‘You are powerful witnesses of all that Christ Jesus has done for us’
Bishop Peter Jugis distributes Holy Communion Nov. 3 during the Jubilee Wedding Anniversary Mass held at St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte. (SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald)CHARLOTTE — Seventy-five married couples celebrating jubilee wedding anniversaries were guests of Bishop Peter Jugis at the annual Wedding Anniversary Mass, held this year at St. John Neumann Church Nov. 3. A reception sponsored by Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte was held in their honor after Mass.
During his homily, Bishop Jugis welcomed the couples from parishes all around the diocese and expressed his delight in celebrating the Mass for their intentions, to ask God for continued blessings upon their marriages.
“We are here to honor you for the witness of your love; your love for one another and especially your love for the Lord,” Bishop Jugis said. “Your love for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the center and the reason for the love of your marriage. It is Christ’s love and your love for Him that is at the center of your marriage and the center of your family life.”
He also expressed to the couples that their marriages are witness of the union of Christ and His Church.
“Just as Christ loves His Church, loves His people so much that He gives His entire life for the Church, so also that love shows up in marriage. We see in marriage that total, complete and unconditional love that man and woman have for each other.”
“You are powerful witnesses of all that Christ Jesus has done for us… You are a sign and witness to that love and fidelity (of Christ),” Bishop Jugis said.
After the homily Bishop Jugis invited the couples to stand and turn toward each other to renew their commitment to each another. Bishop Jugis also offered a blessing of their wedding banns.
In attendance at Mass were George and Thelma Lewis of Our Lady of Consolation Church, who have been married for 60 years. They tied the knot July 4, 1969, at St. Columbus Church in Philadelphia. They have two adult sons, three grandchildren and twin great-grandchildren.
When asked what is the secret to their marriage, George said, “Happy wife, happy life.”
“That says it all,” Thelma added.
Some deacons and their wives who are celebrating golden wedding anniversaries this year shared how faith has played a role in their marriage.
Deacon Carlos and Martha Medina of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte were married 50 years ago at Santa Domingo Church in Nicaragua. They have four sons and four grandchildren.
“Our faith has increased a lot,” Deacon Medina said. “We got married by faith. When we got married, we knew it was for a lifetime. It was not to test to see if it would be good only for a few years. We knew we would have to fight for it so we could be married for the rest of our lives.”
Deacon John Riehl and his wife Shirley of St. John the Baptist Church in Tryon were married 50 years ago at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Angola, Ind. They have seven children and 10 grandchildren.
”We started our engagement and marriage with Our Lord,” Shirley said.
“If we didn’t have it, we probably wouldn’t be married. The sanctifying gifts are paramount,” Deacon Riehl added.
Bill and Rosemary Matevie of St. Luke Church in Mint Hill have been married 50 years. They were married at St. Philip Neri Church in Detroit. They have three children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
“We believe marriage takes three: Jesus, my husband and myself,” Rosemary said. “We know that prayer is very important. We have had our ups and our downs. We have weathered the storms and come out stronger because of it.”
Bill said Rosemary’s prayers helped him convert to Catholicism. “We experienced things like Marriage Encounter and Cursillo. I just love the moral tradition of the Catholic Church. It’s been wonderful. We have met a lot of people.”
“We couldn’t have done it without the Lord,” Rosemary added, and “Lots of prayer and patience.”
Celebrating 25 years of marriage this year are Chris and Donnette Labus of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte. They have four children ranging in age from 24 to 17.
“Our faith has been the pillar of our marriage,” Chris explained. “It has been our anchor, and without our relationship with God we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. The survival (of our marriage) is based on our relationship with Christ.”
David and Debbie Walsh are also celebrating their silver anniversary. They were married 25 years ago at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte by recently retired Father Frank O’Rourke. The have six children aged 24 to 16.
“God has been good,” Debbie said. “We have definitely grown in our faith in the past 25 years. All the graces we have received from the sacrament of marriage have greatly influenced how we are being led, where we are going in our walk, and how we are advising our children.”
God “helps make it easy,” David added. “He helps make our marriage stronger and easier to love each other when we love Him.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter. Photos by SueAnn Howell, Catholic News Herald
Bishop Jugis: Share light, love of Christ with others
Father Paul McNulty receives the Book of the Gospels during his installation Oct. 26 as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville. (Della Sue Bryson | Catholic News Herald)WAYNESVILLE — “May God be praised in all that we do as a parish, with the beautiful examples of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and our patron here at St. John, the beloved disciple, always ready to rest at the heart of Our Lord.”
Moments after officially being installed Oct. 26 as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Waynesville and Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton, Father Paul McNulty expressed gratitude to his parishioners and asked for their prayers. During the special Mass of installation, Father McNulty made a public profession of faith and took an oath of fidelity to the Church at the altar, in the presence of Bishop Peter Jugis.
The special Mass featured the combined choirs of the English and Spanish Masses at both churches. Father Julio Dominguez and Father Lucas Rossi concelebrated the Mass, and Deacon Brian McNulty, Father McNulty’s father, assisted. Seminarians Harry Ohlhaut and Darren Balkey served the Mass.
In his homily, Bishop Jugis reiterated to the congregation the three primary roles of a pastor: that of teaching, sanctifying and pastoral governance.
Striving to exemplify the Good Shepherd Himself, the pastor’s mission is to prepare them for eternal life and lead people to Christ, the bishop said. “That is why he is here ultimately, and that is what the Lord on the last day will ask in an accounting from him regarding everyone in his parish.”
The work of the parish – and the work of every pastor – begins at the altar where the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered, Bishop Jugis noted.
“Everything that we do at the parish flows from the life and the love that we celebrate here at this altar,” he said. “We receive Christ’s Presence, we receive Christ’s life within us, His life and His love, and we carry that to all of the ministries of the parish.”
“It all begins here, right here at the altar. This is the center of the life of the parish,” he continued, and thus the celebration of the Eucharist is the most important duty of a pastor in caring for his parishioners.
The Eucharist is like the sun at the center of our solar system, the bishop reflected. “Just as rays from the sun shoot light and the warmth of the sun to all parts of the galaxy, so also the Eucharist, the Son in the center of this universe, sends forth His rays of light, the Light of Christ, and the warmth of the love of Christ to all of the ministries of the parish.”
After his homily, Bishop Jugis escorted the first-time pastor around to places in the church that are significant to his ministry, including the baptismal font, the reconciliation room, the presider’s chair, the altar and the pulpit.
The bishop advised Father McNulty to keep the front doors open at opportune times, so that people may come in to the church and find comfort, peace and solace there in the presence of Jesus Christ. At the baptismal font, he told Father McNulty, welcome new children into the Kingdom of God and then, as their spiritual father, nurture their faith and love for Jesus. At the reconciliation room, he continued, help reconcile wounded souls and relieve their burdens by acknowledging their sins and extending Christ’s mercy and forgiveness. At the pulpit, proclaim the Word of God clearly and with fidelity, and at the presider’s chair, offer the prayers at Mass and unite his prayers to those of his parishioners.
In remarks after Mass, Father McNulty thanked people for their support and asked for their prayers that they all remain faithful to Christ and serve the parish in such a way as to help people get to heaven.
“That’s where I want to go, and I hope that’s where you want to go as well,” he said with a smile. Echoing the bish-op’s homily message, he prayed that the entire parish would be a united community of faith that “shines through-out Haywood County and on everyone that we meet here in Waynesville, Canton and in between.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor. Photos by Della Sue Bryson and Patricia L. Guilfoyle
‘You are Father Bond’s mission’
Newly installed pastor of St. Margaret Church in Maggie Valley, Father Christopher Bond (right), distributes Holy Communion to his parishioners during the installation Mass Oct. 27. (SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald)MAGGIE VALLEY — It was a picture perfect day for the installation of Father Christopher Bond as pastor of St. Margaret Church Oct. 27. The wall of windows behind the altar revealed autumn’s splendor as Bishop Peter Jugis presided over the installation rite and the Mass, officially turning over canonical possession of the parish to Father Bond.
Father Bond, ordained in 2017, most recently served as parochial vicar of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.
During the installation rite at the start of the Mass, Nicki Conroy, faith formation coordinator for the parish, read aloud Father Bond’s official letter of appointment. Bishop Peter Jugis and the congregation then witnessed Father Bond make his profession of faith, renew his oath of fidelity to the Church, and sign the official Church documents of his new office.
His documents were witnessed by his nephew, Charlotte seminarian Harry Ohlhaut, and Father Christian Cook, the new pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, who was also ordained to the priesthood in 2017.
During his homily, Bishop Jugis expressed his delight at presiding over the installation and explained why reading Father Bond’s appointment letter aloud during the Mass is important.
“When a priest does receive the assignment to become a pastor, he may be tempted to say, ‘Oh my goodness, where do I begin? What do I do? There is so much to do.’ That is why this letter of appointment that you heard read at the beginning of the Mass is so helpful. It helps him organize the responsibilities of the pastor so he knows how to categorize what he is supposed to do,” Bishop Jugis said.
He explained Father Bond’s new responsibilities as pastor, emphasizing that a pastor has three primary roles: teaching the faith, sanctifying the faithful and governance of the parish.
“The model in your ministry is the Good Shepherd,” Bishop Jugis said. “The most important work of the parish is the worship of God. The most important thing that happens in the parish is right here at this altar… The most important is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Mass is the life and the love of Jesus Christ here present in our midst – His Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, which we carry with us into all of the ministries in the parish.”
“You are Father Bond’s mission. You are why he is here,” Bishop Jugis continued. “But we also ask that you pray for your pastor, too, so that he may be successful in the work that the Lord has placed him here to do on your behalf; teaching, sanctifying and governing the life of the parish.”
After his homily, Bishop Jugis took Father Bond on what he called “a short tour of the church” stopping at the front doors, the baptismal font, the confessional, the presider’s chair, the altar and the tabernacle while giving some words of advice to the new pastor on celebrating the sacraments.
Reflecting on his first assignment as pastor, Father Bond said, “When I was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Charlotte, I knew that I had properly discerned my God-given vocation. The peace I have enjoyed since my ordination day, even when the going has gotten tough, has been undeniable and palpable. Now that I have been officially installed as a pastor of a parish, I find that the many gifts God has given me (some perhaps dormant for years) are now at the full service of Holy Mother Church – both universally and particularly at this beautiful parish of St. Margaret of Scotland.”
“Somehow, I always knew I was to be a priest, but I never realized how fulfilling it would be, through God’s grace, to assume the awesome responsibility of the full care of souls with which a pastor is charged,” he said.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter