July 4, 2025

At a glance

JULY 4, 2025

VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 19

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

704-370-3333

PUBLISHER

The Most Reverend Michael T. Martin, OFM Conv., Bishop of Charlotte

INDEX

Contact us 2

Español 12-13

Our Diocese

HCATHOLIC ALL WEEK

Timely tips for blending faith & life

ave you made your summer vacation plans? Some of the top Catholic pilgrimage sites are also wonderful getaways, but they might not be in every family’s budget – or in ideal settings to travel to with children. The good news is that you can give your family a taste of these holy sites – quite literally – by making some seasonal recipes. Better yet, have your children help you in the kitchen as you share the places and the stories behind them that inspired your meal.

STAFF

EDITOR: Trish Stukbauer

704-370-3392, tmstukbauer@rcdoc.org

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

Christina Lee Knauss 704-370-0783, clknauss@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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Diocesan calendar of events

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock in County Mayo, Ireland, marks the place where on Aug. 21, 1879, a group of villagers saw a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary bathed in a bright light. A barefoot St. Joseph was on her right while St. John the Evangelist, vested as a bishop and wearing a mitre, was on her left. A lamb symbolizing Jesus, the Lamb of God, stood on an altar with a cross behind Him, surrounded by angels. The Marian apparition continued for two hours, and although the night was stormy, no rain fell on that spot. You can learn more and take a virtual tour while you gather as a family to make Irish potato salad. This lighter take on the country’s hearty fare pairs perfectly with summer cookouts.

SHRINE OF DIVINE MERCY

The Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy in Krakow, Poland, is the resting place of St. Faustina Kowalska. The modern basilica was completed in 2002 and houses the original image of Divine Mercy as well as the tomb of the saint who received visions of Jesus emphasizing His Divine Mercy. Each year, the Feast of Divine Mercy draws thousands of pilgrims who are seeking a reminder of God’s infinite love. Their website offers more on the story, the devotion and a live broadcast of Perpetual Adoration. You can watch the videos over a light summer drink of kompot, a homemade Polish fruit drink that is a healthy (and easy) way to beat the heat.

THE HOLY LAND

There are almost too many places to name in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but don’t skip essentials like Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee to see the places where Jesus lived and taught. Travel to this region is not advised right now, but there are a variety of documentaries you can binge on most of the streaming platforms. Watch them with your family while you enjoy a platter of bruschetta. Simply load up some toasted bread with olives, salty cheese and tomatoes for an authentic treat.

Scan the QR code for this week’s recommended prayers and activities:

VIÑEDO DE RAQUEL : ¿Es usted o un ser querido que busca la curación de los efectos de un aborto anterior? Los retiros de fin de semana son ofrecidos por Caridades Católicas para hombres y mujeres en todas las regiones de la Diócesis de Charlotte. Para obtener información, comuníquese con Karina Hernández: 336-267-1937 o karinahernandez@live.com.

IGBO MASS : 11:30 a.m. Sunday, July 20, St. Mary’s Church, 812 Duke St., Greensboro. Parking is available at the adjacent Windsor Center. For details, call Dr. Godfrey Uzochukwu, coordinator, at 336-707-3625. VIGIL OF THE TWO HEARTS : St. Patrick Cathedral hosts a vigil to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary each first Friday through first Saturday. Mass will be at 8 p.m. Friday, July 4, followed by an overnight Adoration that ends with a Mass at 8 a.m. Saturday, July 5. Learn more at www.prolifecharlotte.org/two-hearts.

MASS WITH ANOINTING OF THE SICK : 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, St. Luke Church, 9800 Fairview Road, Mint Hill.

Anointing of the sick is available for those who need healing from physical or mental illness, or someone who will be undergoing surgery. Sponsored by the parish’s HOPE Committee. For details, call Mary Adams at 704-545-1224.

JULY 14 – 6 P.M.

Confirmation

— Catholic News Herald, Wikipedia

Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., will participate in the following events over the coming weeks:

St. James Church, Concord

JULY 16 – 6 P.M.

Confirmation

Good Shepherd Mission, King

JULY 19 – 5:30 P.M.

Mass of Hope

Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, High Point

Our faith

Ancient

MICHAEL R. HEINLEIN OSV News

On June 28, the Church celebrated the feast day of St. Irenaeus of Lyon, the most recently declared Doctor of the Church.

What is a Doctor of the Church? It is a title bestowed upon saints (now 37 of them) whose writings and teachings are deemed to have significantly contributed to the understanding and development of Catholic doctrine and theology.

AN APOSTOLIC CONNECTION

Biographical information for St. Irenaeus is limited. In fact, few primary sources on him remain at all – for example, the only complete texts of his writings exist today by way of later translations.

Irenaeus was born around 130 in the Greek-speaking East. It is likely that Irenaeus came from Smyrna, on the western edge of what is now Turkey. That was also the city of St. Polycarp, his mentor. It was through the martyr Polycarp that Irenaeus was acquainted with the apostolic age, particularly through Polycarp’s connection to St. John the Apostle.

Irenaeus was born at a time of growing conversion throughout the Roman Empire, although he was born into a Christian family. He spent time studying in Rome, most likely a student of St. Justin Martyr. Irenaeus arrived in Lyon as a missionary and priest. In 177, Irenaeus was dispatched to Rome – by a group of soon-to-be martyrs held captive and awaiting execution – to deliver a letter to Pope Eleutherius. Upon his return, Irenaeus succeeded the martyred Pothinus as bishop of Lyon.

A TEACHER OF THE FAITH

Most of what remains known of Irenaeus’ ministry is his clear and systematic teaching of the faith. Irenaeus helped explain the concept of apostolic succession –the uninterrupted transmission of spiritual authority from the apostles to subsequent popes and bishops.

This helped solidify the role of the bishop in the early Church. Given his ties to St. John the Apostle, Irenaeus served as a credible, public witness to the apostolic testimony.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Following the practice of previous Holy Fathers, Pope Leo XIV is taking time off in July. His weekly general audiences – which provide the content for his column on this page – will resume on July 30. His column will return after that time.

Who is St. Irenaeus?

martyr, yet new ‘Doctor of the Church’

Aside from a few letters, most of what survives from his teachings is a collection of books titled “Against Heresies,” written around 180.

As a pastor, Irenaeus engaged the culture and attuned himself to the struggles of those in his flock and the society in which he lived.

As a bishop, he was concerned about ecclesial unity, which meant he wanted to ensure that the faith was passed on authentically.

LEADING THE NEXT GENERATION

Irenaeus is the first pre-Nicene Doctor of the Church, since his tenure was more than a century before the Council of Nicea, which settled various disagreements that arose on the Trinity and Christ in accord with divine revelation. But even in his own

Daily Scripture readings

JULY 6-12

Sunday: Is 66:10-14c, Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20, Gal 6:14-18, Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 or Lk 10:1-9; Monday: Gen 28:10-22a, Ps 91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab, Mt 9:18-26; Tuesday: Gen 32:23-33, Ps 17:1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b and 15, Mt 9:32-38; Wednesday: Gen 41:55-57, 42:5-7a, 17-24a, Ps 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19, Mt 10:1-7; Thursday: Gen 44:18-21, 23b-29, 45:1-5, Ps 105:16-17, 1819, 20-21, Mt 10:7-15; Friday (Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot): Gen 46:1-7, 28-30, Ps 37:34, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40, Mt 10:16-23; Saturday: Gen 49:29-32, 50:15-26a, Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, Mt 10:24-33

time, Irenaeus saw threats to the integrity of the faith emerge.

As the age of the apostles gave way to the next generation of leaders, Irenaeus understood the need to counteract the teachings of people who promoted ideas that corrupted the apostles’ teaching.

Irenaeus’s writing was grounded in philosophical reasoning and saturated with Scripture. His “Against Heresies” presented a defense of who Christ is, what Christ revealed and what the apostles preached.

The themes of John’s Gospel imbue Irenaeus’ writings. Irenaeus had a clear devotion to and understanding of the Word, and he was one of the first to put forth the inclusion of four Gospels in the New Testament. He solidified the

JULY 13-19

Sunday: Deut 30:10-14, Ps 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37 or Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11, Col 1:15-20, Luke 10:25-37; Monday (Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin): Ex 1:8-14, 22, Ps 124:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8, Mt 10:34-11:1; Tuesday (Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church): Ex 2:1-15a, Ps 69:3, 14, 30-31, 33-34, Mt 11:20-24; Wednesday: Ex 3:1-6, 9-12, Ps 103:1b-2, 3-4, 6-7, Mt 11:25-27; Thursday: Ex 3:13-20, Ps 105:1 and 5, 8-9, 2425, 26-27, Mt 11:28-30; Friday: Ex 11:10-12:14, Ps 116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18, Mt 12:1-8; Saturday: Ex 12:37-42, Ps 136:1 and 23-24, 10-12, 13-15, Mt 12:14-21

Church’s Eucharistic faith, articulated the centrality of the Church and the office of bishop, and highlighted the singular importance of Mary.

Irenaeus solidified the Church’s Eucharistic faith, articulated the centrality of the Church and the office of bishop, and highlighted the singular importance of Mary.

By thoroughly, comprehensively and coherently defending the “deposit of the faith,” Irenaeus did more than anyone up to that time to secure peace and unity for the Church.

For example, Irenaeus’ refutation of the gnostic heresy remains as important today as it was in his own age. In his 2018 apostolic exhortation “Rejoice and Be Glad,” Pope Francis warned that gnosticism still plagues us. He wrote: “A healthy and humble use of reason in order to reflect on the theological and moral teaching of the Gospel is one thing. It is another to reduce Jesus’ teaching to a cold and harsh logic that seeks to dominate everything.”

Each generation tends to see new manifestations of gnosticism, which makes St. Irenaeus particularly relevant. Modern gnostic tendencies wreak havoc in society, such as the promotion of a distorted vision of the human person – evidenced in the competition between the body and the self that is found in modern gender ideology.

St. Irenaeus, however, was given the title the “doctor of unity,” which recognizes his contribution to his time and makes him a model for ours.

JULY 20-26

Sunday: Gen 18:1-10a, Ps 15:2-3, 3-4, 5, Col 1:24-28, Luke 10:38-42; Monday: Ex 14:5-18, Ex 15:1bc-2, 3-4, 5-6, Mt 12:38-42; Tuesday (Feast of St. Mary Magdalene): Song 3:1-4b or 2 Cor 5:14-17, Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9, John 20:1-2, 11-18; Wednesday: Ex 16:1-5, 9-15, Ps 78:18-19, 23-24, 25-26, 27-28, Mt 13:1-9; Thursday: Ex 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b, Dan 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56, Mt 13:10-17; Friday (Feast of St. James, Apostle): 2 Cor 4:7-15, Ps 126:1bc-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6, Mt 20:20-28; Saturday (Memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary): Ex 24:3-8, Ps 50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15, Mt 13:24-30

OSV NEWS | THE CROSIERS

The likeness of St. Irenaeus of Lyon is pictured in a stained-glass window at the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate in Guelph, Ontario.

Our diocese

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

Bishop Martin announces priest assignment changes

CHARLOTTE — The following priest assignment changes were recently announced by Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., effective July 8, 2025:

n Father Raymond Ekosse is being assigned as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Greensboro in lieu of the previously announced assignment to Holy Trinity Middle School and St. Ann Parish in Charlotte. Father Ekosse has been serving as parochial vicar of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.

n Father Moses N. Njoh is returning to ministry in the Diocese of Buea, Cameroon, after serving in campus ministry at UNC-Greensboro.

n Missionary of St. Paul Father Augustine Ogar is being assigned as parochial administrator of St. William Parish in Murphy and Immaculate Heart of Mary Mission in Hayesville.

— Catholic News Herald

Belmont Abbey College appoints provost as interim president

BELMONT — Dr. Joseph Wysocki has been named interim president of Belmont Abbey College effective Aug. 3, the college’s Board of Trustees announced.

Wysocki, an alumnus of Belmont Abbey, has served at the Catholic college for the past 15 years, most recently as provost. He previously served as dean of the Honors College.

Dr. Bill Thierfelder, who has served as president since 2004, is retiring. The board is conducting a national search for his successor.

— Belmont Abbey College

Knights

of

Columbus names priest, deacon of the year

CLEMMONS — Father James Stuhrenberg, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Clemmons, has been selected by the Knights of Columbus State Council as the State Priest of the Year for the Diocese of Charlotte.

On June 15, State Deputy Sergio Miranda presented Father Stuhrenberg with a plaque and a KOC-emblemed chasuble for his charitable efforts, promotion of stewardship and support of Knights Council 9499 in Clemmons. Holy Family has made weekly trips to its sister parish Sacred Heart in Burnsville with supplies.

Deacon William Schreiber from St. Aloysius Parish in Hickory was honored as the State Deacon of the Year. In addition to his parish ministry, Deacon Schreiber serves as director of deacons for the Charlotte diocese.

— Catholic News Herald

Catholic Charities food banks endure impact of federal cuts, increased summer demand

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Summer means fun, rest and vacations for many, but it can be a difficult time for families dealing with food insecurity and for nonprofits such as Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte that provide food aid at a time when federal funding for the poor is being reduced.

The key issue is that with schools out, thousands of children lose access to daily meals, so the need for food assistance rises sharply.

This summer is proving especially challenging for Catholic Charities to meet those growing needs. There’s the seasonal increase in demand, rising food prices, added pressure from families still recovering from Tropical Storm Helene, and recent federal policy changes that have reduced the amount of food the agency gets from other local food banks whose federal funding has been cut, according to Catholic Charities officials.

As a result, Catholic Charities is urging people to make donations to help them continue to alleviate hunger across western North Carolina this summer.

“When school cafeterias close, many children lose access to reliable meals – and that puts added strain on parents already struggling to make ends meet,” said Charlotte Regional Director Debra Lemmon. “Nearly one in six Mecklenburg County households – about 12% – don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and child food insecurity is even higher at nearly 18%. At the same time, food donations tend to drop during the summer months. Every donation of food, funds or time helps us provide hope and nourishment to families facing hunger.”

In 2024, Catholic Charities

Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte is striving to meet increased demands for food. Across North Carolina, the average cost of a single meal for food insecure individuals rose to $4.07, up 10.2% over the prior year, the agency said.

distributed 556,341 pounds of food and 16,346 pounds of everyday essentials to more than 16,000 families through its three regional offices.

In Charlotte, Catholic Charities’ primary food supplier Second Harvest Food Bank has halved its donations – forcing

Catholic Charities to buy essential items they previously received for free, Lemmon said. At the same time, local pantries, including Nourish Up, have reported a 19% increase in clients served year-over-year.

Catholic Charities is spending close to $20,000 a month on food

How can you help?

n Food donations are always needed, especially non-perishables and items high in protein. At this time of year, the food pantries particularly welcome food items that young people can make at home themselves –such as individual serving cups of macaroni and cheese, individually wrapped snacks, cereal bars and juice boxes. Non-food items – including diapers, baby wipes, toiletries, laundry detergent, hygiene products and paper products such as toilet paper – are also always needed. Reach out to local offices for summer donation hours: Charlotte: 1123 S.

to meet demand, Lemmon said. The impact of these cuts is significant because the Charlotte regional office consistently serves the most clients. Open twice a week, the Charlotte food pantry located inside the Diocesan Pastoral Center is one of the few in the area that regularly offers protein-rich items including meat and chicken.

Catholic Charities’ regional office in Asheville is still dealing with ongoing challenges related to the unprecedented damage from Tropical Storm Helene, according to Regional Director Jesse Boeckermann. The storm destroyed MANNA Food Bank, their major source of food supplies, and devastated many local farms that were a source of fresh produce. The office continues to not only respond to clients affected by the storm, but also to those who are struggling with seasonal food insecurity. Making access to food more difficult for many families, grocery stores in several communities in western North Carolina, including Swannanoa, have still not reopened.

“If you’re recovering from Helene and still paying off a roof repair or a car repair, or dealing with lost wages, all of that adds up,” Boeckermann said.

Catholic Charities’ WinstonSalem food pantry, which serves the Triad, was recently closed for two weeks because of parking lot repaving. As it prepares to reopen, the agency expects the usual spike in demand because of summer needs, according to Regional Director Mary Beth Marquard. Her office is seeing fewer donations from Second Harvest in the same way Charlotte has, and a store where they sourced food donations also recently closed, Marquard said. She is communicating with nearby parishes, the source of many donations, to let them know about their increased summer needs.

Church St., 704-370-3262; Winston-Salem: 1612 East 14th St., 336-727-0705; Asheville: 50 Orange St., 828-255-0146.

n Monetary donations are extremely helpful because they enable Catholic Charities to buy items that people need most at that moment. You can make donations to Catholic Charities’ food pantries program by giving online at www.ccdoc.org/give or via check (made payable to CCDOC or Catholic Charities with “Food Pantry” in the memo line). Donations stay local based on the donor’s ZIP code.

PHOTOS BY TROY C. HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Schreiber

Wysocki

Stuhrenberg

Ogar

Njoh Ekosse

Atlanta Province bishops meet in Charlotte

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Nine bishops from the Carolinas and Georgia gathered for their annual meeting June 30-July 1, this year hosted by the Diocese of Charlotte.

The annual meeting offers the bishops of the Atlanta Province – including the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the four dioceses of Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston, S.C., and Savannah – the opportunity to come together for fellowship, prayer and discussions on topics relevant to the wider region and their growing Catholic populations, which now total over 2 million. Each year the role of host rotates among the five see cities.

The two-day meeting ended with Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral, celebrated as is tradition by Atlanta Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv., and concelebrated by Charlotte’s host Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv.

Joining them were Raleigh Bishop Luis Zarama; Charleston Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune, C.S., and Charleston’s retired Bishop Robert Guglielmone; Savannah Bishop Stephen Parkes; and Atlanta’s three auxiliary bishops: Bishop Joel Konzen, S.M., Bishop Bernard Shlesinger III and Bishop John Nhan Tran.

Bishop Martin offered a moving homily on the importance of following God’s will. He focused on the day’s Scripture readings, which described two very different events: the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as told in Genesis (19:15-29) and Matthew’s description of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee (8:23-27).

“I’m guessing you might want to hear a

little more about Jesus’ ability to calm the storms than God’s flaming wrath,” Bishop Martin said, “but you can’t tell the one story without telling the other. Both stories are interconnected – not just as pieces of historic truth, but as ultimate truths that are the hallmark of the Christian journey.”

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah, which includes the account of Lot’s wife turning to salt when she looks back, illustrates what

truth that Christ is always with us.

“Even amidst the consequences of our own brokenness, Jesus Christ is in the boat with us,” he said. “He is very much attuned and aware of the storms that are part of our lives. There is not a storm we can encounter that Christ can’t be present in.”

Bishop Martin said he and his fellow bishops saw the day’s readings as a chance to reflect on their work and their call to lead.

happens when we choose to follow our own will instead of God’s, Bishop Martin said.

“The story is less about God’s justice and more about the consequence of human sin. When we do not listen to God’s Word, when we do not do what God calls us to do, disaster strikes,” he said.

While it’s important to realize that turning away from God’s will has consequences, he said, the Gospel offers the

“We stand with you in the midst of the difficulties and challenges you confront, the storms that are part of your lives, and we give witness to Jesus Christ who brings a message of joy,” he said. “We pledge to walk with you, to be in the boat with you, to realize that your challenges are our challenges, too. We ask you to support us, to be with us and to sail with us. Know that all of us profess a faith in something that is greater than any storm of this world. May we continuously call out to Christ our savior – to come down and calm the waters, and bring us to a greater and a deeper, more powerful experience of God’s love.”

PHOTOS BY TROY C. HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Nine bishops from the Carolinas and Georgia gathered at St. Patrick Cathedral after they discussed topics impacting the region’s growing Catholic population during their annual meeting held this year in Charlotte.

Young women explore vocations at camp

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

BELMONT — Nearly 80 young women attending the Duc In Altum discernment camp spent last week at Belmont Abbey College taking a dive deep into their Catholic faith and exploring the possibility of religious vocations.

This is the ninth year the Daughters of the Virgin Mother, a Gastonia-based apostolate that supports vocations in the diocese, hosted the camp.

Organizer Sister Mary Raphael said, “We hope all the girls get a resolute sense that they are daughters of God, daughters of the Father, daughters of the Church, and daughters of Our Lady, and that they have the tools they need to keep up that interior life.”

“Duc In Altum” means “launch into the deep” in Latin. The phrase is garnered from the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus instructed His disciples to cast in the deeper waters after a poor day of fishing. They obeyed, and caught more fish than the boat could carry.

At Duc In Altum, the young women spent their days doing a deep dive with discernment talks, silent prayer, daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, confessions and a visit to the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Peace Convent in Rutherford.

“Once they feel that little nudge in their heart from prayer, they will know what to do with that,” said Sister Mary Raphael. “They learn to reach out to a sister, ask questions, and talk to a priest, and how to deepen their prayer life so they can actually hear Our Lord’s voice.”

Realistically, not all the campers will decide to pursue religious life, and some already felt called not to, but the week-long pause to focus on God and spend time with the sisters and one another keeps some coming back.

The girls bonded through hikes, crafts,

sports and water balloon fights.

Ava Shayeghi, a 19-year-old sophomore from Belmont Abbey College and a member of St. Ann Parish, has attended Duc In Altum each year since she was 15.

“This is such a beautiful opportunity to be with the sisters for a week and get to be

with these beautiful girls who all love Jesus and are all striving for holiness. Every time I come, I am reminded of exactly why I keep coming back,” Shayeghi said, noting “all the tools they give us to pursue a life of holiness even when we leave. Now that I have reached the end of the program, I am reaping all the fruits from that and seeing everything come together and have that peace. I learned discernment isn’t scary. Going into this so young, it seems scary, but the sisters make this such a safe place to discern.”

The concluding Mass was presided over by Father Matthew Dimock, parochial vicar of Sacred Heart Parish in Salisbury, with newly ordained Deacon Maximilian Karl Frei assisting.

Father Dimock explained how Sister Mary Raphael helped him in his priestly ministry by introducing him to the concept of “Cor Ad Cor.”

“It is a theme from St. John Neumann that means ‘heart speaks to heart,’” said Father Dimock. “For your heart to speak to the heart of Our Lord is for you to share the most intimate parts of yourself with Him. To open up what your mind and heart ponders and give it up completely to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the beginning of spiritual life: opening your heart to His and having that conversation.”

While many of the young women are unsure about religious life, they say they remain open to the possibility.

“You never know what God has planned for you unless you have a relationship with Him and unless you ask Him on a daily basis,” said Shayeghi. “Discernment is a process, but I am not afraid anymore.”

TROY C. HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Newly ordained Father Joseph Yellico blessed the young women who spent a week exploring vocations at the Duc In Altum discernment camp. The women went on a field trip to visit the Benedictine sisters in Rutherford, had a silent retreat at Belmont Abbey College, and attended daily Mass at Mary Help of Christians Basilica.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

Youth consider priesthood at summer discernment camp

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

BELMONT — Young men from across the Diocese of Charlotte came together at Belmont Abbey College June 16-20 for the annual vocations discernment camp called “Quo Vadis Days.” The camp focused on one question: “Where are you going?” –literally, “quo vadis” in Latin.

Since 2014, teenagers have been taking a week out of their busy summers to spend time with the Lord and each other. Over a decade later, these camps have provided more than a thousand young men with a unique opportunity to explore vocations to the priesthood, religious life and marriage.

Father Brian Becker, the diocese’s vocations promoter and director of formation at St. Joseph College Seminary, has organized Quo Vadis Days for the past five years. Father Becker said he doesn’t expect all the participants to become priests as a result of their vocations camp experience, but he hopes they all walk away with a deeper level of discernment and fraternity.

“Every year, I am impressed by the caliber of men that come to the camp. This year was no exception. One hundred men showed up to give God a week to answer this question, ‘Where am I going?’” said Father Becker. “The goal of this camp is not really to put 30 guys in the seminary every year – that’s not the goal. The goal is to get the men to come face-to-face with that question in prayer, asking where our Lord is leading them, and to give them the tools to hear God’s voice and to understand, rightly, how to respond to it.”

Each day’s activities included Mass, prayer and a rosary, and Father Becker encouraged participants to continue that daily prayer effort even after the weeklong camp is over.

“This place is not only a place to discern priesthood – it is also a great way to reconnect with God when you are lacking and really need to go back to the roots of good Christian men,” said camper Joshua Vilorio, a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Charlotte.

The young men also listened to talks by seminarians who, at one time, were in the same position and ultimately decided to pursue a vocation to the priesthood.

Seminarian Matthew Sei, who not long ago attended a Quo Vadis Days camp, assisted throughout the week. Attending the vocations camp did not result in an

“aha moment” for him, he said, yet it laid a foundation for him to explore later.

“It is so encouraging to see so many kids here that are open to asking whether they want to be a priest or not,” said Sei. “It’s such a full circle moment for me.”

Other highlights of the camp were a tour of St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly, a Eucharistic Procession through the Belmont Abbey campus, small group prayer

More than 100 young men gathered June 16-20 for a week-long discernment retreat

Through prayer, learning and fun, the men were given tips and tools they need if they feel a

pursue a religious vocation. If not, they learned more about what it means to be a Christian man in a secular world.

and, of course, bonding time over some slightly competitive sports and a cookout.

For some of the teens, it was their second or third visit, and while they don’t yet know where they might land, they have a better idea of how to be a Catholic man and how to invite God on their faith journey.

“It is really just a great place to reconnect with guys across the diocese that are in the same place as you. They are all in high school, they are all thinking about priesthood, and they are all just really trying to discover Jesus Christ,” said 17-year-old Josiah Siebert, who has attended the vocations camp three times.

“We are just really here to have a good time and play hard, but also, pray hard.”

Newly ordained Father Joseph Yellico offered the concluding Mass – one of the first Masses he has celebrated since

being ordained June 14. The moment was poignant, he said.

“It was interesting because, looking out from the altar and looking at all these guys looking back at me, I remember when I was there discerning at Quo Vadis, thinking, ‘What does God want me to do?’” he said.

Newly ordained Deacon Robert Bauman gave the homily, one of his first since his ordination on June 7.

“We are all fallen men, and we have the same struggles and human nature as anybody, yet Christ has chosen us to be able for us to go forward and bear fruit in His name and the Church, and be able to communicate to them that they can do likewise,” he said. “Whatever God is calling for them to do, whether it is going to the seminary or something else, they can be great men in Christ.”

Director of Finance

Saint Leo the Great Catholic Church, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is a vibrant 1,200 family member parish seeking a Director of Finance.

The Director is a professional administrator who, with the assistance of a Finance Assistant, works in support of and in collaboration with the pastor.

TROY C. HULL AND WILL CRETER | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

at Belmont Abbey College.

“nudge” to

Catholic News Herald wins 18 awards including best newspaper

CHARLOTTE — For the third consecutive year, the Catholic News Herald has earned the Catholic Media Association’s top award among non-weekly Catholic newspapers in the U.S. and Canada.

The General Excellence Award recognizes the publication that most demonstrates consistent quality and originality of overall content, writing and headlines, editorials, art and graphics, design and usability.

The Catholic News Herald, the official news outlet of the Diocese of Charlotte, received a total of 18 awards for its work in 2024 – among the highest number of awards since its founding in 1991. Awards recognized coverage including the installation of Bishop Michael Martin and Tropical Storm Helene.

The Catholic Media Association’s annual awards spotlight the work of Catholic print and digital publications of dioceses, wire services, religious orders and other Catholic organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Awards were announced June 27 during the association’s annual conference, held this year in Phoenix.

“We are grateful to our parishes, schools and ministries for their support of the Catholic News Herald’s work to spread the Gospel and tell the stories of our diocese,” said Liz Chandler, the diocese’s communications director. “As Pope Francis said of all Catholic media earlier this year, communicating, for us, is not a tactic or a technique – it is an act of love.”

The Catholic News Herald has previously been recognized as the nation’s best non-weekly diocesan newspaper for its work published in 2012, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023.

The Catholic News Herald also won:

n First place: Best Annual Report –(Arch)Diocesan Finances: “Diocese of Charlotte Annual Report,” by Matt Ferrante, David Puckett and Liz Chandler

n First place: Best Layout of Article or Column: “Lent: Don’t Just Survive – Thrive!” by David Puckett

n First place: Spanish Best Layout of an Article or Column – Newspaper: “Las Siete Palabras de Cristo,” by César Hurtado and David Puckett

n Second place: Best Print Special Supplement – On a Bishop’s Transition: “Welcoming Bishop Michael Martin,” by Catholic News Herald staff

n Second place: Best Print Special Supplement – Regular Special Supplement: “A Holy Death: Catholic Endof-Life and Funeral Planning Guide,” by Trish Stukbauer, David Puckett and Kevin Eagan

n Second place: Best Multimedia Package – News: “The Light of Hope: Guadalupe Torch Leaves Message of Hope and Consolation,” by César Hurtado

n Third place: Best Coverage – Disaster or Crises: “Helene Relief: Relief flows in,” by Christina Lee Knauss, Liz Chandler and Catholic News Herald staff

n Third place: Best Story and Photo Package – By Two Individuals or More: “Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio Passes Away, Leaving ‘Living Legacy,’” by Liz Chandler and Mary Ann Luedtke

n Third place: Best News Writing on a Local or Regional Event – Non-Weekly: “Helene Relief Efforts,” by Christina Lee Knauss and Liz Chandler

n Third place: Best Feature Writing: “Cocina Vicentina nutre cuerpos y almas,” by César Hurtado

Legacy of faith lives on through endowments to seminarians and Charlotte parish

CHARLOTTE — Edward Carr Ruff, a respected financial professional and devoted Catholic, passed away on Aug. 12, 2024, at the age of 84. Throughout his life, he generously shared his time and expertise with people and institutions he cherished, including Belmont Abbey College, the Knights of Malta, the Salvation Army National Advisory Board, the Charlotte Diocesan Finance Council and more.

His legacy of service continues with the creation of the Edward C. and Joan F. Ruff Seminarian Education Fund and Edward C. Ruff St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church Endowment.

An endowment is a permanent fund, the principal of which is invested – not spent – that generates income to help pay for projects and programs specified by the donor. Endowments are tax deductible and help sustain the strength and viability of the diocese and its entities, paying for capital improvements, charitable outreach, education and parish operations. These endowments will help fund the

Fund an endowment

Interested in setting up – or adding to – an endowment to benefit your parish or Catholic school? You can establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving a bequest in a will, a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan, a trust or annuity, or a gift of real estate, life insurance, cash or securities. Join almost 1,800 parishioners who have informed the diocese they plan to remember the Church in their estate plans. For details, contact Gina Rhodes at 704-370-3364 or gmrhodes@rcdoc.org.

education of the diocese’s seminarians and the general needs of St. Vincent de Paul Parish. Ruff was born in Northern California and began his career in New York City as an auditor, later moving into management consulting at Coopers & Lybrand before joining the U.S. Army Reserve. While in training near Louisville, Kentucky, he met his future wife, Joanne. The two were married in 1964. In 1976 the family moved

n Third place: Best Story and Photo Package – By an Individual: “La Luz de la Esperanza,” by César Hurtado

The Catholic News Herald also received honorable mentions in:

n Best Layout of Article or Column: “Seven Last Words of Christ,” by David Puckett

n Best Single Advertisement Originating with the Publication: Room at the Inn, by David Puckett and Kevin Eagan

n Best Personality Profile – Non-Weekly: “Stan the Band Man,” by Lisa Geraci

n Best Multiple Picture Package –Feature: Honoring Mary, Queen of Heaven, by Spencer K.M. Brown and David Puckett

n Best Print Special Supplement — Regular Special Supplement: Celebrating Vocations: A Rising Spirit of Service, by Catholic News Herald staff

n Best Photograph – General News Photo: “You Are Not Alone,” by Liz Chandler

Established by the second Bishop of Charlotte, the Catholic News Herald’s mission is to “serve Christ and connect Catholics” by informing and inspiring audiences through print and digital coverage of the work of the Church in western North Carolina, the U.S. and the world.

Funded in part by the diocese’s 93 parishes, the print edition is mailed every two weeks to more than 62,000 registered households in the diocese, and its website and social media channels are updated daily.

— Catholic News Herald

to Charlotte, where Ruff had a successful career at Interstate/Johnson Lane, serving as chief financial officer before retiring in 2000 as chief operating officer of IJL Wachovia.

The Ruffs were deeply committed to their four children and their Catholic faith. Before Joanne Ruff passed away in 2022, she was an active member of St. Ann Parish and later St. Gabriel Parish.

“Both my parents believed strongly in giving back to the Church as part of their faith,” said their daughter, Carol Ruff. “He was a financial professional and understood that an endowment could be a continuous gift and help with greater needs.”

Son, Michael Ruff, describes his father as a compassionate person who leaned into his faith through good times and bad. “He gave a lot o==f his time and that really impressed me,” he said. “He cared about other people and people cared about him.”

Jim Kelley, the diocese’s development director, said, “Ed first called me in 2013 and said he and Joanne would be remembering the Church in their estate plans. We are so grateful for their love for and commitment to the Church and its work.”

Don’t miss Catholic Family Day

CHARLOTTE — Come out for a day of worship, fellowship and fun at Catholic Family Day at Carowinds on Sunday, July 27. Start the day with Mass in the Carowinds Theater at 9 a.m. before the park opens to the public. Enjoy the rides and all that the park has to offer, and enjoy fellowship with other Catholic families from across the Diocese of Charlotte. Take a break and refuel at an all-you-can-eat picnic lunch in the Grove Picnic Pavilion. Cost is $69.50 (includes discounted park admission, lunch and free parking). Discount ticket sales close Friday, July 19.

For details, go online to www.charlottediocese. org and click on “Events.” For questions, contact Chris Beal at 704-370-3211 or cabeal@rcdoc.org. — Catholic News Herald

Ruff

With an Irish blessing, Pennybyrn bids farewell to their beloved sisters

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

HIGH POINT— Tears flowed at a farewell reception where 200 Pennybyrn Retirement Home guests and residents said their goodbyes to their beloved Sisters of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God.

The celebration June 25 honored the sisters for almost eight decades spent living their mission of “demonstrating God’s love for the lives we touch.” The last remaining sisters – Sister Lucy Hennessey, Sister Mona Comaskey, Sister Gabriella Hogan and Sister Lorretta O’Connor – are returning to the United Kingdom.

UNITED IN GRATITUDE

High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson, Jamestown Mayor Lynn Montgomery and Pennybyrn’s President Rich Newman expressed their gratitude to the sisters. SMG Superior General Sister Margaret Cashman came from London for the event.

Father Stephen Hoyt, Sister Lucy’s successor, kicked off the festivities with an Irish blessing and read a letter of appreciation from Charlotte Bishop Michael Martin.

“The sisters will be truly missed but not forgotten, and your excellent work will always be cherished,” the bishop wrote. “You have built a strong foundation and one that we are blessed to build upon for generations to come.”

Father Hoyt promised to continue their mission. “They have trusted in God, and we will do the same going forward,” he said.

WARM TRIBUTES

Mayor Lynn Montgomery presented the sisters with Jamestown’s proclamation of gratitude, first warning, “I am going to try to get through this proclamation without emotion, but don’t count on it.” In less than a minute, her first tear escaped.

“I have had several relatives in transitional rehab here, and for them to be able to walk around at night and for me not to worry –that’s a big deal,” Montgomery later said. “The sisters are a huge part of Jamestown, and we all love them.”

Mayor Jefferson read a proclamation from the City of High Point promising that the sisters’ hospitality and love will always remain.

“For God so loved the world, He gave us the Sisters of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God,”

‘May

the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.’

Jefferson said with a smile. He also quoted St. Francis de Sales: “Never miss an opportunity to do good.”

“Quite frankly, I think you sisters cleared that bar,” he chuckled. Jefferson then presented each sister with a key to the city.

Pennybyrn’s Newman said, “While we are sad to see the sisters depart, we are so grateful for all they have meant to our community.”

He then announced, “Sister Lucy will continue to serve on our board of directors. We hope to see her from time to time in person, in addition to her remote participation.”

He pledged that Pennybyrn will uphold the sisters’ legacy and announced that the Pennybyrn meeting room will become “The Poor Servants of the Mother of God Heritage Room.” He unveiled the new sign and thanked benefactor and resident Annette Benson for making the space a reality. The room will feature visual and digital storytelling demonstrating Pennybyrn’s mission, values and the history of the sisters’ journey. Although not officially confirmed, Sister Lucy may narrate that story.

SISTERS SAY FAREWELL

“On behalf of all the sisters, I can

assure you of our mutual gratitude for the many years and the many ways you have shared your lives with us so generously, all these years – easy years practically,” Sister Lucy said.

“As we go forward, you can be reassured that we will be remembering each other as we allow God’s love to grow deeply, wherever we will be,” she said.

Lynn Johnson, master of ceremonies for the celebration, said, “Every one of us is better for having known you. You have made a difference in all of our lives. We would be here for a year if each one of us shared just exactly how

Nigerian archbishop makes pastoral visit

CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte welcomed back Archbishop Valerian Okeke of the Archdiocese of Onitsha, Nigeria, on a pastoral visit at the end of June. While in Charlotte, the archbishop met with Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., and with a priest from his archdiocese who is serving in Charlotte: Father Innocent Amasiorah. Father Amasiorah has been serving as campus minister at UNC-Charlotte and in July will move to serve as parochial administrator of

Our Lady of the Angels Mission in Marion. Archbishop Okeke last visited the Charlotte diocese in 2024. Leader of the Onitsha archdiocese since 2003, he shepherds approximately 2 million Catholics in Anambra State, Nigeria. The archdiocese encompasses more than 500 priests and 600 religious, 136 parishes, five hospitals, seminaries, a microfinance bank and 123 schools renowned as among the best in the country.

Humble roots

Five Sisters of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God came to High Point from London in 1947 with some petty cash and a mission to build a hospital as homage to the U.S. involvement in World War II. They felt compelled to spread the Catholic faith, and the Carolinas, with one of the nation’s lowest Catholic populations, fit their vision. The sisters had no idea where they would rest their heads but were confident God would lead them. Meanwhile, Greensboro Sen. George T. Penny spent $126,000 constructing an Italianate mansion among the rural fields and dirt roads of High Point. After his daughter died in a horse incident on the grounds, his wife refused to live in the large yellow house on the hill. Penny tried leasing the residence as a wedding hall, a furniture store and a nightclub, but nothing stuck. Finally, Penny offered the five sisters a very reasonable rent, and they became the newest tenants. They lived upstairs and created a 22-bed convalescent care unit on the first floor, determined to one day build a hospital. Eventually, the sisters offered to buy the home, still holding steadfast to their vision of a hospital. When some patients were too weak to leave the convalescent care on the main floor, the sisters realized God was calling them to set up an assisted living center. Later, they converted the mansion into a convent and constructed a 125bed skilled nursing center that forms the core of the retirement community today known as Pennybyrn.

you have touched us and how we have grown in our own lives because of you.”

She ended the celebration the way it began – with the final line from the Irish Blessing, except this time the entire room chanted, “Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hands.”

After the presentations, lines of residents wrapped along the inside of the Hennessy Dining Room, but it wasn’t just the food they craved. They waited for a last word, a hug or a kiss from the sisters, who greeted them with smiles and love.

PHOTOS BY TROY C. HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

The Sisters of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God are returning to the United Kingdom after 78 years of serving Pennybyrn. A heritage room was created in their honor (above) and High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson (below) presented them with keys to the city.

‘One Body Lord above’

Processions celebrate Corpus Christi Sunday and one

LISA GERACI AND CÉSAR HURTADO catholicnews@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE

— With monstrances raised high, thousands of parishioners reverently processed across roads, paths and campuses throughout the Diocese of Charlotte on Corpus Christi Sunday. The Feast of Corpus Christi, also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, celebrates the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist –His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

Many parishes have unique traditions for commemorating this feast, which has been celebrated by Catholics worldwide since 1264. Through intricate sawdust carpets depicting images of chalices and hosts, altars adorned with roses and garnished with bread and grapes, and streets

draped with patterns created using flower petals, the beauty of our Eucharistic faith was creatively displayed through diverse cultures,

all gathered as one Church.

“This celebration reminds us how we are one in Christ, one beautiful community under one God,” said Flora Lester, music director at Sacred Heart Parish in Salisbury. “When we are walking together, praying together, singing together, proclaiming the Gospel together, and we are shoulder-toshoulder, it is very beautiful and powerful.”

After Mass, the sun was bright but the Son was brighter as golden rays from monstrances reflected the magnificence of the Blessed Sacrament while priests and parishioners processed through local streets.

Parishioners at Sacred Heart and at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Franklin used the early morning hours of Sunday to prepare their routes with painted sawdust carpets, a tradition that originates in Guatemala.

For the Franklin parish, the carpets continue a nearly 20-year tradition, while the devotional art is relatively new to the Salisbury parish. Using dyed wood dust to fill in stenciled templates of designs, parishioners transformed the procession path into a stunning work of art featuring various liturgical themes.

Esperanza Vargas, coordinator of St. Francis of Assisi’s Hispanic Ministry, said preparations began weeks in advance, when, after collecting sawdust donated by a local sawmill, volunteers dyed it in various colors.

“This year we managed to create nearly 30 carpets covering the entire route of the procession,” Vargas said.

At Sacred Heart, there were two carpets, one at the beginning of the route and one at the altar in

a

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Monroe turned their Corpus Through the Eucharist.” A concluding Mass and Eucharistic

Sawdust

Church,

St. Francis of Assisi – Franklin

the middle. Parish with the design artist and parishioner Vilvia Sandoval day meticulously with colored sawdust, team. She learned the carpets while Guatemala. Father John all the hard work beautiful procession. opportunity for gift of the Blessed the world and way,” he said. Our Lady of in Thomasville Christi with a festival. After noon took part in a procession Blessed Sacrament church grounds, a blessing given Carvajal-Salazar.

space for fellowship, food stands with Mexican cuisine. included horseback musical performances. St. Leo the Great Winston-Salem

Father James Stuhrenberg This was one of the Corpus Christi, also

Holy Family

PHOTOS PROVIDED

Our Lady of Lourdes – Monroe

Parish children came up design concepts, while lead parishioner of 20 years Sandoval spent most of her meticulously lining the street sawdust, aided by her learned how to create while growing up in Eckert thought work ended in a procession. “What a great for us to take this great Blessed Sacrament out to sing in such a joyful the Highways Parish Thomasville celebrated Corpus procession and noon Mass, hundreds procession of the Sacrament around the grounds, which ended with given by Father Gabriel Carvajal-Salazar. The festival offered fellowship, featuring with Salvadoran and cuisine. The celebration horseback rides and live performances.

style. Parishioner Catherine Riley spent hours collecting flowers from parishioners, neighbors and local grocers to build a floral pathway called “infiorata” between the church and the school.

Riley gathered five pillowcases full of magnolia leaves, three pillowcases of hydrangea petals, and 20 buckets of assorted flowers and leaves to create the floral carpets, which also included coffee grinds and sand.

Riley’s family is from the Azore Islands of Portugal, and her father, Stephen Coelho, traveled from

California to help with the intricate process. He framed out the mosaic design into which flower petals were later placed to make the image.

Riley, assisted by a team of parishioners, laid down the 112-foot floral carpet in under two hours.

Parishioner Mary Margaret Yodzis, who spent weeks planning the events, said the first-time effort was deeply meaningful.

Great Parish in Winston-Salem celebrated European

“Everyone loved it. Someone from our Polish community cried when she saw it, because it brought back childhood memories of Corpus Christi celebrations in her

At www.catholicnewsherald.com : See photos and videos of processions and celebrations from around the Diocese of Charlotte

hometown in Poland,” said Yodzis.

Yodzis said magnolia leaves, hydrangeas and roses made up most of the design at St. Leo, because they are offerings from Carolina gardens in June.

“We used the flowers Our Lord provided from our little corner of the world to make something beautiful for Him,” Yodzis said. “It’s ephemeral, because we trample it and then discard it, but the pathway holds many lessons for the makers and the people who walk over it about living in the present moment, sacrificing what we have to honor the Lord, and letting go when God calls us forward. We are looking forward to enlarging and enhancing it next year.”

In Monroe, instead of limiting festivities to Sunday, Father Benjamin Roberts at Our Lady of Lourdes opted for a three-day retreat, a Eucharistic Triduum. The concluding Mass and Eucharistic procession on Thursday evening drew about 500 parishioners. Father Roberts followed behind, carrying the monstrance through a nearby neighborhood.

“During the procession we forgot how we looked, what we were wearing, where we came from. At that moment we were all together as children of God and we were walking together with Him,” said parishioner and administrative assistant Laura Flores. “At that moment, we forgot everything that’s going on outside in the world and came together as the Body of Christ.”

After each procession passed, the hours of work and weeks of planning were ceremoniously swept away, if not already destroyed by small, curious hands.

Vargas said this doesn’t bring sadness. “For us, it is an offering to the Blessed Sacrament, and we are happy to give this service.”

Más en el interior

EN LAS PÁGINAS 12-13: Vea historias y fotos de procesiones y celebraciones de toda la diócesis More online

PHOTOS BY TROY C. HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD Christi celebration into a three-day retreat, a “Eucharistic Triduum.” This was its third year, and the topic was “Healing Eucharistic procession on Thursday evening drew about 500 parishioners.

Vilvia Sandoval and a team of five volunteers spent hours preparing the altar and sawdust carpets for the Eucharistic procession led by Father John Eckert (left).

Despite the heat, St. Dorothy’s Eucharistic procession was celebrated with joyful music and prayer.

Leaves and petals from seasonal plants such as magnolias, hydrangeas and roses made up most of the designs at St. Leo the Great.

St. Mark held its Eucharistic procession after the 9 a.m. Mass. Father Kevin Martinez was the celebrant and he was assisted by Deacon Rich McCarron and newly ordained Deacon Michael Lugo.

Our Lady of the Highways – Thomasville

Sacred Heart – Salisbury

St. Dorothy – Lincolnton

St. Leo the Great Winston-Salem

St. Mark – Huntersville

Stuhrenberg led a Eucharistic procession around the parish in Clemmons. the many processions held across the diocese to celebrate the Feast of also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

– Clemmons

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY AMY BURGER

CÉSAR HURTADO | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

LISA M. GERACI | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

PHOTO PROVIDED

PHOTO PROVIDED

After noon Mass at Our Lady of the Highways Church in Thomasville, hundreds took part in a procession of the Blessed Sacrament around the church grounds, which ended with a blessing and a festival.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Pasa tiempo con tu familia en julio

CELEBRANDO NUESTRA FE EN LA EUCARISTÍA

Alfombras adornaron el paso de la procesión de Corpus Christi

CÉSAR HURTADO catholicnews@rcdoc.org

Julio es mes Familiar. Este mes me gustaría enfatizar la necesidad que tienen nuestras familias católicas de reservar un espacio durante el año y dedicarlo completamente al bien estar de las familias.

Todos los días tenemos la rutina de ir al trabajo, a la escuela, a las actividades de la Iglesia y tantas otras cosas que tenemos en nuestra rutina diaria.

Julio es el mes en el cual podemos planear con tiempo un escape en familia y dedicar el tiempo sin prisas a nuestros cónyuges y a nuestros hijos. Pongo cónyuges (esposos) primero por son el fundamento de la familia y porque muchas veces no se dan el tiempo para ellos. Estando bien ellos se garantiza la armonía del hogar y el buen cuidado de los hijos.

Siempre les he pedido a mis coordinadores diocesanos que el mes de Julio lo utilicen para hacer su plan anual de actividades y checar que todo lo concerniente a su oficina este en orden, pero que no pongan tantas actividades como retiros y conferencias para darle la oportunidad a todos los servidores de la Iglesia poder tomar una semana o dos de vacaciones sin necesidad de estar pensando en que tienen compromisos que cumplir.

Julio es ideal pues los niños y jóvenes están de vacaciones y con un poco de planeación por parte de los padres de familia se puede proponer las fechas con anticipación en las cuales pasaran juntos como familia. Es importante no menoscabar la necesidad de unas vacaciones en familia, pues a veces los niveles de estrés cotidianos son muy altos y perjudiciales para la paz familiar. En las familias latinas, sobre todo si viven del día al día, se les hace difícil planear las vacaciones sin menoscabo de la situación financiera. Yo solo les quiero recomendar que piensen que es una buena inversión, la cual les ayudara como familia; no es tiempo perdido, sino tiempo de calidad con la familia y sobre todo, podrán construir un futuro de relación intensa con sus hijos, pues es en estas vacaciones donde se abre mas el dialogo y la relación con los hijos. Ahora bien, no se necesita ir tan lejos para que sean unas vacaciones excelentes, gracias a Dios en Norte de Carolina hay muchísimos parques, lagos, montañas y centros recreativos para visitar, si elegimos parques, hay muchos que solo necesitamos empacar el lonche y ya tendremos todo lo que necesitamos. Insisto que la planeación es importante con meses. Los jóvenes son expertos en buscar lugares por internet y encontrar lugares interesantes que a ellos les gustaría visitar.

En muchas parroquias Julio es el mes en que se tiene el programa Totus Tuus o los campamentos de Biblia, estos pueden ser integrados como parte de las vacaciones de los niños y jóvenes pues están diseñados para que ellos se diviertan pero al mismo tiempo que aprendan cosas relacionadas con Dios. Animo a todos los padres de familia a planear hermosos eventos con sus hijos y ayudarles a crecer en esa relación intima de familia para que crezcan sanos y fuertes en su psicología familiar. Bendiciones para todos y feliz mes de Julio!

EL PADRE JULIO DOMÍNGUEZ es Vicario Episcopal del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte. A partir del 8 de julio, el Padre Domínguez dejará su cargo como Vicario del Ministerio Hispano para asumir como párroco de San José en Newton. Continuará sirviendo como director de manera temporal, mientras la diócesis lleva a cabo una búsqueda nacional para un director a tiempo completo.

FRANKLIN — Con gran creatividad y utilizando únicamente tizas y aserrín coloreado, decenas de familias y miembros de movimientos apostólicos de la parroquia San Francisco de Asís elaboraron hermosas alfombras, por las que desfiló la procesión de Corpus Christi el pasado domingo durante su recorrido por los terrenos parroquiales.

Siguiendo una tradición de casi 20 años, los participantes se reunieron al concluir la misa de las 11:30 de la mañana para recibir las maquetas con los dibujos que plasmarían en el pavimento del estacionamiento. Con ayuda de polvo de madera teñido, transformaron el suelo en una extensa y maravillosa obra de arte con diversos motivos litúrgicos.

Esperanza Vargas, coordinadora del ministerio hispano parroquial, explicó que la preparación comenzó semanas atrás, cuando, tras recolectar el aserrín donado por un aserradero local, lo tiñeron con distintos colores en jornadas comunitarias.

“Este año logramos elaborar casi

FOTO PROPORCIONADA

Los participantes se reunieron al concluir la misa de la mañana para recibir las maquetas con los dibujos que plasmarían en el pavimento.

treinta alfombras, que cubrieron todo el recorrido de la procesión, desde la puerta principal hasta la puerta trasera, pasando por las

grutas de la Virgen María y San José”, comentó Vargas. Sobre lo efímero del arte creado – que desaparece rápidamente tras el paso de la procesión – Vargas aseguró que eso no genera tristeza ni pesar entre quienes participaron. “Para nosotros es una ofrenda a Jesús Sacramentado, y estamos felices de brindar este servicio”. Encabezaron la procesión el padre Tien Duong y el diácono David Ramsey, precedidos por las niñas que realizaron su Primera Comunión hace tres semanas y un grupo de adoradores nocturnos. Reflexionando sobre la importancia de esta solemnidad, el diácono Sigfrido della Valle, coordinador del ministerio hispano de la Vicaría de Smoky Mountains, señaló que esta celebración, junto con la de la Santísima Trinidad, “son los dos misterios más grandes de la Iglesia”.

La Eucaristía, añadió, “es una de las gracias más hermosas que hay en la vida, y mi corazón se rompe por aquellas personas que no pueden comulgar, porque nos estamos perdiendo del pan bajado del cielo, del alimento espiritual que

PROCESIÓN, PASA A LA PÁGINA 13

Festival por Corpus Christi

CÉSAR HURTADO catholicnews@rcdoc.org

THOMASVILLE — La parroquia

Nuestra Señora de los Caminos celebró el pasado domingo la solemnidad de Corpus Christi con un animado festival lleno de fe, tradición y comunidad. Durante la tercera misa dominical, celebrada al mediodía, un numeroso grupo de adoradores nocturnos, vestidos de blanco y portando brillantes medallas doradas, se ubicó en los bancos más cercanos al altar. Fueron reconocidos por el párroco, padre Gabriel Carvajal-Salazar, quien destacó la labor que realizan y señaló que son “privilegiados”, aunque también sobre ellos recae “una gran responsabilidad”.

En su homilía, el padre Carvajal resaltó la importancia de los padres de familia en la transmisión de la fe católica. “¿Tenemos miedo de mostrar que somos católicos? Si no es así, ¿por qué escondemos nuestros crucifijos, no rezamos ni cantamos

CÉSAR HURTADO | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

La parroquia Nuestra Señora de los Caminos celebró el pasado domingo la solemnidad de Corpus Christi con un animado festival lleno de fe, tradición y comunidad.

en misa, ni bendecimos los alimentos antes de comer? ¿Será también que realmente creemos que Jesús está en la Eucaristía?”, cuestionó. Relacionando la festividad con la lectura del Evangelio del día, que narra el milagro de la multiplicación de los panes, explicó que “Jesús continúa entregándose a través de los siete sacramentos, y gracias a los doce cestos con restos recogidos por sus apóstoles”.

FESTIVAL, PASA A LA PÁGINA 13

Padre Julio Domínguez

“Promesa de Dios”

Santa Isabel nació en 1270. Era hija del rey Pedro III de Aragón, nieta del rey Jaime el Conquistador, biznieta del emperador Federico II de Alemania. Le pusieron este nombre en honor de su tía abuela Santa Isabel de Hungría. Santa Isabel tuvo la dicha que su familia se esmerara extremadamente en formarla lo mejor posible en su niñez. Desde muy niña tenía una notable inclinación hacia la piedad, y un gusto especial por imitar los buenos ejemplos que leía en las vidas de los santos o que observaba en las vidas de las personas buenas. En su casa le enseñaron que si quería en verdad agradar a Dios debía unir a su oración, la mortificación de sus gustos y caprichos y esforzarse por evitar todo aquello que la pudiera inclinar hacia el pecado. Le repetían la frase antigua: “tanta mayor libertad de espíritu tendrás, cuanto menos deseos de cosas inútiles o dañosas tengas”. Sus educadores le enseñaron que una mortificación muy formativa es acostumbrarse a no comer nada entre horas (o sea entre comida y comida), y soportar con paciencia que no se cumplan los propios deseos, y esmerarse cada día por no amargarle ni complicarle la vida a los demás. Dicen sus biógrafos que la formidable santidad que demostró más tarde se debe en gran parte a la esmerada educación que ella recibió en su niñez. A los 15 años ya sus padres la habían casado con el rey de Portugal, Dionisio. Este hombre admiraba las cualidades de tan buena esposa, pero él por su parte tenía un genio violento y era bastante infiel en su matrimonio, llevaba una vida nada santa y bastante escandalosa, lo cual era una continua causa de sufrimientos para la joven reina, quien soportara todo con la más exquisita bondad y heroica paciencia. El rey no era ningún santo, pero dejaba a Isabel plena libertad para dedicarse a la piedad y a obras de caridad. Ella se levantaba de madrugada y leía cada día seis salmos de la Santa Biblia. Luego asistía devotamente a la Santa Misa; enseguida se dedicaba a dirigir las labores del numeroso personal del palacio. En horas libres se reunía con otras damas a coser y bordar y fabricar vestidos para los pobres. Las tardes las dedicaba a visitar ancianos y enfermos y a socorrer cuanto necesitado encontraba. Hizo construir albergues para indigentes, forasteros y peregrinos. En la capital fundó un hospital para pobres, un colegio

FESTIVAL

VIENE DE LA PÁGINA 12

Concluyó afirmando que Jesucristo nos prometió estar con nosotros “hasta el fin del mundo”. Posteriormente, cientos de fieles participaron en la procesión del Santísimo Sacramento, que recorrió las instalaciones de la parroquia y culminó con una bendición impartida por el padre Carvajal desde el monumental crucifijo situado frente a la entrada principal de la iglesia. El festival también ofreció un nuevo espacio de convivencia, donde se instalaron puestos de comida salvadoreña y mexicana. La fiesta incluyó paseos a caballo y presentaciones musicales a cargo de talentos locales.

Lecturas Diarias

6-12 DE JULIO

gratuito para niñas, una casa para mujeres arrepentidas y un hospicio para niños abandonados. Conseguía ayudas para construir puentes en sitios peligrosos y repartía con gran generosidad toda clase de ayudas. Visitaba enfermos, conseguía médicos para los que no tenían con qué pagar la consulta; hacía construir conventos para religiosos, a las muchachas muy pobres les costeaba lo necesario para que pudieran entrar al convento, si así lo deseaban. Tenía guardada una linda corona de oro y unos adornos muy bellos y un hermoso vestido de bodas, que prestaba a las muchachas más pobres, para que pudieran lucir bien hermosas el día de su

matrimonio.

Su marido el rey Dionisio era un buen gobernante pero vicioso y escandaloso. Ella rezaba por él, ofrecía sacrificios por su conversión y se esforzaba por convencerlo con palabras bondadosas para que cambiara su conducta. Llegó hasta el extremo de educarle los hijos naturales que él tenía con otras mujeres. Tuvo dos hijos: Alfonso, que será rey de Portugal, sucesor de su padre, y Constancia. Pero Alfonso dio muestras desde muy joven de poseer un carácter violento y rebelde. Y en parte, esta rebeldía se debía a las preferencias que su padre demostraba por sus hijos naturales. En dos ocasiones Alfonso promovió la guerra civil en su país y se declaró contra su propio padre. Isabel trabajó hasta lo increíble, con su bondad, su amabilidad y su extraordinaria capacidad de sacrificio y su poder de convicción, hasta que obtuvo que el hijo y el papá hicieran las paces.

Pero un día supo que entre su hijo Alfonso de Portugal y su nieto, el rey de Castilla, había estallado la guerra. Anciana y achacosa como estaba, emprendió un larguísimo viaje con calores horrendos y caminos peligrosos, para lograr la paz entre los dos contendores. Y este viaje fue mortal para ella. Sintió que le llegaba la muerte y se hizo llevar a un convento de hermanas Clarisas, y allí, invocando a la Virgen María murió santamente el 4 de julio del año 1336. Dios bendijo su sepulcro con varios milagros y el Sumo Pontífice la declaró santa en 1626. Es abogada para los territorios y países donde hay guerras civiles, guerrillas y falta de paz. Que Santa Isabel ruegue por nuestros países y nos consiga la paz que tanto necesitamos. — ACI Prensa

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Cientos de fieles participaron en la procesión del Santísimo Sacramento, que recorrió las instalaciones de la parroquia y culminó con una bendición impartida por el padre Carvajal desde el monumental crucifijo situado frente a la entrada principal de la iglesia.

Domingo: Is 66,10-14c, Sal 66,1-3. 4-5. 6-7. 16. 20, Gal 6,14-18, Lc 10,1-12. 17-20 o Lc 10,1-9; Lunes: Gn 28,10-22a, Sal 91,1-2. 3-4. 14-15ab, Mt 9,18-26; Martes: Gn 32,23-33, Sal 17,1b. 2-3. 6-7ab. 8b y 15, Mt 9,32-38; Miércoles: Gn 41,55-57, 42,5-7a. 17-24a, Sal 33,2-3. 10-11. 18-19, Mt 10,1-7; Jueves: Gn 44,18-21. 23b-29, 45,1-5, Sal 105,16-17. 18-19. 20-21, Mt 10,7-15; Viernes (Memoria de San Benito, abad): Gn 46,1-7. 28-30, Sal 37,3-4. 18-19. 27-28. 39-40, Mt 10,16-23; Sábado: Gn 49,29-32, 50,1526a, Sal 105,1-2. 3-4. 6-7, Mt 10,24-33

13-19 DE JULIO

Domingo: Dt 30,10-14, Sal 69,14. 17. 30-31. 33-34. 36-37 o Sal 18,8. 9. 10. 11, Col 1,15-20, Lc 10,25-37; Lunes (Memoria de Santa Kateri Tekakwitha, virgen): Ex 1,8-14. 22, Sal 124,1b-3. 4-6. 7-8, Mt 10,34–11,1; Martes (Memoria de San Buenaventura, obispo y doctor de la Iglesia): Ex 2,1-15a, Sal 69,3. 14. 30-31. 33-34, Mt 11,20-24; Miércoles: Ex 3,1-6. 9-12, Sal 103,1b-2. 3-4. 6-7, Mt 11,25-27; Jueves: Ex 3,13-20, Sal 105,1 y 5. 8-9. 24-25. 26-27, Mt 11,28-30; Viernes: Ex 11,10–12,14, Sal 116,12-13. 15 y 16bc. 17-18, Mt 12,1-8; Sábado: Ex 12,37-42, Sal 136,1 y 23-24. 10-12. 13-15, Mt 12,14-21

PROCESIÓN

VIENE DE LA PÁGINA 12

fortalece y nutre el alma”. La jornada incluyó una kermés que inició por la mañana y concluyó antes de la procesión. Se ofrecieron tacos, gorditas, aguas frescas y otras delicias latinoamericanas. Los fondos recaudados se destinarán a cubrir la colecta del DSA. Finalmente, Vargas destacó el apoyo incondicional del padre Tien: “Aunque no habla español, siempre está a nuestro lado y nos permite celebrar nuestras numerosas tradiciones”.

20-26 DE JULIO

Domingo: Gn 18,1-10a, Sal 15,2-3. 3-4. 5, Col 1,24-28, Lc 10,38-42; Lunes: Ex 14,5-18, Ex 15,1bc-2. 3-4. 5-6, Mt 12,38-42; Martes (Fiesta de Santa María Magdalena): Cant 3,1-4b o 2 Cor 5,14-17, Sal 62,2. 3-4. 5-6. 8-9, Jn 20,1-2. 11-18; Miércoles: Ex 16,1-5. 9-15, Sal 78,18-19. 23-24. 25-26. 27-28, Mt 13,1-9; Jueves: Ex 19,1-2. 9-11. 16-20b, Dan 3,52. 53. 54. 55. 56, Mt 13,10-17; Viernes (Fiesta de Santiago, apóstol): 2 Cor 4,7-15, Sal 125,1bc-2ab. 2cd-3. 4-5. 6, Mt 20,20-28; Sábado (Memoria de San Joaquín y Santa Ana, padres de la Santísima Virgen María): Ex 24,3-8, Sal 49,1b-2. 5-6. 14-15, Mt 13,24-30

ACI PRENSA

Santa Isabel construyó albergues para personas sin hogar, viajeros y peregrinos.

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Supreme Court limits injunctions on birthright citizenship

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 27 limited the ability of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions in a case concerning the Trump administration’s executive order to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents without legal status or temporary visa holders, without addressing whether the order itself is constitutional.

The high court found that universal injunctions issued by federal judges to block that order resulting from lawsuits filed over it “likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has granted to federal courts.”

The ruling allows an executive order President Donald Trump signed in January that sought to end birthright citizenship for these children to be enforced, but judges may constrict it for parties in lawsuits over it.

Noem ends protected status for half a million Haitians

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced June 27 that the department had terminated Temporary Protected Status for Haiti.

The move places about 500,000 Haitians previously given legal permission to be in the United States at risk of deportation.

“This decision...ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,” an unnamed DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home.”

But that assessment stands in contrast to a warning on the State Department’s website against traveling to Haiti that was ranked at “Level 4: Do Not Travel.”

The U.S. Catholic bishops have previously urged officials to protect TPS designation.

Court rules S.C. can deny funds to Planned Parenthood

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 26 that there is not a private right to bring a lawsuit challenging South Carolina’s decision to end Planned Parenthood’s participation in the state’s Medicaid program. The ruling will likely allow other states to remove Planned Parenthood from their Medicaid programs. The case concerned a 2018 executive order stripping two clinics in the state of Medicaid funds.

Court: Parents can opt kids out of LGBTQ+ themed books

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court on June 27 ruled in favor of an interfaith group of Maryland parents who sought to opt their children out of classroom instruction pertaining to books containing LGBTQ+ themes to which they object on religious grounds. An interfaith coalition of parents sued Montgomery County Public Schools’ board when it refused to allow parents to opt children out of classroom instruction.

Survey: Almost half of U.S. adults have Catholic connection; Hispanic numbers up

GINA CHRISTIAN OSV News

Close to half of the nation’s adults have a personal or family connection to Catholicism, but Mass attendance makes for significant differences in what Catholics say is essential to their identity.

In addition, the share of U.S. Catholics who are Hispanic is growing. In the Diocese of Charlotte, for example, approximately half of the estimated 560,000 Catholics are Hispanic. A significant number of conversions to the faith are prompted by marriage, and clerical abuse is more broadly viewed as also problematic among other religious leaders, not only Catholic.

On June 16, Pew Research Center released its latest findings on Catholic life in the U.S., drawing on two surveys for data: its 2023-2024 U.S. Religious Landscape Study and in particular its Feb. 3-9 survey of 9,544 U.S. adults that included 1,787 Catholics. The latter survey included several questions “designed specifically for Catholics,” said the report.

CATHOLIC CONNECTIONS

The report found that 47% of U.S. adults indicated some connection to Catholicism. Of those, 20% identified themselves as Catholic, while 9% described themselves as cultural Catholics, who identify with the faith for reasons “aside from religion,” such as ethnic, cultural or family ties.

Another 9% stated they were former Catholics, having been raised Catholic but no longer identifying themselves with the faith or with its cultural associations, and 9% said they were “connected to Catholicism in other ways” such as having a Catholic parent, spouse or partner, or answering yes when asked if they ever attend Mass.

Among U.S. Catholics, just 13% pray daily, attend Mass at least weekly and go to confession once a year, although 50%, 28% and 23% respectively observe those individual practices.

Conversely, 13% seldom or never pray, and seldom or never attend Mass, and never go to the sacrament of reconciliation, which the report termed confession.

“The largest share of Catholics (74%) fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum of observance,” stated the report. “They may pray. They may attend Mass. They may go to confession. But they don’t regularly do all three.”

For many questions, the survey found “large differences between Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week and those who don’t.”

Most weekly Mass attendees (83%) cited receiving the Eucharist as an essential part of being Catholic, compared to 56% of those who attend once or twice a month, 31% who attend a few times a year, and 15% of those who never attend.

Half of the nation’s Catholics report receiving holy Communion most or all the time when they attend Mass, with 82% of weekly Massgoers receiving.

Pew also asked participants to weigh in on 14 items related to Catholic belief and practice as “essential,” “important but not essential” or “not an important part” of

file

a

Pew Research Center released an analysis of U.S.

being Catholic.

Of the Catholic identity options offered by Pew, the most widely endorsed one was “having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” with 69% of U.S. Catholic adults describing the practice as “essential” to their Catholic identity.

Devotion to the Virgin Mary (50%),

working to help the poor and needy (47%), and receiving the Eucharist (46%) were also listed by Pew. Forty percent listed getting married in the Church as essential, while 33% pointed to the leadership of the pope and 32% stressed being part of the unbroken apostolic tradition – the latter of which tied with opposing abortion (32%).

Other markers of Catholic identity ranked as essential were taking care of the environment (31%), being part of a Catholic parish (30%), caring for immigrants (30%), celebrating feast days associated with national or ethnic heritage (26%), and opposing the death penalty (22%).

Pew found that Hispanic Catholics represent 36% of all Catholic adults in the U.S., up from 29% in 2007, and are more likely than white Catholics to report participating in a variety of devotional practices such as wearing or carrying religious items (56% v. 39%), practicing devotion to Mary or a favorite saint (46% v. 31%), and praying the rosary (37% v. 22%). Close to half of all Catholic converts (49%) said their decision was motivated by having a Catholic spouse or partner, or a desire to marry in the Catholic Church.

OSV NEWS | JACLYN LIPPELMANN, CATHOLIC STANDARD A

photo shows

family praying during Mass at St. Matthew the Apostle Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

Catholic life on June 16.

world

Pope: Clear cities of desperation, not the desperate

CAROL GLATZ Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Too often, in the name of security, war is waged against the poor, Pope Leo XIV said.

The Holy Year instead indicates that safety is found in the culture of encounter, he said. The Jubilee “asks of us the restitution and redistribution of unjustly accumulated wealth, as the way to personal and civil reconciliation.”

The pope made his comments during a meeting marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking June 26. Dozens of guests attended the gathering in the San Damaso Courtyard at the Vatican, including Italian government officials, individuals in recovery for substance abuse and those who assist them.

“Today, brothers and sisters, we are engaged in a battle that cannot be abandoned as long as, around us, anyone is still imprisoned in the various forms of addiction,” Pope Leo said.

“Our fight is against those who make their immense business

out of drugs and every other addiction – think of alcohol or gambling,” he said. “There are huge concentrations of interest and extensive criminal

organizations that states have a duty to dismantle.”

However, he said, “it is easier to fight against their victims.”

“Too often, in the name of

Thank you.

security, war is waged against the poor, filling prisons with those who are merely the final link in a chain of death. Those who hold the chain in their hands instead manage to gain influence and impunity,” he said.

“Our cities must not be freed of the marginalized, but of marginalization; they must be cleared not of the desperate, but of desperation,” he said.

“The fight against drug trafficking, educational commitment among the poor, the defense of Indigenous communities and migrants, and fidelity to the social doctrine of the Church are in many places considered subversive,” he said.

“The Jubilee indicates the culture of encounter as the way to safety,” he said, and challenges must be tackled together.

“We conquer evil together. Joy is found together. Injustice is fought together. The God who created and knows each one of us – and is more intimate to me than I am to myself – made us to be together,” he said.

“Of course, there are also bonds

that hurt and human groups where freedom is lacking. But these, too, can only be overcome together, trusting those who do not profit from our suffering, those whom we can meet and who meet us with selfless attention,” the pope said.

“Drugs and addiction are an invisible prison that you, in different ways, have known and fought, but we are all called to freedom,” Pope Leo said.

“St. Augustine confessed that only in Christ did the restlessness of his heart find peace. We seek peace and joy, we thirst for them. And many deceptions can delude and even imprison us in this quest,” he said.

“The Church needs you. Humanity needs you. Education and politics need you. Together, we will make the infinite dignity imprinted on each person prevail over every degrading addiction,” the pope said.

“Let us go forward together, then, multiplying the places of healing, encounter and education: pastoral paths and social policies that start from the street and never give anyone up for lost,” he said.

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Pope Leo XIV greets people as he marks the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking with a meeting in the San Damaso Courtyard at the Vatican June 26.

Pope to priests: God looks for humble hearts, not perfection

VATICAN CITY — In a world marked by growing tension, priests need to build peace and unity together by serving others, Pope Leo XIV said. When hearts are united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, they are capable of resolving “not only our inner conflicts but also those that are tearing apart the world in which we live,” he said in a written message to the world’s priests, released June 27, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is also the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.

In a message, Pope Leo invited them to renew the “yes” they said to God and to His holy people on the day of their ordination, so they “may be a sacrament of Jesus’ love in the world.”

“Do not be daunted by your personal frailty: the Lord does not look for perfect priests, but for humble hearts that are open to conversion and prepared to love others as He Himself loved us,” he wrote. Also, “only in the heart of Jesus do we discover our authentic humanity as children of God, brothers and sisters of one another,” the pope wrote. Therefore, he said, “I would make this heartfelt appeal to you today: Be builders of unity and peace!”

Local church leaders call for peace during NATO summit

‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands — As NATO leaders met in the Netherlands this week to boost military readiness, Christian leaders across the country are urging a different response — one rooted in peace, prayer and biblical justice.

The June 24–25 summit, called “historic” and “transformational,” saw 32 member nations commit to increased defense spending. But Dutch church leaders warn that peace can’t come from military might alone.

The Dutch Council of Churches stressed that true peace must also care for “the weakest brothers and sisters,” calling war a complex issue that demands more than weapons. Bishop Gerard de Korte of ’s-Hertogenbosch echoed that sentiment, saying many conflicts are fueled by poverty and injustice.

Bishop de Korte said, “If you direct your prayer to all victims of war, you are always on the right track,” he said. Throughout the week in which the NATO summit took place, June 22-29, local church leaders urged Catholics to pray for peace, preparing a special prayer for each day of the week.

“We may rightly ask where God is in all of this,” the bishop said, but “humans are responsible for the violence. At the same time, we are called, by our conscience, to seek peace.”

Pope Leo XIV denounces use of hunger as ‘weapon of war’

ROME — Pope Leo XIV deplored the use of hunger as a “weapon of war” in his message to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which is holding a conference session in Rome from June 28 to July 4.

The Holy Father said the U.N. is far from reaching its 2030 goal of “zero hunger” in spite of “significant steps” taken by the intergovernmental organization to ensure food security, particularly for the world’s poor.

“We are currently witnessing with despair the iniquitous use of hunger as a weapon of war,” Leo said in his message. “Starving people to death is a very cheap way of waging war.”

The pope criticized the actions of armed civilians who “greedily hoard” food, burn land, steal livestock and block humanitarian aid.

Croatian bishops mark 125th anniversary of consecration

ZAGREB, Croatia — Croatian bishops led their nation in a solemn consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, marking the 125th anniversary of an extraordinary 1900 ceremony that saw 160,000 young Croatians make a similar sacred pledge. The consecration began June 27 at 7 p.m. local time across churches and chapels throughout Croatia, initiated by church bells ringing for five minutes before solemn Eucharistic celebrations commenced. Following the Prayer after Communion, clergy proclaimed the formal Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

— Catholic News Service and OSV News

Matthew’s Parishioner

Mr. Blue and the risk of true joy

At the start of summer, I like to pick up a book that feels humorous and hopeful but has some thoughts to chew on. This year, I reread Myles Connolly’s perennial classic “Mr. Blue” with delight.

J. Blue is a modern mystic, sometimes described outside of the fictional book as a modern St. Francis or the literary antidote to Jay Gatsby. We meet him through the lens of a secular and cynical journalist who is profoundly intrigued by Blue. He describes Blue as “crazy” many times but privately admits, “I didn’t mean it. He had many of the marks of insanity, but somehow he gave you the impression that we were all crazy and he alone was sane.”

One of my favorite juxtapositions of their characters happens on the roof of a skyscraper in New York where Blue happened to be living at the time. Blue enthusiastically paints a green kite and immediately decides to fly it over the city. When the wind nearly fails to carry the kite, Blue jumps up on the protective wall around the roof to give it a boost. He remains dancing there on the precipice while the kite soars out of sight but still connected to the string he clutches.

The narrator is terrified by his antics. He relates, “I couldn’t stand it. The sight of him made me dizzy. I sat down on the roof to consolidate myself, to convince myself that I, at least, was safe.” When he asks why Blue would fly a kite beyond where he could enjoy seeing it, Blue responds, “But think of all the people uptown who are looking at it. Think of them.”

TAKING RISKS ON THE EDGE

Risk assessment is a particularly controversial topic in our society today. Humans know that if you risk nothing, you rarely gain anything worth having. But our methods of doing so can make others uncomfortable. I see this nowhere more clearly than in our faith, where a cross is the sign of our victory. I have been both Mr. Blue on the edge and the self-protective journalist.

Once as a teenager at a huge retreat, I encountered a religious order with a unique expression of devotion. The brothers and sisters would fully prostrate themselves and kiss the floor every time they entered or left the Eucharistic Presence of Our Lord. In my pettiness, I thought of the filth of the floor, the possibility of tripping on the way down or up from prostration, and the way it made me feel uncomfortably challenged regarding my own belief in the level of reverence due to the King of the Universe. But through the weekend, I got to know the religious better and realized that they had a light and interior freedom and joy that I craved.

Mr. Blue is described like them as having a “light he sees,” and in that light, “all the scales of pettiness fall off the soul.” Then, he is able to assert that one can and must live life with courage. “It is the humble man who risks his dignity to speak up for what he loves. … Genuine love cannot endure silence.”

DARING TO LOVE DEEPLY

This is the steady work of evangelization. It is taking the risk to love deeply and to hazard sharing that love with others, even when you kiss a dirty floor to love Christ or send a kite pulling

joy into the horizon.

In our world today, an authentic Catholic life is not a hidden thing; it is a risk. Of course, this is expressed differently in every person. But I feel like a man on a roof edge when people remark on the many children jumping out of my huge van, when a woman asks about my Miraculous Medal at a dance competition, when my hairdresser and I discuss the Latin chant at the Rorate Mass I attended at sunrise that morning, when we skip a sporting event to attend Sunday Mass, when my children tell neighbors and teachers about our beliefs, and when my students at a mostly Protestant school ask me to explain the concept of a monastery mentioned in their book. And now when I enter the church for Eucharistic Adoration, I kneel and kiss the floor before the source of my joy, hope and very life. Mr. Blue knew that courage and joy are inseparable, and both are the antithesis of the spirit of the modern age, which saps our attention, faith, hope and authentic experience of love, which necessitates risk. He saw differently and aligned his life to that ever-ancient, ever-new scale of value.

‘In our world today, an authentic Catholic life is not a hidden thing; it is a risk.’

When his journalist friend asserts that Blue is perfectly happy, however, Blue looks troubled. There is one supernatural joy he knows he has yet to fully experience. He hands his friend a card with a quotation from St. John Vianney: “The cross is the gift God gives His friends.” The highest value is found in union with the Person of Christ, and true union with Him requires a crucifixion to get to the resurrection. We must give all.

BRINGING OTHERS TO THE SOURCE OF JOY

As we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, we remember that the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life” (“Lumen Gentium,” 11). We attend Mass, and some of us process in public Adoration to show our love.

Sometimes I have been asked why we do this. Why the monstrance and the incense and the servers and the baldacchino and the singing in an ancient language and the blocking of city streets? I would answer with Blue, “Think of all the people uptown who are looking at it. Think of them.”

Christ is the God who can heal the hopeless through one glance, one word, one touch of His garment. And we can bring Him to the world and bring the individuals in our lives to Him. That is the ultimate risk and the ultimate source of joy.

KELLY HENSON is a Catholic writer and speaker who explores the art of integrating faith into daily life. She and her family are parishioners of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Greensboro. She blogs at www.kellyjhenson.com.

In your inner garden, cultivate the fruit that matters

‘By their fruits, you will know them.’ — Matthew 7:20

Here we are in the midst of summer, when gardens are in full bloom with tomatoes, green beans, watermelons and more. What are you planting and tilling the soil for this summer? It’s a question that applies to our lives, as much as it does to our backyard gardens. We know that the gift of our baptism makes all of us temples of the Holy Spirit. In collaboration with the Holy Spirit and His grace, we can each bear much fruit (John 15:16). We can reflect the love of Christ in visible and lasting ways, even in the face of difficulties.

WHICH FRUIT WILL YOU NURTURE?

Just as you plan your summer garden, what type of fruit do you seek to cultivate in your life and heart? Which of the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit feels most important to focus on right now: goodness, kindness, gentleness, generosity, peace, patience, joy, charity, modesty, chastity, faithfulness or selfcontrol?

Speak to God about this in prayer. Perhaps He is inviting you to grow in patience. Perhaps He is calling you to deeper faithfulness in prayer or to exercise more self-control in your speech or actions.

As these fruits grow in our lives, they become visible signs to the world and to those who are closest to us from the vineyard of our hearts (Matthew 6:21). And through them, we imitate Jesus and are able to love others as Jesus loved us (John 13:35).

USE THE SPIRITUAL POWER TOOLS

In the heat and afternoon downpours of daily life, cultivating this fruit can feel like a lot of work. As Jesus acknowledged, “It is only when a seed is buried and dies that it will bear much fruit” (John 12:24). But we do not go at it alone. The Holy Spirit also offers us seven gifts – spiritual power tools for our garden: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord (awe in God’s presence).

As an example, wisdom helps us see things as God sees them, according to His divine truth – a gift that is essential to the fruits of patience and selfcontrol. Memorize the seven gifts, spend some time exploring them in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and pray for an

outpouring of these gifts in your heart!

The holiness to which God is calling each of us – to live a life that bears fruit that will remain – is something we can nurture. This summer, cultivate a deeper relationship with the gentle guest of your soul, the Holy Spirit, who is ready to strengthen you with His divine gifts.

A practical invitation: Tape the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit at the foot of your crucifix and memorize the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are great ways to keep them in mind and in prayer.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and the gardening! Let us pray for one another.

FATHER RICHARD SUTTER is pastor of St. Gabriel Parish in Charlotte.

Father Richard Sutter

Kelly Henson

PHOTO PROVIDED

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit are listed on a note posted below the crucifix on the front door of St. Gabriel’s rectory. You are encouraged to put a similar note at the base of the crucifix in your home as well.

Father Peter Ascik

We can show each child is a gift by

supporting new parents

Do you still have Pack ’n Plays?” someone asked as I walked up to the door of the church.

The question was from a young dad who had come to pick up free baby items at an event hosted by the Walking With Moms in Need ministry at my parish.

Walking With Moms in Need is the U.S. bishops’ call to all Catholic parishes in the country to “walk in the shoes” of pregnant and parenting moms and find concrete ways to support them.

At my parish, St. Mary Help of Christians in Shelby, our parishioners had decided to respond to this call by hosting a monthly “free store” for baby items at the church property in Kings Mountain. The date chosen for the “grand opening” was a Saturday in May.

When I arrived a few minutes after the event had begun, the parking lot was already filling up. Moms, dads and children were lined up patiently waiting for their opportunity to browse the donated items. I was barely out of the car before people began thanking me for our parish’s efforts.

‘We must counter with the conviction that a child is always a gift, the greatest gift that can be received. ‘

It was clear that the event had touched a need and touched hearts. Families had traveled from other towns – even from neighboring counties – to attend.

One mom walked in gingerly through the doors, sharing that she was due in one week.

Another mom walked out with a giant stuffed giraffe safely tucked into her cart. I was able to sit down and chat with several of the families present, to introduce myself and the church and to get to know them.

These moms and dads struck me as strong and capable. Their determination to provide for their children – born and unborn – could be seen in their faces and in the way they carried themselves.

“We’re struggling, but we’re getting by,” said one attendee.

What I think they most appreciated was the solidarity with them that we showed through our ministry. Because even the strong sometimes need a helping hand.

BUILDING A CULTURE OF SUPPORT

June 24 marked the three-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

decision. The Dobbs case involved a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks, in which the state challenged the high court’s previous abortion-related precedents in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). In Dobbs, the Supreme Court overturned its prior rulings and returned the issue to the people and their elected representatives.

Since the ruling, 12 states have banned abortion, with some exceptions, while another six (including North Carolina) limit it at some point between six to 12 weeks gestation. It was a landmark ruling for the pro-life mission.

Building a culture of support for pregnant and parenting moms is at the heart of that mission.

Our culture sometimes encourages a mindset that sees the effort and expense of caring for a child as an unacceptable setback to personal goals.

We must counter with the conviction that a child is always a gift, the greatest gift that can be received.

But this position will never be credible if we do not show concrete solidarity with the mothers – and fathers – who receive this gift from God, especially those in challenging circumstances.

Walking With Moms in Need offers parishes a concrete opportunity to live out this solidarity.

HELPING MOTHERS, STEP BY STEP

The first step is creating a comprehensive list of the supportive resources that already exist in the local community.

Then this list is shared with the community – for example, through a printed pamphlet or the parish website. Next, each parish discerns an additional step it can take toward building a culture of support for pregnant and parenting moms. This could be something like a monthly “free store” for baby items – but it doesn’t have to be.

Every parish is different, and each has unique gifts and opportunities to support moms, dads and families.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to Walking With Moms in Need, but rather a myriad ways to creatively show love and support.

Comprehensive guidance on how to carry out the project in your parish or community is available at www. walkingwithmoms.com, and the Diocese of Charlotte Family Life Office offers further local guidance and support.

In the five years since the program began, Walking With Moms in Need has spread steadily in our diocese and around the country.

Many are discovering what a gift it is to “walk with” pregnant and parenting moms.

Will you take a step for them?

FATHER PETER ASCIK leads the Diocese of Charlotte’s Family Life Office and is pastor of St. Mary, Help of Christians Parish in Shelby and Christ the King Mission in Kings Mountain. Most-read

‘In Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, “seeds of peace and hope.” ‘

Pope Leo XIV

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