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,
The first reading of this Sunday speaks about wisdom. The second speaks about predestination and the gospel speaks about the Christian life. Let us consider the controversial concept of predestination. St. Paul said: “For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the first-born among many brothers; and those He called He also justified; and those He justified He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).
Our basic question is that have we been predestined by God to go to heaven or to hell? If so, then how could we know that we have been predestined whether to be saved or not? Of course we don’t know since what we know is limited in space and time while what God knows is in eternity. This is a big difference between God and us.
From our human rationality we can say that how could we follow Jesus if we had no choice or why would we believe in a God who predestined some people to sin and to go to hell? Our Church teaches us that God is holy, and holiness is the total synthesis of all that is good. Therefore, God could not be good and at the same time predestine some people to be in hell. With that we come to a deeper understanding of our human free will, the capacity to make rational decisions that distinguishes us from animals. Free will is a precious gift from God for humans and predestination cannot eliminate free will. If it did, we would no longer be human.
So then what is predestination? Predestination can be understood as God’s choice to share his love with us. St. Paul tells us that we are called to “share the image of God’s Son.” By sharing this image we are justified. To put this simply: we are predestined to share God’s goodness, but we have the freedom to reject this goodness.
The parable of the hidden treasure in today’s gospel points to Jesus as the treasure. He is the Kingdom. To possess him is to possess the truth, the treasure and eternal life, but not everybody chooses to sell all in order to possess this treasure.
Solomon in the first reading asked the Lord for wisdom. Wisdom is to know who and what we are before the Lord, and since we come to understand more who we are, we come to a deeper knowledge of what God wants us to be. This is wisdom, to discern God’s predestined plan for us and to respond to God’s calling with enthusiasm.
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.