Monthly Archives: July 2017

Signs and sacraments of the power of God

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Millennial Reflections

Father Jeremy Tobin

By Father Jeremy Tobin, O.Praem.
We have just passed the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, the first official day of summer and the woods are bursting with life. Green is everywhere, even in church. We are back in Ordinary Time, when the color, like the region, is green. Spring and Summer I savor precisely because they radiate hope and life.
I begin with this because there is so much negativity and division – many people are frustrated even mildly depressed. Our religion is ideally suited to combat feelings of negativity, frustration and depression. We just completed the Easter Season and celebrated Jesus overcoming death with resurrection and his promise that he will return. He said each and every one of us will do what he did: die and rise in glory. Despite what we celebrate, whether good times or bad, there is an ingrained optimism in our everyday faith to lift us up, to call us to greater possibilities.
Ordinary Time is when we go through the entire Scripture and reflect on the power and healing word of God. Now we are reflecting on prophets. For example, from the 12th Sunday to the 15th Sunday in our current cycle we hear from Jeremiah, Elisha, Zechariah and Isaiah. We are asked to reflect on prophets and prophecy. In the New Testament we have many references to prophets, those called to witness, to give testimony to the goodness and power of God.
Prophets are called by God. People do not choose to be a prophet. The role is thrust upon them. It is not a prestigious vocation. Prophets are, deliberately or not, misunderstood. They are opposed, reviled and killed. The Bible is filled with the excuses of the great prophets, things like, “I’m too young” (Jeremiah) “I can’t talk right” (Isaiah) “I have a speech impediment” (Moses). God chooses the inept, the handicapped, the poor and the weak to proclaim his good news.
Nobody wants to be a prophet. A prophet is a sign, a sacrament, if you will, of the active power of God confronting evil situations. They do what they are called to do. Often they do not see the success or goal that they strive for.
This leads me to reflect on signs, symbols, sacraments and I add mysteries. In Latin and Greek the words are interchangeable.
 Much of what I say here is based on my study (years ago) of that great Dominican theologian, Edward Schillebeeckx. To keep it simple, he says that a sacrament is an encounter with God. This encounter is both intellectual and emotional. It is God communicating with our humanity and our awareness and responses to that. He goes on to say that Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrament of the encounter with God in both his completely human and divine natures. His disciples experienced all that in being with him, sharing with him, eating with him and witnessing his mighty deeds.
His signs always punctuated and validated what he said. It is through Christ that we encounter God and it is through the sacraments we encounter Christ and in Christ we encounter God. The various signs of the seven sacraments: water, oil, bread and wine and the words and gestures accompanying them are signs of Christ’s active presence in healing, restoring, nourishing and strengthening us. They are Christ present doing specific things. We all encounter Christ in all seven sacraments.
I want to emphasize encounter. What Schillebeeckx and others are trying to say is that in the sacraments there is an encounter, a meeting, a connecting with God and the recipient. These seven are not the only way we encounter or commune with God. We can also have this experience in prayer, in quiet meditation, in being aware of God’s presence in life experiences, in other people or their situation, or what they do.
It is more than intellectual, it is spiritual, emotional – the energy that drives poets and musicians. To say I had a deep encounter with Jesus in prayer and then try and express that is analogous to our connecting with God in the seven sacraments. We are accustomed to hear that “The sacrament(s) work whether you are as focused as you should be or not.” That includes the minister whether deacon or priest. This sense that they are “automatic” adds to the apathy and minimum participation on the part of the recipient.
One has to be schooled in the meaning of sacramental signs to recognize that they are ways that God encounters us. A sacramental way of seeing God is seeing him in many things, even peoples actions. A sacrament is a way we encounter the invisible in the visible. Our prayers say things like, “Now we encounter you in signs but then we will see you face to face, as you are.”
(Father Jeremy Tobin, O.Praem, is the sacramental minister for Jackson Christ the King Parish. He lives at the Priory of St. Moses the Black, Jackson.)

Pope envisions Cardinals as grandfathers

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By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN LETTER (CNS) – The Catholic Church is not a “gerontocracy” ruled by old men, 80-year-old Pope Francis said; “we aren’t old men, we are grandfathers.”
“We are grandfathers called to dream and to give our dreams to the young people of today. They need it so that from our dreams, they can draw the strength to prophesy and carry out their task,” the pope told about 50 members of the College of Cardinals.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a bishop June 27, Pope Francis concelebrated Mass in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace.
Most of the cardinals present were officials of the Roman Curia or retired curial officials living in Rome. Many of them needed assistance up and down the small steps to the altar at Communion time.
The Mass was celebrated the day before Pope Francis was to create five new cardinals: Archbishop Jean Zerbo of Bamako, Mali, 73; Archbishop Juan Jose Omella of Barcelona, Spain, 71; Bishop Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, Sweden, 67; Bishop Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, apostolic vicar of Pakse, Laos, 73; and Auxiliary Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez of San Salvador, El Salvador, 74.
With an average age of 71.6 years, the new cardinals would lower by two months the average age of the entire College of Cardinals. However, the new members would increase slightly the average age of the cardinal electors, the group of those under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.
On the day of the pope’s anniversary Mass, the average age of the 116 cardinal electors was 71 years, four months and 15 days; the five new members would raise the average by 11 days.
Before the new members were added, the entire College of Cardinals had 220 members and an average age of 78 years, five months and 23 days. The five new members would lower the average to 78 years, three months and one day.
None of the new cardinals, though, are as old as the patriarch Abraham was when God called him to leave his home and set out for a new land.
The Bible says Abraham was 75 years old when he got the call, the pope noted at his anniversary Mass. “He was more or less our age. He was about to retire.”
At 75, “with the weight of old age, that old age that brings aches, illness,” Abraham heard God call him “as if he were a scout,” the pope said. God tells him, “Go. Look. And hope.”
God says the same thing to the pope and the cardinals, he said. “He tells us that now is not the time to shut down our lives or to end our stories.”
Instead, the pope told the cardinals, God continues to call each of them to keep moving forward and continues to give each of them a mission.
And every mission, he said, involves the three imperatives God gave Abraham: “Get up. Look. Hope.”
God tells Abraham, “Get up. Walk. Don’t stay still. You have a task, a mission, and you must carry it out walking. Don’t stay seated,” the pope said.
Abraham’s tent is a key symbol in the story, he said. The only thing Abraham built solidly was an altar “to adore the one who ordered him to get up and to set out.” His tent was his mobile shelter.
“Someone who does not like us would say that we are the gerontocracy of the church,” the pope told the cardinals. “He doesn’t understand what he is saying.”
The cardinals are not just old men, but are grandfathers in the church, the pope said. “If we don’t feel like we are, we must ask for that grace.”
As grandfathers, the cardinals should know that their grandchildren are watching them and looking to them, he continued. They must help young people find meaning in their lives by sharing their experiences.
For that to happen, the pope said, the cardinals cannot be focused on “the melancholy of our story,” but must be dreamers who continue to look to the future with hope, knowing that God continues to act in human history.    
(Follow Wooden on Twitter: @Cindy_Wooden.)

To whom can we go?

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IN EXILE

Father Ron Rolheiser

By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
“To whom else shall we go? You have the message of eternal life.” Peter says these words to Jesus. But they are spoken in a very conflicted context: Jesus had just said something that upset and offended his audience and the gospels tell us that everyone walked away grumbling that what Jesus was teaching was “intolerable.” Jesus then turns to his apostles and asks them: “Do you want to walk away too?” Peter answers: “To whom else can we go?” But that’s more a statement of stoic resignation than an actual question.
His words function at two levels. On the surface, they express an unwanted humility and helplessness that sometimes beset us all: “I have no alternative! I’m so invested in this relationship that now I have no other options. I’m stuck with this!” That’s a humble place to stand and anyone who has ever given himself or herself over in an authentic commitment will eventually stand on that place, knowing that he or she no longer has another practical choice.
But those words also express a much deeper quandary, namely, where can I find meaning if I cannot find it in faith in God? All of us have at some point asked ourselves that question. If I didn’t believe in God and had no faith or religion, what would give meaning to my life?
Where can we go if we no longer have an explicit faith in God? A lot of places, it seems. I think immediately of so many attractive stoics who have wrestled with this question and found solace in various forms of what Albert Camus would call “metaphysical rebellion” or in the kind of Epicureanism that Nikos Kazantzakis advocates in Zorba, the Greek. There’s a stoicism which offers its own kind of salvation by drawing life and meaning simply from fighting chaos and disease for no other reason than that that these cause suffering and are an affront to life, just as there is an Epicureanism that meaningfully grounds life in elemental pleasure. There are, it would seem, different kinds of saints.
There are also different kinds of immortality. For some, meaning outside of an explicit faith, is found in leaving a lasting legacy on this earth, having children, achieving something monumental, or becoming a household name. We’re all familiar with the axiom: Plant a tree; write a book; have a child!
Poets, writers, artists, and artisans often have their own place to find meaning outside of explicit faith. For them, creativity and beauty can be ends in themselves. Art for art’s sake. Creativity itself can seem enough.
And there are still others for whom deep meaning is found simply in being good for its own sake and in being honest for its own sake. There’s also virtue for virtue’s sake and virtue is indeed its own reward. Simply living an honest and generous life can provide sufficient meaning with which to walk through life.
So, it appears that there are places to go outside of explicit faith where one can find deep meaning. But is this really so? Don’t we believe that true meaning can only be found in God? What about St. Augustine’s classic line? You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until the rest in you. Can anything other than faith and God really quiet the restless fires within us?
Yes, there are things that can do that, but all of them – fighting chaos, curing diseases, having children, living for others, building things, inventing things, achieving goals or simply living honest and generous lives – leave us, in an inchoate way, radiating the transcendental properties of God and working alongside God to bring life and order to the world. How so?
Christian theology tells us that God is One, True, Good, and Beautiful. And so, when an artist gives herself over to creating beauty, when a couple has a child, when scientists work to find cures for various diseases, when artisans make an artifact, when builders build, when teachers teach, when parents parent, when athletes play a game, when manual laborers labor, when administrators administrate, when people just for the sake integrity itself live in honesty and generosity, and, yes, even when hedonists drink deeply of earthily pleasure, they are, all of them, whether they have explicit faith or not, acting in some faith because they are putting their trust in either the Oneness, Truth, Goodness, or Beauty of God.
Lord, to whom else can we go? You have the message of eternal life. Well, it seems that there are places to go and many go there. But these aren’t necessarily, as is sometimes suggested by misguided spiritual literature, empty places that are wrong and self-destructive. There are, of course, such places, spiritual dead-ends; but, more generally, as we can see simply by looking at the amount of positive energy, love, creativity, generosity and honesty that still fill our world, those places where people are seeking God outside of explicit faith still has them meeting God.
(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian, teacher and award-winning author, is President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX.)

Workshop aims to connect ministers, music, liturgy

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By Mary Woodward
PEARL – “Sacred music and liturgical chant have the task of giving us a sense of the glory of God, of his beauty, of his holiness which wraps us in a ‘luminous cloud.’”
With this quote from Pope Francis given at an international conference on sacred music in March of this year, Alexis Kutarna, director of music and professor at St. Mary Seminary in Houston, Texas, began a two day retreat-style gathering for parish liturgical music ministers and pastors on June 8-9.
The gathering was designed to bring music ministers together to refresh and strengthen their knowledge of the role of music in the liturgy. Pearl St. Jude Parish graciously hosted the event.  

Alexis Kutarna, director of music and professor at St. Mary Seminary in Houston, Texas, led the workshop, hosted at Pearl St. Jude Parish.

Kutarna based her talks in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Roman Missal and Sing to the Lord,  the U.S. Bishops’ document on music in the liturgy. Though the presentations were in English, the substance of the talks applied to the celebration of Mass in any language.
On the first day, Kutarna expounded on the mystery of liturgy and how it is the work of the Blessed Trinity, which draws us into a glimpse of the heavenly banquet and towards our salvation. Quoting the Catechism, Kutarna further explained the liturgy as the work of God, the work of Christ and the work of the Church:
 …the Father accomplishes the ‘mystery of his will’ by giving his beloved Son and his Holy Spirit for the salvation of the world and for the glory of his name. Such is the mystery of Christ, revealed and fulfilled in history according to the wisely ordered plan that St. Paul calls the ‘plan of the mystery’ and the patristic tradition will call the ‘economy of the Word incarnate’ or the ‘economy of salvation.’
For this reason, the Church celebrates in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplished the work of our salvation.
It is this mystery of Christ that the Church proclaims and celebrates in her liturgy so that the faithful may live from it and bear witness to the world… (CCC 1066-1068)
From these foundational statements, Kutarna then took participants on a journey through signs, symbols and sacraments, touching on art, architecture and ultimately music and the role of these in creating and developing our awareness of and participation in the divine liturgy whenever the people of God come together to worship.
She stressed the liturgy is a corporate act of worship by the people of God, where the “eternal event of Christ intersects with chronological time.” Therefore, this should be kept in mind when planning liturgical celebrations.
Art, architecture and music are not intended to be the center of worship but integral parts that lead the community into worship and giving glory to God. The Mass is not a concert or an opportunity to show off voices. Music ministers should seek to enhance the corporate act of worship by striving to connect the worshippers with the choirs of angels and the heavenly hosts.
In the evening, Kutarna took participants through the parts of the Mass offering practical suggestions for various aspects, such as: not to use the Gloria as a “sprinkling” song, when to begin the alleluia, singing a hymn of praise after Communion, and more.
On the second day, Kutarna shared resources and practical information on the role of music ministers and the types of music and instrument choices. While the organ still has pride of place in worship, other instruments may be incorporated as long as they are played in a manner that does not distract or remind worshippers of their other uses, such as electric guitars, which have often been smashed on amplifiers by crazed rock stars.  Music and instruments should reflect the dignity of the celebration and the sacredness of the transcendent moment.
Careful attention should be placed on selecting appropriate hymns based in Scripture and theology. Musical texts reinforce Scripture, the teachings of the church and liturgical theology for worshippers. If you constantly use communion songs that refer to bread, then worshippers are going to continue to think of it as bread, Kutarna emphasized.
She suggested musicians look at the options for selecting music provided by the Church in the liturgical books. Entrance and Communion antiphons are the first three of the four options for music. These antiphons are steeped in Scripture and Catholic theology and can easily be used as an opening or communion hymn.  
They have been developed over the past 19 centuries and can be sung as chant or in more modern settings. Hymns are certainly an option, but once again musicians need to be careful to select hymns that are consistent with Scripture and Church teachings.  
Kutarna also spoke on ways to incorporate the Liturgy of the Hours into parish life.  As part of the retreat, participants gathered to sing Vespers or Evening Prayer; Compline or Night Prayer; Lauds or Morning Prayer; and Sext or Midday Prayer.  
The Liturgy of the Hours has been prayed in parish communities for more than 18 centuries.  For the retreat, Evening Prayer was combined with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Participants were able to learn more about how the hours could be prayed in a parish setting and reflected on those possibilities such as ecumenical gatherings and times when Mass may not be available, especially during the week.
Speaking as the director of the diocesan liturgy office, we wanted to provide an opportunity for liturgical music ministers to come together and refresh their knowledge of the liturgy and music’s role in it. We also wanted to offer some solid foundations and resources on broadening their horizons from just the traditional four hymn Masses.
Kutarna certainly gave us plenty to think about. We thank those who partook and are working on ways to follow up with resources and networking for all parishes.
The retreat was sponsored by the diocesan office of liturgy. Deacon Aaron Williams assisted in planning and was the retreat organ master.

 

Pastoral assignments

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Father Pradeep Thirumalareddy is appointed pastor of Batesville St. Mary Parish effective June 11.

Father Raju Macherula is appointed associate pastor of Tupelo St. James Parish effective August 1.

Father Rusty Vincent has been appointed as coordinator of the office of Campus Ministry for the diocese. He remains associate pastor of Starkville St. Joseph Parish.

Father Pradeep

Father Raju

Father Rusty

Los jóvenes, la fe y el discernimiento vocacional

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Por Opisbo Joseph Kopacz

Bishop Kopacz

El documento preparatorio en previsión al 2018 Sínodo Mundial sobre los Jóvenes, la fe y el discernimiento vocacional  recuerda la progresión constante del diálogo que la Iglesia tiene con el mundo moderno en el tercer milenio. Los próximos párrafos del documento preparatorio ofrecen este contexto. “Estas cosas os he hablado para que mi gozo esté en vosotros, y vuestro gozo sea colmado” (Jn 15, 11). Este es el plan de Dios para todos los hombres y mujeres de todas las edades, incluyendo a todos los jóvenes, hombres y mujeres del tercer milenio, sin excepción.
Proclamar la alegría del Evangelio es la misión confiada por el Señor a su Iglesia. El Sínodo sobre la Nueva Evangelización y la Exhortación Apostólica Evangelii Gaudium trataron en cómo llevar a cabo esta misión en el mundo de hoy. Los dos Sínodos sobre la familia y la Exhortación Apostólica postsinodal Amoris laetitia, fueron en lugar de ello, dedicados a ayudar a las familias a encontrar esta alegría.
En consonancia con esta misión e introduciendo un nuevo enfoque a través de un Sínodo con el tema “Los jóvenes, la fe y el discernimiento vocacional”, la Iglesia ha decidido examinarse a sí misma en cómo ella puede conducir a los jóvenes a reconocer y aceptar la llamada a la plenitud de la vida y el amor, y a pedirle a la gente joven para que la ayude a identificar los métodos más eficaces para anunciar la Buena Nueva de hoy.
Al escuchar a los jóvenes, la Iglesia volverá a escuchar al Señor hablando en el mundo de hoy. Como en los días de Samuel (cf. 1 Sam 3:1-21) y Jeremías (cf. Jeremías 1:4-10), los jóvenes saben discernir los signos de los tiempos, indicado por el Espíritu. Escuchando sus aspiraciones, la Iglesia puede vislumbrar el mundo que tenemos por delante y las rutas a las que la Iglesia está llamada.”
Esta es una interesante iniciativa y representa el compromiso del Papa Francisco y la iglesia para promover el diálogo, el discernimiento y la dirección de la Iglesia en el mundo moderno. Es un diálogo dentro de la Iglesia y más allá de la Iglesia.
Un estudio longitudinal recientemente publicado por el Centro de religión y sociedad de la Universidad de Notre Dame ofrece una seria pero esperanzadora realidad sobre la transmisión de la fe de una generación a la siguiente. Hicieron la punzante pregunta, ¿por qué es la pérdida de la identidad católica, tan común en los Estados Unidos? Tienen una investigación basada en la perspectiva desde la cual  proponen una respuesta. “Después de mirar cuidadosamente a jóvenes adultos católicos actuales y anteriores, encontramos motivos de inquietud y razones para esperanza. Por un lado, muchos de ellos se sienten alienados o sospechoso de la religión organizada.
Muchos piensan que la religión viola los principios de la ciencia y la lógica. Muchos están simplemente más concentrados en otras cosas, tales como terminar la escuela, pasar tiempo con sus amigos, encontrar una pareja romántica, conseguir un buen trabajo y lograr propósitos necesarios.
Muchos de ellos se resisten a la idea de la doctrina o a la sugerencia de que la religión es algo más que una elección personal, como el tipo de música que uno prefiere. Por otro lado, muchos católicos adultos todavía creen y oran a Dios y tienen la opinión de Dios no lejos de la doctrina católica. Muchos de ellos ven el valor de la obra de caridad de la Iglesia y piensan que la religión es generalmente una buena cosa para la sociedad.
Algunos están abiertos a la idea de volver a la Iglesia, especialmente cuando piensan en comenzar su propia familia… La Iglesia necesita comprenderlos en su lugar particular en la vida y a buscarlos. La religión y la fe están todavía evidentes en sus historias, aunque no de una manera que la Iglesia normalmente considera fieles.” Todo este proceso por delante no será reinventar la rueda. Será construir sobre los esfuerzos de la evangelización que está ya trabajando con los  jóvenes (edades 16-29) en nuestro país y donde la Iglesia está presente, en las familias, en las escuelas católicas, educación religiosa, y a través de una serie de ministerios para y con los jóvenes.
En los Estados Unidos los esfuerzos de evangelización y catequesis de Mateo Kelly y Dynamic Católica, con un personal de 100 personas, cuyo promedio de edad es entre mediados y finales de los 20s, han sido una transformación de energía en los últimos años en la iglesia y en la sociedad. El Obispo Auxiliar Robert Barren de Los Ángeles a través de su escritura, predicación y enseñanza, y más recientemente a través de su proyecto Palabra en Fuego, se centra especialmente en la obra de evangelización de la cultura a través de la visión de casi 2000 años de sabiduría y verdad.
El Reverendo Robert Spitzer, S.J., ex presidente de la Universidad Gonzaga, y ahora Director del Instituto Magis en Irving, California, tiene un fuerte compromiso para conciliar la fe con tres áreas críticas que suelen empujar una apertura a Dios a los márgenes: ciencia, sufrimiento y una vida de virtud. CARA, el Centro de Investigación Aplicada en el Apostolado, también contribuirá poderosamente a este proceso que conduce al Sínodo de sus investigaciones sobre los millennials.
La Diócesis de Jackson estará involucrada en este proceso durante la fase preparatoria y se ha comprometido a estudiar y aplicar el conocimiento y la comprensión que emerjan a través del Sínodo, y después con la visión del Papa Francisco. Creo que es oportuno finalizar esta columna con las palabras de dos de nuestros jóvenes que fueron confirmados recientemente.
Su formación en la fe para el sacramento de la confirmación, revelan el poder de Dios trabajando en su generación. “Quiero ser confirmada porque quiero vivir mejor, para estar más cerca de Dios, para estar más madura en mi fe y ayudar a otros a estar más cerca de Dios” y “Mi amor por el servicio ha crecido cada vez más a lo largo de mi confirmación a través de mi compromiso personal de servir a Cristo y a la Iglesia. Me siento agradecido y bendecido por seguir la misión de Dios para mí.”
Que nunca nos cansemos de combatir el buen combate de la fe de una generación a la siguiente, sabiendo que el Señor está siempre con nosotros hasta el fin de los tiempos.

Young people, faith, and vocational discernment: bishops begin synod work

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By Bishop Joseph Kopacz

Bishop Kopacz

The preparatory document in anticipation of the 2018 World Wide Catholic Synod on Young People, The Faith, and Vocational Discernment recalls the steady progression of the dialogue that the Church is having with the modern world in the third millennium. The next few paragraphs from the preparatory document offer this context. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (Jn 15:11). This is God’s plan for all men and women in every age, including all the young men and women of the Third Millennium, without exception.
Proclaiming the joy of the Gospel is the mission entrusted by the Lord to his Church. The Synod on the New Evangelization and the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium treated how to accomplish this mission in today’s world. The two synods on the family and the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia were, instead, dedicated to helping families find this joy. In keeping with this mission and introducing a new approach through a Synod with the topic, “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment,” the Church has decided to examine herself on how she can lead young people to recognize and accept the call to the fullness of life and love, and to ask young people to help her in identifying the most effective ways to announce the Good News today. By listening to young people, the Church will once again hear the Lord speaking in today’s world. As in the days of Samuel (cf. 1 Sam 3:1-21) and Jeremiah (cf. Jer 1:4-10), young people know how to discern the signs of our times, indicated by the Spirit. Listening to their aspirations, the Church can glimpse the world which lies ahead and the paths the Church is called.”
This is an exciting undertaking and it represents the commitment of Pope Francis and the Church to further the dialogue, discernment, and direction of the Church in the modern world. It’s a dialogue within in the Church and beyond the Church. A recently published longitudinal study from the Center of Religion and Society from the University of Notre Dame offers a sobering yet hopeful reality on the transmission of faith from one generation to the next. They asked the poignant question, why is the loss of Catholic Identity so common in the United States?
They have a research-based perspective from which to propose an answer. “After looking closely at current and former Catholic young adults, we find causes for concern, and reasons for hope. On the one hand, many of them feel alienated from or suspicious of organized religion. Many think that religion violates the principles of science and logic. Many are simply more consumed with other things, like getting through school, spending time with friends, finding a romantic partner, getting a good job, and making ends meet. Many of them are resistant to the idea of doctrine or the suggestion that religion is anything more than a personal choice, like the kind of music one prefers. On the other hand, many formerly Catholic emerging adults still believe in and pray to God, and have a view of God not far from Catholic teaching. Many of them see value in the Church’s charity work and think religion is generally a good thing for society. Some are open to the idea of going back to the Church, particularly when they think about starting a family of their own… The Church needs to understand them in their particular place in life and to seek them out. Religion and faith are still evident in their stories, even if not in ways that the Church normally considers faithful.”
This entire process ahead will not be reinventing the wheel. It will be building upon the efforts of evangelization already at work with young people (ages 16-29) in our nation and wherever the Church is present, in families, in Catholic schools, religious education programs, and through a host of ministries for and with young people. In the United States the evangelization and catechetical efforts of Matthew Kelly and Dynamic Catholic, with a staff of 100 whose average age is mid to late 20s, have been a transforming energy in recent years in the church and in society.
Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barren of Los Angeles through his writing, preaching and teaching, and most recently through his Word on Fire project is focused especially on the work of evangelization in culture through the lens of nearly 2,000 years of wisdom and truth. Father Robert Spitzer, S.J., the former president of Gonzaga University, and now the Director of the Magis Institute in Irving California, has a strong commitment to reconciling faith with three critical areas that often push an openness to God to the margins: science, suffering and a life of virtue. CARA the Applied Center of Research in the Apostolate will also contribute mightily to this process leading to the Synod from their research on millennials.
The Diocese of Jackson will be engaged in this process during the preparatory phase and will be committed to studying and implementing the knowledge and understanding that emerge through the Synod and afterwards with the vision of Pope Francis. I think it is fitting to end this column with the words of two of our recently confirmed young people.
Their formation in the faith leading to the Sacrament of Confirmation reveals the power of God at work in their generation. “I want to be confirmed because I want to live better, to be closer to God, more mature in my faith and help others be closer to God” and “My love for service has increasingly grown throughout my Confirmation through my personal commitment to serve Christ and the Church. I am grateful and blessed to follow God’s mission for me.”
May we never tire of fighting the good fight of faith from one generation to the next knowing that the Lord is with us always until the end of time.
(To follow: Understanding Former Young Catholics)

Calendar of events

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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
GREENWOOD Locus Benedictus Spirituality Center, “Then Sings My Soul” inner healing retreat, Friday, July 21, 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, July 22, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Cost is $60.  Details: Magdalene Abraham, (662) 299-1232.
GRENADA St. Peter, Save the Date, Saturday, October 7, Adult Retreat. More details will be forthcoming.  Details: church office (662) 226-2490.
JACKSON Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Eucharistic celebration, Sunday, July 16, 6:30 p.m. Carmelite Monastery Chapel, followed by a reception on the front lawn. Father Jeremy Tobin, OPraem, will be the main Celebrant and Deacon Denzil Lobo will be the homilist. Join the sisters before the feast for novena Masses: Sunday, July 9 – 11 a.m.
Monday-Friday, July 10-14 – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday July 15 – 9:30 a.m.
Details: (601) 373-1460.

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
HERNANDO Holy Spirit, Save the Date, Fall Bazaar, Saturday September 30, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Volunteers needed to set up before and help the day of the bazaar. Details: Barbara Smith (662) 233-4833 or (901) 413-8102.
JACKSON Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, graphic artist needed to volunteer on a special project. Details: Cathedral office (601) 969-3125 or (601) 613-2430.
– St. Richard, monthly Bereavement Support Group “Life is Changed Not Ended”, Thursday, July 13, 6:30 p.m. in the Mercy Room. Speaker: Rev. Ann McLemore, associate rector at St. James’ Episcopal Church. Rev. McLemore has been an Episcopal priest for 20 years and has been devoted to helping those who have lost loved ones since her husband’s death eight years ago. Open to all. Details: Suzie Cranston, (601) 982-5464, Linda Lalor (601) 853-8840, or Nancy McGhee (601) 942-2078 or email ncmcghee@bellsouth.net.
MADISON 2017 Mississippi Drug Summit, July 11-13 at Broadmoor Baptist Church. Summit to focus on opioid and herion abuse. Open to counselors, advocates, social workers and attorneys. Continuing education credits available to clinicians. Details: www.drugsummit.com.
NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, Blood Drive, Tuesday, July 18, noon – 5:30 p.m. at the Family Life Center. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
– American Choral Association Directors Concert, Wednesday, July 19 at 7 p.m., free and open to the public. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
STARKVILLE St. Joseph Parish, Billings Ovulation Method, Natural Family Planning Teacher training, July 20-23, Registration fee covered by the Catholic Diocese of Jackson for Catholics. Deadline to register is July 11. Cost: Food/beverage – $50 per person (July 20 dinner included, other evening meals on your own). Details: Mrs. Carmen Wilder, (662) 341-8865, sue@boma-usa.org, (651) 699-8139 or www.boma-usa.org and select the Teacher Training tab.
VICKSBURG St. Michael, Meals on Wheels, the parish serves the elderly of their community on the second Friday of each month. Next service day is Friday, July 14 at 8 a.m. in the Parish Hall.  Need volunteers to help with cooking, boxing, delivering meals or donating a dessert, salad or bread. Details: Carrie Meyer (601) 218-1007 or Jennifer Vincent at (601) 529-3230.

YOUTH EVENTS
AMORY St. Helen parishioners have been invited by First United Methodist Church to adult Vacation Bible School on July 10-12, 9 a.m. – noon, includes lunch. Details: church office (662) 256-8392.
MADISON St. Joseph School, Summer Camps:
Basketball Camp: 3rd – 8th grades for girls and boys, July 17-19. Details: Coach West, (313) 355-3973 or St. Joseph School (601) 898-4800.
Cheerleader Camp: Rising 1st – 6th graders, July 17-19. Details Emily Toulomelis ebechtold@stjoebruins.com
Spirit Stepper Camp: rising 1st – 6th graders, July 17-19. Details: Leslie Ann Harkins lharkins@stjoebruins.com.
TUPELO St. James, Vacation Bible School “SUPER SAINTS”, July 17-21. Registration forms are in the back of the church and in the office.  Details: Dori, (662) 316-1461 if you can volunteer.

Save the Date
MADISON Faith Formation Day, Saturday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m – 3 p.m. at St. Joseph High School. The Department of Faith Formation invites parish and school catechists, RCIA team members, youth ministers, DREs/CREs, Adult Education Leaders and all who are interested in faith formation for a day of enrichment and education. Look for details in coming weeks.

IN MEMORIAM


Ursuline Sister Louise Marie Willenbrink, died June 21 at the age of 82 in Louisville, Kentucky. She entered the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville in 1954. She earned a BA degree in English from Ursuline College, Louisville, in 1958 and a MA degree in English from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, in 1964. Sister also studied at Spalding University, Louisville; and Trinity Washington University (then Trinity College) in Washington, DC. Sister Louise taught at Saint Mary School and Saint Joseph High School in Jackson from 1965 to 1969.
Visitation was at the Ursuline Motherhouse June 26, followed by a Vigil Service.  The Funeral Liturgy was celebrated on June 27 in the Motherhouse Chapel with burial in St. Michael Cemetery.  Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Ursuline Sisters and mailed to the Mission Advancement Office, 3105 Lexington Road, Louisville, KY 40206.

Changing landscape requires mutual accompaniment, convocation hears

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By Dennis Sadowski
ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) – The U.S. Catholic Church’s increasing diversity presents Catholics with the opportunity to accompany each other on the journey of faith Pope Francis envisions, a Boston College professor told delegates to the “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America” in Orlando.
Hosffman Ospino, associate professor of theology and religious education at Boston College, said the changes in the landscape are a sign of strength and present new opportunities to welcome newcomers into the church family.
“It’s OK if we wrestle with diversity and pluralism,” he told the 3,500 delegates assembled for the convocation’s first plenary session July 2. “This where we need to exercise the pastoral practice of mutual accompaniment.”
Ospino suggested that Catholics of the first decades of the 21st century might begin to understand that they can set the course of a “new Catholic moment in the U.S.” by embracing diversity.
Citing the explosive growth of Catholic communities in the American South and West, Ospino said the church is being called to respond to the needs of new immigrants so that they are welcomed and not made to feel forgotten.
He said half of U.S. church members today are non-European, with about 40 percent Latino, 5 percent Asian and Pacific Islanders, 4 percent African-American and 1 percent Native American. The numbers contrast with the church population of 50 years ago, when 80 to 85 percent of Catholics were of European descent, he said.
“The question is do we see those faces in our faith communities? Do we see them in our diocesan offices? Do we see them in our Catholic schools, universities, seminaries? Do we know their concerns?” he asked.
“The future of U.S. Catholicism is being forged in areas once not central to U.S. Catholic life. … Are we paying attention?” he asked.
“This is an excellent opportunity for us as a country to be a poor church for the poor. As Pope Francis reminds us, an opportunity for solidarity of Catholics at all places,” he said.
Ospino also cautioned that the church faces challenges from increased isolation, rising secularization and increasing numbers of people unaffiliated with any faith community, and the continuing differences entrenched in the “so-called culture wars.” He called for respectful dialogue among people with differences of opinion across the spectrum of issues that concern the church, from abortion to care for the poor.
“Our society continues to witness an erosion of communal life. If communal life is not important, advocating for others is not a priority. Caring about the most vulnerable is somebody else’s problem,” Ospino said, explaining that the church can bridge such gaps.
He said the convocation-goers and those they engage when they return to their home parishes and dioceses can set the tone for future historians to see that they have laid the foundation for a stronger church that embraced diversity and inclusion.
In response, four panelists offered their insights into the changing landscape the church is facing, saying that the church will be better positioned to respond following the convocation.
They addressed issues of women’s role in the church, the need to embrace young Latinos as active church members and the vital role of family in the church at a time when society’s understanding of family is changing.
Franciscan Father Agustino Torres, who has worked with youth and specializes in bilingual outreach to Hispanic millennials said he had found young Latinos want to engage in ministries that affirmed their identity. “Latinos don’t want just a program,” he said.
“If the church can say, ‘You belong here. This is your home,’ you’re going to get an army of people,” he said.
Women can be welcomed into church leadership roles that do not depend upon ordination, said Helen Alvare, professor of law at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. She said women must be accepted seriously as contributors rather than being chosen for their roles to check off a box on a list.
She suggested, to applause, that Catholics adopt an expanded view of complementarity that applies equally to family and the church.
Kerry Weber, executive editor of America magazine, recalled her conversations with parishioners across the country who are seeking ways to live out the joy of the Gospel, as Pope Francis envisioned in his encyclical, “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”).
“People are trying to see how to turn this sentiment into action,” she said.
Pope Francis calls people to show mercy, not as a passive action, but in response to the realities of the world today, Weber said, adding, “We have to figure out how to live mercy in the world today.”
Jesuit Father Thomas P. Gaunt, executive director of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, said the center’s researchers have identified as many as one-third of the country’s 75 million self-identified Catholics are not connected with the church.
He said the resulting question focuses on why people who may not be connected with the church still consider themselves Catholic and he suggested that they represent an untapped resource for the church.
“How do we re-invite and re-engage them once more?” he asked.
The key, Ospino concluded, is that it is time for the church to start building a “language of communion” rather than dividing the church community into different groups and individually responding to those needs.
“It’s the church serving the church,” he said. “We all are the church.”
(Editor’s note: Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Abbey Schuhmann, Coordinator for the Office of Youth Ministry and Charlene Bearden, Coordinator for the Office of Family Ministry attended the convocation. Look for their reflections in the next edition.)

Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori carries a monstrance under a canopy as he leads a eucharistic procession during the “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America” July 3 in Orlando, Fla. Leaders from dioceses and various Catholic organizations are gathering for the July 1-4 convocation. (CNS photo/Bob Roller) See CONVOCATION- July 3, 2017.