Dec. 17, 2021

December 17, 2021

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Bishop Jugis closes Year of St. Joseph St. Joseph a model of patience, perseverance through hardship

5 San José modelo de paciencia, perseverancia en tiempos difíciles

12 INDEX

Contact us.....................................4 Español.......................................10-15 Events calendar...............................4 Our Faith........................................2 Our Parishes............................ 3-9 Scripture readings................. 2, 15 TV & Movies................................. 16 U.S. news.................................18-19 Viewpoints.............................22-23 World news............................ 20-21

Honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe with joy, love

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Mensaje de la Virgen de Guadalupe es de amor y compañía 3, 10-11

Catholic Charities welcomes 200-plus Afghan refugees 3

Two of Holy Angels’ biggest champions are retiring 8

Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

St. Stephen, the first martyr Feast day: Dec. 26

Pope Francis

St. Joseph’s quiet humility teaches value of silence

T

he absence of any words attributed to St. Joseph in the Gospels speaks volumes about the importance of silence, Pope Francis said.

St. Joseph’s silence was “not mutism,” but a quality that allowed him to listen to the word and will of the Holy Spirit, the pope said during his weekly general audience Dec. 15.

“This is why we must learn from Joseph to cultivate silence – that space of interiority in our days in which we give the Spirit the opportunity to regenerate us, to console us, to correct us,” he said.

During his audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, Pope Francis continued his series of talks on St. Joseph, reflecting on his silence which is “an important personal aspect” that even Christ incorporated in His own life and ministry.

“Jesus was raised in this ‘school,’ in the house of Nazareth, with the daily example of Mary and Joseph,” the pope explained. “And it is not surprising that He Himself sought spaces of silence in His days and invited His disciples to have such an experience.”

Like Jesus, he said, all Christians should follow St. Joseph’s example “to recover this contemplative dimension of life.”

At the same time, the pope said that often “silence frightens us a little because it asks us to delve into ourselves and to confront the part of us that is true.

“Many people are afraid of silence, they have to speak, and speak and speak, or listen to the radio or television; but they cannot accept silence because they are afraid.”

Another challenge, he continued, is that while silence allows men and women to listen to the Holy Spirit, “it is not easy to recognize that voice, which is very often mixed up with the thousand voices of worries, temptations, desires and hopes that dwell within us.”

Furthermore, without the practice of silence, Christians can be tempted to use their words for “flattery, bragging, lies, backbiting and slander” rather than “making the truth shine.”

Calling on men and women to follow the example of St. Joseph, Pope Francis said the benefit of silence in one’s heart, will “heal our language, our words and above all our choices.”

Too often, “we work on something and when we finish, immediately we look for our telephone to make another call. We are always like this, and it does not help, this makes us slip into superficiality.”

“Profoundness of the heart grows with silence, a silence that is not mutism as I said, but that leaves space for wisdom, reflection and the Holy Spirit.

We are afraid of moments of silence. Let us not be afraid! It will do us good.”

On Dec. 26, the universal Church commemorates the death of St. Stephen in 34 A.D., the first man to give his life in witness to the faith.

He is sometimes referred to as the “protomartyr.”

St. Stephen was a Greek Jew who had converted to Christianity and who was ordained by St. Peter as one of the first deacons in the early Church. The sixth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles states that Stephen was “a man filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit ... filled with grace and fortitude.” The Bible also notes that Stephen was a gifted orator and that his logic was sound. The conversions of many people are attributed to him.

However, his outspokenness provoked the ire of some of his listeners, particularly the Sanhedrin, and he was accused of blaspheming against Moses and against God. He was brought before the high priest in Jerusalem, and many false witnesses testified against him.

Acts recounts that, in his defense, he gave an eloquent analysis of salvation history and the love and mercy of God. He also recounted Israel’s repeated ungratefulness towards their God. However, it didn’t sway his accusers, who proceeded to take him outside the city and stone him. One of those who participated in the stoning was Saul of Tarsus, who would later be converted and become the Apostle Paul.

As he was about to die, Stephen looked up to heaven and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” Then, as he was being stoned, he cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

His last words, as the stoning had brought him to his knees, were “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

In most Catholic art, Stephen is invested with a crown of martyrdom, holding three stones and a martyrs’ palm branch. In Eastern Christian iconography, he is shown as a young beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacon’s vestments, and often holding a miniature church building and a censer.

— Catholic News Agency

“The Martyrdom of St. Stephen,” a fresco painted in 1324 by Bernardo Daddi, at Santa Croce in Florence, Italy.

Taking a closer look at the ‘Martyrdom of St. Stephen’ This famous Italian fresco depicts the story of St. Stephen’s martyrdom in two panels.

In the left panel, St. Stephen appears before the Sanhedrin judges, where they accuse him of blasphemy against Moses and against God. He is a young man, dressed in deacon’s vestments and wearing a tonsure. As he defends the faith, he points heavenward and describes seeing “the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55).

In the right panel, Stephen is being stoned outside the gates of Jerusalem. But it’s not an act of mob violence; it’s a death sentence ordered by law when someone had been convicted of blasphemy. Stephen has been thrown down to his knees, while the men who had testified falsely against him cast the first stones. They have thrown off their outer cloaks, to make throwing the rocks easier.

The character who holds one man’s coat and cheers on the sidelines is Saul – the future Apostle Paul, but at this point he is still a severe persecutor of Christians.

Typically the bodies of those stoned to death would be left to be eaten by animals. But Acts recounts that “devout men,” most likely including Gamaliel (a wealthy Christian who would become the teacher of St. Paul and St. Barnabas), secretly came and took St. Stephen’s remains to be entombed at his estate about 20 miles outside Jerusalem.

His tomb was forgotten to history until rediscovered in 415 A.D., when Gamaliel appeared in visions to a priest named Father Lucien.

— Source: “The Catholic Encyclopedia” (1912), online at www.newadvent.org

Daily Scripture readings DEC. 19-25

Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Advent): Micah 5:1-4a, Hebrews 10:5-10, Luke 1:3945; Monday: Isaiah 7:10-14, Luke 1:26-38; Tuesday (St. Peter Canisius): Song of Songs 2:8-14, Luke 1:39-45; Wednesday: 1 Samuel 1:24-28, 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-8, Luke 1:46-56; Thursday (St. John of Kanty): Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24, Luke 1:57-66; Friday: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16, Luke 1:67-79; Saturday (The Nativity of the Lord, Christmas): Isaiah 9:16, Titus 2:11-14, Luke 2:1-14

DEC. 26- JAN. 1

Sunday (The Holy Family): Sir 3:2-6, 12-14, Colossians 3:12-21, Luke 2:41-52; Monday (St. John): 1 John 1:1-4, John 20:1a, 2-8; Tuesday (The Holy Innocents): 1 John 1:5-2:2, Matthew 2:13-18; Wednesday (St. Thomas Becket): 1 John 2:3-11, Luke 2:2235; Thursday: 1 John 2:12-17, Luke 2:36-40; Friday (St. Sylvester I): 1 John 2:18-21, John 1:1-18; Saturday (Mary, the Mother of God): Numbers 6:22-27, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21

JAN. 2-8

Sunday (The Epiphany of the Lord): Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6, Matthew 2:1-12; Monday (The Most Holy Name of Jesus): 1 John 3:22-4:6, Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25; Tuesday (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton): 1 John 4:7-10, Mark 6:34-44; Wednesday (St. John Neumann): 1 John 4:11-18, Mark 6:45-52; Thursday (St. André Bessette): 1 John 4:19-5:4, Luke 4:14-22a; Friday (St. Raymond of Penyafort): 1 John 5:5-13, Luke 5:12-16; Saturday: 1 John 5:14-21, John 3:2230

Our parishes

December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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Catholic Charities welcomes 200-plus Afghan refugees SUEANN HOWELL AND KIMBERLY BENDER CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

CHARLOTTE — Accompanied by his wife and four children, a man who assisted the U.S. Army in Afghanistan recently stepped into a new home in Charlotte.

Relief, then joy, spread across their faces as they looked around at the fully furnished space and refrigerator stocked with culturally appropriate food. A stuffed bunny and other toys lay nearby.

One of his daughters ran excitedly into a bedroom and flopped on the bed, resisting the urge to jump on it. Instead, she bounced up and down a little, smiled and clapped her hands.

The family is among more than 200 Afghan refugees who have been resettled in Charlotte and Asheville since October – finding safety and freedom with new lives in North Carolina – thanks to Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, community

partners and people of goodwill.

“Charlotte and Asheville have really embraced the Afghan evacuees fleeing their war-torn country to start new lives in North Carolina,” said Sandy Buck, who oversees Catholic Charities’ refugee resettlement program. “They’re offering all kinds of assistance from housing and furniture, to jobs, to food and supplies. We couldn’t do what we do to resettle these families without their support.”

Catholic Charities has resettled more than 14,000 refugees fleeing war, political upheaval, or religious, economic or ethnic persecution since 1975, working in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. State Department. And in an emergency federal program launched this fall, Catholic Charities and other resettlement agencies across the United States also began assisting allied Afghans whose lives were placed in danger after Western troops left

Afghanistan in August.

Most evacuees fled with few belongings and little time to prepare. In fact, the first Afghan family’s arrival in Charlotte was delayed because a baby came, and at least one other child among North Carolina’s evacuees has already been born on U.S. soil. Most have left behind loved ones in dangerous circumstances, so the evacuees’ identities are being withheld to protect their loved ones’ safety.

The newly-arrived father of four worked in intelligence in Special Operations with the U.S. Army for the past 15 years. He said he is grateful he was able to escape with his wife, two young daughters and two young sons, but he fears for his remaining family still in Afghanistan.

“Unfortunately, the situation became bad,” he said, speaking with the Catholic News Herald. “Taliban were killing the REFUGEES, SEE PAGE 17

PHOTO PROVIDED BY ERIK IVERSON

Afghan refugees in Asheville receive tutoring in English and work together to reinforce their classroom learning.

Honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe with joy, love Last weekend thousands of faithful celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at churches across the Diocese of Charlotte. This is a celebration of particular devotion among Latino Catholics, especially Mexicans. It recalls the time in December 1531 when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a poor, indigenous Mexican man named Juan Diego. That sparked a massive evangelization effort across the Americas in which millions of people came to know God and be baptized.

Parishes celebrating the feast included churches in Charlotte, Monroe, Huntersville, Gastonia, Mooresville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Forest City, Concord, Thomasville, Marion, North Wilkesboro, Boone, Lenoir, Franklin, Sylva, Waynesville, Andrews, Highlands, Hamlet, Jefferson and Sparta, among others.

— Catholic News Herald. Photos by SueAnn Howell, César Hurtado, Amy Burger, Amber Mellon, Paul Doizé and Alfonso Alvarez-Navarrete.

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Check out more photos from the many Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrations

UPcoming events 4

catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following upcoming events: DEC. 25 – MIDNIGHT Mass for the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

DEC. 26 – 11 A.M. Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

JAN. 1 – 11 A.M. Mass for the Feast of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

JAN. 2 – 11 A.M. Mass for the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

Diocesan calendar of events December 17, 2021

CONFERENCES & TALKS

Volume 31 • NUMBER 6

‘GROWTH AND EMPOWERING’ PROGRAM: 7-8:30 p.m. the last Monday of the month until March 28, St. Mark Church’s Kerin Center, 14740 Stumptown Road, Huntersville.

This seven-week program for women is presented by the Healed and Restored Ministry.

Through prayer, guided exercises, testimony and professional programming, women will experience the true feminine genius as God intended for each of His beloved daughters.

For details, visit www.healedandrestored.org and click on “Growth and Empowering Walk” to fill out an interest form, or contact Elza Spaedy at info@healedandrestored. org.

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 HISPANIC COMMUNICATIONS REPORTER: Cesar Hurtado, 704-370-3375, rchurtado@charlottediocese.org GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Tim Faragher 704-370-3331, tpfaragher@charlottediocese.org COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT/CIRCULATION: Erika Robinson, 704-370-3333, catholicnews@ charlottediocese.org

THE CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 26 times a year.

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.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: $15 per year for all registered parishioners of the Diocese of Charlotte and $23 per year for all others.

POSTMASTER: Periodicals class postage (USPC 007-393) paid at Charlotte, N.C. Send address corrections to the Catholic News Herald, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, N.C. 28203.

CATHOLIC MEDICAL ETHICS ON SEXUALITY AND FERTILITY: Learn about sexuality and fertility in medicine from a Catholic viewpoint, in the upcoming “Converging Roads” set for Saturday, April 2, 2022, at St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte. Presenters include: Father Matthew Kauth, “Understanding the Church’s Teaching on Sexuality and Fertility: The ‘Why’ Behind the ‘No’”; Dr. Marguerite Duane, MHA, FAAP, ‘The Menstrual Cycle as a Vital Sign”; Father Philip G. Bochanski, “Gender Identity Discordance: Supporting Patients and Families”; Dr. Teresa Farnan, “The Gift of the Human Person: A Christian Anthropology for Understanding Gender and Sexuality”; and more. Continuing education credits offered for health care professionals. Presented by the St. John Paul II Foundation, the Diocese of Charlotte and Belmont Abbey College. For details, go online to www.forlifeandfamily.org/ converging-roads.

JAN. 3-10: St. James the Greater Church, Concord JAN. 10-17: St. Joseph Church, Charlotte JAN. 18 TO JAN. 25: Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Charlotte FEB. 7-11: Charlotte Catholic High School, Charlotte FEB. 14-21: St. John Neumann Church, Charlotte FEB. 28-MARCH 7: St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Charlotte VIGIL OF THE TWO HEARTS: 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Road East, Charlotte. An overnight vigil is offered twice each month to honor the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and to offer penance and pray for the conversion of our nation. To sign up for Eucharistic Adoration times, go to www.prolifecharlotte.org/two-hearts.

HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST LUKE MISSION OF THE UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: Divine Liturgy (Mass) is offered on Sundays at 3 p.m. at St. Barnabas Church, 109 Crescent Hill Road, Arden. All are welcome. For more information, contact ucmcanton@gmail.com.

ESPAÑOL VIGILIA DE LOS DOS CORAZONES: 8 p.m. Viernes, enero 7, en la Catedral San Patricio, 1621 Dilworth Road East, Charlotte. Únase cada primer viernes del mes a una vigilia nocturna para honrar los Corazones de Jesús y María, orar por nuestras familias, ofrecer penitencia por nuestros pecados y pedir por la conversión de nuestra nación. Para inscribirse a una hora de Adoración, visite www.ProLifeCharlotte.org/dos-corazones.

PRAYER SERVICES & GROUPS

SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING

‘AN ADVENT JOURNEY WITH ISAIAH’: All are invited to a special program at St. Gabriel Church on Saturday, Dec. 18, with Father Jason Mitchell. Father Mitchell is a professor of theology and philosophy at Gannon University and he earned his doctorate from the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome. He will explore why Isaiah is called the Fifth Gospel and how it prepares us to celebrate Christ’s first advent in the flesh and His second advent in glory. 9 a.m. Mass in the church, followed by the program at 10 a.m. in the Ministry Center (first floor). St. Gabriel Church is located at 3016 Providence Road in Charlotte.

PROTECTING CHILDREN: “Protecting God’s Children” (“Protegiendo a los Niños de Dios”) workshops educate parish volunteers to recognize and prevent child sexual abuse. For details, contact your parish office. To register for online training, go to www. virtus.org. Upcoming workshop:

MARY’S SONS KNEELERS: Parishioners around the Diocese of Charlotte have the opportunity to pray for our two transitional deacons, Deacon Darren Balkey and Deacon Aaron Huber, on the special Mary’s Sons kneelers that they will receive when ordained on June 18, 2022. For more information about the Mary’s Sons kneelers, go online to www.MarysSons. org. Here is the schedule for the kneelers as they are moved to parishes around the diocese this fall: DEC. 13-20: St. Mary, Help of Christians Church, Shelby DEC. 20-27: Queen of the Apostles Church, Belmont DEC. 27-JAN. 4: St. John the Baptist Church, Tryon

ARDEN: 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Jan. 29, St. Barnabas Church, 109 Crescent Hill Dr. BOONVILLE: 7-10 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10, Divine Redeemer Church, 209 Lon Ave. (Español: Visitantes de otra parroquia, o del Vicariato seran bienvenidos, solo les pedimos que se registren de favor) SUPPORT GROUPS RACHEL’S VINEYARD: Are you or a loved one seeking healing from the effects of a past abortion? Rachel’s Vineyard weekend retreats are offered by Catholic Charities for men and women in the diocese. For details, contact Jessica Grabowski at 910-585-2460 or jrgrabowski@rcdoc.org, or Lorena Hayes at 828-585-0483.

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.

December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

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St. Joseph a model of patience, perseverance through hardship Bishop Jugis closes Year of St. Joseph with Mass at cathedral Dec. 8 PATRICIA L. GUILFOYLE EDITOR

CHARLOTTE — The past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic have brought many hardships, but St. Joseph has been our model for how to endure them with faith, patience and perseverance, Bishop Peter Jugis preached at Mass Dec. 8.

Wednesday commemorated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, but it also marked the close of the Church’s Year of St. Joseph, the bishop noted.

Mary’s spouse Joseph received an “honorable mention” in the day’s Gospel, he noted with a smile.

The Year of St. Joseph began for the Diocese of Charlotte in 2020, and the universal Church has celebrated it in 2021. The commemorations marked the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph being declared Patron of the Universal Church in Pope Pius IX’s decree “Quemadmodum Deus.”

The pews of St. Patrick Cathedral were mostly filled for the occasion, including with students from the diocese’s

‘Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above...’

Churches host Rorate Masses in honor of Mary Several churches recently offered special liturgies called “Rorate Masses,” a Votive Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary during Advent. This is an ancient Mass in the Extraordinary Form (Latin) offered by candlelight before dawn to symbolize the coming of the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. The name “Rorate” comes from the first word of the Introit (entrance antiphon) taken from Isaiah 45:8: “Rorate, caeli, desuper, et nubes pluant justum, aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem” (“Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior.”).

Pictured are Rorate Masses from St. Ann and St. Thomas Aquinas churches in Charlotte, St. Mark Church in Huntersville, and St. Elizabeth Church in Boone.

A Rorate Mass will also be offered at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 18, at St. Margaret Mary Church in Swannanoa. The church is located at 102 Andrews Place in Swannanoa. All are welcome to attend.

— Photos by SueAnn Howell, Amber Mellon, Amy Burger, Paul Johnson, Markus Kuncoro and Mike FitzGerald

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See more spectacular photos from Rorate Masses around the diocese

thriving St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly.

The Mass was also livestreamed on the diocese’s YouTube channel, attracting over 1,800 views as of Dec. 15.

It was the largest in-person worship service held in honor of the Year of St. Joseph since the commemorative year opened in March 2020. The pandemic has mostly precluded large public gatherings throughout 2020 and 2021.

The overlap of the Year of St. Joseph with the COVID-19 pandemic has not been a coincidence, Bishop Jugis noted.

It has been a sign of God’s providence.

“St. Joseph is given to us as an intercessor for our needs and as a model for us to emulate” – especially in times of hardship, the bishop said. “God knows how to take care of us, His children, in giving us St. Joseph to imitate for these past two years.”

St. Joseph experienced hardship in fleeing his homeland, taking Mary and the infant Jesus from Bethlehem to Egypt to escape Herod’s persecution.

Despite all the difficulties, St. Joseph remained obedient to God, the bishop said – “having faith and trust in God’s providence and care” and “patience and perseverance in charity in the face of hardship.”

“Certainly we and the entire world have experienced great hardship the last two years of the coronavirus (pandemic) – the same two years we’ve been celebrating St. Joseph,” he said.

“It is God’s plan, teaching us through our imitation of St. Joseph also, like him, to remain obedient to God’s commandments and what He asks of us, (and) to have faith and trust in God’s providence and care for us during these years of hardship. And he teaches us patience and perseverance in charity in the face of hardship.”

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JAMES SARKIS

Bishop Peter Jugis elevates the Host during Mass Dec. 8 at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the close of the Year of St. Joseph.

During these challenging times, it is tempting to forget about being charitable toward others, Bishop Jugis noted.

We should keep looking to Mary and Joseph, he urged.

“They shine as examples for us in our own difficulties, whatever they might be.”

catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 OUR PARISHES

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SEMINARIAN SPOTLIGHT: Luke Martin CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte is blessed with 45 men currently enrolled in study and formation for the priesthood: 24 men at St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly, 20 enrolled in major seminary, and one taking a pastoral year.

Luke Martin, a parishioner of St. Mark Church in Huntersville, is among those studying at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati. He entered the diocese’s seminarian program in 2017, first attending St. Joseph College Seminary.

To help the faithful of the diocese come to know him and how his call to discern the priesthood has unfolded, the Catholic News Herald recently asked him about his discernment process: CNH: When did you first hear the call to a vocation to the priesthood?

Martin: I first heard the call when I was 8 years old. I received my first confession and first Holy Communion, and I began to start altar serving. Everything about being a priest, serving on the altar, and serving God and His people just made sense to me, and it seemed like what God would want me to do.

Martin

CNH: Who did you first talk to about your vocation?

Martin: I first began talking about my vocation when I

was 8 years old with my parents, different priests at the different parishes, and with my friends.

Some feedback that I usually was told by priests – which I still hold highly today – is that a priest should develop a very loving devotion to our Blessed Mother and to the Most Holy Eucharist.

CNH: How did you go about discerning where you felt called to explore your possible vocation?

Martin: I went about discerning my vocation in many ways, the most important of which were altar serving, going to Daily Mass, volunteering in the parish, going to Eucharistic Adoration, praying the rosary almost every day, spending time with priests, visiting the seminary, and going to the diocese’s summer Quo Vadis Days retreat.

CNH: How and when did you reach out to the diocesan Vocations Office?

Martin: I was blessed to grow up in an environment knowing the Vocations Office clergy, but I got in touch with Father Christopher Gober (diocesan vocations director) officially in December of my senior year in high school.

CNH: Tell us about your discernment process in the seminary.

Martin: Some of the practices I have incorporated into my life to continue to discern my vocation and to enter into a deeper relationship with Our Lord are making a daily Holy Hour, spiritual reading, spiritual direction and a daily rosary.

CNH: What advice do you have for a man who might be thinking about the priesthood?

Martin: Advice I would give to a young man discerning the priesthood would be fortitude, devotion to Mary our Mother (especially through praying the rosary), finding a spiritual director to assist in his discernment, serving at the altar, going to daily Mass if possible, and entering into a group of solid Catholic guys who would support him.

CNH: Looking back on your discernment journey to this point, what do you think has helped you the most to discern God’s will for your vocation to the priesthood?

Martin: What has helped me the most over the past few years in discernment is prayer and fasting. These two together have brought about the most amount of clarity to my prayer life and to my discernment than anything else.

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter

Your DSA contributions at work Seminarian education is funded in part by the annual Diocesan Support Appeal. Learn more about the DSA and how to donate online at www. charlottediocese.org/dsa.

Property Manager

Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina The Diocese is currently accepting resumes for the position of “Property Manager” within the Diocesan Properties & Risk Management Department. The Property Manager is responsible for the oversight, performance, operation, and facility management of all Tier 1 properties and vehicles. While maintaining a high level of expertise and professionalism, the Property Manager will address both internal and external issues impacting facility operations, including budgetary oversight, preventative maintenance, overseeing plant improvements, and responding to and resolving Diocesan/Location facility requests or concerns.

REQUIREMENTS INCLUDE: • Bachelor’s degree from accredited college/university required.

• 5+ years min. experience managing multi-building campuses and operations is preferred.

• FMA/CFM designation strongly preferred.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook • Strong proficiency in preventative maintenance/work order systems and processes.

• Ability to read and interpret Architectural and Engineering drawings.

• Strong inter-personal communication skills – both written and verbal.

• Strong critical thinking and problem solving skills.

• Ability to work both independently and with a team.

Please submit your professional resume and salary history by January 14, 2022 to: Diocesan Director of Properties & Risk Management Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 1123 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28203, Or email directly to PropDirector@RCDOC.org.

** The Diocese of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer **

PHOTO PROVIDED BY DEACON DARREN BALKEY

Seminarian admitted to candidacy CINCINNATI, Ohio — Diocese of Charlotte seminarian Andrew Templeton received admission to candidacy for holy orders during Mass Dec. 8, the patronal feast of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati. Templeton is a parishioner at St. Michael Church in Gastonia who is studying at the Ohio seminary.

The next steps in Templeton’s formation is ministry of lector, ministry of acolyte, ordination to the transitional diaconate, and finally, ordination to the priesthood.

December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

Please pray for the following deacons who died during the month of December: Leonard Pliska Joseph Weckbach Richard Kauth Gerard Schumacher Gerald LaPointe Thomas Rasmussen Patrick Devine III

12/4/1990 12/4/1995 12/15/2005 12/1/2010 12/18/2016 12/22/2016 12/10/2020

CÉSAR HURTADO | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Praying for inmates in Charlotte CHARLOTTE — Carrying rosaries and candles in their hands, a large group of Hispanic Catholics from local parishes and lay groups held a prayer vigil outside the Mecklenburg County Jail Dec. 10. Fátima González, the first Latina chaplain with the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office, said the prayer vigil is part of the Faith and Blue campaign, an initiative launched Oct. 10 to strengthen connections between law enforcement professionals and the communities they serve through communion in prayer. Also, thanks to churches’ donations, they have been delivering backpacks with personal items to help inmates when they leave jail after serving their sentence. Gloria Polanco, a Catholic volunteer with the Spanish Bible Studies group that had been active at the county jail until their work was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, said the prayer event was organized through social media and phone calls. Father Leo Tiburcio, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Charlotte, led the prayer vigil.

January Respect Life Events Charlotte Mass for the Unborn Friday, January 14, 2022 9 A.M. – St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church 6828 Old Reid Road, Charlotte, NC March for Life Charlotte Friday, January 14, 2022 11 A.M. – Assemble at Pastoral Center 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 12 P.M. – March

marchforlifecharlotte.org

Mass & March for Life Raleigh, NC Saturday, January 15, 2022 11 A.M. Mass – Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral 715 Nazareth St, Raleigh, NC 27606 1:00 PM – Rally & March Bicentennial Plaza

North Carolina Mass for Life Washington, D.C. Friday, January 21, 2022 Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception 400 Michigan Ave NE Washington, D.C. 11:30 A.M. – Mass March for Life 2022 Washington, D.C. Friday, January 21, 2022 12th St. and National Mall 12 P.M.- Rally 1 P.M.- March for Life

marchforlife.org

For more info and continuous updates check: ccdoc.org/respectlife

ncrtl.org/rally-and-march-for-life

Respect Life Program Diocese of Charlotte Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/RespectLifeDOC ccdoc.org/respectlife

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 OUR PARISHES

Two of Holy Angels’ biggest champions are retiring contributed to the significant growth of the major gifts and planned gifts programs.

Although he will no longer be on staff, he plans to continue offering his time, care and love to residents.

“I have been enriched through the enduring love of the ‘holy innocents,’ the residents of Holy Angels and the staff who serve them ’round the clock. It is a ministry full of ‘Mercy Moments,’ heaven and earth intersecting daily,” Kuhn said.

Regina Moody, Holy Angels’ president and CEO, admits the retirements of both Sister Nancy and Kuhn are a loss for the nonprofit, but it is also a valedictory celebration of hard work for two of the organization’s biggest advocates.

“Sister Nancy and Dennis are the epitome of service to the differently able,” Moody noted. “They have spent decades of their life bringing joy and love to residents in a consistently caring and compassionate way. We couldn’t ask more of those who work with Holy Angels.”

Sister Nancy plans to travel and spend time with family and friends, but, like Kuhn, will return for special events at Holy Angels.

“This special place of loving, living and learning for the differently able and all the stories and remembrances that have made these 36 years so wonderful have given me so much happiness, my heart overflows with joy!” she noted. “Mahatma Gandhi said it best: ‘There are no goodbyes for us.

Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.’”

— Gaston Gazette contributed.

SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

BELMONT — The close of 2021 ushers in the end of an era for Holy Angels. Two of its most stalwart champions, Mercy Sister Nancy Nance and Dennis Kuhn, are retiring after about 60 combined years of service.

Sister Nancy, vice president of community relations, has graced Holy Angels with her wit, wisdom and selfless love for 36 years. She will be the last Sister of Mercy to serve as a full-time staff member at Holy Angels, which opened 66 years ago.

Sister Nancy has taken on many roles in her time at Holy Angels – photographer, community relations coordinator, and restaurant and candy shop manager, just to name a few.

“I take my leave with much joy and excitement for what the future might hold, but also much sadness,” Sister Nancy said in a farewell letter dated Dec. 6.

She noted that she will be taking with her many wonderful memories of the opening of Cherubs Café in Belmont, living in the Lakewood community group home for 16 years, Great Adventures and the cruises and retreats in Maggie Valley, Christmas with the Sisters of Mercy at Sacred Heart Convent, and Holy Angels’ annual Christmas Mass.

“Most importantly, I will take with me the love I have for each of our residents, their families and staff, who have provided me with countless ‘Mercy Moments’ and wonderful stories to share these many years and the love that has been shared with me,” she said.

Kuhn will step away from his position as executive vice president at Holy Angels after 23 years of service.

He joined Holy Angels in 1998 as the volunteer coordinator and soon moved to vice president of human resources.

Kuhn was Holy Angels’ first chaplain on staff, where he has provided spiritual care, support and prayers for residents and staff.

His introduction of “Mercy Moments” – videos and stories highlighting all of the

What is Holy Angels?

PHOTO PROVIDED BY HOLY ANGELS

(From left) Mercy Sister Nancy Nance, vice president of community relations, and Dennis Kuhn, executive vice president of Holy Angels, are retiring after 60 years of combined service to the non-profit in Belmont which provides compassionate care to differently able children and adults. ways staff and residents experience God’s love and mercy on a daily basis – has had a lasting impact on the organization, and it is

what Kuhn considers his most significant contribution.

During the past few years, he has also

Holy Angels provides the highest quality care for differently able children and adults, some with delicate medical conditions.

The Holy Angels Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation and sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.

To donate to Holy Angels, visit the website at www.HolyAngelsNC.org. Donations can also be mailed to: Holy Angels, P.O. Box 710, 6600 Wilkinson Blvd., Belmont, N.C. 28012.

Questions? Call 704-825-4161.

Institute at Belmont Abbey College links sports with virtue KRIS JOHNSON CORRESPONDENT

BELMONT — At the intersection of faith and sport is where you’ll find Belmont Abbey College’s president, Dr. Bill Thierfelder.

Thierfelder has accomplished many things during his 18-year tenure as president, but it was his vision for the Sport Virtue Institute that will leave an enduring legacy at the college.

Upon his arrival at the college in 2004, Thierfelder established his plan with a guiding belief that sports can develop virtuous characteristics as well as physical prowess.

Thus, the Sport Virtue Institute was born.

It has grown today to serve as a model for 900 student-athletes competing in more than 30 sports at Belmont Abbey College.

“Since I got here, our mission has revolved around the development of sport and virtue,” Thierfelder said. “Some people think that there’s a choice to be made in that you have to be a really good athlete or a really good person and that the two are somehow mutually exclusive. Of course, they’re not.

“It’s the reality of how sport and virtue

are intimately linked together. They are not two separate things.”

That is something that senior Lauren Hamilton came to know intimately after four years as a standout volleyball player for Belmont Abbey. Hamilton serves as a case study in the program’s success.

“Having a large community of Catholic athletes, who are also living out their faith while competing in sports has taught me so much about how sport and virtue are intertwined,” Hamilton said. “It’s something I’d never experienced before.

Sports were just for fun in high school.

You wanted to be the best, but you never brought faith into that. At Belmont Abbey, I really learned how important my faith is to sport and how I should apply it to every aspect of being an athlete.”

Hamilton, who has spent four years in FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) since coming to the college as a freshman, has distinguished herself both on and off the court. She served as a student missionary in the program and helped lead weekly Bible studies along with an athlete community night.

“That’s been a big blessing for me,” said Hamilton, who was also a recipient

of the Hintemeyer Catholic Leadership Scholarship.

Hamilton recently accepted a full-time missionary role at FOCUS with training to start shortly after her graduation in May. Then, she is committed to serve a twoyear term as a missionary at a college or university across the country.

Belmont Abbey College is a Division II school and a member of Conference Carolinas. It’s also the only Catholic institution among the conference’s 13 member schools. After a series of discussions and presentations, Thierfelder helped play a pivotal role in shaping how the conference was viewed nationally.

“The blessing and the miracle to me is that the conference changed its tagline,” he said. “The tagline of Conference Carolinas is champions of mind, body and soul.”

From its inception, the Sport Virtue Institute has also served as a blueprint for other colleges and universities. It was important for organizers to see the concept spread beyond the boundaries of Belmont Abbey College.

“The hope was we could go beyond just doing it here and help affect other institutions across the country,” he said.

To that end, Thierfelder noted that

Franciscan University of Steubenville, Christendom College and Ave Maria are examples of schools who have also aligned with the mission.

The timing proved to be providential when it came to the alignment of sport and virtue. As Thierfelder was just starting at Belmont Abbey College, then-Pope John Paul II created a section under the Pontifical Council of the Laity for Church and Sports. That following year a group of 50 experts from 18 countries convened at a meeting to assess the role that sports played in the world.

It was there that Thierfelder met Ray McKenna, founder of the national organization called Catholic Athletes for Christ. He now serves on the board of directors for CAC. The confluence of events helped shape a powerful perspective that remains in play today at the Sport Virtue Institute.

“From the beginning, I wanted to bring home the reality that we are body, mind and soul,” he said. “It’s the whole person.

It’s important that we operate that way and think that way. We perform very well on the fields and on the court, but it goes much deeper than that.”

OUR PARISHESI

December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

the Asheville region, contact Jack Bride at ashevilleprolifecatholics@gmail.com.

— Mike FitzGerald, correspondent

In Brief

Charlotte’s less fortunate for over a decade. The group had been serving hot meals at the Hal Marshall Building & County Services location in Charlotte nearly every Thursday, until the pandemic shut down this effort.

Jeff Wilson, the group’s leader, realized that people experiencing food insecurity were still in need, so immediately after the pandemic hit in March 2020 he started creating “to-go” meal bags. Every Thursday a group of volunteers takes these meals to the Hal Marshall building parking lot to distribute to the homeless and then take any leftovers to McCreesh Place.

— Kate Dennstaedt

Call for St. George Trek applications, deadline: Dec. 31 Vigil of Two Hearts held CHARLOTTE — More than 40 faithful attended the Vigil of the Two Hearts pro-life devotion to pray for an end to abortion Dec. 3 at St. Patrick Cathedral. The event capped a busy week across the diocese, as parishes and laity organized efforts to pray for an end to abortion to coincide with the U.S. Supreme Court hearing oral arguments on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – expected to be a pivotal case challenging the constitutionality of the right of abortion.

The first Friday vigil began with Mass offered by Father Francis Raji, parochial vicar of St. Vincent De Paul Parish in Charlotte, and assisted by Deacon Tom Sanctis of St. Ann Parish in Charlotte. After Mass, Deacon Sanctis led a Holy Hour of Reparation, followed by Nocturnal Adoration until the First Saturday Mass.

The Vigil of the Two Hearts is offered each first Friday evening, continuing in Nocturnal Adoration through first Saturday morning at the cathedral to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary devotions, all while praying for the end of abortion, for families, and for the country’s conversion back to God. The event is organized by the Carolina Pro-Life Action Network of Charlotte (C-PLAN). For more information, contact info@prolifecharlotte.org or visit www. prolifecharlotte.org/two-hearts.

— Mike FitzGerald, correspondent

St. Philip parishioners recognized for their service STATESVILLE — The Jewell Award was presented at Masses during the weekend of Nov. 14-15 at St. Philip the Apostle Church.

The Jewell Award is usually presented to parishioners who have retired, moved or passed away. The award is made for an individual’s dedication and selfless giving to the Statesville parish. This year the award was presented to Ellen Upton, Raul Echevarria (posthumously) and Melda Showfety.

Upton is a long-time parishioner who founded, and until recently, led the church’s altar guild.

She also is a lector and has worked with the parish’s RCIA and faith formation classes.

The late Raul Echevarria served as a lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, sacristan, and coordinator of the parish’s Spanish Apostolate. Norma Echevarria, his wife and the parish’s faith formation director, accepted the award on his behalf.

Showfety is a long-time parishioner and convert to the Catholic faith. For years she has served as a dedicated and trusted member of the parish team that counts the weekly collection.

Father Thomas J. Kessler, pastor, is pictured with award honorees Ellen Upton and Norma Echevarria, and Ann McGuire, who helped make the announcement at Mass. Not pictured is award recipient Melda Showfety.

— Connie Ries

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Diocese Catholic Committee on Scouting (CDCCOS) invites qualified Catholic youth registered in the programs of the Boy Scouts of America to apply to attend the 2022 St. George Trek at Philmont Scout Ranch, scheduled for July 6-21, 2022.

CDCCOS will pay the $925 St. George Trek program fee for two selected participants.

Participants will be responsible for round-trip airfare to Albuquerque, N.M., and for their personal equipment and incidental expenses.

Applications will be accepted through Dec. 31. Selection will be made on the basis of demonstrated leadership potential, Catholic Scouting religious emblems earned, and involvement in church, school and community activities.

The St. George Trek is a high adventure leadership program for Catholic scouts and Venturing crew members aged 15-18. Designed to develop organizational and relational skills for leadership as well as nourishing scouts’ spirituality, it brings together Catholic high school youth from around the country with priests, religious and seminarians for 11 days of backpacking on the trail including leadership training at a backcountry base camp. It encourages the integration of morality and values, spirituality, faith and Scripture with the responsibilities of Christian leadership and vocation awareness.

For more information, go online to www.nccsbsa.org/index.php/st-george-trek. For inquiries,

9

email Mike Nielsen at mnielsen@carolina.rr.com.

— Mike Nielsen

Jefferson area Knights provide coats to children in need JEFFERSON — Knights of Columbus Council 16839 in Jefferson recently presented new coats to marginalized children of The Nest Alliance. Receiving the coats was Michelle Dix, a coordinator for the welfare of children in Ashe County. Representing the Knights were Deputy Grand Knight Sir Luis De La Cerda and his wife Lydia, Financial Secretary Sir Rick LaBonte and his wife Diane, and Trustee Sir Bob Breton and his wife Jill. The children had big smiles on their faces when they received their new coats, Dix reported afterwards.

— Patrick Hession, correspondent

St. Mark collects food, cash for Thanksgiving Day aid HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark Church and School members collected more than 2,500 bags of groceries and $3,000 in grocery gift cards to donate to people in need during the parish’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive.

Donations went to Our Lady of Consolation Church’s food pantry in Charlotte and to Hearts and Hands Food Bank in Huntersville. The parish also provided bags of food and grocery gift cards for 47 parish families for Thanksgiving Day. The annual outreach collection was organized for the fifth year by K.C. Shinners, who also manages the parish’s year-round food collection efforts.

— Amy Burger

Columbiettes host fall retreat KERNERSVILLE — Holy Cross Columbiettes 8509 recently hosted a Fall Ladies Retreat that was attended by approximately 50 women from Holy Cross Church in addition to other local parishes. Keynote speaker was Father Noah Carter, pastor of Holy Cross Parish, who led the group in a reflection on “Mary and Martha: Conformity of God’s Will.”

— Maggie Plaza-Muelker

GLOBAL CATHOLIC TOURS OF VIRGINIA 2022 PILGRIMAGES

9 Days Holy Land September 12-20, 2022 $3199 Includes: 1 night Tel Aviv, 2 nights Galilee, 5 nights Jerusalem.

With Fr. Dan Pisano from Petersburg, WV.

10 Days Vienna, Salzburg, Budapest September 19-28, 2022 $3999 Includes: 3 nights Vienna, 3 nights Salzburg, 4 nights Budapest.

With Fr. Bjorn Lundberg from Winchester, VA.

WNC Respect Life Mass offered HENDERSONVILLE — Approximately 30 people took time from a busy fall morning to attend a special Respect Life Mass offered Nov 13 at Immaculate Conception Church. Father Christian Cook, pastor, offered the Mass, giving a homily reminding the faithful that opposing abortion is a preeminent issue in the Church.

Father Cook also commemorated the feast of St. Frances Cabrini, and encouraged Mass-goers to invoke the intercession of the American saint to persevere in their pro-life advocacy. After Mass, a rosary was said for the intention of ending abortion. The liturgy was organized by the Carolina Pro-Life Action Network (C-PLAN) of Western NC, a coalition of parish Respect Life coordinators and Catholic pro-life volunteers in the greater Asheville region. To learn more and get updates about pro-life activities in

St. Matthew, St. Peter parishioners help those experiencing homelessness CHARLOTTE — St. Matthew and St. Peter Church parishioners recently participated in the 2021 annual Turkey Cook-Off at McCreesh Place Nov. 23. Turkeys were donated and residents cooked them, competing for the prize of best turkey.

This year’s event featured a partnership with Serve Charlotte’s Homeless. This grassroots group provided sides, desserts, drinks and paper goods for the 100 residents and staff at McCreesh Place.

Serve Charlotte’s Homeless has been aiding

13 Days Istanbul and Greece November 7-19, 2022 $4999 Includes: 2 nights-Istanbul, 1 night each in Kavala, Thessaloniki, Kalambaka & Delphi, & 3-nights in Athens. Plus! a 3-day cruise to Islands of Mykonos, Patmos, Crete, & Santorini. With visit to Ephesus. With Fr. Shafer from Colonial Beach, VA

11 Days Catholic Ireland September 12-22, 2022 Includes: 1 night Limerick, 2 nights Kilkenny, 3 nights each in Galway and Dublin.

With Fr. Art Bufogle from Manington, WV. For brochures or information, contact John Tagnesi PH 1-888-544-4461 or jtag1964@ verizon.net

FACEBOOK.COM/ CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD ESPAÑOL

catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 10

“María de Guadalupe... apareció y dejó un mensaje de amor, nos dijo que ella iba a estar con nuestros pueblos” y entonces “los pueblos originarios se bautizaron y creyeron de corazón”, dando así inicio “el Adviento de las Américas que espera y recibe a Jesucristo”, dijo el Padre Fidel Melo, párroco de la Iglesia Santiago Apóstol, durante una de las múltiples celebraciones por la Morenita del Tepeyac realizadas en nuestra diócesis.

FOTOS DE DIVERSAS FUENTES

Mensaje de la Virgen de Guadalupe es de amor y compañía CÉSAR HURTADO REPORTERO

HAMLET — “El mensaje Guadalupano es el mensaje de compasión. Un mensaje de amor, un mensaje de cariño de la Madre que trajo a Jesús al Mundo. La madre que Dios Padre eligió y preservó del pecado original para que en su vientre santísimo habitara Jesucristo”, dijo el Padre Fidel Melo durante la celebración de la Misa del Tercer Domingo de Adviento, el pasado 12 de diciembre en la Iglesia Santiago Apóstol en Hamlet, cuando coincidentemente se festejaron las apariciones de la Virgen María de Guadalupe, Emperatriz y Patrona de las Américas, ocurridas en 1531 en el cerro Tepeyac en México.

La liturgia se realizó en los exteriores, sobre un hermoso altar levantado en el estacionamiento posterior de la Iglesia, bajo un día de radiante sol y un poco de viento.

La Escritura, dijo refiriéndose a la segunda lectura del día, Filipenses 4:47, no nos habla de la alegría externa y material, sino “habla del interior, del alma, del corazón, la alegría que viene de saber que Dios está con nosotros”, pues en un domingo más, “estaremos celebrando ese evento extraordinario, cuando el cielo tocó la tierra y se hizo Verbo, la palabra de Dios entre nosotros”.

Explicó que este hecho fue realizado a través de una mujer, “María, que acompañó a Jesús en su misión en el mundo”, y a quien no miramos como un Dios pero sí como una mujer muy especial que trajo a Jesucristo al mundo y a quien Dios hizo Inmaculada.

“María de Guadalupe dejó su estampa en una tilma que ni siquiera los científicos de la NASA pueden explicar”. “Apareció y dejó un mensaje de amor, nos dijo que ella iba a estar con nuestros pueblos” y entonces “los pueblos originarios se bautizaron y creyeron de corazón”, dando

así inicio “el Adviento de las Américas que espera y recibe a Jesucristo”.

PARA EL MUNDO

Luego señaló que el hecho Guadalupano ocurrió en México, “pero no solo para México sino para todos”. “Ustedes y yo estamos aquí, en Estados Unidos, en la Diócesis de Charlotte, en este rinconcito de Carolina del Norte, camino al mar, que no es un lugar perdido, con la misión de abrir los corazones de las personas para que reciban a Jesucristo”, dijo.

Comparando al pueblo migrante en Estados Unidos con el pueblo de Israel, expresó que nosotros, al igual, “como el pueblo de Israel que sufrió la esclavitud en Egipto, sufrió la opresion de un pueblo superior economica y militarmente a ellos”, se sobrepuso y liberó por la mano de Dios.

“Primero, llegamos a esta gran nación tratando de liberarnos de las cadenas de la necesidad y de la pobreza, de la injusticia

y de la corrupción, de la extorsión”, y llegamos, “sin darnos cuenta que con nosotros venían nuestras tradiciones de fe en Dios y que ahora somos misioneros de Dios en estas tierras”.

El P. Melo subrayó que los hispanos “traemos el Evangelio de la Vida con una cultura que la celebra, no que la mata.

Una cultura que celebra el nacimiento de los niños; los celebra a los 40 días, en el bautismo, en los tres años, los celebra en la primera comunión, la confirmación, en los 15 años. La cultura de la Vida, esa cultura que Dios nos dio, el aprecio a Dios por el don de la vida. Este es un mensaje de Dios y de la Vida que usted y yo traemos a estas tierras. Es el mensaje del Evangelio”.

Refiriéndose a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, dijo que ella “nos acompaña en el Adviento que estamos viviendo para recibir a Jesucristo, pero también en este Adviento para recibirlo en su segunda VIRGEN, PASA A LA PÁGINA 11

December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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Padre Julio Domínguez

Q

Feliz Navidad

uerida familia diocesana, Con gran regocijo y emoción quiero darles a todos ustedes un enorme abrazo cargado de mucho cariño, agradecimiento y sobre todo amor que brota del pesebre donde nació nuestro Señor Jesucristo.

Ha sido un año de muchas bendiciones y gracias, juntos pasamos momentos difíciles, pero siempre estuvimos muy unidos en oración.

Con gozo vimos que todos los movimientos apostólicos fueron reuniéndose y teniendo reuniones y retiros, marcando la pauta de la esperanza y diciéndonos a todos, hoy más que nunca debemos de evangelizar.

Hemos visto a nuestras iglesias poco a poco irse llenando nuevamente y la celebración Eucarística va tomando cada vez más lugar en diferentes parroquias, y vemos a tantas almas hambrientas del Señor que se acercan a los sacramentos buscando al Señor y recibiendo la paz.

Navidad queridos hermanos, es el tiempo hermoso que da apertura a nobles sentimientos, como lo es el de ayudar al prójimo. El abrir las puertas a los demás, el querer practicar las obras espirituales y también las materiales, eso es solamente consecuencia del amor que Dios ha derramado en nuestros corazones.

Navidad es el tiempo de la familia, para reunirse, orar y convivir. Hoy más que nunca estamos necesitados del amor de familia, de poder compartir historias, de poder darnos un abrazo, de poder en muchos casos consolarnos. El Dios del amor se derrama en nuestros corazones y nos impulsa a amar y darnos a los demás.

Que está Navidad sea para todos ustedes un tiempo precioso de alegría y felicidad, y que nuestro buen Dios nazca con todo su esplendor en cada uno de sus hogares. No dejemos de asistir a la Santa Misa, recordemos que ese día de Navidad es uno de los mas grandes del año litúrgico, pues celebramos ese misterio en el cual, todo un Dios quiso participar de nuestra naturaleza humana para poder salvarnos.

En nombre de todo el equipo diocesano, de nuestro Obispo Pedro Jugis, de todos los párrocos y vicarios, de todo el equipo de coordinadores diocesanos y de un servidor, les deseamos una feliz Navidad.

Bendiciones para todos ustedes.

‘Navidad es el tiempo de la familia, para reunirse, orar y convivir.’

VIRGEN VIENE DE LA PÁGINA 10

venida, cuando vendrá ya no pobre y humilde en un pesebre, sino rodeado de su trono de gloria y toda su potestad”.

“No nos dejó solos aquí en las tierras de América, vino en el hecho Guadalupano y dejó su estampa para acompañarnos”, dijo, y pidiendo que ese “Sí de María esté en nuestros corazones”, rogó que Ella nos acompañe en esta misión de recibir a Cristo y llevarlo a los corazones de los demás”.

La homilía concluyó con varias vivas a María Santísima, a México, a los países Latinoamericanos y a Cristo Rey.

DELEGACIONES CULTURALES

La Sra. Celia de la Cruz, en compañía de su esposo, ambos originarios de San Andrés Tziróndaro, Michoacán, se presentaron con una delegación de la devoción del Señor de la Columna que presentó las ofrendas con su grupo purépecha. Ambos se acercaron también al altar con sus trajes de la danza de los viejitos, un baile que se realizaba para pedir buenas cosechas, hacer llegar la lluvia en tiempos de sequía o también para pedir salud para los enfermos. La Sra. de la Cruz

dió un mensaje de agradecimiento por la invitación en su idioma original, purépecha, y en español para todos los asistentes.

La música estuvo a cargo de la Banda Descendencia Oaxaqueña, una banda de reciente formación con más de 50 integrantes, todos ellos jóvenes y niños descendientes de migrantes oaxaqueños que residen en Greensboro. Miguel Angel Sosa, su director, dijo que para formar la banda trajeron un músico profesional de México, quien se encargó de instruir a los músicos para interpretar temas en las celebraciones religiosas y tradicionales de su región. “Queremos mantener nuestra cultura y transmitirla a nuestros hijos”, recalcó.

COMPARTIR

Al término de la Misa, el Padre Fidel Melo agradeció la colaboración de la comunidad en pleno que “me ha recibido con tanto cariño” en su iglesia, construyó rápidamente el escenario en exteriores, preparó comida para todos expresando su generosidad con los visitantes . Luego reconoció especialmente a la banda e invitados que se presentaron para rendir homenaje a la Virgen, “sin pedir un solo centavo”.

Finalmente, invitó a todos a compartir un agasajo con alimentos y bebidas que se prepararon durante varios días.

La fiesta guadalupana había dado inicio el sábado 11 por la noche, con la celebración de dos Misas seguidas por ‘Las Mañanitas’.

Santiago Apóstol es una de las muchas iglesias de nuestra diócesis que celebraron la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

Entre ellas se encuentran Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y San John Neumann en Charlotte, Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia en Winston-Salem, Santa María en Greensboro, San Marcos en Huntersville, Nuestra Señora de Lourdes en Monroe, Inmaculada Concepción en Forest City, Santiago el Grande en Concord, Nuestra Señora de los Caminos en Thomasville, San Miguel en Gastonia, Santa Teresa en Mooresville, San Juan Bautista de la Salle en North Wilkesboro, Santa Francisca de Roma en Sparta, San Francisco de Asís en Jefferson, Santa Elizabeth en Boone, Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles en Marion, San Francisco de Asís en Lenoir, San Juan Bautista en Waynesville, Santa María en Sylva, San Francisco de Asís en Franklin, Santo Redentor en Andrews, Nuestra Señora de las Montañas en Highlands, y otras más.

Más online En www.facebook.com/CNHEspañol: Encuentre más imágenes y videos de la fiesta Guadalupana en varias parroquias de la Diócesis de Charlotte

EL PADRE JULIO DOMÍNGUEZ es el Vicario Episcopal del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

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Let’s keep talking.

catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Lets keep talking.

FOTO PROPORCIONADA POR JAMES SARKIS

El Obispo Peter Jugis eleva la Sagrada Forma durante la Misa del 8 de diciembre en la Catedral San Patricio en Charlotte, durante la Fiesta de la Inmaculada Concepción y el cierre del Año de San José.

Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.

Luke 2:14

This Advent and Christmas set your heart and mind on the things above!

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San José modelo de paciencia, perseverancia en tiempos difíciles El Obispo Jugis cerró el Año de San José con Misa el 8 de diciembre PATRICIA L. GUILFOYLE EDITORA

CHARLOTTE — Los últimos dos años de la pandemia de COVID-19 han traído muchas dificultades, pero San José ha sido nuestro modelo de cómo soportarlas con fe, paciencia y perseverancia, dijo el Obispo Peter Jugis en la Misa que celebró el 8 de diciembre.

El miércoles se conmemoró la Fiesta de la Inmaculada Concepción, y también marcó el cierre del Año de San José designado por la Iglesia, señaló el obispo. José, el esposo de María, recibió una “mención de honor” en el Evangelio del día, destacó con una sonrisa.

El Año de San José comenzó para la Diócesis de Charlotte en 2020 y la Iglesia Universal lo celebró durante 2021. Las conmemoraciones marcaron el 150 aniversario de la declaración de San José como Patrón de la Iglesia Universal en el decreto “Quemadmodum Deus” del Papa Pío IX”.

Las bancas de la Catedral San Patricio se llenaron en su mayoría para la ocasión, incluso con estudiantes del seminario universitario San José de la diócesis en Mount Holly. La misa también se transmitió en vivo en el canal de YouTube de la diócesis, atrayendo a más de 1,800 visitantes hasta el 15 de diciembre.

Fue el servicio de adoración presencial más grande celebrado en honor al Año de San José desde que el año conmemorativo se inauguró en marzo de 2020. La pandemia impidió la mayoría de grandes reuniones públicas durante 2020 y 2021.

La superposición del Año de San José con la pandemia de

COVID-19 no ha sido una coincidencia, señaló el Obispo Jugis. Ha sido una señal de la providencia de Dios.

“Se nos ha dado a San José como un intercesor de nuestras necesidades y como un modelo para que lo imitemos”, especialmente en tiempos de dificultad, dijo el obispo. “Dios sabe cómo cuidar de nosotros, Sus hijos, al darnos a San José para imitarlo durante estos dos últimos años”.

San José experimentó dificultades al huir de su tierra natal, llevando a María y al niño Jesús desde Belén a Egipto para escapar de la persecución de Herodes. A pesar de todas las dificultades, San José siguió siendo obediente a Dios, dijo el obispo.

“Ciertamente, nosotros y el mundo entero hemos experimentado grandes dificultades durante los dos últimos años del coronavirus (pandemia), los mismos dos años que hemos estado celebrando a San José”, dijo.

“Es el plan de Dios, enseñándonos también a través de nuestra imitación de San José, como él, a permanecer obedientes a los mandamientos de Dios y lo que Él nos pide, (y) a tener fe y confianza en la providencia de Dios y su cuidado durante estos años de penurias. Y nos enseña a tener paciencia y perseverancia en la caridad al enfrentar las dificultades”.

Durante estos tiempos difíciles, es fácil olvidarse de ser caritativo con los demás, señaló el Obispo Jugis.

Debemos seguir mirando a María y José, instó. “Brillan como ejemplo para nosotros en nuestras propias dificultades, cualquiera que estas sean”.

December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

13

Padre Carvajal dirige mensajes por Adviento CÉSAR HURTADO REPORTERO

P. Gabriel Carvajal-Salazar

¿Qué regalar en Navidad?

E

s muy interesante ver con cuánta alegría es esperada esta época tan acogedora del año denominada Navidad. Tiempo de hacer cambios y arreglos a los hogares para que denoten el espíritu navideño, augurando con ello días de paz y gozo, tanto para los de casa como para quienes vienen a pasar la Navidad en ella.

Es tiempo de viajar y reunirse con familiares y amigos a quienes no se han visto, quizás desde la Navidad anterior. Tiempo de recordar los sucesos ocurridos en los últimos doce meses, y de manera especial a quienes se nos han adelantado y por primera vez celebrarán la Navidad con Jesús, María y José en el cielo.

Pero, sobre todo, es tiempo de hacer regalos. Y esto pone en apuros a las personas porque no saben qué regalar, ya que están buscando quedar bien al regalar lo mejor. Al mismo tiempo, se desea que el regalo guste, cause mucha alegría y se valore. Por lo menos que se abra, para que no le vaya a pasar lo que a un fulano que los guardó sin abrir y, a la siguiente Navidad se puso a repartir regalos y le dio a una persona el mismo regalo que esa persona le había dado la Navidad anterior. ¡Qué vergüenza!

Otro reto que se presenta al hacer regalos es que si se le da a fulano, se le tiene que dar mengano, a sutano, a merengano y no se sabe a cuántos más, para que no se sienta ninguno. Consecuentemente, salta el dilema: ¿Cuánto hay que gastar en los mentados regalos? Y haciendo cuentas, se necesita un buen billete.

He aquí una forma sencilla y efectiva para hacer no un regalo sino varios y sin gastar un centavo.

Hay que hacer un alto y pensar en Dios Santísimo, que es pura gratuidad, donación y entrega. Entrega que va más allá de lo impensable. Él ha regalado la vida y todo lo bueno que tiene el ser humano. Y sin lugar a dudas, el regalo más grande que Dios ha hecho a la humanidad, lo dice San Juan, cuyo evangelio empieza en las alturas: “Tanto amó Dios al mundo que le dio a su hijo único para que todo el que crea en Él no se pierda, sino que tenga vida eterna” (Jn 3,16). ¿Qué tal?, y como dijo Cantinflas: “¿cómo le quedó el ojo?”

Así que los regalos más hermosos e importantes no son los regalos materiales, sino los regalos espirituales como paz, perdón, reconciliación, un abrazo o una visita a alguien que esté solo y triste.

Sin embargo, no porque son espirituales no cuestan. También estos regalos tienen un costo, pero no es de dinero sino de humildad. Humildad para reconocer que antes de regalarlos, la persona se los debe regalar primero a sí misma, ya que nadie da lo que no tiene.

Ahora, no mirando al exterior, sino a lo más profundo del corazón, hay que remover vicios, rencores, resentimientos y todo aquello que representa un obstáculo a la alegría y gozo que da el nacimiento del Dios Niño. ¿Cómo?, preparándose para hacer una buena confesión donde Jesús, el Señor, le regalará su paz, alegría y sobre todo su perdón.

De esta manera estará obsequiando de los mismos regalos que le da el mismo Dios. Y estos regalos no solo se pueden dar en Navidad, sino a lo largo de todo el año.

Otra cosa, no porque se repartan se acaban. Al contrario, entre más se dan más crecen. Y es así como la fe se fortalece: dándola, que es el regalo de los regalos.

EL PADRE GABRIEL CARVAJAL SALAZAR es párroco de la Iglesia Nuestra Señora de los Caminos en Thomasville.

CHARLOTTE — Con el objeto de invitar a una reflexión y toma de conciencia durante el tiempo de Adviento, el Padre Gabriel CarvajalSalazar, párroco de la Iglesia Nuestra Señora de los Caminos en Thomasville, dirige una serie de cuatro videos que se publican cada domingo en la página de Facebook de Catholic News Herald en español.

“Son cuatro semanas de preparación intensa para recibir a El Salvador en su primera llegada al Mundo: La Navidad”, dijo el Padre Carvajal, pero, añadió, “a la vez es una preparación para el encuentro que tendremos con Él en el momento en que seamos llamados a su presencia”.

Señaló que en este tiempo especial estamos llamados a prepararnos, al igual que San Juan Bautista, “a preparar la llegada del Señor”, pero en este caso de forma personal, individual y también como Iglesia, como comunidad.

En este tiempo, nos dice, “no hay que dejarnos llevar por lo externo, el comercio, la industria y el mundo secular que empieza a hacer sus promociones”, porque se nos va el tiempo y no preparamos lo más importante, “que es nuestro corazón, donde el Señor Jesús quiere nacer”.

Invitándonos a estar siempre preparados, el Padre Carvajal nos recordó que quizás, “este pueda ser el último Adviento para alguno de

Únase al Obispo Jugis por Navidad, Misas festivas CHARLOTTE — Este año, con el alivio de las restricciones por la pandemia de COVID-19, el Obispo Peter Jugis celebrará cuatro liturgias en la Catedral San Patricio por Navidad y los días festivos de Año Nuevo. Todas las Misa estarán abiertas al público y serán transmitidas en vivo en el canal YouTube de la diócesis, www. youtube.com/DioceseofCharlotte.

El Obispo Jugis será el celebrante principal en las siguientes liturgias: n 25 de diciembre – Medianoche, Misa por la Fiesta de la Natividad del Señor . n 26 de diciembre – 11 a.m., Misa por la Fiesta de la Sagrada Familia de Jesús, María y José. n 1 de enero de 2022 – 11 a.m., Misa por la Fiesta de la Solemnidad de María, Madre de Dios. n 2 de enero – 11 a.m., Misa por la Fiesta de la Epifanía del Señor.

El 25 de diciembre, el coro de la Catedral cantará villancicos 30 minutos antes de la Misa de Medianoche.

Se invita a los fieles. Todos son bienvenidos. Se recuerda que el uso de mascarilla facial en interiores aún es requerido por una ordenanza de la Ciudad de Charlotte.

— Catholic News Herald

nosotros”, ya que el Señor nos ha repetido muchas veces que nadie sabe ni el día ni la hora en que seremos llamados a la presencia de Dios.

Por ello, dijo, “es el momento para hacer una buena confesión, para reconciliarnos con Dios, con los demás y con nosotros mismos”. Sugirió hacer un examen de conciencia para recordar enemistades familiares y buscar la reconciliación con ellos.

“Esta es una buena forma para prepararnos para la Navidad, para el nacimiento de Nuestro Señor y para la hora que Él nos llame”. Además, comparó los arreglos ‘exteriores’ en nuestros hogares y centros de trabajo, haciendo un llamado para que todos los cristianos “arreglemos también nuestro interior”.

El Padre Carvajal incidió especialmente en el consumo de alcohol durante las fiestas. Aseguró que si bien Jesús mismo convirtió agua en vino, “el problema está en el abuso que nos hace torpes”. “El alcohol anima, pero nos

deja solos al final”, advirtió.

En el video del tercer domingo, coincidente con la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, el Padre Carvajal abordó en extensión sobre el papel de la Santísima Virgen María en el papel de la salvación. “La última semana estará dedicada a San José”, anunció.

Los videos se vienen emitiendo los domingos de Adviento en la página de Facebook de Catholic News Herald en español. Al término de la serie, los videos serán publicados en la página YouTube de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Más online En www.facebook.com/CNHEspañol y www.youtube.com/DioceseofCharlotte: Apreciar la serie de videos completa

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catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Encendieron la luz de la Navidad CÉSAR HURTADO REPORTERO

CHARLOTTE — Convocados por el Museo Mint y el Comité de Fiestas Patrias y Tradiciones de Charlotte, colombianos y miembros de otras comunidades hispanas celebraron el pasado viernes 10 de diciembre ‘El día de las velitas’, una de las tradiciones más observadas en Colombia y que marca el inicio de la temporada navideña en ese país.

Con la participación presencial de unos pocos invitados, la fiesta fue transmitida online a través de la página de Facebook de la institución cultural.

Rubie Britt-Height, Directora de Relaciones Comunitarias del Museo Mint, abrió la transmisión agradeciendo la participación de la comunidad latina, en especial de la colonia colombiana residente en la Ciudad Reina, que impulsó la construcción de una sólida relación con el Museo Mint. Lamentablemente, dijo, observando estrictas medidas sanitarias, decidieron realizar la celebración online puesto que regularmente la fiesta congregaba a más de 300 personas.

Kurma Murraín, coordinadora de eventos comunitarios del museo, dijo tener la esperanza “que en 2022 nos podamos reunir en persona nuevamente”.

Rafael Prieto, periodista colombiano y uno de los referentes más representativos del mundo cultural, político e intelectual hispano en Charlotte, recordó los inicios de la celebración en nuestra localidad.

“A pocas cuadras de aquí, en la calle Morehead, funcionaba la galería de Edwin Gil que celebraba el Día de las Velitas”, dijo recordando al reconocido artista plástico colombiano que lamentablemente debió cerrar esas instalaciones en diciembre de 2012. Luego, dio un repaso a los hechos más significativos en el desarrollo de

El Museo Mint en Uptown Charlotte acogió un año más la celebración de ‘El día de las Velitas’, una fiesta de origen colombiano que se realiza en la víspera de la Inmaculada Concepción y abre oficialmente la temporada Navideña. En la gráfica, de izquierda a derecha, Ana Lucía Divins, Rafael Prieto y Rubie Britt-Height en el momento que se encienden las velitas.

FOTO CORTESÍA MUSEO MINT CHARLOTTE

la celebración y destacó el papel del Museo Mint y otras organizaciones que colaboraron para convertirla en lo que es hoy. “Debo reiterar mi agradecimiento de Rubie por mantener esta bella tradición colombiana y convertirla en un acontecimiento universal”.

Culminó diciendo que 2021, “ha sido un año muy difícil para mí, pero esta celebración hace que crea en la vida, en la luz”.

Luego, en compañía de la también artista colombiana Ana Lucía Divins, bajo un acompañamiento musical del guitarrista Carlos Crespo, encendieron juntos las tres velas que adornaban la mesa navideña del

escenario.

La fiesta prosiguió con el cántico de populares villancicos navideños, en inglés y español, entonados por el dueto ‘Café Amaretto’, que conforman Divins y Crespo.

COSTUMBRE COLOMBIANA

En el día de las Velitas, víspera de la fiesta de la Inmaculada Concepción, los colombianos colocan velas y farolitos de papel en sus ventanas, balcones, zaguanes, caminos, parques y plazas, en honor a la Virgen María y su Inmaculada Concepción.

Luego comparten una cena, cantan villancicos y oran en honor a la Virgen.

La celebración del día de las velas data de

1854, cuando el Papa Pio IX declaró como dogma de fe la Inmaculada Concepción de la Virgen María, justamente un 8 de diciembre. La noche anterior, en vigilia, la gente encendió velas y faroles de papel para mostrar su respaldo a la decisión papal. La Iglesia Católica de Colombia mantiene viva esta tradición y realiza un evento de encendido de velas la noche del 7 de diciembre.

Más online En www.facebook.com/themintmuseum: Podrá encontrar el enlace para ver la celebración del Día de las Velitas en el Museo Mint

Oraron por los presidiarios CHARLOTTE — Con devoción, portando rosarios y velas en sus manos, un numeroso grupo de fieles hispanos de varias parroquias y grupos apostólicos del Vicariato de Charlotte realizó el pasado viernes 10 de diciembre una vigilia de oración en el exterior de la cárcel del condado Mecklenburg. Fátima González, primera capellana latina asociada a la Oficina del Sheriff de Mecklenburg, dijo que la vigilia es parte de la campaña Faith and Blue, una iniciativa que busca reforzar las conexiones entre los profesionales del orden público y las comunidades a las que sirven a través de la unión en oración que inició el pasado 10 de octubre.

También, gracias a diversas iglesias que colaboran con donaciones, vienen entregando mochilas con artículos de aseo personal a los internos que dejan la cárcel al haber cumplido su pena. Diferentes grupos se han venido reuniendo por diez semanas y el pasado viernes tocó en turno a la Iglesia Católica local. Gloria Polanco, voluntaria católica del grupo Spanish Bible Studies que se desarrollaba en la cárcel del condado y fue suspendido por la pandemia de COVID-19, dijo que la vigilia se anunció en las iglesias a través de redes sociales y llamadas telefónicas. En la jornada de oración estuvo presente el Padre Leo Tiburcio, párroco de la Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

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December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

15

Se espera mayor número de retiros presenciales en 2022 CÉSAR HURTADO REPORTERO

CHARLOTTE — A paso decidido, siempre observando las regulaciones sanitarias dictadas por las autoridades federales, estatales y locales para prevenir el contagio del COVID-19, los retiros y jornadas de reflexión presenciales se reanudan progresivamente en la mayoría de parroquias a lo largo y ancho de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Pese a que el año 2021 estuvo marcado por una serie de avances y retrocesos en regulaciones de aforo, uso de mascarillas y la aplicación de distanciamiento social, diferentes grupos apostólicos decidieron, con la aprobación de los párrocos de sus iglesias, reanudar sus actividades presenciales dentro del marco regulatorio del código sanitario.

Como se recuerda, en enero pasado algunas iglesias se vieron obligadas a cancelar las celebraciones de Misa presencial, restaurando la emisión de Misas por redes sociales.

En marzo, varias parroquias cedieron sus instalaciones para asistir en el proceso de vacunación de las poblaciones especialmente desatendidas. Por Su parte, la Pastoral de Duelo del Vicariato de Charlotte debió intensificar sus actividades online para ayudar a los muchos fieles que habían sufrido la pérdida de un ser querido por efectos de la pandemia.

Pese a todo, ese mismo mes se realizaron Jornadas Ignacianas presenciales en el Vicariato de Asheville y los miembros de la Pastoral Juvenil recibieron, vía online, el Libro de la Pascua que luego difundieron en sus parroquias durante la Semana Santa.

En junio, tras la reanudación de la obligatoriedad de la asistencia a Misa dominical en la diócesis, una nutrida reunión de retiro de renovación de votos matrimoniales se llevó a cabo en la parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte; mientras que para la fiesta de Corpus Christi se pudo observar, en general, un mayor número de asistentes en las celebraciones.

En ese mismo mes, los campamentos vocacionales de verano Quo Vadis y Duc in Altum reunieron a aproximadamente 150 hombres y mujeres, entre 15 y 19 años en retiros de una semana de duración en Belmont Abbey.

En agosto, bajo la guía y conducción de su director espiritual, Diácono Sigfrido della Valle, los Cursillos de Cristiandad realizaron tres retiros, dos de ellos de iniciación y otro más de especialización denominado ‘Retiro de Retiros’.

FOTO CORTESÍA VICARIATO ASHEVILLE

Al igual que este exitoso retiro de evangelización para mujeres realizado por el Ministerio Hispano del Vicariato de Asheville, numerosos retiros se realizaron en todo el territorio diocesano especialmente al término de este año. El P. Julio Domínguez, vicario apostólico del Ministerio Hispano de la diócesis, expresó su esperanza en que la misión evangelizadora se incremente en 2022.

Entre agosto y septiembre, el movimiento Emaús de las parroquias San Gabriel, San John Neumann y Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe realizó varios encuentros de fines de semana que reunieron a más de 300 participantes en conjunto.

Tristemente, el Congreso Eucarístico, que debía realizarse el 17-18 de septiembre, debió cancelarse. Igual suerte corrió el programado Encuentro de Catequistas, exclusivamente para miembros del Ministerio Hispano, que estaba programado para octubre en la ciudad de Hickory.

Pese a todo, estos últimos meses del año han sido especialmente provechosos. Dos grandes retiros de evangelización se han realizado en el Vicariato de Asheville, la Renovación Carismática recientemente llevó a cabo un retiro en el Centro de Conferencias Católico en Hickory con un lleno total, el Movimiento Apóstoles de la Palabra tuvo un encuentro regional en Nuestra Señora de los Caminos en Thomasville, la Iglesia San Miguel en Gastonia organizó un exitoso Retiro Juvenil, e incontables parroquias desarrollaron Retiros de Adviento con una participación presencial muy importante.

Lecturas Diarias 19-25 DICIEMBRE

Domingo: Miqueas 5:1-4a, Hebreos 10:510, Lucas 1:39-45; Lunes: Isaías 7:10-14, Lucas 1:26-38; Martes: Cantar 2:8-14, Lucas 1:39-45; Miércoles: 1 Samuel 1:24-28, Lucas 1:46-56; Jueves: Malaquías 3:1-4, 23-24, Lucas 1:57-66; Viernes: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16, Lucas 1:67-79; Sábado: Isaías 52:7-10, Hebreos 1:1-6, Juan 1:1-18

26 DICIEMBRE-1 ENERO

Domingo (Sagrada Familia): 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28, 1 Juan 3:1-2, 21-24, Lucas 2:41-52; Lunes (San Juan Evangelista): 1 Juan 1:1-4, Juan 20:2-9; Martes (Santos Inocentes): 1 Juan 1:5–2, 2, Mateo 2:13-18; Miércoles: 1 Juan 2:3-11, Lucas 2:22-35;

Jueves: 1 Juan 2:12-17, Lucas 2:36-40; Viernes: 1 Juan 2:18-21, Juan 1:1-18; Sábado (María Santísima, Madre de Dios): Números 6:22-27, Gálatas 4:4-7, Lucas 2:16-21

2-8 ENERO

Domingo (Epifanía del Señor): Isaías 60:1-6, Efesios 3:2-3a, 5-6, Mateo 2:1-12; Lunes: 1 Juan 3:22–4, 6, Mateo 4:12-17, 2325; Martes (Santa Isabella Ana Seton): 1 Juan 4:7-10, Marcos 6:34-44; Miércoles (San Juan Nepomuceno Neumann): 1 Juan 4:11-18, Marcos 6:45-52, Jueves: 1 Juan 4:19, 5:4, Lucas 4:14-22; Viernes: 1 Juan 5:5-13, Lucas 5:12-16; Sábado: 1 Juan 5:14-21, Juan 3:22-30

Ante este auspicioso trabajo evangelizador, el Padre Julio Domínguez , Vicario Episcopal del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte, expresó su deseo que “esté próximo año que viene

todos los movimientos apostólicos comiencen su obra de evangelización a través de los retiros”, por lo que animó a “todos los grupos a organizarse, para llevar a cabo más retiros en este año que entra”.

Mix 16

catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest movie reviews: catholicnewsherald.com

Catholic Book Pick

Nourish your spirit with ‘Food for the Soul’

In theaters

IRVING, Texas — Vatican II called the Bible “the support and energy of the Church,” “the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life,” and “the food of the soul.”

For many Catholics, engagement with the Bible is often limited to what’s heard at Mass – but a brief sermon on a Sunday morning may not be enough to sate one’s appetite for the richness of the Word of God. Peter Kreeft, celebrated philosopher and author, invites the faithful to a heart-to-heart relationship with Christ through Scripture in his insightful commentary, “Food for the Soul.”

In this riveting three-part series, Kreeft invites the faithful – clergy and laity alike – to a heart-to-heart relationship with Christ the Word through the Word of the Scriptures.

Starting with Advent and moving through the readings for each Sunday and other major liturgical celebrations throughout the three-year lectionary cycle, Kreeft brings the Mass readings to

‘West Side Story’ Splendid second film version of the classic 1957 Broadway musical. As it charts the romance of its modern-day Romeo and Juliet, Manhattan slum dwellers Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler), and their effort to cross the ethnic divide that separates them, a division embodied and intensified by the escalating feud between the white gang to which he belongs and the Hispanic one headed by her brother, Tony Kushner’s script adheres more closely to the stage play than the 1961 movie. Possibly acceptable for older teens. Mostly stylized violence with minimal gore.

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

SPECIAL EDITION

January 21, 2022

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ECT ND CONN CHRIST A SERVING

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life with his trademark blend of gentle wit and unyielding wisdom, challenging readers to plant their souls in the rich soil of Scripture and sharpen their minds with the Sword of the Spirit.

Whether you are a layperson looking for additional insight on the readings at Mass, or a priest or deacon looking for inspiration for a homily, “Food for the Soul” is a gift to the whole Church from one of today’s greatest Christian writers.

Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College, is one of the most widely read Christian authors of our time. He has published more than 85 books on a vast array of topics in spirituality, theology and philosophy.

— Word On Fire Ministries

Order online At www.wordonfire.org: Learn more about Word on Fire Ministries and its resources to help you grow in your Catholic faith or purchase a copy of “Food for the Soul”

n Friday, Dec. 17, 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 Saturday, Dec. 18, 8 p.m. (EWTN) “Time to Remember.” The story of a young boy who develops his gift of song, with the help of a beloved priest. n Sunday, Dec. 19, 6 a.m.

(EWTN) “Angelus with Pope Francis.” Pope Francis leads the world in the recitation of the Angelus. n Friday, Dec. 24, 1:30 p.m. (EWTN) “Solemn Mass of Christmas in Rome.”

Live from Vatican City, Pope Francis presides over Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. n Saturday, Dec. 25, 3 p.m. (EWTN) “Urbi Et Orbi: Message and Blessing – Christmas.” One of the most anticipated papal events of the year.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of the 50th anniversary celebration!

The Diocese of Charlotte will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022 and the Catholic News Herald is producing special feature coverage of the anniversary year – beginning with a commemorative edition to be published Jan. 21, 2022.

This keepsake edition will include archival photos, stories recounting the growth of Catholicism in western North Carolina, historic sites and milestones, and previews of signature anniversary events that people won’t want to miss.

Contact Kevin E. Eagan, Advertising Manager 704-370-3332 or keeagan@rcdoc.org Reach 60,000 households with a message of congratulations.

Advertising deadline Dec. 31

December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

REFUGEES FROM PAGE 3

people every day. It was danger for me to stay there because I worked a lot with the U.S. It was not a good place for me to live.”

He tried to bring along his brother, a pilot, with him to the airport when they left Afghanistan, but the attempt was unsuccessful. He still hopes to help bring him to the United States once he is settled here.

“All of my family is at risk, 100 percent,” he said.

Getting to North Carolina wasn’t easy, he recounted. Thanks to help from an American advisor, he and his family made it onto a flight out of Afghanistan, then took several flights through different countries before finally arriving in Philadelphia. They were screened and quarantined for weeks under federal protocols there and later in New Mexico, before being told they would be settled in Charlotte.

“We are thankful for the people who have helped us, and we are thankful for the U.S. government who are helping the Afghan people,” he said. “Right now, I am at my new home, thanks to all the people who help me. I am happy right now.”

So far Catholic Charities has resettled 218 Afghans – 180 in Charlotte and 38 in Asheville.

Another two dozen are expected in the coming weeks, program director Buck says.

Afghan evacuees are receiving individualized help to start new lives in the United States – including housing assistance, job training, counseling help, school registration, health care referrals, community and cultural orientation, budgeting and financial education, interpretation services,

referrals to English classes, and more.

As with other refugees Catholic Charities serves, the goal is to help them get established so they can become independent residents of their community.

Buck and Noele Aabye, who is managing the resettlements in Asheville, said their hearts have been touched by these evacuees – people who have left behind everything they knew and the country they loved. In the scramble for safety, a number of men have Buck been separated from their wives and children, and Aabye notes, remain afraid for their loved ones’ safety under Taliban rule, as they desperately work through bureaucracies to bring them here.

Aabye said she is seeing firsthand how the Aabye stress of separation is impacting the refugees.

Connecting with extended family or fellow Afghan immigrants in the community can help ease the transition.

One Afghan man she has been assisting was forced to leave his own family behind, but he has been able to reunite with extended family here.

“This father and his adult son were separated from their families. I was able to help reunite them with another older son who was evacuated to another military base,” Aabye said. “It was a very special night seeing the man, his wife and their kids, be reunited with his dad and little brother. It

felt like it was Christmas to them.”

“It’s definitely been a highlight of my work and the work of resettling Afghan evacuees,” she said. “Watching this man hold one of his grandchildren and seeing the joy is unlike anything I had seen in my work with him.”

Buck and Aabye are also overwhelmed by the generous community support shown to these Afghan evacuees.

In Charlotte, a number of churches and community partners such as Veterans Bridge Home are helping with grocery shopping since refugees don’t yet have transportation or driver’s licenses. Veterans Bridge Home hopes to develop a “buddy system” going forward where veterans accompany the refugees to assist and acclimate them in buying groceries, Buck said.

In Asheville numerous churches, businesses and people have reached out to help, Aabye said.

One such resident is Mark Capon, who co-owns the popular Harvest Records in West Asheville. Deeply touched when he saw images of Afghans fleeing Taliban rule last August, he set up a GoFundMe page to help support the refugees coming to Asheville through Catholic Charities.

“Many of these folks left Afghanistan under extreme duress, and they have been assigned to WNC without familiarity with the area, existing community ties, knowledge of English, many possessions, or financial resources. They’re also all currently in a limbo of red tape,” Capon noted in asking for donations. The money will “be used in collaboration with Catholic Charities Asheville for costs like rent, transportation, food, clothing and supplies, medical care, English education, and so on before they’re able to find work.”

The Go Fund Me page, “Asheville Welcomes Afghans,” has surpassed its goal

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– raising $30,630 as of Dec. 15.

Donations of any amount are welcome to help cover expenses for the new arrivals.

Although the federal government provides a minimal resettlement stipend, much of the cost to resettle the refugees falls on Catholic Charities to provide, Buck explained.

“We also need volunteers who can help drive refugees to appointments, or to grocery shop, and to provide back-office administrative assistance,” she said.

“People are using their own connections or abilities,” Aabye added. “We’ve been able to care for them well, and hopefully have them feel that the community is here to help them put down roots. It makes me proud to live here.”

The Afghan man newly settled into his home in Charlotte said he looks forward to his children going to school and having more opportunities in America, adding that he would like one of his daughters to grow up to be a doctor.

“I feel good now. I see a lot of things, changes in my life. Good changes.”

How you can help Most critical is the need for hundreds of independent and affordable rental homes and apartments in Charlotte and Asheville, for which Catholic Charities provides flexible terms and reliable lease payments. Catholic Charities also encourages financial donations and family sponsorship to aid its refugee resettlement work. Contributions can be made securely online at www.ccdoc.org or mailed to Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, N.C. 28203. Donations of furniture and household items, as well as volunteers to pick up donations and help set up apartments, are also welcome. For inquiries, call 1-800-227-7261 or email info@ccdoc.org.

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Our nation 18

catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

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In Brief Court denies COVID-19 vaccine exemption for N.Y. health care workers WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court turned down emergency requests Dec. 13 from New York health care workers seeking a religious exemption from the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care employees.

A report by New York state estimates that about 4% of its health care work force – or 37,000 workers – have left their jobs over the vaccine mandate, issued by Gov. Kathy Hochul and effective at the end of September. Because of the pending court cases, workers who asked for religious exemptions were allowed to work until Nov. 22, but then had to get vaccinated, go on leave or resign. The state report said it was unclear how many health care workers left because of religious objections to the mandate, but about 4,000 additional workers have left or been put on leave for not being vaccinated since the ban on religious exemptions went into effect.

California bishops decry state’s abortion ‘sanctuary’ plan LOS ANGELES — California’s Catholic bishops slammed a new plan endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to make the state a “sanctuary” for legal abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. “California doesn’t need more abortion. It needs to support women and help them be the mothers they want to be,” Kathleen Buckley Domingo, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops, said Dec. 9. The report, titled “Recommendations to Protect, Strengthen and Expand Abortion Care in California,” was released by the California Future of Abortion Council, a group of over 40 abortion providers and advocacy groups, led by Planned Parenthood and convened by Newsom, according to The Associated Press. “We’ll be a sanctuary,” Newsom told the AP. The groups’ 45 recommendations include using taxpayer money to help pay for travel expenses, lodging, child care and abortion procedures for women who come from out of state seeking an abortion.

High Court: Texas abortion law remains in place, challenges may continue WASHINGTON, D.C. — Clinics can continue to challenge a Texas law that bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy but in the meantime the law would remain in effect, the Supreme Court said Dec. 10. The Texas abortion law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May, went into effect Sept. 1. During oral arguments about it Nov. 1, the justices considered whether the Justice Department and state abortion clinics can even challenge the abortion law in federal court because of the way the law was set up with citizens’ enforcement. This was the third time the nation’s high court considered the Texas abortion law.

Knights’ documentary on St. Joseph now available online for free NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Knights of Columbus’ latest documentary, “St. Joseph: Our Spiritual Father,” is now available to view for free at www.kofc.org. Produced to increase devotion to the foster father of Jesus, protector of the Holy Family and patron of the Church, the film premiered on ABC affiliates across the United States this fall. It features reenactments, interviews with scholars “and inspiring witness stories” that provide an opportunity to learn about Joseph from a historical perspective and show “how devotion to him can be life-changing,” the Knights said.

— Catholic News Service

Mourning, prayer and a resolve to rebuild follow devastating tornadoes CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

Charities USA. Bishop Medley in a Dec. 11 statement called on the Catholic community of the diocese “to unite in prayer ... for all of the suffering that was caused by this disaster.”

He asked all parishes to take up a special collection over

MAYFIELD, Ky. — Mourning, prayer and a resolve to rebuild shattered lives, homes and businesses in Mayfield followed one of the most powerful twisters in U.S. history that leveled the city of 10,000 in western Kentucky overnight Dec. 10.

The Bluegrass State was the worst hit as numerous devastating tornadoes traveled across it and its neighboring states of Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri, leveling entire communities.

As of Dec. 14, at least 74 people were confirmed dead in Kentucky, including a 2-month-old infant; 109 people remained unaccounted for.

At least 14 other people were killed in the other states: six in Illinois, four in Tennessee, and two each in Arkansas and Missouri.

As members of two of Mayfield’s faith congregations came together to pray Dec. 12 amid rubble – piles of brick, metal and glass – prayers for their city and all of those affected by the ferocious midCNS | CHENEY ORR, REUTERS December twisters came from far Debris surrounds a badly damaged church in Mayfield, Ky., Dec. 11, after a devastating tornado ripped and wide, including from Pope through the town. More than 30 tornadoes were reported across six states late Dec. 10, and early Dec. 11, Francis and the U.S. Catholic killing dozens of people and leaving a trail of devastation. bishops, and from close to home – Bishop William F. Medley of Owensboro, whose diocese the Dec. 11-12 weekend to aid tornado victims. covers western Kentucky.

The bishop also took note of the leveling of Mayfield’s A papal telegram conveyed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, candle factory, where 110 employees were working around Vatican secretary of state, said Pope Francis “was the clock, which is customary during the Christmas saddened to learn of the devastating impact of the season, according to news reports. tornadoes” in the Midwest and the South.

Initially, city officials feared the death toll among “He offers heartfelt prayers that almighty God will grant factory workers would reach 70. Late Dec. 12, a company eternal peace to those who have died, comfort to those who representative told reporters that eight workers were mourn their loss, and strength to all those affected by this confirmed dead, and a day later the workers who had been immense tragedy,” it said. missing were accounted for.

“With gratitude for the tireless efforts of the rescue “Many of those injured in the Mayfield candle factory workers and all engaged in caring for the injured, the were parishioners, and others represented migrants and grieving families and those left homeless, Pope Francis the marginalized in our communities,” Bishop Medley said invokes upon all engaged in the massive work of relief in his statement. and rebuilding the Lord’s gifts of strength and generous He added that through its Catholic Charities office, the perseverance in the service of their brothers and sisters,” diocese planned “to offer immediate help and services” said the telegram, which Cardinal Parolin sent to Archbishop for those displaced by the tornado and/or in need of Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio in the U.S. immediate emergency financial help.

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of “I am proud of the many ways that your generosity the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Archbishop always allows the Catholic Church to respond to the Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the suffering and to families in crisis,” Bishop Medley said.

USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human “So I thank you in advance for your generous response to Development, said the destruction and devastation was this terrible devastation. God will bless our generosity.” “heartbreaking” and called for prayer and assistance for In a Dec. 12 tweet, Bishop Medley said he visited the all those who were in the path of the storms.

Catholic community of St. Joseph Church in Mayfield: “Fr. “During this Advent season where we await in joyful Eric Riley, the pastor, preached on the Advent and Our anticipation for the birth of our Lord, we pray for those Lady of Guadalupe themes of hope and joy. Neighboring who have been injured, for those who have lost their lives, parish St. Jerome of Fancy Farm welcomed them.” and for their grieving families and communities,” said At a news briefing Dec. 12 in Mayfield, Kentucky Gov. Archbishops Gomez and Coakley. “May those who have Andy Beshear noted one tornado traveled 227 miles. “It been impacted by these storms find peace, comfort and didn’t take a roof, which is what we’ve seen in the past. It hope in our faith and in God’s endless love. exploded the whole house. People, animals ... just gone.”

“We also pray for the emergency responders and those “The very first thing that we have to do is grieve who have begun the work of providing for the needs of the together,” he said, “and we’re going to do that before we impacted in these communities in the recovery efforts,” rebuild together.” they said in a statement issued late Dec. 11. “We entrust all our brothers and sisters in harm’s way to our Blessed Mother, and we ask for her continued protection and for her intercession in comforting those who are suffering.”

Donate to recovery efforts and financial help for tornado The two prelates urged Catholics and all people of victims through Catholic Charities USA: www.catholiccharities.us/ goodwill to donate to recovery efforts and financial help campaign/ccusa-disaster-relief/c353051 for tornado victims by supporting the work of Catholic

How you can help

December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

All Saints Catholic School All Saints Catholic School (grades PreK-8), a culturally diverse, regional school located in the Northside of Richmond, Virginia, seeks dynamic and highly qualified candidates for the position of principal beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.

CNS | COURTESY DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE

Tenn. bishop finds inspiration amid rubble after fire at Catholic agency KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Flashlight in hand, Bishop Richard F. Stika of Knoxville, Tenn., was walking through the fire-damaged administrative offices of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, when he came across a small wooden crucifix hanging on a wall with a rosary draped over it. The bishop was inspired to see that amid the rubble throughout the one-story building Dec. 1 the iconic items remained untouched. “It didn’t have any soot on it,” he said after an hour-long tour to view the damage caused by a Nov. 28 nighttime blaze that fire department investigators determined to be arson. Bishop Stika said he plans to frame the crucifix and the rosary so it can be displayed in the building once the fire damage is repaired and employees return months from now. Police discovered the fire while responding to an alarm at the building at about 10:30 p.m. They found a broken window and smoke pouring from the building that is located north of downtown Knoxville.

Firefighters on the scene found a gasoline can and a matchbook near the window the perpetrator broke to gain entry, Bishop Stika said. The building’s interior is a total loss, but the structure remained intact, he said.

Your Life’s Journey… how will you be remembered?

Establish a legacy that responds to the many gifts God has given you.

Foundation of the Diocese of Charlotte

For more information on how to leave a legacy for your parish, please contact Gina Rhodes, Director of Planned Giving at 704/370-3364 or gmrhodes@charlottediocese.org.

The successful candidate: • will be committed to fostering and maintaining a Catholic environment that is an authentic expression of Catholic faith, with the goal of producing faithful graduates where everything done in and through the school expresses love for and obedience to Jesus Christ and His Body, the Church; • will have a working knowledge of the Church’s teachings regarding Catholic identity and the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools; and, • will possess a demonstrated commitment to academic excellence, with an emphasis on innovative learning skills, teaching methods, and curricula.

Responsibilities will include: • establishing a tone that enables the spiritual growth of students, faculty, and the entire school community; • working collaboratively with the Pastor, the School Advisory Board, faculty, and parents to foster a learning environment deeply rooted in the Church’s teaching on Catholic identity, where Christ’s principles guide every dimension of the school’s life and activity; • assessing and overseeing the school’s academic programs and faculty effectiveness; • communicating effectively with students, families and the community; • representing the school in the parish community and greater community; and, • overseeing non-academic matters including, but not limited to, enrollment management, planning, budgets, development, and marketing.

The successful candidate will: • be a practicing Catholic; • possess a master’s degree in Education Administration and Supervision or a related field and five years teaching and/or administrative experience.

• hold a Virginia license in Administration and Supervision or be eligible to pursue; and, • possess excellent organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills.

Salary: Competitive and commensurate with experience.

An introductory letter summarizing the candidate’s qualifications, a resume, and a completed Diocesan application should be sent to Principal Search Committee at allsaintsprincipalsearch@richmonddiocese.org.

Review of applications will begin immediately and are due February 1, 2022. The new principal is expected to begin no later than July 1, 2022.

For more information about All Saints Catholic School, visit https://www.allsaintsric.org/

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Our world 20

catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope closes Year of St. Joseph with marginalized young adults CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis closed the Year of St. Joseph with a private visit to a community in Rome that helps people experiencing marginalization, crisis or substance abuse.

“Do not be afraid of reality, of the truth, of our misery,” he told volunteers and the people they assist at the Good Samaritan home Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. “Don’t be afraid because Jesus likes reality as it is, undisguised; the Lord does not like people who cover their soul, their heart with makeup.”

The Good Samaritan fraternity or home is part of the worldwide “Comunità Cenacolo,” which was founded in 1983 by Italian Sister Elvira Petrozzi to offer “God’s tenderness to the cry of desperation of so many young people who were lost, deceived and disappointed,” and had been seeking “the true meaning of life in the false light of the world,” according to the community’s mission statement.

Dozens of guests and members of the community welcomed the pope, who listened to the experiences several of them shared and watched a segment of a film on the life St. Joseph, which was produced by young people living at two fraternities in Medjugorje.

Among those welcoming the pope were the two children of Andrea and Antonia Giorgetti, who both recovered from drug dependencies and now run the Good Samaritan fraternity, reflecting the fact that a number of young people who find help at the fraternities go on to assist others.

The pope encouraged all the residents to “have the courage to tell others, ‘there is a better way.’”

Pope Francis also visited and blessed the fraternity’s new chapel, built by residents out of discarded wooden beams, travertine marble and other materials reclaimed from dumpsters and landfills.

Building something new and wonderful out of things that have been thrown away “is a concrete example of what we do here,” Father Stefano Aragno told Vatican News Dec. 8.

The pope led the prayer dedicated to St. Joseph to conclude the special year with those present.

Restoration at Church of the Nativity shows what cooperation can do JUDITH SUDILOVSKY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

BETHLEHEM, West Bank ­— When restoration on the Church of the Nativity’s wooden beams and leaking roof began in 2013 with the blessing of the three custodial churches, everyone involved was aware of the historic significance of the venture.

It was the first time in 540 years that any repair work was done on the church on the site where Jesus was born.

But what the team of workers – including local Palestinian committees and engineers and international restoration experts – did not know was the true impact of the initial ecumenical cooperation.

Historically the Franciscans, Greek Orthodox and Armenians jealously guarded their rights in the church, under the 1852 Status Quo agreement that regulates the ownership of spaces in various holy sites as well as the times and duration of religious liturgies. As recently as 2011, Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks came to blows over cleaning rights in a certain area in the church.

But with the leaking of the roof endangering the ancient structure, all agreed to undertake the necessary work.

And a new era began.

“Along the way the three churches noticed the good results that were coming from the cooperation and that it would be good to continue,” said Khouloud Daibes, the new executive director of the Bethlehem Development Foundation, which has raised $2.6 million out of the $15 million needed for the restoration of the entire church.

“At first it was just supposed to be the roof, but then we continued to do much, much more,” she said.

The project required coordination involving more than 400 specialists and the need to maintain the liturgical schedule and to keep the doors open for pilgrims, she said.

Imad Nasser, an engineer and technical representative of the Palestinian Presidential Committee for the Restoration of the Nativity Church, said safety requirements for visitors have been challenging, because the church remained opened throughout the restoration process.

After a process of extensive studies and negotiations, the project gradually grew to a more comprehensive endeavor and included restoration of Crusaderera frescos and wall and floor mosaics, which had been dulled by centuries of pilgrims burning candles and incense smoke; restoration of the outside facades; and restoration of the 50 marble columns inside the church, each one dedicated to a different saint.

Franciscan Father Ibrahim Faltas, representing the Custody of the Holy Land, said: “This project has brought the three heads of churches closer and improved the relationship. In fact, the three heads of churches agreed to implement rehabilitation work at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. We hope that this cooperation will continue in the future.”

Claudette Habesch, a member of the

CNS | DEBBIE HILL

Restorers Athanasio Papadopoulos and Zacharias Zacharoudis carry the restored Gabriel door from 1770 in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank, Dec. 7. The restoration of the church required coordination involving more than 400 specialists and the need to maintain the liturgical schedule and to keep the doors open for pilgrims. presidential committee for the restoration, said the ability of the churches to come together with a shared goal of restoring and protecting the church is not only a symbol of hope for Christianity, but should be a message to all people of the Holy Land.

She said it was in line with Pope Francis’ 2020 social encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” which urges people to act as neighbors for the common good, rejecting the creation of a society of exclusion.

“This is a great achievement. This goes beyond the physical achievements ... not only for Christians but for everyone one who lives here,” Habesch said. “It gives us hope that we can also work on reconciliation and peace in this land.”

Dependent on donations mainly from supporters from abroad, the restoration project has been carried out in several phases, with the COVID-19 outbreak severely reducing the amount of funds available and slowing down work.

The remaining work includes a firefighting system, a micro climate system, and restoration of the grotto itself.

Mazen Karam, outgoing CEO of

Bethlehem Development Foundation, said if all the needed funding were secured immediately, the entire project would be completed around 2023.

The project also encouraged the three churches to undertake restoration work on their own private sections of the church, he said, and so most of the entire complex has been restored.

Currently, on the initiative of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, two art conservationists have been working on the Greek Orthodox chapel’s iconostasis, a wall of icons and religious paintings that separates the main part of the chapel from the sanctuary.

“It is a privilege to work here and watch the three different churches praying in one place. It is not an experience I could have in any other place,” said art restorer Zacharias Zacharoudis.

While most pilgrims are not yet able to come to Bethlehem, a traveling exhibit of the restoration project was inaugurated at the Vatican Museums in 2019 and is currently being shown in Cologne, Germany.

December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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In Brief

local politicians, officials and law enforcement agencies to curb the activities of radical groups who regularly intimidate local Christians, assault priests and clergy, and desecrate Holy Sites and Church properties.”

Staff Accountant

‘Fratelli Tutti’ Foundation set up

U.N. report: Large rise in hunger in Latin America, Caribbean ROME — A report released by several U.N. agencies warned that the number of those suffering from hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean is at its highest point in 15 years.

According to the “Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2021,” published in late November, an estimated 59.7 million people in the region suffered from hunger in 2020. That was a 30% increase, or 13.8 million additional people, compared to 2019. The new statistics, the report stated, reveal “a bleak scenario for the future of the region.” It also reported an increase in food insecurity, stating that 41% of the region’s population is “moderately or severely food insecure, which translates to 267 million people whose human right to food is not being met.” In South America, the number of those suffering from hunger increased by 18 million people between 2014 and 2020. However, the report said half of the increase, an estimated 9 million people, “occurred between 2019 and 2020 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This suggests an increase of 36% in the number of people living with hunger in just one year,” it said.

Holy Land Christian leaders want guarantees on protection of people, religious sites JERUSALEM — Christian leaders in the Holy Land have asked for “an urgent dialogue” with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders “to ensure that no citizen or institution has to live under threat of violence or intimidation.”

They also want to discuss creation of a special Christian cultural and heritage zone in Jerusalem’s Old City to preserve Christian sites. “Since 2012, there have been countless incidents of physical and verbal assaults against priests and other clergy, attacks on Christian churches, with holy sites regularly vandalized and desecrated, and ongoing intimidation of local Christians who simply seek to worship freely and go about their daily lives,” the leaders said Dec. 13. “These tactics are being used by such radical groups in a systematic attempt to drive the Christian community out of Jerusalem and other parts of the Holy Land.” The patriarchs and heads of churches acknowledged the Israeli government was committed to preserving the Christian community “as an integral part of the tapestry of the local community. It is therefore a matter of grave concern when this national commitment is betrayed by the failure of

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis established a new Vatican foundation that will promote initiatives based on the principles set out in his encyclical “Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship.” In a decree published by the Vatican Dec. 15, the pope said he would “gladly accede” to the request of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the Vatican office charged with the maintenance and upkeep of St. Peter’s Basilica, “to establish a foundation of religion and worship intended to collaborate in spreading the principles set forth” in his encyclical. The “Fratelli Tutti” Foundation, he said, will “encourage initiatives linked to spirituality, art, education and dialogue with the world, around St. Peter’s Basilica and in the embrace of its colonnade.” The decree, also known as a chirograph, was signed by the pope Dec. 8. According to its statutes, the foundation, which will be headed by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, will “support and plan” the promotion of art and faith.

Vatican releases text for catechists, explains ministry VATICAN CITY — Catholic men and women formally installed in the new ministry of catechists are not simply religious education teachers but are engaged in “the proclamation and transmission of the faith, carrying out this role in collaboration with the ordained ministers and under their guidance,” said a letter accompanying the Latin text of the Rite of Institution of Catechists. Archbishop Arthur Roche, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, released the Latin text and a letter Dec. 13, seven months after Pope Francis instituted the “ministry of catechist” as a formal office and vocation in the church.

Bishops’ conferences will be responsible for translating the rite into their local languages and seeking Vatican approval for local adaptations, which are expected given the variety of roles catechists play in different parts of the world. In 2022, Archbishop Roche said, his office would release the revised text for the Rite for the Institution of Lectors and Acolytes, a ministry Pope Francis opened to women in January. “The term ‘catechist’ indicates different realities in relation to the ecclesial context in which it is used,” Archbishop Roche wrote. “Catechists in mission territories differ from those working in churches of long-standing tradition. Moreover, individual ecclesial experiences also produce very different characteristics and patterns of action, so much so that it is difficult to give it a unitary and synthetic description.”

The Diocese of Charlotte is seeking a full-time Staff Accountant for Parish Accounting Services. Areas of responsibilities include general bookkeeping and accounting for parishes, missions and parish schools: monthly close, financial statement preparation, general ledger maintenance and reconciliations, journal entries, accounts payable and cash receipts processing, payroll entries, budgeting, sales tax and year-end tax reporting.

Requirements include: • Education with a focus in Accounting, Finance or related field.

• Experience in accounting or bookkeeping, preferably for a parish.

• Excellent computer skills - specifically with Excel.

• Experience with ParishSOFT software - a plus.

Please send resume and salary history/requirements by December 31, 2021 to: Mason Beaumont, Controller, Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 South Church Street, Charlotte, NC 28203-4003, or email to mtbeaumont@rcdoc.org.

The Diocese of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

— Catholic News Service

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21

ViewPoints 22

catholicnewsherald.com | December 17, 2021 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Fred Gallagher

In Advent we await the Baby who brings hope, salvation, mercy

A

fter the trials and tribulations of a tough year, after what for some has been a time of trauma and tragedy, we know something of the event to come – the event that signals all the hope there is, all the hope that has been hiding in our hearts for far too long.

The event, of course, is the awaited birth of our Savior, the Christ Child, under the skies of Bethlehem, with shepherds gathering and kings following their star to the barn-like cave of the miracle on the outskirts of the town, where raucous travelers fill the inn and the starlight shines like never before.

There the Baby will be born of the Virgin Mary. He will change the world forever, and these are the days we wait for Him. These are the days not only of joyful anticipation, but also of solemn and serious penance. We wait on the Child and His grace to illumine our souls. And we prepare our souls for judgment, hoping beyond hope for His gracious mercy as we wait for Him to come again.

We call it Advent, from the Latin word “adventus,” which means arrival or approach.

We approach the Bethlehem manger under our modern, thoroughly secular clouds of consumerism – with society’s elites making it known that the rituals, proclamations and carols of tradition that point to the religious essence of these holy days, that point to that little hay-filled trough and to that Child placed there, will not be tolerated.

The secularists insist on excessiveness. We are called to fast. They will take any symbol, no matter how tacky, as long as it doesn’t hint of Christian culture. We have an Advent wreath, where we say our grace by night, with its purple candles of penitential significance. An Advent calendar counts down our days with prayers and devotions until the Christ Child appears in Bethlehem.

If we look at where Jesus came into our world, at Mary and Joseph’s surroundings – the barnyard beasts, the smell of dung in the hay, the ruffians of the hills come to pay respects – it is the perfect picture of what poets are here to do: that is, to take the stuff of our world, the everyday happenstance, the vulgar and the profane, and recover in it that which is sacred. The most exalted of all creatures ever to arrive on earth came to us in the humblest of habitations, in the coarsest, most unhallowed of sites. It was anything but quaint! The Holy Family would have rather been at the inn, warmed and protected from the elements.

It is the world we live in – the drab, lowly, mundane world that we make worthy of reverence – that we come to honor. It is a child’s plea for protection, the physical debilitation of someone close, a challenge accepted and an effort put forth, in joy and in loneliness. It is in the longing for a loved one’s presence or a prayer to one in heaven. It is in a word of kindness, given or received, in reminiscence and in visions of the future, in the rising of bread and the fermenting of the grape – all because it all has come from our Creator.

The Baby in the manger makes everything potentially sacred and reminds us that we are sacred, too, regardless of the trials and tribulations, the sufferings and the transgressions. We are sacred regardless of where we might be found, in a home or by the road, with family in the sunlight of hope or alone in the dark of despair, sitting down by or lying in a deathbed.

We take time to pray for the transformation of the profane into the sacred in the miraculous touch of the Child for whom we wait. He is the same creature who dies upon a cross for our salvation. In eternal time, the Baby emerging from the pure womb of Mary and the gaunt and beaten, hemorrhaging Christ upon His cross are one and the same before us in the present. We wait for His birth, in the hay and in our minds; we wait for His death, upon the cross and in our hearts; we wait for His Resurrection, from the tomb and in our spirits. We wait for Him to come again. It is all about to happen and all already happening. And we call it Advent.

‘The Baby in the manger makes everything potentially sacred and reminds us that we are sacred, too.’

FRED GALLAGHER is an author and editor-in-chief with Gastonia-based Good Will Publishers Inc.

Elizabeth Scalia

Ever-present mercy can ease the long, very hard wait I think it’s very, very, very hard to wait Especially when you’re waiting For something very nice I think it’s very, very, very hard to wait.

— Fred Rogers

A

s a child, my elder son was a big fan of Fred Rogers – he still is, even in adulthood, in fact – and Mr. Rogers’ waiting song was one we would often sing together when the subject of anticipation came up. It’s hard to wait for the things we know will bring us delight.

Here in these last days of Advent, the little ones are opening new windows in their Advent calendars and marking how few days are left before Christmas. Even as adults are trying to get everything done and feel like they are running out of time, a week feels interminable to the children. Anticipation is growing, and with it a sense of impatience.

It’s always the way. Whether we’re looking forward to a family reunion or a wedding or a vacation, the waiting is hard. How often do the promises of the Lord feel delayed, or the blessings too long in coming?

We are impatient. But the Lord is not impatient. And that’s a very good thing, even if it sometimes seems confusing to us.

We read Scripture and see that, while Christ Jesus says we will not know the day or the hour of His return, St. Paul continually anticipates the parousia and lives each day in expectation of it. But we look back over 2,000 years – and this particularly trying one – and wonder, “Izzat so?” And we even begin to doubt. Or, conversely, we find ourselves saying “Come, Lord Jesus” and meaning it as we have never meant it before.

At Mass in Advent the celebrant prays in our name, “We await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ,” but are we really? Are we awaiting that blessed hope and that coming, or are we thinking, “If it didn’t happen this year, with the pandemic, the deaths, the lockdowns, it’s never going to happen. It’s just a metaphor for our own death.”

Unlike Paul, Peter looks for the coming of Christ with eyes trained toward eternity. He echoes a line from Psalm 90 – “To your eyes a thousand years / are like yesterday, come and gone / no more than a watch in the night” – to remind us that God is outside of time, as we understand it, and that what seems to be “delay” to us, in the limited, conceited view of generations, is to God a mere blink.

While we “await” Christ’s return, we should consider that the thing – the one very great thing – that we never have to wait for is the mercy of God, which is ever there, constantly offered to us at the moment we seek it.

It is this great, ever-present mercy, says Peter, that explains the “delay.” The God who took the trouble to become incarnate, to dwell among us in shared humanity, to suffer and die to ransom us, wants to give us every chance to turn to

Him. He keeps a reprieve at the ready, for all of us. “He is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9).

Sometimes I consider the mess of me, how cantankerous and cranky and cynical I can be – what a trial I am to live with – and I marvel that my family still wants to be around me.

And then I consider the Incarnation (because I keep nativity sets up around my house all year long) and I think, “Can you believe it? He still wants to be with us.

He wants to live with us, through eternity.”

What sort of God is this?

“Forever,” says the love-smitten Bridegroom. “This is forever.” And He actually does want that, and so – ever faithful – He waits.

We get no “Dear John” or “Dear Jane” letters from this divine spouse.

But sometimes, particularly in the late days of Advent – the last days of a year that has felt extremely difficult for most of us – we can’t help but say, “Thank you for wanting to be with us, all the time,” and then following it up with, “How much more are you going to make us wait – are you almost here?”

When that mood strikes us, perhaps that is a good time to whisper up a prayer for mercy, for us and for the whole world: Lord, you are a continual mystery of love and constancy, even when things seem impossible and altogether too much. You coax us over to you with the sweetest proposal, “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4). Love words that flare across the darkness and bring us near. Come, Lord Jesus, that we may abide with you and once more know your merciful embrace. Amen.

‘While we “await” Christ’s return, we should consider that the thing – the one very great thing – that we never have to wait for is the mercy of God.’

ELIZABETH SCALIA is a Benedictine Oblate and author of several award-winning books. Before joining the Word on Fire team as an editor-at-large, she served as editor-in-chief of the English edition of Aleteia, and as managing editor of the Catholic section of Patheos.com. She also blogs as “The Anchoress” at www.theanchoress.com. She is married and lives on Long Island.

December 17, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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‘We can and should think about and desire God at all times – at work, at play and at rest. In fact, if there is anything you can’t do while thinking about and loving God, then you shouldn’t be doing it!

Deacon Matthew Newsome

Defining prayer “

What is prayer?” That question was recently posed to me by a new catechumen just beginning his preparation for baptism through the RCIA. It’s a question that is well worth the time for any Christian to consider.

Prayer is as essential to our spiritual life as oxygen is to our physical life, and just like the air we breathe, it’s easy to take prayer for granted.

There are many definitions of prayer, but my personal favorite is the one offered by St. John Damascene that is quoted in the Catechism: “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God” (CCC 2559). This definition is my favorite for three reasons.

The first reason is because it’s short and easy to remember.

The second reason is because it speaks directly to our nature and purpose as human beings: the big questions of what we are and what we are for. The Church teaches that we are creatures made in God’s image (Gen 1:26-27), and our purpose is to know, love and serve God. But what does this actually mean? We don’t physically resemble God. Yes, God acquired a body like ours as part of the human nature he assumed in Jesus Christ, and in that way can be said to resemble us. But God as God is pure spirit. So in what way are we like him?

Traditionally, our likeness to God has been considered in terms of the two aspects of human nature that we share with God (and the angels) that we do not share with the rest of physical creation: reason and free will. Animals have a certain intelligence, to be sure, but not reason.

Chimpanzees may make simple tools, but they don’t perform mathematics.

There are no chimp philosophers or dolphin scientists. More to the point, they don’t write poetry, build monuments or engage in religious worship. This is because animals can’t conceptualize abstract ideals. Human beings can, because we possess the divine attribute of reason. In this way, we are like God. We also have free will, unlike animals that operate on instinct.

Animals can only do what comes natural to them in any given situation.

Animals cannot sin, nor can they truly love (I acknowledge many dog owners would disagree with me on that point). Because human beings

are free, we are morally responsible for our choices. So we can sin, and we can love. Having free will makes us like God because God is the most free being there is. Nothing outside of God constrains His will.

Why would God endow us with these two divine attributes of reason and freedom? The answer is found in our purpose, which is to know, love and serve God – to relate to Him not merely as creatures to their creator, but as free, rational persons relate to one another, like the three Persons of the Trinity. God gives us a rational mind so that we might know Him, and a free will so that we might love Him. We serve God by putting that knowledge and love into action.

Philosophically speaking, the mind is the seat of our intellect and the heart is the seat of our will, our desire. To raise your mind and heart to God is to direct those divine aspects of our nature back to God, who is their origin and their proper end.

To pray is to think about God and to love God and in so doing to find our fulfillment as human beings.

The third reason I favor this definition of prayer is that it makes sense of the scriptural command to pray without ceasing (1 Thes 5:17).

If our idea of prayer is restricted to what we do in church, or on our knees by our bedside, this command seems impossible. But we can and should think about and desire God at all times – at work, at play and at rest.

In fact, if there is anything you can’t do while thinking about and loving God, then you shouldn’t be doing it!

This does not mean, of course, that we can dispense with dedicated times of prayer. If our aim is to have our hearts and minds raised to God at all times, we must be intentional about raising them to God at particular times.

It is a good practice to begin and end each day by setting aside all distractions to focus your mind and heart on God specifically for a time, to help you keep God on your mind and in your heart throughout the day. In this way it is possible to progress from simply being a person who prays, to being a truly prayerful person.

DEACON MATTHEW NEWSOME is the Catholic campus minister at Western Carolina University and the regional faith formation coordinator for the Smoky Mountain Vicariate.

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