‘I am N’
CHARLOTTE — Ongoing persecution of Christians in the Middle East should inspire us to "preach Jesus," Bishop Peter Jugis told his brother priests during the Chrism Mass April 11.
In his Chrism Mass homily directed to more than 90 priests of the Diocese of Charlotte, Bishop Jugis recalled the reality of what it means to be a Christian in our time, especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Middle East who face persecution, even death. Most recently, at least 45 worshippers were killed when two Coptic Christian churches in Egypt were bombed during Palm Sunday liturgies. ISIS, the so-called Islamic State, claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Bishop Jugis recalled efforts among people to show their solidarity with the innocent victims of violence in this war-torn part of the world, and he encouraged the priests to focus persistently on the core message of our faith: "Preach Jesus."
“It’s all about Jesus and the mission of salvation,” he said.
“Soon after ISIS began murdering Christians, wristbands began to be distributed bearing a simple, basic message,” he said. “Written on the wristband is the Arabic letter ‘N,' and the English translation (is) ‘I am N.’ In other words, ‘I am a follower of Jesus the Nazorean.’”
On the reverse side of the wristband, he continued, are the words: "I will not let them serve alone, I will not let them suffer in silence."
“A very simple message: ‘N,' which the Christians of the Middle East proudly proclaim but which ISIS had painted on the doors of the businesses and the homes where Christians reside, (marking them) for elimination.”
“A very simple message, ‘I am N,’ to show solidarity with the persecuted Christians of the Middle East, simply because they profess Jesus,” he said.
He paused, then continued, "Preach Jesus to your parishioners.”
The annual Chrism Mass is an opportunity for the priests of the diocese to concelebrate Mass with their bishop, renew their priestly promises to the Church and assist in the blessing of the oils.
The oils blessed during the chrism Mass are used in the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, anointing of the sick, as well as for ordination of priests and the consecration of churches.
After Mass, deacons divided the blessed oils into smaller oil stocks that will be distributed to all 92 parishes and missions across the diocese for use in sacramental celebrations throughout the upcoming year.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Bishop Jugis talks about perscution in Middle East
At the Diocese of Charlotte Chrism Mass Bishop Peter Jugis talked about the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. The Chrism Mass is a gathering of the priests of the diocese as they begin their Holy Week Masses and services in observance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The comment came as the Bishop implored the priests to continually emphasize the central importance of Jesus in salvation.
HUNTERSVILLE — For more than eight years, representatives of the Te Deum Foundation have been visiting parishes around the state sharing the message of Fatima with classes of children preparing to make their first Holy Communion. Billie Mobley, president of the Te Deum Foundation, and volunteers Barbara and Joe Barreto, share the messages from the Angel of Peace to three children which took place in 1916 in Fatima, Portugal.
The Fatima children said three apparitions of the Angel of Peace occurred in 1916 prior to apparitions of Our Lady which took place six times between May 13 and Oct. 13, 1917, at Cova da Iria.
During the apparitions of the Angel of Peace, the three young shepherds, Lucía dos Santos, and her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta, said they saw a transparent figure in the form of a young man, whiter than snow and of great beauty. He appeared over the trees and said, ‘Do not be afraid! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me.’
At the time the apparitions began, Lucía was 9 years old, Francisco was 8 and Jacinta was 6. The children said the Angel of Peace taught them special prayers, how to make sacrifices and how to make reparation for sin.
During her apparitions to the children in 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary asked for frequent recitation of the rosary and urged works of mortification for the conversion of sinners.
On April 29, Mobley and the Barretos shared the story of the apparitions of the Angel of Peace with two groups of first Communicants at St. Mark Church in Huntersville. They brought the events to life by asking for several children to come up and help reenact some of what occurred between the Angel of Peace and the three shepherd children during the angel’s three appearances to them.
Joe Barreto, a native of Portugal, also relayed insights about village life in his homeland. As he placed a little hat on the boy’s head who volunteered to play Francisco during the reenactment, Joe talked about the traditional Portuguese hat Francisco wore and the many purposes it served in the early 1900s.
“This is a hat back then that a lot of people would wear – especially near the coast, the fishermen used it to store their pipe and tobacco,” he explained. “Sometimes kids would also wear it and (use it) if perhaps they did not have a little bag to put their food or a little snack in.”
Barbara Barreto led the interactive presentation and also introduced the first Communicants to the prayers given to the children by the Angel of Peace. Each child was given a glow-in-the-dark rosary and a copy of the Chaplet of Adoration and Reparation that is based on the prayers the Angel of Peace taught to Lucía, Francisco and Jacinta.
The prayers were originally prayed as a chaplet on rosary beads by many religious orders in Fatima. Father Christopher Roux, pastor and rector of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, brought this “Angel Prayer” back from one of his annual pilgrimages to Fatima at the request of the Irish Dominican Sisters of the Rosary for the approval of Bishop Peter Jugis.
Bishop Jugis desired to encourage Eucharistic Adoration, so he granted his imprimatur for the chaplet on Dec. 8, 2004, during the Year of the Eucharist. He is the only bishop in the world to have granted an imprimatur for the prayers of the Angel of Peace.
The Te Deum Foundation offers prayer cards of this chaplet in nine languages: English, Italian, Russian, French, Polish, Spanish (Castilian), German, Portuguese, Spanish (Latino) and Hungarian.
Barbara Barreto said she enjoys sharing the chaplet and the Fatima story with children because “it gives me an education.”
“I did not know about the Angel of Peace appearing to the children. It’s been rewarding to me to grow in my faith. It’s been great to have adults there too (the parents), because they usually don’t know there was an angel who appeared.”
She believes this is a wonderful presentation for all children preparing for their first Holy Communion.
Mobley agrees and hopes more parishes contact the foundation to set up similar presentations to help spread the message of Fatima. Most importantly, she hopes the children take away something very important from learning about the Angel of Peace and the children of Fatima:
“Say your prayers and ask God to make you a saint when you make your first Communion,” she encouraged them at the end of the presentation.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter. Catholic News Service contributed.
Chaplet coming to EWTN
For the first time, the Chaplet of Reparation and Adoration will be prayed on television on EWTN, the Eternal Word Television Network. The chaplet will be recited at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, May 13, on the 100th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima.
More online
At www.tedeumfoundation.org/Fatima/#chaplet: Order copies of the Chaplet of Adoration and Reparation
At www.catholicnewsherald.com/faith/fatima: Get more information about the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima
WAYNESVILLE — After St. John the Evangelist Parish dedicated our new church in 2007, the old 1940s-era church fell into disuse. Over the next decade, the old pews were sold to raise money, the parish youth group took over the top floor, and the bottom floor eventually became the Knights Hall. Through all these years, a crucifix remained hanging on the wall above the former altar – mostly unnoticed, gathering dust.
Fast forward to October 2016. One parishioner remembered the crucifix and longed for it to once again be included in worship at our parish. The new church already had a beautiful, large crucifix. Our parish’s mission, Immaculate Conception in Canton, had a small crucifix. So St. Joseph Sister Mary Ruth Masters asked, “Why don’t we move this big, beautiful crucifix to Immaculate Conception? I always loved seeing that crucifix in the old church, and I was disappointed when it wasn’t moved to the new church.”
Sister Mary Ruth went to her friend and fellow parishioner, Gail Webb, who also loved the idea of restoring the crucifix for the Canton church. She called Immaculate Conception parishioner Tom Langan, a retired folk artist from Long Island, N.Y., and a devout Catholic. He had already demonstrated his skill and commitment when he carved a Paschal Lamb for the altar at Immaculate Conception Mission.
Langan met with Father Christopher Riehl, parish administrator, and then enlisted the assistance of three more parishioners – Jim McGovern and Gary Lepak from Immaculate Conception, and me. While the others met with Father Riehl to discuss the plans, I set about researching the history of 
this crucifix. Father Riehl referred me to King Richard’s Liturgical Design and Contracting, in Alpharetta, Ga. King Richard’s asked that we send photos and measurements of the crucifix, and they would see what they could learn.
King Richard’s responded quickly. Based on the slender form and clear finish of the crucifix, it almost certainly was carved between 1930 and 1960, as that was the trend at the time. The crucifix depicts Our Lord at the moment of His death, as there is no lance wound in His side. But the real clue to its origin is the unique “INRI” panel at the top of the cross. It is only seen on crucifixes carved in Ortesei, Italy, and specifically by the Demetz Studio located there. Founded in 1872, the Demetz Studio is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of ecclesiastical art, and it uses traditional local carving methods. Today the fifth generation of Demetz carvers is carrying on the family business.
It was obvious that our parish had something special in this crucifix.
Father Riehl granted permission to move the crucifix to Immaculate Conception Mission. It was taken down from the old church’s sanctuary wall and transported to Langan’s studio. Upon close inspection, they learned that one of the fingers on the right hand was broken and missing, so Langan carved and attached a perfect replacement. He then carefully and lovingly cleaned the cross and corpus, stained the cross, and sealed the wood of the corpus. The result was a beautiful representation of Our Lord’s crucifixion, of His suffering and sacrifice on the cross.
All of us met at Immaculate Conception, removed the small crucifix that had been hanging there, and installed the Demetz Crucifix above the altar.
The Demetz Crucifix creates a beautiful focal point for worship in the small mission church. When Sister Mary Ruth first saw the crucifix over the altar at Immaculate Conception, she said, “I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It was even more beautiful than it was in the old church. I knew that it was now exactly where it belonged.”
— Phil Webb, Special to the Catholic News Herald. Phil Webb is a parishioner at St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville.
MIDLAND — Nearly 500 young people and adults from 21 parishes attended the Diocese of Charlotte’s annual Catholic Camporee March 31-April 2 at Belk Scout Camp – including Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Venturers and, for the first time, Girl Scouts and American Heritage Girls.
The camporee’s theme was the Year of Mary, in line with the theme Bishop Peter Jugis announced for the diocese this year.
A Mass culminating the three-day camporee was celebrated by Bishop Jugis, assisted by Deacon Martin Ricart, diocesan Scouting chaplain, and Deacon Carlos Medina of St. Patrick Cathedral.
In his homily, Bishop Jugis commended the Scouts for looking to Mary as an example of how to follow Christ and act with love, charity, humility and joy. “We can’t go wrong in following her example,” he said.
He also encouraged the young people to bring light into others’ lives, just as Jesus is the light of the world.
“As Christians living in the light of Christ we are called to be light for others,” he said, “to bring that light of love and holiness and grace to others.”
The Scout Law – “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent” – describes the “ways that we can exercise in a Christian way, the light of Christ,” he said.
After Mass Bishop Jugis recognized dozens of Cub and Boy Scouts who earned their religious emblems over the past year: the Light of Christ, Parvuli Dei, Ad Altare Dei or Pope Pius XII. A record number of five Boy Scouts (Nicolas Martinez, Christopher Day, Zeke Adams, Franklin Burgess and Nathan Russell) received the Pillars of Faith Award for having earned all four Catholic religious emblems. All are members of Troop 958 from St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem.
The Werewolf Patrol of Boy Scout Troop 172 from Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte won the best overall Boy Scout patrol award for a second year in a row.
Cub Scout award winners were: Pack 8 of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte for Best “Year of Mary” Flag and Best Cub Scout Spirit Award; Pack 111 of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro and Pack 12 of St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte tied for Best Campsite; and Pack 111 also won for Best “Mary, Pray For Us” Obstacle Course Participation.
The Mark Thompson Award for the Top Venturing Crew went to Crew 21 of Matthews.
Scoutmaster Mitch Cox of St. Matthew Troop 8 was recognized with the Bronze Pelican Award for his service to Catholic scouting. Adult leaders Richard Conklin from St. Matthew Church and John and Christie Silvestri from St. John Neumann Church were presented the St. George Award, in recognition of their longtime commitment to the spiritual development of youth in Catholic scouting.
“Watching brand new recruits compete and get to know their teammates is humbling,” noted Christie Silvestri, Crew Advisor for Venture Crew 12 of St. John Neumann Church. “Watching a scout try their hand at something new and succeed is very rewarding. Seeing the youth combine their faith and the scouting program just seems natural.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor. Photos by Patricia Guilfoyle, Stephen Guilfoyle, Joanne White and Brian Higgins
More online
At www.cdccos.info: Get information on Catholic Scouting
