From the Pastor

Our readings today teach us what it means to bear fruit as disciples of Christ. We hear in each of our readings that it is from the Lord that good effects will be produced in our lives. In our first reading, we hear about disciples who were preaching the Good News and defending the faith. The work they were doing was “with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.” It was not their work alone, but the work of God. We must ask ourselves, ‘how is God bearing fruit in my life?’ and ‘have I invited the Holy Spirit to work in me?’ The more we try to produce good effects in our lives, the more we will become disappointed if all we are relying on is our own efforts. It is only by inviting the Holy Spirit into our everyday moments that we will see goodness poured out. Jesus clearly tells us how to do this in our Gospel. He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” We can remain in Christ by staying faithful to His commandments and frequently receiving the sacraments. And our day-to-day moments should be a reflection of those commitments. That could mean opening our day with a prayer of thanksgiving, smiling at those we see on the street, asking God for help as we begin our workday, praising God in moments of trial, taking time to listen to our spouse after a long day. To remain in Christ means, in all that we do, we do it with the Lord. When we live a life like that — as a branch never separated from its vine — God will produce bountiful fruit in our lives. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering I have had a few folks interested in what exactly occurs when a diocese received a new bishop, so I thought I would outline the process a bit for a contribution to your knowledge of Catholic trivia. Before a new bishop can be appointed, the diocese in question has to be vacant. A vacancy occurs through death, retirement, resignation or removal. In our case, Bishop Jugis submitted his resignation based on his deteriorating health, one of the reasons that a bishop can ask to be relieved of the administration of a diocese. Once the Holy Father accepts the resignation, the See becomes vacant. During the interim or sede vacante (vacant seat) period, the diocese needs to have someone to keep things going. This is done by either a priest, who is appointed administrator or by a bishop, who is known as an apostolic administrator. In our case Bishop Jugis continues as the apostolic administrator. Since his successor has already been named, Bishop Jugis can help prepare for the new bishop’s transition. As soon as a see is vacated, several offices and one advisory body cease to function. Any vicars general or episcopal vicars lose their office and the Presbyteral Council ceases until reconstituted by the new bishop. Both the Judicial Vicar and the Chief Financial Office of the diocese continue in office to insure the ongoing functions of their offices. Bishop Jugis, as Apostolic Administrator, has asked those priests who were serving as his vicar general and episcopal vicars to continue performing their functions in the interim. When the new Bishop is installed, he can reappoint the vicars or appoint others to take their places. If a priest is appointed as the new bishop, he must be ordained a bishop before he can assume the office. Once ordained, a ceremony occurs, usually a Mass, during which the newly ordained bishop takes possession of the diocese and assumed the full pastoral care of the Diocese. Hence, Bishop-elect Martin will be ordained on May 29 th and then will take possession of the Diocese on the following day.  A lot of work can be done to prepare for the new bishop’s arrival prior to his coming. Nonetheless, the first few weeks of his administration will be taken up with settling into his new position and getting his bearings. This is very similar to a new pastor coming to a parish; albeit, on a larger scale. During these early days of the new administration, the new bishop decides on vicar appointments and reconstitutes the Presbyteral Council and makes any other decisions that he deems appropriate for pastoral care. Often new bishops spend a good bit of time visiting the new parishes of the new Diocese to get to know his priests and meet his people. In Bishop-elect Martin’s case, he will be ordaining transitional deacons on the Saturday following his own ordination and then ordaining priests two weeks later, so he will indeed “hit the ground running”. Keep him in your prayers.

On this fourth Sunday of Easter, we hear that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep. Our readings today call us to reflect inward — do we allow Jesus to shepherd our lives? In our Gospel Jesus reveals His radical love for us. He says, “I will lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus tells us that we are His. We can compare this relationship to that of a loving parent to their child. The parent gives without much in return and if any evil came near the child, the parent would do anything, even lay down their life for their baby. We are Christ’s — even more so than a child is to a parent. He created us and sustains our lives each day. Evil persists in our world, so Jesus willingly laid down His life for us at Calvary for our salvation. He is our Good Shepherd, whether we remain in His flock or go astray.  But just as a baby is happiest in the arms of a parent, so too are we happiest in the flock of our Shepherd. And just as sheep go astray, we also stray from God, test our limits, and even follow false shepherds. Thankfully our Shepherd is a Good Shepherd, and He laid down His life for us knowing every sin we will ever commit. Therefore, let us examine our hearts and return to our flock. We don’t even need to find the way. He is right there always waiting to guide us home. Let us look inward this week and ask ourselves, ‘who is my Shepherd?’ and ‘have I gone astray?’ Name the areas in your life that you have neglected. Ask Jesus to bring you home. Pray for His mercy, seek His forgiveness in the sacraments and begin again. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering There has certainly been lots of news over the last couple of weeks. As you know on April 9 it was announced that the Holy Father accepted the resignation of Bishop Jugis for reasons of health and appointed Father Michael Martin, OFM Conv as the fifth Bishop of Charlotte. The Bishop-Elect’s ordination will take place here at St. Mark on Wednesday, May 29 and the new bishop will take possession of his Cathedral on May 30. Please keep Father Martin in your prayers as he prepares to become our new bishop. On April 8 the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document which has been in development for the last five years entitled Infinite Dignity. The document deals with matters connected with human dignity that our current culture touches on directly. It is strongly rooted in the magisterium of Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis, especially Fratelli tutti. Some of the specific issues that are addressed include: the drama of poverty, war, the travail of migrants, human trafficking, sexual abuse, violence against women, abortion, surrogacy, euthanasia & assisted suicide, the marginalization of people with disabilities, gender theory & sex change, and, finally, digital violence. This last topic is especially timely considering the widespread use of social media and the negative impact it has had on culture, especially our children and young people. The document is not overly academic and is worth reading, especially for those who would like a better understanding of the Church’s perennial teaching on the dignity of the human person and Her response to the cultural milieu.

On this second Sunday of Easter, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. We celebrate this feast today since God’s mercy was shared with us through the resurrection of Jesus. To put it simply, today, we are celebrating Jesus’ merciful love for us and how we can partake in it. No matter where we are on our journey as a disciple of Christ, we are all in need of God’s merciful love. There are countless times throughout our day when we miss the mark. For instance, we might fail to respond in kind to our spouse or kids, fall into gossip in our workday, or even forget to think positively of others. These shortcomings call us to humble ourselves and receive the unwavering mercy of God. Jesus is Mercy itself. He was born into time to save us from sin. And to ensure His Mercy was always available to us, He gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In our Gospel, Jesus encounters the apostles after the resurrection and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Jesus gave us the gift of this sacrament because He wants to help us reach eternal life. He knows we cannot do it without His merciful love, and a resolve to do better and to follow Him more faithfully. Today, may we recall the precious gift God has given to us through His Son — Mercy itself. May we never forget that, with a contrite heart and a resolution to do better, God is always willing to forgive. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering I want to congratulate our fifteen neophytes who received Baptism at the Easter Vigil last weekend. Ranging in age from teenager to older adult, they are a diverse group who sincerely desire to belong to the Lord. The remaining 43 candidates will make their Profession of Faith on the eve of Pentecost. We have been in the process of considering staff changes due to some life changes for some staff members and an evaluation of parish needs based on the recent Pastoral Planning Survey. As these changes are realized, I will keep you posted. Emily Bixler has already taken on the responsibilities of Office Manager while maintaining some of her liturgical coordination. Leanne Vaccaro, having retired from her office position, will continue to work with OCIA and Stephen Ministry on a part-time basis. Rose George who, up until now, has been or stewardship coordinator, needed to devote more of her time to family business and Lizzy Coleman, who up until now has been working with Evangelization, wants to devote more time to her most important role as wife to Ryan and mom to their two daughters. Lizzy will continue in her position until June. These departures have led us to look at our overall stewardship needs as well as restructuring the evangelization and faith formation departments. With Lizzy’s departure, Paul Laskowski, our Director of Evangelization and Catechesis, will need to spend more time on our various Evangelization efforts such as Evangelical Discipleship, Small Groups and the Rescue Project. We are, therefore, moving Faith Formation/Catechesis back to a separate department; albeit, while still collaborating with the overall mission of evangelization.  As we move to make our parish staff more responsive and better equipped to respond to the needs of the parish, please keep our efforts in your prayers.

On this second Sunday of Easter, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. We celebrate this feast today since God’s mercy was shared with us through the resurrection of Jesus. To put it simply, today, we are celebrating Jesus’ merciful love for us and how we can partake in it. No matter where we are on our journey as a disciple of Christ, we are all in need of God’s merciful love. There are countless times throughout our day when we miss the mark. For instance, we might fail to respond in kind to our spouse or kids, fall into gossip in our workday, or even forget to think positively of others. These shortcomings call us to humble ourselves and receive the unwavering mercy of God. Jesus is Mercy itself. He was born into time to save us from sin. And to ensure His Mercy was always available to us, He gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In our Gospel, Jesus encounters the apostles after the resurrection and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Jesus gave us the gift of this sacrament because He wants to help us reach eternal life. He knows we cannot do it without His merciful love, and a resolve to do better and to follow Him more faithfully. Today, may we recall the precious gift God has given to us through His Son — Mercy itself. May we never forget that, with a contrite heart and a resolution to do better, God is always willing to forgive. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering I want to congratulate our fifteen neophytes who received Baptism at the Easter Vigil last weekend. Ranging in age from teenager to older adult, they are a diverse group who sincerely desire to belong to the Lord. The remaining 43 candidates will make their Profession of Faith on the eve of Pentecost. We have been in the process of considering staff changes due to some life changes for some staff members and an evaluation of parish needs based on the recent Pastoral Planning Survey. As these changes are realized, I will keep you posted. Emily Bixler has already taken on the responsibilities of Office Manager while maintaining some of her liturgical coordination. Leanne Vaccaro, having retired from her office position, will continue to work with OCIA and Stephen Ministry on a part-time basis. Rose George who, up until now, has been or stewardship coordinator, needed to devote more of her time to family business and Lizzy Coleman, who up until now has been working with Evangelization, wants to devote more time to her most important role as wife to Ryan and mom to their two daughters. Lizzy will continue in her position until June. These departures have led us to look at our overall stewardship needs as well as restructuring the evangelization and faith formation departments. With Lizzy’s departure, Paul Laskowski, our Director of Evangelization and Catechesis, will need to spend more time on our various Evangelization efforts such as Evangelical Discipleship, Small Groups and the Rescue Project. We are, therefore, moving Faith Formation/Catechesis back to a separate department; albeit, while still collaborating with the overall mission of evangelization.  As we move to make our parish staff more responsive and better equipped to respond to the needs of the parish, please keep our efforts in your prayers.

Today, we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ! Our readings today reveal how we can live out the joy of Easter all year long in our day-to-day lives. Our Gospel portrays the third day after Jesus’ death when Mary of Magdala visits Jesus’ tomb. Once she saw the stone removed, she ran to tell Simon Peter and John. They ran to the tomb as well, and upon seeing, they believed. We can tell the relationship that these disciples had with Jesus because of the way they responded about Him — they “ran.” Mary didn’t see the empty tomb and think, “someone else will figure it out.” Peter and John didn’t hear the news and think, “I will check on it later.” They each responded with conviction as they “ran” for Jesus. We must ask ourselves, “Do I have a relationship with Christ to the point where I am running to Him each day?” The way these disciples responded is how we should respond to Christ. We must avoid complacency, and as intentional disciples, we must stop rationalizing our choices by telling ourselves we will someday get around to putting God first. Every moment throughout our day is an opportunity to respond to God in gratitude, compassion, and eagerness. And although there will be moments when we do not “feel” like responding to Him, it is in those moments when we faithfully respond anyway that matters the most. Let us celebrate this glorious day with prayer and feasting, for Christ is risen! And let us strive to carry this Easter joy with us all year long by how we respond to Christ each day. Happy Easter! © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering Happy Easter! As we celebrate the Lord’s victory over sin and death, let’s rejoice at the infinite love of the heavenly Father who sent His divine Son to die for us so that we might have life in abundance. With Easter the signs of new life are all around us. Everything is blooming and the days are longer. Despite the sometimes-dark clouds that seem to hang around, Easter reminds us that Christ brought new life. Just as the world around us comes back to life after the long winter months, so too through holy Baptism, the newly baptized are given new life in Christ and those of us who already belong to Him are asked to renew our Baptismal commitment to remind us of who we are and whose we are. May you receive an abundance of blessings this Easter and may the new life of Christ truly be yours. He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. As we read about the climax of Christ’s mission here on earth, we are reminded that He is the Perfect Steward, a model for us all on our stewardship journey. Our First Reading, from the prophet Isaiah, portrays a suffering servant. The suffering servant, in many ways, foreshadows what Jesus endured during His passion. Even though He didn’t deserve such tortures, He humbly submitted to them. His mission as a steward was to fulfill His Father’s mission. We, too, play a unique role in our Father’s mission by bringing souls to Christ. It simply begins with the witness of our lives. Today's Gospel shares the account of Jesus’ last days on earth, and how He lives them says a great deal about how we should be living ours as faithful stewards. Jesus does many things in these last days, and they all revolve around prayer and service — two trademark actions of a good and faithful Catholic. He hosts a Passover meal in which He gives us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. He intensely prays to His Father. Lastly, He submits to humiliation, torture, and death for our sake, calling out to God the Father in His weakest moments. We might not be called to the same type of prayer and service, but we are all called to commit time to daily prayer with our Lord, and to serve our families, churches, and neighbors. As we embark on this Holy week, let us take some time to reflect on the life of Christ as He is our model Steward, and may we strive to imitate Him daily. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering As we begin Holy Week, the holiest time in the Church’s year, I hope that all of our families can take some extra time to participate in the various devotions and celebrations over these special days. One of the traditions that we have tried to cultivate at St. Mark over the past few years is the Visitation of Seven Churches on Holy Thursday. The devotion’s origin is attributed to St. Philip Neri (1515-1595) who, after the stripping of the altars on Holy Thursday, would lead pilgrims to the seven Major Basilicas in Rome as a way of keeping watch with Christ as though in the garden of Gethsemane. Each visit calls on the faithful to reflect on the seven final places Jesus went from his arrest on Holy Thursday to his death on Good Friday: 1. Gethsemane (Lk. 22:39-46), 2. Jesus before Annas (Jn. 18:19-22), 3. Jesus before Caiaphas (Mt. 26:63-65), 4. Jesus before Pilate (Jn. 18:35-37), 5. Jesus before Herod (Lk. 23:8-9; 11), 6. Jesus before Pilate again (Mt. 27:22-26), and 7. Jesus’ crucifixion and death (Mt. 27:27-31). We are fortunate in the Charlotte Metro area to have a number of churches that we can visit as we journey with the Lord. We will have information about the various altars of repose for those who wish to participate.  Have a blessed Holy Week!

As we are nearing the end of our Lenten journey, our readings today remind us of the goodness that our God has to offer us. In today's Gospel, Jesus announces that the “hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” All that He came to do on this earth was soon to be fulfilled. When we reflect on what Jesus says in this passage, He tells us a great deal about how we should be living as disciples of Christ. He clearly states, “unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” We are called to detach from our own desires and entrust our lives to all that God has in store for us. Without self-denial, we might miss occasions God has given us to produce good fruit. We have been practicing this throughout our Lenten season through fasting. One way to continue this effort after Lent is by taking advantage of the countless opportunities God presents to us to sacrifice our desires for something much greater — whether waking earlier to spend time in prayer, fasting from a favorite comfort on a weekly basis or taking the time to check in on a friend or family member instead of turning on the TV, just to name a few. It is important that we continue to make room for God and the good things He wants to produce in us all year long. As our Lenten journey soon concludes, may we consider the ways in which we might continue the practice of self-denial by offering small, daily sacrifices to the Lord. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering A few weeks back the Alabama Supreme Court, in an 8-1 ruling, ruled that human embryos preserved cryogenically in in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics are “extrauterine children,” and are therefore protected under the state’s “wrongful death of a minor” law. Writing for the majority, Justice Jay Mitchell states the following: “It (the law in question) applies to all children, born and unborn, without limitation. It is not the role of this Court to craft a new limitation based on our own view of what is or is not wise public policy. That is especially true where, as here, the People of this state have adopted a Constitutional amendment directly aimed at stopping courts from excluding ‘unborn life’ from legal protection.” For a myriad of reasons, the decision sparked outcry from all sides and two weeks ago, Congress attempted to pass a bill guaranteeing IVF access. There also appears to be a lot of confusion regarding the reality of IVF, what the moral issues are, and what the Church teaches regarding IVF. As with other moral issues, the Church roots our understanding of the human person in the very design of creation and, thus, Divine law. Human beings are created in the image and likeness of God. They, therefore, have inherent dignity and worth. Hence, the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes in paragraph 2378: A child is not something owed to one but is a gift. The ‘supreme gift of marriage’ is a human person. A child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged ‘right to a child’ would lead. In this area, only the child possesses genuine rights: the right ‘to be the fruit of a specific act of the con jugal love of parents,’ and ‘the right to be respected as a person from the moment of conception.’ What occurs in IVF is that human eggs and sperm are combined to create human embryos. Usually, more embryos than are needed are produced leading to some being frozen or destroyed. If multiple embryos are implanted successfully, and the couple only desires one child, the other embryo(s) are often aborted. There is certainly a high incidence of infertility in our society, and this can be a source of great suffering for couples unable to conceive. Nonetheless, in her moral teaching, the Church has and continues to maintain that there are grave problems with IVF, and Catholics should avoid ever using it. The reasons for the prohibition include: It goes against God’s plan for the way children are to come into the world – conception is to come about exclusively through the physical expression of love between a husband and a wife; Some embryos, tiny human beings, are almost always killed through this procedure. As already noted, if more than one embryo successfully implants in the uterine wall, the doctor will kill one or more of them. IVF treats children as though they were commodities to be produced for adult needs and can also lead to genetic engineering, “designer babies, and the view that “leftovers” can serve as material for research scientists. It is important to remember that children conceived through IVF are precious in the sight of God. They are loved by God and should be loved and cherished by us as well.  The adage “what can be done does not necessarily indicate what should be done” is useful here. Infertility is not new. In the Bible Hannah, Sarah and others wept because they were barren. Infertility causes true pain and anguish. Nonetheless, no one has a “right” to children because children are a gift from God. While we may never understand the “why” of a particular situation, we do believe that God can and will work, and this is especially true when we are obedient to the Divine plan without seeking a true good via immoral means. In Catholic thought and teaching the ends never justify the means. Positively, however, there are many pro-life doctors who are making great strides in methods that can be of great help to couples who are infertile. In all of these difficult matters, we have to approach with humility, trust and prayer.

It has been said many times over and in a variety of ways that stewardship is based upon gratitude. Gratitude for what, we might ask? For the variety of blessings each of us receives, understanding full well that each of us is gifted in different ways and perhaps even in different measures. However, there is one gift in which we all share equally. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). It is difficult for us to even conceive of the magnitude of that multifaceted gift, from God’s unconditional love for us to the extraordinary gift of his son Jesus to the fabulous gift of everlasting life. Stewardship calls us to appreciate all of God’s gifts, but if we only focus on the gifts listed above, our gratitude should know no bounds. Pope Francis has said, “God never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving. We all have the ability to understand and receive God’s gifts.” We need to recognize God’s gifts and especially during our preparations for Easter, find ways to show and live out our gratitude. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering Over the last few years, our parish has been blessed with both priestly and religious vocations. The parish has been tremendously supportive of our seminarians, so I wanted to give you an update on our men and where they are in their discernment. This summer Joseph Yellico will be ordained deacon on June 1st and Deacon Christian Goduti will be ordained priest on June 15th. Bradley Loftin has discerned a call to the monastic life and will enter Belmont Abbey Monastery on March 16th. Luke Martin, after a pastoral year at Sacred Heart in Salisbury has discerned out of the program. He hoped to pursue a career in education. Jonathan Hernandez is taking some time away from formation to work on academics and get some experience in the workforce. At present, there are a few men considering entering in the fall. Please continue to pray for all of these as well. During the week of Ash Wednesday there was a lot of media attention about a scandalous funeral that took place at St. Patrick Cathedral in Manhattan. While the rector of the Cathedral released a strong condemnation of the event, there has still been a lot of wonderment of how it happened in the first place since the deceased was a well-known atheist and transgender activist. Hence, I thought it might be useful to discuss who has a right to a Catholic funeral as well as to consider in what situations and circumstances the celebration of a funeral can be denied. The fundamental law regarding funerals is expressed in canon 1176 of the Code of Canon Law which states §1 Christ’s faithful who have died are to be given a Church funeral according to the norm of law. This is a straightforward canon. Catholics have a right to have a Catholic funeral. Canon 1184 provides the norm governing the denial of Catholic burial rites. It states: §1 Church funeral rites are to be denied to the following, unless they have some signs of repentance before death: 1) notorious apostates, heretics and schismatics; 2) those who for anti-Christian motives chose that their bodies be cremated; 3) other manifest sinners to whom a Church funeral could not be granted without public scandal to the faithful. §2 If any doubt occurs, the local Ordinary is to be consulted and his judgment followed. Returning now to the funeral at St. Patrick’s, this funeral should have never taken place. The deceased was well known and had a public profile. Even though baptized Catholic, the deceased had identified himself as an atheist (apostate) as well as promoted positions contrary to the Catholic faith. Hence, both the first and the third norm identified above would be applicable. In discussing the matter, the Cathedral staff indicated that they were told that a funeral would be a great consolation to the family. However, as laudable as this might be, it is not a reason to offer a Catholic funeral to one who, by the example of life, had no desire for it. A little time and effort would have gone a long way to prevent such a scandalous display of blasphemy and desecration. Parishes have the responsibility of vetting any type of celebration that is to take place so as to avoid such conflicts and ensure that the sacred nature of the church building is preserved and avoid any scandal that might arise.

Our readings call us to roll up our sleeves and persevere through the remainder of Lent by committing to a more faithful life with Christ. In today's Gospel, Jesus purifies the temple area because it is being misused as a marketplace. He becomes angry at their lack of reverence for God. He spills the coins of the money changers and overturns tables, saying, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” Jesus witnessed the way people mistreated the temple — the place to worship God and God alone. He drives out evil and works to purify all that is sinful in that place. This is what Jesus wants to do for us this Lenten season. He wants to remove all impurity and evil in our lives and hearts so that we may have a proper dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Let us ask ourselves, what areas of our life need cleansing? Let us name those areas and invite Jesus to purify us. He became man to carry our burdens and wipe away our sins. He has given us boundless mercy, but we must do our part to seek it and commit to living a more faithful life as a disciple of Christ. With this knowledge, let us seek to be purified from our sins so that our hearts might be a true temple of the Holy Spirit. This season of Lent is only halfway done — there is still time to work through our shortcomings and purify our hearts for Easter morning. But let us not waste another moment. Let us name our shortcomings, seek God’s mercy and invite Him to transform our hearts. © Catholic Stewardship Consultants, 2024 Pastoral Pondering In the last few years, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of exorcism and deliverance in the life of the Church. Much of this can be attributed to the work of the late Father Gabriele Amorth and his books. In this country the work of Msgr. Stephen Rosetti and the St. Michael Center ( www.catholicexorcism.org ), Father Chad Ripperger ( www.sensustraditionis.org ), and Father Carlos Martins ( www.exorcistfiles.tv ) have done a great deal to raise awareness of the spiritual realities all around us. I would say that this is a very good thing because, while the presence of efforts in media and entertainment to normalize the demonic have been around for some time, it’s become much more explicit in recent history, e.g. the series Lucifer or the popular adult cartoon, Hazbin Hotel (which is very popular among the younger generation starting with middle schoolers). Satanism, Luciferianism, Witchcraft, Wicca, paganism, and a host of others have all become “mainstream”. You can go to the bookstore and find books on casting spells and other forms of pagan worship not far from the Bibles. Amid all of this, it is not surprising that many people are experiencing various levels of negative spiritual influences in daily life. While, thankfully, most cases do not reach the level of possession, the highest level of diabolical activity, obsession and oppression are becoming much more common. When confronted by some of these spiritual ills, people don’t really know what to do. Those who are experiencing especially acute situations can always reach out to one of the priests at the parish, but there are some other options as well.  The Saint Michael Center in Washington, DC was founded by Msgr. Stephen Rosetti, a psychologist and exorcist, who has compiled resources that are available to all of those interested or in need of help. While most would agree that COVID was by and large negative, one of the positives was the ability to develop ways to communicate that were not widely used previously. Father Rosetti hosts an online deliverance session each month that has proved very helpful for those who are experiencing these types of spiritual difficulties. Anyone can register, and participation is completely free. I would suggest anyone take a look at the center website www.catholicexorcism.org . There are lots of good resources there, and you can register for the monthly sessions or look at Msgr. Rosetti’s blog. No one, in this day and age, has to face these struggles alone.