Feb. 26, 2010

February 26, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 1

www.charlottediocese.org

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte

Perspectives Fighting hunger – a call to justice, a call to love | Page 15

Established Jan. 12, 1972

by Pope Paul VI February 26, 2010

Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte

vOLUME 19

no. 15

“Our hope is that Belmont Abbey College will come to be one of the premier Catholic colleges in the country.”

— Abbot Placid Solari, abbot of Belmont Abbey Monastery

‘Crusaders’ lead the way for Catholic higher ed

About National Catholic Colleges Week FEB. 21-27 National Catholic Colleges Week is a time to celebrate the longstanding virtues, successes and impact on the world of Catholic colleges and universities such as Belmont Abbey College. It is sponsored by the National Catholic College Admission Association and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

More than 720,000 students attend 221 Catholic colleges and universities in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In the U.S., Catholic institutions of higher learning include four medical schools, 26 law schools, 17 engineering schools, 81 nursing schools, 177 schools of education, 19 women’s colleges, three Carnegie-classified research universities, 13 doctoral universities and two aviation programs.

Catholic Colleges Week puts spotlight on Belmont Abbey College SUEANN HOWELL & herald

special to the catholic news

photo provided

Belmont Abbey College students and faculty participate in an Agora Originals Evening on campus in this undated photo. The evenings are held throughout the semester, giving those present the opportunity to share their original poems, stories and songs.

BELMONT — Long before there were cars, televisions, cell phones or laptops, there were Benedictine monks here – praying, working and providing a Catholic higher education in the Benedictine tradition.

Belmont Abbey College, with more than 1,630 students, is the only Catholic college in the Carolinas, and school leaders are proud of its 134-year history and contributions.

See COLLEGE, page 8

Affordable senior apartments at Curlin Commons set to open in March SUEANN HOWELL special to the catholic news & herald

MOORESVILLE — Building affordable housing can be a challenge, especially in today’s tough real estate market. But Curlin Commons, the Diocese of Charlotte’s first such project, is on track to open next month with at least half of the 40 available units already rented.

The Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp., which has four projects in various stages

of completion, will open the doors to Curlin Commons about March 15. A dedication celebration is planned for mid-April.

The new 50,000-squarefoot apartment community, located at 276 Overhead Bridge Road, has one- and twobedroom apartments designed for low-income senior citizens aged 55 and older. It is named for Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin of Charlotte, who retired in 2002.

Curlin Commons also has a community room with a

full kitchen, plus a computer l e a r n i n g c e n t e r, l i b r a r y and media room. A nondenominational chapel, open to residents and guests, will provide a dedicated space for prayer and celebrating Mass.

Seniors who qualify for low-income housing assistance, regardless of their religious affiliation, can apply.

Curlin Commons is managed by Excel Property Management. For more information, call Curlin Commons at 704-664-1761 or e-mail curlincommons@yahoo.com.

Also in the works The Diocese of Charlotte has three other affordable senior housing projects under way: • • •

Red Oaks, Hendersonville: 24 units for seniors aged 62 and older with incomes below $15,000 Good Shepherd Gardens, Salisbury: 19 units for seniors aged 62 and older with incomes below $15,000 Good Shepherd Manor, Salibsury: 54 units for seniors aged 55 and older with incomes of $15,000- $28,000

For details, call the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte Housing Corp. at 704-370-3248 or e-mail Jerry Widelski at jvwidelski@charlottediocese.org.

In the News

Around the Diocese

Culture Watch

New gauges being developed to measure domestic poverty

Diocese receives $91k in grants for Hispanic programs

Couple celebrates birth of twins doctors had advised they abort

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February 26, 2010

2 The Catholic News & Herald

InBrief

Current and upcoming topics from around the world to your own backyard

cns photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters

Pope Benedict XVI leads a Feb. 19 ceremony at the Vatican where he announced the Oct. 17 canonization ceremony for six new saints. Blessed Mary MacKillop will be Australia’s first saint, and Canadian Blessed Andre Bessette will be the first saint of the Holy Cross Brothers.

Pope to canonize Mary MacKillop, Andre Bessette, others Oct. 17 VATICAN CITY (CNS) ―Pope Benedict XVI will name six new saints Oct. 17, including Blessed Mary MacKillop, who will be Australia’s first saint, and the Canadian Blessed Andre Bessette, who will be the first saint of the Holy Cross Brothers.

The pope announced the date for the canonization ceremony at the end of what is known as an ordinary public consistory, a very formal ceremony opened and closed with prayer, during which cardinals present in Rome express their support of the pope’s decision to name new saints.

Archbishop Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, read brief biographies of the six in Latin.

Blessed MacKillop, founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, was born Jan. 15, 1842, in Fitzroy near Melbourne; she died in Sydney Aug. 8, 1909.

Although her sainthood cause was initiated in the 1920s, it faced some serious hurdles, not the least of which was her brief excommunication and the temporary disbanding of her religious order.

Sister MacKillop and other members of the order were committed to following poor laborers into remote areas of the country to educate their children. But local church officials disapproved of the sisters living in isolated communities, often cut off from the sacraments.

Within a few months, the bishop who had excommunicated her lifted his censure and a church commission cleared the sisters of all wrongdoing.

Blessed Bessette founded St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal in Montreal and was known for his intense piety, famed for miraculous cures and

praised for his dedication to building the shrine to honor St. Joseph.

Born Alfred Bessette Aug. 9, 1845, in Saint-Gregoire d’Iberville, Quebec, he suffered from a chronic stomach ailment that kept him out of school and often without work.

At 25, Blessed Andre could not read and his health was so fragile the Holy Cross brothers assigned him to be the doorman at Montreal’s College of Notre Dame, where the congregation had just opened its novitiate. He once commented, “When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door.”

He died Jan. 6, 1937, at the age of 91.

The others to be canonized Oct. 17 are: – Blessed Stanislaw Soltys Kazimierczyk, a Polish-born member of the Canons Regular of the Lateran, who lived 1433-1489. He was famous as a preacher and confessor.

– Blessed Juana Josefa Cipitria Barriola of Spain. The nun, who died in 1912, founded the Daughters of Jesus.

– Blessed Giulia Salzano, the Italian founder of the Catechetical Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She died in 1929.

– Blessed Camilla Battista Varano, an Italian Poor Clare who lived 1458-1524.

The Poor Clare’s path to canonization was unusual. A formal beatification ceremony was never held for her, but in 1843 Pope Gregory XVI recognized centuries of devotion to her and gave her the title “blessed.” In 2005, Pope Benedict recognized that she lived a life of heroic virtues – usually the first step before beatification and canonization – and in December he issued the decree recognizing a miracle attributed to her intercession.

Latest statistics show rise in number of Catholics VATICAN CITY (CNS) ― The latest Vatican statistics show a slight increase in Catholics as a percentage of the world’s population, and a slow but steady rise in the number of priests and seminarians worldwide.

The statistics, from the end of 2008, were presented along with the new Vatican yearbook Feb. 20.

The Vatican said the number of Catholics reached 1.166 billion, an increase of 19 million, or 1.7 percent, from the end of 2007. During the same period, Catholics as a percentage of the global population grew from 17.33 percent to 17.4 percent, it said.

The number of priests stood at 409,166, an increase of 1,142 from the end of 2007. Since the year 2000, the Vatican said, the number of priests has increased by nearly 4,000,

or about 1 percent.

Looking at the way priests are distributed around the world, it said: 47.1 percent were in Europe, 30 percent in the Americas, 13.2 percent in Asia, 8.7 percent in Africa, and 1.2 percent in Oceania (encompassing Australia, New Zealand, Papau New Guinea, and the island regions of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia).

The number of seminarians around the world rose from 115,919 at the end of 2007 to 117,024 at the end of 2008, an increase of more than 1 percent, it said.

The increase in seminarians varied geographically: Africa showed an increase of 3.6 percent, Asia an increase of 4.4 percent, and Oceania an increase of 6.5 percent, while Europe had a decrease of 4.3 percent and the Americas remained about the same.

Diocesan planner

Mass hosted by the disABILITY Ministry, 5 p.m. Feb. 27. Guests of honor will provide music, share Scripture readings, serve as greeters and assist ushers. For more information, call Mary Kennedy at 704-364-6964.

For more events taking place in the Diocese of Charlotte, visit www.charlottediocese.org/calendarofevents-cn.

ST. JOHN NEUMANN CHURCH, 8451 Idlewild Road — Forty Hours Devotion, “Food for our journey: Eucharistic stories of faith,” presented by Monsignor John McSweeney, 7 p.m. March 3 to March 5. For more information, call 704-536-6520.

ASHEVILLE THE BASILICA OF ST. LAWRENCE presents Catholics in Western North Carolina, an exhibit at Pack Place Museum Front Art Gallery, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 23-March 5. It will be closed on Monday.

A reception will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Feb. 28. The exhibit will include photos, models and information about the parishes, schools and social service agencies and their influence on western North Carolina.

BELMONT QUEEN OF THE APOSTLES CHURCH, 503 N. Main St. — Whole community catechesis, MAK Center, 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. March 7 and 14. For more information, contact Dennis Teall-Fleming at 704-8259600, ext. 26, or teallfleming@yahoo.com.

BRYSON CITY ST. JOSEPH CHURCH, 316 Main St. — The Weeklong Ignatian Retreat in Everyday Life, 2 p.m. Feb 28 to March 6. RSVP to David or Cathie Tilly at 828-479-9278.

CHARLOTTE OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION CHURCH, 4207 Shamrock Dr. — Ladies’ Guild meeting, church vestibule, 7 p.m. March 1. New members welcome.

For more information, call Mary Sparger at 704-4555365.

ST. ANN CHURCH, 3635 Park Road — Children’s Adoration, 4:15 p.m. March 3.

ST. GABRIEL CHURCH, 3016 Providence Road — Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities Awareness

ST. MATTHEW CHURCH, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy. — Spiritual Conversations, an important form of group prayer using Scripture, New Life Center 234-235, 7 to 8:30 p.m. March 2, April 13, May 4 and June 1.

ST. PATRICK CATHEDRAL, 1621 Dilworth Road East — Solemn vespers of Lent, 6 p.m. every Sunday during Lent. Vespers will include a reflection on the seven last words of Christ.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH, 1400 Suther Road — Circle of Friends grief support group, office conference room, 7 p.m. Thursdays until March 25. For more information, contact Robyn Magyar at 704-7075070 or rmagyar42@aol.com.

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL CHURCH — Prayer: From beginner to mystic, presented by Father Matthew Buettner, pastor of St. Dorothy Church, 6828 Old Reid Road, Lincolnton, 10 a.m. March 8. Reconciliation will be available. For more information, contact Molly Beckert at 704-243-3252 or mvbeckert@carolina.rr.com.

GASTONIA ST. MICHAEL CHURCH, 708 St. Michael’s Lane — Movie showing: The 13th Day, 6:30 p.m. March 13.

GREENSBORO ST. MARY CHURCH, 812 Duke St. — Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of Columbus Yearly Retreat, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 6. All adults are welcome. RSVP to Elaine McHale at 336-292-1118.

ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE CHURCH, 2715 Horse Pen Creek Road — Lenten Series: Getting More out of Mass, with Father Benjamin Roberts, Library, 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. weekly Feb. 23 through March 23.

february 26, 2010 Volume 19 • Number 15

Publisher: Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis Editor: Patricia Guilfoyle Graphic DESIGNER: Tim Faragher Advertising MANAGER: Cindi Feerick COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT: Denise Onativia 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Mail: P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237 Phone: (704) 370-3333 FAX: (704) 370-3382 E-MAIL: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

The Catholic News & Herald, USPC 007-393, is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203, 44 times a year, weekly except for Christmas week and Easter week and every two weeks during June, July and August for $15 per year for enrollees in parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and $23 per year for all other subscribers. The Catholic News & Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason deemed appropriate. We do not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers. Second-class postage paid at Charlotte NC and other cities. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to The Catholic News & Herald, P.O. Box 37267, Charlotte, NC 28237.

February 26, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 3

Lent is for spiritual training, pope says before beginning retreat VATICAN CITY (CNS) ― Before beginning his annual Lenten retreat, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged Catholics around the world to practice prayer and penitence in the weeks leading up to Easter.

The entire period of Lent should be like “a long `retreat’ during which people can return inside themselves and listen to the voice of God, in order to overcome the temptations of the Evil One,” the pope said at his noon blessing Feb. 21.

He described Lent as a time of spiritual training, undertaken not with an attitude of pride, but in an effort to live more closely with Jesus through prayerful reflection and penitential practices.

The importance of spiritual fortification in order to resist temptation was illustrated by the Gospel account of Christ’s own temptations by Satan in

the desert, the pope said.

“Christ came into the world to free us from sin and from the ambiguous fascination of designing our lives without God. He did so not with high-sounding proclamations, but by fighting personally against the tempter, right up to the cross,” he said.

“This example is valid for everyone: the world is made better beginning with oneself, by changing, with the grace of God, whatever is wrong in one’s own life,” he said.

Later in the day, the pope began his weeklong retreat, which was being led this year by Salesian Father Enrico dal Covolo, an expert in early Christianity. Father dal Covolo was to offer 17 talks and meditations on the priesthood.

The pope cleared his schedule of audiences and public events during the week, including his general audience.

— Teen 30-Hour Famine, Feb. 27 and 28. Registration forms are available outside the Office of Youth Ministry (adult chaperones are needed for this event).

counseling. For more information, contact Deacon Wally at 336-884-5212.

— The Habitat/Catholic Partnership Workdays, 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 27 (flooring), March 11 (cabinets). To register or get more information, contact Trudy Menzzentto at 336-510-1015 or tmenzzentto@ yostandlittle.com.

— St. Paul’s Ladies Auxiliary, Fellowship Hall, 7 p.m.

March 1. Open to ages 21 and older. Please provide a toiletry item or brown grocery bags as a donation. For more information, contact Cindy Bratton at 336-2888945 or Lynda Garguilo at 336-854-0632.

— Five-week Pilates Class, Parish Life Center, 6:30 p.m. March 2. Bring a towel and/or exercise mat.

Donations will be accepted. To register, call Terry Cornelius at 336-644-8659.

ST. PIUS X CHURCH, 220 State St. — A matter of balance: Managing concerns about falls, Kloster Center, 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Wednesdays and Fridays Feb. 24 through March 19. Program designed to reduce the fear of falling and increase activity levels of older adults. Space is limited. For more information, call 336-272-4681.

HICKORY ST. ALOYSIUS CHURCH, 921 Second St. N.E. — Charismatic Mass, Sebastian Chapel, 7 p.m. March 4 (English). For more information, call Joan Moran at 828-994-0880.

HIGH POINT IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CHURCH, 4145 Johnson St. — Hope of Seeing Everyone Again (HOSEA), 7:15 p.m. beginning March 3, meeting weekly. Opportunity for bonding and discussion. For more information or to register, call Jan Hitch at 336-884-5097 or the parish office at 336-869-7739.

— Hospice of the Piedmont presentation, March 3.

Hospice is a place where the family and friends of a dying person are helped in their efforts to deal with the death of a loved one through spiritual and grief

Episcopal

— Lenten Simplicity Meals of soup and bread, Gathering Space, 7:30 p.m. March 5, 12, 19 and 26 to share prayer, fasting and almsgiving, with an opportunity to make a donation to the poor and pray the Stations of the Cross.

MINT HILL ST. LUKE CHURCH, 13700 Lenten Seminars with Sister Family Life Center, 3 to 4:30 20. Sign up in the brick area or ockerbloom@yahoo.com.

Lawyers Road — Veronica Grover, p.m. March 6 and by email to amber.

MOORESVILLE ST. THERESE CHURCH, 217 Brawley School Road — Meet and Greet Social, Parish Life Center, 1 to 3 p.m.

Feb. 28. RSVP to Jackie Wazny at 704-660-5297 or jackiewaz@windstream.net.

MURPHY ST. WILLIAM CHURCH, 765 Andrews Road — Ecumenical Lenten worship, noon to 12:30 p.m. each Wednesday during Lent. The reflection will be given by a local preacher and an offering will be taken for a local charity. A soup and sandwich luncheon will be served following the service. For more information, call Joan Kennedy at 828-837-8519.

SYLVA ST. MARY, MOTHER OF GOD, 22 Bartlett St. — Bereavement Support Group, living room area of church conference center, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays during Lent. For more information, contact Colleen Hayes at 828-586-0217 or colleen.hayes@yahoo.com.

Is your parish or school hosting a free event open to the public? Deadline for all submissions for the Diocesan Planner is 10 days prior to desired publication date. Submit in writing to catholicnews@ charlottediocese.org or fax to 704-370-3382.

calendar

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

February 27 – 10:30 a.m.

Rite of Election St. Gabriel Church, Charlotte February 28 – 4:00 p.m.

Rite of Election St. Joan of Arc Church, Candler

March 2 – 1:30 p.m.

Diocesan Building Commission Meeting Pastoral Center March 4 – 10 a.m.

Diocesan Foundation Board Meeting Catholic Conference Center, Hickory

CNS photo by Paul Haring

Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Angelus prayer at the Vatican Feb. 21. The pope has spent this week in his annual Lenten retreat, focusing on “Lessons from God and the Church on Priestly Vocations,” in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of the Apostolic Palace. All his public activities, including his Wednesday general audience, were suspended for the week.

Priest to preach to Pope on the priestly vocation VATICAN CITY (CNS) ― Pope Benedict XVI has invited a Salesian priest, an expert in early Christianity, to lead his annual Lenten retreat.

Salesian Father Enrico dal Covolo was to offer 17 talks and meditations on priesthood in the 21st century Feb. 21-27 during the retreat for the pope and top Vatican officials.

The retreat was being held in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of the Apostolic Palace and all the pope’s public activities, including his Wednesday general audience, were suspended during the week.

Father dal Covolo, who also is an expert on the Christian catacombs, is the first priest invited by Pope Benedict to lead the retreat. The pope’s previous four Lenten retreats were led by cardinals.

The 2010 retreat was to focus on “Lessons from God and the Church on Priestly Vocations,” the Vatican said.

The weeklong spiritual exercises were to begin with vespers, an introductory meditation and Eucharistic exposition Sunday evening. The next five days included prayer from the Divine Office, three reflections each day

by Father dal Covolo, and eucharistic adoration and benediction each evening.

The retreat was to finish Feb. 27 with morning prayer.

The theme chosen for the retreat was connected to the current celebration of the Year for Priests, and each talk

was designed to look at a specific concern of modern priests, such as promoting vocations, missionary work and penitential practices.

Father dal Covolo’s reflections were to include separate talks on St. John Vianney, patron of parish priests; a reflection using the fictional parish priest from Georges Bernanos’ novel, “The Diary of a Country Priest”; and one looking at the priestly example of Pope John Paul II. Father dal Covolo, 59, has been a professor in the department of Christian and classical literature at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome since 1986. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1979.

He is the postulator for the causes of saints of the Salesian order and for the canonization cause of Pope John Paul I, a fellow Venetian and a family friend. He recently was named to the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, which oversees the care of the ancient Christian catacombs throughout Italy.

He is a member of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences and a consultor for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He also serves as a member of the commission concerned with dispensations from priestly obligations in his role as a consultor for the Congregation for the Clergy.

CLARIFICATION The story “Students match wits at Academic Games” published Feb. 19 should have mentioned that Allana-Rae Ramkissoon is the head of the MACS Academic Games League, and will be in charge of taking the teams to the national competition, along with parent volunteers Mary Morales (lead coach), Michelle Pratt, Susan Marcoux and Yasmin Santschi.

The Catholic News & Herald regrets the incomplete information.

4 The Catholic News & Herald

New gauges being developed to measure domestic poverty WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNS) ― While there is considerable agreement that the long-standing federal government definition of domestic poverty is outdated, little has been done to develop new measures to gauge it.

Candy Hill, senior vice president of Catholic Charities USA, said the original poverty measure depended in large part on the cost of food. Today, though, one also must take into account the cost of housing and health care, as well as the impact of other societal factors on American adults’ earning power and wealth accumulation.

For instance, when Catholic Charities began an anti-poverty campaign in 2007, it issued a paper outlining the breadth of poverty. Soon after, though, it issued a second document on race, Hill said, “because we can’t talk about poverty in the United States unless we talk about race.”

She made her remarks during a Feb. 9 panel presentation, “New Ways to Measure Poverty in America,” as part of the Feb. 7-10 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, co-sponsored by 20 Catholic organizations, including five offices of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Hill said Catholic Charities was adopting a series of poverty-tracking measures established by the American Human Development Institute that are based on U.S. Census Bureau data.

Under the current model, Hill said, people measure poverty by asking, “How is the economy doing?” By that yardstick, America is second only to Luxembourg among the world’s 12 most industrialized nations in terms of gross domestic product.

But a new model that asks, “How are people doing?” would show, Hill added, the United States “dead last” among the same 12 industrialized nations.

Using the institute’s Human Development Index, the United States fares well in many areas that can be measured back to 1960, including life expectancy and the increasing percentages of high school, college and graduate-school graduates.

in the news

February 26, 2010

Opening hearts, lending hands

However, median income has stagnated, and the disparities become clearer when broken down not just by state but by congressional district, the index shows.

Life expectancy is highest for those born in Hawaii and in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, which covers several suburbs just south of Washington.

It is lowest for those born in the District of Columbia and in Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District, which is in eastern Kentucky. The answer to those disparities may lie in “access to health care,” Hill said.

The District of Columbia, though, has the nation’s highest median income and educational levels, mainly due to “the migration of people here who have advanced degrees,” Hill said.

Read more Pope Benedict XVI calls hunger “the most cruel and concrete sign of poverty.” Read why alleviating hunger and poverty is so important to our faith, from Office of Justice and Peace Director Joe Purello. See page 15.

California’s 40th District, which covers parts of Orange County, tops the nation in education, while the state of Mississippi and Texas’ 29th District -- which covers the eastern portion of the greater Houston area and is heavily Hispanic -- rank lowest on the education scale. New York’s 14th District, located in New York City, tops the nation in media income, while the state of Montana and California’s 20th District, which covers parts of Fresno and all of King County, rank lowest in median income.

The census data also can track the degree of disparity among regions of the country, men and women, race and ethnicity, and well as combine race and gender with ethnicity.

Once the 2010 census data is issued, this kind of information will be available by census tract, so that Catholic Charities agencies can target its programs even more narrowly, Hill said.

photo by Ann Kilkelly

Diocese of Charlotte Pastoral Center employees chipped in big during a Valentine’s Day social and outreach Feb. 12. Staff members were treated to lunch and small prizes if they contributed food, paper products, household cleaning items, cash donations or gift cards to the Catholic Social Services Food Pantry at the Pastoral Center. Pictured above is organizer Janice Ritter, assistant superintendent of diocesan schools, with the items that poured in that day, besides nearly $200 in cash and gift cards.

Camille Valentino and Mike Ford of the schools office also helped organize the event.

February 26, 2010

around the diocese

Diocese receives $91,000 in grants for Hispanic programs FROM STAFF REPORTS The Catholic News & Herald CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte and some parishes will get $91,000 in grants for their Hispanic ministry efforts from the Catholic Extension Society.

This local grant award is part of $3.7 million in grants that the 106-year-old national organization is handing out to 41 U.S. dioceses to help support Hispanic programs, particularly leadership development.

Of the $91,000, $45,000 will go towards the Charlotte diocese’s Hispanic Ministry for everything from providing bilingual worship and sacramental assistance to lay ministry training, workshops and family retreats. The remaining $46,000 will be distributed directly to four parishes that have similar additional pastoral programs for Hispanics.

“We are grateful to the Catholic Extension Society for their continued support,” said diocesan chief financial officer Bill Weldon. “We count on and need this funding to serve the growing Hispanic population in our diocese.”

The Charlotte diocese has an estimated 222,000 Hispanic Catholics, and about 60 parishes and missions regularly celebrate Mass in Spanish,

The Catholic News & Herald 5

according to the Hispanic Ministry’s 2009 annual report.

Like other diocesan and parish operations, similar grants from Catholic Extension are a critical source of funding since the Diocesan Support Appeal covers only a portion of what is needed each year.

Catholic Extension is responding to grant requests that include making bi-literate seminarian education more accessible and affordable, providing support for youth and family ministries, and developing effective advocacy programs for the growing Hispanic Catholic population.

The grants will help address needs and opportunities created by the increasing number of Hispanics in the United States and the Catholic Church.

By 2020 it is estimated that Hispanics will make up the majority of the U.S. Catholic population, contributing 71 percent of the growth of the U.S. Church since 1960, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Since its founding more than 100 years ago, Catholic Extension has distributed more than $450 million to provide religious education and outreach ministries, build and renovate churches and facilities, and train the next generation of lay and religious Catholic leaders.

Year for Priests Interviews with priests around the diocese

FATHER KIERAN NEILSON, O.S.B

FATHER KIERAN NEILSON, O.S.B. Belmont Abbey Monastery, Belmont Place of Birth & Home Parish – Born in Charlotte, attended St. Peter Church until 1939; St. Patrick Cathedral after that during childhood High School – O’Donoghue High School, Charlotte College/University – Belmont Abbey College, Catholic University Seminary – Belmont Abbey Seminary Date of Ordination – May 26, 1960

What assignments have you had since ordination?

I was assigned to St. Benedict Parish and Benedictine High School in Richmond, Va., where I served for 23 years. For five years of that time, I also served as chaplain of the Veterans Administration Hospital. I have had various assignments at Belmont Abbey over the years and was most recently chaplain to the students of the college. Currently, I am custodian of the Eucharistic Chapel.

What have been some of the greatest joys for you as a priest?

To see young people, over whose life you had influence, mature to adulthood and manifest a strong appreciation of their faith; to be able to officiate at weddings of former students and see the fruit of my priestly ministry Who influenced you most to consider the vocation to priesthood?

My dad, Monsignor Arthur R. Freeman, Benedictine Father Maurice McDonnell, and of course the many wonderful Sisters of Mercy who taught me through grammar school and high school. Sister Mary Patrick Ryder, R.S.M., was a great influence in my early

years after my mother died in 1945.

What was your background before you entered seminary?

I was a product of a Catholic education. I entered Belmont Abbey College after high school and continued on with my entry into the monastery on June 21, 1954.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

As outgoing as I am, I enjoy quiet time and silence. I love ice cream.

What are some of your hobbies?

Watching sporting events, riding my bicycle and walking – at my age this is about as much as I can do What are some of your favorite books/ spiritual reading/magazines?

The Rule of St. Benedict, “Introduction to the Devout Life” by Saint Francis de Sales; Sports Illustrated Who is a hero to you?

Pope John Paul II and our current pope Benedict XVI – two truly heroic men; in the past, my father, who filled the role of a wonderful daddy, whom I always admired What are some ways that we can help all people/families understand their roles in promoting and supporting vocations?

I think that we can encourage family prayer and frequently pray with the children for priests and religious and encourage them to respond to God if they think they are being called to the priestly or religious life.

What advice would you give a young man who is contemplating a vocation to the priesthood?

To seek sound spiritual direction, have a serious prayer life and if you are doubtful, try it in order to resolve the doubt

6 The Catholic News & Herald

AROUND THE DIOCESE

February 26, 2010

Partners in Hope

photos by Ann Kilkelly

Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin (middle) shares a comment with Elizabeth Thurbee, executive director of Catholic Social Services, after giving the keynote address Feb. 20 at the seventh annual Partners in Hope fundraising event for CSS in the Triad. To the left and behind the Bishop is Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, pastor of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro, seated with several St. Pius parishioners. St. Pius X’s parish was a Gold Level sponsor of the event

held at the Old Salem Museum and Visitor Center in Winston-Salem. More than 150 guests enjoyed food, music and a silent auction to raise funds for the programs and services of the local CSS offices in Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point. Also pictured above, Gold Level sponsors Michael and Janet Tierney of Lewisville enjoy the activities of the evening. Other Gold Level sponsors not pictured at the event were Don and Bonnie Frail of Winston-Salem.

Preparing for their first Communion

In the spirit of Lent

photo provided

photo by

Heather Bellemore

Vinny Flynn, pictured with his wife Donna and daughter Mary, leads the annual Lenten parish mission in a song at St. Mark Church in Huntersville Feb. 21. The best-selling author and musician headed a three-night mission Feb. 21-23 covering the topics “Saying Yes to the Father,” “Meeting Jesus the Healer” and “Becoming Transparent to God.” A healing procession with the Eucharist concluded the mission. Vinny Flynn is the father of Tim Flynn, youth director for St. Mark, and is known to many as the man who sings the Divine Mercy Chaplet on EWTN.

Second-graders in St. James the Greater Church of Concord’s faith formation program received the sacrament of reconciliation Feb. 7, wearing stoles featuring symbols of the faith that they made in preparing for their first Communion. Their teachers are Tammy Lamoreux and Stephanie Monroe.

February 26, 2010

AROUND THE DIOCESE

Lenten meal courtesy of the Knights

The Catholic News & Herald 7

New majors of the Columbiettes

photo provided

Following Ash Wednesday’s noon Mass at St. Therese Church of Mooresville, parishioners and friends joined together for a buffet Lenten lunch, hosted by the Knights of Columbus Council 7406. Approximately 200 people enjoyed the homemade pasta frijole and fresh bread. The meal was free, but an offering for Haiti relief efforts netted more than $250. The Ash Wednesday lunch was the first of the St. Therese Lenten lunches. Following the Knights, other St. Therese groups will host similar lunches every Tuesday at noon during Lent. Grand Knight Stewart McLamb noted that the Ash Wednesday lunch began the Knights’ annual Lenten meal program for the parish and community. Continuing each Friday through March, the Knights are also hosting fish fries.

photo provided

The Western Carolina chapter of the Columbiettes held a major degree exemplification Feb. 20, hosted

by Bishop Grego Auxilary 9499 from Holy Family in Clemmons. The Columbiettes provide spiritual, moral, charitable, educational and social support in the Catholic faith for women aged 17 and older. The Western chapter encompasses councils from Bishop Grego (Clemmons), Holy Cross (Kernersville), Holy Angels (Mt. Airy) and St. Matthew (Matthews). New members pictured receiving their major are (back row, from left) Barb Bryant (Bishop Grego), April Suarez (Bishop Grego), Patricia Thompson (St. Matthews), Darla Clark (Bishop Grego), Mary Bryer (Holy Angels); Theresa Hutton (Holy Angels); and (front row) Gladys Hernandez (Holy Angels), Bea Hamziuk (Bishop Grego), Mary Ann Lisa (St. Matthews) and Joan Schlicher (Bishop Grego).

Holy Angels creates specialized Leonard Music Program BELMONT — A unique musical program has been created for the disabled residents of Holy Angels, Holy Angels President and CEO Regina Moody recently announced.

The Don and Lynn Leonard Music Program will encompass specialized styles of music and instruments, showering residents’ senses with a variety of sounds and providing opportunities for the children and adults of varying degrees of mental and physical disabilities to enjoy.

The program is named for two of Holy Angels’ volunteers and benefactors.

Lynn Leonard has been a part of the Holy Angels family since 1991, when she was invited to become a “guardian angel,” which led to her volunteering in the Little Angels Child Development Center.

She has often been heard to say, “Once you volunteer at Holy Angels, your heart never leaves.”

Her family – daughters Kristy and Kelly, son Billy, and husband Don – also became involved with Holy Angels.

Don Leonard was often the “resident musician” at Holy Angels special events.

According to Holy Angels, he lived a life filled with love of God, love of family and love of music.

After a long battle against prostate cancer, Don Leonard passed away in 2008.

The Leonard family requested that donations be sent to Holy Angels

in lieu of flowers. Friends contributed in sufficient memorials to make the enhanced music program a reality.

Two new musical additions were introduced – T.R.A.P. (The Rhythmic Arts Project) – using drums as a simple teaching method that is easily understood by individuals with disabilities.

The second addition to the Leonard Music Program is the “sound beam.”

Introduced in 1988 in Frankfurt, Germany, the sound beam is not a “musical instrument” but an expressive way of playing one. An invisible beam sends out ultra-sonic pulses and when interrupted creates a musical sound that can be easily accessed by someone who has limited movement.

Holy Angels was founded in 1956 by the Sisters of Mercy. The private, nonprofit corporation in Belmont provides residential services and innovative programs for children and adults with varying degrees of mental retardation and physical disabilities, some of whom are medically fragile.

Residences and services include Holy Angels Morrow Center, the McAuley Residences (Fox Run ICF/MR group homes (three six-bed), Belhaven ICF/MR group home (15-bed), Moody Place ICF/MR group home (15-bed), four community group homes, Little Angels Child Development Center, Great Adventures, Camp Hope and Cherubs Café & Candy Bouquets in downtown Belmont.

8 The Catholic News & Herald

February 26, 2010

from the the cover from cover

Catholic college in the heart of the Carolinas COLLEGE, from page 1

“The property was donated in the 1870s by Father Jeremiah O’Connell, who, together with his brother Lawrence, was one of the pioneer priests in North Carolina. His idea was to have a religious community and a school to serve as a focal point for the few and scattered Catholics in the western Carolinas,” said Abbot Placid Solari, current abbot of the Belmont Abbey Monastery, which is the college’s largest benefactor.

The college was originally an all-male school called Saint Mary’s College. It was founded when a Benedictine monk from St. Vincent Abbey in LaTrobe, Pa., and two students arrived on April 21, 1876, and began classes that day.

Dr. William K. Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College, comments on the founding of the college: “Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote, ‘When the Church founds a University, she is not cherishing talent, genius or knowledge for their own sake, but for the sake of her children, with the view of their spiritual welfare and their religious influence and usefulness, with the object of training them to fill their respective posts in life better, and of making them more intelligent, capable, active members of society.’”

Like most students at Belmont Abbey

1872 Father Jeremiah O’Connell, Roman Catholic missionary priest, buys 500-acre tract known as the Caldwell farm

1876 A Benedictine monk and two students found Saint Mary’s College

College, Adam Trufant of Brevard came there for its quality Catholic education.

“I chose Belmont Abbey College because I wanted to go to a Catholic college for my freshman year,” Trufant said. “By the end of the year it was so evident the Holy Spirit is here and that Jesus Christ is here, I wanted to stay.”

Furthering the monks’ efforts were the Sisters of Mercy, who founded Sacred Heart Academy, an all-girls finishing school, when they arrived nearby in 1892.

The Sisters of Mercy and the monks of Belmont Abbey worked together for more than 90 years to educate young men and women in the faith.

In the late 19th Century, the brick, three-story Belmont Abbey Monastery was built at the center of the campus.

“The presence of the monastery in the middle of the campus offers the college community constant witness of the primacy of seeking God, and allows for the development of friendships and mentoring between monks and students which can last a lifetime,” Abbot Solari said.

“Since the beginning, the monks have made considerable sacrifices to ensure the continued work of the college, and the monastic community is still today the largest single financial donor to the college,” he said.

1878 Saint Mary’s College holds first commencement exercises

1891 Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes built and blessed as a pilgrimage shrine

The campus’ most striking architectural feature is the Abbey Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, the largest Catholic church in North Carolina when it was built in 1892. The Gothic Revival church was designated a minor basilica in 1998 by Pope John Paul II. Inside, a statue of Our Lady Help of Christians holding the Child Jesus can be seen perched high on the wall behind the main altar in the sanctuary, above the choir, where the monks sit for daily prayer and Mass.

Besides providing a Catholic higher education, the college also hosts spiritual retreats, lectures, conferences, theatrical performances and Division II sporting events.

Students and visitors can also enliven their faith in the Adoration Chapel, dedicated last year by Bishop Peter J. Jugis. It is situated among the trees, and looking through its large glass walls, visitors get the sense of sitting with the Eucharistic Lord amid the splendor of nature.

It is here that one can truly see the source and summit of the Catholic faith and experience the ancient Benedictine spirit of the college’s motto: “That in all things God may be glorified.”

1892 Sisters of Mercy found Sacred Heart Academy, an all-girls college near Belmont Abbey

1904 St. Katherine Drexel, S.B.S., visits Belmont Abbey

1910 POPE SAINT NAMES BEL A NULLIUS ‘ GIVING ABBE CHURCH CA STATUS

T PIUS X BELMONT ‘DIOCESE,’ BBEY ATHEDRAL

February 26, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 9

from the cover from cover

“From its beginning the college has exercised an important mission of evangelization in North Carolina, witnessing to the truth of the Gospel and pointing to Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

—The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, bishop of Charlotte

Belmont Abbey College’s adult degree program under way at CCHS campus CCHS parents among those attending classes at night SUEANN HOWELL special to the catholic news & herald CHARLOTTE — Some students on campus at Charlotte Catholic High School these days are more used to sitting on the bleachers at a Cougars football game than at a desk in the classroom.

They are parents whose teenage sons and daughters attend the high school by day, while they have enrolled in the new Belmont Abbey College Adult Degree Program at the high school at night.

It has been only six months since Belmont Abbey College began using space at Charlotte Catholic in the evenings, to offer an adult degree program at the south Charlotte high school campus, and already 87 students are enrolled for the spring 2010 semester, its second term on the high school campus.

Noel Kurts is one of those students, as well as being a Charlotte Catholic parent.

Her daughter Natalie just graduated from Charlotte Catholic last year, and her son Evan is a freshman this year.

“My son is excited. I am actually taking classes in his math classroom,” Kurts said.

She is pursuing her degree in elementary education and wants eventually to work in the Catholic school system.

“I have had support from my instructors, support from my family and from teachers here at school. It’s like family here,” Kurts added.

Belmont Abbey College’s satellite campus at Charlotte Catholic offers adult degrees in business management, educational studies and elementary education. A liberal studies major began

last month and a criminal justice major is expected to be offered this fall.

Andrea DePhillips, an instructor for the Belmont Abbey Adult Degree Program for the past three years, now teaches courses at the Charlotte Catholic campus.

“We’re grateful to have the building and the space here. One of the key aspects of being Christian is caring for others, helping others. So with one institution helping another, it shows a great example of that,” DePhillips said.

“It’s an empowering thing that adults are going back to college. The teachers know we’re here. The students know we’re here. What an example for young people to see,” she added.

Stephanie Miles, an admissions specialist and academic advisor for business and liberal studies and undeclared majors at Belmont Abbey College, works individually with students in the program.

“I am here to give the students guidance, to help them figure out where their path should take them,” Miles said.

According to Miles, the primary benefits for adults pursuing their degrees at the Charlotte Catholic campus are “the location, the hours and the way the classes are structured, especially for parents who have children at the school … there is a comfort level there. It gives us our Catholic identity, too,” she said.

On Wednesday, March 10, there will be an information session on the Belmont Abbey Adult Degree Program at Charlotte Catholic High School at 7 p.m. To reserve your space or request more information, call 704-461-6555.

Enjoy the show The Belmont Abbey Players will present ”Of Mice and Men”

by John Steinbeck at 8 p.m. Feb. 26 and March 2-4 in the Belmont Abbey Performing Arts Theatre in the Haid building on the Belmont Abbey College campus.

For tickets, go to belmontabbey­college.edu or call 704-461-6787.

Learn more

For more information about Belmont Abbey College, call 1-888-222-0110 or check out www.belmontabbeycollege.edu.

1913 Name changed to Belmont Abbey College

1936 College accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

1973 Abbey Cathedral placed on National Register of Historic Places

1998 Abbey CATHEDRAL raised to rank of minor basilica by Pope John Paul II

2008 Belmont Abbey College holds 130th commencement exercises

2009 Additional adult degree courses offered at satellite location at Charlotte Catholic High School

February 26, 2010

10 The Catholic News & Herald

Culture Watch

A roundup of Scripture, readings, films and more

cns photo/Michael

Wojcik, The Beacon

Stephania and Rich De Mayo cradle their twin daughters, Natalia and Melania, in this undated photo.

Their births made medical history as 29-year-old Stephania became the first known heart transplant recipient in the world to give birth to healthy twins.

Couple celebrates birth of twins doctors had advised they abort WAYNE, N.J. (CNS) ― Perhaps the birth of the De Mayo identical twins Dec. 29 already might hint at the girls’ personalities, now beginning to form: Natalia, the smaller of the two, announced her arrival into the world by screaming.

Melania, the larger of the two, came out of the womb sleeping.

Several weeks later, the twin’s parents, Stephania and Rich De Mayo of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Wayne, beamed proudly as they took turns holding them, sleeping and swaddled.

For their parents, their birth is a miraculous ending to a “touch-and-go” pregnancy riddled with complications.

Their births made medical history as 29-year-old Stephania became the first known heart transplant recipient in the world to give birth to healthy twins.

So many people involved call the twins’ births a miracle, including the physicians and countless people far and wide who prayed throughout Stephania’s pregnancy.

Among them were Paterson Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli; one of the twin’s grandmothers, Dr. Mary Mazzarella, who also serves as diocesan Respect Life consultant; and the Sisters of Charity at the order’s motherhouse and a residence for retired religious sisters.

“They are so beautiful and perfect,” said 35-year-old Rich, a restaurant owner in Clifton, as he gazed at his two daughters, born a minute apart and six weeks premature. “It’s a miracle they are here. We weren’t sure that they both would survive.”

Their birth has even greater significance as a “miracle” story, because both Stephania and Rich trusted in God and rejected doctors who advised aborting both babies early on in what was a risky pregnancy.

Mazzarella, a retired pediatrician, acknowledged that Stephania’s carrying twins posed increased medical risks for both mother and babies, but when she heard the doctors had “mentioned abortion, I ran into the chapel,” she told The Beacon, Paterson’s diocesan newspaper.

In the chapel at the Paterson Diocesan Center, where she has her office, “I was in tears, praying to God, ‘How could this be possible. This can’t happen.’ To think of someone destroying a human life is just terrible,” Mazzarella said. “Then, Bishop Serratelli walked by. He came in. We prayed and talked about it. I asked the Sisters at St. Anne Villa (where she volunteers) and others to pray, too.”

Bolstered by faith, the De Mayos refused to abort either baby.

“Abortion wasn’t an option. These babies had a fighting chance,” Rich told The Beacon when Natalia came home after several weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit. Melania came home Jan. 14. “We had faith – something greater to believe in from what the doctors were telling us.”

In August 2008, Stephania received a heart transplant. She had been diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, a condition that results in a stiffening of the heart muscle and eventually, heart failure.

The heart came from 14-year-old Sean Clegg, killed by a car while riding his bike near his home. His mother, Gail, has since met the babies and she believes her son is watching over them.

“For us, having kids was always the big thing. My husband loves children,” said Stephania. “Now we want to teach our children to be giving people and teach them about the about the good things in life.”

Kansas bill to end death penalty fails; senators praised for debate TOPEKA, Kan. (CNS) ― The Kansas Catholic Conference praised the state’s senators for their “impassioned and thoughtful” debate on the death penalty even though they failed to pass a measure to abolish it.

The senators voted 20 to 20 on the bill Feb. 19, falling one vote short of what was required for passage.

“While the outcome is a disappointment, the debate in the Senate chamber was in many respects an impressive display of statesmanship,” the Catholic conference said in a statement released the same day. “The arguments on both sides were impassioned and thoughtful. Senators engaged the issue with seriousness and respect for the gravity of what was at stake.”

The conference said it was “grateful for the advocacy of all who called or wrote their senators on behalf of this legislation.”

In testimony Feb. 19, Bishop Michael O. Jackels of Wichita said that support for abolishing the death penalty “in no way diminishes the condemnation of evil deeds that brutally victimize innocent people or the profound sympathy toward people who have been made a victim or who grieve the murder of a family member or friend.”

“This righteous anger and compassion notwithstanding, recourse can and should be made to bloodless means to protect public order and the safety of people, instead of making use of the death penalty,” he said.

He said the Catholic Church teaches that “public authorities have the right and duty to punish criminals in a way that matches the seriousness of their crime.”

“They are morally justified in the most serious cases to impose even the death penalty” as selfdefense, Bishop Jackels said. “The guilt of an unjust aggressor and the need to protect society make capital punishment morally different from the killing of an innocent child in elective abortion, which is never justified,” he said.

H o w e v e r, h e c o n t i n u e d , t h e church also teaches that the death penalty “should not be imposed if there are other ways to guarantee public order and the safety of citizens.”

Among other reasons not to impose the death penalty, Bishop Jackels said, is the fact that it does not

offer an offender a chance “to reform or pay his debt to society,” which are “principal aims of punishment,” and it is “too often associated with hatred or vengeance against the criminal,” attitudes that “are opposed to Christian life.”

Kansas, one of 35 states with the death penalty, reinstated it in 1994.

It currently has 10 inmates on death row, all of whom were sentenced after 1994. The state has not carried out an execution since 1965.

The bill to abolish capital punishment would have maintained the death sentences of those now on death row and for those who commit crimes of capital murder before July 1. It would have created a new charge of “aggravated murder” carrying a possible sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

In neighboring Nebraska, new rules and regulations for using lethal injection for prisoners on death row went into effect Feb. 15. Gov. Dave Heineman approved them Feb. 11 to carry out a law passed last year that changed the method the state can use for executions – from electrocution to lethal injection.

In early 2008 the Nebraska Supreme Court struck down the use of the electric chair, terming it cruel and unusual punishment. State lawmakers then approved the new method for capital punishment, but before it could be used, the new rules had to be approved. They call for the use of three drugs given in succession – an anesthetic, a paralyzing substance and a chemical that stops the heart.

The Catholic News & Herald 11

February 26, 2010

Catholic leaders urge bipartisan health reform WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNS) ― As the head of the Catholic Health Association expressed hope that President Barack Obama’s health care summit would “move health care reform closer to completion,” the leaders of a group of Catholic physicians called on Congress to scrap the current legislative proposals and start over.

“The American people are tired of partisan bickering and want lawmakers to find common ground toward creating a stronger, more equitable health care system,” said Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is CHA president and CEO. “The current window of opportunity is small, which is why we encourage summit participants and other key leaders to move from

argument and misinformation to consensus and collaboration -- now,” she added in a Feb. 23 statement.

But the president and executive director of the Catholic Medical Association said in an open letter to Obama and members of Congress Feb. 23 that “the most responsible course of action” at this time would be “to pause, reflect and then begin the legislative process anew, working in a more deliberate and bipartisan manner.”

“It is more important that health care reform be done right than to finish the legislative process by a date certain,” said Dr. Leonard P. Rybak, president, and John F. Brehany, executive director of the association of U.S. Catholic physicians.

A Feb. 25 summit convened by Obama was to bring together key

CONTROLLER Sisters of Mercy Services Corporation in Asheville, NC – a faith based non-profit provider of medical Urgent Care seeks professional Controller to lead the financial division of this 100 employee organization. Oversees all financial functions including accounting, accounts/payable/ receivables, billing, credit/collections, tax, audit, budgeting, payroll and planning and analysis. Executive Leadership Team member reports to CEO. Requires: BS or advanced degree in finance/accounting; 10 yrs. in finance; 5 yrs. management and supervisory exp. required. CPA and non-profit financial management strongly preferred.

Salary: $85k to $95k. Qualified applicants only need apply to: www.somsc.org (career/job vacancies) or send resume to: Belinda Odom, HR Director bodom@somsc.org; fax: (828)210-8394. EOE

Parishes & Parishioners Energized!

Switching on the Call to be Faithful Stewards of Creation, Switching Off Excess and Wasted Energy

Saturday, March 13, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm Family Life Center, Our Lady of Consolation Church 1135 Badger Court, Charlotte 28206

Please register by Wed., March 10.

Directions, registration and event information: www.cssnc.org/justicepeace.

Event is free and includes lunch. (A contribution of $10 will help defray event costs.)

Event presentations include:

A Catholic Approach to the Care of Creation & Climate Change Reflections on the Franciscan Spirituality of Creation Care Report on Findings of a Congregation Energy Efficiency Audit

Co-sponsored by: the parishes of Our Lady of Consolation, Queen of Apostles, St. Matthew and St. Peter; CSS Office of Justice and Peace; and the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.

Following the event, all are invited to attend the 5 pm vigil Mass celebrated at Our Lady of Consolation Church.

members of Congress from both parties and government officials to discuss an 11-page proposal unveiled by the president Feb. 22.

Obama’s proposal would amend the Senate-passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to reflect “policies from the House-passed bill and the president’s priorities,” according to a White House fact sheet.

No specific legislative language was released, but a summary of the president’s plan makes no mention of abortion or health care for immigrants – two of the highest priorities mentioned repeatedly by leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in messages to Congress.

Although the House-passed bill was amended to exclude abortion funding, the Senate version was not.

Neither bill meets the USCCB’s criteria for providing health care coverage to immigrants.

A poll released Feb. 23 by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the nation is evenly split on current health reform legislation, with 43 percent in favor and 43 percent opposed. Three percent said it “depends on which proposal,” and the rest said they did not know or refused to answer.

Asked what they think Congress should do now about health reform, 32 percent said lawmakers should “move soon to pass the comprehensive legislation” already passed by the House and Senate; 22 percent said they should stop

Health Care Matters Which would you say comes closest to how you would feel if Congress decides to stop work on health care reform and doesn’t pass a law this year?

24%

38% disappointed

relieved

14% happy

20%

angry

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

©2010 CNS

CNS graphic by Emily Thompson

The majority of U.S. adults say they will be disappointed or angry if Congress decides to stop work on health care reform.

working on it now and take it up later this year; 20 percent said they should “pass a few provisions where there is broad agreement”; and 19 percent said they should stop working on health care reform this year.

The margin of error for the poll conducted Feb. 11-16 was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In her statement, Sister Carol said the American people “expect action and statesmanship” and “expect lawmakers to step up and agree to sensible policies to protect human life and dignity, improve quality and control runaway costs.”

Pastoral Associate – Roanoke, Virginia St. Andrew’s Parish, an active Catholic faith community of 1700 households in Roanoke, Virginia, is seeking a Pastoral Associate who will work alongside the Pastor and staff in addressing a variety of ministerial needs requiring skills in pastoral presence, recruitment, organization and communications. A master’s degree in religious studies and previous related experience are desirable.

Full job descriptions are available by sending a resume to Kathy McDaniel at St. Andrew’s, 631 N. Jefferson St., Roanoke, VA 24016 or kmcdaniel@standrewsroanoke.org. Please respond by March 15, 2010.

PRINCIPAL POSITION AVAILABLE Our Lady of Peace is a K3 to 8 Catholic school drawing students from the Central Savannah River Area, four counties in South Carolina and Georgia. The school is currently seeking a principal for next school year.

The successful candidate must be a practicing Catholic, hold at least a master’s degree in educational administration or the equivalent, and have a minimum of five years’ teaching experience. A knowledge of Spanish would be helpful.

Submit resume by March 15, 2010 to: Search Committee Our Lady of Peace P.O. Box 6605 North Augusta, SC 29861

12 The Catholic News & Herald

in our schools

‘Sammy’ author visits St. Ann

February 26, 2010

Catholic Schools Week at IHM

photo provided

Jonathan Miller, author and illustrator of the “Sammy the Wonder Dachshund” books, visited St. Ann School in Charlotte Feb. 18. He met with all the classes,

photo provided

read one of his books and answered questions about writing and illustrating.

Students at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point brought platters

Above, Miller autographs a book for pre-kindergarten student Taylor Barlow.

of cookies, as well as thank you cards and posters, to local community service agencies including the fire, police and EMS department, during Catholic

Celebrating parents at St. Pius X School

Schools Week. They also honored IHM volunteers that week by hosting a special tea. Kindergartner Brady Turner also collected $100 for his “100th Day of School” project for the Hands Together mission in Haiti.

Science fair winners at OLM

photo provided

Students and teachers at St. Pius X School in Greensboro celebrated Catholic

photo provided

Schools Week in part by welcoming parents at the carpool line with signs of

Seven Our Lady of Mercy School students in Winston-Salem recently placed

appreciation and donuts Feb. 3. Pictured (back row) are Grace Knapke, Lorraine

in the regional non-public school Science Fair Competition. First-place

Malphurs, Ben Logan, and (front row) Mackenzie Shaw, Brian Phlegar, Gina

winner Hannah Boone and second-place winner Charles Cheron will go on

Chang and Jason Miller. Said Malphurs, a second-grade teacher, “The involvement

to compete in the all-schools regional science fair later this month. Pictured

of our parents with the academic and spiritual life of our students is immense.”

from left are (back row) Matt Cook, third place; Kelly Thomas, honorable

Another highlight of the week was a visit from a former ambassador to Estonia,

mention; Charles Cheron, second place; and (front row) Hannah Boone, first

Aldonna Wos, who spoke to younger students about her Polish traditions and to

place; Melissa Farmer, second place; Melissa Rademaker, third place; and

older students about her family’s experiences during the Holocaust.

Julia Sims, honorable mention.

February 26, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 13

in our schools

Eagle Scout Watch out for that ball

photo provided

Jon Hollett of Boy Scout Troop 958, St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem, received his Eagle Scout award recently after repairing and updating the nature trail at the Children’s Home of WinstonSalem. He is a freshman honor student at Ronald Reagan High School. He has also earned his Ad Altare Dei Catholic Scouting Award and he is a brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow.

He is the son of Jim and Susan Hollett of Lewisville.

Math fair winner

photo provided

Two teachers at St. Matthew School of Charlotte, Heidi Guerin and Bill McKenna, recently hosted a couple of dodge ball games with all entry fees going to help earthquake victims in Haiti. Principal Kevin O’Herron also joined in the fun. The school raised $2,000 from both games for the Haitian relief effort.

Spelling bee champs at St. Michael

photo provided

Asheville Catholic School third-grader James Lopez recently won this year’s school math fair.

His project “Weather Then and Now” compared Asheville’s temperatures from 1964 to 1968 with temperatures over the past five years, successfully testing the hypothesis that it was colder then than it is now.

photo provided

Fourth-grader Catherine Wilkinson (pictured seated in the middle) won St. Michael School’s spelling bee Feb. 18 and will go to the Gaston County competition March 16 at Gaston College. Also pictured are the winners for each grade (seated, from left) Duncan Fleming, sixth grade (second place) and Sofia Ruden, third grade (third place); (standing, from left) Drew Robinson, fifth grade; Brooke Maddie, eighth grade; and Brandy Crenshaw, seventh grade.

Did you know?

Couples who practice Natural Family Planning have a divorce rate less than 3%.

For a current NFP class schedule, go to www.cssnc.org/naturalfamilyplanning or call (704)-370-3230.

February 26, 2010

14 The Catholic News & Herald

Perspectives

A collection of columns, editorials and viewpoints

Responding to the crisis of faith and truth on Catholic campuses The Catholic Church as a whole has its work cut out to respond adequately to the secularizing push of American culture. In Catholic homes, parishes, schools, religious education programs, hospitals and dioceses, there are plenty of challenges to passing on the fullness of the Catholic faith to the next generation.

Since Christianity is not a body of teachings but a way of life, the Church at every level exists to help make disciples, those who not only know what God has revealed through Christ and the Church He founded, but who live in communion with that teaching.

One of the most pressing areas for the Church to rise up to meet this challenge of forming disciples is at Catholic colleges and universities. These ecclesial institutions have the responsibility of forming the young at the time when they are beginning to make life-changing decisions about their futures, when they are evaluating beliefs and values and deciding to own or discard them, and when they are determining what type of person they want to become.

A survey published earlier this month by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) showed that Catholic institutions of higher learning as a whole are not yet getting the results the Church hopes for and legitimately expects towards helping Catholic students grow in faith during their university years.

The CARA study looked at data from students at seven unidentified Catholic colleges and universities who were extensively interviewed as freshmen in 2004 and then again as juniors. On a range of issues regarding the living of the Catholic faith, the researchers examined whether Catholic colleges were helping students become more or less faithful. “Regardless of where students began their college journey,” the researchers stated, “Catholic colleges should be helping students move closer to Christ, and certainly doing a better job of moving students toward the Catholic faith than secular colleges do.”

The results showed that Catholic universities were doing slightly better than their non-Catholic counterparts in preventing the erosion of the Catholic faith, but that far more students on Catholic campuses were changing for the worse than for the better.

With respect to Mass attendance overall, only 42 percent of Catholic juniors on Catholic campuses reported that they attend Mass regularly, but the study also showed that for the students who changed their practice, 32 percent said they attended Mass less frequently over their first two years of college, in contrast to only 7 percent who said they were attending more frequently.

These results show that, while there are obviously many issues involved,

The Human Side Father Roger J. Landry Guest column Catholic colleges and universities as a whole are not doing an adequate job in engaging students and helping students learn how to make Jesus in the Eucharist the source and the summit of their lives.

Jesus’ parable of the Sower and the Seed illustrates that no matter how good the seed and how effective the sower, sometimes the seed doesn’t take root because the soil on which it falls is hardened, superficial or thorny (Mk 4:3 ff). That is clearly relevant here.

Even on campuses with the most effective campus ministry programs, faithful and energetic faculties, and vibrant Catholic cultures, many students will resist the Gospel. At the same time, however, we would expect, as the researchers did, that time on a Catholic campus should in general help Catholic students grow closer to Christ rather than drift further away from him – especially in comparison to non-Catholic institutions – and that the changes that occur in the hearts of students would be changes for the better. That’s not happening in the seven representative Catholic schools that were surveyed.

Pope Benedict, when he spoke to leading representatives of American Catholic universities and colleges in Washington, D.C., in April 2008, called attention to the “crisis of faith” that often underlies the “crisis of truth” on Catholic campuses, which this survey seems to confirm.

“A university or school’s Catholic identity,” he said, “is not simply a question of the number of Catholic students. It is a question of conviction – do we really believe that only in the mystery of the Word made flesh does the mystery of man truly become clear?

Are we ready to commit our entire self – intellect and will, mind and heart – to God? ... Only in this way do we really bear witness to the meaning of who we are and what we uphold.”

That’s a challenge that needs to be taken up anew, with greater fervor, after seeing the results of this study.

Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, Mass., and executive editor of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River. Editor’s note: Read more about the CARA study in our Feb. 12 edition, online at www. charlottediocese.org/catholicnews.

WORD TO LIFE

Sunday Scripture Readings: Mar. 7, 2010

Third Sunday of Lent Cycle C Readings: 1) Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15 Psalm 103:1-4, 6-8, 11 2) 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12 Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Lent is a time to remember God’s mercy, grace Sharon K. Perkins CNS columnist It’s a very human inclination: the tendency to hide when one is ashamed, afraid or embarrassed. When we’re children, hiding often begins as a game, whether it’s peek-a-boo or hide-andseek. But sooner or later, the game takes on more seriousness as we learn to conceal ourselves – sometimes quite skillfully – from anything we perceive to be an inconvenience or a threat.

When I was about 10 years old and wanted to escape chores I disliked, I would climb the ladder to a backyard treehouse and hunker down where I thought no one would see me. But I also remember an incident in which I thought I had hurt a favorite aunt’s feelings with a foolish remark. The next time she came to visit, I hid outside in some shrubbery for more than an hour, just to avoid the embarrassment of facing her. And what child hasn’t tried to hide the evidence of wrongdoing to avoid a deserved punishment?

Unfortunately, we carry those tendencies of subterfuge into our relationship with God. In Moses’ case, he had good reason: The glory of God was so overwhelming that it was believed that no one could see God’s face and live.

But Scripture also gives us the examples of Adam and Eve, who hid from God

amid the garden’s dense foliage to avoid facing the truth and consequences of their disobedience. At best, we find ourselves hiding from God in our abject inadequacy – at worst, we hide from God in our sinfulness. Either way, we’re not really fooling anyone, least of all God! The good news is that God never hides from us. In the words of the psalmist, God is always “revealing” his ways through mighty deeds and disclosing his merciful love through countless kindnesses to us. But in today’s Gospel, Jesus has harsh words for those who delude themselves and hide from their own need for repentance.

If we really want to see God’s face, we must cease fooling ourselves, as St. Paul says, about our own tenuous security, “lest we fall.”

Lent is a particular season to remember God’s boundless mercy toward us. It is also an invitation to come out of hiding – from ourselves, from one another and most of all, from God. QUESTIONS: In what way have you been fooling yourself about your own need for repentance? What sin or failing have you been hiding from the healing love of God’s mercy?

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 28 – MARCH 6 Sunday, (Second Sunday of Lent), Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18, Philippians 3:17-4:1, Luke 9:2836; Monday, Daniel 9:4-10, Luke 6:36-38; Tuesday, Isaiah 1:10, 16-20, Matthew 23:1-12; Wednesday (St. Katherine Drexel), Jeremiah 18:18-20, Matthew 20:17-28; Thursday (St. Casimir), Jeremiah 17:5-10, Luke 16:19-31; Friday, Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28, Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46; Saturday, Micah 7:14-15, 18-20, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32.

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 7 – MARCH 13 Sunday (Third Sunday of Lent), Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15, 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12, Luke 13:1-9; Monday (St. John of God), 2 Kings 5:1-15, Luke 4:24-30; Tuesday (St. Frances of Rome), Daniel 3:25, 34-43, Matthew 18:21-35; Wednesday, Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, Matthew 5:17-19; Thursday, Jeremiah 7:23-28, Luke 11:14-23; Friday, Hosea 14:2-10, Mark 12:28-34; Saturday, Hosea 6:1-6, Luke 18:9-14.

February 26, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 15

Fighting hunger

A call to justice, a call to love Those who have witnessed hunger firsthand or have lived through hunger, will likely agree with Pope Benedict XVI’s assessment before the U.N. World Summit on Food Security on Nov. 16, 2009, that “hunger is the most cruel and concrete sign of poverty.”

Our faith challenges us to see that addressing the crisis of hunger, both abroad and here in the U.S., is not just an appeal to greater charity, but also a call for justice. The Holy Father drew from the Catechism of the Church and the teachings of the early Church fathers when he said to the U.N. summit attendees that it is justice “that leads us to give the other what is ‘his,’ what belongs to him by virtue of his being and acting.

Indeed I cannot give the other what is mine without first giving him what belongs to him in justice.”

So how are we, as Catholics, made ready to answer the call of justice and strengthened in our fight against hunger and poverty?

In his 2010 Lenten Message, the Holy Father provides us the answer to this question by reflecting further on the notion of justice. The Holy Father shares with the faithful that we cannot bring about justice on our own. Thanks to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we enter into, celebrate and share in the fruits of “divine justice,” that motivate us “to contribute to creating just societies, where all receive what is necessary to live according to the dignity proper to the human person and where justice is enlivened by love.” Justice now entails more than just giving another his/her due; it also entails meeting the needs of others in love. Through prayer and participation in the sacraments of the Church we are drawn closer to Christ, the source of justice, and strengthened in our work for justice.

Hunger in our nation There are millions of individuals and families in the U.S. who eat less food than they need. The physical pain caused by the lack of food is real. Particularly for young children or those already at or below body weight norms, such caloric shortfalls can have serious effects on mental and physical development, health status and energy levels.

Tens of millions of Americans are facing critical gaps in their ability to afford the food they need. The use of “food stamps” has soared over the past two years. A Nov. 29, 2009, article from The Charlotte Observer reported that in more than 800 U.S. counties one out of every three children are fed in part with food stamp purchases.

Malnutrition brought on by food insecurity is on the rise. Indeed, our society is experiencing the odd phenomenon of increased childhood obesity while also seeing increased levels of nutrition-related deficiencies and ailments in children.

Why is this? Cash-strapped households often place more emphasis on the purchase of high caloric-energyproducing foods over nutritionally rich, yet relatively more expensive foods such as fresh vegetables and fruits, fish and healthier meats. This choice comes at the expense of short- and long-term improvements in birth weight and size, dental, physical and behavioral health, and educational performance.

FOOD INSECURITY ON THE RISE • In 2008, 49.1 million Americans (32.4 adults and 16.7 million children) lived in households considered food insecure.

• There has been a 35.6 percent increase in the number of people living in food-insecure households since 2007.

• In 2009, approximately 31 million Americans per month benefited from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called “food stamps”).

• North Carolina has seen one of the largest increases among the states in food-insecure households over the past decade: from a 9.8 percent average in 1996-1998 to a 13.7 percent average in 2006-2008.

Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, USDA Food and Nutrition Service

As the current economic recession continues and unemployment remains at levels not seen for three decades, people are making difficult choices about how to spend their limited resources. The assessment of Catholic Charities USA is that “it is unacceptable in a nation as bountiful as ours that children, adults and senior citizens experience food insecurity that puts their physical, mental and developmental health at risk.”

Advocating for the reduction of poverty and hunger in America is one of the key aims during Catholic Charities’ 2010 Centennial Year.

Hunger is almost never a result of a food production shortfall, but rather,

Guest Column JOSEPH PURELLO Guest columnist the result of a failure in food distribution methods. With vision, resolve and additional resources, the problem is correctable.

The headlines are saying economic recovery is under way, but for far too many of our brothers and sisters living in our midst such news will not lessen the weekly search to make ends meet.

Nor will such news soften the appeal of agencies like Catholic Social Services for more food and monetary donations and more volunteers to help meet the need of growing numbers of people seeking help.

For example, the Food Pantry of CSS’s Western Regional Office in Asheville provided holiday food assistance in December to 165 families – more than double the 74 families assisted in December 2008. For all of 2008, 1,727 households came to the western regional office’s food pantry, while that number grew to 3,404 households last year.

Similar increases are being experienced by the other two CSS regional offices in Charlotte and Winston-Salem and at food pantries across western North Carolina.

The food assistance provided by CSS and the many community outreach ministries in our diocese is not a gift to the poor. Rather, the poor provide us with an opportunity to work for justice. In doing so, we are establishing right relationships – with our neighbor and with our Lord. CSS Executive Director Elizabeth Thurbee, in a recent acknowledgment to donors for their support to the food pantries, said, “Mother Teresa said that she saw the face of Jesus in each of the poorest of the poor.

We are privileged to see His face in those who come to us needing food and other basic necessities every week. Thank you for helping us help them.”

Joseph Purello is the director of the diocesan Office of Justice and Peace, Catholic Social Services. The ministries of Catholic Social Services are funded in part by the Diocesan Support Appeal.

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Guest column Paul Schratz Guest columnist

Olympic gold gives Lenten lesson As Ash Wednesdays go, it was a pretty upbeat one in Vancouver.

Medals were being awarded, revelers were celebrating, families waving flags walked in the bright sunshine, and everywhere the smell of grilling food wafted down the street, intensifying already ravenous Ash Wednesday appetites.

It all made for a unique observance of one of the most solemn days of the Christian calendar. +By the time the Olympics and Paralympics end, Lent will be all but over. If we wait until then to start observing and benefiting from this essential season, we will have missed an opportunity that is truly golden – pardon the Olympic pun.

So it makes sense to try to draw some useful instruction from this event, and there’s no better place to look than Pope Benedict XVI’s Ash Wednesday homily.

It immediately reveals some aspects of Lent that invite comparison with the Olympics. For instance, the very words of the priest as he imposes ashes are either “Repent and believe the Gospel” or “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

The first formula, said the pope, is basically a call to conversion. It not only “exposes and denounces the easy superficiality that often characterizes our life,” he said. It means not just adjusting our life, but turning it around so we’re swimming against the current of superficiality around us.

Athletes competing in the Olympics show what conversion is all about.

When they embarked on their athletic journey years ago, they didn’t commit to a simple 30-minute-a-day exercise, or a once-a-week workout. They immersed themselves in their Olympic call.

An athlete who simply cut down on junk food and jogged a couple of times a week wouldn’t earn a tin medal, let alone gold. Similarly, in conversion “we aim for the high standard of Christian life,” said the pope.

It’s a journey we don’t undertake alone. Just as athletes are assisted by trainers and coaches, we allow ourselves “to be enlightened by Christ’s light and supported by his strength that moves our feet,” said Pope Benedict. In a sense, the Olympic journey resembles our Lenten journey: total conversion toward the aim of successfully reaching the finish line.

Reprinted courtesy of CNS from the Feb. 22 issue of The B.C. Catholic, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

Editor’s note: “The Pope Speaks” will return next week. Pope Benedict XVI is on his annual Lenten retreat. See page 3.

February 26, 2010

The Catholic News & Herald 16

around the diocese

Bishop’s Lenten Youth Pilgrimage set for March 20

Belmont Abbey College will be site of all-day event for youths and young adults BELMONT — On Saturday, March 20, Belmont Abbey College will host young Catholics from across the Diocese of Charlotte for the Bishop’s Lenten Youth Pilgrimage 2010.

It is part of the preparation for the Diocese of Charlotte’s 2010 Eucharistic Congress, which is set for Sept. 10-11. The theme for this year’s Eucharistic Congress is “Good Shepherd, Come Feed Us.” The day-long event starts at 9 a.m. with registration and live praise and worship music. Bishop Peter J. Jugis will celebrate Mass in the abbey basilica, and Doug Barry, co-host of EWTN’s “Life on the Rock,” will be one of the featured speakers. Other

featured speakers include Legionaries of Christ Brother Gabriel Lewis, Trish Metgzer of F.O.C.U.S., and seminarian Brad Doyle. The band “Brother, Brother” will also perform.

Information about vocations, times for confessions, and vespers with the monks of Belmont Abbey are also planned.

The event will culminate with exposition and procession of the Blessed Sacrament, and a candelight Adoration followed by Benediction.

For registration and event information, go to www.goeucharist. com and click on the Bishop’s Lenten Youth Pilgrimage link. The deadline for registering is Wednesday, March 10.

Belmont Abbey College hosts Lenten Day of Reflection Kathy Schmugge Special to The Catholic News & Herald BELMONT — Only a few days after Lent began, 120 people enlivened their spiritual journeys at a Lenten Day of Reflection sponsored by the Envoy Institute of Belmont Abbey College Feb. 20.

Days of reflection have been a tradition at Belmont Abbey, but recently, the event has attracted a larger and more diverse crowd because of high-profile speakers like Patrick Madrid, a Catholic author and the Envoy Institute’s director. The college has proven to be an ideal location for these events – not just for students and monks, but for the public, too.

“An objective of the Envoy Institute is to continue the monks’ outreach to support the community, locally and more broadly. We have used the Advent and Lenten Days of Reflection to further that mission,” said Kenneth Davison Jr., vice president of college relations at Belmont Abbey College.

Father Mark Lawlor, pastor at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, gave the first talk, making an acronym of the word “Lent” – learning, enduring, nurturing and trusting – as concrete actions to take during the season.

“Part of learning requires surrendering to God’s will and to learn the importance of the virtue of humility where we acknowledge that we still have much to learn,” Father Lawlor said.

He explained how Lent is a perfect time to reflect on endurance in the Christian life: it’s not a sprint, it’s more like a marathon. He emphasized the importance of nurturing the faith in charity and to trust in God during Lent’s

time of “recalibration.”

After Mass, Monsignor Stuart Swetland – director of Homiletics and Pre-Theology and the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Endowed Chair for Christian Ethics at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., and a member of the editorial advisory board of the Envoy Institute – gave insight into a few of the Sunday readings for Lent. He said Christians should imitate Jesus and be led into the desert by the Holy Spirit to reflect on their mission.

As during the temptation of Christ, the devil tried to keep Christ from doing God’s will. Christ’s followers today should also expect temptations, but by following His example the Holy Spirit will provide the strength to overcome them. Monsignor Swetland also said the Transfiguration of Christ is a special consolation on Mount Tabor and that Christians today might experience spiritual consolations.

“Don’t dwell in the consolations,” he cautioned, “but come down from Tabor and go to another mountain, Mt. Calvary. When we go up that mountain, we become another Christ.”

The Parable of the Prodigal Son, which is featured during the fourth Sunday of Lent, has many lessons, Monsignor Swetland said, including, “Don’t be the older son.” The oldest son missed the celebration because he chose to think the worst of his brother and did not welcome him back, he said. Another lesson? When the youngest son lost his money and no one helped him.

“It is easy to be the ‘no one.’ Our obligation is to help. Don’t make distinctions between the deserving poor and the undeserving poor. Be open to the gift of giving,” he said.

SPECTACULAR - UNSPOILED – HISTORICAL

CROATIA

with a special visit to Medjugorje

October 18-28, 2010

Bring family and friends to join with the Diocese of Charlotte as we experience Croatia – lying just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy! We’ll see breathtaking natural beauty, significant places of European history and 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites! Plus, a spiritual visit to Medjugorje -- making this trip a definite favorite for all!

Highlights of these 11 days include: • Zagreb, the capital city with rich cultural and governmental history, and Roman settlements from the 1st century • beautiful, old-world Bled, Slovenia – a “pletna boat” will glide us across glacial Lake Bled with the majestic, snow-tipped Julian Alps as the backdrop • a tour of the world-famous Lipizzaner horse farm where we’ll witness an actual training session of these magnificent Slovenian treasures!

• charming seaside Opatija, nestled in beautiful woods with elegant villas and a seaside promenade to bring the Adriatic right up to your feet!

• the spectacular, breathtaking phenomenon of Plitvice Lakes national park – 16 terraced lakes connected by magnificent waterfalls and free-flowing cascades. A lake cruise reveals the underwater life thriving in this natural wonderland!

• the ancient seaside city of Split (once the most important Mediterranean port in then-Yugoslavia) where we’ll explore the Old City, the markets, Diocletian’s Roman Palace and much more of its charm and fascinating history • Medjugorje, the village which promises to inspire and enrich us as we learn about Our Lady’s appearances there since 1981 – personal time for prayer, reflection and Mass at beautiful St. James Church • exciting Dubrovnik offers us its fascinating Old City, world-famous Franciscan Monastery, exceptional architecture, seaside promenade and more!

• unforgettable home visit and culinary feast with a Croatian countryside family sharing their culture and customs to enrich our total experience!

Unparalleled beauty, fascinating history and more await you on this trip!

Check out these highlights on the Internet and you’ll see why Croatia is becoming a must-see destination, still unspoiled by “too many tourists.”

Price per person (double occupancy) is only $3,379 and includes: roundtrip airfare from Charlotte; all hotels and transfers; most meals; fulltime professional Tour Manager; local guides. Not included are cancellation waiver/insurance ($200 per person) and air taxes/surcharges ($150).

For a brochure or questions, call Cindi Feerick at the diocese (704) 370-3332 or e-mail ckfeerick@charlottediocese.org.