Holy Spirit Catholic Church
400 Academy Heights Rd.
Kinston, NC 28504
252-523-8898
Pastor's Corner
Father Edward J. Burch was born in Kansas City, MO in 1942, the youngest of three children. He was educated in Catholic schools and earned a bachelors degree in business from the Jesuit College. His business career included working for AT&T, Western Electric and Lucent Technologies in Kansas City and Burlington, NC. After 35 years in a corporate career, Fr. Ed retired from industry in 1997 at age 54. What next?
Questions from other people, questions from himself and a comment from a friend finally helped convince Father Edward Burch to become a priest. The clincher was a friend's answer to his comment, "I would be sixty when I'm ordained.' To which the lady replied, "You're going to be 60 anyway." He then begun to look into the possibility of studying for the priesthood. A first hurdle was getting an exemption from the diocesan cut off age of 50 to become a priest. He asked the bishop. The bishop agreed. He also talked with priest, diocesan officials and seminarians that summer of 1997. Then it was off to St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore for what he thought would be four years of study. The 50-something found being a student tougher than when he was a 20-something. In a nutshell, Father Ed said it was "awful", especially when after taking 4 years of theology he learned that he had to spend one more year studying philosophy because his 12 hours of undergraduate work at Jesuit-operated Rockhurst College in Missouri was insufficient. Discouraged at this point, the future priest asked God's help again to stay the course. God answered his prayers. Father Ed was ordained in 2003 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Raleigh. Father Ed's home parish was Blessed Sacrament in Burlington where he was active in founding the Secular Franciscan Order. He was minister of the order for five years. His first assignment was Parochial Vicar at St. Mark's in Wilmington. Two years later, Fr. Ed was assigned to St. Patrick's in Fayetteville as Parochial Vicar, and in 2007 Fr. Ed was assigned to Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Kinston as pastor. Father Ed sees a real need for more vocations as fewer young men enter the priesthood and older ones retire. He urges people to continually pray for more vocations. "If people want more priests, they have to encourage people. They have to plant the seeds, both friends and family alike," he commented. He stressed that encouragement from others put him on the path to priesthood.
From the Pastor's Desk
Dear Parishioners…...Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings remind us that God wants all of us to ultimately be with him in heaven. The path to eternity is, as our Lord reminds us, …”through the narrow gate”. The narrow gate here is by way of being one of his faithful disciples. Jesus is calling people and teaching them the difficulties of discipleship. Jesus himself experiences life’s difficulties while journeying to Jerusalem, toward his coming death. When someone asked Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”, he answered them, “for many will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” Jesus is teaching that people cannot consider themselves disciples simply because they had a casual relationship with Jesus! Discipleship involves a choice, a choice that results in a deep, lifelong relationship with Jesus. At the end of the Gospel, Jesus suggests that, in the end, “many are saved—Patriarchs, prophets, and people from all over the world will be in the kingdom”. Jesus says in the 1st reading of Isaiah, “I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory.” Jesus also said, “For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” Everyone is invited. However, for some, the world’s pleasures drown out his call. Will we choose the “narrow gate” of discipleship and accept Jesus as our Messiah? Las lecturas de hoy nos recuerda que Dios quiere que todos nosotros estemos con Él en el cielo. El camino a la eternidad, es, como nuestro Señor nos recuerda, "a través de la puerta angosta". La puerta angosta aquí, significa, que debemos ser sus discípulos fieles. Jesús llama a su gente y les enseña las dificultades de ser un discípulo de Él. Jesús mismo experimenta las dificultades de la vida al viajar a Jerusalén, en donde iría a morir. Cuando alguien le preguntó a Jesús, "Señor, solamente unas pocas personas se salvarán", El respondió, "muchos tratarán de entrar, pero no serán lo suficientemente fuertes".Jesús nos enseña que la gente no puede considerarse discípulos de Jesús, solamente porque tenían un mínimo conocimiento de Él. Ser un discípulo significa poder escoger, y lo que escogemos resulta en una verdadera relación con Jesús duradera para toda la vida. Al final del Evangelio, Jesús sugiera que al final, "muchos se salvarán—Patriarcas, profetas y gente de todo el mundo estará en el reino de Dios". Jesús nos dice en la primera lectura de Isaías, "Yo vendré a reunir naciones de todos los lenguajes y ellos vendrán y verán mi gloria". Jesús dijo también, "Porque he aquí, que los últimos serán los primeros y los primeros serán los últimos". Todos estamos invitados. Sinembargo, para algunos, los placeres del mundo evitarán que oigan el llamado de Dios. Escogeremos nosotros "la puerta angosta" de ser discípulos y aceptar a Jesús como Nuestro Señor y Salvador?
Desde El Escritorio Del Padre Ed
Queridos Feligreses...vigésimo-primer Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario
