Two St. Joseph teachers honored

Two teachers at St. Joseph School in Knoxville were honored in October. First-grade teacher Cathy Sompayrac was named the B97.5 teacher of the month, and middle school religion and language arts teacher Joe Aboumoussa was honored as the WBIR educator of the week.

Seven from KCHS visit Dominicans’ motherhouse

Seven Knoxville Catholic High School students took the opportunity Oct. 31-Nov. 1 to travel to the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville. The trip was designed to give the young women a chance to grow in faith, experience religious life firsthand, and to pray and …

Putting a Catholic twist on the ALS ice bucket challenge

OLPH School in Chattanooga raises hundreds of dollars for research by getting students, faculty into the spirit                     By Katie West A sixth-grade student, a new principal and a generous parish recently found a way to put a Catholic twist on …

Spotlight on the Home Campaign: a visitor’s generous gift

In each issue of The East Tennessee Catholic, important topics relating to the Home campaign will be covered. Since the launch of the campaign in September that will raise needed funds for parishes, priest retirement, charitable programs, Catholic education, and cathedral development, parishioners throughout the Diocese of Knoxville — and …

Diocese of Knoxville members are named to Order of Holy Sepulchre

Two parishioners in the Diocese of Knoxville have been named to the Knights and Ladies of The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem during the organization’s annual meeting in Baltimore Oct. 31-Nov. 1. Renée Marie Hamilton and Rita Mardini of the diocese were among 46 new members invested …

Weekday readings December 2014

Monday, Dec. 1: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122:1-9; Matthew 8:5-11 Tuesday, Dec. 2: Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17; Luke 10:21-24 Wednesday, Dec. 3: Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalm 23:1-6; Matthew 15:29-37 Thursday, Dec. 4: Isaiah 26:1-6; Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27; Matthew 7:21, 24-27 Friday, Dec. 5: Isaiah 29:17-24; Psalm 27:1, …

Living the readings: An epic unfolds

The Christmas story is another example of God speaking to us Thanks to the timing of Advent, with its First Sunday in November, the message of Christmas unfolds before us as an ancient epic might. Back in antiquity, classic writers would start their stories of great events and great people …

Once upon a time: Sharing stories of Christmases past

There was a time when midnight Mass was a 5 a.m. liturgical celebration Midnight Mass hasn’t always been held at midnight. One of Pope Pius XII’s last great gifts to the Church was the beginning of the restoration of Easter Vigil (time of day and language). By the time the …

Marriage enrichment: Home for Christmas

The Holy Family serves as a wonderful example of how we share our children All of our children will be home for Christmas. We are very excited about that fact! And two of them will be bringing their spouses with them. Our son has been married for three years now …

Understanding the sacraments: Nourishing our relationship with God

Introducing the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy In my previous column I discussed the Synod on the Family’s emphasis on the importance of popular piety and family devotions. In that column I mentioned the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (DPPL), produced in 2001 by the Congregation …

Advent penance services scheduled for churches around the diocese

Here is a list of remaining Advent penance services around the Diocese of Knoxville: Chattanooga Deanery 7 p.m. EST, except as noted. Dec. 2–St. Mary, Athens; Dec. 3–Holy Spirit, Soddy-Daisy; St. Stephen, Chattanooga; Dec. 4–Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga, 6 p.m.; St. Catherine Labouré, Copperhill; Dec. 9–St. Jude, Chattanooga; …

Pope Francis uses newly simplified rite to canonize six saints

VATICAN CITY — Using a newly simplified rite, Pope Francis proclaimed six new saints and praised them for the love and self-giving with which they served God and built up his kingdom by serving the poor and needy. Creating the two Indian and four Italian saints Nov. 23, the feast …