Editor's Note
Wisdom From Grade 7
Among the various tasks associated with editing NC Catholics, I think my favorite is assembling our Parish Poll. Each month, with the help of the principal of one or another of our Catholic schools, I’ll pose a question to some of their students, then choose six answers to publish in the magazine. The best part: I get to visit the school and photograph the boys and girls whose answers were chosen.
The question is often tied to the theme of a particular issue. For instance, this month’s theme is Patience, so the question, which was posed to 7th and 8th graders at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School in Burlington, was, “Tell about a situation or activity that tests your patience.” As almost always happens, there were many more than six great responses. But one answer, from a boy named Alex in Grade 7, struck me as almost profound coming from one so young.
Alex wrote about being in a long line at a store. But “patience means more than waiting,” he wrote, “it’s about how you wait.” I think most of the great Catholic contemplatives, ancient and modern, would agree with him. Patience, as Alex understood, isn’t just about getting through something, it’s about interior peace and hope.
This month’s cover story is about the patience of a people, the Catholic community of Holy Cross Church in Durham. Most recently, that patience has been demonstrated in its collaborative journey to a new place of worship. But “patience” is a word with tremendous resonance to a predominantly African American, Catholic congregation in the South that has proudly maintained its identity since 1939.
Finally, in this issue’s “Ask NCC” on p. 6, we introduce a new contributor, Fr. Tad Pacholczyk, Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. Fr. Tad is a nationally syndicated Catholic bioethicist, and will answer questions on bioethical issues from time to time in future issues of NCC.
Thanks as always for your feedback and encouragement. You can write me at 715 Nazareth Street, Raleigh, NC, 27606 or reece@raldioc.org.