March 15, 2024

catholicnewsherald.com charlottediocese.org

Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish’s youth offer special Lenten reflections on Jesus’s final words on the cross

10-11

Priest arrives to serve growing Charlotte Eritrean community Llega nuevo sacerdote para servir a la creciente comunidad eritreana de Charlotte 4, 18 Subscribe

St.

Cristo Las de

siete palabras

Los jóvenes de la Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe ofrecen reflexiones especiales de Cuaresma sobre las últimas palabras de Jesús en la cruz

16-17

Homemakers of Mercy help refugees fleeing violence start anew

At a glance

MARCH 15,2024

Volume 33 • NUMBER 12

1123 S. CHURCH ST. CHARLOTTE, N.C. 28203-4003 catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

704-370-3333

PUBLISHER

INDEX

Contact us 2

Español 16-21

Our Diocese 4-11

Our Faith 3

Our Schools 12-13

Scripture 3, 21

Viewpoints 26-27

World news 24

The Most Reverend Peter J. Jugis Bishop of Charlotte STAFF

EDITOR: Spencer K. M. Brown 704-808-4528, skmbrown@rcdoc.org

ADVERTISING MANAGER: Kevin Eagan 704-370-3332, keeagan@rcdoc.org

HISPANIC MEDIA MANAGER: César Hurtado 704-370-3375, rchurtado@rcdoc.org

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EDITORIAL TEAM: Kimberly Bender 704-370-3394, kdbender@rcdoc.org

Annie Ferguson 704-370-3404, arferguson@rcdoc.org

Troy C. Hull 704-370-3288, tchull@rcdoc.org

Christina Lee Knauss 704-370-0783, clknauss@rcdoc.org

COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT/CIRCULATION: Erika Robinson 704-370-3333, catholicnews@rcdoc.org

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THE CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 26 times a year.

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CATHOLIC ALL WEEK

Timely tips for blending faith & life

Everybody’s Irish on March 17, but not everyone is Catholic. Remember your faith while adding charm and authenticity to your festivities with an Irish side dish, a classic novel about St. Patrick, the Lorica, more recipes and a little gardening.

ERIN GO FARL! MAKE AN EASY IRISH SIDE DISH

With St. Patrick’s Day on a Sunday, it’s the perfect time to serve up a festive post-Mass brunch to honor this great saint. Some say no Irish breakfast is complete without a side of authentic potato farls. Originally devised to use up leftover mashed potatoes, it is a simple dish, requiring only pantry staples, but it creates delicious breakfast or anytime fare. Try the “Authentic Irish Potato Farls” at www.biggerbolderbaking.com, where you’ll also find recipes for Irish scones, soda bread and apple cake.

GET TO KNOW THE ‘MAN CLEANSED BY GOD’

The life of St. Patrick is a story full of intense drama –kidnapped by pirates, enslaved and escaped only to return to spread the Gospel in the land of his captors. In 1959, American

Beahn’s “A Man Cleansed by God: A Novel on St. Patrick’s Confession” was published in 1959 in narrative form, revealing aspects of the Irish saint’s life that might otherwise have been lost. Get to know the true St. Patrick in the more recent rerelease of this classic novel from TAN Books and pray his powerful Lorica prayer online at www.catholicnewsherald.com

CHECK THE ALMANAC

As it turns out “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” is a treasure trove of St. Patrick’s Day

Diocesan calendar of events

PRAYER SERVICES

IGBO MASS 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Celebrate 10 years of the Igbo Mass in the Diocese of Charlotte. 11:30 a.m. Sunday, March 17, St. Mary’s Church, 812 Duke St., Greensboro. For details, call 336-707-3625.

MOTHERS’ RETREAT: Immaculate Conception Church will host a Mothers’ Retreat Saturday, March 23, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., 208 7th Ave. West, Hendersonville. Father Andres Gutierrez will lead the retreat, which will include writings of St. John Paul II regarding families.. Free, no registration required.

Correction

The Feb. 16 article about the establishment of the Thelma Hatchett Endowment Fund incorrectly stated the name of St. Mary’s Parish in Greensboro. We regret the error.

— Catholic News Herald

day for planting cabbage as well as peas – even in the snow. You’ll also find authentic recipes for corned beef and cabbage, Irish potato pie, dill and potato cakes, and other traditional foods.

— Annie Ferguson

SUPPORT GROUPS

RACHEL RETREAT ‘HEALING AFTER ABORTION’: April 12-14 in the Asheville area. Are you or a loved one seeking healing from the effects of a past abortion? Find healing and support in a confidential, non-judgmental environment at this Rachel Retreat weekend. These retreats are offered by the Diocese of Charlotte’s Family Life Office for men and women, in English and Spanish. For details, contact Jessica Grabowski at jrgrabowski@rcdoc.org or 704-370-3229

Editor’s note

The next edition of the Catholic News Herald will be mailed on April 5, instead of March 29, so that we may include timely coverage of Holy Week and Easter news from across the Diocese of Charlotte. Our Lord’s blessings to you all and, as always, thank you for reading the Catholic News Herald.

— Spencer K.M. Brown, editor

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

MARCH 22 – 10 A.M.

Pastoral Planning Meeting for Our Lady of Mercy & Our Lady of Fatima Parishes

Pastoral Center, Charlotte

MARCH 26 – 10 A.M.

Chrism Mass and Luncheon

St. Patrick Cathedral, Charlotte

The Word made flesh

The third article of the Apostles’ Creed states that Jesus Christ, whom we identified last month as Lord and God, “was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.” In other words, the very same Lord and God who is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity became, for our sake, one of us. We refer to this mystery of the faith as the incarnation.

St. John begins his gospel with this mystery: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (Jn 1:1, 14a). “The Word became flesh” in Latin is “verbum caro factum est.” The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth is constructed over the grotto where, according to ancient tradition, Gabriel appeared to Mary. There you will find that same Latin phrase inscribed upon an altar, with the addition of a single word: “verbum caro hic factum est.” That little word “hic” is significant: it means “here.”

The mystery of the incarnation is not merely a spiritual reality, nor is it a fairy tale. It is a true event that took place in history at a certain place, at a certain time. You can’t use a time machine to travel to that time, but you can use a plane and a bus to travel to that place, as millions of people have done over the centuries. The incarnation is the most significant thing that has ever happened since the creation of the world.

‘ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD’

As recounted in Luke’s and Matthew’s gospels, there in Nazareth of Galilee, about a day’s walk north of Jerusalem, the angel Gabriel appeared to a virgin to announce that she would conceive and bear a son who “will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,” and who would rule over an eternal kingdom (Lk 1:31-33). When Mary wondered how this would come about, since she was a virgin, the angel replied, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1:35). Miraculously, God preserved Mary’s vocations of both virginity and motherhood.

Mary’s faithful response, “May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38), has become a model for all Christians of openness to the will of God, even when what God asks seems impossible.

The child born of Mary nine months later, a human child with a human mother, is the same divine Son of God begotten of the Father from all ages. This union of human and divine natures in the one Person of Jesus Christ is called, in theological terms, the “hypostatic union.” It means that the

Daily Scripture readings

MARCH 17-23

Sunday (Fifth Sunday of Lent): Jer 31:3134, Heb 5:7-9, Jn 12:20-33; Monday: Dan 13:19, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62, Jn 8:1-11; Tuesday: 2 Sam 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16, Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22, Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a; Wednesday: Dan 3:14-20, 9192, 95, Dan 3:52-56, Jn 8:31-42; Thursday: Gen 17:3-9, Jn 8:51-59; Friday: Jer 20:10-13, Jn 10:31-42; Saturday: Ezk 37:21-28, Jer 31:10-13, Jn 11:45-56

Credo

A 12-part series on the creed

by Deacon Matthew Newsome

EDITOR’S NOTE

This article is Part 3 in a series exploring the Creed. Look for new articles each month in the Catholic News Herald and online at www.catholicnewsherald.com.

two natures of Christ are united in one Person such that nothing of either is lost. Jesus is not like the demigods of Greek mythology. He is not half-man and halfgod, but fully both. Nor can we speak of a division between “the human Jesus” and “the divine Son of God” as two different people occupying the same body. Every divine attribute of the Father is shared with the Son, who also possesses every aspect of human nature, including a human mind, a human will and a human soul. The only aspect of humanity Jesus does not share with us is sin, which is not something inherent to our nature but something we experience because of the Fall.

PARTAKERS OF DIVINE NATURE

The humanity of Jesus is a perfect humanity. Christ is called the “New Adam” because in Him mankind has a new beginning. God became incarnate not only to free us from sin, but for something even greater. To merely free us from sin would be to restore us to the state of original grace enjoyed by our first parents. But God calls us to a higher destiny. As the Catechism puts it, “The Word became flesh to make us partakers of the divine nature” (CCC 460). This is called “divinization” in the East, or “sanctification” in the West; to become holy or to become like God. The way St.

Athanasius puts it in his seminal work, “On the Incarnation,” is that “the Son of God became man so that we might become God.” This doesn’t mean we literally become other gods, but that we become god-like because we have the life of God within us. This is not something any human being, no matter how perfect or sinless, could ever achieve on our own. But what is impossible for us is not impossible for God. We cannot ascend to God, so God descends to us, unites Himself to our nature, and draws us to heaven with Him. The incarnation is an act of infinite humility for God. As St. Paul puts it, Christ “empties Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:7-8).

GOOD NEWS OF OUR SALVATION

When we think of the great work of redemption won by Christ, we naturally think of His passion and death. Indeed, the only thing we might say that God “gained” in the incarnation is the ability to die, which He then uses to show His great love for us. As John’s gospel says, there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend. God shows the greatness of His love by dying for us while we were yet His enemies (Rom 5:8).

It is important for us to consider now, however, that the good news of our salvation was proclaimed first not at Christ’s death but at His birth, when the angel announced to the shepherds, “I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord” (Lk 2:10-11).

Even before the Resurrection, Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God to be at hand. The heavenly city described in Revelation as the New Jerusalem is heavenly not because of the pearly gates or the streets of gold, but because God dwells there with the human race (Rev 21:3). When we call Jesus “Emmanuel” (God-with-us), we acknowledge that God dwells with us here and now, not only during the 33 years He walked the earth as a man. The Word still dwells among us today in the Church and in the sacraments. The incarnation is more than an historical event, it is an ongoing reality. This makes it possible for those of us united to the incarnate Son of God in baptism, as members of His Body, to experience something of heaven even now.

DEACON MATTHEW NEWSOME is the Catholic campus minister at Western Carolina University. He is the author of “The Devout Life: A Modern Guide to Practical Holiness with St. Francis de Sales,” available now from Sophia Institute Press.

Pope Francis

Saints not ‘exceptions,’ but examples of humanity’s virtue

The saints are not unreachable “exceptions of humanity” but ordinary people who worked diligently to grow in virtue, Pope Francis said.

It is wrong to think of the saints as “a kind of small circle of champions who live beyond the limits of our species,” the pope wrote in the catechesis for his general audience March 13 in St. Peter’s Square. Instead, they are “those who fully become themselves, who realize the vocation of every person.”

“How happy would be a world in which justice, respect, the breadth of the spirit (and) hope were the shared norm and not a rare anomaly,” he wrote.

Just like at his general audience March 6, Pope Francis told visitors in the square that due to a mild cold an aide, Monsignor Pierluigi Giroli, would read his speech.

Continuing his series of catechesis on virtues and vices, the pope wrote that a virtuous person is not one who allows himself to become distorted but “is faithful to his or her own vocation and fully realizes his or herself.”

Reflecting on the nature of virtue, which has been discussed and analyzed since ancient times, the pope said that virtue is not an “improvised” and “casual” good exercised from time to time. Even criminals, he noted, have performed good acts in certain moments. Virtue is rather a “good that is born from a person’s slow maturation until it becomes his or her inner characteristic,” he wrote.

“Virtue is an ‘habitus’ (expression) of freedom,” the pope wrote. “If we are free in every act, and each time we are called to choose between good and evil, virtue is that which allows us to have a habit toward the right choice.”

He encouraged people not to forget the lesson taught by ancient thinkers, “that virtue grows and can be cultivated,” and wrote that for Christians developing virtue depends primarily on the grace of God.

MARCH 24-31

Sunday (Palm Sunday): Mk 11:1-10, Is 50:47, Phil 2:6-11, Mark 14:1-15:47; Monday: Is 42:17, Jn 12:1-11; Tuesday: Is 49:1-6, Jn 13:21-33;

Wednesday: Is 50:4-9a, Mt 26:14-25; Holy

Thursday: Ex 12:1-8, 11-14, 1 Cor 11:23-26, Jn 13:1-15; Good Friday: Is 52:13-53:12, Heb 4:1416, Jn 18:1-19:42; Saturday (Easter Vigil): Gen 1:1-2:2, Ex 14:15-15:1, Ex 15:1-6, 17-18, Rom 6:3-11, Mk 16:1-7

MARCH 31-APRIL 6

Sunday (Resurrection of Our Lord): Acts 10:34a, 37-43, Col 3:1-4,

By developing open-mindedness, good will and the wisdom to learn from mistakes, he wrote, people can be guided toward a virtuous life in the face of the “chaotic forces” of passion, emotion and instinct to which humanity is susceptible.

Taking the microphone to greet pilgrims at the end of his audience, Pope Francis shared that he had been given a rosary and a Bible that belonged to a young soldier killed in combat.

“So many young people, so many young people go to die,” he said. “Let us pray to the Lord so that He may give us the grace to overcome this madness of war which is always a defeat.”

Our diocese

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

All welcome to bring their Easter baskets to be blessed at St. Thomas Aquinas Church

CHARLOTTE — Mark your calendars for the annual Blessing of Easter Food Baskets.

Deacon James Witulski will bless food baskets at 1 p.m. March 30 (Holy Saturday) at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. This Eastern and Central European tradition of The Blessing of the Easter Baskets (“Swieconka” in the Polish language) has become popular among all Catholics.

The traditional foods, such as sausages, eggs, bread and butter in the shape of a lamb, are brought to the church neatly arranged in a basket. However, every person of any nationality is invited to use their imagination and include their own national foods. Children can even bring their own baskets with their treats, including chocolate and Easter candy.

St. Thomas Aquinas Church is located at 1400 Suther Road, Charlotte. Contact Deacon James Witulski with any questions at 704-960-3704.

— Spencer K.M. Brown Catholic Charities’ Partners in Hope fundraiser set for April 4

WINSTON-SALEM — In its effort to “strengthen families, build communities and reduce poverty,” Catholic Charities of the Piedmont Triad invites parishioners and supporters to join its Partners in Hope fundraiser on April 4 at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem.

The free event begins with a cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30.

Guests will be invited to make a gift toward the Partners in Hope goal of $365,000. All proceeds go directly to Catholic Charities’ Piedmont Triad regional office and will be used to support a wide range of programs and services, including a food pantry, youth empowerment, refugee resettlement, mental health counseling, and burial assistance, among other programs.

For more information and to register, go to www.ccdoc.org/events.

— Catholic News Herald

Preserving a culture of faith Priest arrives to serve growing Charlotte Eritrean community

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Joyful sounds of chimes, drums and chanted prayers welcomed a new priest for the Charlotte Eritrean Catholic community during a special Mass offered Saturday at St. Vincent de Paul Church.

Father Michael Solomon Debesay’s arrival is the latest milestone for the growing African Catholic community, which now numbers about 300 families in the Diocese of Charlotte.

Father Debesay hit the ground running to serve his flourishing flock. He had flown into Charlotte only the day before offering the March 9 Mass to celebrate his arrival. The Mass drew hundreds of people, some traveling from Raleigh and surrounding states to experience worship in the ancient Ge’ez Rite (pronounced “Gehz”) – the traditional Catholic liturgy of the East African countries of Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Before coming here, he spent several years ministering to Eritrean refugees in the war-torn nation of South Sudan. He looks on this new ministry as an important chance to help his fellow Eritreans find a spiritual home far from their native one.

“When my bishop told me I was coming here, I was very happy because I knew this was a chance to give my service to my people who have been moving out of our country for so long,” he said. “Our people are devoted to their faith, and I know I have a huge responsibility in helping them live out their faith here.”

FINDING A NEW HOME

Eritreans have fled their nation for decades because of famine, natural disasters and widespread persecution –taking up residence across the U.S. with large communities in Washington, D.C., California and Atlanta. Eritreans have settled in the Charlotte area for more than 20 years, and the community’s growth led to the 2018 formation of the Ge’ez Rite community within the diocese.

Eritrean Catholics first found a spiritual home at St. Gabriel Parish, worshiping monthly at Masses offered by visiting priests, and later moved to St. Vincent de Paul Parish. The community also has a cultural center on donated property in Mint Hill that it uses for youth activities, faith formation classes and community gatherings.

Thanks to Father Debesay, the community now has a priest who can regularly offer Mass, the sacraments and other aspects of the faith, according to Semret Hailemariam, who moved to

What is the Ge’ez Rite?

Roman Catholics would find many differences in the Ge’ez Rite liturgy, which is rooted in the ancient Alexandrian Rite of Egypt – also called the Liturgy of St. Mark. (St. Mark is traditionally considered the first bishop of Alexandria.) The liturgy is celebrated in Ge’ez, an ancient court language from the period when Ethiopia first

East Africa, Father Michael Solomon

in Charlotte is the latest

for the growing African Catholic community in the Diocese of Charlotte. Father Debesay, who will minister to the Eritrean Catholic Community in the region, celebrated his arrival with a special Mass March 9 at St. Vincent de Paul Church.

Charlotte from California three years ago.

“The joy of this day is not only a result of six years of hard work but also a testament to the faith of this Catholic community,” Hailemariam said.

Visiting Ge’ez Rite priests from Washington, D.C., and other cities concelebrated Saturday’s Mass.

Also present were Father Joshua Voitus, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul, who welcomed the Ge’ez Rite community to worship at his church, along with a

adopted Christianity. It is no longer spoken, but used exclusively for sacred liturgies. Divine Liturgy, or Mass, typically lasts two to three hours, and congregants stand for much of the time. Because of this, traditional wooden prayer staffs are provided to support those who have trouble standing. Women and men sit on separate sides of the church, and many women cover their heads with white prayer shawls.

About Father Debesay

Father Michael Soloman Debesay is from Engela in Eritrea, a country in East Africa. The oldest of four siblings, he studied philosophy and four years of theology at Abune Selama Kessatie Berhan Catholic Theological Institute in Asmara, where he graduated in 2015. In 2016, he was ordained as a Ge’ez Rite priest for the Eparchy of Barentu, Eritrea. He worked as an assistant priest at Holy Cross Cathedral in the Eparchy of Barentu, where he developed spiritual programs, cared for the dying, worked with prisoners and organized a youth ministry.

Between 2016 and 2021, he served many roles in Barentu, Eritrea, including as a chaplain’s assistant in rural Christian communities and as a pastor in charge of overseeing three parishes. He spent a year working with refugees alongside Capuchin Missionaries at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Khartoum, Sudan, and then served the Ge’ez Rite community living in the Archdiocese of Juba, South Sudan. He is fluent in five languages: Kunama, Tigre, English, Arabic and Tigrinya.

special guest, Father Frank O’Rourke, St. Gabriel’s retired pastor who had

NEW PRIEST, SEE PAGE 8

Prayers are chanted and sung, with the voices of men and women rising and falling in a powerful yet simultaneously calming chorus of worship. Colorful umbrellas are deployed during Holy Communion as a symbolic covering or tent over the Eucharist – a sign of respect, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and reminder of the portable shrine for the Ark of the Covenant when the Israelites were in the wilderness.

PHOTOS BY TROY HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD Traveling more than 11,000 miles from his home in

Debesay’s arrival

milestone

Seminarians hit the streets of Charlotte to help the homeless with new ministry

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Two Diocese of Charlotte seminarians have embarked on a new ministry, taking to the streets of Uptown Charlotte to help care for men and women experiencing homelessness during this Lenten season.

Jordan Haag and Matthew Hennessy, both in their second year at St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly, started their homeless support mission project just before Ash Wednesday and walk the area around St. Peter Church on Fridays and Saturdays to minister to those in need.

Wearing black cassocks and joined by a handful of volunteers, the seminarians seek out people living on the streets and offer whatever they can to help them – a sandwich, a bottle of water or the simple gift of conversation.

Haag, 32, said he decided earlier this year to try out an outreach to Charlotte’s homeless population because of positive experiences he had doing similar work with a ministry called Urban Hearts while stationed in Alaska when he served in the U.S. Army.

Haag and Hennessy enlisted the aid of altar servers from St. Patrick Cathedral who help the outreach by collecting necessities between weekend Masses. Donations of items ranging from food and water to warm clothing and spiritual items such as holy cards and rosaries are welcomed. Haag said members of St. Patrick have responded “in a huge way” with donations of goods and financial support for the ministry.

Hennessy, 21, a member of Charlotte’s St. Gabriel Parish, said doing outreach to the homeless is new to him, and he was excited to join his fellow seminarian.

“This is an important way to live out the corporal works of mercy during Lent and evangelize through example,” Hennessy said. “Sometimes people need food and water, and sometimes they just need another person to have a friendly conversation with. I love what we’re doing.”

The seminarians hope the number of volunteers will continue to grow and perhaps enable them to expand the ministry to Gastonia and other areas around Charlotte.

“We’ve served people of all races as well as people in their late 20s to those in their 70s,” Haag said.

“Some people aren’t receptive to what we’re doing, but most are, and even people who are nonreligious have wanted to talk with us. We’re out there to evangelize through our actions, and nine times out of 10 the people we meet are the ones who bring up God to us and want to talk about Him.”

The pair have also encountered more than a few Catholics living on Charlotte’s streets, including a memorable meeting with one devout woman who said emphatically, “The Eucharist is the heart of the faith.”

When volunteers go out, they work in teams of two or three and also try to collect the first names of the people they encounter to add to a prayer list during the week.

“The first week we got six people to pray for, and now we’re up to 15 or 16 names a week,” Haag said.

The weekly outreach will continue through Lent, and then likely switch to a biweekly schedule after Easter.

Get involved

Altar servers at St. Patrick Cathedral are helping seminarians Jordan Haag and Matthew Hennessy collect much-needed items during weekend Masses.

Needed items include first-aid supplies, small bottles of hand sanitizer, toothbrushes and toothpaste, health snacks like granola, trail mix and protein bars, men’s underwear, feminine products, jackets, toboggan hats, gloves, socks, hand/feet warmers, healthy drinks and bottled water, holy cards, rosaries and small New Testaments. To learn more about the mission, volunteer, or make a donation, please email Jordan Haag at jjhaag@rcdoc. org.

Homemakers of Mercy help refugees fleeing violence start anew

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — The Homemakers of Mercy are working overtime to furnish apartments and houses for a growing number of refugee families fleeing war, violence and poverty to start new lives in the Charlotte area.

Partnering with Catholic Charities, Homemakers of Mercy is an independent group of 70 volunteers who collect donations of furniture, household goods and other items to help refugees feel at home after grueling journeys that often involve trauma, refugee camps and separation from family.

“We want to make them feel safe,” says Prudy Kornegay, who has volunteered from the beginning 15 years ago. “We have no idea how it feels to not speak the language and to come into a place where you just don’t know anybody…We try to make it homey and comfy, and we always have a candy dish full of candy.”

Homemakers of Mercy began as a ministry of the Sisters of Mercy and the parishes of St. Matthew and St. Gabriel and was originally staffed by stay-at-home moms and retirees who wanted to give back, and has grown to welcome men and women and volunteers from other faiths.

They work with Catholic Charities’ Resettlement Services program, which partners with the U.S. government to legally resettle refugees. The agency lets the Homemakers of Mercy know a few days before refugees arrive, and volunteers get to work – gathering furnishings, setting up

transport, and showing up to transform a vacant house or apartment into a home.

On a rainy morning in January, it

took volunteers just two hours to make an empty apartment move-in ready. A Catholic Charities truck backed as close

as it could to the Mint Hill apartment building, and one-by-one volunteers in raincoats carried chairs, a sofa and boxes up a flight of stairs into the apartment –then placed everything just so.

For Mohammed Soda, this act of kindness was immeasurable when he and his family arrived to a warm, carpeted twobedroom apartment with updated kitchen in Charlotte last September, after fleeing war in Syria and a decade of transition in Jordan.

“It’s hard to move from an Arabic country to live another kind of life. It is good to live here, but it’s hard to start life here. But it will be good. We hope it will be good,” says Soda, an accounting professor who is searching for a job, studying English, and consistently doting on his 4-year-old daughter.

Homemakers of Mercy has furnished about 1,000 apartments since it began, says Mary Ann Thomas, one of the founders.

Recently, they have responded to more requests than usual, as the number of arrivals has steadily grown since the pandemic dramatically curtailed resettlement, says Laura Townsend Jones, Catholic Charities’ resettlement director.

Catholic Charities welcomed 63 refugees in January and 59 in February, up from an average of about 25 a month last year – all of them in need of living quarters.

Overall, the agency expects a total of 375 refugees this year, up from 290 last year and 78 the year before.

“The amazing thing about Homemakers

PHOTO PROVIDED

This Lent, Diocese of Charlotte seminarians Matthew Hennessy (left) and Jordan Haag began a new ministry to help serve men and women experiencing homelessness. With the help of volunteers and donations, they take to the streets of uptown Charlotte each weekend, providing food, water, prayer and friendly conversation to those in need.

LIZ CHANDLER | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

(From left) Homemakers of Mercy Maureen Reagle, Lisa Hedrick and Prudy Kornegay take a break from furnishing an apartment for a soon-to-arrive refugee family resettling in Charlotte in

volunteers works with

Charities’ Refugee Resettlement program

who

and

resettled here

St. Dorothy’s couple launches local chapter of Catholic family movement

ANNIE FERGUSON arferguson@rcdoc.org

LINCOLNTON — Patrick and Jessica Kelty were checking all the Catholic boxes. As the parents of seven children, they went to Mass every week, prayed the rosary, went to confession, and embraced the teachings of theology of the body.

Yet in 2019, more than 20 years into their marriage, Patrick felt something was off –he wanted to improve their family life. He knew that meant starting with himself.

“We may have been doing all the ‘right’ things, but then I’d yell at the kids and often lose my temper at home, so it was not ideal,” Patrick says. “I was too harsh of a parent.”

Soon the Kelty’s oldest niece, who had been looking for spiritual support for married couples and families, told them about the Domestic Church, a lay movement for sacramentally married couples that provides Catholic community and lifelong spiritual formation through small groups and retreats.

The next retreat for new couples was in Newark, New Jersey, and Patrick invited Jessica to go. She was not excited.

“‘No, I’m not doing that. We don’t need this,’” Jessica recalls telling him. “‘We’re doing plenty of things. Stop it. We’re great,’” Jessica recalls.

Patrick, too, remembers her protesting the idea.

But just when they seemed to have hit a dead end, their pastor, Father David Miller of St. Dorothy’s Parish in Lincolnton, lovingly stepped in.

“Father Miller told me to go,” Jessica

says. “He said, ‘Every retreat is good. You always get something out of your retreat. Just go, Jessica.’”

GOING BEYOND THEIR COMFORT ZONES

The couple left for Newark on a gloomy

day in November 2019. Jessica was still unenthused, but by day two, she completely changed her mind.

“The second day is really when you got into the meat of the retreat. It was probably the first experience I’ve ever had of praying with my husband,” Jessica recalls. “We just had never really done that, and so that experience of praying with him and of hearing what was on his heart and just being with him praying to the Lord was lifechanging.”

Jessica says she soon realized they could pray together as a couple all the time.

“Within four or five minutes of thinking this way, I opened myself up to what this could do for our family,” she says.

St. Dorothy’s parishioners Patrick and Jessica Kelty started the Domestic Family apostolate after their involvement brought healing to their family. Their seven children enjoy the annual family retreat where they spend time with one another and other Catholic families.

at the same time the priest gets to witness the ins and outs of faithful Catholic marriages.”

The Domestic Church movement was founded in Poland in the early 1970s by Venerable Father Franciszek Blachnicki, with the close guidance and support of his friend Bishop Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope St. John Paul II. Today, there are more than 13,000 couples in Domestic Church in Poland and nearly 5,000 more around the world.

In just four years, the Keltys have made

When the Keltys returned, they were on fire about Domestic Church and started working to establish an apostolate in Lincolnton. Since 2020, the group has grown to 22 families from the parishes of St. Dorothy’s, St. Aloysius in Hickory, St. Joseph in Newton and St. Thomas Aquinas in Charlotte. Families get involved first through attending a weekend couples retreat like the one the Keltys attended in Newark, followed by monthly meetings and an annual family retreat modeled after World Youth Day, which was initiated by Pope John Paul II. Like World Youth Day, Domestic Family retreats include camping and enjoying God’s creation with other Catholics.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Couples in the Diocese of Charlotte and surrounding areas will soon have a chance to join the Domestic Church movement through a couples retreat to be held April 13-14 at Belmont Abbey College and led by Father Elias Correa-Torres. A second retreat for those who are already members will be held May 4.

Each Domestic Church “circle” of families has a priest to help guide the monthly meetings, ensuring discussions remain in line with Catholic teaching.

“Having Father Miller involved gives us a really unique look into a priest’s marriage with the Church,” Patrick says, “and then

friends through the family retreats, grown closer as a family and, consequently, to the Lord. Their children, aged 8 to 23, love making new friends and spending quality time as a family. Daily, they witness their parents praying together, and they see a more peaceful father.

“Our kids call me Dad No. 2 now,” Patrick says with a smile. “It was that big of a change. It’s hard to be so overtly impatient or yell after you’ve prayed and allowed the Holy Spirit to reorder your life. Lots of different things can help in that type of situation – Domestic Church just worked for us.”

Learn more At

PHOTO PROVIDED

Seminarian Spotlight

Tennis phenom Elijah Buerkle finds perfect match at college seminary

ANNIE FERGUSON arferguson@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — With a strong biblical name and a faithful Catholic upbringing, it might seem like a foregone conclusion that the young Elijah Buerkle would one day discern the priesthood. Yet, it almost didn’t happen.

As the second of 10 children – the younger brother in a set of twins – Elijah was homeschooled through high school. His mother leads the family’s academic formation while his father, a professional tennis coach, leads the physical aspect for their children aged 6 to 23. Days full of activity are balanced with praise and thanksgiving as his parents, David and Maria, come together to lead the family in prayer and tend to the spiritual formation of their children.

Elijah took to tennis naturally, becoming one of the top 15 high school players in Georgia and winning two state championships in the doubles tournament and runner-up in singles play in the level 2 state championships. After high school, he chose to follow in his parents’ footsteps and attend their alma mater – Belmont Abbey College – where he would play tennis just like his father.

He earned a spot in the Honors College program and was majoring in philosophy, politics and economics, with his sights set on a law career. While competing in tennis at the collegiate level, he received top marks in his classes. Elijah had spent three successful years as an undergraduate, but a nagging question that first arose in high school began to surface again: “Is God calling me to be a priest?”

Meanwhile, his oldest sister – now Sister Maria Jacoba – had started discerning a vocation to religious life with the Benedictines of Mary Queen of the Apostles and his twin brother, Gabriel, was preparing for a secular career in the grocery business. Both were good paths, but where was he called to be?

Soon Elijah started taking steps to discern whether he was being called to the priesthood. He sought spiritual direction from Abbot Placid Solari, chancellor of Belmont Abbey College, who was an immense help to him.

Then, after going on a FOCUS mission trip and receiving some additional sage advice, Elijah had his answer. He recently shared with the Catholic News Herald what he’s learned along the way:

About Elijah Buerkle

From: Albany, Georgia

Age: 23

Home parish: St. Mark, Huntersville

Parents: David and Maria Buerkle

Siblings: Gabriel, Sr. Maria Jacoba, Anna, Isaac, Tobias, Matthias, Kolbe, Lilliane and Chiara

Status: Began studies and formation at St. Joseph College Seminary in 2022, expected to transfer to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology in fall of 2025

living, and so we’re all tennis players. He played at Belmont Abbey before me and so that was kind of the physical aspect of the formation. My mom spearheaded the homeschooling, what I see as the internal part, and then my dad would spearhead the external, ensuring we were all trained and disciplined.

CNH: How would you describe your life at the seminary?

Buerkle: I was taking a rosary walk when I started reflecting on the first three weeks of seminary and it just kind of hit me: I have everything here required for my own personal sanctity. It’s really up to me to use that. The people there – the seminarians, Daughters of the Virgin Mother and the priests – are all so holy, and they’ve really thought of everything. Father Matthew Kauth and the other fathers have really thought that program through.

CNH: When did you first feel a calling to the priesthood?

Buerkle: My senior year of high school. There was a Polish priest who became the pastor of my parish in Georgia, and I was really inspired by his example and virtue. He was the first priest that I encountered that I really looked up to as a man, so I was really drawn to that and drawn to his vocation. It was his holiness and love for the Lord that drew me to him. He spent a lot of time in prayer. He was very adamant about the need to spend time in prayer, to receive the sacraments, especially confession, so it was his discipline and strength as a man, but then he also spent a lot of time investing in my family and in me when I needed help. That led me to really continue to grow my faith over the next three or four years. I continued to meet more great priests I’m really inspired by as I look more and more into it and that slowly led to me finding out about St. Joseph College Seminary.

CNH: How did your upbringing influence your vocation?

Buerkle: My parents are devout Catholics and so that was very formative growing up. The faith was always part

Favorite Bible verse: “When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

(Jn 19: 26-27)

“This passage stands out because I just completed St. Louis de Montfort’s ‘Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary.’ As St. Louis says, Christ earned the grace needed for our salvation on the cross, but we only

of our family life. We’d always go to at least Sunday Mass, if not also daily Mass once a week when I was growing up. We always try to pray the rosary every night. It was the family prayer. We were all homeschooled, and so we had a very Catholic curriculum and were encouraged to do a lot of reading both from classical literature and Scripture but also the lives of the saints. All of that was just very formative for my sister’s vocation and mine, and the younger ones are still on their way. My dad teaches tennis for a

receive it by the hands of Mary, our Blessed Mother, through Holy Mother Church. All of this is revealed to us at the scene of Christ’s crucifixion when He gives His mother to the Church represented by St. John. Thus, if we wish to be saved, we ought to take Mary our mother into our homes, just as St. John did.”

Favorite saint: St. Martin de Porres “St. Martin de Porres was my confirmation saint. I chose him for his humility. He was this young boy living amid serious poverty whose father had left the family. He had

I have spiritual fatherhood, motherhood, sisterhood and brotherhood there. It’s an incredible place that has helped me foster devotion to Our Lady and be instructed in very sound theology and philosophy. Looking back, I thought I was pretty solid when I was coming in, which I was, but how far I’ve come with the level of virtue in the past year and a half – simply by going through the formation program –has really blown me away.

CNH: What are the blessings and challenges of being a seminarian?

Buerkle: The thing that surprised me the most is that it’s not difficult. Obviously, you must be willing and desiring this vocation, but a lot of people think of seminary life as you’re sacrificing these goods of the world, that you’re not allowed to date anyone or you’re just not allowed to do whatever you want, but I’ve found being at seminary you receive so much more.

We have this beautiful familial atmosphere at the college seminary with the fathers, the sisters, and all the seminarians. It’s just such a beautiful house to be in, and we’re all very closeknit. There’s a lot of laughter and a lot of fun and games. Then we’re all working hard, but it’s for this greater good of glorifying God, and it becomes so tangible when you’re living it. There are sacrifices, but it’s all so properly ordered toward God. Attending our “family meals” is one of my favorite things. Multiple times throughout the week everyone in the seminary family gets together for a wonderful meal, usually cooked from scratch by the Daughters of the Virgin Mother. I am notorious at the seminary

such a heart for the poor to the point where he would give his own money to people who were poorer than he was. He didn’t feel worthy when he entered the Dominicans. He always took the last place and through that humility, attains such an incredible level of holiness. I look to him and try to learn his humility, take that lowest place, and to practice the charity he had.”

Interests and hobbies: Tennis, bass fishing, backpacking and reading

Buerkle

SPOTLIGHT, SEE PAGE 8

PHOTOS PROVIDED

Seminarian Elijah Buerkle (back row, second from right) poses with his parents, siblings and cousin on the day his eldest sister, Sister Maria Jacoba, entered the convent. Buerkle played tennis at Belmont Abbey College, earning the Elite 23 postseason award in 2022 for achieving the highest GPA among the top eight teams in the conference.

Apply now for mini-grants of up to $1,000 from Catholic Charities CRS Rice Bowl

CHARLOTTE — Does your parish help run a food pantry, operate a thrift store, or sponsor an emergency services program? Perhaps your parish or school has a ministry that offers meals for those who are homeless or sponsors a school backpack program. If so, consider applying for a Catholic Charities Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl Mini-Grant for up to $1,000 in grant funds.

For every $3 collected in the Lenten CRS Rice Bowl Program that are sent to CRS for overseas projects, $1 remains in the Diocese of Charlotte to help fund a local grant program that supports povertyand hunger-fighting projects of diocesan Catholic entities. Projects must target hunger and poverty in communities in the Diocese of Charlotte.

Only one grant can be submitted per Catholic entity, and grant applications must be reviewed and signed by the pastor of the parish, principal of the school, or director of the diocesan office applying for the grant. Completed and signed applications are due, in scanned PDF, by the email deadline of Friday, April 12. Applications, with guidelines and eligibility criteria included, are available online at www.ccdoc.org/cchdcrs.

— Joseph Purello

NEW PRIEST

FROM PAGE 4

first provided them a place to worship in Charlotte.

Father Debesay said he was very thankful to Bishop Peter Jugis for helping bring him to Charlotte.

Bishop Jugis will meet with Father Debesay’s ordinary, Archbishop Menghesteab Tesfarmariam of Asmara, on April 5. The meeting is part of the diocese’s increased efforts to support the needs of Eritrean Catholics here. Because of the community’s growth, it has been designated an apostolate of the diocese that will fall under Bishop Jugis’s authority because Ge’ez Rite Catholics do not have their own bishop here in the U.S.

A LONG-AWAITED ARRIVAL

Community members said Father Debesay’s arrival is a long-awaited moment for them and fulfills many dreams of being able to worship in their ancestral rite. The new priest will also be able to minister and offer the sacraments to those who don’t speak English, because he speaks both Tigrinya and Tigre, languages used in Eritrea.

Asmeret Tewelde, who moved to Charlotte six years ago, remembers living in Florida where no Ge’ez Rite Masses were available.

“Now that I can attend the Ge’ez Rite, I can be spiritually fulfilled, and it’s important for our children because they can attend a Mass where the people look and sound like their older family members – it’s an important way to preserve the culture,” Tewelde said. “Without the Ge’ez Rite, many people of my

community would face going to Mass where they couldn’t understand the Word of God. Now, having our own priest, we can have more access to the sacraments. Members of the community can go to confession and receive sacraments like anointing of the sick from someone they understand.”

Teweldebrhan Haile came to Charlotte in 1991 and has worked to help build the community for his fellow Eritreans.

“I’m probably one of the happiest people here today,” he said. “It has been my goal since the beginning to see this community grow the way it is. We had many obstacles and hardships along the way, especially not knowing the culture and language, and it is a joyous day to see how far we have come.”

for inviting people to come join us during these meals because they are such a joy – you should come sometime!

CNH: What is your advice for other young men discerning the priesthood?

Buerkle: On a FOCUS mission trip in Cincinnati, I heard a priest say the biggest mistake people make in discernment today is that they want to figure it out before they do anything, and so they will “wait and see” what they feel like draws them most. The problem with this approach, he said, is that everyone has a natural vocation to marriage, which means that 100% of the time they’ll be drawn to marriage because that is just what is natural. However, a person who does that never actually properly discerns if they have a “supernatural vocation” to the priesthood or religious life. The priest told us that the only true way to discern this is to actually go try it by entering seminary or a religious order. That hit me really hard because that had been me for the past two years that I’d been at college. By the next year, I entered seminary and knew almost immediately that God made me for this life. I love to be in the sanctuary offering prayers to our Lord and, of course, that is the vocation of the priest.

For more information, go to www.charlottediocese.givingplan.net

Gina Rhodes at 704/370-3364.

The sweet side of suffering

Local author pens aptly timed children’s book on Our Lady of Sorrows

ANNIE FERGUSON arferguson@rcdoc.org

LINCOLNTON — Pain and sorrow are top of mind during Lent as Jesus’s Passion draws near. They are difficult topics, but like a true mother, Our Lady of Sorrows soothes the sting of her children’s suffering in whatever form it may take through her own “dolors” or sorrows.

Perhaps no one understands this better than Patrick O’Hearn, a Catholic husband, father and parishioner of St. Dorothy’s Church in Lincolnton. He has been devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary under her sorrowful title since childhood and is the author of seven books, including his most recent project, “Our Lady of Sorrows: Devotion to Mary’s Seven Sorrows for Children,” a new release from Sophia Institute Press.

“Mary is the secret to the best Lent ever because she understood Jesus’s pain more than anyone, so I believe she takes us by the hand and walks with us through these sorrows, but then at the end we’re consoling Jesus,” O’Hearn says. “It is the perfect book during Lent because it really helps us enter into the mystery of suffering in a beautiful way.”

Because the devotion waned in popularity since its inception during the Middle Ages, O’Hearn says he felt called by Our Lady to introduce her seven sorrows to new generations to help them navigate the inevitable sufferings of life, grow in virtue and strengthen in faith.

The Church observes two feasts in honor of the Seven Dolors of Mary: one on the Friday before Good Friday – March 22 this year – and the other on Sept. 15. The devotion itself includes a short introductory prayer, then a prayer for each of the sorrows, followed by a request for the given virtue and gift of the Holy Spirit, ending with a Hail Mary each time and brief concluding prayers after the seventh sorrow.

The sorrows include the Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight Into Egypt, the Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple, Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary, Jesus Dies on the Cross, Mary Receives the Dead Body of Jesus in Her Arms, and Jesus is Placed in the Tomb. Great graces and heavenly favors are promised to those who pray the devotion.

“I’ve felt Mary’s presence throughout my whole life, protecting me from a lot of evils, so I think that writing this book was a way for me to say thank you to her for all she’s done for me,” O’Hearn says.

In the book, young readers will find Scripture, meditations and prayers for each mystery, aimed at helping children overcome fear, worry and doubt, develop virtues such as faith, courage and perseverance, and reflect on the life of Jesus.

Included in each sorrow is a reflection in which Mary speaks to the child and a prayer asking Mary for the virtue associated with the sorrow. O’Hearn says the work can be considered a devotional or mediational book. It

‘I’ve felt Mary’s presence throughout my whole life, protecting me...writing this book was a way for me to say thank you to her for all she’s done for me.’

also contains a collection of traditional prayers in English and Latin as well as four original prayers by Father Chad Ripperger that children can pray daily to grow closer to Our Lady and for their vocation and protection.

“I’ve always been drawn to the image of the seven sorrows,” O’Hearn says. “It took on greater depth throughout the course of my life, but I’ve always been drawn to her image of the swords in her heart. As a boy, I thought that was cool.”

As he grew, O’Hearn increasingly relied on Our Lady of Sorrows, especially during the years he spent discerning religious life in a Benedictine monastery. He ultimately discerned he was called to married life.

Later, when he and his wife, Amanda, lost two of their children to miscarriage, it was his devotion to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary that helped ease the pain.

“I think any woman – or man – can identify with Our Lady of Sorrows more than I think any other title because she’s suffering and she’s standing by her Son, and as parents we don’t want to see our children suffer. It’s that element that makes her so relatable to us.”

Order and learn more

At www.sophiainstitute.com : Buy a copy of “Our Lady of Sorrows: Devotion to Mary’s Seven Sorrows for Children” At www.patrickrohearn.com : Get to know the author and St. Dorothy’s parishioner

Members of Holy Sepulchre order take part in Lenten retreat

CHARLOTTE — Members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem – a Catholic order committed to supporting Christians in the Holy Land – gathered on March 2 at St. Patrick Cathedral for a Lenten Day of Reflection led by two of its clergy members.

Father John Putnam, chaplain for the order in the Diocese of Charlotte, offered Mass and led a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction. Father Christopher Roux, pastor and rector of the cathedral, gave the Holy Hour homily, encouraging members to devote their Lenten sacrifices to a particular person or purpose – not merely giving something up for Lent, but intentionally offering up those sacrifices to God in order to help someone else.

The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem was founded nearly a thousand years ago by the pope during the Crusades when Jerusalem came under attack. Today, men and women of the order still sustain and aid the Christian community in the Holy Land through their charitable work.

The order has approximately 30,000 members in 52 countries. Members are encouraged to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The global amount of aid is more than $10 million annually, which supports the work the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and other Catholic institutions by offsetting the running costs of the patriarchate and its 68 parishes – including support for nearly 1,600 teachers and other staff in the educational establishments, patriarchal seminary and the orphanages and clinics and 41 patriarchal schools in Israel, Palestine and Jordan, and providing social and humanitarian aid to families.

Members wear capes featuring a thick red “Jerusalem cross” that has four miniature crosses in each corner of the main cross. Each of the five crosses represents the five wounds of Christ.

Learn more about their work at www.midatlanticeohs.com.

— Patricia L. Guilfoyle

O’Hearn

The Seven Last Words of Christ

Young people from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish’s youth group Fruto de Fe (Fruit of Faith) reflect on Jesus’s dying words as He hung on the cross. These phrases, recorded in the Gospels, are often called “The Seven Last Words of Christ.” A devotion to the Seven Last Words began with a Peruvian priest in the 17th century, and has become a popular source of contemplation on Good Friday – the darkest day before the light of Easter dawns.

1 2

“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do”

“Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise”

Shortly before His death, it can be said that He was already dying and Jesus asked His Father to forgive His executioners because they did not know what they were doing. These words make me stop and reflect as a privileged child of God, who enjoys his love and forgiveness. Shortly before His death, Jesus stops for a moment and sees my reality and feels sorry for me and asks His Father God to forgive me because I do not know what I am doing. “Father, he is your son, look at him how he is, how much you have done for him. You have given him love and you gave him life. You gave him a family, exemplary parents worthy of admiration, and he does not recognize them, not even my suffering and my passion are enough for them. Father, forgive them because every time they do this, it hurts me to the core. This makes my strength more exhausted, the pain increases more, these nails torture me and the pain is unbearable. My body is bleeding more and more, my strength is running out little by little. Slowly death approaches, the darkness of death draws closer and closer, but my love for humanity is much stronger.”

— Darbin Marquez

Imagine that all your life you lead a life of crime, and you don’t take into account all the suffering you have caused. You are guilty to the point where your punishment is now crucifixion. You deserve it. And at your side you have someone who doesn’t deserve it, someone who has dedicated Himself to healing and doing God’s will. In your heart you recognize Him as the Messiah, the one your parents told you about. Seeing how they cursed Him and whipped Him, and with His suffering, you confess to Him and recognize Him as the Savior. He rewards you with entry to paradise and with the joy of being next to Him. Now, how beautiful it is to know that with all the bad things you have done in your life, just by confessing your sins and completing penance He purifies us and He admits us to paradise. By receiving the Holy Eucharist all this is fulfilled. “He who eats this bread and drinks this wine has eternal life.” We live this every time we go to Mass. Offer Him your joys and suffering, accept your failures and repent. The Lord is waiting with joy and pure love for His dear children who were lost and have returned.

— Asly Medina

“Woman, behold, your son…”

Did God create the perfect mother? Yes. On history’s darkest day, Christ hangs like a wounded eagle on the cross. Christ died to sanctify us. With His dying breaths, He tells the holiest woman, “Here is your son.” Christ made no exceptions: His Mother was given to us all, comforting those in suffering and feeling abandoned. Are you feeling like this? Go to Mary. Mary understands such pains, having experienced life without Jesus for three days. Are you a sinner? Recall Christ on the cross telling you, “Here is your mother.” Feel unworthy of Mary’s love? Our Lady of Guadalupe reassured Juan Diego saying, “‘Because truly I am honored to be your compassionate mother. Those who love me, those who seek me, truly will I hear their cry.” A young man ran to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Or better yet, “What must I do to be happy?” We gain eternal life and happiness by obeying the Ten Commandments. Honor Mary by praying the Rosary, observing the fourth commandment: “Honor your father and mother.” With every bead we say, “I love you,” and with every prayer she smiles and tells Christ, “See how they adore you.”

— Vicente Capistrano

“I thirst”

How many of us thirst for success, appreciation, money or even love? And we fill that thirst with bad influences, drugs, alcohol, parties, pornography, and we even delve into social media in order to satisfy that thirst. The only thing we achieve with all this is to become emptier. Jesus said on the cross, “I thirst,” and perhaps we say, “Lord, you who can do everything, why don’t you do something?” But God loves us so much that He gives us the freedom to choose Him. On that cross He shows us that He thirsts for us. He wants to love us as we deserve despite our sins, and longs to save our souls. And why do we keep denying Him? What are we afraid of? Instead of giving Jesus our sincere and humble heart, we keep giving Him the hyssop full of vinegar. We say, “I am already in the church serving and going to Mass every Sunday. Lord, you see that I am following your path.” I ask you, are you really going for Jesus or just to be seen and receive approval from the world? Despite everything, Jesus looks at you with eyes of love and wants to love you in a beautiful way. Just open your heart and say “Lord, I am thirsty.”

— Angela Acosta

3 4 5 6 7

“It is finished”

Moments before breathing His last, Jesus says “It is finished.” All the chaos from the disgruntled crowds had finished. All the torture they put Jesus through had finished. The scourging, the crowning of thorns on His head, the many times He fell to the ground, the thirst He felt, the agony He endured - it was all finished. Imagine how Jesus felt in these moments - the pain He felt. Being both divine and human, He felt the physical and emotional pain of each fall, of the insults, and of all the torture He underwent. But His love for us allowed Him to endure all of this. It is finished. At this point, He handed over His spirit. This, in a way, calls to mind the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It is hope in this moment. The Holy Spirit continues to be with us from the moment of our baptism, thanks to the infinite love and generosity of God.

Jesus did everything He could for our salvation. He gave up His life for us. The sacrifice was complete - it was finished.

— Jennifer Hernandez

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”

How many times has God heard this plea, which we cry out from the depths of our stress and anguish? God has given us the gift of freedom to choose, and we choose from our own weaknesses, which harms us. He, like a patient father, listens to our complaints and sits next to us suffering in silence. God lets us learn from our mistakes and allows us to find our way to Him, and like the Prodigal Son, we return to our Father, who we know for a fact only wants the best for us. How many times as young people have we fallen into the errors of vices – alcohol, drugs, lust – and we fall to the lowest point of our lives and we blame God. But these words that Jesus says on the cross are not an expression of discouragement but a great expression of trust in the Lord. We must have confidence in the Lord, who awaits us at the lowest point ready to lift us up. Let us use our suffering to draw closer to God and learn to surrender completely to His divine will. We can surrender more to His will by reading the Bible, attending Mass, receiving the Eucharist, going to confession and living our faith fervently.

— Juan Pablo Venagas

“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”

We find these words in the Gospel of St. Luke. Jesus sees that everything that the Father has entrusted to Him is fulfilled, and just like Jesus Christ, we will deliver everything that God entrusts to us into His hands. Our life, our heart, our work, everything. How beautiful to hear from His voice those sweet words spoken all with love, “Father into your hands I entrust my spirit.” It is a way of saying, “My God, I trust in you, I give myself to you.” How beautiful to see that great love that unites the Father with the Son, the obedience of Jesus to the Father. In these words, humanity is reflected – no matter how great the suffering is, it manifests the obedience and humility that we owe the Father. And how great is His love that does not challenge the will of the Father because love is humility and obedience. He places His trust eternally in God. With these words, He ends His mission on earth and returns to His Father. With these words He reaffirms our faith, fully entrusting in the hands of God our life, our family, our lives, and everything that God tells us to do. Our entire being belongs to Him. Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.

— Javier Varela

Our schools

OLA students win in Young Authors’

CHARLOTTE — Our Lady of the Assumption School Principal Tyler Kulp stresses the importance of being a good writer to his students. Now, four OLA students’ hard work has paid off in the North Carolina Reading Association’s Young Authors’ Writing Project.

One student, Rosemary Tapia-Garcia, won at the state level, and three more received accolades at the county level: Arianna Jenkins (7th grade), Clare Quinn (6th grade) and Ephrem Quinn (5th grade).

Through the project themed “Reflections: Celebrating the Me I See,” young authors were encouraged to write about how they see themselves as an individual, a friend or a member of a community.

Eighth-grader Rosemary Tapia-Garcia brought some judges to tears with her powerful, state-winning essay.

Writing Project

“I had to think about what I wanted to say. I just thought about my childhood. I didn’t think it was going to have such a big impact,” Rosemary said. “It feels good, I guess, because it was something important to me. Thank you to my parents for everything they have done for me.”

Here’s an excerpt from her winning essay: “When you’re 10 all you would think about is how you’re going to be starting middle school next year. You thought about how you would dress and act like the older kids. It would be like entering into a whole new world. When you’re 12 you have already experienced what middle school is like, and it’s not like you thought it would be. People change, and you change. They aren’t as nice or as mature as you thought they would be. You don’t think or act the same as you did when you were 10.”

HUNTERSVILLE — Christ the King High School recently celebrated its third annual Cultural Festival. What began with a desire to increase fellowship among the diverse community of staff and students has grown into an annual event that everyone looks forward to. Students not only learn about other countries, there are also regional cultures of the United States that students can explore,

TROY HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

PHOTOS BY TROY HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

St. Patrick School’s new Pre-K program fills immediately, waitlist added

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Responding to demand, St. Patrick School added a Pre-K program for the coming school year, and it immediately filled to capacity, prompting the school to start a waitlist.

Registration for the Pre-K class of 20 students opened and closed in February, but parents are encouraged to get on the waitlist and to enroll now for a chance to get children into the program in future years.

“This program just extends that wonderful community we have already at St. Patrick and continues our tradition of excellence,” said Principal Nicholas Calametti. “It’s exciting to see more people wanting to be part of our school community, and it feels like we’re on the right path for continued growth.”

Calametti said he first spoke with Catholic Schools officials last fall about possibly starting a Pre-K program in the 2025-26 school year but received approval to go ahead with a Fall 2024 start date thanks to growing interest.

School officials said the new program is a landmark as the St. Patrick School community looks ahead to its 95th anniversary in 2025. Established in 1930, St. Patrick School serves 228 students from kindergarten through fifth grade.

The new program will be based in a former art classroom, Calametti said, while art classes for students will be relocated to another room. To be eligible for the program, students must turn four years old by Aug. 31.

A full-time certified early childhood

teacher and a full-time teacher’s assistant will be hired to lead the program.

“St. Patrick School and Parish are instrumental in the legacy of Catholic education in our diocese, and the opening of this classroom is just a reflection of this continued legacy and history,” said Dr. Greg Monroe, superintendent of Catholic schools. “We are so grateful for the principal, the pastor and the faculty there for helping us create another option to support families, because we want to ensure that families have as many opportunities as possible for Catholic education, no matter what age their children are.”

Other schools in the Diocese of Charlotte that currently offer Pre-K programs are: Asheville Catholic, Asheville; Immaculata, Hendersonville; Immaculate Heart of Mary, High Point; Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro; Our Lady of Mercy, Winston-Salem; Our Lady of the Assumption, Charlotte; Sacred Heart, Salisbury; St. Ann, Charlotte; St. Leo the Great, Winston-Salem; St. Michael, Gastonia; and St. Pius X, Greensboro.

Calametti

Homelessness

job skills childcare transportation

The programs we are planning to expand in order to accomplish these goals include:

The purchase of land in Kernersville: $3,000,000

A parcel of land that will meet our immediate needs and provide room for additional growth.

An Educational/Training Hall and Multipurpose Activity Center (9,456 sq. ft.) $2,364,000

Contains a large lecture hall, multipurpose meeting room, and a commercial kitchen, for training, education, community meals, and fundraising activities.

A Support Services Center (6,602 sq. ft.) $1,650,500

All agency management and professional staff offices will be housed here.

A Lay volunteer/Intern House (5,616 sq. ft.). $1,404,000

This house will provide living quarters for up to six volunteers/interns.

A Childcare Center (3,458 sq. ft.) $864,500

This will be a licensed childcare center providing childcare for children ages 6 weeks up to 5 years, of single mothers enrolled in an on-site program/activity.

Las de siete palabras Cristo

“Padre, perdónalos, porque no saben lo que hacen”

Me detengo a reflexionar sobre estas palabras de Jesús. Poco antes de su muerte, se puede decir ya moribundo, pide a su padre que perdone a sus verdugos porque no saben lo que hacen.

1 2

Esto me hace reflexionar, como hijo privilegiado de Dios, que gozo de su amor y de su perdón. Jesús poco antes de su muerte se detiene por un momento y ve mi realidad y se compadece de mí y pide a su padre Dios que me perdone porque no sé lo que estoy haciendo.

“Padre, es tu hijo, míralo como está, cuánto has hecho por él. Le has dado amor y le diste la vida. Le diste familia, unos padres ejemplares dignos de admirar, y no los reconoce, ni siquiera mi sufrimiento y mi pasión les basta. Padre, perdónalos porque cada vez que hacen esto, me duele hasta el alma. Esto hace que mis fuerzas se agoten más, el dolor aumenta más, estos clavos me torturan y el dolor es insoportable. Mi cuerpo cada vez más se desangra, mis fuerzas se acaban poco a poco. Lentamente la muerte se aproxima, la oscuridad de la muerte se acerca cada vez más, pero mi amor es mucho más fuerte por este pueblo”.

— Darbin Márquez

Varios integrantes del grupo juvenil ‘Fruto de Fe’ de la Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe reflexionan sobre las últimas palabras de Jesús mientras colgaba de la cruz. Estas frases, registradas en los Evangelios, se conocen como “Las siete últimas palabras de Cristo”. La devoción a las Siete Últimas Palabras comenzó con un sacerdote peruano en el siglo XVII y se ha convertido en una fuente popular de contemplación el Viernes Santo, el día más oscuro antes del amanecer de la Pascua de Resurrección.

“En verdad te digo, hoy estarás conmigo en el paraíso”

Imagina que toda tu vida llevas una vida de delincuencia y no tomas en cuenta todo el sufrimiento que has causado, al punto donde tu castigo es la crucifixión. Lo mereces.

Y a tu lado tienes a alguien que no lo merecía, alguien que se ha dedicado a sanar y hacer la voluntad de Dios.

En tu corazón lo reconoces como el Mesías que te contaban tus padres. Viendo como lo maldicen y le dan latigazos cargando su amada cruz. Y con su sufrimiento, tú te entregas a Él y lo reconozcas como tu Salvador. Él te recompensa con la entrada al paraíso y con la dicha de estar a su lado.

Qué bello es saber que, con todo lo malo que has hecho en tu vida, confesar los pecados y cumplir la penitencia nos purifica y admite al paraíso.

Al recibir la Sagrada Eucaristía todo esto se cumple. “El que coma de este pan y beba de este cáliz tendrá vida eterna”. Nosotros vivimos esto cada vez que vamos a Misa. Ofrécele tus alegrías y sufrimientos, acepta tus fallas y arrepiéntete. El Señor te está esperando con alegría y puro amor a su querido Hijo que se había perdido y ha regresado.

— Asly Medina

“Mujer, ahí tienes a tu hijo…”

¿Creó Dios a la madre perfecta? Sí. En el día más oscuro de la historia, Cristo cuelga como un águila herida en la cruz. Cristo murió para santificarnos. Con su último aliento, Cristo le dice a la mujer más santa: “Ahí tienes a tu hijo”.

Cristo no hizo excepciones, Su Madre consuela a todos los que sufren y se sienten abandonados.

¿Te sientes así? Ve a María. María comprende esos dolores habiendo vivido tres días sin Jesús.

¿Eres pecador? Recuerda a Cristo en la cruz diciéndote: “Aquí tienes a tu madre”.

¿Te sientes indigno del amor de María? Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe aseguró a Juan Diego: ‘Porque verdaderamente me honra ser tu madre compasiva; aquellos que me aman, aquellos que me buscan. Verdaderamente escucharé su llanto”.

Un joven corrió hacia Jesús y le preguntó, “¿Qué debo hacer para heredar la vida eterna?” o mejor “¿Qué debo hacer para ser feliz?”. Obtendremos la vida eterna y la felicidad obedeciendo los Diez Mandamientos.

Honra a María con el rosario, observando el cuarto mandamiento: “Honra a tu padre y a tu madre”. Con cada cuenta decimos, “te amo”, y con cada oración ella sonríe y le dice a Cristo, “Mira cómo te adoran”.

— Vicente Capistrano

“Tengo Sed”

“Tengo sed”. ¿Cuántos tenemos sed de éxito, valoración, dinero y de sentirnos amados?

Y llenamos esa sed con malas influencias, drogas, alcohol, fiestas, pornografía, y hasta nos hundimos en las redes sociales con tal de saciarnos. Y lo único que logramos con esto es tener más sed.

Jesús dijo en la cruz, “tengo sed”. ¿Y quizás decimos, “Señor, tú que todo lo puedes, ¿por qué no haces algo?”

Pero Dios nos ama tanto que nos da la libertad de escogerlo. Él, en esa cruz, nos demuestra que tiene sed de nosotros. Quiere amarnos como lo merecemos a pesar de nuestros pecados y anhela salvar nuestra alma.

¿Y por qué lo sigues negando? ¿A qué le tienes miedo? En vez de entregarle a Jesús tu corazón sincero y humilde, le sigues dando el hisopo lleno de vinagre.

Dirás, “yo ya estoy en la iglesia sirviendo y yendo a Misa cada domingo. Señor, tú ves que yo estoy siguiendo tu camino”. Te pregunto, ¿en realidad vas por Jesús o solo por ser mirado y recibir aprobación del mundo?

Pero a pesar de todo, Jesús te mira con ojos de amor y quiere amarte de una manera bonita, solo abre tu corazón y dile, “Señor, tengo sed”.

— Angela Acosta

3 4 5 6 7

“Todo está cumplido”

En la cruz, lo último que dice Jesús es, “Todo está cumplido”. Después de decir esto, inclinó la cabeza y exhaló su último aliento. Todo el caos de las multitudes alrededor había terminado. Toda la tortura que le hicieron pasar a Jesús había terminado. Los azotes, la corona de espinas en su cabeza, las muchas veces que cayó al suelo, la sed que sintió, la agonía que soportó, todo se acabó.

Imagínese cómo se sintió Jesús en esos momentos, el dolor que sintió. Siendo a la vez divino y humano, sintió el dolor físico y emocional de cada caída, de los insultos y de todas las torturas que sufrió.

Pero su amor por nosotros le permitió soportar todo esto. Está cumplido. En ese momento, entregó el espíritu. Esto, en cierto modo, recuerda el descenso del Espíritu Santo en Pentecostés. Es esperanza en este momento. El Espíritu Santo sigue estando con nosotros desde el momento de nuestro bautismo gracias al infinito amor y generosidad de Dios.

Jesús hizo todo lo que pudo por nuestra salvación. Él entregó su vida por nosotros porque nos ama. El sacrificio fue cumplido.

— Jennifer Hernández

“¿Por qué me has abandonado?”

Dios mío, Dios mío, ¿por qué me has abandonado? Cuántas veces ha oído Dios esta súplica que gritamos desde las profundidades de nuestro estrés y angustia.

Dios nos ha dado el regalo de la libertad de escoger y nosotros, desde nuestras propias debilidades, escogemos lo que nos hace el mal.

Él, siendo padre paciente, oye nuestros reclamos y se sienta a nuestro lado sufriendo silenciosamente.

Dios nos deja aprender de nuestros errores y nos deja encontrar nuestro camino a Él, y como el hijo pródigo volvemos a nuestro padre, que sabemos con certeza sólo quiere lo mejor para nosotros.

Cuántas veces como jóvenes hemos caído en los errores de los vicios, del alcohol, de las drogas, de la lujuria, y caemos al punto más bajo de nuestras vidas y reclamamos a Dios.

Pero estas palabras que Jesús dice en la cruz no son una expresión de desaliento, sino una expresión grande de confianza en el Señor. Debemos tener confianza en que el Señor nos está esperando en el punto más bajo, listo para levantarnos.

Usemos nuestro sufrimiento para acercarnos más a Dios y aprender a entregarnos completamente a su voluntad. Podemos entregarnos más a su voluntad leyendo la Biblia, frecuentando la confesión y la Misa, recibiendo la Eucaristía, y viviendo una fe fervorosa.

Dios mío, Dios mío, ¿por qué me has abandonado?

— Juan Pablo Vanegas

“Padre, en tus manos encomiendo mi espíritu”

Padre, en tus manos encomiendo mi espíritu. Encontramos estas palabras en Evangelio de San Lucas. Jesús mira que todo lo que el Padre le ha encomendado está cumplido. Y así como Jesucristo, todo lo que Dios nos encomienda se lo entregaremos en sus manos. Nuestra vida, nuestro corazón, nuestro trabajo, etc. Qué hermoso escuchar de su voz esa dulce palabra dicha con todo amor, “Padre en tus manos encomiendo mi espíritu”. Es una forma de decir, “Dios mío, yo confío en ti, me entrego a ti”. Qué hermoso ver ese gran amor que une al padre con el hijo, la obediencia de Jesús al padre en estas palabras se refleja la humanidad. Tanta humillación, la obediencia. No importa qué tan grande sea el sufrimiento, sino que manifiesta la obediencia que usted y yo debemos al Padre. El amor, qué grande es su amor que no desafía la voluntad del Padre, porque el amor es humildad y obediencia.

Esta palabra es confiar eternamente en Dios. Con esta palabra, da por terminada su misión en la Tierra y vuelve al Padre. Con esta palabra reafirma nuestra fe, confiar plenamente en manos de Dios nuestra vida, nuestra familia, nuestras vidas, y todo lo que Dios nos manda a hacer. Todo nuestro ser a Él pertenece.

Padre en tus manos encomiendo mi espíritu.

— Javier Varela

Diácono Enedino Aquino

¿Estamos avanzando en esta cuaresma?

Iniciamos el tiempo de cuaresma el pasado 14 de febrero, muy preciso, justo el día del amor y la amistad. ¡Qué mejor momento para iniciar este tiempo con el verdadero amor de Jesús en la entrega por nosotros!

Escribo después del cuarto domingo de cuaresma. Hemos avanzado. Sería bueno darnos cuenta si está sirviendo de algo este tiempo de conversión, osea, un cambio radical de orientar nuestros valores en un cambio profundo de nuestra vida, o no está pasando nada.

Pero todavía estamos a tiempo. Podría hablar de conversiones distintas, como los que se convierten, por ejemplo, Magdalena, Mateo, Zaqueo, el “buen ladrón”. ¿Pero yo? ¿Tengo yo la capacidad de transformar, en modo radical y substancial, los valores por los que oriento mi existencia? ¿Está en mí la posibilidad de vencer un vicio, un prejuicio, una tendencia que durante años ha marcado negativamente mi personalidad, perjudicando mi salud y dañando mi buena relación con los demás?

No son preguntas menores y sus más frecuentes respuestas van en la línea de un conformismo fatalista, de una resignación pasiva, de un dejar actuar la ley de la inercia: “Total, yo soy así. Ya estoy viejo para cambiar”. No siento en mí ni la capacidad ni la voluntad de intentar siquiera un cambio. De manera que, si soy un fumador, alcohólico, drogadicto, blasfemador y murmurador impenitente; si arrastro enfermizamente un rencor familiar, envidia, coraje, resentimiento, venganza; si cualquier estímulo erótico, cualquier sugerencia o invitación, cualquier oportunidad o puerta que me abren encuentra en mí la más inmediata aceptación, sin importarme las decencias o las lealtades que iré repartiendo en el camino; si mi apetito de conocer a Dios y de aproximarme a la intimidad con Él y a la obediencia de sus mandatos choca con mi estudiada indiferencia y encogimiento de hombros, y me convierto en alguien que no le importa nada.

¡Ah! Si, así soy y así seré, con una mentalidad infantil. Cuaresma es educar nuestra conciencia en Dios. Y quiero decirme a mí mismo que no estoy honrando aquello que pertenece a lo más específico del ser humano: su capacidad de cambio, de superación, de transformación. Eso que llamamos conversión.

La Cuaresma es un tiempo de conversión. Tomarla en serio exige detenerse y pensar: ¿qué hay en mí que debería cambiar? ¿De qué y en qué tengo que convertirme?

Te invito a que este tiempo, que ya está por terminar, sea una búsqueda de una mejor versión de tí.

¿Cómo trato de hacerlo yo? Hacernos un buen propósito de cambio, eso sería pensar mejor las cosas y las palabras, preparar y hacer mejor mi trabajo, prevenir a tiempo los focos de conflicto, esforzarme más por la transparencia de mi vida, que mi memoria me preserve de tropezar por segunda o tercera vez en la misma piedra.

Que mi docilidad me haga humilde para preguntar a los que saben lo que yo no sé.

Te deseo una verdadera transfiguración para que nos parezcamos cada vez más a Dios.

EL DIÁCONO ENEDINO AQUINO es coordinador del Ministerio Hispano del Vicariato de Greensboro

Preservar una cultura de fe

Llega nuevo sacerdote para servir a la creciente comunidad eritreana de Charlotte

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Alegres sonidos de campanas, tambores y oraciones cantadas dieron la bienvenida a un nuevo sacerdote para la Comunidad Católica Eritrea de Charlotte durante una Misa especial ofrecida el sábado en la Iglesia San Vicente de Paúl. La llegada del Padre Michael Solomon Debesay es el último logro para la creciente comunidad católica africana.

El Padre Debesay puso manos a la obra para servir a su floreciente rebaño. Había volado a Charlotte el día anterior para ofrecer la Misa del 9 de marzo celebrando su llegada. La Misa atrajo a cientos de personas, algunas de las cuales viajaron desde Raleigh y los estados circundantes para experimentar el culto en el antiguo rito Ge’ez, la liturgia católica tradicional de los países de África Oriental de Eritrea y Etiopía.

Antes de venir a Charlotte, el Padre Debesay pasó varios años sirviendo a los refugiados eritreos en Sudán del Sur, una nación devastada por la guerra. Considera este nuevo ministerio como una oportunidad importante para ayudar a sus compatriotas eritreos a encontrar un hogar espiritual lejos de su lugar de origen.

“Cuando mi obispo me dijo que vendría aquí, me sentí muy feliz porque sabía que esta era una oportunidad para prestar servicio a mi gente que ha estado emigrando de nuestro país durante tanto tiempo”, dijo. “Nuestra gente es devota de su fe, y sé que tengo una gran responsabilidad de ayudarlos a vivir su fe aquí”.

ENCONTRANDO UN NUEVO HOGAR

Los eritreos han huido de su nación durante décadas debido a la hambruna, desastres naturales y persecución, y se han establecido en todo Estados Unidos con grandes comunidades en Washington, D.C., California y Atlanta. Los eritreos se han asentado en el área de Charlotte por más de 20 años, y el crecimiento de la comunidad llevó a la formación en 2018 de la comunidad del Rito Ge’ez dentro de la diócesis.

Los católicos eritreos encontraron inicialmente un hogar espiritual en la Parroquia San Gabriel, participando mensualmente en las Misas ofrecidas por sacerdotes visitantes, y luego se mudaron a la Parroquia San Vicente de Paúl. La comunidad también tiene un centro cultural en una propiedad donada en Mint Hill que utiliza para actividades juveniles, clases de formación en la fe y reuniones comunitarias.

Gracias a la presencia del Padre Debesay, la comunidad ahora tiene un sacerdote que puede ofrecer Misa regularmente, los sacramentos y otros aspectos de la fe, según Semret Hailemariam, quien se mudó a Charlotte desde California hace tres años.

“La alegría de este día no es solo el resultado de seis años de arduo trabajo, sino también un testimonio de la fe de esta comunidad católica”, dijo Hailemariam.

También estuvieron presentes el Padre Joshua Voitus, párroco de San Vicente de Paúl, quien dio la bienvenida a la comunidad del Rito Ge’ez en su iglesia, junto con el invitado especial, el Padre Frank O’Rourke, párroco jubilado de San Gabriel que les había proporcionado por primera vez un lugar en Charlotte.

El Padre Debesay dijo que estaba muy agradecido con el Obispo Peter Jugis por ayudar a traerlo a Charlotte.

El Obispo Jugis se reunirá con el Ordinario del Padre Debesay, el Arzobispo Menghesteab Tesfarmariam de Asmara, el 5 de abril. La reunión es parte de los crecientes esfuerzos de la diócesis para apoyar las necesidades de los católicos eritreos en Charlotte. Debido al crecimiento de la comunidad, ha sido designado un apostolado de la diócesis que recaerá bajo la autoridad del Obispo Jugis, porque los católicos del rito Ge’ez no tienen su propio obispo aquí en los Estados Unidos.

UNA LLEGADA MUY ESPERADA

Los miembros de la comunidad dijeron que la llegada del Padre Debesay es un momento muy esperado

para ellos y cumple muchos sueños de poder realizar su rito ancestral. El nuevo sacerdote también podrá ministrar y ofrecer los sacramentos a aquellos que no hablan inglés, porque habla tigriña y tigre, idiomas utilizados en Eritrea.

Asmeret Tewelde, quien se mudó a Charlotte hace seis años, recuerda haber vivido en Florida, donde no había Misas del Rito Ge’ez disponibles.

“Ahora que puedo asistir al Rito Ge’ez puedo sentirme realizada espiritualmente, y es importante para nuestros hijos porque pueden asistir a una Misa en la que las personas se ven y suenan como los miembros mayores de su familia, es una forma importante de preservar nuestra cultura”, dijo Tewelde. “Sin el Rito Ge’ez, muchas personas de mi comunidad tenían que ir a Misa sin entender la Palabra de Dios. Ahora que contamos con nuestro propio sacerdote, podemos tener más acceso a los sacramentos. Los miembros de la comunidad pueden confesarse y recibir sacramentos como la unción de los enfermos de alguien que los entiende”.

Teweldebrhan Haile llegó a Charlotte en 1991 y ha trabajado para ayudar a construir la comunidad para sus compatriotas eritreos.

“Probablemente soy una de las personas más felices aquí hoy”, dijo. “Mi objetivo desde el principio ha sido ver a esta comunidad crecer de la manera en que lo está haciendo. Tuvimos muchos obstáculos y dificultades en el camino, especialmente no conocer la cultura y el idioma, y es un día alegre ver lo lejos que hemos llegado”.

TROY HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD La llegada del Padre Michael Solomon Debesay a Charlotte es una gran noticia para la creciente comunidad católica africana en la diócesis. El Padre Debesay dirigirá el apostolado del rito eritreano en la diócesis. Celebró su llegada con una Misa especial el 9 de marzo en la iglesia San Vicente de Paúl.

Seminaristas salen a las calles en ayuda de nuevo ministerio de desamparados

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Dos seminaristas de la Diócesis de Charlotte se han embarcado en un nuevo ministerio, tomando las calles del Uptown de Charlotte para ayudar a cuidar a hombres y mujeres sin hogar durante esta temporada de Cuaresma.

Jordan Haag y Matthew Hennessy, ambos en su segundo año en el Seminario Universitario San José en Mount Holly, comenzaron su proyecto misionero de apoyo a las personas sin hogar la semana anterior al Miércoles de Ceniza, y han estado saliendo a las calles que rodean la Iglesia San Pedro los viernes y sábados para ministrar a las personas necesitadas.

Buscan a aquellos que viven en las calles y ofrecen todo lo que pueden para ayudarlas: un sándwich, una botella de agua o el simple regalo de la conversación.

El seminarista Haag, de 32 años, dijo que a principios de este año decidió probar un alcance a la población sin hogar de Charlotte debido a las experiencias positivas que tuvo haciendo un trabajo similar con un ministerio llamado Urban Hearts, mientras estaba destacado en Alaska cuando sirvió en el Ejército de Estados Unidos

Haag y Hennessy contaron con la ayuda de monaguillos de la Catedral San Patricio que colaboran con la misión recogiendo los artículos necesarios durante las Misas de fin de semana. Las donaciones de artículos, que van desde alimentos y agua hasta ropa

de abrigo y artículos espirituales como estampas y rosarios, son bienvenidas. Haag dijo que los feligreses de San Patricio han respondido “de una manera enorme” con donaciones y dinero para apoyar al ministerio.

Hennessy, que cuenta con 21 años, dijo que servir a las personas sin hogar es nuevo para él, y estaba emocionado de colaborar después que a su compañero seminarista se le ocurrió la idea.

“Esta es una forma importante de vivir las obras de misericordia corporales durante la Cuaresma y evangelizar a través del ejemplo”, dijo Hennessy. “A veces las personas necesitan comida y agua, y a veces solo necesitan a otra persona con quien tener una conversación amistosa. Me encanta lo que estamos haciendo”.

Los seminaristas esperan que el número de voluntarios continúe creciendo y tal vez les permita expandir el ministerio en Charlotte.

“Hemos servido a personas de todas las razas, así como a personas de entre 20 y 70 años”, dijo Haag. “Algunas personas no son receptivas a lo que estamos haciendo, pero la mayoría sí lo son, e incluso personas que no son religiosas han querido hablar con nosotros. Estamos ahí para evangelizar a través de nuestras acciones, y nueve de cada 10 veces las personas que conocemos son las que nos traen a Dios y quieren hablar de Él”.

Cuando los voluntarios salen, trabajan en equipos de dos o tres y también tratan de conocer los nombres de las personas con las que se encuentran para añadirlos a una lista de oración que realizan durante la semana.

“La primera semana tuvimos seis personas por quien orar, y ahora tenemos entre 15 o 16 nombres a la semana”, dijo Haag.

El trabajo semanal continuará durante la Cuaresma, y luego probablemente cambiará a un horario quincenal después de Pascua de Resurrección.

Haag

Hennessy

Recibieron capacitación de SEPI

MIAMI — El grupo juvenil de la parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte, Fruto de Fe, envió un gran número de sus líderes a la jornada de formación preparada por el Instituto Pastoral del Sureste , SEPI, por sus siglas en inglés. Los jóvenes se capacitaron en la formación de asesores de jóvenes adultos. El mencionado grupo juvenil, integrado por jóvenes adultos entre los 18 y 30 años, trabaja no solo en su parroquia sino, a requerimiento de asistencia, en muchas otras parroquias de toda la diócesis.

FE FAMILIA FRATERNIDAD

Caballeros de Colón

Considere unirse a los más de 2 millones de miembros de la organización fraternal católica más grande del mundo y registrándose en línea hoy en: www.kofc.org/joinus/es

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Sólo poseemos noticias ciertas acerca de su muerte y de su solemne canonización -por parte del mismo Jesucristo-, no repetida en la historia de la Santidad.

“Y con Él crucificaron dos ladrones, uno a la derecha y otro a la izquierda de Él. Y fue cumplida la Escritura que dice: Y fue contado entre los inicuos.

“Uno de los malhechores le insultaba diciendo: ¿No eres Tú el Mesías? Sálvate a Ti mismo y a nosotros.

“Más el otro, respondiendo, le reconvenía diciendo: ¿Ni siquiera temes tú a Dios estando en el mismo suplicio? Nosotros, la verdad, lo estamos justamente, pues recibimos el justo pago de lo que hicimos; mas Éste nada ha hecho; y decía a Jesús Acuérdate de mí cuando vinieres en la gloria de tu realeza.

“Díjole: En verdad te digo, que hoy estarás conmigo en el Paraíso” (Marcos 17, 27s. y Lucas 23, 39-43).

Como hemos indicado al principio, nada más sabemos de San Dimas con certeza histórica, pues son unas actas, aunque muy antiguas, apócrifas las que iniciaron la leyenda sobre el mismo, que todos hemos oído relatar alguna vez.

San Dimas

El ladrón arrepentido

IMAGEN CORTESÍA DEL MUSEO DEL PRADO

‘El Calvario’, óleo sobre tabla de autor desconocido. Probablemente realizado a finales del siglo XV. Se representan seis escenas de la pasión de Cristo: la oración en el huerto de los olivos; el beso de Judas, Jesús ante Caifás, la flagelación, la coronación de espinas y Cristo con la cruz a cuestas. Al centro, Cristo crucificado en el momento en que Longinos clava la lanza y le acerca la esponja. A sus lados, los ladrones en la cruz. Delante aparece la figura de la Virgen sostenida por San Juan.

La Sagrada Familia, según nos narra la Biblia, se vio obligada a huir a Egipto, debido al peligro que corría la vida de Jesús, por la persecución de los niños menores de dos años que Herodes el Grande había decretado.

En cierta ocasión en que los soldados del rey -y empieza aquí la narración apócrifa- estaban sobre la pista de la Familia Santa, y cuando ya les andaban muy cerca, José y María encontraron una casa en la que fácilmente se podrían esconder, si les dejaban entrar.

Esta casa era la que habitaba Dimas con los suyos. José les pide que los escondan, pues los soldados del rey con sus caballos, mucho más veloces que el sencillo borrico que montan, ya casi les dan alcance. Pero los habitantes de aquella casa se niegan a ello.

En este momento sale el joven Dimas, que seguramente por su carácter y decisión gozaba entre sus camaradas de gran autoridad, y dispone que se queden y les esconde en un lugar tan oculto que la policía romana no consigue descubrirlos, ni puede detenerlos. Jesús promete a Dimas, agradecido, que su acto no quedará sin recompensa, y le anuncia que volverán a verse en otra ocasión y aún en peores condiciones, y entonces será Él, Cristo, quien ayudará a su benigno protector.

De este modo terminan su narración las actas apócrifas. Explicación suficiente, sin embargo, para observar en ella una diferencia total

Lecturas diarias

MARZO 17-23

Domingo (Quinto domingo de Cuaresma): Ezequiel 37:12-14, 1 Romanos 8:8-11, Juan 11:1-45; Lunes (Memoria Opcional de San Cirilo de Jerusalén, obispo y doctor de la Iglesia): Deuteronomio 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62, Juan 8:1-11; Martes (Solemnidad de San José, esposo de la Santísima Virgen María): 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16, Romanos 4:13, 16-18, 22, Mateo 1:16, 18-21, 24; Miércoles: Deuteronomio 3:14-20, 49-50, 9192, 95, Juan 8:31-42; Jueves: Génesis 17:3-9, Juan 8:51-59; Viernes: Jeremías 20:10-13, Juan 10:31-42; Sábado (Memoria Opcional de Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, obispo): Ezequien 37:21-28, Juan 11:45-56

entre las leyendas atribuidas a Jesús, y la sobriedad evangélica, aun en los momentos más sublimes en que para confirmar su doctrina, Jesucristo obra algunos de sus milagros. Por esta razón nos ceñiremos a continuación al relato evangélico, Palabra Viva, que nos conduce a importantes enseñanzas.

¿A qué fue debida la conversión de Dimas, un ladrón, un malhechor, que seguramente en toda su vida no había visto a Jesús, aunque hubiera oído hablar de Él, como de alguien grande, misteriosamente poderoso y enigmático para muchos?

Porque en la cruz, Dimas se nos presenta ya convertido, como creyente en la divinidad de Cristo: “¿Ni siquiera temes tú a Dios, estando en el mismo suplicio?”.

Un autor moderno atribuye la conversión de Dimas a la mirada de Jesucristo, la mirada clara de Cristo; en su cara abofeteada, escupida y demacrada, la mirada que había obrado tantos prodigios y que convertía al que se adentraba en ella con corazón limpio, en seguidor y discípulo...

Y el corazón de Dimas debía ser limpio, a pesar de todos sus delitos. Inclinado al robo quizá por circunstancias externas, circunstancias tal vez de tipo social, había sabido conservar, empero, cierto cariño a los que le rodeaban, y un respeto sincero a sus padres y a las vidas de los demás.

Y Dios, por la Sangre de su Hijo que estaba a punto de derramarse, le premiaba lo bueno que había hecho y le perdonaba lo malo. Y en su Amor insondable -Dios es Amor- le había concedido las gracias suficientes y necesarias para aquel acto profundo de fe.

Y a continuación el gran acto de sometimiento a la Voluntad de Dios y a la justicia de los hombres: “Nosotros, la verdad, lo estamos justamente, pues recibimos el justo pago de lo que hicimos”; y después, en aquellos momentos solemnes, alrededor de los cuales gira toda la Historia, quiera el hombre reconocerlo o no, la petición confiada, anhelante a su Dios, que por él, con él y también por nosotros moría en una cruz: “Acuérdate de mí, cuando vinieres en la gloria de tu realeza”.

Y de labios del mismo Cristo oye Dimas las palabras santificadoras: “En verdad te digo que hoy estarás conmigo en el Paraíso”. He aquí un Santo original: hasta poco antes de morir, un ladrón, un malhechor, de familia seguramente innoble, sin ningún milagro en su haber, que puede ser, para nosotros, un magnífico tema de profunda meditación.

— ACI Prensa

Pineville

MARZO 24-30

Domingo de Ramos: Marcos 11:1-10, Isaías 50:4-7, Filipenses 2:6-11, Marcos 14:1–15, 47; Lunes de Semana Santa: Isaías 42:1-7, Juan 12:1-11; Martes de Semana Santa: Isaías 49:1-6, Juan 13:21-33, 36-38; Miércoles de Semana Santa: Isaías 50:4-9, Mateo 26:1425; Jueves Santo (La Última Cena del Señor): Éxodo 12:1-8, 11-14, 1 Corintios 11:2326, Juan 13:1-15; Viernes Santo (La Pasión del Señor): Isaías 52:13–53, Hebreos 4:14-16, 5:7-9, Juan 18:1–19, 42; Sábado (Vigilia Pascual): Génesis 1:1–2, 2, Génesis 22:1-18, Éxodo 14:15–15:1, Isaías 54:5-14, Isaías 55:1-11, Baruch 3:9-15, 32–4:4, Ezequiel 36:16-17a, 18-28, Romanos 6:3-11, Marcos 16:1-7

MARZO 31-ABRIL 6

Domingo (Pascua de Resurrección del Señor): Hechos 10:34a, 37-43, Colosenses 3:1-4, Juan 20:1-9; Lunes: Hechos 2:14, 2233, Mateo 28:8-15

; Martes: Hechos 2:36-41, Juan 20:11-18; Miércoles: Hechos 3:1-10, Lucas 24:13-35; Jueves: Hechos 3:11-26, Lucas 24:35-48; Viernes: Hechos 4:1-12, Juan 21:1-14; Sábado: Hechos 4:13-21, Marcos 16:9-15

of Mercy is how they react to needs that come unexpectedly,” says Jones. “Our average is usually between five and seven apartments a month, but in January, for instance, the Homemakers set up 15…We call them and tell them about the need and they jump on it.”

Arrivals range from individuals to large families, Jones says. The Homemakers most recently furnished a home for a family of 11 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, scrounging up bunkbeds for the nine children.

Homemakers track the inventory of

donations, stored at a Catholic Charities warehouse. They also collaborate with other organizations to secure items, including Beds For Kids and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mary Ann Thomas says it’s a ministry of love. Volunteers pay attention to the smallest of details to provide the comforts of home.

“You’ll see them there washing dishes and hanging shower curtains – they give so much of themselves,” she says. “By the time they’re done the apartments look absolutely lovely. They really focus on making them into a place that will feel like home.”

— Liz Chandler contributed.

Please pray for the following deacons who died during the month of March:

Paul Teich 3/13/2013

Joseph Mack 3/22/2020

LIZ CHANDLER | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Mohammed Soda and his family were overwhelmed by the welcome they received when arriving to Charlotte, thanks to the work of Catholic Charities and Homemakers of Mercy, who furnished an apartment with all the comforts of home.

Our world

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

Haiti’s prime minister resigns; nation’s chaos impacts everyone, including Church

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Amid the worst security crisis in Haiti in several years, Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned after weeks of mounting chaos in the Caribbean nation. The decision came after an escalation of violence made daily life almost impossible in Haiti, with at least 80% of the capital city Port-au-Prince in the hands of gangs and more than 300,000 displaced citizens. Henry said in a video address late March 11 that his government would leave power after the establishment of a transitional council. “Haiti needs peace. Haiti needs stability,” he said.

Haiti stands on the brink of civil war, according to Archbishop Max Leroy Mésidor of Port-au-Prince. Criminal groups have been coordinating attacks on police stations and were able to release more than 3,000 inmates from a penal institution over the past weeks, including murderers and kidnappers. Some gang lords, including former policeman and most-feared gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, who heads an alliance of nine bands known as G9, affirmed that their goal was to provoke the

prime minister’s resignation. Henry took office after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021.

Irish voters resoundingly reject proposals to redefine family, undermine motherhood

DUBLIN — Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has conceded that his government was defeated “comprehensively” when voters rejected amendments to the constitution that the country’s Catholic bishops warned would have weakened supports for marriage and undermined motherhood.

Opinion polls showed a clear majority favored the government plan to widen the definition of the family to include other “durable relationships” as well as marriage. But when votes were counted March 9, 67.7% of citizens rejected the amendment, while 32.3% supported it. A second amendment proposed removing a provision that said women should not be forced by economic necessity to take a job “to the neglect of their duties in the home.” Again, polls showed it was likely to pass, but this proposal was rejected by an even wider margin, 73.9% to 26.1%. It is the highest-ever “no” vote in Irish referendum history.

David Quinn, director of the pro-marriage think-tank the Iona Institute, told OSV News that rejection of both proposals was “the best possible present ahead of Mother’s Day.” He said that “the government asked voters to remove the word ‘mother’ from the constitution and they answered with a resounding ‘no.’”

The Bishop’s Youth Pilgrimage, held each spring on the campus of Belmont Abbey College, is designed to provide young people of the Diocese of Charlotte with a day of reflection, prayer, formation, vocation awareness and fellowship. It is a component of the annual Diocese of Charlotte Eucharistic Congress. During the day-long event, which runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., youth enjoy live music, a vocations fair and motivational speakers, as well as Eucharistic Adoration and a Eucharistic Procession on the historic Belmont Abbey College campus. There are separate program tracks for middle and high school students, and the sacrament of confession is also available.

ViewPoints

Effie Caldarola

We ask for a sign when it’s better to be one

As a small child, I was a bit of a religious nerd. I’m not sure why, but I was the oldest child, the only daughter, and our little Catholic mission parish in farm country was central to our lives. From a young age, faith intrigued me.

Case in point: I remember taking a toy – probably not a treasured stuffed animal, more likely something of my brother’s – and placing it behind a chair. Then I would talk to God. If You make this item disappear, I would tell the Almighty, then I will definitely believe in You.

Needless to say, the toy was always safely sitting behind the chair when I looked. I remained a tiny believer, albeit a disappointed one.

I chuckle when I recall this memory, and if this mystery we call God has a sense of humor, then the angels were chuckling too.

I was asking for a sign. Jesus warned about asking for signs.

In Luke 11:29-32, he is quite adamant: “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”

HOW JONAH BECAME A SIGN

Jonah became a sign to the city of Nineveh; Jesus is telling the crowds that He, Jesus, is the sign, the only sign we need. And He, Jesus, is greater than Jonah, whose fabulous tale involves being swallowed by a large fish, and greater than Solomon.

Although he’s probably not historical, Jonah’s story carries lessons. God asked Jonah to perform a mission – go to the pagans in the vast city of Nineveh and proclaim the true God. Understandably, Jonah is terrified. Instead of heading for Nineveh, he boards a ship going the other direction. When the sailors on board decide that Jonah’s rebellion against God is the cause of a devastating storm, they pitch him overboard. Hence, the fish, who eventually decides he doesn’t want Jonah either and coughs him up on shore.

Jonah gets the point. He heads to Nineveh and proclaims the Lord. He becomes a sign of God.

WHAT ARE WE CALLED TO BE?

A good deacon friend said this years ago: “You may be the only Gospel someone reads today.”

We’re called to be signs, too.

But this sign business still challenges me. The Gospels are full of the marvelous deeds of Jesus. The blind see, evil spirits are expelled, the multitudes are fed, the lepers cured. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead after days in the tomb.

Jesus’ message of love, mercy and inclusion was attracting crowds to him. But let’s be honest – many of those crowds were attracted by the amazing stories they had heard of healing. They saw and hoped for signs and wonders.

Jesus’ incredible love and mercy propelled him toward helping those in need. Often, he would instruct the healed to tell no one, although people inevitably blabbed.

But these works also drew the crowds to hear his message. How many who listened to the Sermon on the Mount had come for miracles but stayed to hear the real message of how we are called to be the miracle, to be the sign?

BECOMING, NOT DEMANDING A SIGN

It takes spiritual maturity to become the sign rather than, like a hopeful child, demanding one. We’re in the midst of 40 days to ponder that. Forty – a sacred number. The rain fell for 40 days on Noah. The Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus was credited with 40 days in the desert.

During our 40 days, may we seek to see how God sends us out, like Jonah, to be a sign of Christ’s limitless mercy.

EFFIE CALDAROLA is a wife, mom and grandmother who received her master’s degree in pastoral studies from Seattle University.

Kathryn Evans Heim

We become what we behold

There are so many things clamoring for our attention these days, in all different kinds of ways. We are assaulted by advertisements, which are practically unavoidable on every video we watch, on billboards, on the radio and on our social media feeds.

Our calendars are filled with appointments, obligations, and tasks that require more of our time and energy than we even have the chance to realize. We strive to live up to the expectations and standards of the culture around us, whether the culture at large or perhaps just the culture of our parish or our family.

We take in what we see around us, and that

‘God’s glory can also be found in every person that we encounter; from our spouse and children to the barista who sold you your morning coffee.’

shapes how we live our lives and how our minds are formed.

The poet William Blake is credited with the phrase “We become what we behold,” but it’s an idea that echoes throughout Scripture, as well.

WHAT ARE TODAY’S IDOLS?

In Psalm 115, while describing the idols made by human hands, the psalmist says, “Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.”

We make idols out of lifeless things and then give ourselves over to them as if they had real power, but all we achieve is to become lifeless and malleable like those very things we made. This doesn’t apply just to idols like the Golden Calf in the Exodus story, because even today we fall into worshiping the various technologies that were invented and built by ordinary men and women.

We worship institutions, political parties and sports teams, which were founded and are run by fallen human beings. We worship celebrities, not for who they are as children of God but for who their publicists and managers have shaped and presented them to be.

Besides family and friends, who do you follow on social media? What news threads do you track? Where does your attention take you as you are scrolling and clicking online?

What are we becoming?

St. Paul says in Second Corinthians, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one

degree of glory to another.” This brings to mind how Moses had to veil himself after conversing faceto-face with God, because his face became so bright and resplendent with mirrored radiance. He was becoming what he beheld, as God’s light and glory were reflected in him.

STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN

For many of us, it can feel as if our lives are in constant motion, with schedules that never let up and that keep us rushing from task to task and appointment to appointment. How often do we stop and observe God’s creation, the natural world, around us? The crystal-like frost that covers everything on a chilly morning. The different bird songs that echo through the trees, heralding the approach of spring. The vibrant hues of a sunrise or sunset, especially if you are able to watch the whole show, witnessing the slow but steady shifting of light and colors.

God’s glory can also be found in every person that we encounter; from our spouse and children to the barista who sold you your morning coffee. Every person you meet has an immortal soul destined for eternity, whether that eternity means unification with God and the saints in heaven or an eternity of misery and torment as a result of denying God’s love and mercy. The eternal souls and unrepeatable bodies of those around us should fill us with more awe and wonder than even the Grand Canyon or Mount Everest or a single perfect rose.

There may be people in the world who have given themselves over to evil and sin, but there are also living saints among us. We must always be praying for those poor souls who have fallen into sin, but we must also nourish and encourage ourselves with the images and examples of the saints and the good men and women God has placed in our daily lives.

CHOOSE TIME WITH THE KING

Of course, the greatest thing that we can behold is Christ Himself in the Most Holy Eucharist. It should fill us with awe to think that we are able to regularly behold the living God in such practices as Adoration and that we are able to actually consume Him in Holy Communion during Mass. We are so blessed by the frequency of these opportunities that it becomes easy to take them for granted, to relegate Holy Mass to merely an obligation and duty to be performed or to dismiss the practice of Adoration as something only for the especially “pious.”

If you had an opportunity to see the king of England sitting in state, would you not jump on it? How much more blessed are we that we are able to gaze upon the King of Heaven any time we like!

Our world and our lives are filled with distractions, but we are still creatures with free will and have the ability to choose what it is that we give our attention to. We choose the media we watch, the books and news articles we read, the people we talk to and the activities we spend our time on. Are we looking for God in those things or just the world’s diversions?

The Lord’s glory is everywhere for us to behold in awe, and that is the beauty that we should want to become.

KATHRYN EVANS HEIM is an author and wife living outside Salisbury, where she gardens, raises chickens, experiments with cooking and reads too many books. Find her work at www.evanswriting.com.

Letter to the Editor

Overcoming the sin of acedia

Pope Francis’s discussion about “acedia” (the sin of “lack of care”) must be a call for all Catholics to help those in this rut. Assertively inviting others to care is an integral aspect of evangelization and manifestation of Christ’s love.

For example, the Holy Spirit has given me the courage and means to recruit others (even strangers) to voluntarily deliver meals for Meals On Wheels. Several of these persons have expressed their joy from this endeavor.

In an unobtrusive and noncondescending manner we must be

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Deacon Enedino Aquino

Are we making progress this Lent?

We began the season of Lent this past Feb. 14, precisely on Valentine’s Day, a day of love and friendship. What better time to begin this season with the true love of Jesus in His self-giving for us!

I am writing this just after the fifth Sunday of Lent. We have made progress. This would be a good time to pause and evaluate if Lent is actually leading us to conversion – that is, a radical change in our living that is effecting a profound change in our life – or if nothing is happening.

There is still time. I could talk about different conversions: for example, Mary Magdalene, Matthew, Zacchaeus and the “good thief.” Do I have the capacity to transform, in a radical and substantial way, the values by which I orient my existence?

Do I have the possibility of overcoming a vice, a prejudice, a tendency that for years has negatively marked my personality, damaging my health and harming my good relationship with others?

These are not minor questions, and their most frequent answers are along the lines of fatalistic conformism, passive resignation, letting the law of inertia act: “I am like this. I’m too old to change.”

I feel in me neither the capacity nor the will to even try to change. So, if I am a smoker, alcoholic, drug addict, blasphemer and impenitent backbiter; if I refuse to let go of a family grudge, envy, anger, resentment, revenge; if any erotic stimulus, any suggestion or invitation, any opportunity or door that is opened to me finds in me immediate acceptance, without caring about the decencies or loyalties that I will be discarding along the way; if my appetite to know God and to approach intimacy with Him and obedience to His commands clashes with my studied

indifference and shrugging of shoulders, and I become someone who cares nothing for Him, then I can only look at myself in a mirror and honestly acknowledge: “Ah, yes, so I am and so I will be.” How terribly sad is my childish mentality when my need is for conversion!

Lent is about becoming more conscious of what God intends for me to change. I take this time to tell myself how I am not honoring that which belongs to what is most specific to the human being: my capacity to change, to overcome, to be transformed. This is my need for conversion.

And Lent is the time of conversion. Taking it seriously requires us to stop and think. What is there in me that needs to change? From what, and to what do I need to change?

I invite you to make this time, which is too quickly over, to search for a better version of yourself.

How do I try to do it? I make a resolution to change, for me personally that would be to intentionally examine the things I do, the conversations I have, the words I use. I strive to prepare and do my work better, to root out my sources of conflict, to strive more for transparency of my life. I try to not stumble repeatedly over the same temptation.

I pray to be humble and open to asking for help from those who know more than me. And I wish you who are reading this a true conversion during these remaining days of Lent, so that we may become more and more transparent for God.

DEACON ENEDINO AQUINO is Hispanic Ministry coordinator for the Greensboro Vicariate.

unafraid to mention God’s inimitable grace and blessings wherever we are and whoever we are with. This will open the door for discussion about doing something beautiful for God (give blood, help a neighbor, community/church volunteerism, etc.).

Our faith, of course, is predicated upon everlasting love as Jesus taught and lived. We must also teach and show that this love is inextricably bound with sacrifice and good works. Be courageous.

JOE SCHRAUFNAGEL is a member of Holy Infant Parish in Reidsville.

‘No one is perfect. We are all sinners, we all make mistakes, and if the Lord were to use His knowledge of our weaknesses to condemn us, no one could be saved.’

Pope Francis

From online story: “Jesus wants all people to be saved, pope says at Angelus”

The Catholic News Herald reached the Facebook and Instagram feeds of more than 145,400 people in English and Spanish last month. The most talked about post? Coverage of the St. Matthew School Mardi Gras celebration. Join the conversation: www.facebook. com/CatholicNewsHerald

On YouTube in March so far, videos produced by the Catholic News Herald have been viewed more than 16,300 times. The most popular video? 2024 DSA video.

During the last 30 days, 29,000 visitors to www.catholicnewsherald.com have viewed a total of 44,500 pages. The top 10 trending headlines are:

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relic of St. Jude, patron of lost causes, draws thousands to Charlotte 2,366 n

love story 650

n Catholic funeral guide ............................................................................................................................628

n St. Joseph Vietnamese Church hosts Têt Festival 549

n Lent: Don’t just survive – thrive! 387

n Ultra-devoted: Catholic athlete runs 50 miles in Adoration ..................................................... 340

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1123 S. Church St. Charlotte, N.C. 28203

“Christ in the Desert” by Russian artist Ivan Kramskoi, 1872

CELEBRATING

The Joy of EASTER

2024 Holy Week and Octave of Easter Schedule

HOLY WEEK

Palm Sunday March 24th

No Sunday Adoration or Confessions.

5:30 PM (Saturday Vigil), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:30 PM

At the 11:00 AM Mass only: Please gather by the Marian grotto fifteen minutes prior to Mass for the procession. No entry into the Cathedral until the procession enters. Individuals with disabilities please meet at the rectory entrance.

Monday of Holy Week March 25th

No 12:10 PM Mass or 11:30 AM Confessions.

8:30 AM Confessions

9:00 AM Mass

Tuesday of Holy Week March 26th

No 12:10 PM Mass or 11:30 AM Confessions. 10:00 AM Diocesan Chrism Mass

Wednesday of Holy Week March 27th

No Adoration. No 12:10 PM Mass or 11:30 AM Confessions.

8:30 AM Confessions

9:00 AM Mass

THE SACRED TRIDUUM

Holy Thursday March 28th

No 12:10 PM Mass or 11:30 AM Confessions.

7:00 PM—Mass of the Lord’s Supper

8:00 PM to Midnight Altar of Repose* *Great Hall in the Family Life Center.

Good Friday March 29th

No Masses.

8:00 AM to 2:00 PM Confessions

12:00 PM Stations of the Cross

3:00 PM—Celebration of the Lord’s Passion

4:00 7:00 PM Veneration of the Cross

4:00 PM Divine Mercy Novena by Celtic Cross

Holy Saturday March 30th

No 8 AM or 5:30 PM Masses. No scheduled Confessions.

3:00 PM Divine Mercy Novena by Celtic Cross

See next column for Easter Vigil Mass

OCTAVE OF EASTER

Easter Vigil Saturday, March 30th

Evening

8:30 PM Easter Vigil

Initiation of Elect during the Vigil Mass. Please gather by the Marian Grotto for the blessing of the Easter fire and procession into the Cathedral.

Easter Sunday March 31st

Normal Sunday Mass times. No Adoration or Confessions.

7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:30 PM

10:00 AM—Children’s Easter Egg Hunt

10:30 AM Divine Mercy Novena

Easter Week April 1st 5th

No 12:10 PM Masses or 11:30 AM Confessions. No Adoration on Wednesday.

8:30 AM Confessions

9:00 AM Mass

Divine Mercy Novena following 9 AM Mass

Saturday of Easter Week April 6th

Normal Saturday Mass times and Confessions. Divine Mercy Novena following 8 AM Mass

Divine Mercy Sunday April 7th

Normal Sunday Mass times, Confessions, Adoration.

11:00 AM Initiation of Candidates or Confirmandi during the 11 am Mass

2:00 to 3:00 PM Holy Hour and Confessions

3:00 PM Divine Mercy Chaplet