President Tom Beckenbauer with students at Guerin Catholic High School
(Indiana)About us.
When you think of aviation and the Catholic faith, sometmes the overseas missions come to mind. Many missions in Africa, Central and South America, Alaska and the Arctic north are supported by pilots who are also priests. But there are literally thousands of people involved in aviation, from students to maintenance pros to pilots and more, who are also Catholic. For all those who are or want to be "active" Catholics and who are involved in aviation in some way, we want you to be a member.
Vocation is about service to others foremost. The Holy Father works under the title "servant of the servants of God." Likewise we are servants and we are the best version of God's human creatures when we nurture a servant's heart with the immediate goal of building Christ's kingdom here on earth and ultimately giving glory to the God who gave us the gift of aviation and flying.
The unique gifts we have been granted mean we have numbers adequate to witness to a world in great pain today. It's easy to become discouraged in a world which has lost its way. We have the numbers and the gift of aviation from which we derive comfort in our associations with one another. You know this if you have ever spent time around the aviation community at gatherings like EAA Oshkosh or SUN 'n FUN®, or airshows anywhere. The sense of camaraderie is real and it is infectious. With the help of God's grace and in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, we can engage as a group to great good. It's this spirit we strive to capture in the Catholic Aviation Association.
We therefore strive to spread the Gospel message. We are charged with the responsibility of the Great Commission. We do so in both example and word. People see what we do and are often drawn to us. On exposure, many have learned that often "life is better in the air." Life and vocations which support life in the air are equally good and edifying in that all work was created by God for our benefit. Work gives us the opportunity to take measure of the circumstance of encounter with God's created world, with his human creation, and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in His Church.
It gives us the enduring comfort, peace and joy of Jesus Christ which goes with spending time together, times of encouragement and reinforcement in two vocations of our loves: Catholicism and aviation.
