Tracy Gabrielson, the self-described “lunch lady” at St. John’s Catholic School in Fenton, Michigan, north of Detroit, focuses on personal development.
“It’s nice to have someone to talk to and talk about personal goals because we all have struggles,” she said.
it has benefited him Asha Welfare ProgramAs have his fellow employees of the Diocese of Michigan. It has helped them meet personal and spiritual goals through whole-person health and wellness support, including spiritual direction, personal wellness coaching, bioethical guidance, and mental health counseling.
Gabrielson explained to the Register that counselors “help you become better.” Additionally, she is now reading the Bible and praying more often. He said the program provides participants with tasks to complete. “Focusing on the little things” can lead to big results, he said. “When we’re going about our business, calling a friend or family member and stopping by to see how they’re doing can mean a lot. Your call might just change the way their day goes,” she said.
“This program has helped me set goals, and the focus has helped me become better and more aware so I can be a better mother and wife at home,” she said.
HOPE is a Catholic program designed to enhance employee well-being, foster community engagement within the workplace, provide support services to assist with work-life balance, and help develop holiness in the workplace.
Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) Christ Medicus Foundation (CMF) To provide the program.
The Michigan Diocese is the first diocese in the nation to offer HOPE to its clergy and lay staff.
David Maluchnik, MCC’s vice president of communications, said in an email to the Register that the bishops of Michigan sought a “mission-aligned partner” offering an employee assistance program that “is consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.” On behalf of the state’s seven dioceses, MCC negotiated with the Christ-centered, pro-life CMF to provide hope to approximately 8,000 clergy and lay staff.
Maluchnik said, “Hope’s focus on the whole person – spirit, mind and body, based on the truths of faith – is tailored to our needs.” Open enrollment began in October 2025 and is ongoing.
Michelle Dollis-Brady, MCC’s director of pensions and benefits, told the Register that the program fills a need: “HOPE provides a wide range of resources that are easily accessible, confidential, and can meet people wherever they are in their spiritual lives, with the assistance of trained and knowledgeable Catholic professionals.”
Darren Hogan, fundraiser for Catholic Charities of West MichiganUtilizing HOPE’s spiritual, psychological and medical wellness offerings. He said, “I always want to know the truth about myself and the world around me. I believe that Jesus founded the Catholic Church, so he’s my first stop whenever I have questions.” Hope, Hogan added, helps them “flourish as whole people: spirit, mind and body.”
“One of the main reasons I’m so excited by HOPE is that I can trust it. To be able to trust it for our formation is such a gift,” he said, acknowledging that many voices in the fields of psychology and self-help may be in opposition to the Catholic faith. Hogan has also taken several of HOPE’s online courses, which include classes in personality profiling, health assessment and “whole person health: mind, body, and spirit,” in addition to podcasts on topics ranging from relationships to healing.
“Hope provides better spiritual direction to ordinary people,” Hogan said, pointing to formation programs at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Avila Institute in partnership with Heart of ChristLanteri Center for Ignatian Spirituality, and the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois.
Recalling St. John Paul II’s theology of the body, Hogan called HOPE the late pontiff’s “dream come true.”
CMF Executive Director Lewis Brown also referenced John Paul II, underscoring that HOPE responds to shortcomings in the American health system. “Christ Medicus aims to fulfill the vision of St. John Paul II for the mission of the Church and a culture of life, especially in health care,” he told the Register.
CMF Wellness Director Rebecca Wilson said HOPE integrates science with Catholic theology. He told the Register, “We want to combine the best that science has to offer with the theology of the Church and the writings of the Church Fathers and bring people closer to the perfection for which they were created by helping them to advance in a life of virtue.”
HOPE works with traditional insurance plans and remains consistent with church teaching, said Michael Vaca, who oversees CMF’s team of 18 spiritual directors. In an interview with the Register, Vaca lamented the lack of trained spiritual directors, saying, “HOPE offers to direct people to the heart of Jesus Christ.” “It’s about helping people figure out, ‘What is God saying to me? How can I collaborate with Him? How can I grow into the person He’s calling me to be?'”
In a December press release, CMF described HOPE as a “paradigm shift” in Catholic workplace wellness that could spread across the country. Catholic clergy and laity can freely access HOPE if it is not available through an employer.
Considering your own health challenges – including stress and mental health – and his path to welfare, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, NebraskaThe CMF board member asserted: “Within each of us lies the truth of our identity, that we are created by God, who is love, and made to love and be loved. Sadly, in our current culture, the lives, dignity, health, and identity of many people have been compromised, especially in health care.”
Bishop Conley told the Register that HOPE reflects the Church’s holistic understanding of the human person.
“The unique beauty of the Christ Medicus and Hope program is that they take into account the whole person, body, mind and spirit. It’s really rooted in Christian anthropology,” he said, noting that discussions are underway to bring Hope to his diocese.
For Hogan, the program is transformative. “For me, Hope has been life-changing, and I’ve only been in for four months.”
