Author Archives: Tereza Ma

Foundation to honor Sister Thea Bowman, other women of courage

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – A Jackson-based foundation will honor Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA, as one of five women of courage during their Women’s History Month gala with the theme “Women of Courage and Strength: nevertheless, she persisted.” The Connecting the Dots Foundation raises money to support other non-profits. This gala will support scholarships and historic preservation.
Sister Thea will be honored for her work to advance the appreciation of diversity within the faith community. Among the other women to be honored at the gala: Dr. Helen Barnes, the first African American woman on faculty at the University of Mississippi Medical Center; Eliza Pillars, the first African American public health nurse; Beth Orlansky, an attorney with the Mississippi Center for Justice; and Pam Johnson, author and community activist.
The Diocese of Jackson is one of the sponsors of the event which is set for Saturday, March 24, at 6 p.m. at the downtown Jackson Marriott. Tickets are $100 each. Those who wish to support the event, but cannot attend can donate tickets for local students to use. Dress is formal. Tickets are available through the Ticketmaster service by calling (800) 745-3000. For sponsorship details call Marilyn Luckett at (601) 813-5045.

Tolton Play to tour Diocese of Jackson

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – A one-man play detailing the life Father Augustus Tolton is coming to the Diocese of Jackson for two runs, first in March and again in June. “Tolton: from slave to priest,” was written by Leonardo Defilippis, president and founder of St. Luke Productions.
Father Tolton, a former slave, is the first recognized American diocesan priest of African descent. The Archdiocese of Chicago opened his cause for sainthood in 2011, giving him the title “servant of God.”
Born into slavery, he fled with his mother and siblings through the woods of northern Missouri and across the Mississippi River while being pursued by soldiers when he was only 9 years old. The small family made their home in Quincy, Illinois, a sanctuary for runaway slaves.
The boy’s father had died earlier in St. Louis, after escaping slavery to serve in the Union Army.
Growing up in Quincy and serving at Mass, young Augustus felt a call to the priesthood, but, because of rampant racism, no seminary in the United States would accept him. He headed to Rome, convinced he would become a missionary priest serving in Africa. However, after ordination, he was sent back to his hometown to be a missionary to the community there, again facing rampant racism.
He was such a good preacher that many white Catholics joined his black parishioners in the pews for his Masses. This upset white priests in the town, so Father Tolton headed north to Chicago, at the request of Archbishop Patrick Feehan, to minister to the black Catholic community here.
Father Tolton worked to the point of exhaustion for his congregation in Chicago, and on July 9, 1897, he died of heatstroke while returning from a priests’ retreat. He was 43.
This play debuted in Chicago in 2017. The promoters of Father Tolton’s cause hope that taking it on a nationwide tour will inspire devotion to the priest and advance the cause. The author first learned of Father Tolton from a priest in the Diocese of Springfield, which includes the town of Quincy where the priest served and is buried.
The Office of Black Catholic Ministry for the Diocese of Jackson invited the tour to Mississippi. A grant from Black and Indian Missions is helping to make the stops possible. “The March showings will be specifically targeted to schools within the diocese. We will have other evening showings in June in cities within the diocese,” said Will Jemison, coordinator for Black Catholic Ministry for the diocese. “The school viewings are free and open to the public,” he added.
On Thursday, March 1, Greenville St. Joseph School will host the play. Then, on Friday, March 2 Madison St Joseph Catholic High School will host. Each location will have two showings, 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Defilippis has created a “very unique art form” that makes it easy for groups anywhere to host the play because of the simple setup. The show ultilizes a multi-media platform so pre-recorded actors seem to interact with the live actor on stage.
When writing the script, Defilippis, who co-wrote the play with his wife, pulled from themes in Father Tolton’s life – perseverance, trust in God, incredible forgiveness and his priesthood.
Defilippis believes the time Father Tolton spent studying for the priesthood in Rome opened him up to the universality of a priest’s ministry. He studied with men from all over the world and saw the church’s history in places like the catacombs, the Coliseum and St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Once he becomes a priest, he’s a priest for all. This is not a segregated situation, it’s not a segregated mindset,” Defilippis said.
The play doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities Father Tolton faced, such as severe prejudice against him from fellow priests in Quincy. The post-Reconstruction period was a troubled time for the United States, and tensions and violence were real. Father Tolton himself often spoke of being watched.
Defilippis believes that telling Father Tolton’s story through art is a way to bring light into today’s seemingly dark world.
“The highest form of art is when you not only entertain and inspire, but bring it to another level of what we call evangelization, what actually touches hearts in a deep and impactful way that actually changes lives,” he said. “That’s what we’ve seen with these plays.”
In June, the play will return to the diocese for shows in other locations. Details on those shows will be announced as soon as they are worked out.
(Joyce Duriga, editor of the Chicago Catholic, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago, wrote the play descriptions and interviewed the author for Catholic News Service in November, 2017. Excerpts from her story appear above.)

Pope to religious: Your hearts must be open 24-7

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By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Lift up your eyes from your smartphones and see your brothers and sisters, those who share your journey of faith and those who are longing for the Word of life, Pope Francis told consecrated men and women.
“Today’s frantic pace leads us to close many doors to encounter, often for fear of others,” the pope said in his homily for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the World Day for Consecrated Life. “Only shopping malls and internet connections are always open.” Yet believers’ hearts must be open as well, because every believer receives the faith from someone and is called to share it with others, the pope said at the Mass Feb. 2 in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The feast day commemorates the 40th day after Jesus’ birth when, in accordance with ancient Jewish practice, Mary and Joseph took him to the temple and presented him to the Lord. The feast’s Gospel reading from St. Luke recounts how the aged Simeon and Anna, who were praying in the temple, recognized Jesus as the Messiah.
The Mass, attended by thousands of women and men belonging to religious orders, began with the traditional blessing of candles and a prayer that God would guide people toward his son, “the light that has no end.” In his homily, Pope Francis focused on a series of encounters: between people and Jesus; between the young Mary and Joseph and the elderly Simeon and Anna; and between individuals and members of their religious communities or their neighborhoods.
“In the Christian East,” the pope explained, “this feast is called the ‘feast of Encounter’: It is the encounter between God, who became a child to bring newness to our world, and an expectant humanity.”
The pope told the religious that their own journeys were “born of an encounter and a call” which, while highly personal, took place in the context of a family, a parish or a community.
Members of religious orders must realize that they need each other – young and old – to renew and strengthen their knowledge of the Lord, he said. They must never “toss aside” the elderly members because “if the young are called to open new doors, the elderly have the keys.”
One’s brothers or sisters in the community are a gift to be cherished, he said before adding a plea: “May we never look at the screen of our cellphone more than the eyes of our brothers or sisters, or focus more on our software than on the Lord.” Pope Francis said strengthening the intergenerational bonds in a religious community also is an antidote to “the barren rhetoric of ‘the good old days’” and the only way “to silence those who believe that ‘everything is going wrong here.’”
Religious life, with its vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, always has been countercultural, he said. And yet it is the source of true freedom because while “the life of this world pursues selfish pleasures and desires, the consecrated life frees our affections of every possession in order fully to love God and other people.”

Overcoming the Divisions that Divide Us

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Father Ron Rolheiser

IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
We live in a world of deep divisions. Everywhere we see polarization, people bitterly divided from each other by ideology, politics, economic theory, moral beliefs, and theology. We tend to use over-simplistic categories within which to understand these divisions: the left and the right opposing each other, liberals and conservatives at odds, pro-life vying with pro-choice.
Virtually every social and moral issue is a war-zone: the status of women, climate change, gender roles, sexuality, marriage and family as institutions, the role of government, how the LGBTQ community is to be understood, among other issues. And our churches aren’t exempt; too often we cannot agree on anything. Civility has disappeared from public discourse even within our churches where there is now as much division and hostility within each denomination as there is between them. More and more, we cannot discuss openly any sensitive matter, even within our own families. Instead we discuss politics, religion, and values only within our own ideological circles; and there, rather than challenging each other, we mostly end up feeding each other in our biases and indignations thus becoming even more intolerant, bitter, and judgmental.
Scripture calls this enmity, hatred, and indeed that’s its proper name. We are becoming hate-filled people who both fuel and justify our hatred on religious and moral grounds. We need only to watch the news on any night to see this. How’s this to be overcome?
At the more macro level in politics and religion, it’s hard to see how these bitter divides will ever be bridged, especially when so much of our public discourse is feeding and widening the division. What’s needed is nothing short of religious conversion, a religious change of heart, and that’s contingent on the individual. The collective heart will change only when individual hearts first do. We help save the sanity of the world by first safeguarding our own sanity, but that’s no easy task.
It’s not as simple as everyone simply agreeing to think nicer thoughts. Nor, it seems, will we find much common ground in our public dialogues. The dialogue that’s needed isn’t easily come by; certainly we haven’t come by it yet. Many groups are trying for it, but without much success. Generally what happens is that the even most-well intended dialogue quickly degenerates into an attempt to by each side to score its own ideological points rather than in genuinely trying to understand each other. Where does that leave us?
The real answer, I believe, lies in an understanding of how the cross and death of Jesus brings about reconciliation. The author of the Letter to the Ephesians tells us that Jesus broke down the barrier of hostility that existed between communities by creating one person where formerly there had been two – and he did it this “by reconciling both [sides] in one body through his cross, which put that enmity to death.” (Ephesians 2, 16)
How does the cross of Christ put enmity to death? Not through some kind of magic. Jesus didn’t break down the divisions between us by mystically paying off some debt for our sins through his suffering, as if God needed to be appeased by blood to forgive us and open the gates of heaven. That image is simply the metaphor behind our icons and language about being washed clean of sin and saved by the blood of Christ. What happened in the cross and death of Jesus is something that asks for our imitation not simply our admiration. What happened in the cross and death of Jesus is an example for us to imitate. What are we to imitate?
What Jesus did in his passion and death was to transform bitterness and division rather than to retransmit them and give them back in kind. In the love which he showed in his passion and death Jesus did this: He took in hatred, held it inside himself, transformed it, and gave back love. He took in bitterness, held it, transformed it, and gave back graciousness. He took in curses, held them, transformed them, and gave back blessing. He took in paranoia, held it, transformed it, and gave back big-heartedness. He took in murder, held it, transformed it, and gave back forgiveness. And he took in enmity, bitter division, held it, transformed it, and through that revealed to us the deep secret for forming community, namely, we need to take away the hatred that divides us by absorbing and holding it within ourselves and thereby transforming it. Like a water purifier which holds within itself the toxins and the poisons and gives back only pure water, we must hold within ourselves the toxins that poison community and give back only graciousness and openness to everyone. That’s the only key to overcome division.
We live in bitterly divisive times, paralyzed in terms of meeting amicably on virtually every sensitive issue of politics, economics, morality, and religion. That stalemate will remain until one by one, we each transform rather than enflame and retransmit the hatred that divides us.

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

Catholic Charities gets strategic

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By Michael Thomas
JACKSON – During the last week of January, members of the Catholic Charities board of directors and governance council met at Holy Family Parish to begin the 2018 – 2023 Strategic Plan for Catholic Charites, Inc. In keeping with the mission of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Jackson “…to be a visible sign of Christ’s love…” every five years a strategic planning committee is formed with members of the board, the governance council and Charities staff. This committee evaluates the past plan and develops a new one.
The plan will set forth a five-year set of goals and objectives designed to guide the agency, its board and governance council in actions that will improve outreach to consumers and operations. The theme for the strategic planning process is “Embarking on the next five years – The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9”
Bishop Joseph Kopacz began the full-day retreat with a reflection on Catholic Social Teaching. He included a review of the mission, values and principles that guide Charites. Senior staff members then gave an overview of operations along with presentations and updates from each program before the group began a review of the 2012-2017 strategic plan. “Today the council members were renewed in their focus and we are excited about the future of Catholic Charites,” said Cindy Jefcoat, chair of the governance council.
Traditionally, Catholic Charities has utilized a combination of a “SWOT” or strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis, committee meetings and an internal employee survey to determine the goals and objectives in the plan. “This time we are going to add an external stakeholder and donor relationship survey to give us a better understanding of how we are viewed both internally and externally,” said John Lunardini, COO. Adding, “It is very important to hear from our partners, funders, donors and our parishioners on how they view the work of Catholic Charities in the diocese. In early March, we will begin sending out surveys to as many of these stakeholders as possible to gain the valuable feedback we need to strengthen our agency.”
This planning session comes at a particularly vibrant time for Catholic Charities. The addition of a COO working with Bishop Kopacz, who acts as CEO for the agency, along with a move into a new headquarters near downtown Jackson in 2017, have triggered opportunities to strengthen and renew the programs and staff. At the same time, the Diocese of Jackson launched a new mission, vision and set of Pastoral Priorities. The two efforts dovetail in their hope to encourage the faithful to ‘embrace diversity, serve others and inspire disciples,’ as the diocesan vision statement reads.
Catholic Charities is enlisting the help of Maris, West and Baker, a Jackson-based advertising agency, to redevelop the Catholic Charities website and update branding for the entire agency. “By the Bishop’s Ball in June, we expect to have a completed strategic plan and website that will help us increase our visibly in the community so we can have an even greater impact on the people that need our services the most and on the community as a whole,” said Lunardini.
Some of the accomplishments from the last strategic plan were relocating the Domestic Violence Center in Jackson, expansion of the MYPAC program under Hope Haven, implementation of an exit interview process and renewed COA accreditation.
(Michael Thomas is the Development Director for Catholic Charities of Jackson.)

Bishop Kopacz Schedule

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Monday, Feb. 5 – 16, – Holy Sepulchre trip to the Holy Land
Sunday, Feb. 18, 2 p.m. – Rite of Election, Jackson, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 5:30 p.m. – RICA class, McComb St. Alphonsus
Saturday, Feb. 24, 1:30 p.m. – Bishop Chanche Awards 2018, Jackson, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle
Wednesday, March 1, 5 p.m. – Closing Mass, Relics of St. Pio of Pietralcina Centennial Tour, Jackson, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle
Saturday, March 3, 5 p.m. – Mass and dinner, High School Confirmation Retreat, Camp Garaywa, Clinton
Sunday, March 4, 9 a.m. – Mass of Installation of Father Pradeep Kumar Thirumalreddy, Sardis St. John.
Sunday, March 4, 10:30 a.m. – Mass of Installation of Father Pradeep Kumar Thirumalreddy, Batesville St. Mary
Sunday, March 4, 12:30 p.m. – Mass in Spanish, Batesville St. Mary

(Only public events are listed on this schedule and all events are subject to change.
Please check with the local parish for further details)

Obispo recorrerá la Tierra Santa al comenzar la Cuaresma

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Obispo Joseph Kopacz

Por Obispo Joseph Kopacz
El Señor Jesús, que siempre está cerca, va a reunir a la Iglesia Católica Universal para escuchar su llamada a “reformar nuestras vidas y a creer en el Evangelio” a fin de que podamos superar el veneno del pecado y el aguijón de la muerte. Nuestra observancia del Miércoles de Ceniza es una invitación a renovar las promesas hechas en el bautismo a través de la oración fiel, el ayuno significativo y la limosna generosa. En armonía con la mejor bienvenida al renacimiento de la primavera escuchamos las palabras de San Pablo para convertirnos en una nueva creación en Cristo, sus embajadores en las obras de penitencia y de reconciliación en nuestros corazones y hogares, y por justicia y paz en nuestras comunidades, nuestra nación y el mundo. Nuestra ciudadanía está en el cielo, nuestro destino final, y el viaje eterno que ya ha comenzado en nuestro diario caminar con el Señor. En este momento estoy en la Tierra Santa en peregrinación con los Caballeros de Colón y las Damas del Santo Sepulcro. Por supuesto que ya ustedes saben esto a través de las redes sociales de la Diócesis de Jackson.
Será muy raro que no esté en la diócesis en nuestra Catedral de San Pedro Apóstol el Miércoles de Ceniza y el comienzo de la cuaresma. En mi mente y en mi corazón, la única razón aceptable para esta ausencia es una peregrinación a la Tierra Santa, donde la historia de nuestra salvación se desplegó en la vida, muerte y resurrección de Jesucristo.
La única vez que he viajado a la Tierra Santa fue en 1981 en una gira de estudio bíblico que abarcó Jerusalén y Roma durante tres semanas. Fue memorable por muchas razones y, en particular, no pudimos tener una audiencia con San Juan Pablo II a causa de la tentativa de asesinato contra su vida a principios de ese año. ¡Cómo ha cambiado el mundo! Los medios de comunicación social, cuando se usan de manera educada en un espíritu de solidaridad, pueden ser una herramienta excelente para edificar y no derribar.
Espero poder compartir con ustedes los acontecimientos de cada día como una forma especial de avivar la llamada del Señor durante la cuaresma. Recordemos que en nuestro proceso visionario diocesano la primera prioridad pastoral establecida es que seamos comunidades de fe acogedoras y reconciliadoras en nuestras parroquias, colegios y en todos nuestros ministerios de apoyo. Esto va mucho más allá de ser ambientes amables y acogedores, aunque este es un primer paso crucial. Esta es la obra del Evangelio, siempre antigua y siempre nueva, que nos llama a arrepentirnos, a girar nuestras vidas a donde sea necesario, y a hacerle frente a la realidad de división en nuestras familias, en las comunidades eclesiales y en la sociedad. Las heridas de pecado y de división pueden ser profundas y de larga duración, y si la curación debe ocurrir nuestra respuesta a la llamada del Señor a la conversión debe ser intencional y fiel. Y queremos que la sanación ocurra porque Jesús nos quiere dar vida en abundancia, su paz que el mundo no puede dar, su alegría que nos eleva a una vida nueva, y el camino a la libertad.
Todos hemos recibido el Espíritu Santo de amor, poder y disciplina, y la Cuaresma es un tiempo para rezar y animarnos el uno al otro a abrir estas puertas de gracia y esperanza. Cuarenta días constituyen un tiempo sagrado para que la vida de Dios y nuestras vidas se crucen una vez más, de modo que podamos ver más claramente que Cristo es el camino, la verdad y la vida. Que nuestra determinación no disminuya durante este tiempo de gracia. Oremos también por nuestros catecúmenos y candidatos mientras la llamada del Señor profundiza en sus vidas, y espero estar con muchos de ellos en el Rito de la elección el primer domingo de Cuaresma en la Catedral. ¡Qué la paz esté con ustedes!

Bishop to tour Holy Land as Lent begins

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Bishop Kopacz

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
The Lord Jesus, who is always near, will be gathering the Catholic Church universal to hear his summons to “reform our lives and believe in the Gospel” in order that we may overcome the poison of sin and the sting of death. Our Ash Wednesday observance is an invitation to renew the promises made at Baptism through faithful prayer, meaningful fasting, and generous almsgiving.
In harmony with the most welcome spring rebirth, we hear the words of Saint Paul to become a new creation in Christ, his ambassadors in the work of repentance and reconciliation in our hearts and homes, and justice and peace in our communities, nation and world.
Our citizenship is in heaven, our ultimate destiny, and the eternal journey has already begun in our daily walk with the Lord. At this time, I am in the Holy Land on pilgrimage with the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulcher. Of course, you may already know this through the Diocese of Jackson’s social media platforms. I will be using the hashtag #BishopJKHolyLand for the trip.
It will be highly unusual not to be in the diocese at our Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. In my mind and heart, the only acceptable reason for this absence is a pilgrimage to the Holy Land where the story of our salvation unfolded in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The only other time I had traveled to the Holy Land was way back in 1981, on a biblical study tour that encompassed Jerusalem and Rome for three weeks. It was memorable for many reasons, and in particular, we were not able to have an audience with Saint John Paul II because of the attempted assassination on his life earlier that year. How the world has changed!
Social media, when used civilly in a spirit of solidarity, can be an amazing tool for building up and not tearing down.
I look forward to sharing the events of each day as a unique way to enliven the Lord’s call during Lent. Let us recall that in our diocesan envisioning process the first stated Pastoral Priority is to be inviting and reconciling communities of faith, in our parishes, schools, and in all of our supporting ministries. This goes far deeper than being friendly and welcoming environments, although this is a crucial first step.
This is the work of the Gospel, ever ancient and ever new, to repent, turn our lives around where need be, and to address the realities of division in our families, church communities, and in society.
The wounds of sin and division can be deep and long standing, and if healing is to occur, our response to the Lord’s call to conversion must be intentional and faithful.
And we do want healing to occur because Jesus wants to give us life in abundance, his peace that the world cannot give, his joy that raises us to new life, and the path to freedom.
We have all received the Holy Spirit of love, power and discipline, and Lent is a time to pray for and encourage one another to open these doors of grace and hope.
Forty days comprise a sacred time for God’s life and our lives to intersect once again so that we can see more clearly that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. May our resolve not wane during this season of grace. Let us pray also for our catechumens and candidates as the Lord’s call deepens in their lives, and I look forward to being with many of them at the Rite of Election on the first Sunday in Lent at the Cathedral.
Peace be with you!

Parish calendar

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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
CANTON Gray Center, Centering Prayer Spring Retreat, April 13-15. Retreat leader: Father William Meninger, Trappist Monk. This year will explore the Enneagram as a path for increasing one’s self-awareness, compassion and conscious living. Details: Limited space is available so register soon at https://graycenter.wufoo.com/forms/z1ogo6sv0d0yfxw/ or (601) 859-1556.
CHATAWA St. Mary of the Pines Retreat Center, Tending the Soul of Marriages, married couples retreat, February 16-18, 4 p.m. – Sunday morning. Presenters: Robin and Easton Hebert, spiritual directors and retreat leaders from Lafayette. They have built a ministry of mentoring those who prepare for marriage and those who desire to live the sacrament more fully. Cost: Suggested donation: $360 per couple. Details: Sr. Sue Von Bank (601) 783-0801 retreatcenter@ssndcp.org.
A Lenten Day of Reflection, God’s Love and Mercy. Saturday, February 17, 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Presenter: Sr. Dorez Mehrtens, SSND, who is on staff, will help with reflections. Cost: Suggested donation: $40, includes lunch. Details: Sr. Sue Von Bank (601) 783-0801 retreatcenter@ssndcp.org
CULLMAN, Ala., Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center, Intensive Centering Prayer Weekend: The Welcoming Prayer, February 22-25. Develop further the discipline of Centering Prayer and deepen your relationship with God. Begins on a Thursday instead of Friday. Prerequisite: Introduction to Centering Prayer. Cost: Private Room $325. Details: contact Sister Magdalena Craig, OSB at (256) 615-6114, www.shmon.org.
NATCHEZ Compassion Care Hospice, Suite A, 113 Jefferson Davis Blvd., Grief and Loss Support Group, Second Monday of each month, 5:30 p.m. Next meeting, Monday, February 12. Open to the Public. Details: call (601) 442-6800.

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
AMORY St. Helen, Mardi Gras Parish Party, Tuesday, February 13. Food, fun, bingo and prizes for the entire family. Details: church office (662) 256-8392.
CLARKSDALE St. Elizabeth, Healing Hearts Grief Support Groups has changed its meeting this month to Friday, February 16, at 6 p.m. at Rest Haven Restaurant, 419 North State Street. Details: Frankie Davis at (662) 902-0293.
COLUMBUS Annunciation, Frassati Fellowship Group. Are you a young adult looking for a faith community of other recent college graduates, graduate students and/or young professionals? Frassati Group is a young Catholic adult support group that will meet for Bible study, volunteer work and more. Details: Keely McCulla at (615) 509-7462.
NATCHEZ Assumption, Fat Tuesday Pot Luck Supper, Tuesday, February 13, in Tuite Hall immediately following Ash Wednesday 5:30 p.m. vigil Mass. Details: (601)442-7250.
St. Mary Basilica, parish celebration for all married couples, especially those celebrating their 15th, 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th and 60-plus anniversaries, Wednesday, February 21, at the Wednesday night dinner. Everyone, married or not married, will be treated to a complimentary dinner. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
St. Mary Basilica, Knights of Columbus Annual Lenten Fish Fry, Friday, February 16, from 5-7 p.m. in the Family Life Center. For grilled catfish, please call 30 minutes ahead. Details: (601) 897-0295.
SHAW St. Francis of Assisi, Mardi Gras party, Tuesday, February 13, at 6 p.m. Details: church office (662) 754-5561.
Lenten Luncheons begin Wednesday, February 21. Details: Barbara Reginelli at (662) 719-8627.
VICKSBURG Knights of Columbus Council 898 is hosting the Beatitudes Marriage Enrichment Program, Thursday, February 15, at 7 p.m. in the council home, 310 Fisher Ferry Road. The program runs for six weeks, and each session lasts approximately 45 minutes. There is no charge. Explore the Beatitudes as the path to holiness in Christian marriage and that holiness is the source of joy in marriage. Details: Charles Hahn (601) 831-1057.
St. Paul, Friday, February 16, 6-7 p.m., Knights of Columbus first Lenten Fish Fry, $10 per plate; $6 child’s plate. Details (601) 636-0140.

YOUTH BRIEFS
CLEVELAND Delta State University Catholic Student Association, meets Tuesdays at 9 p.m. in DSU Union, second floor. Some past discussion has been Jesus’ authority over all things, even demons, and how we must use the armor of God to shield ourselves from the daily evils we encounter. Details: If you are a student and want to join us, text your name and number to Hunter Pugh at (662) 902-1669.
MERIDIAN St. Patrick School, Countdown 2018, Friday, February 23, in the Family Life Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and drawing begins at 7 p.m. Entertainment provided by Aa’keela Hundall. Details: Tickets can be purchased from any school advisory board member, the school office or Leslie Vollor at (662) 321-1150.
JACKSON 40-Days for Life Pro Life Kickoff Event, Wednesday, February 14, noon – 1 p.m at the Jackson Women’s Health Organization clinic on North State Street in Fondren. The 40 Days for Life event is an ecumenical, faith-based effort made up of prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil, and community outreach. Volunteers can sign up for shifts. Details: Barbara Beavers at (601) 940-5701 or barbara.beavers@gmail.com.
Pro-Life Mississippi annual Spring Banquet and Silent Auction, Thursday, April 5, First Baptist Church, 431 North State Street, Jackson. Silent auction 5 – 6:30 p.m. VIP meet and greet 5-6 p.m. Banquet begins at 6:30 p.m. Keynote speaker will be retired Lt. Col. Allen B. West, former U.S. Representative from Florida’s 22nd District. Details: (601) 956-8636.
Walk for Life, Saturday, April 28, begins at St. Richard Church, Jackson. Meet at 7:30 a.m. and begin at 8 a.m. Afterwards, lunch prepared by St. Richard Knights of Columbus. Details: www.ProLifeMississippi.org.
RIDGELAND, Hospice Ministries volunteer training, 450 Towne Center Blvd, February 16-18. Training runs from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Friday; 1-5 p.m. on Saturday and concludes on Sunday 1-5 p.m. It is a fast-paced program filled with speakers and refreshments. Hospice Ministries is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that helps others during one of life’s most trying experiences, terminal illness. Details: Volunteer Services, (601) 898-1053 ext. 258 to register or have any questions.

IN MEMORIAM
Sister Dorothy Ann Balser, S.S.N.D., died January 28 at St. Mary of the Pines, Chatawa. She is the sister of Father Edward Balser. Sr. Dorothy was born in McComb on November 6, 1927. In 1949, she took her profession of vows with the School Sisters of Notre Dame in St. Louis. In the Diocese of Jackson, Sr. Dorothy coordinated the laity of St. Francis of Assisi, Brookhaven, in all levels of religious education.
Her experience and skill as a teacher of primary children enabled her to develop programs for children in Magnolia and Osyka. Her burial took place on January 30. A formal prayer service and Eucharistic Celebration will be announced at a later date.

Research begins on Sister Thea Bowman

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Bishop Joseph Kopacz has appointed Redemptorist Father Maurice Nutt to begin researching the life, writings and works of Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA, in what may well be her first step on the road to sainthood. Father Nutt will travel to and from his home in New Orleans to the Diocese of Jackson for the time being.
This does not officially open a cause for canonization, but is a preliminary step prior to opening a cause. Since February is Black History Month, the appointment seems all that much more timely.
Sister Thea, the granddaughter of a slave, was born Bertha Bowman in 1937 in Yazoo City. Her family moved to Canton where she enrolled in Holy Child Jesus school. She decided to become Catholic at the age of nine. A few years later she asked to join the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and became the first African-American member of the order.
Sister Thea was a gifted teacher and vocalist. She earned a doctorate in literature and traveled the world – taking students to England and visiting Africa to connect with her own heritage. As she taught, sang and experienced life, she began to form a theology of diversity and inclusion that would become the hallmark of her public life. The late Bishop William Houck invited her to be a consultant for intercultural awareness in the Diocese of Jackson. Even while working in Mississippi, Sister Thea traveled the country teaching workshops on music and speaking about the importance of diversity in the church. Her influence both in and outside of the church was tremendous. She appeared on the television newsmagazine 60 Minutes. Harry Belefonte met with her in hopes of producing a movie about her life. She was one of the most sought-after speakers in the country.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1984. As the cancer worked its way into her bones, she continued to maintain a grueling travel schedule, praying to ‘live until I die.’ One of her last public appearances, delivered from a wheelchair, was speaking to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. She told them she was ‘fully black and fully Catholic,’ and urged them to embrace their African-American, Vietnamese, Native American and other cultural flocks and their customs and music. Sister Thea believed the church could welcome diversity and uphold tradition. She closed her speech by getting the men to stand, link arms and sing the Spiritual ‘We Shall Overcome.’
Sister Thea died in 1990. She is buried in Memphis. Not long after her death, many of her friends wondered if they had known a saint. In the past year or so, rumors spread that Sister had been declared a servant of God. She had not, but it was one more sign that this case might merit a closer look.
Father Nutt met Sister Thea as his teacher, but he now calls her his spiritual mother. He has written two books about her – one will be published this summer – and he often includes reflections on her life in his missions and workshops. His job right now is to research and document her life. Much of this work is already done since he has written about her, but this is an opportunity to gather her writings and records and organize it all in one place.
The first step on the path to sainthood is to determine if a person has ‘heroic virtues.’ Father Nutt will begin to assemble a file – something a little more in-depth than the usual biography – for Bishop Kopacz to review. “I’d love to find every place named for her,” said Father Nutt. The diocese has a school named for Sister Thea, one of half a dozen nation-wide. He has come across shrines dedicated to Sister Thea as close as New Orleans and as far away as Oakland, Calif. The Franciscan Sisters have a foundation in her honor as well as an extensive archive of material.
Father Nutt will review their holdings as well as what is housed in the archives in Jackson as part of his work. The next step, probably months down the road, will be for the bishop to ask the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for input on opening a formal cause for sainthood. If the bishops agree, the case can go to Rome to be opened and the diocese will have to raise money to support it. The cost of canonization can run into the million dollar range.
That’s when work begins in earnest. Once the cause is opened, the promoter will begin telling Sister Thea’s story and encouraging people to pray for her intersession in hopes of producing a miracle. A second miracle is required before the church will canonize a saint.
The whole process of canonization can take decades to complete. Father Nutt is confident he can start by finding Sister Thea’s heroic virtues and see where the Holy Spirit leads after that.