CHARLOTTE — A new pope – and an American one at that – is an historic moment for Catholics, but if that’s all we think about, we’ve missed the point, Bishop Michael Martin preached during a special Mass May 9 honoring Pope Leo XIV.
Bishop Martin urged a crowd of 700 gathered at St. Matthew Church, the largest parish in the Diocese of Charlotte, plus another 200 tuning in online, not to let this moment pass but keep up the excitement of the Gospel message highlighted by the new pope.
“We relegate what has just happened over these last few weeks to a sideshow. Something cool and took our minds off of this or that. It was fun to watch and white smoke and Swiss Guards and, you know, seagulls,” he said. “If that’s all it is, I don’t want any part of it, and I hope you won’t, either, but that is what it gets relegated to when we don’t stand with our Holy Father.”
In his first message to the world after being elected May 8, Pope Leo XIV encouraged Catholics to build bridges, foster dialogue and evangelize.
Bishop Martin echoed the pope’s call for unity during the bilingual Mass, asking Catholics to pray for the Holy Father and take his words to heart.
“It's not for a man from Chicago," he said, "but rather for something deeper that all of us yearn for, for something greater that all of us are meant for, for something deeper that all of us have been created for, and that is life with Christ.”
The bishop reflected on the Gospel reading chosen for the special “Mass for Pope Leo XIV and the Universal Church,” from John 17:11b, 17-23, in which Jesus prays for unity: “… that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”
Bishop Martin said, “Jesus’ prayer gives us this deep, deep desire for communion, a deep, deep desire for unity, which is so much more poignant in our world that finds itself so individualized that it cannot find its way to the other.”
“Are we seizing this moment? As people who have come to believe that Jesus is ‘the way, the truth and the life’?” he asked.
“We have got to find unity first and foremost in Christ Jesus. That we have to constantly look to our Savior. That we have to make a constant choice, an intentional moment throughout the day – over and over again – to fix our eyes on Him, to know who is our true North, to know who is the way, the truth and the life, to know who is the only one whose Spirit unites us in one body. We have to commit to that over and over and over again. And the more that we do, the more unified we become.”
Bishop Martin closed his homily repeating the words Pope Leo XIV first said yesterday afternoon as he stood on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Do not be afraid.” The bishop added, “We are meant for this moment. Do you appreciate that?”
The Mass drew people from all over Charlotte, and Bishop Martin’s message resonated with many.
St. Gabriel parishioner John Gage Hutchens was struck by the bishop’s comment about the new pope: “Notice while I carry the shepherd's crook, the Holy Father carries the cross, and every morning he carries it with him on our behalf. Will you carry it with him?”
Said Hutchens, “I came because I wanted to do something for the new pope. He is going to have to do a lot for us, so I figured I would come and stay for the Mass and offer some prayers and ask God to look out for him.”
St. Matthew parishioner Beth Taflinger said she came to the Mass because she loves seeing Bishop Martin and she is excited about the new pope.
“He has real charisma. I love the fact that he was overwhelmed, holding back tears in recognition of his new responsibility,” she said. “He is such a holy man, it is incredible what he did in Peru. He is one of us too, though. He is from the U.S. He is just like a normal guy in one respect, and so holy, but very relatable.”
Antoinette Usher, chief operating officer of St. Matthew Parish, said they were beyond excited that Bishop Martin chose to celebrate the special Mass for the pope at St. Matthew.
Besides draping yards of yellow and white bunting over the church entrance, the Charlotte parish found other ways to add special touches for the occasion.
Chosen to bring up the gifts were two students from St. Matthew School – both named Leo, one in fifth grade, the other a kindergartner, Usher noted. And members of the parish children’s choir chose the song “My Lighthouse” for the recessional hymn, a favorite of the parish with lyrics that echoed the bishop’s homily message.
“With the new pope bestowing that honor on us, to host a Mass of Thanksgiving for Pope Leo XIV, we were ecstatic,” Usher said. “I hope all who came got a flavor of who we are.”
— Lisa M. Geraci