Sept. 15, 2017

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

Pastors installed St. Thérèse, Our Lady of Grace parishes welcome new pastors 3

St. Michael School marks 75th anniversary

S e p te m b er 1 5 , 2 0 1 7

Sanctifying grace

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INDEX

Contact us.......................... 4 Events calendar................. 4 Our Faith............................. 2 Our Parishes................. 3-18 Schools.........................20-21 Scripture readings............ 2 TV & Movies.......................19 U.S. news..................... 22-23 Viewpoints.................. 26-27 World news................. 24-25

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13th Eucharistic Congress draws 20,000 people to proclaim the glory of God

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Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

‘Adoration is essentially an embrace with Jesus in which I say to Him: ‘I am Yours, and I ask You, please stay with me always.’

Pope Francis

Witness of Colombian people a wealth for the Church

C

olombia’s long and arduous path toward reconciliation and a lasting peace after nearly half a century of war is a sign of hope for all Christians, Pope Francis said. Speaking to pilgrims Sept. 13 at his weekly general audience, the pope said the motto of his visit Sept.

6-10 – “Demos el primer paso” (“Let’s take the first step”) – referred to the process of reconciliation that, while difficult, is “underway with the help of God.” “With my visit, I wanted to bless the efforts of that people, confirm them in faith and hope and receive their witness, which is a wealth for my ministry and for the whole Church,” he said.

Recalling Colombia’s tragic 52year armed conflict, which was responsible for the deaths of more than 220,000 people, the pope said that while the country was torn apart, its strong Christian roots “constituted a guarantee of peace, the solid foundation of its reconstruction and the lifeblood of its invincible hope.”

“It is evident that the evil one wanted to divide the people to destroy God’s work, but it is equally evident that the love of Christ, His infinite mercy is stronger than sin and death,” he said.

Departing from his prepared remarks, Pope Francis recalled how mothers and fathers lining up along the popemobile’s route would hold up their children to receive a blessing.

“I thought to myself that a people capable of making children and capable of letting them be seen with pride and hope, this people has a future,” he said.

The second day of the trip, which included the beatification of two Colombian martyrs and an evening prayer service in Villavicencio dedicated to reconciliation, was “the culminating moment of the entire visit,” he said.

The Sept. 8 prayer service featured a crucifix from a church in Bojaya, an image of Jesus without arms or legs after an improvised homemade mortar launched by rebels crashed through the roof of a church and exploded in 2002.

The Christ of Bojaya, the pope said, was “mutilated like His people.”

The encounter of mercy and truth as well as justice and peace prophesied in the Psalms, Pope Francis said, were fulfilled in Colombia’s “wounded people,” allowing them to “rise up again and walk in a new life.”

“These prophetic words – full of grace – we saw incarnate in the stories of witnesses who spoke in the name of many and of many who, through their wounds, with the grace of Christ were able to come out of themselves and opened themselves to the encounter, to forgiveness and reconciliation,” the pope said.

St. Mark Church’s Adoration Chapel

His Holiness Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus

File | Catholic News Herald

Spend time with Our Lord

Eucharistic Adoration Eucharistic Adoration is the adoration of Jesus Christ present in the Holy Eucharist.

In the many churches that have this adoration, the Eucharist is displayed in a special holder called a monstrance, and people come to pray and worship Jesus continually throughout the day and often the night. Christ’s great love for us was shown when He was crucified on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and give us eternal life. He loves us without limit, and offers Himself to us in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.

The worship and custody of the Holy Eucharist, independently of Mass and Holy Communion, can be traced to post-apostolic times. St. Justin, writing in his Apology around the year 150, says that deacons were appointed to carry the Blessed Sacrament to those who were absent from the liturgy.

The young St. Tarsisius was taken captive and put to death while carrying the consecrated Species on his person. St. Eudocia, martyred under Trajan, was first permitted to visit her oratory and remove a particle of the Host which she took with her to prison. What appears to be the first explicit reference to a tabernacle occurs in the Apostolic Constitutions, compiled towards the end of the fourth century, which provided that “deacons should take the remaining particles of the Sacred Species and place them in the tabernacle.”

Implicit in these and similar provisions was the Church’s constant belief in the Real Eucharistic Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Thus, in the words of St. Augustine, “No one eats that flesh without first adoring it” (“Expositions on

More online At www.therealpresence.org: Read about the history and miracles associated with Eucharistic Adoration, get resources for introducing children to Adoration, find lots of tips on how to pray a Holy Hour, and learn more about practices such as the Forty Hours Devotion and the First Friday Devotion

the Psalms,” 98:9). It was on this doctrinal basis that the cult of adoring the Eucharist was founded and gradually developed as something distinct from the Sacrifice of the Mass. At the Council of Trent, Protestants were condemned for denying that the Eucharist is at once a sacrifice and a sacrament; that it differs from other sacraments in not only producing grace “ex opere operato Christi” (deriving their power from Christ’s work), but containing in a permanent manner the Author of grace Himself.

In his 1965 encyclical “Mysterium Fidei,” Pope Paul VI wrote, “The Catholic Church has always devoutly guarded as a most precious treasure the mystery of faith, that is the ineffable gift of the Eucharist which she received from Christ her Spouse as a pledge of His immense love, and during the Second Vatican Council in a new and solemn demonstration she professed her faith and veneration for this mystery...

“No one can fail to understand that the Divine Eucharist bestows upon the ADORATION, SEE page 28

The Diocese of Charlotte is blessed to have Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament offered in five locations. All of the faithful, of any age, are invited to participate! Stop by anytime or sign up for a regular Holy Hour:

BELMONT Belmont Abbey College’s St. Joseph Perpetual Adoration Chapel, 100 Belmont-Mt. Holly Road Margaret Fox 704-648-8947 Details: www.belmontabbeycollege.edu/ about/community

CHARLOTTE St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Road Estelle Wisneski 704-364-9568

HICKORY St. Aloysius Church’s Immaculate Heart of Mary Perpetual Adoration Chapel, 921 2nd St. N.E. Karen Sadlowski 828-308-5454 Details: www.staloysiushickory.org/perpetualadoration

HIGH POINT Pennybyrn at Maryfield Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel, 1315 Greensboro Road Edna Corrigan 336-324-4366 Details: www.maryfieldeucharistic.org

HUNTERSVILLE St. Mark Church’s Monsignor Bellow Perpetual Adoration Chapel (located in the Monsignor Joseph A. Kerin Family Center), 14740 Stumptown Road Mary Sink 704-892-5107 or email eucharistic.adoration@stmarknc.org Details: www.stmarknc.org/adoration

Your daily Scripture readings SEPT. 17-23

Sunday: Sirach 27:30-28:7, Romans 14:7-9, Matthew 18:21-35; Monday: 1 Timothy 2:1-8, Luke 7:1-10; Tuesday (St. Januarius): 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Luke 7:11-17; Wednesday (Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gon and Paul Chong Ha-sang and Companions): 1 Timothy 3:14-16, Luke 7:31-35; Thursday (St. Matthew): Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13, Matthew 9:9-13; Friday: 1 Timothy 6:2-12, Luke 8:1-3; Saturday (St. Pius of Pietrelcina): 1 Timothy 6:13-16, Luke 8:4-15

SEPT. 24-30

Sunday: Isaiah 55:6-9, Philippians 1:20-24, 27, Matthew 20:1-16; Monday: Ezra 1:1-6, Luke 8:16-18; Tuesday (Sts. Cosmas and Damian): Ezra 6:7-8, 12, 14-20, Luke 8:19-21; Wednesday (St. Vincent de Paul): Ezra 9:5-9, Tobit 13:2-4, 7-8, Luke 9:1-16; Thursday (St. Wenceslaus, St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions): Haggai 1:1-8, Luke 9:7-9; Friday (Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael): Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, John 1:47-51; Saturday (St. Jerome): Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15, Jeremiah 31:10-13, Luke 9:43-45

OCT. 1-7

Sunday: Ezekiel 18:25-28, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 21:28-32; Monday: Zechariah 8:1-8, Matthew 18:1-5, 10; Tuesday: Zechariah 8:2023, Luke 9:51-56; Wednesday (St. Francis of Assisi): Nehemiah 2:1-8, Luke 9:57-62; Thursday (BI. Francis Xavier Seelos): Nehemiah 8:1-12, Luke 10:1-12; Friday (St. Bruno, BI. Marie Rose Durocher): Baruch 1:1522, Luke 10:13-16; Saturday (Our Lady of the Rosary): Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29, Luke 10:17-24.

Our parishes

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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‘The care of souls … the most important job on the face of the earth’

Father Lawlor installed as pastor of St. Thérèse Church SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

MOORESVILLE — Father Mark Lawlor was officially installed Aug. 31 as pastor of St. Thérèse Church, the third largest parish in the Diocese of Charlotte.

Father Lawlor comes to the Mooresville parish from St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, where he was pastor for the past 14 years. He is the first diocesan priest in 47 years, following the relocation of the Jesuits of the Province of Maryland who had served the parish since 1970.

During the installation rite at the start of the Mass, Deacon Joe Santen read aloud Father Lawlor’s official letter of appointment. Bishop Peter Jugis and the congregation then witnessed Father Lawlor make his profession of faith, renew his oath of fidelity to the Church, and sign the official Church documents of his new office.

During his homily, Bishop Jugis welcomed everyone who attended the installation Mass. The parish’s new parochial vicars Father Paul McNulty and Father Henry Tutuwan were present, as well as Father John Eckert, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury, and Father Lucas Rossi, his parochial vicar.

Deacon Myles Decker of St. Thérèse Parish also assisted at the Mass.

“When a pastor arrives at his parish for the first time, there are a multiplicity of demands that are suddenly thrust upon him, a lot to do and a lot to learn immediately as he begins his ministry,” Bishop Jugis said.

St. Thérèse Parish, which has more than 4,000 families, is more than twice the size of Father Lawlor’s former parish, he

noted. “You can imagine the multiplicity of demands that are placed upon his shoulders that he has to address.”

But above all this day-to-day work, a pastor must remain focused on three essential duties, Bishop Jugis emphasized: he must teach, sanctify and lead his parishioners.

A pastor has the responsibility to teach the faith, the bishop said, so making the profession of faith at his installation – in front of the bishop and the entire congregation – is important. “He is telling the faithful he will accept the faith, embrace the faith, profess the faith in their midst and lead them in the profession and practice of that faith.”

A pastor renews his oath of fidelity to the Church, the bishop also explained, to demonstrate publicly that he will be faithful to what the Gospel demands, faithful to what the Church teaches, and faithful to the practices and the discipline of the Church.

“These are very significant statements for someone who is placed in such an important position – the care of souls, the salvation of souls, the most important job on the face of the earth, salvation,” Bishop Jugis said.

At his installation Mass, the pastor – not the deacon – proclaims the Gospel, the bishop noted. “That signifies that the pastor is ultimately in charge for passing on the teaching of the Gospel, the teaching of Christ and the teaching of the faith in his parish.”

Besides his teaching role, the pastor must also offer the sacraments of the Church to the faithful, Bishop Jugis said.

“It’s appropriate that an installation of the pastor takes place at the Mass, because

SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald

Father Mark Lawlor was installed Aug. 31 as pastor of St. Thérèse Church in Mooresville by Bishop Peter Jugis. the Mass is the most important work of the priest. It’s the most important work of the parish. It’s the most important work of the Church. It’s the offering of the Sacrifice of Jesus for the salvation of the world to give honor and praise and glory to Almighty God in heaven.

“All of the ministries of the Church

really take their power, their force and their strength from the altar, from Jesus, His Real Presence here.”

At Mass we are transformed by receiving Christ in the Eucharist, he said. We become LAWLOR, SEE page 28

Father Buchanan installed as pastor of historic Our Lady of Grace Church Annie Ferguson Correspondent

GREENSBORO — Smiles beamed on the faces of everyone gathered at Our Lady of Grace Church Sept. 2 when Bishop Peter Jugis installed Father Paul Buchanan as the Greensboro parish’s 14th pastor. Already loved by parishioners for his service as their parochial vicar over the past year, Father Buchanan’s installation Mass was particularly joyful for the parish community.

“With this change, I became the spiritual father of the church,” Father Buchanan said in a recent interview.

“The bishop has given me the responsibility to care for souls and help all of us get to heaven, so the nature of my relationship to the parish has changed in a very significant way – in a deeper and more beautiful way.”

Father Buchanan succeeds Father Eric Kowalski, who has been named pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Mocksville.

“When I first heard about it, it was very surprising. I’ve only been a priest for three years. My first assignment was at St. Matthew in Charlotte, the largest church in the country, and I learned a lot there,” he said. “Monsignor (John) McSweeney, as my first pastor, gave me more confidence in the administrative tasks involved in becoming a pastor. He showed me how to be a good pastor by being with the people and sharing in their concerns and troubles.”

Celebrated in the stunning Gothic Revival church in Greensboro’s historic Sunset Hills neighborhood, the installation Mass was well attended by parishioners, guests and participating clergy from across the Diocese of Charlotte – including Father Christian Cook, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Grace; Father John Eckert, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury; Father Benjamin Roberts, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe; Father Lucas Rossi, parochial vicar of Sacred Heart Church; Father Paul McNulty, parochial vicar of St. Thérèse Church in Mooresville: and retired Father Robert Ferris. The parish’s Deacon Mark Mejias and Deacon James Toner assisted at the Mass. The parish’s music minister, Andrew O’Connor, composed new music for the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 63) and dedicated it to Father Buchanan.

The pastor’s parents, Robert and Gloria Buchanan, served as gift bearers. “We’re so blessed and so happy he’s here at Our Lady of Grace. It’s a beautiful parish, and everyone’s so friendly and willing to do whatever they can to make him comfortable. Today was absolutely beautiful,” said Gloria Buchanan.

It’s plain to see what this warm welcome has meant to the Buchanans. “In my heart, I was hoping and praying he’d become a priest,” his mother said. “He’s our only child, and we gave him back to the Lord.”

BUCHANAN, SEE page 28

Annie Ferguson | Catholic News Herald

Father Paul Buchanan, who was installed as pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church Sept. 2, visits with Our Lady of Grace School’s seventh-grade religion class.

UPcoming events 4

catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following upcoming events: Sept. 17 – 9 a.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation Immaculate Heart of Mary Mission, Hayesville

Sept. 23 – 2 p.m.

Ecumenical Worship Service Covenant Presbyterian Church, Charlotte

Sept. 29 – 6 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation Our Lady of Consolation Church, Charlotte

Sept. 20 – 6 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Elizabeth Church, Boone

Sept. 25 – 6 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation St. Frances of Rome Mission, Sparta

Oct. 1-7 Priest Retreat

Sept. 22 – 6:30 p.m.

Blessing of renovated sanctuary St. Benedict Church, Greensboro

Sept. 27 – 6 p.m.

Sacrament of Confirmation Sacred Heart Church, Brevard

Diocesan calendar of events September 15, 2017 Volume 26 • Number 25

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

STAFF 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

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NEWS: The Catholic News Herald welcomes your news and photos. Please e-mail information, attaching photos in JPG format with a recommended resolution of 150 dpi or higher, to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org. All submitted items become the property of the Catholic News Herald and are subject to reuse, in whole or in part, in print, electronic formats and archives.

ADVERTISING: Reach 165,000 Catholics across western North Carolina! For advertising rates and information, 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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Entertainment ‘Authentically Black, Wholly Catholic – A Conversation in Music and Heritage’: 6:30-8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Road, Charlotte. Everyone is welcome to attend this engaging evening featuring the soulstirring gospel choir of Our Lady of Consolation Church.

Interspersed with hymns and music will be brief segments highlighting black culture and heritage, the conversion of Africans in America to Christianity, and the Church’s history with enslavement and place in the civil rights and Black Lives Matter movements. To RSVP, visit www.stgabrielchurch.org/RSVP or contact Cathy Esposito at 704-362-5047, ext. 276.

Evening concert with Pianist sylvanna fraga: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, at St. Aloysius Church, 921 2nd St. N.E., Hickory. Sylvanna Fraga will perform famous masterpieces including “Moonlight Sonata” by Beethoven, “The Heroic Polonaise” by Chopin, and more.

For tickets and details, call the church office at 828-3272341. Donations suggested but not required.

‘Luke-a-palooza’ Fall Festival: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 23, at St. Luke Church, 13700 Lawyers Road, Mint Hill. Come celebrate, have fun, take a thrilling ride, play a game, eat delicious food, listen to great music, dance, and more. Proceeds will benefit parish ministries and Thomasboro Academy. For details, call the church office at 704-545-1224.

Fourth annual Festival of Lebanon: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. Lebanese food and sweets, entertainment, cooking classes, souvenir shop, raffle drawing and fun for the entire family. For details, visit www.mmocnc.org/festival-of-lebanon.

Room at the inn banquet ‘Building a culture of life with love’: Thursday, Oct. 5, at Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons, 3121 West Gate City Blvd., Greensboro. The 18th annual benefit features speaker Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life. For details or to sponsor a table, contact Marianne Donadio at 336391-6299 or mdonadio@roominn.org.

Español Clases de inglés: 6-9 p.m. todos los martes y jueves en el Community Life Center, en la Iglesia de St. Mary, 205 W. Farris Ave., High Point. Para más información y para registrarse, llamar al 336-848-6970.

Informational Programs ‘Priceless, she’s worth fighting for’: 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, in at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Road, Charlotte. Learn more about human trafficking in the community and enjoy a free movie to build awareness. To RSVP or get more information, email Tammy at Tammy.RedeemingJoy@gmail.com. Donations will be accepted to benefit survivors of trafficking.

NATURAL Family Planning NFP Introduction and Full Course: 1-5 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 16, at St. Aloysius Church, 921 2nd St. N.E., Hickory. Topics include: effectiveness of modern NFP, health risks of popular contraceptives and what the Church teaches about responsible parenting. Sponsored

by Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. RSVP to Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at 704-370-3230.

PRAYER SERVICES & Groups Divine Mercy Day of Healing: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. For details and registration, go to www.stmatthewcatholic.org/divinemercy.

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

Thursday, Sept. 28, and Oct. 26, at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. St. Peregrine is the patron saint of cancer and grave diseases. The healing prayer service will be offered for all those suffering with cancer or other diseases. For details, contact the church office at 704-543-7677.

Pro-Life Rosary: 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at 901 North Main St. and Sunset Drive, High Point. Come and help us pray for the end of abortion, and invite anyone else who would support this important cause. Anyone who would have difficulty standing for 15-20 minutes is welcome to bring a folding chair. Outdoors, rain or shine. For details, call Jim Hoyng at 336-882-9593 or Paul Klosterman at 336-848-6835.

VIGIL OF THE TWO HEARTS: Join Catholics across Charlotte for Mass and overnight Eucharistic Adoration every first Friday-Saturday at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte to pray for the strengthening and healing of marriages and families, the conversion of our nation, and to offer reparation for the sins of mankind through prayer and penance. The vigil will begin with Mass at 8 p.m. each first Friday, followed by Adoration and scheduled prayer, and conclude with 8 a.m. Mass each first Saturday. For details and to sign up for Adoration times, go to www.prolifecharlotte.org.

Centennial Anniversary of Fatima: 7:30 p.m. the 13th of each month from May to October, at St. Michael the Archangel Church, 708 St. Michael’s Lane, Gastonia. All are invited to the recitation of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, outdoor candlelight procession and small reception.

For details, call the church office at 704-867-6212.

CHARLOTTE Maronite Mission: Masses are offered every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at St. Matthew Church’s Waxhaw Campus, 4116 Waxhaw-Marvin Road, Waxhaw. The Maronite Mission of Charlotte is an Eastern rite Catholic Church in full communion with the pope.

Healing Mass and Anointing of the Sick: 2 p.m. every third Sunday of the month, St. Margaret of Scotland Church, 37 Murphy Dr., Maggie Valley. Individual prayers over people after Mass by Charismatic Prayer Group members.

For details, call the church office at 828-926-0106.

Evening Novenas: Every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Christ the King Church, 1505 East Kivett Dr., High

Point. All are invited to pray the Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Join them in praying for the needs of your families and for our hurting world. For details, call the church office at 336-883-0244.

SEMINARS & Retreats Respect life conference: 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 16, 109 Crescent Hill Road, Arden. The conference will include a variety of speakers and workshops on many Respect Life issues, from legislative tutorials to end of life ethics to post abortion healing and human trafficking. To register, call Jessica Grabowski at 910-585-2460 or visit ccdoc.org/respectlife.

Rachel’s vineyard weekend retreat: Oct. 20-22 in the Greensboro area. Rachel’s Vineyard can help men and women who have experienced abortion begin their healing journey. It creates a healing environment of prayer and forgiveness. The retreat works to reconnect people to themselves, their friends and family after having an abortion. For details, email Jackie Childers at Jack-ie.childers1@gmail.com.

Life in the Spirit Seminar: Oct. 27-29. 8 p.m. Mass, Friday, Oct. 27, at Our Lady of Mercy Church, 1730 Link Road, Winston-Salem; 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, and 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, at Holy Family Church, 4820 Kinnamon Road, Winston-Salem. The Life in the Spirit Seminar is an evangelization tool for a renewed life that will help us to have a deeper personal relationship with the Lord. It will allow us to receive a fuller experience of the work of the Spirit in our lives. For details, call Aimee Pena at 336-893-9534 or Lith Golamco at 732-453-4279.

SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING “Protecting God’s Children” workshops are intended to educate parish volunteers to recognize and prevent sexual abuse. For details, contact your parish office. To register and confirm workshop times, go to www.virtus. org. Upcoming workshops are: BELMONT: 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, Queen of the Apostles Church, 503 North Main St CHARLOTTE: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, St. Matthew Church’s NLC Banquet Room, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy.; 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, St. Peter Church, 507 S. Tryon St. CONCORD: 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, St. James Church’s Geiger Hall, 139 Manor Ave. Hickory: 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, 921 2nd St. N.E.

Is your PARISH OR SCHOOL hosting a free event open to the public? Deadline for all submissions is 10 days prior to desired publication date. Submit in writing to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org.

OUR PARISHESI

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com

Catechetical Sunday 2017

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Resources online At www.usccb.org: Download resources including prayer cards, and read more about how encourage people, especially young people and families, to become missionary disciples

T

his year the Church celebrates Catechetical Sunday on Sept. 17. The 2017 theme is “Living as Missionary Disciples.” Those who the parish community has designated to serve as catechists will be called forth to be commissioned for their ministry. Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of their baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel.

Catechetical Sunday is an opportunity for everyone to rededicate themselves to this mission as a community of faith. Below are stories of parishes that are trying new catechetical approaches for youth and adults.

Monroe parish launches new adult education effort Lisa Geraci Correspondent

MONROE — Our Lady of Lourdes Church has added a new approach to adult education. “You can call it a miniretreat. You can call it adult ed. You can call it Catechism classes. You can call it whatever you want,” but the Saturday Days of Reflection are becoming a hit at the growing parish in Monroe.

“The issue often encountered with the ‘usual’ Tuesday night mini-series (available at most churches),” says Father Benjamin Roberts, pastor, “is the first session has a decent turnout. The second, maybe a couple of people do not make it. By the end of the sixth meeting, the crowd dissipates and there is about a third of the people left.

“A six-hour Saturday reflection is a more practical approach for both parishioners and staff. Instead of taking six separate days over the course six weeks, we can get everything done on one Saturday.”

“The idea for the one day reflections occurred to me when we had Virginia Lieto (a public speaker who attends St. James Church) come give her ‘Living a Virtuous Life’ Retreat. We had a great response. The model of the one-day event worked well. I did the first of our days of reflection a few months after,” Father Roberts explains.

Each day of reflection is designed to make the most of people’s time, and each program is carefully planned. To minimize costs, Father Roberts teaches most of the classes, enabling the parish’s secretary Becky Wright to afford to provide participants breakfast, lunch and dessert.

This way, the parish does not have to take up a collection to underwrite the programs, Wright notes.

Wright said she enjoys serving bagels and chicken salad croissants to fellow parishioners, but she finds the lessons just as filling. “Father Benjamin gets excited to teach because he wants to challenge us to expand our holiness. Ultimately, Father’s goal is to get us closer to God. These classes push us to take that leap of faith. It is awesome to know that God is right there with us.”

Reflection attendee Christine Aguirre says, “This is the third reflection I have attended. They are fun and very informative. I enjoy learning all about Catholicism because there are so many things I still do not know, even though I have been Catholic all my life. I work full time. When I get off, all I want to do is change into something comfortable and stay home. One Saturday, every quarter, is perfect. I wouldn’t be able to attend otherwise.”

Having a pastor as the teacher has other benefits as well. Explains Aguirre, “I like getting to know Father Benjamin. He gives such clarification on the topics and he is very personable. The last reflection day was about Mass. I had many questions but never had the proper occasion to ask. This is a very intimate setting. I feel comfortable here.”

The most recent class, “Recognizing God’s Presence,” ran from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 26 with a break at 10, and lunch at noon. Father Roberts filled the day in the roles of teacher, storyteller, comedian and philosopher. The crowd giggled when he called Moses “the first basket case.”

Interest grew when he revealed Catholic tidbits such as “St. Peter is buried under the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. Adorning his burial is an upside-down cross

Lisa Geraci | Catholic News Herald

Father Benjamin Roberts, pastor, leads a Saturday Day of Reflection at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe.

The six-hour Saturday reflections have become a popular adult education option for parishioners. symbolizing his crucifixion. His bones indicate that his feet were cut off.”

The overall message of the day focused on seeking God’s presence in one’s life.

Father Roberts demonstrated the five-step process for recognizing God’s presence, describing the personal journey of his maternal grandmother’s death.

At the end of the program, he asked the crowd, “Does this help you? Did you learn

anything from this process? Could you use this in your own life?”

Participants nodded with and responded positively. Then a hand quietly rose, and the person said, “This helped me see that God really does love me. All this time, all these hard trials, all along, it was actually part of some plan.”

Catholic-based VBS a hit at several parishes this summer Kimberly Bender Online reporter

CHARLOTTE — Several parishes in the diocese have turned to a uniquely Catholic Vacation Bible School alternative and aren’t looking back.

“Growing with the Saints really packages our Catholic faith in a way that is memorable for these kids. It teaches them in a way that really sticks with them,” said Danielle Mathis, director of summer catechesis programs at St. Ann Church in Charlotte.

For the past six years, children at St. Ann Church have been exploring their faith through Catholic Kidz Camps. These uniquely all-Catholic Vacation Bible School curricula were developed by Growing with the Saints Inc., a family-company based in

Indiana, said marketing manager Susan Lawson. They were developed by Lawson’s sister, Melissa Kaiser, a mother of seven who wanted to fill a need for Catholicspecific vacation Bible school.

“Our goal was to make a Catholic VBS with all the same wonderful elements, and really teach our faith, evangelize and bring home Catholic teaching through the children,” Lawson said. “These are comprehensive, quality, Scripture-based programs that talk about the saints by name and the Eucharist, in the music, in the skits – all throughout.”

While many parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte use Totus Tuus as their summer Catholic youth program, some have been using Protestant Vacation Bible School lessons which teach general Christian lessons like “God loves” and “Jesus forgives”

but are not tailored to the Catholic faith.

St. Ann Church, St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton and St. Eugene Church in Asheville are among the more than 1,000 parishes nationwide using Catholic Kidz Camp programs.

“If these programs can reach our children, they can be the best evangelizers.

If this material can get in the children’s hands, we can try to bring parents back as active participants in their faith,” Lawson said. “We want people to fall in love with their faith again.”

After using Protestant-based camps, catechetical leaders at St. Ann Church decided they wanted their camps to provide solid Catholic catechesis, build the faith community and use the gifts of the parish’s teens. Mathis said they explored Totus

More online At www.growingwiththesaints.com: Learn more about these Catholic-based Vacation Bible School and catechetical programs Tuus, but it didn’t meet their goals.

That’s when they found Growing with the Saints programs, which is simple for adult and teen volunteers to lead the lessons and it didn’t take “tailoring” to fit with the faith lessons important to the parish, Mathis said.

“The children who participate, the teens who volunteer, and their parents grow in richness through these programs,” Mathis said. “It embraces Catholic tradition. It’s deep, but easy to grasp programs and materials.”

VBS, SEE page 25

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catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 OUR PARISHES

After 80 years of marriage, Hickory couple still having fun HICKORY — For St. Aloysius parishioners Mike and Theresa Bennett, Sept. 6 was a milestone: They celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary.

After 80 years of marriage, they say, they’re still having fun.

“Marrying Theresa is my joy,” says Mike, who will turn 99 in November. “The first time I laid eyes on Theresa, I knew she was the girl I was going to marry.”

The couple met at the “bandstand” in Au Sable Forks, N.Y., the popular spot in town where musicians played the latest tunes and people came out to enjoy the evening.

Theresa reminisces, “I could tell right away that Mike was a good person and he was very handsome.”

On one of their first dates, Mike took Theresa to a restaurant, which was a new experience for her. She didn’t know what to order. Finally, she chose a grilled cheese sandwich. Theresa and Mike chuckle as Theresa recounts the story – she does not like grilled cheese sandwiches.

On Sept. 6, 1937, the couple were married before the last blessing at the 7 a.m. Mass. After Mass, they hopped into Mike’s car for a honeymoon to adventurous New Hampshire. While they were there, they could visit Theresa’s sister.

Life wasn’t easy for the newlyweds, who were trying to manage on $17 a week. A few years later, World War II brought on more financial hardships for the country, but they tightened their belts and were happy to be together.

Finances got easier for them after Mike landed a job with General Electric, which tripled his income.

While Mike was at work, Theresa took on the challenge of raising their five boys. She enjoyed being a stay-athome mom, caring for her family.

The couple packed up and moved each time Mike was promoted at GE. In the mid-1970s his job brought them to Hickory, where he was sent to set up a new GE plant.

Years later Mike retired from GE and the couple chose to remain in Hickory, where they have a lovely home with a beautiful view of Lake Hickory.

Besides their five sons, they have 10 grandchildren and

12 great-grandchildren.

Their successful marriage is the epitome of a lifelong commitment to each other and to their Catholic faith, they say.

Their secret to remaining happily married for eight decades?

“Don’t go to bed angry,” Theresa says. The 96-year-old adds, “You can’t be too independent in a marriage. You need each other and you should do everything together.”

Mike chimes in, “Theresa is right.”

— Bobby Spears, correspondent

Photo provided by Bruce Jaworoski

Monument celebrates life at all stages CLEMMONS — U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx was the keynote speaker at a gathering of more than 200 parishioners Sept. 3 at Holy Family Church in Clemmons for the dedication of a monument to the “Celebration of Life,” portraying that the sanctity of human life must be upheld from conception to natural death. The monument features four engraved plaques, each with a single word – Unborn, Vulnerable, Forgotten, Aged – bringing focus to the times in which society often devalues life. In the center is a marble statue of St. Teresa of Calcutta holding a newborn baby while caring for a sick, elderly man. Throughout St. Teresa’s life, she reached out to the unborn, vulnerable, forgotten and aged while declaring “all life is precious.” The monument’s dedication was held in conjunction with the one-year anniversary of the canonization of St. Teresa. The monument, located in front of the church, was sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council 9499 of Clemmons. Pictured is (from left) Deacon John Harrison, Father Michael Buttner (pastor), Grand Knight Joe Muster, Foxx, Knights of Columbus State Warden Sergio Miranda, District Deputy Jean Dion, and Knights of Columbus State Culture of Life Chairman Boyce Williams. In the background are 4th Degree members of Triad Assembly 2282.

Deacon Charles Dietsch passes away in Brevard BREVARD — Deacon Charles C. Dietsch was called home to heaven on Aug. 31, 2017, from his home in Brevard, in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina.

The funeral Mass was celebrated Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, at Sacred Heart Church in Southbury, Conn. Interment will be at the convenience of the family.

A memorial Mass will be offered at a later date at Sacred Heart Church in Brevard.

Deacon Dietsch was born Jan. 18, 1944, in Clearwater, Fla., the son of Charles K. and Virginia L. (Jones) Dietsch.

He attended schools in Florida and Wisconsin, and received his B.A. from the University of South Florida and his M.S. from the University of Southern California.

He was a veteran of the Vietnam War, serving as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps attached to Dietsch the Military Intelligence Brigade of the Strategic Communications CommandPacific at Schofield Barracks in Oahu, Hawaii.

Following his military service, he had a successful career in pharmaceutical and medical device sales and training before starting his own company specializing in sales and marketing training and executive coaching.

A convert to Catholicism, he was active in the practice of his faith. Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy ordained him a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of Miami, Fla., on May 4, 1985.

He also served in the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., and served most recently at Sacred Heart Church in Brevard, where he and his wife Dorne Jo (Seyffert) had moved in 2016. The greatest part of his diaconate ministry was spent in the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn., where he served for more than 20 years at Sacred Heart Church in Southbury.

In his 32-plus years of diaconate service, Deacon Dietsch took to heart his call to service and will be remembered for his outreach, love and compassion to the neglected and marginalized of God’s children.

As a pastoral associate at Sacred Heart Church in Southbury, he coordinated the social outreach of that large and vibrant parish. He helped to expand the caring work undertaken by the parish, especially with the poor and the homeless.

He also was instrumental in the twinning of the parish with a parish in Haiti, Notre Dame des Sept Douleurs, in the village of Grand Boulage. While he was working in Haiti with Haitian Ministries for the Diocese of Norwich, Conn., he was buried beneath a collapsed mission house for 11 hours when the earthquake struck Haiti in 2010. Because of his injuries, he was one of the first to be airlifted out of the country, but he returned to Haiti two months later to assist with reestablishing the mission house in temporary quarters. He has many friends in Haiti to this day and always had a warm spot in his heart for the beautiful people of Haiti.

He and his wife Dorne Jo celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last January.

Besides his wife, he is survived by their sons, Charles Cary and his wife Julie of Grayslake, Ill., and Gordon Todd and his wife Jean of Park Ridge, Ill.; and his sisters, Marilyn Crane and her husband Royce of Suwannee, Ga., and Deborah Libengood and her husband Roy of Blairsville, Ga. He is also survived by six dearly loved grandchildren: Kevin, Alex, Jeffrey, Erik, Alyssa and Keaton; two god-children, Greyson and Brenna Iden, each of whom he was privileged to baptize; a step-grandson, Ryan Smith (Sabrina Elddine) of Austin, Texas; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his aunt and uncle, Gwen and Milton Simons; his niece and goddaughter Angela Almany; and his step-grandson Kyle Wallace.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to Seeds of Hope for Haiti, Inc., a 501(c)(3) that supports ongoing outreach to the village of Grand Boulage, or to the St. Vincent de Paul shelter and soup kitchen in Waterbury, Conn. Donations to either charity may be mailed c/o Sacred Heart Church, 910 Main St. South, Southbury, CT 06488.

Carpino Funeral Home of Southbury was in charge of the arrangements.

— Catholic News Herald

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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St. Luke’s parishioners take mission trip to eastern Kentucky Lisa Geraci Correspondent

MINT HILL — A chance encounter on a cruise ship steered a Mint Hill couple to a lifetime of serving people in one of the poorest areas of Appalachia.

Debby Lawrence and her husband Jim first learned of the extreme poverty in the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky through their son Chris, who went on a mission trip organized through the Christian Appalachian Project. The trip was supposed to last three weeks.

“Well, he just did not come on back for the whole summer,” Debby Lawrence recalls. When their son did finally return, he was excited to talk about the Christian Appalachian Project and share all that he had experienced in eastern Kentucky.

Three years later, the Lawrences were on a cruise and while attending Mass they heard the priest celebrant talk about the people in eastern Kentucky and how they needed help. Debby Lawrence realized that the priest was none other than Monsignor Ralph Beiting, the founder of the Christian Appalachian Project and the person responsible for her son’s summer adventure. The Kentucky-born priest, who died in 2012, began helping Appalachian residents fight poverty in 1946, when, as a seminarian, he accompanied several priests on preaching trips to the mountains of eastern Kentucky. The oldest of 11 children who grew up during the Great Depression, Monsignor Beiting was no stranger to need, but the incredible poverty he saw in Appalachia planted the seeds of what eventually became the Christian Appalachian Project.

The Lawrences asked Monsignor Beiting how they

could help, and he suggested that they go on a short-term mission trip. They were so touched by that experience that they ended up becoming long-term missionaries with the organization and even moved to eastern Kentucky for two years to serve the elderly residents there.

The Lawrences continue to lead mission trips to eastern Kentucky, and since 2011 parishioners from St. Luke Church have gone on summer mission trips with them through the Christian Appalachian Project.

On the parish’s most recent mission trip, the Lawrences, Bobby Francis, Bob Hayes, Sandy Coughlin, John Luther and David Esposito completed two construction projects in four days. They built ramps and porches, replaced windows and revamped kitchens for elderly residents in need that had been identified through the Christian Appalachian Project.

“We would have breakfast at seven, pack a lunch and go to our designated project site. We worked on projects and interacted with families until about 4:30. We would get back to the Follie Community Center and have a wellneeded dinner. After, we had a group share and devotional.

We finally had enough time to clean up the hall and get a decent night’s sleep. The next day we would do it all over again,” Lawrence describes.

Appalachia’s poverty and socioeconomic ills have been well documented, and the six counties in Kentucky served by the Christian Appalachian Project are no different: 13 percent of the population is disabled, 12 percent are unemployed, nearly half are obese, and residents’ lifespan is six years less than the average American.

“When driving through the mountains everything looks to be quite normal but within the ‘hollers,’ people have

just about nothing,” Lawrence says. “Many are elderly and do not have cars, proper plumbing, or even access to their homes. The trailers most citizens live in are outdated and falling apart. They have found a way to make do generation to generation, but they need help. A lot people are ill, disabled and are completely dependent upon each other.”

“Hollers” are the flat lands within the mountain valleys of Appalachia. Each “holler” has a name and a family that has been tied to it for at least a century. At one time, these families were successful coal miners. But as the demand for coal has declined, so has the prosperity of these families. Ironically, some are unable to buy the same coal that once provided them with a living, to heat their homes.

For the Lawrences, this dim reality just means that more help is needed.

“I am not trying to solve problems or determine answers,” Lawrence says. “I go to serve individual people that have a need. There are so many, so many that need us.

“These are the most resourceful people I have ever seen.

They are great Christians. They love God. Every time we help them they tell us, ‘Thank you for coming. I love you.’

They really say that, and they really mean it. They are not envious of anyone or anything. These are some of the most amazing people I ever met. I love these people. They are my people. They have stolen my heart.”

The Lawrences said they would love to have more parishes embrace the summer mission trips that the Christian Appalachian Project offers. For more information, email Debby Lawrence at dxlawr@earthlink. net.

Mission trip to Haiti HUNTERSVILLE — Ten parishioners from St. Mark Church recently returned from a mission trip to Haiti, where they helped the Missionaries of the Poor at the CapHaïtien home for children with special needs and orphans. Pictured are two of the mission trip participants, Lisa Modzelewski and Erin Vermillion.

Photo provided by Amy Burger and Lisa Modzelewski

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catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 OUR PARISHES

Receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit

Anxiety / Depression Acid Reflux / Sleep Hormones / Fatigue Cholesterol / Acne

CCDOC.ORG Photo provided by St. Joseph Church

ASHEBORO — Sixty young people from St. Joseph Church received the sacrament of confirmation from Bishop Peter Jugis during Mass Aug. 21.

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Diocese of Charlotte Greensboro Area

October 20-22, 2017

Giuliana Polinari Riley | Catholic News Herald

LENOIR — Sixteen young people received the sacrament of confirmation from Bishop Peter Jugis at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Lenoir during Mass Aug. 23. Father Stephen Hoyt, pastor, concelebrated the Mass, and Deacon Stephen Pickett assisted. Confirmed were: Brandon Rivera, Daniela Arroyo, Dara Rodriguez, Diego Aguilar, Flor Contreras, Greta Waitz, Jennifer Soto, Johnathan Reyes, Karim Aguilar, Katie Walker, Lorena Ibarra, Luz-Maria Hernandez, Maria Vazquez, Mia Avila, Nathaly Lopez and Ronaldo Wilson.

For more information please contact: Jackie Childers: 980-241-0251 / Jackie.childers1@gmail.com

Remaining 2017 Retreats In Surrounding Dioceses Archdiocese of Atlanta, GA Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2017

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Diocese of Richmond, VA October 13-15, 2017

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Diocese of Raleigh, NC December 10-12, 2017

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8th annual Bishop Begley Conference on Appalachia set for Sept. 23 HAYESVILLE — Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, in partnership with Hayesville First United Methodist Church, will explore the topic of food insecurity in the far western rural counties of North Carolina Saturday, Sept. 23, at the 8th annual Bishop Begley Conference on Appalachia.

Attendees will learn about the scope of this social concern and how food insecurity manifests itself in rural areas. Presenters will address food insecurity through the lenses of rural practitioners. Attendees will also learn how rural areas in general, and certain western North Carolina non-profit organizations in particular, are marshaling resources to address this problem.

There will be a special panel session

highlighting how recipients of this year’s Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte Growing Opportunities Grants are fighting food insecurity and providing resources that make a real difference for individuals, families and communities. This is the 16th year that Growing Opportunities Grants have been awarded in the far western region of the diocese.

The conference will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Hayesville First United Methodist Church, which is located at 989 U.S. 64 Bus., Hayesville.

A $15 fee covers lunch and refreshments.

Go to www.ccdoc.org/fwnc for a schedule and registration form. Questions? Contact Joe Purello at jtpurello@charlottediocese. org or 704-370-3225.

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com

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Faithful gather to pray for peace in families, for the nation CHARLOTTE — More than 50 people from multiple parishes in the Charlotte area attended the inaugural Vigil of the Two Hearts devotion at St. Patrick Cathedral Sept. 1.

The vigil, organized by the Catholic Prolife Action Network of Charlotte (C-PLAN), honors the hearts of Jesus and Mary by offering First Friday and First Saturday Masses united by nocturnal Eucharistic Adoration.

The vigil invites Catholic families to come together in prayer each month for the strengthening of their families, offering penance for their sins, and praying for the country’s conversion. The event seeks to honor the Sacred Heart devotion and Our Lady of Fatima’s request for prayer and penance for conversion of sinners and peace in the world.

The evening began with Mass, offered by Father Peter Ascik of St. Thomas Aquinas

Church in Charlotte, who preached about the need to accept Christ’s healing love first before healing the wounds of families and the nation.

After Mass, Father Ascik offered prayers to spiritually fortify families while Deacon Carlos Medina of St. Patrick Cathedral led a Holy Hour of Reparation before midnight.

Throughout the night, individuals and families came to the cathedral for nocturnal Eucharistic Adoration. The event concluded with morning First Saturday Mass Sept. 2.

The Vigil of the Two Hearts will be held again at the cathedral Oct. 6-7, and may be held monthly if participation remains consistent.

For more information or to sign up for a Holy Hour during the period of nocturnal Adoration, go to www.prolifecharlotte.org/ two-hearts.

— Mike FitzGerald, correspondent

Refugee children receive free dental care CHARLOTTE — This summer refugee children received free dental exams and sealants as part of a partnership with the N.C. Oral Health Division of Public Health.

This was the first year that Catholic Charities’ Refugee Resettlement Office partnered with the state to provide these free services to refugee children during the refugee youth summer camp held in July, said Kailey Otten, program director for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.

More than $7,500 in dental work was performed, including exams for 11 children and 117 sealed teeth, according to Prissy Helms, a public health dental hygienist.

All campers also received toothbrushes, floss, toothbrush covers, sunglasses and bookbags.

The summer camp is for children who recently arrived to the United States to help them learn English and classroom etiquette, Otten said. This year’s camp had

students ranging in age from 7 to 14.

“It’s a great program,” Otten said. “They explained everything to the kids and had information translated to the different languages for them to bring home for the parents to consent.

“They brought everything to perform the exams. They were wonderful with the children. They made it really easy on them.”

Most of the children had been to a dentist before after arriving in this country, but they may not have a family dentist to see for routine care, Otten said.

This was the first year the refugee office partnered with the state to provide these free exams, Otten said. Participation was open to refugee families as well and they hope if they can continue this program, there will be a higher participation next year.

— Kimberly Bender, online reporter

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catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 OUR PARISHES

Maryvale Sisters organize 5K to support cancer research Krispy Kreme Challenge raises $45K to benefit Carcinoid Cancer Foundation Kathy Chickering Special to the Catholic News Herald

HICKORY — Record-high pre-race registration numbers set the pace for a very successful Krispy Kreme Challenge 5K held June 24 at Lenoir-Rhyne University. More than 600 participants and a crowd of spectators gathered for the inaugural event in memory of Sister Mary Norman. Proceeds totaled $45,000 to benefit the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation.

“What an amazing event and extraordinarily generous gift to the Carcinoid Cancer Norman Foundation!” said Keith Warner, CEO of the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation.

“We thank the Maryvale Sisters who wished to honor the memory of Sister Mary Norman, who passed away from carcinoid cancer in August 2016; Mark Sinclair, committee chair for the Krispy Kreme 5K Run/Walk; Krispy Kreme; and the hundreds of community participants and sponsors for raising awareness of this rare disease.

“Our foundation’s mission is to ensure that everyone, worldwide, is aware of carcinoid cancer and neuroendocrine tumors – until then our work is not done.

Thank you to all who joined the Krispy Kreme Challenge 5K and supported

carcinoid/NET cancer awareness and the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation – you have made a huge difference.”

The Maryvale Sisters had never been to a 5K before and had no idea what to expect. ”We were completely overwhelmed!” said Mother Mary Louis. “You could feel the friendship and love that permeated the event. So many people came up to us to share how Sister Mary Norman had an impact on their lives or on the lives of someone they know. They thanked us for this special way of remembering her.”

RunTimeRaces of Newton managed the event. Owner Kelly Stewart explained, “This is an illustration of how partnerships, teamwork and synergy created a win-win for our community and a very important research organization – Carcinoid Cancer Foundation.

RunTimeRaces was very honored to be part of something this significant to our community members.”

Krispy Kreme of Hickory and Lenoir was the title sponsor for this inaugural event. Runners and walkers of all ages

participated, with medals awarded in specific age categories. A $1,000 award, donated courtesy of Krispy Kreme, was presented to Hard Bodies, team winner with the largest number of pre-registered participants.

Sister Mary Norman was a member of the Maryvale Sisters who operate a large daycare facility in Vale. She served as the director of religious education for more than 30 years in churches in North Carolina, including Hickory, Lincoln County, and congregations as far east as Hamlet and west to Franklin. Sister Mary Norman was instrumental in bringing members of different churches together through special ecumenical book studies, vacation Bible school, and youth ministry programs.

Sister Mary Norman also offered no-cost spiritual direction and counseling to people of all faiths. She was available day or night to help in a crisis. Her gentleness, genuine smile and helpfulness filled everyone whose lives she touched with happiness and hope.

Participating sponsors included A Woman’s View, Platinum sponsor. Gold sponsors include: Alex Lee Inc., BOCA, Catawba Valley Medical Center, Custom Design Group LLC, Frye Regional Medical Center and Unifour Podiatry. Silver sponsors include: Abernethy Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Trucks-Lincolnton, Cardwell Chiropractic Associates, Carolina Dental Care Center, Catawba Women’s Center, CopyMasters Printing Services Inc., EmergeOrtho, Fulbright Lumber Inc., Graystone Eye, Hickory Real Estate Group, LFR Grain and Chemical, Paramount Motors, RAR Richards Appliance Repair, Speagle Grading, Father Wilbur N. Thomas, Vale Veterinary Hospital, vonDrehle Corporation and Wyant Farms.

The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation is the oldest nonprofit carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumor organization in the United States, founded in 1968. Its mission is to increase awareness and educate the general public and healthcare professionals regarding carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumors, to support cancer patients and their families, and to serve as patient advocates. Learn more at: www.carcinoid.org.

Kathy Chickering is a member of the Krispy Kreme Challenge 5K Committee.

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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In Brief Rice Bowl Mini-Grant applications now available CHARLOTTE — The Fall 2017 round of CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grants, sponsored by Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, is now open.

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.

Grants will be accepted through the postmark deadline of Monday, Oct. 16.

Information about these grants (including application, guidelines and eligibility) is available at www.ccdoc.org/cchdcrs.

Last year, 11 CRS Rice Bowl Mini-Grants were awarded to Catholic entities to support local poverty and hunger relief efforts in the cities of Albemarle, Andrews, Charlotte, Clemmons, Gastonia, Greensboro, Mocksville, Morganton, Murphy and Spruce Pine. Questions? Email jtpurello@charlottediocese.org.

OLC gospel choir to perform at St. Gabriel Church

Sept. 23 Begley Conference to highlight food insecurity HAYESVILLE — “Food Insecurity in Western North Carolina,” the eighth Bishop Begley Conference on Appalachia sponsored by Catholic Charities, will be held starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at Hayesville First United Methodist Church. Anyone interested in learning more about food insecurity in the far western rural counties of North Carolina – its causes and its effects on vulnerable populations and efforts being made to address this concern – is welcome to attend.

Hayesville First United Methodist Church is located at 989 US-64 Bus. in Hayesville. Go to www.ccdoc.org/fwnc for details.

‘Volunteens’ celebrated

ASHEBORO — St. Joseph Church’s Knights of Columbus Council 10891’s Fourth Degree Sir Knights participated in the parish’s confirmation Mass Aug. 21 celebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis.

Fourteen Knights completed their Fourth Degree over the past two years and recently purchased their ceremonial regalia. They received their training from Paul Spire, state marshal, in preparation for this duty. Twelve of the 14 were participants for their first Fourth Degree Honor Guard since they became Sir Knights.

Pictured are: (from left, front row) Jason Kroeger, Victor Alvarenga, Filimon Guttierrez, David Martinez, Chuck Lyon (Commander and Grand Knight), Ruben Martinez, Cecil Piansay, Franklin Lara and Gerardo Baron; and (back row) Alejandro Garcia, Domingo Garcia and Roberto Perez.

BELMONT — This summer Holy Angels welcomed 107 “volunteens” (middle and high school students) into ITS Summer Volunteen program. Ranging in age from 13 TO 18, these young people shared their enthusiasm and joy with residents, supported employees and LifeChoices participants.

They gave a part of their summer vacation “hanging out” at Holy Angels, spending time helping with boat rides, the horticulture program and music therapy, Camp Wyliewanna (at Camp Hope) and Fun Fridays, and helping out in the office.

According to Regina Moody, Holy Angels’ president and CEO, “These students, while having a great time, made a big difference in the lives of the people we serve and had lifechanging experiences.”

The summer volunteens represented 28 public and private middle and high schools from two states and gave 3,205 hours of volunteer service.

Volunteer Services Manager Donnie Thurman Jr., who coordinated the summer volunteer experience, said, “I believe that this program is one of the best youth programs in the country. It is so successful because of the unique experience that students have with our residents on a daily basis.”

Four summer volunteens (pictured above) received the Outstanding Summer Volunteen award because of their exceptional contributions: n Serenity Brown, 13, is a student from Piedmont Open IB Middle School. She assisted residents in the Morrow Center. Her parents are Shanna and Mario Brown of Charlotte. n Evan Friday, 13, is a student at Cramerton Middle School. He helped out in the Morrow Center. His parents are Dana and Todd Friday of Gastonia. n Priyanka Patel, 16, from Highland School of Technology, served in the Morrow Center.

Her parents are Kashmira and Kailash Patel of Belmont. n Kevey Gamble, 16, attends Stuart Cramer High School and was a big help in the LifeChoices program and Oakcrest group home.

His parent is Lakisha Lipscomb of Belmont.

Holy Angels was founded in 1955 by the Sisters of Mercy. The private, nonprofit corporation located in Belmont, NC, provides residential services and innovative programs for children and adults with intellectual developmental disabilities with delicate medical conditions.

— Stephen Gage

— Sister Nancy Nance

CHARLOTTE — All are invited to an upcoming performance of the award-winning Our Lady of Consolation gospel choir from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 20, at St. Gabriel Church.

The program is entitled “Authentically Black – Wholly Catholic: A Conversation in Music and Heritage Featuring Our Lady of Consolation’s Gospel Choir.” Interspersed with hymns and music will be brief segments highlighting black culture and heritage, the conversion of Africans in America to Christianity, and the Church’s history with enslavement and place in the civil rights and Black Lives Matter movements.

The program is free, but RSVP to www. stgabrielchurch.org/RSVP or to Cathy Esposito at 704-362-5047, ext. 276. St. Gabriel Church is located at 3016 Providence Road in Charlotte.

Asheboro Fourth Degree Knights participate in first Honor Guard

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Photo provided by Tom Mayer | Mountain Times Publications

Sending the help of warmth to hurricane victims JEFFERSON — After Mass Sept. 10, Deacon Lee Levenson of St. Francis of Assisi Church blessed blankets for babies and adults, made by parishioner Shelby Mayer and her mother, that are being shipped to Texas for Hurricane Harvey relief.

Do you have a car sitting in a driveway catching leaves? Maybe it will not start or needs a major repair. Catholic Charities benefits from the donation of your vehicle. Donate your vehicle and receive a tax benefit!

Call 1-855-930-GIVE today!

CCDOC.ORG

Donate Your Car Make your car go the extra mile.

Donate your car to Catholic Charities to help fund programs for those in need. All vehicle makes, models and years welcome.

Truck, boat, RV and motorcycle donations accepted.

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

catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 FROM THE COVER

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Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress – Sept. 8-9, 2017

Bishop Peter J. Jugis

Proclaim the greatness of the Lord

O

ur Eucharistic Congress brought us together as a diocesan family to celebrate our Catholic faith, and especially to celebrate our faith in Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist. Jesus comforts His apostles with His promise, “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age,” and the Holy Eucharist is one of the marvelous ways that He fulfills His promise and remains always with us.

Other religious bodies have annual meetings or annual assemblies where they bring together all their members to conduct the business of their church. How about for us Catholics? The Eucharistic Congress is our annual assembly where we also conduct important business of the Church, namely the business of attending to your spiritual life – feeding the soul.

There is a special spiritual benefit that is gained by coming together as a diocesan family to celebrate our faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

We are spiritually renewed by being in the company of thousands and thousands of our brothers and sisters from across the diocese.

Our hearts and souls are rejuvenated by this large gathering of the faithful during the congress, especially at the Eucharistic Procession, the Eucharistic Holy Hour and Holy Mass. It is a time of spiritual renewal, all centered on the Eucharist.

This year we are celebrating the Year of the Immaculate Heart in our diocese, to honor the 100th anniversary of the Blessed Mother’s appearances at Fatima in 1917. The theme for the Eucharistic Congress, therefore, was chosen to reflect this Marian direction of the year. The congress theme was taken from the song of praise that Mary spoke at her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” Mary’s soul does indeed proclaim the greatness of the Lord because her soul is completely filled with God’s light and grace. There is no trace of sin in her. She is the Immaculate Conception.

We may apply Mary’s words to ourselves.

Our souls begin to proclaim the greatness of the Lord in a unique way at our baptism, when sanctifying grace comes to abide in our souls.

We become children of God, adopted into God’s family, living in His friendship. As we continue in life, the Holy Eucharist nourishes God’s divine life within us. Our souls continue to proclaim the greatness of the Lord because Christ’s Body and Blood sanctifies us. Christ lives in us, as He says: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.”

The Holy Eucharist enables us to grow in holiness. The Holy Eucharist enables us to proclaim the greatness of the Lord.

May the fruits of this Eucharistic Congress be multiplied throughout our diocese. In imitation of the Visitation of the Immaculate Heart to her cousin Elizabeth, let your souls, let your lives, proclaim the greatness of the Lord to everyone you meet.

Bishop Peter Jugis is the fourth bishop of Charlotte and the founder of the Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress.

Photos by SueAnn Howell, Doreen Sugierski, John Cosmas, Bill Washington, Tara Heilingoetter, Jose Sanchez and Giuliana Riley | Catholic News Herald

An estimated 20,000 Catholics from across the Diocese of Charlotte participated in the 13th Annual Eucharistic Congress Sept. 8-9 at the Charlotte Convention Center. Celebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis, the closing Mass in Hall A of the convention center was standing-room-only.

Sanctifying grace ‘Let your soul, let your life proclaim the greatness of the Lord to everyone you meet,’ Bishop Jugis preaches at closing Mass of 13th Eucharistic Congress Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

CHARLOTTE — The Eucharistic Congress is a time to rejuvenate one’s soul in fellowship with other Catholics and to receive God’s sanctifying grace in the sacraments of the Eucharist and confession, Bishop Peter Jugis noted in his homily for the closing Mass of the two-day celebration.

The 13th annual congress Sept. 8-9 drew more than 20,000 Catholics to the Charlotte Convention Center, organizers estimated.

“How good it is to see all of you here at this Mass,” Bishop Jugis greeted the thousands seated inside the convention center for the Mass. “This is one time of year that we all come together as one diocesan family,” “to be with thousands and thousands of our brothers and sisters,” to celebrate our faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, he said.

“The sheer numbers lift us up,” he said, as we experience together the various aspects of the congress – from hours spent in Eucharistic Adoration and a mile-long Eucharistic procession through the streets of uptown Charlotte, to educational programs in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, to the closing Mass. “It is a tangible spiritual benefit that cannot be repeated elsewhere.”

That spiritual benefit derives from the fact that every aspect of the congress “is centered on the Eucharist,” the bishop said.

This year’s theme, the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary – “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord” – serves as a further inspiration and example for everyone at the congress, he continued.

Our souls can proclaim God’s greatness just as Mary did, he said. Starting with our baptism and continuing through the other sacraments of initiation, our souls are “elevated by His sanctifying grace.”

“As you continue in life, the Holy Eucharist is nourishing God’s divine life within you, and your soul continues to proclaim the greatness of the Lord because He is sanctifying you,” he said.

“The Lord wants holy people. The Lord wants holy married couples. The Lord wants holy families, holy teenagers, holy children, holy single people, holy young adults, holy priests, holy deacons, holy consecrated religious, holy seminarians,” he continued. “He wants holy people in His Church.”

The bishop noted the long hours during the congress that priests spend hearing people’s confessions, and how important the sacrament of confession is in purifying one’s soul and becoming holier.

“Thank you for asking your priests to help you. Thank you for asking your priests to do something for you which no other man can do: absolve you from sins,” he said. “Ask the Lord to make your priests holy men of God.” Participating in the closing Mass of the congress – the “high point” of the two-day gathering – sanctifies and rejuvenates one’s soul, Bishop Jugis emphasized.

He referred to the Gospel reading from John 6:51-58, in which Jesus proclaims, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.”

“Jesus asks you to partake of His sacrifice,” he said. “Jesus is inviting you to this sacred meal of His Body and Blood and reminding you that He is the sacrifice of the new covenant, and He wants to sanctify you by partaking of this sacrifice.”

Make a point during this 100th anniversary of the appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal,

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com

FROM THE COVERI

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Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress – Sept. 8-9, 2017

(Above) Bishop Jugis greets parishioners in the Spanish track Sept. 9. Members of the Hispanic community waive “Cristo Vive” (“Christ lives”) flags during the Eucharistic Procession Sept. 9. to strive to imitate her in all things, the bishop entreated the faithful.

Just as Mary, carrying the Son of God in her womb, proclaimed God’s glory when she visited her cousin Elizabeth, so too should we proclaim God’s glory, he said.

“In imitation of the Immaculate Heart and of her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth, let your soul, let your life proclaim the greatness of the Lord to everyone you meet,” he said. “Share the love and joy of this Eucharistic Congress with everyone you meet.”

This was the first Eucharistic Congress for Tori Yercheck, 15, of Monroe, who attends St. Luke Church in Mint Hill. She said she was blown away by witness to our faith.

“I think it’s really cool to see so many Catholics come together and to see our faith celebrated by so many cultural backgrounds,” she said.

She said she enjoyed joining in the Eucharistic procession and seeing the volume and magnitude of those participating. “It was also awesome to hang out with the other teenagers. It’s not often you’re in a room with so many young people who have the same beliefs.”

First-time attendee Teresa Bookamer from Charlotte came to the Eucharistic Congress to see what it’s about.

“My daughter and I wanted to experience it. See the vendors, go to confession and attend Mass,” said the St. Mark parishioner. “I think it’s great to see so many Catholics gather today to celebrate, to come together for Jesus, especially the youth. We didn’t have that when I was younger.”

Holy Family parishioner Nancy Gerrety has attended the Eucharistic Congress many times and said she wouldn’t miss it.

“The speakers, the choir, just being in a sacred space,” Gerrety said. “It was wonderful this year.”

— Kimberly Bender, online reporter, contributed.

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See video highlights and lots more photos from the 13th annual Eucharistic Congress

A woman spends a moment in quiet prayer before a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the Eucharistic Congress.

(Above) Newlyordained Father Peter Ascik carries the Blessed Sacrament across College Street for nocturnal Adoration at St. Peter Church Sept. 8 at the start of the congress.

Children are a major part of the annual Eucharistic Procession.

Father George Byers, parochial administrator of Holy Redeemer Church in Andrews, hears confessions.

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iiiSeptember 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com

FROM TH

Diocese of Charlotte Eucharis

Thousands of faithful joined with priests and religious of the diocese for the Eucharistic Procession through the streets of uptown Charlotte Sept.

9 – a visible sign of the diversity of the Church in western North Carolina.

Newly-ordained Father Matthew Bean, parochial vicar of St. Thomas Aquinas Church Procession through Charlotte Sept. 9.

HE COVER

stic Congress – Sept. 8-9, 2017

h in Charlotte, carries the Blessed Sacrament during part of the Eucharistic

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.comiii

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catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 FROM THE COVER

Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress – Sept. 8-9, 2017

‘When the human family is willing to show the docility of the first disciple, God can do great things’ Father Kirby opens Congress with talk on ‘With Our Lady in Spiritual Battle’ SueAnn Howell Senior Reporter

CHARLOTTE — Friday night’s opening Sept. 8 of the 13th Annual Eucharistic Congress at the Charlotte Convention Center had a little something for everyone – joy, music, prayer, Adoration – and a little fire and brimstone.

Bishop Peter Jugis opened the congress with a warm welcome to all those who came out for the evening’s events, leading the faithful in prayer.

Byzantine Rite Vespers were then chanted by Father Joseph Matlak, pastor, and Deacon Matthew Hanes,

‘When the children of God listen to their mother ... she draws us closer to her Son.’ along with parishioners of St. Basil the Great Mission (Byzantine Rite). On this, the evening of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Byzantine Rite acknowledges this feast as well as the commemoration of her parents, Sts. Joachim and Anne.

Then came Father Jeffrey Kirby, author and pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church in Indian Land, S.C., who gave an at times fiery address entitled, “With Our Lady in Spiritual Battle.” Father Kirby cut to the chase throughout his address, pointing out how obstacles and distractions in our lives can wreak havoc on our spiritual lives.

Blame these problems on the devil, he said. “Did you know that the devil so hates humanity that he is on a kamikaze mission to destroy as many of God’s children as possible before the end times?”

God wants a big family (in heaven), though, Father Kirby explained. Jesus is waiting to return so that as many people as possible can be saved, he continued.

“Only when we realize that we need to be saved can the work of Our Redeemer begin,” he said. “We have to deny and order the distractions of our world. We have to convict the fallen distractions and attractions of our heart and we have to denounce the evil one in all his ways, in all his allurements and in all his lies! Then Jesus Christ can work.”

Father Kirby also addressed the pivotal role the Blessed Virgin Mary plays in our triumph against the evil one.

“In the beginning of time, human damnation happened because a virgin spoke to an angel: Eve spoke to Lucifer.

In the Divine Pedagogy where God fixes what is broken, the beginning of our redemption begins, the beginning of the work of our Savior begins when a virgin speaks to an angel: Mary to Gabriel.

“There, when she gave the answer that Eve should have given. Our Lady unties the knot,” Father Kirby said.

Father Kirby called attention to Mary’s docility, heart and mission, using as an example the time when Our Lady and St. Joseph searched for the young Jesus for three days before finding Him in the temple in Jerusalem. “Spiritual writers tell us those three days were preparing Our Lady for the three days Our Lord would lie in the tomb, that God the Father was fashioning Our Lady for her own mission.”

After accompanying Jesus throughout His public ministry, remaining at the foot of the cross as He was crucified, and then receiving the Holy Spirit with the apostles at Pentecost, he continued, “Our Lady received the Holy Spirit for the mission to be the Mother of the Church, Mother of our discipleship to guard and protect the Body of Christ.”

“We see Our Lady being strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit so when the devil, that fallen angel, thinks he has any power or control, Our Lady – full of grace, recipient of the Holy Spirit, spouse of the Holy Spirit – destroys him, embarrasses him, mocks him and kicks him out!

“Because while that angel may surpass her by nature, she blows him out of the water by grace.”

“Our Lady has always been with us… When the children of God listen to their mother, when we turn to Our Lady, she draws us closer to her Son. When the human family is willing to show the docility of the first disciple, God can do great things. He can bring about miraculous things. He can allow creativity, and virtue and goodness to flourish. But we have to imitate Our Lady, that first disciple.”

Father Joseph Matlak, pastor of St. Basil the Great Mission (Byzantine Rite) in Charlotte, leads Vespers at the Eucharistic Congress Sept. 8. He was assisted by Deacon Matthew Hanes (far left) and some of his parishioners.

(Above, clockwise) A young altar server holds on tightly to the boat containing the incense for the Eucharistic Procession Sept. 9. Bishop Peter Jugis processes before the Blessed Sacrament along Third Street in Charlotte. A woman pauses to pray before the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the first-class relics of Sts. Jacinta and Francisco, two of the little seers of Fatima, Portugal.

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com

FROM THE COVERI

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Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress – Sept. 8-9, 2017

Holy Hour homilist: Eucharist is assurance that Christ loves us ‘to the end’ (Above) Teens participate in the High School Track at the Eucharistic Congress Sept. 9. (Below, clockwise) Bishop Jugis blesses a congress attendee. A youth in the Middle School Track raises her hand to answer a question posed by Bishop Jugis. Byzantine Rite deacons dispense incense during the processional at the closing Mass of the Eucharistic Congress. Newly-ordained Father Christopher Bond, parochial vicar of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, distributes Holy Communion at the closing Mass.

Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

CHARLOTTE — More than 20,000 people took part in a Eucharistic procession Saturday during the Diocese of Charlotte’s 13th annual Eucharistic Congress. The mile-long procession from St. Peter Church to the Charlotte Convention Center concluded inside Hall A with a Holy Hour.

Monsignor Christopher Schreck delivered the Holy Hour homily, meditating on the feast of Corpus Christi, the establishment and history of the feast in Western Europe, and the ongoing significance of Eucharistic Adoration in the life of the Church.

“Do this in remembrance of me,” Monsignor Schreck quoted from the Gospel passage proclaimed at the start of the Holy Hour.

Remembrance means the calling to mind of Christ’s sacrifice – His passion, His death and His resurrection, Monsignor Schreck said.

He recounted how the rapidly growing popularity of Eucharistic Adoration in the early life of the Church culminated in the Church’s explicit establishment of the feast of Corpus Christi – the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

Corpus Christi, “with its undiluted emphasis on the Sacramentum itself,” offers a “festive and joyful” celebration of the sacrament after Pentecost, during the Easter season, more so than does the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday in Lent.

Similarly, Eucharistic celebrations such as the Diocese of Charlotte’s Eucharistic Congress offer the faithful the opportunity to adore and marvel at the mystery of Christ made present in the Eucharist.

The Eucharist not only makes present Christ’s past sacrifice – the moment in history when He endured His Passion and death and then rose again three days later – it also makes that sacrificial moment present today, he said.

“In undertaking this mission, the worship and celebration of this sacred sacrament, once again offers us the Last Supper assurance that before the feast of Passover Jesus knew that His hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.

He always loved His own in the world and would love them to the end,” Monsignor Schreck said.

In the Eucharist, he said, “the memory of His Passion is recalled, the heart is filled with grace, and the pledge of future glory is given us.”

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catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 FROM THE COVER

Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress – Sept. 8-9, 2017

(Above and left, clockwise) Youth in grades K-5 enjoyed activities and time before Our Lord in Adoration.

Seminarians of the Diocese of Charlotte spoke to participants in the Spanish Track during the congress. Bishop Jugis enjoyed interacting with the children during his visit with them at the congress.

Bishop Jugis holds the Blessed Sacrament aloft during the Holy Hour Sept. 9.

(Below, from left) A beautiful altar of repose was designed for the Spanish Track, which featured Adoration and a talk by Father Julio Dominguez, coordinator of the Smoky Mountain Vicariate Hispanic Ministry. Missionaries of Charity pray in the Adoration chapel. The congress brings families together for a shared faith experience.

Mix

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

For the latest movie reviews: catholicnewsherald.com

On TV

In theaters

‘Home Again’ Morally mixed romantic comedy in which a recently separated New Yorker (Reese Witherspoon) returns to the lavish Los Angeles home she grew up in, crosses paths with a trio of promising but broke filmmakers (Pico Alexander, Nat Wolff and Jon Rudnitsky) and, after falling for one of them (Alexander), allows all three to live rent-free in her guest house. Though the polite and considerate lads manage to bond with their landlady’s two young daughters (Lola Flanery and Eden Grace Redfield), the novel domestic arrangement troubles her husband (Michael Sheen). There’s a gentle spirit to writer-director Hallie MeyersShyer’s debut, which also features Candice Bergen as Witherspoon’s mother, an arthouse movie star of the 1970s. But the script presents marital breakup as a form of liberation and, though it coyly avoids having the romantic leads sleep together within hours of meeting each other, takes their subsequent fling as a given.

Additionally, the girls’ accidental exposure to the relationship is milked for laughs. A benign view of divorce and cohabitation, momentary semi-graphic and brief nongraphic sexual activity, comic brawling, a few uses of profanity, at least one rough and about a half-dozen crude terms.

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

‘The Good Catholic’ Awkward romantic comedy about an earnest young priest (Zachary Spicer), already undergoing a crisis of faith, who finds himself in turmoil after a vaguely bohemian and religiously indifferent coffee house singer (Wrenn Schmidt) appears in the confessional claiming she is terminally ill and seeking not absolution in preparation for death but funeral arrangement advice. The unlikely pair embarks on a friendship made tense by mutual attraction, a relationship that eventually forces the cleric to reassess his commitment to the Church. His experienced and by-the-book pastor (Danny Glover) tries to reinforce his sense of vocation while the mildly eccentric Franciscan friar who rounds out the rectory household is mostly on hand to provide comic relief, though little of the humor works. While free of sensationalism, writer-director Paul Shoulberg’s film, inspired by his parents’ marital history, predictably portrays celibacy as a burdensome shackle and erotic love as a necessary ingredient in selfrealization. Since the background story casts doubt on the legitimacy of the main character’s call in the first place, some Catholic viewers may be not be comfortable with the movie’s outcome. Religious themes requiring mature discernment.

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

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Photos by Lisa Geraci | Catholic News Herald

St. Jude’s Little Chapel of Hope A Catholic landmark in a peculiar location made by an extraordinary woman with a message of hope Lisa Geraci Correspondent

TRUST — Trust, N.C., is a blink of a town between Asheville and the Tennessee state line. Trust, where the elevation is higher than the population, is located just north of Luck in Madison County.

This little hamlet would go largely unnoticed were it not for “power couple” Beverly and Bill Barutio. It is a wonder how in a decade, from 1985 to 1995, two people could accomplish so much in their community while being retired. While Bill ran the town as mayor, he and his wife built a canning company, general store, restaurant, school, zoo, and a Catholic church, and battled cancer. Of all these accomplishments, the latter two bear the purpose of this article.

After a late stage diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1981, Beverly prayed to St. Jude: “If I make it, someday I will build a chapel.”

After 10 years with the cancer in remission, that promise began to “pull” on Beverly.

“I am a miracle. I would sit on the steps in prayer and it was like I kept hearing God whispering like in ‘The Field of Dreams,’ saying, ‘Build it and they will come’.”

As promised, two years later, in 1992, the 12-by-18-foot chapel was designed and constructed on the property as a place for “rest, reflection and refuge” for “all of God’s people.”

Ten years later Beverly lost her battle with cancer, but with her passing she has left a legacy of hope, Trust and Luck within the walls CHAPEL OF HOPE, SEE page 28

n Friday, Sept. 15, 8 p.m.

(EWTN) “Fatima in Europe: Shrines and Testimonies.”

Tour various shrines dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima throughout Europe, while learning about the miraculous events and healings associated with them. n Saturday, Sept. 16, 3 p.m.

(EWTN) “The Message of Fatima: The Fifth Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima.” A docu-drama series on the prophecies, messages and warnings given to the three shepherd children by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. n Saturday, Sept. 16, 8 p.m. (EWTN) “Romero.”

The true story of Archbishop Oscar Romero’s transformation from an apolitical, complacent priest to a committed leader of the Salvadoran people. n Monday, Sept. 18, 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “A Travel Guide to Heaven: Flight Plan.” After the success of his miniseries, “Travel Guide for Life,” Anthony DeStefano returns for a fascinating look at the final destination everyone is striving to get to: Heaven. n Friday, Sept. 22, 10 p.m.

(EWTN) “Solemn Mass in Honor of St. Padre Pio.” Live Broadcast from the Shrine of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. n Saturday, Sept. 23, 4:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Fatima.” John PauI travels to Fatima to thank Our Lady for sparing his life from the assassin’s bullets. Produced by Centro Televisivo Vaticano. n Sunday, Sept. 24, 1:30 p.m. (EWTN) “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.” A look back on the life, ideals, and works of 1960s community activist, Saul Alinsky, through the lens of a Catholic perspective. n Sunday, Sept. 24, 10 p.m.

(EWTN) “Encounter with Padre Pio.” Meet Padre Pio through amazing footage of him, his monastery and beatification, along with commentary by his close friend Monsignor Giancarlo Setti. n Wednesday, Sept. 27, 4:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Michael the Visitor.” Narrated

by Stockard Channing, this charming fable is an adaptation of Tolstoy’s classic tale about a lost young man with an amazing secret. n Friday, Sept. 29, 8 p.m.

(EWTN) “Holy Sepulcher.”

An exploration of the history and archaeology surrounding the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

Our schools 20

catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Photos provided by Diocese of Charlotte Archives

Mercy Sister Mary Celestine is pictured teaching the eighth grade at St. Michael School in this undated photo. (Top right) Benedictine Father Gregory Eichenlaub, pictured with the school band, played an integral role at the parish and the school. (Right) Students play on the playground in this undated photo.

A shared history Though more than 10 miles separate them, St. Michael’s Catholic School and Belmont Abbey College have a shared history in their founding – the monks of Belmont Abbey. St. Michael’s School, founded 75 years ago as of 2017, began, of course, with St. Michael’s Catholic Church. In about 1900 representatives of Loray Mill in Gastonia asked the abbey’s Bishop Abbot Leo Haid to build a Catholic church in Gastonia.

The new mill expected an influx of northern Catholics to come to work at the mill and hoped the abbot could help care for the spiritual needs of the incoming New Englanders.

This spark was all the abbot needed and he set off on a fund-raising initiative to garner the funds needed to build the new church. The time was a desperate one for the still young Catholic college: a terrible fire destroyed two-thirds of the college building and the abbot was asked not only to start a new parish but to also be a missionary to the local Indian and growing African American community. He therefore reached out to his friend and relayed to his benefactor, Mother Katharine Drexel, the direness of his situation. On July 11, 1900, the future saint sent Leo Haid the $1,500 for the building of the Gastonia church and St. Michael’s was born.

By the early 1940s the Catholic community in Gastonia had grown so much that E.F. Gallagher, a good friend to St. Michael’s Benedictine Father Alphonse Buss advised the pastor that St. Michael’s needed a “Catholic education for its youngsters.”

At Father Buss’s behest, the good sisters of Sacred Heart Convent in Belmont, volunteered to staff the school and sent two of their very best teachers, Mercy Mother Margaret Mary Wheeler, the first principal, and Mercy Sister Teresita Graham, who taught first through sixth grades. So began St. Michael’s Catholic School, with 22 pupils housed in a five-room house at York Street and Jackson Road, plus the basement of a home across the street for first grade – the humblest of beginnings.

With continued growth of the Gaston County Catholic community over the next decade, the needs for a larger school became evident. According to The Georgia Bulletin on March 27, 1947, “The Sisters of Mercy, who teach in the school, have so endeared themselves to parents and pupils that a waiting list is constantly maintained.” St. Michael’s little school was keeping families from moving elsewhere in search of a Catholic education but was in dire need of expansion. So in February 1952, under the leadership of Benedictine Father Gregory Eichenlaub, St. Michael’s Catholic School dedicated its new facility complete with classrooms, a library, a cafeteria and recess areas – a dream come true that continues to this day.

— Rolando Rivas, “Crossroads Magazine,” 2016

St. Michael School prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary SueAnn Howell Senior reporter

GASTONIA — Seventy-five years ago, the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey and the Sisters of Mercy in Belmont planted the seeds of Catholic education in Gastonia with St. Michael School. The school, which opened in 1942 in a little frame house on Jackson Road, has since blossomed into a thriving extended family.

Many of the families in Gaston County who have sent their children to St. Michael’s will be on hand Oct. 14 to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

One of those families is Julie Gardner Kiser’s family. The Gardners are longtime Catholic residents of Gaston County. Her grandparents lived near the school in Gastonia and sent her father Edward Gardner and his siblings to St. Michael’s when it was in the little house on Jackson Road. They also helped get the school going in its current location, now on St. Michael Lane, back in 1952.

Her uncle Daniel Gardner helped plant the two huge oak trees in front of the school as part of a Boy Scout project more than half a century ago.

“I love St. Michael’s,” Kiser says.

“It’s been a part of my history for a long time. It’s a phenomenal school. I pray for that school often.”

Her siblings and her three children also graduated from St. Michael School, and Kiser worked there for 16 years.

“I miss it terribly!” she says. “I miss the children so much. They have never lost the small school feel, with one class per grade.”

Steven Cherry’s family has also

enjoyed a close association with St. Michael’s for generations.

“I am one of 10 children who graduated from St. Michael School. I graduated in 1966 and was fortunate to receive a wonderful education from the Sisters of Mercy who staffed the school. The success of St. Michael School is not only due to the monks of Belmont Abbey, but the Sisters of Mercy who staffed the school for many years before and after me.”

Cherry recalls that Benedictine Father Gregory Eichenlaub played an integral role at the parish and the school.

“He became our pastor in the early ’40s and was instrumental in the growth of the school in the ’50s and ’60s. During his tenure, it was not uncommon for him to visit classrooms and interact with students and frequently passed out comments on report card day.”

Cherry and his wife Ann sent their three children to the school in the ’90s.

“I wanted to send my children there because it was my home and I wanted it to be their home as well, where their Catholic faith and tradition was a part of their daily lives and an educational foundation was being laid to serve them throughout their lives.”

Teresa Bookout, whose son graduated from St. Michael’s, served as administrative assistant and manned the front desk for 32 years until her retirement.

“I fell in love with it,” Bookout says.

“I fell in love with my job. I fell in love with the children… At St. Michael School you get to know everyone.

We were like a little community. We looked after one another.”

Bookout recalls how she comforted students when they were sick, waiting for a parent to come pick them up. She also held many a baby on her lap while the mother needed to meet privately with the principal or a teacher.

Joe Puceta, a former principal who worked with Bookout, is also the father of two St. Michael’s alumni. His daughters graduated during his first tenure at the school, 1991 to 1993. He returned in 1998 and retired in 2014 after serving 16 more years as principal.

“I consider it a family,” Puceta says.

“When I was out working carpool I knew all the cars, knew all the grandmas and grandpas, and everyone who dropped off kids at the school I pretty much knew.

Our teachers knew everyone, too.”

Says St. Michael’s current principal Sheila Levesque, “I can tell you it is very easy to fall in love with St. Michael School. We do act as a family.”

Levesque notes the school has built strong community partnerships and is proud of the service-based outreach programs students are involved in.

The entire St. Michael’s community will be involved with the 75th anniversary celebration, which will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 14. There will be school tours, archive displays, a reception and a Mass at 5 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to having people here,” Levesque says. “It’s going to be a really exciting event, an indoor/outdoor event with kids’ activities. The alumni committee is putting a lot of hard work into it.”

For details about the upcoming celebration, go to www.stmichaelcs. com/alumni.

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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In Brief CCHS Foundation Service Award winner announced CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic graduate Kayleigh Anne Ruller was recently honored as the 2017 winner of the Charlotte Catholic High School Foundation’s annual Service Award.

The CCHS Foundation Service Award was established to recognize a graduating senior solely for his or her community service. It is presented to a senior who not only spends many hours serving the community, but also who chooses several different kinds of service.

School spirit, empathy, compassion, dedication and diversity of service are all characteristics of the winner of this scholarship. Campus Ministry faculty and staff nominate students who meet the criteria. A selection committee, comprised of the Campus Ministry director, a guidance counselor, a member of the foundation’s board of directors, and a member of the school administration, select the winner.

The diversity and amount of Ruller’s service to the community impressed the committee.

She volunteered with a muffin ministry for the homeless at her church, as a peer minister at Charlotte Catholic, with faith formation at her church, as a Charlotte Catholic student ambassador, on the school’s retreat team, and at the Blumenthal Theatre in Charlotte.

Jamie Boll, foundation secretary, presented the award. “Being a part of this Catholic community, you know your real legacy as a class is your service to others,” Boll said. “Kayleigh has embraced that part of our faith, and we are very proud of her for it.”

Ruller is now enrolled at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

The CCHS Foundation was established in 1974 with a mission to enrich the spiritual, academic, and cultural development of students by raising funds to support Charlotte Catholic High School. With the support of the Charlotte Catholic community, it has raised more than $1 million for the school.

— Carolyn Kramer Tillman

On Aug. 28 an entire day was scheduled for book group discussions, learning service and an assembly with North Carolina author James Dodson who shared his book, “Final Rounds.”

The Bishop community celebrated in the courtyard of the school with a catered barbecue lunch and a bluegrass band. Each book group built a little library as a service project. The little libraries will be placed in various locations around the community.

— Kimberly Knox

2017 Sister Paulette Williams Awards announced CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School is proud to announce the 2017 winners of the Sister Paulette Williams Awards for Outstanding Service: Jean Adamian (Mathematics), Timothy Cook (Director of Bands), Maryangela Morgan (Counseling), Rose Shaia (English) and Dr. Lincoln Sigwald (English).

In 2016, the CCHS Foundation established the Sister Paulette Williams Awards to recognize members of the Charlotte Catholic faculty whose exceptional dedication, knowledge and commitment inspire students to learn. The awards are named in honor of Mercy Sister Paulette Williams, who played a key role in establishing the basis for Catholic education in Charlotte. She was a teacher at Charlotte Catholic for five years, assistant principal for two years, and principal for 20 years.

“Her leadership, dedication, guidance and vision built our school into what you recognize today – a community leader in academics, arts and athletics,” said Principal Kurt Telford.

“These faculty members deserve to be recognized for their outstanding service,” noted Sister Paulette, “and we are extremely pleased to do so.” She added, “We are a community of families, bound by faith, who stand by each other, look out for each other, and pray for each other. I am proud to be with all of you, to present these awards.”

Telford presented a $5,000 check to each of the winners, on behalf of the CCHS Foundation, during graduation ceremonies in June.

— Carolyn Kramer Tillman

CCDOC.ORG

Central Region Office Director Catholic Charities seeks an energetic and innovative administrator/manager to lead our newest service location in Newton, NC. Ideal position for degreed professional with human services experience and the ability to cultivate close working relationships with volunteers and local Catholic parishes. Extensive travel and ability to establish new smaller offices within a 15 county area is required. Graduate degree preferred.

Cover letter and resume (2 pages maximum) must be submitted electronically by close of business on Friday, October 6, 2017 to ahloesch@charlottediocese.org. No telephone calls, please.

Job description at ccdoc.org/jobs.

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

(803) 327-2097

rockhilloratory.net

oratorycenter@gmail.com

37th Cardinal Newman Lecture Saturday, October 7, 2017 9:30am – 2:30pm Mary Ann Getty-Sullivan

BMHS honored nationally

BMHS starts year with local reading, library project KERNERSVILLE — North Carolina author and retired news anchor Cameron Kent kicked off the first day of school Aug. 24 at Bishop McGuinness with a school-wide assembly to discuss his book, “Road to Devotion,” which was a selection from the school’s annual summer reading program.

This year the theme of summer reading was entitled, “Home Grown,” reflecting the selection of 13 books by North Carolina authors. The entire school community individually chose one of the designated books to read and journal over the summer.

KERNERSVILLE — Bishop McGuinness High School has been named one of 15 girls soccer teams nationally to receive the NSCAA High School Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Gold Award. The award is presented by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (United Soccer Coaches). The Villains, one of only two North Carolina high school girls soccer teams honored (along with Charlotte Latin), are being recognized for the spring 2017 season.

Bishop McGuiness finished the 2017 season 19-3 overall, Northwest 1-A Conference Champions (10-0), quarterfinalist in the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs and fourth-ranked in the final 1-A MaxPreps rankings. Head coach Ray Alley was named 1-A NC State Coach of the Year by the N.C. Soccer Coaches Association.

“We are grateful of the recognition the NSCAA has given to the level of sportsmanship our players bring to their games,” said Alley.

Bishop players received only two cautions (yellow cards) during a 22-game season. “It reflects their ability to compete at a high competitive level and also maintain a high commitment to fair play.”

— Kimberly Knox

Conscience and Other Nagging Issues in Paul The Newman Lecture is an annual gift from the Rock Hill Oratory to the regional Church to celebrate the life and ministry of the English Oratorian, Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman.

Paul is the only New Testament writer to develop the term “conscience”.

According to Paul, what role does it play in informing our decisions and shaping our morality as Christians? How does it relate to doubt, on-going conversion, community life and the inspiration of Scripture? How can Paul be a prophet inspiring us to more integrity as people of faith?

Mary Ann Getty-Sullivan has an S.T.D / Ph.D. from the Catholic University of Louvain and has taught Scripture at the university level for 40 years. We are happy to welcome her back to the Oratory.

The Newman Lecture is open to all without charge and includes Eucharist at noon, a light lunch and short musical concert. Books and other resources will be available for purchase. Pre-registration is not required but we would appreciate you contacting us with the number of participants to help us plan accordingly.

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Our nation 22

catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishops pray for ‘safety, care’ of all hit hard by two massive hurricanes

Catholic leaders sharply criticize Trump’s decision to end DACA

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. bishops’ Executive Committee Sept. 12 prayed for “the safety and care of human life” after two catastrophic hurricanes and urged Catholics around the country to offer their prayers as well as financial support and volunteer help as they can.

“The massive scale of the dual disasters and the effect it has on communities, families and individuals cannot be fully comprehended or adequately addressed in the immediate aftermath of the storms,” the statement said, noting that “lives and livelihoods” were “still at risk in Texas, Florida, the Virgin Islands and throughout the Caribbean.”

Beginning Sept. 6, Hurricane Irma left hardly any place in its path untouched. The strength and size of the massive storm, with 120-plus-mph winds stretching 70 miles from its core, leveled entire islands in the eastern Caribbean, brought unprecedented flooding on Cuba’s north coast, devastated the Florida Keys, snapped construction cranes in downtown Miami and targeted cities along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Irma dwindled to a tropical storm as it neared the Florida-Georgia line early Sept. 11 and was forecast to die out over southern states later in the week. Officials in Florida and across the Caribbean, meanwhile, started to dig out and evaluate the full scope of the disaster Irma left behind. The death toll stood at more than 30 in the Caribbean and at 12 in the United States, as of Sept. 12.

More than a week earlier, Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc on Houston and southern Texas Aug. 25-30. In a four-day period, many areas received more than 40 inches of rain. Flooding inundated hundreds of thousands of homes, displaced more than 30,000 people, and prompted more than 17,000 rescues. The death toll from that storm stood at 70.

“At this time of initial recovery, we mourn the loss of life, homes and other property, and the harm to the natural environment, and we pray for all those affected and in need of assistance” in the wake of the two massive hurricanes, said the Executive Committee, which includes

Kurt Jensen Catholic News Service

CNS | courtesy Father Alexander Rivera

A fallen tree and damaged bench are seen next to a statue of Mary Sept. 11 outside the Church of the Epiphany in Miami in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. the officers of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“We also pray for the safety of, and in thanksgiving for, the first responders who are risking their lives at this very moment in care for their neighbors, especially those who are elderly, sick, homeless, or otherwise already in need of special assistance,” the statement said.

The Executive Committee’s statement followed by three days a statement from the president of the USCCB, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, whose diocese was hit by flooding from Hurricane Harvey.

He called for prayers for the victims of Harvey and for those affected by Irma.

“At a time like this, when our endurance is tested, we implore God to direct us to yet unknown reserves of strength and human compassion for those suffering so deeply. May our manifestations of love and solidarity be lasting signs in the midst of this crisis,” he said Sept. 9.

The cardinal noted that, as with Harvey, the bishops’ conference would work with local dioceses, Catholic relief agencies and other groups to offer assistance.

The Executive Committee said it shared “Pope Francis’ trust that the Catholic faithful here in the United States will respond to the needs presented by these disasters with a ‘vast outpouring of solidarity and mutual aid in the best traditions of the nation.’”

“We encourage the faithful to respond generously with prayers, financial support, and for those who have the opportunity, the

volunteering of time and talents in support of those in need,” it said.

Catholic Charities USA, K of C give millions for hurricane relief SAN ANTONIO — Catholic Charities USA presented a $2 million check Sept. 4 representing donations received to date for immediate emergency assistance for those impacted by Hurricane Harvey and its catastrophic flooding. One hundred percent of the funds raised will go directly to immediate and long-term recovery efforts. Making the presentation was Dominican Sister Donna Markham, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, accompanied by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio, Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of the neighboring Diocese of Victoria, J. Antonio Fernandez, president and CEO of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, and Monsignor J. Brian Bransfield, general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In addition, the Knights of Columbus has raised more than $1.3 million to help recovery efforts in Texas. Funds have been used to provide food and shelter for residents in Houston and surrounding communities, Corpus Christi, Beaumont and Ingleside.

“We have seen incredible generosity from our members, and we invite others to join us in providing aid that is urgently needed,” Carl Anderson, Knights’ CEO, said in a statement.

“The funds we raise will make a real difference in the lives of those already affected and those who are bracing for the worst.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Church leaders, immigration officials and university presidents were swift and unanimous in their condemnation of President Donald Trump’s Sept. 5 decision to phase out Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals known as DACA. “In the past, the president stated that the Dreamer story ‘is about the heart,’ yet (the) decision is nothing short of heartless,” said Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich. “The Dreamers are now left in a six-month limbo, during which Congress is supposed to pass comprehensive immigration reform, a feat they have been unable to achieve for a decade,” he said in a Sept. 5 statement.

The rescission of DACA, announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, places an estimated 800,000 undocumented immigrants, many of whom were brought to the United States as young children and have known no other home, under threat of deportation and losing permits that allow them to work. From August through December, according to the Department of Homeland Security, the work permits of more than 200,000 DACA recipients will expire and only 55,258 have submitted requests for permit renewals.

The decision to end DACA is “a heartbreaking disappointment,” said Jeanne Atkinson, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. She also said her organization rejects and adamantly disagrees with Sessions’ “untested personal opinion that DACA is unconstitutional.”

“Americans have never been a people who punish children for the mistakes of their parents. I am hopeful that we will not begin now,” said Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration. “I do not believe this decision represents the best of our national spirit or the consensus of the American people. This decision reflects only the polarization of our political moment.”

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the USCCB, said in a statement with other bishops: “The Catholic Church has long watched with pride and admiration as DACA youth live out their daily lives with hope and a determination to flourish and contribute to society: continuing to work and provide for their families, continuing to serve in the military, and continuing to receive an education. Now, after months of anxiety and fear about their futures, these brave young people face deportation.

This decision is unacceptable and does not reflect who we are as Americans.”

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, called the decision “malicious.”

“One can’t hide behind the term ‘legality’ in rescinding DACA,” his statement added. “That is an abandonment of humanity, and abandonment of talented and hopeful young people who are as American as you and I.”

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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In Brief Catholic judicial nominee grilled by senators on religious views WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, spurred outrage about possible religious tests for judicial appointees when she questioned a Catholic judicial nominee Sept.

6 about what impact her faith would have on her interpretation of the law. Reaction from Catholic leaders to the hearing for Amy Coney Barrett, nominee for a seat on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. was swift, with a leading archbishop calling the Senate hearing “deeply disappointing.” In the hearing, Feinstein not only referred to Barrett’s speeches in the committee hearing, but also to a 1998 article by Barrett, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, about the role of Catholic judges in death penalty cases. The Marquette Law Review article, co-authored by John H. Garvey, who is now president of The Catholic University of America, concluded that although Catholic judges opposed to the death penalty could always simply recuse themselves under federal law, “litigants and the general public are entitled to impartial justice, which may be something a judge who is heedful of ecclesiastical pronouncements cannot dispense.” Feinstein did not question Barrett about capital punishment cases, but rather the upholding of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal. “When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. And that’s of concern when you come to big issues

that large numbers of people have fought for for years in this country.”

N.Y. court ruling that upholds ban on physician-assisted suicide welcomed ALBANY, N.Y. — The director of pro-life activities for the New York State Catholic Conference applauded the state’s highest court for unanimously determining that the state constitution does not include a fundamental right to physician-assisted suicide. Kathleen M. Gallagher said the New York Court of Appeals “wisely determined that New York’s law prohibiting assisted suicide applies to everyone, including those physicians who may wish to assist their patients’ death.” In an 81-page decision Sept. 7 in the case, Myers v. Schneiderman, the court said state law prohibiting physician-assisted suicide stems from “legitimate government interests” to protect human life. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was the principal defendant in

the case. The court ruled 5-0 – with two judges not participating in the case – that there is a distinction between a patient refusing life-sustaining treatment, which is allowed under state law, and a physician working to hasten the death of a mentally competent patient wishing to end their life because of a terminal illness. The judges said that the plaintiffs in the case could best address their arguments to the state legislature.

U.S. bishops, Catholic groups back conscience protection bill

in abortion,” said the letter, dated Sept. 6 and addressed to senators. “Yet, with violations of federal conscience laws occurring in California, New York, Washington, Alaska, Illinois, and most recently Oregon, it is increasingly clear that the current laws offer far less protection in practice than in theory,” the letter added.

“Federal conscience laws do not authorize a ‘private right of action’ allowing the victims of discrimination to sue on their own behalf, and allowing courts to take measured action to end this discrimination,” it said.

— Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and 32 other organizations have signed a joint letter of support for the Conscience Protection Act of 2017. The bill, which has House and Senate versions, is intended to close loopholes that ignore the conscience rights of medical professionals on abortion, according to the signed letter. “Even many ‘pro-choice’ Americans realize that the logic of their (opponents’) position requires them to respect a choice not to be involved

CCDOC.ORG Program Director - Winston-Salem, NC Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte seeks a full-time professional to administer, plan and coordinate program services in accordance with grant and agency requirements, supervise staff, and interface with funders and community collaborators.

Go to www.ccdoc.org/jobs for details.

CCDOC.ORG

Charlotte Catholic High School is an educational community centered in the Roman Catholic faith, which teaches individuals to serve as Christians in our changing world.

25th and 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration If you were married during 1967 or 1992, you and your family are invited to attend the annual Diocesan Anniversary Mass at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Charlotte on Sunday, October 22, 2017.

Mass begins at 2:15 p.m. and will be followed by a reception.

Please call your church office to register if you wish to receive an invitation.

Sponsored by Catholic Charities

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Together with our affiliates, the CCHS Foundation, the CCHS Alumni Association, the Band Boosters, the CCHS Athletic Association, and the Parent Teacher Organization, we wish all of our Cougar students, teachers, and staff a successful 2017-2018 school year!

Welcome Back!

Our world 24

catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope amends Church law on Mass translations, highlights bishops’ role Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

MEDELLIN, Colombia — In changes to the Code of Canon Law regarding translations of the Mass and other liturgical texts, Pope Francis highlighted respect for the responsibility of national and regional bishops’ conferences.

The changes, released by the Vatican Sept. 9 as Pope Francis was traveling in Colombia, noted the sometimes tense relationship between bishops’ conferences and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments over translations of texts from Latin to the bishops’ local languages.

The heart of the document, which applies only to the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, changes two clauses in Canon 838 of the Code of Canon Law. The Vatican no longer will “review” translations submitted by bishops’ conferences, but will “recognize” them. And rather than being called to “prepare and publish” the translations, the bishops are to “approve and publish” them.

Archbishop Arthur Roche, secretary of the worship congregation, said under the new rules, the Vatican’s “confirmatio” of a translation is “ordinarily granted based on trust and confidence,” and “supposes a positive evaluation of the faithfulness and congruence of the texts produced with respect to the typical Latin text.”

Pope Francis made no announcement of immediate changes to the translations currently in use.

The document is titled “Magnum Principium” (“The Great Principle”) and refers to what Pope Francis called the “great principle” of the Second Vatican Council that the liturgy should be understood by the people at prayer, and therefore bishops were asked to prepare and approve translations of the texts.

Pope Francis did not overturn previous norms and documents on the principles that should inspire the various translations, but said they were “general guidelines,” which should continue to be followed to ensure “integrity and accurate faithfulness, especially in translating some texts of major importance in each liturgical book.”

However, the pope seemed to indicate a willingness to allow some space for the translation principle known as “dynamic equivalence,” which focuses on faithfully rendering the sense of a phrase rather than translating each individual word and even maintaining the original language’s syntax.

“While fidelity cannot always be judged by individual words but must be sought in the context of the whole communicative act and according to its literary genre,” the pope wrote, “nevertheless some particular terms must also be considered in the context of the entire Catholic faith, because each translation of texts must be congruent with sound doctrine.”

The pope said the changes would go into effect Oct. 1, and he ordered the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments to “modify its own ‘Regulations’ on the basis of the new discipline and help the episcopal conferences to fulfill their task as well as working to promote ever more the liturgical life of the Latin church.”

Pope Francis greets a sick child near the Talitha Qum homeless shelter in Cartagena, Colombia, Sept. 10.

CNS | Paul Haring

Bruised, not broken: Pope encourages Colombians to pursue peace Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

CARTAGENA, Colombia — Pope Francis said he had no magic words or special recipes for Colombians seeking peace, but rather he wanted to listen to them, learn from them and travel a bit of the road with them.

He had a small accident on the road Sept. 10 in Cartagena, the last city and last day of his five-day trip: Riding in the popemobile down a street packed with people who wanted to see him, Pope Francis turned and bashed his face on the edge of the window, cutting his eyebrow and provoking a sizable bump on his left cheekbone.

While the bruise would fade, the overall experience of the trip was likely to linger. “I really was moved by the joy, the tenderness ... the nobility of the Colombian people,” he later told reporters flying back to Rome with him.

Before ending the trip with a Mass in Cartagena, Pope Francis had visited Bogota, Villavicencio and Medellin. He celebrated a large outdoor Mass in each city and had a packed schedule of meetings with government officials, bishops, youths, children living in a group home, and with priests, religious and seminarians.

The painful realities of Colombia’s recent past were openly acknowledged with tears and hugs Sept. 8 in Villavicencio. At a national prayer service for reconciliation, a former member of the main rebel group and a former fighter with a paramilitary group shared their stories and asked forgiveness. A woman who lost two small children in the fighting and another still limping from injuries suffered in an explosion in 2012 offered to “forgive the unforgiveable,” as Pastora Mira Garcia, the mourning mother, told the pope.

The theme of his trip was “Let’s take the first step,” and Pope Francis told reporters he hoped that, after he left, Colombians would take a second step.

Pope Francis seemed confident. No matter how thorough political leaders and professional mediators are in bartering and building consensus, he said, “the protagonist of peacemaking is the people; if not, it will only go so far.”

The country is divided not only between those who participated in the war and those who innocently suffered its effects, but also between those who support and those who oppose the 2016 treaty

that led to the demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly known as FARC. Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota told the pope Sept.

7 that the process of building peace “has become a source of political polarization that every day sows division, confrontation and disorientation.”

But the cardinal also brought up an issue Pope Francis repeatedly warned could undo any hope for peace.

“We are a country marked by deep inequalities and inequities that demand radical changes in all fields of social life,” the cardinal said. “But it does not seem we are willing to pay the price required.”

No peace deal can last without addressing the poverty and social exclusion that led so many people to fight in the first place, the pope said.

“If Colombia wants a stable and lasting peace,” he said Sept.

10, “it must urgently take a step in this direction, which is that of the common good, of equity, of justice, of respect for human nature and its demands. Only if we help to untie the knots of violence will we unravel the complex threads of disagreements.”

With St. Peter Claver, the 17th-century Jesuit saint and apostle of the slaves, never far from his mind, Pope Francis asked Colombians to ensure all the nation’s people are part of its progress.

The pope ended his trip in the city where the saint died and his relics are venerated.

St. Peter Claver ministered tirelessly to the African slaves brought to the Caribbean port town in the 1600s, and “he faced strong criticism and persistent opposition from those who feared that his ministry would undermine the lucrative slave trade,” the pope said, standing in front of the church built in his honor.

St. Peter Claver knew what the Gospel was calling him to do, the pope said, even though it was not popular at the time.

With great respect for what Colombians have suffered and admiration for the faith and hope they managed to maintain despite a 52-year civil war, Pope Francis asked them to look beyond their old behaviors and alliances and ask what new thing God might want of them.

“We are called upon to be brave, to have that evangelical courage which springs from knowing that there are many who are hungry, who hunger for God, who hunger for dignity, because they have been deprived,” the pope said at a Mass in Medellin Sept. 9.

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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In Brief Indian Salesian abducted in Yemen freed VATICAN CITY ­— Indian Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted by Islamic State militants in Yemen and held captive for more than a year, was freed.

According to Oman’s state-run news agency ONA, Father Uzhunnalil was “rescued” by Oman authorities “in coordination with the Yemeni parties.” Upon his release, the Salesian priest “expressed thanks to God almighty and appreciation to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos (of Oman). He also thanked his brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends who called on God for safety and release,” ONA reported Sept. 12.

Father Uzhunnalil was kidnapped March 4, 2016, from a home for the aged and disabled run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden, Yemen. Four Missionaries of Charity and 12 others were murdered in the attack.

Aid workers see humanitarian crisis as Rohingya flee COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Bangladesh is bracing for a massive humanitarian crisis because of a lack of food, sanitation, medicines and even basic housing following the exodus of as many as 350,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, fleeing violence in which at least 1,000 were killed in just two weeks. The roadside and areas along the major highway from Ukhiya to Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar, just across the river from Myanmar’s Rakhine state, are swollen with new

refugees who have set up makeshift camps with bamboos and polythene sheets to brave monsoon rains, reported ucanews.com. Many are women, children and old people who face an uncertain future without citizenship of any nation or even bare essentials. Some aid groups and generous local people have sporadically provided relief materials to refugees on the Bangladesh side of the border; in Myanmar, aid has been stopped by the government. Aid trucks arriving at the makeshift camps quickly ran out of food as thousands of hungry people enveloped them when they stopped, ucanews. com reported. In Chittagong, Bangladesh, James Gomes, regional director of Caritas, the church’s charitable agency, expressed concern over the Rohingya crisis. “The situation is so pathetic -- people living under an open sky, without food, clothes and medicines, getting wet in the rain,” Gomes told ucanews.com in mid-September.

He predicted an epidemic due to unhealthy conditions if people did not get help soon.

Pope, patriarch issue joint ecology message VATICAN CITY — Environmental destruction is a sign of a “morally decaying scenario” in which too many people ignore or deny that, from the beginning, “God intended humanity to cooperate in the preservation and protection of the natural environment,” said the leaders of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Marking the Sept. 1 World Day of Prayer for Creation, Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople issued a joint message. They urged government and business leaders “to respond to the plea of millions and support the consensus of the world for the healing of our wounded creation.” Looking at the description of the Garden of Eden from the Book of Genesis, the pope and patriarch said, “The earth was entrusted to us as a sublime gift and legacy.”

VBS FROM PAGE 5

The coordinator of Faith Formation and Edge at St. Eugene Church in Asheville, Tracy Jedd, also found Catholic Kidz Camp’s programs while searching online. She used the latest program, “Tracking Mary,” for this past summer’s camp. The parish had been among those using a Protestant-based VBS for many years.

“I was excited when I saw it,” Jedd said.

“It was well-written. I didn’t have to change anything out of it like the others programs I’ve used. It was so refreshing to get it and be able to use it right out of the box.”

She said she didn’t need to change much, but it was easy to adapt. St. Eugene used a large group, then smaller group format, instead of individual classes.

“The Marian program spoke to me and we just had the Our Lady of Fatima statue come through our parish, so it was a cool tie-in for the kids,” Jedd said.

It’s definitely Catholic, she said, and she liked that the program gave the children a chance for Eucharistic Adoration. Jedd said she was apprehensive at first that the children would cooperate.

“I was going to have them do something different, but something told me to set up for Adoration. We did it spur of the moment, and the kids responded to it

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wonderfully,” Jedd said.

“They were quiet. I used it as a teaching moment, so they knew what Adoration was and what they’re supposed to do. I told them they could come up and kneel.

I was expecting maybe a couple would.

The whole altar, the kids were wrapped around it, on their knees.”

Jedd said she really felt the Holy Spirit present throughout the week and especially during the children’s Adoration time.

Catholic Kidz Camp goes beyond the “throwaway” lessons good for only one use during a week-long camp. Lessons could be pulled from “Tracking Mary” and used in May or October in honor of Mary, for example.

“We’ll keep it around and use it as we can,” Jedd said.

St. Dorothy Church found the program while looking for Marian content to use to supplement the VBS plans for the Fatima anniversary, said Director of Religious Education Meg Barrett. “It was really solid. Really Catholic and really fun, for us and for the kids.”

They hope to try one of the other programs next year, Barrett said.

Five other Growing with the Saints camps have been developed since 2012: “Vatican Express” featuring St. Jerome; “Assorted Saints and the Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love”; “Parade Around the Our Father” featuring St. Joseph of Cupertino; “Set Sail with the Holy Trinity” featuring St. Patrick; and “Parachute with the Angels and St. Catherine Laboure.”

St. Ann’s Church

— Catholic News Service

Families from all around the Diocese of Charlotte are welcome!

Invites You

23rd Annual Fundraising Banquet

“Love Begins At Home” Thursday, October 19, 2017 Check-in: 5:30 p.m. ~ Dinner: 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte Convention Center ~ Crown Ballroom

Food, Music, Crafts, Games, Kiddie Rides, Silent Auction.

Rain or Shine!

Mass at 4:30PM

Saturday,

Sept. 23, 10AM-6pm 3635 Park Road, Charlotte

At Park Rd & Hillside Ave 2 Blocks North of Park Road Shopping Center

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7/13/17 2:28 PM

Featured Speaker ~ Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, a Catholic wife, mother and grandmother, is an award-winning and best-selling journalist and author of over two dozen books. She enjoyed a decade-long friendship with St. Teresa of Calcutta and her spiritual director was John A. Hardon, S.J. She also is a television host on EWTN and creator of Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms, Catholic Mom’s Café, and Feeding Your Family’s Soul. She participated in an international congress for women at the Vatican, received a special blessing from St. Pope John Paul II for her work on St. Teresa of Calcutta and appears on national television and radio. Her memoir is entitled The Kiss of Jesus.

CCDOC.ORG Full-Time Mental Health Counselor Catholic Charities seeks a North Carolina licensed (LPC, LCSW) full-time mental health counselor in our Charlotte office. Primary duties include: completing structured psychosocial assessments, developing and maintaining evidence based treatment plans, rendering evidence based therapy interventions primarily for adults and couples, completing progress notes, independently maintaining scheduling of clients and work flows that meet agency productivity standards and ability to operate within a secure database system. Some evening work is required but will offer flex scheduling. Bilingual Spanish speaking skills a

Reservations are free but REQUIRED. Deadline to register is October 9, 2017.

To make your reservation or host a table of 8-10 people, register online: https://miraviabanquet23.eventbrite.com OR meganwhiteside@mira-via.org, 704-525-4673 ext. 13.

MiraVia, Inc. is a Catholic non-profit maternity and after-care program serving women and their children in the Charlotte, N.C. region. All material support and services are offered free of charge to clients. Please visit our website, www.mira-via.org, for more information.

plus but is not required.

Cover letter and resume (2 pages maximum) must be submitted electronically by 5:00 PM on 9/29/17 to Bryan Sullivan at besullivan@charlottediocese.org . No telephone calls please. For a detailed job description please visit ccdoc.org/jobs.

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catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Father Peter Ascik

Hurricane Harvey reminds us of our shared need for love, salvation Save me O Lord, for the waters have risen to my neck. (Psalm 69)

T

he image of water in the Bible is simultaneously an image of danger and a powerful image of God. In the beginning the Spirit hovered over the waters. Noah is delivered from the waters of the Flood, and Moses and the Israelites through the Red Sea. In Psalm 69, we pray: “Save me, O God, for the waters have risen to my neck. I have sunk into the mud of the deep and there is no foothold.

I have entered the waters of the deep and the waves overwhelm me.” And yet in Psalm 23: “You lead me beside still waters, you restore my soul.” In Psalm 42: “As the deer yearns for flowing streams, so my soul is yearning for you my God.” There is a duality about water. On the one hand it is a threat; on the other, it is a symbol of the depths of God and the depths of His mercy, of His power to cleanse and heal.

The waters have lifted up, O Lord, The waters have lifted up their voice, The waters have lifted up their thunder. (Psalm 93) Amid all the devastation of the rising floodwaters of Hurricane Harvey, it is beautiful to see so many stories of ordinary people outdoing each other in acts of love. Amid all the bitterness that has arisen in our nation in the past few weeks, perhaps we have rediscovered our neighbor and found that he is not as bad as we have been led to believe. My uncle’s family was evacuated by three police officers who heard a pregnant woman and a small child were at risk and came looking for them. They were carried to dry land, and then two young volunteers in an SUV took them on to the shelter. They stopped at a grocery store and one of the volunteers gave them $20 out of his own pocket to buy food. My cousin stayed behind in the flood zone to aid other families as his own wife and children were being evacuated.

Politicians are of one mind about relief and rescue efforts. And the media are focused on getting life-saving information out and highlighting the heroes of the day. I have even seen multiple stories of news crews who jumped in to help save the lives of the people they were covering.

It seems that the waters of the flood have not risen higher than the waters of God’s mercy. And amid the suffering, there is perhaps a cleansing of the heart going on in our nation after several weeks marked by bitterness and suspicion. As my uncle commented after he and his family were rescued, “We have seen Jesus’ face many times today.”

‘Perhaps when the waters recede we might not forget that we are all struggling through the waters of a flood, and that we are all in need of help and shelter.’

CNS | Adrees Latif, Reuters

Residents use boats to evacuate people trapped in their homes from floodwaters during Tropical Storm Harvey Aug. 28 in Houston.

The waters saw you O God, The waters saw you and trembled; The depths were moved with terror.

The clouds poured down rain, The skies sent forth their voice; Your arrows flashed to and fro. (Psalm 77) It is through the sea that Israel was saved, and the Church has always seen in this an image of our salvation through the waters of baptism. God acts in the deep waters, despite their fearsomeness and mystery. “Save us Lord, we are perishing,” prayed the Apostles in the boat in the midst of a terrifying tempest on the Sea of Galilee, and yet Christ awoke at the center of it and stilled the storm and the waves.

People are huddled in shelters and harbored in neighbor’s houses, and yet despite the losses we also hear expressions of gratitude for being saved, gratitude that they still have each other. Perhaps when the waters recede we might not forget that we are all struggling through the waters of a flood, and that we are all in need of help and shelter. Perhaps we can remember how like a shelter our churches, our neighborhoods and our homes ought to be, and how many people are cold and wet and in need of being welcomed and taken in. How deeply our nation could be healed by the simple chain of acts of love we saw crisscrossing sunken Houston this week. How much more

important than any policy or politician could reaching out to our neighbor be, despite our differences of opinion.

When we all experience the flood, politics and race and religion suddenly don’t matter. What matters is reaching out with those simple acts that Catholics call the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

The earth was moved and trembled When your way led through the sea, Your path through the mighty waters, And no one saw your footprints.

You guided your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.” (Psalm 77) I wonder if our salvation won’t look much like this: surrounded by the waters, having lost so much of what we thought was important and yet discovered was not so important. Held by the hands of those close to us, whatever differences we had having been swept away. Battered and a little worse for wear, yet warmed at the hearth of that love that smolders in the human heart and gets fanned into flame by the most unexpected events.

Father Peter Ascik serves at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte. His uncle’s and cousin’s families were among thousands of people rescued from floodwaters last week in Houston after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Texas and Louisiana coasts.

September 15, 2017 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Parish spotlight

Bishop Robert Barron

Grace or karma?

J

ust a few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Stephen Davis, retired professor of the philosophy of religion at Claremont University. In preparation for the meeting, I read his book “Christian Philosophical Theology,” which includes a chapter contrasting two basic approaches to religion throughout the world. The first – which can be found in much of the East – is a religion of karma, and the second – prominent in the Abrahamic religions of the West – is a religion of grace.

The first approach has a lot to recommend it – which explains its great endurance across the centuries. A karmic approach says that, by a cosmic spiritual law, we are punished or rewarded according to our moral activities. If we do bad things, we will suffer, either in this life or a life to come. And if we do good things, we will be rewarded, again either here or in the hereafter. Karma might

A religion of grace is different than a religion based on karma. not be immediate, as is the law of gravity (remember John Lennon’s playful song “Instant Karma”), but in the long run, people are rewarded or punished according to merit. And this satisfies our sense of fairness and justice.

Now a religion of grace is different. It teaches that all people are sinners and hence deserving of punishment, but that God, out of sheer generosity, gives them what they don’t deserve. Think of one of the most popular lines in Christian poetry: “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” In terms of a karmic religion, wretches deserve a wretched fate, and it would be unfair for wicked people to be given a great gift. But devotees of a religion of grace exult in this generosity. Think in this context of the parable of the workers hired at different times of the day or the story of the Prodigal Son. Those make sense only in a religion-of-grace context.

Now lest Christians become selfrighteous about espousing a generous religion of grace, we must keep in mind that there is a serious objection indeed to such a construal of religion. If grace is a gift, and if there is no real warrant for the gift, then how come only some get it and others don’t? How could it possibly be fair that some people receive the gift of eternal life – through no merit of their own – and others don’t? This complaint becomes even more acute when we realize that the Bible – from beginning to end – presents a God who chooses. God selects Abel and not Cain, Abraham and not Lot, Jacob and not Esau, David and not Saul.

In fact, one of the most basic truths of the Biblical revelation is that Israel itself is a chosen people, a holy nation, a people set apart. And God insists – just to make the point clearly – that Israel was not chosen because it was the greatest, most just,

most accomplished of all the peoples of the world, just the contrary. So again, is any of this fair? In response to this charge, Christian thinkers have tended to say that no one deserves anything and therefore we should never complain about inequities in the distribution of free gifts. Still. Still.

To resolve this dilemma, it might be useful to look at a couple of Biblical texts, one from the Old Testament and one from the New. No one could ever accuse the prophet Isaiah of underplaying Israel’s importance or the fact that Israel is the specially chosen people of God. But listen to these words from the 56th chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah: “The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, loving the name of the Lord, and becoming his servants – all who keep the Sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer … for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.”

Israel was indeed chosen, singled out, uniquely graced – but precisely for the world and not for itself. What is grace? Gift!

But when you cling to a gift, hoarding it for yourself, you undermine its nature as gift.

The whole point of receiving the divine life is to give it away in turn. If you hoard it and make it your private prerogative, you undermine it; it turns to ashes. But when you give it away, it is renewed within you.

We see much the same thing in controversial and puzzling story of Jesus’ conversation with the Canaanite woman recounted in the Gospel of Matthew. The foreign woman comes to Jesus seeking a favor, but He protests that He has been sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He seems to be operating out of an exclusivist understanding of Israel’s privileges. When she presses the matter, the Lord comes back harshly enough: “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” At which point, the petitioner utters one of the great comebacks recorded in the Bible: “Please, Lord, even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Delighted not only by her cleverness and pluck but by the depth of her faith, Jesus says, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done to you as you wish.” Yes, the table of grace was set for the children of Israel, but the food from that table was not meant for Israelites alone, but for all those who would come to that table, by hook or by crook. Israel was chosen, yes, but for the sake of the world.

In regard to Dr. Davis’s categories, I will speak my mind clearly. Thank God we are not living in the dispensation of karma, for who of us would be able to stand in the fierce winds of pure justice? But we devotees of a religion of grace have to know that the gift is not for us alone; rather the generosity of God is meant to awaken a like generosity in us. If amazing grace has saved a wretch like me, I have got to become a vehicle of grace to every lost soul around me.

Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He is also the host of “Catholicism,” an award-winning documentary about the Catholic faith.

Photo provided by Amy Burger

A colorful kickoff HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark Church’s Life Teen youth ministry kicked off its 2017-’18 year Aug. 27 with the Third Annual Color Games, involving more than 100 high school students from the parish. After sharing a meal together, the teenagers headed outside in teams to compete in colorful games of Tic-tac-toe, Twister, balloon pop, color puzzles, duck duck Daniel and more. Life Teen is St. Mark’s high school ministry program, led by Sarah Rider. All high school teens are invited every Sunday night after the 5 p.m. Mass for a meal, fun, faith and fellowship.

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From online story: “World cannot remain silent to indifference, hatred, pope says” Through press time on Sept. 13, 5,127 visitors to www.catholicnewsherald.com have viewed a total of 11,003 pages. The top 10 headlines in September so far have been: n Eucharistic Congress of the Diocese of Charlotte ........................................................................1,279 n A blessing for Our Lady of Grace Church...........................................................................................497 n Father Jeff Kirby gives fiery address as Eucharistic Congress opens..................................... 438 n More than 20,000 fill Charlotte streets in Eucharistic Procession...........................................282 n Priest assignments for 2017................................................................................................................. 280 n Charlotte parishioner takes religious vows.......................................................................................260 n View the current print edition of the Catholic News Herald.........................................................238 n Father Lawlor installed as pastor of St. Thérèse Church...............................................................218 n Eucharist gives us sanctifying grace....................................................................................................197 n This year’s Eucharistic Congress highlights the Year of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.....195

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catholicnewsherald.com | September 15, 2017 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

ADORATION FROM PAGE 2

Christian people an incomparable dignity.

Not only while the sacrifice is offered and the sacrament is received, but as long as the Eucharist is kept in our churches and oratories, Christ is truly the Emmanuel, that is, ‘God with us.’ Day and night He is in our midst, He dwells with us, full of grace and truth. He restores morality, nourishes, virtues, consoles the afflicted, strengthens the weak. He proposes His own example to those who come to Him that all may learn to be, like Himself, meek and humble of heart and to seek not their own interests but those of God.” Adoration means coming before the Real Presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. But what does that mean? What, or better who, is the reality of which we speak when we talk about the Real Presence?

This reality, as the Church has solemnly defined the truth for the faithful, is the “totus Christus,” the whole Christ: body and blood, soul and divinity. This is not a rhetorical expression nor a verse of poetry.

It is an article of the undivided Roman Catholic faith.

There can be no doubt what the faithful are told when they are told to believe in this mystery. Once the words of consecration have been pronounced by a validly ordained priest, what used to be bread and wine are no longer bread and

wine. Only the appearances or, rather, only the external physical properties of the former elements, remain. There is now on the altar Jesus Christ, true God and true man, full God and full man.

Does this mean that Jesus is present in the Eucharist? Yes. Is it Jesus in His divine nature? Yes. Is it Jesus in His human nature? Yes. But if Jesus in the Eucharist is really and truly present, is He there with all that makes Him not only man, but makes Him this man? Yes. After all, when God assumed human nature, He assumed this nature as a particular single human being. The divine Person of the Son of God did not merely in some abstract sense become human. He became a definite, historically specific human being.

Thus in the Eucharist is present the Jesus of history: the one who was conceived of His mother Mary at Nazareth; who was born in a stable at Bethlehem; who lived for 30 years in Palestine; and who walked and talked and wept and slept and ate and drank; who shed real red blood on the cross and who rose from the grave, and after His resurrection had the incredulous disciples put their fingers into His pierced side.

When, then, we speak of the Real Presence we imply that part of this reality, which is Christ, is the heart of flesh and blood that every human being has and also Christ has in the glorified body He now possesses since the resurrection.

Note what we are saying. We are affirming that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not only a historical memory, as recorded

by St. John when he tells us that the sacred

side of the Savior was pierced on Calvary.

Nor are we saying merely that, rising from the dead, Christ is now at the right hand of His heavenly Father in body and soul and therefore also with His human heart. Nor are we saying simply that in the Eucharist is some sort of abstract memorial of the real Christ, who is actually in heaven and no longer on earth. No; we profess on faith that Jesus is now simultaneously both in heaven and on earth; that He truly ascended into heaven and is truly still on earth; that although He left us visibly He is with us really.

This means that the heart of Christ is in our midst, because Jesus is in our midst.

He is the same Jesus in heaven and on earth. So He must be present here with His Sacred Heart of flesh, living and beating in the bosom of a living human being.

He is present with His Sacred Heart, at once human and divine: human because He has a genuine human nature, like ours in all things but sin, and a truly divine nature, like that of the Father, with whom He is one God, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

But that is not all. We know that the heart of Christ is more than just a physical organ of His human body. It is also the symbol of God’s love for the human race, and, indeed, of the eternal love (that obtains) within the Blessed Trinity.

The important aspect of this is the fact that we have in the Holy Eucharist not only the physical Christ in His human and divine natures and therefore His heart of flesh substantially united to the Word of

God. We have in the Eucharist the effective means by which we can show our love for God, since it is not just our own affections when we unite them with the heart of the Eucharistic Christ. It is His affections joined with ours. His love elevates ours, and ours as a consequence is raised to a participation in the divinity.

But more than that. By our use of the Eucharist, that is, by our celebrating the Eucharistic Liturgy and by our reception of the heart of Christ in Holy Communion, we receive an increase of the supernatural virtue of charity. We are thus empowered to love God more than we would ever be able to do otherwise, especially by loving the people whom He graciously – though often painfully – places into our lives.

Whatever else the heart symbolizes, it is the world’s most expressive sign of outgoing charity.

It is precisely here that the Holy Eucharist supplies what we could never do by ourselves: loving others with total selfsacrifice. We must be animated by the light and strength that comes from the heart of Jesus Christ. If, as He said, “without me you can do nothing,” it is certainly impossible to give ourselves to others, tirelessly and patiently and continually, in a word, heartily, unless His grace gives us the power to do so.

And where does His grace come from?

From the depths of His divine heart, present in the Eucharist, offered daily for us on the altar and available to us always in the sacrament of Holy Communion.

— Jesuit Father John A. Hardon

CHAPEL OF HOPE

LAWLOR

BUCHANAN

FROM PAGE 19

FROM PAGE 3

FROM PAGE 3

of the beautiful chapel she and her husband constructed and named “St. Jude’s Little Chapel of Hope.”

Even though her husband Bill no longer lives on the property, the chapel remains unharmed, leaving a footprint and legacy of love and faith. When it was completed, Beverly noted, “God takes care of His own and this is all His. I built it for His children. He will provide security.”

The Little Chapel is still standing and being “taken care of.” There are no locks on the 150-year-old doors that had been special ordered from Europe and chosen

by Beverly. There are no cracks on the stained glass windows, also hand-picked from Europe and picked up in Atlanta by Beverly. And there are no tears in the red felt lining of the unique miniature kneelers next to the carved wooden angels standing watch at the little altar.

Since the chapel’s opening in 1992, thousands of pilgrimage to this quiet site have shed their burdens in the form of written prayers and sacrificial items on the altar.

The altar features a Bible and a crucifix. But over the years many other unexpected items such as curled up dollar bills, wrinkled letters with tear-stained ink, photos of loved ones, burnt candles, favorite pieces of jewelry, prayer cards, and random objects of affection have appeared there as well.

People come looking for miracles, guidance and love, and they leave surpassing Beverly’s thought of “If just one person comes and finds a moment’s peace it has done what it is supposed to do.”

Because of the little chapel’s open-door policy, couples have also flocked to it as an inexpensive, beautiful place to take their wedding vows.

Among them were Sylvia and John Barnes from Gastonia, who made a road trip through Madison County early in their relationship and happened upon St. Jude’s after getting a little lost on N.C. Hwy. 63. Smiling, Sylvia says, “We fell in love with this place the instant we saw it. When we walked through the doors, John and I just looked at each other and said, ‘This is where we are getting married.’ Ten years later and here we are!”

Whether searching for the impossible, needing some hope, wanting to tie the knot or just passing by, pass by Luck and stop in Trust to experience the peace and beauty that Beverly Barutio created at St. Jude’s Little Chapel.

more Christ-like; we grow in faith, hope and charity; and we are called to share that faith, hope and love in everything we do outside of church.

“You might look at the altar, or the Eucharist, Jesus’ Real Presence, as the bright sun shining in the universe of the parish,” he suggested. “There are rays emanating out from that Eucharist, from that sun, into all of the ministries of the parish, giving light and the warmth of Christ’s love to all of those ministries.”

Lastly, a pastor is responsible for governing the parish, the bishop said. Beyond making sure that everything is organized and that the buildings are cared for, it means he is also charged with getting to know the parish’s families.

In conclusion Bishop Jugis joked, “Do you think that is enough?”, eliciting laughter from the congregation.

“I think it is. But you know, he doesn’t do it all by himself – because you are here. He depends upon all of you to lend your support and to assist in the vitality of the whole parish life, that it keeps moving forward and shining as a bright light of Christ here in this section of our diocese.”

At the end of Mass, Father Lawlor recalled advice he received from a professor in the seminary: when a new pastor arrives, he should learn the parish’s history.

“I have always followed that in my previous assignments,” he said, and over the past seven weeks he has been doing the same thing in Mooresville. He read the parish’s history, listened to longtime parish employees, and made a pilgrimage with both parochial vicars to the old church building on Main Street.

“I know, in my brief time here, of the great dedication and talent and perseverance we can see in the work of the Church here,” he said. “I thank Bishop Jugis for the confidence he had in appointing me here.”

He quipped, “I would have been happy to have gone to a small parish in the mountains...,” then he continued earnestly, “I, without hesitation, accepted the assignment that was presented to me.

“I have learned in my 22 years as a priest that in every assignment there are unexpected graces, really bountiful graces, and I can see that is the case here in Mooresville.”

Originally from Charlotte, where he was a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Father Buchanan was officially installed as pastor of the 65-year-old parish at the start of the Mass, when he made his Profession of Faith and signed the documents on the altar in the presence of Bishop Jugis and the congregation. He also took an Oath of Fidelity, which includes his promise to pass on the faith – “the pure and unadulterated Catholic faith and the gospel of Jesus Christ,” as Bishop Jugis said in his homily.

In his homily, Bishop Jugis explained that the role of the pastor includes the responsibilities of teaching, sanctifying and pastoral governance.

“He is responsible for the care of souls. His task is to prepare you for eternal life,” Bishop Jugis said.

Father Buchanan is jumping right into his teaching role at the parish and school, including serving as the seventhgrade religion teacher, with Father Christian Cook, the parochial vicar, and Principal Kathleen Miller teaching eighth- and sixth-grade religion, respectively.

“When I found out that Father Paul was going to be our religion teacher, I was ecstatic! All of my classmates were very excited because we’ve never had a priest for a religion teacher before, and we already knew he was a really cool priest,” said seventh-grader Lindsey Ramsey. “He has taught me more about my faith and about what it means to be Catholic.”

The role of sanctifying, as explained by the bishop, involves increasing the spiritual life of the parish by drawing people closer to Christ – especially through the sacraments of the Eucharist and reconciliation.

“Everything that happens here draws its life, draws its meaning and its vitality from the altar – from Jesus Christ and His Real Presence,” Bishop Jugis said.

“Another way I want us to grow spiritually is to really foster and increase devotion to Our Lady,” Father Buchanan said. “It’s her parish, and to be able to increase our closeness to her will bring us all closer to Christ.”

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See more photos from the installation Mass for Father Paul Buchanan