Holy Cross Parish’s faithful outreach is attracting Catholics and non-Catholics
By Bill Brewer
The Church in East Tennessee is larger by a dozen new Catholics who officially became members of Holy Cross Parish in Pigeon Forge on Aug. 25.
Father David Mary Engo celebrated the Mass that featured the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and first Holy Communion.
The candidates and catechumens, young adults to older adults, have been going through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, formerly the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, for several months.
They join 17 parishioners who entered the Church at Holy Cross at Easter last spring.
When Deacon David Anderson called their names, the 12 candidates and catechumens responded “present.”
Their godparents and sponsors were then asked by Father Engo if they consider the candidates worthy of the sacraments of Christian initiation, to which each responded, “I do” and acknowledged being prepared to help the new Catholics to serve Christ in word and by example.
Father Engo then prepared them for the sacraments of Christian initiation and prayed in thanksgiving for their faith and asked God to look favorably on them as they begin their new lives of faith and let God’s loving purpose be fulfilled within them.
Father Engo then led the candidates in the Penitential Act.
Father Engo delivered a bi-lingual homily, in which he preached about the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
He noted that even as Jesus informed his followers that when they accept the Eucharist, they are accepting His body and blood.
“Jesus means this literally, but they don’t understand how they could possibly eat His flesh and drink His blood. In their confusion, they see Jesus only as a man, only as a prophet, only as as a holy person. And so at the end, they walk away. They leave Him. They no longer follow Him. They say, ‘This is too difficult. How can we follow this?’ And they leave Our Lord,” Father Engo said.
The catechumens, cloaked in their baptismal robes, receive the light of Christ during the Mass with Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. (Photo Bill Brewer)
The pastor pointed out that Jesus then asked Peter and the Apostles if they were going to leave Him, too.
“Peter said to Him, ‘You have the Words of eternal life. To whom else shall we go?’ That’s the beautiful part of this Scripture, Peter proclaiming that Jesus has the Words of life. ‘To whom else shall we go? Where am I going to go? To whom am I going to go to? Where else am I going to find truth? Where else am I going to find life? Where else am I going to find everything that my heart has been desiring except in Christ Jesus?’
“And so in many ways, those of you who are coming into the Church today, you are kind of saying what St. Peter said, ‘To whom else shall we go?’
“You have the Words of eternal life. You are coming into the Church proclaiming the truth that Christ has the answers, that Christ is the way, is the truth, is the life.
“And by entering into the Church, each of you is saying, ‘I want that life, I want that truth, I want everything that You want to offer to me. I want eternal life,’” Father Engo said.
The pastor then referenced the second question in the Baltimore Catechism, why did God make me?
“God made you to know Him, to love Him, to serve Him in this world so as to be happy with Him forever in the next.
“During the process of your RCIA, during your process of education, you are becoming to truly know God. And in knowing Him, you are wanting to love Him, and in loving Him you want to serve Him. But you want to be with Him forever in heaven, so you say to the Lord, ‘What must I do to know You better? What must I do to love You better? What must I do to serve you better?’ The Lord responded, ‘Be baptized. Receive the divine right. Receive the bread of life and be nourished by Our Lord. Receive the gift of confirmation, and be strengthened in your bond with Christ Jesus so that you could never leave Him and you will always be close to Him.’”
Father Engo said the beautiful grace of the Mass of Rite of Christian Initiation is the reception of divine life given to the catechumens through the waters of baptism, and the gifts of Holy Communion and confirmation to the catechumens and candidates.
“Be strengthened in the Lord. Unite to Him with great force, with great strength,” Father Engo told the catechumens and candidates.
He delivered the same message in Spanish to the Hispanic members of the congregation.
Father Engo encouraged those being baptized, confirmed, and receiving the Holy Eucharist for the first time to continue seeking a deeper relationship with Christ Jesus.
“This is why we pray. Continue to pray, continue to seek that deep prayer with Him. This life is about being one with Christ. Life is about intimacy with God,” he said. “Life is about seeking the One who has loved us unto death. Our Lord has loved us unto death and has given us life through His death. So now we seek to live in Him, and with Him, and through Him.”
The catechumens, one by one, then stepped into the sanctuary, where Father Engo baptized each one. As they prepared to enter the sanctuary, he told them, “The Lord is waiting for you now, and He’s anxious for you.”
After their baptism, the catechumens then cloaked themselves in Christ by donning white baptismal robes, and they each were given the light of Christ, a baptismal candle lit from the Holy Cross Paschal candle to keep the flame of faith alive in their hearts.
Deacon Anderson then called out the names of the candidates, who have previously been baptized in the Christian faith, and they responded “Present.”
Father Engo then confirmed each candidate and catechumen, sealing them with the gift of the Holy Spirit, before celebrating the liturgy of the Eucharist and then distributing their first Holy Communion.
Father Engo pointed out that one of the adult catechumens who entered the Church on Aug. 25 has an infant son who was recently baptized.
“Your little one came into the Church the week before you. It’s very beautiful to see that God is answering your prayers and bringing the families together in faith in a beautiful witness,” the priest said.
Father David Mary Engo baptizes Sheryl DeTullio at Holy Cross Church on Aug. 25. (Photo Bill Brewer)
Sheryl DeTullio, a Sevierville resident, grew up in the Jewish faith and is now a member of the Catholic Church and Holy Cross Parish.
“I was born into the Jewish faith. … When I married my husband, who was Catholic, he brought me into the Church. I felt I should know more about our faith and help him by becoming more religious with him. It’s something else that we can share together,” Mrs. DeTullio said.
She described the Mass with the sacraments of Christian initiation as very moving.
“It was fabulous. It was a beautiful ceremony. I was very touched by it,” she shared.
Father Engo is grateful to God for the faith of the people of Holy Cross and the growth of the Church in Pigeon Forge.
“In the Hispanic community, the significance of people coming forward wanting to be confirmed in their faith is their desire to be more deeply in union with God, so they are seeking that intimate communion with Him. And through the sacrament of confirmation they are realizing it’s time now to step forward to really fully embrace their faith. So, the significance of those members of the Spanish community is that they say yes, I was baptized, but now I want to enter more deeply into my faith,” Father Engo explained.
“Among the American community, it’s such an incredible gift because you have former Baptists, former atheists, former Methodists, a former Jew who were all part of that group,” he noted. “It just shows the beauty of the Catholic faith. The Catholic faith is never outdated. As St. Augustine called it, it’s ever ancient, ever new. It’s the newness of the faith, the life of the faith. And to see people responding to the faith is the work of the New Evangelization and the Old Evangelization to bring people back to the faith.”
Father Engo said those receiving the sacraments also reflect the growth of Holy Cross Parish.
“We’re growing. Our parish at Holy Cross is very much alive. We teach the faith well. We pray the Mass well. We speak the truth boldly without fear, but yet with great love. That is drawing people to Holy Cross Parish and it’s drawing people back home to the Catholic faith and it’s drawing non-Catholics to it,” he concluded.
