things and do not want our works…

Easter is the greatest and oldest Christian feast that celebrates the Resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ. God’s gift to humanity is life, but when we decided to separate ourselves from God by choosing to do “our will”, we brought death into the world and into our lives.

One morning on my way to work I met a fuel truck pulling out of my neighbor’s driveway. This was one of those really cold, -30 degree kind of days. I couldn’t help but think about the family and if they had run out of fuel. I also wondered about their ability to pay for…

This year’s Lenten luncheon on Wednesday, March 18 promises to be exceptional! We will be honoring Fr. James Kurzynski and the Roncalli Newman Parish with the “In My Name Award”. For many years, Fr. Kurzynski has been an advocate of social justice issues based on the Gospel’s principle of “Love Your Neighbor”. In Eau Claire,…

The Second reading for the Second Sunday of Lent asks us, “If God is for us, who can be against us? If it is God who acquits us, who will condemn?” (Rom 8:31). It is clearly helpful to have God “for us”. It definitely beats the alternative. However, I wonder, what does it mean to…