Author Archives: Tereza Ma

“Alleluia is Our Song”

Posted on by
Reply

LIGHT ONE CANDLE
By Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
St. Augustine once said, “We are an Easter people and alleluia is our song!” What a beautiful reminder of the joy that accompanies this season of resurrection and redemption.
But being joyful isn’t always easy, even during the Easter season. So how do we get beyond the things of this world that drag us down so we can more fully experience the joy of the Resurrection in our own lives?
Of course, Lent is a preparation for Easter in that we practice detachment in order to open ourselves to the gifts of the spirit. But transitioning from Lent to Easter can sometimes be a challenge. Gathering in celebration with family, friends, and loved ones can help awaken our Easter joy. Something to focus on in these gatherings is making others joyful. This is the way of Christ, to put our own cares aside in favor of serving the needs of others. Before we know it, we will have connected with Christ in such a deep way that the joy of Easter found in our own sacrifices will come alive.
Another way to awaken our Easter joy is to consider the many ways Christ has already affected resurrections in our own lives and in the world around us. Christ’s Resurrection is both a miraculous and an historical event, demonstrating that sin and death have been completely sovercome. But we don’t need to wait around for our own resurrection from the dead to be convinced of Christ’s power at work in the world.
Think of the many times Christ has brought people and situations back from the brink. He does this in our lives all the time. He brings good out of bad situations. He rescues us from failure and opens new doors for us to pursue our own unique calling in life. Consider that, no matter what tragedies have occurred in our lives, each and every one of us stands at a point where God allows us to be for a very specific reason. And when we open our hearts to this reality, the future holds out amazing and life-changing possibilities.
Our Christopher News Note on Easter recounts the story of Benjamin Mofta, a Coptic Christian priest living in Egypt. One day, Mofta and his fellow Coptic priest Samaan Shehata were traveling to Cairo on a pastoral visit when an ISIS terrorist jumped in front of their vehicle and attacked them, injuring Mofta and killing Shehata. Far from allowing this horrible incident to cripple him with fear, Mofta explains, “I feel like I can move even more freely. I just do what God asks of me. Fear would make me passive…. I live my life with Christ. In Jesus, there is no fear of death. Father Samaan is in a good place now with Christ, whom he loves so much.”
Consider the faith it must require to wake up every day in a world of such violence and persecution and stay committed to doing good. This is faith in the Resurrection. It’s faith in a Christ who overcame death. But it’s also faith in a Christ who can help us rise again from every tragedy and setback we face in this life. Living in this way is what it means to be an Easter people. So let’s embrace the opportunity this season provides to realize the Risen Christ at work in our lives, to allow the joy of the Resurrection to enter our hearts, and to share that joy with everyone we meet.

(Father Ed Dougherty, MM, is on the board of directors for the Christophers, a multimedia evangelization ministry.)

Wisdom, mixed with humility, is Easter gift

Posted on by

GUEST COLUMN
By Sister alies therese
“The hour is coming when those who kill you will insist they are worshipping God.” (cf Jn 16:2). Whoever that is or whoever it was in Jesus’ time there is a presumption that hostility from an unbelieving world will be a permanent facet of Christian life. There is the hostility of the external world and frequently great hostility in our inner world. Here it is we learn the wisdom of humility and that humility is necessary for the prayer of our hearts. Thomas Merton quips at one point how humility fares: “Recently in the breviary we had a saint who, at the point of death, removed his pontifical vestments and got out of bed. He died on the floor, which is only right: but one hardly has time to be edified by it – one is still musing over the fact that he had pontifical vestments on in bed.”
I was particularly engrossed in Merton’s Hagia Sofia, a prose-poem about Wisdom (with a focus on humility) (Proverbs 8). He sets the poem in a context of canonical hours. Here is his first stanza at “Dawn. The Hour of Lauds”:
“There is in all visible things an invisible fecundity, a dimmed light, a meek namelessness, a hidden wholeness. This mysterious Unity and Integrity is Wisdom, the Mother of all, Natura naturans. There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a fount of action and joy. It rises up in wordless gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all created being, welcoming me tenderly, saluting me with indescribable humility… the gift of my Creator’s thought and Art within me, speaking as Hagia Sophia, speaking as my sister, Wisdom.”
Merton explores humility as the day progresses.
At the Hour of High Morning he engages us again:
“…That which is poorest and humblest, that which is most hidden in all things is nevertheless most obvious in them… naked and without care. Sophia, the feminine child, playing in the world, obvious and unseen, playing at all times before the Creator. Her delights are to be with the children of [men]. She is their sister. The core of life that exists in all things is tenderness, mercy, virginity, the Light, the Life considered as passive…Sophia is Gift, is Spirit. She is God-Given and God as Gift. God as all reduced to Nothing: inexhaustible nothingness…Humility as the source of unfailing light.”
And finally from Hour at Sunset we are reminded:
“…through her (Mary’s) wise answer, through her obedient understanding, through the sweet yielding consent of Sophia, God enters without publicity into the human city…She crowns Him not with what is glorious, but with what is greater than glory: weakness, nothingness, poverty. She sends the infinitely Rich and Powerful One forth as poor and helpless, in His mission of inexpressible mercy, to die for us on a Cross.
The shadows fall. The stars appear. The birds begin to sleep. Night embraces the silent half of the earth.
A vagrant, a destitute wanderer with dusty feet, finds his way down a new road. A homeless God, lost in the night, without papers, without identification, without even a number, a frail expendable exile lies down in desolation under the sweet stars of the world and entrusts Himself to sleep.”
Wisdom we know is of divine origin, agreeing with God at the creation of the universe, providing beauty and variety. Now we see her as fully revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ incarnate. It is with humility that we might enter into this powerful relationship when we pray and seek after the gifts and challenges.
That our God allows both profound artistic creativity and such humiliating and painful action, reminds me that my life too is a deep mixture. Not just the ‘good or bad” – rather the ‘whole and the broken; the sin-centered selfishness and the following God’s will. As these days of Easter pass, and the intensity of our Liturgy drives us ever deeper into the humility of God, may we be enriched by all that surrounds us, all that challenges us to serve others, and all that enables us to get out of our beds and die on the floor, after removing our pontifical vestments, choosing Wisdom rather than folly.
We come to the end of a Lenten struggle, perhaps to be beset again, having learned only one prayer, that of the publican: ‘Lord, Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner.’
Now I, too, can go forward, learning to become a delight, filled only with Wisdom and her playful and hopeful energy emanating from the Body of Christ, raised from the dead.
Blessings.

(Sister alies therese is a vowed Catholic solitary who lives an eremitical life. Her days are formed around prayer, art and writing. She is author of six books of spiritual fiction and is a weekly columnist. She lives and writes in Mississippi.)

Save the Dates: Faith Formation Opportunities

Posted on by
Reply

2019 Pastoral Ministries Workshop
“Christ, Our Mission”

For Lay Ecclesial Ministers, Pastoral Ministers, Pastoral Associates, DRE/CREs, Youth Ministers, RCIA Directors, campus ministers and all lay ministry leaders.

Monday – Thursday, June 2-6
Lake Tiak O’Kahata, Louisville, Miss.
Year 1: Effective Communications in Ministry, Leo Trahan, Director of Religious Education, Diocese of Biloxi.
Year 2: Developing, Maintaining and Balancing Programs, Janet Masline, Associate Director, Religious Education, Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama.
Year 3: Ministry and Canon Law, Father Kevin Slattery,
Vicar General, Diocese of Jackson.
Retreat: June 2-3.
Extended Retreat: June 3-6
Registration Deadline: Monday, May 20.

Cost: $500, includes room, all meals, and workshop.
$200 for commuters, includes meals and workshop.
Scholarships Available

Fall Faith Formation Day
Saturday, August 3, Madison St. Francis of Assisi Parish.

To register or for details on both: Fran Lavelle, Fran.lavelle@jacksondiocese.org or (601) 960-8473.

Victim assistance coordinators comfort in a behind-the-scenes ministry

Posted on by
Reply

Editor’s note: April is National Child Abuse Awareness month. Both editions of Mississippi Catholic will be dedicated to the issue. It includes local and national perspective on abuse and abuse prevention including stories from a Catholic News Service special series: Children at Risk.

By Dennis Sadowski
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Their work begins with a phone call.
Whether the call is from someone who is angry, embarrassed, unsure of what to do or needs a friendly ear, diocesan and eparchial victim assistance coordinators are the face of the church’s response to victims of sexual abuse by a church worker – clergy or otherwise.
It’s a line of work that is public in one sense but not all that well known in another. While their names often appear in parish bulletins, the faithful aren’t always sure of the role they play in the life of the church.
Most importantly though, coordinators told Catholic News Service, theirs is a ministry built on compassion, created to show that the Catholic Church wants to help people in their recovery and reconciliation after an appalling violation of their human dignity.
“It’s about listening and communicating and identifying needs,” Kathleen Chastain, victim services coordinator in the Office of Child and Youth Protection in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, said of her work.
“There are calls now and then where people are just angry and venting, but the vast majority are people who are trying to find the way to reconciliation,” said Frank Moncher, a clinical psychologist who is victim assistance coordinator in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia. “They’re hurt, they’re wounded. They’re obviously upset about the way things were handled in the past. But here they are looking for a way of finding peace.”
For Heather Banis, a clinical psychologist who is victim assistance coordinator for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the idea of ministry is foremost in her work.
“My sense is that this is doing the right thing. When we couple what we do for healing with what we do for prevention, I feel like we’re moving steadily to a safe and more authentic response in regard to prevention and recovery needs,” she said.
The position of victim assistance coordinator was established in the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” adopted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to the sexual abuse crisis that exploded in 2002. Article 2 of the charter states that “dioceses/eparchies are to have a competent person or person to coordinate assistance for the immediate pastoral care of persons who report having been sexually abused as minors by clergy or other church personnel.”
Deacon Bernard Nojadera, executive director of the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection at the USCCB, said all 197 U.S. dioceses and eparchies have such a coordinator in place.
“In some cases, these are actually diocesan employees. In some cases, they are using an outside third party like Catholic Charities or a local mental health agency to provide these services. But there is someone they (survivors) can connect with, that can accompany the survivor victim on their journey toward healing,” Deacon Nojadera said.
The Diocese of Jackson’s victim’s assistance coordinator, Valerie McClellan, is a licenced counselor who heads up the Solomon Counseling Center. She and her staff are trained in trauma therapy for both children and adults or refer a victim for other appropriate treatment.
Victim assistance programs are meant to show that the church cares about abuse victims, he added.
“Opening transparency is a big thing that needs to be carried out. Victim assistance coordinators are one way that that’s being carried out. They’re communicating that they’re promising to protect, promising to heal,” he said. “The victim assistance coordinator is one of the ways that the church is doing that, one of the ways of helping the bishops keep that promise of transparency.”
Banis, Chastain and Moncher know that when a victim reaches out to their office, it is a high bar to get over. Victims may have self-doubt, serious unmet mental health needs or skepticism that the church really will help. No matter the situation, they credited survivor victims for taking an important step.
“Somebody on their first call, it may be very unsettling. It’s not easy. It’s hard to do. There’s a lot of anxiety about that,” said Banis, who has been in her role since 2016 and has worked with the Los Angeles Archdiocese assisting with abuse claims for a decade.
Chastain, a onetime business consultant whose work in abuse awareness and prevention at her parish led to her appointment as coordinator, has been in the position for three years. She works side-by-side with an independent ombudsman in determining a survivor victim’s needs. The ombudsman is charged with understanding the facts of the allegation while Chastain’s role is to support the victim.
“We could accompany them to the police for a statement and pulling in any professional counselor or spiritual adviser. Sometimes it’s sitting with the bishop. And it’s figuring out what it is that they need to help them on their journey,” Chastain said.
“For the most part, the victims are very grateful (for what we do),” she added.
Moncher, in his position for six months, said he has found that most of the survivors who call the office are “people of strong faith.”
“They’ve been asked, ‘Why haven’t you given up on the church?’ Their answers have been, ‘It’s the people who made the mistake. The church is still the church,’” he said.
Such deep faith in the church has been inspiring for the coordinators. They said that while survivor victims want justice from the church, they also desire to stay connected with the broader Catholic community, the body of Christ.
In some cases, the coordinator’s office regularly convenes support groups of survivor victims. In Arlington, the gatherings differ from meeting to meeting. One may offer advice on healing and the next may be a holy hour of prayer and reflection.
“The benefit of the group is fighting against the isolation that they feel when they’re going through this, Moncher said.
Banis keeps a list of survivors whom she can contact to air ideas for outreach and programs for support. “We are doing our best to stay relevant and authentic in these efforts,” she told CNS.
The coordinators agreed that the entire church has a role in helping abuse survivors achieve healing and reconciliation and working to help perpetrators face the harm they have committed.
“We’re the body of Christ together and that we as a community can heal together if we recognize each and every member and hold those who have harmed accountable in a reconciliatory manner,” Chastain said. “And we need to believe and validate and support and care for these survivors, who, even if they’ve left the church, are a part of our community.”
Banis closed by offering advice to those who criticize survivor victims for waiting years to report their abuse.
“I want people to take a moment to think about what it would be like to be a child and to have heard from their parents that this person (abuser) is one of the most respected persons you will ever meet and a representative of God,” Banis said. “To be harmed by that person, perhaps threatened by that person or perhaps in some way made to feel complicit is a powerful deterrent to a small child who is afraid, who has been frightened and is afraid of what could happen next and who has been told not to be expected to be believed.
“This is something that changes people’s lives. It changes what they feel about themselves, their families and certainly how they feel about God.”
She continued, “I want to caution people before we’re quick to judge and dismiss and ask, ‘Why now?’ Just remember what it’s like to be 6 or 7 years old or 12 or 13 years old and to be caught up in something you cannot possibly understand. I just feel like we need to have more compassion.”
Banis added, “It’s a community effort to live up to our responsibilities to make the healing begin.”

(Follow Sadowski on Twitter: @DennisSadowski)

Vicksburg St. Mary pastor installed

Posted on by
Reply

By John Surratt
VICKSBURG – On March 3, 26 years after arriving in the U.S. in 1993, Father Joseph Nguyen, SVD, “Father Joseph” to his parishioners, was installed as the 18th pastor of St. Mary Parish. He succeeds Father Malcolm O’Leary who retired.
Bishop Joseph Kopacz said an installation ceremony is “a very special opportunity, because it brings the parish together. “Also, it keeps that bond with the bishop and the diocese together. That’s what’s really neat about it; everybody remembers that we’re all part of the body of Christ. I know Father Joseph is very excited, because it gives the pastor that sense of ‘now I’m here.’”
As noted by The Vicksburg Post of March 4th, in 1991, Joseph Nguyen was living in a refugee camp with family members in the Philippines waiting to come to the United States. A native of Vietnam, Nguyen said he found his vocation while living in the refugee camp, adding two missionary priests from the Society of the Divine Word inspired him to enter the priesthood by their dedication to serving others. After arriving in the U.S. he entered Divine Word College seminary in 1995 and later attended the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois. He was ordained in 2008. In 2015, he was assigned as associate pastor for St. Joseph Catholic Church in Livingston, Texas. He came to St. Mary’s, his first assignment as a pastor, Sept. 1.
“St. Mary’s is a nice church, nice people. We work together, and they help and support me a lot. We have a lot of unity,’ said Father Joseph. Nguyen is the youngest pastor the church has had.

(Republished with permission from The Vicksburg Post)

  • Father Joseph Chau Nguyen laughs with Bishop Joseph Kopacz during the Installation Ceremony at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Sunday (Courtland Wells/The Vicksburg Post)

Parish calendar of events

Posted on by
Reply

SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
COVINGTON Louisiana, Married couples retreat, May 4-5 at St. Joseph Abbey Christian Life Retreat Center, 8 a.m.- 1 p.m. Come away for rest and spiritual strength and nourishment. Suggested donation: $275 per couple. Details: www.faithandmarriage.org or call (504) 830-3716.
CULLMAN, Ala., Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center, Common Wisdom: Parallels in Benedictine and Twelve-Step Spiritualities, Saturday, May 4, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. This reflection day will focus on the core principles of Twelve-Step spirituality and the gift of spiritual freedom that is experienced when these principles are put into practice. Retreat Director: Sister Therese Haydel, O.S.B. Cost: $30, includes lunch. Details: (256) 734-8302, retreats@shmon.org or www.shmon.org.
Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center, Eight-day Intensive/Post-Intensive Centering Prayer, May 21-28. Retreat Intensive: An in-depth retreat for those experienced in Centering Prayer. DVD’s of Father Thomas Keating’s Spiritual Journey course will be viewed. Post-Intensive: A next step into a profound silence and stillness to facilitate a more intimate union with God. An Intensive Centering Prayer experience is a prerequisite of the Post-Intensive. Arrive between 3-5 p.m. on arrival day, with departure after breakfast on the final day. Fee includes lodging, meals, linens, and program materials. Details: Contact Katy Smith at (205) 410-1493 or smithdoc20@gmail.com for cost and registration information. Deadline for registration and deposit is May 1. Go to www.shmon.org for more information.

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
AMORY St. Helen, Book Discussion Group will read The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Cathy Byrd at noon on Monday, May 13, at the parish hall. Everyone is invited to read the book and plan to join the discussion. Details: church office (662) 256-8392.
CLARKSDALE St. Elizabeth, Gospel of St. Luke Bible Study, Wednesdays at noon in the meeting room. Details: contact study leader Libby Antici at the church office (662) 624-4301.
GREENVILLE St. Joseph, Annual Abide Memorial Golf tournament, Friday, May 17, at 1 p.m. at the Greenville Country Club, 2476 Highway 1 South. The tournament is a St. Joseph School tuition assistance fundraiser. Details: Cindy Abide at the church office (662) 335-5251.
GRENADA St. Peter, Old Fashioned Church Picnic, Sunday, May 5. Food will be provided. Please gather items not needed around your home for bingo prizes. Details: church office (662) 226-2490.
HERNANDO Holy Spirit, “The Great American Game Show” Saturday, July 13, at 7 p.m. in the Family Life Center. There will be food, fun and prizes. Let Ken or Dana know if you have a favorite classic game show that you would like to help recreate. Details: Ken and Dana Hoover at (901) 426-2047 or (662) 420-0110.
MADISON St. Francis of Assisi, 32nd Annual Cajun Fest, Sunday, May 5, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. They will have mouth-watering items including crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, boiled crawfish and other Cajun delicacies. They will also have games for the kids, awesome raffle prizes and bingo. Dance to live music by Waylon Thibodeau. Arts and craft vendors will also have a variety of Mississippi-made products on display. Details: church office (601) 856-5556 or visit https://www.facebook.com/stfrancismadison.
NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, Adult Sunday School, “Queen of Heaven: Mary’s Battle for Souls,” DVD series from Saint Benedict Press, Sundays at 8:30 a.m. in the conference room of the Family Life Center. Details: Karen Verucchi, Class facilitator at (601) 870-5388.

YOUTH BRIEFS
BROOKHAVEN St. Francis, CYO Lock-In (guys only) for grades 4-12, Friday, May 5, 6 p.m. – 10 a.m. Details: Ms. Ange’le at (601) 757-3084.
CLEVELAND, Delta State University students meet Tuesdays at 9 p.m. at the Union, 2nd floor (east side). Details: To receive text notifications, send your name by text to Father Kent Bowlds at (662) 588-5868.
MADISON St. Joseph School, St. Joe Bruin Classic Golf Tournament, Friday, May 10, Whisper Lake Golf Club, 414 Annandale Parkway, Madison. Proceeds to fund all St. Joseph School athletics. Details: Dana Caskey at dana.caskey@comcast.net or www.stjoebruins.com. for more information.
MERIDIAN Catholic Community of St. Joseph and St. Patrick, Baccalaureate Mass, Sunday, May 5, at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick in honor of graduating high school students. Details: contact youth ministry office if you plan to attend at (601) 693-1321, ext. 9 or john@catholicmeridian.org.
NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, May Crowning/Senior Farewell Mass, Friday, May 3. Cathedral student body, faculty and staff will attend the 8 a.m. Mass at St. Mary Basilica for the annual May crowing of Blessed Mother. It will also be the senior Farewell Mass for graduating seniors. Everyone is invited to attend. Details: school office (601) 601-442-1988.

“The place to start is the upholding the primacy of the sacrament of baptism.”

Posted on by
Reply

By Catholic News Service
(Editor’s note: Bishop Joseph Kopacz’ chrism Mass homily can be found on page 3 of this issue.)
WASHINGTON (CNS) – A number of Catholic bishops referenced the clergy sexual abuse scandal during local chrism Masses in calling for a renewal of the priesthood and greater partnership in serving the church among ordained priests and the laity, whose priesthood of service is guaranteed by baptism.
Each diocese celebrates a chrism Mass to bless the oils used in sacraments and long-standing prayer rituals throughout the year. Priests also renew their vows of service to God and the church at the Mass.
A chrism Mass traditionally is celebrated the morning of Holy Thursday, but it can be moved to another day to accommodate the needs of a local diocese. In the Diocese of Jackson, it is on the Tuesday of Holy Week.
Citing Pope Francis’ letter to U.S. bishops as they met in retreat in January to pray and reflect on their role as ordained clergy, Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Anchorage, Alaska, said the pontiff called for a “new ecclesial season.”
The retreat was planned in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis that rose anew in 2018, in part around questions about how some prelates handled abuse allegations.
“(The pope’s) words to the bishops are also a good instruction for every priest: ‘What is being asked of us today is a new presence in the world, conformed to the cross of Christ, one that takes concrete shape in service to the men and women of our time,'” Archbishop Etienne said.
The new ecclesial season, the archbishop said at the April 10 Mass, can be found in the way Jesus encountered people, engaging them in the “reality and messiness of their lives.”
“He invited them to a fuller experience of life, by entering a personal relationship with him, inviting them to follow him, and asking that they make a free gift of their life to others,” he said.
The chrism Mass serves to raise awareness and renew the fundamental belief that “despite worldly distractions and allurements, suffering, persecution, even death by martyrdom – no matter what the Christian endures – fidelity to Christ gains us the ultimate victory,” Archbishop Etienne told the congregation gathered at Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral in Anchorage.
He described the new ecclesial season as one in which all members of the church accompany each other on their pilgrimage of faith. The new season, he continued “is about a great partnership between all members of the church” and requires growth in love and unity that emerges from a closer relationship with Jesus while putting individual faith and gifts “at the service of the broader community.”
In Reno, Nevada, Bishop Randolph R. Calvo reminded the priests at the chrism Mass April 11 at St. Rose of Lima Church that their renewal of their commitment to carry out the sacred duties of priesthood was a recognition of the importance of service and ministry to others.
Such a renewal, he explained, was to be taken against the backdrop of the clergy sexual abuse crisis that has “shaken” the Catholic Church and “called into question among many faithful Catholics their trust in their priests and bishops” and even the church institution itself.
Acknowledging that priests have suffered from “this scandal,” Bishop Calvo said “the crimes of our confreres have left them feeling humiliated, sad and vulnerable. The perception that bishops have not advanced far in appropriately handling abuse cases make them angry and frustrated.”
Still, he said, the scripture readings from the Mass, including the Gospel’s reference of Isaiah 61 can offer hope to a saddened church.
“They tell of the Anointed One who declares that God has sent him to proclaim glad tidings to the lowly, to heal and uplift, to free and console, to bestow the oil of gladness,” Bishop Calvo said. “He is Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One. We turn to him, our hope and salvation, and stand ready with you to receive the oil of gladness.”
The people to whom Jesus has been sent are responsible to “rebuild and restore” the church, he told the congregation. “That’s our mandate. … The place to start is the upholding the primacy of the sacrament of baptism.”
Bishop Calvo said the priesthood of the church involves both the ordained and “all the baptized, the entire church.”
He also took on clericalism, which he described as “placing the clergy as an elite class and raising the sacrament of holy orders above the sacrament of baptism in importance.”
The bishop called baptism the most important of sacraments and said all the baptized are anointed with chrism to share in Christ’s mission of creating a just society for all.
He called for clericalism to be “dealt with” because it puts priests “on a dangerous pedestal.”
“Priests need respect and affirmation as all of us do, but clericalism is different,” Bishop Calvo told the congregation
“The clergy sexual abuse scandal has pushed priests off the pedestal. But let’s go further. Why don’t we just smash the pedestal of clericalism to bits,” he said, explaining that doing so would “rebuild and restore the ordained ministry or priests.”
In Arlington, Virginia, at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge in his April 18 chrism Mass homily called to mind the words of the day’s responsorial psalm: “Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.”
“Yet some may ask how is that possible in light of the challenging times we have faced in our church and continue to face at this very moment,” he said. “As a diocese, we can readily point to many instances we have that enable us to sing of the goodness of the Lord. We are about to welcome hundreds of individuals who will be fully initiated into our Catholic Church at Easter.
“We were so inspired to see countless numbers of people celebrate God’s mercy in the sacrament of penance throughout Lent. We are uplifted by the example of our young people.”
Within the chrism Mass, Bishop Burbidge said, the church does not ask the bishop to renew his promises of ordination.
“But in light of the fact that in recent months the trust of the bishops have somewhat been eroded, I want to make my promises known and be held accountable for them,” he said. “I promise to be a more perfect image of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, the teacher and servant of all. I promise to encourage and stand by my brother priests in every way possible, to love them and our seminarians as a spiritual father.”
“I will continue to the best of my ability to teach the truth and the joy of the Gospel with fidelity and constancy,” he continued. “I will continue to work daily for the protection of children and the vulnerable, and with the appropriate transparency and necessary collaboration, that work will always be a priority. I will also continue in every way possible to support victims and survivors and be with them in their time of need.”
Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik told the priests of the diocese that Jesus “is counting on you and me, just as he counted on the exhausted apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane.
“We are here in this place and at this time because of them. They passed on the faith to us,” he said in his chrism Mass homily April 18. “And trust what can and will happen through us as we pass on the faith to others. Many, many more will come to learn, love, and live Jesus through you, through me. And how can that happen?”
“Jesus teaches us all by his example. Stay the course. Be men of prayer. Trust in him. Be men of hope. Build the kingdom of God,” Bishop Zubik continued.
He acknowledged that he and many of his brother priests are experiencing “emotions as raw” as what the first apostles experienced, but he said they all must “renew our yes to Jesus, right here, right now … help to build up the church as the body of Christ.”
The bishop added: “With Jesus as our model, our foundation, and our high priest, no fatigue, no tiredness, no exhaustion can ever take our eyes off the task or rob our hearts from preaching the Word or celebrating the sacraments or serving our people. You already know that! You are doing that so valiantly, so faithfully. … Nothing is impossible with God.”

(Contributing to this story was Elizabeth A. Elliott in Arlington.)

Retreat invites people to ‘walk with the Lord’

Posted on by
Reply

By Berta Mexidor
JACKSON — An international retreat movement hosted its first Mississippi retreat April 5-7 at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. The Emmaus movement is based on the passage in Luke 24, 13-35 when the disciples walk with Christ to the town of Emmaus, but do not recognize him until he reveals himself at the table. This parish ministry was founded in Miami by Father David G. Russell, Mirna Gallagher and a group of women dedicated to religious education. Their model has spread to several Latin American countries, China and Europe, mainly in Spain.
Lorena Urizar, of St. Peter’s Cathedral and coordinator of the Emmaus Ministry in Mississippi, said she and other coordinators have been preparing for more than two years individually and as a group by attending retreats in Texas and Missouri.
Upon their return, they began to invite others to share their experience. Emmaus ministry brought a group of coordinators from Houston and, together with the local team, offered the first retreat for women. The next Emmaus retreat, in this case for men, will be held May 3 – 5, coordinated by Irvin López and Ricardo Ruiz
The participants – called walkers – included 37 women were accompanied by members of the coordinating teams whom conducted the retreat in Spanish. Overall, 84 people from Texas, Missouri and Mississippi were present
During a three days retreat, walkers are in a closed environment reflecting Luke 24, 13-35 through unique techniques “The women’s retreat was an experience of true ‘encounter with the Lord’, with themselves and with the community” said Urizar. “All the walkers let God touch their lives with a testimony, a song, a dynamic, a hug, a moment of prayer, an encounter with nature and with the details with which God manifested itself in each one,” she added. Each participant can share with others the joy of the days but not the techniques, to not spoil the future experience of new walkers.
The mission of the Emmaus group “is to introduce people to the ministry of Christ so that they may experience the love of God and be converted, but without removing them from their path, that is, without pretending that they do it ‘our way,’ but (listen to) what the Lord shows them …, without removing them from their ministry,” Urizar explained.
“From this personal experience, each one could say, ‘were not our hearts burning, within us, while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?’, like the disciples did walking to Emmaus,” Urizar concluded “we want others to live the experience of walking the path of Emmaus and meet the risen Lord.”
the experience of walking the path of Emmaus and meet the risen Lord.”

At Easter the stones of sin, despair, are rolled away, pope says at vigil

Posted on by
Reply

By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As individuals and as a church, it can be tempting to dwell on mistakes, failures and sins that block the fullness of life, but Easter is the proclamation that the Lord is victorious and his love will triumph, Pope Francis said.
“Easter is the feast of tombstones taken away, rocks rolled aside,” the pope said in his homily April 20 during the Easter Vigil.
The gaze of the risen Lord, he said, “fills us with hope for it tells us that we are loved unfailingly and that however much we make a mess of things, his love remains unchanged. This is the one, non-negotiable certitude we have in life: his love does not change.”
Pope Francis began the vigil in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica, blessing a fire and lighting the Easter candle. A deacon carried the candle into the semi-darkened basilica, lit the pope’s candle and began sharing the light with the thousands of people in the congregation. Little by little light filled the world’s largest Catholic church.
During the liturgy, Pope Francis baptized and confirmed eight adults, who were between the ages of 21 and 60. The five women and three men included four Italians and one person each from Ecuador, Peru, Albania and Indonesia.
In his homily, the pope focused on the Gospel scene of the women going to Jesus’ tomb to anoint his dead body. Pope Francis imagined that the women were worried about how they would remove the stone sealing the tomb and said that in an analogous way it is a worry the entire Christian community can experience.
“At times,” he said, “it seems that everything comes up against a stone: the beauty of creation against the tragedy of sin; liberation from slavery against infidelity to the covenant; the promises of the prophets against the listless indifference of the people.”
“In the history of the church and in our own personal history,” he said, it may seem that “the steps we take never take us to the goal. We can be tempted to think that dashed hope is the bleak law of life.”
But, he said, “God takes away even the hardest stones against which our hopes and expectations crash: death, sin, fear, worldliness.”
The church is built on the risen Jesus, the living stone, he said, “and even when we grow disheartened and tempted to judge everything in the light of our failures, he comes to make all things new, to overturn our every disappointment.”
When the women entered Jesus’ tomb, they were met by two angels who asked them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?”
Pope Francis said many times Christians keep focused on the dead by giving in to resignation and failure, burying hope and becoming “cynical, negative and despondent.”
The “stone of sin” also seals human hearts, he said. “Sin seduces; it promises things easy and quick, prosperity and success, but then leaves behind only solitude and death. Sin is looking for life among the dead, for the meaning of life in things that pass away.”
“Why not make up your mind to abandon that sin which, like a stone before the entrance to your heart, keeps God’s light from entering in?” the pope asked people at Mass. “Why not tell the empty things of this world that you no longer live for them, but for the Lord of life?”
Easter joy comes when people learn to view their lives as God does, “for in each of us he never ceases to see an irrepressible kernel of beauty,” Pope Francis said. “In sin, he sees sons and daughters to be restored; in death, brothers and sisters to be reborn; in desolation, hearts to be revived.”
“Jesus is a specialist at turning our deaths into life, our mourning into dancing,” he said. With Jesus, each person can experience a “Passover from self-centeredness to communion, from desolation to consolation, from fear to confidence. Let us not keep our faces bowed to the ground in fear but raise our eyes to the risen Jesus.”

    Pope Francis holds a candle as he celebrates the Easter Vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican April 20, 2019. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)


    “At times,” he said, “it seems that everything comes up against a stone: the beauty of creation against the tragedy of sin; liberation from slavery against infidelity to the covenant; the promises of the prophets against the listless indifference of the people.”
    “In the history of the church and in our own personal history,” he said, it may seem that “the steps we take never take us to the goal. We can be tempted to think that dashed hope is the bleak law of life.”
    But, he said, “God takes away even the hardest stones against which our hopes and expectations crash: death, sin, fear, worldliness.”
    The church is built on the risen Jesus, the living stone, he said, “and even when we grow disheartened and tempted to judge everything in the light of our failures, he comes to make all things new, to overturn our every disappointment.”
    When the women entered Jesus’ tomb, they were met by two angels who asked them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?”
    Pope Francis said many times Christians keep focused on the dead by giving in to resignation and failure, burying hope and becoming “cynical, negative and despondent.”
    The “stone of sin” also seals human hearts, he said. “Sin seduces; it promises things easy and quick, prosperity and success, but then leaves behind only solitude and death. Sin is looking for life among the dead, for the meaning of life in things that pass away.”
    “Why not make up your mind to abandon that sin which, like a stone before the entrance to your heart, keeps God’s light from entering in?” the pope asked people at Mass. “Why not tell the empty things of this world that you no longer live for them, but for the Lord of life?”
    Easter joy comes when people learn to view their lives as God does, “for in each of us he never ceases to see an irrepressible kernel of beauty,” Pope Francis said. “In sin, he sees sons and daughters to be restored; in death, brothers and sisters to be reborn; in desolation, hearts to be revived.”
    “Jesus is a specialist at turning our deaths into life, our mourning into dancing,” he said. With Jesus, each person can experience a “Passover from self-centeredness to communion, from desolation to consolation, from fear to confidence. Let us not keep our faces bowed to the ground in fear but raise our eyes to the risen Jesus.”

    Songs and praise for Sister Thea Bowman

    Posted on by
    Reply

    CANTON – Gospel choirs from many churches gathered at Holy Child Jesus Parish on Saturday, March 30 for a musical celebration in honor of Sister Thea Bowman. Sister Thea died on March 30, 1990. Last year the Diocese of Jackson opened a cause for sainthood for the Mississippi native, who became Catholic and later served as a teacher at Holy Child.
    Choirs included the Mary Grove Baptist Church men’s choir, Jackson Christ the King and Holy Ghost choirs, the Frazier Riddel Choir, the Jackson Family, Ed Hightower, Landris Jones and the Rembert Washington Chorale.
    Participant choirs each offered a couple of songs while Billy Joe Wells, acting as master of ceremonies, kept the crowd upbeat and involved. Organizers hope to make the celebration an annual event.

    (Story and photos by Maureen Smith)