The Philipian, A Publication of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church — February 2022

FEB 2022

the phi lipian

A P U B L I C AT I O N O F S T . P H I L I P N E R I C AT H O L I C C H U R C H

THE ITALIAN FESTIVAL A Valuable Opportunity to Gather in a Spirit of Stewardship and Hospitality

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he Italian Festival is more than just a beloved parish tradition. It is also St. Philip Neri’s largest opportunity to introduce our parish family to the local Fort Mill community. This year, we are excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the festival, especially as this will also be our first in-person festival in two years! It will take place here on our St. Philip Neri campus, May 19-21.

While centered on delicious homemade Italian food, the festival will include many other events and activities. There will be around 50 vendors and artisans comprised of small businesses and local people who will be selling their wares and interacting with guests. Entertainment will be provided on the main stage outside, as well as select indoor locations.

There will also be a silent auction taking place continued on page 5

Parishioners and guests from the local community gather together to celebrate Italian culture and enjoy homemade Italian food.

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How Can We Model the Faith for Our Children?

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he Church has made it clear that parents are primarily responsible for the spiritual and cognitive development of their children in matters of the faith. As the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen Gentium, states, “Husbands and wives find their proper vocation in being witnesses of the faith and love of Christ to one another and to their children” (Chapter 4, Section 35). The Catechism of the Catholic Church further emphasizes this vocation, by pointing out that the moral education and spiritual formation of children is not only the right, but the responsibility, of their parents: “The right and the duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable... Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children” (CCC 2221, 2223).

But how can we as parents create an environment in the home conducive to spiritual and moral development? As busy adults, how are we to disseminate the knowledge and understanding of the tenets of the faith to our children in the way that a trained and experienced catechist can? Furthermore, how do we strike a balance between teaching our children in the home and not interfering with the faith formation and sacramental preparation they are currently receiving through their parish school or religious education program?

The answer to all of these questions is stewardship.

Indeed, it is important that we reinforce the lessons that our children learn in school and at religious education classes by talking to them about the faith, reading Sacred Scripture with them, and spending time in family prayer. And there are several authoritative resources online that can help parents in this task, including Catholic Parents Online at www.catholicparents.org. This site links parents to numerous websites and documents that can help them in talking to their children about the faith.

But the best way that we can teach our children is by serving as a living example to them of how to live as disciples of Christ. If we want our children to grow up as strong Catholics and to display a lifelong commitment to their faith, then it is important that we ourselves live a committed

faith life. This includes an ongoing commitment to our own faith formation as adults and active participation in the sacraments. It also includes the giving back of our time, talent, and treasure in service of our community in thanksgiving for the gifts that God has given us.

Parenting can be a tough vocation, and children deal with many influences in their lives that exist in stark contrast to the values that their parents often hope to instill within them. Fortunately for parents, the stewardship way of life provides a simple and effective model for teaching our children in matters of the faith. By living as stewards of God’s gifts and reaping the spiritual rewards that accompany this lifestyle, we are tangibly showing our children that sharing of our gifts and talents leads to a life of happiness and spiritual fulfillment. In doing this, we give them a good opportunity to follow in our footsteps and make their faith a top priority for the rest of their lives.

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A Letter From Our Pastor

The Word of God: How Do We Hear It? And How Do We Respond to It? Dear Parishioners,

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few short weeks ago, we completed our Christmas season. We are now in what we call Ordinary Time — but before long, we will begin Lent. This is one of those rare years when Ash Wednesday is in March — so, Lent does not, of course, begin in February this year.

The Gospel of John begins with the statement, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” We speak often of the Word in the Church. As most of you are aware, the first part of our Mass is called the Liturgy of the Word. What does that mean to us?

Basically, there are four parts of our celebration of Mass: Introductory Rites; Liturgy of the Word; Liturgy of the Eucharist; and Concluding Rites. My focus in this reflection is that second part — the Liturgy of the Word. The main parts of that are a First Reading, a Responsorial Psalm, a Second Reading, the Gospel, and a Homily.

We draw on Holy Scripture from the Bible for the readings. As Catholics, we do not consider that these readings are about God, or about the Church, or about our faith, or a history lesson, or a nice story from long ago. We consider them to be God speaking directly to us. Thus, our attentiveness to what is being proclaimed is important. Are we listening? Do

we hear? And then, do we respond in our lives? All of those should be facets of how we approach the Word of God. For us, the Word of God is the living Word. God is speaking to us as a community, and He asks us to be faithful to His Word. If we pay attention and truly listen, God can nourish our spirit, and Christ can be more real and present to us. The Homily, the Responsorial Psalm, the Profession of Faith, and the Intercessions develop the Word further and complete it. The Profession of Faith is our acceptance of God’s Word.

However, the question for us is, how do we respond to the Word? Does it change our lives? Does it bring us to the conversion necessary to live lives of stewardship and service? It is not easy, I know. Being able to listen, to hear, and then to act requires time, practice, commitment, and a desire to fulfill all of this. That is one of my prayers for us — that we can hear the Word, and that we can bring it to life in our own lives and in the lives of others.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Fabio Refosco, C.O.

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The Ushers Minist

Welcoming Othe

Coordinating with office desk volunteers

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hanks to our parish ushers, when you walk into our church building, you feel like you are coming into the loving arms of Christ.

“I really enjoy taking care of the people who come to our parish, and making them feel very welcome,” says Joyce Crabtree, who serves as the leader of the Usher Ministry. “I love developing a rapport with people I normally see and getting to know them better, especially since we have such a large parish. I feel responsible for them. I also appreciate the opportunity to meet new people and look out for guests. I like to treat them well, so that they may consider joining our parish at some point.”

The Ushers Ministry is a “front-line” hospitality ministry that is open to any interested adult or teen parishioner. Ushers assist the congregation during the celebration of Holy Mass; seat and/ or physically assist attendees as necessary; assist with offertory collections; count attendance, and direct traffic flow as guests proceed to Holy Communion. The ushers consist of a dedicated team which is coordinated by Jenny Funk.

Each usher has his or her story as to why they

Ushers preparing to gather collections

felt drawn to give their time and talent to this ministry. Joyce and her husband, Rick, who have been ushers for about 10 years, believe that they were inspired to start doing so by their parents.

“My parents were both ushers, and they really enjoyed doing it,” Joyce says. “They set an example for me, so I felt I should try being one too. I think Rick’s dad was an usher as well. And I have to say I love this ministry — it is great!”

Over the years, Rick and Joyce have discovered that doing this ministry together has helped them grow closer to Christ as well as to one another.

“It is something we can share together as a couple,” Joyce says. “It has helped us learn to work together. If a problem comes up, we talk about it and give each other ideas. We can solve problems that way. If I forget to do something, he will probably do it for me and vice versa.”

Importantly, this ministry is a powerful reflection of the stewardship vision because it embodies the Stewardship Pillar of Hospitality. By being a parish that embraces hospitality, we not only reflect the infinite love of Christ, but also the beauty of stewardship.

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try:

ers with Loving Hearts and Smiles “I see this ministry as part of my commitment to stewardship,” Joyce says. “I have always felt that we need to serve the Church in as many ways as we can. I believe I should do something within the Church that is of service to the Church — that is my way of giving and growing within that giving.

I believe in giving back to God and my parish community.”

More ushers are needed to make our parish

family a warm, caring, and accepting place for others to come.

“We really do appreciate anyone willing to help out with this ministry,” Joyce says. “It is not a hard ministry at all, and no usher should feel they are alone. We work as a team, along with the Safety Committee. We all work together, and that brings a greater understanding of how different ministries unite together for the same goal.”

If you would like to share a smile and spirit of hospitality with others by helping with this simple, yet beautiful ministry, please contact Joyce Crabtree at 803-547-3277 or Jenny Funk at 803-548-7282, ext. 229.

The Italian Festival

continued from front cover

throughout the festival, as well as a live auction for some of the larger donated prizes. Of course, there will be plenty of fun activities for kids, including the Festival Fun Zone and the children’s parade.

Over the past 25 years, the Italian Festival has grown from a small gathering held in the school cafeteria to the largest recurring fundraising and community outreach event that our parish hosts.

As Festival Chair Jim Funk knows, it takes the whole parish to make this festival a success.

“We need folks to help volunteer so we can provide a great experience for our guests from the local community,” he says.

In 2019, an estimated 10,000 guests attended the festival. It certainly takes a lot of people to help serve that many guests. In fact, over 250 parishioners will

be needed to serve as volunteers.

The food for the festival is almost all homemade, so there will be plenty of opportunities to help prepare it. We will need volunteers to help prepare the meatballs and sausages by attending Meatball Madness and Sausage Storm. We will also distribute defined recipes for some of our classic dishes to be made at home and brought into the festival.

In addition to food preparation, we will need volunteers to help sell tickets, set up and tear down the festival, sell the food, sell beer and wine, empty trash cans during the festival, and much more. This is a great stewardship opportunity because there are so many ways that you can give of your time and talent to help welcome people from the greater Fort Mill area into our parish community.

If you are interested in volunteering, or would like more information, please email Michelle Dussault at mldussault@yahoo.com.

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Meet Parishioner Andy Miller When It Comes to Stewardship, “There’s Something for Everybody”

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hen parishioner Andy Miller attended his youngest son’s First Communion, the sound system wasn’t working. So, using his working knowledge of electrical wiring, Andy quickly stepped in to help fix the system. From there, Andy has volunteered in many capacities over the years.

“I’ve always been handy,” he says.

Since Andy and his family joined the parish in 1998, he has helped out with various committees and efforts, including building maintenance, lawn care, electricity, and many other projects over the years.

“There’s always something to do,” he says.

One such project to which Andy has contributed is the Italian Festival. He says he has enjoyed meeting and working with other people in the more than 20 years he has spent volunteering for the festival. He has seen it grow and change over the years and gradually increased his own efforts to meet the needs of the various tents and food offerings. Andy is encouraging younger people to get more involved in the tearing down and setting up at the festival. He says there is a role for anyone who wants to help.

While he’s volunteered on many efforts over the last two decades, one of Andy’s favorite

Andy Miller has volunteered for our parish in many ways throughout the years. He says for those who want to get involved, there’s a place for anyone.

service activities was lighting the outside of the church building with thematic colors depending on the liturgical season.

Andy knows all the ins and outs of the parish building. Business Manager Lynda Curry says that when the church was being constructed, Andy took photos of every part of the building process.

“His pictures have saved us so much time and money,” Lynda says.

Andy recalls giving Lynda a tour of the building and imparting much of his knowledge of the building to her. She says the tour was thorough and warns

anyone that if Andy takes them on a tour of the facilities, they should pack a lunch!

Being a steadfast and dedicated volunteer for years has most certainly provided Andy with blessings in return. He hopes to inspire and encourage others to give of their time and talents and says there should be a place for anyone looking to do so. All it takes is showing interest and showing up to help.

“What are your hobbies?” Andy says. “We can get you something that you can do. There’s something for everybody.”

“What are your hobbies? We can get you something that you can do.

There’s something for everybody.” — ANDY MILLER

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Valentine’s Day The Feast of a Christian Martyr

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andy, flowers, romantic dinners, and excuses for wooing are the common traditions we associate with the once-pagan holiday known as Valentine’s Day. Dangling cupids, candy “message” hearts, and faux long-stemmed roses clutter every card store, waiting for that last-minute purchase.

The question is — how did this overcommercialized holiday really begin?

There are a few stories surrounding the history of Feb. 14 and St. Valentine himself, all dating back to the Roman Empire. The 14th day of February was a day set aside to honor the goddess Juno, queen of the Roman gods and goddesses. The following day, Feb. 15, began the feast of Lupercalia — a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

As part of the festival traditions, there was a name drawing among the young people. The names of young Roman women were written on slips of paper and placed into a jar. Each young man would draw a young woman’s name from the jar, and the two would be partners for the duration of the festival. Sometimes the pairing lasted an entire year, and often, the couple would fall in love and later marry.

At the time, Emperor Claudius II was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns, and he was having a difficult time recruiting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that soldiers were reluctant to join because they did not want to leave their loves or families.

With this in mind, Claudius decreed all marriages and engagements canceled in Rome. During this time, St. Valentine was a priest in Rome, and he and St. Marius secretly married young couples. For this, St. Valentine was apprehended and dragged continued on back cover

St. Philip Neri C AT H O L I C C H U R C H 292 Munn Road East Fort Mill, SC 29715 803.548.7282 saintphilipneri.org

Valentine’s Day

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before the Prefect of Rome, who sentenced him to be beaten and then executed by beheading. He suffered this martyrdom on Feb. 14, around the year 270 AD. Before his death, it is said that St. Valentine left a note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it “From Your Valentine.” Although the truth behind the St. Valentine’s legend is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and, most importantly, romantic figure. It is no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Over time, Feb. 14 became a time for lovers to exchange sweet messages, making St. Valentine the patron saint of lovers. The date was often commemorated with the sending of poems and simple gifts. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that Feb. 14 was the beginning of the avian mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine’s Day — should be a day for romance.

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