BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

SMYRNA--As the apostles answered Christ’s call of service, Archbishop John F. Donoghue called single Catholics, too, at a Mass Sept. 7 to open their minds and hearts to hear and respond to Christ’s continual call to them and to experience God more deeply in their lives.

“The best thing we can do is what the Apostles themselves did that day, as they waited to see who would be chosen. The best thing we can do is listen, to listen for the voice of God, in the reason of our minds, and upon the chords of our hearts, calling our name, as He called theirs.”

Singles, largely from Cobb County ranging from their 30s to 80s, including the divorced, widowed and happily single, eagerly received the archbishop’s message at the Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Church honoring the vocation to single life. The archbishop was the celebrant while Father Bob Susann, MS, pastor of St. Ann’s Church, Marietta, and Father John Welch, MS, of St. Thomas, concelebrated. Cobb Catholic Singles Over 35 sponsored the celebration, a group with about 250 members who gather for a monthly Mass at one of six Cobb County parishes, a monthly home Mass and other spiritual and social activities.

The parish Life Teen band led the congregation of approximately 125 in songs including “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!” “Be with Me, Lord” and “Servant Song.”

Referring to the Gospel reading from Luke about Jesus going to a mountain to pray before selecting his 12 apostles who would launch and lead the church, the archbishop said this story is a powerful model for single people who lack the support of spouses and devoted children.

“We, too, with the understanding that comes from single devotion to Christ and His Gospel, must often ascend the mountain on our own, and often in the solitude of night, to do as the Lord did -- to pray before God on our own, to ask the Father in Heaven, what we should do, where we should go, and how we are to sustain ourselves against the many pressures and difficulties that press us from without, as we make our way through life and the world.”

And the Lord will surely bless them, the archbishop said. “The Sacrament which we receive at Mass, the Body of our Lord, raises up in us, like yeast raises bread, or helium a child’s balloon, the joyful expectation of all good things, for all good things is the very reward that He has promised to give us, if we are true to His name and if we endeavor, to the best of our abilities, to live as He lived, and to love as He loved.”

The archbishop concluded by telling singles that St. Luke’s story reflects a blueprint for Christian life. “… this is the plan revealed in the Gospel, the blueprint by which our individual lives are meant to unfold … first, prayer for guidance -- second, the acceptance of vocation, of being called by God -- and third, the realization of grace, of salvation, of healing at every moment of our existence, and in quantity sufficient to share with those around us, and who with us, make up the true Church of Jesus Christ.”

A reception was held afterwards, offering time for fellowship. Cobb Catholic Singles president Sue Graham said the annual event provided time for fellowship for all singles of different parishes, adding that she had hoped to attract more Catholics from across the archdiocese.

“We like to do it because we want to bring the singles within the whole archdiocese together and the archbishop is a big sponsor of that,” she said. “It does bring everybody together in fellowship and our group tries to do several spiritual activities each month and this is our main activity for the year as far as trying to get all of the parishes of Atlanta together.”

As a single, Graham, 47, emphasized the importance of developing one’s spirituality.

“I think the community of faith is very important (for singles). Faith helps you get through a lot of ups and downs in your life and having friends to share your troubles with helps also.”

St. Thomas the Apostle parishioner Joe O’Reilly, 38, said that at the Mass he considered his common vocation to single life with priests and Religious. Participation in a faith community is an invaluable part of his spiritual life as he goes at it alone.

“You don’t have somebody to lean on all the time … It’s like it’s just between you and God,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to make it if it wasn’t for my faith and my friends in the church and my feeling of becoming closer to Christ through the people I meet -- so even though I’m single I don’t feel that I am alone.”

O’Reilly added that, in addition to being involved with his parish young adult group, he attends archdiocesan events like a monthly Mass for young adults and Theology on Tap, a series of talks and discussions offered for young adults in the archdiocese. He noted that the young adult Mass, which is followed by a social event, is “awesome” and offers an excellent blend of spirituality and time to socialize.

Maria Azula, a parishioner at St. Catherine of Siena Church, Kennesaw, liked the archbishop’s message that she said gave her spiritual food for the year and courage to persevere in her faith journey.

“It kind of really encourages me through the year. I’m not (a) Religious. I don’t have a spouse, but I’m somebody special to God,” she said. The archbishop affirmed “how we can contribute to the kingdom of God even though we’re not married. Sometimes single people are forgotten. They seem to fall through the cracks.”

Having been away from the church several years, Azula, 40, recalled how she was feeling low and isolated from others last year when one day she prayed before the Blessed Sacrament and, noticing a parish bulletin, was led to join her parish singles group. She began attending activities including Bible studies and a mission trip to Jamaica and is now its vice-president. Azula said she has discovered that Atlanta is blessed with many activities for the young or single, adding that interested persons should check out parish or archdiocesan websites.

“My calendar is so full that I can do something spiritual every night of the week, 52 weeks of the year,” she said. “It’s just been incredible because I started going to the St. Catherine’s singles group in August. It’s opened up my life.”

Rosemary Abad, who was married for 28 years before her marriage ended, feels that “a single woman is an anathema in society.” She joined Cobb Catholic Singles in the past year, which she has found to be a safe group with which to gather and worship. She said at-home Masses are the most well attended functions.

“We all feel safe here. Nobody hits on you and it’s just a safe place to worship and to gather and we’re all in this same boat. We’re without mates, for whatever reason, but we’re together in Christ,” she said. “It’s wonderful that it’s loving. It’s gathering. You’re worshiping together and in community there is strength. I just feel renewed when I come.”

Eighty-five-year-old widow and a spiritual advisor for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Emma Monroe noted that the archbishop often refers to how some people make a choice to be single, realizing that married life is not for them. While they love the Lord very deeply, they don’t feel called to the vocation of becoming a Religious.

“It’s just knowing that you can be complete and whole in your single (life) if you dedicate it to God,” she said. “They need to know that it’s not necessary to be paired off. You don’t have to feel incomplete because you don’t have someone at your side. Just being part of a loving community is family too.”

SINGLES SOCIALIZING -- Singles from various Cobb County parishes take part in the gathering of Catholic singles at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Smyrna, Sept. 7. The parish hosted the annual Mass for single Catholics.
Photo by Michael Alexander