Feb. 7, 2016, ET Catholic by Diocese of Knoxville

This issue

He dwells among us ................ 2 Lenten penance services..........5 Diocesan calendar ................. 25 Deanery news ........................ 26

The East Tennessee

La Cosecha ......... center pullout Catholic schools......................30 Columns...................................35 Virtus training............................37

February 7, 2016 Volume 25 Number 3 Bishop Richard F. Stika

News from The Diocese of Knoxville • Visit us at dioknox.org or etcatholic.org

Piano man Angelo Miceli still tickles the ivories at 102

Season of Lent Prepare for Easter by making a good confession

Special message ‘Into the breach’ targets Catholic men

East Tennessee Catholics march for life Pro-life faithful join for prayer service at World’s Fair Park, march to Fort Sanders abortion clinic

By Dan McWilliams

DAN MCWILLIAMS

undreds of pro-life supporters, including many East Tennessee Catholics, turned out for a prayer service and the annual March for Life sponsored by the Knox County chapter of Tennessee Right to Life. Nearly 500 people attended the event Jan. 24 at the Tennessee Amphitheater on the World’s ”Abortion supFair site, and more than 400 marched sevporters can’t uneral blocks to a Clinch derstand why after Avenue abortion facil43 years we would ity, where they were still be working greeted by a bagpiper and praying for playing “Amazing an end to aborGrace.” tion. They find it For Paul Simoneau, dihard to believe that rector of the diocesan abortion is still beOffice of Justice and ing talked about Peace, the day’s events from the pulpits by were quite personal. faithful pastors...” “My own mother had –– Stacy Dunn two abortions, and that was even before Roe v. Wade,” he said. “I always wonder what my life would have been like with two other siblings in my life to share In step with the sanctity of life East Tennessee’s pro-life community, including many from the Diocese of Knoxville, joined Jan. 24 for the annual March for Life. A prayer service at the Tennessee Amphitheater pregrowing up with. I pray for my mom and my March continued on page 8

ceded the march, which began at the amphitheater and ended at an abortion clinic in the Fort Sanders area.

The Diocese of Knoxville Living our Roman Catholic faith in East Tennessee

He Dwells Among Us

by Bishop Richard F. Stika

Bishop’s schedule

He must increase

These are some of Bishop Stika’s public appointments:

May we always give both the gifts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and our hearts to others

ur Lenten pilgrimage begins early this year, before St. Valentine’s day, so if you’re giving up candy or chocolate, you might be challenged when the heartshaped boxes of sweets appear on the table for all to enjoy. What will you do? Will you choose to give up something, or to receive something? How about both? My advice is: be different this Lent. Think outside the candy box! Reflect instead upon the words of St. John the Baptist — “He must increase, I must decrease” (John 3:30) — and let these be your guide on how best to draw closer to Christ. In doing so, you will receive far more than what you offer up. Plunging into the depths of this passage, we find inspiration for all our struggles in life. I even chose it for the name of a new group I formed on Facebook for those wanting to lose weight: “The John 3:30 group.” If we follow the counsel of St. John the Baptist, we hope to not only decrease our waistline, but also more importantly to increase our heart size, and that is something of far greater value to our spiritual health, as well as for oth-

Diocesan policy for reporting sexual abuse

Follow Bishop Stika on Twitter @bishopstika and on Facebook for news and events from the diocese ers. But the key to our heart size is the heart of another. Lent is a time, as Pope Francis reminds us in this Year of Mercy, to focus not so much upon our own heart, but upon God’s heart — the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There are lots of people with big hearts, but as good as that may be, it is infinitely better to have the heart of Jesus so that we can give both the supreme gift of God as well as the gift of our own heart and resources to others. It is said that when we do not give God as well as our own gift to others, we give too little. May we always give the Sacred Heart of Jesus along with our heart to others. To increase our heart size, I highly recommend praying daily the Divine Mercy Chaplet. This simple prayer given by Jesus in the 1930s to a Polish nun, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, takes only about seven minutes to pray. But for the small investment of our time invoking

the Divine Mercy in prayer, we receive a far greater divine dividend than can be imagined. God’s mercy transforms whatever it touches. Tradition associates the name of St. Longinus with the Roman soldier who pierced the heart of Jesus with a lance following his death on the cross. According to some accounts, it was the blood and water from Christ’s side that splattered upon St. Longinus that changed his heart and won the Divine Mercy’s first convert. But this grace of being “mercified,” as one priest describes it, was not just for St. Longinus, but for all of us. That is why Christ commanded St. Faustina to have a painting made of her vision of him with twin rays of light emanating from His heart, one pale, the other red. These rays of light represent the cleansing waters of baptism, and the life Jesus wishes to pour out upon us if only we’ll trust in Him. Will you permit the blood and water from Christ’s pierced heart to empty itself out upon your heart? My episcopal motto, translated from the Latin, is our simple response to God’s love and mercy—

The East Tennessee

Feb. 1: 9 a.m., visit St. Jude School in Chattanooga Feb. 3: 9 a.m., visit St. John Neumann School in Farragut Feb. 5: 8:05 a.m., all-school Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral Feb. 6: 5 p.m., Mass for the close of the Year for Consecrated Life at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City Feb. 7: 10:30 am., confirmation at Holy Spirit Church in Soddy-Daisy Feb. 13: 1 p.m., Rite of Election for Five Rivers and Chattanooga deaneries at Sacred Heart Cathedral Feb. 14: 5:15 p.m., Rite of Election for Cumberland Mountain and Smoky Mountain deaneries at Sacred Heart Cathedral Feb. 15-17: Gatlinburg Study Days Feb. 18: 6:15 p.m., Knights of Columbus clergy appreciation dinner at St. John Neumann Church Feb. 21: 10:30 a.m., Mass at Holy Family Church in Seymour Schedule continued on page 38

Bishop continued on page 33

Bishop Richard F. Stika Publisher

Bill Brewer Editor

Dan McWilliams

Emily Booker

Assistant editor Communications Anyone who has actual knowlspecialist edge of or who has reasonable 805 S. Northshore Drive • Knoxville, TN 37919 The Diocese of Knoxville cause to suspect an incident of sexual abuse should report such The East Tennessee Catholic (USPS 007211) is published bi-monthly by The Diocese of Knoxville, 805 S. Northshore Drive, information to the appropriate Knoxville, TN 37919-7551. Periodicals-class postage paid at Knoxville, Tenn. Printed on recycled paper by the Knoxville News Sentinel. civil authorities first, then to the The East Tennessee Catholic is mailed to all registered Catholic families in East Tennessee. Subscription rate for others is $15 a year bishop’s office, 865-584-3307, or in the United States. Make checks payable to The Diocese of Knoxville. the diocesan victims’ assistance coordinator, Marla Lenihan, 865Postmaster: Send address changes to The East Tennessee Catholic, 805 S. Northshore Drive, Knoxville, TN 37919-7551 Reach us by phone: 865-584-3307 • fax: 865-584-8124 • e-mail: webmaster@dioknox.org • web: dioknox.org 482-1388. ■

2 February 7, 2016

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February 7, 2016 3

St. Joseph’s piano man

At 102, Angelo Miceli stays attune to Norris parish’s music liturgy with upbeat song selections

DAN MCWILLIAMS

amily and friends are the keys to a long life, according to 102-year-old Angelo Miceli of St. Joseph Parish in Norris. Mr. Miceli, who plays piano at first Sunday Masses at St. Joseph, turned 102 on Dec. 24. “I was born Christmas Eve in 1913, so that’s 102 years old,” he said from his Norris home in between January snowstorms. “Plus a month,” he added with a laugh. His key to longevity is more of a blessing than a secret, he said. “Although I’m careful of following proper rules of nutrition, I’m also careful to recognize the necessity of maintaining contact with family and friends, because we all need that kind of nourishment: nourishment of the mind,” he said. “Nourishment of the body is OK with good food and drink, but for nourishment of the mind, we need others to do that. So I recognize that necessity, and I’m careful to nourish that insight.” Mr. Miceli’s family literally surrounds him in his Anderson County town. “I have three daughters living in Norris,” he said. “One lives on one side of me; one lives on the other side of me; another one lives about 2 miles from here—I am royally pampered, and I don’t have enough imagination to complain. I have a son here, too — he lives six-tenths of a mile from here. I

Practice makes perfect Angelo Miceli practices his music at his home in preparation for an upcoming Mass at St. Joseph Church in Norris.

have 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.” Mr. Miceli has been a pianist at St. Joseph for nearly 40 years and served in the same role at St. Jude Church in Helenwood for a “couple of decades.” His Norris duties began following his retirement from Uniroyal International, where he worked as a director of research in Detroit and Fort Wayne, Ind. “At Norris I started way back in 1977 when we first moved here be-

cause they had no music at that time, no piano either. They had a reed organ. It’s like a huge mouth organ is what it amounted to. A reed organ, I couldn’t believe it. Fr. Abuh “We bought a piano for the church at that time, and on and off I have helped at St. Joe’s during that time.

By Dan McWilliams

Within the last decade, others have taken over the responsibility for St. Joe’s. But I had retained responsibility for St. Jude, because there was no one else there.” St. Joseph parochial administrator Father Julius Abuh enjoys having Mr. Miceli in his parish. “How can you not treasure this 102-year-old renaissance man, Angelo Miceli, this valued icon not only of our parish here at St. Joseph but the entire city of Norris and beyond,” Father Abuh said. “Even at 102 years, whatever Angelo decides to do, he puts his heart and soul into it in a way that affects everyone around him! In Angelo, I see a mind whose life and sunny conduct inspires younger generations to the faith with both role modeling and mentoring. Unless for grave reasons, Angelo is at every daily Mass, and we most times go for breakfast together.” Music is “a wonderful way of expressing our love,” Mr. Miceli said. “It’s a language that we all understand. There are themes that fit the readings of the day, so that is a nice comfort, that we are participating in the message of the day, even through music. So I enjoy doing that.” Mr. Miceli said he likes St. Joseph Parish because it has a “very friendly group of parishioners.” “It’s a very fine group,” he said.

Angelo continued on page 33

St. John XXIII Parish ranked among top U.S. Newman centers by Pew

est College Reviews, an independent college review journal that provides information on schools, ranks the Diocese of Knoxville’s St. John XXIII University Parish and Catholic Center as the 14th best Newman Center in the United States. A Pew Research study found that Christianity makes up 70 percent of the total population, with

4 February 7, 2016

about 21 percent of the total identifying as Catholic. Many college campuses incorporate Christian organizations and centers into campus life, which prompted Best College Reviews to rank Catholic Newman Centers. These centers are named after the famous 19th-century English intellectual and convert, John Henry Newman, whose work

The Idea of a University is still studied in schools around the world. Newman Centers function as a place for young Catholics to further religious ideals and goals through prayer, study, religious service, community service, and relationship-building activities. The information used for the ranking is taken from each school’s Newman Center website

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and The Newman Connection, an online institute dedicated to helping educate and encourage young Catholics in their faith. Statistics on student populations were gathered from The Newman Connection. The Newman Centers on this list were chosen based on the following criteria:

Newman continued on page 7 dioknox.org

Confessions of a diocesan priest

s the Catholic Church enters the season of Lent on Feb. 10, priests in the Diocese of Knoxville are encouraging parishioners to follow Pope Francis’ lead in this special Year of Mercy and actively participate in the sacrament of reconciliation. Confession is integral to every Catholic’s faith life and is central to God’s mercy. So in this year of mercy, Bishop Richard F. Stika has advised diocesan priests to increase the availability of confession at each parish, and the parishes are responding. Since the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy began on Dec. 8, and even before, Bishop Stika has made conMsgr. Humbrecht fession a priority, speaking about it in his homilies and calling on people in the diocese to join him in taking part in the holy sacrament. At a diocesan men’s conference in November, Bishop Stika arranged for portable confessionals to be set up in the historic Tennessee Theatre for priests to hear confessions of attendees. The lines were long.

Bishop Stika has asked Father John Dowling, pastor of Holy Ghost Parish in Knoxville, to lead a committee that will assist the diocese in celebrating the special Year of Mercy. Father Dowling, who has been a priest for more than three decades, considers hearing confessions to be one of the most important responsibilities he has. “The pope and all bishops are asking us to concentrate on the devotion of Divine Mercy. Confession is one of the ways we can avail ourselves of that mercy,” Father Dowling said. “This year seems to be special in calling on the graces of almighty God. We all are in need of forgiveness and mercy from Fr. Dowling almighty God, and there’s no need to put that off.” Monsignor Al Humbrecht, pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Soddy-Daisy, is embracing a focus on the sacrament of reconciliation during the Year of Mercy, and pointed out what the bishop and all priests try to instill in Catholics – that confession is always important, especially with so

By Bill Brewer

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

Sacrament of reconciliation will lift your burdens and is no longer something to be dreaded; everyone welcome

Papal confession A clergyman hears confession from Pope Francis during a pen-

itential liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Francis surprised his liturgical adviser by going to confession during the service. After an examination of conscience, the pope and 61 priests moved into confessionals or to chairs set up against the walls to offer the sacrament of reconciliation.

much “unforgiveness in the world today.” Monsignor Humbrecht joins his fellow priests, Bishop Stika and Pope Francis in asking Catholics who are shunning confession to come back to this sacrament. “When we don’t acknowledge

our own need for forgiveness and that we are forgiven, then we find it difficult to forgive others and to be agents of forgiveness,” he said. Monsignor Humbrecht noted that with careful catechesis, hopefully more Catholics will participate in the

Confessions continued on page 21

Lenten penance services being held at parishes around diocese

ere is a list of Lenten penance services around the diocese received as of Jan. 30. Cumberland Mountain Deanery penance services are to be announced. Chattanooga Deanery 7 p.m. EST unless noted. Feb. 23—Notre Dame High School, freshmen and sophomores, 11:35 a.m.; Notre Dame High School, juniors and seniors, 12:40 p.m.; St. Catherine Labouré, 6 p.m.; Feb. 25—Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga; Feb. 29—St. Thérèse The East Tennessee Catholic

of Lisieux, Cleveland; March 1— St. Mary, Athens; March 3—St. Stephen, Chattanooga, 6:30 p.m.; March 7—St. Jude, Chattanooga; March 8—Sts. Peter and Paul, Chattanooga, 5:30 p.m.; March 9— Holy Spirit, Soddy-Daisy; March 14—St. Bridget, Dayton, 6:30 p.m.; March 15—St. Augustine, Signal Mountain; TBA—Our Lady of Lourdes, South Pittsburg, and Shepherd of the Valley, Dunlap Five Rivers Deanery 7 p.m., unless noted. Feb. 20— St. Michael the Archangel, Erwin;

Feb. 22—St. Elizabeth, Elizabethton; St. Patrick, Morristown; Feb. 23—St. Dominic, Kingsport; Feb. 24—St. Henry, Rogersville, 6 p.m.; Feb. 29—Good Shepherd, Newport; March 1—St. Mary, Johnson City; March 3—St. John Paul II, Rutledge, 5 p.m.; March 10— Notre Dame, Greeneville; March 16—Holy Trinity, Jefferson City, 5 p.m. Smoky Mountain Deanery 7 p.m., unless noted. Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10—Sacred Heart Cathedral, all-day confes-

The Diocese of Knoxville Living our Roman Catholic faith in East Tennessee

sions, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Feb. 23— Holy Cross, Pigeon Forge; Feb. 25—St. Albert the Great, Knoxville; March 1—Our Lady of Fatima, Alcoa; March 7—Immaculate Conception, Knoxville, and Holy Ghost, Knoxville, at Immaculate Conception; March 8—Holy Family, Seymour; March 9—St. John XXIII, Knoxville, 7:30 p.m.; March 14—St. Mary, Gatlinburg; March 16—St. Joseph the Worker, Madisonville; Good Friday, March 25— Sacred Heart Cathedral, all-day confessions, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ■ February 7, 2016 5

Annual Bishop’s Appeal underway in all diocesan parishes Fundraiser is ‘lifeblood’ for diocesan ministries; theme for 2016 campaign is St. Francis of Assisi’s Peace Prayer

he annual Bishop’s Appeal — a critical source of funding for diocesan works of mercy, formation, evangelization, education, and charity — is underway at all 51 parishes and mission churches in the Diocese of Knoxville. The theme for the 2016 Bishop’s Appeal is “Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace,” which is from the Peace Prayer by St. Francis of Assisi. “I think St. Francis, in his prayer, invites people to listen to its words and to see how the words can be made very real in the lives of people,” said Bishop Richard F. Stika, adding that he has a great love for the Peace Prayer and considers it a fitting theme for the 2016 appeal. “The diocesan Bishop’s Appeal reaches out to a particular segment of folks that are in need. Sometimes

Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. ■

they get sad and they are filled with despair, and then all of a sudden somebody reaches out to them as the hand of Jesus and they offer them hope,” Bishop Stika said. The annual Bishop’s Appeal, which kicked off in late January, is considered by Bishop Stika as the “lifeblood” for diocesan ministries. Contributions to the Bishop’s Ap-

peal annually help fund a variety of critical programs, including Catholic Charities, seminarian and priest formation, Justice and Peace programs, Christian formation, the St. Mary’s mobile medical clinic; and youth, young adult, and campus ministries. The generosity of parishioners across the diocese has been reflected in the growth of the appeal in recent years. In

By Jim Wogan

2012, contributions reached just over $1.4 million. Contributions in 2015 reached $2.32 million. With the diocesan Home Campaign also underway, Bishop Stika is hopeful parishioners will remain loyal to the annual mission of the Bishop’s Appeal in 2016. “I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t donate myself,” said Bishop Stika. “I give and every year I have increased (my contribution). “To me, the Bishop’s Appeal is a wonderful connection to the [St. Francis Peace Prayer] because it is my appeal to people to be the hand of Jesus, to be His face and his voice,” Bishop Stika said. “I think the Bishop’s Appeal, time and again these last few years, has done so much good. It has touched the lives of people and their hearts. If I didn’t believe in it, I wouldn’t ask.” ■

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Knights of Columbus donate wheelchairs to organizations across state Partnership with American Wheelchair Mission assists veterans, seniors and the infirm

Newman continued from page 4 ■ The Newman Center offers reg-

ular Mass times during the week; ■ The Newman Center regularly offers eucharistic adoration, confession, and other opportunities for spiritual growth; ■ The Newman Center offers regular community-building events; The East Tennessee Catholic

which arranges visits to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., for World War II veterans. “A lot of the guys are 90 and older and not as mobile as they used to be,” Mr. Wicke said. The Knights still have several wheelchairs available to be donated, he said. For information about securing one, call Mr. Wicke at 865-566-3840. Since the program began in Tennessee in 2008, the Knights have distributed wheelchairs to 93 parishes from Memphis to Johnson City, Mr. Wicke said, as well as veterans homes and cemeteries. “It’s certainly not as widespread

as we’d like,” Mr. Wicke said. The wheelchairs are nonmotorized but are made with a sturdy, yellow frame. The Knights of Columbus has partnered with the American Wheelchair Mission to provide wheelchairs to those in need in the United States and abroad. The wheelchairs are shipped in the United States in minimum lots of 110, which costs $16,500 or $150 per chair. If the Knights can raise $21,000 for a shipment of 280 wheelchairs overseas, American Wheelchair secures a matching grant, bringing the cost to the Knights down to $75 per chair, Mr.

Wicke explained. Knights councils and assemblies across the state hold a variety of fundraisers for the program, including concerts, spaghetti suppers and a poker tournament hosted by the St. Stephen council, he said. Some councils collect donations to the program with their dues and others simply budget an annual donation to the program, he added. The money is collected by the Tennessee State Council, and when it has enough to buy a shipment Mr. Wicke makes arrangements for the shipment with American Wheelchair Mission. The next overseas shipment is scheduled to be sent to Mexico this month, Mr. Wicke noted. Many of the recipients overseas are homebound before they receive their wheelchair, he said, adding that “a lot of the recipients are literally carried from their beds.” When he traveled to Mexico City with one shipment, Mr. Wicke said, “virtually everyone you help into a wheelchair will be crying because they know they now will be mobile.” Without that mobility, many are cut off from their communities, he added. On Mr. Wicke’s visit to the Holy Land to deliver wheelchairs, two recipients were elderly women who had survived the concentration camp at Auschwitz, he said, adding that helping the women into their wheelchairs “was the most moving thing I’ve ever done.” ■

■ The college must have a Catho-

cording to the review, were the University of Illinois-Champaign, Bowling Green State University, Montclair State University, University of North Dakota, University of Southern California, North Dakota State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Illinois-Chicago, University

of Washington, Nicholls State University, Ohio State University, University of Oregon, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, University of South Dakota, George Washington University, University of Akron, Florida State University, University of Utah, and Ball State University. ■

COURTESY OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

nights of Columbus in East and Middle Tennessee have received a shipment of 114 wheelchairs they are distributing to nursing homes, adult day-care centers, veterans groups and others. The latest shipment is the sixth the Tennessee Knights have distributed in partnership with the American Wheelchair Mission. Three of the shipments have been delivered to Tennessee, two to Mexico and one to the Holy Land, said Bill Wicke, of Knoxville, a former state deputy of the Knights in Tennessee and coordinator of the wheelchair program in the state. “We have so far shipped 1,334,” Mr. Wicke said. Included in the latest shipment were 12 wheelchairs donated by Council 3537 and Fourth Degree Assembly 2328, both at Immaculate Conception Church in Clarksville, to the new Wendell J. Gilbert Tennessee State Veterans Home in Clarksville near the Fort Campbell Army base. The 108-bed nursing facility opened in November and will serve an area with one of the largest concentrations of veterans in the country. Council 9282 at St. Stephen Catholic Community in Hermitage, recently donated four wheelchairs to Catholic Charities’ Adult Day Care program. In Bristol, the Knights have donated about 40 wheelchairs to Honor Flight of Northeast Tennessee,

By Andy Telli

Wheelchair ministry Bill Wicke, a parishioner at St. John Neumann Church in

Farragut and a member of the Knights of Columbus in the Diocese of Knoxville, center holding notebook, supervises a delivery of wheelchairs to be distributed to organizations across the state.

lic population of greater than 100 students; ■ Percentage of Catholic students, relationship with the local parish, and specific site amenities were also taken into account. Campuses with the top Newman Centers in the nation, ac-

The Diocese of Knoxville Living our Roman Catholic faith in East Tennessee

February 7, 2016 7

8 February 7, 2016

Joining in prayer Pro-life supporters within the Diocese of Knoxville pray for an end to abortion and the sanctity of life.

selor at the Clinch Avenue abortion clinic where the march ended, the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health. “It involves being here in prayerful witness to the men and women who come here and the workers,” she said. “We try to have conversation with the women and the men about the choices that they’re making.” Do the counselors’ efforts change the minds of women considering an abortion? “We pray that we do,” Mrs. Golightly said. “Some we know we have, and we’ve celebrated those victories, and some we pray happen once they’re inside and we’ve gone, and we’ll never know until heaven.” Prayers at the event were led by the Rev. Dan Riley of Calvary Baptist Church and the Rev. Bryan

DAN MCWILLIAMS

dad in that respect—they both were remorseful later on in life. “Personally speaking, for me, it’s about remembering my two siblings that have been lost in this horrible genocide against innocent life. They’re just among millions and millions — we can’t even count that number. They’re just two of the casualties of a genocide that has been raging across this world for five decades or more, so that personally is why I’m here.” Bishop Richard F. Stika “very much promotes the sanctity of life,” Mr. Simoneau said, “and it’s from that principle of the sanctity of life that all other principles of the social teachings flow. If we get this wrong, then nothing else works, so the sanctity of life is by far the most important principle of the social teachings because it gives us a better understanding of how our social principles are to be lived out.” Lisa Morris of Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish, a self-described “pro-life prayer warrior,” attended the prayer service and march. “It’s just a real big blessing, to be able to be a witness for the sanctity of all life and just be a part of this march, which really speaks volumes to the work of Tennessee Right to Life and all involved, to really be a witness to the city and our community about the value of all life,” she said. Debbie Donahoo of All Saints Parish in Knoxville called the march “such a visual, overt stand for life.” “It’s just a way I can show my community, my family, the girls, the women who are pregnant, that people do care, and abortion’s wrong,” Mrs. Donahoo said. Cynthia McMillan of St. John Neumann in Farragut said she has taken part in the annual march “many times” and that “it’s just important to take a stand.” Esther Golightly of Our Lady of Fatima in Alcoa is a sidewalk coun-

DAN MCWILLIAMS

March continued from page 1

Making a statement Lisa Morris, Paul Simoneau, center, and Brother Craig Dig-

mann, GHM, of the Diocese of Knoxville take part in the annual March for Life.

Glass of Berean Bible Church. Carol Zimmerman, president of the Knox County chapter of Ten-

The Diocese of Knoxville Living our Roman Catholic faith in East Tennessee

nessee Right to Life, was among the speakers. Several state representa-

March continued on page 9 dioknox.org

Diocesan contingent braves blizzard to attend national March for Life Weather doesn’t deter pro-life supporters, including presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, from Washington rally

hen Kari Lopez heard the weather forecast, she didn’t waver. After months of planning to attend the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., Kari wasn’t about to let a little snow get in the way of partici-

pating. But even by conservative estimates, the D.C. area was predicted to be in the bull’s eye of a storm that meteorologists and their computers suggested could bring 30 inches of snow to the nation’s capital. That’s hardly a little snow.

“We were full steam ahead,” Ms. Lopez said after she, her two daughters, and friend Stephanie Richer returned from their trip on Jan. 24. “My dad never worries about anything — he’s retired military and he (has seen it all). He was the only one

tives attended. Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett read a proclamation declaring the week of Jan. 24 Sanctity of Human Life Week in the county. Stacy Dunn, executive director of the Knox County chapter of TRL and vice president of the state TRL, gave a closing talk with the theme “love always protects.” She referenced Jan. 22, 1973, the day of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion in every state. “Tennessee did not have legalized abortion [until Roe v. Wade],” she told those attending the event. “The people of Tennessee were and still are a pro-life people because we know that love always protects. “Soon after the 1973 decision came down, three women here in Knoxville went to the newspaper to try to get an ad in to raise awareness of the truth about abortion, but they were denied, and that was the start of Tennessee Right to Life. Since then, dedicated pro-life people have made sure that Jan. 22, 1973, was not the end. Many of you have been in this work for a long time. Thank you for your tireless efforts to bring an end to the tragedy of abortion. You have inspired many of us to become involved.” Mrs. Dunn, who is a member of Holy Ghost Parish with her family, thanked legislators for their efforts in passing a required 48-hour waiting period before an abortion and other measures. “Because we know that if given the truth about her baby and time to The East Tennessee Catholic

DAN MCWILLIAMS

March continued from page 8

Speaking out for life Tennessee Right to Life executive Stacy Dunn, a member of Holy Ghost Church, speaks to pro-life supporters at the March for Life. She is joined by Carol Zimmerman, president of the Knox County chapter of TRL.

consider, a confused and frightened young woman will often choose life for her baby,” she said. Those on the side of abortion must be mystified at pro-life efforts more than four decades after Roe v. Wade, Mrs. Dunn said. “Abortion supporters can’t understand why after 43 years we would still be working and praying for an end to abortion,” she said. “They find it hard to believe that abortion is still being talked about from the pulpits by faithful pastors who are teaching their congregations the truth about abortion and extending mercy and compassion to those hurting in their pews. “It is shocking to them that after 43 years you still come out to memorialize the children, to pray for their mothers and fathers, and to

say that this is not over because love always protects.” The pro-life cause still has much work to do, Mrs. Dunn told the prolife supporters. “The laws passed in 2015 are already being challenged in the courts by three owners of abortion facilities in Tennessee. As you are probably aware, Planned Parenthood and their attorneys are still challenging the results of Amendment 1, which was passed by the people of Tennessee: you and me. Amendment 1 allowed we the people of Tennessee, through our elected representatives and senators, to have a say in how life is protected in our state. Tennessee is a pro-life state, so it was no surprise that we voted to have a say in how abortion was regulated.” Mrs. Dunn said that “we did not

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By Jim Wogan

that was worried. I told him, ‘Dad, we’re doing the Lord’s work and He’ll take care of us.’” The forecasts were accurate. Washington was hit with one of the worst blizzards in its history— but it didn’t

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come this far to give up.” “With your help, Tennessee Right to Life will continue to fight Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry in the courts, in the legislature, and in the hearts and minds of the people of Tennessee because love always protects,” she said. “Since January 1973 more than 57 million children have been aborted in our country, and sadly it is legal, but we all know that it’s not right. It is overwhelming and really impossible to contemplate that kind of loss to our country. We have lost more people from abortion than from all the wars put together in our nation’s history. “Blessed Mother Teresa said any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its children to love but to use violence to get what they want, and that is why abortion is the greatest destroyer of love.” At the prayer service and march “we are here to stand for those 57 million children,” Mrs. Dunn said, “and we are here to stand for their mothers who may be grieving or hurting. We stand for those who might be considering abortion, to let them know that we want to help them so they can make a choice for life and love.” Those in her audience and throughout the Tennessee pro-life movement “are making a difference,” according to Mrs. Dunn. “The latest available statistics show that abortion numbers in 2014 were at the lowest point since 1973 here in Tennessee. Lives are being saved,” she said. ■ February 7, 2016 9

Into the breach

An apostolic exhortation to Catholic men and spiritual sons in every diocese Editor’s note: Bishop Thomas J. Olm sted of the Diocese of Phoenix has delivered this message to the men he shepherds and now is offering it to Catholic men in other dioceses. It is particularly relevant following the conference Bishop Richard F. Stika led in November for men in the Diocese of Knoxville that had a similar message.

A call to battle

begin this letter with a clarion call and clear charge to you, my sons and brothers in Christ: Men, do not hesitate to engage in the battle that is raging around you, the battle that is wounding our children and families, the battle that is distorting the dignity of both women and men. This battle is often hidden, but the battle is real. It is primarily spiritual, but it is progressively killing the remaining Christian ethos in our society and culture, and even in our own homes. The world is under attack by Satan, as our Lord said it would be (1 Peter 5:8-14). This battle is occurring in the Church herself, and the devastation is all too evident. Since 2000, 14 million Catholics have left the faith, parish religious education of children has dropped by 24 percent, Catholic school attendance has dropped by 19 percent, infant baptism has dropped by 28 percent, adult baptism has dropped by 31 percent, and sacramental Catholic marriages have dropped by 41 percent. This is a serious breach, a gaping hole in Christ’s battle lines. While the Diocese of Phoenix (and the Diocese of Knoxville) has fared better than these national statistics, the losses are staggering. One of the key reasons that the Church is faltering under the attacks of Satan is that many Catholic men have not been willing to “step into the breach” — to fill this gap that lies open and vulnerable to further

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attack. A large number have left the faith, and many who remain “Catholic” practice the faith timidly and are only minimally committed to passing the faith on to their children. Recent research shows that large numbers of young Catholic men are leaving the faith to become “nones” — men who have no religious affiliation. The growing losses of young Catholic men will have a devastating impact on the Church in America in the coming decades, as older men pass away and young men fail to remain and marry in the Church, accelerating the losses that have already occurred. These facts are devastating. As our fathers, brothers, uncles, sons, and friends fall away from the Church, they fall deeper and deeper into sin, breaking their bonds with God and leaving them vulnerable to the fires of hell. While we know that Christ welcomes back every repentant sinner, the truth is that large numbers of Catholic men are failing to keep the promises they made at their children’s baptisms — promises to bring them to Christ and to raise them in the faith of the Church. This crisis is evident in the discouragement and disengagement of Catholic men like you and me. In fact, this is precisely why I believe this exhortation is needed, and it is also the reason for my hope, for God constantly overcomes evil with good. The joy of the Gospel is stronger than the sadness wrought by sin! A throwaway culture cannot withstand the new life and light that constantly radiates from Christ. So I call upon you to open your minds and hearts to Him, the Savior who strengthens you to step into the breach!

Purpose of this exhortation I offer this exhortation as an encouragement, a challenge, and a calling forth to mission for every

willing man: priests and deacons, husbands, fathers and sons, grandfathers and widowers, young men in preparation for your vocation — that is, each and every man. With this exhortation, I want to clarify for you the nature of this mission from Christ, for which I will rely on the clear guidance of the holy Scriptures, the Magisterium of the Church, and the example of the saints. In this exhortation, I will address three primary questions: 1. What does it mean to be a Christian man? 2. How does a Catholic man love? 3. Why is fatherhood, fully understood, so crucial for every man? Before addressing these three basic questions, it is important to put them into proper context. In the following section, I will explain three important contexts that help us understand the main questions. Context No. 1: A new apostolic moment — the “New Evangelization.” First, a new apostolic moment is upon us at this time in the history of the Church. The Holy Spirit is bringing about what recent popes have termed the “New Evangelization.” By evangelization, we mean the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by all means available, such as preaching, teaching, witnessing a fruitful and faithful family life, living celibacy for the sake of God’s Kingdom, employing media and other arts placed at the service of the Gospel. And what is new? The newness of our times is this: in the West, we find ourselves in the midst of competing cultures, particularly in cities and neighborhoods where the Gospel once permeated quite deeply. Jesus Christ’s Great Commission (Matthew 28: 16-20) to go out to the whole world and share the Good News has al-

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By Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted ready happened where we live! This permeation of Western culture was once so deep that in a sense, it became part of the soil, and we still stand on that soil in certain ways. It is evident in current assumptions about life, which come directly from the Greco-Roman-JudeoChristian framework; assumptions regarding “fairness,” “equality,” “virtue,” “human dignity,” “compassion,” “representative government,” “the Golden Rule,” the “Ten Commandments,” the “hospital,” the “university,” and other clearly positive developments in the history of civilization. All this is our patrimony and inheritance from our spiritual ancestors. We find ourselves standing on this rich soil, where blessings are many because the Gospel has been taught here, received in faith, and put into practice. Yet, at the same time, termites are hard at work in this soil. Here, in the developed desert of Arizona, we know termites well. Homebuilders know that no home built in our climate is entirely immune from these hungry, subterranean insects. Likewise, no culture — deeply Christian though it may be — is immune to the corruption of half-truths and hidden sin. Many fruits of our Christian heritage still exist, but the roots below the soil are under siege. Much about our culture remains good and must be preserved, but it would be foolish to ignore the current and growing trends that threaten the remaining good, and dangerous to risk squandering the patrimony with which we have been blessed. The answer and only ultimate solution is the New Evangelization of which we speak. Pope St. John Paul II, with whom I was blessed to work closely for nine years and who has inspired many men, re-

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minds us of this needed response: “There is no solution to the social question apart from the Gospel.” With this exhortation, I gladly make his words my own; there is no solution to our cultural decline apart from the Gospel of Jesus. This is daunting, perhaps, but surely an adventure. In the Book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus tells us, “Behold, I make all things new” (21:5) — that all things old and tired, sinful and broken, are renewed in His incarnation, death, and resurrection. Could this possibly be true? The answer is a resounding yes! A true Catholic man stakes his whole life on this proposition — that all is made new in Jesus Christ. Our Lord has promised that He is and will always be with us. Catholic men across the centuries have responded to the call to enter the battle, ever ancient and ever new, and I have confidence that you will respond alike to fill the breach in our time. Be confident! Be bold! Forward, into the breach! Context No. 2: A field hospital and a battle college. In his homilies, Pope Francis has described the Church today as “a field hospital after battle” — a constant source of mercy in order to endure and overcome wounds that we all bear. The Church is also the powerful source of truth to heal men and prepare them to battle another day for Christ. Here in Phoenix as elsewhere, the Church is finding — though it must redouble its efforts to find — the paths to healing for ourselves and the means to care for others who, like us, bear the mark of the fall in debilitating ways, whether these wounds be physical or spiritual (addiction to pornography, alcohol, drugs, food, broken marriages, fatherlessness, and troubled family life). Our time calls for a renewal of the Church’s genius for physical and spiritual healing, given The East Tennessee Catholic

to her by the Holy Spirit. As Pope Francis says, the wounded are all around us, and “it is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars. You have to heal the wounds.” At the same time, the proclamation of the fullness of truth found in the Catholic Church is essential. This leads you, men, to live lives where sins do not cause festering wounds. Through Christ’s mercy and truth, we are healed and revitalized for battle. In Christ’s mercy and truth, we become strong in his strength, courageous with his courage, and can actually experience the joie de guerre of being soldiers for Christ. Since the Church as “field hospital” after battle is an appropriate analogy, then another complementary image is appropriate for our day: the Spiritual Battle College. The Church is, and has always been, a school that prepares us for spiritual battle, where Christians are called to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6), to “put on the armor of God”, and “to be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Ever since Jesus chose the Twelve Apostles, formed them in his presence, and sent them out in his name, He has continued to choose and form men through his Church and to send them out to the wounded. This is the meaning of the word apostle — men who are sent. With this letter, then, my sons and brothers, I urge you to heed Jesus’ call and to let him form your mind and heart with the light of the Gospel for the purpose of being sent. That is why this letter is an apostolic exhortation. I am hereby exhorting you to step into the breach — to do the work of Christ’s soldiers in the world today. Context No. 3: Man and woman are complementary, not competitors. The complementarity of masculinity and femininity is key to under-

Bishop Olmsted

standing how humans image God. Without knowing and appreciating this, we cannot know ourselves or our mission as men, nor can women embrace their own vocations, confident in the Father’s love. Men and women are certainly different. Science increasingly deepens our understanding of this difference. Up until recently, we had little idea of the complex workings of hormones, chemical reactions, and the brain differences present in boys and girls, men and women, all in response to the presence of the XX or XY combination of chromosomes present at conception. For example, the significantly greater amount of corpus callosum (the connective nerve fibers between the two sides of the brain) in the average woman is a fascinating discovery, as is the way the male brain is typically more segmented in its functions. Studies show that on average, infant girls will look at the face of a silent adult twice as long as infant boys, more interested in the person by God’s design. All these biological facts discovered by science add to our knowledge of the symphony of complementarity between man and woman, something at which we rightly wonder and in which we rejoice when we encounter the beauty of the sexual difference. This difference is also a challenge, since misunderstanding can creep in and sin can cause us to lose respect for one another, robbing us

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of our hope for peaceful and fruitful collaboration between men and women. But this struggle between the sexes is not the fault of God’s creation; it is the result of sin. Pope Francis puts it this way: man and woman are the image and likeness of God. This tells us that not only is man taken in himself the image of God, not only is woman taken in herself the image of God, but also man and woman, as a couple, are the image of God. The difference between man and woman is not for opposition, or for subordination, but for communion and procreation, always in the image and likeness of God. Alongside this struggle, the rapid advance of a “gender ideology” has infected societies around the world. This ideology seeks to set aside the sexual difference created by God, to remove male and female as the normative way of understanding the human person, and in its place, to add various other “categories” of sexuality. This ideology is destructive for individuals and society, and it is a lie. It is harmful to the human person, and therefore, a false concept that we must oppose as Christians. At the same time, however, we are called to show compassion and provide help for those who experience confusion about their sexual identity. This confusion is not unexpected when the poison of secularism reaches such critical levels: “When God is forgotten, the creature itself becomes unintelligible.” The damaging impact of this “gender ideology” on individuals and society was addressed at length this year by Pope Francis: I ask myself if the so-called gender theory is not… an expression of frustration and resignation, which seeks to cancel out sexual difference because it no longer knows how to confront it. Yes, we risk taking a step backwards. The removal of difference in fact

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creates a problem, not a solution. In order to resolve the problems in their relationships, men and women need to speak to one another more, listen to each other more, get to know one another better, love one another more. They must treat each other with respect and cooperate in friendship. As Pope Francis reminds us all to “love one another more,” I exhort you, my sons and brothers in Jesus Christ, to embrace more deeply the beauty and richness of the sexual difference and to defend it against false ideologies. Having now established the contexts in which to understand the questions addressed in this exhortation, I will now respond to the above-stated questions themselves. Question 1: What does it mean to be a Catholic man? Ecce Homo — Behold the Man. Every man, particularly today, must come to a mature acceptance and understanding of what it means to be a man. This may seem obvious, but in our world, there are many distorted images and much evidence of confusion regarding what is true masculinity. We can say that for the first time in history, people have become either so confused or so arrogant as to attempt to dictate their masculinity or femininity according to their own definitions. At one striking moment of Jesus’ trial, Pontius Pilate, with all his worldly power, presented Jesus to the crowd with the words, Ecce homo — Latin meaning “Here is the man!” Thinking he was merely pointing to a man from Nazareth, he failed to recognize that he was pointing to God made man — the Word made flesh, Jesus of Nazareth — who at once is fully God and fully man, and the perfection of masculinity. Every moment of his life on earth is a revelation of the mystery of what it means to be man — that is, to be fully human

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and also, the model of masculinity. Nowhere else can we find the fullness of masculinity as we do in the Son of God. Only in Jesus Christ can we find the highest display of masculine virtue and strength that we need in our personal lives and in society itself. What was visible in Christ’s earthly life leads to the invisible mystery of his divine Sonship and redemptive mission. The Father sent his Son to reveal what it means to be a man, and the fullness of this revelation becomes evident on the cross. He tells us that it was for this reason that He came into the world, that it is his earnest desire to give himself totally to us. Herein lies the fullness of masculinity; each Catholic man must be prepared to give himself completely, to charge into the breach, to engage in spiritual combat, to defend women, children, and others against the wickedness and snares of the devil! Looking to what the secular world holds up as “manly” is in fact to look at shadows — or even at outright counterfeits — of masculinity. No athlete, no matter how many awards; no political leader, no matter the power he wields; no performer, businessman, or celebrity, no matter how much adored; no physical attribute or muscle mass; no intelligence or talent; no prizes or achievements can bestow masculinity on a man. The idolatry of celebrities at this time is a particular temptation, but to build one’s masculine identity on such fleeting models is to build an identity on sand. My Catholic sons and brothers, we can only build a certain foundation for masculinity on the rock, Jesus Christ. We look to our Savior to be transformed in Him, to be the men we are called to be, and to let others see Him in us. Yet we do not merely look to Jesus. We truly encounter Christ at Mass when we receive the very

gift of Himself in the Eucharist. For this reason, I call upon my brother priests to awaken the sense of transcendence in the hearts of men through reverent and beautiful liturgy, helping men to rediscover Jesus in the Eucharist each and every Sunday. I ask my brother priests to teach the faithful about the powerful truth of the liturgy, especially in ways to which men can relate. Teaching men to understand the fullness and power of the Mass must be a top priority. What a joy it is for men of God when they are led by priests who have a confident sense of their own masculinity, their call to participate in Christ’s spousal love, and their generous, life-giving fatherhood!

Saints, our heroes of faith

This is what our forefathers, the saints, have done for two millennia. As the Gospel reveals the reality of masculinity, we can also find it lived out in the heroic witness of the saints. Saints are a kind of continuation of the Gospels and so give us examples of the varied paths of holiness. Thus, as Jesus shows us the perfection of masculinity, so we can also find it lived by the saints who were led by Christ. Just as an aspiring baseball player is inspired at the Baseball Hall of Fame, so must we men look to those who have gone before us, to look to them for inspiration and encouragement in fighting the good fight. Think of the varied skills and talents of baseball players. A young person may dream to hit like Babe Ruth, catch and throw like Willie Mays, have the agility of Henry Aaron, the consistency and hard work of Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson. Young pitchers would dream of pitching like Cy Young and Randy Johnson. As they see each of these players play the game in different ways, they are inspired to a love of baseball.

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Yet far greater than a ball game is what Catholic men seek. We look to the saints as to heroes, striving to live like Christ, united to Him and learning from Him at the same time. In a dramatic way to which we can relate, the saint’s life says Ecce homo!, “Here is the man!” This is what St. Paul implies when he writes, “It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Each man should make a decision to have a patron saint. While there are many more, I offer the names of 10 saints with whom each and every Catholic man should become familiar. Next to each saint’s name is listed the virtue with which he is associated, as well as the sin which opposes that virtue. When we identify our sin and the needed virtue, we can identify which saint’s intercession will be particularly helpful: ■ St. Joseph (trust in God — selfishness); ■ St. John the Baptist (humility — arrogance); ■ St. Paul (adherence to truth — mediocrity); ■ St. Michael the Archangel (obedience to God — licentiousness and rebelliousness); ■ St. Benedict (prayer and devotion to God — sloth); ■ St. Francis of Assisi (happiness — moralism); ■ St. Thomas More (integrity — double-mindedness); ■ Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (chastity — lust); ■ St. Josemaría Escrivá (boldness — worldly fear); ■ Pope St. John Paul II (defending the weak — passivity). We don’t even need to look to the distant past to find heroes of the faith. We witnessed St. John Paul II forgive his would-be assassin, and after recovering his health, continue tirelessly to call the world to “open wide the doors to Christ.”

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The East Tennessee Catholic

Beloved and free sons, called to the battle within

BILL BREWER

Time and again, he exhorted us, “Be not afraid!” Today in parts of the world where persecution rages, we are seeing courageous witnesses of truth in the recent martyrs of Syria, Nigeria, Iraq, and other wartorn countries. We remember our 21 Coptic brothers who, just this past winter, were beheaded on a beach in Egypt, and as Pope Francis noted, “only because they confessed Christ.” Men, we must never believe that holiness and courage are things of the past! You and I are called to a holiness that shows Christ to the world as our forefathers have done countless times throughout history, following the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, in this time of evil’s growing boldness, each man must prepare himself for nothing less than martyrdom, whatever form this may take, and to instill in his children and grandchildren the willingness to do the same. Will the Lord not continue to inspire men? Of course He will, and He continues to do so! Our concern is not if the Lord will give us the required strength, but how He is doing so right now. How is His Spirit moving us to rise up and reject passivity in a culture of fatherlessness? How is He now giving us interior strength in a culture of pornography? How is He now inspiring us to look beyond ourselves and our technology to the peripheries where Christ is needed? How is the Lord inspiring you and me, right now, to cast aside concerns for our own comfort, to serve our fellow man, to put out into the deep, to step into the breach? I strongly encourage your familiarity with the lives of the saints. Just as a young baseball player would lack much having never studied the greats enshrined in Cooperstown, so we lack much if

ing of all that takes us away from our identity as beloved sons of the Father. Since this is our identity — being beloved sons of God the Father — is it surprising that the devil is waging a fierce battle on masculinity and fatherhood in our day? The process of Christian conversion includes coming to know God’s love and experiencing brotherhood with Christ, who deepens our identity as sons of the Father in the Holy Spirit. This is our lifelong goal and our spiritual battle.

Celebrating family Bishop Richard F. Stika visits with families at the Church of

Divine Mercy following a recent Mass. In his exhortation, “Into the breach,” Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted writes of the importance of being a man in the image of God that can include being married with children.

we are ignorant of the saints who have preceded us to the infinitely more glorious halls of heaven.

The Catholic man’s identity

I wish now to speak to you about our identity in Christ. Most of the holy men I mentioned above lived in times quite different than our own. They had different challenges and different callings, but all had one thing in common: Jesus Christ, who gave them their true identity! Here we recall the wisdom of the Second Vatican Council: “Jesus Christ reveals man to himself and makes his supreme calling clear.” In subtle ways, we are tempted to look elsewhere for our identity. The opinions of others, the success of our careers, the number of possessions, toys, sports, hobbies, clothing, tattoos, homes, and cars — these are all ways that tempt us to label or identify ourselves in

ways outside of Christ. While some of these must be a part of life to an extent, they are not the core of our being. Having been purchased by the blood of the Lamb, “our citizenship is in Heaven” (Philippians 3:20). The world cannot possibly give us our true identity; “Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8). We must be aware of being distracted by false identities and remain grounded in Jesus Christ. Simply put, our identity is caught up in the identity of the eternal Son of God. It is received at our baptism as it was clearly exclaimed at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River: “You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). When we speak of conversion, we are speaking about an acceptance of and growth into this identity. When we speak about sin, we are speak-

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Let us look to John the apostle and beloved disciple for insights into this battle. In his first Letter to the Church, St. John speaks of the three-fold temptation faced by all of us: temptations to the passions of the flesh, to possessiveness, and to pride (1 John 2: 16-17). Are not all sins tied to these three temptations? John puts his finger on the battles that each of us must fight within ourselves. In fact, Christ fights specifically against these temptations during His encounter with Satan in the desert (Matthew 4), and then gives us instruction in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6) on how we are to fight against them. Turning away from the passions of the flesh, Jesus rejected Satan’s offering of bread in the desert, and in the Sermon on the Mount, twice He instructs us to fast (Matthew 6:16). Notice that the Lord does not say “if you fast” but rather “when you fast.” Fasting is training in self-knowledge, a key weapon for mastery over oneself. If we do not have dominion over our passions, especially those for food and sex, we cannot possess ourselves and put the interests of others in front of our own. Tempting Jesus to possessiveness, Satan offered Him “all the

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kingdoms of the world and the glory of them” (Matthew 4:8), but once again, Jesus refused. This shows us that Christ calls us to freedom from the temptation to gain the world at the cost of our souls. Satan often tempts, not through people, but through objects like a car, a house, or the latest high-speed technologies. There is no shortage of messages that tempt us to grasp for happiness through possessions. We recall how the Rich Young Man left his encounter with Jesus as “sad” because “he had many possessions” (Luke 18:23). Pope Francis reminds us, “The emptier the person’s heart is, the more he or she needs to buy, own, and consume.” With Jesus, we are called to seek out, not to “settle for,” a simplicity of life that frees us for our mission in Christ. In Satan’s third attack upon Jesus in the desert, the Lord was tempted by pride. Satan enticed our Lord to use his power for selfish purposes, but Jesus rejected this cross-less glory and chose the path of humility. In the Sermon on the Mount, He exhorts us to humility not once but twice when He repeats, “when you pray” (Matthew 6:5). Indeed, the greatest protection from pride and self-reliance is turning humbly to God in prayer. The new technologies of social media where we can constantly display and discuss ourselves can lead to a type of idolatry that consumes us. Honest prayer will keep us grounded and help us to avoid this temptation. Men, this need for pastors to challenge men to the battle within, to the richness of a committed interior life with God, is nothing new. Listen to the words of St. John Paul II, when as archbishop of Krakow he spoke to college students in 1962: “We are quite ready to take, or conquer, in terms of enjoyment, profit, gain and success — and even in the moral order. Then comes the question of giving, and

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at this point we hang back, because we are not prepared to give. The element which is so characteristic under other forms in the spiritual portrait of women is barely perceptible in men. ... We have a tendency toward the Nicodemus type of religious attitude, toward the type of devotion which is characterized maybe only by superficial discretion but very often also by fear of what others might think. ... This male Catholicism is not interior and deep enough; the male believer does not have a true interior life. ... we men do not have a deep enough interior life.” The human being is a creature, and therefore in relation to God a receiver of love and courage before he or she can give it away to others. Nemo potest dare quod non habet is the famous term the Church developed in Latin for this fundamental truth. You cannot give what you do not have. Mary our Mother, the great Receiver of God’s love in her very body is the model for us as Catholics, but not only Mary— every great saint, that is, great lover in the history of our Church. There is no shortcut to holiness, to being the great Catholic men we are called to be. There is no shortcut past the ageold interior fight that each of us must engage! As we develop in receiving God’s love and mercy in prayer and sacrament, the Lord gives us sure weapons in the “good fight” St. Paul names when he writes: Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast

with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace. In all circumstances hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:11-17). We may be tempted to say, “When I get this three-fold battle behind me, I can start living the life of holiness,” but this is a lie! It is precisely in the course of this fight that we become holy. As Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati said, “To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth — that is not living, but existing.” Are you and I merely existing? Or are we living our Christian faith as men fully alive? Recall the famous words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: “You were not made for comfort; you were made for greatness.” Any greatness that we might merit as Catholic men depends upon this fight for holiness. It is the same fight Jesus Christ fought in the desert and the same fight our Christian forefathers fought in order to hand down the faith. Woe to us if we do not pick up the weapons of the Spirit — offered to us freely — and accept them bravely and gratefully! Courage, confidence, and humble reliance on God’s infinite resources are called for here as we engage. Forward! Into the breach!

The practices of a committed Catholic man

Given these reflections on Catholic manhood, we move to the practical, that is, how to live like a Catholic man. What practices can help us to take up our cross and follow our King? If we think of soldiers who do not remain in strong physical and mental shape and who fail to

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practice the essential combat arts, we know they will not be ready for battle and will be a danger to themselves and their comrades in arms. The same is true for Catholic men; those who do not prepare and strengthen themselves for spiritual combat are incapable of filling the breach for Christ. While there are many habits and devotions that a Catholic man can form, I charge you with keeping these seven basic practices on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. If these practices are not (yet) part of your life, start now! Daily: ■ Pray every day. Each Catholic man must start his day with prayer. It is said, “Until you realize that prayer is the most important thing in life, you will never have time for prayer.” Without prayer, a man is like a soldier who lacks food, water, and ammunition. Set aside some time to speak with God first thing each morning. Pray the three prayers essential to the Catholic faith: the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be. Pray also at every meal. Before food or drink touches your lips, make the Sign of the Cross, say the “Bless us, O Lord” prayer, and end with the Sign of the Cross. Do this no matter where you are, with whom or how much you are eating. Never be shy or ashamed about praying over meals. Never deny Christ the gratitude that is due to Him. Praying as a Catholic man before every meal is a simple but powerful way to keep strong and fill the breach. ■ Examine your conscience before going to sleep. Take a few moments to review the day, including both your blessings and sins. Give God thanks for blessings and ask forgiveness for sins. Say an Act of Contrition. ■ Go to Mass. Despite the fact that attending weekly Mass is a precept

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of the Church, only about one in three Catholic men attend Sunday Mass. For large numbers of Catholic men, their neglect to attend Mass is a grave sin, a sin that puts them in mortal danger. The Mass is a refuge in the Spiritual Battle, where Catholic men meet their King, hear His commands, and become strengthened with the Bread of Life. Every Mass is a miracle where Jesus Christ is fully present, a miracle that is the high point not only of the week, but of our entire lives on Earth. In the Mass, a man gives thanks to God for his many blessings and hears Christ send him again into the world to build the Kingdom of God. Fathers who lead their children to Mass are helping in a very real way to ensure their eternal salvation. ■ Read the Bible. As St. Jerome so clearly tells us, “Ignorance of the Sacred Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” When we read God’s word, Jesus is present. Married men, read with your wife and your children. If a man’s children see him read the Scriptures, they are more likely to remain in the faith. My brothers in Christ, this I can assure you: men who read the Bible grow in grace, wisdom, and peace. ■ Keep the Sabbath. From the creation of Adam and Eve, God the Father established a weekly cycle ending with the Sabbath. He gave us the Sabbath to ensure that one day out of seven we will give thanks to God, rest, and be refreshed. In the Ten Commandments, God asserts anew the importance of keeping the Sabbath. With today’s constant barrage of buying and selling and the cacophony of noisy media, the Sabbath is God’s respite from the storm. As Catholic men, you must begin, or deepen, keeping the holiness of the Sabbath. If you are married, you The East Tennessee Catholic

must lead your wives and children to do the same. Dedicate the day to rest and true recreation, and avoid work that is not necessary. Spend time with family, attend Mass, and enjoy the gift of the day. Monthly: ■ Go to confession. At the very start of Christ’s public ministry, Jesus calls on all men to repent. Without repentance from sin, there can be no healing or forgiveness, and there will be no heaven. Large numbers of Catholic men are in grave mortal danger, particularly given the epidemic levels of pornography consumption and the sin of masturbation. My brothers, get to confession now! Our Lord Jesus Christ is a merciful King who will forgive those who humbly confess their sins. He will not forgive those who refuse. Open your soul to the gift of our Lord’s mercy! ■ Build fraternity with other Catholic men. Catholic friendship among men has a dramatic impact on their faith lives. Men who have bonds of brotherhood with other Catholic men pray more, go to Mass and confession more frequently, read the Scriptures more often, and are more active in the faith. Proverbs tells us: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (27:17). I call on each of our priests and deacons to draw men together in their parishes and to begin to rebuild a vibrant and transforming Catholic fraternity. I call on laymen to form small fellowship groups for mutual support and growth in the faith. There is no friendship like having a friend in Christ.

How does a Catholic man love?

Now let us consider masculine love. This is not easy to do because the word love has almost lost its meaning in today’s society. It is a word that men have even become

uncomfortable using. Why is this? What does the word now imply? A mere feeling? Something passing? A four-letter word useful for marketing and greeting cards but for little else? Christ makes clear that central to His mission is love. “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12) He says with passion, but without a hint of sentimentality. All of our Lord’s teachings boil down to this command. Love is not a side-job; it is the mission itself. Yet, we can only love as we are created, and therefore, we can only love as men. So, how do men love? For decades now, a model for manhood has been fashioned in the fictional British spy character named James Bond. Various actors have taken turns portraying this man who, in several adventures, has proposed what it means to be “manly,” yet Bond remains an enigma. Like the women that he uses in the films, the ones who watch him find themselves wanting to know him. He is never a father, nor does he accept responsibility for or love one woman. In him, we see a man whose relationships are shallow and purely utilitarian. Indeed, it has been said that “James Bond is a male character whose name is the height of irony. He is 40 years old and has no bonds. He is actually pathetic.” How different this is from Jesus Christ! Is there fear in Him? Not in the least! Who is more of a man, the one who runs away or the one who can face the responsibilities and challenges of relationships, family, and intimacy? Could a man fearful of self-gift be a true disciple of Christ? In fact, can such a man love at all? James Bond’s name is the height of irony because he is a man with no bonds. Yet true masculine love will always build bonds! On the cross and through the Eucharist,

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Jesus gives his very blood to bind us to Himself in love. At the Last Supper, offering us the Eucharist, His prayer to the Father is “that they may be one even as we are one” (John 17:11). As He proclaims, His committed, binding love will “draw all men to himself” (John 12:32). In its Latin root, the word religion implies “binding together.” Thus, it is no wonder that in a culture of broken bonds, so fearful of commitment, we often hear, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” Satan is also “spiritual, but not religious!” A man who lives life without a single, self-giving bond in his life deserves our pity, not our admiration. In this context, I must mention what is called machismo and call Catholic men to rise above this tendency. The display of machismo attempts to seek safety in an image of toughness and emotionless living. However, it is merely a thin outer mask covering a deep inner fear of true bonds with others, bonds that come with true relationship and make one’s life rich and meaningful. Behind the mask, as any mature person can see, is a man stuck in adolescent fear of vulnerability. In most cases, he has himself been badly hurt and is repeating a cycle learned in childhood. Instead, the true love of Christ is centered on willing the good of the other, on pouring oneself out in charity for others. This is how the Son reveals the Father’s love: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you…This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15: 9, 12). In Christ, we see that sacrifice is at the heart of love. Only the man who has fought the interior battle of self-mastery against sterility, the man who lays down his life for others, can avoid stagnancy and self-absorption. Never doubt that

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Bishop Stika recommends Msgr. Humbrecht, Fr. Reed for papal designation By Jim Wogan hile Catholics across the world have been called on by Pope Francis to celebrate the Jubilee of Mercy, two priests from the Diocese of Knoxville will receive a special mandate from the Holy Father in Rome to further spread merciful works. Monsignor Al Humbrecht, pastor at Holy Spirit Parish in Soddy-Daisy, Msgr. Humbrecht and Father Joe Reed, associate pastor at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, will visit with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Feb. 9 and then concelebrate a Mass with His Holiness at St. Peter’s Basilica on Ash Wednesday, Fr. Reed Feb. 10, where they will officially receive mandates as Missionaries of Mercy for the Church. Monsignor Humbrecht and Father Reed are among just 1,071 Missionaries of Mercy appointed by Pope Francis worldwide, and two of just 125 in the United States. Their appointments were based, in part, on a recommendation from Bishop Richard F. Stika. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the Catholic Church of East Tennessee to participate more fully in Pope Francis’ call for mercy and

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forgiveness during this special Jubilee Year,” Bishop Stika said. “With the opening of the Holy Door at our cathedral and at other parishes around the diocese, we have invited all who are seeking God’s forgiveness, for whatever reason, to come to us. Our mission is to offer an avenue of mercy — and I am grateful that Monsignor Humbrecht and Father Reed will strengthen that mission here in the Diocese of Knoxville, and even beyond our diocese,” Bishop Stika

added. Monsignor Humbrecht and Father Reed are somewhat uncertain about the specific message Pope Francis will deliver during his remarks at the Vatican on Feb. 9, but each priest has an understanding about what his duties will be. During the process of applying, both had to submit their personal contact information to the Vatican, and that information is being made available to all bishops in the United States.

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“(We have been told) we should try to make ourselves available throughout this Year of Mercy, if a bishop should ask us to come and do a retreat, or preach mercy, or anything connected with this Jubilee Year, we should be available,” Monsignor Humbrecht said. “I know the bishops have received that, because I have already received a note from Archbishop [Joseph E.] Kurtz,” he added. Monsignor Humbrecht has al-

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this sacrifice is worth the suffering! Our Lord encourages men in saying, “greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Three masculine loves: friend, husband, father

■ A friend in Christ — bands of

brothers. At the very inception of his ministry here on earth, Jesus called other men to join Him. What was He teaching us here? We see that Jesus called His disciples to Himself in such a way that they would form deep bonds of friendship and brotherhood. At the last supper, He specifically said to them, “No longer do I call you servants. For the servant does not know what the Master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). This friendship with God is possible, a true brotherhood with Jesus, because we have the same Father. Do you, my sons, have true brothers in Christ in your life? Throughout all of history, including the history of Christianity, important movements were spurred on by bands of brothers, friends in Christ. The early Church fathers, St. Gregory Nazianzen and St. Basil, were great friends and co-workers in the defense of Christ as they stood for the truth and defeated early heresies threatening the Church. St. Benedict and his monastic companions established communities of men that preserved and furthered Western culture in the face of barbarian destruction. This veritable fortress protecting truth, goodness, and beauty was built upon the stable and rich life of Christian brotherhood and friendship. St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic each started bands of brothers in service to the poor and in defense of the truth. The early founders of the Society of Jesus, St. The East Tennessee Catholic

Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier, influenced countless other men, brought about great renewal in the Church, and evangelized to the furthest reaches of the world. In the 20th century, we see the friendship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and their brother “Inklings” as indispensable in the growth and flourishing of their own literary and apologetic gifts. What is friendship? Who is a friend? The Scriptures tell us, “A friend is a friend at all times, and a brother is born for the time of adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). I am convinced that if men will seek true brotherhood, the adversities we face today will solidify bands of brothers who will be lauded in heaven! Therefore, men, ask yourself: what are your friends like? Do you have friends with whom you share the mission of holiness? Often young men will go to the seminary and discover the difference made by Christ-centered friendships, and their lives are transformed. This friendship is not limited to religious orders and priests. The renewal of masculinity cannot happen without banding together as brothers and true friends. In my own life, ever since my first year as a priest, I have been richly blessed by brother priests in the Jesus Caritas Fraternity. Their commitment to Eucharistic adoration and simplicity of life, their fidelity to Christ in celibacy and daily prayer, their fraternal love, wise counsel, and encouragement have richly influenced and inspired me to persevere in my own mission in Christ. It has been a joy to see how fraternity in our diocese has grown and flourished through your participation in our men’s conferences, Knights of Columbus, That Man is You, Cursillo movement, and other such groups and events. There is room to grow, of course, but already the fruits of the Holy

Spirit are evident among these Catholic brothers and friends. Conversely, we have seen what happens when men, young and old, do not form or sustain healthy friendships. Many, looking in the wrong places, find themselves in the false brotherhood of gangs, or without brotherhood at all, isolated and alone, and lacking these critical formative experiences of accountability and the trusted fellowship that only true friendship provides. Studies have shown that many men today are living friendless lives. This has its effect on marriages where men have no emotional support apart from their wives, as well as on children, who should see true friends in the lives of their parents but often do not. What a blessing to have the presence of good faithful friends to provide the encouragement and accountability we need to be free! Indeed, as the Scriptures tell us, “as iron sharpens iron, so one man must sharpen another” (Proverbs 27:17). ■ Man as husband — the purpose of masculine erotic love. Next, let us seek to understand more deeply man’s calling to spousal love. Every man is made to live as a husband and a father in some way: “God assigns the dignity of every woman as a task to every man.” Each man is called to commit and give of himself completely. For most men, this call is marriage while for others, this call is to the priesthood or to some other sincere and total self-gift in God’s service. Yet, in our day, such commitment is often seen as settling for something conventional, even boring; something that limits freedom or threatens love. Nothing could be further from the truth! Instead, I remind you of the words of St. Josemaría Escrivá: “[T]here is a need for a crusade of manliness and purity to counteract and nullify the savage work

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of those who think man is a beast. And that crusade is your work.” Preparation for this sincere and complete spousal gift coincides with a man’s growth into masculinity. The “single years” of a young man’s life are for this formation, not a time of mere passive waiting, much less indulgence of sin. “Youth was not made for pleasure, but for heroism,” says Paul Claudel, the great French Catholic playwright. I urge you, young men, to prepare for marriage even before you meet your (future) bride. Such training in sacrifice is to love your bride before you meet her, so that you may one day say, “Before I knew you, I was faithful to you.” Through spousal love, men live out a strength that endures, a strength for which the world longs, and a strength that will stabilize a crumbling society. True, this love is not free from periods of difficulties and suffering. No vocation is! However, with St. Paul, we “consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed” (Romans 8:18). There is glory in man’s calling to be a husband. When the great St. John Paul II spoke of a “spousal meaning of the body,” he implied that we men are all called in some way to spousal love. That is a committed love, a love that gives life, seeking the good of those to whom the man has committed. When a man is called to spousal love in marriage and family life, the priesthood, or some consecration to the Lord, he is called to a great and meaningful life. Indeed if we run from this battle because of its challenges, we will be left empty. Those who arrive at the judgment seat of God, after this life, without the scars of a sacrificing husband, will “hold their manhoods cheap whilst any

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speaks who fought with us.” Let me now speak specifically to men called to conjugal love in marriage. This is a calling to the dignity and beauty of that union that is symbolic of Christ’s spousal love for the Church. St Paul explains this relationship in his instruction to husbands, saying husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, because we are members of His body. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25-32). Marriage in Christ is not merely a human endeavor. It is higher; it is a “great mystery.” The human desire for love is, in a way, a longing for infinite and eternal love. In the sacrament of marriage, human love is caught up in the infinite and eternal love of God. This is the glory, men! Called to marriage, you are called to be as Christ to your bride. Because this love unites you and your spouse sacramentally with the infinite love that Christ has for each of you, your sacramental marriage overcomes the limits of natural marriage and achieves the infinite and eternal character to which every love aspires. Here we come to the epicenter of the masculine battle in our time, the nexus of life and love that is

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PAM RHOADES

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Faces of the diocese Diocese of Knoxville families always take part in diocesan

and parish events. The Catholic Church is calling on more men to actively take up the faith and serve as role models for the family, just as women do. Preserving the Catholic family is considered vital to the future of the Church.

God’s gift of sexuality. The need to develop chastity in your life, my sons, cannot be emphasized enough. While much of our culture may not fully understand or encourage this commitment, the grandeur of spousal love to which we are called, we should in no way be discouraged. Rather, consider how blessed we are to be called to proclaim this truth in a time when it is most needed. In doing so, you radiate the light of Christ in an area of society so darkened by what has always threatened spousal love. Our Catechism names them clearly: “discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can escalate into hatred and separation…self-absorption, egoism, pursuit of one’s own pleasure.” We could add here the use of pornography, always toxic to both the participants and the observers, and the consumptive “hook-up” subculture that removes sexual encounters entirely from the spousal relationship. How did it come about that a culture so steadfast in supporting

marriage and spousal commitment two generations ago became a culture that has reduced sexuality to mere pleasure and self-serving ends? The answer is the Sexual Revolution. For many, the Sexual Revolution promised “free love” and liberty from the shackles of old ideas about masculinity and femininity. What resulted was the separation of sexuality from the commitments of marriage and a widespread option for sterility (chemical and surgical sterilizations), amounting to a denial of what is most essentially masculine and feminine in the person. Worse, the Sexual Revolution ushered in the scourge of abortion, pornography, and sexual abuse so rampant in recent decades. Instead of real and authentic love, this false “liberty” offers cheap pleasures that mask a deeper loneliness and pain. Instead of the security of traditional family bonds, it leaves children longing for the stability of a mother’s and a father’s love. Instead of the freedom that comes with accepting the truth of God’s design for human love between a man and

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woman, the Sexual Revolution has arrogantly rebelled against human nature, a nature that will never thrive in confusion and lack of selfcontrol. Indeed, the “love” promised by the Sexual Revolution has never been found. In its wake is wreckage, countless broken hearts bound by fear of more pain, broken lives, broken homes, broken dreams and broken belief that love is even possible. This is the rotten fruit of the Sexual Revolution. It stands to reason that if love is our deepest desire and longing, destroying love will cause us the most pain, the deepest wounds. Thus, where do we start? Where do we begin to rebuild? What do we repair first? My sons and brothers, we must begin with ourselves. If I may return to the analogy of the athlete, we see that no champion achieves greatness without discipline in practice or without training to pursue greatness in his sport. He must be a master of himself; he must possess self-mastery. For the man called to live conjugal love, this self-mastery finds its culmination in the virtue of chastity. We need to see masculine chastity for what it is, whereas too often, this virtue is seen in negative light, as something weak. Nothing could be more false! Chastity is strength and a rejection of slavery to the passions. Christians have always believed that chastity, whether in marriage or celibacy, is a freedom from the enslavement to sin and our passions. To understand chastity, we must understand God: “God is love and in Himself He lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in His own image… God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and commu-

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nion.” The love we live as men is a participation in and a demonstration of God’s love. As equal sharers in dignity, women, of course, also demonstrate God’s love, and yet there is a difference in how we do so. For both men and women, “Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others.” The virtue of chastity is the “…integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man’s belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman.” Chastity allows us to master and properly live out this calling to be men of authentic communion. Here, let me recall Jesus’ crucial words regarding “everyone who looks at a woman lustfully”; he has “already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). This leads me to call specific attention to those acts that are (wrongly) considered “normal” and even encouraged for men in today’s culture. Here I am speaking of pornography and masturbation. The damaging effects of these hidden and narcissistic habits train the man in a direction that is the exact opposite of love. He learns nothing more than to use others. Instead of life-giving and self-emptying love, he learns to settle for self-absorbed, sterile pleasures. Recall again Jesus’ words: You have heard it said ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with The East Tennessee Catholic

her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out, and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell (Matthew 5:27-30). With these prophetic words, Jesus foresees modern pornography that feeds the lust of the eyes. He uses hyperbole, strong words, for men to gouge out their eye and cut off their hand in order to drive home that urgent action is needed. Pornography not only leaves a man in danger of hell, but it also destroys the bonds with his spouse, a destruction wrought like adultery. In other words, think of pornography as just as serious and no less grave than adultery. To attempt to love another person while engaging in this practiced narcissism, without being transformed by mercy, will surely bring grave harm. When battling pornographic temptations, it is important to consider honestly the factors surrounding the temptation. For most men, these include loneliness, boredom, anger, insecurity, and stress. Simply understanding the context of a temptation prompts us to invite God to send His grace to begin to overcome the devil’s tactics. The sacrament of confession is the place of superabundant grace and support. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). This is not a promise merely to be attained in heaven! This promise is to begin for us now, in our everyday lives. The saints attest to this truth. Through building purity of heart, men, you will not only see God in the women in your lives but also in yourselves, also the “image of God!” Even if the darkness seems insurmountable, Christ never

abandons us. As a priest, I treasure the honest encounter in confession with those who want the Lord’s healing. It is a blessing to work with men in the fight to turn the tide from false to real love. Imagine with me how different our world would be for our wives, sisters, and daughters if men lived this interior strength of chastity. In our time, we hear of such high rates of sexual assaults in our society, especially on college campuses. Is this not a time for a renewal of masculine chastity? Is this not a time for men to build up the virtue of temperance through fasting and prayer amidst brothers? Is this not a time to consider more deeply St. John Paul II’s proclamation that the “dignity of every woman is a task given to every man?” Masculine chastity is a “long and exacting work” that we should be proud to undertake! Imagine standing before the throne of God on judgment day, where the great saints of ages past, who themselves dealt with preeminent sins in their own day, will say to each other, “We dealt with the trouble of lust in our day, but those 21st century men! These happy few battled the beast up close!” We can help each other and other men around us to strive for self-mastery, as this is best addressed among brothers. I encourage you to put aside your fears and insecurities, those that keep you from engaging head on in the fight for chastity. Christ wants to help men be formed after His own heart in each confessional of the Church and at each Mass where the power of His blood poured out on the cross is offered in Holy Communion. ■ Fatherhood is essential. Fatherhood changes history. In the Gospel according to Matthew, where “Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers…” 42 fathers lead up to

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Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus. In the words of St. John Paul II, fatherhood is essential to the flourishing of the world. In revealing and in reliving on earth the very fatherhood of God, a man is called upon to ensure the harmonious and united development of all the members of the family: he will perform this task by exercising generous responsibility for the life conceived under the heart of the mother, by a more solicitous commitment to education, a task he shares with his wife, by work which is never a cause of division in the family but promotes its unity and stability, and by means of the witness he gives of an adult Christian life which effectively introduces the children into the living experience of Christ and the Church. All men are called to fatherhood in some way: Becoming mothers and fathers really means to be fully realized, because it is to become similar to God. This is not said in the newspapers, it does not appear, but it is the truth of love. Becoming dad and mom makes us more like God…you are called to remind everyone that all the baptized, even though in a different way, are called to be a father or mother. Like masculinity itself, perhaps fatherhood has never been a widely pondered topic among the philosophers because it has always been presumed, its meaning fairly obvious. This is no longer true. In his book, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, St. John Paul II writes of the attack on fatherhood in modern society: “This is truly the key for interpreting reality […] original sin, then, attempts to abolish fatherhood.” The great pontiff of the family points to our first parents’ original act of disobedience, which cost them and us our original innocence and freedom from bodily death, and in original sin, we find a

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primordial rebellion against God’s fatherhood, a desire to remove fatherhood itself. This is our enemy’s underlying plan: to remove our reliance on God, the benevolent Father. To do this, Satan’s primary strategy is to damage and abolish human fatherhood, in the man and relationship where each of us first glimpses what God’s fatherhood might be like. Today’s attack on fatherhood, and by extension, motherhood, is multi-pronged and breathtakingly damaging. Some 41 percent of children are born into unmarried homes in our day, an increase of 700 percent from 1950, when the out-of-wedlock birthrate was a mere 6 percent. These children are not fatherless because of some sweeping physical conflict, like World War II, which caused many wounds of fatherlessness, but rather because, far worse, fathers’ own willed absence is happening on a massive scale. It is not hard to see how men’s fears of fatherhood find a legion of support in today’s culture of self, encouraging men to flee from this beautiful gift in pursuit of their own desires. The child is forced to ask the question: “Where is my Daddy?” What then is the impact on a child’s heart, on his or her understanding of the world, of love, and of the Heavenly Father, when the answer to this question is “He left us,” or “I don’t know,” or “From the sperm bank, and he left no contact address”? Catholic men also contribute far too regularly to this same scandal that devastates the heart of a child and makes too many women in our culture live as if they were widows. The ache of the fatherless child’s heart cries out to heaven: “He will not ignore the supplication of the fatherless, nor the widow when she pours out her story…and the Lord will not delay, neither will He be patient with them, till He

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crushes the loins of the unmerciful and repays vengeance on the nations” (Sirach 35:14, 18). Why do the widows and the fatherless cry out? They have lost their protectors and providers. There is an unnatural void of the one called upon by God “to ensure the harmonious and united development of all the members of the family.” It is because of this loss, this void caused by men’s absence, that we have always naturally, traditionally, lamented fatherlessness. There are those in our culture today who do not want us to see fatherlessness as unnatural or lamentable. Do not be fooled by those voices wishing to erase all distinctions between mothers and fathers, ignoring the complementarity that is inherent in creation itself. Men, your presence and mission in the family is irreplaceable! Step up and lovingly, patiently take up your God-given role as protector, provider, and spiritual leader of your home. A father’s role as spiritual head of the family must never be understood or undertaken as domination over others, but only as a loving leadership and a gentle guidance for those in your care. Your fatherhood, my fatherhood, in its hidden, humble way, reflects imperfectly but surely the Fatherhood of God, the Father to those whom the Lord has given us to father. What does it mean to “father”? In a reflection on fatherhood, Pope Francis explains: “When a man does not have this desire [for fatherhood], something is missing in this man. Something is wrong. All of us, to exist, to become complete, in order to be mature, we need to feel the joy of fatherhood: even those of us who are celibate. Fatherhood is giving life to others, giving life, giving life.” This is why fatherhood — living out one’s vocation to fatherhood, whether that fatherhood is bound up in physical marriage or spiritual marriage in

the priesthood or religious life — is absolutely essential for a man to live out the fullness of his meaning in life. We speak of the Church Fathers, the Desert Fathers, our pope as Holy Father, and, for good reason, our priests as “Father.” To fully live, all men must be fathers and live out their fatherhood! We cannot “become like God,” my sons and brothers, without this understanding and this movement of the heart followed by decisive action. If you do not embrace the spousal and fatherly vocation God has planned for you, you will be stuck in the impotence of the “seed” that refuses to die and refuses to give life. Don’t settle for this half-life! The question for every man is not, “Am I called to be a father?” but rather, “What kind of father am I called to be?”

Grandfathers, you are of great importance

I wish to speak a word to you who are grandfathers. Few cultures have ever expected less and shown such indifference to those like you who have battled and who have tested wisdom to offer their children and grandchildren. The world tells you that your time of influence is at an end and that it is time to retire, that is, to resign your post of fatherhood. Don’t believe it! Grandfathers matter greatly. I have the privilege of being named after my grandfathers: Thomas Tighe Olmsted and P. James Hughes. Each in his own way fathered me alongside my own Dad. Grandpa Jim drew upon his Catholic faith to face with dignity and hope the early death of his wife, my grandmother, from cancer. Without giving into despair or self-pity, he struggled mightily to keep the family of six together and to provide for the children — the youngest of whom was my mother — during the very difficult years of the Great Depression. The memo-

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ries I treasure most about Grandpa Jim were of his peaceful spirit, his Irish humor, and his sincere devotion to the Church. Grandpa Tom had an even greater impact on my life, even though he was never baptized. Beside him, I learned to care for walnut trees and watermelons, pumpkins and squash, horses and cattle, chickens and hogs. Amid the many activities needed to make a living on our farm, I learned from Grandpa Tom and my Dad the importance of being a good neighbor, of telling the truth no matter the cost, and of having a deep respect for “Mother Nature.” When I was ordained a priest, I chose a biblical saying for my First Mass card, one that captured what I had learned from my grandfathers: “This is what the Lord asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Grandfathers, you are an essential and treasured gift to your families, and I encourage you to continue to be strong for them, to share your wisdom with them, and to fight for them. Remember Jesus’ earthly grandfather, St. Joachim, who lived a life faithful to God. In his advanced years, God the Father blessed St. Joachim and his wife, St. Anne, with the great gift of Mary, our Blessed Mother. Let every grandfather be reminded that even when the routine of daily life may appear to be insignificant, we never know what great plans God has for the last years of our lives.

Hope in the shadows of lost fatherhood

I would now like to say a special word to those of you, my sons, who have suffered the absence of your own father. There are many reasons why men abandon their responsibilities, or even if they remain, stay distant, as a result of

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Confessions continued from page 5

sacrament of reconciliation. “It’s not a catechesis of guilt and shame, but instead a catechesis of God’s mercy,” he said. “Catholics should not be ashamed of confession.” He and many other priests acknowledge that treatment by some priests in the confessional has caused Catholics to stop taking part in the sacrament. But he’s confident that those situations are changing. “We’re not there to be judge and police. We’re there to be instruments of God’s love, mercy and forgiveBreach continued from page 20

the lack of positive experience of fatherhood in their own lives. This wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly fatherlessness is never God’s plan. Do not give in to discouragement, however, and do not lose hope. The Church is always called to reveal God the Father. Allow Christ to show you the Father who never abandons his children, but rather offers his only begotten Son. If you have not already done so, allow Christ to guide you in order to see your father as He sees him. Jesus will not leave you without the grace necessary to forgive and heal your father. This may happen in conjunction with the graces offered to you through your spiritual fathers, your priests, in the sacrament of reconciliation. Through your discovery of the Fatherhood of God, our loving, eternal Father, you will be witnesses to the only fatherhood that never fails. Finally, I want to offer a special word for those men who know that they have failed in their fatherhood. This is true to a greater or lesser degree in each and every one of us. This can happen through addiction, abandonment, marital conflict, emotional and The East Tennessee Catholic

ness,” he said. He suggested that people considering returning to confession should think of the parable of the prodigal son, who had carefully planned his request to return to his father and family. Instead, the father embraced his son immediately and welcomed him back unconditionally, Monsignor Humbrecht pointed out. Father Dowling said he is seeing a response to increased availability for confession. More people are going. And he said Lent is a wonderful time to go to confession.

“We’ve seen an increase in the number of people taking advantage of that. Holy Ghost has a tradition of people taking advantage of that sacrament,” he said. “It’s very heartening that people want to be in a state of grace when they receive Communion.” Father Dowling pointed out that more people going to confession creates positive examples to others, especially children. “It’s really crucial that parents go to confession for their children to see,” Father Dowling said, noting that Diocese of Knoxville schools are

doing an “excellent” job in offering opportunities for confession. “I wish that is what I did more than anything else, and I really wish more people would participate in the sacrament of reconciliation,” he said. And it can be as beneficial for the confessor as it is to those confessing. It’s a great opportunity for priests to grow in their spirituality. It’s the one opportunity for priests to show people God’s love and mercy,” he said. He cited examples of how the

spiritual detachment, failing to guide the family in faith, abortion, physical and/or emotional abuse, or the countless ways that we obscure the image of God as the loving Father. I stand with you as an imperfect father, asking God the Father to make up for the ways that we fail in this greatest of masculine missions. It is important to acknowledge the enemy’s tactics; Satan will attempt to drag us down into a despair that can lead us to abandon our fatherhood even further because of our sins. Yet we must never give up, my sons! Pray and be renewed in the sacrament of reconciliation. Christ strengthens us through confession and the Holy Eucharist to spend ourselves in rebuilding fatherhood in whatever way possible.

if this is not too much for me to say, we were a rule and standard for each by which we learned the distinction between what was right and what was not.” Their friendship inspired each to grow in virtue and freedom, to be less concerned for self and more eager to place his life at the service of others. I hope that each man reading this exhortation will experience, if he has not already done so, the blessing of good friendships like the ones between the saints. I cannot imagine what my own life would be like without the good friends God has given me. I hope, too, that you will take what is helpful in my message, bring it to the Lord in prayer, and go forward confidently in your vocation as men. Our life in Christ is not one of “do’s and don’ts,” but an adventure in authentic freedom. Embrace that freedom in order to place your life at the service of Christ, beginning in your home and radiating into the world.

Parenthood. Since this infamous agency receives around half a billion dollars each year from the U.S. government, funds to carry on their slaughter of innocents, no American citizen, and certainly no man, can remain silent about this travesty of our times. We need to get off the sidelines and stand up for life on the front lines. We need faith like that of our fathers who defended the children of previous generations and who gave up their own lives rather than abandon their faith in Christ. My sons and brothers, we need you to step into the breach! Catholic martyrs of England inspired Frederick W. Faber to write the hymn Faith of our Fathers in 1849. As Faber paid tribute to the men who refused to deny Christ “in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword,” he also issued a call to arms for the men of succeeding generations. Join me in praying that we, men of the 21st century, will make the words of this verse our own: Our Fathers, chained in prisons dark, Were still in heart and conscience free: How sweet would be their children’s fate, If they, like them, could die for Thee! Faith of our Fathers! Holy Faith! We will be true to thee till death. ■

Conclusion: Sent forth by Christ

The best friend of St. Gregory Nazianzen was St. Basil. When, as young men in their early 20s, their personal search for a deeper understanding of the Christian faith led them by separate paths to Constantinople, they soon developed a deep respect for one another. St. Gregory’s description of this friendship is hopeful: “…

Where is the faith of our fathers now?

As I write this exhortation, videos are being released documenting the barbaric practice of selling baby body parts by Planned

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Confessions continued on page 38

February 7, 2016 21

Home Campaign enters home stretch as Wave 3 gets underway By Jim Wogan iocesan parishioners have heard a lot about the 2016 Bishop’s Appeal in recent weeks. But for many parishes around the diocese the Home Campaign is getting equal attention. While the annual Bishop’s Appeal supports the lives of thousands of people each day through essential ministries, the Home Campaign remains an opportunity to meet future needs in the Diocese of Knoxville through charity, education, Christian formation, priest retirement, and parish projects. Bishop Richard F. Stika explains it this way: Bishop’s Appeal contributions “help us live” while Home Campaign gifts “help us grow.” The Home Campaign started in late 2014 with four of the largest diocesan “pilot” parishes leading the way —All Saints and Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville, St. John Neumann in Farragut, and the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga. The four “pilot” parishes raised just over $15 million, with each parish surpassing its projected Home Campaign goals. In early 2015, 14 more diocesan parishes followed in “Wave 1” of the Home Campaign and raised nearly $5.5 million. Collectively the parishes surpassed the “Wave 1” goal of just over $5.2 million. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in Maynardville, Holy Ghost in Knoxville, St. Bridget in Dayton, St. Francis of Assisi in Fairfield Glade, St. Michael the Archangel in Erwin, and St. Patrick in Morristown eclipsed their individual parish goals. In late 2015, 17 additional diocesan parishes followed in “Wave 2” of the Home continued on page 34

22 February 7, 2016

STEPHEN GOLDER

Jubilee of Mercy Father Charles Burton, pastor of St. Jude Parish in Chattanooga, opens the holy door at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga on Jan. 1. Also taking part in the holy door opening was Father David Carter, rector of the basilica, Father Scott Russell and Father Colin Blatchford, associate pastors of the basilica. Assisting were Deacon Gaspar DeGaetano, acolyte Hicks Armor, and the Knights of Columbus. Priests continued from page 16

ready agreed to participate in a retreat at St. Dominic Church in Kingsport in early March. More invitations are likely. Father Reed sees a special opportunity to make himself available as a confessor as much as possible throughout the Year of Mercy, even if it means impacting his personal schedule. “Confession is just an incredibly powerful sacrament. It is very beautiful, and it is a great grace to be able to help people realize the mercy of God, and that they are not beyond his mercy and his love,” Father Reed said. “How can I most effectively give away what I have earned, and be

merciful to other people? To go out to places where I haven’t gone to in Knoxville and meet with people who feel they are beyond God’s mercy,” Father Reed added. He refers to the mandate from Pope Francis as his bonorum operum, which is Latin for “good works.” A statement from the Vatican says the Holy Father will grant missionaries the authority to pardon even those sins reserved to the Holy See. “Those sins reserved to the Holy See are exceptional sins. It’s not the kind of thing people come to confession (with) on Saturday,” Monsignor Humbrecht said. “It might give an opportunity for

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someone who would be hesitant about receiving the sacrament, because of that, to contact one of the Missionaries of Mercy and ask to receive the sacrament.” As a symbol of connecting the Missionaries of Mercy to the sacrament of reconciliation and forgiveness, the Vatican has arranged for relics of St. Pio da Pietralcina and St. Leopoldo Mandic to be on display for veneration at the Vatican Feb. 9-10. Both are viewed by the Church as men whose devotion to the priesthood and as confessors eventually elevated them to sainthood. St. Pio da Pietralcina is known

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The East Tennessee Catholic

Weather warriors

Kari Lopez walks with her daughters, Alaina, left, a senior at Knoxville Catholic High School, and Angelina, a sixthgrader at St. Joseph School, during the national March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 22. The Lopez family, parishioners at St. Albert the Great, joined by photographer Stephanie Richer of Holy Ghost Parish, braved blizzard conditions to attend the march.

STEPHANIE RICHER

stop the March for Life, an annual prayer event held each year on Jan. 22 to protest the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. The Lopezes and Mrs. Richer traveled to Washington on Jan. 21, the day before the march. It was the fourth march for Life for Ms. Lopez’s daughter, Alaina, a senior at Knoxville Catholic High School, and for Mrs. Richer, a professional photographer. It was the first march for Ms. Lopez and her younger daughter, Angelina, a sixth-grader at St. Joseph School. “I really expected it to be an eyeopening experience. I mean, I have been to rallies here locally before, but never on a national level. My older daughter is very enthused about the movement and very passionate about it, so I was hoping to instill that into my younger daughter and keep that enthusiasm alive. There was a gentleman there that mentioned another (event) in April and my younger daughter asked if we could come back for that,” Ms. Lopez said. The 2016 March for Life began with a prayer rally at the Washington Monument. According to Ms. Lopez, the predicted snowfall started shortly after the rally began, and by the time the march moved out, the snow’s intensity picked up. By the time the estimated 100,000 marchers made their way to the U.S. Supreme Court building, about a mile away, Ms. Lopez guessed there were five inches of snow on the streets. The walk took about an hour. After the March, the Knoxville foursome hoped to continue their own walk to the White House, but increasing snowfall made them reconsider. They stopped shortly after reaching Pennsylvania Avenue and made their way back to their hotel. Their march was over, but their journey wasn’t. Ms. Lopez said the original plan was to stay in Washington until Sunday, and their hotel room in Arling-

ton, Va., was secure for the weekend. While the D.C. area was shut down on Saturday, the Knoxville contingent proceeded with their plans to travel home on Sunday, Jan 24. The trip took around 9 1/2 hours in an all-wheel-drive vehicle. “Most of the roads around Arlington were being plowed by private contractors. Arlington Boulevard was not plowed at all. When we got out to Interstate 66, they had one lane plowed for a while, but when you got further out toward Fairfax and Prince William County, they didn’t plow anymore. When we got to Interstate 81, it was clear,” Ms. Lopez said. Given the severity of the weather, and knowing what she knows now, Ms. Lopez said she’d still do it again. But she met others, including a family of seven from Michigan that planned to leave the night of the storm. Mrs. Richer, a New York native and a parishioner at Holy Ghost Church, warned the Michigan family that travel going north could be treacherous. There were numerous national reports of buses filled with March for

Life participants, including schoolchildren from Wisconsin, Nebraska and other states, being stuck on snow-covered interstates, especially in Pennsylvania, for hours. By those standards, Ms. Lopez and her fellow travelers were fortunate. The weather forecast prompted schools in the Diocese of Knoxville to cancel their trips to the march. 2016 marked the 43rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Since then, March for Life

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rallies have been held each year. Ms. Lopez understands the necessity of continuing to march — even if four decades of protest hasn’t moved the nation closer to overturning the decision. “We just wanted this to be about the babies. The theme this year was that being pro-life is being pro-woman and that was a good thing because (in the past) everyone has always said if you’re pro-life you’re not proBlizzard continued on page 24

February 7, 2016 23

Our Lady of Fatima Parish hosts Blount County celebration of life Ecumenical service held as nation prepared to mark the 43rd anniversary of landmark Roe v. Wade decision

BILL BREWER

ro-life supporters from Blount County gathered at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Alcoa Jan. 12 for a celebration of life and remembrance service as the nation prepared to mark the 43rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion. The ecumenical service in Alcoa featured speakers from different faiths who spoke on the need to protect life at all stages, especially the unborn. Speakers included Deb Maupin, an Our Lady of Fatima parishioner who heads the Blount County chapter of Tennessee Right to Life, Rev. Dr. Willa Estell of St. Paul AME Zion Church in Maryville, Deacon Bill Jacobs, who serves at Our Lady of Fatima, Valerie Millsapps, who is executive director of the Pregnancy Resource Center in Blount County, Pastor Derek Roberts of Praise Lutheran Church in Maryville, and Lisa Morris, a parishioner at Sacred Heart Cathedral who also is a co-

Celebrating life Deacon Bill Jacobs, who serves at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Alcoa, shares his reflections on the sanctity of life during an ecumenical service at the church on Jan. 12.

director of the Diocese of Knoxville’s 40 Days for Life vigil. Mrs. Maupin and Our Lady of Fatima organized the service. In her opening prayer, Dr. Estell

asked God to give everyone the wisdom and courage to stand up for the things that please God, such as defending the unborn. Deacon Jacobs then cited Scripture

By Bill Brewer

to begin his reflection on post-abortion healing, recounting the woman caught in adultery in John 8:2-11. When confronted by scribes and Pharisees and challenged to condemn her to stoning, Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” “Like the prospective stone-throwers in the Gospel passage, the realization of the error and sin of abortion can come to a woman slowly. … Women who are suffering after abortion can feel very much alone. … Their grieving might be unrelenting. They may not know where to turn,” Deacon Jacobs said. “As loving faith communities, we must first reassure these women that they are absolutely not alone.” Deacon Jacobs spoke of programs in the community to assist women dealing with post-abortion issues, such as faithbased counseling and support groups. “As with any healing of past hurts,

Life continued on page 40 Priests continued from page 22

woman. It was a very positive experience and I think it was done in a very tasteful and respectful manner.” Ms. Lopez recommends Catholics in Knoxville consider attending a future March for Life. “If anybody has never been before but they are passionate about the movement, I would encourage them to go.” This year’s march also took place in an election year — something that wasn’t lost on Ms. Lopez. “There were a lot of young people there, and it was a good number (of people), even with the weather. With (presidential candidate) Carly Fiorina there, that was really quite fantastic because my oldest daughter will vote this year, and I have been encouraging her to get more involved and listen to the candidates. So it was really good for her to be that close to a candidate feeling that passion,” she said. ■

to many Catholics as Padre Pio. Father Reed is looking forward to the veneration and admits he is motivated by the opportunity to make forgiveness and reconciliation a significant part of his work as a Missionary of Mercy. “Missionaries might have to go out and find those sheep that are seeking and wandering and some that don’t even realize they’re lost. It’s sort of a ministry of encounter,” Father Reed said. “I am excited. It’s a new thing, and we’re not completely sure what Pope Francis will tell us on Feb. 9.” Father Reed will return to Knoxville on Feb. 12 — a day before he hears first confessions with future communicants at Sacred Heart Cathedral. “It’s something I would never miss, not even for the pope,” Father Reed said with a chuckle. ■

24 February 7, 2016

STEPHANIE RICHER

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Celebrating diocesan marriages Bishop Richard F. Stika cuts up with couples who were recognized Jan. 30, at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City during a marriage Mass. Some 75 couples were among 240 people attending the Mass, where the couples’ vows were renewed and Bishop Stika celebrated the sacrament of their marriages. In his homily, Bishop Stika spoke of the importance of friendship in a marriage, of being accepting of one another, and also of the importance of forgiveness in a relationship. About a half-dozen couples attending the Mass were married more than 60 years. It was the second marriage Mass in five months, with the first one occurring in August at Notre Dame Church in Greeneville, which was celebrated by Cardinal Justin Rigali. The Diocese of Knoxville Living our Roman Catholic faith in East Tennessee

dioknox.org

Diocesan calendar by Dan McWilliams Bishop Richard F. Stika invites you to join him in praying a “Rosary for Life” at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, in front of Knoxville’s Planned Parenthood Clinic. Also, beginning Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10, you are invited to participate in the diocesan 40 Days for Life vigil of prayer as a witness of hope across the street from the Knoxville Planned Parenthood Clinic. Join in giving a peaceful, prayerful witness to the Gospel of Life from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and from 5-7 p.m. in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Visit www.dioknox.org for further information and direct your questions to Paul Simoneau at psimoneau@dioknox. org or Lisa Morris at lccte@bellsouth.net. A high school young women’s retreat presented by the Dominican Sisters is set for Feb. 26-28 at St. Jude Church in Chattanooga and St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge. The retreat will explore the foundational truths about dignity, identity, and mission, teaching how to live a life rooted in Christ and virtue. The retreat begins at 6 p.m. Friday and ends at 11 a.m. Sunday. Cost is $40. For more information on the St. Jude retreat, contact youth minister Irene Scoggins at 423-596-0053 or irenescoggins@gmail.com. For more details on the St. Mary retreat, contact Margaret Merrill at mmerrill@smcor.org. A Lenten pilgrimage to EWTN and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament is set for March 2-4. Travelers will depart by motor coach Wednesday morning, March 2, and travel to EWTN studios, where they will celebrate Mass with the friars, have lunch on site (box lunch), and be given a one-hour guided tour of EWTN studios. Following dinner the group will be part of the live audience for the taping of “EWTN Live” with Father Mitch Pacwa before boarding the bus to St. Bernard Abbey Retreat Center. On Thursday, March 3, the group will visit the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, in Hanceville, Ala., which will include a guided tour of the The East Tennessee Catholic

shrine and the new John Paul II center. The travelers will also celebrate Mass and pray the rosary with the nuns of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. There will be plenty of time for adoration and quiet reflection before the return home Friday, March 4, following a tour of the Ave Maria Grotto. The price is $275 per person (based on double occupancy; single supplement is available for $325). Payment must be received by Feb. 15. Includes two nights at St. Bernard’s Abbey Retreat Center, all bus-related costs, two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, and the Ave Maria Grotto tour. To learn more or to register, contact Lisa Morris at lccte@bellsouth. net or 865-567-1245. St. Jude Parish in Chattanooga, along with the Chattanooga Deanery, will offer a 10-week marriage-enrichment opportunity for “empty nesters.” The program asks, “Have your children recently flown the coop? Will they soon be heading off for college? What is your marriage going to look like when it is no longer child-centered and your spouse once again becomes your only roommate?” Classes will run Sunday evenings from 6:30 to 8 from Feb. 21 through the end of April. Call Kyra at 423-870-2386 for more information. The 2016 Doc Rock for Health event will be held Saturday, Feb. 20, at NV Night Club, 125 E. Jackson Ave., Knoxville. The band Spinal Tappin’ Docs will play to benefit the St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic. Doors open at 8 p.m.; first band plays at 8:30. The band with the most audience support wins. Tickets are $15 at the door. This is a non-smoking event for ages 18 and above. St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge will offer a “Reconnect Rekindle Marriage Night: Strengthening the Bond” event from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11. The parish will welcome Father John Ignatius for an evening of encouragement for couples. Father Ignatius will join the event directly from Rome, where he will receive a special commissioning from Pope Francis as a Missionary of Mercy. The evening

starts with appetizers at 6 p.m., followed by the event itself. Sponsored by St. Mary Parish and the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. A young adult prayer retreat, for high school juniors and seniors through undergraduates in college, is set for Feb. 19-20 at St. Mary Church in Johnson City. The 14-hour retreat will help students through various prayer activities that will guide them into their vocation and into a deeper relationship with Christ. Cost is $10 plus a can of food. For more information, contact the church office at 423-282-6367 or stmarysyouth7@gmail.com. A Retrouvaille weekend, for couples thinking about separation or divorce, will be held March 4-6 in Nashville. The program consists of a weekend experience followed by a series of six to 12 post-weekend sessions over three months. Visit www.helpourmarriage. com or contact Tom or Pat Ackerman at 615-523-0631 or nrv3043@gmail.com. Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Chattanooga is accepting applications for 2016-17 for grades pre-K (4) through eighth. For more information, contact Teresa Hennen, director of admissions, at 423-698-3274 or teresahennen@myolph.com. Join Father John Orr of Holy Ghost Parish in Knoxville for a Catholic Italy Pilgrimage March 28 to April 8, 2016. Pilgrims will visit the major basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Peter, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major; the minor basilicas of St. Francis, St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi, St. Mary of the Flower, and Holy Cross in Florence; sites of miracles in the lives of saints such as Scholastica, Catherine of Siena, and Pio of Pietrelcina; and much more. For more information, visit www.unitours.com/client/FrOrrItalyPilgrimage.html. Plan to join Father David Carter, Father Colin Blatchford, and Deacon Gaspar DeGaetano on a pilgrimage to Italy from April 4-15, 2016. Walk through the

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Holy Doors of the four major basilicas of Rome for the Jubilee Holy Year of Mercy. Visit Assisi, Greccio (legendary birthplace of the Christmas crèche), Cascia (St. Rita), Loreto (Holy House of Nazareth), Manoppello (Holy Veil), Lanciano (eucharistic miracle), San Giovanni (St. Padre Pio), St. Michael’s Cave, Mugnano (St. Philomena), Amalfi (St. Andrew), Naples, Nettuno (St. Maria Goretti), and the wine region of Frascati. Cost is $3,679; includes air from Atlanta, first-class hotels (double occupancy), and more. Limited seating. Contact Susan Prendergast at Select International Tours at Susan@select-intl.com or 800842-4842 or Barbara DeGaetano at 423432-4841 or bdeg@msn.com. Join Father Michael Nolan on a Holy Year of Mercy Pilgrimage to Ireland, “In the Footsteps of St. Patrick.” The 12-day pilgrimage Aug. 2-13 will visit the holy and historic sites of Ireland, including Dublin, Kilkenny Castle, Limerick, Galway Cathedral, Rock of Cashel, Kylemore Abbey, Crough Patrick-the holy mountain where St. Patrick fasted for 40 days, Knock Shrine, Antrim, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Belfast, Giant’s Causeway and the Cliffs of Moher. Price including air and land is $3,895 based on double occupancy; single available upon request. For more information, contact Lisa Morris at 865-567-1245 or lccte@bellsouth.net, group pilgrimage coordinator for Select International. The Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga recently announced its schedule for Lent. For Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10, the Mass schedule is 7 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. The daily Mass schedule will continue as currently scheduled at 7 a.m. and noon Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and noon Tuesday and Thursday. On Wednesdays in Lent, Feb. 17 through March 16, vespers will be at 5:30 p.m. and Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m. On Fridays in Lent, Feb. 12 through March 18, Mass will be at 7 a.m. and noon with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 12:30 p.m., followed by adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Calendar continued on page 26 February 7, 2016 25

Chattanooga Deanery calendar Deacon Alex Jones will present “Can I Have a Witness—for the Family?” at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 6. Deacon Jones is a dynamic speaker and former Pentecostal pastor who came into full communion with the Catholic

Parish notes: Chattanooga Deanery

Church in 2001. Deacon Jones will also lead meditation at adoration and Benediction on Friday, Feb. 5, from 4:30-5:15 p.m. Mass will be celebrated at 7:30 a.m. before the Saturday program. The event is free. Contact Barbara Golder at toadehall@me.com or 423-266-1618. ■

Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga Knights of Columbus Soccer Challenge champions for 2015 were Carlo Selenda, Cal Brown, Nicolas Ron, Annie Harrison, and Matias Ron.

St. Jude, Chattanooga Bishop Richard F. Stika confirmed 45 young people Jan. 31 at St. Jude. St. Jude Boy Scout Troop 172 is holding a spaghetti and meatball luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, in honor of the troop’s 100th Eagle Scout.

St. Mary, Athens

COURTESY OF JOHN SOPKO

A men’s Lenten retreat, themed “Returning, Welcoming, Rejoicing,” is set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20 (lunch provided). Presenters are Father Randy Stice and deacon candidate Phillip Talmadge. Mass will take place at 9 a.m., followed by eucharistic adoration and three presentations. Sign up in the narthex or by e-mail at 01bob44@ gmail.com. Deadline is Feb. 13. The retreat is sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council 8396.

26 February 7, 2016

The parish thanked the Knights of Columbus for their donation of $420, proceeds from their Spaghetti and Bingo Dinner. ■

Calendar continued from page 25

Knights bowling league completes third season Chattanooga-area church members in conjunction with area Knights of Columbus councils are taking part in 10-week fall and spring bowling leagues. Started in the fall of 2013 with just two teams, the Knights of Columbus Family Bowling League just completed its third season with nine teams. To learn more or to join the league, contact league organizer John Sopko at angeloakspalace@gmail.com or 423-463-1496.

Benediction will be at 5:15 p.m. and vespers at 5:30, with Stations of the Cross at 6 and a Lenten soup-and-salad dinner in the Varallo Parish Hall at 6:30. Via Crusis is at 7 p.m. In this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, the Holy Door of Mercy at the basilica is open through November 2016. Divine Mercy devotional material and pilgrimage information is available in the Year of Mercy Chapel. Pilgrims are invited to visit the chapel in prayer during this year of invitation to God’s abundant mercy. Pilgrimage hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Confessions are 11:30 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday, 5 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, and before each Mass on Sunday.

COURTESY OF HELEN BARBEAULD

Holy Spirit holds Advent by Candlelight event Holy Spirit Parish in Soddy-Daisy held its first Advent by Candlelight for the women of the parish. Sixty women attended the event, organized by Carol Siercks. Each table was decorated by an individual hostess. The evening included prayer, Scripture reflection, song, and desserts. Clockwise from bottom left are Diane Frische, Libby Schliefer, organizer Carol Siercks, hostess Jamie Barbeauld, Gloria Snell, and Gail Campbell.

The parish thanked Linda Nadeau and friends for the new furniture in the narthex. The gift is in memory of Ms. Nadeau’s mother, Florence Ferguson.

Mass in the extraordinary form (“traditional Latin”) is celebrated at 1:30 p.m. each Sunday at Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville; at 3 p.m. on first and third Sundays at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Cleveland; at 3 p.m. on second and fourth Sundays at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Madisonville; and at 3 p.m. on the first and third Sundays at St. Mary Church in Johnson City. The St. Thomas the Apostle Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Mission located at 2304 Ault Road, Knoxville, TN 37914 meets for Divine Liturgy each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. All services are in English. Call Father Richard Armstrong at 865-584-3307 or visit www.saintthomasknoxville.org/ for details. Holy Resurrection Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Mission has Divine Liturgy celebrations. For more information, visit www.knoxbyz.org or call Father Thomas O’Connell at 865-256-4880. ■

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Parish notes: Cumberland Mountain Deanery All Saints, Knoxville A “Girls Night Out—Mardi Gras Mania” event is set for 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, in the parish hall. BYOB and a new/like-new white-elephant item to swap. Music, set-ups, and snacks will be provided. E-mail Susan at suann79@aol.com or call 865-690-6250 for your reservation.

Blessed Sacrament, Harriman During the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, Feb. 7, Blessed Sacrament will celebrate the Rite of Sending for its RCIA catechumen and candidates.

Cumberland Mountain Deanery calendar “Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage” with Mark Gungor, is set for 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, in the school library at St. John Neumann in Farragut. The event is designed to explore the underlying dynamics of male/ female relationships, combining clarity and practical solutions to common relationship woes. The event will be hosted by parish pastoral associate Sister Restituta Nyinoweitu, ESM, and parishioners Michael and Cathie Wilson. Child care will be available. Sign up for both by con-

tacting Sister Restituta at 865-777-4319 or srresty@sjnknox.org. The Knoxville Frassati Fellowship for Young Adults ages 18-35 meets Thursdays at 7 p.m. at the Chancery, located at 805 S. Northshore Drive next door to the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Other events and activities for the group are planned. Visit the Knoxville Frassati Fellowship Facebook page or call Jess Mearns at 865-206-6026 for more information. ■

St. Francis of Assisi, Fairfield Glade Because of the construction work on the church, the Annual Rummage Sale has been moved to April 29 and 30. Donations of saleable items such as furniture, appliances, household items, clean clothes, etc., are being accepted. Drop off your items by getting a key from the church office. The Council of Catholic Women will have Jack Smith, chairman of the board of directors for SACS and a Stephen Minister program speaker, speak at its February meeting. Anniversaries: Peter and Betty Stabb (65), Ed and Angela Crowley (61), Tom and Nancy Flagg (59), Paul and Barbara Ann Thrower (59), Ronald and Janice Cashner (57), Robert and Marie Price (57), Dick and Helen Gerlach (56), Joseph and Shirley King (54), Gerald and Barbara Phillips (54), Herman and Frances Eichner (53), Robert and Joanne Jansen (53), Joseph and Loretta Kreskowiak (52), William and Ruth Pavelchik (52), Jerome and Tonni Kuchcinski (51), Carmin and Lynne Lynch (51), Dave and Joanie Finnel (50)

St. John Neumann, Farragut An Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy kickoff event is set for 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at the church. Presentations from a priest, a St. John Neumann School student, a college student, and parishioners are planned, with music provided by the SJN choir. For more information, contact Sister Elizabeth Wanyoike, ESM, at 865777-4313 or srelizabeth@sjnknox.org. The SJN adult choir hosted a special farewell Mass on Jan. 31 for Stuart and Mary Lewis in appreciation for their service and contributions to the parish community. Mary has served as the church organist for 18 years, and Stuart is a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus who served the parish Scouting ministry for nearly 20 years. The Lewises will be retiring to Florida in February. The annual eighth-grade pancake breakfast Jan. 9 at Aubrey’s restaurant helped the St. John Neumann School students raise money to purchase a gift for the school.

St. Therese, Clinton Cardinal Justin Rigali celebrated the 4:30 p.m. Christmas Vigil Mass on Dec. 24 at St. Therese. The social action committee during December collected new and gently used toys and children’s clothing for the Holiday Bureau of Anderson County. ■

The East Tennessee Catholic

St. Joseph trio planning World Youth Day trip

hile many teens are busy planning the next road trip with their friends to Panama City Beach or Daytona for the summer, three young ladies from St. Joseph Parish in Norris are planning for a pilgrimage to Krakow, Poland, in July. Rebecca McDonald-Harber, 19, Paley Perry, 17, and Sloan Perry, 16. have been diligently fundraising in hopes of having the honor and privilege of attending World Youth Day (WYD) 2016. The cost of the trip will be around $4,000 each, plus spending money, but the girls feel that the spiritual journey, fellowship, friendship, and cultural experiences will be priceless. The last World Youth Day assembled in Poland was in 1991 and was the first one held in a European country that had recently been freed from Communism. The concept and tradition of World Youth Day began in the 1980s with St. John Paul II’s opening of the youth center of San Lorenzo at the Vatican. Known for his universal appeal to youth, John Paul’s challenge of “Dear young people, let yourselves be taken over by the light of Christ and spread that light wherever you are” (Toronto WYD, 2002) is continuing, more than 30 years later, with this year’s pilgrimage to his homeland. The theme for this year’s WYD

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comes from the fifth Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). As of September 2015, there were more than 300,000 registered participants for WYD Krakow 2016. Organizers estimate that by the last day of the pilgrimage and the final Mass celebrated by Pope Francis, there will be more than 1 million participants. Inspired by Pope Francis’ challenge to, “Carry with you the flame of Christ’s merciful love – as St. John Paul II said – in every sphere of your daily life and to the very ends of the earth,” the three young ladies from St. Joseph continue to make crafts, sell baked goods, and gather items and donations for an upcoming auction at the church to raise funds for this life-changing pilgrimage. For more information about this experience or to donate to the cause, contact Deacon Dan Hosford or Angie Harber at 865-494-7746 or stjosephnorris1@comcast.net. “Dear Young Friends, we have made an appointment to meet at the next World Youth Day in 2016 in Krakow, Poland. Through the intercession of Our Lady, we pray to the Holy Spirit to light our way, which will lead us toward this new stage of joyful celebration of faith and love of Jesus.”—Pope Francis to the youth at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ■ February 7, 2016 27

Parish notes: Five Rivers Deanery Holy Trinity, Jefferson City Pastor Elliott Osowitt, a Messianic Jew, will visit Holy Trinity from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18. He will lead a Passover Seder, hosted by the spiritual life committee. Those attending will hear his conversion story from Judaism to Christianity. Tickets are $18 and available after Masses.

COURTESY OF MARION RUUGE-ARONSON

The Knights of Columbus awarded Knight of the quarter to Claude Keaton and family of the quarter to Joe and Denise Frinzi.

Good Shepherd youth helping the needy The youth group at Good Shepherd Parish in Newport, the Vinnies, is helping to provide gifts for needy children in Cocke County. The youth, part of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, raised the funds in November with a raffle. They are also busy collecting pop tabs to send to the students at St. Monica’s in Uganda. The students there are young child mothers who were once held captive by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). They use the tabs to make purses and sell them to support themselves.

Anniversaries: Peter and Diane Heinen (51), Jerry and Margaret Swope (45), Ray and Pam Brostean (40), Steve and Mary Burch (40) Newcomers: Bernabe Roman Torres and Sandra Morales de la Sancha.

Notre Dame, Greeneville The Knights of Columbus will hold their annual Chili and Spaghetti Dinner and Auction on Saturday, Feb. 6. Tickets are available from any Knight and will be available at the door. Costs are $10 (ages 13 and up), $5 (ages 6-12), and free (5 and younger). Dinner is served at 6:15 p.m.; auction begins at 7. All ticket holders are eligible for a $200 cash door prize. The seventh- and eighth-grade class will serve at the 11 a.m. Mass on Sunday, Feb. 14, under the direction of catechists Kristen Girton and Barbara Johnson. The parish held a family night Feb. 3 at the Hot Wheels skating rink. Organizers of the annual Madrigal Dinner thanked those who supported it. The event raised about $3,150 to go toward parish debt reduction. Anniversary: Gene and Inez Davenport (53)

St. Dominic, Kingsport The Society of St. Vincent de Paul held its annual Soup/Salad Benefit Dinner on Jan. 21. Father Gerald “Pete” Peterson, GHM, who lived in Kingsport from July until December, said goodbye on Dec. 7. He returned to the headquarters of his community, the Glenmary Home Missioners.

COURTESY OF ALLEN KELLER

The parish held a baby shower for Mary, the Savior’s mother, on Dec. 13. The event was hosted by the youth to benefit Hope House, a charity organization for pregnant mothers and their babies.

Knights in Morristown collect coats for homeless veterans Knights of Columbus Council 6730 in Morristown recently collected 820 pounds of coats and toiletries for the homeless veterans that live near the VA hospital in Johnson City. This is an annual project for the Knights in Morristown. Pictured above with VA workers are Deacon Jack Raymond (second from right) and past Grand Knight Jim Mach (right).

28 February 7, 2016

A prayer service for life and a discussion on the death penalty took place Nov. 30 at St. Dominic. Justin Phillips of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty helped lead the discussion.

St. Patrick, Morristown The parish Mardi Gras celebration, which will benefit adult faith formation, starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6. Cost is $25 ($30 at the door); limited to the first 150. Must be over 21 to attend. See Justin Cook, Jennifer Cook, Andy Hebert, Debra Hebert, or John Vasquez for tickets or more information. ■

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Smoky Mountain Deanery calendar

Parish notes: Smoky Mountain Deanery

The 31st annual Catholic Charities dinner will be held on Thursday, March 10, at the Knoxville Marriott. A VIP cocktail reception will start at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6. Proceeds from the $125-per-plate event benefit Catholic Charities of East Tennessee. The evening includes an appearance by Bishop Richard F. Stika and a special program

Holy Ghost, Knoxville The parish’s confirmation Mass is set for 6 p.m. Sunday, June 5.

Immaculate Conception, Knoxville The Church celebrated the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle on Jan. 25, the patronal feast of the Paulist Fathers. It also marked the 30th anniversary of final professions of promises to the Paulist community for IC pastor Father Ron Franco, CSP.

emceed by WATE- TV anchor Kristin Farley. This year the keynote speaker will be local radio personality Hallerin Hilton Hill. This event is the largest annual fundraiser for Catholic Charities’ 13 programs. For tickets and information, contact Rebecca Williams, development coordinator, at 865-684-1894 or events@ ccetn.org. ■

IC will begin a six-week exploration of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel” at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9 in the parish hall. Bring a lunch. For more information, contact Brigid Johnson at 865-522-1508 or brigidjohnson50@gmail.com.

The Council of Catholic Women’s next meeting, set for 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, in the social hall, will be a wine-and-cheese social. The parish thanked all who helped with the Epiphany Dinner on Jan. 5, which drew a record attendance. The Our Lady of Fatima Mardi Gras celebration, featuring dinner, dancing, and a live band, took place Jan. 29. The CYO thanked everyone who supported its Luminary Fundraiser, which raised $600.

COURTESY OF DONALD SCHREYER

Our Lady of Fatima, Alcoa

Knights’ donation benefits Sisters of Mercy convent Knights of Columbus Monsignor Dolan Council 8781 presented a check to Sister Mary Marta of the Religious Sisters of Mercy at their new convent under construction on Nov. 19. Present were Knights John Bathe (left), who organized two parish barbecues that generated the $1,002 donation, and Grand Knight Donald Schreyer (right). Council 8781 is based at St. John Neumann in Farragut. Sister Mary Marta gave the Knights a tour of their new facility as it neared completion. The facility will initially be the home of eight sisters who serve the Knoxville area and has space for an additional four sisters. See the January East Tennessee Catholic Magazine for a story on the convent’s dedication.

Sacred Heart, Knoxville The Knights of Columbus will present the annual Father-Daughter Dance from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, in the school gym. RSVP to gjabaley@wimberlylawson.com. The FISH food pantry is asking for 2,000 cans to be donated for the annual “Souper Bowl” Feb. 6-7. Donate a “six pack” of soup: two cans each of tomato, chicken noodle, and beef vegetable. Those with questions about FISH may call Bruce or Christina Pint at 865-588-3405.

St. John XXIII, Knoxville

St. Joseph the Worker, Madisonville The Knights of Columbus’ third annual Valentine’s Dinner/Dance will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City. Tickets have been reduced this year to $35. Knights will be selling tickets after Masses. Proceeds from last year’s event were used to fund a wheelchair purchase for disabled veterans, new winter coats for needy children, and more. ■

The East Tennessee Catholic

COURTESY OF LUIS RAMOS

The parish’s Mardi Gras celebration, which includes dinner, dancing, and an auction, is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5.

Our Lady of Fatima CCW holds ‘Baby Shower for Mary’ The Council of Catholic Women at Our Lady of Fatima in Alcoa held a “Baby Shower for Mary” on Dec. 14. Baby products were donated by CCW members as well as by children in the faith-formation classes. They will be donated to the Pregnancy Help Center and to the Pregnancy Resource Center.

The Diocese of Knoxville Living our Roman Catholic faith in East Tennessee

February 7, 2016 29

Catholic schools

Chattanooga Catholic football team has undefeated season 2015 marks squad’s first no-loss season in 50 years and fifth overall dating back to 1949 By Anthony Jackson he Chattanooga Catholic football team recently completed a perfect season, going 11-0 in 2015. The Catholic Rams are a middle school football program composed of students from two Chattanooga schools: Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Jude. OLPH has one of the richest football traditions of any middle school in Tennessee, dating back to 1948. In its 67 years, OLPH has a winning percentage of over 73 percent and has claimed 24 championships. 2015 was the Rams’ first undefeated season in 50 years. The Rams have 17 one-loss seasons since 1966, making the undefeated campaign all the more special. Catholic is coached by brothers Billy and Bucky Dearing. Coach Bucky Dearing stated “it was a memorable season. The players believed in themselves and put in an

DEREK SPRAKER

Victory ride The Chattanooga Catholic football team celebrates its first undefeated season in a half-century by carrying Coach Billy Dearing off the field. Coach Bucky Dearing is at right.

incredible amount of hard work.” Team captain Dallas Brown led the conference with more than

2,000 yards of offense and 24 touchdowns. Other standouts included Brendan Greene (defense), Reeve

Mullinax (offense), and Maverick Tucker (line). The coaches offered high praise for the camaraderie among the players, who come from what traditionally have been “rival” schools. “It speaks volumes about the character of these young men, their families, and the schools,” said Bucky Dearing. The Rams have four previous undefeated seasons, the first in 1949 (2-0-1). The 2015 Rams are now included on that short list. Coach Billy Dearing said, “We will never forget this season. We were blessed with a great group of players, parents, and supportive schools.” Defensive end Bradley Summitt, Catholic’s emotional leader, said, “Our team worked hard since May to get to this point. We were always motivated and ready to play. Sad to see the season end, but so glad to have been a part.” ■

t. Jude School in Chattanooga recently celebrated its 55th anniversary with a variety of events that reflected the spirit of its founding in 1960. Superintendent Sister Mary Marta Abbott, RSM, joined the students for a Mass with school Mass songs from the 1960s. Students and teachers alike dressed for the decade, enjoyed a delicious cake, participated in a “Happening” and Peace Rally and concluded the afternoon with an American Bandstand Dance Contest. Betty Anne Neal with Catholic Charities joined the students that afternoon to thank them for the collection of much-needed pantry products that was conducted as part

30 February 7, 2016

of the celebration. A Saturday parish Mass was dedicated to the school’s anniversary, with a potluck dinner following. Former students, families, staff, and Father Joe Brando came back to participate in the special occasion. The following prayer was written for the occasion: “Lord, bless the souls all of those who 55 years ago met above a drug store in Red Bank and affected the founding of St. Jude School. Bless all current and former students, faculty, staff, and families. Bless St. Jude Parish for unending support. And Lord accept our gratitude for the grace you have given all of us who have been privileged to be a part of the St. Jude School family.” ■

COURTESY OF KATHLEEN ETHERTON PRESTON

St. Jude School celebrates its 55th anniversary ’60s style

Too cool for school Krissy Schultz’s first-grade class at St. Jude took “dress like the 1960s” to heart and came to school in their best boss attire.

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Catholic schools

Notre Dame High School athletes sign letters of intent

The East Tennessee Catholic

COURTESY OF GAYLE SCHOENBORN

ix Notre Dame High School students recently signed letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college. The students were honored at a signing ceremony hosted by the athletic department and the athletes’ parents. Zach Riddle will attend Trevecca Nazarene University on a golf scholarship. He is the son of Harry and Lynn Riddle. This year Zack led the NDHS golf team to a district and region championship as well as a fifthplace finish in the state tournament. Individually he placed third in the district and won the region championship. He also placed sixth at the Chattanooga District Golf Association Junior Tour Championship at the Chattanooga Golf & Country Club. Zach plans to major in sports management. Reese Scobey will also be attending Trevecca Nazarene University on a golf scholarship. He is the son of Todd and Nickie Schoonover. Reese also helped lead the Irish to a district and region championship and fifth-place state finish. Individually, he placed first in the 2015 district tournament and third in the region championship. In 2014 he finished second at the state tournament, and this year he placed fifth overall in the state tourney. Reese won the All-American Junior Golf Tour at Willow Brook and won the Junior Club Championship. He plans to major in business administration. Kaylee Stone will attend Lincoln Memorial University on a volleyball scholarship. She is the daughter of Chris and Layla Mullin. Kaylee is a four-year starter on the Lady Irish volleyball team that finished district runner-up in 2015. She was the team captain her junior and senior years and earned All-District and Best of Preps in 2014 and 2015.

College-bound seniors Signing letters of intent at Notre Dame High School are (from left) Emma Higgins, Hannah Dearing, Sophia Olenchek, Zach Riddle, Kaylee Stone, and Reese Scobey.

In 2014 Kaylee was an All-State selection and Notre Dame player of the year. She has played for Choo Choo Volleyball all four years and was chosen in 2013 as a USA Volleyball High Performance Player. Kaylee is also a four-year manager for the Notre Dame wrestling team, and she serves as Wilson County’s Distinguished Young Woman of Tennessee. Sofia Olenchek will attend Sewanee — the University of the South on a women’s soccer scholarship. She is the daughter of Nancy Olenchek. Sophia was co-captain of the 2015 district champion Lady Irish soccer team, and for the past two seasons she has helped lead the team to the state finals as well as being selected for first-team All-State and Best of Preps both years. Sophia has been a member of the Irish soccer team and

the Irish track team for four years. She is highly involved in extracurricular activities and community service and is a member of the National Honor Society. Emma Higgins will attend Lee University on a women’s soccer scholarship. She is the daughter of Cam and Ruthanne Higgins. Emma is a three-sport athlete who participated in track (ninth and 10th grade) and played soccer and basketball all four years. She played forward for the Lady Irish and helped lead them to the state championship game in 2014 and to a district championship and return to the state tournament in 2015. Emma received Best of Prep honors and Best Forward in 2012 and 2015. She is a Converse College Junior Scholar who served as a Green and Gold Ambassador (10th-12th grade), and a member of the National Honor

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Society and Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society. Hannah Dearing will attend Tennessee Wesleyan College on a women’s soccer scholarship. She is the daughter of Curt and Jo Dearing. Hannah participated in cheerleading (ninth-11th grade) and played soccer all four years. She was the co-captain of the 2015 district champion Lady Irish soccer team, and for the past two seasons she has helped lead the team to the state finals. Hannah was the 2015 Lady Irish MVP and was awarded Best of Prep and All-State honors this season. Hannah was also a member of the Chattanooga Football Club in 10th and 11th grades. She volunteers with many organizations such as Chambliss and the Inner City Ministry of Chattanooga, and she is a member of the Mu Alpha Theta and National honor societies. ■ February 7, 2016 31

COURTESY OF HELENA LIUAG

Catholic youth

Bishop presents Ad Altare Dei awards Bishop Richard F. Stika presented the Ad Altare Dei church award to Scouts Daniel LeBlanc (left) and Blaine Liuag at the 11 a.m. Mass on Jan. 17 at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Also at Sacred Heart, Helena Liuag was presented her certification as a counselor for the Ad Altare Dei program. The purpose of the Ad Altare Dei (“to the altar of God”) program is to help Catholic Boy Scouts of the Roman Rite develop a fully Christian way of life in the faith community. The program is organized in chapters based on the seven Sacraments. The program takes between six and eight months to complete. Both boys are students at Knoxville Catholic High School. Also in the group picture is George LeCrone, chairman of the Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting.

COURTESY OF GEORGE LECRONE SR.

Three receive Ad Altare Dei Three young men received the Catholic Church religious award Ad Altare Dei, after many months of hard work, at the 8:05 a.m. student Mass on Dec. 11, at Sacred Heart Cathedral. From left are Tony Spezia, Dominic Spezia, cathedral rector Father David Boettner, and Andy Nored. Giannine Morris, religious activities chair for the Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting, assisted Father Boettner with the presentation.

Notre Dame High celebrating 140th anniversary

otre Dame High School in Chattanooga kicked off its 140th-anniversary celebration with a Mass on Jan. 27. Notre Dame was founded in 1876

32 February 7, 2016

COURTESY OF KAREN VACALIUC

St. Mary-Oak Ridge students visit elderly Children and teachers from the religious-education classes at St. Mary in Oak Ridge recently visited elderly residents at the NHC nursing home in Oak Ridge. The seventh- and eighth-grade students shared their time and talent while conveying the blessings of the season in song with the residents.

by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville. They opened the school at the request of Father Patrick Ryan, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish. ■

COURTESY OF CISSY WEST

Billboard artist wins contest Our Lady of Perpetual Help seventh-grade student Annamarie Todd was the Middle School Division winner of the annual Hamilton SHINES Billboard Art Contest. The contest is part of the mayor’s initiative to stop littering in Hamilton County. County Mayor Jim Coppinger (above, left) came to school to present Annamarie with a plaque, pin, and a poster-sized rendition of her billboard. Additionally, a fullsize billboard featuring her artwork was posted on the south side of Brainerd Road, 600 feet east of Moore Road. Annamarie is the daughter of Drs. Timothy and Nivin Todd of OLPH Parish (pictured).

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Alexian Brothers renew vows

Angelo continued from page 4

The East Tennessee Catholic

DAN MCWILLIAMS

“The parishioners come from various parts of the country. It’s not a provincial community, like for example [nearby] Andersonville, where the people grew up there. The Norris community has brought people from all over the country, so we have a breadth of experience and interest, and that makes for an interesting time to spend with parishioners.” The pianist has a preference when he chooses the music for Mass. “When I select the hymn for the day, I make sure that it’s musically interesting and not, shall I say, a monotonous kind of tone that is repeated and repeated, sort of a chant,” he said. “I guess I tend to stay away from chants and go to more musical content that has the message.” Mr. Miceli’s mother started him out on the piano at an early age. “I wouldn’t have been in music except for her,” he said. “She started me when I was 6 years old. She insisted I take lessons in piano for six years. She put me in school early, so I started high school when I was 12, and at that time I told her that I had too much homework to do to take more piano lessons, so she allowed me to quit taking piano lessons, but that was a lie because I didn’t do that much homework,” he added with a laugh. “I must say that I just dropped out of music for a number of years. I had other interests, of course earning a living and so forth. I really didn’t get back into it until 1977 when they needed somebody here.” At 102 years, Angelo still uses science, engineering, and the cherished language of music to elevate his physical and audible surroundings, Father Abuh said. “He is still one of our official organists in the parish,” the priest said. “Angelo’s quiet and generous loyalty to our parish for 40 years has drawn people to him in a sustained and loving way. And in his great wisdom, in order to prove to me that he has understood my homily on Sundays,

Elevating his surroundings Angelo Miceli serves St. Joseph-Norris with pride.

he delivers a recap that often goes beyond my preaching!” Mr. Miceli is a native of Manhattan, having grown up in “one of the tenement houses” there. “Both of my parents were foreignborn, and they had to scramble for a living,” he said. “Both of them were born in Sicily, my mother in Palermo and my dad on the slopes of Mount Etna, an active volcano. “When I was 4 my family moved to Detroit. My dad wanted to get a job with Ford because Ford was paying $5 a day at that time, and when my mother and dad were working in New York City they were being paid 18 cents per hour in the Garment District. That was pretty much the entryway for foreigners at that time, the Garment District.” Mr. Miceli and his wife, Vera, were married 55 years until her death in 2003. “I’m still married,” he said. “Her picture’s in my bedroom—I say hi to her every night.” ■

lexian Brothers Tom Klein and Andrew Dinegar renewed their vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience for the period of one year during a Dec. 10 Mass at the Alexian Brothers chapel in Signal Mountain. Father Joseph Thomas, CMI, celebrated the Mass, with the vow renewal following his homily that focused on the consecrated life and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Brother Tom Klein ministers in the Alexian Brothers Assisted Living Center and the Alexian Health Center and to the independent living residents. Brother Andrew Dinegar is fully engaged in the ministry to the homeless and hungry in the Chattanooga area. He has helped to bring service agencies together and has led Alexian Village residents to become interested in the poor and their needs. They have knitted caps and gloves and donated clothing.

Bishop continued from page 2

Our greatest gift is to receive Jesus, the Light of the world, and to then share with others the twin rays of this light flowing from His Sacred Heart. John the Baptist, just prior to giving us his words of counsel, spoke of rejoicing in hearing the Bridegroom’s voice, Christ’s, seeking out his bride, which is all of us. With this in mind, I want to celebrate our longest-married couple in the diocese: Anthony Joseph Kliemann and Dorothy Lenora Tryon Kliemann. They were married on June 27, 1942, and have shared almost 74 years together as husband and wife. They are parishioners of Immaculate Conception Church and still attend Mass together. Let us join in thanking God for their wonderful witness that speaks so beautifully of the Heavenly Bridegroom’s love for His Bride, the Church. ■

“Jesus, I trust in you.” This prayer of trust was given to St. Faustina by Christ, and they complete the words of St. John the Baptist. Let these words form your prayer: “I must decrease — Jesus, I trust in you. He must increase — Jesus, I trust in you.” For indeed, the spiritual life is a challenge: in order to find our life, we must lose it; in order to grow and flourish, we need to die to self, like the grain of wheat that yields a rich harvest. But we must trust Jesus if we are to exclaim with St. Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” As we journey together through Lent, it’s good to remember that the best “sacrifice” is the one that helps us to receive the gift Christ wishes to give us, which may be in the form of an unexpected grace, or even in the form of suffering.

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Renewed Brother John Howard stands between Brothers Tom Klein and Andrew Dinegar.

Both Brothers have completed the 30-day Ignatian Exercises in preparation for Perpetual Profession in 2016. ■

February 7, 2016 33

Funeral Mass held for Deacon Donald Hathaway

Pope Francis urges Catholics to perform works of mercy as a way to observe Lent

funeral Mass for Deacon Donald Hathaway was held on Jan. 22 at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Mountain City. Deacon Hathaway died Jan. 16 at his residence. He was 89. The funeral Mass was celebrated by Father Dennis Kress, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua. Deacon Hathaway, who served in the United States Army during World War II, practiced law for many years after graduating from Cornell School of Law in Ithaca, N.Y., in 1951. He had many interests outside of law. He became a master gardener and completed in-depth studies of Shakespeare in addition to his activities as a computer hobbyist and his work with Native American Indians. Deacon Hathaway was preceded in death by two sons, David Hathaway and Robert Hathaway, by a sister, Carol Connley, and by his parents, Donald Hathaway and Lillian Fitzgerald Hathaway. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Patricia Hathaway. He also is survived by daughters Barbara Hathaway, Katherine Hathaway, Mary Hathaway, and Geri Curwin; sons Donald Hathaway and wife Sharon, Lee Hathaway and wife Sharon, sister Ann Connley, and grandchildren Sara Hathaway, John Hathaway, Andrea

By Catholic News Service

Home continued from page 22

Home Campaign and raised more than $7.2 million, with five parishes (Holy Family, Seymour; Our Lady of Lourdes, South Pittsburg; St. Catherine Labouré, Copperhill; St. Joseph the Worker, Madisonville; and St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Cleveland) outpacing their individual parish goals. The third “Wave” of the Home Campaign began in early 2016 for

34 February 7, 2016

Deacon Donald Hathaway

Hathaway, Danielle Hathaway, and Nicholas Hathaway. In addition, Deacon Hathaway is survived by several nieces and nephews. While the family received friends just prior to the funeral Mass, friends may also call on the family at 101 Adams Lane in Mountain City at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, the Hathaway family asked that contributions be made to St. Anthony’s Bread Fund, 833 W. Main St., Mountain City, TN 37683. Mountain City Funeral Home arranged the funeral services for Deacon Hathaway. ■ the 17 remaining parishes in the Diocese of Knoxville. Information meetings and town halls have allowed pastors to gain insight into parish needs and funding for potential projects. Parishioners will be made aware of individual parish goals by their pastors. The “Wave 3” parishes are expected to have their campaigns wrapped up by July. ■

VATICAN CITY — Lent is a time of conversion and a time to deepen one’s faith, demonstrating and sharing it through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, Pope Francis said. “Faith finds expression in concrete everyday actions meant to help our neighbors in body and spirit,” the pope said in his message for Lent, which begins Feb. 10 for Latin-rite Catholics. Feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, welcoming strangers, offering instruction, giving comfort — “on such things will we be judged,” the pope wrote in the message, which was released at the Vatican Jan. 26. Particularly during the Year of Mercy, he said, Catholics are called to recognize their own need for God’s mercy, the greatness of God’s love seen in the death and resurrection of Christ and the obligation to assist others by communicating God’s love and mercy through words and deeds. “The root of all sin” is thinking that one is God, something often expressed in a total preoccupation for accumulating money and power, the pope wrote. And just as individuals can be tempted to think they have no need of God, social and political systems can run the same risk, ignoring both God and the real needs of human beings. “Love alone is the answer to that yearning for infinite happiness,” Pope Francis wrote in his Lenten message. It is the only response to the longings “that we think we can satisfy with the idols of knowledge, power and riches.” “The danger always remains that by a constant refusal to open the doors of their hearts to Christ who knocks on them in the poor,” he said, “the proud, rich and powerful will end up condemning themselves and plunging into the eternal abyss of solitude which is hell.” But through acts of mercy and charity, “by touching the flesh of the crucified Jesus in the suffering,” he wrote, “sinners can receive the gift of realizing that they too are poor and in need.” “In the corporal works of mercy we touch the flesh of Christ in our brothers and sisters who need to be fed, clothed, sheltered, visited,” he wrote. “In the spiritual works of mercy — counsel, instruction, forgiveness, admonishment and prayer — we touch more directly our own sinfulness.” In the Christian life, Pope Francis said, “the corporal and spiritual works of mercy must never be separated.” Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, president of Caritas Italy and head of the archdiocese that includes the Italian island of Lampedusa, told reporters at a Vatican news conference that the pope’s message, like the Bible, “does not stop simply at reaffirming that God is merciful, but clearly indicates that his children must be merciful, too, by living a greater love, especially by taking care of the little ones, the poor and defenseless.” The cardinal said that from his own experience as archbishop of

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Pope continued on page 36

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Living the Readings

Weekday readings Monday, Feb. 1: 2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30 and 16:5-13; Psalm 3:2-7; Mark 5:1-20 Tuesday, Feb. 2: Malachi 3:1-4; Psalm 24:7-10; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40 Wednesday, Feb. 3: 2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17; Psalm 32:12, 5-7; Mark 6:1-6 Thursday, Feb. 4: 1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12; 1 Chronicles 29:10-12; Mark 6:7-13 Friday, Feb. 5: Sirach 47:211; Psalm 18:31, 47, 50-51; Mark 6:14-29 Saturday, Feb. 6: 1 Kings 3:4-13; Psalm 119:9-14; Mark 6:30-34 Sunday, Feb. 7: Isaiah 6:18; Psalm138:1-5, 7-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11 Monday, Feb. 8: 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13; Psalm 132:6-10; Mark 6:53-56 Tuesday, Feb. 9: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30; Psalm 84:35, 10-11; Mark 7:1-13 Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10: Joel 2:12-18; Psalm 51:36; 12-14, 17; 2 Corinthians 5:20 6:2; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Thursday, Feb. 11: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1:14, 6; Luke 9:22-25 Friday, Feb. 12: Isaiah 58:19; Psalm 51:3-6, 18-19; Matthew 9:14-15 Saturday, Feb. 13: Isaiah 58:9-14; Psalm 86:1-6; Luke 5:27-32 Sunday, Feb. 14: Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Psalm 91:12, 10-15; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13 Monday, Feb. 15: Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18; Psalm 19:810, 15; Matthew 25:31-46 Tuesday, Feb. 16: Isaiah 55:10-11; Psalm 34:4-7, 1619; Matthew 6:7-15 Wednesday, Feb. 17: Jonah 3:1-10; Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19; Luke 11:29-32 Readings continued on page 36 The East Tennessee Catholic

by Father Joseph Brando

Preparing to meet the Lord Scripture shows us how God makes himself visible to humans

t’s hard to believe. With my Christmas tree still shining forth in my living room, I am writing a column that features the first three Sundays of Lent. One of the factors of getting old is experiencing time going by faster and faster. This year all of us can share that phenomenon as Easter is very early and, therefore, Lent starts Feb. 10. The first Sunday in February is not in Lent; but it very much could fit as an introduction to Lent. Another facet of old age is remembering the past better than you can cope with the present. For those who are not so old, in former days this last Sunday before Lent was called Quinquagesima Sunday, announcing that Easter was only 50 days away. And Lent was only four days hence. Well, the scriptural message is still there inviting us to get ready for Lent. The Scripture readings all center on theophanies. These are events in which God makes himself visible to humans. Let’s take a look at these visions and the message God gives on these occasions. In the first reading, Isaiah relates for us his vision of God. It was astounding, complete with angels and smoke. The smoke was known in Old Testament times as the Shekina Yahweh. It was a cloud that indicated God was present. Isaiah’s response was to announce that he, himself, was a man of unclean lips that disqualified him from working for God. That was a mistake on his part. God’s reaction was to send an angel with an ember to burn away whatever was unclean about Isaiah’s lips. Then God asked again, producing the desired effect. Isaiah was to be a prophet of God. In the second reading, St. Paul writes about visions of the risen Christ. He appeared to Peter and then to 500 brothers at one time.

God does speak to us. When he does, our first inclination is to protest that we are not worthy to do what he asks of us. But our resistance is futile. For the rest of our lives, whether we are successful or not, God will be with us, providing lasting joy in our living out his will for us. That may be around 20 years before Paul wrote about it to the Corinthians. Paul proclaims that many of those people were still alive. Then he alludes to what happened to him on his way to Damascus. He saw and heard the risen Christ. Paul’s encounter with the Lord led him to stop persecuting the Church and to begin a life in the grace of Jesus Christ and to teach people about Jesus’ resurrection. The Gospel reading could be understood by a commercial fisherman. It happened early in Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus was speaking to a crowd by the Sea of Gennesaret and the crowd was getting so large that it became dangerous. So Jesus called Simon, whose boat was within shouting distance. Jesus boarded the boat and continued to address the crowd. Afterward, Jesus directed Simon to go fishing. Simon gave him a polite no, explaining there were no fish out that day. Jesus insisted, and once Simon and his mates lowered their nets they caught an abundance of fish. The man, soon to be re-named Peter, knew what had happened. This man he was listening to was more than a prophet. And his companions, who included James and John, also came to believe. They also caught his message. The three of them left their boats and nets behind and followed Jesus. Before we continue on to Lent, let’s close in on the lessons we learned

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from the last Sunday before Lent. God does speak to us. When he does, our first inclination is to protest that we are not worthy to do what he asks of us. But our resistance is futile. For the rest of our lives, whether we are successful or not, God will be with us, providing lasting joy in our living out his will for us. For such a short month, February is filled with virtually half of Lent. The readings of the Sundays of Lent develop the theme set for us that first Sunday in February, actually the fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Now, let’s start the extraordinary Sundays of Lent. The first reading presents us with the Old Testament answer to the question, how do we respond to the manifestation of God when it happened 40 years ago and counting? Moses provides the answer for those who experienced the miraculous presence of God. This included the overcoming of the pharaoh with the 10 plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, manna in the desert, and now coming to the promised land. Our response, after recognizing that these are gifts from God, is to sacrifice the first fruits of the land to God, and to bow down in his presence. We need to remain aware of God’s presence even when his “strong hand and outstretched arm” is not obvious. On the second Sunday of Lent we continue with the theme of God’s intervention into human affairs and our response. It begins with Abram [God had not as yet changed his name]. He is the first human being to our knowledge that conversed with God. His response to God was to put his faith in God. God, for his part, enriched Abram with land and a multitude of descendants. That adds up to happiness. If you ever know a person whose grandchildren have become grandparents themselves, you’ve seen a

Lent continued on page 36 February 7, 2016 35

Readings continued from page 35 Lent continued from page 35

person with a permanent smile. Such people know they are blessed. But Abram still asked God for a sign. In response, God had Abram set up an area for the making of a covenant. Then God put Abram into a trance in which Abram experienced deep terrifying darkness. Many masters of the spiritual life attest that such a darkness is a passageway to a special contact with God. Such contacts are possible in our own day and age. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, which comes next, gives us a road map to making such contact with God. The first thing we need to do is get rid of our occupation with earthly things, such as food and money and other worldly cares. Then we can concentrate on our true land of citizenship, namely heaven. We “stand firm in the Lord.” It’s really simple. Peter, James, and John were using that method to get closer to the Lord when he invited them to climb a very tall mountain with him to pray. What they got for their hard trek was a non-worldly vision of Jesus. He was changed in appearance before them. To boot, Moses and Elijah appeared before them. They had an experience of heaven. Peter, however, proved that he didn’t know what he was seeing when he suggested that they erect three tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. How do you expect to institutionalize heavenly beings on Pope continued from page 34

Agrigento, he has seen how people’s faith and joy have grown and become contagious when they not only go to Mass, but also volunteer to assist the thousands of migrants who land on Lampedusa’s shore seeking safety and a better life for their families. Monsignor Giampietro Dal Toso, secretary of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the office that promotes and coordinates Catholic charity, told reporters that Pope Francis

36 February 7, 2016

earth? That idea was quickly and wisely ignored when a cloud came and the disciples became frightened. This connects us with Moses, who experienced that cloud for 40 years. Once again the Shekina announces the presence of God. He points out something we need to do for Lent, that is listen to His Son. That’s what Jesus craved most in his lifetime in the flesh. He wanted people to receive his message. We can do that this Lent and be ready to be taken to a deeper relationship with Christ. Now we come to the third Sunday of Lent and the journey continues. The first reading takes us deeper into Moses’ conversation with God. Moses asks God for his name. He receives an enigmatic answer, I Am. God had already told Moses, “I Am the God of Abraham. I Am the God of Isaac and Jacob. I Am aware of the affliction of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cry of complaint. I Am to be remembered through all generations. That includes the 21st century. We are to make God present in our space and time. So making God present is our task as well as our privilege. Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth in the second reading. He tells them we share life with our spiritual ancestors who fled Egypt with Moses. We all join them in the experiences. We were in the desert; we were under the cloud that was a

presence of God. We crossed the Red Sea with them; we all ate manna; and we all drank of the water from the rock. However, they complained. We should have learned from their mistakes. They wanted more material stuff. Many of them suffered for such desires by way of the serpents in the desert. Paul ends this passage with the words, “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” Nor should any one of us fail to take advantage of Lent to bolster our relationship with Christ and learn to pray more deeply. The Gospel reading for the third Sunday of Lent presents the other side of the coin of the final idea of the second reading. There, we were admonished not to fall from living the life of grace. Here, we have Jesus’ own words saying that if our lives have not been bearing fruit and the owner of the orchard would want us cut down, still there is Christ, the gardener, who wants us to be given yet another year to make our lives able to produce spiritual fruit. Lent is that time of grace during which we can become more spiritual, more fruitful, more a person of prayer, more alive, and more a person who experiences God as the I Am in our souls. ■

wants to help Catholics rediscover the traditional corporal and spiritual works of mercy, which seemed to have been left on the shelf with dusty old books. Maybe, he said, “it was no longer fashionable” to preach about the daily actions of believers or maybe “our ecclesial practice has become quite institutionalized and politicized.” “The works of mercy are a very simple, concrete, direct, alive, daily, easy, accessible-to-all way

of living the Jubilee of Mercy,” he said. “The works of mercy describe what we as Christians can actually do every day, and that is why I find them so fascinating.” As part of Cor Unum’s celebration of the Year of Mercy, he said, it has developed materials for a retreat day for people engaged in church charitable activity. The materials are online — www.corunumjubilaeum.va — and can be adapted for use by a group, a parish or a diocese. ■

Father Joe Brando is retired from the active priesthood in the Diocese of Knoxville.

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Thursday, Feb. 18: Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25; Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8; Matthew 7:7-12 Friday, Feb. 19: Ezekiel 18:21-28; Psalm 130:1-8; Matthew 5:20-26 Saturday, Feb. 20: Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8; Matthew 5:43-48 Sunday, Feb. 21: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Psalm 27:1, 7-9, 13-14; Philippians 3:17 4:1; Luke 9:28-36 Monday, Feb. 22: 1 Peter 5:1-4; Psalm 23:1-6; Matthew 16:13-19 Tuesday, Feb. 23: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20; Psalm 50:89, 16-17, 21, 23; Matthew 23:1-12 Wednesday, Feb. 24: Jeremiah 18:18-20; Psalm 31:56, 14-16; Matthew 20:17-28 Thursday, Feb. 25: Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1:1-4, 6; Luke 16:19-31 Friday, Feb. 26: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28; Psalm 105:16-21; Matthew 21:3343, 45-46 Saturday, Feb. 27: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20; Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Sunday, Feb. 28: Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15; Psalm 103:1-4, 6-8, 11; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9 Monday, Feb. 29: 2 Kings 5:1-15; Psalm 42:2-3 and 43:3-4; Luke 4:24-30 ■

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Once Upon a Time

by Monsignor Xavier Mankel

Preparing for a ‘good’ Lent

Churches old and new are inspiration for a closer relationship with God

mmaculate Conception Church has covered Summit Hill in Knoxville since the 1880s. Typical of many churches of that era, architects saw little need for a large vestibule. People came to church to pray and to visit the Lord, not each other. Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Chattanooga, Immaculate Conception, Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville, and the original St. Mary Church in Johnson City bear this out. One of the challenges facing Catholic worshippers following Vatican II was the need for a space in which to socialize. The vestibule at Immaculate Conception was built for the needs of the time, and it was tiny. This area just inside the front doors, as wide as the church itself, was filled with masonry columns that supported the church’s central tower and clock. If the three spaces could be divided, they could be split into even smaller areas. The front doors match the doors looking from the vestibule into the main church. The Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga seated 1,000 people; Immaculate Conception seated some 525 people, and Holy Ghost held 400 seats. At Immaculate Conception, a platform was installed in the right-hand corner of the space provided by the center door. It measured some three feet by five

Above all, please think about Lent this year. Then love it and live it! Happy Easter. feet and was some 20 inches above the floor. Fastened to that platform was a pamphlet rack that held some 100 pamphlets, with some of the literature marked a penny, some a nickel and others a dime or quarter. One especially popular series was written by Father Dan Lord, SJ, writing for The Queen’s Work in St. Louis. There were pictures on the cover of Father Lord’s pamphlets, and one depicted a child with his face contorted with the title, “I don’t like Lent.” As we approach Lent, that picture comes back to me. I don’t like Lent either, but I use that time every year to pray, to make sacrifices, to read, and to do penance. Holy Week in any of our parishes was wonderful if we had a “good” Lent, so I recommend that to our readers. A tough Lent, a Holy Week that is just that – holy – makes for an Easter of great joy and happiness. I may not like Lent, but I can use it to grow spiritually. What are some of the ways to make Lent holy? Well, at the top of the list is daily Mass. Mass is the way to promote our holiness. I know a few people who go to Mass every day

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throughout the year, and some go to two Masses every day during Lent. Of course, there is no Mass on Good Friday and only one on Holy Saturday. But these are special times. Then there is the rosary. NonCatholics “tell of the beads,” and it’s a wonderful practice. The Liturgy of the Hours, particularly prayed as a group, is a fine Lenten practice. Lent is an especially good time for other prayers and for spiritual reading. Visiting the sick and the homebound is another way to have a good Lent. Visiting churches, saying the Pater Noster, Ave Maria, Gloria, and praying for the Holy Father, while good any time, is especially laudable during Lent. Praying the Stations of the Cross is a fine way to “do” Lent. Doing kind things for others is a fine way to practice Lent, and reading about what the saints did through the ages to prepare for Easter is another fine way to get ourselves to celebrate the paschal feast. Many of us send Christmas cards. Why not send Easter cards, too? Above all, please think about Lent this year. Then love it and live it! Happy Easter. ■ Monsignor Mankel is a vicar general and the historical archivist for the Diocese of Knoxville.

Upcoming Virtus training sessions The Diocese of Knoxville’s program for the protection of children, youth and vulnerable adults is offered throughout the diocese. The seminars are required for parish and school employees and regular volunteers in contact with children and vulnerable adults. The following training sessions are scheduled: ■ Notre Dame Church, Green-

eville, 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9. ■ St. Alphonsus Church,

Crossville, 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17. ■ Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Chattanooga, noon Wednesday, Feb. 24. ■ St. Bridget Church, Dayton, 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28. ■ All Saints Church, Knoxville, 10 a.m. Thursday, March 17; 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 19. ■

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February 7, 2016 37

Marriage Enrichment Corner Schedule continued from page 2

Confessions continued from page 21

sacrament has evolved through Church history, noting that in the early Church Catholics only went to confession once in a lifetime. Also, at one point murder, apostacy and adultery were the only sins that required the sacrament of reconciliation. But the Church gradually began to make the sacrament available to more members on a more regular basis. And its application grew as the Church expanded. Now it’s a part of every priest’s regular schedule. “The priest is really excited about Catholics who take seriously the Gospel and that God’s commandments are not burdensome,” Father Dowling said. “It’s a hope-filled sacrament, and it’s a grace to help you avoid sin in the future.” Monsignor Humbrecht said he has noticed a physical difference in some people who have come to him in confession after carrying a burden for some time. For others, confession is a regular part of their lives to help them keep life in check. “I have seen people after receiving the sacrament literally stand straighter because a burden has been lifted from them,” Monsignor Humbrecht said. “For a priest, it is incredibly fulfilling to offer the sacrament of reconciliation and experience the gentle healing of God.” ■ expenses.

38 February 7, 2016

The secret to wedded bliss

Diocese’s longest-married couples share thoughts on matrimonial longevity

t is February and love is in the air! February is the month that is dedicated to valentines, candy, flowers and special dates. Although those expressions of love are wonderful, they are not the foundation of lasting love. In the last few months I have been giving a great deal of thought to just exactly what is it that makes love last. In my December column I mentioned that my office was looking for the couple in each parish who have been married the longest. The diocese wants to celebrate long-lasting love, love that has survived through the joys and challenges of married life, and wants to acknowledge all those couples who have said yes to their marriage vows day after day and year after year. We want to celebrate the couples who give the rest of us hope that love can indeed last a lifetime; those couples who live out their sacramental marriage on a daily basis and bear witness to us all. Identifying the longest-married couple in each parish allowed me to locate the longestmarried couple in our diocese. I am happy to report that many parishes submitted the names and wedding dates of their longestmarried couple. Immaculate Conception’s couple, however, was the runaway winner. Anthony (Tony) and Dorothy Kliemann have been married 73.5 years. Yes, that is correct. On June 27, 2016, the Kliemanns will celebrate their 74th wedding anniversary. I had the pleasure of speaking with Dorothy about their marriage and want to share a bit about their story with you. Tony and Dorothy met through Dorothy’s best friend in their home town of Dearborn, Mich. Dorothy’s

BILL BREWER

Feb. 23: 11 a.m., Presbyteral Council meeting at the Chancery Feb. 20: 10 a.m., Rosary for Life and Divine Mercy Chaplet Feb. 25: 10 a.m., Rosary for 40 Days for Life with students from St. Joseph School ■

by Marian Christiana

Matrimonial milestone Dorothy and Anthony Kliemann of Immaculate Concep-

tion Parish in Knoxville are the couple in the Diocese of Knoxville who have been married the longest at 73.5 years.

friend happened to be Tony’s cousin. Tony and Dorothy knew each other for about two years but only seriously dated for one year. They were married on June 27, 1942, and moved in with her parents. Dorothy was pregnant with their third child when Tony was sent overseas during World War II. After Tony’s return they went on to have five more children. Seven children matured into adulthood. The Kliemanns lived in Michigan until they retired to Florida, where they enjoyed making new friends and vacationing on cruise ships. Dorothy highly recommends taking a cruise for the ultimate vacation, especially for women. She said the food and entertainment are terrific and you don’t even have to turn down your own bed. They lived in Florida for 20 years before moving to Knoxville to be near two of their

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children. They have been in Knoxville for 18 years. Dorothy and I talked about her family and how much she enjoyed opportunities when they could all be together. I asked her if she could share one piece of advice with newlywed couples what would it be? Dorothy immediately said, “learn to compromise.” She said that you both can’t be “right.” One definition of the word compromise is “to learn how to solve problems with solutions that are mutually beneficial and satisfying to both parties.” After being married for almost 74 years, I think Dorothy knows what she is talking about and all married couples can benefit from her advice. Learning to compromise is definitely one way to make love last a lifetime. Some of the other women and men who were designated as the

Marriage continued on page 40 dioknox.org

Understanding the Sacraments

by Father Randy Stice

Revising the Liturgy of the Hours

Also known as the Divine Office, it is the official prayer of the Catholic Church

n recent columns we have looked at several revised liturgical books: the Order of Celebrating Marriage, the Order of Confirmation, and the third edition of the Misal Romano, the Spanish Missal. In this column I would like to introduce the revision of the Liturgy of the Hours. The Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office, is the official prayer of the Church. The Second Vatican Council taught that Christ continues his priestly work through his Church, “which is unceasingly engaged in praising the Lord and interceding for the salvation of the whole world. The Church does this not only by celebrating the Eucharist, but also in other ways, especially by praying the divine office” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 83). The Liturgy of the Hours “is distinguished from other liturgical actions by the fact that it consecrates to God the whole cycle of day and night, as it has done from early Christian times” (General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, GILH, n. 10). It does this through five “offices”: Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, “which form a double hinge of the daily Office and are therefore to be considered the principal Hours” (GILH, 37), as well as the Office of Readings, Daytime Prayer and Night Prayer. Each office consists of psalms, “then a long or short reading of Sacred Scripture, and finally intercessions” (GILH, 33). The work is proceeding in stages. In March 2010, the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments approved a revised translation of the Grail Psalms used in the Liturgy of the Hours. Here is one example from Psalm 63. ■ 1963: “On my bed I remember you. On you I muse through the night.” The East Tennessee Catholic

The Liturgy of the Hours “is distinguished from other liturgical actions by the fact that it consecrates to God the whole cycle of day and night, as it has done from early Christian times.” It does this through five offices: Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, Office of Readings, Daytime Prayer and Night Prayer. ■ Revised 2010: “When I remember

you upon my bed, I muse on you through the watches of the night.” The expression “the watches of the night” in the revised translation of verse 7 is a reference to the division of the night that marked the different guard duties of the city or temp, when the night hours were heralded. The Psalmist “remains awake reflecting on the wondrous ways in which God has protected and cared for him” (Newsletter, Committee on Divine Worship, January 2011). In November 2014 the American bishops approved additional revisions to the Revised Grail Psalms in response both to revisions suggested by the Holy See to the Revised Grail Psalms and also “in response to experience gained by several religious communities who have been using these Psalms in their regular prayer” (Newsletter, Committee on Divine Worship, November 2015). The goal is a translation that will facilitate both spoken and sung celebrations of the Liturgy of the Hours. In June 2014 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved the new translations of the Old and New Testament Canticles, which are poetic, hymn-like texts. Examples of Old Testament Canticles used in Morning Prayer include 1 Samuel 2:1-10, Isaiah 12:1-6, and Daniel 3:52-57. Examples of New Testament Canticles, which

are part of Evening Prayer, include Ephesians 1:3-10, Philippians 2:6-11, and Colossians 1:12-20. The Canticle of Zechariah, Luke 1:68-79, is always said at Morning Prayer, the Canticle of Mary, Luke 1:46-55, is always said at Evening Prayer, and the Canticle of Simeon, Luke 2:29-32, is always said at Night Prayer. These revised translations still require the recognitio (approval) of the Holy See. The GILH also refers to a two-year cycle of biblical readings, with the second cycle located in a “supplement for optional use” (GILH, 145-146). However, no Latin typical edition for this was ever produced, although proposed scriptural passages for a second cycle were published in 1976. The USCCB’s Committee on Divine Worship is looking at how other national bishops’ conferences, such as Italy, Germany, and Mexico, as well as religious communities have implemented a second cycle of the biblical and patristic/ecclesiastical readings. Although steady progress is being made, the project “is still years from completion” (Newsletter, Committee for Divine Worship, November 2015). The Church warmly recommends the Liturgy of the Hours to all of the faithful, for “those taking part in the Liturgy of the Hours have access to holiness of the richest kind through the lifegiving word of God” (GILH, 14). Finally, through the Liturgy of the Hours “man’s sanctification is accomplished, and worship offered to God…in an exchange or dialogue between God and man in which ‘God speaks to his people…and his people reply to him in song and prayer’” (GILH, 14). ■ Father Stice is pastor of St. Mary Church in Athens and directs the diocesan Office of Worship and Liturgy. He can be reached at frrandy@dioknox.org.

The Diocese of Knoxville Living our Roman Catholic faith in East Tennessee

The good we are able to do is in direct measure to the good we have been given. For this, we offer abundant thanks. May our loving God bless you. ■ Gratefully, Sister Janice Bader, CPPS Executive Director

Rev. Canon Talarico to lead Spiritual Conference at Holy Ghost Church Following the Rosary for Life at 10 a.m., Diocese of Knoxville parishioners are invited Saturday, Feb. 20, to a Traditional Latin High Mass, luncheon, and Spiritual Conference with Rev. Canon Matthew Talarico, the U. S. provincial superior for the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest, headquartered in Chicago. Mass will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. by Canon Talarico at Holy Ghost Church, 1041 N. Central St. in Knoxville. The luncheon will be served at 1 p.m. in the parish dining hall, downstairs. The Spiritual Conference will be held from 2 – 3:30 p.m. See your upcoming parish bulletins and visit the Diocese of Knoxville website, www.dioknox.org, for further details. Also, please RSVP for the luncheon as space is limited. Contact Renee Dirr at 865-984-3428 or Anastasia Juneau at 865-966-3581. ■

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February 7, 2016 39

Life continued from page 24

a woman who seeks healing from an abortion will probably feel worse before she feels better. … The caring support of a counselor and the Christian community can be invaluable,” he said. “Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again.’” Deacon Jacobs’ remarks were just part of a program to recognize the victims of abortion, from mothers and fathers to the unborn children who have been aborted. “All of us should be encouraged to see such a gathering of Blount County Christians, across the spectrum, all united in a common desire. That desire is to preserve the precious gift of life in all its forms,” Deacon Jacobs said. The celebration of life and remembrance service attracted more than 50 women, men, and children, who demonstrated their pro-life stances in prayer, song, and acclamation, including placing carnations in an outdoor cradle that is part of a memorial to unborn children. “We live in such a society where awareness of sin is suppressed and the delineation of right and wrong is blurred. However, it is an objective truth that the taking of an innocent life in the womb is a sinful act. And the sin of abortion has consequences on the psychological health of a woman who Marriage continued from page 38

“Longest-Married Couple” for their parishes had their own advice to share. Ed and Joan Heiner from All Saints Parish and Harry and Belva Cundy from Holy Cross Parish agreed that you should never go to bed unhappy with each other. Joseph and Barbara LeBlanc from Holy Family Parish emphasized the need to ask forgiveness and to forgive each other. Edward and Betty

40 February 7, 2016

has undergone this procedure,” Deacon Jacobs continued. “As loving faith communities, we must first reassure these women that they are absolutely not alone. They must recognize that many others have experienced abortion and pregnancy-related injustices, harm, and heartbreak. They need to know that many others care about them and what they are going through. Hope, help, and healing are possible.” Deacon Jacobs went on to explain the assistance available to women who are seeking post-abortion healing. Mrs. Millsapps discussed the dilemma facing many young women who are pregnant: give birth or have an abortion. She gave an impassioned talk about the importance for these women to summon their courage and give birth while resisting the temptation to have an abortion. She detailed how the religious community reaches out to embrace women who are facing such dilemmas and offers guidance on the best way to choose life. Pastor Roberts used a popular film to help him deliver his message that the protection of the unborn is up to all of us. Citing “A Few Good Men,” Pastor Roberts recalled that characters Lance Corp. Harold Dawson and Pvt. Louden Downey regretted not doing more to protect defenseless comrade Pvt. Willie Santiago. After being acquitted of murder charges, Dawson and Downer received dishonorable discharges for following orders. Ask-

ing what the two Marines did wrong, Downey was told by Dawson that they did nothing to protect Santiago in the face of orders to the contrary. Pastor Roberts, drawing an analogy to Santiago, told the group they had a responsibility to protect those who can’t protect themselves – the unborn. Citing Scripture, Pastor Roberts quoted, “Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves.” He said the people of God have many examples from Scripture where God says we must protect life “from the womb to the tomb.” He urged the attendees to get involved in protecting life, especially the unborn, through social service agencies, social media, and through churches and prayer. “Above all, there is a God who will listen to your prayers to help you stand up, to speak up, to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves,” he said. “There is forgiveness in Christ; wholeness once again; God’s love revealed to a culture confused on matters of life and death. How can we be silent and sit by idly? Maybe, just maybe, you can’t handle the truth.” Mrs. Morris spoke on the 40 Days for Life, a Diocese of Knoxville vigil during the 40 days of Lent to pray for the unborn in front of Planned Parenthood’s clinic on Cherry Street in Knoxville. Mrs. Morris complimented the other speakers for their eloquent devotion to protecting life. “This is what 40 Days for Life is all

about. It’s a prayerful, peaceful witness for the sanctity of life of the baby, of the mothers, of the fathers. The shock waves of abortion go on and on and on. Everyone is affected. One in four women sitting in our church pews have had an abortion. And many are sitting in silence. We have to break through the silence from the pulpit,” she said. She said she prays these women will be reached and will seek God’s mercy and forgiveness, asking the attendees to do everything they can to assist these women. “The more that we can do to break through this shame and silence and guilt, then the more we can do to help women … and men. Men suffer, too. Grandparents suffer. Everyone suffers,” she said. She said this country must rid itself of the scourge of abortion. “We cannot continue to kill our children and think that God is going to bless this country.” Mrs. Maupin said the service has been held for a decade to commemorate the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, to honor the lives of more than 57 million children killed from abortions, and to celebrate their lives while praying for those who made the decision to abort their child. The service has rotated among churches in Blount County and was back at Our Lady of Fatima this year. “We want this to be an ecumenical opportunity for the Blount County community. I think our speakers were exceptional,” Mrs. Maupin said. ■

McHugh, who have been married 66 years and are the honorees from St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish, said that it was important to sometimes bite your tongue and show restraint. The advice shared by these wise couples shows that long-lasting love takes effort. Love is not passive; love definitely is an action verb. On Sunday, Feb. 14, the “Longest-Married Couples” will be recognized in their home parishes. The diocese has sent

a gift, along with a letter from Bishop Stika, to each couple as a way to thank them for their marital witness. I encourage you to visit the Marriage Preparation and Enrichment section on the Diocese of Knoxville website [http://dioknox.org/marriage-preparation-and-enrichment/] to see a complete list of our “Longest-Married Couple” parish recipients. What a wonderful testament they all are to the beauty of married

love! “What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life–to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?” – George Eliot ■

The Diocese of Knoxville Living our Roman Catholic faith in East Tennessee

Mrs. Christiana is coordinator of the diocesan Marriage Preparation and Enrichment Office. dioknox.org