Blessed Sacrament in Jonesboro, Arkansas, stood out during and after the COVID-19 pandemic for being the only parish in the area to experience growth, with 1,400 families now calling it home. This didn’t happen by chance, but rather by intentionally following the formula of the Church at the Pentecost, as described in chapter two of the Acts of the Apostles.
What did the Pentecost look like?
The guest list, Scripture tells us, was diverse and robust. There were Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, Judaeans, Egyptians, Libyans, Romans and others. “From every nation under heaven they were all assembled, and each one was bewildered to hear these men speaking their own language.”
At the first Pentecost, Babel was reversed. Everyone could understand each other no matter where they came from.
Monsignor Scott Friend (pictured center) and the parishioners of Blessed Sacrament are a modern-day example of diverse peoples coming together, understanding one another.
Every Wednesday night, the whole parish gathers. The children go to religious education classes, and the adults go to Adoration, where their common language is the silence of their prayer.
Afterward, the whole parish shares a meal representing 18 different countries (three more than the original Pentecost!). It is a Pentecost sort of meal. Everyone understands each other through the medium of cuisine.
Every palate is satisfied. Every heart is engaged. And during this meal, everyone becomes that which they adore during Adoration: they are the Body of Christ in all its variety, color, custom and tradition.
Msgr. Friend leads the way, although he humbly demurred, saying, “None of us are owners of the vineyard. We are all there working together.”
Growing Filipino community
The thriving Filipino community is a perfect example of what happens in Blessed Sacrament’s vineyard. Initially, there were over 300 Filipinos in the area when Msgr. Friend arrived at Blessed Sacrament in 2021 and noticed some dedicated Filipino parishioners in attendance.
He quickly pulled together some of the Catholic community leaders and asked if they’d like to have a Mass celebrated in Filipino (or Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines). A once-monthly Mass began.
The Filipino parishioners said,
We didn’t know we were all here. Blessed Sacrament made us feel as one.”
The distance from Manila to Arkansas spans 8,380 miles. The Eucharist celebrated in the Filipino native language connected them to their faraway home, to each other and to the wider parish.
The Filipino community enriched Blessed Sacrament. The community learned beautiful customs like taking the elders’ hands in blessing after Mass. The powerful Filipino Feast of Santo Niño on the third Sunday in January became a holy day for everyone. Below, children are dancing during this feast.
Soon, other Filipinos came to this welcoming parish, finding jobs in the medical field in Arkansas. The parish community grew.
Father Alex Smith, a newly ordained Filipino priest, serves on the Blessed Sacrament staff. Msgr. Friend and associate pastor Father Raj Nalazala are being tutored in Tagalog, much to the delight and admiration of all.
One body in Christ
This “unity in diversity” is an authentic way of being Catholic. It is a cure to what Msgr. Friend called the crippling “structural blindness”—the misguided attitudes, stereotypes and even fear that keeps us from really seeing each other.
Blessed Sacrament’s successful approach mirrors the vision of Catholicism, which unites disparate communities as seen below.
Ask the Filipino community. They know that they can have their own cultural identity and still be part of the Blessed Sacrament parish. We Catholics do best at sharing a common language, common rituals, and a way of seeing each other as one universal family.
Each autumn, parishioners of Blessed Sacrament celebrate their Fall Festival by preparing and serving homemade dishes. It is a dazzling buffet which feeds the heart and soul, with foods from diverse continents.
Msgr. Friend leads the prayer in three languages before the meal. Knowing him, there may be more languages to come. It is a parish event as beautiful in meaning as the menu is in variety. It exemplifies one bread, one body, an antidote for “structural blindness.”
For if it is true that we become what we eat, then Msgr. Friend and his people are indeed a Blessed Sacrament, and their Pentecost will always have a menu to which all are welcome.
Catholic Extension Society works in solidarity with people to build up vibrant and transformative Catholic faith communities among the poor in the poorest regions of America. Blessed Sacrament parish is supported by Catholic Extension Society. Please donate today to support parishes like this!
