Author Archives: Tereza Ma

Parish calendar

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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
CULLMAN, Ala., Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center, A Lenten Journey with Gerard Manley Hopkins, February 9-11. He was a Jesuit priest and poet whose life was one of rejection, loneliness and ill health. In spite of this, his strong faith in the Paschal Mystery sustained him and evoked the most powerful poetry of his time. Retreat Director: Sister Marian Davis, OSB, Ph.D. Cost: Private Room $245; Shared Room $205/person. Details: Sister Magdalena Craig, OSB, (256) 615-6114, www.shmon.org.
FORT SMITH, Ark., St. Scholastica Monastery, Seven Stages of Suffering, Tuesdays, February 22, March 1 and March 8 from 9:30 – 11 a.m. Using the book Teilhard: Seven Stages of Suffering: A Spiritual Path for Transformation by Louis M. Savary and Patricia H. Berne, this Lenten program will lead one through the seven stages with an emphasis on the positive and transformative energy of suffering. Cost: $60.00. Details: retreats@stscho.org or www.stscho.org/retreats or (479) 783-1135.
GREENWOOD, Locus Benedictus Spirituality Center, “Body, Mind, and Spirit Women’s Retreat,” Saturday, January 27, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (with 4 p.m. vigil Mass) sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary #5267. Presenters: Michael Whelan, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and author; John Cook, exercise physiologist, and Magdalene Abraham, spiritual director. Cost: $35. Details: (662) 299-1232 or www.locusbenedictus.org.
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn., Women’s Morning of Spirituality Saturday, February 10, Church of the Incarnation, 8:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with a continental breakfast beginning at 7:15 a.m. Mass at 12:30 p.m. with Bishop Martin D. Holley, bishop of the Diocese of Memphis. Details: Hernando Holy Spirit church office (662) 429-7851.

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
GRENADA, St. Peter, couples’ book study at Teresa and Luther Owens’ home on Wednesday, January 24, at 6 p.m. Discussion of Climbing the Mountain by Anne, a lay apostle; Book study guides are in the back of the church. Details: church office (662) 226-2490.
Blood Drive, Sunday, January 28, after Mass. Sign up for a time online at www.bloodhero.com. Details: church office (662) 226-2490.
JACKSON, St. Peter Cathedral, training course for adults interested in becoming catechists in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program. The course will run one Saturday a month for ten months beginning January 20 and ending December 8, excluding June and July. The Catechesis is a method of religious formation for children ages three to 12 which utilizes the educational principles of Maria Montessori. This course will be for Level I, the foundational level for children ages 3 to 6. Details: Hope Johnston (601) 969-3125 or hcjohn1@aol.com.
MADISON, St. Joseph School, Jeans, Jazz and Bruin Blues annual fundraiser, Saturday, February 3. Details: Marcie Ralston, (601) 214-9809, Bobbie Simpson, (601) 953-6365 or Tricia Harris, (601) 898-4803 or tharris@stjoebruins.com.
NATCHEZ, St. Mary Basilica, book club to resume, Tuesday, January 16 at 6 p.m. Discussion of Chapters 1-8 of A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century, by Paul Kengor. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.

IN MEMORIAM

Sister Mary Paul Francis Bailey, B.V.M.

Sister Mary Paul Francis Bailey, B.V.M., died January 1 at Marian Hall in Dubuque, Iowa at the age of 91. She entered the BVM congregation in 1947 and professed her final vows in 1955. In the Diocese of Jackson, Sister Paul Francis taught first, second and third grades and taught high school typing and shorthand at Clarksdale Immaculate Conception School. She was buried in Mount Carmel cemetery in Dubuque. Memorials may be given to the Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, Iowa 52003 or online at www.bvmcong.org/whatsnew_obits.cfm

 

 

Sister Margaret Mary Flynn, O.C.D

Sister Margaret Mary Flynn, O.C.D., died January 2 at the Carmelite Monastery in Jackson at the age of 88. She was the last of seven nuns from the Carmel of St. Joseph, Clayton, Missouri, who came to Jackson in November, 1951, to establish the first and only Carmelite Monastery in the state of Mississippi. The funeral took place on January 5 at the chapel with burial following in St. Joseph Parish Cemetery in Gluckstadt.

 

 

 

 

 

SAVE THE DATE
World Marriage Day, the Catholic Diocese of Jackson and the Office of Family Ministry is pleased to announce that the diocesan World Marriage Day Celebration will be held Sunday, February 4, at 3 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson. There will be Mass with a reception immediately following. The Mass honors all married couples, but invites those celebrating their 25th, 50th and 60th anniversaries or any significant anniversary. Please contact your parish office for registration. Details: Office of Family Ministry at 601-960-8487 or email Charlene Bearden at charlene.bearden@jacksondiocese.org .

Mental health first aid training offered through Catholic Charities, Belhaven

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Catholic Charities has teamed up with Belhaven University to offer a two day workshop on first aid for mental health. The workshop is set for January 25 and 26 in Natchez.
“Mental health first aid is a public education program that introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental illnesses, builds understanding of their impact and overviews common supports. This eight-hour course uses role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to offer initial help in a mental health crisis and connect persons to the appropriate professional, peer, social and self-help care.
The program also teaches the common risk factors and warning signs of specific types of illnesses, like anxiety, depression, substance use, bipolar disorder, eating disorders and schizophrenia,” explained Ann Elizabeth Kaiser, coordinator for health ministries for Catholic Charities.
There will be separate youth and adult tracks for the training and professional continuing education credits are available. The training, according to Kaiser, is a good fit for medical personnel, teachers, counselors and those who work in the faith community.
Matthew S. Stanford is professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University and the author of Grace for the Afflicted: A Clinical and Biblical Perspective on Mental Illness. He wrote an article about mental disorders for Church Health Reader in 2012. Kaiser references the article when she offers trainings such as these.
“Christians are often surprised to learn that individuals experiencing psychological distress, both believers and nonbelievers, are more likely to seek help from a member of the clergy or ministry staff before any other professional group,” wrote Standford. He said it can be useful for ministers and educators to know basic facts about mental illness. A pastor or lay minister may need to refer someone for professional treatment, but he or she will need to respond in the moment when someone comes for help.
“The fact that individuals living with mental illness are seeking out assistance and counsel from the church should prompt us to rise up and be the hands and feet of Christ to a suffering people,” Stanford continued.
Each course in the mental health first aid training is $30 and inclues lunch. The trainings are both from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and will be held on the Natchez campus of Alcorn State University. The adult training is on January 25 and the youth training is the 26th.
Registration is required. Contact Ann Elizabeth Kaiser to register at (601) 807-1840.

Group offers awareness events in reality of human trafficking

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – A group of volunteers working in conjunction with Catholic Charities Office of Parish Social Ministries is offering presentations and resources to help others understand the reality of human trafficking in Mississippi. Mississippi Catholics Against Human Trafficking (MCAHT) can host an awareness event in any parish or school and offer resources for the faithful to then take action on the issue.
MCAHT has a couple versions of the presentation. Some are for adults, others are more appropriate for youth. They explain different forms of trafficking such as work or sex trafficking.

Human trafficking ‘heat map’ from the Hope International presentation.

“The material comes from Shared Hope International which was started by Linda Smith after she visited brothels in India where young girls had been trafficked since they were very young,” explained Cookie Leffler, a volunteer for MCAHT.
“Shared Hope International has created videos and discussion questions and information specific to adults, adult men only, adult women only,” she went on to say. “What MCAHT did is put the Catholic spin on the information. What is Pope Francis saying about respect life? What saints are the patrons of those who are trafficked? There are prayers written to end human trafficking so we can put a Catholic lens on it,” Leffler said.
For both groups, the event includes warning signs of what traffickers act like and how they groom their victims. It also includes way to spot someone who may have been trafficked or who may be in danger of it.
“What we would like to do is in particular reach out to our youth because they are the target audience for sex traffickers and we would like to be able to get the information out to them about what sex trafficking looks like whether its you or your friends. It’s not only low-income or neglected kids who get trafficked. Yes, they are a target, but kids from good upper-class homes can be trafficked as well so we want to reach all the youth,” said Leffler. She said when she offers the training, she shows a map of areas where trafficking is prevalent. The teens are almost always shocked to see Mississippi on that map.
Some groups may feel called to take action. “MCAHT was designed to not only do the education part of it but in any way support what other organizations are doing in terms of service work,” said Leffler. She hopes to expand into service projects to support organizations who care for people rescued from traffickers as well as lead people to prayer.
“We also want to support the prayerful approach. We can offer prayers, a version of Stations of the Cross for trafficking victims, saints who address human trafficking.”
Parishes or schools who wish to host a human trafficking awareness event or prayer service may contact Dorothy Balser in the Office of Parish Social Ministry at (601) 326-3725 or by email at dorothy.balser@catholiccharitiesjackson.org.

Catholic Day at the Capitol theme: reforms needed in mental health

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – The Diocese of Jackson’s Faith in Action Team (FIAT) hopes to spur legislators to enact meaningful reform in the realm of mental health care for the state, using as a catalyst the Catholic Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
Advocates who attend the day will hear about the problems currently crippling the system and get some ideas for how to advocate for reform. Mississippi is currently facing a lawsuit for its lack of compliance with the 2009 Olmstead Supreme Court ruling which required states “to provide community-based treatment for persons with mental disabilities when… such placement is appropriate.”
“Mental illness affects everybody,” said Sue Allen, Catholic Charities’ coordinator of social justice ministry and the planner for Catholic Day at the Capitol. “The speakers we have coming are two of the most articulate and knowledgeable people about health care and the state of mental health care in Mississippi you could find. To be able to listen to them and ask questions of the panel we have put together is a unique opportunity,” she added.
To offer perspective on day-to-day issues involving mental health, FIAT has invited Angela Ladner, executive director of the Mississippi Psychiatric Association and Joy Hogge, executive director of Families as Allies, as the keynote speakers for the day. The agenda also includes a panel discussion which will include people who work in fields impacted by the lack of mental health care, the chaplain of Parchman State Penitentiary and a victims’ rights advocate.
Hogge said her organization is made up of families whose children face mental health challenges. It offers parent-to-parent support, insight for policy-makers and advocacy for children. “We want to help on a system-wide level so organizations can be more responsive.”
“Our main goal is that families are partners in their children’s care. It is essential that they can be partners,” explained Hogge. She said there is a movement within the mental health community to provide care in the community for those facing mental health challenges. “We want to start with family-driven care using the idea of starting with what they really want to achieve and to support the families in reaching those goals.” Hogge said that means making services flexible so, for example, someone can stay in school or remain employed while they are getting treatment. “That might mean supporting the employer,” she said. She will be speaking about some practical ways people can advocate for change.
Angela Ladner is the executive director of the Mississippi Psychiatric Association, a statewide medical specialty organization whose physician members specialize in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illnesses, including substance use disorders. Angela has persistently lobbied Mississippi lawmakers to make the necessary changes that will allow for more community-based treatment options.
The day starts at 9 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle’s parish center. This year, participants can ask questions and interact with the panelists during the discussions. In addition to the keynote and panel discussions, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in Mass, eat lunch together and attend a news conference on the capitol steps about the need for reform.
Those who wish can tour the capitol and speak with lawmakers.
The day will conclude with coffee at the cathedral center at 3 p.m. The day is free, but it is essential that people register so organizers will have enough lunches on hand.
Register online at https://www.catholiccharitiesjackson.org/parishsocialministry/cdc2018 or contact Sue Allen directly at (601) 355-8634 or sue.allen@catholiccharitiesjackson.org. Large groups are welcome.

New class of deacons accepted as aspirants

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By Deacon John McGregor
PEARL – On Saturday, January 6, during Mass at St. Jude Parish, Bishop Joseph Kopacz invited seven men from the Diocese of Jackson to begin the period of prayer and discernment to become permanent deacons. They will join the nine men already serving this diocese as permanent deacons.

PEARL – Bishop Joseph Kopacz blesses brevaries for the seven men who entered the formation program for the permanent diaconate on Saturday, Jan. 6 at St. Jude Parish. The men will use the books to pray the daily prayer of the church, the liturgy of the hours. Visible are David Hoang, Mark Bowden, Kayed Jwainat and Wesley Lindsay. (Photos by Maureen Smith)

The aspirants are Mark Bowden (wife, Rhonda) from Pearl St. Jude Parish; Kayed Jwainat (wife, Cynthia) from Madison St. Francis Parish; John Anh Pham (wife, DiemThuy) from Forest St. Michael Parish; Tony Schmidt (wife, Karen) from Flowood St. Paul Parish; Edwin Antonio Wilson (wife, Kelleigh) from Magee St. Stephen Parish; and from the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, David Hoang (wife, Honghuong) and Wesley Lindsay (not married).
This first year in the five-year process of formation is called aspirancy. During this time the aspirants meet monthly to hear talks on prayer, discernment and the ministry of the diaconate. This period is also a time for diocesan leadership to discern if the aspirants demonstrate and articulate an authentic call to ordination.
The process began when the candidates submitted a lengthy application including letters of recommendation. After all the documentation was received, each nominee and his wife were first interviewed by a diocesan permanent deacon and his wife and then by a diocesan priest. Following these two interviews, each candidate took a battery of psychological tests and interviewed with a psychologist. Finally, the candidates interviewed with the diocesan Diaconate Vocations Board, Father Kevin Slattery, the vicar general, and Bishop Kopacz.
On June 18, 1967, Pope Paul VI issued the Motu Proprio, Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem restoring the diaconate as a permanent degree of holy orders. Although the permanent diaconate can trace its origins back to the Book of Acts, the diaconate eventually became a transitional rank for men who aspired to be priests. A man who enters the seminary and studies to become a priest, will be ordained a transitional deacon about a year before his ordination to the priesthood. A permanent deacon does not aspire to become a priest but rather chooses to remain at the service of the Church, in a special relationship with the bishop. A permanent deacon may be married or single and is at least 35 years of age but not older than 60 at the time of ordination.
The role of the wife is an essential part of the formation process. Not only is her consent and support necessary, she will share in her husband’s ministry. While the exact nature of the wife’s role varies widely, it is most effectively lived out in their ministry as husband and wife, committed to their marriage as the primary vocation in their lives, and to service to the Church as a natural part of the life-giving nature of their marital vocation.
Most permanent deacons have regular secular jobs in order to provide for their families. In addition to their secular work they are assigned by the bishop to serve the diocese in parishes, hospitals, schools, prisons and other places where their skills and the diocese’s needs coincide. Deacons are ordained for the works of word, liturgy, and charity. Their lives are one of commitment to the church as servants in imitation of Christ the servant.
Once the seven men complete the period of aspirancy, they may petition the bishop for admission to candidacy. The petitioner’s wife (if he is married) must also submit a handwritten letter of consent.
The petitioner will again be interviewed by the diaconate vocations board to appraise his readiness for nomination into the candidate path of formation. Those selected will then begin a four year formation process.
Like priestly formation, there are four dimensions to the formation of the diaconate: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral. In order for a man to be considered for the permanent diaconate, he must show that he has a stable marriage and home life as well as a stable job. His human development will be further evaluated to be sure that the formation process has a positive impact on his life and leads him to greater maturity as a Christian man.
The candidates must also meet regularly with a spiritual director and attend monthly spiritual formation conferences. They will also work with their pastor each of the four years in some aspect of diaconal pastoral ministry (e.g. catechesis, ministry to the sick, social outreach, etc.). The Diocese of Jackson has reached an agreement with Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., to help with the theological formation of the candidates. The candidates will be able to earn a Masters of Theological Studies through Spring Hill as part of their intellectual formation. Spring Hill will also assist the diocese in the spiritual formation of the candidates, drawing on its rich Ignatian spiritual heritage as a Jesuit institution.
Each year the candidates are expected to make a group retreat with their wives. This retreat will help them more clearly discern their calling, their area of ministerial service and their own spirituality.
The seven men who began their journey on January 6, after completing their formation process, are then eligible for ordination at the discretion of the bishop. Their ordination date would be sometime in the spring of 2022. Please keep these seven men in your prayers, as they discern their call and move through the process of formation.
(Deacon John McGregor is the director of the permanent diaconate for the Diocese of Jackson)

Bishop schedule

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Sunday, Dec. 24, 5:00 p.m. – Vigil Mass othe Nativity of Our Lord, Jackson Carmelite Monastary
Friday, Jan. 5. 2018 – Mass, Diocesan Catholic School Employees, Madison St. Joseph
Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, 9:00 a.m. Mass & Aspirancy Diaconate Candidates, Pearl St. Jude

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

Creative Christmas programs let students show off talent

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GREENVILLE – Students at St. Joseph School presented a Christmas play-called ”The Loaned Manger” on Thursday, December 14. “The Loaned Manger” is a fun and high-spirited, but ultimately meaningful look at Christmas through the eyes of the Wild Wild West of the late 1800’s. (Photo by Nikki Thompson)

CLARKSDALE – St. Elizabeth students presented “The Grumps of Ring-a-Ting Town” as their school Christmas program. (Photo by Dawn Spinks)