1878 and 1879 were exceptional years for Catholics in Arkansas. The Diocese of Little Rock had been established in 1844, and waves of European immigrants began arriving here during the second half of the 19th century. Many were Catholic. Although parishes and schools had been established prior to 1878 and 1879, those two years stand out in our history.
Subiaco Abbey was founded in 1878, as were the parishes of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Marche, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Atkins, St. Joseph in Conway, Sts. Peter and Paul in Morrison Bluff, St. Scholastica in Shoal Creek, and St. Benedict in Subiaco.
Expansion continued the following year with the establishment of St. Scholastica Monastery at Shoal Creek and the parishes of St. Mary in Altus; St. Boniface in Bigelow; Sacred Heart in Charleston; Holy Redeemer in Clarksville; Sacred Heart in Morrilton; St. Matthew in Osceola; St. Joseph in Paris; and St. Anthony in Ratcliff.
One or more common factors characterized these developments. German and Swiss immigrants, mostly farmers, brought their Catholic faith to Arkansas. Benedictine men and women came to seek God and serve his people. And because river transportation was vital and railroads were beginning to make distant parts of the state accessible, small towns now punctuated rivers and tracks.
I have been reflecting on 1878 and 1879 because of the number of monastery and parish celebrations to which I have been invited over the past year. When St. Anthony in Ratcliff and St. Joseph in Paris celebrated 125th anniversaries last weekend, parishioners gathered to reminisce, take stock of the present, and forge into the future. In our diocese, these anniversaries take on the flavor of family reunions.
The sisters and priests who came to Arkansas even before the establishment of the diocese were true pioneers. No doubt some came in fear and trembling, like Abraham not knowing the land to which God was sending them. Those early years were rough, painfully so at times, but the pioneers persevered for the most part, toughing it out and building literally from scratch.
They came to build the Church, to bring people to Christ. But from another perspective, they came because the Church was already here. Among the explorers and those who had settled the Arkansas Territory years earlier, there were Catholics, who hungered for the Eucharist and wanted to raise Catholic families.
Isolation, anti-Catholicism, racism, fire, mosquitoes, disease, harsh weather and poverty took their toll, and I can only imagine what other obstacles formed the daily lot of the first Catholics of Arkansas. Bravely and heroically, lay men and women, settlers, slaves, indigenous people, immigrants, sisters and priests moved forward together in hope because of their faith in Christ. When their faith was not strong, or when they made mistakes, God still moved forward with his plans.
It is always helpful to step back from the concerns of the present moment and take a glimpse of the grand scheme of things. New Testament writers often recounted how God had been at work in history, how he had guided and spoken to his people, provided for their needs, and equipped them for his plan. He had worked decisively and clearly, through the drama of human history; he had worked quietly and subtly, through fragile human nature.
St. Paul grasped the big picture, saw the hand of God at work in the sweep of millennia, and intuited even the cosmic proportions of God’s loving plan. He groped for images to capture these insights – creation groaning, the enslaved set free, the parts of the body working in unison for the good of the whole.
What Paul understood best was that all the credit goes to God. Heroes and heroines of the past inspire us, but they were first inspired by God. It is helpful to call to mind the “good old days” – not because we somehow need to turn back the clock, but because we need to remember that the same God and Father who was at work then is at work now. He is inspiring us to build and grow the Church – the same Church – in the 21st century, just as he inspired our Arkansas forbears in the 19th.
In Corinth, Paul contended with factions who claimed allegiance to one or another leader. He wrote, “What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth” (1 Cor 3:5-7).
In 2004, some of our parishes are very large, and some are very small. Some struggle with few material resources, and some have an overabundance. The membership rolls of some parishes are filled with the names of families who have been pillars of the Church for more than a century; others are filled increasingly with the names of recently arrived families, mostly Hispanic, who strengthen the body of Christ with their faith and traditional values. Large or small, new or old, rich or poor, every parish exists to give God glory and spread the good news of his Son. The same Holy Spirit fills them all.
Today, too, looking to God as our inspiration and strength, we move forward with hope. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Do you have an intention for Bishop Sartain’s prayer? If so, send it to him c/o Bishop Sartain’s Prayer List, Diocese of Little Rock, 2500 North Tyler St., P.O. Box 7239, Little Rock AR 72217.
1878 and 1879 were exceptional years for Catholics in Arkansas. The Diocese of Little Rock had been established in 1844, and waves of European immigrants began arriving here during the second half of the 19th century. Many were Catholic. Although parishes and schools had been established prior to 1878 and 1879, those two years stand out in our history.
Subiaco Abbey was founded in 1878, as were the parishes of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Marche, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Atkins, St. Joseph in Conway, Sts. Peter and Paul in Morrison Bluff, St. Scholastica in Shoal Creek, and St. Benedict in Subiaco.
Expansion continued the following year with the establishment of St. Scholastica Monastery at Shoal Creek and the parishes of St. Mary in Altus; St. Boniface in Bigelow; Sacred Heart in Charleston; Holy Redeemer in Clarksville; Sacred Heart in Morrilton; St. Matthew in Osceola; St. Joseph in Paris; and St. Anthony in Ratcliff.
One or more common factors characterized these developments. German and Swiss immigrants, mostly farmers, brought their Catholic faith to Arkansas. Benedictine men and women came to seek God and serve his people. And because river transportation was vital and railroads were beginning to make distant parts of the state accessible, small towns now punctuated rivers and tracks.
I have been reflecting on 1878 and 1879 because of the number of monastery and parish celebrations to which I have been invited over the past year. When St. Anthony in Ratcliff and St. Joseph in Paris celebrated 125th anniversaries last weekend, parishioners gathered to reminisce, take stock of the present, and forge into the future. In our diocese, these anniversaries take on the flavor of family reunions.
The sisters and priests who came to Arkansas even before the establishment of the diocese were true pioneers. No doubt some came in fear and trembling, like Abraham not knowing the land to which God was sending them. Those early years were rough, painfully so at times, but the pioneers persevered for the most part, toughing it out and building literally from scratch.
They came to build the Church, to bring people to Christ. But from another perspective, they came because the Church was already here. Among the explorers and those who had settled the Arkansas Territory years earlier, there were Catholics, who hungered for the Eucharist and wanted to raise Catholic families.
Isolation, anti-Catholicism, racism, fire, mosquitoes, disease, harsh weather and poverty took their toll, and I can only imagine what other obstacles formed the daily lot of the first Catholics of Arkansas. Bravely and heroically, lay men and women, settlers, slaves, indigenous people, immigrants, sisters and priests moved forward together in hope because of their faith in Christ. When their faith was not strong, or when they made mistakes, God still moved forward with his plans.
It is always helpful to step back from the concerns of the present moment and take a glimpse of the grand scheme of things. New Testament writers often recounted how God had been at work in history, how he had guided and spoken to his people, provided for their needs, and equipped them for his plan. He had worked decisively and clearly, through the drama of human history; he had worked quietly and subtly, through fragile human nature.
St. Paul grasped the big picture, saw the hand of God at work in the sweep of millennia, and intuited even the cosmic proportions of God’s loving plan. He groped for images to capture these insights – creation groaning, the enslaved set free, the parts of the body working in unison for the good of the whole.
What Paul understood best was that all the credit goes to God. Heroes and heroines of the past inspire us, but they were first inspired by God. It is helpful to call to mind the “good old days” – not because we somehow need to turn back the clock, but because we need to remember that the same God and Father who was at work then is at work now. He is inspiring us to build and grow the Church – the same Church – in the 21st century, just as he inspired our Arkansas forbears in the 19th.
In Corinth, Paul contended with factions who claimed allegiance to one or another leader. He wrote, “What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth” (1 Cor 3:5-7).
In 2004, some of our parishes are very large, and some are very small. Some struggle with few material resources, and some have an overabundance. The membership rolls of some parishes are filled with the names of families who have been pillars of the Church for more than a century; others are filled increasingly with the names of recently arrived families, mostly Hispanic, who strengthen the body of Christ with their faith and traditional values. Large or small, new or old, rich or poor, every parish exists to give God glory and spread the good news of his Son. The same Holy Spirit fills them all.
Today, too, looking to God as our inspiration and strength, we move forward with hope. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Do you have an intention for Bishop Sartain’s prayer? If so, send it to him c/o Bishop Sartain’s Prayer List, Diocese of Little Rock, 2500 North Tyler St., P.O. Box 7239, Little Rock AR 72217.