During Sunday Mass visit to St. Luke Church, Bishop Martin leads prayers for ailing pontiff, urges people to bring God into every moment of life
MINT HILL — Parishioners at St. Luke Church enjoyed a surprise visit from Bishop Michael Martin as they showed up for Mass on Sunday.
After processing down the aisle at the start of Mass, the bishop looked out at the pews filled with people, then pointed at himself and wisecracked, “What’s he doing here?”
He explained, “I promise you I’m not going to make some major announcement, and I’m not here for any big purpose. I just had a Sunday free,” adding that he likes “to pick a parish nearby” and come say one of the Masses to help out the pastor.
Yet it was a big day.
It was the bishop’s first visit to St. Luke Church, which opened exactly two years ago on a new sprawling site along Fairview Road to serve the rising Catholic population east of Charlotte. And it came amid news that Pope Francis remains critically ill with a lung infection.
The new church was packed with worshipers for the 11 a.m. Mass, one of five offered each weekend for the growing parish of nearly 2,000 families.
Bishop Martin earned a loud round of applause when he added with a sly grin, “Really, the reason I’m here is that I haven’t been yet to the best parish in the Diocese of Charlotte… clearly, I’m pandering to all of you.”
PRAY FOR THE POPE
Joking aside, Bishop Martin asked everyone at the beginning of Mass to pause for a moment of silent prayer for the health and well-bring of Pope Francis. The pope was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Feb. 14 after experiencing difficulty breathing.
As of Sunday, the 88-year-old pope remained in critical condition, battling a complex lung infection. Doctors expect he will remain hospitalized through this week as they treat him for pneumonia in both lungs, as well as bacterial, viral and fungal infections.
“Pope Francis is on all of our minds and in our hearts this day as his health is struggling a little bit,” said Bishop Martin, who was appointed Bishop of Charlotte last year by Pope Francis. “Obviously, he has a strong spirit and we believe in the Lord’s guidance and providence.”
The bishop echoed the statement he shared Saturday with the diocese, asking people to pray for the pope and “engage in some act of kindness or sacrifice to be in spiritual communion and support with Pope Francis.”
People responded – lowering their heads and folding their hands in prayer for several minutes before the liturgy resumed.
WELCOME GOD INTO ALL OF YOUR LIFE
In his homily message, Bishop Martin focused on the day’s readings from Ordinary Time – “nothing ordinary about it,” he quipped, “except the ordinariness of everyday life in which God desires to be a part.”
“God doesn’t want every day to be some special moment, He wants every moment to be specially infused with who He is and who He wants us to be,” he said.
He encouraged people to live their Catholic faith with “a full face” – that is, living “fully alive” by bringing God in every dimension of their lives.
“My brothers and sisters, too often in the Christian journey, you and I are only half in, half out. Sometimes we're barely sticking our toe in. And our scriptures this Sunday say: enough, enough, enough of your half face, enough of your partial engagement.
“Are you in or are you out? It’s up to you.”
“Allow Christ to be a part of every dimension of your life, and not just your personal lives,” he said. “Too many of us, we stay in our little silo and say, ‘OK, I'm going to say my prayers and I'm going to be a good person.’
“The gospel doesn't call us to be nice! Nowhere is that a beatitude, nowhere is that a commandment. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? It doesn't mean to be nice. Everyone’s called to be nice. The sinners are nice. That’s what Jesus says to us in the Gospel today (Luke 6:27-38). If you’re just nice – big deal, everybody’s nice.
“What makes you different? What makes fullness of your face? What makes fullness of life?”
“Do you ever wonder why there are fewer and fewer of us worshiping here? It’s because the world can't tell the difference between all of us…” he said, gesturing widely to the congregation, “…and everyone else in the world. We look exactly the same: half alive! Because we have not taken Christ seriously and have not believed enough to trust that if we allow ourselves to be all in, we could – imagine what we could do!”
Staying close to God is easier when life is challenging, the bishop said, yet “it’s tough when everything is going great. Hey, you know, life’s cooking. I don't need God.”
But even good times in life can be better if we let God into those times, he said.
“If you think that this is as good as it gets, you don't know God. You don't know the Lord Jesus. You don't know the Holy Spirit. You're only living half a life. God doesn't just want to come into your difficulty, in your suffering, and help raise you up. He wants to come into your good times and raise those up to another level.”
The bishop’s homily energized St. Luke parishioners.
“We had no idea the bishop was coming today,” said Brittany DeLucia, whose two children were altar servers for the Mass. “It was truly a treat. It is almost better they didn’t know that he was coming so they were less anxious.”
“Outstanding homily,” said fellow parishioner Kevin Backs. “I think he touched the congregation with his message, and I just really appreciate him being here.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle and Lisa Geraci