OUR CLERGY
Father Joseph Dinh
Emmanuel Ukattah, Deacon
Enedino Aquino, Deacon
Father Joseph Dinh
Emmanuel Ukattah, Deacon
Enedino Aquino, Deacon
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Last week we heard Peter’s profession of faith “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” This was followed by Christ’s great mandate to Peter and his successors: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:16-18). And then this Sunday we are with the immediately following text where Jesus calls Peter a stumbling block: “Get behind me Satan! You are an obstacle to me” (Matthew 16:23). Here we should understand that Peter did not mean to offend Jesus, and he certainly did not want to do anything to obstruct Jesus’ plan of salvation; it is simply that he didn’t understand it in all its fullness. Because he loved Jesus, he did not want him to die and so came out with his statement of disbelief.
It would be hard for us to imagine that these two incidents should be in the same chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. If we take time to look into the situation of St. Matthew’s community at that time we would see some clues between last week’s Gospel text and this week’s one.
Matthew has chosen to put these incidents together with a purpose. He made this as a warning to the members of his community. It was a warning that they should not take the first part of the text (Peter, the rock upon which the Church is built) in any sort of triumphal way. They should not become so confident that as the members of the true Church of Christ they would do no wrong. No, for Matthew, even belonging to the Church of Jesus, anyone would become an obstacle to Jesus and His Church if they did not follow Jesus’ teachings, if they did not let the Holy Spirit to transform them.
This is a message for all of us. Jesus did not choose a perfect man on which to build his Church. No, he chose a man like us; someone with all the same sorts of faults and contradictions that we recognize within ourselves. Peter recognized his weaknesses and strived to follow Jesus. He certainly invited the Holy Spirit to transform him to be like the Master, even accepting a kind of death to glorify the Lord (John 21:19). May the Lord fill us with His wisdom and courage so that we continue to strive to follow Jesus faithfully and joyfully.
May God bless us all!
Fr. Joe
Christ the King Church was founded in 1940 to serve the African-American Catholics in High Point, and has since become a multi-ethnic parish celebrating both the diversity and unity of the Catholic faith and tradition. Then-Bishop Eugene F. McGuinness of Raleigh invited the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement of Graymoor, NY to staff the new mission in High Point in 1940. Father Bernardine Watson served as the first pastor, originally celebrating Mass in a funeral home. Through the generosity and perseverance of Father Watson and several benefactors, a clothing shop was acquired for use by the mission. While Mass continued to be celebrated there during much of 1941, the mission community members also turned their attention to building a new church and rectory on Kivett Drive. The new colonial-style church was dedicated by Bishop McGuinness Dec. 14, 1941.
During the 1940s and into the ’50s, the Christ the King parish community continued to grow. A school building and convent were built in 1949, and in 1950 the Franciscan Handmaids arrived from New York City to staff the school. The African-American communities, both Catholic and non-Catholic, of High Point, Thomasville and Greensboro were served by the new Christ the King School, which opened its doors to 50 students in September 1950. The friars continued their pastorate in High Point for the next several decades, cultivating a faith community that became continually more culturally diverse over time. A stained-glass window behind the church’s choir loft depicts that diversity, with Jesus surrounded by four individuals representing the African, Asian, European and Indian bloodlines that make up much of the parish community today.
Lowering enrollment, financial difficulties and the recalling of the sisters to New York forced Christ the King School to close in 1981. The diocesan office of education converted the school for use as a day care center, which began its operation in August 1981. That same year, Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement arrived at Christ the King Church to conduct the religious education program and other ministerial work, including assisting at the day care center. The center, still located on parish grounds, is now privately operated and continues to serve the area.
Upon the friars’ leaving High Point in 1991, Christ the King Church became a diocesan parish in December of that year. Fathers Martin Madison and John Hoover served the parish until December 1994, when Father Philip Kollithanath, was appointed to Christ the King Church. Assisting in the advancing growth of the Christ the King community have been many commissions and ministries focusing on the spiritual , educational, multicultural and evangelical dimensions of the parish. Parishioners gather to engage in Bible study , to learn English as a Second Language, to put their faith into action in the local community and to celebrate their ethnicity. A Hispanic center and bilingual religious education program provide sharing and learning opportunities for English and Spanish speaking parishioners, and the parish African-American Ministry offers outreach programs benefiting the local region. The Women’s Guild, Altar Guild, 55+ Club and Young & Spirited Group are active in parish and community services, and the evangelization commission provides for the spiritual needs of homebound parishioners through its Visitation Ministry. The community of Christ the King Church looks ahead to expansion and renovation projects that will accommodate the needs of a growing parish. One hundred and sixty-one households currently make up the parish registry.