diocese’s five new priests eager to serve god’s people · bishop j. mark spalding, at the end...

Tennessee Register 1May 31, 2019

Pope approves procedures to investigate bishops … page 9 | Bishop re-consecrates diocese to Sacred Heart ... page 27Society of St. Vincent de Paul establishes council ... page 2 | White socks drive to help bring Christmas cheer to prisoners ... 5Pope approves procedures to investigate bishops … page 9 | Bishop re-consecrates diocese to Sacred Heart ... page 27Seminarian Education Dinner & Auction exceeds goal … page 2 | St. John Vianney relic makes stop in Nashville … page 11

May 31, 2019 | A Voice of Tennessee Catholic Life since 1937 | www.tennesseeregister.com

Photo by Rick MusacchioBishop J. Mark Spalding, at the end of the Mass, knelt for a blessing from each of the five men whom he had just ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville on Saturday, May 25. The new priests are, from left: Fathers Luke Wilgenbusch, Mark Simpson, Hung Pham, Edwuin Cardona, and Rhodes Bolster. An overflow crowd of family, friends and supporters was on hand for the ordinations. “This is truly a great day for the Church of Nashville and the Church universal,” Bishop Spalding said. He encouraged the new priests to “take the gifts of the people and build up the Church.”

Diocese’s five new priests eager to serve God’s peopleAndy Telli

Bishop J. Mark Spalding opened the Mass of ordination for five new priests with a proclamation

of joy.“This is truly a great day for the

Church in Nashville and the Church universal,” Bishop Spalding said. “Those gathered here are truly mindful that God has blessed our Church and us.”

Later during the Mass, celebrated on Saturday, May 25, at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Bishop Spalding ordained Fathers Rhodes Bolster, Edwuin Cardona, Hung Pham, Mark Simpson and Luke Wilgenbusch, making them the newest priests of the Diocese of Nashville.

“We give thanks for and praise these men for receiving God’s whisper calling them to the priesthood … ‘Come follow me, come be a priest of Jesus Christ,’”

Bishop Spalding said during his homily. “These men must offer themselves as sacrifices for the good of the Church.”

During his homily, Bishop Spalding told the overflow crowd in the Cathe-dral that he had met with each of the five new priests. “They are so ready” to start their lives as priests, he said. “And they are so appreciative of so many of you, especially of parents and grandpar-ents. In some ways, you were the first

seminary.”For his homily, Bishop Spalding drew

on a prayer from the ordination rite the bishop recites as he presents to each of the ordinands a paten holding the bread and a chalice containing the wine mixed with water for the celebra-tion of Mass: “Receive the oblation of the holy people to be offered to God. Understand what you do, imitate what

Continued on page 12

2 Tennessee Register May 31, 2019

Theresa Laurence

The Diocese of Nashville’s 10th an-nual Seminarian Education Din-ner and Auction once again drew

a capacity crowd and raised vital funds to support the “significant and grow-ing” cost of educating the diocese’s seminarians.

“The cost of education isn’t cheap,” said Serra Club member Don Stacy, the chairman of the 2019 event. “We’re proud to raise a quarter of the (annual) cost” of educating the diocese’s semi-narians, he said.

The diocese currently has about two dozen seminarians in various stages of formation, and the cost to educate and support them is between $1.4 and $1.5 million a year.

The 2019 Seminarian Education Din-ner and Auction, hosted by Bishop J. Mark Spalding and sponsored by the Serra Clubs of Williamson County and Nashville and the Knights of Colum-bus, was held at Holy Family Church on May 21. The event netted an esti-mated $335,000 through sponsorships, a live and silent auction and additional donations. “This is quite an endeavor,” said Stacy.

“The dinner has represented a pretty large chunk of our budget,” Father Austin Gilstrap, diocesan director of vocation formation, previously told the Tennessee Register. “The dinner, Priesthood Sunday (collection) and the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, that makes up our entire budget.”

In addition to the fundraising aspect of the Seminarian Education Dinner and Auction, the annual event is also a great opportunity to meet the future priests of the diocese.

“It’s always fun to get to know the seminarians,” said Stacy, a seven-year

member of the Serra Club, an interna-tional organization that supports voca-tions to the priesthood and religious life. “It’s very enjoyable to see the qual-ity of the young men” who are prepar-ing to serve as priests of the diocese, he added.

Stacy attended the ordination of five men on May 25, just four days after

the dinner. “I had known most of the men since they entered seminary,” he said. “You get to see the fruits of your efforts.”

As Father Gilstrap introduced the seminarians of the diocese, he noted how the Diocese of Nashville’s reputa-tion as a strong supporter of priestly vo-cations continues to grow. The diocese

ordained five men this year, on par with much larger dioceses, like St. Louis and New York.

But, Father Gilstrap said, he doesn’t want to get caught up in the numbers. “I can’t call a single man to the priest-hood. The Holy Spirit does that,” he said. “But my job is to support the men

Tenth annual Seminarian Education Dinner tops $300K goal

Photos by Theresa LaurenceFather Austin Gilstrap, right, diocesan director of vocation formation, prepares to introduce the seminarians of the Diocese of Nashville at the 10th annual Seminarian Education Dinner and Auction held May 21 at Holy Family Church in Brentwood. The five men who would be ordained four days later are in the front row, pictured from left: Fathers Rhodes Bolster, Luke Wilgenbusch, Mark Simpson, Hung Pham and Edwuin Cardona.

Bishop J. Mark Spalding, left photo, speaks at the Seminarian Education Dinner and Auction. Live auctioneer Dave Allen, right photo, jokes with Sister Peter Marie, O.P., as she prepares to take over as guest auctioneer during the bidding for the “High Tea Dominican Style” at the Motherhouse, which in-cludes tea for eight and optional vespers and rosary with the Dominican Sisters. The silent and live auction items raised more than $70,000 to support the seminarian education fund.



May 31, 2019 | Volume 82, Number 12

MAIN OFFICE

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Tennessee Register website - www.tennesseeregister.comDiocese of Nashville website – www.dioceseofnashville.com

Tennessee Register® (USPS 616-500) is published bi-weekly, for $29.00 per year US, $30.00 foreign, by Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville, 2800 McGavock Pike, Nashville, TN, 37214-1402. Periodicals Postage Paid at Nashville TN and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Tennessee Register, 2800 McGavock Pike, Nashville, TN, 37214-1402.

Publisher Most Reverend J. Mark SpaldingEditor in Chief Rick MusacchioManaging Editor Andy TelliStaff Writer Theresa LaurenceAdministrative Nancy MattsonDesign Services Manager Debbie LaneGraphic Design Yanel PintoAdvertising Terri Francescon

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June 1• Confirmation, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 2:30 p.m.

June 2• Golden Grad Mass and Brunch, Fr. Ryan High School, 10 a.m.

June 3-7• Priest Convocation, Chattanooga

June 9• Mass for Pentecost, Cathedral of the Incarnation, 11 a.m.

June 10-13• USCCB Meeting, Baltimore

June 15• Confirmation for Sagrado Corazón and St. William at Sagrado Corazón, 10 a.m.

June 16• Mass, St. Margaret Mary Mission, Alto, 8 a.m.• Mass, Good Shepherd, Decherd, 10:30 a.m.

June 18• Diocesan Review Committee Meeting, Catholic Pastoral Center, 9 a.m.

Follow Bishop Spalding on Twitter: @bpspalding

NecrologyThe Diocese of Nashville asks for your prayers for vocations, for our priests and for the following deceased clergy of the Diocese of Nashville.

Rev. Leon EnglertMay 31, 1950

Rev. Paul E. WortmannMay 31, 1977

Rev. Edward C. Arnold June 2, 2007

Most Rev. David R. ChobyJune 3, 2017

Daughters of Isabella award scholarshipThe Daughters of Isabella Lady of Grace Circle 1414 of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Cookeville recently awarded its annual scholarship for a graduating high school senior girl to Abigail Otuonye. She recently graduated from Cookeville High School and will attend Tennessee State University in the fall. Otuonye is a parishioner at St. Thomas Aquinas. Pictured are (from left) Jane Knieling of the Scholarship Committee, Regent Halcyon Koerber, Abigail Otuonye, her uncle Francis Otuonye and her brother Seth Otuonye. The scholarship is for $1,000.

Rev. Thomas J. Lynch June 6, 1961

Rev. James B. Murray June 7, 2015

Rev. Frank Kohl Ryan, Jr. June 7, 1995

Rev. J. William Wiley June 8, 1966

Rev. Harold Des Champs June 12, 1940

Rev. Charles N. Ney June 12, 2002

Rev. John VealeJune 12, 1899

Rev. Thomas F. Nenon June 18, 1959

Thank you!Serra Clubs of

Williamson County and Nashvilleand the Knights of Columbus

for another successful year of sponsoring the Seminarian Education Dinner

and Auction and your supportof our future priests.

Offices of Development and Vocationsand the

Seminarians of the Diocese of Nashville


June

4 Tuesday† St. Francis Caracciolo

Mindful Body Movement Classes, Tues-days, 1-2 p.m., St. Joseph, Parish Center, 1225 Gallatin Pike S., Madison. Info: 615-860-0128.

7 Friday† St. Willibald

Holy Hour, 7 p.m., St. William, 719 N. Main St., Shelbyville.

8 Saturday† St. William of York

Magnificat, ministry for Catholic women, 8:30 a.m., St. Edward, 190 Thompson Ln., Rm. 211, Nashville. Info: 334-655-2069 or [email protected].

Cancer Support Group, 9 a.m., St. Joseph, Parish Center, 1225 Gallatin Pike S., Madi-son. Info: 615-860-0128.

Passionist Meeting, 10 a.m., Cathedral, St. Albert Hall, 3rd floor, 2015 West End Ave., Nashville. Info: [email protected].

9 Sunday† St. Ephrem

French Mass, 5 p.m., Holy Name, 521 Wood-land St., Nashville. Check www.holyname-

nashville.com for possible changes. Fr. Ed-wige Carré, Celebrant.

Mass in Portuguese, 6 p.m., St. Philip, orig-inal Church, 113 Second Ave., S., Franklin. Info: [email protected] or [email protected].

13 Thursday† St. Anthony of Padua

Nashville Catholic Business League Prayer Breakfast, 7 a.m., Cathedral, 2015 West End Ave., Nashville. Info: www.catholicbusiness-league.org. Deacon Bill Hill speaks about his upbringing in Nashville and his path to becom-ing a Deacon at St. Vincent.

Ladies of Charity Stuff Galore Sale, June 13-15, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. 2216 State Street, Nash-ville. Huge garage sale under roof: home, garden, electronics, sporting goods, toys, holiday, jewelry, and more.

15 Saturday† St. Germaine Cousin

Diocesan Engaged Couples’ Retreat, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., C.P.C, 2800 McGavock Pike, Nashville. Info: 615-383-6393.

16 Sunday† St. John Francis Regis

Seven Dolors of the BVM Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order Meeting, 2 p.m., St. Philip, 113 Second Ave. S., Franklin. Info: 931-409-8948.

COMMUNITY CALENDARBishop Spalding announcesmore priest assignments

Bishop J. Mark Spalding has an-nounced the following priest assign-

ments:• Father Wil-

liam M. Fitzger-ald, O.Praem., will be relieved of his duties as Parish Admin-istrator of the Church of the Assumption in Nashville so he can return to his religious com-munity, the Norbertines. The change is effective June 10, 2019.

• Father S. Bede Price, O.S.B., will be relieved of his duties as Associ-ate Pastor at St. Edward Church in Nashville and will become Pastor of the Church of Assumption, effective June 10, 2019. Father Price was ordained in 1996 and is a member of the Bene-dictine order.

• Father Delphinus Mutajuka is released from his duties as Chap-lain at Father Ryan High School in Nashville and will become Associ-

ate Pastor of St. Edward Church, effective June 10, 2019. Father Mutajuka, who has been in residence at St. Matthew Church in Franklin, was ordained in 2014 as part of the largest ordina-tion classes – nine new priests – in the history of the Diocese of Nashville.

• Father C. Andrew Forsythe has been temporarily relieved of his appointment as Associate Pas-tor of St. John Vianney Church in Gallatin and will serve as the temporary Administrator of Immaculate Con-ception Church in Clarksville for the period of May 23, 2019, until July 30, 2019. Father Forsythe will continue in his duties as Chaplain at Pope John Paul II High School in Hen-dersonville. He was ordained in 2017 and previously served as As-sociate Pastor of Christ the King Church in Nashville.

Father Fitzgerald Father Mutajuka

Father Price

Father Forsythe


Kristina Shaw

The Nashville Council of the So-ciety of St. Vincent de Paul will host its second Ozanam Orienta-

tion in hopes of moving toward its goal of having one conference, or group, in each parish.

The world-wide charitable organi-zation fights poverty through soup kitchens, food pantries, thrift shops, prison ministries, homeless shelters, legal and medical aid and more. It also assists with short-term crises such as emergency transportation and bill pay-ments.

The organization’s vision is “to embrace the world in a network of charity.”

“The primary focus is increasing the spirituality of our members through the relationship with other members and for the good we do for those in need,” said Nashville Council Presi-dent Joseph Bibeau. “It’s to increase the spirituality of our own people but the instrument in getting there is seeing the face of Christ and helping those in need.”

The orientation, named after St. Vin-cent de Paul Society founder Frédéric Ozanam, is scheduled 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at the Catholic Pas-toral Center, 2800 McGavock Pike in Nashville. It is free to attend and all are

welcome, regardless of membership. Instructors will be Bibeau, who is

also treasurer of the conference at St. John Vianney Church in Gallatin; council spiritual advisor Deacon Bill Forte from St. Matthew Church; Jen-nifer Lange, president of the Immacu-late Conception Church conference in Clarksville; Anne Hamann of St. Pat-rick Church in McEwen, council sec-retary and secretary/treasurer of the St. Patrick conference; and Clarence Payne of St. John Vianney and the par-ish’s conference vice president.

“The people that attend benefit be-cause they get a really good sense of the history of the organization and the reason the approach has been very effective throughout not only the U.S., but throughout the world for a couple hundred years,” said Vice President Ron Szejner.

Instructors will also teach what makes a Vincentian, about St. Vincent DePaul resources, and the impor-tance of conducting home visits of applicants.

“We determine the urgency of the need and at the same time we find out the opportunities to help them that are beyond spending our own money,” Bibeau said. This includes referring them to organizations such as Catholic Charities of Tennessee.

A segment about understanding

poverty is additionally covered and the Nashville council has added two new programs that strive to do that.

One revolves around predatory lend-ing. The Society pays the predatory loan of qualified participants, called “those we serve,” in full and sets up a low interest payment plan with a local bank. A mentor counsels them on good spending practices and is con-tacted as a mediator should a payment be missed.

The other is called systemic change and according to Bibeau, helps partici-pants to understand why they are in poverty.

It has several levels and is also mentor-based. The mentors counsel the participants on good spending habits and can also help their mentee get to meetings and perhaps set them up with a more sustainable job. Volun-teers for this program are still needed to implement it.

Bibeau recalled that when the coun-cil was formed less than two years ago there were six conferences in the dio-cese, and now there are eight with two more in formation.

“We hope to keep growing like that if we can,” he said. He hopes to have between 60 to 80 participants for the training session.

To sign up, contact Anne Hamann at [email protected].

Second-year St. Vincent de Paul Societyorientation teaches society’s mission, practices

Holy Name Parishioners Wish to Congratulate

Our Newly Ordained Priests:Fathers Rhodes Bolster,

Edwuin Cardona,Hung Pham,

Mark Simpsonand Luke Wilgenbusch

AD MULTOS ANNOS!

We also wish to congratulate theGraduates of 2019!

St. Vincentfree VBS to be held June 10-14

St. Vincent de Paul Church in Nashville is sponsoring its annual Vacation Bible School,

which is a free evening program open to all children, regardless of religious affiliation.

The theme this year is “Blest Be the Tie,” and the program will explore the holy lives of six African Americans who are being consid-ered for Sainthood: Father Augus-tus Tolton, Sister Thea Bowman, Pierre Toussaint, Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, Julia Greeley and Sister Henriette DeLille. Parish-ioners at St. Vincent de Paul pray after the celebration of the Eucha-rist every Sunday that the Lord will raise them to canonization as saints.

The Vacation Bible School will be held 4:30-7:30 p.m. Monday, June 10, through Friday, June 14, at St. Vincent de Paul, 1700 Heiman Ave. It is open to all children from the pre-school level through the middle school grades, and dinner will be served every evening.

Signed pre-registration by a par-ent or guardian is required. For more information, call the church office at 615-320-0695.


Supreme Court allows fetal burials, rejects abortion limits in IndianaCarol Zimmermann CNS

WASHINGTON. The U.S. Su-preme Court weighed in on two different aspects of Indi-

ana abortion laws May 28.It upheld a state law – reversing an

appeals court ruling – that requires abortion providers to bury or cremate fetal remains. It also refused to take up a challenge to a block of the state law that would prevent women from obtain-ing abortions based on the gender, race or a potential diagnosis of Down syndrome of the fetus.

“We’re pleased that they did rule in favor of one part it – recognizing the dignity of the fetus and proper disposal is important part of the sacredness of life – and disappointed, of course, that (the court) is not dealing with the question of abortion based on sex, race or disability,” said Glenn Tebbe, execu-tive director of the Indiana Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s bishops.

“At least one is a step in the right direction,” he said, noting that “fetal life is life and should be treated in a respectful or proper way.”

The court’s three-page decision, issued without oral arguments, was unsigned. It said its decision to uphold the law concerning the disposal of fetal remains “does not implicate our cases applying the undue burden test to abortion regulations” nor does it in-

volve a challenge that the law “imposes an undue burden on a woman’s right to obtain an abortion.”

The court said the state has “a legiti-mate interest in proper disposal of fetal remains,” referring to a 1983 court

decision, Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, Inc. The justices voted 7-2 to uphold the fetal remains aspect of the state’s law, with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Soto-mayor dissenting.

The court also examined the appel-late court’s ruling that struck down a provision in the state law that pre-vented women from obtaining abor-tions because of fetal characteristics.

Both laws were signed in 2016 by Vice President Mike Pence when he was Indiana’s governor and were blocked by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year.

Ginsburg and Sotomayor said they would have denied review of both is-sues in the case.

Justice Clarence Thomas in a 20-page opinion, not joined by other justices, said he agreed with the court for not taking up the issue of abortion limits at this time but said it would have to do so in the future, warning that the provi-sion promotes a “compelling interest in preventing abortion from becoming a tool of modern-day eugenics.”

“Given the potential for abortion to become a tool of eugenic manipula-tion,” he added, “the court will soon need to confront the constitutionality of laws like Indiana’s.”

The court’s decision will keep the ap-peals court ruling in place on abortion limits and uphold the law requiring abortion providers to bury or cremate fetal remains.

All eyes have been on the court tak-ing up an abortion case to potentially challenge its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide.

God has called you to share in the ministry of Christ. May you be sustained by His grace.

Prayerful Best WishesRev. Rhodes BolsteR

Rev. edwuin CaRdona

Rev. hung Pham

Rev. maRk simPson

and Rev. luke wilgenBusCh

fromBishop J. Mark Spalding

and the Priests, Deacons,and Faithful

of the Diocese of Nashville

CNS photo/Brendan McDermid, Reuters The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington March 26, 2019. The nation’s highest court weighed in on two different aspects of Indiana abortion laws May 28.


Missouri could become first state where no abortions can be performedCatholic News Service

ST. LOUIS. The Missouri Depart-ment of Health and Senior Services has told Planned Parenthood offi-

cials it will not renew its St. Louis clinic’s license expiring May 31 unless the clinic makes changes to comply with various state health regulations.

The Planned Parenthood clinic is the only abortion facility in Missouri. If it closes, Missouri will be the first state without an operating abortion facility since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling on Roe v. Wade in 1973. Women who want an abortion would have to go to neighboring states.

CBS News May 28 quoted Planned Par-enthood officials as saying that the state health department had informed them May 20 that the facility might lose its license.

According to the news report, state health officials said the clinic must provide state-mandated counseling services, conduct an additional pelvic exam on a woman prior to performing her abortion and resolve what health of-ficials described as “deficient practices” by doctors at the clinic.

Dr. Leana Wen, Planned Parenthood’s CEO, said the possibility the clinic might close is “a real public health cri-sis,” adding: “Abortion care is health

care. Period.”Meanwhile, Parson signed into law

the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act May 24. It bans abortions on or beyond the eighth week of pregnancy.

Set to take effect Aug. 28, the law pro-vides an exception in cases of medical emergencies, but there are no excep-tions for rape or incest. Doctors who perform abortions after eight weeks

face five to 15 years in prison. There is no punishment for the mother.

With the ban, the state’s lawmakers “have taken a giant step forward for the pro-life movement,” said St. Louis Arch-bishop Robert J. Carlson. “We need to continue to show persistence and deter-mination in proclaiming a culture of life.”

On May 28, the American Civil Liber-ties Union of Missouri announced it will

seek signatures to put a referendum on the 2020 ballot to repeal the new law. The organization has until Aug. 28 to gather 100,000 signatures to place the issue on the ballot for an up-or-down vote.

If the organization gets the needed signatures, the law will not take effect as scheduled and voters will decide its fate. A “yes” vote would mean the ban becomes law, while a “no” would mean it doesn’t.

CNS photo/Lawrence Bryant, Reuters The Planned Parenthood facility is seen in St. Louis May 28, 2019. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has told Planned Parenthood officials it will not renew the facility’s license expiring May 31 unless the clinic makes changes to comply with various state health regulations.

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Father Thomas George Bielawa, SDS, the former pastor of St. Lawrence Church in Joelton,

died on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, in Florida in the company of family and friends.

A few months before his death, Fa-ther Bielawa was diagnosed with ad-vanced lung cancer. He was at peace with the many ways in which God had already brought him healing through the years, so he decided to forego any drastic therapies and allowed nature to take its course, receiving only med-icines that would lessen the pain.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, June 8, at Queen of the Apos-tles Church in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.

He was born in Milwaukee, Wiscon-sin, on Aug. 31, 1942, one of four chil-

dren of Edward and Geraldine Young Bielawa. He attended grade school at his parish school, Holy Redeemer, and high school and the first year of college at Salvatorian Seminary in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, where he became familiar with the Society of the Divine Savior, also known as the Salvatorians.

After a year at Marquette Univer-sity in Milwaukee, he entered the novitiate in Colfax, Iowa, where he made his profession of vows on Sept. 8, 1963. He continued his studies at Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Maryland, and Catholic University of America and St. Paul’s Seminary in Washington, DC. He taught for two years at St. Pius X Seminary in Galt, California, before concluding his stud-

ies for the priesthood in Washington. Father Bielawa was ordained at St. John the Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Sept. 1, 1972.

He served in several roles inside and outside the Salvatorian commu-nity, before becoming a missionary in Colombia from 1979 to 1982 and from 1984 to 1987. In the United States, Father Bielawa served in parishes in Wisconsin and Arizona. He became pastor of St. Lawrence in Joelton in 2002 and served there until 2009 when he retired to Sarasota, Florida.

Father Bielawa was an advocate for organ donations after a transplant of his corneas healed him of a disease that threatened to leave him blind. True to his commitment to the cause of organ donations to help others, he

donated his body to science.Father Bielawa’s priesthood was ded-

icated to living the Gospel. What mat-tered most was helping people to be loving, caring, kind, forgiving and just, following the example set by Jesus.

Father Bielawa was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Geraldine. He is survived by brother James (the late Nancy) Bielawa of Sussex, Wisconsin, and sisters Mary Ann (Phil) Weinfurt and Margaret Bielawa Korsi, both of Brookfield, Wisconsin; several nephews and nieces; very good friends Jeff and Midge Junghans, of Venice, Florida; as well as his brothers and sisters in the Salvatorian Family.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Society of the Divine Savior.

Father Bielawa, former pastor of St. Lawrence, dies at 76


Bis

hop’

s A

nnual Appeal for Ministries

D

iocese of Nashville

Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Ministries helps diocese build for futureAndy Telli

Four months into the Bishop’s An-nual Appeal for Ministries, the campaign has passed the halfway

point on its way to meeting its goal of $2.7 million for 2019.

With just under $1.4 million raised so far, diocesan Director of Develop-ment Ashley Linville said, “We’re about halfway there. We’d really like to make a strong push and go ahead and hit the goal.”

The money raised through the Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Ministries is used to support a wide variety of diocesan ministries, including Catholic schools, youth ministry, adult faith formation, formation for parish reli-gious education teachers and campus ministries, as well as efforts to care for the community’s most vulnerable members through Catholic Charities of Tennessee.

Another important ministry sup-ported by the Bishop’s Annual Appeal has been highlighted recently with the 10th annual Seminarian Education Dinner and Auction and the ordination of five new priests: Fathers Rhodes Bolster, Edwuin Cardona, Hung Pham, Mark Simpson and Luke Wilgenbusch.

A large portion of the cost of educat-ing the diocese’s seminarians and dia-conate candidates comes from funds raised through the Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Ministries, Linville said.

“As we think of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, part of what it’s doing is build-ing the future of the Church with the formation of the priests,” Linville said.

At the Seminarian Edu-cation Dinner and Auc-tion, another source of funds to support the formation of the diocese’s sem-inarians, “it was really moving to hear some of the stories of our new priests,” Linville said. “I really think they’re going to have a huge impact on the faithful.”

Even with the ordination of five new priests, the diocese still has more than 20 men in formation as seminarians. “God is calling these men, and the Bishop’s Annual Appeal makes sure the resources are there for them,” Linville said.

Besides supporting the formation of future priests and deacons, the Bishop’s Annual Appeal also supports formation efforts for the lay faithful, both youth and adults, through the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, Linville said.

Formation programs for youth help them continue to grow in their faith and to keep their faith alive and vibrant

as they head to young adulthood, Lin-ville said.

And as with the formation of priests and deacons, the formation of

the lay faithful will help the Church remain strong

into the future, he added.

In 2018, the people of the dio-cese donated the record amount of $2,616,518 to the Bishop’s An-nual Appeal for

Ministries, which ws 105 percent

of the goal. The money came from

8,005 donors, which was 133 percent of the goal for

participation .Hoping to build on the momentum

from last year, the goal for this year’s campaign is $2.7 million from 8,500 donors. So far, about $1.4 million has been raised from 3,345 donors, Linville said.

“I think what gets people excited is the ministry that’s actually happening. People want to see their dollars mak-ing an impact,” Linville said. “With the Bishop’s Annual Appeal their dollars are directly impacting ministry and furthering ministry at the diocesan level.”

The diocesan ministries support

the work ongoing in all the parishes. “That’s why it’s so important to sup-port the Bishop’s Annual Appeal,” Lin-ville said.

People can make a pledge or gift of any amount to the Bishop’s Annual Ap-peal for Ministries at any time through 2019, Linville said.

“They can give a one-time gift, a quarterly gift or a monthly gift,” Lin-ville said. “There are a lot of options for how to give. … We’re making it as user friendly as possible.”

People can return pledge cards to their parish, mail them, or pledge on-line at www.dioceseofnashville.com/bishops-annual-appeal-for-ministries.

The diocese has identified several levels of giving, including: the Society of Bishop Miles, $15,000 and above; The Shepherd’s Circle, $10,000; The Society of Angels and Saints, $5,000; The Society of Stewards, $2,500; The Society of Apostles, $1,500; The Soci-ety of Disciples, $1,000; The Society of the Faithful, $500; and the Society of Sacrificial Giving, $250.

For more information about the Bishop’s Annual Appeal for Ministries, visit the diocesan website at www.dio-ceseofnashville.com or contact Linville at [email protected] or 615-645-9768, or Anna Beth Godfrey, assistant director of develop-ment for the diocese, at [email protected] or 615-645-9769.


Father James Norman Miller enjoys 60 years as a priestAndy Telli

On May 23, the 60th anniversary of his priestly ordination, Father James Norman Miller, as he

does every year on the anniversary, went to the Cathedral of the Incarna-tion and knelt in prayer before the altar.

“I kneel where Bishop (William) Adrian put his hands on me and made me a priest,” Father Miller said. “I still remem-ber Bishop Adrian laying on the hands.”

During his 60 years as a priest, Father Miller has served as a high school teacher, a fundraiser, the bishop’s mas-ter of ceremonies, a hospital chaplain, a military chaplain, and a pastor, includ-ing 32 years at St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows in downtown Nashville.

“My father proposed marriage to my mother at St. Mary’s in front of the Blessed Mother altar,” Father Miller said. When Bishop James Niedergeses assigned him to be the pastor at St. Mary’s, Father Miller said, “The bishop told me I’m going to send you home.”

Father Miller was born and grew up in Nashville, when the Catholic com-munity was small and tight-knit. “It was a fraternity of people and everybody knew each other,” Father Miller said. “When I was at the Cathedral (as asso-ciate pastor), I knew 80 percent of the people and the people knew me.”

He grew up as a parishioner at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. “I partici-pated in all seven sacraments for the

first time at the Cathedral,” including giving away two of his sisters in mar-riage, standing in for his father who died when the priest was 11 years old.

Father Miller was raised in a home in the shadow of the Sisters of Mercy con-vent on 21st Avenue South. The sisters would call on him frequently to per-form errands for them and he served

Mass there nearly every day from the time he was in the fifth grade until he left for the seminary after high school.

“I was like part of the family over there,” Father Miller said. “I think that’s where I got my vocation.”

After graduating from Father Ryan High School in 1951, Father Miller en-tered the seminary at St. Ambrose Col-lege in Davenport, Iowa. He was there a year when Bishop Adrian gave the dioc-esan seminarians studying there the op-tion of studying at a new seminary at St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama.

“We just about froze up there in Iowa,” Father Miller joked. He and 15 other seminarians transferred to St. Bernard and he finished his seminary formation there. The seminary was small and the students received lots of individual attention from the profes-sors, he said. “It was wonderful.”

After his ordination, he spent the sum-mer at Holy Name Church in East Nash-ville, before spending three years as As-sociate Pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church and as a teacher at Notre Dame High School, both in Chattanooga. At the time, the Diocese of Nashville in-cluded the entire state of Tennessee.

His next stop was in Memphis, where he spent the next five years, including two years as Bishop Joseph Durick’s master of ceremonies whenever he had an event in West Tennessee. In 1967, Bishop Durick invited him to come back to Nashville to be his master of

ceremonies there, a post he held until 1971 along with being the Associate Pastor of the Cathedral.

For the next two years, Father Miller served as the pastor of St. Philip Church in Franklin. “When I went out there it was a small community. To drive out there was nothing but farm-land,” he said. “Look at it now,” reflect-ing on the fact that St. Philip is one of the largest parishes in the diocese.

He served as Associate Pastor of Christ the King Church in Nashville, assisting the pastor, Msgr. Dan Rich-ardson. “Father dan Richardson was just a jewel,” Father Miller said.

He also served as a chaplain at Park View Hospital, West Side Hospital and Parthenon Pavilion Hospital. “I enjoy working with the sick,” he said.

In 1981, he was appointed as pastor of St. Mary’s, where he served until his retirement in 2012.

During that time he also served as a chaplain at the Veterans Administra-tion Medical Center in Nashville and as an Auxiliary Chaplain for the U.S. Air Force at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. He also served as a chaplain at Fort Campbell, the Army post that straddles the Tennes-see-Kentucky state line near Clarksville.

“It was such a spiritual encounter,” Father Miller said of his work with members of the military and their families. “I have never before in my life


Father James Norman Miller is pictured at St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows Church in downtown Nashville, where he served as pastor for 32 years until his retirement in 2012.


Father Ryan student receives Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer AwardJacob Telli

Ella Delevante, a rising senior at Father Ryan High School, was re-cently named the recipient of the

2019 Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Award for Direct Service for volunteers age 5-20 for her work with NICE, the Nashville International Center for Em-powerment, providing support for refu-gee and immigrant children.

Every Friday, Delevante and her mother Ann travel to an apartment complex to give out clothes to immi-grant families. They then stay to sit and talk with the children and their parents.

Though they come from many places, Delevante says many of the refugees are from Tanzania and the Congo.

She originally met these children while volunteering for the summer school at Tusculum Elementary. After getting to know some of the children, they asked her to come visit their homes. She now makes sure to main-tain the relationships she built there and help the children however she can.

Delevante never considered what she was doing to be community service. “It’s something I enjoy, and if it’s possible to do service then you totally should,” she said. “If you think about it, we are really lucky, and some people do not have the same fortune that we have.”

The Mary Catherine Strobel Volun-teer Awards recognize Middle Tennes-see volunteers who give their time and talents to improve the community. The

33rd annual luncheon had more than 600 people attending to celebrate Del-evante and the other award recipients who are continuing to uphold Mary Catherine Strobel’s example of faithful service to the community.

Strobel was a pillar of the Middle Tennessee community and a life-long Catholic. From an early age, she was known to ask her father for money to buy food for poor neighbors. As she grew up, she continued this focus on

service, dedicating her time and money to improving the lives of others.

A typical day from her might include a visit to a hospital, volunteering at a soup kitchen, and taking clothes to the needy, whom she always referred to as her friends.

Strobel also made history as the first female employee of the Nashville Fire Department, getting the job after the death of her husband, Martin Strobel, in 1947.

The youngest of her four children, Charles Strobel, founded the Room In The Inn program that provides a variety of services to Nashville’s homeless.

Mrs. Strobel was murdered by an es-caped prison convict in 1986. Following her death, Nashville’s United Way hon-ored her memory with the first annual Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer of the Year Award. The award is now sponsored by Hands On Nashville, and it seeks to honor volunteers from throughout Mid-dle Tennessee who quietly and selflessly give to others every day of their lives.

After being notified of her nomina-tion, Delevante looked up Strobel and her history of service. “I was honored after I found out about what she had done for the community,” she said. “It’s awkward to be winning an award for service because I’ve gotten so much more out of it then I’ve given.”

Delevante is a parishioner of Christ the King Church. Before attending Father Ryan, she was a student at St. Bernard Academy.

Ella Delevante, second from right, a rising senior at Father Ryan High School, recently received the Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Award for Direct Service for volunteers ages 5-20. The award is named in honor of Mrs. Strobel, a life-long Catholic who, throughout her life, was known for her service to the poor and those in need. Delevante is pictured with, from left, Father Ryan President Jim McIntyre, Jonathan McGee, a theology teacher and service coordinator at Father Ryan, and Elizabeth Elfers, dean of campus ministry and student life at Father Ryan.


Andy Telli

The incorrupt heart of St. John Vi-anney, held in a glass and golden case, or reliquary, made in the

shape of a miniature church, rested on a table before the altar of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville as Bishop J. Mark Spalding reminded the congrega-tion, “The love of Jesus flowed through this heart.”

The relic of St. John Vianney, the pa-tron saint of parish priests, was in Nash-ville on Wednesday, May 22, as part of a pilgrimage across the United States, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. The relic is on loan from the Shrine of Ars in France, where St. John Vianney ministered to people from across Eu-rope as the pastor of a church in a small farming village in the 19th century.

The pilgrimage of the relic, which has been displayed in cathedrals, churches, chapels and seminaries across the coun-try since last November, is part of the Knights’ tradition of supporting priests, said Evan Holguin of the Knights of Columbus, who has been one of the Knights carrying the relic from one lo-cation to the next.

The goal has been to bring the heart of their patron saint to parish priests across the country, Holguin said, “but also to inspire young men to consider a vocation to the priesthood and encour-age the faithful to pray for our priests.”

“St. John Vianney, the kind of love he had in his heart kept pouring out on

his people,” said Bishop Spalding, who celebrated Mass to mark the relic’s stop in Nashville.

Bishop Spalding encouraged people to pray for the intercession of St. John Vianney, “for our parish priests and seminarians. We want the love of Jesus to overflow from their hearts onto us.”

The bishop’s homily picked up on the theme of his address at the Mass when he was installed as Bishop of Nashville in February 2018 when he talked about having the love of Jesus in his heart.

“We have to constantly pray for an in-crease of a love of Jesus in our hearts,” Bishop Spalding said during the Mass with the relic of St. John Vianney. “The Holy Spirit is always guiding us in, grab-bing us and drawing us closer to Jesus.”

“We’re first asking for the love of the person of Jesus,” Bishop Spalding said. “St. John Vianney knew Christ in the celebration of the Eucharist and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.”

St. John Vianney was known for his deep devotion to and love for Jesus Christ.

He was born in France in 1786, and his childhood was shaped by the French Revolution, when the faith was attacked, churches were destroyed, and bishops, priests and religious were martyred. Despite the dangerous times, he developed a strong desire to serve Jesus.

He began studying for the priesthood, but found his studies, particularly of

Relic of St. John Vianney a reminder to invite Christ into our hearts

Photos by Andy TelliThe incorrupt heart of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, was on display at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville on Wednesday, May 22. The relic was brought to Nashville as part of a national pilgrimage, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, to encourage people to pray for priests. Pam Holzmer prays before the relic as others wait their turn.


We are very blessed to have businesses and corporations willing to supportthe future of our faith. Please take a

moment to review the companies listed.Should a need arise, please patronize

them to show our appreciationfor their support.

The Diocese of Nashville would like to Thank Our Sponsors of the

Seminarian Education Dinner & Auction

Please pray for our seminarians.If you would like to discuss a possible vocation, please

contact Father Austin Gilstrapat [email protected].

If you want to make a donation orbe a sponsor next year, please contact Ashley Linville

at [email protected]

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The five new priests, (top photo, from left) Fathers Hung Pham, Mark Simpson, Rhodes Bolster, Luke Wilgenbusch and Edwuin Cardona, gather before the ordination rite begins at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. Father Simpson, bottom photo, greets his grandmother, Connie Derrick, after the Mass.

you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s cross.”

“In so many ways it sums up the whole ordi-nation rite,” Bishop Spalding said.

At each Mass they celebrate, the gifts of the faithful will be brought forward, Bishop Spalding told the five ordinands, “their time, their talents and even their treasure. They want you to take all these gifts … to build up the Church.

“Take up their joys and their sorrows, their pain, their difficulties, their hurts, their wounds … offer them to God,” Bishop Spald-ing said. “Join their sufferings to Christ for the

good of the Church and the good the world.”The new priests should lift their people

up, walking with them on their journey to heaven, Bishop Spalding said.

The bishop urged the ordinands to “ponder the scriptures, look at them, study them. … Listen to the voices of your people and all they bring to you. …

“Let us know what is good, what is true and what is beautiful,” he added.

Bishop Spalding pointed to the line in the prayer, “Conform your life to the mystery of the cross.”

“You make sacrifices to live as a priest,” Bishop Spalding said. “ ... a sacrifice of self for


Ordination ‘a great day’Continued from front page

Photos by Rick MusacchioBishop J. Mark Spalding, above, lays his hands on the head of Father Luke Wilgenbusch during the ordination of Fathers Wilgenbusch, Mark Simpson, Hung Pham, Edwuin Cardona and Rhodes Bolster. The priests of the diocese, below, lay their hands on the heads of each of the new priests.


Photos by Rick MusacchioBishop J. Mark Spalding, above, lays his hands on the head of Father Luke Wilgenbusch during the ordination of Fathers Wilgenbusch, Mark Simpson, Hung Pham, Edwuin Cardona and Rhodes Bolster. The priests of the diocese, below, lay their hands on the heads of each of the new priests.

After anointing the hands of Father Edwuin Cardona, top photo, Bishop J. Mark Spalding wraps them with a linen cloth, called the maniturgium. Father Rhodes Bolster, above, distributes communion to his mother, Alice Bolster, during the ordination Mass. Father Hung Pham, below, blesses a parishioner after the Mass.


Food for the hungryNoemi Richmond and other volunteers from the Nashville Sales and Service Office of Cummins, Inc., a Fortune 500 corporation that designs, manufactures and distributes engines, filtration and power generation products, help distribute food at the Catholic Pastoral Center in Nashville, Friday, May 17. The Mobile Pantry distribution, sponsored by Cummins, is held through a partnership between Catholic Charities of Tennessee and Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Typically, the distribution provides approximately 10,000 pounds of free-of-charge fresh produce, breads and other baked goods, dairy items, and pantry foods. The distributions are designed to support the needs of families with a tightly restricted food budget with healthier food options. The three groups will team up for another distribution at the Catholic Pastoral Center on Friday, June 21.

Photo by Rick Musacchio


DCCW installs new officersThe Nashville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women installed new officers during its recent convention held May 17-19 at the Catholic Pastoral Center. The new officers are: (from left) President, Carol Buyna of Immaculate Conception Church in Clarksville; Treasurer Cyndi Gartung of St. Luke Church in Smyrna; and Secretary Renee Szefcyk of Holy Name Church in Nashville. Not pictured is Vice President Betty Moshea of St. Luke Church in Smyrna. The new officers, who will serve for two years, were installed during the closing Mass of the convention, celebrated by Father Rick Childress.

May 31, 201916 Tennessee Register

Mary Marrocco CNS

Some things happen in a blaze of splendor like a fire-works display. Others are

as simple and sweet as a smooth stone being slipped into a still summer lake. Such was the de-ceptive quietness of Ruby’s calm remark, one Easter morning.

“My mother called this week,” she said. And after a pause, “I’ve decided I can forgive her.”

It took a moment to absorb the enormity of this decision.

All of us, in some way, need to come to terms with childhood wounds. For Ruby, though, it meant letting go of a lifetime of anguish, starting not just with abandonment by her mother, but being exposed by her to abuse of many kinds from a very young age, repeatedly and throughout childhood and ado-lescence.

These traumas had long-lasting effects that marked her adulthood and the lives of her

own children.“I guess,” she continued, “as

you get older, it gets easier to forgive.”

At first blush, this explanation seemed sufficient, as though forgiving were as natural as get-ting wrinkles. But no, the mere fact of aging does not predis-pose people to forgive.

Sadly, it’s not uncommon to meet people who are bitter and resentful, full of packed-down anger that has hardened like a clenched fist over the years – people of all ages.

We are humans, and two of the hardest things for us are giving and receiving forgiveness. Time on its own does not bring this gift.

It may take a lifetime, as with Ruby. In her case, it was the fruit of many years of inner and outer work, and above all prayer.

It didn’t begin the day of her fa-mous announcement, but this day was a culmination of everything she had lived until then, including the years when she couldn’t bear to speak of her mother or even name her “mother.” The reality of forgiveness is crushingly difficult, or rather, not humanly possible at all.

And yet forgiveness, we might say, is Jesus’ middle name. It is his word from the cross. It is the word that liberates and delivers us from the powers of hell. For unforgiveness hurts, too. It rolls the stone back against the en-trance of the tomb.

It seems strange to say that the way to forgive is to receive a gift. And that may explain why it can take so long, because some gifts take time to absorb. That’s all right, because it’s what time is for – to help us receive the presence of God within and among us.

We take 50 days to receive the good news of Easter Sun-day, that life conquers death; it takes a lifetime, an eternity, to receive the abundant life that God brings in Christ through the Spirit. Once it takes us over, including in the broken places, how can we not forgive? Until we get there, how can we forgive?

Forgiveness is God’s to give.How can there possibly be

human forgiveness? We have been hearing the answer since Easter Sunday and will again on Pentecost, in John’s Gospel: the gift of Christ, sent by the Father,

bringing the Spirit.The greatness of being made

in the image of God, as humans are, is the dignity it gives: that we have a divine capacity for forgiveness. It’s not just a moral imperative, but a reflection of the unique relationship between humanity and the divine Trinity.

The image of God in us, bro-ken through sin, is restored through forgiveness. God re-stores it by healing us, in the cross and Resurrection, show-ing us the limitlessness of God’s forgiveness.

The limitation Christ reveals is not in God, but in us, who limit God’s forgiveness until we live fully our created destiny as image of God. Our true nature is revealed, and to be fully re-stored it needs to act in forgive-ness. In this way, we can par-ticipate in the divine life of God who forgives and heals us.

Psychotherapists and neu-roscientists are learning that unforgiveness is unhealthy and hard on us. There’s something in our nature that’s created to act in forgiveness; it’s not only a moral requirement, but the way we are meant to grow and

develop.Jesus “breathed on them and

said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. ... Forgive.’” It’s not only a power the Church receives; it’s the Creator breathing again in us the breath of life, as in the Garden of Eden, but now con-necting that new life with the call to live forgiveness.

Forgiveness, received and given, is how each person is re-created as a true image of God. It was audible and visible in the quiet radiance of Ruby that Eas-ter morning. It’s the particular graced work of the Church, whose birthday we celebrate at Pentecost.

Forgiving is a birth – a labor. By undertaking the long, pain-ful, creative labor of forgiveness, we participate in the renewal of our nature. Ruby’s story wit-nesses that this is not just talk, but the real story of our lives.

Mary Marrocco is a theo-logian, writer and practicing psychotherapist.

The political wars over abortion are heating up again. The issue of abor-

tion is like a wound on society that will not heal.

In the last few months, New York passed a bill that would dra-matically expand abortion rights to allow abortion on demand through birth, and Virginia law-makers considered a similar bill. Opponents argue the New York law and the Virginia proposal es-sentially legalize infanticide.

More recently, the legisla-tures in Alabama, Georgia and Missouri have passed bills with severe restrictions on abortion.

Alabama’s law bans abortions in nearly all circumstances; Missouri’s law would criminal-ize any abortion beyond eight weeks of pregnancy; and Geor-gia’s law bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, typi-cally around six weeks. Loui-siana’s Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, is expected to sign a fetal heartbeat bill similar to Georgia’s new law.

In some of these cases, the sponsors are hoping that the legal fight sure to follow will lead to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the 1973 de-cision in Roe v. Wade. And the political wars will rage on.

Advocates of abortion rights argue they are protecting a woman’s right to choose. For them, a woman’s decision to

choose death for the life grow-ing in her womb is a private de-cision of no interest to anyone beyond the woman involved. For them, only the mother has the right to decide whether this nascent human life has value.

Our society has succumbed to the evil that values choice over life. How can a society be more just, more fair, more peaceful, more holy if it allows people to choose which lives have value and which do not? That is an evil that leads to a devaluing of all life. Not just the life of an unborn child, but it devalues the life of someone sick or poor or elderly or imprisoned or from another country. It’s an evil that pits a mother against her child, the young against the old, neighbor against neighbor. It’s an evil that

thrives in such conflict, promis-ing us success, happiness, fulfill-ment if only we will reject the truth that all life has value.

But as believers in Christ, we know that this evil offers a false choice. It is God that chooses life for us, and in so doing im-bues every life with value and dignity. Our choice is whether to accept this great gift and treat it as such, or to ignore God and chart our own path, without his love or his guidance. That is a path that leads to darkness.

The light that will overcome this darkness is Jesus, who in-structed the apostles at the Last Supper as he awaited his cruci-fixion for the forgiveness of our sins, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

Christ gave his life for the

salvation of all human kind. His love for us is complete and enduring.

If we are to follow Christ’s command to love one another, we can not choose to love the mother or the child, we must love both. We cannot choose to love the young or the elderly, we must love both. We can not choose to love the rich or the poor, we must love both. We can not choose to love the healthy or the sick, we must love both. We can not choose to love the innocent or the guilty, we must love both.

Though it might sound sim-ple, loving every child of God can be a far reach for we hu-mans. But if we are to be true and faithful followers of Christ, we have no other choice.

Contraception divorces lifefrom loveTo the editor:

It is always good to hear about life being cherished and protected, as in the recent ar-ticle about Hope Clinic (Ten-nessee Register, May 3). We see too much disregard of the sanctity of life in our world today. I therefore applaud the

work of Hope Clinic to help women who are in crisis preg-nancy situations to give their children life.

The readers of the Tennes-see Register need to know that Hope Clinic has adopted a policy that allows for provid-ing prescriptions for contra-ception. This decision pains me tremendously because it directly undercuts the mission to protect both women and children from abortion. One of the misguided arguments for legal abortion is that abor-tion is necessary to deal with “failures” of contraception.

Contraception is a major cause of the divorce between

life and love that has come about in our society. Sexual love is about the possibility of life. This fact of life is so obvi-ous that it should go without saying, but the contraception mentality has successfully separated sexual love from openness to life. The separa-tion of the adventure of new life from sexual love is at the root of many disorders in our culture, including abortion. It has robbed sexual love of so much of its romance and meaning.

The decision to provide contraception is a fundamen-tal error on the part of Hope Clinic. While praying for a re-

versal of this policy, I call your readers’ attention to the Preg-nancy Help Center, which has also been featured in this pub-lication. The Pregnancy Help Center operates according to Catholic principles, including the fundamental and neces-sary connection between love and life. It serves women and children who are the most vulnerable to abortion and provides a witness to the dig-nity and integrity of human life and sexual love.

Father John Sims BakerPastorSt. Rose of Lima ChurchMurfreesboro

LETTER TOTHE EDITOR

The Tennessee Register is published by the Diocese of Nashville and welcomes your comments and opinions.

Please clearly mark letters to the editor and send to:

Tennessee Register2800 McGavock PikeNashville, TN 37214

You may fax your letters or comments to the Reg-ister at (615) 783-0285. By e-mail: [email protected].

Columns and letters to the editor represent the views of authors alone. No view-point expressed necessarily reflects any position of the publisher, of any Tennessee Register staff member, or of the Diocese of Nashville.

EDITORIAL

FAITH ALIVE

As followers of Christ, our only choice is to love one another

In forgiveness, we participate in the renewal of our nature


Msgr. Owen F. Campion

BACKGROUND. In the Church’s liturgical year, only Easter and Christ-

mas eclipse Pentecost, which this year will be celebrated on June 9. The importance, and grandeur, of these feasts of course derive from the events being commemorated.

The Church also sees them all as highly important because of the lessons to be learned from the biblical readings at the Masses celebrated, lessons very useful for growth in the spiritual life and for under-standing the faith.

Pentecost was an ancient Jewish feast, celebrating the first harvest. Set for the 50th

day after Passover, it received its name of Pentecost, taken from the Greek for 50, as the Hebrew culture increasingly was influenced by the Greek civilization.

For Jews, this feast celebrated the identity, unity and vocation of the Hebrew people. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, and in the overall context of salvation in Christ Jesus, Pentecost took on a greater meaning for Christians, a meaning centered in Christianity.

The first Christians almost in-variably were of Jewish origins. The Apostles were Jews. So, they were observing Pentecost.

In the Jewish context, this feast celebrated the identity, unity and divine origins of the Church. So, Pentecost is a great Christian holy day, recalling the moment when God the Holy Spirit vivified the Apostles. Receiving strength and power from the Holy Spirit, the Apostles then went forward to proclaim salvation in Christ to the entire world.

For the second reading, the Church presents a passage from First Corinthians. Absolute faith in Christ, as God and as Savior, is key. The message is very chal-lenging. Discipleship is not static and private. It is living with the Lord in redeeming the world.

St. John’s Gospel is the source of the last reading, a Resurrection Narrative. The Apostles are afraid, clustered together in hiding. Then, the Risen Lord appears. Their fear vanishes. He grants them not only supreme confidence but the divine power to forgive sins.

The reading is profoundly

relevant for Catholics. As God, possessing the Holy Spirit, Jesus gives the Apostles the authority to forgive sins, ex-traordinary because only God can forgive sins. It was a power given by the Apostles in turn to the first bishops and to priests.

ReflectionFor weeks, the Church has

rejoiced in the Resurrection, excitedly proclaiming that

Jesus is, not was, Lord. Throughout the Easter sea-

son, the Church, in the read-ings at Mass, has called us to realize the effect the Resur-rection has upon us and upon human history. The salvation achieved by Christ on Calvary continues, available for all time and for all people.

How will this be accom-plished? It will be accomplished through the Lord’s disciples in

every consecutive age.The bond between disciples

and Jesus is experienced by every authentic Christian. It is so strong that all Christians themselves are bound together. In this bond, they form the Church.

In their union with Christ, in the Church, they share in the mission of Christ, to bring God’s mercy and wisdom to the world.

It is an individual role but also collective, the collective dimen-sion seen in the visible, active ministry and witness of the Church.

Not surprisingly, with this in mind, the Acts of the Apostles reveals that essential to the Early Church was the need of disciples to be near the Apos-tles, clearly under the leader-ship of Peter.

No interpretation of Acts can avoid this fact.

This feast commemorates an event long ago, yet it teaches a very contemporary lesson. Today, as 20 centuries ago, our Church is the Apostolic Church, the community cre-ated by God to bring divine mercy to weary and wandering humans. As was the case in Jerusalem so long ago, it still loves all, serves all, and reas-sures all, expressly gathered around the Apostles, with Peter at the center.

Christian commitment neces-sarily is personal and individ-ual. It also is collective.

Msgr. Owen Campion is a former editor of the Tennessee Register.

Mary Margaret Lambert

Have you ever prayed really hard for some-thing and then had

tangible proof that your prayers were heard and an-swered? It is a phenomenon that defies human explana-tion, but it reaffirms your faith and gives you a bit of the willies at the same time.

A few years ago, I was storming heaven with pleas for a big favor. I implored every saint I could think of, the Blessed Mother, God and even some deceased loved ones to listen and respond in an affirmative fashion.

I had a long conversation with my deceased father and told him that I wanted a sign that he was listening to my ongoing petitions. For some strange reason, I told him

if he heard me, and wanted me to quit bugging him, he should send me a cat as vis-ible proof of his work on my project.

For the life of me, I do not understand why I asked for a cat. I am highly allergic to the felines and am unable to visit any of our grand kitties. We had many cats when I was a child, but after a cat scratch got infected on my arm, I de-veloped the allergy. I sneeze, my eyes puff up and it is dif-ficult to breathe whenever a cat is around. For some strange reason they seek me out, and I have to avoid any contact with them or their dander.

The day after I had asked my dad to send me a cat, I was trying to figure out what on earth had possessed me to make such a strange request, but I continued to pray for my special intention.

The doorbell rang, and when I opened the front door, I was speechless to see a

young couple standing on our front porch holding a beauti-ful gray cat. They had found it and were going door-to-door to find the owners. I thanked them, assured them it didn’t live at our house and knew that Daddy had sent me that darned cat to keep the peace.

By the next day, I received an answer to my prayers. I was eternally grateful and ex-tremely shocked.

Just recently, I again was in need of a small miracle, and I turned to the aid of my heavenly mother, Mary. On that very day, one of our grandsons and our daughter-in-law stopped by for a visit and brought us some soup. We very rarely use our front door, but as I walked them back out that way, I was amazed at the sight that awaited.

Two years ago, at Christ-mas, we received an ama-ryllis, which we enjoyed throughout the holiday sea-son. After it had bloomed,

it began to show some new green shoots. They got very tall, and by Easter they were akin to Jack and the Beanstalk, so I put them out-side to do their thing.

I forgot about the plant as it was sitting in the corner of our seldom visited porch. It got no water, plant food or any TLC of any kind. It was my origi-nal intention to throw it away after it died off, but I never did anything with it, and actually forgot it was outside.

As I stood on the porch last week, a bright spot of red caught my eye. There, in all its unseasonable glory was the forgotten amaryllis, radi-ant with not one or two, but three lovely blooms. It defied all the odds and not only sur-vived, but managed to bloom in May, the month of our Blessed Mother.

To show her my gratitude, I set the amaryllis in front of her statue on our patio, made a crown of white silk flowers and a pipe cleaner, and held

my own private little May pro-cession.

Reminiscent of the May pro-cessions we had in school, all the words to the hymns of Mar-ian praise came back to me.

“Bring flowers of the rarest bring blossoms the fairest, from garden and woodland and hillside and dale; our full hearts are swelling, our glad voices telling the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale

“O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today! Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May. O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.” If my neighbors heard me singing, I feel certain that they suspected I was having some sort of strange ritual and might be ready for other living arrangements.

Copyright © 2018 Mary Margaret Lambert

Sunday, June 9, 2019Feast of Pentecost

Readings:Acts 2:1-11

1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13John 20:19-23

Sunday, June 16, 2019The Solemnity

of the Most Holy Trinity

Readings:Proverbs 8:22-31

Romans 5:1-5John 16:12-15

NEXT SUNDAY

PINCH OF FAITH

Somebody up there apparently is listening

Church was created to bring mercy to weary and wandering humans

CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz A scene from Pentecost is depicted in a stained-glass window in Queen of Apostles Chapel at the Maryknoll Society Center in Maryknoll, New York. The feast of Pentecost, celebrated June 9 this year, commemorates the Holy Spirit descending upon the apostles 50 days after Christ’s resurrection. Pentecost also marks the end of the Easter season.


Mary McWilliams

The staff and volunteers of Mu-lier Care take unconditional love very seriously and it is an

attitude that, since launching their mobile pregnancy help center, has helped more than 400 women deal, in a clear-headed way, with an unplanned pregnancy.

June 1 marks the first anniversary that the bus rolled to its three locations in Antioch, Donelson and Edgehill.

“We are here to love these women in their crisis and hope they keep their babies,” said Cory McCormick, who was in the first nurse volunteer train-ing for the center’s mobile unit.

Most of the women who contact Mulier, which is guided by Catholic teaching and named after Pope Saint John Paul II’s 1988 encyclical, “Muli-eris Dignitatum” (“On the Dignity and Vocation of Women”), are “abortion-determined.” In other words, they are pregnant and actively seeking to terminate the pregnancy. Mulier hopes the women will have a change of heart and mind and decide to follow through with the pregnancy.

“That’s our target audience, and our only target audience,” said Honora Bates, executive director of Mulier Care.

As a result, they see women of a variety of ages, socio-economic levels, and stages of pregnancy.

Two questions drive help for the women at Mulier: What is the crisis that brought you here? What is the main reason you’re seeking an abor-tion?

With a long list of agencies through-out Davidson County that partner with Mulier, the team there works the phones to find the help a woman needs to get her through her crisis so those factors are tamped down or even eliminated.

Often, the crisis is financial. If it is joblessness, Mulier will help her find a job. If it is difficulty paying bills, re-ferrals for help with utility bills might help. Sometimes a ride to work or gas cards to get her to a job are needed.

Sometimes, it’s homelessness, per-haps from a domestic violence situa-tion. The client may be a college stu-dent who is alone or a woman without a support system.

Besides help with the financial crisis or joblessness, Bates said, the great-est need their clients have is just someone to talk to, someone to whom they can ask questions and from whom they can get answers.

Although many of the same reasons crop up, Bates said, the needs of every woman are different. Some just need a little bit of help. Some need a friend with them throughout the preg-nancy and after the baby comes home.

“These are all unplanned pregnan-cies,” McCormick said. “Many of them took a pregnancy test that day (of their appointment) and they still haven’t processed that they’re preg-nant. We’re trying to get them past the shock.”

The Mulier volunteers try to get them to wait and think about it while they line up the people and referrals who can help them.

When Donnette (last name withheld

at her request), already the mother of two girls, ages 8 and 5, contacted Mu-lier, she had decided that abortion was her only option. She had just moved to Nashville, fleeing a domestic violence situation, living in a shelter, and trying to get a firm standing when she met a man and found herself pregnant.

“We jumped too fast,” she said of the relationship. “I was trying to get stable. We were having issues and we didn’t know each other. I didn’t know if he would be a provider. I didn’t even know if he would be around.”

In her panic during August 2018, she began looking for abortion clinics.

“I called (Mulier) thinking it was an abortion clinic,” Donnette said, although Bates said when they talk to clients they make it “explicitly clear” they are not an abortion provider. “And they told me I needed to come in for an ultrasound.”

Aboard the mobile unit, clients are greeted by a client advocate who per-forms intake. They then see a nurse volunteer who administers a preg-nancy test and limited ultrasound to determine if indeed she is pregnant and how far along. During the ultra-sound, the client can see the heart beat and placenta. The nurses answer any medical questions the client has, but the visit is more than medical.

As soon as the client steps on the bus, the client advocate begins to establish a relationship with her. For Donnette, that relationship was para-mount.

“As soon as I saw the heartbeat, I knew they were human beings,” Don-nette said, and she knew she could not terminate her pregnancy. Still, she had many times of anxiety.

“Every time I had second thoughts, I’d call or text Stephanie (her cli-ent advocate). She always said it was my decision. She always told me everything would be OK,” said Donette. “They took me to lunch at IHOP – that’s my favorite restaurant. They checked in with me throughout the pregnancy. They just did a lot of things that you would think family would do. I had no family there. They were my family.”

Stephanie and another advocate, Madeline, were the first to show up at the hospital when she went into labor and stayed with her two daughters.

Donnette, who now works at a domestic violence shelter helping women who are in the same situation as she was, delivered twins – a boy and a girl – April 5, 2019. Thankfully, she added, she and the twins’ father are still together.

McCormick, who is a retired cardio-vascular nurse, says the clients feel comfort as soon as they walk onto the bus. “It’s a very calming place,” she said. “All the nurses are very caring and motherly.”

She also noted the privacy of the bus. Unlike a doctor’s office waiting room where patients sit together, a Mulier client has the bus and volun-teers to themselves for about an hour, McCormick explained. If appoint-ments overlap, a back door allows the client to leave quietly without encoun-

tering another client.“It’s a lot more anonymous. They

feel safe knowing nobody knows they’re there,” McCormick said. “They immediately take comfort in that. And they know someone cares about them.”

To continue caring for women deal-ing with unplanned pregnancies, Mu-lier, which is funded by donations and staffed largely by volunteers, needs both donations and volunteers. Bates would love a back-up driver for the bus and at least three more client advo-cates. She said they are in good shape right now for nurses and have training planned in August for two additional.

For McCormick, the experience has been fulfilling.

“It’s just very, very, very rewarding to be able to help these women,” she said. “When we started (last June) some were 6-week old fetuses, and now we have babies being born! We’re excited at every birth.”

Donette cherishes the decision that the Mulier volunteers helped her to make to follow through with her preg-nancy, doubling her family size.

“I feel wonderful,” she said about her decision. “God bless them. This program is saving a lot of precious lives.”

For women who are in her situation, she said to keep looking ahead. “Fear can stop you from a lot of things. Looking at the situation you’re in can keep you at a standstill. Look ahead.”

The types of donations needed are limitless. Anything for a baby, but es-pecially wipes and diapers.

Donnette said that she hasn’t had to buy either for her twins since they were born and that has been a great help to her.

Grocery gift cards, gas gift cards, transit passes, and, of course, cash are constantly needed.

For more information, visit the web-site at www.PregnancyHelpCenter.info, contact Bates at [email protected], or mail donations to P.O. Box 110173 Nashville, TN 37222.

Mulier’s Mobile Pregnancy Unit volunteers ‘love women in their crisis’

Tennessee Register file photo by Theresa LaurenceThe mobile Pregnancy Help Center operated by Mulier Care hit the streets one year ago on June 1 looking to help women involved in crisis pregnancies. The mobile unit is equipped with an ultrasound machine and visits locations in Antioch, Donelson and Edgehill to meet women who need help. Mulier Care offers a variety of services and referrals to other agencies that can help meet the needs of women so they can keep their child rather than have an abortion. Mulier Care supporters were on hand last year for the launch of the Pregnancy Help Center.

For advertising in the Tennessee Register

contact Terri Francescon at [email protected]

Next special issue:June 14, House and Home Special Supplement


Theresa Laurence

Gov. Bill Lee signed into law on May 24 the Education Savings Account bill that is slated to take

effect in the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The ESA bill, which was conten-

tiously debated during the last legisla-tive session, will allow families in Metro Nashville Public Schools and Shelby County Schools to use public tax dol-lars to pay for private school education, around $7,300 per year.

That could be a boon to Catholic schools in the Diocese of Nashville, if some details of the plan are ironed out.

Diocesan Superintendent of Schools Rebecca Hammel noted that the $7,300 figure “is equal to a full paying student” at several of the diocese’s Catholic schools in Nashville. “More students equals better stability and could help us maintain costs,” she said. “I’m excited about that possibility.”

Members of the Diocese of Nashville’s leadership team, including Hammel, met with Tennessee state legislators throughout the session to share their support and concerns for the ESA bills as they were introduced and amended.

“It was a great experience meeting with legislators and sharing our mission with them,” said Hammel.

“The fact that the state is offering ac-cess to private schools with state fund-ing is quite promising,” Hammel said.

Supporters of traditional public

schools have long been opposed to any school voucher legislation like the ESA bill, saying they drain resources from already struggling schools, but the new law provides additional funding for pub-lic schools that lose state funding when a child transfers from a public school to a private school.

The three dioceses in Tennessee have

long supported such legislation, affirm-ing the parents’ role as the primary educators of their children, arguing that state funding should follow the child to enable them to choose the school that best serves their children, regardless of their zip code.

“All children deserve a good educa-tion,” Hammel said, and the track record of Catholic schools educating students, including those who are struggling in underperforming public schools, is well documented.

“We welcome the opportunity to serve these students,” Hammel said.

However, at this point, “testing re-mains an issue,” in whether Catholic schools will be able to participate in the ESA program, she said.

As the law is written, students who transfer to private schools using the ESA funds are required to take the state of Tennessee’s standardized tests. Schools in the dioceses of Nashville and Memphis have long used the Iowa Assessments, once known as the Iowa

Test of Basic Skills instead of the state’s standardized tests.The Iowa test is a nationally normed assessment that provides feedback on both an individual student’s annual academic progress as well as data for class progress for each grade compared with other students throughout the nation. The same as-sessment has been given to students in both public and private schools across the country for decades and provides a wealth of data for educators that is used for curriculum development.

The Iowa test meets the requirements for private school accreditation by the Tennessee Department of Education.

The TN Ready test is a newly created assessment based on the curriculum in Tennessee public schools and has been plagued with a series of problems since it was introduced several years ago.

If the testing issue is resolved and the diocese’s schools do accept ESA students, they would undergo the same admissions protocol as any other stu-dent, Hammel said, and could apply to any Catholic school in Davidson County that had availability. If families needed further financial assistance, “we would work with them to offer aid based on their financial need,” she said.

The Education Savings Account pro-gram could especially help Catholic schools that are under-enrolled and could accommodate more students without having to add more teachers or staff members.

The Catholic Schools Office of the Di-ocese of Nashville is actively working to serve more families who cannot afford to pay full tuition at its schools. When the Schools Office announced the first round of ACE Welcome Grants, funded by the Advancement of Catholic Educa-tion, earlier this spring, it quickly re-ceived numerous applications for the 10 available partial scholarships each for St. Edward School, St. Pius X Classical Academy, or St. John Vianney School.

For more information about the ACE Welcome Grants, contact the diocesan Schools Office at 615-383-6393.

“We want to keep children at the cen-ter of all our decisions,” Hammel said.

Education Savings Accounts could benefit Catholic schools

Photo by Rick MusacchioState Sen. Brian Kelsey, right, talks with Sen. Delores Gresham and Rep. Bill Dunn, the sponsors of the ESA legislation after it passed the Senate. The Tennessee State Senate gave final passage to the Education Scholarship Act after a floor debate at the State Capitol in Nashville on Wednesday, May 1.

who God is calling and offer them the best formation, make sure they have everything they need,” he said. “I want to help men hear the call and respond.”

With the Seminarian Education Din-ner on May 22, the ordination on May 25 and the new priests’ first Masses on May 25-26, “it was a very busy, joy-filled week” for priests and vocations in the diocese, said Father Gilstrap.

Organizers are already looking ahead to the 2020 Seminarian Education Dinner and Auction, which will be held at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Hendersonville, where it was held in 2018. In the future, the event will likely alternate between Holy Family and Our Lady of the Lake, the two parishes in the Nashville area that have the capacity to host a major event like this, accommo-dating 600 or more people.

The Presenting Sponsor for this year’s Dinner and Auction was Dioc-esan Properties/Marina Manor East.

Other sponsors included: Platinum

Sponsors: Mary, Queen of Angels As-sisted Living Facility and Villa Maria Manor, and Catholic Extension, which once again offered a matching grant of up to $40,000 for donations made toward the event; Gold Sponsors: Catholic Com-munity Investment and Loan, St. Henry Property Development, Wood Person-nel Services, and The Carter Group of Brentwood; Silver Sponsors: Taylor Pigue Marchetti and Blair, LLC and Greg and Anita Sanford; and Support Sponsors: Father Ryan High School and Pope John Paul II High School.

Donations can still be made to the Seminarian Education Fund, and more information is available at www.dioceseofnashville.com/seminarian-education-dinner-and-auction. People also can call or email diocesan Director of Development Ashley Linville at 615-645-9768 or [email protected], or Assistant Director of Development Anna Beth Godfrey at 615-645-9769 or annabeth.godfrey@dio-ceseofnashville. com.

Continued from page 2

Dinner tops $300,000 goal


the good of the Church. “If you understand the sacrifice of

Christ on the cross you’ll save yourself and you’ll save us,” Bishop Spalding said.

At the end of the Mass, the people gath-ered gave the new priests a long ovation.

“You heard that,” Bishop Spalding said. Keep that in your hearts for all the days of your priesthood.”

After the bishop gave the new priests a final blessing, he knelt before each to receive a blessing before processing from them.

‘I’m different now’“It was overwhelming,” Father Car-

dona said of the ordination rite. “Your life passes by. …

“Once your prostrate and you stand up, you’re not the same,” he said of the por-tion of the rite where the ordinands lay face down before the altar as the litany of saints is sung. “I’m different now.”

Father Cardona said he is ready to serve. “I just want to be with the people of God and to save my soul by saving the souls of others,” he said.

Father Cardona is a “super nice guy, just very personable,” said Ed Baenziger, a parishioner at St. Frances Cabrini Church in Lebanon where the new priest served one summer while a seminarian. “He doesn’t know a stranger.”

“He’s a very compassionate person,” Father Michael O’Bryan, pastor of St. Frances Cabrini, said of Father Car-dona. And because Father Cardona, a native of Colombia, speaks both English and Spanish, “he brings a dimension to the parish that’s often missing,” Father O’Bryan said. “We need to have more Spanish-speaking priests.”

The outgoing personality of Father Car-dona, whose first assignment will be as As-sociate Pastor at St. Rose of Lima Church in Murfreesboro, will serve him well as a priest, Baenziger’s wife Kim said. “People will fall in love with him right away.”

‘A precious moment’Father Pham felt strong emotions

from the very beginning of the Mass. “When I processed in, it was a very touching moment,” he said. “The people were there praying for me.”

Lying prostrate before the altar and having his hands anointed by the bishop were also important moments during the ordination rite, he said. “It was a precious moment.”

Father Pham’s first assignment will be as Associate Pastor at St. Ann Church in Nashville and as the chaplain of the Vietnamese Catholic Community in the diocese.

Most of Father Pham’s family still lives in Vietnam. His parents, both in their 70s, traveled from Vietnam to Nashville, a plane trip of more than 20 hours, to be here for his ordination.

Although his relatives live far away, “the Vietnamese community is like an extended family,” Father Pham said. “It gives you a sense of home.”

As the chaplain of the Vietnamese community, Father Pham will succeed Father Peter Chau Quang Do, the cur-rent chaplain of the community and the pastor of St. Martha Church in Ashland City who is retiring this summer. Father Peter helped bring Father Pham to the Diocese of Nashville five years ago.

“He’s very prayerful,” Father Peter said of Father Pham, and the Vietnam-ese community already knows him.

They showed their support with large numbers attending the ordination, some coming from far outside the Diocese of Nashville.

Besides speaking English and Viet-namese, Father Pham also speaks Span-ish, and the day after his ordination celebrated the Spanish Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Donelson, where he served as a seminarian.

“They are gifts of God to me,” Father Pham said of his language skills. “I’m trying to make the most of it.”

Father Pham hopes he can serve as a bridge between the different ethnicities of Catholics in the diocese, he said.

‘Awareness of the Lord’s love’When they were in high school,

Fathers Bolster, Simpson and Wilgen-busch all were members of Fraternus, an organization for Catholic teen boys with the goal of teaching them to be virtuous men.

“It’s incredibly humbling for Frater-nus to be connected to these young men,” said Danny Snyder, a parishioner at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Hen-dersonville and the National Sage for Fraternus, the organization’s highest post. “We’re blessed.”

“All three of them, I’ve had a personal contact with,” Snyder said. “These three men had a profound impact on my life before they went to the seminary.”

“Father Luke, he actually pushed me into realizing I can do more,” Snyder said. During a Fraternus outing, Snyder was on an apparatus called Jacob’s Lad-der. “I was about to give up. He wouldn’t let me give up.

“That’s the epitome of Fraternus,” Snyder said, encouraging each other and letting them know they can lean on their brother.

During the ordination, Father Bolster said, he had “an awareness of the Lord’s love” and the work ahead of him of ministering to God’s people and sharing God’s love with them.

“The power, the richness of his love came to mind,” he said.

During the ordination rite, “The laying on of hands by both the bishop and the other priests was a special moment,” Father Bolster said. He felt he was “re-ceiving the love of the priests and being welcomed into the priesthood.”

“It was just too beautiful,” his mother, Alice Bolster, said of the ordination Mass. “You could just see the grace pouring down.”

“It was a blessing for him and the fam-ily and the Church,” she said.

“The Lord owns his heart,” Bolster said of her son. “Every single Catholic man should be open to the priesthood because you just never know.”

‘The gift of family’Although Father Simpson had men-

tioned becoming a priest when he was a child at St. Henry School in Nashville, his parents were surprised when he came to them as a high school student and said he wanted to attend the seminary.

“I thought he would go off to college and wrestle,” said Frank Simpson, who was his son’s wrestling coach at Mont-gomery Bell Academy in Nashville. “Lit-tle did I know what he wanted to do.”

But seeing his son be ordained a priest “was probably the greatest moment of my life,” Mr. Simpson said. “It’s just an amazing thing to see God’s work in all five of these men who were up there.”

“It dawned on me seeing the priests on the altar what a big family he’s a part of now,” said Father Simpson’s mother, Margaret Simpson. “He already thought he was part of a big family.”

Father Simpson, one of 10 children, is also part of two large extended families in the Catholic community, the Simpsons and the Derricks. During the ordination, Bishop Spalding joked about it, noting that Father Simpson’s family filled half the Cathedral, “and they let me know there could have been more.”

The Simpsons said their son is eager to begin his life as a priest. “He wants so much to do the work,” Mrs. Simpson said. “He loves the vocation.”

“Being able to stand in the person of Christ and make Christ present to the people in the Eucharist is what I’m most looking forward to,” said Father Simpson,

who has been assigned as the Chaplain at Father Ryan High School, Associate Director of Vocations for the diocese, and Chaplain of Camp Marymount. He will be in residence at Christ the King Church.

“When I first entered the seminary I thought eight years, whew, that’s a long time,” Father Simpson said. “I can’t be-lieve it’s become a reality.”

He credited his family for nurturing his vocation. “So much of my vocation was born in my family, their sacrifice, their love,” Father Simpson said. “I wouldn’t be here without the gift of family.”

‘Such a journey’During the ordination, “I was just try-

ing to stay calm,” Father Wilgenbusch said. “It was emotional.”

“The prayer of ordination, knowing that was the moment I was becoming a priest, was very powerful,” he said.

“I’m ready to get to work,” said Father Wilgenbusch, who, with Father Bolster, will return to Rome in the fall for one more year of study. “I feel it’s always going to be incredible now that it’s actually arrived.”

Like the other new priests, Father Wilgenbusch shared the moment with his family.

“It was tremendously humbling that one of our children was going to give their life to God,” his father, Steve Wil-genbusch, said.

“It was overwhelming. It’s been such a journey,” said his mother, Janet Wil-genbusch. “Seeing all those preists on the altar and he was a part of it, it over-whelmed me with what a great faith the Catholic faith is. It was just the most beautiful ceremony. I felt such a pres-ence of all of heaven here with us.”

Father Wilgenbusch had a surprise for his mother.

During the ordination rite, the bishop anoints the hands of the new priests and then wraps it in a linen cloth called a maniturgium. The tradition is that a new priest will present the maniturgium to his mother at his first Mass, and when she dies, it is buried with her.

According to the tradition, when the mother arrives at the gates of heaven she is escorted directly to God, who says to her, “I have given you life, what have you given to me?” She will then hand the maniurgium to the Lord and say, “I have given you my son as a priest,” and she will be granted entry into paradise.

Mrs. Wilgenbusch had received a linen handkerchief from her mother for her First Communion, which is a tradi-tion in her family. “I have my grand-mother’s handkerchief from her First Communion that was given to her by her grandmother,” she said.

A few years ago, she showed her son her First Communion handkerchief. Un known to Mrs. Wilgenbusch, he had it in his mind that was what he was going to use it as his maniturgium.

When he presented it to her during the reception after celebrating his first Mass at his home parish of St. Edward Church in Nashville, Father Wilgen-busch told her that just as she carried it with her to her first communion, she would carry it with her to her eternal communion with God.

“You just can’t think. It takes your breath away,” she said of her son’s gift. “It makes it even more special than it already is.”

Ordination of five new priests ‘a great day’Continued from page 12

Photo by Rick MusacchioFather Michael Baltrus kisses the hands of newly ordained Father Luke Wilgenbusch after sharing the sign of peace. It is a tradition to kiss the hands of a new priest in veneration of the Body of Christ, which is held in the priest’s hands during the Holy Eucharist. Father Wilgenbusch, who grew up as a parishioner of St. Edward Church in Nashville, was ordained on Saturday, May 25, at the Cathedral of the Incarnation.


From staff reports

Father Ryan High School senior Kendall Young finished second in the the 400-meter race in the

Division II-AA track and field state championships to help lead the Irish to a eighth place finish in the boys team standings.

Father Ryan’s 4 x 400 meter relay team also finished second.

The track and field state champion-ships were held as part of the Spring Fling XXVI Spring Sports Champion-ships in Murfreesboro May 21-24.

For Father Ryan, the results of other team members included:

• Brock Carlson, sophomore, fourth, discus throw.

• 4 x 200 meter relay, fourth.• Ian Jones, sophomore, fifth, 400

meters.• 4 x 800 meter relay, sixth.• Jack MacClary, junior, sixth, 200

meters.• 4 x 100 meter relay, eighth.For Pope John Paul II High School,

senior Brian Raybourne finished eighth in the long jump and 10th in the decathlon. Sophomore Brandon Shockley finished sixth in the 110-meter hurdles and seventh in the 300-meter hurdles. JPII finished 10th in the team standings.

In the girls meet, JPII sophomore Keonna Chumbley finished fourth in the 400 meters, and freshman Ellie Hemmelgarn finished eighth in the 800 meters.

For Father Ryan, senior Adriana Batey finished fifth in the discus throw and the 4 x 800 meter relay finished seventh.

St. Cecilia Academy junior Rosie Robinson finished fifth in both the 100 meters and 200 meters and ninth in the pentathlon. St. Cecilia’s Helen Anderson finished 15th in the pen-tathlon.

In the team standings, St. Cecilia finished 11th, and JPII and Father Ryan tied for 13th.

Father Ryan’s soccer and baseball teams also qualified for the Spring Fling championships.

The soccer team fell 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals to eventual state champion McCallie.

After the first half ended with a 0-0 tie, Matthew Warbrick of McCallie opened the scoring with a goal at the

41:54 mark. Father Ryan’s Will Turner answered

at 43:20, scoring on a penalty kick.In the first overtime, Gui Vivaldini

of McCallie scored the game winner at 81:09, and McCallie held on for the remaining 19 minutes for the win.

Father Ryan, which finished the season with a 9-8-3 record, was out-shot during the game 9-3.

Father Ryan’s baseball team, which was making its first appearance in the state tournament in many years, dropped both of its games.

In the opener, Ryan pitcher Jack Trew threw a three-hitter with one walk in a 2-1 loss to Christian Broth-ers High School.

Trew was perfect for five of the

six innings he pitched, giving up all three hits and the walk in the sec-ond inning when Christian Brothers scored twice on a bases-loaded RBI-single by Miles McCullar.

The Irish got one of the runs back in the top of the third inning when Benny DeTrude led off with a walk, stole second, and scored on a single by Jack Porter. Father Ryan had the bases loaded when the inning ended without scoring again.

Porter was two for four with one run batted in and Seamus O’Connell was two of three at the plate.

In the loser’s bracket, Father Ryan fell to Ensworth 5-3.

The Irish scored three times in the bottom of the fifth inning to wipe out

a 2-0 Ensworth lead. Porter drove in one run on a fielder’s choice, Trew singled in the second run, and Porter scored when Carter Vrabel reached on an error.

But Ensworth’s Andrew Byers tied the game with a lead-off home run in the top of the sixth inning, and the Tigers added two more runs in the top of the seventh on an RBI single and a wild pitch.

Trew led the Irish offense going three of four with one RBI. O’Connell was two of three, Porter was one of four with an RBI and one run scored. Cooper Elisar was one of two with a walk and run scored, and Micael Ramirez was one of three with a run scored.

Ryan’s Kendall Young finishes second in 400 meters at state meet

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Photos by Andy TelliThe Father Ryan High School baseball team qualified for the Division II-AA state tournament, held as part of the TSSAA’s Spring Fling XXVI Spring Sports Championships. The Irish were knocked out of the tournament after losing to Christian Brothers High School 2-1 and Ensworth School 5-3. Justin Allen, left, delivers a pitch for Father Ryan. Father Ryan Coach Mike Mascari, center, alerts his team about the location of a foul pop up.


Latin, extremely difficult. Despite his academic struggles, his superiors rec-ognized his deep piety and allowed him to be ordained in 1815.

He was assigned as the parish priest for the small village of Ars, and from this post he became known throughout France and Europe as the “Cure d’Ars.”

St. John Vianney established a suc-cessful home for destitute girls called the Providence. His catechetical in-struction for the girls became so popu-lar they were given every day in the church to large crowds.

But his greatest contribution was in the direction of souls in the con-fessional. Soon, people from all over France and Europe traveled to Ars to receive absolution and spiritual direc-tion from him in the confessional. He was known to hear confessions for 18 hours a day.

He died on Aug. 4, 1859, and was canonized a saint in 1925. Pope Pius XI declared him the patron saint of parish priests in 1929.

The pilgrimage of the relic began in November and will end in June when it is returned to the Shrine of Ars, Hol-guin said. By the time the pilgrimage ends, he said, the incorrupt heart will have been in all 48 states of the Conti-nental U.S. and Puerto Rico.

“We’ve gotten a great turn out at all of our events,” Holguin said. “The heart has been seen by more than 250,000 people since we began in November.”

In Nashville, more than 1,600 people visited the relic and more than 500 con-fessions were heard.

“We had people from Michigan come down to see this,” said John Park, a former State Deputy for the Tennessee Knights of Columbus who stood watch over the relic in Nashville as part of the Knights’ honor guard.

Cathy Costello traveled with several friends from her home in Memphis, a three-and-a-half hour drive from Nash-ville, to see the relic and pray before it. “We hope everybody gets their prayers answered,” she said.

She was among the people, after the Mass, who stood in line down the center aisle of the Cathedral to kneel before the relic in prayer for a few mo-ments.

Catholics do not worship relics but venerate them as holy objects associ-ated with a saint. “A relic is venerated in recognition of the fact that God has worked through a saint, and that an object associated with a saint is holy and can lead us to God,” according to a brochure produced by the Knights and distributed at the stops during the pil-grimage. “The healing power of relics

comes from God alone and never from the object.”

There are three classes of relics. A first-class relic is a physical part of a saint, such as a piece of bone or a lock of hair. “The heart of St. John Vianney was taken from the saint’s body after his death in recognition of his burning love for God and humanity,” accord-ing to the Knights’ brochure. “It has remained intact, or incorrupt, for more than 150 years.”

A second-class relic is an object rou-tinely used or touched by the saint dur-ing life, such as a piece of clothing, a book or pen.

A third-class relic is an object rever-ently touched to a first-class relic.

Many of the people who prayed be-fore St. John Vianney’s heart touched crucifixes, rosaries and other religious items to the reliquary holding the relic as they prayed.

Among those praying before St. John Vianney’s heart was Dan Schachle, a parishioner at St. Christopher Church in Dickson, and the general agent for the Knights of Columbus insurance for Tennessee, eastern Arkansas and southwestern Virginia.

“I’m here because I’ve got a son study-ing to be a priest and a son named after a parish priest,” said Schachle. “I want to ask St. John Vianney to pray for my sons, whatever their vocation may be.”

Two of his sons, Nathan, a seminar-ian for the Diocese of Nashville, and Joseph, were altar servers for the Mass with the relic present.

“I’m honored to be part of the Knights of Columbus that paid to make this happen, especially with this time of the Church under attack and priests under attack,” Schachle added. “They’re no accidents. God usually sends us grace and strength when we need it.”

While the relic was in Nashville, there was a private showing at the Mother-house of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia and the public showing at the Cathedral. From Nashville, the relic was brought to Knoxville, Tennessee, where it was on display at the Diocese of Knoxville’s Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The pilgrimage stop in Nashville came in the middle of a week high-lighting vocations in the Diocese of Nashville. The week started with the diocese’s annual Seminarian Education Dinner and Auction, which raises funds to help cover the cost of educating the diocese’s 26 seminarians. The dinner was held on the night before the relic of the patron saint of parish priests was displayed at the Cathedral.

The week concluded on Saturday, May 25, with the ordination of five new priests.

Continued from page 11

St. John Vianney relic visits NashvilleSt. Joseph School announces Michael La Haie as principalFrom staff reports

St. Joseph Parish pastor Fa-ther Jean-Baptiste Kyabuta announced earlier in May

that Michael La Haie has been selected as the next principal of St. Joseph School, and will officially start on July 1.

“Michael is committed to ensuring that all students learn to their maximum potential and to fostering innovation through collaboration with teachers, staff, students and families,” Father Kyabuta wrote in a letter to the St. Joseph community announcing La Haie’s hiring.

“He loves the Catholic Church and loves being involved with students as they learn about their faith and how it can help them on their journey to adulthood,” Father Kyabuta added.

La Haie follows principal C.J. Martin, who stepped down as prin-

cipal in March after serving in the position since 2014. Martin will work with La Haie over the sum-mer to ensure a smooth transition in leadership.

La Haie has spent most of his career working in Catholic educa-tion, most recently at Father Ryan High School, where he served as dean of students for seven years. Before that, he spent seven years at St. Cecilia Academy as the dean of student affairs. He also taught at Holy Rosary Academy in Nashville, Cathedral School in Memphis, and in public schools in Nashville and Memphis.

La Haie, who has a masters de-gree in Educational Leadership from Middle Tennessee State University, has also taught parish religious education classes at St. Henry Church and worked with the parish youth group at Holy Ro-sary Church.

La Haie and his wife Mary have lived in Nashville since 1993 and have two adult children. “Michael is ready and excited to immerse himself into the St. Joseph commu-nity and become part of Bulldog Nation!” Father Kyabuta said.

La Haie

encountered the spirituality of those families.”

At the Veterans Administration Medi-cal Center, no patient is allowed to die alone, and Father Miller was called often to sit with a veteran at the end of their life. It’s a ministry he relished. He

would hear their confession and anoint them as they left this earth for heaven, Father Miller explained. Accompanying them at that moment was a privilege that gave him a great sense of joy, he said.

Looking back on 60 years, Father Miller said, “I have enjoyed my priesthood.”

Father James Norman Miller enjoys 60 years as a priestContinued from page 9

DIRECTOR OF SCHOOLS (SUPERINTENDENT)Diocese of Birmingham

POSITION AVAILABLE

The Catholic Diocese of Birmingham is seeking a Director of Schools (Superintendent). See our full ad at the NCEA career center. Qualified candidates should send cover letter, resume and references to:

Dr. David AndersDirector of Education and Lifelong Formation

P.O. Box 12047, Birmingham, AL 35202

or [email protected], 205-838-8303


Three Ryan seniors to continue athletic careers at UT

Helloand goodbyeThe Class of 2019 at the three Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Nashville, St. Cecilia Academy, Pope John Paul II and Father Ryan, said goodbye to their high school years and hello to the future during graduation ceremonies held recently. St. Cecilia graduate Anna Perrone, left, waves to a friend while processing into commencement exercises held Friday, May 24, on the Dominican Campus. Michael Lenahan, bottom left photo, joined his 237 classmates for Father Ryan’s commencement exercises held Saturday, May 18, at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University. Madi Bagsby, bottom right photo, a rising senior at Pope John Paul II High School, congratulates new graduate Peyton Knight after JPII’s commencement exercises held on Sunday, May 19, at the Grand Ole Opry.

Three Father Ryan High School seniors have signed to participate in athletics as students at the Uni-

versity of Tennessee at Knoxville.Dillon Ferrell and Jack Morgan have

signed to continue their rugby careers and their studies at UT. The two seniors have been leaders of the Irish squad, which made the state semifinals this year.

Ferrell, the son of Ronnie and Cheryl Resha (Class of 1983) Ferrell, is a parishioner at Holy Family Church in Brentwood who plans to study business at UT.

Playing for the Vols is a lifelong dream for him. “My family grew up cheer-ing on UT and I’m proud to wear the orange,” he said. “It means a lot for me to have the opportunity to get an out-standing education and to compete on a

national stage for the Vols.”“Coach (Ben) Hobbs has created such

an excellent environment here and I’ve felt like part of a special family with the Father Ryan rugby program,” he added. “I look forward to sharing that same experience in college.”

Ferrell came to Father Ryan from St. Joseph School after a freshman year at Ravenwood High School.

Morgan echoed his teammate. “The Father Ryan program and the coaching staff are focused on our development as athletes, but more important, our de-velopment as young men. That has made our success for the Irish that much more meaningful.”

Morgan is the son of Janet and the late John Morgan (Class of 1982) and a parishioner and graduate of Christ the King Church and School

who plans to major in education at UT.He too is looking forward to this na-

tional opportunity. “To be able to play at sites like Notre Dame and UCLA and represent the Vols and the SEC is exciting,” Morgan said. “My family have always been UT fans, and it means so much to them and to me to be able to represent our favorite team across the country.”

Caroline Simpson, daughter of Father Ryan wrestling coach Pat Simpson and his wife, Stephanie, has been selected as a cheerleader for the UT Volunteers Spirit Squad. She will join the squad this fall.

Caroline and her family are members of St. Stephen Catholic Community and she came to Father Ryan from Mt. Juliet Middle School.

A lifelong UT Vols fan, Simpson is excited to be selected for this squad and is looking forward to being on the side-lines and the courts leading cheers for the Vols faithful.

“Having grown up as a Vols fan in a family of Vols fans, I am thrilled to be

selected to represent UT,” Simpson said. “I am excited about this opportu-nity because it gives me the chance to continue doing what I love most – cheer-leading. It enables me to do that and pursue my education at an outstanding university. And it gives me the chance to be on the field with my brother, Kirby, who is a manager for the UT football team. I know I have made a lot of people proud, and I look forward to making them prouder as I represent the Tennessee Volunteers tradition.”

Simpson plans to study sports man-agement with a minor in marketing and a minor in business. In addition to her cheerleading at Father Ryan, Simpson was part of the yearbook staff, winning an award for sports writing for the publication.

Ferrell

Morgan

Simpson


Photo by Andy Telli

Honoring our veteransFather Eric Fowlkes, pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Church in Hendersonville, blessed the parish’s military veterans after Mass on Sunday, May 26, in honor of Memorial Day. The church was decorated with American flags and the flags of each of the branches of the U.S. military, including the flag for the Marine Corps.

diocese’s five new priests eager to serve god’s people · bishop j. mark spalding, at the end...

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