Dec. 20, 2013

December 20, 2013

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Local Mercy sister joins ‘Fast for Immigrant Justice’ in Washington, D.C., 3

INDEX Contact us.......................... 4 Events calendar................. 4 Our Parishes................. 3-11 Schools......................... 12-14 Scripture readings............ 2 TV & Movies.......................17 U.S. news...................... 18-19 Viewpoints.................. 22-23 World news.................. 20-21 Our Faith............................. 2

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Ground broken for new St. Thérèse Church in Mooresville, Celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe Parishioners across the diocese re-enact the story of St. Juan Diego, participate in Marian processions, and attend Mass, 6-7, 15

Christmas is coming!

Are you ready?

INSIDE: Mass times, the pope’s Christmas schedule, and more

New Opportunity Scholarships available to help lower Catholic school costs for families, 12 Greensboro, Charlotte to host famed ‘Black Madonna’ icon Dec. 28-Jan. 1, 5

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Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope Francis

Christmas offers lesson in humility

P

ope Francis said Christmas is an occasion of joy but also a lesson in humility, when the faithful are called to imitate the example of Godmade-man.

The pope made his remarks Dec. 18, during his weekly public audience in St. Peter’s Square.

“God abases Himself, descends to earth as someone small and poor, which means that to be like Him we should not put ourselves above others, but on the contrary, abase ourselves, give ourselves in service, make ourselves small with the small and poor with the poor,” he said.

“It is an ugly thing when one sees a Christian who will not abase himself, who will not serve, a Christian who struts about vainly everywhere. That is not Christian, that is pagan.”

A Christian is obliged to serve, the pope said, because the incarnation means God is to be found in every person.

“If God, through Jesus, involved Himself with man to the point of becoming one of us, that means whatever we have done to a brother or sister we have done” to God, he said.

“The birth of Jesus is the evidence that God has taken man’s side once and for all, to save us, to raise us up from the dust of our miseries, our difficulties, our sins.”

Clad in a white overcoat and scarf in frigid but sunny weather, the pope led the crowd in twice calling out: “Jesus is God-with-us.”

He noted the “surprising” fact that God did not chose to become man “in an ideal, idyllic world, but in this real world, marked by so many good and evil things, marked by divisions, wickedness, poverty, arrogance and war.”

But “Christmas, the nativity of Jesus, (is) a feast of trust and hope, which overcomes uncertainty and pessimism. The earth is no longer only a vale of tears, it is the place where God Himself raised His tent, the place of God’s encounter with man, of God’s solidarity with men.”

Greeting visitors from various linguistic groups after his audience talk, the pope noted the presence of members of Argentina’s San Lorenzo football team, of which he is a longtime fan. Following the audience, team representatives presented the pope with a replica of the national championship trophy they had won a few days earlier, as a birthday present for the pontiff.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Wednesday, Jan. 1 Jan. 1 isn’t just New Year’s Day for Catholics. It is also the date when we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. It is the most important feast during the Twelve Days of Christmas, which go from the feast of the Nativity on Dec. 25 to Epiphany on Jan. 5.

During the Twelve Days of Christmas, the Church celebrates many important feasts, including the feasts of St. Stephen, the first martyr (Dec. 26), whose martyrdom is recorded in Acts 6-7; St. John the Apostle (Dec. 27), who wrote the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation, as well as three epistles; the Holy Innocents (Dec. 28), the children who were slaughtered at the order of King Herod, when he was trying to kill the Christ Child; and the Holy Family (normally celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas, which this year falls on Dec. 29).

None, however, is as important as the feast celebrated on the octave (eighth day) of Christmas, Jan. 1: the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. In fact, the Church regards this feast as so important that it is a holy day of obligation. On this day, we are reminded of the role that the Blessed Virgin Mary played in the plan of our salvation. Christ’s birth was made possible by Mary’s fiat: “Be it done unto me according to Thy word.”

One of the earliest titles given by Christians to the Blessed SOLEMNITY, SEE page 16

More online In his first annual message for the World Day of Peace, Pope Francis writes that peace and social justice are impossible without a spirit of fraternity based on recognition that all men and women are children of God – a relationship fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. “Without fraternity it is impossible to build a just society and a solid and lasting peace,” the pope writes. “At the same time, it appears clear that contemporary ethical systems remain incapable of producing authentic bonds of fraternity, since a fraternity devoid of reference to a common Father as its ultimate foundation is unable to endure. True brotherhood among peoples presupposes and demands a transcendent Fatherhood.”

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Read Pope Francis’ first World Day of Peace message: “Fraternity, the Foundation and Pathway to Peace.”

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk

Ethical directives and the care of pregnant women in Catholic hospitals

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t the beginning of December, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a sweeping federal lawsuit against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops over its Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic hospitals, alleging that the directives, with their prohibition against direct abortion, resulted in negligent care of a pregnant woman named Tamesha Means. Ms. Means’ water broke at 18 weeks, leading to infection of the amniotic membranes, followed by spontaneous labor and delivery of her child. The child lived only a few hours.

During the course of these events, Ms. Means went a Catholic hospital in Michigan several times, and, according to the lawsuit, was sent home even as contractions were starting. The lawsuit not only suggests that she should have been given a drug to induce labor early on but claims this wasn’t possible precisely because the hospital was Catholic and bound by the Directives. It further asserts that Catholic hospitals are not able to terminate a woman’s pregnancy by inducing premature labor “even if necessary for her health,” because to do so would be “prohibited” by the directives.

In point of fact, however, the directives would not prevent the early induction of labor for these cases. Not infrequently, labor is induced in Catholic hospitals in complete conformity with the directives. Directive 47 (never mentioned in the lawsuit) is very clear: “Operations, treatments, and medications that have as their direct purpose the cure of a proportionately serious pathological condition of a pregnant woman are permitted when they cannot be safely postponed until the unborn child is viable, even if they will This week the Catholic result in the death of the unborn News Herald introduces child.” a monthly commentary Deciding about whether to induce from Father Tadeusz labor involves the recognition that Pacholczyk, a renowned there are two patients involved, the Catholic bioethicist who mother and her in utero child, and has frequently lectured in that the interests of the two can the Diocese of Charlotte. sometimes be in conflict. In certain His commentaries will situations – for example, when the focus on issues regarding child is very close to the point of the protection of all life viability and the pregnancy is at from conception to natural risk – it may be recommended to death. delay early induction of labor in the hope that the child can grow further

Editor’s note

WOMEN, SEE page 24

Your daily Scripture readings DEC. 22-28

Sunday: Isaiah 7:10-14, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-24; Monday (St. John of Kanty): Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24, Luke 1:57-66; Tuesday: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16, Luke 1:67-79; Wednesday (Nativity of the Lord): Isaiah 52:7-10, Hebrews 1:1-6, John 1:1-18; Thursday (St. Stephen): Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59, Matthew 10:17-22; Friday (St. John): 1 John 1:1-4, John 20:1-8; Saturday (Holy Innocents): 1 John 1:5-2:2, Matthew 2:13-18

DEC. 29-JAN. 4

Sunday (Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph): Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14, Colossians 3:12-21 or Colossians 3:12-17, Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23; Monday: 1 John 2:12-17, Luke 2:36-40; Tuesday: 1 John 2:18-21, John 1:1-18; Wednesday (Mary, the Holy Mother of God): Numbers 6:22-27, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21; Thursday (Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen): 1 John 2:22-28, John 1:19-28; Friday: 1 John 2:29-3:6, John 1:29-34; Saturday (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton): 1 John 3:7-10, John 1:35-42

JAN. 5-11

Sunday (Epiphany of the Lord): Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6, Matthew 2:1-12; Monday: 1 John 3:22-4:6, Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25; Tuesday: 1 John 4:7-10, Mark 6:34-44; Wednesday: 1 John 4:11-18, Mark 6:45-52; Thursday: 1 John 4:19-5:4, Luke 4:14-22; Friday: 1 John 5:5-13, Luke 5:12-16; Saturday: 1 John 5:14-21, John 3:22-30

Our parishes

December 20, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Ground broken for new St. Thérèse Church in Mooresville David Hains Director of Communication

Photo provided by Chris Scuron

Members of St. Thérèse Church in Mooresville celebrated the groundbreaking of their new church Dec. 7. Pictured are Jesuit Father Vince Curtin, pastor; Monsignor Mauricio West, diocesan vicar general and chancellor; and parish leaders John Moloney, Alan Demaske, Marlene Stowe, Rick Fabrize, Ed Tornesello and Bill Streiff.

MOORESVILLE — A solemn yet joyous group of parishioners processed from St. Thérèse Church in Mooresville on a cold Saturday afternoon Dec. 7 to a spot in the parking lot where holy water and shovels awaited.

Jesuit Father Vincent C. Curtin, pastor of St. Thérèse Church, and Monsignor Mauricio W. West, vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte, then prayed and broke ground for a new church for the parish north of Charlotte.

The brief ceremony was the next step in what has been a two-year journey to build a much larger worship space to accommodate the rapidly growing parish.

Mirroring the rising population

in the Lake Norman area, the parish founded in 1946 has seen explosive growth in recent years.

When the current church was completed on Brawley School Road in 1988, 310 families were registered. That number rose steadily until 1997 when the parish was split to form St. Mark Church in Huntersville. St. Thérèse Parish now has more than 3,400 registered families, and St. Mark Parish has more than 4,000.

The new church will provide more than double the existing seating capacity of 500 to accommodate 1,145 people.

The cost of the new church totals $7.7 million, a figure that includes all of the interior furnishings and ST. Thérèse, SEE page 16

Local Mercy sister joins ‘Fast for Immigrant Justice’ in Washington, D.C. Myra Joines Sisters of Mercy – South Central Community

BELMONT — Mercy Sister Rose Marie Tresp of Belmont, a Sister of Mercy for 46 years, has advocated for fair treatment of immigrants in the U.S. for many years, particularly since she became director of justice for the Sisters of Mercy – South Central Community in 2008.

But when the call came to join Read more about the Fast for Immigrant Justice the Fast for Immigrant that began on Capitol Hill in Justice on page 18.

Washington, D.C. on Nov. 12, she hesitated because of her busy schedule advocating for and educating others on a variety of justice issues.

“But all I could think about was the faces of the people I’ve met who are immigrants. I’ve seen the hardships they’ve endured escaping from violence and poverty in their countries,” she said.

When she pictured those faces she knew she couldn’t say no, so she volunteered to travel to Washington to join the fast Dec. 6-7.

Joining Sister Rose Marie were Mercy Sister Joan Serda of Macon, Ga., who is assistant justice director for the Sisters of Mercy – South Central Community, and Mercy Sister Diane Guerin of Merion, Pa., who is justice coordinator for the Sisters of Mercy – Mid-Atlantic Community.

“Our purpose is to push for immigration reform,” Sister Rose Marie said. “We’re hoping to get more people who will support immigration reform and work for it.”

Recent renewed efforts by politicians and immigration reform leaders are encouraging, she noted, and there is hope that Congress might pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill within the coming months.

“We’re closer than we’ve ever been in Congress. The Senate passed a good bill, and there is still a possibility it can happen in the House of Representatives. Increasingly,

For more

Americans support immigration reform, even if they don’t agree on all the details.”

The group fasting on Capitol Hill has been made up of people of many faiths as well as labor leaders. They pitched tents to draw the attention of decision-makers in the nation’s capital. On Dec. 6 and 7, they held prayer services daily under the tents, although they spent the night in a local church. Sister Rose Marie was on site at the tents from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day.

For Sister Rose Marie, advocacy for fair treatment of immigrants is more than just the role she fills for the Sisters of Mercy – it’s personal. She is the former director of ethics for Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, Texas, a town on the U.S.-Mexico border where she frequently worked with immigrant families, many of which had been separated by immigration issues. And in her own family, her brother-in-law emigrated from El Salvador after seeing his father shot in front of him.

“Fortunately, he found a legal way to remain here. He is a permanent legal resident with a green card and is studying for his citizenship exam.” But she realizes others haven’t been as fortunate, and she, along with Sister Joan and Sister Diane and other Sisters of Mercy, are hoping this is the year that changes.

In an interview with the Catholic News Herald before she left for Washington, D.C., Sister Rose Marie said she hoped legislators would come by the tents within sight of the Capitol, where activists had maintained a vigil since early November. But on this occasion, she said, she would do more praying than speaking on behalf of immigration reform.

“Really the purpose is simply to pray, to be a witness for the need for us to pass immigration reform,” she said.

And while she would be praying, she said, she would picture in her mind the many immigrants she has worked with or helped over the decades she’s been professed as a Sister of Mercy.

People like a brother and sister who walked for two months from Nicaragua to Laredo. When they crossed the U.S.-Mexican border, the sister collapsed from dehydration and was taken to the hospital where Sister Rose Marie worked.

Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald

Mercy Sister Rose Marie Tresp, director of justice for the Sisters of Mercy – South Central Community, speaks during an immigration reform event at St. Peter Church in Charlotte in September. Through prayer and fasting, reform advocates are renewing calls for Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

“In my mind I can see her in that bed, I can see her brother sitting in the chair beside her, knowing that they made that trip to feed their families back in Nicaragua...”

Her voice trailed off, then she continued in a resolute tone, “We are people of faith, and these are our brothers and sisters.”

— Patricia Guilfoyle contributed.

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 OUR PARISHES

Diocesan calendar of events BELMONT

ST. PETER CHURCH, 507 S. TRYON St.

QUEEN OF THE APOSTLES CHURCH, 503 NORTH MAIN ST. — Christmas Food Baskets: 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 21.

Help pack food boxes for needy families and share the true spirit of Christmas.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis

— Children’s Christmas Pageant: 4 p.m. Dec. 24 — Christmas Eve Mass: Dec. 24, 4:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 11 p.m.

— Lessons and Carols: 10 p.m. Dec. 24

Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events over the coming weeks: Dec. 25 Christmas Mass Midnight St. Patrick Cathedral, CHarlotte

Jan. 1, 2014 11 a.m.

Mass for Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

— Christmas Day Mass: 10 a.m. Dec. 25

— Christmas Day Mass: 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m. (bilingual)

KERNERSVILLE HOLY CROSS CHURCH, 616 south cherry st.

— Christmas Eve Mass: 5 p.m., 7 p.m. (Spanish), midnight

— Christmas Eve children’s Mass: 4 p.m. Dec. 24.

Children are invited to come dressed as angels, shepherds, barn animals, kings, queens and royalty.

— Carols of the Season: 5:45 p.m. Dec. 24. Join youth from the English and Spanish-speaking choirs.

Christmas Mass 11 a.m.

St. Patrick Cathedral, CHarlotte

Jan. 6-10, 2014 Annual Retreat for Bishops

— Carols of the Season: 3:45 p.m. Dec. 24, with the children’s choir and youth

King High School, 7 p.m., midnight (Lessons and Carols starting at 11 p.m.)

— Christmas Eve Mass for families: 6 p.m. Dec. 24.

Bilingual celebration for all families with children.

Children are invited to come dressed as angels, shepherds, barn animals, kings, queens and royalty.

— Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Jan. 1: 10 a.m. Mass St. Basil Eastern Catholic Mission (meets at ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH, 1400 SUTHER ROAD) — Christmas Day Mass: 10 a.m., Matins (Morning Prayer) will be celebrated in the chapel followed by Typica Service with Holy Communion at 10:30 a.m.

— Feast of St. Basil the Great: 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 1, Matins will be celebrated in the chapel followed by Typica Service with Holy Communion at 10:30 a.m. For details, go to www.stbasil.weebly.com.

CONCORD

ST. JOHN NEUMANN CHURCH, 8451 Idlewild Rd.

St. James the Greater Church, 139 Manor Ave. S.W.

— Christmas Eve Mass: Dec. 24, 4 p.m. (with youth choir), 6 p.m. (with worship band), midnight (prelude music, including the choir performing Vivaldi’s “Gloria” with members of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, beginning at 11:15 p.m.)

— Christmas Day Mass: 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m.

ST. MATTHEW CHURCH, 8015 BALLANTYNE COMMONS PKWY. — Polish Mass: 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22. The sacrament of reconciliation will be available at 2 p.m. For details, call Elizabeth Spytkowski at 704-948-1678 or espytkowski@gmail.com.

— Christmas Eve Mass: 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m. at Charlotte Catholic High School, 6 p.m., 8 p.m., midnight (signed for the hearing impaired. Prelude music starts at 11:25 p.m.)

— Christmas Day Mass: 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m.

— New Year’s Eve Mass: 7 p.m. Vigil Mass — Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Wednesday, Jan. 1: 12:30 p.m., 7 p.m. (Spanish)

MINT HILL ST. LUKE CHURCH, 13700 LAWYERS RD. — Christmas Eve Mass: 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m. at Porter Ridge High School, 7 p.m., midnight

CHARLOTTE — Festival of Lessons and Carols: 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, featuring youth and adult choirs, celebrating music and readings in anticipation of Christmas. Musicians and readers from many different cultures of the parish will participate in this traditional prayer service.

— Christmas Day Mass: 10 a.m.

— Christmas Day Mass: 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. (Spanish)

— Christmas Eve Mass: 4 p.m. (children’s Mass); 7 p.m., 9 p.m. (Spanish), midnight

— New Year’s Eve Mass: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31

— Christmas Day Mass: 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m. (Spanish)

— Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 11 a.m.

— Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: Dec. 31 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. (Spanish); Jan. 1 at noon and 6:30 p.m.

MOORESVILLE ST. THÉRÈSE CHURCH, 217 BRAWLEY SCHOOL RD. — Christmas Eve Mass: 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m., midnight

ELKIN ST. STEPHEN, 101 HAWTHORNE RD. — Ministerial Association “Tour of the Elkin Churches”: Dec. 22 from 2-6 p.m. tour of six churches; 5 p.m. dinner at First Baptist Church

— Christmas Day Mass: 10:30 a.m., noon, 2:30 p.m. (Spanish) — New Year’s Eve Mass: 9 a.m. daily Mass; 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass Tuesday, Dec. 31 — Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Wednesday, Jan. 1: Mass will be offered at 9 a.m., noon, and 2:30 p.m. (Spanish)

GREENSBORO ST. MARY CHURCH, 812 DUKE ST. — Christmas Eve Mass: 5 p.m. (children’s Mass in English), 7 p.m. (Spanish), 9 p.m. Vietnamese, midnight Mass (English) — Christmas Day Mass: 10 a.m. (English) — New Year’s Eve Mass: 5:30 p.m. (English), 7 p.m.

(Spanish), 9 p.m. (Vietnamese)

STATESVILLE St. Philip the Apostle Church, 525 Camden Dr. — Christmas Eve Mass: 5 p.m. (hymns begin at 4:30 p.m.), midnight (hymns begin at 11:30 p.m.)

— Christmas Day Mass: 10:30 a.m., noon (Spanish)

ST. PATRICK CATHEDRAL, 1621 DILWORTH RD. EAST — Christmas Eve Mass: Dec. 24, 3:30 p.m. (children’s pageant), 4 p.m., 6:30 p.m., midnight (with Christmas carols starting at 11:30 p.m.)

— Christmas Day Mass: 9 a.m., 11 a.m.

— Daily Mass after Christmas: Dec. 26, 27, 30, 31 and Jan. 2-3 Masses will be offered only at 9 a.m. daily — Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Jan. 1: Mass will be offered at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

— Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Wednesday, Jan. 1: 10:00 a.m. (English) ST. PIUS X Church, 220 STATE St.

WINSTON-SALEM ST. LEO THE GREAT Church, 335 SPRINGDALE AVE.

— Christmas Eve Mass: 5 p.m. (children’s Mass), 8 p.m., midnight

— Christmas Eve Mass: 4 p.m. (children’s Mass in the Parish Center); in the church at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m., midnight (meditation and carols beginning at 11:15 p.m.)

— Christmas Day Mass: 10 a.m.

— Christmas Day Mass: 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., noon

HUNTERSVILLE ST. MARK CHURCH, 14740 STUMPTOWN RD.

— Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: 7 p.m. Vigil Mass on Tuesday, Dec. 31; and 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and noon on Wednesday, Jan. 1

— Christmas Eve Mass: 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m. at Christ the

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December 20, 2013 Volume 23 • Number 5

1123 S. Church St. Charlotte, N.C. 28203-4003 catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

704-370-3333 PUBLISHER: The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte

EDITOR: Patricia L. Guilfoyle 704-370-3334, plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org ADVERTISING MANAGER: Kevin Eagan 704-370-3332, keeagan@charlottediocese.org SENIOR REPORTER: SueAnn Howell 704-370-3354, sahowell@charlottediocese.org Online reporter: Kimberly Bender 704-808-7341, kdbender@charlottediocese.org GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Tim Faragher 704-370-3331, tpfaragher@charlottediocese.org COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT/CIRCULATION: Erika Robinson, 704-370-3333, catholicnews@ charlottediocese.org Hispanic communications reporter: Rico De Silva, 704-370-3375, rdesilva@charlottediocese.org

The Catholic News Herald is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 26 times a year.

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Celebrating the Feast of St. Nicholas SALISBURY — Students in Catholic schools across the Diocese of Charlotte celebrated the Feast of St. Nicholas Dec. 6 with lots of fun and special “visits” from the saint himself. Pictured, Santa Claus visited the pre-kindergarten class and other classes at Sacred Heart School in Salisbury.

Bill Washington | Catholic News Herald

At www. catholicnewsherald. com: See more photos from the special feast day celebrations

Christmas at the cathedral: New music director shares selections for this year’s liturgies CHARLOTTE — Dr. Gianfranco DeLuca is spending his first Christmas in North Carolina this year, after becoming sacred music director at St. Patrick Cathedral. The former music director at the Pontifical North American College in Rome and a native of Peekskill, N.Y., DeLuca has been delighting parishioners and visitors to the cathedral with his musical talents at the Zimmer pipe organ since his arrival earlier this year.

For his first Christmas at the cathedral, DeLuca has selected traditional Christmas carols to be sung by the cathedral choir as well as the selections “Puer natus in Bethlehem” by Josef Rheinberger, “Kyrie and Gloria from the Mass for Four Voices” by Andrea Gabrieli, “Puer natus in Bethelehm” by Pál Esterhazy, and “Tollite hostias” by Camille Saint-Saëns.

The choir will also be singing the Gregorian chant introit and communion antiphons.

“I picked these pieces because they were good choral literature that I thought the choir would enjoy and people would like hearing,” DeLuca said. “I think it’s very important as well to try to include in some way the propers of the Mass.

Also, I think doing a choral setting of certain parts of the Mass Ordinary is a good way to add some solemnity to a Christmas Mass.”

The Mass schedule for Christmas at St. Patrick Cathedral is: Christmas Eve 4 p.m. (children’s Mass), 6:30 p.m., midnight (with Bishop Peter J. Jugis as celebrant); and Christmas Day at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. (with Bishop Jugis as celebrant). For more information, call the cathedral office at 704-334-2283 or go to www.stpatricks.org.

Greensboro, Charlotte to host icon Dec. 28-Jan. 1

John Bunyea, Blue Ridge Photo | Catholic News Herald

Kernersville celebrates Advent as a parish family KERNERSVILLE — Parishioners at Holy Cross Church in Kernersville recently enjoyed “Family Advent Night.” “Bethlehem Bound,” an impromptu play with the families as the cast, was a big hit with the parents, grandparents and children. Each group of families made the costumes and props – all in half and hour. A cast party with homemade cookies that each family provided was enjoyed by all.

Music for Advent and Christmas The Catholic News Herald recently invited parish music directors around the diocese to tell us what they’re playing or listening to during Advent, and what they hope to play or sing during the approaching Christmas season. They recommended the following selections – traditional carols that we all love as well as less familiar hymns you will want to try out with your family as we prepare for the birth of Our Savior.

Vicky Guffey at St. Michael Parish in Gastonia recommends the following hymns for Advent: “As Joseph Lay Uneasy” “Ave Maria” by Schubert “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People” “Creator of the Stars of Night” “Hark, A Herald Voice is Calling” “O Come Divine Messiah” “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” “On Jordan’s Bank”

‘Black Madonna’ visits diocese on international pilgrimage for life, family

“The Advent of Our King” “The King Shall Come” “Veni Jesu Amor Mi” “Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying” Guffey recommends the following hymns for Christmas: “A Child is Born in Bethlehem” Angels We Have Heard on High” “Away in a Manger” “Blessed be That Maid Marie” “Dear Mary’s Journey Through the Thorn” “He is Born” “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly” “Joy to the World” “Lo, How a Rose is Blooming” “O Come, All Ye Faithful” “O Come, All Ye Children” “O Holy Night” “O Little Town of Bethlehem” “Silent Night”

“Sleep Holy Babe” “The First Noel” “The Snow Lay On the Ground” “What Child is This?”

“While the Shepherds Watched their Flocks” Tamara Hill at St. Joseph Church in Asheboro tells us these are her parish’s favorites: “Emmanuel” by Steve Angrisano “Come Lord Jesus” by M.D. Ridge “Lo How A Rose E’re Blooming” “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring” “See Amid the Winter’s Snow” by Kevin Keil “The Prayer” arranged by Sager/Foster “Whisper! Whisper!” by Jay Althouse Hill said the parish’s favorite Marian hymns this season include: “Hail Mary Gentle Woman” aranged by Sara Hart “My Soul Magnifies the Lord” by John Purifoy “Ave Maria” by Michael Perza

CHARLOTTE — St. Paul the Apostle Church in Greensboro and St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte will host a traveling icon of the “Black Madonna” of Czestochowa in late December as the image makes it way around the world. The image is used to encourage prayer for Our Lady’s help in the defense of the most vulnerable and to ask her intercession for the protection of the family and the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. All of these events are free, and everyone is encouraged to attend.

The icon – a magnificent replica of the original housed in the Monastery of Jasna Góra in Poland, and according to tradition liturgically united with the original – was blessed in a special ceremony by the Archbishop of Czestochowa.

The Archbishop of Kracow made a special act of entrustment to the cause of the defense of life and family to Our Lady of Czestochowa.

The pilgrimage of the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa started in Vladivostok, Russia, in 2012. So far the icon of the “Black Madonna” has already traveled more than 40,000 miles, traversed 24 countries, visited 75 cathedrals and 60 Orthodox churches in more than 400 cities; and has been venerated by hundreds of thousands since the “Ocean to Ocean Campaign MADONNA, SEE page 16

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 OUR PARISHES

Celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe

Photos by Vicki Dorsey | Catholic News Herald

(Top) Jose Arellano Ramos prays the rosary before an image of Our Lady at Mary Mother of God Church in Sylva Dec. 11.

(Above) Parishioners at Mary Mother of God Church process through downtown Sylva with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY REINA GRANADINO

(Above) Children from St. Michael the Archangel Church in Gastonia dance around a young “Our Lady of Guadalupe” during their celebration on Dec. 12.

Photos by SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald

(Left) Rosa Alba Gutierrez, of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Monroe, sings and plays the guitar during the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 12. She also accompanied the ministry’s children’s choir.

(Below) Father Benjamin Roberts, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, incenses a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe during Mass Dec. 12.

RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

(Right) Actors from “Grupo Amanecer” from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church reenact the story of the Guadalupe apparitions at the Bojangles’ Coliseum Dec. 11. The celebration was put together by Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Charlotte.

Bill Washington | Catholic News Herald

(Below) Father John Putnam, pastor, and Father Noe Torres celebrate Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury Dec. 11.

More online At www. catholicnewsherald.com: See lots more photos from celebrations of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 20, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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PHOTO PROVIDED BY JAVIER MARTIN

(Top left) Our Lady of Grace parishioners in Greensboro portray St. Juan Diego and the bishop during their celebration Dec. 12.

Photos by Tim Reid | Catholic News Herald

(Top middle) Mariachi singers perform after Mass Dec. 11 at St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville. The Mass was part of a spirit-filled evening which also included the rosary and a reenactment of the Guadalupe apparitions.

(Top right) Brilliant costumes and drum music accentuate the spectacle of dancers filling the center aisle at St. Lawrence Basilica’s celebration.

Annette Tenny | Catholic News Herald

(Left) Parishioners at Holy Cross Church in Kernersville place flowers before images of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 12.

Photos by RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

(Above) Children play at the feet of Our Lady in the narthex at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte before Mass Dec. 11.

(Left) Deacon Guido Pozo greets a young friend and her proud mother before Mass.

(Middle left) Parishioners at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte process a statue of Our Lady out of the church after Mass Dec. 12 flanked by a Knights of Columbus honor guard.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JAVIER MARTIN

(Far left) Folk dancers perform at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro during their celebration Dec. 12.

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 OUR PARISHES

Sister Eleanor Elizabeth Keeney, Maryknoll Missioner for 65 years, dies MARYKNOLL, N.Y. — Sister Eleanor Keeney died on Nov. 29, 2013, at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., after a fall at Maryknoll, N.Y. She was 90 years old and celebrated 65 years as a Maryknoll Sister on Sept. 4, 2013.

A vespers service was held Monday, Dec. 9, 2013, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013, in the Chapel of the Annunciation at the Maryknoll Sisters Center. Burial was at the Maryknoll Sisters’ Cemetery.

She was born March 16, 1923, in West Hoboken, N.J., to Mary Keeney Dimmick Keeney and John Keeney.

She received her R.N. from Jersey City Medical Center-Nursing School in 1945 and later, a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Connecticut.

She worked as a nurse in New York before joining the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation on Sept. 4, 1948. At her reception, she received the religious name Sister Regina Michael.

She made her first profession of vows on March 7, 1951, at the Maryknoll Sisters’ motherhouse in Ossining, N.Y., and was assigned to Kandy Government Hospital in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where she served as assistant director of nurses until 1959. She made her final profession of vows on March 7, 1954. In 1959, Sister Eleanor moved to Kundasale, Ceylon, to serve at the maternity hospital and do parish work.

In 1962, Ceylon’s government expelled all foreigners and Sister Eleanor returned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, where she served in the infirmary until 1967. Then she was assigned to northeast Thailand, where she operated a mobile medical clinic until 1969. She was called back to be the Director of Nurses and Health Coordinator at Bethany House, which was the Maryknoll Sisters’ nursing facility in Ossining at that time.

In the 1970s she continued her nursing education and worked in health care in New York and California.

In 1983, Sister Eleanor was assigned

to Zimbabwe as Director of Nurses and Administrator at St. Albert’s Mission Hospital. In 1987, she moved to Gweru, Zimbabwe, to care for the terminally ill in Pastoral Home Nursing and Hospice work and as a volunteer for Red Cross nurses. She was a founding member of an ecumenical non-governmental organization in Gweru. Concerned about the number of AIDS patients in the general hospital, they launched the Midlands Support Organization with volunteers and set up education and counseling programs. With previous experience in a Hospice program in the United States, Sister Eleanor was a founding member and coordinator of a home care program developed with the training of 36 volunteer caregivers based in the village where they lived.

These volunteers counseled and cared for persons infected with HIV/AIDS and taught families basic nursing skills.

In 1997 Sister Eleanor came to North Carolina, the home state of the Maryknoll Missioners’ founder, Father Thomas F. Price. She and Sister Theresa Mangieri were the first two Maryknoll sisters assigned to North Carolina, and they served in the Hendersonville area. In her retirement, Sister Eleanor continued to use her nursing skills in the service of others, visiting the elderly homebound and working with Alzheimer’s patients in Hendersonville. From 1997 to 2007 she volunteered her services at the Pardee Health Care Center in Hendersonville and served on the local Council for the Aging.

“I was brought up to be aware of the needs of others, so it was only natural for me to volunteer after I retired,” she once told Maryknoll Magazine.

In 2008, Sister Eleanor received an award for her services at the senior center signed by President George W. Bush. In 2009, Sister Eleanor returned to Maryknoll, N.Y. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Lorraine, and her stepfather Stanley Richter.

Dorsey Funeral Home of Ossining was in charge of the arrangements.

— Catholic News Herald

Former Morganton pastor passes away at 83 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Father John Joseph Tuller, a retired priest of the Diocese of Charlotte, went to be with his Lord on Dec. 16, 2013, at St. Ann’s Home in Grand Rapids, Mich. He was 83.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013, at St. Ann’s Home.

He was born Aug. 12, 1930. He proudly served his country with the U.S. Army Air Corps during the Korean War. After he was ordained in 1984, Father Tuller served many years as a priest in North Carolina.

Before he retired in 2000, his pastoral assignments included serving as pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton; parochial vicar of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Gastonia, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point, Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, and St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem; and

administrator of St. Francis of Assisi Church Franklin, Holy Spirit Church in Denver, and Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Cherokee.

He was preceded in death by his parents Manley and Margaret Tuller, and his sisters Marjorie Dubay and her husband Louie and Mary Jane Chapman and her husband Leo. He is survived by his sister Joyce Majewski and her husband Richard.

“Uncle Jack” also leaves behind many nieces and nephews.

Father Tuller will be remembered for his love of the mountains, his beautiful gardens and his great sense of humor.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Ann’s Home, 2161 Leonard N.W., Grand Rapids, Mich. 49504.

Dignity Memorial, Reyers North Valley Chapel, of Grand Rapids was in charge of the arrangements.

— Catholic News Herald

Photos by Georgianna Penn | Catholic News Herald

Father Eric Kowalski, pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church, and the Rev. B.J. Owens, pastor of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, were among the clergy who led an ecumenical prayer service recently hosted at OLG.

Ecumenical thanksgiving service at OLG: A celebration of gratitude, diversity, service Georgianna Penn Correspondent

GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro celebrated its first Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service Nov. 25.

With more than 200 people in attendance, the event was a welcomed success.

“I was just thrilled we got the response we did,” said Father Eric Kowalski, pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church.

OLG has a special bond with its neighbor, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, located just across the street. Father Kowalski said he attended St. Andrew’s Fourth of July ecumenical service last summer and thought to himself, “We need to do this for Thanksgiving!”

Many other churches participated in OLG’s first ecumenical Thanksgiving service. Besides St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, First Christian Church, Congregational United Church of Christ, First Moravian Church of Greensboro, Starmount Presbyterian Church, First Friends Meeting and Peace United Church of Christ all contributed to a joy-filled celebration of gratitude, diversity, music and service.

During his sermon, the Rev. B.J. Owens of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church focused on the gift of gratitude.

“We sometimes fail at presenting ourselves,” he said, explaining that churches sometimes lack in gratitude, instead focusing on division and besieged by an increasingly secular society. “We may have our moral compass, but we don’t have the voice we once had, in a place where we need it most.”

Himself a graduate of Our Lady of Grace School, Owens said he shares a strong commitment to ecumenism. He said gratitude brings Christians together and that gratitude is a fundamental way of living.

“When it’s grounded in Christ, gratitude

just pours out,” he said. “In gratitude, we are being guided back out into the world.

Gratitude is an inherently missional quality. It turns us into servers and givers

Carol and Larry Phillips, choir members at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and Kendra Winston, an RCIA candidate at Our Lady of Grace Church, were among those who sang hymns at the ecumenical prayer service. as the life-changing peace of Christ.”

During the service, an offering was received in honor of the Greensboro Urban Ministry.

Many readings reflecting God’s gift of gratitude were shared by each pastor from neighboring churches who participated in the celebration. 1 Kings 8:55-61, Colossians 3:12-17 and the Gospel of John 15:9-17 were all reflected upon.

The evening was also blessed with God’s beautiful gift of music. Our Lady of Grace Parish’s organist Andrew O’Connor filled the evening with songs of praise, with “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow” opening and “Now Thank We All Our God” closing the service. Several other church choirs performed with OLG’s music ministry to make the night complete.

Choir member Debbie Bergeron noted, “To bring the different faiths together through music and in general is a beautiful thing.”

December 20, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Bishop Curlin honored

by Order of Malta CHARLOTTE — Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin was recently honored on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his episcopal ordination by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, for which he serves as conventual chaplain ad honorem.

With the Order of Malta, Bishop Curlin made frequent pilgrimages to the Marian shrine at Lourdes, France, accompanying ill people who sought comfort and relief from the miraculous waters there. Bishop Curlin served as the third Bishop of Charlotte from 1994 to 2002.

Geoffrey Gamble, president of the Federal Association, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, wrote in a citation that was presented to Bishop Curlin at a Mass Dec. 14, “It is a great honor for me to convey to you on behalf of the Order of Malta and its Federal Association our congratulations on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of your episcopal consecration.

Words cannot express the gratitude we all feel for what you have done for our association, and especially for our beloved Malades and Companions, over the course of many years. ... You have blessed all of us with a rare compassion and sense of empathy, engendered no doubt by your own encounter with illness when you were very young. Your blessings at the Lourdes Taps must give pause to those who don’t believe in angels! Although the time in life of your own trips to Lourdes has ended, you can

be sure that your spirit still echoes the presence of the Divine there to this day.”

Deacon joins diocese CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte announced that Deacon Scott McNabb has been granted faculties by Bishop Peter J. Jugis. Rev. Dr. McNabb is a deacon of the McNabb Archdiocese of Atlanta assigned to Christ the King Cathedral in Atlanta. He is a research professor at Emory University, but frequently resides at his home in Cullowhee.

Seniors enjoy Christmas dinner KERNERSVILLE — Seniors at Holy Cross Parish in Kernersville gathered for food, fun and fellowship during the annual Senior Citizens Christmas Dinner in Salesian Hall Dec. 1.

— John Bunyea

St. Pius X Parish receives record $1M donation GREENSBORO — The Louis DeJoy and Aldona Z. Wos Family Foundation is donating $1 million

to the combined campaign of “Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love” of the Diocese of Charlotte and St. Pius X Parish’s “Making a Place to Gather and Grow.”

The parish’s effort to raise $7.9 million includes funding and support of diocesan ministries throughout western North Carolina as well as the construction of two new buildings to complete the Greensboro-based campus: a new early education building and new parish life center.

The $1 million gift from the foundation will go toward building the new DeJoy Early Education Center. Specifically, the new school building will house two pre-kindergarten, two kindergarten and two first-grade classrooms, as well as two “open air” classrooms. The new building will enable the school to maximize space in the main school building for a new music room, practice space for the school band, and expanded arts program, as well as additional space for small group learning.

“We’re happy to be able to provide a place for children to begin their education in a faith-filled environment and to make a space for them to express their creativity through art and music,” DeJoy said in a statement. “Aldona and I have seen the influence and positive impact St. Pius X has made over the years to our greater community of Greensboro, and we are excited to be associated with its bright future.”

DeJoy is chairman and CEO of New Breed Logistics in High Point. Dr. Aldona Wos, former U.S. ambassador to Estonia, is secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

“I am always very moved by the generosity of Louis and Aldona and their consistent support of our school, the church and our city,” said Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, pastor, noting the building addition will round out improvements to the church campus that have been under way for years. “Their gift to the last campaign made possible the Cloister, which is at the architectural center of our

OUR PARISHESI

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campus uniting the church and the parish center. This gift of the early education center correlates beautifully with the endowment Louis and Aldona established previously within the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation to provide tuition assistance and scholarship funds to our families.”

Monsignor Marcaccio noted that the new building will provide much-needed space for the 450 students enrolled in St. Pius X School and 275 children in the parish’s faith formation program.

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter

Holy Spirit youths help Operation Christmas Child DENVER — As an Advent activity this year, youths in the faith formation classes at Holy Spirit Church in Denver recently collected Christmas gift items from every grade to pack in shoeboxes through the Operation Christmas Child program of Samaritan’s Purse. They held a shoebox packing party and filled 49 boxes with gifts for children in need, especially in Ukraine and Senegal. The boxes contain toys, candy, hygiene items, school supplies and lots of love!

The shoeboxes were taken to the Samaritan’s Purse processing center in Charlotte, and then on Dec. 16-17, many students went to assist at the processing center, where more than 2 million shoeboxes have already been processed this year since Nov. 27.

— Doreen Sugierski

In 2010, Haiti was hit by a devastating earthquake.

Today, the country is still reeling.

Watch the Mercy for Haiti film and help us continue to make a difference for those forgotten.

Visit urgentcares.org/haiti

Visit urgentcares.org to make a donation, or mail your gift (payable to CMMF) to P.O. Box 16367, Asheville, NC 28816

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 OUR PARISHES

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

Knights help local teens

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Catron admitted to candidacy COLUMBUS, Ohio — Charlotte seminarian Cory Catron was admitted to candidacy for holy orders Dec. 9 at the Pontifical College Josephinum.

The Most Rev. Eduardo A. Nevares, auxiliary bishop of Phoenix, celebrated Mass and admitted Catron and 15 other seminarians to candidacy for holy orders in St. Turibius Chapel.

Catron is pictured with Bishop Nevares and Monsignor Christopher Schreck, rector of the Pontifical College Josephinum.

The rite of admission to candidacy for holy orders is celebrated when a seminarian has reached a maturity of purpose in his formation and has demonstrated the necessary qualifications for ordination. In the presence of the bishop, he publicly expresses his intention to complete his preparation for holy orders and his resolve to fully invest himself to that end, so that he will serve Christ and the Church faithfully.

— Carolyn A. Dinovo and Joshua Altonji

DENVER — The Knights of Columbus Council 10389 of Holy Spirit Parish in Denver is coming to the aid of two local teenagers whose mother was killed in a motorcycle accident last June.

The children of single mother Michelle Day – Montgomery Day, 14, and Johanna Day, 13 – are receiving the love, prayers and financial support of the Holy Spirit Parish family through the efforts of the Knights and the Squires.

In August, two dozen Knights and more than a dozen Squires from the Columbian Squires’ Deacon Kauth Circle 5194, as well as family members and friends, did extensive repairs on the Day family’s home. The Knights also set up 529 college savings plans for both children, and a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for 275 people in September raised $5,300 towards those funds.

The Knights have committed to organizing annual fund raisers for the children until they enter college. (Those wishing to help may send checks to: NC 529 Plan, P.O. Box 40877, Raleigh, NC 27629-0877. Make checks payable to “CFNC 529 Plan,” and identify the specific account number 540447284 with sub-accounts 001 for Montgomery Day and 002 for Johanna Day.) The Day family remains active parishioners at Holy Spirit Church. Johanna attended Totus Tuus last summer and is an altar server. She is expected to make her confirmation next spring. Montgomery has been a squire for three years and has worked to raise funds and serve community members in need.

The children’s uncle, Nick Watts, has moved from Denver, Colo., to become a guardian and care for the teens. The children’s grandmother and fellow Holy Spirit parishioner, Joan Watts, also continues to help care for the youths.

— Doreen Sugierski

Help and Hope for Those in Need John 14:27 gives us hope with these words: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Catholic Charities counseling services take these words and put them in to action, offering individual, family, premarital, marital and group mental health psychotherapy.

Counselors work with the client on their personal journey, addressing the challenges of life. Services are provided on a “sliding fee scale” based upon family or individual income. Some insurance policies accepted.

Visit our website or call for appointment information.

Asheville 828-255-0146 Charlotte 704-370-3232 Greensboro 336-274-5577 Murphy 828-835-3535 Winston-Salem 336-727-0705

Fr. Longenecker speaks about ‘Why I am a Catholic today’ FRANKLIN — Many attended Father Dwight Longenecker’s talk about his personal conversion to Catholicism, during an evening reflection and book signing at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Franklin Nov. 21. The former Anglican priest and current pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Greenville has been featured on EWTN’s “The Journey Home” and is the author of 15 books and many articles, as well as the Patheos.com blog “Standing on My Head.”

He told listeners that his conversion was a long, difficult time for him, filled with hurdles along the way. He spoke about his incredible journey hitchhiking from England to Jerusalem, staying at Benedictine monasteries along the way. His parting words of advice: “Share your own faith stories just as the Bible does – every Christian is called to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.”

— Vicki Dorsey

Sapphire Valley mission celebrates feast day SAPPHIRE VALLEY — Capuchin Franciscan Father Andrew Nowak, pastor, and parishioners of St. Jude Mission in Sapphire Valley recently celebrated their patronal feast day. A mission of Sacred Heart Church in Brevard, the community began as local Catholics gathered to attend Mass in various places including a real estate office. Architecture students at Catholic University of America designed the church building, an octagonal chapel of fieldstone, as a class project. Construction on St. Jude Mission was completed in July 1972, and now-retired Father Edward Sheridan, two bishops and the abbot of Belmont Abbey celebrated the first Mass in the new church.

— Dorice Narins

December 20, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com

Knights remind us of the reason for the season HENDERSONVILLE — Members of the Knights of Columbus Council 7184 in Hendersonville recently mounted their annual “Keep Christ In Christmas” banner on the grounds of Immaculata School. The banner serves to remind us all of the reason for the season.

Shown are Knight Bob Gray and Council Grand Knight Birch DeVault.

OUR PARISHESI

Let’s keep talking.

— John Remensnyder

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church 862 Yadkinville Road Mocksville, North Carolina 27028 Phone (336) 751-2973

Please join us to celebrate Christmas Mass Tuesday, December 24: 5pm, 8pm (Spanish) and Midnight Wednesday, December 25: 10am

CCDOC.ORG

RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

‘Mexican Consulate on Wheels’ stops in Charlotte CHARLOTTE — The General Consulate of Mexico, based in Raleigh, brought its “Mexican Consulate on Wheels” to the Diocese of Charlotte Pastoral Center in Charlotte the weeks of Dec. 2 and 9. The mobile consulate staff issued 500 passports and consular ID cards to Mexican nationals who, at times, waited for hours to obtain their documents. “This service to Mexican nationals in North and South Carolina will help them provide a current ID in their local community, if need be, moving forward,” said Francisco Guzmán, coordinator of the Mexican Consulate on Wheels.

Operation Santa’s Helpers CHARLOTTE — About 100 volunteers from St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte, led by pastor Father Pat Hoare, including members of the youth group, Knights of Columbus, Squires and Boy Scouts and Charlotte Catholic High School with Athletic Director Kevin Christmas, and many students headed up by senior Ella Little were among those who participated in the highly successful Operation Santa’s Helpers this year. The volunteers provided food, clothing and Christmas presents to more than 350 needy families in the Charlotte area. One of the highlights of the program was the delivery of toys and bikes along with food and clothing to nearly 40 families at Villa Heights Community Center that featured “Santa” Patrick Choulas, a student at Charlotte Catholic. Bob Bowler, who directs the initiative, said it was the smoothest rollout yet in the more than 15 years it has been held. That was due, he said, to the efforts of the people at Acosta Sales and Marketing and volunteers during the week who organized the items for delivery including Boy Scouts from St. John Neumann as well as members of the parish’s Knights of Columbus.

Photo provided by Al Tinson and Jennifer Noto

We welcome your parish’s news! Please email news items and photos to Editor Patricia L. Guilfoyle at plguilfoyle@ charlottediocese.org.

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January 11 – St. Matthew Catholic Church, Charlotte January 25 – St. Matthew Catholic Church, Charlotte February 1 – St. Joeseph Catholic Church, Newton February 22 – St. Matthew Catholic Church, Charlotte For more information visit our website or contact Batrice Adcock, MSN at 704.370.3230 or bnadcock@charlottediocese.org.

11

Our schools 12

catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

New Opportunity Scholarships available to help lower Catholic school costs for families David Exum Correspondent

CHARLOTTE — Low-income families seeking assistance to send their children to a Catholic school will now be able to apply for vouchers as an additional means to defer tuition costs, thanks to the passage of the Opportunity Scholarship Act by the state’s General Assembly earlier this year.

“This is really aimed at giving school choices to lowerincome families, (especially) for the ones who didn’t really have a school choice before because they couldn’t afford it,” said Michael J. Ford, director of marketing for Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools. “Our job now is to get the message out to our parishes and let families know the availability of this and that they can take advantage of it if they want a Catholic education for their child.”

Once a family meets the income guidelines and other requirements, a random lottery system may be used on a first-come, first-served basis to award the 2,500 scholarships by the State Education Assistance Authority (SEAA). Scholarship amounts will be up to $4,200 and must not exceed the actual costs of tuition and fees.

Applications will be made available Feb. 1 at www. ncseaa.edu, and the SEAA will begin notifying recipients

by March 1. The SEAA will award approximately 2,400 scholarships the first year.

According to the SEAA, income requirements include that a child must live in a household with an income level that is not in the excess for the student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program. Prospective scholarship recipients must also have attended public school in the spring semester of 2014. Grades 1 through 12 are eligible for the Opportunity Scholarships for the 2014’15 school year. Kindergarten will be included thereafter.

The cost of tuition – which ranges from $3,100 to $8,900

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

Angel Tree connects students, grandparents WINSTON-SALEM — Students at St. Leo School participated in the annual Angel Tree Project Dec. 4. Siblings came together and decorated ornaments that were then mailed to their grandparents. In response, grandparents were to return their own decorated ornament, on which they would write special messages back to the children. These messages are read to the student body during morning

for registered Catholics in the Charlotte diocese – can be a major obstacle for many parents who want to send their children to Catholic school.

The diocese has 19 Catholic schools, which offer Catholic education from pre-kindergarten to high school. All of the schools offer some sort of tuition discount for registered Catholic families, up to 30 percent in some cases. For example, Asheville Catholic School’s tuition is $7,620 for non-parishioners, and $5,508 for parishioners. At Bishop McGuinness High School, the tuition for non-parishioners is $11,700 per year, but $8,350 for parishioners.

And as the Catholic population in western North Carolina continues to grow, so does the demand for Catholic education, diocesan school leaders note.

Enrollment for the 2013-’14 school year is 7,577, a 5 percent increase over enrollment 10 years ago.

Unfortunately, the new Opportunity Scholarships do not cover books, uniforms, transportation and other expenses.

Ford explained that while those costs remain the parents’ responsibility, school administrators will work with families to help with these additional costs any way they possibly can.

“The schools will work with a family to find ways to help them out with that, whether it be tuition assistance funds or by other means, but we can’t guarantee that we can cover all those (additional) costs,” Ford said.

Ford also explained that another obstacle is getting the word out to parish families about the availability of the new Opportunity Scholarships.

“A lot of these families don’t think they can afford a Catholic education, but the truth of the matter is, we have a tuition assistance program which will provide a lot of those funds now. But a lot of (families) don’t apply because they don’t think they can afford it,” he said.

“We’ll see how much this helps. Overall, I think it will help quite a bit. Will it put a huge amount of students into

announcements and then the ornaments are hung on the school’s Angel Tree for all to see.

Last year, the students received ornaments back from almost 100 grandparents from around the world.

— Donna Birkel

BMHS aids others with food drive, jeans day KERNERSVILLE — Bishop McGuinness High School students recently stepped up to aid the people of the Philippines and those who are hungry in the Winston-Salem area. Sponsored

by BMCHS Peer Ministry, their Thanksgiving food drive generated more than 6,500 food items which the group took to the WinstonSalem office of Catholic Charities Nov. 25.

More info online At www.ncseaa.edu: Get more information about the Opportunity Scholarship program and apply online starting Feb. 1. You can also call 1-855-330-3955 (toll-free).

our schools the first year? Probably not. This will help some families, and I think it’s a good start.”

As positive as the Opportunity Scholarship program sounds, it doesn’t come without a share of controversy.

The National Education Association strongly opposes the idea of private school vouchers. The labor union that represents public school teachers states that school vouchers increase costs by making taxpayers fund two school systems: one public and one private. It also says that school vouchers limit enrollment and discriminate in admissions on the basis of prior academic achievement.

N.C. Policy Watch, a left-leaning public policy think tank, also opposes private school vouchers because it says it helps only a few students. It warns that similar voucher programs failed in Milwaukee, Cleveland and Florida.

But, Ford noted, “(The scholarships) are just giving school choices. It’s like the magnet schools in the area.”

The diocesan Catholic school system, accredited by AdvancEd, part of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), provides an academically rigorous education based on Catholic teachings, and students’ standardized test scores far exceed state and national averages each year. Learn more online at www.schools. charlottediocese.net.

Sponsored by BMCHS Student Council and the BMCHS Roses Club, the $10 jeans days drive held Nov. 21-22 also collected more than $4,000, which was sent to Catholic Relief Services earmarked for Philippine relief.

— Jeff Stoller

OLM collects coats for needy WINSTON-SALEM — Our Lady of Mercy School’s middle school Helping Hands of Mercy leadership team coordinated a coat drive through the months of November and December. Through the efforts of students and their families, they were able to provide 110 new and gently used coats, in addition to hats, scarves, gloves and mittens for homeless children and their families in Forsyth County.

— Lara Davenport

St. Michael School students help others GASTONIA — Greg Davidowitz’s eighthgrade students, pictured above, recently made Christmas cards for military personnel overseas.

Also, the school’s eighth-grade Beta Club members, pictured below, collected canned goods and socks for the St. Michael Thrift Store before the Thanksgiving holiday.

— Pat Burr

December 20, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Come worship with us this Christmas in our beautifully renovated church!

St. John Neumann Catholic Church 8451 Idlewild Road – Charlotte, NC 28227 704-536-6520 www.4sjnc.org

Christmas Eve – December 24 4:00 PM Children’s Mass 6:00 PM Mass (incense will be used) 8:00 PM Spanish Mass (with incense) 12:00 Midnight Mass (incense will be used)

Saturday, December 21st Reconciliation - 3:30 – 4:45 PM

Sunday, December 22nd Festival of Lessons and Carols 7:00PM – A celebration of music and readings in anticipation of Christmas.

Christmas Morning – December 25 9:00 AM Mass 11:00 AM Mass (incense will be used)

THE ORATORY 434 Charlotte Avenue, P.O. Box 11586 Rock Hill, SC 29731-1586

(803) 327-2097

Celebrating St. Nicholas Day

Center for Spirituality rockhilloratory.org

oratorycenter@gmail.com

Photo provided by Lara Davenport

WINSTON-SALEM — Our Lady of Mercy School’s kindergarten students recently made special shoes to leave out for St. Nicholas to fill, and they were not disappointed. While the class was at their Friday morning liturgy, he left the class snacks on the tables and goodies in their shoes.

Winter Film Series The popular Winter Film Series continues! Join us for an

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See more photos from the special feast day celebrations

evening of viewing, discussions and snacks. We will choose some fun, interesting and thought provoking films to reflect on.

January 13, 20, 27 and February 3, 2014 at 7pm Photo provided by Kathy McKinney

CHARLOTTE — Students at St. Ann School in Charlotte were surprised with a visit from St. Nicholas Dec. 6. Students, along with the homeschool students of St. Ann Parish, enjoyed a story read by St. Nicholas (also known as Father Timothy Reid, pastor). Students left their shoes outside the classrooms in the hopes that the tradition of St. Nicholas leaving treats would be fulfilled. He did not disappoint. When the students returned to their classrooms there was indeed a treat in their shoes. It was a fun afternoon and a great way to honor this important saint.

Donate: $5 each or $15 for the series, pre-registration required

Growth Journaling: A Door to Awareness Experience a method of reflective writing that can accelerate your personal and spiritual growth. This is a place to record

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

your hopes, longings, feelings and self observations. Please bring a journal for your writing.

Saturday, January 18, 2014 9:00am - Noon

In Brief Wrapper paper contest winner named GREENSBORO — Sofia Grisolia of St. Pius X School recently won third place in the Greensboro News and Record’s Wrapping Paper Design Contest. Her wrapping paper design will be highlighted in an upcoming edition of the newspaper.

— Jean Navarro

Presented by: Kathleen Ciani

a licensed personality and relationship educator

Second-grade buddies share, help others

Cost: $15

CHARLOTTE — The second-grade classes at St. Gabriel and St. Matthew schools share in a unique prayer partnership. Students are paired throughout the year, and they write to each other throughout the year. Twice a year, the classes meet to participate in service project. On Dec. 2, St. Gabriel’s students visited St. Matthew’s students. Students began the day with a special St. Nicholas Day prayer service. They created a special St. Nicholas Day ornament and attached a blessing. These were delivered to the residents of Legacy Heights Assisted Living Center. The day ended sharing in fellowship and fun.

— Patti Dickson

The Spirituality of Catherine McAuley This program will introduce us to the life and spirituality of this compassionate woman of service.

Saturday, January 25, 2014 9:30am – Noon

Presented by: Sr. Jeanne-Marie Kienast, RSM

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

WELCOMES

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

You to celebrate the birth of

OUR SAVIOR

In Brief

CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES 3:30 p.m. Children’s Pageant 4:00 p.m. Mass 6:30 p.m. Mass 11:30 p.m. Christmas Carols 12:00 a.m. Mass with Bishop Jugis

CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES 9:00 a.m. Mass 11:00 a.m. with Bishop Jugis

The Cathedral of Saint Patrick 1621 Dilworth Road East * Charlotte, NC 28203 www.stpatricks.org

Author, musician visits OLG GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace School welcomed local author and musician Clay Howard to the school earlier this month. Howard read his new book “Escaping the Naughty List” to students and also used his guitar to get students engaged in music as a story-telling tool.

— Karen L. Hornfeck

Candidates visit St. Pius X School GREENSBORO — St. Pius X School welcomed Greensboro City Council candidates and school parents, Mike Barber and Wendell Roth, Oct. 21 to discuss the role of government and the importance of serving our community with the middle school student body.

— Jean Navarro

Author visits SPX GREENSBORO — On Oct. 23, students at St. Pius X School in Greensboro received a visit from Laura M. Elliott, an award-winning author of children’s books and young adult books, including the historical young adult novel “Under a War-Torn Sky.” Elliott was presented with a “Wordle” designed by the students to thank her for her time and talent.

— Jean Navarro We welcome your school’s news! Please email news and photos to Editor Patricia L. Guilfoyle at plguilfoyle@ charlottediocese.org.

Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church The Mrs. Julian Price Memorial

2205 West Market Street ▪ Greensboro, NC 27403 ▪ (336) 274-6520 ▪ www.olgchurch.org

Our Lady of Grace is pleased to announce the kick off of our 2014 concert season on Saturday, January 11th at 7:30 PM! Also known as Suscipe Quæso Domine, renaissance choral group The Suspicious Cheese Lords is an award winning A cappella ensemble specializing in early music.

With critically acclaimed performances at the National Gallery of Art, Washington National Cathedral, and the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, The Suspicious Cheese Lords are now coming to Greensboro, NC for one enchanted evening filled with music for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, focusing on the sacred Renaissance music recorded on their newest CD, In terra pax.

Adults $15.00 l Students $10.00 l Children $7.50 Tickets are on sale now and include complimentary admission to an exclusive meet and greet reception.

In order to reserve your seat, please contact the Parish Office at 336.274.6520

PHOTO PROVIDED BY casey corser

HTMS students, families are ‘Matty Strong’ CHARLOTTE — This fall, students and families at Holy Trinity Middle School rallied to help Matthew “Matty” Nestor and his family. Nestor, an eighth-grader at the school, was diagnosed with leukemia and is undergoing treatment. More than $13,000 has been raised so far in an ongoing effort to help offset his medical expenses in a school-wide effort. On Sept.

9, HTMS football players teamed up for the Camp CARE (Cancer Ain’t Really the End) 5K race and were “Matty Strong,” showing support for him and a local summer camp where he and children diagnosed with or recovering from pediatric cancer can go, free of charge, to have a safe, fun, weeklong traditional overnight camp experience. The HTMS team was the largest team to ever sign up for the 5K race. More information about Camp CARE can be found at www.campcare.org.

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December 20, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com

Padre Fidel C. Melo

La Espiritualidad Navideña

L

a época navideña es uno de los tiempos litúrgicos más hermosos que se viven hoy dia en nuestra sociedad. Aún cuando se ha comercializado mucho en nuestro mundo secular, todavía retiene una porción muy alta de un sentido muy apegado al misterio gozoso de la Encarnación de Jesucristo.

Increiblemente, el advenimiento de la Navidad despierta aún un sentido especial de afecto, de cariño, de reconciliación, de unión, de ternura, y un gran calor familiar en las personas.

Observando alrededor vemos como todo el mundo, consciente o inconscientemente se prepara: en los hogares se ven las decoraciones, en los centros de trabajo se organizan almuerzos o cenas prenavideñas e intercambio de regalos.

Los pueblos y ciudades colocan decoraciones en las calles. Las empresas ofrecen bonos de Navidad, canastas navideñas, etc. en la radio se escuchan los coros y cantos de navidad, los buenos deseos de “Feliz Navidad”, y aún la misma comercialización de la época navideña contribuye, desde luego, no como su propósito principal, para mantener vivo este espíritu de afecto, de amor, de ternura, de paz y cariño.

Pareciera que los corazones de cada ser humano se “inflan” de ese espíritu especial.

Ahora bien, ¿Que dice la biblia sobre este tiempo? El Profeta Isaías dice “preparen al Señor un camino, tracen para nuestro Dios una calzada recta en la región estéril, allanen todas los cerros y las colinas” (Isaías 40:3-4). El profeta Isaías hace un llamado a reformar la vida, a derrumbar los cerros y colinas de egoísmo, de falta de perdón, falta de entendimiento e incomprensión, se nos invita a derrumbar las colinas de la indiferencia y la rudeza entre nosotros. Cada uno de nosotros hemos de preguntarnos sobre ¿Cuáles son los cerros, colinas u obstáculos que debemos de rebajar en nuestra vida para dar paso a la llegada de Jesucristo? ¿Existe alguna montaña en mi corazón que impide la llegada de Jesucristo a mi vida? Así, en éste sentido, la preparación a la Navidad, tiene una dimensión penitencial que da lugar al arrepentimiento y a la reconcilialción.

Por eso la preparación a la Navidad y la Navidad mísma son un llamado gozoso para reformar la vida enderezando lo que en ella esté torcido y asi allanar o trazar una calzada recta para el arribo de Dios en nuestra vida. Es muy común que las personas cuando vemos a un niño recién NAVIDEÑA, SEE page 16

Nota del editor: EL CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD-ESPAÑOL presenta esta nueva “Columna de Fuego,” como un comentario ocasional sobre temas de la fe por sacerdotes de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Grupo de Newton, NC, bailando la Danza Azteca Nueva Aztlan durante el homenaje a la Virgen de Guadalupe en el Coliseo Bojangles el 11 de Diciembre.

Fotos de RICO DE SILVA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe celebra homenaje anual a la Virgen de Guadalupe Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

CHARLOTTE — Casi 4000 católicos hispanos asistieron a la Celebración Anual de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en el Coliseo ‘Bojangles’ la noche del 11 de Diciembre. El homenaje a la “Reina de México y la Emperatriz de las Américas” fue organizado por la Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte.

Rigoberto Trejo, Coordinador de Radio Tepeyac de la Parroquia de Guadalupe, y Rocío Quintero, voluntaria de la misma parroquia, funcionaron como maestros de ceremonias en un homenaje de gala muy diverso, cual fue digno de una reina. El evento incluyó: Jarabe Tapatío del Grupo de baile de Ntra. Sra. de Guadalupe, y diferentes bailes folklóricos mexicanos por grupos de baile de Newton y Taylorsville.

Pero, el evento sobresaliente que sirvió de antesala a la Santa Misa, fue una producción del Grupo de Teatro Amanecer del Tepeyac de la Parroquia de Guadalupe, el cual hizo una excelente producción de teatro contando la historia de la aparición de la Virgen de Guadalupe en el Tepeyac, y la Tilma con la Imagen Milagrosa que San Juan Diego entregó al obispo de México en 1531.

Después de la producción teatral del Grupo Amanecer del Tepeyac, Juan Villalobos, de la Parroquia de Guadalupe, mirando a la imagen de la Virgen de Guadalupe sobre el altar recitó una poesía muy conmovedora en honor a la Virgen del Tepeyac. Un colorido desfile de banderas de Latino América y Estados Unidos sirvió de antesala a la celebración de la Santa Misa celebrada por el Padre Vincent (Vicente) Finnerty, CM, Párroco de Ntra. Sra. de Guadalupe. El Padre Abel Osorio, CM, Vicario de la Parroquia de Guadalupe, y el Padre José Elzi, CM, concelebraron la Eucaristía con el Padre Finnerty.

Durante su homilía, el Padre Finnerty compartió una anécdota de un niño perdido en una tienda buscando a su madre desesperadamente, “De la misma manera, cuando nosotros andamos perdidos y sin dirección, también buscamos a nuestra Madre, pues ella (María) es quien calma nuestras almas perturbadas,” dijo el Padre Finnerty.

El Padre Finnerty también habló acerca de la protección

especial que la Virgen de Guadalupe brinda a todos sus hijos, “Nosotros podemos siempre recurrir al regazo de María cuando nosotros nos sentimos atacados.” “Atacados por una enfermedad; un hijo rebelde; una madre que muere; por la falta de una reforma justa a la ley migratoria, o por un pariente que se queda en la frontera detenido,” dijo el sacerdote.

“Cuando nosotros nos sentimos atacados, también acudimos a María para que nos Padre Vicente Finnerty, CM, Párroco de proteja.”

Ntra. Sra. de Guadalupe en Charlotte, El Padre Finnerty predicando el Evangelio durante la exhortó a los presentes celebración. a agradecer a la Virgen María de su protección constante y a recurrir a ella en los momentos difíciles de nuestras vidas cuando no entendemos el porqué de las cosas.

“Imitemos entonces a María, porque ella siempre confió en Dios, incluso en los momentos en los cuales ella no entendía cómo iba ser la Madre de Dios,” dijo el Padre Finnerty.

“Este fue un evento de mucha fe de todos los presentes.

No solo de México, sino de toda Latinoamérica,” dijo Trejo después del evento. “Este año vinieron más personas que el año pasado, y vinieron hasta desde Hickory y Newton,” dijo Trejo.

Pablo Álvarez, originario de Cuernavaca, México, vino desde Rock Hill, SC, por invitación de sus primos que viven en Charlotte. “Muy bonito este evento. La verdad es que levantó mi fe. El otro año vengo con toda mi familia si Dios nos da licencia,” dijo Álvarez.

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

MADONNA:

in the sanctity of Life to come together in faith and prayer for our nation for the restoration of the protection of God’s precious gift of life from conception to natural death.”

FROM PAGE 5

in Defense of Life” began.

Human Life International, whose U.S. office is based in Front Royal, Va., is sponsoring the Ocean to Ocean Campaign in North America to enlist the prayers of the faithful for the causes of life and family.

“This pilgrimage is intended to awaken the faithful about the urgency of defending life from the moment of conception,” said Father Peter West, vice president for missions and chairman of the pilgrimage committee. “Hundreds of thousands, in venerating the image, have recommitted to restoring a Culture of Life, while hosting discussions, lectures and contests around the visitation of the icon. Truly, our Blessed Mother, as Mediatrix of all grace, is interceding on our behalf with her Son, the Lord of Life, and we will see a return to respect for life and family.”

“This is a wonderful opportunity for area Catholics and others who believe

Let’s keep talking.

St.Eliz.pdf

1

3/8/12

Greensboro

The “Black Madonna” will travel to Greensboro to St. Paul the Apostle Church, where the icon will be venerated from Dec. 28 to 29.

At St. Paul Church, the icon will be welcomed prior to the 5 p.m. Mass on Saturday, Dec. 28. Father West will give a special presentation during a period Eucharistic Adoration following the 8:15 a.m. Mass on Sunday, Dec. 29.

Charlotte

The icon will then travel to Charlotte, where it will be venerated at St. Patrick Cathedral on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

It will be welcomed and displayed during the 9 a.m. Mass on Tuesday, Dec. 31, when Father West will preach about the icon and the pilgrimage. After Mass, Father West and Father Lucas Rossi, parochial vicar, will take the “Black Madonna” and lead a prayer vigil outside the Charlotte abortion mill, A Preferred Women’s Health Center at 3220 Latrobe Drive, starting at 10 a.m. The icon will return to the cathedral for evening vespers at 5 p.m., with veneration from 6 to 9 p.m.

The “Black Madonna” will remain in the sanctuary for the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Masses on Wednesday, Jan. 1. Father West will preach the homily at both Masses, and Bishop Peter Jugis will officiate at the 11 a.m. Mass.

12:52 PM

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter

Director of Music St. Elizabeth Catholic Church- Boone, NC St Elizabeth of the Hill Country Catholic Church is looking for a part-time music director to continue to serve a 400 family parish located in Boone, NC. This vibrant parish is made up of many diverse communities including Appalachian State University students and professors, local families and residents, retirees, summer residents, Hispanics, and winter and summer tourism.

Job Description: C

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The music director is responsible for the total music program at St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country Catholic Church. The director is to plan and lead the liturgical music for all Sunday liturgies and Holy Days. This position reports directly to the pastor.

In addition, the director of music is to coordinate with the Director of Faith Formation and Youth Ministry as well as Catholic Campus Ministry to facilitate youth and college involvement with music in the parish. Extended responsibilities also include coordinating music for weddings, funerals, as well as assisting with The Church of the Epiphany, a summer mission church in Blowing Rock, NC

Education:

ST. THÉRÈSE: FROM PAGE 3

more than a million dollars to address a parking lot drainage issue.

Fundraising for the project began two years ago and will run for two more years, although planning for the parish’s growth stretches back nearly a decade, Father Curtin noted. The campaign has already successfully raised $3.6 million since its kickoff in the summer of 2010.

The Boudreaux Group of Columbia, S.C., is the architect. The Boudreaux Group also served as the architect for nearby Christ the King High School in Kannapolis.

Father Curtin described the church’s design as “spacious with a rising height of ceiling to peak over the altar.”

The seating pattern will be similar to the present fan-shaped church, and the brick façade will match the “dark honey” look of the other buildings on the campus, he said.

NAVIDEÑA: FROM PAGE 15

nacido se enciende siempre en nosotros un sentido de ternura, de respéto, de atención, cuidado, de amabilidad, tolerancia, paciencia y comprensión. Y cuando hablamos de la Navidad y la preparación a ésta, esas mismas reacciones son las que se nos invita a despertar en nuestras personas.

Queridos hermanos y hermanas, algo que en mi humilde experiencia siempre recomiendo a todo mundo que cree en Dios son las siguientes tres características, las cuales las doy a conocer como la fórmula “AAB”: Alegría, Amistad y Bondad.

Alegría: ya desde el anuncio del Arcángel Gabriel a María le dice “Alégrate llena de gracia” (Lc. 1, 28) y más tarde en la visita a su prima Isabel, la misma María expresa gozo y alegría cuando exclama “mi espíritu se alegra en Dios mi Salvador” (Lc. 1, 47), y cuando los ángeles del Señor anunciaron a los pastores el nacimiento de Jesús tambien hicieron alusión a este evento como motivo de gran alegría, “no tengan miedo, les traemos una buena noticia que será motivo de gran alegría para todos ” (Lc. 2, 10) de modo que alegría es un sentimiento que ha de inundar nuestros corazones hoy y siempre, porque en Cristo brilla nuestra esperanza de salvación por el perdón que el traé para todos.

Amistad: Según Santo Tomás de Aquino, la forma más perfecta del amor es la Amistad, la cual consiste en el amor de benevolencia (a dos niveles: humano y divino), mutuo, estable, manifiesto entre dos personas que se consideran como una sola cosa, experiencia que supone una raíz

The new church will be situated on the highest point of the property and the roof will reach up to a high cross at its peak.

Construction is expected to take a little more than a year. The new church will be dedicated in early 2015.

“This new St. Thérèse is made possible by the efforts of many – the Capital Campaign Committee, Building Committee, Finance Council, Pastoral Council and Boudreaux Group Architects, have all given much time, talent and energy to this project,” noted a statement from the parish. “The parishioners of St. Thérèse have given their time and talent by volunteering on and supporting the Capital Campaign Committee and by praying the campaign prayer, and have given their treasure by generously donating and pledging to fund the building of this new church.”

Added Father Curtin, “This is a welcoming parish with a very active membership. In 12 to 14 months, we will have a simple and reverent worship space, filled with light.”

ontológica lo cual viene a ser una cierta comunión de actitudes o de índole. La Amistad verdadera es siempre mutua, fiel y se expresa en actos y gestos buscando siempre el bien de la otra persona. Esta descripción nos sirve para expresar la relación de Dios y el fiel creyente. Adviento y Navidad son un tiempo especial para celebrar y cultivar el amor-amistad de Dios padre que nos amó tanto que nos envió a su único Hijo, compartiendo de ese amoramistad de Dios entre nosotros.

Bondad: Cristo en sí mismo es la bondad y misericordia del Padre eterno, el es el cordero que quita los pecados del mundo, e inspirados y motivados en El es que nosotros hemos de expresar, dar y vivir la bondad con los demás y entre los demás . Aqui nos ayudan en mucho las sabias palabras de San Pablo a los Efesios cuando dice: “Les ruego que se porten como los que han sido llamados por Dios, como lo fueron ustedes. Sean humildes y amables; tengan paciencia y sopórtense unos a otros con amor; procuren mantenerse unidos siempre unidos, con la ayuda del Espíritu Santo y por medio de la paz que ya los une” (Gal 4:1-3) ¿Puéden ustedes imaginar una persona que se manifiesta siempre alegre, gozosa, que es amigable deseando y buscando siempre el bien de los demás poniendo en acción la benevolencia? Pués bien esa es la espiritualidad de navidad y que hemos de buscar cultivar, mantener y vivir todos y cada uno de los dias del año.

Feliz navidad y que el espíritu navideño inunde nuestros corazones, nuestras familias y comunidades con el amor de Dios.

El Padre Fidel C. Melo es el Vicario del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Bachelors Degree Preferred.

Work Experience/Special Skills Ability to lead and direct many different musicians at all Masses/services throughout the year. Must be an experienced musician, have knowledge of the Catholic liturgy and liturgical planning as appropriate to weekly Masses and services. Must show leadership skills as related to managing different personalities. Ability to play a music instrument (of liturgical nature: i.e. organ, piano or guitar) recommended. Knowledge of electronics and amplification systems that relate to musical performance is necessary. Previous experience in music ministry preferred.

Position to be filled as soon as possible. Please send resume with cover letter to Saint Elizabeth Parish, 259 Pilgrims Way Boone, NC 28607 or stelizabethcc@bellsouth.net

SOLEMNITY: FROM PAGE 2

Virgin was Theotokos – “The God-bearer.”

We celebrate her as the Mother of God because, in bearing Christ, she bore the fullness of the Godhead within her.

The title “Mother of God” goes back to the third or fourth century, but the Greek term Theotokos (“The God-bearer”) was officially consecrated as Catholic doctrine at the Council of Ephesus in 431, thus becoming the first Marian dogma. At the

end of the Council of Ephesus, crowds of people marched through the streets shouting: “Praised be the Theotokos!”

This Catholic doctrine is based on the doctrine of Incarnation, as expressed by St. Paul: “God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4).

In its chapter on Mary’s role in the Church, Vatican II’s dogmatic constitution “Lumen Gentium” (“Light of the People”) calls Mary “Mother of God” 12 times.

On this day the Catholic Church also celebrates the World Day of Peace, a tradition established by Pope Paul VI and confirmed by Blessed Pope John Paul II. — Sources: Catholic News Agency and Scott P. Richert

Mix

December 20, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’

In Brief ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ Lively sequel in which a once-timid hobbit (Martin Freeman) continues his courageous quest to help a group of dwarves recapture their ancestral mountain stronghold from the terrifying dragon (voice of Benedict Cumberbatch) who displaced them. As he does so, the wizard (Ian McKellen) who originally chose him for this seemingly unlikely mission works to prevent larger, darker forces from consolidating their power. Director Peter Jackson’s second installment in a trilogy of films based on Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel is – like its 2012 predecessor, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” – too intense for the smallest viewers. Much vivid but bloodless violence, some occult undertones.

CNS: A-II (adults and adolescents); MPAA: PG-13

‘The Book Thief’ Mature adolescents should be able to enjoy this beautifully filmed adaptation of Markus Zusak’s youngadult novel, in which Sophie Nelisse plays a young Nazi-era German girl who learns compassion through reading and through the example of her adoptive parents (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson), becoming somehow immune to the worst of the Hitler Youth’s indoctrination.

Many adults, on the other hand, may be shocked at what appears to be a fairy-tale gloss on the Holocaust. Some anti-Semitic dialogue and scenes of wartime bombings.

CNS: A-II (adults and adolescents); MPAA: PG-13

Handsome but flawed biographical profile of South African dissident-turned-president Nelson Mandela (Idris Elba) who, after spending 25 years in prison for resisting apartheid, advocated peace and forgiveness and endeavored to steer his country away from violence toward reconciliation. Based on Mandela’s 1994 autobiography, the movie glows with admiration for its subject and is bent on demonstrating the historical significance of his personal journey, with second wife Winnie’s (Naomie Harris) vengeful reaction to the mistreatment she suffered serving as schematic counterpoint. Considerable violence, demeaning treatment of prisoners, some sexual situations, some crude language and hate speech.

CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13

‘Philomena’ Compelling fact-based drama about a warmhearted Irish woman (Judi Dench) who enlists the help of a cynical British reporter (Steve Coogan) in her search for the son she was forced to give up for adoption by the nuns who ran the oppressive facility for unwed mothers in which she lived as a teen (Sophie Kennedy Clark) after being abandoned by her family for becoming pregnant.

CNS: L (limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling); MPAA: PG-13

Additional reviews: n ‘Walking With Dinosaurs’: CNS: A-I (general patronage): MPAA: PG n ‘Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas’: CNS: A-II (adults and adolescents); MPAA: PG-13 n ‘Nebraska’: CNS: L; MPAA: R n ‘Out of the Furnace’: CNS: L; MPAA: R

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church 725 Deese Street Monroe, NC 28112

CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR MASS SCHEDULE Tuesday, December 24th 4:00PM Mass (English) 6:00PM Mass (Spanish) 10:00PM Mass of Christmas Night (English)

Wednesday, December 25th

10:00AM Mass of Christmas Day (English) 12:00PM Mass of Christmas Day (Spanish)

New Year’s Masses Tuesday, December 31st Vigil 4:30p.m. (English) Wednesday, January 1st 10:00a.m. (English) 12:00p.m. (Spanish)

On TV n Sunday, Dec. 22, 8-10 a.m.

(TCM) “One Foot in Heaven” (1941).

Heartwarming tale of a Methodist minister (Fredric March) and his devoted, self-sacrificing wife (Martha Scott) from their first parsonage in 1904 Iowa, through a military chaplaincy in World War I, to serving a divisive congregation in 1920s Denver.

Directed by Irving Rapper with the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale as technical adviser, the picture succeeds in blending the spiritual with the temporal in good-humored fashion. n Monday, Dec. 23, 10 p.m.-12:15 a.m. (TCM) “The Bells of St. Mary’s” (1945). Director Leo McCarey’s sequel to “Going My Way” (1944) pulls out all the emotional stops in a sugary confection that takes happy-go-lucky Father O’Malley (Bing Crosby) to a poor parish with a crumbling school run by overworked Sister Benedict (Ingrid Bergman). n Monday, Dec. 23, 9-10 p.m. (PBS) “Christmas in Norway With the St. Olaf Choir.” A holiday concert in Trondheim, Norway’s Nidaros Cathedral by the a cappella St. Olaf Choir. n Tuesday, Dec. 24, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “Solemn Mass of Christmas Eve in Rome.” Live broadcast of the eucharistic liturgy for Christmas Eve

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with Pope Francis from Rome’s St. Peter’s Basilica. The Mass will be rerun Wednesday, Dec. 25, 8-10 a.m. and 7-9 p.m. n Tuesday, Dec. 24, 10:30 p.m.-midnight (EWTN) “Solemn Mass of Christmas Eve.” Live broadcast of Christmas Eve Mass from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. n Wednesday, Dec. 25, 6-7 a.m. (EWTN) “Urbi et Orbi: Message and Blessing.”

Pope Francis gives his Christmas blessing “urbi et orbi” – to the city of Rome and the world. The live broadcast will be rerun 10-11 p.m. n Wednesday, Dec. 25, noon-2 p.m.

(EWTN) “Solemn Mass of Christmas Day.” Live broadcast as Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C., celebrates Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. n Tuesday, Dec. 31, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “Vespers of Thanksgiving.”

Pope Francis presides over this liturgy of thanksgiving broadcast live from Rome’s St. Peter’s Basilica. The program will be rerun 5:30-7 p.m. n Wednesday, Jan. 1, 3:30-5:30 a.m.

(EWTN) “Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.” The Solemn Mass for the Feast of Mary, Mother of God with Pope Francis, broadcast live from St. Peter’s Basilica.

Our nation 18

catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Franciscan Brother Juan Turios of Action Network prays Nov. 30 with immigration reform advocates taking part in “Fast for Families” in a tent on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The fast is aimed at pressuring the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

CNS | Jim West

Long-term fasters hand over role in pursuit of immigration reform Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — From the interfaith clergy to the civil rights heroes, from the union activists and community organizers to one of the youngest members of Congress, those involved in a Dec. 3 event spanned the wide range of people working to keep Washington’s attention on comprehensive immigration reform.

Marking the 22nd day of the Fast for Families, a prayerand-fasting activity being observed around the country as well, four people who had consumed only water for 22 days broke their fast and symbolically handed over the role to others.

Crowded into the tents within sight of the Capitol where activists have maintained a vigil since early November, the simple observance featured a choir from a Silver Spring, Md., Catholic parish, a rousing call to pray and fast from the daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and testimony from a young African-American community organizer about her conversion to seeing immigration reform as a civil rights issue.

As a handful of members of Congress and Labor Secretary Tom Perez looked on, a procession of dozens of people who have been fasting for a few days approached the microphone and a small table with a round loaf of bread and a goblet of fruit juice.

Clad in brown, hooded sweatshirts, the participants stretched across all age groups and a range of races and faiths. Led by Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, the four 22-day fasters were led in, a couple looking noticeably frail.

Franciscan Father Jacek Orzechowski explained that after they broke their fasts with a small bit of bread and juice that he passed among them, they would be attended to by doctors who have been monitoring their health throughout their water-only fast.

Those who fasted 22 days include Eliseo Medina, former international secretary treasurer of the Service Employees International Union; Dae Joong Yoon of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, known as NAKASEC; Cristian Avila, of Mi Familia Vota in Phoenix; and Lisa Sharon Harper of Sojourners.

They “turned over” the role as long-term fasters to seven others: the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners; Philip

Agnew and Ciara Taylor of Dream Defenders; the Rev. Eun-sang Lee, a board member of NAKASEC and pastor of First United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City; Stephan Bauman, president and CEO of World Relief; the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition; and Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy who was elected a year ago to his first term in Congress.

Each spoke about why they were taking on the fast.

Rev. Lee said he was doing so as “a humble Christian and Methodist minister, a follower of Christ.” In fluent Spanish learned as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic, Kennedy said he was participating in appreciation for the nation’s immigrant history and for the many mentors and teachers who have been carrying on the fight for civil and immigrant rights for generations.

Taylor said that just half a year ago, as “a black, nonimmigrant woman” working as a community organizer, she had no interest in immigration reform. While she said she’s unfamiliar with being asked to show her immigration documents, she knows what it’s like to be asked to show her driver’s license while parked in her own driveway, and to be judged by the color of her skin and the texture of her hair.

Before praying for the activists and the cause, Cardinal McCarrick said he felt “the spirit of Pope Francis is very much here.”

He prayed that the acts of those who are fasting and praying would “inspire our elected leaders to act” to protect migrants and all who remain at risk.

Across the country, thousands of individuals and groups have been joining in fasting and prayer. And a steady procession of supporters have visited the tent and prayed with fasters and others who have maintained a vigil daily.

In Los Angeles, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez a week earlier announced a 24-hour solidarity fast ending Dec. 3.

At a news conference with representatives of the AFL-CIO, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, a Los Angeles County supervisor and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Archbishop Gomez said such “little acts of sacrifice and self-denial have great spiritual power.”

Andres Chavez, the grandson of the late Cesar Chavez, joined the California fasters. Cesar was the founder of United Farm Workers and his weeks-long fasts in pursuit

of labor contracts for agriculture workers helped solidify the power of that union with peaceful activism.

Fasters affiliated with the UFW targeted Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican whip, calling on him to challenge House Speaker John Boehner to act on immigration reform.

Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Spokane, Wash., sent a letter to the fasters calling their efforts a “cause of great inspiration to me personally.”

Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City visited the tent and the fasters in November. Other visitors have included President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and various members of Congress.

Students and faculty at 11 Catholic colleges were participating in the fast as well. And a letter of solidarity signed by leaders of nearly 20 Catholic institutions was released Dec. 3.

“Your courageous example reminds us all that the issue of immigration reform is not about partisan politics or narrow ideological agendas,” it said. “This is a profound moral issue, as old as the Hebrew prophets and the Gospel, that calls into question the kind of nation we aspire to pass on to our children.”

Among the letter’s signers were Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, two former ambassadors to the Holy See, the presidents of several Catholic colleges or universities and representatives of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, the Catholic social justice lobby Network, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd and the Ignatian Solidarity Network.

At the event in Washington, the Rev. Bernice King, daughter of the civil rights icon, recalled learning as a child that prayer and fasting can bring about great things.

In a rousing mini-sermon, the Baptist minister decried any policies or laws that treat people differently based on their origins or skin color.

She noted that the successful civil rights movement of the 1960s started with a one-day boycott that stretched to many more peaceful types of protest before ultimately succeeding.

“Let’s continue to fast together and not get weary,” she said. “Let’s continue to pray together ... and let’s continue to hope together.”

December 20, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

U.S. senator, co-sponsors introduce Marriage and Religious Freedom Act Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and 11 co-sponsors introduced a measure in the U.S. Senate Dec. 12 that would protect religious organizations from discrimination by the federal government for supporting traditional marriage.

The Marriage and Religious Freedom Act “protects the rights of individuals and organizations from religious discrimination by the federal government,” Lee said in a statement. “Those who believe in the traditional definition of marriage deserve respect and tolerance. It is critical that we clarify the law to ensure that their fundamental civil liberties are not at risk.”

The measure would bar the government from denying any person or group taxexempt status for opposing same-sex “marriage” for religious reasons.

The chairman of two U.S. bishops’ committees said in a Dec. 12 statement they support the nondiscrimination bill, saying it is necessary because of intolerance of those who believe marriage is between one man and one woman.

“Increasingly, state laws are being used to target individuals and organizations for discrimination simply because they act on their belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman,” said San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J.

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Archbishop voluntarily steps away from ministry after allegation St. PAUL, Minn. — Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis is voluntarily stepping aside from all public ministry, effective immediately, while St. Paul police investigate an allegation that he inappropriately touched a male minor on the buttocks in 2009 during a group photography session following a confirmation ceremony. In a Dec. 17 letter to Catholics of the archdiocese, Archbishop Nienstedt called the allegation “absolutely and entirely false. I have never once engaged in any inappropriate contact with a minor and I have tried to the very best of my ability to serve this archdiocese and the Church faithfully, with honor and due regard for the rights of all, even those with whom I disagree.”

The news follows Archbishop Nienstedt’s apology, at the invitation of a parish pastor, for the archdiocese’s past handling of clergy sexual abuse allegations. “The negative news reports about past incidents of clerical sexual abuse in this local Church have rightly been met with shame, embarrassment and outrage that such heinous acts could be perpetrated by men who had taken priestly vows as well as bishops who failed to remove them from ministry,” he said.

“While only one of the crimes against minors has happened in this archdiocese since 2002, that is still one too many.”

The Catholic Spirit, archdiocesan newspaper, published Dec. 5 the names of 30 priests for whom credible allegations of abuse had been reported after the archdiocese gained court permission to release the names. Archbishop Nienstedt said the disclosure is part of the archdiocese’s safe environment efforts, which he hopes “will contribute to the healing process for victims and others who have been harmed, and serve to protect God’s children and foster trust in the Church.” Most of the men identified

Cordileone, who heads the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

“Such prejudice must not be allowed to spread to the federal government,” he said.

In September, U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, introduced a same-named bill in the House, with dozens of co-sponsors.

Archbishop Cordileone and Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, chairman of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty expressed support for the House measure.

In their statement on Lee’s bill, the Baltimore archbishop urged lawmakers in both chambers of Congress to pass their respective bills, because “we are witnessing a growing climate of intolerance against individuals and organizations who believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, with a ‘comply or else’ attitude being advanced by those who favor marriage redefinition in law.”

“In this coercive climate, the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act is an important step in preserving religious liberties at the federal level,” he said.

Lee’s bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee the day it was introduced. Labrador’s bill was referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committees and the Ways and Means Committee Sept. 19. No votes were scheduled.

Wishing all of the employees of the Diocese of Charlotte a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

704-839-3755 kaltman@metlife.com www.kenaltman.metlife.com

Ken Altman

have been previously identified in media reports. All of them have been permanently removed from ministry or are deceased.

USCCB president: ACLU lawsuit ‘baseless, misguided’ WASHINGTON, D.C. — The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Dec. 6 called a lawsuit filed against the USCCB over its directives for Catholic health care “baseless” and “misguided.” The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit in U.S. District Court Nov. 29.

The ACLU claims a woman received negligent care at a Michigan Catholic hospital when her pregnancy was in crisis at 18 weeks, leading her to suffer emotional and painful trauma that resulted in a premature birth and the death of the baby shortly thereafter. The ACLU suit blames the bishops’ “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care” for the inadequate care it says the woman received.

“It is important to note at the outset that the death of any unborn child is tragic, and we feel deeply for any mother who suffers such pain and loss,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., USCCB president.

“We cannot speak to the facts of the specific situation described in the complaint, which can be addressed only by those directly involved,” he said. He added, “We will defend ourselves against this misguided lawsuit.”

Archbishop levies sanctions on two priests found guilty of abuse OMAHA, Neb. — The Archdiocese of Omaha has found two archdiocesan priests – in separate cases – guilty of sexual abuse of a minor and administered ecclesiastical penalties, dismissing one from the priesthood with Vatican authorization and removing the other from active ministry and sentencing him to a life of prayer and penance. After extensive investigations that included reviews of evidence by officials at the Vatican and experts in canon law, Omaha Archbishop George J. Lucas found Father Alfred J. Salanitro, 54, and Father Franklin A. Dvorak, 69, guilty of abuse and levied the Church penalties against the two men.

— Catholic News Service

St. Ann Catholic Church 3635 Park Road Charlotte, NC 28209 www.StAnnCharlotte.org

Saturday, December 21st: Rorate (Latin) Mass 6:30 a.m.

Christmas Masses: Christmas Eve: 4:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. Latin Mass, and 12 Midnight.

Music beginning at 11:30 p.m.

Christmas Day: 9:00 a.m.

Tuesday, December 31st 9:00 a.m. Mass Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, January 1, 2014 (Holy Day of Obligation) 9:00 a.m. (Latin) and 12noon

Confession: Thursdays 5:30pm – 6:30pm, Saturdays 3:00-4:00 p.m.

No Confessions on Thursday, December 26th.

19

Our world 20

catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief Pope celebrates birthday, breakfasts with homeless men VATICAN CITY — As part of a low-key celebration of his 77th birthday, Pope Francis had breakfast with three people who live on the streets near the Vatican. The pope started the day with his usual morning Mass held in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae residence where he lives.

After Mass, all those present sang “Happy Birthday” to the pope. The pope then met with everyone, including three homeless men who were brought there by Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner.

Pope: Christians can’t be gloomy; Jesus brings joy VATICAN CITY — Sadness is a sign of being far from Christ because Jesus offers everyone the strength to persevere with hope and joy, Pope Francis said. “God is the one who came to save us and offer help, especially to hearts gone astray,” he said before praying the Angelus Dec. 15, Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday. “The Church is not a refuge for sad people, the Church is a house of joy” because the Christian message is “Good News” – “a proclamation of joy for all people.”

Pope : God speaks in whispers, so hush before Christmas VATICAN CITY — If silence is not one of the sounds associated with Christmas preparations, chances are people will miss an experience of the love and tenderness that is at the heart of the holiday, Pope Francis said. Celebrating Mass Dec. 12 in the chapel of his residence, Pope Francis offered a reflection on the tone of voice and the endearments God uses to speak to people and communicate His love. It’s not so much what God says as how He says it, the pope preached. “When a child has a bad dream and wakes up crying,” he said, “Dad goes and says, ‘Don’t be afraid, don’t be scared. I’m here.’ “The Lord speaks this way, too,” pointing to the day’s reading from Isaiah 41, in which the Lord reassures Jacob, affectionately calling him a little worm.

“When we watch a dad or mom talking to a child, we see how they become small, using the voice of a child and the gestures of a child,” he said. “From the outside one can think, ‘Oh, how ridiculous.’ They make themselves smaller, don’t they? That’s because a father’s or mother’s love needs to be close. I’d say this: They need to crouch down to enter the world of the child.”

Pope names as saint Jesuit companion of St. Ignatius VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis issued a decree declaring one of his favorite Jesuits, Blessed Peter Faber, a saint.

The decree is what the Vatican terms an “equivalent canonization,” in which the BRIEFS, SEE page 21

CNS | Paul Haring

The Vatican Christmas tree glows after a lighting ceremony in St. Peter’s Square Dec. 13.

Christmas lights reflect truth that Christ is light of world, pope says Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — The lights glowing on the Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square, like Christmas lights everywhere, are reminders that Jesus is the light of the world, Pope Francis said.

While he did not attend the Vatican’s tree-lighting ceremony Dec. 13, the pope personally thanked the German donors and their Czech neighbors for the tree during an audience earlier in the day.

The 82-feet-tall tree was a gift of the German city of Waldmunchen, but it grew just over the border in the Czech Republic.

Mayors from Bavaria in Germany and Bohemia in the Czech Republic joined hands to light the tree.

“This tree is international,” the pope told the 350 pilgrims who traveled to the Vatican for the tree-lighting ceremony.

The Gospel story of Jesus’ birth tells how the shepherds tending their flocks nearby were surrounded by a “great light,” the pope said. “Today, too, Jesus continues to dispel the darkness of error and sin and brings humanity the joy of blazing divine light.”

“We should let ourselves be enveloped by the light of His truth so that the joy of the Gospel would fill the hearts and lives of all

who encounter Jesus,” he said.

As the sun was about to set, the German and Czech pilgrims – many in traditional costumes – gathered with Vatican officials for the ceremony. The festivities began with the Vatican police band playing the Vatican and German national anthems.

The Bavarians said they particularly were proud that it was the second time they donated a tree to the Vatican; the first was in 1984.

Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, president of the commission governing Vatican City State, told the pilgrims that while the Christmas tree was a northern European tradition, it was a custom Pope John Paul II brought to the Vatican in 1982.

“The tree, in every culture, is a symbol of life,” the cardinal said. A Christmas tree is a reminder that “the Lord comes to give us His life. Let us welcome Him in our hearts and, in the glow of its light, let us bring Him to the world.”

Schedule set for Pope Francis’ first Vatican Christmas VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ first Advent and Christmas at the Vatican will follow the schedule set during the

pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, published Pope Francis’ liturgy schedule for December and January. According to the schedule released Nov. 26: n At 9:30 p.m. Dec. 24 Pope Francis will begin the celebration of Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. EWTN will broadcast the Mass live starting at 4:30 p.m. EST, and will rebroadcast the Mass on Wednesday, Dec. 25 at 8-10 a.m. and 7-9 p.m. n On Christmas Day, at noon, he will address the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square and give his blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world). EWTN will broadcast it live starting at 6 a.m. EST, and will rebroadcast it at 10-11 p.m. n Pope Francis will celebrate evening prayer Dec. 31 in St. Peter’s Basilica and lead the “Te Deum” to offer thanks to God for the year that is ending. n Jan. 1, the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and the World Day of Prayer for Peace, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica. n Jan. 6, the feast of the Epiphany, the pope will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Basilica. n On the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Jan. 12, he will celebrate Mass in the Sistine Chapel and baptize babies.

December 20, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

BRIEFS: FROM PAGE 20

pope inserts the name of the new saint in the universal calendar of saints without verifying a miracle performed through his intercession and without holding a formal canonization ceremony. The 16th-century priest, with St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier, was a founding member of the Society of Jesus.

Pope: Americas, open your arms to poor, immigrants, unborn VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis prayed that Catholics throughout the Americas would open their arms to the poor, to immigrants, to the unborn and to the aged just as Mary opens her arms to all. Anticipating the Dec. 12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, Pope Francis said during his general audience Dec. 11, “I ask all the people of the Americas to open wide their arms, like the virgin, with love and tenderness.” The first pope from the Americas explained that “when Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego, her face was that of a woman of mixed blood, a ‘mestiza,’ and her garments bore many symbols of the native culture. When the image of the Virgin appeared on the tilma (cloak) of Juan Diego, it was the prophecy of an embrace: Mary’s embrace of all the peoples of the vast expanses of America – the peoples who already lived there, and those who were yet to come.”

Pope Francis 3rd pope named Time’s Person of the Year VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is not seeking fame or accolades, but being named Time magazine’s Person of the Year will make him happy if it helps attract people to the hope of the Gospel, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman.

“Rarely has a new player on the world stage captured so much attention so quickly – young and old, faithful and cynical – as has Pope Francis,” Time wrote. “With a focus on compassion, the leader of the Catholic Church has become a new voice of conscience.”

Blessed John Paul II was named Person of the Year in 1994 and Blessed John XXIII in 1962.

Belgian bishops deplore vote to allow children to choose euthanasia OXFORD, England — Belgium’s Catholic bishops have deplored a parliamentary vote paving the way for sick children and dementia patients to choose euthanasia. “The voices of religious leaders have plainly not been listened to,” said Jesuit Father Tommy Scholtes, bishops’ conference spokesman. “While everyone wants a gentle death, public opinion appears unaware

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that euthanasia is a technical act that ends life abruptly. This is why we reject it and believe palliative care offers a better solution.”

The Belgian Senate voted Dec. 12 to approve the legislation allowing euthanasia for dementia patients and children “capable of discernment” and “affected by incurable illness or suffering.”

Pope reconfirms Cardinal Ouellet to lead bishops’ congregation VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has reconfirmed Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, seen as one of the most powerful offices of the Roman Curia, and expanded the international membership of the congregation. Among the new members named Dec. 16 were Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C.; Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England; Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega of Guadalajara, Mexico; and Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota, Colombia.

Pope to set up advisory commission on sexual abuse VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis accepted a proposal to set up a special commission on the sexual abuse of children, which will advise him on ways to prevent abuse and provide pastoral care for victims and their families. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, a member of the pope’s advisory Council of Cardinals, announced the decision at a Vatican briefing for reporters Dec. 5, during a break in the council’s meetings with the pope. The cardinal said the new commission would continue the work of Pope Benedict XVI against clerical sex abuse, and that among its tasks would be to “study the present programs in place for the protection of children, and to come up with suggestions for new initiatives” by the Vatican.

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Pope: Criticism of preachers is usually sign of fear VATICAN CITY — Christians who find something to criticize in every preacher they ever hear are not simply fussy, Pope Francis said, they usually are afraid. At his morning Mass Dec. 13, he preached on the day’s Gospel reading from St. Matthew where Jesus describes many of His contemporaries as being like spoiled children.

“The people of His time preferred to take refuge in a very elaborate religion: for the Pharisees, it was moral precepts; for the Sadducees, political compromise; for the Zealots, social revolution; and for the Essenes, gnostic spirituality. They had very clean, very organized systems.” However, he said, they didn’t want preachers and they definitely didn’t want prophets. “The people of God have a kind of allergy to preachers of the word. They persecuted and even killed the prophets.”

— Catholic News Service

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Letter to the editor

Encyclicals on Eucharist worth reading Ricco De Silva

Ryan Monk

Our Lady of Guadalupe: Our model for worship

O

n Sunday, Nov. 3, I witnessed something beautiful at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.

While covering a visit of a Pilgrim Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the parish, God gave me a palpable experience of the real Motherhood of the Virgin Mary, a glimpse of the worship of God in heaven through Mary, Mother of the Church.

As the Hispanic communications reporter for the Catholic News Herald, my job is to cover anything newsworthy among Latino Catholics in the Diocese of Charlotte, as well as anything among Anglo Catholics that could be of interest to the Latino Catholic community in the diocese. Therefore, my task is to encourage bridge-building between the two communities.

Well, I have to confess that my editor hired the wrong person for the job. She should have hired Our Lady, because after what I saw that November night in Greensboro, I think nobody builds stronger bridges between Latinos and Anglos than Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known in Latin America as the Patroness of Mexico and Queen of the Americas.

The traveling replica image of Our Lady was processed in during a bilingual Mass in English and Spanish to a predominantly Latino congregation and a significant Anglo presence. However, if I had not known that occasion was only the second bilingual Mass then celebrated at Our Lady of Grace Church, I would have thought those folks had been going to same bilingual celebration for years. The refreshing presence of Our Lady of Guadalupe facing the assembly next to the altar brought such peace to the liturgy that there was no doubt in my mind that those gathered there that evening had lifted their hearts to the Lord. Even with my attempts to capture the “perfect” photo image during the celebration, I had to pause for a minute under the serene and prayerful gaze of the brown-skinned Maiden from Mexico’s Tepeyac Hill.

When I shared my experience with a Latin American friend days later, he said something very profound that prompted me to write this commentary. He said, “I think Our Lady wants to help unite and integrate the two communities. Just because we worship in a bilingual, or even in an English, Mass doesn’t mean we can’t bring the richness of our Latino culture to our worship of God.” I couldn’t agree more. And as a Latino Catholic living in the United States for more than 20 years now, I think having a bilingual Mass on major Church feast days in every church in our diocese would be a positive step in helping to integrate Anglos and Latinos within each parish community. Latino Catholics now account for more than half the Catholic population in the Charlotte diocese, and self-segregating Latinos and Anglos does not help our shared mission to spread the Gospel in western North Carolina.

One of the beauties of Catholicism is that one can go to Mass nearly anywhere in the world, participating in the same Divine Liturgy, with only the local language being different.

In heaven the only language spoken is love: The Love of the Father for the Son in the Love of the Holy Spirit. I think Mary’s visit to Our Lady of Grace Parish that Sunday was a reminder from the Father to us that if we keep our eyes fixed on the Altar of His Son, we are better able to forget that the person sitting next to us in the pew has white or brown skin and speaks English or no English at all.

Let’s not forget that wherever and whenever the Church gathers to worship en el nombre del Padre, y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo, there is also Mary, Mother of the Church.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of Mexico and Queen of the Americas, ruega por nosotros!

Rico De Silva is Hispanic communications reporter for the Catholic News Herald and a member of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte.

T

Valuing life to the moment of natural death

his article is intended as neither a theological treatise nor legal exposé. As an estate planning and elder law attorney, I simply hope to provide a unique perspective on end-of-life issues. My elder law and estate planning practice has blessed me with countless opportunities to help clients and families struggling with terminal illnesses, Alzheimer’s disease, skilled nursing care, etc. This year alone, I visited five clients in their final days. The goal here is to share one insight on end-of-life issues gleaned from countless meetings with clients and family members facing the immediacy of dying: that is, our seniors have value.

Many of my clients are in their 80s and 90s and I am always troubled by an affliction they generally share: they are afraid of being a burden.

They agonize over their ability (or inability) to contribute financially.

They worry whether their need for care will interfere with the plans and busy lives of their children. They fear, they agonize, they worry, then they come to me for advice about a living will. In other words, fear is a driving force behind our seniors’ decisions to “pull the plug.”

It should not be so! Our faith champions the value of all life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. Our seniors should seek out legal advice on end-of-life issues starting from the conviction that they have value.

To the children and grandchildren of seniors, I ask you to call your mother, father or grandparent. Tell them how blessed you are to have them in your life and that every moment with them is worth more than any earthly treasure. You are blessed to have them in your life because God created them and, in a particular way, God made that person for you. Our seniors need to know that their value is entirely separate from their financial situation, their value is not diminished by their need for your time, and their value is indelibly connected to a life created by a LIFE, SEE page 24

The St. Thomas More Society The St. Thomas More Society Inc. is an independent charitable organization sponsored by members of the North Carolina Bar. We believe that the legal profession is a high calling in which the principal objective of every lawyer should be to promote and seek justice in society. Ultimately, we believe that the duty of a Christian lawyer is to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church at all times regardless of the personal consequences.

Through fellowship with like-minded lawyers, we strive to support and to assist individual members of the St. Thomas More Society in their own efforts toward incorporating spiritual growth, Christian principles and the pursuit of truth in their spiritual and professional lives. We look to the example and ideals of St. Thomas More in our pursuit of the highest ethical principles in the legal profession generally and, in particular, in the community of Catholic lawyers. In addition, we encourage interfaith understanding and community, in part through sponsorship of an annual Red Mass to invoke the assistance of the Holy Spirit for the judiciary, lawyers, law enforcement, and other members of the legal community.

In a recent letter to the editor (“Christ’s Presence is true, real and substantial,” Dec. 6), a writer stated that the word “corporeal” is a term that is “alien to the Catholic teaching” on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

However, Venerable Paul VI taught in “Mysterium Fidei” (“The Mystery of Faith”), his 1965 encyclical letter on the Eucharist, that Christ is indeed “corporeally present” in the Eucharist: as a result of transubstantiation, “nothing remains of the bread and the wine except for the species – beneath which Christ is present whole and entire in His physical ‘reality,’ corporeally present, although not in the manner in which bodies are in a place” (no.

46).

Pope Paul’s 1965 letter is one of two encyclicals of the past five decades devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, the other being Blessed John Paul II’s 2003 letter “Ecclesia de Eucharistia” (“The Church from the Eucharist”). In these letters, which are addressed to laity as well as clergy, the two saintly popes teach us about this mystery of faith and challenge us to “repay Christ’s infinite love for us with an eager and unselfish love,” in the words of Paul VI. These letters are available for free online, and in this diocese in which we are so blessed by the annual Eucharistic Congress, they make for wonderful and apt spiritual reading.

Jeff Ziegler lives in Mooresboro.

Letters policy The Catholic News Herald welcomes letters from readers. We ask that letters be originals of 250 words or fewer, pertain to recent newspaper content or Catholic issues, and be in good taste.

To be considered for publication, each letter must include the name, address and daytime phone number of the writer for purpose of verification. Letters may be condensed due to space limitations and edited for clarity, style and factual accuracy.

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Mail: Letters to the Editor Catholic News Herald 1123 S. Church St. Charlotte, N.C. 28203 E-mail: catholicnews@ charlottediocese.org

December 20, 2013 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Peggy Bowes

Prepare for Christmas with the joyful mysteries of the rosary

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he final days leading up to Christmas offer a perfect opportunity to dust off your rosary beads and find a few quiet moments for prayer and reflection. Following are a series of short meditations on each of the five joyful mysteries and simple practices to help prepare you for the joy of the Christmas season.

The Annunciation

The Annunciation is a turning point in history when Mary agrees to become the mother of the long-promised Savior.

Ponder the words of Mary in Luke 1:38, “May it be done to me according to your word.”

During the busyness of Christmas shopping and other preparations, it’s difficult to put aside time for prayer and reflection. Find 15 minutes today to simply place yourself in God’s presence.

The Visitation

If you were told (by an angel, no less!) that you would be the Mother of God, wouldn’t you want to run out and tell everyone? That’s not what Mary did. Instead, she went “in haste” (Luke 1:39) to help her elderly cousin Elizabeth deal with a challenging pregnancy.

Mary’s example reminds us that we must love and care for our neighbor. Before Christmas, find a way to help someone in your community. You might donate money, volunteer your time or simply leave a plant or fresh flowers on a neighbor’s front porch.

The Birth of Jesus

The Son of God chose to be born to poor parents in the most humble of dwellings. Jesus always lived a very simple life and constantly teaches that material goods are not the treasures we should be seeking. Instead we should store up heavenly treasures (Matt 6:20).

As you wrap your Christmas presents, say a special prayer for each person who will receive a gift from you, asking God to shower your friends and family with graces and blessings.

The Presentation

Mary and Joseph bring baby Jesus out into the world for the first time when they take Him to the temple to present Him to the Lord (Luke 2:22). Just imagine that you are a traveler on the road to Jerusalem. Would you recognize the Savior as the tiny helpless baby in the arms of a young girl, or would you rush on by and ignore the Holy Family?

When you receive Communion at Christmas Mass, remember that you are now taking Jesus out into the world. Reflect on that thought throughout the day and act accordingly!

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

How do you lose track of the Son of God? Mary and Joseph did. They searched for Him frantically for three days (Luke 2:46) before finally finding Him in the temple.

Do you feel like you have somehow lost the presence of Jesus in your life during the weeks of Advent? He told Mary and Joseph that He could be found in His Father’s house (Luke 2:49). You will always find Him there too, in the Blessed Sacrament in any Catholic church. Find time to drop into your church for a few minutes of prayer and reflection.

Peggy Bowes is a parishioner at Holy Angels Church in Mount Airy. She is a motivational speaker and author of “The Rosary Workout” (www.rosaryworkout.com).

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Deacon James H. Toner

The taproot of evil “Do not be led astray by diverse and strange teachings.” — Hebrews 13:9 RSV

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o “beg the question” is a logical fallacy in which a claim is assumed to be true without evidence other than the claim itself. Let me, though, beg the question here by asserting that both our society and the Church are in crisis. Chaos and evil thrive; moral confusion runs rampant; bizarre teaching and corrupt communications are ubiquitous. There is compelling reason to echo the divine question: When Jesus comes, will He find any faith left on earth? (Luke 18:8). Not for nothing, then, did St. James tell us that “whoever wants to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy” (4:4; cf. John 15:18).

What is the principal cause of all this corruption, this moral chaos? What is its taproot?

Some years ago, in receiving a prestigious award for his writing, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008) explained in four words the cause of moral disorder swirling around us: “Men have forgotten God.” In eight words, the first of the Ten Commandments had instructed us never to forget God: “Thou shalt not have strange gods before me” (Ex 20:3 DRB). As the epigraph to this column points out, when we have strange gods, we have strange, or bizarre, or wicked teaching (see also Col 2:8 and Eph 4:14).

The core of the strange or wicked teaching which has wormed its way into our faith, our politics and our education is simply this: the resurgence of the primordial heresy that we are our own gods. That lie was the first diabolical deception; it was accepted by our first parents, and it is accepted, to one degree or another, by all of us today. Pride or arrogance, after all, is the chief of the deadly, or capital, sins.

The arrogance of sin, in which we all share, is also found in politics. We humans tend to reject authoritative teaching in our personal lives, and civil societies similarly tend to reject authoritative, or divine, teaching in their political arenas. As my former mentor, Dr. Peter V. Sampo, once put it: “The loss of spiritual knowledge with the accompanying emphasis on the material world characterizes the modern age. We confront, therefore, a world obviously subject to crushing power, whether economic, political, or military. Consequently the modern world seeks a person of power who can meet adverse fortune and conquer it – a Savior Prince.”

In Catholic moral theology, dating to St. Thomas Aquinas, there is a teaching which succinctly captures all this: “aversio a Deo, conversio ad creaturam” (“aversion to God, conversion to the creature”). When we abandon God, we seek a creature instead – a “savior prince” to lead us. That “savior prince” might be Hitler or Stalin or Mao Tse-tung. Or it might be another person, in a very different country. And it will, in time, be the anti-Christ (see Catechism of the Catholic Church 675), who promises us heaven but instead brings hell.

This spiritual disorder which rejects the supernatural and embraces only the natural is found in those who think of the Church’s mission in terms only of material or scientific or environmental progress. Nothing ultimately matters, however, except the salvation of souls, and we are, as St. Paul gravely told us, “to work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12), always aware that we are fighting against the “cosmic powers of this dark age” (Eph 6:12; cf. 1 Peter 5:8).

That is a compelling reason why we must not

permit the Church to be infected with a secularism which tells us that all that matters is this world, this time, and this or that political agenda. The “savior prince” emphasizes only this world: after all, in such an ideology there is nothing beyond this life. The past half-century has witnessed the moral compromise of certain religions which have, in good measure, allied themselves with this secular view.

When the Church is turned into an interest group principally promoting a social or secular agenda rather than the salvation of souls, something is desperately and dangerously deranged. When priests see their mission as fighting military battles with rifles in hand, when nuns are told to “get off their knees and do something,” when our preaching and teaching emphasize the things and thoughts of this world rather than our eternal destiny, we have become infected with the same “Edenic disease” which seized Adam and Eve and told them that they could safely forget God. G.K. Chesterton once wrote that the problem with Christians of his day (he died in 1936) was that the world did not hate them enough. Isn’t that at least equally true of us Catholics today? We try so often and so hard to be loved by the world that we tend to forget to Whom we belong. St. Paul reminds us that Christ bought us for a price, and we must never forget that and become slaves of men (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23).

We must never invest contemporary political problems with a significance that belongs only to the eternal and to the sacred. This world is not heaven, and no political program can make it so.

It was Blessed Pope John XXIII who wrote in 1959: “All the evils which poison men and nations and trouble so many hearts have a single cause and a single source: ignorance of the truth – and at times even more than ignorance, a contempt for truth and a reckless rejection of it. Thus arise all manner of errors, which enter the recesses of men’s hearts and the bloodstream of human society as would a plague. These errors turn everything upside down: they menace individuals and society itself.”

The “contempt for truth” and the “reckless rejection of it” are the hallmarks of a modern creed which tells us to forget God and to abandon Christ and His bride, the Church – or at least to reinvent the Church to serve the political divinities of the day (see Jeremiah 2:9-13).

That same creed tells us to find knowledge and wisdom only in ourselves, and to seek the political leader – the “savior prince” – who can lead us to Paradise. We are lulled into thinking that this world is all there is, so that emphasis on salvation is treated as mere “nonsense on stilts,” and that good and evil, right and wrong, and virtue and vice are established only by society and by those who govern (rather than by God).

And it was Blessed Pope John Paul II who wrote in 1991: “When people think they possess the secret of a perfect social organization which makes evil impossible, they also think that they can use any means, including violence and deceit, in order to bring that organization into being. Politics then becomes a ‘secular religion’ which operates under the illusion of creating paradise in this world. But no political society – which possesses its own autonomy and laws – can ever be confused with the Kingdom of God.” We Catholics should be hated even more by the world!

‘This world is not heaven, and no political program can make it so.’

Deacon James H. Toner serves at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Greensboro.

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 20, 2013 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

LIFE: FROM PAGE 22

good and merciful God. It is incumbent on all of us to eliminate the fear I see so regularly in these wonderful individuals. Perhaps the easiest way to eliminate fear is to clearly communicate their value.

In addition to communicating value, let me offer a couple of practical suggestions you and your loved ones can incorporate into the estate planning process. I do not want to get bogged down in the legal side of things, but it may be helpful to define some basic terms.

A health care power of attorney (HCPOA) is a document in which you give someone else the authority to make medical decisions on your behalf when you are not able to do so.

A “living will” or “advance directive” is a document in which you make the decision to refuse life-sustaining procedures in certain end-of-life situations, such terminal illness or permanent unconsciousness. In a HCPOA, you give decision-making authority to someone else; in a living will, you make the decision in advance.

Applied to end-of-life decisions, your HCPOA gives someone else authority to “pull the plug”; in your living will, you make that decision.

Here is my first practical suggestion: focus on arranging a HCPOA rather than a living will. I’m not saying not to do a living will; rather, my advice is to concentrate your efforts on appointing a health care agent who will advocate for your beliefs. Picking a health care

agent who shares your worldview and who will advocate for you is much safer than relying on a doctor to properly interpret your desires from a standard form that lacks any attention to detail.

Another practical suggestion: include provisions in your estate planning documents (in particular, your HCPOA and living will) that require compliance with the teachings of the Catholic Church. There are numerous resources published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other Catholic organizations to help in this regard. Ask your attorney to incorporate those provisions into your documents.

End-of-life issues are difficult and confusing. But here is a general principle to guide you through the confusion: value life. Yes, there are serious financial and legal matters that you should plan for and, yes, those matters have a real impact on everyday life.

But through all the planning, we must communicate the value of the person. I don’t want my clients making end-of-life decisions out of fear. I want my clients to appoint a health care agent who sees the value of life even in a person riddled with disease, out of money, and no longer able to remember who they are. I want my clients to know that the mere beating of their heart has value because they are made in the image and likeness of God. Ryan Monk, a parishioner of St. Ann Church in Charlotte, owns Monk Law Firm PLLC and practices in the areas of estate planning, elder law and veterans benefits.

WOMEN: FROM PAGE 2

and the pregnancy can be safely shuttled to a point beyond viability, allowing both mother and child to be saved. Sometimes expectant management of this kind is not possible. Each case will require its own assessment of the risks, benefits and likely outcomes before deciding whether it would be appropriate to induce labor.

When a woman’s water breaks many weeks prior to viability and infection arises, longterm expectant management of a pregnancy is often not possible. In such cases, induction of labor becomes medically indicated to expel the infected membranes, and prevent the infection from spreading and causing maternal death. Early induction in these cases is carried out with the foreseen but unintended consequence that the child will die following delivery, due to his or her extreme prematurity.

Such early induction of labor would be allowable because the act itself, i.e. the action of inducing labor, is a good act (expelling the infected amniotic membranes), and is not directed towards harming the body-person of the child, as it would be in the case of a direct abortion, when the child is targeted for saline injection or dismemberment. The medical intervention, in other words, is directed towards the body-person of the mother, using a drug to induce contractions in her uterus.

One reluctantly tolerates the unintended loss of life that occurs secondary to the primary action of treating her life-threatening infection.

On the other hand, direct killing of a human being through abortion, even if it were to provide benefit for the mother, cannot be construed as valid health care, but rather

as a betrayal of the healing purposes of medicine at its most fundamental level. Such an action invariably fails to respect both the human dignity of the unborn patient and his or her human rights. It also gravely violates a mother’s innate desire and duty to protect her unborn baby. If she finds herself in the unfortunate situation of having a severe uterine infection during pregnancy, she, too, would appreciate the physician’s efforts to treat her without desiring to kill her child, even if the child may end up dying as an unintended consequence of treating the pathology.

The application of Catholic moral teaching to this issue is therefore directed toward two important and specific ends: first, the complete avoidance of directly killing the child, and, second, the preservation of the lives of both mother and child to the extent possible under the circumstances.

Based upon these ends, the Ethical and Religious Directives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops provide important ethical parameters for framing the appropriate treatment of both mother and unborn child in high-risk pregnancies, while simultaneously safeguarding the fundamental integrity of medical practice in these complex obstetrical situations.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the diocese of Fall River, Mass., and serves as the director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org.

Let’s keep talking.

CCDOC.ORG

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he angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

— Luke 2:10-14

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