Honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe Dec. 12
Honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe Dec. 12MONROE — Looking out over a sea of parishioners, most of whom hail from Mexico, Father Benjamin Roberts preached on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe to a standing-room-only crowd Dec. 12 at his parish of Our Lady of Lourdes.
“The voice of the Mother of God calls me to her Son!” he said.
“On the mountain of Tepeyac, the Virgin of Guadalupe called to Juan Diego. He was humble. He was faithful. He was obedient. He was precious to Our Lady. He was precious in her sight. Our Lady had come to see him. She was a pilgrim to Guadalupe. She came with a message. She came with an invitation. She came to announce the love of the Father with the voice of a Mother. She was a pilgrim to Guadalupe with a message from heaven.”
Hundreds of parishioners, many dressed in traditional Mexican clothing to mark the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, made their own pilgrimage to the church to sing songs to the Blessed Virgin, perform traditional dances, bring her roses and bouquets of flowers, thank her for her motherly love and ask for her intercession.
“Our Lady was a pilgrim at Guadalupe inviting us to begin our pilgrimage to heaven. She invited us to union with her Son and union with each other,” Father Roberts explained. “The Virgin of Guadalupe tore down the walls that separated peoples. She tore down the walls of division and asked for a church to be built. She tore down the walls of sin and built up the people of God.
“The Virgin Mother of God was a pilgrim at Guadalupe so that we could join in the pilgrimage of all creation to the house of the Father.”
He stated that at the voice of the Virgin Mother, we are all pilgrims. We join with Juan Diego as we listen to the voice of Our Mother, the Church.
“We listen to Her and we hear of the Lord Jesus.”
Father Roberts noted that we share the faith of Christ which has been shared with us. We found our families on the rock of Christ and the grace of His sacraments.
“We are pilgrims to Guadalupe. We are pilgrims from Guadalupe. We have heard the voice of our Mother. We have heard of her love for us. We have heard the mission that she has entrusted to our care. We are pilgrims and we carry the message of heaven,” he concluded.
— Story, photos and video by SueAnn Howell, senior reporter.
Brownd
WilliamsBELMONT — The Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation has named two experienced women to newly created leadership positions effective Jan. 1, 2017.
They are Mercy Sister Paulette Williams, who will serve as executive vice president, and Cheryl Brownd, who will step into the role of program director. The positions are being created as Executive Director Michelle Maidt concludes her service to the foundation at the end of December.
Perhaps best known as the former principal of Charlotte Catholic High School, Sister Paulette also served as vice president of the Sisters of Mercy-South Central Community and as the president of the North Carolina Region of the Sisters of Mercy. In her new part-time position, she will become the foundation’s spokesperson and will provide mission, governance and fiscal oversight.
A 17-year veteran of the foundation’s staff, Brownd currently is senior program officer. She began her tenure as program assistant and later was named program officer before assuming her current role in 2013. Prior to coming to North Carolina, Brownd was grants administrator with the Russell Sage Foundation in New York.
In her new role as program director, Brownd will oversee day-to-day operations and will represent the foundation at community meetings and forums, as well as continuing her current duties.
“We are fortunate to have two such capable women to assume these newly defined roles,” said Mercy Sister Linda Falquette, president and chairperson of the foundation’s board of directors. “The Sisters of Mercy value and appreciate the work the foundation carries out daily and the integrity of its grant process in serving women, children, seniors and those who struggle with poverty.”
Since 1996, the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation has awarded 1,730 grants totaling nearly $78 million to organizations assisting unserved or underserved populations.
On behalf of the Sisters of Mercy-South Central Community, the foundation provides grants to tax-exempt health care, educational and social service organizations that meet its criteria and effectively assist women, children, those who are elderly, and who are economically poor to improve the quality of their lives.
— Myra Joines, communications director for the Sisters of Mercy-South Central Community
DENVER — At the request of the Knights of Columbus Council 10389 at Holy Spirit Church, the ladies of the parish’s Blanket and Shawl Ministry began making red, white and blue lap robes for veterans in Salisbury as a thank-you for their service to the United States.
The project was enthusiastically received and some of the ladies bought their own yarn and went to work. As word spread about the project, other ladies in and outside of the parish wanted to be involved. The Knights contacted Coats & Clark and asked for a donation of yarn.
They were kind enough to contribute six cases of red, white and blue yarn. The Knights also bought yarn from their funds. The project started in mid-February and by the end of October, more than 190 of the 210 lap robes needed were completed by 35 ladies.
The Knights delivered the first 125 lap robes to veterans on Nov. 3. The remainder will be delivered soon when they are finished.
— Doreen Sugierski | Catholic News Herald
CHARLOTTE — “Get out of your comfort zone.” That was one of the conclusions drawn during a frank conversation on racism organized by two Charlotte parishes directly affected by recent racial unrest.
Protests and violence erupted in Charlotte last September following the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott and the subsequent shooting death of protestor Justin Carr. The week-long protests swirled around St. Peter Church, a majority white parish in uptown Charlotte. And the majority-black congregation at Our Lady of Consolation Church mourned the death of 26-year-old Carr, whose family has been members for three generations.
In response, the Black Culture Commission of Our Lady of Consolation Church and the Social Justice Ministry of St. Peter Church arranged the Dec. 10 event, “Charlotte Catholics: Our Stories in Black and White,” to talk about the personal and social wounds that the unrest exposed. More than 200 people from 11 parishes participated in the four-hour discussion.
“Our views from either side are different, we know that,” acknowledged Toni Tupponce, one of the organizers from Our Lady of Consolation Church. But, she added, “when we do nothing and we say nothing, we look around and say it’s not our problem – a couple of months ago, that scourge hit our very doors here when Justin Carr was killed in uptown Charlotte, and we’re still feeling that pain. We must do something. It is, in fact, our problem. It is the Church’s problem because we are the Church.”
Rocky Whitaker, a member of Our Lady of Consolation Church, recounted a recent family gathering at a resort. His mother asked him to take out the trash one night – something most people would do without thinking, he said, but for a black man it’s not so simple.
Whitaker described his thought process at that moment: “Here I am outside, it’s dark, I got a bag, (security) don’t know me. I’d better have my license just so I can prove that I belong on this property. So I go back and get my license.” But he didn’t have a pocket for his wallet and keys, so he thought about tucking them in his sock. “Oh, no, not a good idea. I should not do that,” in case someone might think he’s reaching for a gun. He ended up changing his pants and swapping his hoodie for a jacket, then “make sure I got my ID in my hand, go grab the trash, walk out through the door, put the trash away and come back. But before I left I had to stop – I had to go through a checklist to make sure that I felt safe about taking out the dad-gone trash. I had to sort of chuckle to myself – it’s funny, but it’s not funny.”
That mental “checklist” is something he’s been conscious of doing since he was about 12 years old, “so you don’t give anybody any excuses to do anything or to say anything,” he said. “But why did I have to go through a checklist just to take out the trash? Something’s not right with that picture.”
Talking honestly about situations like this is critical, he insisted. “Why should we have this conversation? Because we should. It’s our responsibility. Why should we Catholics have this conversation? Because we’re Christians.”
Mercy Sister Rose Marie Tresp, who has worked on race relations and social justice issues for decades, talked about recognizing her own unconscious biases and the sensitive issue of “white privilege,” as well as the Church’s admittedly slow response to racial injustice.
The U.S. bishops’ statement 1979 pastoral statement “Brothers and Sisters to Us” was a case in point, she said. Not only did it come decades after Catholics had joined in the civil rights movement, she said, but “listen to that title: ‘Brothers and Sisters to Us.’ Who is the ‘us’? I’m sure they didn’t realize it, but instead of saying ‘we’re all brothers and sisters,’ they saw the Church as a white Church inviting in the African-American Catholics to the club, rather that realizing that we’re all already in the club!”
“Civil rights ended segregation, but it didn’t end, or even know how to deal with bringing an end to the fears, the prejudices, the price and the irrational barriers to a truly integrated society,” she said.
As they sat down to share a meal together in small groups, participants also shared their personal experiences with racism or implicit bias, examining their own viewpoints and listening to others’ opinions.
Some said they struggled with what actually involves racism: “We use the word, but what does it mean? Does it look different to different people?” asked one white woman. Replied a black man sitting next to her, “There’s the way you see it, there’s the way I see it, and then there’s the way it is.”
“We all want the same thing regardless of who we are or where we came from,” said one participant. “Listening is a form of love.”
As they talked, participants came to the same conclusions: Continue the conversation on race, even when it feels uncomfortable. Get young people involved in bridging the racial divide. Remove barriers to a quality education – including greater financial assistance for poor children of color to attend Catholic school, which is too often seen as a privilege that only rich white people can afford.
And one suggestion that was repeated over and over again: Attend Mass at a parish “that looks different than you do.”
“Remember, the Catholic Church is a universal Church,” said one participant. “This is especially a challenge to us that are at white Catholic churches. Try, really try to go to a church with people that don’t look like you.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, Editor
HIGH POINT — Holy Mass on the patronal feast of Christ the King Sunday capped off more than a week of diamond jubilee celebrations Nov. 20 by members of Christ the King Church in High Point.
The diverse parish, comprised of more than 160 Anglo, Latino, Indian, African and African American Catholic families, marked the 75th anniversary of the dedication of their church with a litany of devotions and activities leading up to the feast day: a novena to Christ the King, Eucharistic Adoration and outdoor procession, a pilgrimage to the Door of Mercy at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro, a healing Mass, and a food drive that netted more than 1,000 pounds of donations for a local food pantry.
Pictured: Bishop Peter Jugis sprinkles holy water on parishioners at Christ the King Church in High Point during the parish’s 75th anniversary celebration Nov. 20. (Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald)
Then on Nov. 20 hundreds of people filled the fellowship hall for a bilingual Mass – the church next door was too small – celebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis and Father Gnanapragasam Mariasoosai, pastor. Bishop Jugis administered the sacrament of confirmation to 10 young people, and he blessed a new tabernacle and Stations of the Cross for the church.
In his homily, Bishop Jugis reflected on the kingship of Christ, the anniversary of Christ the King’s dedication in High Point, and the responsibility of every Catholic – including the newly confirmed – to serve Christ the King in everything they say and do.
In the Gospel reading of the day describing the scene of His crucifixion, Jesus shows “in a most marvelous way” His kingship and His gift of love and mercy to the whole world, Bishop Jugis noted.
“He’s sitting on His throne, which is the cross, from which He is ruling the entire world. For the royal crown, He is wearing a crown of thorns indicating His great humility in suffering to save us from our sins and make us free. Instead of a royal purple cloak ... He’s wearing His Blood.”
“We proclaim Him as our king over all those who govern in our world, whether they be called kings or prime ministers or presidents,” Bishop Jugis said, because “all of that is subservient to Jesus, who reigns as supreme ruler over all of creation, over all of our lives, over every single nation.”
He encouraged the confirmation students to follow Jesus as their King. Receiving the sacrament of confirmation, he said, means being sealed with the Holy Spirit and “accepting that great privilege, that great honor and dignity of being a confirmed Catholic, of completing your sacraments of initiation and entering wholeheartedly into the service of the King.”
He said the confirmation students, indeed all Catholics, have a duty to be ambassadors for Christ, “to go out into the world and to do our work for Christ. We’re not here to serve ourselves in this world. We’re here to serve Jesus.”
“Sometimes it may be difficult because the world does not always want to follow Jesus’ commandments and is not interested in what Jesus has to say,” he continued. “But we are His witnesses, so that everything we say, everything that we do, should reveal our love for Jesus and should let people know that we stand with Jesus. We stand with Him and not with the passing values of this world.”
Bishop Jugis also reflected on the anniversary of when Bishop Eugene McGuinness came to High Point to consecrate the church in 1941.
“Just think of the witness that this parish has served here on Kivett Drive for 75 years, a witness to the Catholic faith, a witness to our love for Jesus,” he said. “Now it’s our turn in 2016 to stand on the shoulders of that great foundation that has been set down for us, to do our part and take up our role as witnesses for Christ here in this part of High Point.”
A church has three purposes, he reminded everyone. First, it is set aside as a place for people to worship God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. A church also serves as a place for their sanctification through reception of the sacraments, so that they may attain heaven. Third, a church is a center of evangelization, enabling people to act as witnesses of Christ in the wider community.
“I’m very proud of all that you do to make Christ the King Parish that center of Christ’s presence here in High Point,” Bishop Jugis said, and “to grow as a parish family – in love, in holiness and in mercy, with Jesus Christ as the center.”
In remarks at the end of Mass, Father Mariasoosai thanked Bishop Jugis for his presence and for his homily message to help “make us grow more spiritually.” He also thanked all those who organized and participated in the anniversary celebrations.
As Mass ended, people processed behind Bishop Jugis from the parish hall to the church, where he placed the Blessed Sacrament inside the church’s new tabernacle and blessed new Stations of the Cross.
He then sprinkled the people and the walls of the church with holy water, and – even as the last Holy Door was closing for the end of the Jubilee Year of Mercy – he prayed the blessing of the doors of a church:
“We praise you, Lord God, Father all-holy. You sent Your Son into our world to gather by the shedding of His blood those whom the destructive power of sin had scattered. You sent Him to unite us all in the one sheepfold. He is the Good Shepherd. He is the door through which those who follow Him enter and are safe, go in and go out, and find pasture. Grant that those who enter this church with confident faith in Him may persevere in the teaching of the apostles, in the breaking of the bread, and in unceasing prayer, and so be built up into the heavenly Jerusalem. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, Editor
