Official Appointments

Reverend Odel Medina, S.T. has been appointed Pastor of St. Therese Church, Kosciusko, in addition to his duties as Associate Pastor at Sacred Heart, Camden, effective April 1, 2014.

 

 

 

Sheila Przesmicki has been appointed Lay Ecclesial Minister, St. Francis of Assisi, Booneville and its mission, St. Mary, Iuka, effective April 1, 2014.

 

 

 

Linda Gunther has been appointed Lay Ecclesial Minister, St. James the Less Church, Corinth, effective April 1, 2014.

+Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz
Bishop of Jackson

Two celebrate jubilees

JACKSON – Sister Mary Trinita Eddington, OP, well known in the health care field of Jackson is celebrating 60 years as a Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Ill. Sister’s home parish is St. Cabrini in Springfield. She was baptized in St. Patrick’s Parish, Springfield.
She entered the Springfield community on June 27, 1952 and made her first profession of vows on Jan. 4, 1954. Sister Eddington received her MS in nursing administration from Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN; a BS from Marycrest College, Davenport, IA; her RN degree from St. Dominic School of Nursing, Jackson,  and a certificate as a family nurse practitioner from Mississippi University for Women, Columbus.

St. Dominic’s Hospital and Community Health Clinic has been her life ministry as a Springfield Illinois Dominican. Sister Eddington presently is vice-president of St. Dominic Community Health Services, Inc., director of St. Dominic Community Health Clinic, and a family nurse practitioner providing primary health care to the poor, homeless and disadvantaged in West Jackson.

SALTILLO – Father Benjamin Piovan celebrated 50 years of priesthood with a Mass at the mission in Saltillo, Mexico in March. Father Piovan was born in Padova, Italy, Feb. 24, 1936, and entered the Salesian Seminary at the age of 11. He came to the United Stated in 1953 and was ordained March 23, 1964.

He taught and served at schools in New Jersey and Louisiana before he became the pastor of the mission. He will have another celebration on May 29 at St. Charles Catholic High School in the Diocese of New Orleans.

St. Alphonsus School closes

McCOMB – Parents and students learned Friday, April 4, that St. Alphonsus School will close at the end of this year. The school has seen declining enrollment for the past couple of years and despite efforts on behalf of the staff and administration, enrollment is again down for the upcoming year.

Principal Tim Roberts sent a letter home to parents so they could find a place for their students as soon as possible and promised refunds to everyone who pre-registered for next year. In an email to Mississippi Catholic he asked for prayers for the school community as they go through this transition. Both the preschool and elementary school will close.

“It is sad that St. Alphonsus was unable to sustain sufficient enrollment to remain a viable Catholic school for the community of McComb and Pike County,” said Catherine Cook, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the diocese.

“I commend Tim Roberts and the pastor, Father Brian Kaskie, for evaluating the situation in order to avoid sacrificing the quality of education offered and to prevent an unmanageable financial burden on the parish. Making the decision now in addition to providing parents with time to find alternative placement gives faculty and staff an opportunity to find employment rather than finding out in the summer when jobs may be more difficult to obtain,” Cook added.|

“Both St. Alphonsus Parish and the Diocese of Jackson sincerely appreciate the individuals and families who have supported the mission of Catholic Education in McComb, Mississippi, and the operation of this school for the many years it has existed. Throughout its history, St. Alphonsus Catholic School has helped create generations of spiritually enlightened and academically enriched citizens,” wrote Roberts in his letter.

Kairos ‘walk’ transforms lives

PARCHMAN – There are many efforts and initiatives designed at reforming the criminal justice system. It is an arduous task needing committed people to take on the task of seeing beyond the surface and reaching an understanding of true rehabilitation of the whole person rather than short term solutions.

For the weekend of March 27-30, a Kairos “walk team” spent four days ministering with inmates at the State Penitentiary. Kairos is an ecumenical effort. Each team is made up of people from different Christian denominations.
Kairos “walks” are four days and three nights of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a spiritual retreat that developed out of the Cursillo Movement and is designed specifically to strengthen the faith of individuals who are incarcerated and transform them into faith-filled persons who will have a positive impact in prison and once released in the broader commnunity.

According to Kairos materials, “As the Kairos community inside a prison grows and begins to gain influence, the incidences of violence decrease. Incarcerated participants who are released re-enter the outside world with a God centered, perspective and focus on becoming productive citizens.
“Female family members find support, strength and encouragement. Youthful offenders acquire new God-centered values and change their direction in life. Families are reunited with a hope for the future.”

For this Kairos “walk,” Olive Branch Queen of Peace parishioner, Bryan Shaver, served on the team. It was his fifth “walk.” Shaver visited Mississippi Catholic shortly after the weekend at Parchman and shared his thoughts about the transformations among the inmates and among the team members.

“I got involved in Kairos after hearing a homily by Father Terry Langley sharing that he had wanted to serve in prison ministry when he retired,” Shaver said. “I had no clue that the next day, I would begin that  journey myself when a friend talked to me about Kairos.
“As part of the Prayer Team, I worked with the inmates who felt the need to share issues they had. We also would pray over them as they came in contact with Jesus Christ.
“In my ‘discovery’ talk I shared with them the need to study and pray on their new journey with Jesus Christ, he added.” During the “walk,” Shaver spent two 12 hour days praying with the inmates and four hours on Sunday, the closing day.

“The best story I can relate was when one of our ‘prayer warrior’ inmates shared with us some truly tough things he had experienced which caused him to end up in prison. He was so sorry for the lives he had hurt. The tears we all shed fell on my feet. I felt as though his tears from his sins washed my feet of my sins,” Shaver said in describing the experience.
In concluding his account of the most recent Kairos, Shaver shared a personal note: “I had no intention of going to prison but since my friend urged me, I just thought I would attend the first meeting and drop off. I am still here three years later and am forever changed.”

2014 Legislative review

By Maureen Smith
Catholic advocates scored a couple of victories in the 2014 legislative session, including passage of the criminal justice reform bill and a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Other issues, such as Medicaid expansion, again languished. Here is a brief look at the session, which ended Wednesday, April 2.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
The criminal justice reform bill has the cornerstone of this year’s Catholic Day at the Capitol (CDC). Governor Phil Bryant signed it into law Monday, April 1, and it will go into effect July 1. A task force wrote the mammoth bill, House Bill 585 (HB 585), which includes the opportunity for addicts to go to drug courts and get treatment instead of just jail time, new guidelines on the minimum amount of time served and offers other options to prevent jailing people with probation violations. The bill saw many revisions during the legislative process, but advocates are pleased with the start of what they hope will be more comprehensive reforms to come.

“Although motivated primarily by the escalating costs to the state for our huge prison population, the Mississippi Legislature did the right thing in passing criminal justice reform legislation,” said Msgr. Elvin Sunds, vicar general for the diocese. “Society needs to be protected from violent offenders and those who would commit serious crimes. However, we do not need to fill our prison beds with non-violent offenders and minor drug offenders.
“The objective of our criminal justice system should be reform and rehabilitation so that individuals can return to society as productive citizens. This legislation takes a big step in the right direction by emphasizing alternative to incarceration and by providing judges more discretion in sentencing,” he added

“HB 585 will lead to tremendous improvement in the criminal justice system but it is just a beginning. For example, the law will significantly expand eligibility for drug courts but the funding for the expansion has not been provided.  Despite a significant increase in funds for drug courts in the Administrative Office of the Courts appropriation, from $4 million to nearly $8 million, the estimated cost of full implementation is $11 million,” said Andre de Gruy, a member of the Criminal Justice Task Force which wrote the bill. He said while more work needs to be done, this bill includes the ability to do that because it established a follow-up task force to measure outcomes.

“Another area that will need significant improvements is re-entry programs. With people transitioning from prison to the ‘free-world’ there will need to be services to help them adjust to their new circumstances. One of the best provisions of HB 585 is the establishment of an oversight task force to monitor its implementation,” said de Gruy, who is also Catholic.

At CDC, advocates explained that Mississippi has the nation’s second highest rate of incarceration, but there is no proof this practice lowers crime rates or recidivism. De Gruy said many of the reforms lined up with the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops’ 2000 statement “Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective,” calling for restorative justice that seeks to recognize that “the dignity of the human person applies to both victim and offender.”

He said the task force looked at research-based alternatives to just putting people in jail with hopes of bringing restorative justice into the system. Restorative justice seeks to heal communities and not just punish offenders.

ABORTION
House bill 1400 bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless a woman’s life is in danger, the pregnancy will permanently injure her or if the baby has an abnormality which would make it unable to survive. This brings Mississippi in line with most other states in the Southeast with similar bans, including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Some of those bans are being challenged.

There is only one abortion clinic left in the state, Jackson-based Women’s Health Organization, and the clinic owner told the Associated Press her clinic does not provide abortions after 16 weeks of pregnancy so it would not be affected by the ban. That clinic is already involved in a court battle challenging a 2012 law intended to close it by requiring all doctors practicing there to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. HB 1400 is awaiting the governor’s signature and should take effect July 1.

“Mississippi is overwhelmingly pro-life. Like most people in our country, Catholics and non-Catholics in Mississippi find late term abortions particularly abhorrent. I am glad this legislation provides some limit to this terrible practice and provides additional protection to the unborn,” said Msgr. of the legislation.

DRUG TESTING FOR AID RECIPIENTS
A bill that may require welfare recipients to take drug tests has drawn criticism from advocates for the poor. House Bill 49 requires those who apply for temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) to fill out a questionnaire. Based on that, a person could be ordered to take a drug test. Those who fail the test will be offered treatment before they can receive their aid and will have to undergo a second test after treatment.
Supporters say the bill, already signed by the governor, will strengthen communities by helping those who may need treatment become better parents. Opponents, including Rims Barber, civil rights advocate and head of the Mississippi Human Services Coalition, said this measure will actually discourage people from getting help and unfairly targets the poor.

“There was no evidence that welfare recipients are more likely to use drugs than any other part of our society, and nothing that showed that the state knows how to properly screen and treat people for addiction. What we end up with is a system that makes people feel guilty for even applying,” wrote Barber in his annual legislative roundup. Catholic Charities also spoke out against the measure.

MEDICAID EXPANSION
One key issue that did not make the agenda, Medicaid expansion. It failed in last year’s session after much public debate. Advocates tried to bring up expansion again, arguing that it would bring better jobs and economic stimulus to the state, but lawmakers never brought forward a bill in this session. Advocates say they will continue to talk about the issue.

FINANCIAL AID/ COLLEGE COSTS
Although the legislature did raise the eligibility limit to allow some students to attend college, advocates at the Mississippi Economic Policy Center said the increase will only apply to about 500 students and they will continue to push for more opportunities for more Mississippians to get higher education.
In a separate, but related issue, Catholic Charities was part of a group that went to the Capitol to speak with lawmakers about allowing deferred action students, who were brought to the United States as children, to take advantage of in-state tuition at institutions of higher learning.

Monique Davis, director of the Office of Parish Based Ministries, pointed out that these students are considered residents in public elementary and in high schools. Lawmakers told Catholic Charities and immigration representatives they will consider commissioning a study on the issue. Davis said she is hopeful.

2015
Davis said she and her staff are already at work on Catholic Day at the Capitol for 2015. They are considering some format changes to make it easier for people to attend and are working on building stronger relationships with all the lawmakers, but particularly the dozen Catholic representatives.

El Padre Romero de visita en Ripley para Semana Santa

RIPLEY – Adultos, jóvenes y niños de la Misión San Mateo caminan en procesión hacia la iglesia del Domingo de Ramos con palmas benditas en sus manos. El Padre Juan Antonio Romero. MSpS, (foto der.) le entregó los boletines a los niños al final de la misa. El Padre Romero, de Los Angeles, Calif., asistiráa en los servicios religiosos Semana Santa junto con Sigifredo Bonilla, ministro ecclesial laico. (Fotos de la Hermana María Elena Méndez)

Necesitamos amar y ser amados

JACKSON – Reunidos en la Catedral de San Pedro el sábado 22 de marzo, unas cien personas escucharon a Santiago Vasquez hablar sobre el amor y la necesidad de amar y ser amados.

El retiro fue organizado por el grupo “Luz y Vida” de la Catedral de San Pedro.  Además del tema central, el amor de Dios, otros puntos que se trataron durante el retiro incluyeron el pecado, la salvación y el Espíritu Santo.

Hablando sobre algunos de los problemas que causan dolor y sufrimiento, Vásquez, de la Diócesis de Alabama, explicó que el aborto, según él, es uno de los traumas que no se pueden superar fácilmente y anotó que las personas, si no tratan de sanarse, cargan con ese problema emocional durante toda su vida. Pero indicó que Dios, que nos ama, puede perdonarnos todos los pecados si hay verdadero arrepentimiento. “He sido testigo de como el Señor ha sanado a algunas personas. Es posible sanarse. Su misericordia es más grande que todo pecado”, dijo.

Angelica Mazy, del grupo “Luz y Vida”, dijo que algunas veces estamos vacios interiormente y no nos damos cuenta porque estamos tristes y buscamos el amor en cosas materiales o en personas, “pero aun así no llenamos nuestro ser. Vásquez nos explicó que para saber amar primero hay que conocer el amor de Dios”.

Vásquez igualmente habló sobre la necesidad de ser amados y mencionó que    las personas que no creen en Dios puede que no hayan sido amadas. “Necesitamos ser amados ya que la falta de amor nos causa mucho daño”, dijo. El Grupo “Luz y Vida” está preparando un retiro espiritual de tres días para Octubre. Para información llamar a Mazy al 601-259-0452.

La alegría del Evangelio nos libera de la muerte

Por Obispo Joseph Kopazc
Lázaro, Marta y María eran hermanos, buenos amigos de Jesús, quien vivió en Betania, a poca distancia de Jerusalén. La muerte de Lázaro, registrada sólo en el Evangelio de Juan, atrajo a Jesús y a sus discípulos a Betania a la sombra de Jerusalén y con el espectro de su propia pasión en el horizonte. Muchas fuerzas están presionando a Jesús y están a punto de fusionarse con la muerte de un querido amigo.

Jesús no estaba inmediatamente disponible cuando Lázaro murió y él y sus discípulos estaban frente a una difícil situación. La escritura declara expresamente que Jesús amaba a Lázaro a Marta y a María y su deseo de estar con ellos es comprensible. Sin embargo, uno de sus discípulos, hablando por el resto, lo disuadió de ir recordándole que habían muchos que lo odiaban, y que tratarían  de atraparlo y matarlo. A un nivel más profundo Jesús sabía que la muerte de un querido amigo iba a revelar la profundidad de su identidad de tal forma que no habría vuelta atrás.

Vida y muerte, amigos y enemigos, amor y odio, dolor y esperanza se arremolinaron alrededor de Jesús y fuera de esta olla de presión, él ora en voz alta y tan intensamente que el cielo y la tierra se movieron. En la tumba de Lázaro, con lágrimas en sus ojos, su oración al Padre revela el amor que es más fuerte que la muerte. “Padre, te doy gracias porque me has escuchado. Sé que siempre me escuchas, pero lo he dicho por el bien de la multitud que me rodea para que crean que tú me has enviado”. Marta ya había profesado en conversación con Jesús que él es la resurrección y la vida y su oración es que todos podemos hacer este salto de fe.

Seguidamente Jesús gime y grita, “Lázaro, sal afuera”. Con la aparición del hombre muerto la obra salvífica de Jesús, en nombre de su amigo alcanza su culminación, “desátenlo y déjenlo ir”.
Este año, el evangelio de Lázaro se proclama este fin de semana, el quinto domingo de Cuaresma, una semana antes del inicio de la Semana Santa. También nosotros estamos a la sombra de Jerusalén con la conmemoración de la pasión y muerte de nuestro Señor en el horizonte. Ante la sombra de la muerte queremos anunciar que Jesucristo es la resurrección y la vida, y que a través de él, con él y en él, nuestra oración es siempre escuchada. Ante la luz de la cruz y la resurrección, queremos saber que a través de la fe Jesús nos desata y nos hace libres.

¿Cuáles son las fuerzas en nuestra vida que nos esclavizan o nos atrapan  comprometiendo o destruyendo nuestra libertad? ¿Dónde necesitamos el poder de Jesús para restaurarnos y liberarnos? Cuando estaba a punto de resucitar a Lázaro de la muerte hacia la vida, Marta le dijo, “Señor han pasado cuatro días, va a sentirse un mal olor”. San Ignacio de Loyola, el fundador de los Jesuitas, entendió tal olor cuando dijo “hay un olor a pecado”. ¿Qué pecado en nuestras propias vidas cambia el aire fresco de la luz de la fe? ¿Han sido cuatro días, cuatro años, o posiblemente 40 años?

Nuestro camino durante la Cuaresma, marcado por la oración, el ayuno y la limosna, es un caminar que hacemos con el Señor a fin de conocer una mayor libertad a través del perdón de nuestros pecados o para conocer una mayor libertad al superar la parálisis de espíritu dictada por el miedo, la duda y la vergüenza.
A veces hay fuerzas más sutiles en el trabajo que nos esclavizan. En su Exhortación Apostólica, “La alegría del Evangelio”, el Papa Francisco hace referencia a estas corrientes de muerte espiritual. “El gran peligro en el mundo de hoy impregnado por el consumismo, es la desolación y la angustia nacida de un corazón complaciente y codicioso, la febril búsqueda de placeres frívolos y una ruda conciencia.

“Cada vez que nuestra vida interior queda atrapada en sus propios intereses y preocupaciones ya no hay espacio para otros, no hay lugar para los pobres. La voz de Dios ya no se escucha, la serena alegría de su amor ya no se siente y el deseo de hacer el bien se desvanece… Esa no es una forma de vivir una vida digna y realizada, no es la voluntad de Dios para nosotros, tampoco es la vida en el Espíritu que tiene su fuente en el corazón de Cristo resucitado”.

Esclavizados de esa manera, nunca podremos conocer realmente la alegría del Evangelio. “Desátalo y déjalo libre”. Tales palabras, que vienen del corazón de Dios, revelan la profundidad del amor de nuestro Señor por todos nosotros y su deseo de destruir lo que nos sepulta. Una vez que seamos libres podemos conocer la alegría del Evangelio y la voluntad de Dios para nosotros y para el mundo y podemos desplegarnos en la luz del día.
NOTA (Lean la columna de esta semana (en español) en la pagina 3 de la edición en ingles.)

Treinta se graduaron de la Escuela de Ministerios en Tupelo

TUPELO – El Obispo Joseph Kopacz (última fila, centro) posó con el grupo que se graduó del Nivel Uno de los cursos de la Escuela de Ministerios el 23 de marzo. El obispo le entregó el diploma a las 30 personas que se graduaron durante la misa en la Iglesia St. James. El Hermano Ted Dausch, director de la Oficina del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Jackson (der.) y las Hermanas Magdalena Carrillo (izq.) y María Elena Méndez (der.) asistieron al evento. El curso consiste en 10 clases de formación religiosa para laicos y ministros. Cada clase consiste de 15 horas de instrucción cada dos meses durante un fin de semana. Las clases del Nivel Dos comenzarán el 17-18 de mayo. Las clases son impartidas por un personal capacitado del SEPI y con mucha experiencia en el tema en el cual se especializan. (Foto  de Felipe Cervantes Guerrero)