The Assurance of Peace, Quiet Reflection, & Prayer

nication, too. If you’re sitting on the end of a pew, for example, don’t make others crawl over you to get to middle seats. Remember to smile; take the time to compliment the people sitting around you on everything from their singing ability to the cuteness of their kids.

3. Use your gifts and talents for the good of the parish. God has given each person unique gifts and talents that are intended to be shared.

Like public speaking? You might get involved as a reader. If you’re friendly and outgoing, you could be an usher or a greeter. You can share your deep devotion to the Eucharist by becoming an extraordinary minister of holy Communion or an adult altar server.

If you play an instrument or sing, the music ministry might be the place for you. Maybe you’re a teacher and could help in religious education; if you love children, you could assist in the babysitting room. Any expertise business, finance, public relations, photography, grant writing, engineering, carpentry, building maintenance, or even such skills as cooking, baking, cleaning, or gardening can find a place in the parish.

Maybe your greatest gift is time; if you’re already an extraordinary minister or instituted acolyte, you can take Communion to the sick and homebound. Or you can help with your parish outreach ministry to the

Abortion continued from page A7

Until January, FDA policy only allowed certified doctors, clinics, and some mail-order pharmacies to dispense mifepristone.

On Jan. 19, 22 state attorneys general signed a letter addressed to the FDA condemning the administration’s policy change and vowing to uphold state laws limiting the distribution of abortion drugs.

President Biden’s memorandum specifically condemned the actions taken by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to ensure the distribution of abortion drugs remains limited to hospitals, clinics, and physician offices, per Florida law.

“In Florida, the governor recently said that major pharmacy chains

Reflections continued from page A14 so it was a very difficult position for Benedict. But I think Pope Benedict, being so close to John Paul, made it better. Benedict would meet with John Paul at least once a week when he was John Paul’s chief theologian.

So, it was just a natural flow and it allowed the Church to continue into the future almost seamlessly. Benedict s writings were different from John Paul’s. John Paul was more philosophical, Benedict more theological. His [Benedict’s] books were excellent

Q: Benedict abdicated around 10 years ago. Can you comment on that unusual moment in the Church?

A: It was an absolute act of humility. I think he wrote in his book that his doctor told him he could no longer travel as pope due to his health. He recognized that part of the role of the pope these days is to travel like St. Paul.

I think with his health issues, it was a great act of humility to say, I will step back and let a new man take my place, and I will offer my life now in terms of prayer for the Church,” which he did.

Q: Did you and Cardinal Rigali consider going to Rome for the funeral Mass?

A: We were talking about going, but there were too many logistical complications. We have never, in many centuries, had a retired pope pass away. So, if they followed the same process, there would be nine days of mourning, nine days of Masses said every day for those nine days. But they also were preparing for the election of a new pope, which was not the case this time. But Cardinal Rigali, being friends with Benedict for all of those years, wanted to go, so we tried to make it happen.

But we made plans to remember poor. You might even have an idea for a new ministry, support group, organization, or event, and your enthusiasm and energy can help other people get excited and involved.

4. Attend parish events. Although Mass is our central focus, other parish ministries, activities, and events help to increase spirituality and build community as well.

Whether it’s a mission, a lecture, a lawn fête, or a spaghetti dinner, take advantage of opportunities to meet new people, feel more connected, and affirm your fellow parishioners who work hard to plan and execute these events.

Invite family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to join you especially those who are not Catholic or may have stopped practicing their faith. These folks may not be ready to attend Mass, but they might enjoy coming to a parish event, meeting other parishioners, and seeing some of the good things that the Catholic Church has to offer.

5. Support your parish financially. You know how expensive it is to run your own home. Parishes face even higher costs and depend on parishioners to help meet them.

Take a serious look at the money you give to your parish each week. Do you increase your contributions each year as the cost of living rises?

Giving to the Church is more than just a financial obligation. Once you recognize that everything you have in the state will not offer mifepristone. … These actions have stoked confusion, sowed fear, and may prevent patients from accessing safe and effective FDA-approved medication,” said President Biden, who is a practicing Catholic.

Vice President Kamala Harris announced the memo while commemorating Roe v. Wade in Tallahassee, Florida’s state capital.

Taking a swipe at Gov. DeSantis and congressional Republicans, Vice President Harris said: “Can we truly be free if so-called leaders … dare to restrict the rights of the American people and attack the very foundations of freedom?”

“Members of our Cabinet and our administration are now directed, as

Pope Benedict in our diocese and give the faithful an opportunity to be part of that through Masses in the diocese, with bunting or memorials, including portraits with candles burning by them per USCCB guidance.

So, I think in terms of liturgy it mimicked somewhat the death of a pope. But when he resigned or abdicated, the question was, what do we call him, because he is no longer a pope and no longer a cardinal? Again, this showed his humility. He wanted to be called Father Benedict and was told that wasn't possible.

He, himself, came up with pope emeritus. In some of the things he would wear, his cassock, although white, didn t have the shoulder cape and some of the papal trimmings. He simplified his vesture, but showed his humility in other ways, but that s how he was referred to going forward.

Q: Cardinal Rigali, what are your impressions of Pope Benedict XVI?

A: I had the privilege of knowing Pope Benedict for many years, going back to his time as a cardinal of the Church, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger. I have always admired his expertise in terms of theology and understanding the Church.

He was an excellent theologian and will be remembered as a theologian. It was a privilege to participate in the election of Pope Benedict. I can remember when I went up to the pope and knelt before him to show my respect and offer to him my pledge to be faithful and obedient, the first thing that Pope Benedict said to me was, Happy Birthday, Your Eminence. ” is a gift from God, you see that giving generously to continue God’s work in the parish is an essential part of your spirituality.

It was my 70th birthday. Pope Benedict remembered that, and that is a memory I will always carry with me.

6. Pray for your parish. Keep your pastor, parish staff, and fellow parishioners in your daily prayers.

Praying a rosary, spending time in eucharistic adoration, fasting, or offering up any suffering, annoyance, or inconvenience you experience for the well-being of your parish will bring rewards not just for the parish but for you personally. You will begin to see yourself as spiritual support for all the good work being done in and through your parish.

Pray also for the return of Catholics who have strayed from the practice of the faith, people raised with no faith, and people searching for meaning and purpose in life.

No parish is perfect, and even the best parishes can improve. Imagine what would happen if every person in your parish did one little thing to make the parish better!

While considering the positive steps to improving parish life, also be aware of four things that can hurt parishes: n Negativity. Negativity usually starts with a few disgruntled people who complain about virtually everything, then can spread like wildfire.

The best way to deal with negativity is to address it head-on by asking some key questions. Is what this person is saying true? If yes, of the president’s order, to identify barriers to access to prescription medication and to recommend actions to make sure … that women can secure safe and effective medication,” the vice president said.

President Biden’s letter directs federal agencies to issue guidance in support of abortion drug access within the next 60 days.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Catholic bishops condemned the Biden administration’s decision to allow pharmacies to distribute abortion drugs.

“The FDA should protect the life and health of both mothers and children, not loosen safety standards under industry or political pressures,” said Bishop Michael

Yes, he was a gentle man. He had a real concept of the Church in the United States and in the world because he was involved for so long in being the chief theologian of the Church. His role changed when he left the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to become the pope, which is a more pastoral position. He served the Church as a brilliant theologian, and he realized that as pope, he was now a shepherd. In his previous role, had to make decisions that were very what needs to be done to address the problem? If no, the person must be confronted and the negativity exposed. n Gossip. Gossip is negativity directed at a person or a group of people in the parish. n Cliques. Sadly, people involved in a clique usually don’t think of themselves as “cliquish.” They’ve just been running things for so long that they automatically rely on the same people over and over to help. n Refusal to change. Tradition is good, but when parishioners become rigid about the way things have “always been done,” a parish can quickly begin to decline.

Every parish has gossip-mongers whose own insecurity drives them to put others down as a way of feeling better about themselves. The best way to deal with them is directly: ask why others really need to know the things they share, or how others can help the person whose reputation is at stake.

Sometimes they just need a friendly reminder to invite others. Newcomers also often benefit and help the parish by starting their own new ministries, organizations, and events.

Change is never easy, but talking about it will help.

Try to find a balance that will maintain some time-honored, faith-based traditions, while incorporating new ways of doing things and involving new people in doing them. ■

F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Va., the chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

“We call on the administration to correct its policy priorities and stand with mothers in need,” Bishop Burbidge added.

As pro-life chair, Bishop Burbidge reaffirmed the Church’s position on life.

“The Catholic Church is consistent in its teaching on upholding the dignity of all life, and that must include care for both women and their children,” he said. “We decry the continuing push for the destruction of innocent human lives and the loosening of vital safety standards for vulnerable women.” ■ focused, to make certain there were no heresies.

Q: Bishop, what are your thoughts on Benedict's role at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith?

A: Despite what some have reported, when leading the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith he was very instrumental in addressing the rules and policies regarding the abuse issue. He was very progressive in that and on how the Church would deal with priests who offended. ■

Revival continued from page A8 to celebrate Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist.

Itineraries and tickets for joining a pilgrimage from the Diocese of Knoxville to the Eucharistic Congress will be announced later this year.

Individual voices are a vital wit-

Mission continued from page A10 where Latino Catholics and others have breathed new life into area churches and schools.

But he said he also has known the pain associated with closing parishes and Catholic schools as society has moved into an era of increased secularism and indifference to tradition and family life.

“If you look at the map of the United States, if you draw a line from Boston to Baltimore, over to St. Louis through Chicago and Milwaukee, that upper quadrant used to be the muscle and wallet of American Catholicism; its demographic is shrinking, to the benefit, by the way, of any diocese in the South and the West,” Cardinal Dolan said.

“But we must move on from a self-referential Church: No longer should we be looking constantly within, but looking up to Jesus and out to His people,” the cardinal return to Ireland to look after my mother,” Father O’Neill said. “She would have none of it. She said, ‘You must stay in America. Don’t look after me. The Americans have been too good to you.’”

But he still didn’t make the choice to become a citizen right away.

“I used to pray, ‘Lord, give me some sign of where I’m supposed to be,’” Father O’Neill said. “I began to think of St. Paul, who even in his martyrdom towards Rome claimed very clearly that he was a citizen of Rome, and that’s been a great alchemy about dual citizenship.

“St. Paul was a citizen of the kingdom of God, and he was also a citizen of the great power at the time. That has given me great consolation and peace to finally make up my mind, to act totally freely in obedience.”

And planting his roots with his three congregations the past five years seemed to be his final push, he said.

“Five years in the four southwest counties and three parishes of the diocese have been amazing. It’s not the easiest appointment in the diocese … but it’s good to have a struggle,” Father O’Neill said. “It’s good to have a place where you have to row uphill all the time, to go out there and cherish every single parishioner with great love and tenderness no matter how things are going.

“You put your flag down today, the flag of the cross is what you're placing down where you want to be, where you believe you should live and die,” he said. Being pastor of those three parishes, “made me finally make up my mind. Sometimes, when things are more difficult, God purifies you and helps you finally decide what you really want.

“I want to apologize for taking 30 years to make up my mind,” he said. “But it’s wonderful to be an American, and God bless our ness to this revival. Christ longs for every single soul. Every believer is called to share the Good News. It is individuals who will help others return to the source and summit of the Faith: Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. added, in reference to the teachings of Pope Francis.

How has Christ’s presence in the Eucharist affected your life?

The weakening of the institutional Church is an invitation to focus on the Church’s sacred mission: “Maybe we are better off without silver and gold. We still have the most precious treasure of all: Jesus Christ, without whom nothing is possible, and He alone is the silver and gold of the Church,” Cardinal Dolan added.

“For our clout as Catholics is not in the visible and what we can see and touch, the brick and mortar, the numbers and bank accounts; our only treasure is and always has been invisible: faith, hope, love, joy, the journey, the sacraments, God’s Word, the Eucharist, and prayer,” he said.

“Our treasure is only Jesus Christ, and we have not received Him.”

The cardinal’s talk comes as a 2023 study from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that deaths by drugs, alcohol,

If you would like to share a story about an experience or your relationship with the Eucharist, you can e-mail a written (100-300 words) reflection or a video (approximately one minute) to revival@dioknox.org

Testimonies will possibly be shared in promotional materials and suicide, known as “deaths of despair,” dramatically increased among middle-aged, white Americans in the late 20th century due to lower participation in organized religion.

“The impact that we witness seems to be driven by the decline in formal religious participation rather than in belief or personal activities like prayer. These results underscore the importance of cultural institutions such as religious establishments in promoting wellbeing,” the researchers noted in their paper, “Opiates of the Masses? Deaths of Despair and the Decline of American Religion” by Tyler Giles, Daniel M. Hungerman, and Tamar Oostrom.

Whether other types of voluntary or community activities could have similar large-scale effects on health outcomes is unknown and represents an excellent topic for future to open more hearts to the healing power of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Diocese of Knoxville parishes also can send event schedules, testimonials, and encounters, or coverage of eucharistic events in their communities to revival@ dioknox.org ■ research,” the researchers noted.

Referencing an observation attributed to Pope St. Paul VI, Cardinal Dolan noted “when it's easy to be a Catholic, it’s actually hard to be a good Catholic; and when it’s hard to be Catholic, it’s easier to be a good one.”

The cardinal pointed out that the “used-to-be-Catholicism” that has now passed away came with the comfort of an American culture that held it in “high esteem”; but it was a faith “transmitted not by the depth of interior conviction but as cultural heritage.” He told seminarians to “let that sink in,” emphasizing again “it’s now hard to be a Catholic; so it’s actually easier to be a good one.”

“You seminarians something tells me you know that,” Cardinal Dolan said. “Now, for you to discern and hold steadfast to a vocation is hard and perhaps your vocation may be more durable.” ■

“Father O’Neill does so much for our church and the smaller churches down there that we feel like it’s good to celebrate him,” said Melinda Cothran, a parishioner of St. Cecilia. “He’s a very special person.” “I’m retired military, and I just think that it’s nice that he wants to be a part of this country in addition to Ireland for dual citizenship,” added her husband, Jack Cothran. “It’s wonderful that he thinks that much of America.”

Francis Horn, a former history teacher at St. Cecilia Academy who currently works as a part-time assistant in the athletic department, said he had many reasons for wanting to be there to celebrate with Father O’Neill.

He pledges allegiance Above: Father John O’Neill, center, is surrounded by friends who celebrated his new American citizenship on Jan. 18 in Nashville. Joining him are, front row from left, Shawn Curley (Cathedral of the Incarnation); Jeanne Robinson (St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows Parish); Elizabeth Phillips (Cathedral of the Incarnation); Sister Marie Blanchette Cummings, OP, principal of Overbrook School; Angel Brewer (Holy Ghost Parish in Knoxville); Melinda and Jack Cothran (St. Cecilia Parish in Waynesboro). Back row, left to right, Matt Curley (Cathedral of the Incarnation); Mark Robinson (St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows Parish); Francis Horn (St. Henry Parish); Father O’Neill; Father John Sims Baker; Billy Alexander (St. Henry Parish); Jimmy and Sarah McLeod (Cathedral of the Incarnation). Father O’Neill marked the occasion by celebrating Mass.

“Father O'Neill is someone who has a great understanding of the principles of liberty and freedom on which the United States was founded, and also a great understanding of the responsibilities of being an American citizen. It's a great day for Father O'Neill, and it's an even better day for the United States to have gained him as a citizen.”

— Matt Curley Nashville lawyer and member of the Cathedral of the Incarnation afterward. country.”

Father O’Neill’s naturalization ceremony was the first held inperson in Nashville since COVID, and the first ever for the new courthouse. Because of that, applicants were unable to have their family and friends present for the official ceremony. But that didn’t stop Father O’Neill’s friends from putting together a celebratory reception

The reception was hosted by Matt and Shawn Curley, who met Father O’Neill at Overbrook where their children attended, at their home in Nashville. Before lunch, Father O’Neill celebrated Mass for attendees, who included some of his fellow priests; Sister Marie Blanchette Cummings, OP, principal of Overbrook; some of his parishioners, and more.

“One is that he was there every day in school and set that example for all of us,” Mr. Horn explained. “Secondly, four years ago, I had some surgery, and he came and prayed with me.

“Thirdly, the thing I think I’ll remember him most for is once several years ago he had to go to the airport, so I drove him. But, before we left, we had Mass, just the two of us, in St. Cecilia Chapel,” he said. “It was so quiet with no distractions, and during that whole celebration I felt like I was transported back to the very first Mass Jesus had. There’s no other way to describe it.”

“Father O’Neill is quite a man,” he concluded.

Matt Curley said he was happy that he and his wife could put together the event for Father O’Neill.

“Father O’Neill is someone who has a great understanding of the principles of liberty and freedom on which the United States was founded, and also a great understanding of the responsibilities of being an American citizen,” Mr. Curley said. “It’s a great day for Father O’Neill, and it’s an even better day for the United States to have gained him as a citizen.” ■