Que el Espíritu Santo nos guíe durante Semana Santa y más allá

Por Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

La Cuaresma llega a su etapa final con el Domingo de Ramos y el inicio de la Semana Santa. Es un tiempo intensivo para acompañar al Señor Jesús en su pasión y sufrimiento, a través de su muerte, para la gloria de la resurrección.

La singularidad de la Misa del Domingo de Ramos se encuentra en el rito de entrada con las palmas en la mano, la procesión y la proclamación del relato de la pasión. Este año, la pasión del Evangelio de Marcos resonará en todo el mundo católico, y en un grito de abandono profundamente descarnado, el Señor habla por toda la humanidad. “Dios mío, Dios mío, ¿por qué me has abandonado?” (Marcos 15:34) Entre el Domingo de Ramos y la Vigilia Pascual, la gran mayoría de los fieles se reunirán al comienzo de la Semana Santa para permitir que las últimas horas y palabras del Señor los bañen con la sangre y el agua que fluye de su costado.

Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz


Chiara Lubich, fundadora del Movimiento de los Focolares, expresa así el gran misterio de nuestro Señor abandonado: “Contemplamos en Él la cumbre de su amor porque fue la cumbre de su sufrimiento. Qué más nos podría dar un Dios, que pareciera que se olvida que es Dios … Jesús convirtió al mundo con sus palabras, con su ejemplo, con su predica, pero lo transformó cuando brindó la prueba de su amor: la Cruz.”

Lubich y todos los que ven al Señor con los ojos de la fe están construyendo sobre el fundamento inquebrantable de San Pablo sobre el poder de la Cruz. “El mensaje de la muerte de Cristo en la cruz parece una tontería a los que van a la perdición; pero este mensaje es poder de Dios para los que vamos a la salvación. … Los judíos quieren ver señales milagrosas, y los griegos buscan sabiduría; pero nosotros anunciamos a un Mesías crucificado. Esto les resulta ofensivo a los judíos, y a los no judíos les parece una tontería, pero para los que Dios ha llamado, sean judíos o griegos, este Mesías es el poder y la sabiduría de Dios. … Y, estando entre ustedes, no quise saber de otra cosa sino de Jesucristo y, más estrictamente, de Jesucristo crucificado. … para que la fe de ustedes dependiera del poder de Dios y no de la sabiduría de los hombres.” (1 Corintios 1:18, 22-24; 2:2-5)

Con su sangre y con su grito, Jesús crucificado y abandonado abrió todas las posibilidades para esta vida, incluido el perdón, la unidad, la justicia y la paz, y la vida eterna por venir. Es cierto que toda la humanidad está en el exilio, pero hay quienes cuyo abandono es extremo. Durante estos días tan sagrados de fe, somos conscientes de aquellos en Tierra Santa, especialmente, pero no exclusivamente, que son crucificados y abandonados en la guerra, la destrucción, la muerte y el desplazamiento. Estos abandonados se configuran más estrechamente con nuestro Señor crucificado en su sufrimiento.

Lubich ofrece esta visión y esperanza: “Jesús abandonado es el más podado, a quien ni el cielo ni la tierra parecían querer… Porque había sido desarraigado, tanto de la tierra como del cielo, unió a los desarraigados de Dios.”

Por lo tanto, Él y sólo Él es el camino para llegar más allá de las barreras del odio y la violencia hacia la unidad por la que oró en la Última Cena, “para que todos sean uno.” (Juan 17:22)

Nuevamente, de la sabiduría de Lubich y del Movimiento de los Focolares leemos: “Esto es todo, amar como él nos amó, hasta el punto de experimentar por nosotros la sensación de estar abandonado por su Padre. Por Jesús, de hecho, ganamos perdiendo, vivimos muriendo. El grano de trigo tiene que morir para producir la espiga; necesitamos ser podados para poder dar buenos frutos. Ésta es la ley de Jesús, su paradoja. El Espíritu Santo nos está haciendo comprender que para realizar la oración de Jesús ‘que todos sean uno’ es necesario acoger a Jesús abandonado en nuestra desunión. Jesús abandonado es el camino, la llave, el secreto.”

Estas son palabras de sabiduría para nosotros durante la Semana Santa en la línea de San Pablo. El Espíritu Santo ha inspirado a muchos en los procesos sinodales y de reinvención en nuestra diócesis para abordar la necesidad de una mayor sanación y unidad en nuestras comunidades de fe.

El Espíritu Santo nos guía durante la Semana Santa a mirar a Cristo crucificado y abandonado como el poder y la sabiduría de Dios en quien todo es posible. El Espíritu Santo que resucitó a Jesús de entre los muertos y que habita en nosotros por la fe y el bautismo, nos inspirará a proclamar el ¡Aleluya! el Domingo de Pascua porque ha resucitado. Pero antes de llegar a la tumba vacía, que el Señor crucificado y abandonado nos lave en su sangre.

Papa: Santos no son ‘excepciones’, sino ejemplos de virtud humana

Por Justin McLellan

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – Los santos no son “excepciones de la humanidad”, sino personas ordinarias que trabajaron diligentemente para crecer en la virtud, dijo el Papa Francisco.

Es un error pensar en los santos como un “estrecho círculo de campeones que viven más allá de los límites de nuestra especie”, escribió el Papa en la catequesis para su audiencia general del 13 de marzo en la Plaza de San Pedro. En cambio, son “aquellos que llegan a ser plenamente ellos mismos, que realizan la vocación propia de todo ser humano”.

“¡Qué feliz sería el mundo si la justicia, el respeto, la benevolencia mutua, la amplitud del corazón y la esperanza fueran la normalidad compartida, y no una rara anomalía!”, escribió.

Al igual que en su audiencia general del 6 de marzo, el Papa Francisco dijo a los visitantes de la plaza que, debido a un leve resfriado, un ayudante, monseñor Pierluigi Giroli, leería su discurso. Sin embargo, el Papa parecía recuperado cuando leyó la totalidad de su homilía – añadiendo muchos comentarios improvisados y solicitando la participación de la multitud – durante un servicio penitencial de Cuaresma en una parroquia de Roma el 8 de marzo.

Continuando su serie de catequesis sobre virtudes y vicios, el Papa escribió que una persona virtuosa no es aquella que se desnaturaliza deformándose, sino que “es fiel a su vocación, (y) realiza plenamente su ser”.

Una fotografía de archivo muestra una estatua de Santa Teresa de Lisieux sosteniendo un crucifijo y flores en la Iglesia de la Misión de Santa Ana en Acomita, Nuevo México, en la reserva india de Acoma. (Foto de OSV News/Bob Roller)


Reflexionando sobre la naturaleza de la virtud, que se ha discutido y analizado desde la antigüedad, el Papa dijo que la virtud no es un bien “improvisado” y “casual” que se ejerce de vez en cuando. Incluso los criminales, señaló, han realizado actos buenos en determinados momentos.
La virtud es más bien un “bien que nace de la lenta maduración de la persona, hasta convertirse en una característica interior suya”, escribió.

“La virtud es un ‘habitus’ (expresión) de libertad”, escribió el Papa. “Si somos libres en cada acto, y cada vez estamos llamados a elegir entre el bien y el mal, la virtud es lo que nos permite tener un hábito hacia la elección correcta”.

El Santo Padre a la gente a no olvidar la lección enseñada por los antiguos pensadores, “que la virtud crece y puede ser cultivada “, y escribió que para los cristianos desarrollar la virtud depende principalmente de la gracia de Dios.
Al desarrollar la apertura mental, la buena voluntad y la sabiduría para aprender de los errores, escribió, las personas pueden ser guiadas hacia una vida virtuosa frente a las “fuerzas a veces caóticas” de la pasión, la emoción y el instinto a las que la humanidad es susceptible.

Al tomar el micrófono para saludar a los peregrinos al final de su audiencia, el Papa Francisco compartió que le habían regalado un rosario y una Biblia que pertenecían a un joven soldado muerto en combate, aunque no especificó en qué conflicto.

“Tantos jóvenes, tantos jóvenes van a morir”, dijo. “Recemos al Señor para que nos dé la gracia de superar esta locura de la guerra que es siempre una derrota.”

Diocese enters third phase of pastoral reimagining process

By Joanna Puddister King
JACKSON – The Diocese of Jackson began a year-long pastoral reimagining process at Pentecost 2023 and looks to conclude by Pentecost this year. This process was initiated as a result of the diocesan Synod on Synodality in 2021.

During the Synod process three priorities were articulated across the diocese which included all demographics (age, gender, race, etc.). They were a call for healing and unity; greater catechesis at all levels; and a deeper understanding of scripture.

The reimagining process spreads across five major phases. The first phase ran from Pentecost through early September of 2023, with each pastor or lay ecclesial minister (LEM) establishing a pastoral reimagining committee and having the committee view four ecclesiology video sessions and answer a series of questions designed to guide conversation on who we are as a church.

NATCHEZ – Bishop Joseph Kopacz speaks on the pastoral reimagining process to priests, deacons and LEMs from across the diocese on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at a convocation event at the Family Life Center of St. Mary Basilica. (Photo by Joanna King)

Bishop Kopacz said that phase one, “set the table in reminding ourselves what it means to be a church and what our identity as Catholics requires of us in the world. Our desire was to create a common understanding from which to grow a vision for the Diocese of Jackson.”

“In other words, to foster a sense of unity underscored by the four marks of the church.”

Parishes were given until the end of January this year to complete phase two, with each parish undertaking a parish assessment which included the current situation at the local parish – the growing edges; the areas that are diminishing; and the opportunities for collaboration with other parishes in the area and other local realities.

Bishop Kopacz previously stated that in phase two, “we will reimagine the responsibilities of each parish and mission to foster a sense of unity, underscored by the four marks of the church and grounded in data,” said Bishop Kopacz.

This phase also included a detailed report on diocesan demographics by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) of Georgetown University. The report summarizes the overall demography of the diocese, as well as a profile of the Catholic population living in the confines of the diocese.

“After analyzing the demographic data, parishes were given opportunities to look to the report for areas of growth; to evaluate ministries and evaluate challenges that could be addressed,” said Fran Lavelle, director of faith formation for the diocese and member of the core team working on the reimagining process.

At a convocation for priests, deacons and LEMs held in Natchez during February, Bishop Kopacz and Lavelle covered findings from phase two from the CARA report and gave an overview to those gathered on phase three of the reimagining process.

The report indicated that during COVID, as expected, there was a 50% decline in all Sacraments within the diocese, with the exception of infant Baptisms and Confirmations, which each saw 39% declines.

Bishop Kopacz reported at the convocation that the CARA research indicates that nationally Mass attendance is now only 2% below pre-COVID levels.

Part of the CARA report highlighted the Pew Religious Landscape Study from 2014, in which 4% of adult respondents living within the Diocese of Jackson self-identified as Catholic. With a reported current population of 2,138,154 within the diocese, the survey-based estimates would assume that there are 85,513 Catholics within the diocese, reported Bishop Kopacz.

In 2021, the reported Catholics registered at parishes numbered 42,850. “Thus, one can assume there are approximately 42,663 self-identified Catholics in the diocese who are not attending Mass or active in a parish in any other way,” said Bishop Kopacz to those gathered at the convocation.
“So, there are many who could be welcomed back and evangelized.”

If current trends continue, the Catholic population of the diocese is expected to grow to nearly 54,000 by 2030; and to nearly 56,000 by 2040.

Bishop Kopacz also highlighted the growing Hispanic population and raised the question to consider – how do we serve them faithfully and effectively.

“I’m grateful to a number of our parishes that have opened up with inviting the Hispanic population through having Mass and liturgy. It’s just amazing to see the growth.”

Bishop Kopacz reported that some parishes, like Sacred Heart in Canton, are considering adding second Spanish Masses to accommodate the numbers attending with sometimes only standing room left available.

The synthesis of the parish reports from phase two of the reimagining process showed areas of opportunities, such as the growing Hispanic population, outreach to different ethnic groups within the diocese and economic development in various areas of the diocese. The growing Hispanic population was also pointed out as one of three challenges within the Diocese of Jackson – specifically in how to evangelize to the population. The two other challenges include the aging population and the migration of young adults out of the state.

At the convocation event, each priest within their respective deaneries received the reports each completed in phase two with the data analysis they completed, as they enter phase three of the reimagining process. “Each parish has identified their reality and what’s important … like exploring growth opportunities in general, such as reaching the growing Hispanic population,” said Bishop Kopacz.

He also reminded each to remember the theme of the synod to reach a deeper level of “Communion, Participation and Mission” as they meet to examine their respective deaneries and parishes.

This month, the third phase of the reimagining process will consist of guided and facilitated sessions for each of the Diocese of Jackson’s six deaneries to work through challenges, both the growing edges and diminishing areas of ministry locally and within the deanery.

“The goal of phase three is to gain a realistic perspective of the health and well-being of the deanery within the setting of the individual parishes; and to look at areas of redundancy and potential areas for sharing resources,” shared Lavelle.

As for the reports compiled from almost every parish, Lavelle said the material “is very powerful and that a lot of really good, thoughtful work has been done on the parish level to look at challenges, growing edges and to as what is it that is needed to continue to grow our parishes.”

Lavelle also pointed out it is not just about priest or religious making change in their respective parishes. “We have to start thinking about who it is that occupies our pews on the weekend and engage them and empower them to do the work with us.”

In April, Bishop Kopacz will be visiting each deanery to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving and meet with the key people who worked on the pastoral reimagining for each parish.

Pope Francis through the synod process asked bishops to engage their respective dioceses more. Bishop Kopacz said that through the deanery visits and engaging in “a Thanksgiving Eucharistic conversation,” the diocese is doing just that through the reimagining process through fruitful dialogue, discernment and the openness to the Holy Spirit.

The fourth phase of the reimagining process will include a period of discernment on reports from the six deaneries in the diocese and a pastoral letter from Bishop Kopacz, outlining the finding in each deanery and set forth parameters for implementation of an overall diocesan vision.

“I think faithful to the spirit of synodality and all that can come from that through the power of the Holy Spirit … this is a good process that will bear fruit moving to the future,” said Bishop Kopacz.

Around the diocese: Lenten meals, Stations and Reconciliation

LENTEN MEALS/STATIONS
BATESVILLE – St. Mary, Fish fry, Friday, March 22. Dine-in or takeout. Cost: $12/plate.

BROOKHAVEN – St. Francis of Assisi, Stations every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m. with meal following. Knights of Columbus Fish Fry on March 8. Details: church office (601) 833-1799.

COLUMBUS – Annunciation, Fish dinner following Stations, every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m. Details: church office (662) 328-2927.

CORINTH – St. James, Soup supper, 5 p.m. Fridays during Lent. Stations to follow at 5:45 p.m. (bilingual) and Mass at 6:30 p.m.

FLOWOOD – St. Paul, Fish Fry following Stations, every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m. Participants in Sattions served first, then if enough food, take-out orders may be available.

GLUCKSTADT – St. Joseph, Fish Fry, Friday, March 22 after Stations at 6 p.m. Cost $10/plate – includes fried catfish, fries, hushpuppies, coleslaw and drink.

GREENVILLE – St. Joseph, Knights of Columbus Fish Fry, Friday, Feb. 23 in the parish hall. Details: church office (662) 335-5251.

GREENWOOD – Immaculate Heart of Mary, Knights of Columbus Fish Fry, every Friday during Lent through March 22 from 5-7 p.m. Cost: $15 per plate. Details: church office (662) 453-3980.

HERNANDO – Holy Spirit, Soup and Stations, every Friday during Lent at 6:30 p.m. Variety of meatless soups available with bread/crackers and tea. Donation of $1 per person with proceeds to go to Hernando Catholic Social Services.

Holy Spirit, Men’s Association Fish Fry, Friday, March 15 beginning at 4 p.m. Dine-in or take out. Cost: $13/plate or $6 for children under 12 –includes fish, fries, hushpuppies, slaw and dessert.
JACKSON – Cathedral of St. Peter, Stations in English at 5:30 p.m and in Spanish at 7 p.m. Simple Lenten meal served in between.

JACKSON – St. Richard, Knights of Columbus Fish Fry following Stations, every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m. Dine-in at Foley Hall or carry out. Plate cost: $12 adult; $6 children; $40 all inclusive price for families of four or more. Details: church office (601) 366-2335.

MADISON – St. Francis, Stations every Friday during Lent at 6:30 p.m. with Lenten meal at 7 p.m.

MERIDIAN – St. Patrick/St. Joseph, Stations and Lenten Fish Fry, every Friday in Lent. Fry follows Stations at 6 p.m. Rotates between parishes. St. Joseph on March 8 and 22; St. Patrick on March 15 is led by youth group with soup and salad. Cost: $10/plate. Details: church office (601) 693-1321.

NATCHEZ – St. Mary Basilica, Lenten Fish Fry, every Friday during Lent from 5-7 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Cost: catfish $12; shrimp $12; combo $14. Dinners include fries, hushpupppies and coleslaw. For grilled catfish call 30 minutes ahead to Darren at (601) 597-2890.

OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace, Lenten Fish Fry, Friday, March 15 at 5:30 p.m. Dine-in or carry out. Meal includes fried catfish, fries, coleslaw and dessert. Cost: $12 per plate or $35 per family.

PEARL – St. Jude, Lenten Fish Fry, Every Friday during Lent, immediately following 6 p.m. Stations. Menu: catfish, fries, hushpuppies, coleslaw and tea. Dine-in only. Proceeds benefit Knights of Columbus community programs. Details: church office (601) 939-3181.

SENATOBIA – St. Gregory, Stations every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m. followed by Lenten potluck meal.

SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, Lenten Fish Fry, March 15 from 4-7 p.m. Dine-in or carryout. Cost: $13/adult plate and $6/children under 12 plate. Meal: catfish, fries, hushpuppies, slaw and dessert. Potluck Lenten meals, March 8 and 22. Meals at 5:30 p.m. with Stations at 7 p.m. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.

STARKVILLE – St. Joseph, Fish fry every Friday after Stations at 5:30 p.m. Cost: $10/plate or $30 per family. Meal includes fried or baked catfish, fries, coleslaw and hushpuppies. Email Richard to reserve a plate at rcoughlin@gmail.com.

St. Joseph, Men’s Lenten Lunches, every Tuesday through March 26 at 11:30 a.m. in the parish hall. Topic is “Seven Last Words of Jesus.”

VICKSBURG – Knights of Columbus Council 898, Fish Fry, Fridays during Lent from 5:30-7 p.m. Cost $15, dine-in or carry out. Meal: fried or grilled catfish, hushpuppies, fries, coleslaw, baked potato, baked beans and bread.

LENTEN RECONCILIATION
BATESVILLE – St. Mary, Penance Service, Thursday, March 21 from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

BROOKHAVEN – St. Francis, Reconciliation Service, Monday, March 18 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and 7:30-until.

CORINTH – St. James the Less, Reconciliation Service, Tuesday, March 12 at 5:30 p.m.

FLOWOOD – St. Paul, Reconciliation Service, Monday, March 25 at 6 p.m.

OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace, Reconciliation Service, Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m.

STATIONS ONLY
BATESVILLE – St. Mary, Stations, every Friday during Lent at 10:30 a.m. followed by Mass at 11 a.m.

CANTON – Holy Child Jesus, Stations every Friday during Lent at 12 p.m.

CORINTH – St. James, Stations every Wednesday during Lent at 2 p.m. and Fridays at 12 p.m.
Bilingual stations at 5:45 p.m. on Fridays.

GLUCKSTADT – St. Joseph, Stations every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m.

GREENVILLE – St. Joseph, Stations every Friday during Lent at 5 p.m.

GREENWOOD – St. Francis, Stations every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m. (English) and 7 p.m. (Spanish).

HOLLY SPRINGS – St. Joseph, Stations every Friday during Lent at 7:30 p.m. and each Friday following Mass at 4 p.m.

JACKSON – Christ the King, Stations every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m. Rosary after Stations.

MAGEE – St. Stephen, Stations every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m.

NATCHEZ – St. Mary Basilica, Stations every Friday during Lent at 5:15 p.m.

Assumption, Stations every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m.

PEARL – St. Jude, Stations every Friday during Lent after 10 a.m. Mass.

SARDIS – St. John, Stations, every Wednesday during Lent at 4:30 p.m. followed by Mass at 5 p.m.

(Please email editor@jacksondiocese.org to add information for your parish, if it is missing. We don’t always see everything! Thank you for your help!)

Veronica’s compassionate hands

JACKSON – St. Veronica’s Compassionate Hands is a small women’s group that meets weekly to create items to help post-operative patients, as well as the homeless in the Jackson area. Most recently, the group has started making plastic mats for the homeless out of plastic shopping bags, using a weaving loom. By partnering with Sister Trinita, known for her heart for the poor through the Central Urban Ministry Center (Stewpot and St. Dominic Community Healthy Clinic), the mats will be distributed to the homeless in the Jackson area. The group is named after St. Veronica who displayed a great act of kindness and charity by wiping the face of Jesus with her veil while on His way to Calvary. If interested in volunteering, contact Marie Morris at pinkpanther5518@yahoo.com.
Pictured (l-r): Rosemary Grantham and Marie Morris work on a plastic mat project. (Photos by Julia Williams)

This Lent, say sorry – and mean it

GUEST COLUMN
By Dr. Greg Popcak

Lent is a time of reparation – a season of sorrow for sins committed and expressions of a sincere desire to reform our lives. But what does it mean to be sorry? What are the components of real remorse?

Whether we are expressing sorrow to God, a spouse, family member or friend, it can be hard to say, “I’m sorry.” It can be even harder to say it well. Sometimes, when people say that they are sorry to us, we can feel like there is something missing. Often, it’s because there is. But what?

As we express our sorrow to God this Lent for the ways that our lives do not reflect his plan for us, it can be important to make sure our “I’m sorrys” have all the components of sincere remorse. Researchers note that good apologies involve three ingredients: empathy, restitution and objective criteria.

When people offer a sincere apology rooted not in obligation but genuine remorse, they tend to express a real emotional understanding of how their actions hurt us. “I am so sorry for doing that. I never meant to treat you that way. I know how badly you were hurt. Please forgive me.”

The truly remorseful person doesn’t make excuses or tell the person they hurt that they were “just kidding,” or that the wounded party needs to get a thicker skin or a better sense of humor. They understand the impact of their actions and they let you know that they feel your pain.

When we express our sorrow to God this Lent, are we going through the motions of repentance, or are we allowing ourselves to express genuine sorrow for the pain God feels when we reject his attempts to love us and make us whole?

When people offer a sincere apology, they don’t just “say the magic words.” They offer a plan for making things right again. Or, if they don’t know what to do to make it right, they ask you what you need them to do to heal the hurt their actions caused. They say things like, “The next time I feel that angry about something, I’m going to do this instead of that,” or, “I really want to make this right. What can I do to earn your trust again?”

Restitution isn’t about asking people to jump through hoops for the sake of watching them dance. It is about committing to the process of reconciliation – healing the wounds our actions caused.

When we confess our sins this Lent, have we put some time into how we would handle similar problem situations differently in the future? Hearing the words “I absolve you” is just the beginning. How will we let the grace of that absolution compel us to heal the wounds our actions have caused those we love, and how can we make sure to avoid those problem behaviors the next time we are tempted to go down a similar path?

Truly sorrowful people don’t hide out behind the belief that “the real problem” is that others are expecting too much of them. If we are truly sorry, we recognize that the person we hurt had an objective right to expect more from us.

How often do others apologize to us in ways that make us feel strangely ashamed for daring to expect them to be faithful, trustworthy or respectful? How often do the apologies others offer sound like, “I’m sorry, but don’t you think you’re being a little controlling/sensitive/judgmental/ needy/demanding/unfair?”

The person offering a sincere apology acknowledges that anyone in a similar situation would be reasonable to expect what you are asking of them. “You’re absolutely right to expect more of me. I’m really sorry I let you down.”

In our relationship with God, how often do we think that the real problem is that he is just asking for entirely too much. Sure, we’re sorry for what we did, but the real problem is that he expects us to be saints. Saints, I tell you! Can you believe it?!? How ridiculous is that?!?

As we conclude Lent, will we continue to pay lip service to the idea that God wants great things for us, or will we embrace the fact that every day he is calling us into deeper union with him and greater perfection in his grace?

Whether we are expressing remorse to God or others, being sorry isn’t, ultimately, about making ourselves seem pitiful enough or appearing pathetic enough to make the other person feel bad and let us off the hook.

Apologizing is about picking up our cross and embracing the hard work that comes with changing our behavior – not so that we can jump through some spiritual hoop but so that we can participate more effectively in the healing process that allows us to achieve our ultimate destiny: loving union with God.

(Dr. Greg Popcak is an author and the director of www.CatholicCounselors.com.)

Pope praises those assisting victims, clearing anti-personnel minefields

By Carol Glatz , Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Anti-personnel mines are “devious” weapons that continue to kill innocent civilians and children long after a conflict has ended, Pope Francis said.

“I thank all those who offer their help to assist victims and clean up contaminated areas,” he said at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall Feb. 28.

“Their work is a concrete response to the universal call to be peacemakers, taking care of our brothers and sisters,” he said.

A graphic, entitled “The Persistent Scourge of Landmines,” shows the global number of mine/explosive remnants of war casualties per year. Copyrighted work created by Statista available under Creative Commons attribution only license CC by 4.0 (CNS photo/Statista, CC by 4.0)

The pope, who was still dealing with a cold, read aloud his remarks about landmines after having aides read his lengthier catechesis and greetings during the audience.

March 1 marks the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and mandates assisting victims, clearing minefields and destroying stockpiles.

Anti-personnel mines, the pope said, “continue to target innocent civilians, particularly children, even many years after the end of hostilities.”

“I express my closeness to the many victims of these devious devices, which remind us of the dramatic cruelty of war and the price civilian populations are forced to pay,” he said.

At least 4,710 casualties of mines and explosive remnants of war were recorded in 2022, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines said in its 2023 report. Civilians made up 85% of all recorded casualties in places where the military or civilian status was known, and children accounted for half of all civilian casualties, where ages were recorded.

Anti-personnel landmines were used by Ukraine, Myanmar and Russia during 2022 and the first half of 2023, the report by the global coalition of non-governmental organizations said.

“Russia has used anti-personnel mines extensively in Ukraine since invading the country in February 2022, resulting in an unprecedented situation in which a country that is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty is using the weapon on the territory of a state party,” it wrote.

Non-state armed groups used anti-personnel mines in at least five countries in 2022: Colombia, India, Myanmar, Thailand and Tunisia and countries in or bordering the Sahel region of Africa, it added.

At least 60 countries and other areas are contaminated by anti-personnel mines.

Eighty percent of the world’s nations have joined the mine ban treaty, and while 33 states remain outside of the treaty, most of them do not use or produce antipersonnel mines, it said.

A small number of countries are actively producing anti-personnel landmines and they are likely to include India, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan and Russia, The biggest stockpiles are held by Russia, Pakistan, India, China and the United States.

A graphic, entitled “Where are the Landmines?”, shows global landmine contamination statuses as of 2022. Copyrighted work created by Statista available under Creative Commons attribution only license CC by 4.0 (CNS photo/Statista, CC by 4.0)

As war enters third year, Ukrainians helped by church number in the millions

By Paulina Guzik

KRAKOW, Poland (OSV News) – A group of women from a little village between Kharkiv and Izium in eastern Ukraine decided they were fed up with landmine danger in their village, preventing residents from living their lives in some normality amid war.

So with materials as simple as a plank and a long string, they constructed their own equipment and demined a part of the village.

“They really show the incredible resilience of this country!” Father Leszek Kryza told OSV News.
Father Kryza travels to Ukraine at least once a month, especially to the devastated eastern regions. In January, he visited the “mine-blowing” women not only because of their sheer bravado, but because the Polish bishops’ Office for Helping the Church in the East led by Father Kryza equipped them with sewing machines so that – despite ongoing war – they have a job.

Once the war started, the women sheltered with the Orionine sisters in Korotych and it was the sisters who signaled Father Kryza, who then alerted his friends in the church in Italy, and that’s how supplies and sewing machines eventually landed in eastern Ukraine.

“It has worked like that since Feb. 24, 2022,” he told OSV News, referring to the start of a full- scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“It’s a constant chain of good hearts,” he said.

Entering the third year of war several church institutions wrapped their aid effort in “two years of war” reports, showing that millions of people have been saved thanks to the Catholic Church.

A million people – whether Ukrainian refugees in Poland or those inside Ukraine – have been helped by Caritas Poland. In 2023 alone, the aid was worth $37 million.

Another 1.6 million have been helped by the Knights of Columbus, with $22.3 million raised for Ukraine since 2022.

CNEWA, or Catholic Near East Welfare Association, rushed $5,8 million in emergency funds over the past year to church-led relief efforts in Ukraine and in neighboring countries receiving those fleeing the missiles.

The Vatican sent 240 trucks with supplies to Ukraine over the past two years, with $2.2 million of its charity funds dedicated to Ukraine just in 2022.

Asked what percentage of help for 17 million Ukrainians, including 5 million of those internally displaced, comes from the Catholic Church, Father Kryza said, “I tried to calculate it once, but it’s impossible! Because it’s not that you’ll gather data from Caritas, Knights of Columbus, the Vatican and other ‘big actors.’ It’s the orders, female and male congregations, individual priests, volunteers spread across Ukraine, it’s just one big church on the front lines.”

Father Luca Bovio, an Italian Consolata Missionary who works next door to Father Kryza in Warsaw, in the Polish branch of Pontifical Mission Societies, told OSV News that it’s an “incredible international chain” of aid. “When the war started, people from Africa, Canada and several European countries called me, and said, ‘We want to help, where do we send the funds or supplies?’ So I knocked on my neighbor’s door – Father Leszek, for whom Ukraine is another home, and that’s how since his first trip after February 24, we’re in this together!”

If numbers hide the concrete faces of people aided by the church, Polish Dominican Sister Mateusza Trynda, who is working in the western Ukraine city of Zhovkva, has plenty to talk about.

Sister Mateusza was on front pages of Polish media when the war started, pictured with a ladle and huge pot of soup, standing in the middle of a field next to the road leading to the Ukrainian border with Poland.

Now she said the help looks different – but the needs are just as great.

“We distributed aid packages to 700 people in February, but in the war’s peak moment we handed aid to a group of 2,500 internally displaced people regularly,” she told OSV News.

“We distribute everything that is needed for life. So there’s food, clothing, furniture, mattresses, pillows, quilts, dishes, heaters, irons,” she said.

All is needed – a sentence repeated over and over again from Kyiv to the Vatican.

“In one of our trucks we had thousands of jeans. One was full of chairs. And in one we sent hundreds of electric shavers,” Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity and papal almoner, told OSV News.

“The war is not ending. The needs are huge. I am told by Ukrainians all the time, ‘We need everything.’ Everything,” he said, adding that the shavers were sent to soldiers and that he recently received a picture of a female sergeant cutting the hair of her colleagues somewhere on the front line.

Cardinal Krajewski visited Ukraine seven times since the start of the full-scale invasion, including Zaporozhzhia, where had to escape gunfire in September 2022.

In the eastern Ukraine city, the Albertine brothers still distribute 1,500 meals a week. Their bakery is operated by the homeless they shelter on a daily basis.

Russian occupation authorities banned the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and other Catholic ministries, including Caritas and the Knights of Columbus in December 2023 in occupied areas of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.

“That ban shows how important the role of the church is, and under what circumstances we can and must act to help those most in need,” said Szymon Czyszek, the Knights of Columbus’ director of international growth in Europe.

The organization delivered aid to the besieged town of Avdiivka before it fell to the Russian forces in mid-February.

“It must be said that such actions involve the risk of loss of life. A bomb exploded in front of the car with the Knights driving with help,” he said. “They were lucky to survive,” he added.

From establishing border Mercy Centers at the beginning of the war, to distributing 250,000 care packages with 7.7 million pounds of food and supplies, and thousands of warm coats to Ukrainian children in addition to running programs deactivating landmines, the Knights will continue to help, said Czyszek.

“No matter how tense the political situation over Ukraine will be, we won’t stop. Because Ukraine is the embodiment of the suffering Christ – we cannot be indifferent,” he said.

“We can’t be bored by this war,” Father Marcin Izycki, director of Caritas Poland, told journalists ahead of the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

Father Bovio added that “the situation is as bad as it was at the beginning of the invasion, it’s sad, but that’s the reality.”

Cardinal Krajewski emphasized that the church won’t stop helping as it’s the “pure Gospel” to stand with those that suffer, but that discussions in the West regarding whether to send or not to send aid to Ukraine are worrying him the most.

“Being divided never helps, it doesn’t help any country, it doesn’t help any church, and it doesn’t help Ukraine,” he said.

“I know so many people who still dedicate all their free time of the year to go to Ukraine and distribute help as volunteers – the world needs to learn how to be compassionate from them,” he said.

“It’s so that hope doesn’t die,” Sister Mateusza told OSV News. “I met people with damaged houses that have nothing at all. But they still had hope. Because if hope dies, that’s really the end.”

Sister Mateusza said psychological help is urgently needed for people tired of war, and desperate for it to end, widows and orphaned children, but also those internally displaced and over 6 million Ukrainians living abroad as refugees.

She said everyone can help with prayer, too. “It’s crucial. None of us in Zhovkva, and there are four of us sisters there, won’t go to bed without saying a rosary for soldiers. We added those prayers to our daily order routine. Please pray, Ukrainians need you.”

Basilian Sister Lucia Murashko talks with volunteers Denys Kuprikov, left, and Ivan Smyglia, far right, in Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine Feb. 7, 2023, where they planned to distribute humanitarian aid along the front in Russia’s war against Ukraine. (OSV News photo/Konstantin Chernichkin, CNEWA)

(Paulina Guzik is international editor for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @Guzik_Paulina)

Briefs

NATION
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (OSV News) – Alabama lawmakers in both the state’s House and Senate Feb. 29 passed similar bills to implement legal protections to in vitro fertilization clinics following a ruling by that state’s Supreme Court that frozen embryos qualify as children under the state law’s wrongful death law. IVF is a form of fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church on the grounds that it often involves the destruction of human embryos, among other concerns. Both chambers passed similar bills, but they must reconcile their pieces of legislation before sending one to the governor’s desk. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey has signaled her support for protecting IVF in law. The ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court found that embryos are children under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, a statute that allows parents of a deceased child to recover punitive damages for their child’s death. That ruling came in response to appeals brought by couples whose embryos were destroyed in 2020, when a hospital patient improperly removed frozen embryos from storage equipment, which they argued constituted a wrongful death. The judges found that under the law, parents’ ability to sue over the wrongful death of a minor child applies to unborn children, without an exception for “extrauterine children.” Though limited in scope, the ruling has created complex legal questions about what it entailed for IVF treatments in the state.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (OSV News) – A candidate for sainthood is inspiring Catholic Scouts in Illinois to earn a new patch while deepening their relationship with Christ in the Eucharist. The Catholic Committee on Scouting in the Diocese of Springfield has announced the creation of the Venerable Father Augustine Tolton Activity Patch, which honors the first recognized Black priest in the U.S. Requirements for the patch include learning about Tolton’s life, visiting a seminary or religious community to better understand vocational discernment, modeling Father Tolton’s patient disposition and engaging in prayer. Kyle Holtgrave, the diocese’s director for catechesis, said the inspiration for the Tolton patch came from the upcoming National Eucharistic Congress, set to take place in Indianapolis July 17-21 as the culmination of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, a grassroots effort by the U.S. bishops to rekindle devotion to the Real Presence. Father Tolton, who persisted in his faith despite systemic racism and rejection, exemplified a love for the Eucharist – one that speaks to a new generation, said Holtgrave.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The ability of Catholic and other faith-based groups to “meet migrants’ basic human needs” at the U.S.-Mexico border is a religious liberty issue and must be defended, U.S. bishops said in recent statements. In a Feb. 26 statement issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an attempt to shut down Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit in El Paso serving migrants, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, expressed solidarity with faith-driven ministries to migrants. He noted the “strong tradition of religious liberty” in the U.S. “allows us to live out our faith in full,” and said that as “the tragic situation along our border with Mexico increasingly poses challenges for American communities and vulnerable persons alike, we must especially preserve the freedom of Catholics and other people of faith to assist their communities and meet migrants’ basic human needs.” Paxton’s suit targeting El Paso’s Annunciation House comes as some Republicans have grown increasingly hostile toward nongovernmental organizations, particularly Catholic ones, that provide resources such as food and shelter to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Bishop Rhoades’ statement followed the Texas bishops’ Feb. 23 statement, which he praised for “expressing solidarity with those seeking simply to fulfill the fundamental biblical call: ‘whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

An image taken with the near-infrared camera from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the Ring Nebula Aug. 21, 2023. (CNS photo/courtesy ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Barlow, N. Cox, R. Wesson)

VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Orbiting the sun nearly 1 million miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope is reshaping the way scientists understand the universe and its origins, a number of astronomers said at a Vatican-sponsored meeting. “The telescope is able to see things that prior telescopes just could not see,” Jonathan Lunine, a professor of astronomy and department chair at Cornell University, told Catholic News Service Feb. 28. It has such unprecedented power in terms of its sensitivity, wavelength range and image sharpness that it is “doing revolutionary things” and leading to exciting new discoveries in multiple fields, he said. Lunine, who is a planetary scientist and physicist, was one of nearly 50 experts in the field of astronomy attending a Feb. 27-29 workshop organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences to discuss the newest results from the Webb telescope. Launched Dec. 25, 2021, NASA’s latest space science observatory is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built. It began sending full-color images and data back to Earth after it became fully operational in July 2022. NASA said on its Webb.nasa.gov page, “Telescopes show us how things were – not how they are right now,” which helps humanity “understand the origins of the universe.” “Webb is so sensitive it could theoretically detect the heat signature of a bumblebee at the distance of the Moon,” it said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Crying out to God and demanding answers when one’s child dies is anything but a sign of a lack of faith, Pope Francis told a group of grieving Italian parents. “There is nothing worse than silencing pain, putting a silencer on suffering, removing traumas without facing them, as our world often encourages in its rush and numbness,” the pope said in a speech written for members of the “Talità Kum” Association from Vicenza, Italy. While the pope had an aide read his speech March 2 because he was suffering from bronchitis, he personally greeted each member of the group. In the text, the pope said he wanted to “offer a caress to your heart, broken and pierced like that of Jesus on the cross: a heart that is bleeding, a heart bathed in tears and torn apart by a heavy sense of emptiness.” The loss of a child is “an experience that defies theoretical descriptions and rejects the triviality of religious or sentimental words” or “sterile encouragements,” the text said. Recognizing that too often the pious phrases Christians offer to grieving parents do nothing to help and may just add to the pain, the pope said that the best response is “to imitate the emotion and compassion of Jesus in the face of pain,” not trying to minimize it, but to share it.

WORLD
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (OSV News) – As the wave of violence torments gang-decimated Haiti, six male religious, a lay teacher and a priest were kidnapped in two separate incidents Feb. 23 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The six members of the Congregation of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart were abducted on their way to the John XXIII School, which is run by the order. A teacher who was with them was also taken, the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need confirmed. “In view of this painful event, the John XXIII institution is closing its doors until further notice. The other institutions of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart throughout the country will continue the work of raising awareness among the new generation of the values of living together in harmony, with a view to the emergence of a new society that is more humane, more caring, and more united,” said the congregation in a statement sent to ACN. Only a few hours later, a priest was also kidnapped in Port-au-Prince. He was taken from his parish church, alongside some of the faithful, soon after celebrating morning Mass. Despite the tireless work of the church, clergy and religious have not been spared the violence of armed gangs.

DORI, Burkina Faso (OSV News) – At least 15 people were killed in an attack by gunmen on Catholics gathered for Sunday Mass in a Burkina Faso village Feb. 25, according to multiple news reports. Twelve Catholics were dead at the scene in the village of Essakane, with another three dying while being treated at a health center, and two others wounded, according to a statement from Bishop Laurent Birfuoré Dabiré of the Diocese of Dori in Northern Burkina Faso, which includes Essakane. “In these painful circumstances, we invite you to pray for the eternal rest of those who have died in the faith, for the healing of the wounded and for the consolation of sorrowful hearts,” the bishop said in the statement. “We also pray for the conversion of those who continue to sow death and desolation in our country. May our efforts of penance and prayer during this period of Lent bring peace and security to our country, Burkina Faso,” the bishop said. According to AP, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but jihadis who have perpetuated similar violence are suspected of carrying it out. Christians in Burkina Faso have been increasingly targeted in recent years by terrorist groups amid political and social upheaval.

FEATURED PHOTO … The award goes to …

LONG BEACH – Director of Catholic Education for the diocese, Karla Luke was bestowed the Dr. Keith Shaffer Memorial Educational Leadership Award by Cognia at their Annual Spring Continuous Improvement Institute on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Cognia is a global accrediting agency that strengthens school performance by centering efforts on school improvement. Luke was described as “a shining example of servant leadership.” (Photo courtesy of Bridget Martin)