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Expanded Medicare” (or “Medicare for Some
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Padre Julio Domínguez
Hace algunos meses tuve la gracia de ser llamado por mi Obispo Peter Jugis a servir como Vicario Episcopal del Ministerio Hispano. Con la salida del P. Fidel Melo a su año sabático, tomé a cargo la oficina del Ministerio Hispano el 31 de enero de 2020 y espero poder servir a mi Obispo y a toda la comunidad hispana con gran alegría y entusiasmo, confiando siempre en el poder de Dios que actúa a través de su Santo Espíritu para transformar su Iglesia.
Podría hablar de muchos proyectos y planes que serían fácil decir que quiero realizar, pues en realidad hay una gama de necesidades reales en la comunidad hispana. Sin embargo, quiero enfocarme sobre todo en las prioridades pastorales de mi Obispo para poder ser un verdadero instrumento de ayuda en el gobierno de nuestra diócesis de Charlotte. Todo mi equipo de trabajo estará realizando el trabajo que se nos ha asignado en las áreas de formación, evangelización, familia, vocaciones, liturgia y jóvenes.
En el área de formación me interesan los líderes parroquiales, aquellos que con generosidad nos ayudan en la enseñanza. Así como nosotros los sacerdotes necesitamos la formación contínua, de la misma manera ellos necesitan esta formación doctrinal permanente. En el área de Evangelización, la comunidad hispana se caracteriza por estar siempre muy activa en los retiros y conferencias, llamando contínuamente más y más gente a seguir a Cristo. Me gustaría que, de manera sistemática y organizada, todos los movimientos apostólicos, en colaboración con los párrocos y coordinadores diocesanos, sigamos esta noble misión de la Evangelización, tanto de adultos como jóvenes y matrimonios.
En el área de Familia estamos llamados a poner mucha atención, pues se requiere un nuevo empuje de la gracia de Dios para poder ayudar a tantos matrimonios jóvenes que están iniciando su camino matrimonial. En nuestra comunidad hispana existen cientos de parejas que no han recibido la gracia del sacramento del matrimonio y que viven fuera de la gracia de Dios debido a esto.
En el área de las vocaciones veo un gran potencial en la comunidad hispana, pues es donde tenemos una hermosa y floreciente juventud. Estoy seguro que, con las familias bien envueltas y empapadas en la fe y una atención más profunda en los jóvenes, sobre todo en lo que se refiere a grupos juveniles y retiros para ellos, vendrá en un futuro no muy lejano una floreciente cultura de vocaciones que provea pastores continuamente para nuestra Iglesia diocesana.
En el área de Liturgia, me interesa mucho proponer una formación sólida basada en el Catecismo de la Iglesia y en las instrucciones litúrgicas del Misal Romano sobre la celebración de los sacramentos y los ministerios que ayudan a los sacramentos, a saber: lectores, ministros extraordinarios de la Comunión, visita a los enfermos, ujieres, monaguillos, etc. Así como la preparación doctrinal de los sacramentos que podamos llevar a cabo en toda la diócesis de una manera uniforme.
Y por último, y no por esto lo menos importante, los jóvenes. Siempre pienso en los miles de jóvenes entre los14 y 17 años que se encuentran en nuestra familia hispana. Muchos de ellos, terminada su formación catequética con el sacramento de la confirmación, se quedan sin seguir recibiendo la formación adecuada a su edad. La verdad es que tenemos un reto grande en nuestras manos, pues ellos vienen a ser el futuro de nuestra Iglesia aquí en nuestra diócesis, al mismo tiempo que el puente de unión entre las dos comunidades de habla hispana e inglesa pues ellos ya son perfectamente bilingües.
Con la ayuda y gracia de Dios, la colaboración del clero de nuestra diócesis, el equipo de coordinadores diocesanos, los miles de colaboradores voluntarios y todas las familias cristianas, tengo la sincera y firme esperanza que trataremos de hacer lo mejor posible para que muchas almas conozcan y amen más a Jesucristo, para gloria de Dios Padre, siempre guiados por el Espíritu Santo.
El Padre Julio Domínguez ha sido nombrado vicario del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte.
FILE | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD
Obispo Jugis nombra nuevo Vicario del Ministerio Hispano
CÉSAR HURTADO REPORTERO
CHARLOTTE — El obispo Peter Jugis anunció un cambio en el liderazgo del Ministerio Hispano diocesano. Al padre Fidel Melo se le ha otorgado un año sabático para participar en una inmersión del idioma y cultura purépecha en la Arquidiócesis de Morelia, Michoacán, México, con el objetivo de poder servir a la comunidad de inmigrantes purépechas que residen en la Diócesis de Charlotte. El Padre Julio Domínguez ha sido designado para suceder al Padre Melo como Vicario del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte, a partir del 1 de febrero.
El Padre Julio César Domínguez Prieto nació en Tampico, Tamaulipas en 1972, siendo sus padres don Marcial Domínguez y doña Esperanza Prieto. Su apego a la religión se puso de manifiesto muy pronto y a los ocho años de edad le dijo a su madre que deseaba ser sacerdote.
Como todo adolescente, en crisis de rebeldía, se alejó de la iglesia y tuvo sus dudas sobre Dios. En la preparatoria, como consecuencia de una conversación que sostuvo con su madre, regresó a la Iglesia.
“Mira César (así lo llama su madre), yo nomás te voy a decir una cosa. Yo ya te mostré el camino de Dios y tú lo habías tomado muy bien, pero lo dejaste. Solamente quiero que sepas que hay un cielo y un infierno, y tú vas por el camino del infierno. De tí depende, yo ya te di las bases y tú vas a tomar el camino que tú quieras”, le dijo doña Esperanza.
La invitación para tomar un rol más activo en la Iglesia le llegó por un sacerdote misionero para que se capacite y desempeñe como catequista.
Las verdades de la fe que recibió lo llenaron intensamente. “Los padres misioneros explicaban todo tan bien que hacía sentido”, relató.
Pese a contar con una novia que le atraía mucho y a estar estudiando, sintió el llamado de Dios a tomar otro camino, decidió darse la oportunidad de probar algo distinto e ingresó, junto con otros diez jóvenes, a la Casa Religiosa de Los Misioneros de Cristo Mediador.
Permaneció diez años en la vida religiosa, pero al inquieto joven le gustaba la vida de parroquia, quería acercarse a la gente, trabajar con la comunidad.
Mientras estudiaba en Roma su tercer año de Filosofía y Teología, y bajo recomendación de su consejero religioso, inició contactos para ingresar al sacerdocio diocesano en Jalisco, México.
Cuando regresaba a México, gracias a una invitación de familiares llegó a Gastonia, Carolina del Norte, de visita. Allí se encontró con el Padre Joan Allen, pastor en la parroquia San Miguel, quien lo invitó a presentarse como candidato al sacerdocio por la Diócesis de Charlotte y continuar su formación como seminarista.
La duda de llegar a un mundo desconocido cuando esperaba retornar a México, el reto de estudiar un nuevo idioma y la separación por más de diez años de su familia lo hizo dudar. Nuevamente un consejo de su madre fue decisivo. En una conversación telefónica doña Esperanza lo alentó a seguir el camino pues, como le dijo, “Dios no trabaja por casualidades”.
El siete de junio de 2003, fue ordenado por el Obispo William Curlin junto a los sacerdotes Enrique González Gaytán y Matthew Ryan Beuttner en la Iglesia San John Neumann.
El Padre Julio recuerda la intensa lluvia de ese día y también la emoción de ver a la familia presente, aunque algunos de ellos, incluido su padre, no pudieron llegar pues se les negó la visa. Su primera asignación fue en la parroquia Sagrado Corazón en Salisbury, donde permaneció por 3 años. Ahí tuvo como mentor al Padre John Putnam, a quien reconoce debe su crecimiento.
Le siguieron San Luis Gonzaga en Hickory y San Francisco de Asís en Lenoir, donde permaneció siete años.
El Padre Julio Domínguez es también miembro del Consejo Presbiteral, responsable del track hispano del Congreso Eucarístico, parte del equipo diocesano de Vocaciones y su última asignación fue la de coordinador del Ministerio Hispano en Smoky Mountains.
Compartiendo la historia de la liberación
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CHARLOTTE — Gracias a una invitación del Templo Beth El, una sinagoga judía, el Padre Hugo Medellín, vicario parroquial de la Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte, asistió como orador a una serie de conferencias sobre la liberación del pueblo elegido por Dios y el llamado a la justicia social.
Las charlas tuvieron lugar los viernes 10, 17, 24 y 31 de enero, con la asistencia de la comunidad judía e interreligiosa unida en una cena tradicional de Shabat, seguida de los Servicios de la noche de Shabat y el Sermón. Como oradores, aparte del Padre Medellín, participaron la Rabina Judith Schindler, el Reverendo Dr. Peter Wherry y la Dra. Hadla Mubarak.
La rabina Judith Schindler se desempeñó como rabina mayor del Templo Beth El de 2003 a 2016 y como rabina asociada de 1998 a 2003. Actualmente es profesora asociada de estudios judíos y directora del Centro Stan Greenspon para la Paz y la Justicia Social en la Universidad Queens en Charlotte.
El Reverendo Wherry es pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Misionera Memorial Mayfield y graduado en Artes en Trabajo Social, Maestría en Divinidad y Doctor en Ministerio del Seminario Teológico Wesley en Washington, D.C. Como parte de sus estudios de doctorado, viajó a El Salvador, donde se comprometió con líderes políticos y teólogos, incluido uno de los padres de la Teología de la Liberación, el jesuita Dr. Jon Sobrino.
Por su parte, la Doctora Hadia Mubarak es profesora asistente de estudios religiosos en el Guilford College. Anteriormente enseñó en la Universidad de Carolina del Norte en Charlotte y Davidson College. Mubarak completó su Ph.D. en estudios islámicos de la Universidad de Georgetown, donde se especializó en exégesis coránica moderna y clásica, feminismo islámico y reforma de género en el mundo musulmán moderno. El 31 de enero, en su alocución, el Padre Medellín se refirió a las enseñanzas sobre justicia social, liberación y dignidad humana que entregan los cinco primeros libros del Antiguo Testamento: Génesis, Éxodo, Levítico, Números y Deuteronomio, conocidos como Pentateuco en la religión Católica y Torá en el Judaísmo.
Medellín inició definiendo el mito más allá de su acepción regular de ser un relato tradicional sobre acontecimientos que forman parte del sistema de creencias de una cultura o de una comunidad. El mito, dijo, “es una realidad que nunca sucedió, pero que se repite todos los días de nuestras vidas”.
Abordando la creación del mundo, señaló que el Génesis relata que “Dios creó al hombre a su imagen y semejanza, lo que quiere decir que estamos creados con la habilidad para relacionarnos con él y con el prójimo”.
Después de ello, creó a la mujer y le dio al hombre una compañera digna. “Una compañera digna, no más ni menos que él”, dijo, para luego preguntarse el porqué de la violencia doméstica, del abuso, del trabajo mal remunerado hacia ella.
En la misma creación, señaló, “Dios nos da una bendición, que es multiplíquense y cubran la faz de la tierra. Y nos da la creación entera cuando nos dice que los seres que caminan y las plantas están a nuestro servicio”. Por ello, añadió, “cuando explotamos y destruimos el medioambiente estamos rompiendo esta relación con Dios”.
“Luego sucede la desobediencia”, continuó. “La serpiente nos promete ser como dioses y tener la capacidad de decidir sobre el bien y el mal. Este querer ser como Dios es otro pecado”, afirmó.
La consecuencia de esta desobediencia, aseguró, es una sentencia que suena como castigo, pero que también se entiende como la dignificación del trabajo: “ganarás el pan con el sudor de tu frente”.
“¿Y qué entonces sobre el trabajo forzado, la esclavitud sexual, el tráfico humano, el desempleo, el desplazamiento masivo de migrantes, las leyes laborales manipuladas para el beneficio de algunos cuantos?”, se preguntó. “Todas son faltas ante la justicia que demanda Dios”, aseguró. Por ello, añadió, más tarde vendría la liberación del pueblo de Dios ante la opresión de los egipcios. “Pero la liberación viene con un compromiso y le pide a su pueblo que sea compasivo con las viudas, con los desprotegidos, con los migrantes, con los extranjeros. Le pide que cumpla con su ley”. Luego, siguiendo los hechos narrados en el libro del Génesis, “viene el fratricidio, la violencia. Un hermano mata a su hermano. Y ante la pregunta del Señor sobre el paradero de Abel, Caín responde a Dios “¿Acaso soy yo su guardián para saber dónde está?”, dijo el Padre Medellín.
Esta violencia, asegura, “este hecho, este mito, se repite hasta nuestros días. Y nuestra respuesta, en muchos casos, es la misma de Caín: ¿acaso soy yo responsable?”.
La respuesta, dijo, la dió el Papa Francisco, “quien nos indica ciertamente, que donde no se puede señalar un responsable, todos lo somos”. Esto, precisó lo hizo el Papa al denunciar lo que el Pontífice llama “la globalización de la indiferencia”, que incluye la relativización del bien y el mal. Al término, el Padre Hugo reconoció que tocar el tema de la justicia social “puede incomodar a algunas personas” pero, para encontrar una solución, “lo único que nos queda es seguir proclamando el mensaje de liberación, de justicia, y confiar en la misericordia de Dios”.
Conozca sobre el tráfico humano
CÉSAR HURTADO REPORTERO
El pasado mes de enero estuvo dedicado a la concientización sobre el tráfico humano en todo el país. La trata de personas es un delito que ha existido por siglos y actualmente, según lo considera la Interpol, es una forma de delincuencia organizada internacional, valorada en miles de millones de dólares, que constituye una forma de esclavitud en nuestros tiempos.
El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (Homeland Security) indica que el delito implica el uso de la fuerza, el fraude o la coerción para obtener algún tipo de acto sexual laboral o comercial.
“Cada año, millones de hombres, mujeres y niños son traficados en todo el mundo, incluso aquí en los Estados Unidos. Puede suceder en cualquier comunidad y las víctimas pueden ser de cualquier edad, raza, género o nacionalidad. Los traficantes pueden usar la violencia, la manipulación o las falsas promesas de trabajos bien remunerados o relaciones románticas para atraer a las víctimas a situaciones de trata”, asegura en su página web.
Para los delincuentes, sus víctimas no son más que una mercancía que puede utilizarse, incluso venderse, para obtener beneficios. Hay un desprecio total por la dignidad y los derechos humanos.
En muchos casos, la barrera del idioma y el miedo hacen que las víctimas no busquen ayuda, lo que convierte el tráfico de personas en un delito oculto.
Los centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades en Estados Unidos (CDC) han determinado que las consecuencias de este delito en las víctimas son muy severas, incluyendo el contagio de enfermedades de transmisión sexual, embarazos no deseados por violaciones y prostitución, infecciones, mutilaciones, malnutrición, abuso de sustancias, adicciones, otros desórdenes físicos y psicológicos generados por el abuso diario y tortura. Nuestra ciudad y estado no está libre de este delito. El 31de enero de este año, un hombre fue detenido en Charlotte y acusado de seis cargos de tráfico humano gracias a una víctima -esclavizada sexualmente- que tuvo el valor de denunciarlo.
A fines de 2019, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, en conjunto con el Departamento de Policía de Charlotte Mecklenburg, anunció que Charlotte está entre las ciudades con mayor número de arrestos por este delito en todo el país. “Es una verdadera pesadilla”, dijeron.
Los datos presentados revelaron un crecimiento nacional en el número de casos del 38 por ciento. Localmente, los agentes policiales de Charlotte arrestaron a 125 sospechosos y rescataron a 30 víctimas en el año fiscal 2019.
Si conoce un caso o es víctima de tráfico humano, de ser posible, denuncie de inmediato el hecho a la policía. También puede llamar a la Línea Nacional de Tráfico Humano al 1-888-373-7888 o enviar un texto al 233733. Cifras alarmantes
Se estima que actualmente hay entre 20 y 40 millones de personas en esclavitud moderna. Internacionalmente, solo se identifican aproximadamente el 0,04% casos de sobrevivientes de trata de personas.
La trata de personas genera ganancias globales de aproximadamente $ 150 mil millones al año para los traficantes, de los cuales $ 99 mil millones provienen de la explotación sexual comercial
Alrededor de 71% de las personas esclavizadas son mujeres y niñas, mientras que los hombres y los niños representan el 29%. Fuente: Dosomething.org
Director of Communications
The Catholic Diocese of Savannah is seeking a seasoned professional to direct diocesan Communication and Marketing strategies both internal and external. This
position reports to the Senior Director Operations and facilitates internal communications and public relations; directs the editorial and business components of the diocesan newspaper, Southern Cross; as well as the website and social media presence consistent with diocesan policies, goals and guidelines.
Specifically; plan, organize and direct department activities, provide leadership and guidance to staff of 3; implement programs, budgets, operating plans, guidelines and diocesan policies. Work collaboratively with department directors to carry out the mission of the diocese to maximize publicity for special events, programs and major announcements from diocesan offices. Build relationships and maintain contacts with local media, Catholic media and national media, if needed. Work in tandem with and provide leadership to editor of Southern Cross to ensure positive and thorough coverage of diocesan events, initiatives and programs. Host regular webinars/workshops and one-on-one regional training on crisis communications for parishes and schools.
Successful candidates must be Catholic in full-communion with the Church and possess extensive knowledge of the policies and programs of the Roman Catholic Church and have the ability to explain and carry out the mission of the diocese and the teachings of the Church.
A minimum of a BA/BS in Mass Communications, Journalism, Marketing or Public Relations is required with 5-10 years’ experience with increasing levels of responsibility preferred.
María Ana Gómez Pérez, de 16 años, ayuda a su madre Demetria a cocinar arroz para sus hermanos y hermanas menores, Juan Manuel y Dinora Marlene. Come en su escuela llamada Centro de Educación Básica José Suazo Córdova en El Pinal, San Francisco de Opalaca, Intibucá Honduras, gracias al programa Alimentos para la Educación (FFE, por su sigla en inglés) de CRS que les da a ella y a sus dos hermanos, Denis y Marcos, una comida diaria. Esta comida hace una gran diferencia en su familia, que vive en condiciones de extrema pobreza y generalmente come una vez al día. La familia de siete depende solo del trabajo de Cristóbal Gómez, de 50 años, su padre.
FOTO DE OSCAR LEIVA | SILVERLIGHT PARA CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES
A través del Plato de Arroz de CRS profundiza tu fe y servicio a los más necesitados
Para el tiempo de Cuaresma que se avecina, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) nos pide que recordemos el pasaje de la multiplicación de los panes que relatan los cuatro evangelios, a la vez que celebramos el 45 aniversario de su programa Plato de Arroz.
Así como cinco panes y dos peces se multiplicaron para ser compartidos por miles, los pequeños sacrificios se suman para hacer una gran diferencia en la vida
REZA AYUNA DONA APRENDE
Acción en Honduras
María Ana Gómez Pérez, de 16 años, ayuda a su madre Demetria a cocinar arroz para sus hermanos y hermanas menores, Juan Manuel y Dinora Marlene.
Come en su escuela llamada Centro de Educación Básica José Suazo Córdova en El Pinal, San Francisco de Opalaca, Intibucá Honduras, gracias al programa Alimentos para la Educación (FFE, por su sigla en inglés) de CRS que les da a ella y a sus dos hermanos, Denis y Marcos, una comida diaria. Esta comida hace una gran diferencia en su familia que vive en condiciones de extrema pobreza y generalmente come una vez al día. La familia de siete depende solo del trabajo de Cristóbal Gómez, de 50 años, su padre.
A través del programa FFE, CRS y sus socios buscan mejorar la asistencia escolar y la alfabetización entre los niños en edad escolar en los 17 municipios de Intibucá. Aproximadamente 53,000 niños en edad escolar reciben comidas diarias y útiles escolares para los más necesitados. Los padres y miembros de la comunidad participan en la mejora de la infraestructura escolar, organización del transporte y preparación de las comidas escolares.
El programa también otorga capacitación en nutrición e higiene, promueve el valor de una educación de calidad, capacita a maestros y administradores escolares en técnicas de gestión escolar.
Más online
En bit.ly/382TiRx: Aprende a cocinar baleadas, un plato típico hondureño aparente para Cuaresma con el que se alimenta María Ana y su familia
¡Dale vida a la Cuaresma!
de nuestros hermanos en todo el mundo.
Esta es una de las lecciones que Plato de Arroz de CRS trae a las familias cada año cuando hacen uso del popular programa de Cuaresma que iniciará el 26 de febrero, Miércoles de Ceniza.
“Plato de Arroz de CRS es un excelente medio para que las familias entiendan que las personas en todo el mundo tienen esperanzas y sueños, y que algunos necesitan de nuestro apoyo y ayuda para alcanzarlos”, dijo Beth Martin, directora de Misión y Movilización de CRS.
Lo nuevo de este año es un calendario rediseñado y una guía familiar para que sea más fácil para las familias hacer que la Cuaresma sea significativa.
Durante las seis semanas de Cuaresma, seguiremos a María Ana, Yvone y Trinh a través de sus rutinas matutinas, su tiempo en la escuela y las comidas con sus familias.
María Ana, una jovencita hondureña de 16 años, sueña con convertirse algún día en enfermera para poder ayudar a su familia y comunidad. Yvone tiene 11 años, vive en Kenia, donde aprendió a tener una dieta equilibrada y nutritiva en la escuela y pudo compartir ese conocimiento en casa. Trinh, una enérgica niña de 12 años de Hoi An, Vietnam, disfruta jugar con sus amigos.
PEQUEÑOS DONATIVOS, GRANDES
RESULTADOS
Cada año, las familias católicas de 14,000 comunidades en todo el país usan casi 4 millones de platos de arroz para dar donativos, que se entregan al final de la Cuaresma. Esos pequeños sacrificios realmente suman, recaudando casi 12 millones de dólares anuales. El 75 por ciento de cada donativo se destina a la programación de CRS en países seleccionados en todo el mundo, mientras que el 25 por ciento permanece en la diócesis local de donde proviene el donativo, apoyando iniciativas que ayudan a aliviar la pobreza.
“Plato de Arroz de CRS nos da la oportunidad de experimentar el amor de Dios cuando compartimos lo que tenemos con los necesitados”, dijo Martin. Recursos disponibles
Los materiales de Plato de Arroz de CRS están diseñados para familias, parroquias, educadores, universidades y diócesis. Están disponibles en forma impresa y en la web en inglés y español. También puede unirse al grupo de Facebook de Plato de Arroz de CRS.
Los materiales impresos están disponibles en inglés y español, y se pueden pedir gratis para grupos de 25 o más. Las familias también pueden ordenar sus propios Platos de Arroz de CRS individuales. Llame al 800-222-0025 o visite crsplatodearroz.org/pedidos para hacer un pedido.
Para obtener más información sobre Plato de Arroz de CRS, visite crsplatodearroz.org
El santo del amor y la amistad
Cada 14 de febrero se recuerda a San Valentín, patrono de los enamorados. Según la tradición, durante la persecución a los cristianos en los primeros siglos, el santo ponía en riesgo su vida para unir a las parejas en matrimonio.
En antiguos martirologios se menciona en la fecha del 14 de febrero al menos a tres santos de nombre Valentín, todos ellos mártires.
A uno se le describe como un sacerdote de Roma que solía socorrer a los presos que serían martirizados durante la persecución del emperador Claudio II.
Este fue detenido y enviado por el emperador al prefecto de Roma, quien al ver que todas sus promesas para hacerlo renunciar a su fe eran ineficaces, mandó que lo golpearan y después lo decapitaran.
El otro San Valentín, y el más conocido, es el obispo de Pignataro Interamna — actualmente Terni, en Italia— famoso por su evangelización, milagros y curaciones, y que fue decapitado en tiempos del emperador romano Marco Aurelio.
Aunque San Valentín sigue siendo reconocido como verdadero santo de la Iglesia, muy poco se sabe de seguro sobre su vida, fuera del hecho de su martirio. Es por eso que el calendario litúrgico celebra el 14 de febrero a los Santos Cirilo y Metodio en vez de a San Valentín.
DÍA DE LOS ENAMORADOS
Para abolir la costumbre pagana de que los jóvenes sacaran por suerte nombres de jovencitas, en honor de la diosa del sexo y la fertilidad llamada Februata Juno, celebrada el 15 de febrero, algunos pastores substituyeron esta costumbre escribiendo nombres de santos. Así con el tiempo la fiesta sería cristianizada y se celebraba en vez San Valentín.
El 14 de febrero se envían postales los enamorados porque, según la creencia medieval procedente de Inglaterra y Francia, ese día, es decir, a mediados del segundo mes del año, “todas las aves escogen su pareja”.
— Condensado de Aciprensa Oración de los Enamorados En mi corazón, Señor, se ha encendido el amor por una criatura que tú conoces y amas. Tú mismo me la has hecho encontrar y me la has presentado. Te doy gracias por este don que me llena de alegría profunda, me hace semejante a Ti, que eres amor, y me hace comprender el valor de la vida que me has dado. Haz que no malgaste esta riqueza que tú has puesto en mi corazón: enséñame que el amor es don y que no puede mezclarse con ningún egoísmo; que el amor es puro y que no puede quedar en ninguna bajeza; que el amor es fecundo y desde hoy debe producir un nuevo modo de vivir en los dos. Te pido, Señor, por quien me espera y piensa en mí; por quien camina a mi lado; haznos dignos el uno del otro; que seamos ayuda y modelo. Ayúdanos en nuestra preparación al matrimonio, a su grandeza, a su responsabilidad, a fin de que desde ahora nuestras almas dominen nuestros pensamientos y los conduzcan en el amor. Amén. En la fiesta de San Valentín, día de los enamorados, muchas personas que creen que su vocación es el matrimonio ruegan a Dios que les muestre a la persona correcta con la que compartirá su vida.
El 11 de febrero de 1858, tres niñas, Bernadette Soubirous, de 14 años, su hermana Marie Toinete, de 11 y su amiga Jeanne Abadie, de 12 salieron de su casa en Lourdes para recoger leña. Camino al río Gave, pasaron por una gruta natural donde Bernadette escuchó un murmullo y divisó la figura de una joven vestida de túnica blanca, muy hermosa, ceñida por una banda azul y con un rosario colgado del brazo. Se acercó y comenzaron a rezar juntas, para luego desaparecer.
El domingo 21 de febrero, la niña ve que la Virgen estaba triste, le pregunta lo que le pasa y Nuestra Señora le contesta: “Rogad por los pecadores”.
Por un período de cinco meses, la Virgen se le apareció a la niña en medio de multitudes que se acercaban para rezar y poder observar a la hermosa señora, pero la Virgen sólo se le aparecía a la niña.
En reiteradas ocasiones, Bernadette fue víctima de desprecios y burlas por parte de las autoridades eclesiales y civiles de pueblo, pero la niña se mantuvo firme en su fe mariana sobre todo en el especial pedido que la Virgen le había encargado: la construcción de una capilla sobre la gruta y la realización de una procesión.
Luego de la última aparición ocurrida el 16 de julio, fiesta de Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Bernadette ingresó a la orden religiosa de las hermanas enfermeras, a la edad de 22 años, y permaneció allí hasta su muerte a los 34 años de edad. Finalmente, hace hincapié en la importancia de la conversión y la confianza en Dios.
— Condensado de Aciprensa Oración para pedir a la Virgen por la salud de los enfermos
¡Oh amabilísima Virgen de Lourdes, Madre de Dios y Madre nuestra! Llenos de aflicción y con lágrimas fluyendo de los ojos, acudimos en las horas amargas de la enfermedad a tu maternal corazón, para pedirte que derrames a manos llenas el tesoro de tu misericordia sobre nosotros. Indignos somos por nuestros pecados de que nos escuches,
EL MENSAJE DE LA VIRGEN
El Mensaje que la Santísima Virgen dio en Lourdes, puede resumirse en los siguientes puntos:
Es un agradecimiento del cielo por la definición del dogma de la Inmaculada Concepción, que se había declarado cuatro años antes por Pio IX (1854), al mismo tiempo que así se presenta Ella misma como Madre y modelo de pureza para el mundo que está necesitado de esta virtud.
Derramó innumerables gracias de sanaciones físicas y espirituales, para que nos convirtamos a Cristo en su Iglesia.
Es una exaltación a las virtudes de la pobreza y humildad, aceptadas cristianamente al escoger a Bernadette como instrumento de su mensaje.
Un mensaje importantísimo en Lourdes es el de la Cruz. La Santísima Virgen le repite que lo importante es ser feliz en la otra vida, aunque para ello sea preciso aceptar la cruz. “Yo también te prometo hacerte dichosa, no ciertamente en este mundo, sino en el otro”.
En todas las apariciones vino con su Rosario, resaltando la importancia de rezarlo.
Subraya la importancia de la oración, de la penitencia y humildad (besando el suelo como señal de ello); también, un mensaje de misericordia infinita para los pecadores y del cuidado de los enfermos. pero acuérdate que jamás se ha oído decir que ninguno de los que han acudido a ti haya sido abandonado. ¡Madre tierna! ¡Madre bondadosa! ¡Madre dulcísima! Ya que Dios obra por tu mano curaciones sin cuento en la Gruta prodigiosa de Lourdes, sanando tantas víctimas del dolor, guarda también una mirada de bendición para nuestro pobre enfermo… (se dice el nombre). Alcanzadle de vuestro Divino Hijo Jesucristo la deseada salud, si ha de ser para mayor gloria de Dios. Pero mucho más alcanzadnos a todos el perdón de nuestros pecados, paciencia y resignación en los sufrimientos y sobre todo un amor grande y eterno a nuestro Dios, prisionero por nosotros en los Sagrarios. Amén. Virgen de Lourdes, rogad por nosotros. Consuelo de los afligidos, rogad por nosotros. Salud de los enfermos, rogad por nosotros. Rezar tres Avemarías. CNS | PAUL HARING Una enfermera empuja la silla de ruedas de una mujer en el Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Lourdes en el suroeste de Francia en esta foto de archivo del 16 de mayo de 2014.
Lecturas Diarias
FEB. 16-22 Domingo: Sirácides 15:15-20, 1 Corintios 2:6-10, Mateo 5:17- 37; Lunes: Santiago 1:1-11, Marcos 8:11-13; Martes: Santiago 1:12-18, Marcos 8:14-21; Miércoles: Santiago 1:19-27, Marcos 8:22-26; Jueves: Santiago 2:1-9, Marcos 8:27-33; Viernes (San Pedro Damián): Santiago 2:14-24, 26, Marcos 8:34-9:1; Sábado (La Cátedra de San Pedro): 1 Pedro 5:1-4, Mateo 16:13-19 FEB. 23-29 Domingo: Levítico 19:1-2, 17-18, 1 Corintios 3:16-23, Mateo 5:38-48; Lunes: Santiago 3:13-18, Marcos 9:14-29; Martes: Santiago 4:1-10, Marcos 9:30-37; Miércoles (Miércoles de Ceniza): Joel 2:12-18, 2 Corintios 5:20-6:2, Mateo 6:1-6, 16-18; Jueves: Deuteronomio 30:15-20, Lucas 9:22-25; Viernes: Isaías 58:1-9, Mateo 9:14-15; Sábado: Isaías 58:9-14, Lucas 5:27-32 MARZO-1-6 Domingo (Primer domingo de Cuaresma): Génesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7, Romanos 5:12-19, Mateo 4:1-11; Lunes: Levítico 19:1-2, 11-18, Mateo 25:31-46; Martes (Sta. Katharine Drexel): Isaías 55:10-11, Mateo 6:7-15; Miércoles (San Casimiro): Jonás 3:1-10, Lucas 11:29-32; Jueves: Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25, Mateo 7:7-12; Viernes: Ezequiel 18:21-28, Mateo 5:20-26; Sábado (Santas Perpetua y Felícita): Deuteronomio 26:16-19, Mateo 5:43-48
CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD 12 Our schools
catholicnewsherald.com | February 14, 2020
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TIMOTHY GALARDE OLA lends a hand at Second Harvest
Experience the Time of Mercy! & Mary April 3-4, 2020 Retreat Mercy
Holy Family Catholic Church 4820 Kinnamon Rd., Winston-Salem, NC 27103 CHARLOTTE — Eighth-graders from Our Lady of the Assumption School recently volunteered at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in Charlotte. In the community service project, students and teachers sorted and packaged food and non-food supplies that were then distributed throughout 24 local counties across North and South Carolina among the 800-plus partner agencies of Second Harvest. These partner agencies include soup kitchens, emergency pantries, homeless shelters, senior programs and low-income daycares. Since 1981, Second Harvest has aimed to eliminate hunger through advocacy, education and partnerships to collect and distribute food. Second Harvest employs programs to bring aid to children, seniors, families, veterans and pets. For example, one children’s program that OLA supports is the Backpack Program, which provides children at risk for hunger with backpacks full of ready-to-eat, nutritious foods for weekends and holidays when school meals are not available. Last year, Second Harvest distributed more than 60 million pounds of food and other household items throughout its service region.
“How much the world needs to understand and accept Divine Mercy!” – Saint John Paul II
Featuring speaker Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC
This Retreat Includes: • 5 Conferences with Fr. Gaitley:
• Personal Testimony: Now is the Time of Mercy • St. John Paul II: Fatima and the Great Mercy Pope • St Maximilian Kolbe: Mary’s Instrument of Mercy • St. Thérèse: The Way of Merciful Love • Your Role in this Time of Mercy • Coffee & Donuts • Lunch with the Marian Missionaries • Retreat Mass & Divine Mercy Chaplet • Adoration & Benediction • Personal Testimonies • Book Signing with Fr. Gaitley and more! NEW! Special Rate $49 95 Register Now
Events.MarianMissionaries.org For more information: 413-944-8500 Ext. 10
St. Gabriel School’s Catholic Schools Week prayer card winners
CHARLOTTE — St. Gabriel School’s annual prayer card contest is one of the highlights of its annual Catholic Schools Week events. This year’s winners were Catalina Lizarazu (prayer) and Hannah Pepitone (illustration), whose beautiful work reflects the themes of “Learn, Serve, Lead, Succeed.” Pictured are Principal Michele Snoke, Father Richard Sutter, and the winning students.
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY DARBY MCCLATCHY
February 14, 2020 | catholicnewsherald.com
CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI 13 Mix
In theaters
Intended as a tart treat, this DC Comics adaptation instead comes across as a sour exercise in random mayhem. Margot Robbie plays Harley Quinn, the psychiatrist who fell for Batman’s nemesis, the Joker, while treating him at an asylum. After the two split, she finds herself vulnerable without his protection and is targeted by a gangster who agrees to let her live if she can retrieve a diamond purloined from his top henchman (Chris Messina) by a young pickpocket (Ella Jay Basco). Her pursuit of the gem puts her at cross purposes with the police detective (Rosie Perez) investigating the kingpin and with a mysterious assassin whose weapon of choice is a crossbow. With a semipsychotic, smart-alecky antihero at the heart of its proceedings, director Cathy Yan’s action adventure lacks any sense of moral direction. Skewed values, relentless rough and crude language.
CNS: O (morally offensive); MPAA: R
Child abandonment and hunger are the backbone of this horror-film framing of the Grimm Brothers fairy tale. Gretel (Sophia Lillis), who is 16 in this version, has to decide whether bounteous meals from a forest witch are worth the risk to her and her 8-year-old brother Hansel (Sammy Leakey). Holda the witch (Alice Krige), of course, has murderous culinary intentions. Screenwriter Rob Hayes and director Oz Perkins also give Holda an origin story. An occult theme and fleeting gore.
CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13
Other Movies:
n ‘The Rhythm Section’: CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: R n ‘The Turning’: CNS: A-III (adults); MPAA: PG-13
New documentary seeks to mobilize Christians in fighting sex trafficking
DENIS GRASSKA CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE SAN DIEGO — A powerful new documentary on sex trafficking makes its intentions clear from the outset. “Blind Eyes Opened: The Truth About Sex Trafficking in America” begins with this scriptural passage from Isaiah: “to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
Over the hour and a half that follows, viewers’ eyes will indeed be opened, not only by the many disturbing facts related by law enforcement personnel, legislators and those dedicated to facilitating the healing of trafficking victims, but also through the haunting first-person accounts of survivors of this modern-day form of slavery.
In a recent interview with The Southern Cross, San Diego’s diocesan newspaper, executive producer Geoffrey Rogers described the film as unabashedly “a Christian documentary.”
“Certainly it exposes the darkness, it shows the truth about sex trafficking in America – that’s the goal of it – but, when we produced it, we had a very clear objective and that was to show the hope in Jesus Christ to solve this problem,” he explained.
During the film, viewers hear from survivors who share Jesus’ role in their recovery. The film also shows Christian ministries reaching out to those in the commercial sex trade, and it concludes with a direct challenge to its Christian viewers to do more to combat this societal scourge.
Churches can host their own one-night screenings of the film until Feb. 20.
Several of those interviewed on camera in “Blind Eyes Opened” suggest that society’s blindness to this widespread crime is the result of simply not wanting to believe that such things are happening, with increasing frequency, in our own neighborhoods.
In the film, Cpl. Alan Wilkett of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Florida tells viewers, “It’s happening right before our eyes, and yet we’re not seeing it.”
The film tackles such topics as the insidious ways in which children are lured by traffickers who often prey on vulnerabilities such as low self-esteem and an unstable family life; how law enforcement has shifted from viewing trafficked persons as criminals to recognizing them as crime victims; what additional steps that American society can take against trafficking; and what resources are currently available to those fortunate enough to escape from such a hellish life.
Among the many heartbreaking stories recounted in the film is that of Edie B. Rhea, founder of Healing Root Ministry Inc., a nonprofit led by trafficking survivors. Her father died when she was 4. A few months later, a man named Bill moved in with her and her mother. He molested her when she was 10 and, two years later, began selling her for sex to strangers.
A childhood photo of a smiling Edie is seen onscreen as the grown woman recounts her lost innocence and the multiple rapes she endured at the butcher shop that Bill and her mother owned. On one occasion, Bill prostituted her in exchange for a new meat grinder. Rhea says in the film that she believes that there were “lots of opportunities for people to see (what was happening), but they didn’t see.”
“The signs were there,” she said. “They just looked the other way.” Get more info
For more information about the film, visit www. BlindEyesOpened.com. Churches interested in learning how to host a screening can do so by visiting www. faithcontentnetwork.com, clicking on “See the Current Film Line-Up,” and selecting “Blind Eyes Opened: The Truth About Sex Trafficking in America.” CNS | COURTESY BLIND EYES OPENED Women pray in the documentary “Blind Eyes Opened: The Truth About Sex Trafficking in America.” Churches can sign up to host a screening of the powerful new documentary on sex trafficking until Feb. 20.
Catholic Book Pick
‘King of the Shattered Glass’ by Susan Joy Bellavance
Marguerite is an orphan who works in the King’s kitchen. When she repeatedly breaks the King’s precious glass, those around her tell her to bury the glass and hide the evidence. But Marguerite knows what she must do: she brings the broken shards to the King, explains what happened and says she is sorry.
This beautifully illustrated story is a tale of courage,
honesty and bravery. More than that, what Marguerite receives from the King is what we all experience when we go to the Lord in confession: His loving mercy!
This story is perfect for older children and a refreshing reminder for everyone that God’s mercy knows no bounds.
On TV
n Friday, Feb. 14, 8 p.m. (EWTN) “Called by Mary.” Pilgrims and their families recount their journeys of healing to the Grotto in Lourdes where Mary appeared before St. Bernadette.
n Wednesday, Feb. 19, 4 p.m. (EWTN) “Odyssey: A Journey Back Home.” Ulysses, King of Ithaca, has just won the Trojan War. Now he wants to return home to his beloved wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus. A new look at this classic tale of faith, courage, patience, and family unity.
n Thursday, Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Left to Tell.” A survivor of the Rwandan genocide, Immaculee explains how she was able to forgive the people who murdered her family. n Friday, Feb. 21, 1:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Speaking of Saints; Holiness.” Susan Conroy looks at the profound holiness of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and what we can learn from it.
n Saturday, Feb. 22, 8 p.m. (EWTN) “Polycarp.” When the Roman proconsul demands all citizens to worship Caesar, Polycarp and other Christians must find the courage to stand up for their faith against the growing threat of persecution. n Tuesday, Feb. 25, 1:30 p.m. (EWTN) “St. Francis: Mirror of Christ.” Father Apostoli looks at how Saint Francis unintentionally formed a new order, and examines what encouraged people to follow him. n Wednesday, Feb. 26, 9:30 a.m. (EWTN) “Meditations with Father Groeschel: Ash Wednesday.” Father Groeschel offers a Lenten Meditation on Ash Wednesday and how to grow closer to God during Lent. n Wednesday, Feb. 26, 4:30 p.m. (EWTN) “My Time with Jesus: Fatima- Lucia and Her Faithfulness to the Message.” The children see the life of Venerable Lucia dos Santos and her great effort to record and proclaim the message of Our Lady of Fatima.
n Thursday, Feb. 27, 5 p.m. (EWTN) “Bob and Penny Lord Present: St. Maria Goretti.” Bob and Penny Lord recount the heroic virtues of St. Maria Goretti and how she lost her life to preserve her purity.
CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD 14 Our nation
catholicnewsherald.com | February 14, 2020
Videos are new component to bishops’ ‘Faithful Citizenship’ guide
DENNIS SADOWSKI CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A series of long-planned videos that supplement the U.S. bishops’ quadrennial “Faithful Citizenship” document that provides guidance to voters during a presidential election year have been finalized for viewing.
Posted on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website at faithfulcitizenship.org and the USCCB’s YouTube channel at bit. ly/31DHDGN, five videos in four languages explore various aspects of Catholic social teaching while reflecting the teaching of Pope Francis.
The videos are part of the bishops’ effort to broaden their outreach through the document, titled “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility,” Jill Rauh, director of education and outreach in the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, said.
“The videos intend to help Catholics engage in participation in political life, first and foremost, guided by their faith as opposed to any affiliation with any political party that they have,” Rauh said.
“In addition, the videos invite Catholics to engage with civility and to learn about and advocate on behalf of all of who are vulnerable, from the unborn to immigrants to people who are in poverty, to our common home, to families,” she said. Four English-language videos of about two minutes in length examine participation in public life, protecting human life and dignity, promoting the common good and loving others. The fifth video is a six-minute compilation of the highlights of the four shorter pieces. Videos in Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese are slightly longer.
Each video, funded by was produced with young people in mind, Rauh added.
“The (bishops) had a particular interest in creating videos for sharing on social media and engaging with young people,” she said.
Along with images and voices of young people, each piece features one bishop narrating an aspect of Catholic social teaching. Each production closes with a different prayer specifically written for the series.
A letter introducing the document is one of the resources. Approved by the bishops during their fall general assembly in November, the letter reminds Catholics that “we bring the richness of our faith to the public square” and that “faith and reason inform our efforts to affirm both the dignity of the human person and the common good of all.”
Other wide-ranging resources are being made available to parishes, schools, prayer groups and other interested parties through the faithful citizenship web page. The bishops who appear in the Englishlanguage videos include Los Angeles
Go online Find the videos online at www. faithfulcitizenship. org and the USCCB’s YouTube channel
Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, USCCB president, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., Auxiliary Robert E. Barron of Los Angeles and Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, La.
The Spanish-language videos feature Archbishop Gomez, Archbishop Nelson J. Perez of Cleveland, who will soon move on to Philadelphia; Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas; and Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas.
The videos in Tagalog feature Bishop Oscar A. Solis of Salt Lake City, while the videos in Vietnamese feature Auxiliary Bishop Thanh Thai Nguyen of Orange, Calif.
Scenes showing people feeding the hungry, protecting God’s creation, comforting the elderly, caring for children, migrant people and families, and engaging in civil discussions are prominent in the productions.
“The videos are meant to reflect the teaching of the bishops in ‘Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,’” Rauh explained. “The videos are really
trying to make that teaching more accessible.”
In the video about Catholic participation in public life that introduces the series, Archbishop Gomez said, “The Church’s participation in shaping the moral character of society is a requirement of our faith. It is a basic part of the mission we have received from Jesus Christ.”
Later in the piece he noted, “We are not aligned with any party, but we shine the light of faith to influence parties to which we may belong as well as to elected officials and thus in our communities.”
The productions, funded by a grant from the Catholic Communication Campaign, also are meant to guide people in public life beyond voting, Rauh said, as they present “a call for ongoing engagement in the public sphere.”
Rauh also is coordinating her department’s outreach for upcoming elections through the Civilize It campaign. Introduced by the USCCB Nov. 3, one year before the 2020 vote, the campaign stresses that respectful dialogue – rather than name-calling and nasty barbs – can occur among people with differing political views. The idea for Civilize It originated in the Social Action Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 2016. Its success in southwest Ohio caught the attention of the USCCB, which decided that the model, with a few tweaks, would be introduced in parishes nationwide.
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Marriage, family therapist to chair U.S. bishops’ Review Board
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has appointed Suzanne Healy, former victims assistance coordinator for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as the new chair of the National Review Board, effective in June. Healy, a retired marriage and family therapist, served as the victim assistance coordinator for the Los Angeles Archdiocese from 2007 to 2016 and for the past three years she has been a member of the National Review Board. She will succeed Francesco Cesareo, who concludes his term as chair after the bishops’ June 2020 meeting. Cesareo, president of Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., has served as chairman since 2013. The group advises the bishops’ Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People and works closely with the USCCB’s Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection in accordance with the 2002 “Charter for Protection of Children and Young People.”
Archbishop to conduct further investigation on Crookston bishop
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Vatican Congregation for Bishops has authorized Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis to further investigate claims that Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner of Crookston, Minn., interfered with an investigation of clerical sexual misconduct, according to a Feb. 4 statement from the archdiocese. Judge Tim O’Malley, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Ministerial Standards and Safe Environment, will oversee the investigation. The statement says the investigation will continue to look into claims that the bishop, “had engaged in ‘acts or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid civil or canonical investigations of clerical sexual misconduct’ as prescribed by the ‘motu proprio,’ ‘Vos Estis Lux Mundi’ (‘You are the light of the world’).” It sets new worldwide norms for reporting sexual abuse and holding bishops accountable for abuse and/or its cover-up. It states that if a bishop is accused of misconduct, the Vatican will mandate that his metropolitan archbishop investigate the claim. As archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop Hebda is the metropolitan of the bishops in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Georgetown plans to divest from fossil fuels within a decade
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Georgetown University is embarking on a plan to end new investments in fossil fuels companies, gradually divest from those firms and boost its endowment portfolio in renewable energy and energy efficiency. The university’s board of directors decided Feb. 6 to take the steps following a years-long campaign by students and other activists to encourage the divestment in an effort to address climate change. The step is the latest in a national and international trend that finds Catholic banks, institutions, organizations, dioceses and religious congregations divesting from companies primarily focused on fossil fuel extraction. In announcing the decision, university president John J. DeGioia said in a statement the decision was rooted in the school’s Catholic and Jesuit identity and builds on the school’s work to follow Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.”
— Catholic News Service
You are cordially invited to the 17th Annual Partners in Hope
Anxiety / Depression Acid Reflux / Sleep Hormones / Allergies Cholesterol / Fatigue
CCDOC.ORG
Thursday, March 12, 2020 Benton Convention Center 301 West Fifth Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Join us for cocktails at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m.
2020 Bishop William G. Curlin Partners in Hope Award Recipient Reverend Michael J. Buttner | Pastor, Holy Family Catholic Church
Presenting Guest Speaker Reverend John J. Eckert | Pastor, Sacred Heart Catholic Church
At this complimentary event, you will be invited to make a generous gift to help raise our goal of $425,000 to Strengthen Families, Build Communities, and Reduce Poverty in the Piedmont Triad Region.
Open Positions Charlotte Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte seeks the following: Employment Specialist (full-time) Assistant Facilitator (full-time) Case Aides (2 part-time positions) Application period for these positions closes on Monday, February 17
Program Director (full-time) Application period closes on Monday, February 24
Please visit www.ccdoc.org/jobs for more details.
Cover letter and resume (2-page maximum) must be submitted electronically by 5 PM on the application close date to: DBFebles@charlottediocese.org. No phone inquiries, please.
CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD 16 Our world
catholicnewsherald.com | February 14, 2020
Pope to health workers: Uphold ‘the truest human right, the right to life’
CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
VATICAN CITY — Health care professionals always must “promote the dignity and life of each person and reject any compromise in the direction of euthanasia, assisted suicide or suppression of life, even in the case of terminal illness,” Pope Francis said.
“Life is sacred and belongs to God,” the pope said, “hence it is inviolable, and no one can claim the right to dispose of it freely.” Pope Francis addressed health care professionals in his annual message for the celebration of World Day of the Sick, which is marked Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. To people suffering from illness in body or mind, the pope offered words of hope and encouragement, assuring them of Jesus’ closeness and His promise to ‘Life is sacred and belongs to God.’ Pope Francis
alleviate their burdens.
“Jesus does not make demands of those who endure situations of frailty, suffering and weakness, but offers His mercy and His comforting presence,” the pope said.
Jesus “looks upon a wounded humanity with eyes that gaze into the heart of each person,” he said. “That gaze is not one of indifference; rather, it embraces people in their entirety, each person in his or her health condition, discarding no one, but rather inviting everyone to share in His life and to experience His tender love.”
In Jesus, the pope said, those who are sick “will find strength to face all the worries and questions that assail you during this ‘dark night’ of body and soul.” And, he said, within the Church they should find welcome, concern and gentle care, “a home where you can encounter His grace, which finds expression in closeness, acceptance and relief.”
In a section of the message addressed to physicians, nurses and other health professionals, Pope Francis urged them to “remember that diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic treatments, research, care and rehabilitation are always in the service of the sick person; indeed the noun ‘person’
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takes priority over the adjective ‘sick.’”
Catholic health care professionals “can make patients feel the presence of Christ, who consoles and cares for the sick and heals every hurt.”
“Life must be welcomed, protected, respected and served from its beginning to its end: both human reason and faith in God, the author of life, require this,” Pope Francis said.
Sometimes, he told Catholic health workers, “conscientious objection becomes a necessary decision if you are to be consistent with your ‘yes’ to life and to the human person.”
Like all Christians, he said, they must Pope Francis blesses a sick child in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Dec. 15, 2016, during a meeting with patients and workers of Rome’s Bambino Gesu children’s hospital. World Day of the Sick is marked Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
CNS | MAX ROSSI, REUTERS
safeguard “the truest human right, the right to life.”
And, the pope told them, “when you can no longer provide a cure, you will still be able to provide care and healing, through gestures and procedures that give comfort and relief to the sick.”
Pope Francis also urged governments to do more to ensure that all their citizens, especially the poor, have access to quality medical care, and he thanked “volunteers who serve the sick, often compensating for structural shortcomings, while reflecting the image of Christ, the good Samaritan, by their acts of tender love and closeness.”
Bob Gordon Field Agent 516-551-7838 robert.gordon@kofc.org
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Pope shares his ‘dreams’ for Amazon region, its Catholic community
CINDY WOODEN CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said he dreams of an Amazon region where the rights of the poor and indigenous are respected, local cultures are preserved, nature is protected, and the Catholic Church is present and active with “Amazonian features.”
In his apostolic exhortation “Querida Amazonia” (“Beloved Amazonia”), Pope Francis made no mention of the idea of ordaining married men to the priesthood so that far-flung Catholic communities would have regular access to the Eucharist.
Instead, he said “every effort should be made to ensure that the Amazonian people do not lack this food of new life and the sacrament of forgiveness.”
“A specific and courageous response is required of the Church” to meet the needs of Catholics, he said, without dictating what that response would be.
However, Pope Francis opened the document saying he wanted “to officially present the final document” of October’s Synod of Bishops for the Amazon. The final document asked for criteria to be drawn up “to ordain as priests suitable and respected men of the community with a legitimately constituted and stable family, who have had a fruitful permanent diaconate and receive an adequate formation for the priesthood, in order to sustain the life of the Christian community through the preaching of the word and the celebration of the sacraments in the most remote areas of the Amazon region.”
Speaking about the final document, Pope Francis wrote that the synod “profited from the participation of many people who know better than myself or the Roman Curia the problems and issues of the Amazon region.”
Having a Church with “Amazonian features,” he said, also will require greater efforts to evangelize, official recognition of the role women have and continue to play in the region’s Catholic communities, a respect for popular forms of piety and greater efforts to inculturate the Catholic faith in Amazonian cultures.
In the document, Pope Francis did not mention the theft during the synod of wooden statues of a pregnant woman, usually referred to by the media as “pachamama” or described as a symbol of life and fertility by synod participants. But he insisted, “Let us not be quick to describe as superstition or paganism certain religious practices that arise spontaneously from the life of peoples.”
The pope devoted several long passages to the theme of “inculturation,” the process by which the faith becomes “incarnate” in a local culture, taking on local characteristics that are in harmony with the faith and giving the local culture values and traits that come from the universal Church.
“There is a risk,” he said, “that evangelizers who come to a particular area may think that they must not only communicate the Gospel but also the culture in which they grew up.”
Instead, he said, “what is needed is courageous openness to the novelty of the Spirit, who is always able to create something new with the inexhaustible riches of Jesus Christ.”
One of the characteristics of many Catholic communities in the Amazon, he wrote, is that, in the absence of priests, they are led and sustained by “strong and generous women, who, undoubtedly called and prompted by the Holy Spirit, baptized, catechized, prayed and acted as missionaries.”
While the idea of ordaining women deacons was mentioned at the synod, it was not included in the bishops’ final document. In his exhortation, Pope Francis said the idea that women’s status and participation in the Church could come only with ordination “would lead us to clericalize women, diminish the great value of what they have already accomplished and subtly make their indispensable contribution less effective.” Instead, he called for including women in roles “that do not entail holy orders,” but that are stably established, publicly recognized and include “a commission from the bishop” and a voice in decision making. Peppered with poetry praising the region’s beauty or lamenting its destruction, much of the document looks at the exploitation of the Amazon region’s indigenous communities and poor inhabitants and the destruction of its natural resources.
“The Amazon region has been presented as an enormous empty space to be filled, a source of raw materials to be developed (and) a wild expanse to be domesticated,” the pope wrote. “None of this recognizes the rights of the original peoples; it simply ignores them as if they did not exist or acts as if the lands on which they live do not belong to them.” The destruction of the forest, the polluting of the Amazon River and its tributaries and the disruption and contamination of the land by mining industries, he said, further impoverish the region’s poor, increase the chances that they will become victims of trafficking and destroy their communities and cultures, which are based on a close and care-filled relationship with nature.
“The inescapable truth is that, as things stand, this way of treating the Amazon territory spells the end for so much life, for so much beauty, even though people would like to keep thinking that nothing is happening,” he wrote.
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Please pray for the following priests who died during the month of February.
Rev. Edward Beatty 1990 Bishop Michael J. Begley 2002 Rev. Lawrence Hill 1985 Msgr. Anthony Kovacic 2015 Rev. Kieran Neilson, OSB - 2019 Rev. Andrew J. Volkommer, 2016 Rev. Joseph J. Waters, 2015
Your Life’s Journey…
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Establish a legacy that responds to the many gifts God has given you.
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catholicnewsherald.com | February 14, 2020
Kelly Henson
The power of enough
As I sat looking fixedly at my spring and summer calendar, I felt the perennial question that torments parents surfacing in my mind, “Is it enough?”
Is it enough time to get from the piano lesson to the basketball skate party? Is there enough time to get a First Communion dress if I order it next month? Are there enough vacation days for a family trip? Do we have enough money, time, energy or capacity to multitask for every relationship, need, desire and expectation? That insidious word – enough – can torture us in our emotional life, as well. Am I engaging enough to still fascinate my spouse? Am I available enough to meet my child’s need for a late night chat? Is my knowledge enough to problem solve a medical concern with my doctor? Tied to the humdrum routines of my life, am I interesting enough to keep the attention of a new friend? Do I have enough time for myself to recharge? And, am I enough to somehow earn the love and care of God? The reality is that this intangible standard of enough cannot be met in our fallen world. Our restless desire for perfection points to the longing we all have for heaven. Feeling that tension and imperfection in our lives is a prompting to turn toward God to help us find balance, order, confidence and peace.
Contrary to that prompting, the devil would prefer us to be consumed by the countless and constant demands for our attention. He hopes this insatiable clamor will make us question our sense of self and shatter our confidence in our identity as loved children of God. He seeks to make us slaves of an over-packed schedule, trying to fulfill a list of expectations for our career advancement or for a child’s ideal resume. Or we try to make everyone happy by volunteering and helping everywhere at the expense of our own family time and care for our homes and households. He may overwhelm us with sufferings, like Job in the Bible. After expending our resources to the last drop, we can cower in self-doubt and guilt if we hear a critique saying we did it all wrong after all. Of course, God wants us to live and grow intentionally. But our efforts will not bear lasting fruit and joy if they stem from a place of fear. St. Augustine’s long search for success shifted dramatically when he realized, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.”
When I face an avalanche of worry, it helps me to recall that all my imaginings usually fail to include one essential element: grace. God’s dynamic grace, weaving itself in and through the fabric of my life, is often creative in ways I have no possible way of predicting. An unforeseen check, the perfectly timed help from a stranger, an unexpected healing or even a week of warm sunshine during a rainy spell – these seemingly fortuitous moments can eliminate the fear of enough like an overhead light chasing darkness from an enclosed room. Other times, I discover much later that God’s grace has mysteriously mended parts of my life that I thought were left threadbare or torn because of my inability to do it all during that season.
God doesn’t need us to be enough for Him; He wants us to realize He is enough for us. While I may never “be enough” to tackle every obstacle in life with wisdom, equanimity and skill, I am certain that God is enough to make up for my lack. This is why we have the sacraments, to open our hearts to His grace acting in our lives.
Biblical wisdom and the loving voice of the Church in her many reflections on the family help us to reorient our standards from the standards of the world. Nowhere does Jesus give a sermon telling us success in life is measured by health, wealth, position, intelligence or the ability to replicate the Valentine’s Day cupcakes you saw on Pinterest. Instead, His standard of perfection is Himself. Christ demonstrated through His life, death and resurrection that life is about self-sacrificing love.
If the real goal is holiness and heaven, we do have enough of the essential things. There are enough opportunities in daily family life for kindness and acts of mercy. There are enough moments in a day (or night) to lift our hearts to God in prayer and thanksgiving. There are enough times to mourn, to hunger for righteousness, to be merciful, to be a peacemaker and to live out the Beatitudes that Christ says will bring us close to His Heart. And God will give us enough grace to bring us through even the hardest moments.
As the pressure builds to commit your calendar to all the activities and events of the next few months and you begin to feel overwhelmed, I encourage you to put each opportunity at the feet of Christ. Ask why you must do it or if you would like to do it and at what cost. Ask, “What is this in the light of eternity?” – especially if it taxes your family to the point where the life of holiness becomes strained or overshadowed by external pressures. After all, it’s much better to be a saint who happens to be a soccer mom, than to be a soccer mom who never accepted the invitation to become a saint. When we focus on the world’s evermoving ideals of perfection, our vision is narrowed and our capacity to love is underdeveloped. May we pray to God with St. Augustine, “The house of my soul is too small for You to come to it. May it be enlarged by You.” Only then will we know the satisfaction of enough, because there is only One who has the ability to fill a bottomless desire.
Bobby Speers
Recently I read an article which asked: could Catholic writers or speakers who post on social media be required to have a bishop’s imprimatur, a note stating that what they write or say is approved content? Could that be misconstrued as censorship?
In the past, censorship often took the form of book burnings. In 213 B.C., the Chinese emperor Shih Huang Ti ignited a huge bonfire fueled by poetry, philosophy and history books. His objective was to place all information under government control. The emperor also didn’t want his subjects to compare him to previous emperors, especially if they were deemed virtuous. One man’s pride erased generations of knowledge, art and wisdom. Pride really is the root of all evil.
During periods of political unrest, the fames Library of Alexandria was set on fire. In 48 A.D., this extraordinary edifice was targeted by Julius Caesar. Historians claim that when Julius rode into town, he may have accidentally started the fiery malady. We still wonder to this day: did he light a match or knock over a candle?
A more recent book burning took place on May 10, 1933, by the Nazi regime. The fires illuminated the night skies of 34 cities as books by prominent Jewish authors were turned into ash – a vile destruction of cultural, political, and religious works of the Jewish people at the time.
Even the New Testament recounts a book burning. Acts 19:13-20 says: “Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits, saying, ‘I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ When the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, tried to do this, the evil spirit said to them in reply, ‘Jesus I recognize, Paul I know, but who are you?’ The person with the evil spirit then sprang at them and subdued them all. He so overpowered them that they fled naked and wounded from that house. When this became known to all the Jews and Greeks who lived in Ephesus, fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in great esteem. Many of those who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former practices. Moreover, a large number of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in public. They calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand silver pieces. Thus did the word of the Lord continue to spread with influence and power.”
The Apostle Paul lived in Ephesus for two years, teaching the resident Jews and Greeks about the kingdom of God. Paul’s focus was preaching in the synagogues but when the Jews became obstinate, he taught boldly in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Reading the biblical text, when word got out about the botched exorcism, fear fell on all those who lived in Ephesus. Holy fear led to holy action! What did the believers do – those who gave their lives over to Jesus? They burned their pagan and satanic books. Books were costly then, and Luke makes the point by tallying up the dollar figure of the manuscripts. These new Christians once dabbled in paganism, divination and fortunetelling, and evil spirits were lurking all around them. Giving their lives over to Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit, they denounced their former lifestyles by freely casting aside what they had been reading. Notice that Paul did not need to give a homily about what books should be on people’s bookshelves, and he didn’t need to form a censorship committee. By his miracles, reading scriptures, and daily teachings about Jesus, these believers were convicted by the Holy Spirit.
Similarly, when we read and study God’s word, we use our free will and make the necessary changes in our daily lives to reflect holiness. Holiness is not forced on us by our priest, the bishop, or the USCCB. The Holy Spirit convicts the heart, giving us the strength and freedom to cast aside anything that is not of God.
So what does that mean for us in this Information Age? We struggle with information overload, constant distractions and fake news. Even in the world of Catholic information and social media, it can be difficult to determine whether the content is valid or approved.
There are not enough bishops in the world to issue an imprimatur or screen every piece of information to verify that it conforms to Church teaching. We must be savvy media consumers, checking our facts and using our God-given common sense – just as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11: “These Jews were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all willingness and examined the scriptures daily to determine whether these things were so.” As faithful Catholics, just like the Bereans, it is up to us to examine what we read, hear and watch and compare it against God’s word.
A final thought: social media is not an obligation of our faith. Using our free will, like those living at Ephesus, we can choose to toss social media into the burning fire if it contradicts or blasphemes our faith. Don’t we turn off the TV if something comes on that could cause us to sin? As the saying goes, “When in doubt, throw it out,” – or turn off, or log out. Our souls will be better spiritually fed if we limit the time we spend on social media and invest in reading the Bible, praying, or reading the works of Catholic writers that have stood the test of time. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in practicing self-censorship so that you may stay on the path to holiness.
“Medicare for All” has become a focal point of controversy during the 2020 election season. What does Catholic social teaching have to say? What about “Medicare for Some,” which is what I and millions of others now enjoy? Does Catholic teaching favor “Medicare for All” or “Medicare for Some”? Or neither? Of course, this is the wrong question. In the first place, Catholic social teaching rarely points to a specific public policy position. Policy positions must be discerned by Catholic voters and the people they elect. In the second place, health care policy is too complex for a political slogan, whether it’s “Medicare for All” or “Repeal and Replace Obamacare.”
Here’s the good news for Catholics. We have principles of Catholic social teaching to help us, and we Catholics are good at complexity. If we can handle “Three persons in one God” and “Transubstantiation” and “Two natures in one person,” we can discuss health policy with more depth than policy slogans.
Catholic social teaching relies on faith and reason in dialogue with human experience (the Second Vatican Council’s “signs of the times”). Its fundamental principles, articulated in papal encyclicals, other magisterial documents and episcopal statements in the United States include: the irrevocable equal human dignity of all persons; the fundamental responsibility of government to promote social justice and the common good; and the preferential option for the poor as the measure of social health. The virtue of solidarity, linking each of us to the fate of all, motivates us to act on these principles in the political realm.
For half a century, Catholic teaching has drawn the conclusion that all people deserve access to health care based on their need for prevention or treatment of injury or illness. (For example, read the U.S. bishops’ 1993 “Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform.”) The vast technical and human resources available in the U.S. health care system support this conclusion.
We know from experience that the U.S. falls well short of this goal: 27.5 million people (8.5 percent of the population) lack any health insurance, and an additional 23 percent of all adults are underinsured.
Our faith requires that any health care reform proposal guarantee to every person the means to care for their health. That in turn entails health insurance for all that covers all necessary treatments. The United States possesses the means to achieve universal health care. We have simply lacked the political will.
Human reason counsels that medical care should be the highest quality possible, provided in the most efficient manner possible (lowest cost compatible with access and quality). Experience again demonstrates that the United States falls short on both these dimensions. We have too many preventable medical errors in a system that is the most expensive and least efficient in the modern, democratic world.
What’s the conclusion? Our dysfunctional health care system is a long way from the Catholic principle of universal access with high quality and acceptable costs.
Deacon Clarke Cochran
Any health care reform proposal acceptable to Catholic voters must move appreciably toward this goal. There is, however, no uniquely Catholic way to move from where we are to where we need to be. (There are other Catholic considerations related to coverage of abortion and contraception, but I have space here for only the most general policy outlines.)
Only four approaches on the political agenda fulfill our Catholic principles. However, there are many possible variations of each. Here I will clarify what’s behind the campaign slogans. (I will not attempt to evaluate the conflicting claims made by proponents or opponents of each option.) {The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation published an overview of the main proposals at (https:// www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/medicare-forall-and-public-plan-buy-in-proposals-overview-and-keyissues/).
1. “Medicare for All Right Now” This alternative would immediately eliminate all private insurance, and most public insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, and the state Children’s Health Insurance Program) and enroll all people in a new federally-funded insurance program patterned on Medicare. It would cover all medically necessary services, including vision and dental and long-term care. Households, families, employers and states would no longer pay directly for health care. Instead, federal tax dollars would fund the new program. 2. “Medicare for All Soon” This alternative would end up at the same place as the option above, but would phase out existing insurance and phase in the new program over three to five years.
3. “Expanded Medicare” (or “Medicare for Some+”) This alternative, as the name implies, would keep the existing Medicare program (currently limited to disabled persons and those 65 and older), but would allow older working adults (aged 50-64) to “buy in” to Medicare when they have difficulty affording individual or employmentbased insurance. Low-income older adults would be eligible for subsidies to help them afford Medicare premiums. In some versions, Medicare could be opened gradually to all for buy-in if they prefer it to their current insurance. This option retains the existing system of public and private health insurance.
4. Reforming the Affordable Care Act (ACA) This alternative would establish a federal public insurance plan to be offered on the Affordable Care Act market, so that people dissatisfied with current ACA options would have another and more affordable insurance option. Existing Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance would remain in place. These proposals also expand the income eligibility for ACA premium subsidies, enabling more individuals and families to afford policies. This proposal also includes multiple technical “fixes” to the ACA to help it run more efficiently.
These policy options differ primarily on two questions: first, what is the most effective means to enroll people into health insurance (private companies, public insurance, or a combination); and second, how to pay for the insurance (what combination of taxes, premiums, co-pays, and employer contributions). They do not include significant change to the delivery of health care by private physicians or private hospitals. None proposes government ownership or operation of health care delivery. Additionally, none has any unique plan to improve quality of health care. All adopt and build on already-existing quality improvement initiatives.
Each alternative does address the unsustainable cost of health care. Options 1 and 2 above aim to achieve lower costs by reducing the number of health care dollars flowing to administration (insurance advertising, claims processing, hospital and physician office billing and claims operations, and such). These costs, related to competitive insurance markets, make American bureaucratic costs very high but contribute little or nothing to the quality of care provided by doctors and nurses. If there were a single payer for health care, most of these dollars could be saved or redirected toward better care.
Options 3 and 4 would retain private insurance, so they cannot claim extensive administrative cost savings. Instead, they would achieve savings by using Medicare or a new public insurance plan to negotiate lower payment rates to hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies and other providers.
There is no fifth option that Catholic social teaching could support, because there is no other way currently proposed by either of the major political parties or by any Republican or Democratic presidential candidate to realize the goals of universal coverage with high quality and efficient cost.
Apart from Catholic principles directly applicable to health care, our faith and our experience tell us also that many other social problems directly affect people’s health and well-being. We recognize that poverty and severe economic inequality influence health; thus, we support laws designed to reduce poverty and inequality. We recognize that unaffordable and unsafe housing affects health; thus, we advocate for preserving and building affordable housing. We recognize that racial and ethnic discrimination impinge on well-being; thus, we fight against racial and ethnic discrimination. We recognize that crime and violence affect health; thus, we support policies to reduce violence and improve law-enforcement and courts. We recognize that lack of education affects health; thus, we endorse education improvement.
We’re Catholics. We can handle complexity.
DEACON CLARKE E. COCHRAN, PhD, serves at St. Peter Church in Charlotte.
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FROM PAGE 3
Mercy Sister Maria Goretti Weldon, 91, is celebrating 70 years of religious life this year. She has loved working with people throughout her long ministry. “I did a lot of work with sisters, I loved that. In the community, in the diocese and in the mountains. It was very joy-filled. I feel blessed.”
“There have been a variety of wonderful, God-filled blessings in my life,” she added. “The people I have been able to associate with have blessed me. It is a very rich, very rewarding, very blessed way to live.”
Also celebrating her 70th jubilee this year is Mercy Sister Mary Robert Williams. She served 17 years as a teacher and 13 years as a school principal. For the past 31 years, she has served as a pastoral associate in Salisbury. “I really love that work, working with people,” she said. They both have seen major changes in the Church and in their religious community over the years.
“We were young through Vatican II and all of the changes and all of the implementing the documents of Vatican II applied to religious. We lived through all of the changes and the adaptations,” Sister Maria Goretti said.
Their advice to women discerning a religious vocation? “Let it unfold and trust the Holy Spirit,” Sister Maria Goretti said. At the conclusion of his homily, Bishop Jugis prayed that God will bestow His blessing on all of the religious jubilarians celebrating special anniversaries this year. “May God keep all of us close to Jesus,” he prayed.
Instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1997, World Day for Consecrated Life is marked in conjunction with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas Day, commemorating the coming of Christ, the Light of the World, through the symbolic lighting of candles. Similarly, consecrated men and women are called to spread the light and love of Jesus Christ through their unique witness of selfless service, such as caring for the poor, the contemplative work of prayer, or through their professional careers.
On Feb. 2, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to recognize and pray for the essential role of consecrated persons in the life of the Church and to express gratitude for their service to the Church.
The Charlotte diocese was among those in the United States that celebrated the vocation to consecrated life during the weekend of Feb. 1-2 to recognize the essential role of consecrated religious in the life of the Church. As engaged members of their local communities, consecrated men and women bring the presence of Jesus to all they encounter throughout their day, allowing His Spirit to live and move within them so that the truth of the Gospel can be proclaimed to all.
In a statement Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations, reiterated the importance of the witness offered by those in consecrated life: “Consecrated men and women are a special treasure in the Church who allow the love of Jesus to become tangible. By dedicating their entire lives to following Christ, consecrated persons are particularly able to reach out to those on the peripheries of our society and bring the message of the Gospel to all those in need.” — USCCB contributed.
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‘I thought we could use a strong father to restore order to all of this chaos’ 33-day consecration to St. Joseph starts Feb. 16
SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER
CHARLOTTE — Parishioners across the Diocese of Charlotte are encouraged to make a consecration to St. Joseph during this special Year of St. Joseph.
One of the recommended resources for a consecration to St. Joseph is a new book: “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father,” written by Marian Father Donald Calloway. Father Calloway serves as vocation director of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception and currently resides in Steubenville, Ohio.
“This year marks the 150th anniversary of when Blessed Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church, so this year is very significant,” Father Calloway said. “I said to myself, ‘We have a real crisis today in families where the family has been redefined. We have these so-called ‘modern families’ and there is gender confusion.’ I thought we could use a strong father to restore order to all of this chaos. I thought, ‘It has got to be St. Joseph.’”
After researching, writing and translating works into English over the course of three years, Father Calloway comprised the book drawing on the wealth of the Church’s tradition.
“All children resemble their parents. As our spiritual parents, Our Lady and St. Joseph, we are called to resemble them in virtue. I am hoping that people will walk away from this consecration with a great knowledge of St. Joseph and how much he loves them and how much he wants to protect them during these crazy times,” Father Calloway said.
The book focuses on the virtues of St. Joseph: his patience, prudence, faith and purity for example.
The Consecration to St. Joseph emulates the Marian consecration made popular by St. Louis de Montfort, highlighting many of St. Joseph’s titles, privileges and heroic virtues.
The program of preparation and consecration takes 33 days. Participants spend about 20-30 minutes a day on a short exposition on one of the invocations in the powerful Litany of St. Joseph, followed by a reading about St. Joseph, and concluding with the recitation of the Litany of St. Joseph.
The consecration to St. Joseph can be done anytime, but particular feast days such as March 19 or May 1 are special opportunities to focus this devotional effort. To conclude the consecration on March 19, plan to begin on Sunday, Feb. 16. On the day of consecration, use whichever act of consecration you prefer or compose your own act of consecration to St. Joseph. Find suggestions online at www.yearofstjoseph.org.
Some parishes are organizing special Masses or opportunities to participate in the consecration as a group. Check with your parish office for details.
— www.consecrationtostjoseph.org contributed.
More info
At www.consecrationtostjoseph.org: Learn more about what it means to consecrate yourself to St. Joseph, and order the book “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father”
St. Joseph Prayer Books available
CHARLOTTE — To commemorate the diocese’s Year of St. Joseph, “The St. Joseph Prayer Book” has been compiled to assist the faithful in their prayers to St. Joseph, the Protector of the Church.
Produced by St. Benedict Press, “The St. Joseph Prayer Book” contains all the famous prayers: the Novena for a Special Favor, the Litany of St. Joseph, 30 Days’ Prayer to St. Joseph, the Memorare, as well as prayers for purity, conversion, a happy death, and more. In total, the book contains more than 50 prayers, litanies and novenas. A Spanish version is also available. Included in this commemorative edition is a letter from Bishop Peter Jugis about his declaration of 2020 as the Year of St. Joseph, as well as passport-type pages in the back of the book for pilgrims to have stamped as they visit each St. Joseph parish in our diocese throughout the year. Take advantage of this special, limited-time offer to gift this treasury of prayers and bring souls closer to Jesus through St. Joseph. Orders are being accepted online at www.saintbenedictpress.com. Search for “The St. Joseph Prayer Book.” Cost is $12.95. Some parishes have also purchased copies, so check with your parish to see if books are available for purchase in the parish office.
More online
At www. yearofstjoseph. org: Find educational resources, prayers and devotions, and “Year of St. Joseph” event details from across the diocese, as dates for special events are finalized.
— Catholic News Herald; St. Benedict Press contributed. BROKER
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K OF C HOLY SPIRIT COUNCIL # 10389
PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN (Never known to fail)
O Most Beautiful Flower of Mt. Carmel, Fruitful Vine, Splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. O Star ofthe Sea, help me and show me herein you are my Mother. O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succor me in my necessity (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this cause in your hands (3 times). 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, 3 Glory Be Say this prayer for 3 consecutive days. You must publish it, and it will be granted to you.
