Dedication day
St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish outgrows the carport and storefront, celebrates move into church
Story and photography by Dan McWilliams
An overflow crowd witnessed Bishop Richard F. Stika dedicate the new St. Teresa of Kolkata Church on Feb. 2 in Maynardville, just seven years after the parish’s first humble gathering for Mass in a nearby carport.
St. Teresa parishioners helped build their church, which replaces the storefront meeting site the Glenmary parish has used since its founding in 2011. Read more…
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Wings of Gold
Funeral Mass, first all-female flyover held for pioneering Navy pilot
Story by Bill Brewer
Photography by Stephanie Richer
Archive Photos courtesy of U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command and U.S. Naval InstituteRosemary Mariner was full of firsts.
To the world, Capt. Mariner was an aviation pioneer who broke through the ranks of the all-male military aviator corps to become the U.S. Navy’s first female attack-jet pilot. To those close to her, Rosemary was a down-to-earth wife, mother, and Bible study leader who was as humble as she was faithful. Read more…
Lenten penance services held in deaneries
Here are the Lenten penance services around the diocese, received as of press time
Chattanooga Deanery
7 p.m. EDT, unless noted.
March 13—St. Mary, Athens
March 14—St. Catherine Labouré, Copperhill, 6:30 p.m. Read more…
Marching for Life
Diocese of Knoxville parishioners of all ages take part in Washington, D.C., rally
By Jim Wogan
Each year since 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling on Roe vs. Wade, effectively legalizing abortion, people who strongly oppose that decision have traveled to Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life — a mile-long journey of faith and unity that begins on the National Mall near the Washington Monument and continues along Constitution Avenue past the U.S. Capitol to the U.S. Supreme Court building. Read more…
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Knoxville March for Life attracts 1,000 pro-life supporters
Some 1,000 pro-life supporters, including many East Tennessee Catholics, joined together Jan. 27 at the Knoxville Convention Center for the 46th annual March for Life, which was organized by the Knox County chapter of Tennessee Right to Life (TRL).
Marchers, who filled the Convention Center’s 460-seat lecture hall and ground-floor area, heard updates on pro-life initiatives, including legislation and court cases.Read more…
Basilica restoration is completed
Sts. Peter and Paul lifts the curtain on six-month construction project that ushers in the 1890s
By Bill Brewer
Four years of praying, planning, working, and paying for much-needed improvements to the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul yielded dramatic results Dec. 23 when Bishop Richard F. Stika and Father David Carter unveiled the basilica’s restored worship space. Read more…
Chattanooga judge clears way for exhumation of Fr. Ryan remains
Chancellor rules Diocese of Knoxville has authority to relocate priest’s body as part of sainthood cause
By Bill Brewer
A Hamilton County Chancery Court has given the Diocese of Knoxville permission to exhume the remains of Father Patrick J. Ryan from Chattanooga’s Mount Olivet Cemetery, which allows the priest’s cause for sainthood to move forward. Read more…
Columns
He dwells among us: Triple Crown of Dignity
By Bishop Richard F. Stika
“Christian, recognize your dignity…. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness.” –St. Leo the Great
Do you know that, by virtue of your baptism, you participate in a special way in the threefold mission of Christ as Priest, Prophet, and King? It is this triple dignity of our baptism that helps each of us to become the saints we are called to be by offering ourselves and our daily activities in union with the one sacrifice of Christ, proclaiming His Gospel and ordering our lives and the world about us according to the plan of God.
In our baptismal priesthood, we are encouraged, “Like living stones, [to] let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). Read more…
Praying for perspective:The shape of things to come
It’s up to us to harness all the technological advances and use them for good—and for God.
By George Valadie
It’s probably trite to even offer this thought, but do you ever notice anymore how dramatically and rapidly our lives are changing?
The whole idea jumped out at me the other day when Nancy mentioned there’s a Roomba-type lawnmower for your yard. No pushing, no pulling, no paying somebody else. Now you can enjoy your cool drink while you’re cutting the grass — not after. Read more…
Marriage Enrichment: A Valentine’s Day gift that will help build intimacy
Write a letter to your spouse that mentions an instance that makes you feel grateful for him or her
By Marian Christiana
It is that time of year again when romance is in the air and the thought of love fills our hearts. It is almost Valentine’s Day, and Valentine’s Day has me thinking about the importance of intimacy in a marriage.
Maybe you are dreaming of your walkway lined with rose petals, or you are planning a romantic dinner for two. Maybe you and your spouse are taking a romantic-getaway vacation in order to celebrate your love for each other. All of these romantic gestures are good and necessary to help build intimacy. Read more…
Thoughts and Prayers for the Faithful: Flannery O’Connor and the power of God
The drama of life is made tangible by the reality of death
By Bob Hunt
How precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His faithful. –Psalm 116:15
Flannery O’Connor has long been my favorite author, with her bizarre characters and weird stories that shed light on the brokenness of the human condition and the potential for redemption. The light she shines is a blinding spotlight from which most attempt to shield their eyes.
O’Connor lost her father to lupus when she was only 15. She rarely spoke of her father’s death, keeping reticent about the things most important to her. She adored her father, and he adored her. Having never married, but loving her father deeply, the image of God that naturally appealed to her was that of God as Father and her as His child. Read more…
