Dec. 5, 2014

December 5, 2014

catholicnewsherald.com charlottediocese.org S E RV I N G C H R I ST A N D C O N N EC T I N G C AT H O L I C S I N W E ST E R N N O R T H C A R O L I N A

New N.C. abortion clinic rules released DHHS calls for annual inspections, but rolls back rules on post-op care,

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INDEX

Contact us.......................... 4 Español.................................. 9 Events calendar................. 4 Our Faith............................. 2 Our Parishes.................. 3-8 Schools......................... 10-13 Scripture readings............ 2 TV & Movies.......................14 U.S. news...........................16 Viewpoints................... 18-19 World news....................... 17

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Abundant harvest Diocese of Charlotte schools collected food throughout November to help the needy in their communities, demonstrating once again their commitment to Christian charity and service to our brothers and sisters. INSIDE: More photos, 12-13 Father Shaw installed as pastor of Bryson City, Cherokee parishes,

Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration coming to Bojangles’ Coliseum,

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Christmas movies for the whole family Top picks from diocesan media resource center’s Sister Patricia Durbin,

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Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | December 5, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope Francis

Sister Jeanne M. McNally

What makes a marriage work?

Ignoring God, not glorifying Him, leads to violence

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t is the complete disregard for God, not His glorification, that leads to violence in this world, Pope Francis said.

That is why people of faith, particularly Christians and Muslims, must work together for peace, and governments must guarantee full religious freedom for their citizens and religious communities, he said Dec. 3 at his weekly general audience.

Just a few thousand people – huddled under umbrellas and plastic ponchos – gathered in St. Peter’s Square for a rainy Wednesday audience.

Pope Francis told them they were “courageous” to venture out in such weather, and said with a smile that “ugly days” should be faced with “beautiful faces.”

The pope dedicated his general audience talk to a few of the highlights and hopes from his trip to Turkey Nov. 28-30.

The importance of religious freedom, he said, was the focus of the first day of the trip when he met with government authorities of the Muslim-majority nation with a constitution affirming the secular nature of the state.

With government leaders, he said, “we talked about violence and how it is precisely forgetting about God, not His glorification, that generates violence.

“That is why I insisted on the importance of Christians and Muslims working together for solidarity, peace and justice, underlining how every nation must guarantee citizens and religious communities real freedom of worship,” he said.

Unity among Christians and unity within the Catholic Church both depend on the Holy Spirit who does everything, he said. “It is up to us to let Him work, embrace Him and follow His inspiration.”

Pope Francis said it was “particularly significant” that after praying together at a liturgy for the feast of St. Andrew, he and Patriarch Bartholomew signed a joint declaration to continue working toward full communion between Catholics and Orthodox.

The feast day was an ideal occasion to “strengthen the fraternal ties between the bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter” and the patriarch, whose church was founded upon the tradition of the apostle Andrew, Peter’s brother.

The pope also told people at the audience that “it was very important for me to meet refugees from war zones in the Middle East,” adding that the encounter was “beautiful and also heartbreaking.”

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St. Patrick Cathedral has its own statue of the Holy Infant of Prague.

Catholic News Herald photo

Pray the Holy Infant of Prague nine-day novena CHARLOTTE — The Catholic News Herald invites you to pray the nine-day Holy Infant of Prague novena with us this Advent as we prepare for Christmas. This novena is rich in Church history and is prayed for nine consecutive days starting on Dec. 16 and ending on the vigil of the Feast of the Nativity, Dec. 24.

With this novena, the faithful implore the Holy Infant of Prague for His intercession in temporal and spiritual needs. When former Pope Benedict XVI visited the Prague church where the Infant Jesus is kept, he said he thought the image demonstrated God’s closeness and love through His child-like tenderness. He specifically prayed for children who are victims of violence and different forms of abuse, and he also prayed for broken and unfaithful families.

Devotion to the Holy Infant of Prague began in the 16th century. In April 1639, the Swedish army began a siege of the city of Prague. The frightened citizens hurried to the shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague as services were held day and night at the Church of Our Lady of Victories. When the army decided instead to retreat, the

Go online At www.facebook.com/ CatholicNewsHerald: Each day from Dec. 16 to 24, the daily prayers for the Infant of Prague novena will be posted for you to pray along with us At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Learn more about the history of the devotion to the Infant of Prague

Discalced Carmelite monks who took care of the statue and the grateful residents ascribed their rescue to the miraculous Holy Infant.

The statue has also merited papal recognition through Pope Leo XIII, who instituted the “Sodality to the Infant Prague of Jesus” in 1896. On March 30, 1913, Pope St. Pius X further organized the “Confraternity of the Infant Jesus of Prague.”

— Catholic News Herald Sources: www.pragjesu.cz/en, Wikipedia

he one indispensable ingredient in marriage is communication.

Communication requires active listening, using “I” statements, paying attention to one’s feelings and to those of one’s spouse, and learning how to “fight fair.” Put another way, Pope Francis has stated that communication in marriage means saying three things: “Please, Sorry, Thank You.” Conscience guides a person’s behavior, makes up their personal code of conduct and directs their relationships.

An interesting list of positive marital behaviors that I once read included: (a) keeping your partner as your first priority; (b) always telling the truth; (c) admitting when you are wrong and respectfully expressing your emotions.

Two additional critical ingredients in marriage are commitment and common values.

Commitment bonds a couple together when they are tired or annoyed, or angry.

The heart of commitment is an abiding spirit of belonging to each other. Strong commitment can carry a couple through challenging times. Maintenance of a relationship is dependent on one’s level of commitment. Unconditional marital commitment is required to gain the security of knowing that you belong to your partner – each of you sharing in this lifelong permanent covenant with the other.

Common values are important in MARRIAGE, SEE page 15

More online At www.foryourmarriage.org: Get resources and tips on improving communication and commitment in your marriage, must-have conversations engaged couples should have with each other, and lots more tips and advice for couples of all ages

Your daily Scripture readings DEC. 7-13

Sunday: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11, 2 Peter 3:814, Mark 1:1-8; Monday (The Immaculate Conception): Genesis 3:9-15, 20, Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12, Luke 1:26-38; Tuesday (St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin): Isaiah 40:1-11, Matthew 18:12-14; Wednesday: Isaiah 40:25-31, Matthew 11:28-30; Thursday (Pope St. Damasus I): Isaiah 41:13-20, Matthew 11:11-15; Friday (Our Lady of Guadalupe): Zechariah 2:14-17, Judith 13:18-19, Luke 1:26-38; Saturday (St. Lucy): Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11, Matthew 17:9-13

DEC. 14-20

Sunday: Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11, Luke 1:46-50, 5354, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, John 1:6-8, 19-28; Monday: Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17, Matthew 21:2327; Tuesday: Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13, Matthew 21:28-32; Wednesday: Genesis 49:2, 8-10, Matthew 1:1-17; Thursday: Jeremiah 23:5-8, Matthew 1:18-25; Friday: Judges 13:2-7, 24-25, Luke 1:5-25; Saturday: Isaiah 7:10-14, Luke 1:26-38

DEC. 21-27

Sunday: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16, Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1:26-38; Monday: 1 Samuel 1:2428, 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-8, Luke 1:46-56; Tuesday (St. John of Kanty): Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24, Luke 1:57-66; Wednesday: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16, Luke 1:67-79; Thursday (The Nativity of the Lord): Isaiah 9:1-6, Titus 2:11-14, Luke 2:1-14; Friday (St. Stephen): Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59, Matthew 10:17-22; Saturday (St. John): 1 John 1:1-4, John 20:1-8

Our parishes

December 5, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Father Shaw installed as pastor of Bryson City, Cherokee parishes Della Sue Bryson Correspondent

BRYSON CITY — Father Peter Shaw was installed as pastor of St. Joseph Church in Bryson City and Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Cherokee during a special Mass Nov. 18 celebrated by Bishop Peter J. Jugis.

Bishop Jugis also conferred the sacrament of confirmation on two youths of the parish community during the Mass.

Ordained in 2012, Father Shaw comes to Bryson City and Cherokee from Charlotte, where he had been serving as parochial vicar of St. Vincent de Paul Church. In the installation ceremony during the Mass, Father Shaw took an oath of fidelity to the Church and to the bishop, and he publicly signed documents officially taking over as pastor of the parish.

Gwen Parris, a parishioner of St. Joseph Church, served as witness.

Father George Byers, parochial administrator of Holy Redeemer Church in Andrews, concelebrated the Mass. Father Shaw’s father, Deacon William Shaw, assisted at Mass and read the bishop’s letter of appointment, and his nephew was an altar server.

Bishop Jugis used his homily to talk about the sacrament of confirmation, emphasizing that this sacrament of initiation seals the graces received in baptism.

“Confirmation is the strengthening of one’s relationship with God the Father

as a child of God,” he said. “God is love, pure love, immense love, complete and everlasting love. That relationship is sealed and made more firmly rooted in God’s love at confirmation.”

To the two youths being confirmed, Michelle Posey and Dustin Fortner, Bishop Jugis said, “Through baptism you become united to Christ and members of His corporate body, the Church. Jesus lives in you! The relationship with the Son of God is firmly rooted in your soul. That union with Jesus is sealed and strengthened at confirmation.”

He also told them, “The Holy Spirit is working within you, changing you and making you become more like Jesus. The light and life of Jesus shine brightly within you.”

Confirmation gives us the strength and the grace to share that light with others in our lives, he said, so that we can be true witnesses of the Gospel.

At the end of Mass, Father Shaw thanked Bishop Jugis and his parishioners for the warm welcome he has received in Bryson City and Cherokee following his appointment there Sept. 17. He also thanked the parents and catechists who prepared the students for confirmation.

He said it was an honor and a privilege to serve the people of the Diocese of Charlotte, and he humbly told parishioners, “I will first love you, the best that I am able. I will give you the truth from the depths of my heart, and I will be here to help you in any way that I can.”

Father Shaw signs the official documents for his appointment and reads the profession of faith during his installation as pastor Nov. 18 at St. Joseph Church in Bryson City.

Two youths, Michelle Posey and Dustin Fortner, received the sacrament of confirmation Nov. 18 during the special Mass.

Photos by Della Sue Bryson | Catholic News Herald

New North Carolina abortion clinic rules released DHHS calls for annual inspections, but rolls back rules on post-op care Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

CHARLOTTE — Proposed rules for North Carolina’s 15 abortion clinics were announced Dec. 1, more than a year after state legislators called for tighter regulations in the wake of problems at several abortion clinics. Staff at the Department of Health and Human Services, with help from a group of outside stakeholders, were directed to draft rules similar to those for outpatient surgery centers – the first regulatory overhaul for abortion clinics since 1994.

A public hearing on the new rules will be held Friday, Dec. 19, in Raleigh.

The proposed rules increase oversight of clinics by mandating annual inspections and requiring clinics to set up their own “quality assurance” committees to oversee compliance with state rules.

State regulators have been inspecting clinics as they “may deem necessary,” which has generally meant every five to seven years. State regulators have shut down three clinics only four times, and then only temporarily, over the past 20 years.

The proposed rules also more clearly define day-to-day clinic administration and mandate more detailed record-keeping requirements, particularly with personnel files and equipment – mirroring similar rules for outpatient surgery centers. They also require clinics to have a written emergency transport agreement with a hospital, or at least, evidence that they tried to set one up, and they have to put up curtains in their post-operative recovery rooms to give post-abortive women more privacy.

But under the new rules, which are set to go into effect April 1, 2015, three significant rules governing post-operative care have been removed.

Women are no longer required to stay at the abortion clinic at least one hour after their abortions to make sure no complications arise, like uncontrolled bleeding. Women just have to be able to walk and they have to have a stable pulse, and whatever bleeding and pain they do experience just has to be “controlled.”

Second, the abortion doctor or a nurse is no longer required to accompany a woman in the ambulance to the emergency room following a botched abortion.

Third, abortion doctors are no longer required to do a detailed examination of the aborted fetus’ remains, to make sure all “products of conception” have been removed from the woman’s uterus.

Incomplete abortions can cause septic shock, leading to death in rare cases.

There are no penalties for violations.

There are also no changes to regulations over the facilities themselves, such as the width of hallways and doorways to accommodate wheelchairs, which outpatient surgery centers and other medical facilities must follow. The rules also make no changes to housekeeping or sanitation rules, which were among the violations that prompted state regulators to temporarily shut down three abortion clinics in 2013.

DHHS agency heads responsible for the drafting or enforcement of the new abortion clinic rules, including Drexdal Pratt, director of DHHS’ Division of Health Service Regulation; Chris Taylor, assistant secretary of the N.C. Medical Care Commission; and Azzie Conley, chief of DHSR’s Acute and Home Care Licensure and Certification Section, did not respond to the Catholic News Herald’s requests for comment.

CLINIC, SEE page 20

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Annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection set for Dec. 13-14 CHARLOTTE — For the women and men religious who have given their lives serving the Church, the annual national collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious has a serious impact on their lives. According to the Chancery, more than 178 women and men religious living in the Diocese of Charlotte rely on this collection to help fund their care in retirement.

This year, the 27th national collection will be held Dec. 13-14 in the diocese. The annual parish-based appeal is coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office in Washington, D.C., and benefits more than 35,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests in the U.S. who are past the age of 70.

Last year, the diocese contributed $282,891.15 to this collection. Women and men religious who serve or have served in the diocese but whose communities are based elsewhere may benefit from the Retirement Fund for Religious.

The 2013 appeal raised nearly $28.4 million, enabling the NRRO to distribute $23 million in financial assistance to 424 religious communities.

Additional funding is allocated for communities with the greatest needs and for retirement planning and educational resources.

The NRRO also offers numerous assistance services that include workshops, fiscal and demographic analyses, and the coordination of volunteer consultants who are experts in elder care, financial planning and community leadership.

The NRRO is sponsored by the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Since the first appeal for the Retirement Fund for Religious was conducted, more than $660 million in financial support has been distributed to religious communities in the U.S. For more information about the Retirement Fund for Religious, go to www. retiredreligious.org.

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 5, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Diocesan calendar of events BELMONT Sisters of Mercy Cardinal Gibbons Chapel, 101 Mercy Dr.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events over the coming weeks:

— Feast for Our Lady of Guadalupe: 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6. Food, Folklore dances and much more will be available. For details, call Alba at 704-671-8929.

Dec. 9 - 1 p.m.

Advent Dinner for Priests Bishop’s Residence

— Ministry of Mothers Sharing: 9-11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9. This group will be a time for fellowship and study for spiritual growth. For details, email Marianne at marianne@gcube.com.

Dec. 11 – 7 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Mark Church, Huntersville Dec. 15 – 5 p.m.

Advent Gathering for Diocesan Employees Bishop’s Residence Dec. 16 – 6 p.m.

Deacon Recommitment and Advent Reception for Deacons and their Wives St. Patrick Cathedral Dec. 18 - 10 a.m.

Blessing of Catholic Conference Center, Hickory

Dec. 25 – MIDNIGHT Mass for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord St. Patrick Cathedral Dec. 25 – 11 a.m.

Mass for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord St. Patrick Cathedral Jan. 3-10, 2015 Annual Retreat for Bishops

QUEEN OF THE APOSTLES Church, 503 North Main St. — Breakfast with Santa: 8-11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, in the MAK Family Life Center.

Dec. 6 – 5:30 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Mary Church, Shelby

Dec. 22 Advent Dinner with Seminarians

— “A Christmas Cantata”: 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7.

Presented by the music ministries of Queen of the Apostles and Holy Comforter Lutheran churches. A reception will follow in the MAK Family Life Center at Queen of the Apostles Church.

— Young at Heart Covered Dish Supper: Saturday, Dec. 13, following 5 p.m. Mass

CHARLOTTE ST. ANN CHURCH, 3635 Park Road — Celebration for the Feast of St. Nicholas: 10 a.m.

Saturday, Dec. 6, in the Parish Center. Everyone welcome.

— Missa Cantata for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception: 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 ST. John Neumann Church, 8451 IDLEWILD ROAD. — Christmas Caroling: 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, in the Parish Hall. Cookies and hot cocoa will be served in the Parish Hall afterwards.

— Film series, “The Popes of Vatican II: John Paul I The Smile of God”: 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, in the Parish Hall. Presented by Father Patrick Hoare. All are encouraged to attend. Please bring a side dish to share. For details, visit www.4sjnc.org.

ST. PETER Church, 507 South Tryon St. — Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception: 12:10 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 ST. MATTHEW CHURCH, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy.

— Ninth Annual Santa’s Craft Shop: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 6, in the Family Parish Center.

— Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception: 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 12:10 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 — Special Children’s Program reenactment of the Nativity through a Cantata: 3:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 8 — Called to be Mom: 10 a.m.-noon. Thursday, Dec. 18. Called to be Mom supports the vocation of motherhood by strengthening faith through various Scripture readings. All mothers welcome.

December 5, 2014 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

Advent Services n CHARLOTTE ST. PETER Church, 507 South Tryon St. — Ignatian Advent Retreat “Finding Peace in a Troubled World”: 9 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Dec. 6, in Benedict Hall — Advent Penance Service: 7 p.m. Dec. 16 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS Church, 1400 Suther Rd. — Advent reflection “On the Nativity of Christ” by Deacon Kevin Bezner: 7 p.m.

Dec. 16 — Advent Penance Service: 7 p.m. Dec. 18

n GASTONIA St. Michael the Archangel Church, 708 St. Michael’s Lane

— CCWG Advent Retreat: 8 a.m.noon Saturday, Dec. 13. Father Matthew Buettner will direct the retreat. RSVP at charlottecatholicwomensgroup.org.

n GREENSBORO St. Pius X Church, 2210 N. Elm St. — Greensboro Youth Chorus presents, “Advent Hymn and Christmas Carol Sing”: 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7

n HICKORY St. Aloysius Church, 921 Second St. N.E. — Advent Prayer Service: 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 17

(This list is as of press time Dec. 3. Please check with your local parish to confirm dates and times.)

— St. Peregrine Healing Prayer Service: 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 18. The healing prayer is offered for all those suffering with cancer and grave diseases.

— Polish Mass: 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21. For details, call Elizabeth Spytkowski at 704-948-1678 ST. Thomas aquinas church, 1400 suther road — Rorate Mass in the Extraordinary Form: 6 a.m.

Saturday, Dec. 6. A pre-dawn, candlelit Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

— “Carols & Cocoa” with the Madrigal Singers: 3 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 14

HIGH POINT Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 4145 Johnson St. — Pro-Life Rosary for the Feast of St. Nicholas: 11 a.m.

Saturday, Dec. 6, at 819 North Main St. and Sunset Drive, to pray for the end of abortion. For details, call Jim Hoyng at 336-882-9593 or Paul Klosterman at 336-848-6835.

CLEMMONS

HUNTERSVILLE

HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, 4820 Kinnamon Road — Natural Family Planning Introduction and Full Course: 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13. Topics include: Effectiveness of modern NFP, health risks of popular contraceptives and what the Church teaches about responsible parenting. Sponsored by Catholic Charities. RSVP to Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at 704370-3230.

ST. MARK CHURCH, 14740 Stumptown Road — Special music program, “The 3 1/2 Stories of Christmas” with Frank Runyeon: 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, in the Parish Hall. Tree lighting and refreshments after the performance. For tickets, visit www. stmarknc.org.

GASTONIA St. Michael the Archangel Church, 708 St. Michael’s Lane — “Fiesta de Nuestra Virgen de Guadalupe: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.”: 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12

GREENSBORO ST. Mary Church, 812 Duke St. — Mañanitas for Our Lady of Guadalupe: 11 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 11 — Traditional Dances and Reenactments of the Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe: 5:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 12. Mass following the program.

St. Pius X Church, 2210 N. Elm St. — Knights of Columbus Blood Drive: 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 5, in the Kloster Center.

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— Community Blood Drive: 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, in the Parish Center

LEXINGTON Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 619 South Main St. — Las Mañanitas para Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe: Medianoche, Jueves, 11 de Diciembre — Las Posadas: 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15 to Dec. 23 — Solemn Liturgy for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12

MOORESVILLE ST. THERESE CHURCH, 217 BRAWLEY SCHOOL ROAD — Immaculate Conception Feast Day Masses: 9 a.m., noon and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 — Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass and Celebration: 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, followed by a procession and reception.

contact Advertising Manager Kevin Eagan at 704-370-3332 or keeagan@charlottediocese.org. The Catholic News Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason, and does not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers.

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December 5, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration coming to Bojangles’ Coliseum CHARLOTTE — Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Charlotte will celebrate its patronal feast day, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with a big bash at Bojangles’ Coliseum on Wednesday, Dec. 11, the eve of the feast day.

Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the celebration will start with recitation of the Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Activities will include different Mexican folk dances, singing by Our Lady of Guadalupe’s parish choir, and a Latin-American flag parade.

Father Vincent Finnerty, CM, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, will celebrate Mass.

The celebration will culminate with Our Lady of Guadalupe’s parish choir serenading Our Lady accompanied by Mariachis playing “Las Mañanitas,” a traditional Mexican birthday serenade.

Bojangles’ Coliseum is located

at 2700 East Independence Blvd. in Charlotte. All are welcome.

— Rico De Silva, Hispanic Communications reporter

OUR PARISHESI

Pray for the sanctity of life Dec. 8 Participate in National Night of Prayer for Life, Liberty CHARLOTTE — Parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte and around the country will hold prayer vigils during the annual National Night of Prayer for Life, uniting the Feast of the Immaculate Conception Dec. 8 with the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego on Dec. 9.

The National Night of Prayer for Life traditionally bridges the two feasts, running from 9 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, until 1 a.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 9. Participants pray for the sanctity of all human life, for the end of abortion and in reparation for sins against the Gospel of Life.

The annual event is organized by the National Night of Prayer for Life campaign, which began 25 years ago as a grassroots effort in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y. It has spread to hundreds of parishes across the U.S., where Catholics join in a prolife prayer service consisting of exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, benediction, the rosary, silent prayer and hymns.

Catholics across the U.S. are encouraged to

participate, especially during the “Hour of Unity” from midnight to 1 a.m. The prayer intention during this Holy Hour is to end abortion and to restore God’s blessings of life and religious liberty in America.

The following parishes in the Charlotte diocese have signed up to participate in the National Night of Prayer for Life, as of press time Dec. 3: n St. Joseph Church, Newton n St. Gabriel Church, Charlotte n St. John Neumann Church, Charlotte (Holy Hour following the 7 p.m. Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception Dec. 8) n St. John the Baptist Church, Tryon n St. Leo the Great Church, Winston-Salem n Our Lady of the Highways Church, Thomasville Note: Please check with your parish’s office to confirm times and other details.

For more details about the 25th annual National Night of Prayer for Life, go to www. nationalnightofprayerforlife.org.

— Catholic News Herald

CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grants distributed; new round of grants announced Joseph Purello Special to the Catholic News Herald

CHARLOTTE — Eleven grants funded by the popular Lenten Rice Bowl Collection were recently awarded in the Diocese of Charlotte.

The Rice Bowl campaign is part of Catholic Relief Services, the official international relief and development agency of the U.S. bishops and Catholic community, as well as in the Diocese of Charlotte, part of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s Office of Social Concerns and Advocacy Almost 70 parishes and schools participate in this annual Lenten program promoting the practices of prayer, fasting and giving, while raising awareness of the lives of our brothers and sisters across the globe. The bulk of the collection combines with those of other archdioceses and dioceses to support CRS’s overseas development and relief projects, but the collection also funds a mini-grants program supporting local hunger and poverty relief projects within the Charlotte diocese. This grant program gives grants, sponsored by Catholic entities, for up to $1,000 for such good works as food pantries, Christmas outreach, meals for the homeless, and winter energy assistance.

Through the CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grant Program, projects across the diocese are making a positive difference in the lives of people struggling to make ends meet in their local communities.

In mid-November, 11 $1,000 Rice Bowl MiniGrants were awarded across the Charlotte diocese – from Murphy and Andrews in the far west, to Albemarle and Greensboro in the eastern region of the diocese. A CRS Advisory Committee, chaired by Deacon Edward Konarski from St. Charles Borromeo Church in Morganton, assists in the grant selection process.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Charlotte received a $1,000 Rice Bowl grant to assist its Casa Marillac Health Program, which provides basic medical care, nutrition classes, and screenings to detect high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and diabetes. The emphasis of

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this program is the importance of preventative measures to better the health of the community.

Shortly after receiving word of the grant award, Vincentian Father Vincent Finnerty, pastor, sent a quick note of thanks via email to Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte: “Thanks so much.

You do not know how much this helps us out.”

Ann Cole, a parish volunteer with the Joe El-Khouri Mercy Outreach program sponsored

by Holy Redeemer Church in Andrews, also sent a note of thanks to Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte upon receipt of the news of her parish’s $1,000 grant award that will be used to buy boxes of food distributed by the parish to those in need.

“More and more of these ‘emergency’ church boxes are needed,” Cole said, adding “This (grant) is a God-send.”

St. William Church in Murphy and Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont will use their $1,000 grants to support “weekend backpack programs.” These programs provide a nutritional assortment of foods for children to take home with them on weekends, when children from families facing economic hardship do not have access to school meal programs.

Julie Russo, the coordinator of Queen of the Apostles’ program, reported that the principal of the local school, which regularly receives these “backpacks” to distribute, has remarked that the children benefitting from this ministry are doing better in school as a result.

Whether CRS Rice Bowl funds are used in the global fight against disease, poverty, hunger, drought and disasters, or to benefit people in need in nearby communities, perhaps the overall impact of Rice Bowl is best summed up in the simple and direct words on the collection boxes: “For Lent, For Life – What you give up for Lent changes lives.”

For more information about Catholic Relief Services, go to www.crs.org or www.crsespanol. org.

Joseph Purello is the director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s Office of Social Concerns and Advocacy, and the CRS diocesan director.

Call for Rice Bowl grant applications Does your parish help run a food pantry, operate a thrift store, or sponsor an emergency services program? If so, consider applying for a CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grant for up to $1,000 in grant funds. Grants will be accepted through the postmark deadline of March 15, 2015, in a special round of grants with more than $9,000 available for distribution.

Information about this upcoming round of grants (including application, guidelines and eligibility) is available at www.ccdoc.org/cchdcrs. Only one grant can be submitted per Catholic entity and grant applications must be reviewed and signed by the pastor of the parish, principal of the school, or director of the diocesan office applying for the grant. Parishes and Catholic entities in the diocese which received a Rice Bowl grant in the most recent fall 2014 round are not eligible to apply in this special round of grants, but are eligible to apply in next year’s fall 2015 round of grants.

Get ready for CRS Rice Bowl 2015, Rice Bowl’s 40th anniversary!

Next year’s CRS Rice Bowl begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18. Parishes and schools which participated in the 2014 CRS Rice Bowl will receive the same number of materials for the 2015 CRS Rice Bowl with no need to place an order. (Expect shipments to arrive by mid-January.) Parishes and schools that wish to participate for the first time, or participating parishes and schools which need additional materials or wish to confirm their expected shipment, should call toll-free 1-800-222-0025.

All CRS Rice Bowl materials are free and shipped at no cost to the recipient. Materials are available in both English and Spanish. Orders for first-time or additional CRS Rice Bowl materials that are requested by Jan. 31, 2015, should arrive in parishes and schools in time for distribution prior to the start of CRS Rice Bowl on Ash Wednesday.

Find Rice Bowl resources at www.crsricebowl.org. Questions? Call 704-3703225 or send an e-mail to jtpurello@charlottediocese.org.

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 5, 2014 OUR PARISHES

Artful expressions Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte resettles between 300 and 350 refugees annually.

Since 1975, the agency has resettled approximately 12,000 refugees representing 27 nationalities. The Parishes Organized to Welcome Refugees (POWR) grant program encourages refugee resettlement agencies to engage local parish members in the work of welcoming refugees.

Children living in refugee camps and war-torn countries have limited access to education. Refugees arrive in the country often years behind the educational standards considered average. It is important to supplement their education to ensure success, both in the classroom and in adapting to their new home. Refugee children receive homework assistance, enrichment and mentoring in Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s afterschool Refugee Youth Program. Begun in 2006, the program is available to refugee children who attend public school from ages 6 to 18.

As a way to help the local community get to know these new refugees, the summer campers in the Refugee Summer Camp program participated in an art project to express their stories with words and pictures.

The project was documented by Cory Schattenfield, a 10th-grade student at Myers Park High School who has been volunteering with the refugee youth at the Studio 2 location in East Charlotte for about two years. Cory became involved in the program because his older brother Scottie is also a volunteer there. Cory is interested in getting the word out about the great work Catholic Charities does by publicizing the stories of the refugee community youth through art.

For more information about the refugee resettlement services provided by Catholic Charities or to volunteer, go online to www.ccdoc.org.

The writing above her picture reads, “Reading is fun at afterschool.”

Ramesh is from Nepal and has been in the U.S. for less than a year. He likes his new life here and drew a colorful picture which includes U.S. and Nepali flags. His art reflects that he wants to learn English, get a good

Jeena is from Nepal. She is very proud to be an eighth-grade student at Eastway Middle School. She drew a picture of herself with her parents in Nepal. Jeena also drew pictures of her Nepali home and flag to represent her past and included the U.S. flag to represent her future.

Krishbina is from Nepal and is without a doubt a bright sunny person, hence the many vibrant colors in her artwork reflecting her life in Nepal.

job and help people.

Timothy’s family has Karenni ethnic Burmese heritage. They came to the U.S. by way of Thailand. He has drawn a creative U.S. flag with the blue and white words “fifty stars” in the corner, which represents Timothy’s quiet humor well.

He hopes to either be a professional soccer player or go into the military.

Arjan is from Nepal and is in kindergarten at Merry Oaks Elementary School. He remembers his house and the many Nepali birds. He drew a picture of his family members who now live in Charlotte with him.

Fardowsa came to the U.S. from Somalia with her mother. She likes her new friends and her American school. Fardowsa always seems to be smiling, and in describing her hopes and dreams for her future the text above her artwork reads, “I want to be happy.”

Help additional refugees The Diocese of Charlotte welcomes refugee families from all over the world as part of its Refugee Resettlement ministry.

These people flee because of violence, political unrest and a “well-founded” fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political beliefs or membership in a particular social group. They are given sanctuary in dioceses including Charlotte as part of a collaboration between the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. State Department.

The Refugee Resettlement Office receives between 300-350

refugees in Charlotte annually. Since its inception in 1975, the office has resettled more than 12,000 refugees representing 27 nationalities.

The Refugee Resettlement Office provides a wide array of services to refugees including assistance with housing, social services, health care referrals, school registration, community and cultural orientation, and budgeting and financial education.

The office also provides employment assistance, referral for English language classes, interpretation services and transportation to initial appointments. In addition, the Refugee Resettlement Office began a youth program in 2006 for refugee children who attend public school. The primary goal

of the resettlement process is to help refugees work toward self-sufficiency and as contributing members of society and, eventually, attain their citizenship.

Monetary donations can be made securely online at www. ccdoc.org, or mailed to Catholic Charities Refugee Office, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, N.C. 28203. Donations of furniture and basic household items are also welcome. (Furniture pick-up is available in the Charlotte area.) Apartment sponsorships, vehicle donations and planned giving opportunities are additional ways you can help.

To learn more, go online to www.ccdoc.org or call volunteer coordinator Sandy Buck at 704-370-3283.

December 5, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com Bishop John Bura, Father Mark is pastor of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Mission in Cary and St. Basil the Great Ukrainian Catholic Mission in Charlotte.

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

— Deacon Kevin Bezner

In Brief

Polish Mass to be offered

IC parishioners collect 154 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes

Helping, praying for children in need DENVER — Holy Spirit Church’s youth ministry teamed up with the faith formation program families to pack around 100 giftfilled shoeboxes for children in need around the world, through the Operation Christmas Child campaign. Each faith formation class was asked to donate certain items, such as toys, toothbrushes, school supplies and more.

The teens of the youth ministry helped the faith formation children pack boxes and write personal letters to include with the gifts. They especially took time to pray for the child who will receive each box. The youth group will travel to Charlotte later this month to work at Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child shoebox processing center.

— Doreen Sugierski

HENDERSONVILLE — Parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville also recently collected 154 boxes for Operation Christmas Child, to aid children in need throughout the world. Pictured are Fred and Rose Huscher turning in their shoebox gift to Christine Chromarty for the Operation Christmas Child project.

Eastern Catholic liturgies planned in Canton CANTON — Father Mark Shuey, an Eastern Catholic priest from Cary, will celebrate Byzantine rite Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton on Saturday, Dec. 20. Vespers will begin at 4 p.m. and Divine Liturgy (Mass) at 5 p.m. Services will be celebrated in English.

Participating in Divine Liturgy fulfills the Sunday obligation for Catholics of any rite.

Immaculate Conception Mission is located at 42 Newfound St., Canton.

A priest of the Ukrainian Catholic eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma, Ohio, serving under

CHARLOTTE — A Polish Mass will be celebrated at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21, at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte. The sacrament of penance will be available beforehand starting at 2 p.m. For details, contact Elizabeth Spytkowski at 704-948-1678 or espytkowski@gmail.com.

OUR PARISHESI

9, at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6828 Old Reid Road in Charlotte. Father Wilde will be the guest homilist.

Father Wilde will also lead a prayer vigil outside A Preferred Women’s Health Center abortion mill, 3220 Latrobe Dr. in Charlotte, following the 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Church. All are also welcome to attend.

For details, go to www.marchforlifecharlotte.org.

Women’s Advent retreat coming CHARLOTTE — All Charlotte-area women are invited to a special Advent Retreat hosted by the Charlotte Catholic Women’s Group and held at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Gastonia on Saturday. Dec. 13. The retreat will be held from 8 a.m. to noon and will include morning prayer, Mass, a Holy Hour and benediction, as well as a talk by Father Matthew Buettner, pastor of St. Michael Church. The sacrament of penance will also be offered.

RSVP at www.charlottecatholicwomensgroup.org.

Charlotte ‘March for Life’ to be held Jan. 9 CHARLOTTE — The ninth annual March for Life Charlotte will take place starting at 11 a.m.

Friday, Jan. 9, and will feature guest preacher Father Denis Wilde, associate director of Priests for Life. Everyone is invited to join in this peaceful march to witness for the sanctity of all life. The march will start outside the Diocese of Charlotte Pastoral Center at 1123 S. Church St. and continue through uptown Charlotte to the federal courthouse at 401 W. Trade St. A Mass for the Unborn will be celebrated before the march, starting at 9 a.m. Friday, Jan.

Veterans Day outreach helps local vets in need CHARLOTTE — Nearly 60 bags full of toiletries, clothing, snacks, calendars and more were recently collected at St. Thomas Aquinas Church during an annual Veteran’s Day outreach program led by Columbiettes Auxiliary 10505.

On Veteran’s Day these supplies were then distributed to veterans at the VA hospital in Salisbury to support their current needs and to thank the veterans for their dedication to our country. The successful effort was aided by parishioners, the parish youth group, the Squirettes and the Prayer Shawl Ministry of St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

Sisters Elizabeth Mary (left), 79, Carolyn (center), 99, and Bridget, 96, have together devoted more than 200 years to religious life. They and some 35,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests benefit from the Retirement Fund for Religious. Your gift helps furnish medications, nursing care, and more.

Please give to those who have given a lifetime.

Retirement Fund for Religious www.retiredreligious.org Over 93 percent of donations aid senior religious.

Photo (left to right): Sister Elizabeth Mary Knight, ASCJ; Sister Carolyn Capobianco, ASCJ; Sister Bridget Esposito, ASCJ.

7

To donate:

National Religious Retirement Office/CHA 3211 Fourth Street NE Washington DC 20017-1194 Make check payable to Retirement Fund for Religious.

Or give at your local parish December 13–14.

— Ulla Hinchey

8

catholicnewsherald.com | December 5, 2014 OUR PARISHES

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

Charlotte, Luis Ardila and John Barja Sr., are on display at the Mint Hill Town Hall until the end of the year.

Ardila received a Master of Fine Arts from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogota, Colombia. His preferred medium is oil and he has exhibited his art throughout Europe and the Americas, receiving numerous awards for his work over the years. He has also had an extensive career in teaching art. He has been influenced by 20th Century expressionism as well as the school of illuminators and sculptors of the Middle Ages, and a recurring theme in his art is symbolism. Since ancient times, symbolism has existed as a form of communicating the complex imagery of thoughts and ideas. As an artist, Ardila uses symbolism in his painting to seek spiritual maturation or rebirth through his art. He believes the symbols themselves are the key to enlightenment.

Barja has been a Mint Hill businessman for more than 30 years. He began his experience as a practicing artist during his high school years, where he won third place in the Florida state fair. While in college, he learned to work in a number of media including pen and ink, charcoal, ceramics, papier-mâché and painting.

He has been a member of Mint Hill Arts for the past four years, where he is known for painting unusual, often humorous, subject matter on vintage suitcases and furniture, as well as canvas paintings and wall murals.

Barja spent this year focusing on the 100th anniversary of World War I. He is displaying for the first time his collection of paintings based on the poetry of Wilfred Owen, a renowned British poet who lost his life just days before the end of “The Great War.” His paintings are moving portrayals of the horrors of war and demonstrate the powerful message art can convey. He hopes his works will provide inspiration to those interested in the arts.

— Shea Barja

In Brief

Two SJN artists display work at Mint Hill Town Hall CHARLOTTE — The artwork of two parishioners from St. John Neumann Church in

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December 5, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com

Celebración de la Parroquia de Nuestra Cesar Hurtado Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte Mi experiencia Emaús

S

entado en una banca de la Iglesia San Gabriel, escuchaba la invitación que uno de los miembros del Grupo Emaús de Hombres realizaba, desde el púlpito, durante los avisos al final de la Misa dominical.

Mi mente voló dos años atrás y recordé muy claramente cuando mi esposa, sentada a mi lado en la misma banca, me invitaba a acudir a este Encuentro. Confundido y, debo confesarlo, espantado con la idea, preguntaba a los miembros de esta extraña cofradía, todos con camisetas blancas y una rosa dibujada en el pecho, de que se trataba ese retiro. “Es una experiencia que debes vivirla. No te podemos decir mucho. Solo que la vas a pasar muy bien,” me dijeron.

No me fascinaba la idea de juntarme con un grupo de hombres todo el fin de semana para rezar, decía yo “como una vieja cucufata.” Así que pretextando trabajo me pude escapar de ese trance.

Al año siguiente, cuando nuevamente se anunció otro Encuentro para Hombres, mi esposa me comunicó que ya había arreglado todo. “No hay trabajo, ese fin de semana no haremos nada juntos, las hijas tienen otras actividades y, lo mejor de todo, ya te inscribí y pagué.”

Resignado dije a uno de mis amigos, que también corría suerte similar a la mía, que llevaría ‘un traguito’ y él se encargaría de llevar las cartas, así no nos pegaríamos la aburrida del mundo.

Nada de eso pasó. No tuvimos tiempo de abrir el traguito y mucho menos de jugar a las cartas.

Las horas, los días volaron. La pasamos de maravilla y el Domingo, cuando era tiempo de regresar a casa, nadie, les soy sincero, nadie quería dejar el Encuentro.

La pregunta cae por su propio peso. ¿Qué pasa en un Encuentro Emaús que la persona que lo vive queda marcada para toda su vida?

No hay mejor manera de expresarlo que la cita bíblica en la que se basa esta experiencia maravillosa, Lucas 24, 13-35, cuando dos discípulos de Jesús lo encuentran en el camino, conversan con Él y no lo reconocen sino hasta que parte el pan.

Puedo decirte que la experiencia Emaús es una cita con Dios mismo. Es un encuentro en el que Dios se aparece frente a ti, conversa contigo y te entrega su Gracia y perdón. ¿Quieres saber más? Ya sabes que tienes que hacer. No hagas como yo. No desperdicies la primera oportunidad que se te presente.

Apúrate. Arregla tu vida ahora. O por lo menos comienza a arreglarla. ¿Sabes? El camino es duro, difícil. Vas a caer y te vas a levantar, pero ahora con la ayuda de un amigo, Cristo Jesús que levanta tu cruz y te da su apoyo. Y que nunca, pero nunca te dejará solo.

Cesar Hurtado, productor audiovisual graduado en la Universidad de Lima, es miembro de la Iglesia San Gabriel en Charlotte y periodista para HOLA Noticias en Charlotte.

CHARLOTTE — La Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte celebrará la Fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe la noche del 11 de Diciembre en el Bojangles’ Coliseum en la 2700 de Independence Blvd. en Charlotte.

Las puertas se abrirán al público a las 7 p.m., y la celebración comenzará a las 7:30 p.m. con la recitación de la Novena a la Virgen de Guadalupe.

Entre otras actividades habrá bailes folklóricos Jarabe Tapatío, poesía, cantos y un desfile de bandera.

El Padre Vicente Finnerty, CM, Párroco de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, celebrará la Santa Misa durante el evento, y el Grupo de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe le dará serenata a la Virgen al ritmo de Mariachis tocando las Mañanitas.

Todos están bienvenidos a la celebración.

— Rico De Silva, Hispanic communications reporter

Celebraciones en honor a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte y alrededores Iglesia Saint John Neumann 8451 Idlewild Road, Charlotte, NC 28227 704-536-6520 Novena: del 4 al 12 de diciembre en hogares de familias latinas Viernes, 12 de diciembre: rezo del rosario a las 6 p.m., celebración de la Eucaristía a las 7 p.m. seguida de una recepción con comida mexicana y acompañada por Mariachis.

La Catedral de Saint Patrick 1621 Dilworth Road East, Charlotte, NC 28203 704-334-2283 Viernes 12 de diciembre: vigilia de oración a las 7 p.m. seguida de procesión con antorchas y Consagración Mariana Iglesia Saint Vincent De Paul 6828 Old Reid Road, Charlotte, NC 28210 704-554-7088 Viernes 12 de diciembre: rezo del rosario a las 6 p.m. seguido de procesión y celebración de la Eucaristía Iglesia Saint Thomas Aquinas 1400 Suther Road, Charlotte, NC 28213 704-549-1607 Viernes 12 de diciembre: celebración de la Eucaristía seguida de una recepción comunitaria Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Lourdes 725 Deese St., Monroe, NC 28112 704-289-2773 Novena: del 3 al 11 de diciembre a las 7 p.m. en la iglesia Viernes 12 de diciembre: mañanitas acompañada de Mariachis y desayuno mexicano a las 5 a.m. Danzas, serenata con canciones marianas a las 7:00 p.m.

Celebración de la Eucaristía a las 8 p.m.

— Romy Machicao, corresponsal

Foto proporcionada por ERika díaz

(Arriba a la izquierda) El Padre George David Byers de la Parroquia del Santo Redentor en Andrews, Eduardo Bernal, Coordinador del Vicariato Hispano de Smoky Mountain, seguido de nueve de los 13 hispanos que completaron el primer curso de teología ‘on-line’ durante la ceremonia de entrega de sus certificados en Sylva. (Derecha) El Padre Joshua Voitus, Párroco de Santa Maria en Sylva.

Vicariato de Smoky Mountain entrega certificado de formación del Ministerio Laical Hispano Rico De Silva Hispanic Communications Reporter

SYLVA — El 21 de Noviembre, en la Parroquia de Santa María en Sylva, 12 laicos hispanos del Vicariato de Smoky Mountain recibieron su certificado de haber completado el curso de teología para la formación laical titulado “Camino de la Fe.” El curso de formación del Ministerio de Laicos Hispano fue el primero en ofrecerse ‘on-line,’ y se hizo por medio de la Universidad de Notre Dame en Indiana, y en conjunto con el Instituto Pastoral del Sureste (SEPI).

El curso comenzó el pasado Septiembre 1, y tuvo una duración de seis semanas. “Es un curso muy accesible porque cada uno organiza su tiempo. Ellos toman aproximadamente de cuatro a seis horas por semana. Entonces, cada estudiante tiene que ver si en la mañana estudia, o lo hace en la tarde, o dependiendo de la hora que sea más cómoda para cada uno,” dijo Erika Díaz, una de las participantes que recibió su certificado esa noche. Díaz es miembro de la Parroquia de San Francisco de Asís en Franklin, y es también la coordinadora local del programa y punto de contacto con la Universidad de Notre Dame en Indiana.

Los cursos son continuos pero siguen una secuencia específica y requieren que la persona tome los cursos en orden. El próximo curso en ese vicariato empieza el 12 de Enero y será acerca de la oración y espiritualidad. El cupo máximo son de 20 personas por curso y el 12 de Enero también se ofrecerá el primer curso “Camino de la Fe,” otra vez, pero ya los cupos están llenos para esa fecha. “El programa ayuda en tu disciplina, autoestima, inculturizacion, conocimiento de la doctrina de la fe, crea comunidad seria y formada. De los 20 participantes que comenzaron, 13 se graduaron, y 11 seguirán su formación en la próxima clase que comienza en enero del 2015,” dijo Eduardo Bernal, Coordinador del Vicariato Hispano de Smoky Mountain.

“Invito a todos los que están leyendo este artículo a la formación que se ofrece en este programa. Hable con el coordinador de su vicaria para poder comenzar la formación de Camino de Fe,” dijo Bernal Miembros de la Iglesia de Santa Maria en Sylva, de la Parroquia del Santo Redentor en Andrews, de la Iglesia de San Juan Evangelista en Waynesville y de San Francisco de Asís en Franklin recibieron sus certificados esa noche. Presentes durante el evento estuvieron también los Padres Joshua Voitus, Párroco de Santa Maria en Sylva, y el Padre George David Byers de Andrews.

Para mayor información acerca de cómo inscribirse al primer curso que comenzará en Abril del 2015 en el Vicariato de Smoky Mountain contactar a Erika Díaz al 404-293-5908.

Our schools 10

catholicnewsherald.com | December 5, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief CCHS bands to present Christmas concert CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Catholic High School Bands will present “A Christmas Festival” concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte. The program will showcase the symphonic band, percussion ensemble and jazz band. Everyone is invited to celebrate the Christmas season with music by the talented students of Charlotte Catholic in this free public concert.

OLM students collect clothing WINSTON-SALEM — Representatives of Our Lady of Mercy’s middle school Helping Hands of Mercy team show just some of the 115 coats, hats, sweaters and other winter gear they collected over the past month to give to Project HOPE, a program offered by the WSFCS that addresses the needs of homeless children and their families.

— Lara Davenport

‘A Christmas Carol’ performed KERNERSVILLE — The Bishop McGuinness High School Drama Department performed its own version of the successful Broadway musical “A Christmas Carol, The Musical” Nov. 20-23.

The cast consisted of students from Bishop McGuinness, Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Pius X, Our Lady of Grace, Our Lady of Mercy and St. Leo schools.

It was directed by professional actress, director and choreographer Micki Sharpe.

Sharpe, a 30-year veteran of the theater, acts, directs and lives in Philadelphia, and has been coming to the Triad several times a year for the past 17 years to direct the school’s theater productions.

The set and prop designs were done by Andrea Peterson and Shera Hebert with assistance from the student stage crew in construction, lights and sound. Barry Yow, a professional soundman, worked with the stage crew. The school was also able to test a recently installed sound panel acoustic system in the Krispy Kreme Activities Center where the musical was performed.

In addition to public performances, daytime performances were attended by students from Catholic schools throughout the Triad.

— Jeff Stoller

BRIEFS, SEE page 11

Charlotte Catholic High School names Kurt Telford principal CHARLOTTE — Kurt Telford has been named principal of Charlotte Catholic High School, Diocese of Charlotte school leaders announced Nov. 20. Telford had been serving as the interim principal.

“The Catholic Schools office conducted a search for a permanent principal for Charlotte Catholic High School. As part of this process, we assembled a group of individuals to assist with the review process and ultimately make a recommendation to Father (Roger) Arnsparger and the Chancery,” according to a letter from Dr. Telford Janice Ritter, diocesan superintendent of schools. “Their task was to determine the individual most qualified to provide the leadership necessary to meet the current needs of the school community.

“It became quite apparent to the committee that the applicant who had the most experience leading a large school; who had the most impressive

recommendations and reputation; and who had the strongest skill set to bring the position was Mr. Kurt Telford.

Thus, it was unanimous decision of the committee to make the recommendation that Mr. Telford be appointed to the position of permanen t principal of Charlotte Catholic High School. The recommendation was accepted by the Chancery and in turn, Mr. Telford has accepted the position.”

“Mr. Telford is extremely enthusiastic about assuming this position as he realizes the tradition and excellence that is Charlotte Catholic High School,” Ritter’s letter continued. “I am confident that he will provide the leadership to build upon the strong reputation of CCHS. I am equally sure you will provide him with the support he needs to successfully lead this fine school.”

Longtime principal Jerry Healy resigned last May after an independent audit of school finances uncovered unspecified “questionable disbursements.”

Before becoming interim principal at Charlotte Catholic, Telford had served as principal of Our Lady of Grace School in

Greensboro for two years.

Before coming to the diocesan schools system, Telford worked in public schools, including serving as principal at West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, which has about 2,000 students and 110 teachers.

He was named the Winston-Salem-Forsyth County Principal of the Year for 2010-2011.

Before serving as principal of West Forsyth High, Telford served as principal of East Forsyth High School. He was also principal of Northwest Middle School, and he was an adjunct instructor in educational leadership and school finance at Western Carolina University.

He has a Bachelor of Science in education with a concentration in social studies from the University of Connecticut, a Master of Science in Education with a concentration in social studies from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and a certificate in educational administration from North Carolina A&T in Greensboro.

Charlotte Catholic, founded in 1955, is the largest of the three high schools in the diocesan system of 19 schools.

— Catholic News Herald

Holy Trinity Middle School hosts live broadcast of science lesson Kimberly Bender Online reporter

CHARLOTTE — Students across the country recently learned science from sixth-grade students at Holy Trinity Middle School.

Using live streaming video, a lesson on science concepts presented by Discovery Education was broadcast from inside the Charlotte classroom nationwide Nov. 19.

“Wow, that was fun!” one student exclaimed as the hour-long live broadcast ended. Students said they were nervous, anxious and excited to participate in the live classroom lesson.

The lesson taught by Duane Waber, an instructor from Discovery Education, combined dynamic digital resources from the Discovery Education Science Techbook, with engaging hands-on activities exploring renewable and nonrenewable materials that occur naturally in the environment, their impact on humans and the human impact of using these resources.

Students in classrooms in Nashville, Tenn., Los Angeles, Fort Worth, Texas, and more watched the broadcast live. Hundreds more are expected to watch the video later.

The Discovery Education team arrived before the More online broadcast with activities for the At www.blog.discoveryeducation. students to build and com/live: See the full hour-long explain during the lesson and archived sessions on classroom session.

Discovery Education’s website Other students were called on to answer questions, dig through dirt and learn from sorting pasta noodles and fishing for paperclips with magnets.

The goal of the lesson was to inspire students’ curiosity in science through interactive learning experiences and compelling multimedia content. It catered to various grade levels.

“It felt good to know that other people were watching and listening to what I had to say,” said student Ethan Black, who participated in the broadcast. “I wasn’t really nervous.”

Fellow student Ryan Lietz said he loved being in front of the camera.

“It was fun, and I learned something, too. I knew that money

was made from paper, a renewable resource, before this. But I didn’t know it was made of other resources, like fossil fuels to make the ink,” he said.

Claire Nicholls, sixth-grade Earth Science teacher at Holy Trinity Middle School, said it was impressive to see her students participate in the lesson.

“The Discovery Education Techbook is a neat resource for the kids and it’s great to see the students using it to learn,” Nicholls said. “They did a good job.”

Students at Holy Trinity were chosen to participate in the broadcast because they are the largest school in the Diocese of Charlotte using the digital Techbook, an award-winning online digital textbook, said Jonathon Hwong with Discovery Education.

“We wanted to give students at this school and at schools across the country ideas for how to use the book,” Hwong said.

Live broadcasts about science and other subjects are done monthly from different locations across the country, he said.

December 5, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Parking deck, stadium work to begin at CCHS CHARLOTTE — Construction is set to begin later this month on a new parking garage at Charlotte Catholic High School.

Following a competitive bid process, the Diocese of Charlotte selected Choate Construction Co. to build the new parking garage as well as renovate the stadium, Principal Kurt Telford announced in a Dec. 2 letter to students, parents, faculty and staff.

Charlotte Catholic is expanding and upgrading its stadium in response to its classification last year as a 4A school by the N.C. High School Athletic Association, and it is building the 672-space parking garage to address a worsening parking shortage.

Work on the stadium expansion is scheduled to begin Dec. 10, pending final permit review by the City of Charlotte/ Mecklenburg County, Telford said. During the first phase of construction, there will be minimal disruption to student parking.

However, the main parking lot on campus will be closed when construction on the parking deck is scheduled to start Dec. 22 over Christmas break, he said. When students, faculty and staff return to school on Jan. 5, 2015, the main parking lot will still be closed. It will remain closed for the remainder of the 2014-’15 school year.

This will mean even more parking challenges for students later this school year, as construction will displace about 190 current parking spaces.

“We understand that this will present some logistical challenges and appreciate your patience as we work together to help things run as smoothly as possible,” Telford said.

Telford said he expects to announce a remote parking and shuttle transportation plan for students who drive to campus no later than next week.

“Our goal is to provide safe and adequate parking for faculty, staff and all students currently parking on campus throughout the construction process,” he said.

Founded in 1955, Charlotte Catholic is the largest of the three high schools in the diocesan system of 19 schools, with 1,350 students.

Enrollment growth in recent years has brought with it serious parking woes for students. Only juniors and seniors who already have a car are allowed to apply for a parking spot in the parking lot. When no parking is available on campus, students are forced to park elsewhere. About 150 students have to park off campus on

adjoining streets, Telford recently noted.

The new parking deck will alleviate the parking shortage for the student population, as well as for faculty, staff and visitors.

Plans are to build a four-level parking deck with a total of 672 spaces, said Anthony Morlando, director of diocesan properties. For both safety and ease of loading and unloading the parking deck, It is being designed with two independent ramps and two separate entry/exit points.

The parking garage will be built on the site of the existing parking lot adjacent to Charlotte Catholic’s stadium.

The parking garage at Charlotte Catholic will be the first for any diocesan school.

The stadium renovations include expanding seating capacity from approximately 3,100 to 4,000 seats, one of the requirements for 4A schools, as well as improving accessibility and safety.

Upgrades are also planned to the press box, ticketing gates, concessions and restrooms.

The Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools Board recommended approval to use a portion of the MACS capital fee for a period of five years to provide the funding for these projects.

— Catholic News Herald

Parish Education Director – Faith Formation Saint Peter Catholic Church, a dynamic and growing 1,700+ household parish in Charlotte, NC is seeking a Parish Education Director. St Peter is the oldest Catholic parish in Charlotte and has been served by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) since 1986.

The Parish Education Director will be responsible for Faith Education from birth to death. This individual should be a forward-thinking, big picture visionary with hands-on parish education experience. The ideal candidate has experience in education/curriculum development as well as the neighborhood/community-based catechesis model. Strong candidates need to be extremely organized, technologically savvy, have management experience and strong communication skills. This is an evolving role and department so flexibility is needed as well.

The candidate should be a practicing Catholic, familiar with Ignatian spirituality, with a degree in Education/ Theology or Pastoral Ministry. A minimum of 3 years parish education experience is a must.

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SPX students present musical GREENSBORO — The middle school St. Pius X School Players recently performed the Disney musical “Alice in Wonderland, Jr.” under the direction of Amiee Medina. The sell-out performances were action-packed and filled with amazing talent.

— Jean Navarro

855.930.GIVE (4483) www.ccdoc.org/CARS Catholic Charities, formerly known as Catholic Social Services, relies on your direct support to help fund its various ministries.

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 5, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

An abundant harvest Diocese of Charlotte schools collected food throughout November to help the needy in their communities, demonstrating once again their commitment to Christian charity and service to our brothers and sisters.

Here are a few snapshots from their efforts:

St. Leo School

Our Lady of Grace School

St. Ann School

WINSTON-SALEM — Students at St. Leo School in Winston-Salem have been collecting Thanksgiving and Christmas donations for the school’s 2014 Holiday Outreach Program, collecting more than 1,000 items so far.

— Misty Riccoboni

GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace School and Parish donated enough canned food and turkeys to provide 325 dinners to the needy in the Triad. Coordinator Patty Jennings said so much extra food was donated that the parish was able to give 50 bags of food to the food closet at St. Paul the Apostle Church. Pictured are Our Lady of Grace middle school students putting together dinner bags.

— Karen L. Hornfeck

CHARLOTTE — The students at St. Ann School were challenged during the week of Nov. 24-28 to donate 2,000 food items to the Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s food pantry in Charlotte. If the challenge was met, Principal Kathy McKinney and Assistant Principal Lisa Horton would allow the class that brought in the most items to spray their hair a color of their choice.

The students came close to the goal, bringing in 1,880 items. To recognize their hard work and effort, both administrators agreed to allow the first-graders to spray their hair. Students colored McKinney’s hair red, and Horton had rainbow-colored hair last Monday.

— Kathy McKinney

Christ the King High School and St. Mark School HUNTERSVILLE — Christ the King High School and St. Mark School in Huntersville partnered with Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte Nov. 3-14 to donate as many non-perishable food items as possible for the parish’s St. Martin de Porres food pantry ministry. Christ the King students collected more than 2,000 items, doubling their goal of collecting 1,000 or more items. St. Mark students also collected more than 2,000 items, making the schools’ combined donation to the parish’s food pantry more than 4,000 items. These items will directly benefit needy families in the Charlotte area during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

Our Lady of Consolation’s food pantry also received a donation of two van-loads of food collected by students at Charlotte Catholic High School.

— Lauren Bauer, Nicole Seeling and Debbie Butler

Immaculate Heart of Mary School HIGH POINT — Immaculate Heart of Mary School has made a year-long commitment to support the Out of the Garden Project as part of its school-wide outreach program. Students collected food at the school, then middle school students delivered the donations to Out of the Garden Project’s warehouse. The middle school students then volunteered at the warehouse, sorting and packaging individual food bags to be delivered to local families. Out of the Garden supports backpack meal programs, mobile food pantries, and feeding sites for children in need. Learn more at www.outofthegardenproject.org.

— Carrie Vest

St. Patrick School CHARLOTTE — Students at St. Patrick School collected food in November to benefit Loaves and Fishes, donating a total of more than 969 pounds of food. Pictured are James Nowak and Zachary Noonan carrying a box of canned food.

— Carissa Kaproth-Glenn

December 5, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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St. Matthew School CHARLOTTE — Students at St. Matthew School collected 12,464 cans of food for St. Matthew Church’s food pantry during the month of November. Principal Kevin O’Herron made a deal with his students: For every day they brought in 300 or more cans (and boxes and bags) of food, he skipped a day of shaving in solidarity with the national “No Shave November” campaign for cancer awareness. Students met the challenge, bringing in an average of more than 700 cans each day of the 15-day food drive. O’Herron credits the food and no-shaving drive to one of his former students, Philip Harrington, now the assistant principal at St. Mark School. Pictured are some of the school’s Student Council members (from left): Cameron Heyer, Conor Walsh, David Beckert, Macy Kocher, Ava Knudsen, Bill Abrams and Greta Hironimous.

— Kevin O’Herron

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Our Lady of Mercy School WINSTON-SALEM — Our Lady of Mercy School’s Helping Hands of Mercy team is in the midst of a year-long food drive for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s food pantry in Winston-Salem. As of Dec. 1, they collected eight full bins of food, the size of a small storage shed (34 cubic feet). In addition, the school’s Helping Hands of Mercy team sponsored a Thanksgiving basket collection, with each classroom donating items to supply an entire Thanksgiving meal, a $20 grocery gift card, and additional pantry items. In all, Our Lady of Mercy students’ donations provided a basket to each of 11 families in crisis in the Winston-Salem area.

“I’m very proud of this year’s Helping Hands of Mercy team,” said Sister Geri Rogers, principal. “They are working hard to plan and coordinate projects for our whole school so that we can help many other children and their families in our city.”

— Lara Davenport

Sacred Heart School SALISBURY — Sacred Heart School’s Student Government Association led a successful canned food drive during November, surpassing their goal of 2,200 cans of food with 2,325 cans. Their donations from the Thanksgiving “Let’s CAN Hunger” drive, which totaled 2,277 pounds of food, went to aid Rowan Helping Ministries. Pictured are students Mary Sobataka, Olivia Dagenhart, Jack Fisher, Sydney Edwards, Marce Servigon and Juan Salazar.

— Robin Fisher

Help to end hunger Catholic Charities has food pantries in Asheville, Charlotte and Winston-Salem. Each pantry provides walk-in assistance on a first-come, first-served basis during scheduled hours. At the pantries, clients can help choose their food items – because providing food and assistance with dignity is what we believe in.

Help feed a family in need this Christmas.

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Asheville: 828-255-0146 Charlotte: 704-370-3232 Winston-Salem: 336-727-0705

Mix 14

catholicnewsherald.com | December 5, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

On TV n Monday, Dec. 8, 9:30 a.m. (EWTN) “Our Lady in Scripture & Tradition: Blessed Among All Women.” Father Apostoli discusses why we honor Our Lady and call her blessed among all women.

In Brief

n Monday, Dec. 8, 10 a.m. (EWTN) “Homage to the Immaculate Conception.” Pope Francis presides at a traditional homage to Mary Immaculate in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna. n Monday, Dec. 8, 2 p.m. (EWTN) “Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Servant of All.” The personal story of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, one of the most influential voices of the 20th century, who reached millions of viewers a week on his TV show “Life is Worth Living,” and his writings captured over 100 publications.

‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1’ This third installment of a four-part series based on best-selling novels by Suzanne Collins offers satisfying and occasionally stirring action played out against the backdrop of the same disordered futuristic society in which its predecessors were set. As the heroine of the franchise (Jennifer Lawrence), a veteran of the brutal survival tournament of the title, becomes the symbol of the revolution against its organizers she helped to launch at the end of the last film, her sweetheart (Josh Hutcherson), a prisoner of the oppressive regime, becomes a tool in their propaganda campaign aimed at stamping out the rebellion. While director Francis Lawrence and screenwriters Peter Craig and Danny Strong include a good deal of stylized combat in their teen-targeted tale, other problematic content is entirely absent. In fact, the romantic entanglements are so chaste that a single kiss between Lawrence’s character and the lad (Liam Hemsworth) who pines for her takes on great significance. The script also highlights positive values, including altruism, making this a worry-free choice for parents of the sought-after demographic.

Some bloodless but potentially disturbing violence.

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

‘Penguins of Madagascar’ Spirited animated adventure in which a quartet of penguins (voiced by Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Conrad Vernon and Christopher Knights) who’ve decided they have what it takes to be avian spies competes with an equally self-appointed team of secret agents to defeat the schemes of a villainous octopus (voice of John Malkovich). Comic possibilities drive the freewheeling plot of directors Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith’s family-friendly lark, which sees supporting characters from previous movies in the franchise coming to the fore -- and into their own. As it trots around the globe, and indulges, now and then, in genre-typical potty humor, the film instills lessons about the negative effects of seeking revenge as well as the positive results of loyalty, teamwork and cooperation. A handful of mild scatological jokes and insults.

CNS: A-I (general patronage); MPAA: PG

‘Horrible Bosses 2’ Facing bankruptcy after being victimized by a highpowered executive (Christoph Waltz) they thought would help their fledgling business, three would-be entrepreneurs (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis) strike on the idea of kidnapping the tycoon’s grown son (Chris Pine) and using the ransom money to stave off ruin. While director and co-writer Sean Anders plays on the morally respectable theme of basically decent people making comically inept criminals, his sequel to the 2011 original treats human sexuality in a base and frivolous manner, primarily through a recurring character (Jennifer Aniston) whose sex-addiction is supposed to inspire laughs. Much sexual humor, mature themes, frequent uses of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language.

CNS: 0 (morally offensive); MPAA: R

sueann howell | catholic news herald

Christmas movies for the whole family

Top picks from diocesan media resource center’s Sister Patricia CHARLOTTE — Mercy Sister Patricia Durbin, a longtime educator and catechist, also knows a thing or two about movies. She has staffed the Diocese of Charlotte’s media resource center for the past 16 years, where she has built up an extensive collection of movies and other educational materials. Sister Patricia knows what’s good and what’s not, so this Advent season the Catholic News Herald asked her to name her “top picks” to help readers get into the Christmas spirit.

Her favorites on DVD include: “Best Christmas Pageant Ever” “Brother Francis: The King is Born” “The Census and the Star” “Christmas for Little Children” “Journey of the Wise Men” “The King is Born” “Little Drummer Boy” “Mr. Scrooge to See You!” “Mystery of the Three Kings” “The Nativity Story” “True Story of Christmas”

n Tuesday, Dec. 9, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “The Cloak of Juan Diego: The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe.” A look at the history of the appearance of the Blessed Mother to Juan Diego and her devotion at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. n Tuesday, Dec. 9, 8 p.m. (CBS) “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Narrated by Burl Ives, this digitally re-mastered holiday special recounts the tale of a shy reindeer whose Christmas spirit is dampened because his shiny nose has made him the laughingstock of Christmasville. n Wednesday, Dec. 10, 4:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “Nicholas: The Boy Who Became Santa Claus.” Nicholas was still a young boy when he discovered the love of Jesus and the gift of giving that changed the world.

“Veggie Tales: St. Nicholas, The Story of Joyful Giving” “White Christmas”

n Thursday, Dec. 11, 4 p.m. (EWTN) “The Legend of the Christmas Flower.” A splendid tale highlighted by traditional Mexican music.

Her favorites among older titles that she has on VHS include: “Christmas Story Keepers” “The Crippled Lamb” “Greatest Adventure: The Nativity” “Jesus of Nazareth: Born for Us” “The True Christmas Story”

n Friday, Dec. 12, 4:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Martin the Cobbler.” Based on the classic children’s tale by the great Russian author Leo Tolstoy, a lonely shoemaker rediscovers his faith in God; narrated by Tolstoy’s daughter Alexandra Tolstoy.

You can find these titles online or you can borrow them from the diocesan Media Resource Center. Contact Sister Patricia Durbin at 704-370-3241 or email psdurbin@charlottediocese. org for details. Sister Patricia adds new titles to the collection frequently and also spotlights seasonal movies on the diocesan website. Go to www. charlottediocese.org/ministries-adepartments/media-center to check it all out.

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter

n Saturday, Dec. 13, 11 p.m. (EWTN) “Our Lady of Guadalupe and Miraculous Mexico.” The fascinating story of how Our Lady appeared to a poor farmer, Juan Diego, and the miraculous events that followed. n Wednesday, Dec. 17, 5 p.m. (EWTN) “Joyful Hour.” The story of Joseph and Mary is told with an interspersed teaching regarding the rosary.

Featuring actor Pat O’Brien and family praying the devotion. n Thursday, Dec. 18, 4:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “Michael the Visitor.”

Narrated by Stockard Channing, this charming fable is an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic tale about a lost young man with an amazing secret. n Thursday, Dec. 18, 5:30 p.m.

(EWTN) “A Star Shall Rise.” A classic retelling of the story of the Three Wise Men. n Friday, Dec. 19, 4 p.m. (EWTN) “The First Christmas.” A colorful, animated production, that tells the traditional story of the birth of Jesus.

December 5, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

MARRIAGE: FROM PAGE 2

forming goals and reaching each other’s potential in the relationship. Honesty, fidelity and keeping the family first before work are critical values to share in common. Constant tension occurs when one party wants to live a certain way while the other wants a different way.

This becomes an impossible situation in a marriage and requires resolution through each person being willing to change. In such cases as these, counseling may be advisable before the tensions escalate and the problems become toxic, destroying the marriage.

Spirituality and faith may be essential, according to some, but having both will make a marriage work. In a sacramental marriage, each spouse keeps God at the center of their life together. Spirituality means seeking a deeper meaning of life, and not a life focused on personal pleasure and gains. Being a person of faith is a bonus in any relationship, and particularly in marriage.

Mercy Sister Jeanne-Margaret McNally, Ph.D., JCL, is a psychologist for the Tribunal of the Diocese of Charlotte and a judge in the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Miami.

Coming next: Problems in marriage

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December 13 - Holy Family Catholic Church, Clemmons January 10 - St. Matthew Catholic Church, Charlotte January 31 - St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Charlotte For more information visit our website or contact Batrice Adcock, MSN at 704.370.3230 or bnadcock@charlottediocese.org.

Our nation 16

catholicnewsherald.com | December 5, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Texas bishops argue death-row inmate too mentally ill to be executed Catholic News Service

AUSTIN, Texas — Appealing to Gov. Rick Perry “as a man of deep Christian values,” the Texas Catholic Conference urged him to stay the Dec. 3 execution of Scott Louis Panetti and commute his sentence to ensure the inmate receives the proper medical treatment for mental illness.

“Our request for mercy in this case is motivated not only by the Catholic Church’s active opposition to the death penalty as a desecration of human life, but also in part by Mr. Panetti’s circumstances,” said the conference, which is the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops.

According to an AP story, Panetti has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.

For several years leading up to the 1992 murders he was convicted of committing, he was hospitalized several times for mental illness. At times, he believed he was in a spiritual war with the devil.

Panetti was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death by a jury in 1995 for the brutal slaying of his mother-in-law and father-in-law. AP said he never denied that he had entered their home in Fredericksburg heavily armed and shot them multiple times. At his trial, Panetti wore a cowboy costume and defended himself.

His attorneys have fought to at least get his execution postponed so he could be tested further to see if he is competent to be executed. Prosecutors claimed Panetti is faking his mental problems.

The Catholic bishops and other opponents of his execution argued that it is especially heinous to put to death someone in his mental state.

“Mr. Panetti’s lengthy history of mental illness, his delusional behavior while defending himself at trial in 1995, and the multiple diagnoses from mental health professionals confirming his severe mental illness, provide even more reason to stop his execution,” the Texas Catholic Conference said its Nov. 21 letter to Perry.

“While government has an obligation to protect the community from violent offenders, it also bears a responsibility to ensure justice and proper treatment for our brothers and sisters suffering from mental illness,” it said. “Putting to death anyone whose faculties are so severely debilitated by mental illness as to not comprehend nor be responsible for his actions is not merely unjust, but immoral.”

Abby Johnson, a former director for Planned Parenthood in Texas who quit her job in 2009 and became pro-life, is among those who have called on Perry to stop Panetti’s execution.

“The execution of Panetti would be more than an embarrassment to our state. It would undermine our commitment to protecting life, especially the most vulnerable, by extinguishing the life of someone clearly suffering from mental illness,” she wrote in an opinion piece in The Dallas Morning News.

The planned execution “shows a troubling disregard toward the reality of mental illness and protecting those who suffer from it,” she said.

The effort to see Panetti’s death sentence commuted has brought together people from both ends of the political spectrum who agree he is too mentally ill to be executed.

An online petition has drawn 93,000 signatures.

Perry’s office did respond to pleas he stay Panetti’s sentence. As governor, he cannot act alone to commute the death sentence. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles would have to vote to recommend Perry grant clemency. However, the board recently voted unanimously to let the execution be carried out.

In its letter to Perry, the Texas Catholic Conference said the Church “has tremendous sympathy” for the family of Panetti’s victims. “In no way do we wish to diminish their suffering and loss.”

“However, as you know, it is the parable of the good Samaritan where Jesus teaches that a true neighbor is one who shows mercy. ... Showing mercy does not mean neglecting to administer justice or punish people for their crimes,” it said. “Showing mercy does mean exhibiting compassion toward all of our brothers and sisters, and providing them with an opportunity for atonement and rehabilitation.”

Invest in your success!

Advertise in the Catholic News Herald Kevin Eagan, Advertising Manager 704-370-3332 keeagan@charlottediocese.org

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In Brief Immigration changes will take months, at least, to take effect WASHINGTON, D.C. — It will be several months, at least, before anyone can apply to take advantage of immigration policy changes announced by President Barack Obama Nov. 20. Some aspects will go through the federal rule-making process, which requires a formal advertising and comment period that could take a year or more. Others are simply a matter of spreading the word through various federal agencies about new priorities and policies.

Still others will mean setting up procedures, websites and staffing to handle potentially millions of applicants.

Immigrant assistance organizations such as the Catholic Legal Immigration Network caution potential beneficiaries of any of the new programs and policies to be wary of anyone offering legal advice or help applying for things that aren’t yet available. CLINIC and 19 other religious, legal, civil rights and union organizations are collaborating on something called the Administrative Relief Resource Center, www.adminrelief.org, which has information for potential applicants, legal service providers and communities that want to provide assistance to immigrants.

CLINIC also has on its website, www. cliniclegal.org, a schedule of trainings for those who want help applicants.

Obama, Archbishop Cupich meet in Chicago, talk immigration CHICAGO — Less than a week after he was installed in his new position, Chicago Archbishop Blase J. Cupich had a brief private meeting with President Barack Obama when the president visited the city to promote his executive actions on immigration.

In an interview aired on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Nov. 30, the archbishop said that he and the U.S. bishops support the president’s efforts. He expressed gratitude for the plan to help immigrants who lack legal status, enabling them to “come out of the shadows” and live out aspirations for a better life that “were placed in their hearts by God. We have to attend to that.

It’s not just something they want on their own.

God has always called us to a better life.”

Archbishop Cupich was installed as head of the Chicago Archdiocese Nov. 19, replacing Cardinal Francis E. George, who retired as head of the archdiocese. On Nov. 25, he and Obama met at the Copernicus Center Chicago, where the president was speaking to rally support for his immigration initiatives.

After grand jury report, archbishop urges Ferguson, ‘Choose peace!’

ST. LOUIS — Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis urged residents of Ferguson, “Choose peace!” He made the comment in a statement Nov. 24 following the issuance of a grand jury decision to not indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, who is white, in the August shooting death of teenager Michael Brown, an African-American.

“Reject any false and empty hope that violence will solve problems. Violence only

creates more violence,” Archbishop Carlson said in his statement, released shortly after the grand jury announced its findings. “Let’s work for a better, stronger, more holy community – one founded upon respect for each other, respect for life and our shared responsibility for the common good.”

“I know that many feel hurt, betrayed, forgotten, and powerless” by the decision to not indict, he said. “I know anger, disappointment, and resentment, and fear abound in our community at this moment. But we must accept this decision as the proper functioning of our justice system.”

Other religious and civic leaders expressed disappointment and outrage over the grand jury’s decision, while calling for a peaceful response in any protests held.

District Court judges in three states rule to allow same-sex ‘marriage’ WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal judges in Arkansas and Mississippi Nov. 25 struck down laws prohibiting same-sex “marriage.” Both orders were stayed until the states have time to consider whether to appeal. Those rulings brought to 35 the number of states where laws or courts have said same-sex “marriages” are legal. The highest courts to take up such cases, the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, have split unevenly, with four circuits allowing such marriages and one saying states should be allowed to decide for themselves. The other federal circuits all have cases in some level of appeal.

Meanwhile, both supporters and opponents of same-sex “marriage” are preparing appeals to the Supreme Court, asking it to weigh in on that disparity among circuits. Catholic teaching upholds the traditional definition of marriage between one man and one woman and says that any sexual activity outside of marriage is sinful.

In early October the high court declined to accept any of the seven same-sex marriage cases, affecting five states, that it was asked to review. All the cases had the effect of allowing such marriages, including in North Carolina.

Several weeks later the 6th Circuit ruled differently. The Arkansas and Missouri rulings came on the heels of a Nov. 19 ruling in Montana. There, a federal District Court judge said Montana’s constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman violates the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes Montana, had ruled in September that the same-sex “marriage” bans in Idaho and Nevada are unconstitutional.

Milwaukee auxiliary bishop named to head Gary diocese WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pope Francis has appointed Auxiliary Bishop Donald J. Hying of Milwaukee as bishop of Gary, Ind., and accepted the resignation of Bishop Dale J. Melczek, who has headed the diocese since 1996.

Bishop Hying, 51, has been an auxiliary bishop in Milwaukee since 2011 and is former rector of the archdiocese’s St. Francis De Sales Seminary.

Bishop Melczek is 76 years old. Canon law requires a bishop to turn in his resignation at age 75.

Bishop Hying was a guest speaker at the most recent Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress.

— Catholic News Herald

Our world

December 5, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Support Catholic religious in their mission, ministries, pope says Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — During the Year of Consecrated Life, all Catholics are called to thank God for the gifts members of religious orders have given the Church and the world, to join them in prayer and find practical ways to support them and their ministries, Pope Francis said.

“Let them know the affection and the warmth which the entire Christian people feels for them,” the pope said in a letter issued for the special year, which opened Nov. 30 and will close Feb. 2, 2016, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

The Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court, issued a note Nov. 28 specifying that both lay and consecrated people can receive an indulgence for participating in events related to the Year of Consecrated Life, going to confession, receiving the Eucharist and offering prayers for the intentions of the pope.

In his letter, Pope Francis also offered greetings to Orthodox communities of monks and nuns, and to members of Protestant religious orders, who also take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and are “expressions of fraternal communion and service.” Dialogue between Catholic religious and those of other traditions “can prove helpful for the greater journey toward the unity of all the churches,” he said.

The bulk of the pope’s letter and video messages he sent for a Nov. 29 prayer vigil in Rome and the year’s opening Mass the next day in St. Peter’s Basilica were addressed specifically to the world’s more than 900,000 Catholic religious priests, brothers, sisters and consecrated virgins.

“Leave your nests and go out to the peripheries,” he told those at the vigil in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. “Live on the frontiers” where people are waiting to hear and understand the Gospel.

“Wake up the world, enlightening it with your prophetic and countercultural witness,” he said in the message to those at Mass in St. Peter’s the next morning.

“Being joyful,” he said in the message, “being courageous” and “being men and women of communion” are the common traits of the founders of religious orders and are the key to their future.

The pope’s letter for the year explained that while he was writing as pope, he was also writing as a Jesuit, “a brother who, like yourselves, is consecrated to the Lord.”

Knowing the gifts and challenges of religious life from the inside, Pope Francis urged religious to “look to the past with gratitude,” rediscovering the way their predecessors read “the signs of the times” and responded with creativity. However, it also involves recognizing the difficulties and inconsistencies resulting from human weakness and learning from them.

Religious are called “to live the present with passion” and “embrace the future with hope,” he said, knowing that the Holy Spirit continues to inspire new responses to the needs of the Church and the world and to give religious the strength to be faithful servants of God. Within communities, within dioceses and within the Church, he said, religious are called to be “experts in communion,” a call that is prophetic in the modern world. “In a polarized society where different cultures experience difficulty in living alongside one another and where the powerless encounter oppression, where inequality abounds, we are called to offer a concrete model of community which, by acknowledging the dignity of each person and sharing our respective gifts, makes it possible to live and brothers and sisters.”

“Don’t be closed in on yourselves,” he said, “don’t be stifled by petty squabbles, don’t remain a hostage to your own problems.”

A person’s attitude reflects what is in his or her heart, the pope said, and for consecrated people that means “to know and show that God is able to fill our hearts to the brim with happiness.”

“None of us,” he said, “should be dour, discontented and dissatisfied, for a ‘gloomy disciple is a disciple of gloom.’”

Countering the decline in the number of people entering religious life in the West will not be the “result of brilliant vocations programs,” the pope said, but of meeting young people who are attracted by the joy they see in religious men and women.

The special mission of consecrated people in the Church has not ended, he told them. “A whole world awaits us: men and women who have lost all hope, families in difficulty, abandoned children, young people without a future, the elderly, sick and abandoned, those who are rich in the world’s goods but impoverished within, men and women looking for a purpose in life, thirsting for the divine.”

Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople embrace after delivering a blessing in Istanbul Nov. 30.

CNS | Paul Haring

In Turkey, Pope Francis got a look at Christianity on the margins Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Ankara and Istanbul were gray and cold, at least compared to Rome, during Pope Francis’ Nov. 28-30 visit to Turkey. And the general reception, outside of the pope’s official meetings, was hardly warmer. There were none of the enthusiastic crowds that usually greet him on his trips, no masses waving signs of welcome along his motorcade route or behind police barriers at the stops.

Pope Francis, who seems to thrive on contact with the public, especially with the young, the aged and the infirm, seemed dispirited by the lack of it this time. Despite his relatively light schedule – six speeches over three days, compared to 14 during his three-day visit to the Holy Land in May – he looked attentive but increasingly weary at his public appearances.

There was an obvious reason, unrelated to the pope himself, for the general indifference to his presence. An observer did not need to know that Turkey is 99.8 percent Muslim to see that both cities he visited are dotted with the domes and minarets of countless mosques, miniature versions of the great monuments, Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque, that he toured in Istanbul.

Even a brief experience of Christianity’s marginality in that part of world makes it easier to understand why Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, whom Pope Francis traveled to Turkey principally to see, is the papacy’s best friend in the Orthodox Church and an eager participant in ecumenical dialogue.

Although Patriarch Bartholomew is traditionally considered first among equals by Orthodox bishops, his Greek Orthodox flock in Turkey is estimated at no more than 4,000 people, fewer than in many American Catholic parishes. Turkish authorities have kept his church’s only seminary closed for more than 40 years. Just across the border, in Syria and Iraq, Christian minorities are being slaughtered or driven from their homes by militants of the so-called Islamic State.

Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that Patriarch Bartholomew would tell Pope Francis Nov. 30: “We no longer have the luxury of isolated action. The modern persecutors of Christians do not ask which church their victims belong to. The unity

that concerns us is regrettably already occurring in certain regions of the world through the blood of martyrdom.”

In other words, necessity is the mother not only of invention but ecumenism, which also makes it easier to understand why Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, who leads tens of millions of Russian Orthodox and is closely allied with his nation’s government, can maintain his predecessors’ stance of refusing even to meet with the bishop of Rome.

Rome obviously is a far less lonely place than Istanbul to be a Christian. But Pope Francis follows Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI in recognizing that the West is, increasingly, Christian only in name. His Nov. 25 visit to the European institutions in Strasbourg, France, where he arrived to find the streets practically empty, was a recent reminder of that reality in the Church’s traditional heartland.

The impressions of Christian culture that the Muslim world encounters through globalization are not the work of missionaries. Leaving Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs in Ankara after the pope’s visit there Nov. 28, reporters passed a luxury shopping mall decorated with lighted Christmas trees (reminding an American present that it was Black Friday in the U.S.).

In response to the secularism of Europe and other wealthy societies, Pope Francis has taken a different tack than his two immediate predecessors.

The current pope denounces a “throwaway” culture of abortion, euthanasia, unemployment, economic inequality and environmental pollution. But he rarely speaks of secularism, and his teaching focuses less on the failings of contemporary society and more on the Church’s own shortcomings as impediments to evangelization.

Whatever the advantages of this pastoral strategy, Pope Francis clearly does not expect short-term results in Europe, which he described to the politicians in Strasbourg as a “grandmother, no longer fertile and vibrant” but “elderly and haggard.”

To see the Church’s future now, the pope must look elsewhere, such as the Philippines, where in 1995 St. John Paul II celebrated a single Mass in Manila with a congregation of more than 5 million.

Pope Francis travels there in January.

ViewPoints 18

catholicnewsherald.com | December 5, 2014 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

‘A person is, first and foremost, a child of God, deserving the respect of one given life by God Himself.’

Father Patrick Hoare

We don’t speak up enough for life R

ecently, the newspaper in our city ran a series of stories about “cheaters” in the construction industry. It is estimated that more than one-third of contractors in our state do not follow the law in classifying and reporting the payroll of their laborers to the government. By identifying workers as “independent contractors” rather than “employees,” they avoid paying certain taxes, keeping costs low and enabling them to get contracts because of their low price. The companies say they are forced to bend the rules in order to stay in business. The government seems to look the other way.

And the workers who are affected are often afraid to speak out.

Each year on the first Sunday of October, we commemorate Respect Life Sunday, and on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, we commemorate the National Night of Prayer for Life. Often, we lament the more than 50 million children who have been aborted in our nation since the legalization of abortion in the U.S. in 1973.

But “respecting life” reaches far beyond the womb. It touches the elderly, and the immigrant. It impacts the poor, and the prisoner. It touches the student, and the soldier. It even creeps on to a construction site, where roofers and painters and carpenters and landscapers sweat, day after day.

How does a construction site become a life issue?

When a worker is misclassified, taxes are not paid on his behalf. Social Security and Medicare, which provide the only source of income and health care for some of our elders, is underfunded. Unemployment insurance, needed for those who cannot find work, is also not paid.

If the worker is hurt on the job, they are not covered by workers’ compensation insurance. And because some workers are undocumented, some employees pay less money than promised or fail to pay at all. And the worker, afraid to speak, must find another way to feed his family.

The employer is not merely committing tax fraud; he is affecting the lives of real people, including you and me, but especially those with real need.

Many would say, of course, that this would not be an issue if it were not for illegal immigration. The U.S. bishops have called on our president and our Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for those who wish to come to our country and be productive citizens, and that treats every person with Christian compassion, regardless of their legal status.

However, “Close the borders! Deport the undocumented!” is the cry of many.

The issue, in fact, is not that simple.

The greatest horrors of human history – including slavery in our own nation and instances of genocide in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East throughout the 20th century and even into the present day – should teach

us that a human person cannot be defined primarily by ethnicity, physical ability, age, income or legal status. A person is, first and foremost, a child of God, deserving the respect of one given life by God Himself.

There are many other issues that fall under the broad umbrella of “respect for human life.” We can never speak of military action in foreign nations without serious and ongoing regard for the innocent persons who might be affected, and even be careful not to dehumanize the aggressors. The topic of school choice and providing the best education for our children is seen very differently by those who ache as they send their child to an academically poor and environmentally unsafe school every morning.

In my ministry, I have counseled a person involved in a murder. I find myself without answers for our elderly who find themselves without adequate health care after working all of their lives. I live in fear of the day when employers and even clergy may find themselves in violation of the law merely for following their religious convictions.

The prophet Isaiah and Matthew’s Gospel both evoke the image of a vineyard to represent God the Father’s careful design and loving care of the created world. Isaiah’s prophesy (Is 5:1-7) speaks of the pain and disappointment of the owner with a vineyard which has produced sour fruit, while the Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Matt 21:3343) criticizes not the vineyard but, instead, those tenants who have been given the responsibility of cultivating the vines. Isaiah is warning the nation of Judah that, rather than constantly being concerned with the threats of foreign nations, they should first address the lack of holiness and justice in their own land. Jesus is criticizing the Jewish leaders for the scandalous example they offer for the people who look to them for guidance.

As residents of the most prosperous and powerful nation on the planet, the Lord speaks to us as both the vineyard and the tenants. Just as the Israelites were the Chosen People in their time, we, as disciples of Jesus, are those who have been chosen to bear good fruit today.

Sadly, He finds mostly sour grapes. We abort our children, and then we manufacture children at times and use them to fulfill our own egotistical plans or desires.

We pay CEOs and professional athletes far beyond their worth, and fail to provide others with a living wage. And as a country that professes to be a world leader, we have become the Pharisees of this age. As Catholics, we have too often been content to remain followers, rather than be leaders, in fighting for a culture of life.

My grandfather was born in the town of Carini, on the Italian island of Sicily, in 1882. He was the seventh of nine children. He came to the United States in 1900, and was a laborer for his entire life. I don’t know much about his life, but I know enough to know that he was, at times, far from a saint. His children today would have been considered abused by the woman he married after his

Stand up for life On Dec. 8-9, we have the chance to participate in the National Night of Prayer for Life, a prayer service that unites the Feast of the Immaculate Conception Dec. 8 with the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego on Dec. 9. The National Night of Prayer for Life traditionally bridges the two feasts, running from 9 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, until 1 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9. Participants pray for the sanctity of all human life, for the end of abortion and in reparation for sins against the Gospel of Life.

Read more on page 5.

first wife died. One story I heard led me to believe he had provided shelter for a criminal on at least one occasion.

He may have shot his own brother, who lived to tell the story. If he came to the United States today, he probably would be here illegally and in constant fear of detection and deportation. But he wasn’t deported. He was never in prison. He never lost custody of his children, although at times they lived with relatives to escape the conditions at home. As a seventh child, today he probably would have been aborted or, through contraception, never been accepted gratefully by his parents in God’s great plan. If he lived today, his life would have been much different, and, it is safe to say, I would never have been born.

People say the Catholic Church talks too much about “life issues.” By the fruit that we are bearing, it is clear to me that we – you and me – as the members of the Church and God’s Chosen People, haven’t said enough.

Father Patrick Hoare is pastor of St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte.

This commentary is adapted from a recent homily.

December 5, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Allison Schumacher

Sr. Constance Carolyn Veit

The grateful heart A

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midst the gatherings of family and friends, the aromas drifting from the activity-filled kitchens, and the conversations and laughter around dining room tables, Thanksgiving Day draws our attention to the many blessings in our lives – blessings that we often take for granted.

As children of God, giving thanks at all times and in all circumstances is fundamental to our relationship with the Creator. According to the Catechism, moral existence is “the acknowledgment and homage given to God and a worship of thanksgiving” (CCC 2062).

Donald de Marco, in his book “The Heart of Virtue,” relates a touching ancient Jewish legend: “When God finished creation, He asked the angels what they thought of it. One of them replied that the world is so vast and so perfect that there was nothing wanting, except a voice to offer God that which is owed Him, an expression of gratitude.” We as human beings and children of God are called to be those voices of thanksgiving in this world.

Perhaps one of the more poignant Gospel stories in Scripture is the account of the 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19). Though all 10 were cleansed, only one returned to thank Jesus. The other nine took their miraculous healing completely for granted.

It is indisputable that our hectic activities and full schedules make it very easy to neglect giving thanks for the daily miracles that fill our lives. However, stopping to express gratitude for what we receive deepens not only our sense of appreciation, but our enjoyment of life as well. If I stop to recognize the gift of clean water before taking a sip, I will gain more pleasure in the refreshing drink than if I had thoughtlessly guzzled it down.

Having a grateful attitude enhances and deepens the spiritual life. Returning to the story of the grateful leper, we find that after he had given thanks to God, Jesus told him, “Arise, go thy way: they faith hath made thee whole” (Luke 17:19). All 10 lepers received physical healing, but only the grateful one obtained spiritual healing as well. Through thanksgiving, he experienced the fullness of faith in God. Practically, an attitude of gratitude helps our mental outlook on life. I remember once lamenting to a friend over a troubling and painful situation. Very serenely, she encouraged me to “thank God” for that very problem. Stunned into silence, I interiorly balked at the idea.

But spurred on by the challenge – and quite frankly, desperate for some sort of consolation or resolution – I chose to step up to the task.

Initially, I could barely mutter, “Lord, I praise and thank You for this mess I’ve gotten myself into.” I had to literally grit my teeth and force myself to say it over and over again. As the day progressed, I kept repeating these words until they eventually slipped out as easily as the “Hail Marys” of a rosary. Soon, I found that I was experiencing consolation from those few words and peace returned to my heart. I realized that the “mess” I was in that morning could indeed bring me closer to God, and I actually felt grateful to have struggled through it.

Therefore, we should give thanks, not only for what we perceive to be good, but for absolutely everything, because “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28).

Gratitude also reminds us of our dependence on God – a reliance that is paradoxically liberating. Thomas Merton said, “To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”

St. Paul also urges us, “Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (2 Cor 9:15). G.K. Chesterton presented this in very practical terms: “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, and swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in ink.”

A grateful heart is a peaceful heart because it knows the secret of finding God everywhere and in all things.

Cultivating a ‘spirituality of encounter’ this Advent

I

n September Pope Francis celebrated “the blessing of long life” with thousands of senior citizens and their families. In his homily that day he spoke about the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, calling it “a Gospel of encounter.” The pope encouraged those present – and through them, all of us – to follow Mary’s example and re-establish a covenant between the young and the old. The future of society supposes the meeting between generations, he said, as the young “give the strength which enables a people to move forward, while the elderly consolidate this strength by their memory and their traditional wisdom.”

“Encounter” is a particularly rich concept, especially during this Advent/ Christmas season. Isn’t “encounter” really what the Incarnation is all about?

God encountered His creatures in the most direct way possible by becoming one of them in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ – God-with-us.

Instead of rushing through December in a frenetic preparation for all that Christmas has come to entail in our materialistic society, what if we used this season of Advent to follow Our Lord’s example and concentrate our efforts on nurturing a spirituality of encounter in our daily lives?

I would like to suggest two ways of doing this. The first is to encounter God each day in His Word. The opening chapters of St. Luke’s Gospel alone are filled with numerous divine-human encounters that can teach us much about trusting in God and being present to others, beginning with the two annunciations: Gabriel’s announcement to Zechariah that his elderly wife would bear a child, and his announcement to Mary that she would become the mother of the Messiah.

In Zechariah we see what happens when we are too set in our ways, or too convinced of our own limitations, to believe that God could possibly enter into our lives. In Mary we witness a very different response. She believes Gabriel’s words and offers herself completely to God in a relationship that will be miraculously fruitful. Then as Mary sets out in haste to visit her elderly cousin in the Visitation, the unborn children communicate with each other from their mother’s wombs, and the two women – one young and one old – share the unbridled joy of God’s presence in their lives.

Mary’s Magnificat is followed by silence, but we can assume that Mary helped her elderly relatives prepare for the birth of their child. She would have observed their faithfulness and learned from their experience. As Pope Francis said, “Mary was able to listen to those elderly and amazed parents; she treasured their wisdom, and it proved precious for her in her journey as a woman, as a wife and as a mother.”

In the Visitation Mary shows us the second means of growing in the spirituality of encounter. Very simply, we learn to encounter others when we depart from ourselves and reach out to them in their need, when we listen to their hopes and anxieties, and appreciate their beauty and gifts. During Advent Mary shows us the way of openness to both God and neighbor. She shows us the way, as Pope Francis said, “of encounter between the young and the old.”

This Advent, I invite you to honor our Lord’s coming among us in the Incarnation by striving to practice the gospel of encounter. Begin by skipping just one trip to the mall in order to visit a sick family member or an elderly neighbor in need. Follow Mary’s way to an Advent of joyful, loving encounters!

Sister Constance Veit is director of communications for the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Allison Schumacher is a freelance writer who works with MiraVia in Belmont.

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DHHS spokesman Kevin Howell defended the proposed rules, noting that the “quality assurance” committee which each clinic will set up must include a doctor who is not affiliated with the clinic. These committees’ oversight will mean “safeguards in place to monitor the provision of patient care and prevent the repeat of any deficiencies,” Howell said.

He added that state regulators received funding to add nine additional nurse investigators to its staff so that it can begin conducting annual inspections.

Removing the one-hour minimum for women to wait in the recovery room will not harm patient care, Howell said, because the rules state that “the physician of record is responsible for ensuring patients are stable at the point of discharge.”

“The proposed rules requires a patient to be discharged only when (1) the patient is ambulatory with a stable blood pressure and pulse, and (2) bleeding and pain must be controlled,” he said. That, coupled with the 24/7 help number for patients and more specific rules over who is responsible for day-to-day management of the clinics, will ensure patient safety, he said.

North Carolina has 117 licensed outpatient surgical centers, comprised mostly of endoscopy, gastroenterology, orthopedic and eye surgery practices. They have more detailed regulations than the state’s 15 abortion clinics.

Two abortion clinics in the state have been licensed as an outpatient surgery center: Femcare Inc. of Asheville and Carolina Birth Center Inc. in High Point.

The only abortion clinic in Asheville, Femcare had its license temporarily revoked July 31, 2013, after state health inspectors discovered dirty operating rooms and tattered anesthesia equipment during a surprise inspection. It reopened shortly afterwards when state regulators conducted a follow-up inspection and found the problems were corrected, but then its owner decided to close permanently earlier this summer.

Raleigh-based Planned Parenthood Health Systems Inc. is now building an abortion clinic in Asheville to replace it, and it is seeking a similar outpatient surgery center license.

Carolina Birth Center is still operating under a 32-year-old license as a gynecological surgery center.

Abortion in North Carolina is legal up to 20 weeks of a pregnancy, and at any time if the life or health of the mother is in danger.

A public hearing about the proposed rules will be held in Raleigh on Friday, Dec. 19. It will start at 9 a.m. in Room 104 of the Brown Building, located at 801 Biggs Dr., on the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus.

Public comments about the rules are also being accepted until Jan. 30, 2015.

These proposed rules are far from settled.

Following the 60-day comment period, DHHS will review all of the feedback and could make changes. If there are at least 10 letters objecting to the rules, state legislators will be able to weigh in on the issue and could make their own changes.

One of the six people who helped to revise these rules is the medical director of an abortion clinic closed twice by state regulators for posing “an imminent threat Ken to the health and safety of patients.”

Altman Dr. Stuart Lee Schnider, medical director for A Preferred Women’s Health Center in Charlotte, was among six “stakeholders” that DHHS consulted in revising the abortion clinic rules.

Schnider’s clinic at 3220 Latrobe Drive,

the busiest of Charlotte’s three abortion clinics, has a history of health code violations and is the only clinic ever shut down twice by DHHS. DHHS has documented more than 40 problems there at least six different times over the past 14 years. Since 1996, at least nine women have been sent to the emergency room after having botched abortions there.

The state briefly shut down Schnider’s clinic in May 2013, after DHHS’ health inspectors found the facility was improperly administering chemical abortions, among other health code violations.

State regulators allowed the Latrobe clinic to reopen five days later, after Schnider gave DHHS a notarized affidavit stating the problems would be corrected.

(Schnider later altered that affidavit, without DHHS’ knowledge.)

Latrobe’s temporary shutdown last year, and a similarly brief closure in 2007, were the only times state regulators had closed an abortion clinic in nearly two decades – until last summer as public scrutiny grew over the actions of regulators in DHHS’ Division of Health Service Regulation (DHSR), which inspects abortion clinics and various health care facilities across the state.

Phone calls and an email to Schnider’s office Dec. 1 were not returned.

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Read all of the proposed rules for abortion clinics, learn how you can comment on the rules, and catch up on our previous coverage of problems in local abortion mills

At least three other members of the DHHS “workgroup” are prominent pro-abortion advocates. The other five stakeholders who gave input on the proposed rules were: n Cari Boram, representing Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina Inc. on behalf of Janet Colm, its CEO and president. Boram publicly criticized the new state law, saying the current rules were adequate and that more staffing at DHHS was needed instead. n Dr. David Grimes, a clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and at UNC-Women’s Hospital. Grimes, a Boardcertified physician in both obstetrics and gynecology and in preventive medicine, has worked for 30 years in teaching, research and training in both areas in the U.S. and abroad. He is well-known in North Carolina for his pro-abortion advocacy, and numerous pro-abortion groups have lauded him for his work. n Dr. Gary A. Haakenson, a retired Board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist n Eileen C. Kugler of UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and a member of the N.C. Medical Care Commission, which is part of DHSR. A registered nurse and family nurse practitioner who holds a master’s degree in nursing as well as a master’s degree in public health, Kugler represented the N.C. Board of Nursing in providing input. n Deborah Walsh, owner and executive director of Family Reproductive Health abortion clinic in Charlotte. Walsh has been an outspoken opponent of stricter regulations for abortion clinics, and she criticized Tennessee legislators in 2012 for a new law she blamed for shutting down her abortion clinic in Knoxville.