In a striking turn of events, renowned atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins recently declared himself a “cultural Christian” during an interview with Rachel S. Johnson of LBC. Dawkins’ declaration was sparked by his reaction to the mayor of London’s decision to celebrate Ramadan with 30,000 lights on Oxford Street rather than Easter.
At Easter morning brunch, one of my daughters brought me a beautiful bouquet of tulips.
The whole of Christ’s passion is obedience. It is obedience out of love – a love for the Father and love for us. Christ put the greatest trust in the Father’s plan for salvation. Abraham and Isaac were the forerunners of this great trust: Abraham in God, God in Abraham, and Isaac in Abraham.
On the edge of my property a lone peach tree grows between the woods and the gravel drive. Years ago, someone probably finished eating a peach and carelessly tossed the pit out of their car window. With the dense undergrowth, the pit overcame insurmountable odds to sprout into a sapling and grow into a small tree. 
Tom Holland’s magnificent book “Dominion” develops in detail what amounts to a very simple proposition – namely, that Christianity is responsible for many of the central values we take for granted and assume to be universal. In point of fact, he says, our insistence on the dignity of the individual, fundamental human rights, the principle of equality and, perhaps above all, that the poor, the marginalized and the victimized ought to be specially cherished, flows from basic Christian convictions. 
Nearly 40 years ago, on a Tuesday, my sister Erin ran into the house with the excitement and enthusiasm that only a 7-year-old girl with a story to tell could muster. Immediately, she began to tell my mother about the wonderful adventure that she and her older brother had been having outside. Now she described in great detail the clouds and the birds and the sunshine and the neighbors who walked by all as we were engaged in the challenging project of getting a kite to fly on a Tuesday afternoon.
There are so many things clamoring for our attention these days, in all different kinds of ways. We are assaulted by advertisements, which are practically unavoidable on every video we watch, on billboards, on the radio and on our social media feeds. 
HUNTERSVILLE — Monsignor Richard Bellow, the retired pastor of St. Mark Church, celebrates 50 years of priestly ministry this year.
Monsignor Bellow began his ministry as a Franciscan priest, serving at parishes in New Jersey and upstate New York before serving as director of St. Francis Seminary in Staten Island, N.Y. Then in 1987, he made the move to the Diocese of Charlotte, to be closer to his ailing mother. His first assignment in the diocese was as pastor of St. John Neumann Church in Charlotte.
After 10 years, he moved to serve alongside Father Edward Sheridan at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte – one of the largest parishes in the diocese and the largest parish he’d ever served in at that point of his priesthood.
“Since arriving here in 1987, I have seen how the diocese has grown – in terms of Catholics and in terms of what the Church has accomplished,” Monsignor Bellow said in a 2013 Catholic News Herald interview upon his retirement.
He was known as “Father Richard” to many – that is, until 2002, when on the Feast of St. Francis, Oct. 4, then Bishop William Curlin conferred on him the title of Chaplain of His Holiness and he became “Monsignor Bellow.”
From 2004 until his retirement in 2013, Monsignor Bellow served as pastor of St. Mark Church in Huntersville, shepherding what would grow to become one of the largest parishes in the diocese.
“I didn’t even know where Huntersville was. I had to pull out a map to find it,” he recalls with a smile.
Monsignor Bellow helped guide the construction of a new church building that was dedicated in 2009, fulfilling a 12-year dream for parishioners in Huntersville. The fledgling Catholic community north of Charlotte had begun its journey with attending Masses in a bowling alley. Now the church has a sprawling campus that includes a school, parish hall, gardens and more.
Many of the sacred items that adorn the sanctuary of the new church building are from the Franciscan seminary where Monsignor Bellow had received his formation. The altar, ambo and crucifix bring back pleasant memories for him.
“This combines my Franciscan priesthood and my diocesan priesthood,” he explained.
Monsignor Bellow shared that the day Bishop Peter Jugis came to dedicate the new church was “a glorious day! A great gift from God.”
He is also very proud that Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration is now offered in the chapel at St. Mark.
“If God wants me to be remembered for one thing, that’s what I want to be remembered for: being the pastor here when God did this good work in us,” he said.
Since he retired seven years ago, Monsignor Bellow has been able to continue his priestly ministry and being of service to others. He had been helping out at parishes almost every weekend before the COVID-19 pandemic in March precluded most public Masses. He had also trained and volunteered often at the Hospice house in Huntersville before restrictions on visitors to health care facilities went into effect last spring.
“I really haven’t left the house. I have gone into the desert,” he says. “Sometimes it’s good but sometimes it’s difficult.”
He has made use of video conferencing tools to keep in touch with people while he remains close to home for his own health’s sake during the pandemic.
He notes, “I have a sign that I look at every morning that says essentially, ‘Talk less, think more.’ So I have been really getting into reading the Scriptures and praying and spending time alone with the Lord. It has been unbelievable.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
