Archive for the ‘The Catholic Miscellany’ Category
Youth Show Support for Sanctity of Life During Rally
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
“The Catholic Miscellany”
By Christina Lee Knauss
COLUMBIA – Most high school students probably wanted to stay home in their warm beds as a blast of Artic air moved though South Carolina on January 17.
Not so, however, for an estimated 600 Catholic youth from the Diocese of Charleston who converged in Columbia for the first Catholic Youth Rally for Life. The event, sponsored by the diocesan offices of youth ministry and family life, was meant to give Catholic young people a chance to stand up publicly for the sanctity of human life, and was held in conjunction with the annual Stand Up for Life Rally and March at the State House.
Youth groups from around the state arrived by car and bus and packed into the parish life center at St. Peter Church in Columbia for a 9 a.m. rally that was moved inside because of the harsh weather.
The rally featured music by contemporary band Wannabe Stephen, group prayer; and guest speakers.
Father Jeffrey Kirby, parochial vicar at St. Mary Help of Christians Church in Aiken, started his speech with a story about an unusual looking woman he and his classmates used to see around campus when he was in college. He said they would make fun of the woman’s looks among themselves until one day they saw her with a young child who obviously adored her. “It was then I realized the importance of that woman we had mercilessly made fun of,” he said. “That helped me understand that every human person has dignity and needs to be respected.”
Father Kirby told the young people that every letter in the word “Right” stands for something to remember as they work to promote pro-life values. “R stands for ‘respect life always. It tells us to ‘intercede for life.’ G is for ’Guard.’ H is for ‘help life.’ And “T” is the thanks we give for those who struggle to make every life count,” he said.
Father Kirby led the young people in loud pro-life chants, and reminded them that they are the future of the movement within the church. “Pope John Paul II said that you are the gatekeepers of the new millennium. You are going to spread our faith out and propagate it,” he said. “You are guarding our faith and by being here today you are guarding life.” After the rally, young people packed St. Peter Church so full that many had to stand and kneel in the back and entranceway.
Msgr. Martin T. Laughlin, administrator of the diocese of Charleston, celebrated Mass dedicated to the pro-life message.
Msgr. Laughlin’s homily focused on the special purpose that God has for every individual, and the need for people to open their hearts and minds to hear God’s message.
“Only one thing can satisfy this unique individual that we are, and that is the imminent love of God,” he said. “You’re more of a person the day you can freely say ‘I love God. I’m not perfect but I want to love him. I see the power and wisdom of God on the cross.” Msgr. Laughlin encouraged the young people to spend time in prayer and meditation, to read Scripture and take time to discern God’s plan for their lives. After Mass, youth groups and their adult leaders marched from St. Peter on Assembly Street up to Main Street and the steps of the State House. Many carried signs and banners, and the crowd called out pro-life chants as they moved slowly through the streets, escorted by City of Columbia police officers.
At the State House, the youth joined other marchers coming from the Russell House at the University of South Carolina, and filed onto the State House steps. There were so many present that they took up whole sections of the wide staircase.
Steven Wright, 15, a member of St. Theresa the Little Flower Church in Summerville, said the rally galvanized his commitment to work for an end to abortion. “It really brought my spirit up and showed me why we’re here,” he said. “We need to step from behind the curtain and stand up for life. Ryan Ferguson, a member of the youth group from Our Risen Savior in Spartanburg, held a large yellow banner with the rally’s slogan, “Lifeguard on Duty,” while standing near the top of the steps during the rally. He looked around and pointed out the dozens of other Catholic youth who stood near him.
“I think it’s really great that there are this many young people who care about this issue,” he said.
“I’ve learned today that you should take all the chances you get to tell people about the pro-life cause and affect how they feel,” said Sarah Catone, 14, also a member of Our Risen Savior. “By doing that, we can help people make the right choices … and choose life.”
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Five Truths on the Virgin Mary: Victory Over Death
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
“The Catholic Miscellany”
By Father Jeff Kirby
Editor’s Note: This is the final column of a five-part series of columns Father Jeffrey Kirby is writing for the month of October, which is dedicated to Mary and the rosary.
Fifth truth: At death, life is changed, not ended.
Awhile back, while ministering to a person with a terminal illness, I was asked, “Father, should I be afraid?”
I reminded the person of the resurrection of Jesus, and confidently assured the person that there is nothing to fear. But it’s a question that reflects our contemporary mindset.
Why is it that nothing seems to clear a room faster than a conversation on death and dying? It’s as if we have something to fear from the very topic of death. If we look into it, we will find that God has lessons for us on this issue as seen in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Death is one of humanity’s most pressing questions because it appears to be a contradiction of the life we live now. It seems to be at odds with our will to live.
Death relativizes the freedom that we normally cherish and protect. Oftentimes, aroused by fear, we see dying as a terrible evil. These are not abstract ideas or emotions. They reveal very concrete and personal concerns.
Within the forum of this restlessness and fear, the Lord Jesus gives humanity the gift of his mother and her glorious assumption into heaven.
Among the many psychological and emotional answers to our questions on death, we have to remind ourselves of the biblical answer: We were not meant to die.
Death is a consequence of sin and our fallen nature. When God created Adam and Eve, the body shared in the immortality of the human soul. The discord of sin changed that harmony. The awareness of this truth rests within each of us with the belief that death is not supposed to happen.
The Lord Jesus, however, destroyed the power of sin and death in our world. While we still feel the effects of our fallen nature, they no longer have the last word. Rather than an ending, death is now a transition from one state of life to another. In Christ, an everlasting life is offered to humanity.
In Mary, we see the first fruits of the Lord’s victory over sin and death. In her assumption, we see a perfected model and shining example of the saving fruits won by Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
In Mary’s passage of body and soul from life to eternal life, the effects of the redemption are played out. We can see in Mary what God wants to do in the life of all his children. In her assumption, we see in personal form what will happen at the end of life to all those who are transformed by God’s goodness.
Mary’s life on earth ended as it had always been lived, in trust and closeness to God.
To all the faithful, her life is a witness to hope in God’s grace and eternal life.
Father Kirby is the parochial vicar at St. Mary Help of Christians Church in Aiken. To read more, visit his web site at www.jeffrey-kirby.com.
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Five truths on the Virgin Mary: Virginity as a Sign of Perfection
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
“The Catholic Miscellany”
By Father Jeff Kirby
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of a five-part series of columns Father Jeffrey Kirby is writing for the month of October, which is dedicated to Mary and the rosary.
Fourth truth: We stand before God with empty hands.
Awhile back, the topic of the perpetual virginity of Mary came up in a conversation with a good friend.
This friend argued that “it was clear” in the Bible that Mary was a virgin when she bore Christ. And it was also clear that she later had other children and was not a virgin her entire life.
He did not understand the church’s teaching on Mary’s perpetual virginity and dismissed it as “another example” of the Catholic Church’s obsession and negativity towards human sexuality.
This friend asked me why it was so important that Mary remained a virgin. “Who cares?”
The views of my friend, however, seem themselves to express an unnoticed, contemporary obsession with sex. Perhaps Mary’s virginity isn’t a negative thing, but a positive reality that is meant to direct us to something higher.
The church could agree with our culture and ask who cares whether Mary was a virgin her entire life. But why does the culture care whether Mary was a virgin? What is the culture’s ideal and goal? What is its point?
In posing a counter-question, however, the church explains why it has received, believes and teaches Mary’s lifelong virginity. The church wants to present the ideal and goal of God in doing such a marvelous work in Mary. God wants us to understand his point.
Mary’s perpetual virginity is an exceptional gift to her and to us. It teaches us a lot about the creative power of God’s grace. As human beings, we stand with empty hands before God. We are unable to do anything without him.
As a young virgin, Mary could not bear a son, but God can do all things. The Lord overshadowed her and a virgin conceived a son (Lk 1:35). In Mary’s virginity, we see a symbol of our own inability before God. More importantly, we see God’s complete power and ability to accomplish great things in us.
The teaching on Mary’s perpetual virginity is not a negative view of sexuality, but a sign of its perfection within the higher order of the spiritual life. The dual purposes of the sexual act are unitive and procreative: to unite the couple and be open to life. Both of these purposes reach their climax in Mary’s virginity.
Mary’s empty hands before the Lord began the time of fulfillment of God’s promises and preparations. The Messiah arrived, and God would again be united to his people. Mary’s “yes” to God began a new creation.
In his conception by the Holy Spirit and in his birth, Jesus did not diminish his mother’s virginal integrity, but sanctified it for all time. Joseph remained her chaste spouse throughout his life, surrounded by Jesus’ cousins or half-siblings, perhaps from a previous marriage by Joseph.
Jesus was Mary’s only son, but he was the first-born of many brothers and sisters (Rm 8:29; Rv 12:17) adopted in the Holy Spirit through faith.
The focus of the church’s important teaching on Mary’s perpetual virginity is not her virginity in and of itself or her lack of sexual expression, but the wonderful plan and providence of God in salvation history.
Mary’s untouched body is an enduring icon of God’s utter holiness and of his creative power within and among us. As Mary herself tells us, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lk 1:46-47).
Father Kirby is the parochial vicar at St. Mary Help of Christians Church in Aiken. To read more, visit his web site at www.jeffrey-kirby.com.
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Five truths on the Virgin Mary: The First to be Saved
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
“The Catholic Miscellany”
By Father Jeff Kirby
Editor’s Note: This is the third of a five-part series of columns Father Jeffrey Kirby is writing for the month of October, which is dedicated to Mary and the rosary.
Third truth: God’s dwelling place will be holy.
Several years ago, I was invited to a social function. I misunderstood how formal the event was, and I showed up greatly underdressed. It was awkward. I certainly didn’t fit in with the other guests.
Sometimes in life we can see how one thing doesn’t fit in with the others. When we approach God, we should use this same ability of discernment Sometimes we forget how holy God’s presence is and we try to approach him underdressed.
Sin cannot withstand the majesty of God’s presence and utter holiness. Only grace makes a fitting garment for God’s company.
In the saving mission of God the Son, a special body was prepared to hold and carry his incarnated divinity. A special handmaid was fashioned to hold the presence of God on earth.
At the very conception of Mary of Nazareth by her parents, God preserved her from all stain of original sin. Three decades before the actual historical events, Mary experienced the redemptive effects of her Son’s cross and resurrection. God applied the graces of salvation to Mary, and she became the first to be saved by Jesus Christ.
Mary received this singular grace and privilege because God was sanctifying the future temple of his Son. God was preparing Mary to be the new Ark of the Covenant.
In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was a sacred container that housed the presence of God. It held various testimonies of God’s covenant with humanity, mainly the tablets of the Ten Commandments, portions of manna, and the rod of the High Priest Aaron.
Containing God’s presence, the Ark was holy. God himself ordered its construction, dictated who built it, consecrated those who cared for it, and blessed its completion through Moses. The Ark was a sign of God’s loving presence. It was regarded with holy fear and strict reverence by the Jewish people.
King David was filled with awe at the sight of the Ark. He danced before it, and exclaimed, “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Samuel 6:9).
As in the old covenant, God would fashion an Ark for his covenant. Rather than a box or container, the new ark would be a bodily temple and a loving mother. God preserved Mary from sin, nurtured her with devotion and filled her with grace. She was to be freely and completely holy for the Son of God.
After the announcement of God’s incarnation in her womb, Mary went to her relative Elizabeth. In a scene reminiscent of King David, the unborn St. John the Baptist danced before Mary, and St. Elizabeth exclaimed, “And why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43).
In her Immaculate Conception, Mary was being liberated and prepared by God for her role in salvation history. As the Lord’s own mother, she would become the sanctified Ark of the New Covenant.
Father Kirby is the parochial vicar at St. Mary Help of Christians Church in Aiken. To read more, visit his web site at www.jeffrey-kirby.com.
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Five truths on the Virgin Mary: Life is a Family Affair
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
“The Catholic Miscellany”
By Father Jeff Kirby
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a five-part series of columns Father Jeffrey Kirby is writing for the month of October, which is dedicated to Mary and the rosary.
Second truth: Life is a family affair.
Life has an amazing inner focus on community, and most of it surrounds the family. Weddings, birthday parties, funerals, and celebrations of all types involve the men and women we call relatives.
Family life is central to our lives as human beings.
Whether we like it or not, whether we enjoy their company or not, we all know that there is something important about being together in a family. Even if it’s the sorrow of not having a family, we all have a deep family sense in our hearts and a desire to be with others who know us and are known by us.
Something so fundamentally human could not be missing from the earthly life of Jesus Christ. This basic aspect of reality is plainly seen in his life and mission. Fully human, Jesus belonged to a family and a chosen people. His work as our redeemer is marked by this astute family sense and identity.
This seems peculiar to our contemporary, Western world. So many of us struggle to define ourselves in individualistic terms. We want to be independent, autonomous and left alone. We see our relationship with Jesus in exclusive terms, it’s “me and Jesus.” The interior move towards family life and true relationship is repressed and oftentimes forgotten.
In this arena, the role of Jesus’ mother, the saints and angels, all seem like distractions and barriers to our encounter with Christ.
Jesus’ approach to us, however, is much different. As seen in the Bible and in our tradition, the initiatives of Jesus always have a strong emphasis on a covenant with a people. God wants a family, and it’s not just about the individual. It’s about the person as a member of God’s greater family.
In his public ministry, Jesus sought to clearly teach this lesson. Once, his mother and relatives came and called to him. He was told, “Your mother and your kinsmen are outside, asking for you.” He replied, “Here are my mother and my kinsmen. Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister, and mother” (Mk 3:31-35). Rather than dismissing his natural family, Jesus is opening up his family to all who do the will of his heavenly Father.
Jesus comes to heal wounds, unite what has fallen apart and bring home those who have lost their way.
In Christ, we can realize the family relationship that God wants to have with us. Rather than distractions and barriers, the Virgin Mary and the saints become a part of us, and a gift from God to us along the way of life. We see Jesus’ mother as a consolation and a help to us. We see the saints, the friends of God, as our older brothers and sisters who encourage and protect us. Our inner desire for family finds its fulfillment and greatest expression in the family of God through Jesus Christ.
Father Kirby is the parochial vicar at St. Mary Help of Christians Church in Aiken. To read more, visit his web site at www.jeffrey-kirby.com.
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Five Truths on the Virgin Mary: A Mother’s Essential Role
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
“The Catholic Miscellany”
By Father Jeff Kirby
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a five-part series of columns Father Jeffrey Kirby is writing for the month of October, which is dedicated to Mary and the rosary.
First truth: A mother’s role is essential.
Whenever my mom visits the parish, it’s amazing how much she inquires about my life and how much she inspects the environment: food, cleanliness, people and personalities.
If she wasn’t my mother, her approach might be considered pushy and intrusive. But she’s my mom.
It’s interesting to see how much access and leeway mothers have in the lives of their children. It’s a basic human reality that moms can go where no one else can. They uniquely understand their children. Our moms carried us, brought us into the world, and our lives are always a gift from them.
We shouldn’t be surprised when we see this universal truth played out in the earthly life of Jesus Christ. In the fullness of time, God the Father sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to bring redemption to humanity (Gal 4:4-5).
Jesus didn’t just appear as an adult, or fall from the sky. He was born of a woman, and had a human mother.
The archangel announced to Mary of Nazareth that she was “full of grace,” and was chosen to be the Mother of the long-awaited Messiah. It was Mary who first heard and believed in the glad tidings of the savior’s arrival.
Virginally conceived, Jesus was born surrounded by his mother’s faith and his people’s hope.
After his displacement and birth in Bethlehem and his flight into Egypt, Jesus settled and was raised in Nazareth. He worked with human hands, prayed with human words and loved with a human heart. Under the care and teaching of his mother and foster father, Jesus’ human nature was slowly prepared for his saving mission.
Jesus honored Mary as his mother and showed her the love of a devoted son. With her maternal heart, she held a privileged place in his life and mission. At the wedding feast of Cana, the Lord was hesitant to work a miracle, “My hour has not yet come.” It was Mary who prompted his actions, and with it the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Her instructions to the servants at Cana about Jesus are her last recorded words in the Bible: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5).
At one point in Jesus’ public ministry, someone yells to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked.”
Jesus, however, shows the depth of his love and honor for his mother when he responds, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:27-28). As his mother, Mary was especially prepared to be his most adamant follower.
Mary understood who Jesus was and what he was called to do. From the crib to the cross, from Pentecost to her Assumption, Mary loved her Son and faithfully served her savior.
Father Kirby is the parochial vicar at St. Mary Help of Christians Church in Aiken. To read more, visit his web site at www.jeffrey-kirby.com.
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Summer Camp in Aiken Teaches Youths to Live Catholic Social Justice
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
“The Catholic Miscellany”
By Amy Wise Taylor
AIKEN – Leaders at St. Mary Help of Christians Church want their youth to know about social justice and how to live it.
One of the ways they teach the concept is through a new camp they started over the summer. Joan LaBone, church youth director, said it was four intense days that ran from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m.
She said she and Father Jeffrey Kirby, parochial vicar, worked on the camp together and were barely dragging along by the end of the last day. And yet they plan to expand the program next year; to dig deeper into the issues.
“I’m very justice centered,” LaBone said. “You don’t do service because it’s a good thing to do on weekends or because it helps the community. You do it because it’s what you are called to do when you walk with Christ.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops lists seven key themes of justice, and those were the focus of the camp.
On the first day, youths visited a hospital and a horse farm, where they heard talks about the dignity of work and the rights of workers.
Words were followed by action as the group labored in the fields, raking the pasture in preparation for planting grass. The youths then went to a nursing home and accompanied Father James LeBlanc, pastor of St. Mary, as he spent time with the residents and prayed with them.
Father Kirby said a key principle of Catholicism is to pray and follow, but stressed that Catholics must be active witnesses to live the faith.
The youths spent a lot of time in prayer and class-like discussions, but they also unloaded groceries at the St. Vincent de Paul center, cleaned the church, and worked in the homes and yards of parishioners.
“They felt the social implications of their discipleship,” Father Kirby said.
And they did not shy away from any of their responsibilities.
When the group went to Area Churches Together Serving for a tour and to learn how the ecumenical organization helps people of need in the community, the director of the program and the youths joined hands outside the building and prayed.
“These kids never even thought about where they were,” LaBone said. “I wish I could be that strong in my faith that I didn’t care that the whole world was riding by as I prayed.”
The youth director also applauded the dedication of a number of campers who had to balance the start of sports and band with attending camp.
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First Year: Newly Ordained Adjust to Life as Priests
Thursday, August 7th, 2008
“The Catholic Miscellany”
By Christina Lee Knauss
The day-to-day lives of Catholic priests are often unpredictable, with new challenges and assignments that arise without warning. Parishioners need guidance or counseling, a Scripture study class needs a teacher, a baby needs baptizing.
This was true of the first year of service for four of the priests ordained for the Diocese of Charleston on July 27, 2007. In interviews with The Miscellany, they described working with youth groups and senior citizens, studying abroad, writing articles for parish bulletins and leading classes.
One common thread carried through as they reflected on their first year. All said they feel gratitude and humility at the opportunity to celebrate Mass, to spread the Gospel and to serve Catholic communities around the diocese.
Father Bryan Babick, 30, said the first months of his priesthood meant hitting the books. In residence this summer at St. John the Beloved in Summerville, he recently returned from studying at the Pontifical University of St. Anselm in Rome, where he earned a licentiate in sacred liturgy.
“St. Anselm is a Benedictine school that is a subsection of the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy founded by Pope John XXIII,” he said. “We studied the sacraments, the different liturgical rites and how they developed. It was a tremendously enriching experience.”
Father Babick said one of the most memorable aspects of studying in Rome was the chance to visit the city’s many holy sites and attend Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. He said some of this classmates actually concelebrated Mass with Pope Benedict XVI. Father Babick celebrated Mass at other historic churches in Rome.
In Summerville, he helps out however he can. He celebrates the liturgy, hears confessions and does other work around the parish.
Celebrating the Mass each day for me is the most life-changing and moving experience, and just connecting with people as a Catholic priest is very moving… I’ve been receiving support from everybody I’ve come into contact with, whether on an airplane or in Rome or here in Summerville,” he said. “People are so supportive and encouraging, and that’s been incredibly confirming for me as a new priest.”
Father Timothy Gahan, 63, learned to adapt to change during his first year, as he moved from a large parish in the state capital to one in a bustling tourist community.
His first assignment was at St. Joseph in Columbia, where he worked with Father Richard Harris, pastor and diocesan administrator for vocations. While at St. Joseph, Father Gahan did everything from teaching Scripture to working with the students at St. Joseph School.
In January he was assigned to St. Andrew Church in Myrtle Beach, where he served as administrator pro tem until Msgr. Joseph Roth was appointed administrator later in the year.
He said it was challenging to learn the ropes at parishes of similar size that serve very different congregations. Both parishes have many long-time residents and young families, but St. Andrews also caters to retirees, “snowbirds” who spend a few months a year on the Grand Strand, and thousands of Catholic tourists who visit Myrtle Beach each year.
“At St. Andrew, we get the beach traffic – from families to bike week, we get it all,” he said. “That’s the principal difference between the two parishes. They’re alike in most respects, especially in that they’re both wonderful faith communities.”
Challenges are not new to Father Gahan. He is a widower and father of two grown children, as well as a retired colonel from the U.S. Marine Corps.
At St. Andrew, he helped organize and celebrate Holy Week and the parish’s traditionally huge Easter Masses, which are held at the Palace Theatre and draw more than 2,000 people. He recruited a friend and fellow priest from New York to help him celebrate Masses that week.
The Easter Vigil was the biggest challenge, he said.
“There’s so much going on during that Mass, it’s not the sort of thing you do all the time, and I’d never done it before,” Father Gahan said. “But the faithful were here and they were very good to me and they helped me out, so it all went well.”
Father Gahan said he’s been lucky to work with pastors who encouraged him to learn about all aspects of parish ministry.
“Both Father Harris and Msgr. Roth are like-minded about new priests – they believe they should get involved and learn about virtually everything that goes on in a parish, from the school to the different organizations and clubs,” he said. “They’ve both been very helpful, encouraged me and answered my questions…It’s just been a marvelous, amazing year, more than I could ever describe.”
Two of the other new priests spent the past year spreading the Gospel across generational lines. Father Jeffrey Kirby, 33, learned to minister to both high school students and families during his work at St. Mary Help of Christians in Aiken.
“The priesthood has been much more than I ever expected,” he said. “The first year in any vocation is spent kind of figuring things out, and I’ve received nothing but confirmation of my own vocation. I’ve learned lessons in pastoral ministry that I hope will only make me a better priest.”
He spent his first three months after ordination serving at St. Andrew Church in Clemson and its two missions: St. Paul the Apostle in Seneca and St. Francis in Walhalla.
He was scheduled to return to Rome for further study, but asked to remain in the diocese to learn more about working in a parish.
In October 2007, he was assigned to the Aiken church as a parochial vicar. There, he joined the parish’s active youth program, including its vibrant Life Teen community. He became so popular that young people from St. Mary’s showed up at a diocesan youth conference in March wearing T-shirts with the slogan “Kirby’s Krew” in his honor.
“That’s a grace of being a young priest – it’s a great chance to reach out and kind of connect with young people and show them how the faith is helpful and relevant,” Father Kirby said, “I’ve only been out of high school for 15 years, but I can’t even imagine the differences, the stress high schoolers are under today. There are good and bad opportunities for young people out there, and I want to show them how the Catholic faith can be helpful to them in their struggles for identity.”
Father Kirby was one of the keynote speakers at the conference.
Speaking at the youth conference caused some anxiety, but it was great to be able to talk [about] someone I love, God, with the young people who also want to love him,” he said.
At St. Mary’s, Father Kirby also works with the parish’s popular “intergenerational ministry” program, where adults, young children and teens all study the same aspect of Catholic faith in age-appropriate groups, and then go home to discuss the topics as a family.
In addition to celebrating Masses, Father Kirby makes hospital visits, celebrates Mass at area nursing homes, and teaches seventh-grade religion at St. Mary Help of Christians School.
“The priesthood is a lot of work, which I love,” he said. “Every once in a while a friend or someone will say ‘you look tired,’ and I consider it a blessing to be tired from doing something you love.”
Father Andrew Trapp, 27, said working with young people at St. Gregory the Great in Bluffton has been one of the most fulfilling parts of his vocation. He has served there as parochial vicar since shortly after his ordination. He works with Msgr. Martin T. Laughlin, administrator for the Diocese of Charleston, who is also pastor at the church.
The steadily growing parish currently lists membership of more than 2,400 households.
Father Trapp helps teach religion classes at St. Gregory the Great School, which has about 181 students in pre-K through sixth grades. He also visits classes and celebrates Mass for the students.
“One of the things holding me back from becoming a priest was the thought of giving up being a husband and a dad, so it’s very fulfilling to be able to work with kids now that I’m a priest,” he said. “That’s been the most fun aspect of this year.”
One of his main projects is collaborating with the church’s youth ministers to build an active youth group.
“We have several hundred high school age youth here at the parish, and we’re trying to get them organized and involved,” Father Trapp said. “I’ve really enjoyed working with the youth.”
Father Trapp said he finds the greatest spiritual fulfillment in the sacramental life of the parish.
“It’s been such a joy to celebrate Mass every day, and to celebrate the other sacraments, especially hearing confessions and ministering to the sick,” he said. “That has been a very humbling and joyful experience.”
Some of the young people he comes in contact with have decided the new priest has a celebrity look-alike.
“Both the high school kids and the little kids often tell me I remind them of Peter Parker in Spiderman,” he said. “I’ve told them without hesitation that if I had a choice of being a priest or being Spiderman, I would choose being a priest. It’s been amazing.”
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Peace Corps Volunteer Fired Up to Change Lives
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
“The Catholic Miscellany”
By Christina Lee Knauss
LA COMMUNIDAD, El Salvador – Rhett Williams believes the people of the Diocese of Charleston, S.C., can learn a lot about faith from their fellow Catholics in Latin America.
Williams, 23, a Mount Pleasant, S.C., resident, is spending two years with the Peace Corps in El Salvador. While working in the town of La Comunidad, he has learned about the needs of the people and the rich faith that is interwoven into much of their daily life.
The young man is a graduate of Bishop England High School in Charleston S.C., and Furman University in Greenville, S.C., who majored in history and Spanish. While at Furman, he attended RCIA classes at Prince of Peace Church in Taylors, S.C., and was welcomed into the Catholic Church in 2004.
He discussed his experiences in El Salvador and perspectives on faith through a recent e-mail interview with the Catholic Miscellany.
La Comunidad is a town of about 750 people located in the municipality of San Pedro Nonualco in La Paz, the south central part of the country. The municipality’s total population is about 11,000.
While in La Comunidad, Williams is performing a wide variety of tasks with members of the community, such as working with students at a community school.
He said the town is almost 100 percent Catholic, and people turn out in droves to celebrate feast days with processions, fireworks and other activities. The local church is extremely organized, with activities and classes for every age, high Mass attendance and frequent prayer meetings, he said. In his view, people who are illiterate in El Salvador often know more about the Bible than many Americans.
Williams described Catholicism as a very “physical thing” when it comes to local celebrations. When high school students acted out the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, people from all over town attended. In a nearby village, residents created huge representations of each station with painted sand.
“The faith here is more alive than most places in the United States, with the church doors and windows all open at all times of the day, with people coming in and out to pray constantly,” Williams wrote.
“All of this gives me encouragement that the Catholic faith can thrive in whatever condition, and thrive in the way it is meant,” he stated. “It should encourage those in the United States to strive for constancy in the faith, and create friendships with those other parishes around the world that we can learn so much from and help so much at the same time.”
Williams described the Mass in El Salvador as very similar to American worship, despite the language difference.
“The biggest similarity…is unity in doctrine and liturgy, our belief and its expression,” Williams wrote. “The liturgy is kept sacred and with its basic structure … a non-Spanish speaker could easily sit in on a Mass…they could tell by the movements of the people what topic is being addressed at the moment.”
Williams said the liturgy includes music on traditional instruments, and that people receive the Eucharist on the tongue and never in the hand.
The volunteer has spoken with some parishes in the Diocese of Charleston and in Louisiana about forming partnerships with parishes in El Salvador. He thinks it would be a wonderful way to share both spiritual and financial resources.
“The idea is to mimic the sister city deal that many cities in the Untied States have,” he said. “For example, Greenville, S.C., is a sister city with Bergamo, Italy. They share ideas and projects, and send people in between the cities to learn about each other and plan things together. My goal is to create something very similar in the Catholic world.”
American parishes could provide monetary help or mission workers for countries in need, Williams suggested. Latin American parishes could send people to sister churches in the United States to help them learn about their culture or work on faith development.
Williams’ friends and spiritual mentors are impressed by his ongoing faith journey.
Father Jeffrey Kirby, parochial vicar at St. Mary Church in Aiken, S.C., was Williams’ RCIA sponsor and taught him New Testament at Bishop England.
“Rhett’s is a great story of conversion and ministry,” Father Kirby told The Miscellany. “He was always very sincere, respectful and attentive as a student and enthusiastic about RCIA. Now, he’s excited about his Catholic faith and Christian discipleship. I think he’s really discovered the fullness of Christ, and it’s led him in his desire to give back.”
“He’s very mature for his age and definitely has his perspective on life straight,” said John Marigliano, director of adult and high school catechesis at Prince of Peace Church in Taylors.
Marigliano attended high school with Williams. He also worked with him at Prince of Peace during his RCIA classes.
“I know from him this experience of being in El Salvador has been very much a world-view changing event. He’s realizing how much we have here in this country, but how much we actually need when it comes to faith,” Marigliano said. “He’s learned that down there people often have nothing but their faith, and that’s become a huge theme for him. He definitely has that zeal and passion for the Catholic faith, for sharing it and trying to live it each day.”
Williams said his work with the Peace Corps is teaching him to be more adaptable and to accept the sometimes difficult lessons God brings to his daily life.
“Peace Corps has taught me to smile at all the awkward situations that life throws at you,” he said. “That’s all just the growing pains of our Christian journey. As Catholics, we should serve, we should stretch ourselves from what is becoming the norm of comfort, and lead by example in the Christian world.”
To learn more about Williams’ work, visit myworldinelsalvador.blogspot.com.
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Youths Discover How to Get ‘Lost in Christ’ at Annual Conference
Thursday, March 20th, 2008
“The Catholic Miscellany”
By Christina Lee Knauss
WHITE OAK – Sometimes getting lost can be a good thing. At least that’s what teens learned at the 18th annual Diocese of Charleston Youth Conference held March 7-9 at the White Oak Conference Center.
The conference theme was “Lost in Christ,” and activities throughout the weekend stressed the importance of putting the Lord at the center of daily life.
The young people took part in skits and team sports, read Scripture, prayed together, attended adoration and received the sacrament of reconciliation.
Local and national speakers offered tips on how to live Christian lives despite the pressures of a secular world.
More than 700 high school students and adult leaders from around the state attended.
Father Jeffrey Kirby, who was ordained to the priesthood in July 2007, was the keynote speaker for the opening session March 7. He is parochial vicar at St. Mary Help of Christians in Aiken.
His speech used lines from the Nicene Creed to illustrate basic points of Christian and Catholic belief, and their importance in daily life. He repeated the phrases “You’ve been hoodwinked, you’ve been bamboozled, you’ve been had” to clarify the lies secular culture tells about God and what belief in God means.
“By being human persons, we are by nature religious beings,” Father Kirby said. “Our heart of hearts desires to know God. God is greater than anything that can ever be said about him. He approaches us lovingly, freely choosing to share his own knowledge of himself with us. God, through the ages, has shared himself with humanity through fullness in Jesus Christ. Each of us can know God because God himself wants to tell us.”
The priest received wild applause and support from his church’s youth, some of whom wore T-shirts that read “Kirby’s Crew.”
Tammy Evevard, a Colorado-based speaker, spoke on March 8 at a special session for young women. She asked them to give examples of their faith that they experienced.
She said today’s culture often makes women feel inadequate because they don’t measure up to the standards of appearance, conduct or popularity.
“You are princesses of the most high God,” Everard told the women. “That’s what God speaks to us. He doesn’t say ‘Arise those who are about six feet tall and 25 pounds!” That is the biggest brokenness of all, the brokenness of our culture and how it sees women. The world takes the idea of who we are and breaks it apart.”
Evevard said that through a relationship with Christ, women can find an inner strength and deal more effectively with daily pressures. She encouraged the youth to focus on becoming Catholic women whose lives are centered on their faith and the concepts of “power, self control and love.”
“We are not a mistake and we do not deserve to be treated like mistakes,” Evevard said. “We are not meant to take a step back and not show our intelligence so that others might not feel uncomfortable … If we live lives as women of power, self control and love, there is nothing we can’t do … you can spend your whole life stuffing yourself with things, but they won’t bring deep satisfaction. What your heart really longs for is love at the deepest place.”
Other speakers during the weekend included Louisiana-based Charlie Cantreel, who uses humor to convey Gospel lessons; and Luke Vercollone, a Charleston-based former professional soccer player and devout Catholic.
Youth who attended said they felt encouraged by the faith of their peers and by the message speakers offered.
“I really enjoyed the weekend – it was very moving for me,” said Brittany Southard, a high school senior who attends Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Greenville. “I really felt the whole thing made me come closer to God.”
Jerry White, director of youth and young adult ministry for the diocese, spoke during closing ceremonies and urged the young people to remember the lessons they learned during the weekend. He also encouraged them to find someone in their lives that can help them be spiritually accountable.
“You’re going to go home to the same situations you faced when you came here, and a voice is going to tell you what happened over this weekend wasn’t real,” White said, “I want to tell you that if you say “Lord, I want to live with you’ this weekend, he’s right there with you … Satan wants you to walk in the dark, but God wants you to walk in the light. You are the masterpieces of our risen Lord.”
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