Hundreds of students “Rescued by Jesus” at Vacation Bible School

CLEVELAND – Our Lady of Victories used the “Shipwrecked and Rescued by Jesus” theme for their Vacation Bible School June 24-28 from 6-8 p.m. (Photos by Jenifer Jenkins)

CORINTH – St. James Parish hosted a Vacation Bible School during the last week of June. (Photos by Luis Rosales)

MADISON – Music played a big part in the St. Francis of Assisi Vacation Bible school, also using the “Shipwrecked and Rescued by Jesus” theme June 18-22. Every morning, students sang the theme song, “Never Let Go” to prepare for the parents’ program on the last day. Students got to make their own treasure chests, enjoyed beach-themed snacks and learned about Jesus’ love for them. (Photos by Eileen Dibble)

 

JACKSON – Boy Scout Troop 30 from Jackson St. Richard Parish presented flag at St. Dominic Hospital on Flag Day, Thursday, June 14. The troop also led a flad retirement ceremony at the St. Richard Fourth of July Celebration on Sunday, July 1, accepting flags from the community that needed to be disposed of respectfully. (Photo by Melisa Munoz)

St Richard Boy Scouts present flag at St. Dominic June 14

Bishop’s Ball honors St. Dominic leaders, offers dining, dancing, bidding

By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – More than 300 Supporters of Catholic Charities of Jackson gathered at the Jackson Country Club on Saturday, June 9 for the Bishop’s Ball, a gala fund-raising event. In addition to a silent and live auction, attendees are treated to dinner, dancing and live music.
Catholic Charities uses the gathering to honor those who have made a lasting impact on the organization. This year, Claude Harbarger and Lester Diamond were recognized with the Good Samaritan Award. Harbarger is president of St. Dominic’s Health Services while Diamond is president of St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital Both men have been very supportive of the work and mission of Catholic Charities since they began working at the Catholic hospital, a ministry of the Dominican Sisters.
In another month, Catholic Charities will welcome film producer, actor and philanthropist Jim Caviezel to Thala Mara Hall in Jackson. Tickets available here.

Parish calendar

SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
CULLMAN, Ala., Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center, Letting Go and Letting God: The Wisdom of Twelve-Step Spirituality. 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. Tuesday, August 28. Retreat Director: Sister Therese Haydel, O.S.B. Cost: $30 includes lunch. Details: (256) 734-8302, retreats@shmon.org or www.shmon.org.
GREENWOOD Locus Benedictus Retreat Center, Grace for the Journey Training for Caregivers, Sunday, July 29 at 2 p.m. This training is for family, friends, clergy or employees who take care of people suffering from any illness or injury. Presenters: Catherine Kidd and Charlene Gressett. Details: (662) 299-1232.
METAIRIE, La., “Fresh Fire 2018,” a day-long gathering for those desiring refreshment and empowerment in the Holy Spirit, will take place Saturday, August 25, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., at St Benilde Cafeteria, 1901 Division St., Metairie. The event is sponsored by the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of New Orleans (CCRNO). The theme for the day is “Return to Your First Love” and will focus on the call of the Lord to us now. Registration is $30 per person and includes lunch. Special price for youth ages 18-30, $10. Register online at www.ccrno.org no later than Wednesday, August 22, noon, to reserve your lunch. Details: Call CCRNO at 504-828-1368 for more information.

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
CLARKSDALE Northwest Mississippi Medical Center, A Healthy Night Out for Ladies, Thursday, July 19, at 6:15 p.m. in the private dining room. This event is free and features numerous speakers and exhibitors, including a skincare presentation from parishioner Lisa Chicorelli. Details: St. Elizabeth church office (662) 624-4301.
HERNANDO Holy Spirit, All Parish Picnic, Sunday, July 29. Chewalla Lake Recreation Area, 726 Chewalla Lake Rd., Holly Springs, 3-5 p.m. Mass at 5 p.m. swimming, food and fun! Bring a side dish to share and drinks for family. The meat will be provided. Don’t forget your chairs. Details: (662) 429-7851.
JACKSON St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Save the Date, Level II Training for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Classes are: August 11, September 8, October 6, November 2-3, December 1, January 4-5, February 1-2, March 2, April 6 and May 4. Cost: $675, which includes course materials, lunch, snacks and certification by the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, USA. A non-refundable deposit of $100 is due by August 1. Details: Rachel Misenar, rmisenar@standrews.ms or (601) 573-3689.
Catholic Charities, Mississippi Catholics against Human Trafficking (MCAHT) will meet at Catholic Charities, 850 East River Place, Jackson on Monday, July 23 at 4:30 p.m. Details: For more information, contact Dorothy Balser, dorothy.balser@ccjackson.org or (601) 941-4600.
Christ the King, National Black Catholic Men’s Conference in Richmond, Virginia, October 18-21. Fifteen years of fellowship among men who have been forged by faith and experience. Registration forms are available on the table at the back of the church. Details: church office (601) 948-8867.
St. Richard, ChristLife: Discovering Christ, Mondays from August 20 and ends October 1 at 6:30 p.m. with a retreat on Saturday, September 22. Explore answers to questions such as, “How does knowing Jesus really make a difference? Dinner and program offered at no cost. Seating is limited. Details: (601) 366-2335, register at www.saintrichard.com.
NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, Choral Concert, Wednesday, July 18 at 7 p.m. Free admission and open to the public. Guest Conductor: Dr. Rollo Dilworth. Details: (601) 445-5616.
SHAW St. Francis of Assisi, Religious study of Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly, Fridays at 9:30 a.m. after Mass. Details: church office (601) 754-5561.
YAZOO CITY St. Mary, Parish Potluck Lunch, Sunday, July 29, after 10:30 Mass in the Parish Hall cafeteria (changed from an earler date). The church will provide the meat, bread,and drinks. Parishioners’ last names A-D, please bring a salad, E-H, please bring a meat or vegetable casserole, I-Q, please bring a vegetable, R-Z, please bring a dessert. There are sign-up sheets in the back of the church. Details: (662) 746-1680.

SAVE THE DATES
JACKSON Catholic Charities welcomes Jim Caveziel Friday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall. Tickets start at $25. Group rates are available. Details: Catholic Charities (601) 355-8634 or www.catholiccharitiesjackson.org.
Diocesan Middle School Retreat: October 13-14, Lake Forest Ranch, Macon, Miss. Lead by young adults from NET Ministries. This retreat is open to youth in 7-8th grade. Registration will open late August 2018.

Correction:
A story in the last issue of Mississippi Catholic misidentified the president of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Sister Susan Gatz, who delivered a victim’s impact statement during the sentencing hearing for Rodney Earl Sanders. We regret the error.

Los obispos piden libertad para servir

Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz

Por Obispo Joseph Kopacz
Recientemente la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos (USCCB, por sus siglas en inglés) designó la semana del 22 al 29 de junio como la Semana de la Libertad Religiosa, la cual ha evolucionado a partir del surgimiento del Fortnight for Freedom (Quince días por la libertad) en 2008, precisamente en una temporada que culmina con la celebración de la fundación de nuestra nación, cada 4 de julio.
Este marco de tiempo guarda gran relevancia con el tema, tanto para nuestra sociedad al aproximarnos a la celebración anual de la libertad, como para nuestra Iglesia, pues da inicio en el día de santo Tomás Moro y san Juan Fisher, mártires por la libertad religiosa y concluye en el día de san Pedro y san Pablo, prototipos de los mártires en pro de la consciencia religiosa y de la integridad de la fe. «Pero ha sido difícil —afirma el presidente de la Comisión para la Libertad Religiosa de la USCCB, arzobispo Joseph Kurtz de Louisville — al nadar contracorriente en esta cultura. Algunas personas piensan que la libertad religiosa es una amenaza, pero la semana dedicada a la libertad religiosa gira en torno al Evangelio y tiene como propósito inspirar la cultura.” La libertad religiosa es la piedra angular de nuestra nación. La primera enmienda a la Constitución inicia con las siguientes palabras: “El Congreso no hará ley alguna respecto al establecimiento de la religión o a la prohibición de su libre ejercicio…”
Hablando en nombre de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos, el arzobispo ha instado a los estadounidenses a orar y a “actuar apoyando la libertad religiosa dentro de esta nación y en el extranjero.” El arzobispo continuó: “La libertad religiosa permite el espacio a las personas de fe para servir a otros en el amor de Dios en ministerios tales como en la educación, adopción y tutela temporal, en la salud y en los servicios de inmigración y asilo.
Animamos a las personas de fe a reflexionar sobre la importancia de la libertad religiosa la cual hace posible que dispongamos del espacio para llevar a cabo nuestra misión de servicio y misericordia, e invitamos a todos a orar por nuestros hermanos y hermanas que enfrentan intensa persecución en otras partes del mundo.”
El tema en conmemoración de este año: “Sirviendo a otros en el amor de Dios” representa la naturaleza de la Iglesia por casi dos milenios. Comenzando con el Señor Jesús quien vino, no a ser servido sino a servir, es evidente en sí, en la Biblia y en nuestra tradición que la Iglesia es mayormente fiel a su Señor cuando lleva el manto del servicio a lo largo del camino a la salvación.
La Palabra, la alabanza, la comunidad y el servicio son los estándares de toda comunidad cristiana, y su libre ejercicio es la capacidad de correr a toda potencia, dentro de las estructuras de la Iglesia y como ciudadanos activos en la sociedad por el bien común a través de los servicios y ministerios de la Iglesia. El mandato del Señor es ir y hacer discípulos de todas las naciones, enseñándoles todo lo que les he mandado, bautizándolos en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo (Mt 28). Frecuentemente, son nuestros ministerios y servicios los que atraen a las personas a la belleza, la verdad y la luz del Señor crucificado y resucitado, insuflando vida a nuestra evangelización, enseñanza y predicación.
Servir a los otros es central a nuestra visión diocesana y en ocasiones una bendición al echar una mirada larga y amorosa a lo que es real, al panorama de ministerios, trabajos y servicios que se desarrollan en diferentes ámbitos de nuestra diócesis. Esa visión está encarnada en nuestras parroquias y en la educación, en la salud y a través de Caridades Católicas. Es la generosidad de los fieles la que hace posible que esta visión se materialice, y esta abundante y generosa donación ocurre a diario, por medio de eventos destinados a recaudar fondos y a través del Service Appeal (Llamamiento al servicio) que se hace anualmente. En este sentido quiero agradecer a miles de personas a lo largo de toda la diócesis de Jackson quienes generosamente apoyan nuestro Catholic Service Appeal (Llamamiento católico anual al servicio). Este constituye un salvavidas para nuestra misión, visión y para los ministerios de las diversas estructuras diocesanas que representan a nuestra comunidad católica, así como en muchos otros rincones de nuestro estado como signo visible del amor de Cristo por todos. Puede estar seguro de que su apoyo le permite a la diócesis inspirar la cultura mediante el Evangelio, para dar lugar al Reino de Dios, y para servir a los demás en el amor de Dios. Este es el libre ejercicio de nuestra fe católica, en la temporada dedicada a la libertad religiosa o fuera de ella, en nuestras iglesias y en la sociedad. No nos cansemos nunca de ser discípulos y ciudadanos fieles en nombre de la vida, de la justicia y de la paz.
(Translated into Spanish by Mora & Iglesias, LLC, www.moraiglesias.com)

Bishops ask for freedom to serve

Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
Recently, the United States Catholic of Bishops (USCCB) designated the week of June 22-29 as Religious Freedom Week. This has evolved from a Fortnight for Freedom, begun in 2008, a time frame that leads to the celebration of our nation’s founding on July 4th each year.
The slice of time of one is apropos for the matter, both in our society as we approach the celebration of liberty every year, and in our Church because it begins on the feast day of Saints Thomas More and John Fisher, martyrs for religious freedom, and ends with the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, the prototypical martyrs of religious conscience and integrity of faith.
But, “it has been difficult,” says the chairman of the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville “as we’re swimming upstream in this culture. Some people think religious freedom is the threat” but “Religious Liberty Week is about the Gospel, it is meant to inspire a culture.” Religious freedom is the cornerstone of our nation’s constitution. The first amendment begins: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..”
Speaking on behalf of the Conference of Catholic Bishops, the archbishop has asked Americans to pray and “act in support of religious liberty at home and abroad.” The archbishop went on to explain, “Religious freedom allows the space for people of faith to serve others in God’s love in ministries like education, adoption and foster care, health care, and migration and refugee services. We encourage people of faith to reflect on the importance of religious freedom so that we might have the space to carry out our mission of service and mercy, and we invite everyone to pray for our brothers and sisters who face intense persecution in other parts of the world.”
The theme for this year’s observance’ “Serving Others in God’s Love” portrays the nature of the church for nearly two millennia. Beginning with the Lord Jesus, who came, not be served but to serve, it is self-evident, in the Bible and in our tradition, that the Church is most faithful to her Lord when she wears the mantle of service on the road to salvation.
Word, Worship, Community and Service are the standards for all Christian communities, and the free exercise thereof is the capacity to run on all cylinders, both within our church structures and as active citizens in society for the common good through our church’s ministries and services. The Lord’s mandate is to go and make disciples of all the nations, teaching them everything I have commanded you, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. (Matthew, Ch 28) Often, it is our ministries and services that attract people to the beauty, truth, and light of the crucified and risen Lord, breathing life into our evangelizing, teaching and preaching.
To serve others is central to our diocesan vision and at times it is a blessing to take a long, loving look at what is real, the panorama of ministries, works and services that thrive around our diocese. The vision is embodied in our parishes and in education, in health care and through Catholic Charities. It is the generosity of the faithful that makes it possible and this bountiful giving occurs on a daily basis, for special fund raising events, and through our annual Catholic Service Appeal.
On this note, I want to thank the thousands of people throughout the Diocese of Jackson who generously support our Catholic Service Appeal. It is a life-line for our mission, vision, and ministries within our diocesan structures on behalf of our Catholic people, as well as in many corners of our state as a visible sign of Christ’s love for all.
You can rest assured that your support is allowing the diocese to inspire the culture with the Gospel, to bring about the Kingdom of God, and to serve others in God’s love. This is the free exercise of our Catholic faith, in season and out or season, in our churches and in society. Let us never tire of being faithful disciples and citizens on behalf of life, justice and peace.

Synod working document: Young Catholics need church that listens to them

By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Young Catholics are looking for a church that listens to their concerns, accompanies them in discerning their vocations and helps them confront the challenges they face, said a working document for the upcoming Synod of Bishops on young people.
The synod’s “instrumentum laboris” (working document), published by the Vatican June 19, stated that young people “want to see a church that shares their situations of life in the light of Gospel rather than by preaching.”
Quoting a presynod gathering of young people who met at the Vatican March 19-25, the working document said young Catholics “want an authentic church. With this, we would like to express, particularly to the church hierarchy, our request for a transparent, welcoming, honest, attractive, communicative, accessible, joyful and interactive community.”
The working document is based mainly on comments solicited in a questionnaire last June from national bishops’ conferences around the world as well as the final document of the presynod gathering.
An estimated 305 young adults participated in the weeklong presynod meeting, which allowed practicing Catholics and others to provide input for Pope Francis and the world’s bishops, who will meet at the synod in October to discuss “young people, faith and vocational discernment.” Some 15,000 young people also participated in the presynod process through Facebook groups online.
The meeting, the working document said, “highlighted the potential that younger generations represent” as well as their “hopes and desires.”
“Young people are great seekers of meaning, and everything that is in harmony with their search to give value to their lives arouses their attention and motivates their commitment,” it said.
Presenting the “instrumentum laboris” to journalists at a press briefing June 19, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary-general of the synod, said the synod’s goal is that young Catholics may find “the beauty of life, beginning from the happy relationship with the God of the covenant and of love” in a world that often robs them of their “affections, bonds and prospective of life.”
“The synod dedicated to young people gives us the opportunity to rediscover the hope of a good life, the dream of a pastoral renewal, the desire for community and passion for education,” he said.
Divided into three parts, the working document outlines the church’s need to listen to young people, to help guide them in the faith and in discerning their vocational calling, and to identify pastoral and missionary paths to be able to accompany them.
The responses collected by bishops’ conferences around the world cited a need for ways to help young men and women confront the challenges of cultural changes that sometimes disregard traditions and spirituality.

Pope Francis prepares to take a photo with young people at a presynod gathering of youth delegates in Rome March 19. The Vatican has released the working document for the October Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocational discernment. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

The working document also states that while the church highlights the importance of the body, affection and sexuality, many young Catholic men and women “do not follow the directions of the sexual morality of the church.”
“Although no bishops’ conferences offer solutions or indications, many (conferences) believe the issue of sexuality should be discussed more openly and without judgment,” it said.
Young people attending the presynod meeting said issues such as contraception, abortion, homosexuality, cohabitation and marriage are often debated both by young Catholics and non-Catholics.
The working document also highlighted the need to reaffirm church teaching on the body and sexuality at a time when biomedical advancements have pushed a more “technocratic approach to the body,” citing examples such as egg donation and surrogacy.
“Moreover, precocious sexuality, sexual promiscuity, digital pornography, the exhibition of one’s own body online and sexual tourism risk disfiguring the beauty and depth of emotional and sexual life,” the “instrumentum laboris” said.
Church leaders, it said, must “speak in practical terms about controversial subjects such as homosexuality and gender issues, which young people are already freely discussing without taboo.”
Also, “LGBT youths, through various contributions received by the secretariat of the synod, want to benefit from a greater closeness and experience greater care from the church,” while some bishops’ conferences are asking what they can recommend to young people who enter into a homosexual relationship, but want to be closer to the church, the document said.
Regarding the use of the initials “LGBT” in a major church document, Cardinal Baldisseri told journalists that it was a term used in one of the documents given by the bishops’ conferences “and we quoted them.”
“We are open. We don’t want the synod to be closed in itself,” Cardinal Baldisseri said. “And in the church, there are many areas, there is freedom for people to express themselves – on the right, left, center, north and south – this is all possible. That is why we are willing to listen to people with different opinions.”
The working document also said young Catholics would like more initiatives that allow further dialogue with nonbelievers and the secular world to help them integrate their faith in their dealings with others.
Young men and women from primarily secularized areas “ask nothing from the church” and “expressly asked to be left in peace, because they feel its presence as annoying and even irritating.” These feelings, the document stated, do not come from contempt but rather due to “serious and respectable reasons.”
Among the reasons are the church’s sexual and economic scandals, priests who do not know how to engage with young people, and the way the church justifies its doctrinal and ethical positions to modern society.
Young men and women are also hoping the church can help them “find a simple and clear understanding of the meaning of vocation,” which is often misinterpreted as referring only to priesthood and consecrated life.
While the church has confirmed that marriage is also a vocation, the document confirms the need for “a youth vocational ministry capable of being meaningful for all young people.”
“Called to holiness and anointed by the spirit, the Christian learns to grasp all the choices in existence in a vocational perspective, especially the central one of the state of life as well as those of a professional nature,” it said.
“For this reason, some bishops’ conferences hope that the synod will find ways to help all Christians rediscover the link between profession and vocation in all its fruitfulness … and in view of the professional orientation of young people with a vocational perspective,” the document said.

Humanae Vitae: challenge to love

Gerry Grey Lewis

Guest Column
By Gerry Gray-Lewis
Fifty years ago, Blessed Pope Paul IV wrote the controversial letter titled Humanae Vitae “Of Human Life.” Up until the 1930’s, all Christian denominations largely agreed that husbands and wives were not to interfere with the marital act of love, as “controlling birth” was not in keeping with a sacramental marriage.
In 1932 the Anglican Church broke with this tradition, the first small crack in the dyke. With the “pill” discovery in the 1960’s, questions soon rose. The pillno longer interrupted the human act of love (as barrier methods would), so perhaps it would be permitted?
Blanket approval was given, and couples began using the pillin anticipation of the magisterium’s approval. The outcry of dissent following the encyclical Humane Vitae’s release was deafening, a watershed moment for our Church. Within it, four predictions were made of our future.
1. “How easy it will be (for many) to justify behavior leading to marital infidelity or to a gradual weakening of morals.” One third of marriages fail before their 10th wedding anniversary, a climb which parallels the now common use of contraceptives. Despite the Pill, we see 1.4 million abortions each year, and the Pillitself has abortive actions. 40 percent of pregnancies are now to unwed parents.
2. “Especially the young who are susceptible to temptation that they may need encouragement to keep the moral law.” Flu shot, Tylenol from a public health nurse, and ear piercing require parental consent for minor children. Not so for contraception/sexual counseling. HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, cervical cancer, infertility and of course the broken hearts and wounded souls pepper the sexual landscape, which our teens often navigate without a guide.
3. “Men will lose respect for their wife’s psychophysical equilibrium and use women as instruments to serve their own desires. No longer will they view their wives as companions who should be treated with attentiveness and love.” Sex has lost what once made it sacred, and the ripples of that failure can be seen across society today. Note the expansion of pornography/sex addiction, sex trafficking, date rape, partial-birth abortion, and co-habitation.
4. “Who will prevent public authorities (rulers, governments) from favoring effective contraceptive methods and from mandating that everyone must use them?” In 1985, PhD student Steve Mosher discovered draconian measures in the forced abortion/sterilization policy of China and its one child policy — one that caused the widespread practice of infanticide of baby girls and the country’s grossly disproportionate ratio of male to female. And up until the Mexico Policy of 1984, even U.S. foreign aid had been tied to mandatory contraceptive/abortion programs in poor countries.
Four simple predictions made in 1968 with no empirical data for its author to anticipate such outcomes. Yet, all have occurred across the globe in less than five decades.
But among the dire predictions is something else: hope. Humane Vitae also contains imaginative, magical, inspiring, edifying words that fortify marriage and chastity.
After our own early marriage, ignorant of this teaching and “forming our own conscience,” somewhere or somehow a copy of this booklet fell into our hands. It was an illuminating, exhilarating moment to be called to a radically different way of nuptial love. It gave us the why for such an outdated teaching, and we were joyful to be invited to live our vows in such a radical way.
And science itself offers hope, replacing Calendar Rhythm Methods with highly effective methods …Modern Natural Family Planning (NFP): the Billings Ovualtion Method, Sympto-Thermal and the Creighton model. Not surprisingly, only 3 percent of couples that utilize NFP suffer from divorce.
Saint John Paul II later developed the teaching of marital love in famous works entitled “Theology of the Body.” Our parish pastor Father John Bohn recently used the old dear phrase “Before you were a twinkle in your father’s eye!” We are that twinkle in God the Father’s eyes. How blessed is the family who cooperates with that divine twinkle and nine months later is called to give that twinkle a name. And how blessed is the family today that can use ethical science to delay twinkles for serious family reasons.
What an exciting time to be Catholic. Be wiser than we were, our sisters and brothers. Read, reflect, pray, take in a class on NFP…..then choose your path.
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Robert Frost

(Gerry Gray-Lewis is a wife, mom, nurse and a member of Jackson St. Richard Parish. NFP classes using the BOMA® method are offered in English on a regular basis in the Jackson Diocese. For more information, please contact the Office of Family Ministry at 601-960-8487 or email Charlene Bearden at charlene.bearden@jacksondiocese.org.)

Will we see God face to face?

Father Jerome LeDoux, SVD

Reflections on Life
By Father Jerome LeDoux, SVD,
A June 15, 2018 email from Art Magaldi ignited the following discussion.
Fr. L.,
Just read the two articles and the second one reminds me of a point I discussed with a couple of priests recently. It’s a small point, but it’s interesting to me. The question is whether the just will actually see the face of God. One of the two priests said that God was spirit and therefore there really wasn’t a face to see. I have a problem with that interpretation because the Scriptures mention seeing the face of God, e.g., I believe the psalmist asks, “When will I see the face of God?” I think Jesus is also quoted as saying that the Guardian Angels of little children look on the face of his Father in heaven (not sure of this exact wording, however). Non-scripturally, Dante in his “Divine Comedy” says that the greatest happiness of those who make it to heaven is to look on the face of God and see the great love God radiates for people. I’m quite sure you will know many more of the liturgical and scriptural references to God’s face.
So, although it’s a small point, what do you think about this? Maybe this would even fit in some small sense with Sister Dianne’s discussion of our gut feelings about who God is. Art
“Theologically,” I responded, “there is no doubt that God has no face, for God, as the angels, is a pure spirit with no physical parts attached. What we read in the Scriptures about God’s face indicates the intended readership of the Bible, most of whom had nothing beyond a few grades’ education, if even that. They would not have understood any cerebral presentation of God.
“For the same reason, the Bible, especially the Old Testament, is written in an anthropomorphic way; meaning that God is described in human form and feelings. The readers knew nothing else. Imagine the untaught fishermen of the Old and New Testaments trying to wrestle with theological concepts such as Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas offered us. Even with our supposed education, we wrestle.
“Interestingly, the Baltimore catechism states that God cannot be seen with bodily eyes. Will we have spiritual eyes? This implies that, somehow, we will know
God fully in a non-physical, spiritual way. We don’t grasp that either. Frankly, I’ll be more than content just to make it into heaven. God bless you, JL”
With all our so-called sophistication, we are little different from the people of the Old Testament who embraced all the anthropomorphic depictions of God.
One big confirmation of what Art is talking about is the huge attraction of so many folks to cloud formations that spur our imagination into seeing the face of God or Jesus or the angels in the sky. Several decades ago, I saw two rather sharp photos of cloud formations that made good depictions of the God of our imagination. There are also sunrise and sunset shots that fire our religious sensibilities. These are the same kind of phenomena that so inspired many of the Old Testament Psalms. This has birthed a singular YouTube genre featuring cloud formations and Godly texts.
God dreams are another great fascination that we humans experience. I have had only one God dream, and that occurred over sixty years ago. First, understand that I have been close to bees all my adult life. I even took care of six beehives in college in Epworth, Iowa. In the dream, I was walking among beehives when I came upon a pre-teen child. The bees were restless, almost threatening, around me. But, as the child approached them, they bumped gently into the forehead and face of the child with kisses and caresses. Sporting hazel eyes that seemed to be staring into eternity, the child said softly, “Before Abraham came to be, I am.” It was the only God
dream I ever had, but it was a doozy, making a profound impression on me.
When we meditate or contemplate, we struggle valiantly with various kinds of imagery, straining to accommodate ourselves to some image or sculpture. Thus, masters of the brush and chisel created masterpieces of art, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper of Jesus and his apostles, Michelangelo’s rendering of creation or the Last Judgment, Michelangelo’s sculpture of the Pietà or Moses or David, and countless other magnificent pieces that hold us in meditation and awe. Unbeknown even to themselves, scarce religious people are thereby swept up into meditation.
All the above and numerous other people and things in our lives comprise our anthropomorphic connections with God that, say what we may, are our best means of communing with the Almighty. One obvious stab at communing with God are the scores of movies made about God and our human-divine relationships.

“God is love, and all who abide in love abide in God and God in them.” (1 John 4:16)

(Father Jerome LeDoux, SVD, has written “Reflections on Life since 1969.)

Real miracles

Father Ron Rolheiser

IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Ralph Waldo Emerson calls the stars in the night sky “envoys of beauty, lighting the universe with their astonishing smile” and submits that if they appeared for a single night only every thousand years, we’d be on our knees in worship and would cherish the memory for the rest of our lives. But since they come out every night, the miracle goes mostly unnoticed. We watch television instead.
But, their beauty notwithstanding, shining stars are not the most prominent miracle which goes unnoticed. The greatest miracles have to do with gratuity, with love, with unfreezing a soul, with forgiveness. Our great poverty is that these go mostly unnoticed. There are much more astonishing things than the stars for which to be down on our knees in gratitude and there are more profound things to cherish in memory than a starlit night.
The Belgium spirituality writer, Benoit Standaert, suggests that the greatest miracle is “that the freely given exists, that there is love that makes whole and that embraces what has been lost, that chooses what had been rejected, that forgives what has been found guilty beyond appeal, that unites what had seemingly been torn apart forever.”
The greatest miracle is that there’s redemption for all that’s wrong with us. There’s redemption from all we’ve failed to live up to because of our inadequacies. There’s redemption from our wounds, from all that’s left us physically, emotionally, and spiritually limping and cold. There’s redemption from injustice, from the unfairness we suffer ourselves and from the hurt which we inflict knowingly or unknowingly on others. There’s redemption from our mistakes, our moral failures, our infidelities, our sins. There’s redemption from relationships gone sour, from marriages, families, and friendships that have been torn apart by misunderstanding, hatred, selfishness, and violence. There’s redemption from suicide and murder. Nothing falls outside the scope of God’s power to forgive, to resurrect and make new, fresh, innocent, and joyful again.
Our lives, to a greater or lesser extent, all end up incomplete, broken, unfairly ripped away from us, and causing hurt to others because of our weaknesses, infidelities, sin, and malice; and still, ultimately, it can all wash clean again. There’s redemption, new life after all the ways we’ve gone wrong in this world. And that redemption comes through forgiveness.
Forgiveness is the greatest miracle, the pan-ultimate miracle, which, along with everlasting life, is the real meaning of the resurrection of Jesus. There’s nothing more godlike, or miraculous, than a moment of reconciliation, a moment of forgiveness.
It’s for this reason that when the Gospels write up the resurrection of Jesus their emphasis, again and again, is on forgiveness. Indeed, Luke’s Gospel does not distinguish the announcement of the resurrection from the announcement of the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness and resurrection are inextricably linked. Likewise, in the Gospel of John, in Jesus’ first resurrection appearance to the assembled community (with them all hiding behind locked doors in fear) he gives them the power to forgive sins. The message of the resurrection is that a dead body can be raised again from its grave. But this isn’t just true for our physical bodies, which die, but it’s also true, especially, for hearts that are frozen and dead from disappointment, bitterness, anger, separation and hatred. The miracle of the resurrection is as much about raising deadened souls to new life as it is about raising dead bodies to new life.
Despite being nearly overwhelmed by new inventions today, machines and gadgets that do everything including talking to us, in truth, we see very little that’s genuinely new, that’s not the norm. Sure, we see new innovations every day coming at us so rapidly that we have trouble coping with the changes they are bringing about. But, in the end, these innovations don’t genuinely surprise us, at least not at a deep level, at the level of the soul, morally. They’re simply more of what we already have, extensions of ordinary life, nothing really surprising.
But when you see a woman forgive another person who has genuinely hurt her, you are seeing something that’s not normal, that’s surprising. You are seeing something that is not simply another instance of how things naturally unfold. Likewise, when you see warmth and love break through to a man who has long been captive of a bitter and angry heart, you are seeing something that’s not just another instance of normal life, of ordinary unfolding. You’re seeing newness, redemption, resurrection, forgiveness. Forgiveness is the only thing that’s new on our planet, everything else is just more of the same.
And so, in the words of Benoit Standaert: “Whenever we strive to bring a little more peace through justice here on earth and, in whatever form, change sadness into happiness, heal broken hearts, or assist the sick and the weak, we arrive directly at God, the God of the resurrection.”
Forgiveness is the most astonishing miracle we will ever see or experience this side of eternity. It, alone, makes for the possibility of heaven – and happiness.

(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian, teacher and award-winning author, is President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX.)