Aug. 17, 2012

August 17, 2012

catholicnewsherald.com charlottediocese.org S E RV I N G C H R I ST A N D C O N N EC T I N G C AT H O L I C S I N W E ST E R N N O R T H C A R O L I N A

Cursillo community welcomes new spiritual director Deacon Diener to lead ‘keepers of truly Eternal Flame,’

Marking a milestone Our Lady of Grace honors its past, looks to the future,

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Sacred Heart Mission celebrates 50 years as a family,

INDEX Contact us.......................... 4 Events calendar................. 4 Our Parishes................. 3-11 Our Faith............................. 2 Anniversary.................. 14-15 Scripture readings............ 2 TV & Movies.......................16 U.S. news...................... 18-19 Viewpoints.................. 22-23 World news.................. 20-21

13 See more historical photos,

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Permanent deacons, candidates gather at annual Mass 15 men take next step toward ordination,

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Catholic composer gives performance of music, reflection Concert part of centennial anniversary festivities for Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, 7

Our faith 2

catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Pope Benedict XVI

Mary is with God, and she’s waiting there for us Assumed into heaven, Mary is with God and is ready to listen and respond to cries for help, Pope Benedict XVI said. Joining God in heaven, Mary “does not draw away from us, does not go to an unknown galaxy,” but becomes “even closer to each one of us,” the pope said Aug. 15 during his homily at Mass for the feast of the Assumption.

With his 88-year-old brother, Msgr.

Georg Ratzinger, seated in the front pew, the pope celebrated an early morning Mass in the Church of St. Thomas. Using a white-handled cane, the pope walked to the church across the square from the main entrance to the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo.

Mary’s assumption, he said, gives believers “a sure hope: God expects us, He awaits us. We are not moving toward a void.” “And going to that other world, we will find the goodness of the Mother (Mary), we will find our loved ones, we will find eternal love,” he said.

The pope, who set aside his prepared text for much of his homily, said that Mary’s closeness to God ensures her closeness to all God’s creatures.

“Mary, totally united with God, has a heart that is so big that all creation can find a place there,” a fact illustrated by the votive offerings people around the world leave at Marian shrines and statues when their prayers are answered, he said.

Mary’s presence in heaven shows that “in God there is room for man,” he said. At the same time, he said, she demonstrates that “in man there is room for God,” and when God is present within individuals and they allow God to influence the way they act in the world, the world becomes a better place.

Many people today speak of their hopes for a better world, he said.

“If and when this better world will come, we do not know. But one thing is certain: A world that moves away from God will not become better, but worse. Only the presence of God can guarantee a better world.”

The Christian hope for a better world and for finding a place with God for eternity “is not just yearning for heaven,” but allowing one’s desire for God to “make us untiring pilgrims, increasing our courage and strength of faith, which is at the same time the courage and strength of love,” he said.

Later Aug. 15, Pope Benedict recited the Angelus with visitors crowded into the courtyard of the papal summer villa. Continuing his reflection on the meaning of the Assumption, he said that “it shows us, in a brilliant way, our destiny and that of humanity and of history. In Mary, in fact, we contemplate that reality of glory to which each one of us and the entire Church is called.”

— Catholic News Service

St. Rose of Lima: First saint of the New World

The facts of faith

A saintly life

Why is missing Mass such a terrible sin?

Feast day: Thursday, Aug. 23 St. Rose, whose feast we celebrate on Aug. 23, is the first saint of the New World. She was born in Lima, Peru, on April 20, 1586, the daughter of a Puerto Rican father and a Peruvian mother.

Her given name was Isabel (Elizabeth), but she was such a beautiful baby that she was nicknamed Rose, and that name remained. In 1597 she formally took the name Rose when she was confirmed by the Archbishop of Lima, Turibius de Mongrovejo, who was also to be declared a saint.

As she grew older, Rose became more and more beautiful. One day her mother put a wreath of flowers on her head to show off her loveliness to friends. But Rose had no desire to be admired, for she had already decided to consecrate her life to God. So she put a long pin into the wreath, and it pierced her so deeply that she had a hard time getting the wreath off afterward. Another time, she cut off her hair when someone admired it.

She also became afraid that her beauty might be a temptation to someone, since people could not take their eyes off her, so she rubbed her face with pepper until it was all red and blistered.

Despite the censure of her parents, she spent many hours contemplating the Blessed Sacrament, which she received daily. She was determined to take a vow of virginity, in opposition to her parents, who wished her to marry. Finally, out of frustration, her father gave her a room to herself in the family home.

She practiced very intense prayer and penance daily, sometimes depriving herself of food and sleep, in emulation of St. Catherine of Siena. She began to fast three times a week and performed severe penances in secret. Her days were filled with acts of charity and industry. Otherwise, she lived as a recluse, leaving her room only to go to church.

Rose worked hard to support her poor parents and she humbly obeyed them, except when they tried to get her to marry.

The fame of her holiness became so widespread among the people of Lima that she attracted the attention of the friars of the Dominican Order.

She wanted to become a nun, but her father

refused. Out of obedience to him, Rose entered the Third Order of St. Dominic instead, remaining in her parents’ home. At 20 she donned the habit of tertiary and took the vow of perpetual virginity.

Rose had many temptations from the devil, and there were also many times when she had to suffer a feeling of terrible loneliness and sadness, for God seemed far away. Yet she cheerfully offered all these troubles to Him. In fact, in her last long, painful sickness, this heroic young woman use to pray: “Lord, increase my sufferings, and with them increase Your love in my heart.”

She was ill for the last three years of her life, and was cared for by a government official and his wife. She died, aged 31, on Aug. 24, 1617.

Her funeral was held in the cathedral in Lima, attended by all the public authorities of the city, and the archbishop himself gave her eulogy.

Many miracles followed her death. She was beatified by Clement IX in 1667 and canonized in 1671 by Clement X – the first American to be so honored.

Her shrine, alongside those of her friends, St. Martin de Porres and St. John Macias, is located inside the convent of St. Dominic in Lima.

St. Rose is the patroness of Latin America and Philippines. She is also the patroness of native Indian people of the Americas and their beneficence, of gardeners, of florists, of Lima, of Peru, of the New World, and of Sittard, the Netherlands, of India, of people misunderstood for their piety and of the resolution of family quarrels.

She is represented wearing a crown of roses.

Q: Why is skipping Mass such a grievous sin as opposed to murder, which directly harms the life of another person? Skipping Mass affects no one but myself and God. A: “Skipping Mass affects no one but myself and God.” And God? Since when are human persons more important than God? There is an infinite difference between measuring God by our standards and measuring ourselves by His. We have to start with God when we look at everything. Since He came first, He comes first. He is not just a bigger version of us. He has commanded us to “Keep holy the Lord’s day,” and He has a right to demand this of us. Anything of value in our lives (including human life) has value only because of His infinitely greater value. But Mass is not just a matter of acknowledging His sovereignty, which is what worship is. It is being present at the foot of the cross and giving thanks for the Passion and death that He endured for our benefit.

He loves us so much that He underwent all that suffering to demonstrate His love for us in a way we could somewhat understand.

To skip Mass is one of many ways of turning our backs on that love.

— Father Vincent Serpa, OP, for Catholic Answers, online at www.catholic.com

— Sources: www.catholic.com, Catholic News Agency, Wikipedia

Your daily Scripture readings SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF AUG. 19 - AUG. 25

Sunday, Proverbs 9:1-6, Ephesians 5:15-20, John 6:51-58; Monday (St. Bernard), Ezekiel 24:15-24, Deuteronomy 32:18-21, Matthew 19:16-22; Tuesday (St. Pius X), Ezekiel 28:1-10, Deuteronomy 32:26-28, 20, 35-36, Matthew 19:23-30; Wednesday (The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary), Ezekiel 34:1-11, Matthew 20:1-6; Thursday (St. Rose of Lima), Ezekiel 36:23-28, Matthew 22:1-14; Friday (St. Bartholomew), Revelation 21:9-14, John 1:4551; Saturday (St. Louis, St. Joseph Calasanz), Ezekiel 43:1-7, Matthew 23:1-2

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF AUG. 26 - SEPT. 1

Sunday, Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18, Ephesians 5:21-32, John 6:60-69; Monday (St. Monica), 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12, Matthew 23:13-22; Tuesday (St. Augustine), 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 14-17, Matthew 23:23-26; Wednesday (The Passion of St. John the Baptist), 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18, Mark 6:17-29; Thursday, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Matthew 24:42-51; Friday, 1 Corinthians 1:17-25, Matthew 25:1-13; Saturday, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 25:1430

SCRIPTURE FOR THE WEEK OF SEPT. 2 - SEPT. 8

Sunday, Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8, James 1:1718, 21-22, 27, Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23; Monday (St. Gregory the Great), 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Luke 4:16-30; Tuesday, 1 Corinthians 2:1016, Luke 4:31-17; Wednesday, 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Luke 4:38-44; Thursday, 1 Corinthians 3:18-23, Luke 5:1-11; Friday, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Luke 5:33-39; Saturday (The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary), Micah 5:1-4, Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

Our parishes

August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

HHS mandate hits home for local Catholic business

Diocese of Charlotte Foundation awards $44,500 in grants in 2012 Women’s ministry in western N.C. receives seed money

SueAnn Howell Staff writer

the spirit and what is required of you, to celebrate faithfully the Liturgy of the Hours with and for the people of God and, indeed, for the whole world?

Do you resolve to conform your way of life always to the example of Christ, of whose Body and Blood you are ministers at the altar?”

And lastly, “Do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?”

With conviction the permanent deacons responded, “I do, I do, I do, I do, with the help of God, and, I do!”

Also during the Mass, 15 permanent deacon candidates who were admitted as candidates last year took another step toward their ordination by being instituted as lectors. Each man took his turn kneeling before Bishop Jugis while holding the Bible.

GASTONIA — Bob Gallagher and his family are Catholic employers trying to navigate the new Affordable Care Act and the mandate effective Aug. 1 requiring nearly all health insurance plans to include free contraception coverage, despite any conscientious objections employers may have.

Gallagher says his company, Goodwill Publishers, is attempting to carry on the family business of Catholic publishing in a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to their Christian values.

The Catholic News Herald asked Gallagher about the contraception mandate and how it is expected to affect his business: CNH: Since the HHS mandate took effect on Aug. 1, how has it impacted your insurance coverage for your employees?

GALLAGHER: The mandate takes effect for plan years beginning on or after Aug. 1, 2012. Our next plan year begins on May 1, 2013. Consequently, regarding the law itself we have until May to comply. However, at our last renewal we found it almost impossible to obtain coverage under our existing group plan that did not provide for the mandated benefits as well as for direct abortions. It cost us approximately $70,000 more in premiums from the prior year just to duplicate our existing policy that did not cover abortion.

In other words, by having abortion coverage we could have fit into a larger group plan and experienced lower premiums, but to exclude abortion coverage we have to pay $70,000 more per year, which we do.

This was not part of the mandate, but it was symptomatic of the environment.

CNH: If there has been no impact yet, when do you anticipate it could be an issue for your business?

GALLAGHER: Effective May 1, 2013, we will be subject to the HHS mandate unless the mandate is ruled unconstitutional as an infringement against the First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.

The USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, under the leadership of Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, is leading an heroic effort on behalf of the bishops in the United States against the mandate.

Additionally, there have been several lawsuits filed by non-profits fighting this mandate as an infringement on the free exercise of religion. Our own Belmont Abbey College was the very first in the nation to file such a lawsuit.

As the owner of a closely held business, I face the same moral issues as the president of a Catholic college,

DEACONS, SEE page 17

HHS, SEE page 9

SueAnn Howell Staff writer

CHARLOTTE — Churches, food pantries, outreach ministries and faith formation programs around the diocese are the latest recipients of $44,500 in grants awarded by the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation this year.

The annual awards are given out based on need and the impact the funds are expected to have on their local communities.

This year more than 17 parishes and missions, six diocesan outreach ministries and three food pantries benefitted from grants. Five direct assistance grants were also awarded to diocesan ministries. Five faith formation programs and a church-sponsored children’s counseling program also received funding.

The foundation grants ranged from $1,000 to $3,000. Since 2001, the foundation has given away 230 grants totaling $628,000.

“Walking with Purpose for Women” is one of the programs that received a grant this year.

This is a new ministry that will start this fall, as a joint effort between St. Stephen Mission in Elkin and St. John Baptist de La Salle Church in North Wilkesboro, thanks to the $2,000 grant they received.

Sister Janis McQuade, SSJ, pastoral associate at St. Stephen Mission in Elkin, is excited to see this new women’s ministry get off the ground. She hopes that women from both parishes will enroll in either the day or evening sessions starting up in the fall.

Parishioners Diane Whitman and Debbie Parrish have been working with Sister Janis, creating awareness about the Scripture-based program. Whitman and Parrish traveled to Maryland for leadership training and are now training other parishioners to help lead the sessions. “‘Walking with Purpose’ is a way of gathering women to deepen their relationship with Jesus and offers them an opportunity for personal reflection and study in small groups and they link it to everyday experiences – the challenges, struggles and joys of every day,” Sister Janis said. “Together they work through coming to conclusions, solutions and reconciliation in light of the Scriptures and Church teaching.”

Sister Janis shared that the program costs approximately $60 per participant, so without a grant the parishes could not have afforded to bring this to the women in their area. There is only one other group like this in the state, at St. Paul Church in Greensboro.

They will offer both a morning and an evening session this fall and hope to enroll at least 25 women before October.

For more information on Diocese of Charlotte Foundation grants, contact Judy Smith, diocesan director of planned giving, at 704-370-3320 or jmsmith@charlottediocese.org.

See the entire list At www.catholicnewsherald.com: The entire list of 2012 Diocese of Charlotte Foundation grants

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SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald

Forty deacons from around the Diocese of Charlotte vowed to recommit themselves to their ministry during a special Mass Aug. 10 at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, celebrated by Bishop Peter J. Jugis. (Below) Bishop Jugis addresses one of the 15 candidates for the permanent diaconate who were instituted as lectors during the Mass.

Permanent deacons, candidates gather at annual Mass 15 men take next step toward ordination SueAnn Howell Staff writer

CHARLOTTE — On Aug. 10, the Feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr, 40 permanent deacons, 15 deacon candidates and their wives attended Mass with Bishop Peter J. Jugis at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. The annual Mass provides an opportunity for the permanent deacons in the Diocese of Charlotte to gather for their annual recommitment.

“The gathering of ordained permanent deacons for their annual recommitment is a renewed pledge to service to the Church through the ministry of the Word, Altar and Charity,” explained Deacon Ron Steinkamp, director of the permanent diaconate.

During the Mass, the deacons willingly responded as Bishop Jugis asked them five questions. He asked: “Do you resolve to discharge the office of deacon with humble charity in order to assist the priestly order and to benefit the Christian people? Do you resolve to hold fast to the mystery of faith with a clear conscience as the Apostle urges, and to proclaim this faith in word and deed according to the Gospel and the Church’s tradition? Do you resolve to maintain and deepen the spirit of prayer that is proper to your way of life and, in keeping with

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 OUR PARISHES

Diocesan calendar of events BELMONT bELMONT ABBEY COLLEGE, 100 BELMONT-MT. HOLLY ROAD

Bishop Peter J. Jugis Bishop Peter J. Jugis will participate in the following events over the next two weeks: August 25 – 5 p.m.

Mass for 100th Anniversary of Immaculate Conception Church and Pastor Installation of Father Martin Schratz, OFM Cap Immaculate Conception Church, Hendersonville August 27-29 Province of Atlanta Assembly of Bishops and Priests Raleigh

Vigil for Liberty during DNC convention

— Book signing with Randy Hain, author of “The Catholic Briefcase,” at The Catholic Shoppe, 1:303:30 p.m. Aug. 20. Contact Kristine Patterson at kristinepatterson@bac.edu or 704-461-5100.

CHARLOTTE Congreso Eucarístico, Centro de Convenciones de Charlotte — “He Aquí el Cordero de Dios,” 21 y 22 de sept. Visite www.goeucharist.com. eucharistic congress, charlotte convention center — “Behold the Lamb of God,” Sept. 21 and Sept. 22. Visit www.goeucharist.com. pastoral center, 1123 s. church st.

— Entrenamiento de Catequista en español, 10 a.m.2 p.m. 25 de agosto — Catechist training in Spanish, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 25 ST. gabriel CHURCH, 3016 providence road — Respect Life Rosary, at the Blessed Virgin Grotto, following 10:45 a.m. Mass first Sundays — Young Widowed Group, Ministry Center, 7-9 p.m. first Tuesdays. Contact Sister Eileen McLoughlin, MSBT, at 704-543-7677, ext. 1043.

ST. JOHN NEUMANN CHURCH, 8451 IDLEWILD ROAD — Workshop: “Lectio Divina,” presented by Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey College, 10-11:30 a.m. Aug. 25

Eucharistic adoration, to focus on petitions for our country, our leaders and ourselves in atonement for our sins and for the future of our nation. Among these petitions are the right to live, unthreatened by government mandate, from natural conception to natural death, and for the

ST. patrick cathedral, 1621 dilworth road east — Catholic Scripture Studies: Epistle of St. James, 1-2:30 p.m. Aug 30- Dec. 13 on Thursdays. Child care available.

Contact Margaret Gustafson at jmgusto@bellsouth. net.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH, 1400 SUTHER ROAD — Polish Mass and celebration in honor of Our Lady of Czestochowa, 11 a.m. Aug. 25. Confessions in Polish available at 10 a.m. Reception to follow in Aquinas Hall, hosted by the Polish community. Contact Mary Witulski at 704-628-7209.

— New chapter starting: Men of Veritas, following 9 a.m.

Mass second and fourth Saturdays. Contact Charlie at menofveritas@stacharlotte.com.

CLEMMONS HOLY FAMILY CHURCH, 4820 Kinnamon Road — Natural Family Planning Introduction and Full Course, 1-5 p.m. Sept. 8. RSVP to Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at cssnfp@charlottediocese.org or 704-370-3230.

— Charismatic Prayer Group, 7:15 p.m. Mondays

— “Legion of Mary” group invites you to join them, Council Room, 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays. Contact Janice Kemble at mazaly6@aol.com or 704-301-7331.

ST. LUKE CHURCH, 13700 lawyers road — Anointing of the Sick Mass, 10 a.m. Aug. 18.

Refreshments available following Mass. Contact Mary Adams at 704-545-1224.

ST. MATTHEW CHURCH, 8015 BALLANTYNE COMMONS PKWY. — “Handing on the Faith in the 21st Century,” lecture with Marylin Kravatz-Toolan, Ph.D., NLC Banquet Room, 7-8:30 p.m. Aug. 23 — St. Peregrine Healing Prayer Service, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 23 — Charismatic Prayer Group, Choir Room, 7:30-9 p.m.

Mondays. Contact Barbara Gardner at chlt5nc@aol. com.

— Centering Prayer Group, NLC Room 206, 7-8:30 p.m. second and fourth Wednesdays. Contact Bruce Hassett at 704-641-9041 or Janie Normile at 803-396-8016.

GREENSBORO our lady of grace CHURCH, 2205 w. market st.

— American Red Cross Blood Drive, OLG School Cafeteria, 8:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. Sept. 1. For appointments or to volunteer, contact Jaclyn at jaclyn.wray@gmail. com or 336-207-9473.

— Walking with Purpose, 8-10:30 a.m. Sept. 8, Mass followed by brunch and reflection with Dr. Lipscomb on “Discovering our Dignity.” Contact Patty Disney at 336-382-2558. Visit www.walkingwithpurpose.com. st. PAUL THE APOSTLE CHURCH, 2715 HORSE PEN CREEK ROAD — The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians welcomes all women who are practicing Roman Catholics, and who are Irish by birth descent, who are the wife of a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, or the mother of a junior member. Meetings are first Thursdays. Contact marylisk@aol.com.

HENDERSONVILLE IMMACULATE conception Church, 208 Seventh Avenue West — Veneration of Our Lady of Guadalupe (bilingual), 7 p.m. Aug. 22

August 17, 2012 Volume 21 • Number 21

1123 S. Church St. Charlotte, N.C. 28203-4003 catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

704-370-3333 PUBLISHER: The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis, Bishop of Charlotte

EDITOR: Patricia L. Guilfoyle 704-370-3334, plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT/CIRCULATION: Denise Onativia 704-370-3333, catholicnews@charlottediocese.org ADVERTISING MANAGER: Kevin Eagan 704-370-3332, keeagan@charlottediocese.org STAFF WRITER: SueAnn Howell 704-370-3354, sahowell@charlottediocese.org GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Tim Faragher 704-370-3331, tpfaragher@charlottediocese.org Online reporter: Kimberly Bender 704-808-7341, kdbender@charlottediocese.org

The Catholic News Herald is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 28 times a year.

NEWS: The Catholic News Herald welcomes your news and photos. Please e-mail information, attaching photos in JPG format with a recommended resolution of 150 dpi or higher, to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org. All submitted items become the property of the Catholic News Herald and are subject to reuse, in whole or in part, in print, electronic formats and archives.

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freedom of conscience and the unhindered worship of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Adoration will be Sept. 3-6 at St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Road East, Charlotte. Adoration will conclude with Holy Hour (tentatively scheduled for 8-9 p.m.). Volunteers may register at www.stpatricks.org.

HIGH POINT christ the king church, IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY Church, and our lady of the highways church — Pro-Life Rosary, 9 a.m. Sept. 1, rain or shine, at 901 N. Main St. and Sunset Dr. Contact Jim Hoyng at 336882-9593 or Paul Klosterman at 336-848-6835.

IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY Church, 4145 Johnson ST. — Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), weekly meetings begin at 7 p.m. Aug. 21. Contact Father Joe Zuschmidt at jzuschmidt@ihmchurch.org or 336-8697739.

— Charismatic Prayer Group, 8 p.m. Fridays. Contact Cesar and Ava Gordola at 336-454-0146 or 336-8237710, or Tony Baludio at 336-297-4862.

HUNTERSVILLE St. mark Church, 14740 stumptown road — “Are You Thirsty?” with Chris Stefanick (youth minister and national speaker), a talk geared toward high school teens and their parents, Family Center, 7-8:30 p.m. Sept. 30.

— Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novenas, following 6:30 p.m. Mass Wednesdays — Hora Santa en español, 7:30-8:30 p.m. primeros viernes

KERNERSVILLE HOLY CROSS CHURCH, 616 S. Cherry ST. — Charismatic Prayer Group, 8 p.m. first and second Fridays. Contact Gary and Richelle Stacy at 828-8987295 or 336-792-2932.

WINSTON-SALEM Our Lady of Mercy CHURCH, 1730 Link Road — Charismatic Prayer Group, 8 p.m. third and fourth Fridays (and fifth, if any). Contact Bert and Lith Golamco at 336-201-2774.

Is your parish or school hosting a free event open to the public? Deadline for all submissions for the Diocesan Calendar is 10 days prior to desired publication date.

Submit in writing to catholicnews@charlottediocese.org.

contact Advertising Manager Kevin Eagan at 704-370-3332 or keeagan@charlottediocese.org. The Catholic News Herald reserves the right to reject or cancel advertising for any reason, and does not recommend or guarantee any product, service or benefit claimed by our advertisers.

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

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August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com

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In Brief Polish Mass to be celebrated CHARLOTTE — A Polish Mass in honor of Our Lady of Czestochowa will be offered at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, celebrated

by Conventual Franciscan Father Jacek Leszczynski and assisted by Deacon James Witulski. Confessions in Polish will be available starting at 10 a.m. The Mass will include traditional Polish hymns, and children will wear native Polish attire to honor Mary.

A reception will follow in Aquinas Hall, hosted by the Polish community, featuring Polish food. All are welcome to come experience the Mass in the native tongue of Blessed John Paul II. St. Thomas Aquinas Church is located at 1400 Suther Road in Charlotte.

For details, contact Mary Witulski at 704628-7209.

Vigil for liberty planned CHARLOTTE — St. Patrick Cathedral invites all the faithful to a period of continuous Eucharistic Adoration from Monday, Sept. 3, to Thursday, Sept. 6, coinciding with the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. This time of Adoration and prayer will focus on petitions for our country, our leaders and ourselves in atonement for our sins and for the future of our nation. Among these petitions are the right to live, unthreatened by government mandate, from natural conception to natural death, and for the freedom of conscience and the unhindered worship of our Lord Jesus Christ. Volunteers may sign up for as many hours as they like during the four-day vigil.

Go online to www.stpatricks.org.

OUR PARISHESI

St. Luke parishioners support capital campaign to move forward on new land SueAnn Howell Staff writer

MINT HILL — When St. Luke parishioners realized that the church property on Lawyers Road in Mint Hill could not meet their growing needs, they were inspired to look elsewhere to spread the spirit of peace to their community.

St. Luke Parish took a big step forward in August 2011 when, with the help of a loan from the Diocese of Charlotte, it purchased 31 acres three miles away from its current location just off Interstate 485 on Highway 218 (Fairview Road) east of Charlotte.

The deal totaled $1,000,000, and a recent fundraising campaign has been under way to pay that off.

From March through June, St. Luke Parish has promoted a “Building Peace” capital fund raising campaign to repay its $850,000 loan to the diocese and to fund a $25,000 site plan that will be required before any construction or work can be done on the new site.

To date, the campaign has achieved 57.1 percent participation from parishioners, resulting in $849,790 pledged. More than $131,676 in donations has been received.

Besides affording the parish plenty of room to expand, the new property will not have any environmental restrictions that would inhibit future construction for the parish of 1,300 families – an issue that they have had to deal with at the church’s present location. The church’s property is a habitat for the endangered Carolina Heelsplitter Mussel, so the parish could use only four of its 11 available acres.

Parishioners have cultivated the church’s

other 30 acres as a natural area featuring native plants and a pond, and the garden has been certified by the N.C. Wildlife Federation.

“We have less than four usable acres at our present site, which eliminates options like building parking decks, expanding classrooms or utilizing space any more efficiently to handle the growing volume of parishioners and needs of 50-plus ministries,” explained Joann Barnard, Building Peace administration chair, on the church’s website. “In addition, the widening of Lawyers Road and the potential for an eventual mall across the street make our current property less attractive to our use as a church.”

“Parishioners hate to leave the present property, but we know that there is no more room to build,” added Father Paul Gary, pastor. “The ‘Building Peace’ campaign is St. Luke’s capital campaign to advance the St. Luke spirit of peace to our world, our community, our parish and ourselves – on a new piece of land.”

The 36-month campaign will conclude in May 2015.

The current church was constructed in 1993, six years after the parish was established. At that time, there were only 250 registered families and the parish was considered to be “out in the country.”

With the significant growth that has taken place in the Charlotte metropolitan area, the church was expanded in 1997 to accommodate the rising numbers of parishioners, and a Family Life Center was also built.

The opening of the I-485 beltway in 2005 brought with it an increased population in

iLLUSTRATION provided by st. luke church

Father Paul Gary’s face is featured smiling in the Building Peace promotional materials. the Mint Hill area, and the present church has outgrown its current worship and meeting spaces.

The new site was chosen after four years of planning and discussions, with the goal of having a piece of property that would meet the parish’s needs for decades to come.

The parish plans another campaign in the future to build the church, which they hope could begin within three to five years.

For more information or to donate, go to www.stlukechurch.net/buildingpeace.cfm; email buildingpeace@stlukechurch.net; or call the church office at 704-545-1224.

RCIA Commission and Forum train initiation ministers GREENSBORO — Fifty-five people from 12 dioceses participated in four full days of RCIA training last month, hosted at St. Paul Church in Greensboro. The initiation ministers and RCIA coordinators were trained by the RCIA Commission and the North American Forum on the Catechumenate. The forum team that conducted the training had a total of 140 years of experience with the rite.

Participants consisting of priests, deacons and lay coordinators came from dioceses in California, Florida, the Carolinas, Mississippi and Georgia, among others. Nelson Bonet from the Archdiocese of Miami led a team consisting of Father John Durbin from the Diocese of Raleigh, Father Ed Koharchik from the Diocese of Austin, Rita Burns Senseman, notable author from Terre Haute, Ind., Father Ron Wearsch from the Diocese of Cleveland, and Rosie Hernandez from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. A complementary local team led by Peggy Connolly, Pat Millar and the RCIA Commission handled local logistics.

— Dr. Cris Villapando

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Mary B. Worthington | Catholic News Herald

On a 2,000-mile pilgrimage to defend life On their annual cross-country walk for the pro-life cause, Crossroads Pro-Life spent the weekend of Aug. 4-5 in Charlotte. The group – 10 young adults and one priest – toured Room at the Inn’s new maternity center in Belmont and prayed with the Respect Life Committee of St. Vincent de Paul Parish at the Hebron abortion clinic in Charlotte. The Crossroads visit was part of the 2012 Walk Across America, a summer pilgrimage that began in Los Angeles and concluded with a pro-life rally Aug. 11 on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Four groups of Crossroads volunteers, mostly college students, crossed 2,000 miles of mountains and prairie, sun and sleet, city and country to spread the Church’s pro-life message. Young people who wish to participate next summer can find info at www.crossroadswalk.org.

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 OUR PARISHES

Photos by SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald

Listening to God’s call: Vocation Awareness Day CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte hosted its eighth-annual Vocation Awareness Day at St. Ann Church in Charlotte Aug. 8. More than 50 high school and college-aged men attended the day of reflection, recreation and prayer led

by Father Christopher Gober, diocesan director of vocations. At right, Father John Eckert, pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Tryon, talks with Harry Ohlhaut. Above, Bishop Peter J. Jugis celebrated Mass for the group, and he also participated in a panel discussion made up of seven diocesan priests and 14 seminarians.

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See a video showing some of the young men’s thoughts about the day, plus see more photos.

Cursillo community welcomes new spiritual director Deacon Diener to lead ‘keepers of truly Eternal Flame’ SueAnn Howell Staff writer

Deacon Mark Diener addresses the Charlotte Cursillo community for the first time as their new spiritual director at a Men’s Cursillo retreat weekend on Aug. 5 at St. Ann Church in Charlotte.

CHARLOTTE — The torch of spiritual leadership of the Cursillo community in the Diocese of Charlotte was passed to Deacon Mark Diener by way of a letter of appointment from Bishop Peter J. Jugis on July 23. He succeeds Father Patrick Winslow, the newly appointed pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in northeast Charlotte.

Deacon Diener, a permanent deacon at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, has been a member of the Charlotte Cursillo community for the past 17 years. He made a Men’s Cursillo retreat weekend in Arden in 1995.

“I was not a deacon at that time, but it was on that weekend that my calling to the diaconate was confirmed,” Deacon Diener said. “It reignited me to take the steps necessary to present myself to be considered for the diaconate.”

Over the past 17 years, he has volunteered on many of the weekend retreats, first as a member of the laity and then as a clergy advisor for both men’s and women’s weekends.

He also served as a rector on a men’s retreat in Maggie Valley. Most recently, he has been arranging for deacons and religious to volunteer at the semi-annual weekend retreats.

WHAT IS CURSILLO?

The word Cursillo means “short course.” The Cursillo movement began in the 1940s in Spain, by a man named Eduardo Bonnin. He was inspired by an address given in Rome

by Pope Pius XII in 1940 that acknowledged that there were a great number of people who had moved away from living a Christian life.

When in 1941 more than 100,000 young men involved in Catholic Action were going to make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the Shrine of St. James, and needed some training for the leaders and scouts involved, Bonnin created a three-day method of retreat for them.

This three-day retreat is now known as “Cursillos in Christianity,” or a “short course in Christianity.”

Learn more The weekend retreats, which run from For more information about the Thursday evening through Sunday evening, Charlotte Cursillo community, go to are held separately for men and for women. www.charlottecursillo.org.

They are designed to give Christians a close encounter with Christ and with others to give them the knowledge and encouragement to live their baptismal call to love of God and neighbor.

Members of the Cursillo community are called “Cursillistas,” and they commit to meeting in small groups weekly to share their successes and struggles as they endeavor to live fully Christian lives. True Christian friendship is emphasized and many Cursillistas become lifelong friends.

A monthly gathering, called an Ultreya, brings the men’s and women’s groups together with their families for encouragement, prayer and fellowship at an area church.

sueann howell | catholic news herald

The Cursillo movement is now an international movement of Catholics and Christians around the world. The first weekend retreat in the Diocese of Charlotte was held in July 1963 at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, nearly 50 years ago. Bishop Jugis made his Cursillo retreat weekend in 1985 and is an active supporter of the movement in the Diocese of Charlotte.

DEACON DIENER’S FIRST MESSAGE

On Aug. 5, the Charlotte Cursillo community warmly welcomed Deacon Diener as their new spiritual director. More than 150 Cursillistas stood and cheered as he took the podium at the men’s retreat held at St. Ann Church in Charlotte.

“The Holy Spirit is here today, just as it was during Pentecost, just as it was in the 1940s when Cursillo came into being,” Deacon Diener said. “So let us be aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence and movements as we continue this encounter for others in the future.

“As Cursillistas, we can best be described as the keepers of a truly Eternal Flame, keeping it burning brightly as a beacon for all those whose paths will be illuminated by its light.

“As I see the Olympic torch continuing to be passed around the world, I cannot help but reflect at the words spoken at every one of our baptisms and at every baptism I perform.

The words: ‘Receive the light of Christ!’ This light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as a child of the light. Keep the flame alive in your hearts. ‘You have put on Christ; in Him you have been baptized.’”

August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com

OUR PARISHESI

Catholic composer gives performance of music, reflection Concert part of Hendersonville parish’s 100th anniversary Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

HENDERSONVILLE — Music lovers packed Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville Aug. 10 to hear famed Catholic composer Dan Schutte perform some of his best-known works as well as new hymns, intermingled with spiritual reflections.

The performance was part of the parish’s year-long centennial celebration, which will culminate on Aug. 25 with a special anniversary Mass. Schutte came at the invitation of the parish’s music director, Steve Aldridge, who with the parish choir has performed many of Schutte’s hymns over the years.

Two generations of Catholics have grown to love Schutte’s hymns, which include “You Are Near,” “City of God,” “Table of Plenty,” and “Here I Am, Lord.” He has been writing worship music for more than 40 years, and he just released a new album, “To Praise You.” “It’s music for us to pray and give thanks to God. It’s not just my music. It’s our music,” Schutte said during the start of the evening’s two-hour performance, during which the audience was encouraged to sing along. His compositions are meant to help encourage us on our personal journey of faith, he noted: “It’s about you and me, and our God.” Schutte’s performance opened with him sitting on a stool, acoustic guitar in hand, strumming a beloved favorite of so many Catholics – “Sing a New Song”: “Sing a new song unto the Lord; let your song be sung from mountains high. Sing a new song unto the Lord, singing alleluia.”

Schutte composed that hymn in 1970, during a time when post-Vatican II reforms were encouraging musicians to create new works for liturgical use, using contemporary music in English to renew and inspire the laity. Formerly a Jesuit priest, Schutte was among a group of song writers called the St. Louis Jesuits that included Father Bob Dufford (“Be Not Afraid”), Tim Manion (“This Alone”), Father John Foley (“One Bread, One Body”) and Father Roc O’Connor (“O Beauty Ever Ancient”). The Grammynominated group created many Catholic classics that have been part of our worship experience for the past 40 years.

Schutte said his compositions have always been inspired by St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and Ignatian spiritual exercises.

“We’re called to be good, holy people,” Schutte reflected in his talks between hymns. Just as the Apostles were drawn to Jesus because of His Love and the comfort He brought, and His Truth and the freedom that meant, so too are we designed to seek Jesus as “the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

Limited spaces available for fall.

Call now for a personalized tour.

Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald

Catholic composer Dan Schutte leads the audience in singing “City of God” during a special concert at Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville Aug. 10.

THE ORATORY

“We’re created for heaven, for God,” Schutte said, and our souls hunger for God and His unconditional love.

“We’re made for eternal happiness, for eternal joy,” he emphasized, before launching into a poignant piano performance of “Beyond the Moon and Stars”: “Beyond the moon and stars, as deep as night, so great our hunger, Lord, to see Your light. The sparrow finds her home beneath Your wing. So may we come to rest where angels sing.” ... and then a foot-tapping rendition of the classic “Though the Mountains May Fall”: “Though the mountains may fall and the hills turn to dust, yet the love of the Lord will stand as a shelter for all who will call on His name. Sing the praise and the glory of God.” Visitors and parishioners of Immaculate Conception Church were enthusiastic about Schutte’s performance and the prayerful reflections he gave between hymns.

“It’s wonderful, it’s beautiful,” said Inga Shealy, a long-time parishioner at Immaculate Conception.

Added fellow parishioner Catherine Baker, “It’s music you grew up with. It’s music that tugs at your heart.”

Schutte’s performance in Hendersonville was especially memorable for three women from Spartanburg, S.C., who worked with Schutte in the early 1970s.

Susan Baker, Brenda Brennan and Pansy Harris recalled that they had sought out the St. Louis Jesuits to commission

(803) 327-2097

COMPOSER, SEE page 17

Online To learn more about Dan Schutte and his music, go online to www.danschutte.com.

Center for Spirituality

434 Charlotte Avenue, P.O. Box 11586 Rock Hill, SC 29731-1586

rockhilloratory.org

oratorycenter@gmail.com

What is Spiritual Direction?

Saturday, September 15, 2012 9am – Noon Linda Flynn Co-Director of Charlotte Spirituality Center This class will explore personal spirituality and the role that spiritual direction has in our journey towards living a fuller Christian life.

Cost = $15

Journaling Workshop Saturday, September 22, 2012 9am – Noon Bud Katter In this workshop we’ll look at journaling tips, prompts, books, other journal keepers and focus on the use of drawings to invite the still voice of intuition into your journals.

Cost = $20 (includes materials)

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 OUR PARISHES

How can we hand on the faith in the 21st century?

Jenny Cox Correspondent

CHARLOTTE — Passing on the faith from generation to generation has always had its challenges, says Marylin Kravatz-Toolan, Ph.D. But the fast pace, diverse culture and global connectedness of the 21st century can present new challenges that require a fresh look at our approach to teaching the faith.

That’s the topic of a free lecture Kravatz-Toolan will present Thursday, Aug. 23, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Matthew Church’s New Life Kravatz-Toolan Center Banquet Room. In “Handing on the Faith in the 21st Century,” she will address the components of such issues as: What does “handing on the faith” mean? How do we do that in a meaningful and relevant way today? Do the old methodologies work in the contemporary world? Do new methodologies honor our faith traditions?

“The question is how do you make faith your own and work it from the head to the heart and really live it?” said Kravatz-Toolan, who grew up Catholic and was called to examine her own faith when her child became seriously ill. “I was a nurse in my first life … when my child became sick I turned my attention from the body to the soul, and I knew I wanted to serve in the educational ministry of the Catholic Church.”

She went back to school while raising five children and earned a degree in humanities with a concentration in philosophy from Dominican College. She received her master’s degree in religious studies from St. Joseph Seminary and her doctoral degree in religious education from Fordham University.

Today, Kravatz-Toolan is the executive director of Online Graduate Programs in Religious Education and associate professor in Religious Studies/Religious Education at Felician College in New Jersey.

Returning to Charlotte will be a homecoming of sorts for Kravatz-Toolan, who lived here from 1999 to 2002 and served as regional director of faith formation for the Charlotte diocese. In that role, she was responsible for 26 parishes across the southern part of the diocese and helped develop the Catechist Recognition Process that is still used today to educate and certify catechists throughout the diocese.

Michael Burck, adult enrichment coordinator for St. Matthew Church, met Kravatz-Toolan while working in parish ministry in New Jersey and is excited to have her return to address this timely topic that touches us all, he said. “We all are responsible for passing on the faith – as parents, grandparents, godparents, confirmation sponsors, catechists, youth ministers, priests, religious – we’re all in this together.”

Want to go?

Register at registration@stmatthewcatholic.org.

For more information, contact Michael Burck at 704-541-8362, ext. 4, or mburck@stmatthewcatholic.org.

Child care is available for the lecture by calling 704543-7677, ext. 1011, at least 48 hours in advance.

VP candidate attends Mass in Charlotte David Hains Diocesan Director of Communication

CHARLOTTE — St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte had a surprise visitor for the 7:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, Aug. 12.

Newly-named Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan attended Mass with one of his children and a Secret Service contingent.

Celebrant Father Andre Mangongo, parochial vicar of St. Gabriel Church, said he noticed the sunglasses and ubiquitous ear-pieces of the Secret Service agents as he was greeting people before Mass.

“He walked up to me and said, ‘I am Representative Paul Ryan, and this is my son,’” recalled Father Mangongo. “I welcomed him to the church, congratulated him on being chosen and told him that we would be praying for him.”

Ryan told the priest that he did not want any special attention. Father Mangongo said the VP candidate sat in the middle of the church among other early morning worshippers.

Father Mangongo’s sermon focused on the Gospel proclamation by Jesus that He is the Bread of Life. No special prayers or recognition was given to Ryan.

During the Mass the Secret Service agents stood at the entrance doors watching the congregation.

Ryan received Holy Communion in the hand, and after Mass he thanked Father Mangongo and hurried off to a Republican Ryan Party rally in Mooresville.

Parishioners were abuzz with the news that a newly-minted political celebrity was in their midst. Several expressed admiration that even though Ryan is in the glare of the national political spotlight he had an obvious priority to attend Sunday Mass.

Said Father Mangongo, “We are open to everybody who comes, they are all our sons and daughters, we minister to them. Everybody is welcome in the Church.”

Photo provided by Shannon Habenicht

The children of St. Gabriel Parish recently wrapped up a high-energy week of stories, song, games and crafts during a locally-produced Vacation Bible School. The VBS program had a “green” theme, “We’ve Got His Whole World in Our Hands,” focusing on God’s creation of the world and Catholic social teaching about our responsibility in caring for it.

St. Gabriel children learn about God’s creation during special VBS Shannon Habenicht Special to the Catholic News Herald

CHARLOTTE — The children of St. Gabriel Parish just wrapped up a high-energy week of stories, song, games and crafts June 18-22 – all part of Vacation Bible School 2012. This year’s Vacation Bible School program, which was locally produced, had a “green” theme: “We’ve Got His Whole World in Our Hands.” It focused on God’s creation of the world and Catholic social teaching about our responsibility in caring for it.

This is the second year that St. Gabriel Church created its own VBS program, as opposed to purchasing one.

“It requires a little extra work on everyone’s part, but it’s more fun this way,” said program coordinator Laura Rice.

With 200 campers ranging in age from 4 to 10, the combined efforts of approximately 100 volunteers – most of whom are teenagers – were put toward shepherding children between activities and assisting adult coordinators, as well as tending

the needs of tired preschoolers and the occasional skinned knee.

In addition to Scripture-based lessons about the creation of light, the separation of seas and the land, and the additions of plants, animals and people, the children also spent each day learning about how to protect these resources and to “reduce, reuse and recycle” items from daily life. The crafts portion of the program was especially geared toward the latter, using parish-wide donations of empty disposable water bottles and paper towel rolls as materials for the campers’ creations.

The VBS program also included a service project to collect donations for the Catholic Social Services food pantry. Each day, the campers were asked to bring in specific items as requested by Sharon Davis, director of the CSS Charlotte Regional Office. The children were invited to add their daily donations to the growing stacks of macaroni and cheese, canned fruit and toothpaste each morning. All of the donations were blessed during the VBS wrap-up celebration of song and prayer that closed out the week.

August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com

HHS: FROM PAGE 3

Memory quilt made to celebrate her life ALBEMARLE — In honor of her 80th birthday, Sister Patricia Belting, PHJC, who lives at the Catherine Kasper Home of the Convent Ancilla Domini in Donaldson, Ind., recently received a “memory quilt” made by her niece, Karen Peak. Peak, a parishioner of Our Lady of the Annunciation Church in Albemarle, is pictured above with Sister Belting. The quilt features photos, dated from 1910 to 2012, of Sister Belting’s family members through the years.

We welcome your parish’s news! Please email news items and photos to Editor Patricia L. Guilfoyle at plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org.

hospital or non-profit organization. However, I am aware of only two lawsuits filed by for-profit companies. The issue turns on the narrowness of the definition of exempt entities.

Christ and His Apostles would not qualify under this administration’s narrow definitions (of what qualifies as a religious employer to be exempt from the contraception mandate).

There is clearly an attempt to limit the free exercise of religion to inside the church walls and only with fellow congregants.

CNH: Will you comply with the mandate? If you do not comply, how much do you anticipate paying in fines?

GALLAGHER: I have discussed this issue with a number of theologians and respected Catholic leaders and reviewed commentary on the topic by the National Catholic Bioethics Center, which provides opinions for the USCCB and the Holy See, among others.

Based upon my study, I simply cannot see how a Catholic can knowingly provide health benefits, the object of which is the direct and the intentional taking of an unborn human life or other practices, in direct conflict with the clear teachings of the Church.

I guess it boils down to this: you either believe there is a human life at fertilization, the taking of which is immoral; or you believe there is life, but it is OK to take it; or you believe there is no life.

Well, if it is not a human life, what is it? And, if it is a human life, what gives anyone the right to kill it?

So we will not comply with the mandate. Hopefully, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the exemption question before May, but if not or they rule against our First Amendment rights, we will not comply and pay the fine. Our fine would be in the $300,000 per year range.

CNH: Do you fear losing employees over this issue?

GALLAGHER: I do not fear losing a large number of employees, even though we will lose some. I do fear hurting employees, who depend upon us for health insurance coverage.

CNH: As a Catholic business owner, what are your thoughts about the mandate and the narrow religious exemption it allows?

GALLAGHER: I believe that this administration wants to drive religious sentiment from the public square. The rules and regulations are being made by individuals with a proven bias towards abortion – even voting on two different occasions to

OUR PARISHESI

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allow babies who survived botched abortions to be cast aside to a garbage pail to die. With this mentality in the White House and the leader of HHS having been an ardent supporter of even late-term abortions, what do you expect? Ideas do indeed have consequences, and the HHS mandate is just one such consequence.

CNH: Have you done any lobbying on behalf of your business with regard to this issue? Have you gone to Washington, D.C., or called representatives to voice your concerns?

GALLAGHER: I have lobbied at the state and federal levels regarding this issue. The sad fact is that the current governor and current president and Senate will block any remedial legislation.

The only relief I see now is through the courts and the ballot box.

Clearly, the ballot box will give the quickest relief, but there are no assurances here.

CNH: As a business owner, have you ever been faced with anything like this before?

GALLAGHER: I have been in business since 1975 and I have never seen such hostility towards the expression of religious belief in the public square from government, nor such hostility towards business itself from the government.

CNH: Are there any specific comments you would like to make regarding this issue?

GALLAGHER: The issue we are facing is not a Democrat or Republican issue. It is an issue for every citizen who enjoys the freedom to worship God as they see fit, or not to worship at all. It is an issue regarding just what the limits of governmental power are.

If the government can force the Catholic Church or its affiliates, or a private business owner, who objects on clearly-held religious beliefs, to provide contraception, sterilization and abortioninducing drugs for employees, then what can it not force? Why not anything? If the government can limit our First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion by restricting it to the catacombs, why not the other nine in the Bill of Rights? What freedom will be next?

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Learn more about the Affordable Care Act and keep up with the latest news about the controversial HHS contraception mandate.

VOTING CATHOLIC ... and the Charlotte convention Coming in the Aug. 31 edition: The Democratic National Convention in Charlotte from the Catholic perspective

Updated continuously at www.catholicnewsherald.com: — Convention coverage — Catholic delegate interviews — Pro-life and religious liberty demonstrations — Interactive features, photos and voter resources

www.catholicnewsherald.com

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 OUR PARISHES

Sisters of Mercy Foundation awards $1.7M in grants Catholic Social Services among those receiving funding Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation announces grant awards totaling $1,744,478 to non-profit organizations in North Carolina.

The grant funds will be used for a wide variety of purposes by the organizations.

Supported programs include affordable housing, children’s services, crisis assistance, education, food distribution, health care, immigration services, job training, services to the elderly and social services. The following organizations will benefit from the foundation’s most recent grant making activities: Academic Learning Center, Concord, will receive $35,000 for the salaries of certified teachers. The Center works to improve the academic performance of students in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Advocates for Healthy Citizens, Gastonia, assesses the health care needs and resources available to the low-income, uninsured population of Gaston County and links uninsured residents with a medical home to provide for health care services. Their $44,000 grant award will be used for salary support of the Medical Assistance Program Coordinator and to defray the cost of gap medications.

The organization also provides individual, marriage and family counseling, crisis intervention, case management services and other enrichment services. They will receive $45,000 to provide salary support for the Hand To Hand Program Case Coordinator.

Changed Choices, Charlotte, provides assistance to women during their incarceration and as they transition back into society. Their $30,000 grant award will be used for salary support of a volunteer manager.

Charlotte Family Housing, Charlotte, empowers homeless families to achieve long-term self-sufficiency through shelter, housing, supportive services and advocacy. They were awarded $41,000 to provide salary support for a clinical family social worker.

Children & Family Resource Center, Hendersonville, improves the lives of children by providing services and resources that prepare children for success in school, increase and improve parenting skills, and increase the availability, affordability and quality of child care. Their $51,150 grant will help support the Preschoolers Reaching Education Program, including salary support for a program coordinator.

AIDS Leadership Foothills Area Alliance, Hickory, educates the community on prevention and other issues surrounding HIV/AIDS. Their $30,000 grant award will provide salary support for a medical case manager.

Children’s Advocacy Center of Catawba County, Conover, was awarded $25,000 for salary support for a victim advocate. The organization provides a safe, child-friendly site for the interview and medical examination of child victims of abuse and a place where victims and their non-offending family members can receive intervention services in a centralized and expedient manner.

Anuvia Prevention and Recovery Center, Charlotte, will receive $45,675 to provide salary support for the Adolescent Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program. The center provides treatment and prevention services to impact the disease of addiction.

Classroom Central, Charlotte, equips students to effectively learn through the collection and distribution of free school supplies. They were awarded $25,000 to purchase additional school supplies for distribution via the Free Store and Mobile Free Store to help the organization meet the growing need for its services.

Asheville City Schools Foundation, Asheville, promotes educational success for students by engaging and mobilizing the community to support enriching and innovative educational activities. They were awarded $44,384 to provide support for the In Real Life afterschool program.

Communities in Schools of Lincoln, Lincolnton, connects community resources with schools to help young people successfully learn, stay in school and prepare for life. Their grant of $41,000 will provide salary support for a middle school site coordinator.

Boys & Girls Club of Cabarrus County, Concord, enables young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.

They will receive $35,000 for Project Learn staffing costs, supplies and transportation expenses.

Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Charlotte supports and empowers individuals, families, and faith communities through the provision of foster care, adoption and pregnancy support services.

Council on Aging, Asheville, assists senior adults and their caregivers with programs, services and opportunities that promote and enhance their quality of life. They will receive $50,000 to provide support for Medicare education and outreach.

Crisis Assistance Ministry, Charlotte, provides assistance and advocacy for people in financial crisis, helping them move toward self-sufficiency. Their $50,000 grant will provide funds for emergency assistance.

CrossRoads Corp. for Affordable Housing & Community Development, Charlotte, provides affordable housing and critical programs to facilitate the revitalization of the Grier Heights community. Their $15,000 grant will provide operating support for the Bulldogs Matter Program.

Discovery Place, Charlotte, was awarded $45,200 to provide salary support for a Discovery Place educator to provide STEM-focused (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education for an after-school program.

Experiment in Self-Reliance, Winston-Salem, strives to alleviate poverty in Forsyth County. Their $40,000 grant will be used for housing assistance, including food, rent and utility deposits.

Florence Crittenton Services, Charlotte, provides shelter, comprehensive health, educational and social services for single, pregnant young women and their families. Their $30,000 grant will provide salary support for direct care providers in the Residential Maternity Program.

Guilford County Coalition on Infant Mortality, Greensboro, was awarded $34,000 for salary support of the Case Manager and an interpreter for the Adopt-A-Mom Program. The organization works to eliminate infant death and disability through community education and involvement.

Robin’s Nest Child Advocacy Center, Lenoir, centralizes and coordinates services from multiple agencies under one roof, providing the most effective, child-focused system response to victims of child abuse.

Their $20,000 grant will provide salary support for a full-time Child Advocate.

HealthQuest of Union County provides pharmaceutical assistance to eligible individuals and families. They will receive $40,000 to provide salary support for the Patient Assistance Coordinator and the purchase of generic prescriptions.

The Salvation Army of Greensboro, Greensboro, assists individuals and families to prevent homelessness and offers opportunities toward self-sufficiency. Their $45,000 grant will be used for salary support of a financial assistance case manager and the provision of emergency financial assistance.

HealthReach Community Clinic, Mooresville, provides health care to low-income, uninsured individuals and families. They were awarded $44,138 for the salaries of the part-time pharmacist and the medical services coordinator.

Heart Society of Gaston County, Gastonia, increases awareness of cardiac disease, promotes heart healthy lifestyles, and provides services to heart patients. They will receive $15,000 for the purchase of medications.

Helpmate Inc., Asheville, was awarded $40,000 for operating support for the Crisis Stabilization Unit.

Helpmate works with the community to eliminate abuse and, in collaboration with community providers, strengthens the support base available to victims and their children.

Hope Haven, Charlotte, provides residential after care for recovering alcoholic and other drug-addicted men and women through the operation of rehabilitation facilities. They will receive $40,000 for salary support of a Job Developer who will provide participants with vocational training.

International House of Metrolina Charlotte will receive $35,000 to provide operating support for the Immigration Law Clinic. The organization provides programs and services that help meet the needs of the international community and increase intercultural understanding.

Jacob’s Ladder Job Center, Charlotte, is a job placement service aimed at helping chronically unemployed and underemployed individuals obtain and sustain living wage employment. Their $80,000 grant will provide salary support for the Program Manager and Technology Instructor at Jacob’s Ladder West.

The Learning Collaborative, Charlotte, was awarded $27,680 to provide support for the Family School Readiness Program. The organization provides high quality preschool education to prepare at-risk children for success in school and to prepare parents to become active participants in school and stronger first teachers to their children.

The Literacy Council of Buncombe County, Asheville, improves adult basic education and English language skills through instruction provided by trained volunteers. They will receive $16,500 to provide support for the Program Director of the Augustine Project, which provides instruction in reading, writing and spelling to low-income children.

MANNA FoodBank, Asheville, collects commercially edible but unmarketable food from food suppliers and distributes the food to eligible recipients in 16 western North Carolina counties. Their $35,000 grant will help purchase food to be distributed to school children through MANNA Packs for Kids.

On Track Financial Education & Counseling, Asheville, helps people achieve their financial and housing goals through financial education, counseling and support. They will receive $33,689 to help support the Women’s Financial Empowerment Center.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, Winston-Salem, collects, warehouses, and distributes salvageable food and non-food products to area agencies. They will receive $40,000 to provide for transportation expenses for the organization’s 13-truck fleet.

Union Smart Start, Monroe, develops and funds local programs for the health, education and advancement of children, parents and caregivers. They were awarded $66,000 to provide salary support for a Teen Parenting Support Counselor for the Best Start Program, which supports pregnant or parenting teens.

Urban Ministry Center, Charlotte, is an interfaith organization involved in ministries of compassion and in the study of urban issues, especially those impacting the poor, the homeless and others in need.

They were awarded $40,000 to provide salary support for the Toxicology/Job Training Director of the SABER (Substance Abuse Education & Recovery) Treatment Program.

Western Carolinians for Criminal Justice, Asheville, was awarded $50,000 for salary support of case managers for the Women At Risk Program. The organization encourages alternatives to incarceration, educates the community with respect to criminal justice issues and operates a rehabilitative program for women offenders.

YMCA of Greater Charlotte, Charlotte, strengthens communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility by providing wellness programming, after school care, youth sports and camps, and teen leadership development. They will receive $40,000 to provide salary support for the Program Coordinator of the Y Achievers Program.

YMCA of Western North Carolina, Asheville, provides programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. Their $71,000 grant will provide operating support for the YMCA’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers.

Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation is a supporting organization and sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central Community, providing support for its charitable, religious and educational mission.

The South Central Community, based in Belmont, is part of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, an international order of Roman Catholic women religious, committed to serving those suffering from poverty, sickness and lack of education.

The South Central Community has more than 600 sisters serving in 25 states, Guam and Jamaica.

Since 1996, the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation has awarded 1,290 grants totaling more than $57 million to organizations serving unserved or underserved populations.

August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com

music and dance, besides learning about local organizations dedicated to helping people abroad as well as increasing international understanding and peace. Pictured are dancers with the Greensboro Chinese Association Folk Dance Troupe performing in their colorful native costumes. The festival is organized each year by the parish’s International Club of the Evangelization Commission, led by president Kathy Faltynski and Rita Lucas.

— Nancy Valego

Knights of Columbus swear in new officers

OUR PARISHESI

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100 kids tossed their favorite Sunday toppings onto them. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed lots of water games and ice cream.

This is the third year Totus Tuus was held at St. Mark Church. Other Totus Tuus team members were Michael Becker and Sarah Rider.

— Donna F. Smith

Good Shepherd Mission holds VBS

KERNERSVILLE — New officers for the Knights of Columbus Council 8509, affiliated with Holy Cross Church in Kernersville, were sworn in by District Deputy Walter Kulla following Mass July 18. Pictured from left are: (front row) Al Livelsberger, Outside Guard; Herb Pennington, First Year Trustee; Wayne Miller, Advocate; and Jean Dion, Grand Knight; (second row) Pete Pulice, Chancellor; Mike Anderson, Warden; Matt Henze, Inside Guard; and Bruce Baden, Financial Secretary; and (third row) Father Paul Dechant, OSFS, Pastor and Chaplain; Jacky Jones, Deputy Grand Knight; and Steve Salvitti, Second Year Trustee. Not pictured are: Mike Hamilton, Recorder; David Shepherd, Treasurer; and Tony Belline, Third Year Trustee.

KING — Good Shepherd Mission in King held Vacation Bible School July 9-13. The VBS program taught children about the Lord’s Prayer and the life of St. Joseph of Cupertino, called “the Flying Friar” because he was known to levitate when he prayed. Above, children enjoy playing with a parachute, flying high in the joyful spirit of St. Joseph of Cupertino and lifting up their prayers to God. — Barb Robless and Bernie Mathon

St. Mark kids have fun with Totus Tuus

— Fred Hogan

Classified Carolina Bedding Brand news mattress sets, factory sealed in plastic. Absolute bargain. King, $225 – Queen, $150 – Full, $145. Must liquidate. Delivery available. 704-618-4479

International festival held at IHM HIGH POINT — Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point recently held its eighthannual International Festival celebrating the cultural diversity of the parish, which is comprised of Catholics from 40-plus countries.

Festival goers enjoyed a variety of ethnic foods,

HUNTERSVILLE — More than 200 children and youths enjoyed a fun-filled week with the Totus Tuus team at St. Mark Church in Huntersville recently. Totus Tuus is a fun and energetic parish-based summer catechetical program for both grade-school children and teens. This year’s theme catechism cycle was on the Creed, with a dedication to the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. The last day is always fun for the elementary students, as two members of the teams are selected by vote to be “human sundays.” Joseph Coca and Erin Grosch were the lucky winners as more than

St. Thomas Aquinas kids enjoy Totus Tuus CHARLOTTE — More than 150 youths aged 3 to 18 gathered the week of June 24 for the Totus Tuus program at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte. The youths discussed the Creed, experienced the sacraments, prayed the rosary, participated in night prayer, and had lots of fun. For the elementary-school aged children, the week ended with the creation of a “human sunday” with one of the missionaries acting as “ice cream”! The children are already looking forward to next summer’s program!

— Katie Herzing

Vessels of Mercy Vessels of Trust Cenacles of Divine Mercy Day of Healing

September 15, 2012 From 9:00a.m. ’til 3:00p.m.

St. Matthew Catholic Church Dr. Bryan Thatcher, MD.,, Founder & Dir. Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy

“Being an Apostle of The Divine Mercy” Rev. Msgr. John J. Mc Sweeney Jane Brock, MSW, MDiv Deacon Mark King Dr. Bryan Thatcher, MD Ralph Sullivan, Cenacle Leader Jesus, I Trust in You!

8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy Charlotte, NC 28277

Come Hear

Dr. Bryan Thatcher, MD Spreading the Divine Mercy Message Worldwide Register at

www.stmatthewcatholic.org 704-543-7677

EADM Carolinas Part I – 9:00a.m. Celebrant Rev. Msgr.

John J. McSweeney. Mass, Exposition, Anointing Sick, Chaplet, Benediction Part II – 10:15a.m. Registration, Continental Breakfast 10:35a.m. Hymn: Earthen Vessels 10:40a.m. Welcome – Ralph Sullivan 10:50 Jane Brock – Merciful Mother 11:45a.m. Box Lunch 12:30p.m. Deacon Mark King talk 1:15p.m. 15 Minute Break 1:30p.m. Dr. Bryan Thatcher Lecture 2:30p.m. Cenacle Reg-ResourceTables 3:00p.m. Acknowledgements - Hymn

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Our Lady of Grace Church’s architecture Henry Murphy, architect, made elaborate plans A most interesting story surrounds the selection of Henry V. Murphy, architect for the Church of Our Lady of Grace. At the time the late Julian Price was conferring with His Excellency, the Most Reverend Vincent S. Waters, Bishop of Raleigh, to consider a fitting memorial to his wife in the form of a Church edifice, a portfolio of selected outstanding contemporary American churches had been published and distributed throughout the nation to various church dignitaries.

Inspiration sought The Bishop possessing one of these portfolios showed it to Mr. Price, and together they searched for an inspiration for the ideal edifice to grace the city of Greensboro. From cover to cover they searched and each time returned to the page depicting the Church of Our Lady of Refuge in the city of Brooklyn, of which Henry V. Murphy of that city was the architect. Mr. Murphy was then commissioned by His Excellency to prepare plans for the Church of Our Lady of Grace, the Ethel Clay Price Memorial.

Conferences are held Conferences followed, and after months of study, with the critical cooperation of His Excellency, a solution was arrived at, plans were completed, construction begun and the Church of Our Lady of Grace took concrete form.

Our Lady of Grace Church celebrated its 60th anniversary Aug. 10, with a Mass celebrated

by Father Eric Kowalski, pastor. “Sixty years is a wonderful opportunity to say, first off, thank you, dear Lord, but also a time to commit ourselves to God not for 60 more years or 120 more years, but from here to eternity and the life to come,” Father Kowalski said in his homily.

Architecture Although following the French Gothic style it is a perfectly free rendering of that remarkable tradition. Its general aspect is notably one of refined simplicity. The austerity of the seam-face granite walls is relieved at salient points with sculpture of symbolic motive – as the tympanum over the central doorway depicting Our Lady of Grace with figures both contemporary and traditional grouped about her – the tympanum over the south doorway depicting the recently defined Dogma of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven – the tympanum over the tower entrance representing the adoration of the Virgin.

Dominant feature The dominant feature of the composition is expressed in the main facade in the enshrined lifesize stone carving of Our Blessed Mother holding her Divine Child, with angels standing guard, and silhouetted against a stone tracery forming a rose window.

Pyramided against the sky is the graceful tower surmounted by a delicate copper fleche.

Interior Upon entering the nave one is at once impressed by the emphatically religious and Catholic atmosphere created by the See more from the stations of the Cross, the stained glass archives on pages windows, the decoration throughout, 14-15. and by the spacious sanctuary treated in finely selected marble. Appropriately placed throughout are devotional shrines, confessionals and Holy Water Fonts. Instead of following the usual custom of placing the organ loft over the narthex, it has been located in the tower. The organist’s balcony projects slightly to afford a full view of the altar as well as of the central entrance.

Note

Proportions The piers, arches and walls are all of brick, of a delicately warm tone, imparting a sense of vitality to the design. Several features of the plan deserve attention – the traditional division of the body of the church into three parts is preserved, but the nave is widened to contain all the pews, while the side aisles are reduced to circulating passages.

Fine study With the passing of time public attention will become more and more aware that in the beauty of its modest proportions, the thoughtfulness of its design, from the largest to the smallest interest, this building has been given study worthy of a Cathedral.”

— Reprinted from the Sept. 12, 1952, edition of “North Carolina Catholic”

Pastors at Our Lady of Grace Church 1952-1962 Monsignor Arthur Freeman 1962-1966 Monsignor Peter McNerney 1966-1968 Monsignor (later Bishop) Charles B. McLaughlin 1968-1971 Monsignor Michael J. Carey 1971-1972 Monsignor (later Bishop) Michael J. Begley 1972-1979 Monsignor Francis M. Smith 1979-1986 Monsignor William N. Pharr 1986-1988 Father Thomas P. Clements 1988-1993 Father Walter M. Dziordz, M.I.C. 1993-2001 Father Mark Lamprich 2001-2005 Father Francis J. O’Rourke 2005-2012 Father Fidel Melo 2012-present Father Eric Kowalski

Photos by Ryan Murray | Catholic News Herald

Our Lady of Grace honors its past, looks to the future Ryan Murray Correspondent

GREENSBORO — “How lovely is Thy dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God.” (Psalm 84) The responsorial psalm for the 60th anniversary Mass at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro on Friday, Aug. 10, was a fitting selection as parishioners celebrated the past and looked forward to the future.

As parishioners entered the church prior to Mass, each one was welcomed with the beautiful voices of the Our Lady of Grace Youth Choir and the joyous music being played on the 2,226-pipe Kleuker “Jubilee Organ.”

While the Mass was a celebration of the 60 years that have passed since the church was built in 1952, Our Lady of Grace’s pastor Father Eric Kowalski reminded the congregation during his homily that members needed to continue to commit themselves to the Lord.

“Sixty years is a wonderful opportunity to say, first off, thank you, dear Lord, but also a time to commit ourselves to God not for 60 more years or 120 more years, but from here to eternity and the life to come,” Father Kowalski preached.

Our Lady of Grace Church was erected in 1952 thanks to $700,000 provided by Julian Price of Greensboro and his family as a memorial to his late wife Ethel Clay Price. The first Mass was celebrated on July 13, 1952, and the church was dedicated on Sept. 14, 1952.

The church was designed by renowned architect Henry V. Murphy of New York, who was on hand for the church’s dedication in 1952 along with dignitaries including Raleigh Bishop Vincent Waters and Archbishop Amleto Cicognani, the Vatican’s apostolic delegate to the U.S. The “North Carolina Catholic,” the diocesan newspaper of the time, reported that

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Read a history of Our Lady of Grace Church.

Parishioners enjoyed hearing the 2,226-pipe Kleuker “Jubilee Organ,” which was installed at the church for its 25th anniversary. four other bishops, two abbots, a bishop-elect and numerous other clergy attended the solemn pontifical Mass and dedication rite, which was “rich in religious pageantry.”

During his homily at the 60th anniversary Mass, Father Kowalski said that while the church has truly been a dwelling place of God for quite some time, parishioners must live their Catholic faith if the church is to continue to be a holy place for Catholics in Greensboro: “If we are to truly be a dwelling place of God, it means on our part an acceptance of God’s will and the tremendous desire to follow it each day,” Father Kowalski said.

OLG, SEE page 14

August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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Pastors assigned to Sacred Heart Mission 1956-1964 1964-1966 1966-1968 1968-1973 1973-1976 1976-1978 1978-1980 1980-1982 1982-1986 1986-1997 1997-2002 2002-2004 2004-2008 2008-present The youngest members of Sacred Heart Mission in Burnsville brought up roses to the altar during the church’s 50th anniversary Mass Aug. 5.

Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald

Sacred Heart Mission celebrates 50 years as a family Patricia L. Guilfoyle Editor

Sacred Heart’s pastor, Father Fred Werth, greets parishioners followed by Bishop Peter J. Jugis in the recessional following the anniversary Mass.

BURNSVILLE — Open. Welcoming. Like family.

These are the words that members of Sacred Heart Mission in Burnsville repeatedly use to describe their faith community, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains north of Asheville.

There have been Catholics in Yancey County for at least a hundred years, but it has been only 50 years since they have been able to come together to worship in a church built especially for them. It was this milestone that Burnsville Catholics celebrated with thankfulness and fellowship on Aug. 5: Burnsville Catholics such as Lorraine Whitson, who moved from Detroit with her non-Catholic husband more than three decades ago. Her husband later converted to the faith, thanks in part to the welcoming reception that the “Yankees” received.

She’s now the mission’s pastoral assistant.

Or Chibututu Anazia, who came to Burnsville with her husband Ibezim from Nigeria six years ago. “They’re very accepting, and you get very involved,” Chibututu said.

Or Ben and Carmela Mandala, who moved to town 40 years ago and owned the local theater for almost as long as they’ve been members at Sacred Heart. “We’re happy to be here all these years,” said Carmela.

Or Panfilo Velazquez, with his son Ernesto translating from Spanish, who said, “It’s an open church to everybody.”

Or Celia Colletta Hoke and her sister Dr. Frances Colletta, two members of one of Sacred Heart’s founding families. They’ve seen many changes over the years at their church, and it makes them proud to see the community as vibrant and faith-filled as ever.

Or Helen and Scott Moore, who have been married 54 years SHM, SEE page 15

More online Members of the mission enjoyed a sumptuous meal and two large cakes during a fellowship luncheon in the parish hall following Mass.

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See more photos from Sacred Heart Mission’s anniversary celebration.

Glenmary Father Francis J. Schenk Father Donald Kaple Father Paul Acherman Monsignor Felix R. Kelaher Father Michael Hoban Father Gabriel Meehan Father Henry J. Becker Father Michael S. Klepacki Father John Pagel Jesuit Father Frank Reese Jesuit Father Edward Ifkovits Father David Brzoska Father Adrian Porras Father Fred Werth

Important dates in history Before 1935 Jesuit Father Louis J. Toups of Hot Springs occasionally came to the area as needed during these early years, saying Mass in the homes of the few local Catholics.

1935 Raleigh Bishop William Hafey directed that the local priest repair a house in Spruce Pine that he had acquired, and set aside one room as a chapel for the celebration of Mass.

Three years later, the local priest added to the building with a $10,000 gift from the Catholic Extension Society, and St. Lucien Church was established. St. Lucien remained the nearest church to Burnsville for the next two decades.

May 28, 1944 Record of the first Catholic baby baptized in Burnsville: Mary Lucille Colletta, by Father William J. Higgins. She also received her first Holy Communion from Father Higgins in later years.

Oct. 15, 1948 Bishop Vincent Waters traveled to the area to administer the sacrament of confirmation to Theresa Ruth McIntosh – the first recorded confirmation in Burnsville.

1953-1958 Mass was offered regularly in people’s homes in Burnsville and later in the Legion Building.

1959-1962 A chapel was constructed in the Law Building on Town Square in Burnsville.

Sept. 1, 1956 Glenmary Father Francis Schenk was appointed pastor of St. Lucien Church in Spruce Pine, which at that time served Catholics in the three counties of Yancey, Avery and Mitchell.

Aug. 5, 1959 The Diocese of Raleigh purchased 2 acres, at 20 Summit St., from Cecil Angel and his wife Atlas for $4,500.

May 27, 1961 Building permit #127 was issued by the town to begin construction on the church, and ground was broken on the building – a combination church, parish hall and rectory in the Glenmary style. The building and furnishings cost $34,000, with funding coming from the Catholic Extension Society, the Glenmary Missioners and parishioners.

June 17, 1962 Bishop Vincent Waters dedicated the church, assisted by the pastor, Father Schenk, and Father Donald Kapel.

There were 28 Catholics in Burnsville at the time: four men, 10 women and 14 children.

1986 Sacred Heart Mission was transferred from the care of St. Lucien Church in Spruce Pine to St. Andrew Church in Mars Hill, and Jesuit priests took over as pastors.

2002 The Diocese of Charlotte took over administration of St. Andrew Church and Sacred Heart Mission, and diocesan priest Father David Brzoska became pastor.

Aug. 5, 2012 For the 50th anniversary of the church’s dedication, Bishop Peter Jugis celebrated Mass, assisted by Sacred Heart Mission’s pastor, Father Fred Werth.

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catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

OLG: FROM PAGE 12

That desire by parishioners was evident both throughout the Mass and at the celebration following the Mass.

After the Profession of Faith, there was a special acknowledgment of the alumni and faculty of Our Lady of Grace School, with each receiving a special blessing and carnation from Father Kowalski.

“We are one family, both school and church, and we are called to be that presence and that witness of Christ in our community,” Father Kowalski said after the Mass. “Just like we have been for the last 60 years.”

Following the Mass, parishioners, visiting clergy and honored guests took part in a celebration that included a wide variety of activities.

Historical guided walking church tours were given by Jim McCullough, director of religious education at Our Lady of Grace Parish, in which he described the various design elements of the church meant to spiritually uplift worshippers from the time they enter through their journey of receiving the Body and Blood of Christ during Holy Communion.

During the anniversary celebration, parishioners were also treated to dinner, drinks and desserts while being entertained with DJ music throughout the night. Children also enjoyed inflatable jumpers and took part in a scavenger hunt learning fun facts about the history of Our Lady of Grace Church and School.

Parishioner Debbie Bergeron, originally from Rhode Island, has been a member of Our Lady of Grace Parish for 27 years.

“I’ve been in the music ministry since 1990 and have so many memories,” Bergeron said. “Music really is my favorite way to pray.”

Bergeron also described what has made Our Lady of Grace Church special to her.

“When we were first looking at Catholic churches when we moved to North Carolina, Our Lady of Grace reminded me of my home parish – It had the real Roman Catholic feel,” Bergeron described. “From the décor to the way the Mass is celebrated, Our Lady of Grace truly is home for me.”

Looking to the future, it is important for Our Lady of Grace Parish to meet the challenges that lie ahead, Father Kowalski noted.

“People know, as I know, we all have challenges but we’ve got to meet those challenges,” he said. “God does things for a purpose, and we can be filled with hope and courage and not be afraid, because Christ is here.”

With strength, enthusiasm and witness, parishioners celebrated the 60th anniversary of Our Lady of Grace Church and prayed that the parish will continue to be a lovely dwelling place of the Lord, giving true meaning to Psalm 84.

Celebrating 40 years!

Diocese of Charlotte

A milestone year T

he year 2012 is a special year for many parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte. It marks milestone anniversaries for at least five church dedications and the establishment of at least three parishes. From the diocesan archives, here are photos and newspaper clippings from a few of these special occasions.

More about two of the church dedications’ anniversaries can be found on pages 12-13 in this week’s edition. Go online to www. catholicnewsherald.com to read more about Reidsville’s recent 50th anniversary celebration, which was featured in our July 6 edition.

Coming in the next print edition Aug. 31: more about Immaculate Conception Church’s centennial celebration.

And for more historical anecdotes from the diocesan archives, be sure to check out their blog: www.charlottediocese.org/ ministries-a-departments/archives.

— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor

Church dedications Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, 1912 Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro, 1952 St. John Baptist de la Salle Church in North Wilkesboro, 1952 Holy Infant Church in Reidsville, 1962 Sacred Heart Church in Burnsville, 1962

Parishes established Sacred Heart Church in Brevard, 1937 Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Cherokee, 1962 St. Luke Church in Charlotte, 1987

Our Lady of Grace Church was dedicated on Sept. 14, 1952, presided over by apostolic delegate Archbishop Amleto Cicognani (center). The priest with his back facing the congregation is Monsignor Hugh Dolan, and behind him is Monsignor Lawrence Newman.

Note, second from right, serving as vimp is a young Joseph Showfety of Greensboro, who later became one of the area’s first native priests and then rose to serve as the new Diocese of Charlotte’s first chancellor when the diocese was established in 1972.

Women religious process in for the start of the dedication Mass.

August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

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SHM: FROM PAGE 13

Celebrating 40 years!

Diocese of Charlotte

Sacred Heart Mission in Burnsville under construction in October 1961.

Photos and clippings courtesy of the Diocese of Charlotte Archives

(Above) Members of the Price family are pictured in the front pews during the dedication Mass. The church was built thanks to Julian Price of Greensboro and his family as a memorial to his late wife Ethel Clay Price.

(Right) Pictured are Archbishop Cicognani (in back, center), to his right Raleigh Bishop Vincent Waters and to his left Raleigh Auxiliary Bishop James Navaugh.

Also pictured (far right, second row) is Archbishop Charles Helinsing, Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis. The “North Carolina Catholic,” the diocesan newspaper of the time, reported that several bishops, two abbots, a bishop-elect and numerous other clergy attended the solemn pontifical Mass and dedication rite, which was “rich in religious pageantry.”

and make a point of talking to everyone at the monthly fellowship luncheons, which are held in the cozy parish hall in the church’s basement. “It doesn’t matter who you are. Everybody’s welcome,” Helen said.

Early missionary priests literally built the mission with their own hands. Glenmary Father Francis Schenk designed the church, obtained grants to pay for its construction, and even did some of the construction work himself. He lived in the connecting rectory for several years, and everyone – young and old – still knows his name.

Bishop Vincent Waters came to the area in 1962 to dedicate the humble church, which at the time could seat 110 people.

Fifty years later, it was his successor Bishop Peter J. Jugis who returned to celebrate the anniversary with Father Fred Werth, pastor, and remember Bishop Waters’ visit. It was a bilingual Mass – a sign of the mission’s growing and changing personality. The church itself, too, was changed: the old rectory had been gutted a few years ago and turned into an additional seating area, and the entire interior was renovated to better showcase the beautiful sanctuary featuring local woodwork in cherry, maple and oak.

“This is the summit of Yancey County,” said Bishop Jugis, playing off the address of the church: 20 Summit St. “This is the highest place spiritually of this county, and it’s even higher than Mount Mitchell. Here you’re even closer to heaven than you could ever be on the highest geographical point” in the area.

That’s because the church is where the sacrifice of the Mass is offered, he said: where the people of God receive the Body and Blood of Christ and hear the word of God – sanctifying them in their path toward holiness and strengthening them to serve others.

The church at 20 Summit St. has changed quite a bit over the past five decades. The first Catholics in the region were joined by textile workers and their families from up North, then by retirees from across the country, and more recently by Hispanic Catholics.

Nowadays, the vibrant mission family is active in numerous community efforts: prison ministry, hospice, the local animal shelter, English as a second language classes, and more. But certainly one thing has not changed, members said – the spirit of fellowship.

Long-time member Pat Stefanick, who has three children, six grandchildren and now two greatgrandchildren, says Sacred Heart Mission members still have that spirit of camaraderie – the closeness that a small church necessarily has, mixed with a generous dose of caring for each other and their community.

Mix 16

catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

For the latest movie reviews: catholicnewsherald.com

In theaters

‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days’ This second sequel to 2010’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” based, like its predecessors, on a series of “novels in cartoons,” provides a warm, kid-friendly comic outing that emphasizes the virtue of honesty and the importance of familial ties. Zachary Gordon once again plays the awkward preteen protagonist who, in this installment, is out to thwart his dad’s plans to transform his housebound, videogame-playing summer vacation into a father-son bonding experience via a long sequence of outdoor activities. Director David Bowers delivers a moving message amid the laughs, so that touches of vaguely crass humor are easily overlooked in favor of the generally amiable proceedings.

CNS: is A-I (general patronage), MPAA: PG

‘Hope Springs’ Flawed, but fundamentally moral, mix of comedy and drama in which Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones play a long-married couple who have gradually grown physically and emotionally distant.

At her insistence, they set off from their home in suburban Omaha, Neb., to Maine for a week of intensive therapy with a marriage counselor and self-help author. Only mature moviegoers with well formed in faith and morals will be up to the task of gleaning its virtues from its failings. Considerable sexual content, semigraphic scenes of marital lovemaking; pervasive references to sexuality.

CNS: L (limited adult audience), MPAA: PG-13

Diocesan priest writes books on Scripture to guide the faithful ‘Seven Fountains of Grace’ latest release SueAnn Howell Staff writer

FOREST CITY — Not many Catholic teenaged boys get fired up to make a difference in the world by listening to a Protestant evangelist, but that’s what happened to Father Herbert Burke when he was younger. As a teen, he listened to a Reverend Billy Graham Crusade and was impressed by Graham’s knowledge of Scripture. And he was frustrated with the fact that many of his fellow Catholics didn’t have as good an understanding of the Bible.

“I remember saying to myself, ‘That’s our Book and he knows it better that we do,’” Father Burke says.

He credits this experience with his desire to study Scripture in high school and eventually help other Catholics know their faith through his priestly ministry and his writings.

“I became determined to study the Bible, to know it just as well as they did, so I could show people that that is our Book as Catholics.”

Over the course of many years, Father Burke has turned this passion for Scripture and the Catholic faith into a series of books explaining some of its most important tenets.

“The books that I write I write because I am not happy with what is on the market,” Father Burke says. “I find some books inadequate …

On TV n Sunday, Aug. 19, 2 a.m., Friday, Aug. 24, 10 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 25, 2 p.m.

(EWTN) “The Nun.” This unique documentary follows the real life story of Marta, her desire to be a nun, and the fervent Catholic family that nurtured her vocation. Swedish with English subtitles.

so I insert Scripture and apologetics in my books to help people.”

In 2005 he released “A Scriptural Catechism,” and in 2006 “The Rosary is the Answer” through Queenship Publishing Co. His latest book is entitled the “The Seven Fountains of Grace, A Scriptural Guide to the Sacraments.”

“This book is for people to give them more details on the sacraments,” he says. “It’s good for RCIA, marriage preparation, faith formation and sacrament preparation.”

This fall, three more of his books will be released: “A Scriptural Guide to Mary,” “A Scriptural Guide to the Saints” and “A Scriptural Guide to the Priesthood.”

“Catholics need to be comfortable with Scripture,” Father Burke explains. “I hope that with this latest book people will have a deeper love and understanding of the seven sacraments and a better recognition and belief in them as something in the Scriptures that are designed and created by God to help us and for our salvation.

“Jesus is the Fountain of Grace and these sacraments are designed to flow from Him and be a source of grace for us.”

Get your copy At www.queenship.org: More information and ordering details for Father Herbert Burke’s books on Scripture.

‘Total Recall’ In a post-apocalyptic world divided between a rich region where people live in luxury and an oppressed colony where the working classes dwell, an Everyman factory drudge discovers his past identity as a secret agent. Stunned by the revelation, which instantly makes him a wanted man, and thrown further off balance when his seemingly loyal wife turns against him, he goes on the lam, eventually joining forces with the envoy of a guerrilla resistance group. Upper female and brief rear nudity; references to prostitution.

CNS: L (limited adult audience), MPAA: PG-13

Additional movies: ‘The Campaign’

n CNS: O (morally offensive), MPAA: R

‘Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D’

n CNS: A-III (adults), MPAA: PG-13

‘The Bourne Legacy’

n CNS: A-III (adults), MPAA: PG-13

Catholic Writers Guild invites writers to ‘Come and See’ Annette Tenny Correspondent

The Catholic Writers Guild, in partnership with the Catholic Marketing Network, is excited to offer its fourth-annual Writers Conference Live, Aug. 29-31, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas. The conference will be held in conjunction with the Catholic Marketing Network’s international trade show.

The theme for this conference is “Writing and the New Evangelization.” The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in writing about the New Evangelization, has said that all Catholics are called to first evangelize themselves and then “... go forth to evangelize.

In a special way, the New Evangelization is focused on ‘re-proposing’ the Gospel to those who have experienced a crisis of faith.”

This theme goes hand in hand with the Catholic Writers Guild’s call for all Catholic writers to faithfully reflect and support the Magisterium’s teachings regardless of what genre they write. The motto for the guild is “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” (“All for the Glory of God”). Every piece of writing, they believe, can be done for that purpose. At this year’s conference many of the offerings will help attendees learn how, as writers or illustrators, they can participate in the New Evangelization during the upcoming Year of Faith.

Speakers at this year’s conference include EWTN’s Teresa Tomeo and Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR, Catholic publishing representatives Claudia Volkman of Servant Books/St. Anthony Messenger Press and GUILD, SEE page 17

n Sunday, Aug. 19, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (EWTN) “In Concert: St. John’s Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach.” The Choir of King’s College and the Brandenburg Consort perform Bach’s great musical setting of the account of Christ’s capture and crucifixion. n Tuesday, Aug. 21, 3:30 a.m. and Thursday, Aug. 23, 1:30 p.m. (EWTN) “EWTN Season Preview.” Host Doug Keck offers viewers a sneak peak into what will be airing on EWTN in the upcoming fall season. n Thursday, Aug. 23, 6:30-7 p.m. (EWTN) “Life and Spirit of the Passionist Nuns.” A look at the life of the Passionist nuns of Whitesville, Ky. n Friday, Aug. 24, 3 a.m. and & 6:30 p.m. (EWTN) “To Be Or Not To Be: The Human Family.” A powerful message which presents eloquent and compelling arguments against euthanasia and assisted suicide. n Friday, Aug. 24, 1 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 25, 5 a.m.

(EWTN) “Parish Priest Of Majdanek.” A look into the life of Father Omelian Kovch, who died in a Nazi concentration camp on the outskirts of Lublin, Poland. n Sunday, Aug. 26, 2 a.m., Friday, Aug. 31, 10 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 1, 2 p.m.

(EWTN) “What Every Catholic Needs To Know About Hell.”

What you don’t know about Hell can hurt you! This well-rounded documentary presents the Church doctrine of Hell. n Sunday, Aug. 26, 3 a.m.

(EWTN) “Father Groeschel: Pilgrimage To The Shrines Of Eastern Europe.” Father Groeschel’s first stop is the Shrine of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa. n Sunday, Aug. 26, 10 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 28, 1 p.m., and Thursday, Aug. 30, 5 a.m.

(EWTN) “EWTN On Location: Strong Men, Strong Faith.”

Catholic convert Alex Jones and San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers talk about men’s spirituality and how it relates to their worlds of family and work.

Tilt’n B Farm August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

GUILD:

COMPOSER:

FROM PAGE 16

FROM PAGE 7

Mike Marshall of FAITH Catholic Publishing. Catholic authors Ellen Hrkach, Patti Armstrong, Ann Margaret Lewis, and author and blogger Sarah Reinhard will also offer seminars on writing, marketing, social networking and more.

Attendees will have the opportunity to obtain writing critiques, receive the sacraments and meet with publishers in one-on-one pitch sessions. A special Friday blogging program with the Catholic New Media Conference will also be available. The conference and trade show offer Catholic authors and artists an opportunity to share their faith and their work with editors, publishers, fellow writers and bookstore owners from across the globe. Guild members with books will also have an opportunity to be interviewed by EWTN’s Doug Keck.

Registration is open and includes free admission to the trade show.

Priests and religious are offered free admission but are required to register. The combined cost for the conference and trade show is $70 for Guild members, $75 for non-members and $40 for students.

There’s also a discounted combined membership. To register or get more information, go to the Catholic Writers Conference’s website: www. catholicwritersconference.com.

The Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show is an international gathering of Catholic publishers, bookstores, retailers, media, speakers, musicians and other professionals dedicated to the distribution of authentic Catholic materials.

The Catholic Writers Guild is a nonprofit organization of faithful Catholic writers, artists, editors and illustrators and is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. The Guild sponsors both this live conference in August and an online conference in February to further its mission of promoting Catholic literature.

“Our conferences are totally focused on encouraging faithful Catholics to share genuine Catholic culture and faith in their writing no matter what genre,” says Guild President Ann Margaret Lewis. “These events are integral to our mission of creating a rebirth of Catholic arts and letters.”

hymns they could sing and play at Mass.

Before the St. Louis Jesuits came along, they said, there was no contemporary worship music available, so they fell back on pop and folk tunes they knew at the time – such as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Let It Be” and “500 Miles.”

When Schutte and the St. Louis Jesuits began writing hymns such as “Here I Am, Lord” and “Blest Be the Lord,” they finally could sing contemporary worship music appropriate to a Catholic liturgical setting.

Hearing Schutte perform 40 years later, they said, was thrilling.

“His voice sounds better than it ever did,” said Harris.

Schutte closed out the performance with everyone standing on their feet, singing joyfully: “Let us build the city of God. May our tears be turned into dancing! For the Lord, our light and our love, has turned the night into day!”

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DEACON: FROM PAGE 3

His words to each candidate were, “Take this book of Holy Scripture and be faithful in handing on the Word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of His people.”

Permanent deacons play a vital role in parish life, serving at Mass, administering the sacrament of baptism, witnessing marriages and teaching faith formation.

In addition, the deacons of our diocese are involved in activities such as prison ministry, airport ministry at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, marriage tribunal advocates, scouting programs, the Cursillo movement, the Charismatic Renewal, prolife ministry, vocations awareness, Knights of Columbus, campus ministry, hospital ministry and so much more.

More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See more photos of the deacons at the Aug. 10 Mass At www.charlottediocese.org: Learn more about the permanent diaconate, or call Deacon Steinkamp at 704-370-3344.

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Our nation 18

catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

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In Brief Ryan comes from longtime Wisconsin Catholic family WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Paul Davis Ryan, whom Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced Aug. 11 as his running mate for the White House, is a lifelong Catholic whose children attend their parish school in Wisconsin. Ryan’s inclusion on the presumptive Republican ticket marks the first time both halves of the major party matchup will have Catholics seeking the vice presidency.

Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is the first Catholic to hold the post. The last time the Republican nominee for vice president was a Catholic was in 1964, when New York Rep. William E. Miller was the running mate of Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater.

Settlement reached in civil trial of former Springfield bishops SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A Massachusetts man who was abused in the 1980s by a former priest of the Springfield diocese agreed to a $500,000 settlement with retired Springfield Bishops Joseph F. Maguire and Thomas L. Dupre July 27. The agreement ended a dramatic civil trial in which the victim alleged the bishops had been negligent during their respective tenures as head of the diocese by returning the former priest to ministry with insufficient supervision knowing that he had a history of abusing boys.

Judge: Hawaii laws against gay ‘marriage’ not unconstitutional HONOLULU — A federal judge in an Aug. 8 ruling said Hawaii’s laws banning same-sex “marriage” “are not unconstitutional” and threw out a lawsuit that had argued otherwise.

The Hawaii Family Forum, a Christian educational organization, had intervened in the case to defend Hawaii’s marriage statutes. The ruling is a victory for supporters of traditional marriage.

Three people had filed a lawsuit, supported by Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, asking the court to declare unconstitutional the 1998 constitutional amendment that gave the state legislature the power to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and the state law that subsequently did that. They argued that the amendment and the law violated due process and equal protection under the law. The

court disagreed, however, saying any restructuring of “the traditional institution of marriage” should be done through the legislature or by constitutional amendment.

Bishop: Catholics should reject gay ‘marriage’ but not tolerate hate SPOKANE, Wash. — The Church opposes legalizing same-sex “marriage” but at the same time the Church “has no tolerance for the misuse” of the issue “to incite hostility toward homosexuals,” said Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Spokane in an Aug. 3 letter to Catholics of the diocese accompanied by reflections on a Washington state referendum on legalizing same-sex “marriage.”

Voters will be asked Nov. 6 to accept or reject a law redefining marriage to include same-sex unions that was passed in February. If Referendum 74, as it is called, is approved, the same-sex “marriage” law will take effect Dec. 6.

Deferred deportation program starts WASHINGTON, D.C. — Potential applicants for the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals may have started submitting applications as soon as the system opened Aug. 15, but as the date approached, many issues remain unsettled. At an Aug. 7 panel briefing, Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which will handle most of the applications, said many specifics remain to be worked out for the program that will allow certain undocumented young people to be at least temporarily freed from the threat of deportation and get work permits.

Court blocks ban on late-term abortions PHOENIX — In a blow to Arizona’s recently enacted late-term abortion ban, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco has blocked a key provision of the law from taking effect. The Mother’s Health and Safety Act, which prohibited most abortions after 20 weeks, was supposed to go into effect Aug. 2.

It was challenged by three doctors who provide abortions, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and New-York based Center for Reproductive Freedom.

Pro-life leader dies WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pro-life leader Nellie Gray, who founded the March for Life in 1974, died at her Washington, D.C., apartment Aug. 13 at age 86. The March for Life is the largest annual pro-life event in the U.S., growing from 20,000 its first year to hundreds of thousands each January on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.

— Catholic News Service

Maryknoll Sister Janice McLaughlin, left, participates in morning prayer Aug. 8 during the 2012 Leadership Conference of Women Religious assembly in St. Louis.

CNS | Sid Hastings

LCWR board comments on meeting with Archbishop Sartain Catholic News Service

ST. LOUIS — Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle “listened carefully” to the concerns and feelings of board members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and asked for the board’s help in learning more about “members’ experience and understandings of religious life,” the LCWR said after an Aug. 11 meeting with the archbishop.

Archbishop Sartain was charged with overseeing the group’s reform after an assessment issued in April by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith questioned the organization’s fidelity to Catholic teaching in areas including abortion, euthanasia, women’s ordination and homosexuality.

An Aug. 13 statement from LCWR said the board had been charged by its membership at an Aug. 7-10 meeting in St. Louis with articulating “its belief that religious life, as it is lived by the women religious who comprise LCWR, is an authentic expression of this life that must not be compromised.”

The board also told Archbishop Sartain that “the expectation of the LCWR members is that open and

Outgoing LCWR president urges sisters to move forward with prayer, hope ST. LOUIS — Franciscan Sister Pat Farrell said her final address as president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious was a much different speech than she initially imagined she would deliver. The 900 women religious she was addressing Aug. 10 at the annual LCWR assembly in St. Louis nodded and laughed in agreement to the obvious reference to the Vatican doctrinal assessment of LCWR released four months ago.

The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the assessment April 18 calling for a reform of the organization, an umbrella group of 1,500 leaders of U.S. women’s religious communities representing about 80 percent of the country’s 57,000 women religious.

Sister Farrell, who told the group they were in the “eye of an ecclesial storm with a spotlight shining on us and a microphone placed at our mouths,” said it would be a “mistake to make too much” or too little of the doctrinal assessment. In this middle ground, she urged the sisters not to allow the Vatican document to “consume an inordinate amount of our time and energy or to distract us from our mission.”

The Vatican assessment said reform was needed to

honest dialogue may lead not only to increasing understanding between the Church leadership and women religious, but also to creating more possibilities for the laity and, particularly for women, to have a voice in the Church.”

In his own statement after meeting with the LCWR board, Archbishop Sartain said he remained “committed to working to address the issues raised by the doctrinal assessment in an atmosphere of prayer and respectful dialogue.”

“We must also work toward clearing up any misunderstandings, and I remain truly hopeful that we will work together without compromising Church teaching or the important role of the LCWR,” he added.

“I look forward to our continued discussions as we collaborate in promoting consecrated life in the United States.”

The LCWR, an umbrella group of 1,500 leaders of U.S. women’s religious communities representing about 80 percent of the country’s 57,000 women religious, said the board planned to meet again with Archbishop Sartain “later in the fall.” ensure LCWR’s fidelity to Catholic teaching in areas that include abortion, euthanasia, women’s ordination and homosexuality. The organization’s canonical status is granted by the Vatican.

Speakers at LCWR assembly urge sisters to embrace new challenges ST. LOUIS — A keynote speaker and panelists addressing the 900 sisters at the LCWR’s annual assembly urged the sisters to embrace new challenges. Speakers did not refer directly to the Vatican doctrinal assessment calling for a reform of LCWR. Instead, they spoke broadly about how the sisters can bring about change or specific challenges they should consider. The St. Louis gathering was the first time the organization had assembled since the release of the April 18 Vatican assessment.

Barbara Marx Hubbard, the main speaker Aug. 8, essentially told the sisters to embrace the notion of change and growth reflected in biblical passages that speak of rebirth and “making all things new.” Hubbard pointed out that although she is not Catholic, she was drawn to the work of the sisters and called them “the best seed bed I know for evolving the Church and the world in the 21st century.”

August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Aug. 1 comes and goes with little effect on most Americans’ health plans the mandate on moral grounds and see it as a violation of their religious freedom.

Catholic leaders do not oppose the other mandated preventive services for women, which include well-woman visits, breastfeeding support and counseling, and domestic violence screening and counseling.

The contraceptive mandate does not apply to plans that are “grandfathered” – those that have remained substantially unchanged since March 23, 2010, in terms of benefits, co-pays, deductibles and employer contributions – or those covered by what the U.S. bishops and others fee have said is a narrowly drawn religious exemption.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Although Aug. 1 was a key date in implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it simply marked the first possible date when health plans could be required to cover eight new preventive services for women – including contraceptives. But most Americans saw no change in their insurance that day, because their plans renew on another date or are covered by a one-year “temporary enforcement safe harbor” or a “grandfathering” delay.

The requirement to provide free contraceptives has prompted an outcry by Catholic leaders and others who object to

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Peoria joins in suits against HHS mandate PEORIA, Ill. — Saying that he has “an obligation to protect the Church’s ability to freely practice our religion,” Peoria Bishop Daniel R. Jenky has added his diocese to the list of those suing the federal government to overturn a requirement that employers provide contraceptives and sterilization to their employees. “The suit filed today asks the courts to find the HHS mandate in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and

the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how government agencies propose and establish regulations,” said Patricia Gibson, attorney and chancellor for the Diocese of Peoria, in an Aug. 9 statement.

Forty-three Catholic dioceses, schools, hospitals, social service agencies and other institutions filed suit in federal court in May to stop three government agencies from implementing a mandate that would require them to cover contraceptives and sterilization in their health plans.

Cardinal urges Congress to act on HHS mandate WASHINGTON, D.C. — Since the courts will not act quickly enough to protect the religious liberty concerns prompted by the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate, Congress must “address this urgent and fundamental issue before it completes its business this year,” Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo told members of the House and Senate. “Timely and uniform

protection of these rights cannot be expected from the current lengthy judicial process,” said the cardinal in an Aug. 3 letter to members of Congress. He is archbishop of Galveston-Houston and chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

— Catholic News Service

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Our world 20

catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

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In Brief Trial ordered for papal assistant accused of theft VATICAN CITY — Vatican magistrates have formally indicted Pope Benedict XVI’s personal assistant, Paolo Gabriele, on charges of aggravated theft and have indicted a computer technician from the Vatican Secretariat of State on minor charges of aiding Gabriele after he stole Vatican correspondence. The publication Aug. 13 of the decision of Piero Bonnet, the Vatican’s investigating judge, included for the first time the naming of a second suspect, Claudio Sciarpelleti, the Secretariat of State employee. Vatican police found an envelope from Gabriele in Sciarpelleti’s desk and arrested him, according to the documents explaining Bonnet’s judgment. While the computer expert gave “contrasting versions of the facts” to investigators, in the end it was determined that there was enough evidence to bring him to trial on a charge of aiding and abetting Gabriele after the fact.

The Vatican magistrates did not set a date for the trial or trials, but Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said it would not be set before Sept. 20 because the Vatican court is in recess Aug. 14-Sept.

20. Father Lombardi said the charge against Sciarpelleti carries a “very light” sentence, which is unlikely to include any jail time.

Pope Benedict could have intervened at any time to stop the investigation and legal process and he still has the option of clearing the two laymen without a trial.

— Catholic News Service

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Pope Benedict: Faith in God gives full meaning to life CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — While people obviously need to provide for their families and even make sure they get some rest and relaxation, the Gospel teaches that it’s even more crucial to strengthen one’s relationship with God, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“Jesus wants to help people go beyond the immediate satisfaction of their material needs, important as they are,” he said Aug. 5, commenting on the Sunday Gospel reading during his midday Angelus address.

Jesus’ mission is to open people’s eyes to the possibility of an “existence that is not simply that of the daily worries” about what to eat, what to wear and how to advance in their careers, he said.

“The center of existence, that which gives full meaning and solid hope to the often difficult journey (of life) is faith in Christ, an encounter with Christ,” the pope told a crowd gathered in the courtyard of his summer villa for the recitation of the Marian prayer.

“On days filled with activities and problems, but even on days of rest and relaxation, the Lord asks us not to forget that while it’s necessary to provide for material bread and restore our energy, even more fundamental is the need to deepen our relationship with Him, reinforce our faith in the CNS | Giampiero Sposito, Reuters One who is the ‘Bread of Life,’ who Pope Benedict XVI kisses a child’s forehead at the end of his weekly audience at the papal summer residence in fulfills our desire for truth and love,” Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Aug. 8. he said.

Papal book completed; new encyclical also possible VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI has finished the third volume of his opus, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and perhaps also will publish an encyclical letter during the upcoming Year of Faith, said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state.

The cardinal, Pope Benedict’s top collaborator, told reporters Aug. 1 that the pope had finished his manuscript on Jesus’ infancy and childhood.

“It is a great gift for the Year of Faith,” the cardinal said.

The first volume of “Jesus of Nazareth,” covering the period from Jesus’ baptism to

His Transfiguration, was published in 2007.

The second volume, looking at His Passion and death, came out in 2011.

In a statement Aug. 2, the Vatican press office said the book is being translated into a variety of languages from the German original. “It is hoped that the book will be published simultaneously in the most widely spoken languages; this will require a certain amount of time to ensure the accurate translations of a text that is important and long-awaited.”

The press office did not comment on a possible new encyclical.

However, many observers expect there to be a document focusing on the virtue of faith to complete a series of Pope Benedict’s reflections on the theological virtues. His encyclical on charity (“Deus Caritas Est”) was published in 2005, and two years later he released his encyclical on hope (“Spe Salvi”).

The pope has called for special Year of Faith, which will open Oct. 11 – the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council – and run through Nov. 24, 2013.

— Catholic News Service

Everyone can pray, have relationship with God, pope says CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Everyone is given the grace to pray, which is the only way to have a life-giving relationship with God, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Pope Benedict continued his series of talks on prayer Aug. 1 during his weekly audience, held in Castel Gandolfo’s main square just outside the entrance to the papal summer villa. The Vatican said the estimated 2,000 pilgrims and visitors could not all fit inside the courtyard of the villa.

Marking the feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists and patron of moral theologians and confessors, the pope said the saint lived

in “a period of great rigorism,” but encouraged priests to administer the sacrament in a way that communicated “the joyful embrace of God the merciful father, who in His infinite mercy never tires of welcoming back His repentant sons.”

Looking at St. Alphonsus’ tract “The Necessity and Power of Prayer,” the pope said human life often is marked by temptations and weakness, but even the simplest prayer to God can give a person the power to resist evil and do good.

“The grace to pray is given to all,” the pope said. “We should not be afraid to

turn to God and, filled with trust, present our requests to Him with the certainty of receiving what we need.”

St. Alphonsus taught that all people need a relationship with God, who created them, and the way to initiate and deepen that relationship is through daily personal prayer and receiving the sacraments, he said.

The grace that comes through prayer and the sacraments “increases in us the Divine Presence that directs our path, enlightens it and makes it safe and serene, even in the midst of difficulties and dangers,” Pope Benedict said.

— Catholic News Service

August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

21

Pope prays for disaster victims in Philippines, China, Iran CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Pope Benedict XVI asked Catholics around the world to pray and offer material assistance to flood victims in the Philippines and China and to people affected by an earthquake in northwestern Iran.

The natural disasters have caused death and injury and left thousands of people homeless, the pope said Aug. 12 after reciting the Angelus in the courtyard of the papal summer villa in Castel Gandolfo. “I ask you to join me in prayer for those who lost their lives and for all the people so harshly tried by such devastating calamities. May these brothers and sisters of ours not lack our solidarity and support,� the pope CNS | Arash Khamooshi, ISNA via Reuters said.

A woman mourns in the earthquake-stricken village of Flooding caused by days of Varzaqan, near Ahar, Iran, Aug. 12. Two earthquakes – torrential rains forced more than magnitude 6.4 and 6.3 – killed at least 300 and injured more a quarter million people from than 3,000 people Aug. 11. their homes in parts of Manila and reading in which Jesus tells the people, provinces surrounding the Philippine “I am the bread that came down from capital. The government said Aug. 7 that heaven.� at least 50 percent of metropolitan Manila The pope said Jesus had fed the crowds was under water, displacing an estimated with the miraculously multiplied loaves 270,000 people. News reports Aug. 13 said and fishes but wanted them to realize that more than 90 people had lost their lives and their real hunger was for nourishment that more rain was expected. would help them live well in this world and In China, Typhoon Haikui brought heavy give them eternal life. rains and flooding to Jiangxi province in “We need to ask ourselves if we really the eastern part of the country. Tens of feel this hunger, the hunger for the Word of thousands of people have been displaced.

God, the hunger to know the real meaning In Iran, two strong earthquakes struck of life,� the pope said. Encountering Jesus Aug. 11, leaving at least 300 people dead and and being nourished by Him, believers find 2,000 injured. The quakes destroyed entire “the path to life, justice, truth and love.� villages in the northwest.

In his main Angelus address, Pope — Catholic News Service Benedict spoke about the Sunday Gospel

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Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Charlotte Executive Director: Gerard A. Carter, Ph.D. (704) 370-3250 Refugee Office: Cira Ponce (704) 370-3262 Family Life: Gerard Carter (704) 370-3228 Justice and Peace: Joseph Purello (704) 370-3225 OEO/CSS Murphy Satellite Office (828) 835-3535 Charlotte Region: 1123 South Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203 Area Director: Sharon Davis (704) 370-3218 Your Local Catholic Charities Agency

Western Region: 50 Orange Street, Asheville, NC 28801 Area Director: Michele Sheppard (828) 255-0146 Piedmont-Triad: 627 W. Second St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Area Director: Diane Bullard (336) 727-0705 Greensboro Satellite Office (336) 274-5577

For information on specific programs, please call your local office.

www.cssnc.org

Strengthening Families. Building Communities. Reducing Poverty.

ViewPoints

catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

22

Myths and facts about NFP Myth: NFP is just another name for Rhythm.

David Foppe

To NFP or not to NFP That is the question for married couples

M

y wife and I have been promoting Natural Family Planning (NFP) for more than eight years through the Couple to Couple League. Before God knit us in the womb, He planned for us to promote NFP. In living out His plan, I have learned to segue many a conversation to the goodness of NFP. It is this goodness that married couples experience when they choose to use NFP. However, it is just a small foretaste of the ultimate goodness that awaits us in heaven.

You now know how my wife and I have answered the question that entitles this article. However, this is not an article contrasting NFP to the intrinsic evil of contraception.

I have known many couples who fervently adhere to the Church’s teachings on sexuality. Usually within two minutes, they know I am a promoter of NFP. Sometimes I would get a reply catching me off-guard, such as: “I know the pope teaches that is OK, but we trust in God’s providence,” or “we have chosen the greater of the two goods.” Let me first say that I am grateful and appreciate the candor in which these persons, whom I greatly admire, have expressed their resolve to “seek first the kingdom of God.” However, these comments illustrate misconceptions about NFP made not only by our culture but also by our own brothers and sisters in Christ.

NFP is not outside God’s providence. In his encyclical “Humanae Vitae,” Pope Paul VI states: “Married persons are the free and responsible collaborators of God the Creator” for the most serious duty of transmitting human life. NFP wedges opportunities in this very busy culture we live in to collaborate with God the Creator on the specific plan He has for each married couple.

NFP encourages these opportunities because ingrained in the practice of NFP is a period of abstinence either during the woman’s fertile or infertile phase of her ovulation cycle. It goes unsaid that this abstinence comes about by conditioning the will over what is instinctual. As Dr. Janet E. Smith says, this abstinence steers the couple to ask the questions: “Why are we or why are we not having babies?” and “Is this what God wants of us?”

I once had a priest share with me his reservations about promoting NFP: “I want married couples to have large families. It is not good for the Church that so many married couples are having small families by using contraceptives or NFP.” I reassured him that one of the beauties of NFP is that if a couple is not wanting children for selfish reasons they are reminded of those reasons once a month and the NFP encourage the couple to listen to the voice of God within themselves.

Just as fasting from food brings about spiritual and physical fruits, the periodic fasting of the martial act also brings about spiritual and physical fruits. The discipline developed from periodic abstinence allows the spouse to love the other in a deeper and more beautiful way. Anyone can run the violin bow along the strings, but it takes discipline and practice to create the beautiful sounds for which the violin was created.

The other spouse who is loved through this formed discipline is not the only beneficiary. The NFP couple becomes better conditioned to choose the good of their neighbor over worldly pleasures. In other words, NFP makes the couple better Christians, and the data supports this. Not only do studies show NFP couples to have less than a 1-percent divorce rate, but NFP couples are more likely to be better stewards in their parish.

Whether married couples choose to NFP or not NFP, let us all be a beacon of light to this misguided culture of relativism that makes contraception a mandated right towards “women’s health.”

David Foppe is a member of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an umbrella term for modern, healthy, scientifically accurate and reliable methods of family planning which have been in use for only some 25 years. It differs from “Rhythm” (or the Calendar Method).

Rhythm tried to estimate the time of ovulation by calculating previous menstrual cycles. Although this approach had sound scientific underpinnings, in practice it often proved inaccurate because of the unique nature of each woman’s menstrual cycle. NFP, by contrast, has been proven scientifically sound in both theory and practice.

NFP is based on scientific research about women’s cycles of fertility. Since the 19th century, doctors have known about the changes in cervical mucus and its relation to fertility. In the 1920s, temperature rules were developed. However, it wasn’t until the 1950s that an educational process was developed to teach the observation and interpretation of these fertility signs.

The NFP methods are: the Basal Body Temperature method, which monitors changes in a woman’s temperature when she wakes up each morning; the Ovulation Method, which monitors changes in a woman’s cervical mucus; and the Sympto-Thermal Method, which combines observations of temperature and cervical mucus with other indicators such as changes in the cervix and secondary fertility signs.

Myth: NFP can only be used by women with regular cycles.

The natural methods do not depend on having regular menstrual cycles; they treat each woman and each cycle as unique. NFP works with menstrual cycles of any length and any degree of irregularity. It can be used during breastfeeding, just before menopause, and in other special circumstances. NFP allows a woman to understand the physical signals her body gives her to tell her when she is most likely to become pregnant. Once she understands this information, she and her spouse can use it according to their family planning intentions.

The natural methods can be used throughout a woman’s reproductive life.

Myth: NFP is too complicated for most people.

Anyone who is taught by a certified teacher and motivated to use NFP can do so. The methods are so simple that they have been successfully adapted to suit the needs of cultures all around the world. According to Kambic and Gray (“Human Reproduction,” 1988), NFP use worldwide ranges from 1-35 percent in developing countries. These authors state that “NFP has a role as an important method of family planning in many countries, irrespective of religion, socioeconomic development, and overall level of contraceptive use.”

Myth: NFP is not a reliable method of family planning.

When couples understand the methods and are motivated to follow them, NFP is up to 99 percent successful in spacing or limiting births. The effectiveness depends upon spouses’ following the rules of the method according to their family planning intention.

— Source: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

To learn more, go online to www.usccb.org or www.cssnc.org.

Upcoming NFP courses Introduction courses to Natural Family Planning will be held Saturday, Sept. 8, at Holy Family in Clemmons; Saturday, Sept. 29, at St. Vincent de Paul in Charlotte; Saturday, Oct. 20, at St. Matthew in Charlotte; and Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Catholic Social Services office in Asheville.

For details, contact Natural Family Planning Program Director Batrice Adcock, MSN, RN, at 704-370-3230 or cssnfp@charlottediocese.org.

Letters to the editor

Baby’s funeral service raises many questions Thank you for covering the “funeral” service for the aborted baby girl in the Aug. 3 edition of the Catholic News Herald. I have some further questions about “Baby Choice” that I would like to pose to the organizers of the event.

A quick internet search reveals that an aborted baby girl by the name of “Baby Choice” has been memorialized by pro-life groups at other times – a fact stated in your coverage. But on July 25, 2011, in Orlando, Fla., an open-casket funeral was held for a “late-term aborted baby girl” of whom photos were taken, and who was also “eulogized” by Father Frank Pavone with Priests For Life. When one compares the pictures the Catholic News Herald took of “Baby Choice” at the open-casket event July 27 and the ones of “Baby Choice” from the memorial event in Orlando in 2011, they are strikingly similar. I am also struck by the gestational ages of both these baby girls: 20-22 weeks. They were also both aborted through the same outdated procedure, with saline.

I am curious to know how many “memorial services” Operation Rescue/Operation Save America and Father Pavone have hosted featuring open-casket remains of children who were not 20-22 weeks’ gestation, female, and killed in their mothers’ wombs via saline injection. Have any boys been memorialized? Have any children been memorialized who were not 20-22 weeks in gestational age? How many of their burials have been witnessed first-hand? And would a search of Operation Rescue/Operation Save America’s facilities or affiliates reveal the remains of “Baby Choice”?

The quote by Dr. Patricia McEwen, “to whom the Priests for Life office referred inquires about ‘Baby Choice’” stated that the baby was “the victim of ‘a very old saline abortion,’” and that she “is kept in formaldehyde when not being used in demonstrations.” Frankly, if this is true, it makes me sick.

If Dr. McEwen’s quote is accurate – that is, if she knows the inner workings of the groups she represents – then “Baby Choice” is not being honored in any way, shape or form.

Keeping a baby in jar of formaldehyde and occasionally bringing her out for fake funerals is not pro-life, it is prodeath – because it profits from the murder of an innocent person. If Dr. McEwen was not speaking out of turn, then the organizations she represents have not been honest with the people who attend these “funerals.” People were deceived into believing that the baby over whom they shed tears was recently aborted and was to be given a Christian burial.

If these things aren’t true – if “Baby Choice” is kept in a jar like an oddity at a sideshow – then these groups lie when they say they care about the value and dignity of the little girl in the casket.

There are too many people who turn a blind eye to the evil of abortion – the thousands of babies who are literally torn from their mother’s womb every day – without adding any disgrace to the list of reasons why there is not more support for the prolife movement. I certainly hope that Father Pavone “buried ‘Baby Choice’ on July 29 in Staten Island, N.Y., where Priests For Life is headquartered, in a plot that the organization has reserved,” because if he didn’t he has a lot to answer for.

Anita Veyera lives in Matthews.

Mass of healing would be helpful I appreciate our diocese’s gesture of celebrating a special Mass in honor of the men and woman who have and are serving in the U.S. military. I have great respect for these men and women who have risked their lives for the hope of a greater good. I am left to wonder, however, if as a Church we ought to do a better job with helping our veterans grieve, as Christians, the many losses they have endured in their experience of war. I think of St. Martin of Tours, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, the centurion in Matt 27:54, and other holy people who grappled with the moral dilemmas of war. Military sources are now reporting that there are more deaths of soldiers by suicide than by combat fatalities, not to mention the staggering number of cases of post-tramatic stress disorder. Might we have a Mass to promote inner healing and communal lament, walking the road with our soldiers returning from war, rather than suggesting that the waging of war is somehow a form of living the values of the Kingdom of God? Linda Flynn lives in Charlotte.

August 17, 2012 | catholicnewsherald.com catholic news heraldI

Deacon James H. Toner

The Poor Clares

Freedom comes from obediently living the truth

Clear brilliance W

hen one is planting seeds or nurturing delicate young shoots, certain conditions greatly aid the growth: a balanced supply of warmth, water and light transforms fragile seedlings into strong, vibrant plants.

These ingredients for proper nourishment are mirrored in the hearts of women who are particularly fashioned by our Creator as mothers, as shelters for souls.

Last time, we explored the quality of expansiveness and openness to others – a key element of the feminine nature. We discovered that a woman has the ability to take unto herself the needs and burdens of others and to give selflessly for those whom she loves. Now, we will look at three more qualities of soul which work to cultivate and care for those taken in by a woman’s compassionate heart: quietness, warmth and clarity.

St. Teresa Benedicta, otherwise known as Edith Stein, paints a beautiful portrait of the perfection of woman’s natural gifts in her lecture on “Principles of Women’s Education.”

She states, “When the heavenly fire, the divine love, has consumed all impure matters, then it burns in the soul as a quiet flame which not only warms but also illuminates; then all is bright, pure and clear.”

What a lovely image, one which should make us long to approach such an ideal!

The first quality she mentions here is that of quietness of soul. What does this mean? Is she saying that women should be seen and not heard? Not in the least. The quiet to which she refers is an interior one.

Edith Stein believed that the relationship between a woman’s body and her soul was so closely connected that it was almost inseparable. She taught that men have a more separated relationship of body and soul, and view their body more as a tool or instrument with which their soul can act.

What does this mean, practically speaking?

It means that men can much more easily compartmentalize emotions and situations in their life than women.

A woman’s thoughts, feelings and actions are so closely knit together that it is often very difficult for her to set aside the emotions tied to a particular situation when faced with something else that requires her attention. For women, the “business of the heart” is central and plays into all of her thoughts and actions. She is strongly influenced by the strength of her emotions and it can be a hard struggle not to act on motives purely driven by feelings. It is a bigger step for women than for men to cast a calm and rational eye on a situation to which the heart is tied.

Such a swirl of emotions can easily lead to a great deal of interior commotion and agitation of the soul.

This is why quietness of soul is so

essential to a woman’s heart if she is to be at peace and an instrument for the fulfillment of God’s will in the world around her.

The good news is that this quietness is indeed an innate quality of the feminine nature. It is very often to women that one can turn for a depth of calm and peace that creates a welcome refuge for troubled souls. It is a mother who can so naturally suffer with someone and offer consolation – many times just by her presence, without even speaking a word. Such a gracefilled quietness is exemplified most perfectly by Our Lady.

This quality shines out as Our Lady gazes upon us from the many works of art depicting her as the Madonna with her Child, or as the Mother of Sorrows embracing the terribly tortured body of her Son in the shadow of the Cross.

Look closely at her face in either of these two images. The same composed, quiet calm is reflected in her eyes.

We cannot say that she experienced any lack of emotions and trials in her earthly life. What woman has had greater joys or deeper sorrows than the Virgin-Mother we encounter in the pages of the Gospels? We are told that she “kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart,” as any woman would. But how composed was her bearing in either joy or pain, and how peaceful and well-chosen her few recorded words! There is much to consider in meditation and imitated in her example.

The quality of warmth in a woman’s soul lends itself to similar comparisons.

The glow of love within her heart should not be an uncontrolled, raging blaze, nor a dying flicker. It should be a steady, gentle warmth which keeps alive the often weak flames of others that she cherishes.

When the calm stillness of this quiet warmth takes root in the soul, then a women’s strength of clarity will truly show forth. Her tender and intuitive heart, well formed by her growth in these virtues, will become a beacon of light for herself and those around her.

A holy woman has an incredible ability to inspire others to deeper holiness and to shed love’s light upon the path to the Heavenly Kingdom.

Next time, we shall look at two qualities that build upon this foundation. When the emotions have begun to take their proper place, the great gifts of being empty of self and self-contained lay open for the heart of women. It is here that the way is discovered to deep fulfillment of all that Our Lord has created the feminine nature to be.

Sister Marie Thérèse of the Divine Child Jesus is professed with the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration St. Joseph Monastery in Charlotte. Learn more about the Poor Clares at www. stjosephmonastery.com. This is the third in a five-part series exploring Edith Stein’s views on womanhood. In the next edition: “Image of Love’s Depth.”

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I

n one of her novels, Ayn Rand has one of her characters say that the only sacred word is “ego.” Catholics, by contrast, would point to a different word – a sacred name (see Philippians 2:7).

What is the principal cause of sin and evil? There is room for discussion, of course, but I would nominate the ideology to which Ayn Rand and so very many others have been devoted throughout the centuries: selfishness, a noun having many synonyms: autonomy, pride, vanity and worldliness.

Proverbs tells us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight” (3:5). But the egotist in us may think that, despite the settled teaching of the

‘There is a reason that the First Commandment is first, for the temptation to which we are all heir is our tendency to do what pleases us and then to call it holy.’

Church, certain favorite personal preferences, political projects, bioethical experiments or sacramental improvisations are desirable.

We hear, especially from dissident theologians, that we must be modern and progressive, that we must be “with the times,” that we must be innovative.

Everything changes, the dissidents tell us, and, after all, we do not want to be thought of as old-fashioned.

Everything, though, doesn’t change. Jesus does not change (Heb 13:8); truth does not change; human nature does not change. We are called upon to grow in our understanding of, and commitment to, what is Eternally Right, not just socially right (see CCC 1888) or personally convenient (2 Tim 4:1-5). The New American Bible, which we use at Holy Mass, gives us this translation of 2 John 9: “Anyone who is so ‘progressive’ as not to remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and Son.” It was a saint who wisely warned us, on Sept.

8, 1907, about “blind and unchecked passion for novelty.” And the great French Catholic

writer Charles Peguy similarly told us that “It will never be known what acts of cowardice have been motivated by the fear of not looking sufficiently progressive.” Today, of course, we would substitute “cool” for “progressive.”

As Catholics we owe – and here comes the noun we hear so little of today – obedience to the Magisterium of the Church, which exists “to preserve God’s people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error” (CCC 890; cf. 1269, 2039 and 2420).

Suppose, though, that I find Church teaching insufficiently modern, progressive and liberating? Well, then I can invent my own theology, my own liturgy, my own social justice: I can be my own magisterium.

Having taught philosophy for many years, I think the most misunderstood word (next to “obedience” – which actually refers to “giving ear” and thus reminds us of our Lord’s admonition found in Mt 11:15) is “freedom.” We are truly free when we do what we ought to do (cf. 1 Peter 2:16) – not merely what we want to do. The Swiss theologian and priest Hans Urs von Balthasar once put it this way: “Only those who follow the Church have a sure guarantee for the fact that, in their obedience to Christ, they have not really followed just their own know-it-all wisdom.”

Freedom comes from following Christ and His Church, not from a parallel or personal “magisterium” which permits us to call true what is false or good what is evil or virtuous what is vicious – such as self-styled Catholics who champion abortion. There is a reason that the First Commandment is first, for the temptation to which we are all heir is our tendency to do what pleases us and then to call it holy.

We become and remain Catholic for many reasons. G.K. Chesterton said that he became Catholic, principally, “to get rid of my sins” and, secondly, by following the Church’s teaching, to think more clearly. If and when someone says that the Church is insufficiently modern, or that the bishops are wrong in their collective teaching, or that the Catechism is too restrictive, recall the powerful pericope found in the Gospel according to John: Jesus tells the Apostles, whose successors the bishops are, that the Holy Spirit “will guide you into all truth” (16:13; cf. 14:26; CCC 88, 243, 729 and 2466).

And recall that “Where Peter – the Holy Father – is, there is the Church.”

Something is not true because the Church teaches it; the Church, of whom Christ is the head (Col 1:18, Eph 1:23), teaches it because it is true. Thanks be to God! In answer to Ayn Rand and to dissident theologians, consider Blessed John Henry Newman: “Quarry the granite rock with razors, or moor the vessel with a thread of silk; then may you hope with such keen and delicate instruments as human knowledge and human reason to contend against those giants, the passion and pride of man.”

Deacon James H. Toner serves at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro.

24

catholicnewsherald.com | August 17, 2012 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

John 1:29 THE SOURCE AND SUMMIT OF THE NEW EVANGELIZATION Bishop Peter J. Jugis Holy Mass Celebrant and homilist

Monsignor Mauricio West Holy Hour Homilist

Monsignor Eduardo Chavez Friday Night Keynote Speaker "Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization"

Doug g Barry and Eric Genuis G "The Passion"

Diocese of Charlotte

8th ANNUAL

Dr. Elizabeth Lev I Faith "Faith Inspiring Art, Art Inspiring Faith"

EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS September 21 & 22 Charlotte Convention Center Concert of Sacred Music - Friday Evening

Padre Luis Ernesto "He Aqui el Cordero de Dios, Venid y Adoremosle"

Sr. Bethany Madonna Sisters of Life "I Sought The Lord And He Answered Me"

Holy Hour Holy Mass Exciting and Challenging Speakers

Eucharistic Procession K-12 Education Tracks Confession Inspirational Music

Vocation Information Inspirational Displays Vendors of Religious Books and Art

K-12 Registration is open until August 31.

High School students can register in advance or on day of event For more information: www.GoEucharist.com