MOORESVILLE — Bishop Michael Martin was on hand Nov. 8 as Father Mark Lawlor and the St. Therese Parish community marked their 80th anniversary with a Mass and celebration.
The church, which started holding Mass for 12 in parishioners’ homes in 1946, now serves more than 3,500 registered families on its 32-acre campus. St. Therese outgrew its church building twice, and after 10 years in the newest building, the church was overflowing with more than 1,200 parishioners who came to share in the joy.
“Are you ready?” Bishop Martin asked during his homily. “Have we prepared enough for this particular moment?”
God calls us to readiness, he warned, and “He puts the onus on that preparation squarely where it falls – on you.”
“When in the spiritual journey are we going to say to ourselves: ‘I have to take on more responsibility in getting ready?’’” he asked.
The bishop advocated making deep changes in preparedness that lead to resurrected lives.
“We have to constantly remind ourselves what our biggest purpose is here,” he said. “Are we really prepared for that last day?”
Many wonder when God is coming, but the bishop said, the reading from Matthew's Gospel about oil lamps and virgins asks a different question, “Do you have enough oil? Did you prepare?”
He then congratulated the parish on its accomplishments in the Making Room Challenge – the diocesan-wide $150 million philanthropic effort that will involve every parish over its course.
“Making Room is exactly what we are talking about preparing – having enough oil in our lamps,” he said. “St. Therese has been engaged in this process over the last couple of weeks and so many people have been so generous and so gracious.”
This is a collective way for the Church to come together and show they are all in, he said. “May this moment be looked at as a time when we accepted the challenge to prepare.”
He ended his homily by emphasizing the word, “Kairos” which means the right moment – or God’s time.
Father Mark Lawlor, who was assigned to the parish nine years ago, is excited about the campaign, the milestone and the bishop’s visit.
“The bishop is very down-to-earth. Watching the congregation, I could tell people were engaged and listening,” Father Lawlor said. “And that is the best compliment for a homily – that people listen to it and took it to their hearts.”
At the end of Mass the bishop thanked parishioners such as Liz Cappulletti and her husband for their continued efforts in growing in their faith and building the Church.
“We were here when it was just a little chapel…It’s really funny to see that we have become this big church so fast. That we needed this much more space,” Liz Cappulletti said. “Still, some of the Masses are so crowded, but it is all good. It’s so great to see all the little kids. There are so many of them. If you don’t hear babies crying during Mass, there is no growth in your church.”
While she grazed her fingers over her late mother-in-law's name on the memory wall paying tribute to contributors to the efforts to build the church, she said she is more than ready for the future of St. Therese.
As her mother-in-law helped build the Church she celebrates in today, Liz Cappulletti trusts in the people of the parish and the promises of the Making Room Campaign to look toward a future for those crying babies.
Father Lawlor’s immediate plan for the Making Room initiative includes reinvesting in their campus.
“Our goal is $3.5 million, so if we make that goal, we will have $1.5 million coming back to the parish,” Father Lawlor said. “Being a big parish, we have to make room for more parking and better access in and out of the Church as well as some upgrades to the office building.”
Future dreams include a columbarium, but as of now, all options are on the table – all in “Kairos” of course.
— Lisa M. Geraci
