Noted black Catholic historian, writer, dies in Indiana

Father Cyprian Davis

Father Cyprian Davis

By Catholic News Service
ST. MEINRAD, Ind. (CNS) — A funeral Mass was celebrated May 21 at St. Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad for Benedictine Father Cyprian Davis, who died May 18 at Memorial Hospital in Jasper. He was 84.
Father Davis wrote six books, including “The History of Black Catholics in the United States,” published in 1990. He was working on a revised edition of the book at the time of his death.
He also had also written what is considered the definitive biography of Mother Henriette Delille, the black foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family in antebellum New Orleans. Her sainthood cause was opened in 1988 and she was declared venerable in 2010.
Born Clarence John Davis Sept. 9, 1930, in Washington, he joined the Catholic Church as a teenager. He studied at St. Meinrad Seminary from 1949 to 1956, was invested as a novice monk in 1950, professed simple vows in 1951, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1956.
Father Davis received a licentiate in sacred theology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, in 1957, and a licentiate and doctorate in historical sciences from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, in 1963 and 1977, respectively.
He began teaching church history at St. Meinrad in 1963, and in 2012 became the school’s first professor emeritus. Father Davis was an archivist of the archabbey. He also belonged to the American Catholic Historical Association and the Society of American Archivists.
He also served as archivist for the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, of which in 1968 he was a founding member. Father Davis contributed to the second draft of “Brothers and Sisters to Us,” the U.S. bishops’ 1979 pastoral letter on racism, and helped write the initial draft of “What We Have Seen and Heard,” the 1984 pastoral letter on evangelization from the nation’s black Catholic bishops.
His other books include “Christ’s Image in Black: The Black Catholic Community Before the Civil War,” “To Prefer Nothing to Christ,” and “The Church: A Living Heritage,” He was co-author of “Taking Down Our Harps: Black Catholics in the United States,” with Georgetown University theology professor Diana Hayes, and “Stamped With the Image of God: African Americans as God’s Image in Black,” with Dominican Sister Jamie T. Phelps.
“Father Cyprian Davis was a significant leader as a Benedictine monk and priest of St. Meinrad Archabbey and as a spiritual writer, historian, and advocate for the vibrant presence of African-American Catholic leaders,” said a May 18 statement from Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference.
“Most of all, Father Cyprian was a humble child of God who sought in an unassuming way to live a life of holiness and to place his considerable talents at the service of Christ and his church,” Archbishop Kurtz added.
Father Davis was honored numerous times. In 2007, he received the Marianist Award from the University of Dayton in Ohio. In 2003, he was awarded the Johannes Quasten Medal for Excellence in Scholarship and Leadership in Religious Studies by Catholic University. In 1992, Father Davis won the American Catholic Historical Association’s John Gilmary Shea Prize for “The History of Black Catholics in the United States,” for making the most original and significant contribution to the historiography of the Catholic Church. He also won the Brother Joseph Davis Award in 1991, and was given an honorary degree in 2001 by the University of Notre Dame.
In a 2007 interview with Catholic News Service, Father Davis said his love of history is what helped motivate him to join the church. “I would never describe my odyssey as being an intellectual journey. It was more or less a falling in love with history. It made me fall in love with one of the things history talks about, and that would be the Catholic Church,” he said.
He added his interest in U.S. black Catholic history started upon his return from his studies in Belgium in 1963. “All those times were in ferment, especially in regard to civil rights, and that’s when I began to realize its importance. People began to come and ask me about being black and Catholic: ‘What is my place in the church?'” he recalled. “That’s when I began to realize that this is important. … That’s when I began to do my own research.”
Interviewed at length by CNS in 1999, Father Davis said, “I think to a large extent the mentality of many black Catholics has been that we are a people who are almost like still on mission.” However, he added, “we also should have an understanding of contributions that have been made and are being made. And that there is more to being black and Catholic than the fact that we’ve got nice music,” he noted, laughing, “and that we probably do very, very wonderful liturgies. … There is more.
“There are more things that are out there. And we should be aware. And that we are a part — we are an integral part of the church. That is very important part. We’re an integral part of the church, and we’re not negligible.”
In a 1992 critique of the U.S. bishops’ 1990 pastoral letter “Heritage and Hope: Evangelization in the United States,” written, in preparation for the fifth centenary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the Americas, Father Davis said: “What the pastoral fails to say is that both in North America as well as in South America, the Hispanic culture bore the marks of a Catholicism that was African as well as Native American, was black as well as brown.”
Also missing, he added, was acknowledgement that “bishops, priests, religious men and women, and institutions such as convents, monasteries and seminaries in the United States had their slaves.”
In a 2004 column for CNS, Father Davis said, “In another decade or so U.S. Catholics will learn that our church is more black, brown and in-between than Caucasian and more catholic than they dreamed. Will we be prepared for what that will mean?”
He is survived by a cousin and a niece.

Year of Mercy compliments year of consecrated life

millennial reflections
Jeremy Tobin, O.Praem.
This being the year dedicated to religious life and a  Holy Year of Mercy, both initiated by Pope Francis, we need to look at religious at the cutting edge of human misery serving the marginalized, the periphery, that Pope Francis speaks of in “The Joy of the Gospel.”
Religious life enables people to take risks and witness the Gospel in freedom of convictions, from the depth of faith. They make real, and concrete what we read daily in the Scriptures.
“When I was in prison you visited me… When I was homeless you took me in… When I was naked you clothed me…”   These paraphrases from Matthew 25 are actively changing people’s lives and healing families, and restoring hope, right now, today.
Two Sisters of Mercy, JoAnn Persch and Pat Murphy, like many other religious, inspired by the reforms of Vatican II, saw a need crying for help right under their noses in Chicago. They began the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants.
They formed this interfaith committee after going to the Immigration Processing Center in nearby Broadview, Ill., in 2007. Each Friday morning buses filled  with shackled detainees leave for Chicago’s airport to be deported.
Their story is reported in the Global Sisters Report sponsored by the National Catholic Reporter. It states that according to the Transactional Records Clearinghouse, a data research group at Syracuse University, immigration judges issued nearly 79,000 removal orders last year. Only 23,000 people were granted relief to stay.
“We felt a strong call to do something about what we see,” said Sister Persh, executive director. “Families with men and women ripped from their arms.”
Here is what sets religious apart from lay social workers. They are grounded in a spiritual relationship with God, through community, directing them to meet human needs. Often people like them, who respond to a call, may have no professional training other than their religious formation and reading the signs of the times.
Sister JoAnn and Sister Pat began a weekly prayer vigil with those in detention, praying with them and even praying with the deportees on the bus. This witness alone was powerful both for the immigrants and the authorities. It was powerful because it was prayer, not criticism or judgment, but compassion and mercy. As their story unfolds they even got support from the court, Immigration and Customs Control, local sheriffs, the Chicago Archdiocese, the Catholic Theological Union, and those who advocate for human rights and immigrant justice.
They enlisted the help of Viatorian Brother Michael Gosch, who now oversees their two houses of hospitality. The one for men is in a former convent in Cicero Ill., a near western suburb, and the one for families takes over an empty floor in a former residence hall at the Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park, on Chicago’s Southside lakefront. The building, a former hotel, has bathrooms in every room. It has cooking facilities, a common room, etc.
The impact on the immigrants was profound. The sisters have volunteers helping the residents adjust to a country they can’t even fathom, simple things like how to buy a gallon of milk, social customs, etc. One man spoke five languages, was a former banker in Syria, now he’s in no man’s land. His situation could change any day.
Their story reports just how they got cooperation from the court, and government agencies. They are applying a temporary  relief effort, to people whose status can change abruptly. At this point, compassion and mercy was needed.
They have two locations, more than 200 volunteers, a budget of more than a million dollars. They say they could use many more facilities like these, but, Sister JoAnn says, “It’s in the hands of God. Pat is 86 and I’m 80, who are we to do any of this? But God keeps sending us the right people.”
This is the religious life that energizes me. This is what Pope Francis wrote so well in the Joy of the Gospel. Throughout the country, throughout the world there are men and women religious, priests, brothers, sisters and deacons, bringing the Gospel in the form of genuine mercy and compassion, affirming the dignity and human rights of all they meet. They believe that love not hate is the hope for our future.
(Father Jeremy Tobin, O.Praem, lives at the Priory of St. Moses the Black, Jackson.)

Guardian angels surround us, inspire works of mercy

reflections on life
Jerome LeDoux, SVD
The knuckles of Tanner and his brother Chase Brownlee turned white and bloodless as they clung to their $50,000 at the car auction. Having been able to raise only $50,000, they knew that they might easily be outbid for the car they coveted. The police cruiser was a 2010 Dodge Charger with 100,000 miles on it.
It was not just any car, mind you. The car being auctioned at the Weld County’s Sheriff’s Office was WC679, the Greeley, Colorado patrol car of their father, Deputy Sam Brownlee, who had been killed in a one of those dreaded car chases in 2010. Although Tanner and Chase were dealing in dollars, the car was priceless.
Valued at $12,500, the bar was set high above that price, since the auction was all about helping a charity. As the bids quickly soared above $50,000, their hearts sank and their spirits fell. Inconsolable, they bit their lips and fought back the tears that were beginning to wet their eyes. Little did they suspect that a guardian angel was hovering over them “all night, all day” in the guise of a stranger, one of the bidders who on the surface appeared to be their archenemy.
Everything turned into a black cloud without a silver lining for Tanner and Chase as oil-land-rich local rancher Steve Wells soundly outdistanced all bidders with his bid of $60,000. Almost too heartbroken to bear it, the brothers stared in anguish as the auctioneer closed the bidding with the statement, “Sold it your way, Mr. Steve Wells. Thank you very much. $60,000!”
But that guardian angel had been busy with a special plan all along. Smiling to himself as the Brownlee brothers suffered through the terrible ordeal of being outbid, millionaire Steve Wells sprang a totally unexpected surprise. Immediately upon receiving the car keys from the auctioneer, he whipped around toward Tanner and handed him the keys with the glad tidings, “Tanner, here is your car!”
While Tanner got up to hug Wells, the room exploded with applause. Not just one, but everybody had won. Steve Wells had won the bidding, but gained infinitely more by immediately giving his prize away. Tanner, Chase and their family had won through the inspiring generosity of Steve Wells. Concerns of Police Survivors (C.0.P.S.), a charity that helps the families of fallen police officers, won by receiving $70,000 from the $60,000 Wells bid and other donations. Suffice it to say that there were no losers there, but all huge winners going forward into the future.
“This is just so huge,” Tanner told Steve Wells and the adoring crowd. “I mean, me and my dad built a fence and stuff, but having something I can use and drive around that he drove around, it just means a lot.”
Some guardian angels are only five-years-old, as in the case of Josiah Duncan who asked his mother about a man hanging around a Prattville, Ala., Waffle House. Informed that the man was homeless with no place to stay and with a few rags and an old bicycle, Josiah begged his mother to buy him some food. But, when no one waited on him, Josiah gave the man a menu. He ordered only a cheeseburger.
“Get as much as you want!” Josiah’s mother Ava Faulk advised him. When the food came, Josiah stood across from the man and sang the blessing aloud, bringing the man and all 11 customers to tears. Going viral, the incident brought thousands of others to tears and no doubt is still reverberating endlessly over the cyberwaves.
Mary Lapkowicz has known her guardian angel since fourth grade when she and Ben Moser made a pact to attend their high school prom together. Ben watched over her throughout elementary school. A special Down syndrome student, Mary and Ben had gone to separate high schools. Mary became the equipment manager in her school, while Ben became the quarterback in his. When their schools met in a game, Mary and Ben reunited and renewed their pact for the upcoming prom. To no one’s surprise, but to the admiration of all, they were the hit of the prom.
Guardian angels appear with regularity at supermarket checkouts. With moving frequency, one sees someone struggling to find the last few dollars to complete a purchase when a voice from behind asks the cashier, “How much?”
It warms one’s heart to offer payment to a waiter or waitress, only to be informed that some unknown person has already paid the tab. On such and similar occasions, we are lifted far above all our earthly bonds of debt, and we are forced to recall that a most special Man died on Calvary that the baleful debt of all our sins and the sins of the world could be stamped once for all time, “PAID IN FULL!”
(Father Jerome LeDoux, SVD, is pastor of Our Mother of Mercy Parish in Fort Worth, Texas. He has written “Reflections on Life since 1969.)

Family donates statue to St. Joseph School

By Lisa Zepponi
GREENVILLE – The newest addition to the St. Joseph Catholic High School chapel, an antique Italian statue of St. Joseph, was placed in its new home of honor. The St. Joseph statue was blessed during a special Mass by Father Bill Henry, where the late Boyd McGaugh and his wife Sandra McGaugh were recognized for their support of St. Joseph Catholic Schools.

Sandra McGaugh

Sandra McGaugh

Father Bill Henry blesses the antique statue of St. Joseph in the school chapel with help from

Father Bill Henry blesses the antique statue of St. Joseph in the school chapel with help from

The school had been searching for the perfect statue of its namesake. The McGaugh family has actively been part of the St. Joseph School system for many years. Sandra McGaugh is the daughter of a St. Joseph graduate, the late Fletcher Low, who graduated in 1917, along with his four siblings. After Sandra and her sisters, Kay Low Gable (1959), Judy Low Cannon, her husband James (1959) and Penny Low Crowson (1961) graduated from St. Joseph Catholic High School, Sandra returned to teach.
Sandra has taught at St. Joseph for 52 of her 54 years in education. She has been the former English Chair, cheerleading sponsor, National Honor Society Sponsor and senior class sponsor. She is the current yearbook sponsor, senior religion teacher and journalism teacher at St. Joseph High School. The Delta Democrat Times honored her as Best Teacher of the Year in 2013.
Sandra has a total dedication to and love for her school; she is thankful for the ability God has given her to help mold many generations of SJHS students who have crossed her path.  McGaugh feels blessed to have taught so many students who have become successful in life.
“I believe that being educated in a Catholic School is the best gift a parent can give a child in preparing the child for life as a prosperous Christian man or woman, she said. “Jesus is the center of the highest academic endeavors, and because of his teachings, children learn the values necessary for life and beyond.”
Sandra’s late husband, Boyd, supported her wish to educate their children in a Catholic school. Their children, Lea (1985), Jim (1986) and Brian (1995), a current teacher at SJHS and his wife Marcie (1994), all graduated from St. Joseph.
The McGaugh grandchildren Matthew (2009) and Hunter (2013), sons of Jim, graduated from SJHS; Gracie, Madeline and Fletcher McGaugh, children of Brian, all attend Our Lady of Lourdes. Their grandchildren, Will and Luke, Lea’s sons attend St. Clare Catholic School in Belleville, Ill.
Sandra said, “Boyd had a quick wit; he loved people, and he loved St. Joe.  He allowed me to do my work, and encouraged me to enter into the many activities that I have sponsored throughout the years.  He loved having the students working on school floats at our house, and he readily worked hard to assure that our three children would attend St Joe.
“He often chaperoned student trips and took charge of several fish fries to benefit the school.  He would love the idea of a statue being dedicated in our honor. He converted to Catholicism in 2011, but called himself a ‘Catholic in spirit’ long before then.”
SJHS Principal Paul Artman said, “Both Mr. and Mrs. McGaugh, as well as other generations of this family, have been vested in St. Joseph Catholic School. The McGaughs continue to honor our school; consequently, our dedication of this blessed statue is so fitting!”
The new Italian statue of St. Joseph is now at home, where it will be viewed with loving memory of Boyd McGaugh and in honor of an extremely dedicated family and its matriarch, Sandra Low McGaugh.

Catholic schools win top honors in spring sports

Green Wave pitcher, Gabe Smith, winds up to deliver a pitch in Cathedral’s 4-2 victory of Smithville for the State 1A championship May 22. (Photo courtesy The Natchez Democrat)

Green Wave pitcher, Gabe Smith, winds up to deliver a pitch in Cathedral’s 4-2 victory of Smithville for the State 1A championship May 22. (Photo courtesy The Natchez Democrat)

Cathedral Green Wave players hoist the Golden Glove trophy after capturing the State 1A baseball title with a two game sweep over the Smithville Seminoles.  (Photo courtesy The Natchez Democrat)

Cathedral Green Wave players hoist the Golden Glove trophy after capturing the State 1A baseball title with a two game sweep over the Smithville Seminoles. (Photo courtesy The Natchez Democrat)

Catholic schools excelled this spring in several sports including tennis, golf, softball and baseball. In the last issue we featured several championship winners. This week we offer final results in track, tennis and baseball.

Track
Vicksburg S. Aloysius senior, Maggie Waites, propelled herself to the state 1A pole vault title. Waites reached the height of 11 feet in nailing down first.

Tennis
After capturing the State 1A title, Greenville St. Joseph sent players to three individual finals matches.  With the exception of boys’ singles, all title matches involved Catholic schools.  In girls’ singles, Virginia Virden defeated Natchez Cathedral’s Grace White 6-1, 6-2.  In girls’ doubles The Irish’s Katherine Anne Terracina and Sarah Hayek lost to Hattiesburg Sacred Heart’s Anna Katherine Andy and Anna Bryce Taylor.
In mixed doubles action, St. Aloysius brother and sister duo, Luke Eckstein and Adrianne Eckstein, took the title by defeating Greenville’s Craig Gardiner and Olivia DeAngelo.
The boys’ doubles match saw John Preston Andy and Carter Andrews of Sacred Heart slip past Pascagoula Resurrection’s Patrick Roth and Wesley Williams.
St. Aloysius’ Aaron Mathis faced Tupelo Christian’s Hank Leathers with Leathers taking the title.
In Division 2A, Madison St. Joseph’s Steadman Strickland brought home his third straight title.  In girls’ doubles, the Bruins’ Genin Starkeu and Eliza Strickland reached the final match before losing to West Lincoln’s sister team of Kay and Kara Clark.

Baseball
PEARL – Trustmark Park, home of the Mississippi Braves, hosted the state high school baseball championships again this year. Under Coach Craig Beesley, the Natchez Cathedral Green Wave captured its first baseball title in 11 years to match its state football title last fall.
The Green Wave took the field May 20 against Smithville to begin a best of three series for the 1A title.  In game one Cathedral outscored Smithville 13-1. Andrew Beesley scored three runs as he went 4 for 5 with two RBIs.  Quinton Logan allowed only three hits in 5 1/3 innings for the Green Wave. Sam Parker came on in relief and shutout the Seminoles.
Game two, played May 22, was a much closer contest. Green Wave pitcher Gabe Smith allowed only five hits and two runs in five innings to notch the win as Cathedral topped the ‘Noles 4-2.  Sam Parker came in to pitch the last two innings and was given the save as he held Smithville hitless.
Over the two games Green Wave bats amassed 24 hits in 61 at bats for a combined batting average of .393.  Andrew Beesley led the way with 5 hits in 7 official at bats for a .714 average.

St. Patrick School expansion blessed

By Maureen Smith
MERIDIAN – Community, school and parish leaders gathered Thursday, May 21, to celebrate Mass and cut the ribbon on a school expansion at St. Patrick School. The expansion, which includes three new classrooms and administrative offices, was six years in the making.

Bishop Joseph Kopacz spoke to the students about the coming of the Holy Spirit during the Mass before the blessing.

Bishop Joseph Kopacz spoke to the students about the coming of the Holy Spirit during the Mass before the blessing.

“The school had outgrown the facility,” said Jennifer David, principal. She explained that a committee started meeting to discuss options and raise the money needed for the plan. David started during the fifth year of the process and praises former principal Julie Bordelon, pastor Father Frank Cosgrove and the community for making the project possible.
The new addition is about more than just classrooms. “We needed to make advancements in technology and this helps. Each of the new classrooms is outfitted with an interactive smartboard. We can now start to get those for other classrooms as well,” David said.

First-graders Fredy R., Brooks G., Radiance S., Audrey R., Noelle S. and Emma W. try out one of the new collaboration tables while they tour the new rooms.

First-graders Fredy R., Brooks G., Radiance S., Audrey R., Noelle S. and Emma W. try out one of the new collaboration tables while they tour the new rooms.

The new office space is just one of three phases of improvements. “It’s like a domino effect has started,” said David. A crew will start renovations in the library this summer. The cafeteria manager had an office in the back of the library and the televisions and other school audio/visual equipment were stored there. “Once I move into the new administrative office, the cafeteria manager can move into my old office space and the equipment can move into a new space so we can open up and improve the library,” she said. In addition to taking out some half-walls to rearrange and streamline the space, a crew will paint the library.
The school has plans to add a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) lab as well as purchase additional Chromebook tablets. This summer the school will also start work on a new playground, funded, in part, by a grant from the Catholic Foundation. The last part of the plan calls for a new canopy over the driveway and some fencing upgrades.

Media technician and librarian Donna Polizzi demonstrates one of the new interactive smartboards in one classroom.

Media technician and librarian Donna Polizzi demonstrates one of the new interactive smartboards in one classroom.

The school can also celebrate the fact that the money for the expansion was raised before the building was finished. “The people here are so supportive and generous to this school,” said David. She said Father Cosgrove has been a tremendous support to the community. “The school has been here for 150 years so there is a deep base of support, but more than that, I think people appreciate the value of Catholic education,” she said. “We are a diverse community – we have families from a variety of backgrounds and I think people appreciate that,” she added.

Students Lennon Z. and Lilly C. as well as Ann B. and Richleen S. get their first look at the new classrooms (Photos by Maureen Smith)

Students Lennon Z. and Lilly C. as well as Ann B. and Richleen S. get their first look at the new classrooms (Photos by Maureen Smith)

Bishop Joseph Kopacz celebrated a school Mass with Father Frank Cosgrove, pastor; Father Jose de Jesus Sanchez, associate pastor and newly-ordained deacon, Jason Johnston, who will spend the summer in Meridian. After the Mass everyone was invited to the front of the new building for a blessing ceremony. Meridian Mayor Percy Bland spoke at the blessing ceremony about his own Catholic education in Jackson and later at Xavier University in New Orleans. Representatives from LPK architects, CF Construction and project manager Ed Johnson were also on hand for the celebration. After the blessing, donors, students, teachers and community leaders toured of the school.

Catholic Extension matching grant helps seminarian education

By Father Matthew Simmons
Catholic Extension Society has again offered to include the Diocese of Jackson in the Seminarian Endowment Challenge. In 2013, Catholic Extension matched $25,000 the diocese raised through contributions of individuals for a total of $50,000. This year, the organization will give the diocese up to $25,000 to match $75,000 to be raised in new donations.
The new donations factor is key. Donations by new donors of $1000 or more qualify for the matching funds. If someone gave a gift to the Seminarian Endowment Challenge in 2013 of $1,000 or more, that donor would need to give the same amount given in 2013 plus an additional $1,000. For example, if one gave $1,000, that individual would need to give $2,000 this year in order for the donation to count towards the matching goal.
Although we are very grateful to the various groups in the diocese such as the Knights of Columbus who annually make large donations towards the education of priests, in order to secure this grant from the Extension Society, these donations must come from individuals. The goal of this challenge is to get individuals involved in the support of seminarian education. Donors can spread their gift out throughout the year, but the total must be received before Dec. 31. The donations will be placed in the Catholic Extension Mission Diocese Fund to be used by the Diocese of Jackson for seminarian education.
During the most recent school year, our diocese paid $392,000 to the seminaries in Louisiana for the education of our 10 seminarians. All dioceses in the United States pay for the entirety of a seminarian’s education at the graduate level.
The Diocese of Jackson pays for half of a seminarian’s expenses at the undergraduate level. This is the standard practice for dioceses in this region. By doing so, the diocese makes the cost of undergraduate seminary education roughly equal to that of a state university. Seminary formation is considerably more expensive than a traditional college because the academic component is only one part of a seminarian’s formation. A man in seminary has regular meetings with his priest spiritual director and formation advisor. He has a yearly evaluation with the formation team of the seminary and the diocesan vocation director. He participates in supervised ministry as well as in workshops in pastoral ministry, Catholic spirituality, celibacy and personal health.
For the Seminarian Endowment Challenge, checks can be made out to the Diocese of Jackson; in the notation area of the check mention, “Seminarian Endowment Challenge.” Donations and enquiries can be sent to Father Matthew Simmons, P.O. Box 2248, Jackson, MS 39225-2248. Father Simmons can also be contacted at matthew.simmons@jacksondiocese.org or (601)960-8484.
Donors will receive an acknowledgement thanking them for their contribution. We are grateful for all donations for the education of future priests.
(Father Matthew Simmons is the director of Vocations for the Diocese of Jackson.)

¿Por qué este jubileo de misericordia?

POR OBISPO Joseph Kopacz
A lo largo de su breve pontificado de poco más de dos años, el Papa Francisco ha hablado de la iglesia como un hospital de campaña que trata a los heridos del mundo. Las personas sufren y luchan diariamente por mantener su dignidad humana, y la iglesia en su fidelidad a Jesucristo, debe estar presente para aplicar el bálsamo curativo de la misericordia de Dios a los muchos afectados por el pecado, la pobreza extrema, la tragedia y la injusticia. La misericordia de Dios y la gloria en el rostro de Jesucristo es el antídoto para estas rupturas, y el Papa Francisco está tan comprometido con este nivel de evangelización que ha convocado un Año Jubilar de Misericordia que comenzará a finales de este año.
Como una primera reflexión, porque mucho sobre esto se escribirá y se hablará en los próximos meses, estoy citando la introducción a la carta pastoral del papa en el Año Jubilar escrita por Christina Deardurff. Es informativa e inspiradora.
“Deseando derramar sobre las heridas espirituales de cada ser humano el bálsamo de la misericordia de Dios en abundancia, el Papa Francisco ha publicado una bula de convocación anunciando al mundo el Jubileo Extraordinario de la Misericordia que comenzará el 8 de diciembre, Solemnidad de la Inmaculada Concepción, y cerrará en la solemnidad de Cristo Rey, el 20 de noviembre de 2016.
“El jubileo es un tiempo de alegría. Es un tiempo de remisión de los pecados y perdón universal que tiene sus orígenes en el libro bíblico del Levítico. Un año de jubileo se menciona en él, se producen cada 50 años, y es una ocasión en la que los esclavos y prisioneros serían puestos en libertad, las deudas se le perdonarían y las misericordias de Dios sería particularmente manifestadas.
“Como dice el Papa Francisco, Cristo mismo citando a Isaías en las mismas líneas espiritualizadas: “El Señor me ha ungido para anunciar la buena nueva a los afligidos; me ha enviado para enlazar a los desolados, para anunciar la libertad a los cautivos, y la libertad de las personas en cautiverio; a proclamar el año de gracia del Señor”.
“Este año de gracia del Señor se ha celebrado en la historia de la iglesia cada 50 años y en los últimos siglos, cada 25 años; el último fue en el 2000. Este Año Jubilar de la Misericordia es, pues, un “extraordinario” jubileo que se produce fuera del plazo tradicional.
“El rasgo más distintivo de la ceremonia de inauguración del Año Jubilar es la apertura de la Puerta Santa en cada una de las cuatro basílicas patriarcales de Roma: San Juan de Letrán, San Pedro, San Pablo Extramuros y Santa María la Mayor. Antes de que San Juan Pablo II modificara ésta para el gran Jubileo del año 2000, la puerta estaba tapiada con ladrillos y argamasa, y “derribada” por el papa con un martillo de plata.
En el año 2000 el Papa Juan Pablo simplemente abrió la gran puerta con las manos. Tradicionalmente el papa abre la puerta de la Basílica de San Pedro cantando el versicle, “Abran ante mí las puertas de la justicia”. De igual manera, un cardenal abre cada una de la puerta santa en las otras basílicas en sitios de peregrinación.  El rico simbolismo refleja la exclusión de Adán y Eva y toda la familia humana, en el Jardín del Edén debido al pecado, y la re-entrada a la gracia del penitente de corazón.
“El Jubileo también implica la concesión de indulgencias”, dice el papa. Conectada al jubileo está una indulgencia plenaria, la remisión de las penas temporales aún sin pagar por los pecados perdonados, disponible para aquellos que entren a un designado lugar de peregrinación a través de la Puerta Santa, junto con las condiciones habituales.
Una vez limitada sólo a las cuatro grandes basílicas de Roma, un lugar de peregrinación es ahora designado en cada diócesis, generalmente la catedral. “Vivamos el jubileo intensamente”, dice Francisco, “pidiéndole al Padre que perdone nuestros pecados y que nos bañe en su misericordiosa indulgencia.”
En todo el mundo católico este fin de semana la iglesia celebra la fiesta del Domingo de la Santísima Trinidad, el misterio central de la fe cristiana en Dios, que es amor.
En la comunicación de Dios a lo largo de la Sagradas Escrituras, el Antiguo y el Nuevo Testamento, es evidente que la misericordia es la naturaleza de Dios y la esencia de su relación con el hombre creado a su imagen y semejanza. Muchos salmistas en todo el Antiguo Testamento consistentemente anuncian por medio de los profetas, y de la misericordia de Dios.
El Salmo 107 alegremente comienza con las palabras: “den gracias al Señor porque es bueno, su misericordia perdurar para siempre”. Esta estrofa se repite en todo el salmo  como si rompiera a través de las dimensiones del tiempo y del espacio, insertando todo en el misterio eterno del amor, en las palabras del Papa Francisco.
Un humilde y contrito corazón y la mente están más abiertos a la misericordia de Dios como dice en el Salmo 51, el Miserere, tradicionalmente atribuido al Rey David después de su adultera y asesina conducta. “Ten misericordia de mí, oh Dios, por tu gran ternura,  borra mis culpas”. El Profeta Isaías (49:15) “Pero, ¿Puede una madre olvidar a su hijo de pecho, o no compadecerse del hijo de sus entrañas? Pues aunque ella se olvide, yo no te olvidaré”.
En el principio del Nuevo Testamento, el escritor evangélico, San Lucas, incluye en sus relatos de la infancia la oración de Zacarías, el padre de Juan el Bautista. “En la tierna compasión de nuestro Dios, el amanecer desde lo alto se romperá sobre nosotros, para brillar en los que viven en tinieblas y en sombras de muerte, y para guiar nuestros pasos por el camino de la paz”. Tierna compasión, traducido como “vísceras” en el latín, o desde las entrañas mismas de Dios, recibimos misericordia.
El escritor evangélico Juan afirma ésto en esta forma muy bien reconocida. “Tanto amó Dios al mundo que envió a su único hijo.” (Juan 3:15 ) El Papa Francisco escribe: “este amor ha sido hecho visible ahora y tangible en toda la vida de Jesús. Su persona no es más que amor, un amor dado gratuitamente. Las relaciones que hace con las personas que se le acercan manifiestan algo único e irrepetible. Los signos que hace, sobre todo en el rostro de los pecadores, los pobres, los marginados, los enfermos y los que sufren, están destinados a enseñar misericordia. Todo en él habla de la misericordia. Nada en él es carente de compasión.” Por supuesto, esta misericordia culminó en la cruz, cuando hasta la última gota de sangre y agua manó de él.
Mucho se hablará y se escribirá en los próximos meses sobre la misericordia, y que el Espíritu Santo nos guíe cada día al corazón de la Trinidad para que sepamos que Dios es amor, y que la misericordia de Dios es eterna.

Why this jubilee of mercy?

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
Throughout his brief pontificate of just more than two years, Pope Francis has spoken of the Church as a field hospital who treats the wounded of the world.  People suffer, struggle and battle to maintain their human dignity on a daily basis, and the Church in fidelity to Jesus Christ must be present to apply the healing balm of God’s mercy to many whom sin, abject poverty, tragedy and injustice afflict.  God’s mercy and glory on the face of Jesus Christ is the antidote to such brokenness, and Pope Francis is so committed to this standard of evangelization that he has declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy to begin later this year.
As an initial reflection, because much will be written and spoken of in the months ahead, I am citing an introduction to the Pope’s pastoral letter on the Jubilee Year written by Christina Deardurff of Inside the Vatican magazine.  It is both informative and inspiring.
“Wishing to pour on the spiritual wounds of every human being the balm of God’s mercy in abundance, Pope Francis has issued a Bull of Indiction announcing to the world an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, to open on Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and to close on the Solemnity of Christ the King, Nov. 20, 2016. The Jubilee is a time of joy. It is a time of remission of sins and universal pardon, having its origins in the biblical book of Leviticus. A Jubilee Year is mentioned there, occurring every 50 years, on which occasion slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest. As Pope Francis says, Christ himself quoted Isaiah along these same spiritualized, lines: ‘the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to those in captivity; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
“This year of the Lord’s favor has been celebrated in Church history every 50, or in recent centuries, every 25 years; the last was in 2000. This Jubilee Year of Mercy is thus an ‘extraordinary’ Jubilee occurring outside of the traditional timeframe.
“The most distinctive feature of the ceremonial opening of the Jubilee Year is the opening of the Holy Door in each of the four patriarchal basilicas in Rome: St. John Lateran, St. Peter, St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major. Before St. John Paul II amended it for the great Jubilee in 2000, the door was actually walled up with brick and mortar and ‘knocked down’ by the pope with a silver hammer.
“In 2000, Pope John Paul simply opened the great door with his hands. The pope himself opens the door in St. Peter Basilica, traditionally singing the versicle, ‘Open unto me the gates of justice.’ A cardinal similarly opens each of the holy doors at the other basilicas — designated pilgrimage sites. The rich symbolism reflects the exclusion of Adam and Eve, and of the whole human family, from the Garden of Eden due to sin, and the re admittance into grace of the penitent of heart.
“A Jubilee also entails the granting of indulgences,” says the Pope. Attached to the Jubilee is a plenary indulgence, the remission of the temporal punishment still due to one’s forgiven sins, available to those who enter a designated pilgrimage site through the Holy Door, along with the usual conditions.  Once limited to the four great Basilicas in Rome, a pilgrimage site is now designated in every diocese, usually the cathedral.  “Let us live the Jubilee intensely,” says Francis, “begging the Father to forgive our sins and to bathe us in his merciful indulgence.”
Throughout the Catholic world this weekend the Church celebrates the feast of Trinity Sunday, the central Christian mystery of faith in God who is love. In God’s self-communication throughout the Sacred Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, it is evident that mercy is God’s nature and the essence of his relationship with humankind created in his image and likeness. Many Psalmists throughout the Old Testament consistently proclaim by the prophets, and the mercy of God. Psalm 107 joyfully begins, “give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his mercy endures forever.”  This chant is repeated throughout the psalm as if it is breaking through the dimensions of space and time inserting everything into the eternal mystery of love, in the words of Pope Francis.
A humble, contrite heart and mind are most open to the mercy of God as we hear in Psalm 51, the Miserere, traditionally ascribed to King David after his adulterous and murderous conduct. “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in your compassion blot out all my guilt.” The prophet Isaiah (49,15) “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or have no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these mothers may forget; but as for me, I’ll never forget you!
At the dawn of the New Testament the Gospel writer, Luke, includes in his Infancy Narratives the prayer of Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist.  “In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on High shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness, and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet along the way of peace.”  Tender compassion, translated as ‘viscera’ in the Latin, or from the very guts of God, we receive mercy.
The Gospel writer John states it in this well recognized way. “God so loved the world that he sent his only Son.” (Jn. 3,15). Pope Francis writes, “this love has now been made visible and tangible in Jesus’ entire life. His person is nothing but love, a love given gratuitously. The relationships he forms with the people who approach him manifest something unique and unrepeatable. The signs he works, especially in the face of sinners, the poor, the marginalized, the sick and the suffering, are all meant to teach mercy. Everything in him speaks of mercy. Nothing in him is devoid of compassion.” Of course, this mercy culminated on the cross when every last drop of blood and water flowed out of him.
Much will be spoken of and written in the months ahead on mercy, and may the Holy Spirit guide us every day into the heart of the Trinity that we may know that God is love, and God’s mercy endures forever.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
AMORY St. Helen Parish, faith sharing/Scripture study with Sister Mary Christine Fellerhoff, meets on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the convent house.
CORINTH St. James Parish, adult book study group, “Hail, Holy Queen” by Scott Hahn on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m.
CLARKSDALE St. Elizabeth Parish, Extraordinary Form of the Mass, Sunday, May 17, at 2 p.m.
CLEVELAND Our Lady of Victories Parish, series on the Acts of the Apostles on Wednesdays beginning on May 29 at 6:30 p.m.
COLUMBUS Annunciation Parish, Bible study on the 27 books of the New Testament, Tuesdays from 7 – 8:30 p.m. in the Activities Center conference room. Details: Paul Ackerman, 662-244-0022.
GLUCKSTADT St. Joseph Parish Knights of Columbus Council 11934 will lead parishioners in praying the rosary on Sundays during May, 30 minutes before Mass.
OXFORD St. John Parish, men’s prayer group, meets on Mondays at 7 a.m. to discuss the week’s scripture readings. All men are welcome.

PARISH, SCHOOLS & FAMILY EVENTS
BROOKHAVEN St. Francis Parish, church league softball. Details: Eli Ferguson, 601-757-7117.
CORINTH St. James Parish, Knights of Columbus  cookout,Thursday, May 21.
GLUCKSTADT St. Joseph Parish, Knights of Columbus Council 11934 fund-raiser, taking orders Sunday, May 17, for smoked pork, whole (eight-pounds) or by the pound. Cost is $30 for whole or $5 per pound.
GRENADA St. Peter Parish, due to Father Martin Ruane’s illness there will be only one Mass on Saturdays at 6 p.m.
GREENVILLE St. Joseph Parish, farewell reception for Sisters Marie Alspaugh and Mary DeBoer, Sunday, May 17, at 11:30 a.m. in the parish hall.
– Steve Azar Delta Soul Celebrity Golf and Charity Event, Friday and Saturday, June 5-6. Details: www.SASCF.org.
GREENVILLE Sacred Heart Parish picnic, Sunday, June 7, beginning at 1 p.m. Bring your own food. There will be games for youth and adults.
JACKSON The Carmelite Nuns and Carmelite Seculars celebration Mass of the 500th year of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila, foundress of the Discalced Carmelites, Saturday, June 6, at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. Bishop Joseph Kopacz will be the principal celebrant.
JACKSON Sister Thea Bowman School is one of three schools in the country selected by the National Black Catholic Congress to participate in the Daniel Rudd Challenge. The school will receive $2,500 if 500 donors give at least $5 from May 1-31.
JACKSON Christ the King Parish, Senior Swingers outing to see, “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues,” at New Stage, Sunday, May 31, at 2 p.m. Details: Genevieve, 601-373-4463.
MADISON St. Francis Parish, Cajun Fest, Sunday, May 17, from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Mass. Food and games.
– Creative arts camp, June 22-26, for sixth and ninth graders.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLS
Clarksdale St. Elizabeth, June 8-12 from 8 a.m. – noon p.m. for children ages pre-K 3 (completed) through fifth grade (entering). Details: Sarah Cauthen,662- 645-6260, sarahbcauthen@gmail.com.
Gluckstadt St. Joseph, Monday-Wednesday, June  15-17. Details: Karen Worrell, 601-672-5817, kworrellcre@hotmail.com.
Greenville St. Joseph, “Cool Kingdom Party,” July 13-16 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. in the parish hall. Details: Mary Ann, 662-335-5251.
Greenville Sacred Heart, June 8-12, 8:30 a.m. – noon.
Grenada St. Peter, “Cool Kingdom Party: Mary leads us closer to Christ,” May 31-June 4, from 6 – 8:30 p.m. for children ages four-11.
Hernando Holy Spirit, “Son Treasure Island,” June 1-5, from 9 a.m. – noon. Details: Andrea Ludwig, 662-404-0376.
Jackson St. Richard, “Everest,” June 1-4, from 9 a.m. – noon for children ages four through six graders. Details: Kim Turner, turner@saintrichard.com.
Jackson St. Therese, “Win the World for Jesus,” June 8-12, from 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Details: Betsy Carraway, 601-857-2252.
Madison St. Francis, “Godz Werkus Circus,” June 22-26, from 9 a.m. – noon for 3-year-olds-fourth-graders. Details: Mary Catherine George, 601-856-5556 ext. 118, mc.george@stfrancismadison.org.
McComb St. Alphonsus, “Around the World with Assorted Saints and Virtues,” June 8-12. Details: Annette Gabler at 601-684-5648
Natchez St. Mary Basilica, June 1-5, in the Family Life Center for children ages four and up.
Pearl St. Jude, “Playing for God’s Team!,” June 1-5 from 9 a.m. – noon, for ages three through 12 years. Cost is $5 per child, $15 per family. Details: 601-939-3181, ccd@stjudepearl.org.

PENTECOST CELEBRATIONS
Columbus Annunciation Parish, food fest, Sunday, May 31, beginning at 5 p.m.
Greenville St. Joseph Parish, Sunday, May 24, food and games, after the 10:30 a.m. Mass. (No 8 a.m. Mass)
Hernando Holy Spirit Parish, Sunday, May 24, at 4 p.m. Food and Mexican dancers. Bring your favorite ethnic dish.
Jackson St. Richard Parish,  Sunday, May 24, at noon in Foley Hall. Bring your favorite dish. Meat and paper products will be provided.
Pearl St. Jude, international food fest, Saturday, May 16, following the 5:30 p.m. Mass on the parish grounds.

IN MEMORIAM
MILWAUKEE, Wis.  – Father Robert Konopa, OFM, died May 3, at the Milwaukee Catholic Home. He was 63 years old and had been a priest for 23 years. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Friday, May 8, at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Marshfield, Wis. He was buried in Milladore, Wis.
Father Konopa was ordained to the priesthood on June 1, 1991.   In 1993, he was named pastor of Greenwood St. Francis of Assisi Parish, where he stayed until 1996. In 2008, he returned to Greenwood, where he founded the“Channel of Peace Itinerant Ministry.” For five years he preached in Wisconsin, Mississippi, Louisiana and California.

Correction:
In the May 1 edition of Mississippi Catholic in a photo on page 10, C.B. Carroll (not Luckett) was identified incorrectly.