Meet Our Sunday Visitor’s 2022 Catholics of the Year
Economic uncertainty, a war in Eastern Europe, continued domestic political polarization … this past year was marked in many ways by events that have been widely destabilizing and disruptive. But through it all, men and women of great faith have been beacons of hope and light.
This list of men and women, named to Our Sunday Visitor’s 2022 list of Catholics of the Year, have turned our hearts and minds to God with their words and salved our wounds with their deeds. And while many other Catholics have been beacons of hope in their families and local communities, we present this year’s nominees as having made an extraordinary impact in the life of the Church.
Accolades such as these are not given as the world gives them, to trumpet or triumph. Rather, we choose to honor the witness of these faithful sons and daughters in order that we might — each and every one of us — be inspired by their faith and imitate their virtue. Encouraged by their example, we will together seek the face of God with renewed fervor and zeal.
I will highlight two of those recognized in this article and highlight the others dueing the week:
Sister Dolores Aviles
For creating a space for children to heal and be kids after tragedy
By Leticia Adams
CNS
Uvalde, Texas, has a group of religious sisters known as Teresian Sisters, inspired by St. Teresa of Ávila with the mission of evangelization. In their mission statement they say, “We are called to be prophetic signs of God’s merciful love.”
In the aftermath of the shooting at Robb Elementary that left 19 students, two teachers and the shooter dead, the order and the sisters have been a comforting presence to the mourning community, which they have served since their founding in 1913.
When I spoke with Archbishop Garcia-Siller of San Antonio, he told me the sisters were going door to door talking to people and asking them how they were and if they needed anything. They were not showing up with an agenda. They just wanted to know how everyone in the town of Uvalde was doing after such a horrific thing happened in their community. This is the love and presence of God.
Sister Dolores Aviles had an idea to have a summer camp for the kids of Uvalde. She wanted them to have a place where they felt safe and loved. She had no idea how she was going to fund her idea, and then funding came through Catholic Extension. Sister Dolores showed up in a way that Christ would have. She showed up for the children understanding that they were grieving and scared. She showed them the love of God by giving them a safe space where they could be kids.
From the Catholic Extension website, “Camp I-CAN, which stands for Inner strength, Commitment, Awareness and Networking, provided third, fourth, and fifth graders a safe space to heal, have fun, and gently reintegrated the children into a school-like setting around their peers. The majority of the children who attended the camp are survivors of the Robb Elementary mass shooting, although all Uvalde children of age were invited to participate.”
Sister Dolores is from Uvalde; it is her home and her community. Her love for them is a love for home. This is the kind of showing up that is needed in our communities right now, not just after tragedies happen, and Sister Dolores is a great example of that.
In honoring Sister Dolores Aviles as a 2022 Catholic of the Year, we see the role of community building in evangelization. All of us are called to and capable of showing our communities God’s merciful love.
Jonathan Roumie
For uniting Christians and non-Christians alike through his portrayal of Christ
By Father Jonathan Mitchican
CNS
It is a massive challenge to bring a depiction of Jesus to film or television. All of the hopes and dreams of Christians around the world are wrapped up in such a characterization. It is easy to offend people or to draw criticism. Yet Jonathan Roumie has managed to portray Jesus in a way that has endeared him to millions of viewers, Christian and non-Christian alike, of “The Chosen,” the series about the life of Christ and his apostles. Roumie brings a sensitivity to the role, a recognizable compassion, and even a sense of humor.
While the show is created by an evangelical, Roumie is a Catholic. He has said in numerous interviews that his work portraying Jesus has helped him to rekindle and grow his Catholic faith. He likes to use the phrase “Born Again Catholic” to describe the deepening of his conversion. It has led him to become more involved in his own parish and to support Catholic engagement with media through his place on the board of Catholic Media Associates.
This November, the third season of “The Chosen” launched the first two episodes for a limited time in theaters before releasing them through multiple streaming platforms. As the reach of the show has grown, so have the challenges. In the third season, Roumie plays Jesus in a number of pivotal moments, including the miracle of the multiplying of the loaves and fish, a story very important for Catholics because of its foreshadowing of the holy Eucharist. Yet early reviews have been favorable, and Catholics can take particular joy in seeing the relationship portrayed on the screen between Jesus and his mother Mary (played by actress Vanessa Benavente). Roumie’s work on this series has helped to build bridges between groups of Christians, while creating a lasting version of the story of Christ that can appeal to many different audiences, including non-believers.
All of these accomplishments make it clear why Jonathan Roumie deserves a place as one of Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholics of the Year.
Keep following for more
No comments:
Post a Comment