KERNERSVILLE — Holy Cross Church was filled with 123 joyful graduates of Bishop McGuinness High School May 25, as they gathered for a special Baccalaureate Mass with their family and friends.
Father Noah Carter — the school’s chaplain and pastor of the Kernersville parish — celebrated the Mass with area clergy including Father Jacob Mlakar, parochial vicar, and Deacon Mark Mejias, both of Holy Cross.
Additional priests included Father Christopher Gober, pastor of St. Leo the Great Parish in Winston-Salem, Father David McCanless, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Winston-Salem, Father Henry Tutuwan of Good Shepherd Parish in King and St. Benedict the Moor Parish in Winston-Salem, and Father James Stuhrenberg, pastor, and Father James Kang, parochial vicar, of Holy Family Parish in Clemmons. Dr. Gregory Monroe, the superintendent of Catholic schools, was also in attendance to celebrate the occasion.
In his homily, Father Carter reminded the congregation of the school’s motto — “Praesis ut Prosis” or “Excel to Serve."
“Something can never really be truly excellent unless it’s joined to the Body of Christ,” he said.
Continuing, he explained that after the Son ascended to the Father in heaven, they together pour out the light of the Holy Spirit on the Church to aid its servants in building up the kingdom.
“Many of you have been along this journey together, some of you just at Bishop McGuinness and some of you might have even gone to school together since kindergarten, all for different lengths of time, but now you will go out to diverse places,” Father Carter said.
He connected this moment in graduates’ lives to the Gospel reading, which included the Parable of the Talents.
“That’s the whole point of our Gospel. The master has a different number of talents for a different number of servants. The ones he rewards in return have gone out and grown what God has given them,” Father Carter said. “They have been excellent servants, so the master rewards them.”
Then he mentioned the servant who didn’t appreciate what the master did, noting that he was afraid the talent would be demanded back from him and that he might lose the talent.
“He wasn’t even willing to take the risk to be an excellent servant,” he said.
In Father Carter’s closing words, he added, “May the Holy Spirit being poured out in your heart by the grace of God in this Mass make you bold and courageous to move forward. May you never forget that God walks beside you and Christ in front of you leading you to the heavenly kingdom, but don’t wait. Build that kingdom up each day of your lives.”
As “Ave Maria” played, the students gave their mothers a rose during the Baccalaureate Mass, a meaningful school tradition. The senior class celebrated their commencement May 26 at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro.
— Annie Ferguson. Photos provided
