On Tuesday, February 25th, Rachel Meixner will guide us in reflecting on the grace of the present moment as a profound source of healing for both body and soul. By embracing our present reality, we open up to Christ’s healing presence—He is here with us in each moment, transcending time and transforming our lives. We may carry burdens and anxieties presented by the present world, but we are called not to be paralyzed by the past or future. In the light of the Resurrection, we are offered new life, and through God’s grace, we find freedom and healing that enables us to live fully present in the light of eternity.

Father Zane Langenbrunner is a priest of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. He grew up in Mishawaka, IN, and was ordained a priest in June 2023. He lived in Rome for five years and studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he earned a licentiate in Biblical Theology. He currently serves as a parochial vicar at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Fort Wayne.

Beth Hlabse, M.S., LMHCA, is the director of the Fiat Program on Faith and Mental Health at the McGrath Institute for Church Life. She leads the Institute’s efforts to generate pastoral research, education, and formation opportunities on mental health and the Catholic tradition. A mental health counselor, Beth has provided therapeutic care for adolescents and adults with histories of trauma and adverse child experiences. Her therapeutic approach is integrative, attending to neural-developmental influences and the intersection of spirituality and psychology. Beth obtained her masters in clinical mental health counseling from Divine Mercy University and pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford in Christian Ethics. Beth and her husband Pete treasure their community in South Bend, IN and delight in visits back to the great outdoors of her hometown in Wyoming.

Fr. Fortin hales from the dusty, flat plains outside of Lake Norden, South Dakota. His house was in a corn field. His school was in a corn field. His favorite vegetable was corn – until someone told him it’s not really a vegetable. His main qualifications for giving this talk is that he has a body, and a soul, and has successfully been eating food for the past 36 years. He lived for nearly 8 years as a poor Franciscan who didn’t have money and had to beg for his food, and never once did he have to ask his parents for groceries. The only time he really, deeply disappointed his Dad was when he told him that he had stopped eating meat.