‘We are called to be bearers of hope’
HIGH POINT — A Vigil Mass celebrating the Jubilee Year of Hope July 19 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church was packed as parishioners from across the Triad gathered to hear a hopeful message delivered by Bishop Michael Martin.
“All of us are called to be bearers of hope,” Bishop Martin said. “A whole year of hope has so much capacity in our world, in our country, in our diocese, in our parish and in your hearts.”
The Mass was put into motion months ago by Immaculate Heart of Mary’s pastoral council. As pastor, Father Patrick O’Connor felt his flock, which has recently experienced tremendous growth in both diversity and membership, could use a little hope.
“Within our Hispanic community, there has been so much anxiety, stress, worry, doubt and fear,” said Father O’Connor. “It is a good year to have a year of hope, to trust God is there in the midst of all this craziness and these difficulties. He is working. He is helping us through the Church, and He is with us in our suffering.”
Bishop Martin opened his homily with both good and bad news.
“The good news is that Jesus Christ has saved all of us. In this life and for the life to come,” he said. “Don’t ever forget it. Remind yourself of it regularly and proclaim it to the world that only knows the news they scroll through.”
“The bad news is, He doesn’t force it on any of us, leaving us the freedom of living life as we choose. We don’t freely accept this gracious gift of salvation enough, and too often we pursue other ways of being saved that never deliver.”
On a weekend highlighting Jesus’ friends, sisters Martha and Mary, in Luke’s Gospel, the bishop said the two set a great example of hope. He warned that instead of pitting their two methods of adoration - hospitality and awe - against one another, it is important to practice both.
“Our Gospel today gives us two paradigms and two ways to respond to the saving hope of Jesus Christ,” he said.
“Martha’s message of hospitality should not be only exhibited in our homes but within our church,” said Bishop Martin. “Are you pouring (that hospitality) into the people that are crowding around you? Sitting next to you? Especially within a parish that over the last 25 years has gotten so much more diverse.”
And while Marthas feed you, joked the bishop, sometimes we need to act a little more like Mary.
“We need to receive that message from Mary that calls us to sit with the Cross and ponder His suffering, and it’s when we do that, that is when we bring a message of hope to the world,” he said.
“We live in a world that does not understand the redemptive capacity of suffering,” he said. “Our crazy message of hope is to embrace the cross. You can only embrace it when you are part of it and contemplate it.”
Parishioner Fidencio Martinez, who has been practicing with the choir for months in preparation for the visit, believes the homily was perfectly timed.
“I needed, we needed, to hear this message he has sent us, at this exact moment,” said Martinez. “We have all this fear; the politics of what is going on right now are scary, but I think his message is pretty clear. Have hope. He gets it.”
The message resonated with the diverse parish. “We have a lot of Filipinos, Indians, Hispanics, Africans, and Vietnamese,” Father O’Connor said. “It’s really developed into quite a beautiful community representing so many cultures and nations throughout the world.”
After Mass, Father O’Connor was all smiles as he presented Bishop Martin with a gift from the parish, an image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Bishop Martin spoke to a long line of parishioners, while members of the Hispanic community, taking inspiration from Martha, fed the crowd with a delicious buffet.
— Lisa M. Geraci, photos by Lisa M. Geraci and provided
More online
For more on the Jubilee Year of Hope and local events and activities, visit https://charlottediocese.org/jubilee-2025/
Bibles behind bars
SALISBURY — Behind the barbed wire fence of Piedmont Correctional Institution, there is a renewed sense of hope thanks to the request of one prisoner who is focusing on his faith.
Instead of calling family or friends, he chose to call the Diocese of Charlotte Pastoral Center with a request – Bibles to distribute to some of the 951 inmates he now shares a home with.
“He picked up the phone and spent his own dime requesting Catholic Bibles,” said David Coe, interim prison ministry director for the diocese, who had the voicemail forwarded to him. “The message was stunning and beautiful. It’s just absolutely amazing, and that is what started the ball rolling.”
Months before, the diocese’s properties director, Dan Ward, had found boxes of unused Bibles in a storage room at the Pastoral Center. After asking around the building to no avail, he approached Monsignor Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor, who advised him to reach out to other diocesan ministries.
When Coe received Ward’s call, he knew exactly who could benefit from the surplus.
Ward found himself boxing up a shipment of 50 English Bibles and sending them to Michael Becker, operations manager of Sacred Heart in Salisbury – the parish that serves Piedmont Correctional – to satisfy the request.
In addition to support from local churches, Coe and his team of volunteers visit prisons and jails across the diocese, bringing rosaries and donated Bibles and holding retreats at Mountain View Correctional in Hendersonville.
Since none of the Bibles were Spanish, Coe called another of his reliable sources, St. Benedict Press. They readily granted the request, shipping 50 brand-new, free Catholic Spanish Bibles to Sacred Heart.
“Whenever I ask, they never refuse,” Coe said. “It takes a team to make it work.”
The prison ministry at Sacred Heart had been on somewhat of a hiatus for the past five years due to COVID-19, but it is regaining traction, thanks to a combination of eager prisoners and volunteers.
Being Catholic in prison is sometimes a challenge. Since several faith communities vie for Piedmont’s Sunday services time slots, Mass is offered only once a month.
The once-a-month Sunday Mass is presided over by Sacred Heart’s pastor Father John Eckert within the prison chapel walls, and it has been getting more crowded, with about 25 regular attendees.
“Father Eckert has told me that there’s been a really good showing recently,” said Becker.
Prison Ministry volunteers like Eric Lawlor (brother of St. Therese’s pastor Father Mark Lawlor) come in once a week to study Scripture and pray the rosary, and Deacon
James Mazur stops in to bring Holy Communion.
Within the prison walls, Lawlor has witnessed prisoners come to the Catholic faith, later getting baptized on the outside after joining OCIA.
Coe said the magnitude of conversions he sees of people in prison who want to receive God’s love is extraordinary. “God is rescuing people behind bars and restoring their lives,” he said.
— Lisa M. Geraci