CHARLOTTE — An estimated 400-500 people attended a Mass in Polish to honor St. John Paul II and Our Lady of Czestochowa at St. Thomas Aquinas Church Aug. 21. The fifth-annual Mass included veneration of a first-class relic of St. John Paul, a drop of blood on a piece of his cassock from his assassination attempt in 1981.
The Mass was offered by Polish-born Father Jan (John) Trela, now pastor of Blessed Mary Angela Church in Dunkirk, N.Y. In his homily, Father Trela encouraged the faithful to step away from the busyness of their daily lives, seek silence, and pray.
“Today we are living in a very fast-paced world. We are not walking, we are running. We are driving faster and we are not patient. Hurry up, do it faster, go faster – we want to have everything today, if not yesterday,” he said. “Stop for a while. Think of what you are living for. Take a break... Listen to this poem written by Blessed Mother Teresa: ‘The fruit of silence is prayer. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. The fruit of service is peace.’
“Be quiet, stop talking and start listening. Be open to God speaking in silence.”
“When we start to pray, we are open for all God’s ideas. Also, we can easily hear God’s will and what He wants of us,” he continued. “We can recognize God, who He is and how He acts. Finally, we will be able to discover the same that John wrote for us in the Bible: ‘God is love and everyone who loves was born from God and God is in him. Who does not love does not know God and does not know truth.’”
Seeking God through prayer in silence, Father Trela said, we can better understand how to love others and how to sacrifice for others.
In addition to the Mass, Father Trela heard confessions in Polish for about four hours. Deacon James Witulski, one of the organizers of the celebration, noted that the confession line stretched to the front door of the church. “Confession is an amazingly beautiful and important of our annual Polish Mass,” Deacon Witulski said.
— Photos by Doreen Sugierski | Catholic News Herald
'What are your spiritual goals for 2016?'
CHARLOTTE — For Catholics, New Year's Day is more than just a day to make resolutions. It's a day to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God and consider ways to imitate her virtues to grow in holiness and in deeper communion with her Son, Jesus Christ.
"Have you decided on your goals for the year 2016?" asked Bishop Peter Jugis during his homily Jan. 1 at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. "We've got to have goals. We've got to have something to work toward to keep us moving forward – otherwise, we just stay in one place."
For those who may be seeking spiritual goals during 2016 Bishop Jugis offered these five suggestions: "Read the Bible more often or do spiritual reading. Pray the rosary more often, or other prayers or novenas. Make a Holy Hour at the Adoration Chapel. Make more frequent confessions to grow in holiness. Make a better preparation for Mass by reading the scripture readings and thinking about them before coming to Mass."
It's important to remember that the ultimate goal of our lives is heaven, he stressed. It's essential we make progress every day towards attaining that goal, because we never know when God may call us from this life.
Bishop Jugis recalled that St. John Paul II said at the beginning of the new millennium, the Jubilee of 2000, the first priority of every person should be holiness.
"To achieve that goal of holiness, he said that all of our parishes should be schools of prayer where we are constantly growing in holiness," Bishop Jugis noted. "So, taking a cue from our beloved St. John Paul II, how about holiness as a spiritual goal for 2016?"
Holiness is a gift we receive at our baptism when sanctifying grace is infused into our souls and we become followers of Christ, he explained. At that moment we are joined to Christ and a life of holiness – very different from other paths available in this world.
As we grow and practice our faith, we build upon that foundation of holiness, he continued – every time we go to confession, every time we receive the Eucharist, every time we pray.
"The Blessed Mother, whom we honor today on her feast day, also received holiness as a gift, a most extraordinary gift that she above all other humans received – the gift of perfect holiness," he said. "From the very first moment, she is the Immaculate Conception, entering life without sin."
Mary is the perfect example of holiness and the best teacher for our "schools of prayer," he said.
He pointed out that the Gospel reading describes how the shepherds heard the angel's message and sought out the infant Jesus, adding, "And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart."
"What is she reflecting upon?" he asked. "Really, she is reflecting on the Mystery of Christ that she has been privileged to carry and bring into the world. If you think about it, that is what we are privileged to do every time we pray the rosary. We are reflecting on the Mystery of Christ, the same Christ whom we have been privileged to welcome into our own soul, into our own lives at our baptism, and every day that we receive the Holy Eucharist – Jesus really, substantially, coming to live in our souls, into our lives."
"May the Blessed Mother pray for us as we pursue the worthy goal of holiness this New Year 2016," he prayed. "Life is so much better with Jesus as an active presence in our daily life."
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter