Author Archives: Tereza Ma

St. Jude parish, schools find success in #iGiveCatholic campaign

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By Joanna Puddister King
JACKSON – This year’s iGiveCatholic one-day online giving campaign raised more than $12.6 million from 48,256 donors across the United States. The Diocese of Jackson raised $171,412 for parishes, schools and organizations.
This is the fifth year the diocese has participated in iGiveCatholic. Organizers sought to take advantage of a national philanthropy effort called Giving Tuesday, which falls on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving as a charitable counterpart to the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. More dioceses have joined every year, making it a truly national effort. “Being part of the iGiveCatholic GivingTuesday unites Catholics across the world as we celebrate our Catholic faith by giving to others,” said Rebecca Harris, executive director of The Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Jackson.
The idea is simple, iGiveCatholic provides an online giving platform for parishes, schools and diocesan-sponsored organizations. Those who choose to participate select a particular project they want to fund. The organizations can promote the projects however they want. Many use videos and social media to raise awareness about their effort during the advanced giving phase of the effort. Then the big push happens on Tuesday, Dec. 1, when the website accepts donations for 24 hours.
“I want to give a big shout out to Julia Williams, assistant stewardship and development director, for all of her efforts with iGiveCatholic. She reached out to all of our parishes, schools and organizations and worked to make sure their pages on the website were looking good and to offer any assistance they needed,” said Harris.

JACKSON – St. Richard students (left to right) Ellie Blain, Luke Mayronne and Mary Frances Turner dressed as characters from Disney’s “Frozen” for the schools “Want to build a playground?” campaign for #iGiveCatholic. (Photo by Tammy Conrad)

Williams’ efforts paid off with 2020 being the biggest year for #iGiveCatholic donations in the diocese. This year’s top earner was St. Jude parish in Pearl. The parish had a variety of projects ranging from filling in a huge hole on the hill in front of the property, to updating the atrium classrooms and the old rectory, purchasing a Roman Missal in Latin, and installing a new outdoor stations of the cross. Parish staff set the goal for the campaign at $15,000, but with the aid of social media videos showing the importance of the projects leading up to the giving day, St. Jude raised over $24,500 for the projects.
“We were so excited about the response we got from our #iGiveCatholic campaign. … We had people who are not even parishioners, including a lady who was a member of the Mississippi Teachers Corps with me 20 years ago, want to help out our parish. It is very humbling to see such generosity, especially in the midst of the pandemic. I am blessed as a priest to have a very engaged active parish,” said Father Lincoln Dall of St. Jude parish.
Other parish projects included wireless internet access for Madison St. Francis Parish and rectory roof repairs at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle.
Diocesan schools did well during the campaign. St. Richard Jackson surpassed their goal to raise $10,000 for their playground improvement plan, raising over $23,000 for the project that will spark creativity and inspire children outside the classroom. Vicksburg Catholic Schools will have almost $19,000 to make improvements to their nearly 20-year-old playground. St. Joseph School in Madison will put over $10,000 toward upgrades in the Bruin cafe. St. Anthony School in Madison raised over $18,500 for an outdoor learning space and Jackson Sister Thea Bowman School raised over $7,000.
“To say #iGiveCatholic was a success … is an understatement” said Jennifer David, principal at St. Richard. She said the school as received even more donations since the giving platform closed and now have more than $25,000 towards playground renovations.
St. Richard School’s playground improvement has three phases. “Phase one … includes the completion of our outdoor classroom, the addition of outdoor music equipment and the installation of the Finn Garden,” said David. The garden will be a beautiful, peaceful place of mediation and reflection celebrating the love of the outdoors of St. Richard student, Finn Blaylock, who lost his battle to cancer last year. “We think our students will love having a place to sit surrounded by beautiful plants, water features and frog statues – Finn’s favorite. We know Finn will be smiling down from Heaven every day.”
Phase two involves resolving drainages issues to be able to install a ball pit and phase three will include a zip line. David said that there are also several swings, a slide down the hillside, among others that will be installed “to add icing to the cake.”
“We will have the coolest playground around, and we couldn’t have done it without our wonderful generous supporters. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart,” said David.
Assistant stewardship and development director, Williams said, “The commitment and hard work of each participating location proved to be the most successful #iGiveCatholic campaign on #GivingTuesday ever … I predict this global day of giving will continue to grow with each passing year.”

Catholic Charities Jackson: National adoption awareness month over, but mission continues

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By Berta Mexidor
JACKSON – During the month of November institutions educate the public about the importance of adopting children of any age to offer them a better future. Catholic Charities of Jackson was not an exception; with much experience in programs to foster and adopt children, they took this month to highlight the awareness of their mission that continues for the rest of the year.
For Catholic Charities of Jackson every child “has a right to a lasting, loving home.” Their efforts are directed toward finding a family for any child in need, regardless of the special circumstances that may be involved.
The primary goal of the adoption program is to place each child in the best possible home for a permanent adoption. All persons who are part of the adoption triad are valued components, but the most important person is the child in need of a home. “In selecting homes we seek to find those which can most adequately meet the physical, psychological, and emotional needs of each child for whom we are responsible,” says Amy Turner, Therapeutic Foster Care and Adoption Director at Catholic Charities Jackson.
The Adoption program of Catholic Charities of Jackson is structured, for easy access to any person who wants to be involved, in four components: maternity services, infant foster care, adoption and post adoption services.
The maternity services provide support to anyone distressed by an unplanned pregnancy, including counseling, coordination of medical services and adoption counseling assistance. Catholic Charities may provide infant foster care for pending their placement for adoption or return to a birth parent.

JACKSON – Development director, Michael Thomas of Catholic Charities helps pick up a donation of 188 pieces of luggage from the Rehabilitation Associates of Mississippi and Life of Mississippi for the foster care program on Thursday, Dec. 3. (Photo courtesy of Catholic Charities of Jackson)

The adoption program offers counseling services on alternatives to abortion and has several types of adoption services available, including open adoption, semi-open adoption or confidential adoption. While open adoption offers the ability to choose and meet the adopting family and the option to see the child in the future, semi-open uses ongoing contact between the parties through the agency. Confidential adoption offers the ability to choose the adopting family but has to option of having no contact after the child’s placement with a family.
The post-adoption services at Catholic Charities works with adoptees who desire background information and possible contact with birthparents.
For more information on adoption or foster care at Catholic Charities Jackson, visit www.catholiccharitiesjackson.org or contact director Amy Turner at (601) 960-8649.

Santo ahelo del Señor Jesús

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Por Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
“El Espíritu y la Esposa dicen, ¡ven! El que inspira fe dice: Sí, vengo pronto. ¡Maranatha, ven, Señor Jesús!“ La Biblia termina con estas palabras del Libro de la Revelación o Apocalipsis, expresando el santo anhelo que cultivamos durante esta temporada sagrada de Adviento que conduce a la Navidad. Estas sinceras palabras han sido la oración diaria de la iglesia durante casi 2000 años; de seguro, un largo período de tiempo.
Sin embargo, escuchamos de la carta de Pedro el domingo pasado que “para el Señor, un día es como mil años y mil años es como un día”. (2Pedro 3:8) Ya que estamos a punto de comenzar el tercer día después de la muerte y resurrección de Jesús, no hay razón para que este gran drama y misterio de la salvación envejezca. Sigue siendo siempre antiguo y nuevo. Oramos por la gracia del hambre y la sed de San Agustín durante estos días de Adviento. “¡Tarde te amé, oh Belleza siempre antigua, siempre nueva, tarde te amé! Tú estabas dentro de mí, pero yo estaba afuera, y fue allí donde te busqué. En mi falta de amor, me sumergí en las cosas hermosas que tú creaste. Estabas conmigo, pero yo no estaba contigo“. (Confesiones) Es exagerado medir un milenio en nuestra imaginación, y es incomprensible captar la eternidad, pero podemos y debemos aprovechar la oportunidad que nos ofrece cada día para redescubrir la antigua y nueva gracia de Dios en sus múltiples expresiones.

Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz

En el momento, Juan Bautista es nuestro guía. Prepara el camino del Señor, son las palabras de la voz que resuena a lo largo de los siglos. Él, cuyo púlpito es el umbral del desierto, abre el camino para el Verbo eterno hecho Carne. Esta es la Buena Nueva de Jesucristo, el Hijo de Dios, las palabras iniciales del Evangelio de Marcos del segundo domingo de Adviento. Creyendo esto, ¿qué tipo de vida debemos vivir, hermanos y hermanas?, es la pregunta de San Pedro en su carta.
La respuesta a esta eterna pregunta se encuentra en la reunión en el río Jordán, donde la gente venía a Juan el Bautista para confesar sus pecados y ser bautizados por él en el río Jordán. El primer paso, que damos adelante, en el conocimiento de nuestra salvación es el perdón de nuestros pecados, (Lucas 1:76-77) y como se expresa en el Benedictus, la gloriosa oración de Zacarías, el padre de Juan Bautista. Volviendo a la carta de Pedro del domingo pasado, escuchamos que “No es que el Señor se tarde en cumplir su promesa, como algunos suponen, sino que tiene paciencia con ustedes, pues no quiere que nadie muera, sino que todos se vuelvan a Dios, … pero nosotros esperamos el cielo nuevo y la tierra nueva que Dios ha prometido, en los cuales todo será justo y bueno.”
La justicia bíblica se basa en la reconciliación con Dios y en hacerlo “bien” unos con otros. El regalo que recibimos se da luego como regalo. (Mateo 10:8). En medio de esta angustiosa pandemia, la exhortación del profeta Isaías es convincente. “Consolad, consolad a mi pueblo, dice vuestro Dios.” (Isaías 40:1). Tanta gente ha perdido tanto durante este último año. Una vida recta nos inspira a dar muchos pasos adelante al brindar consuelo, restaurar la esperanza y brindar apoyo de todas las formas posibles. Reconciliarse con Dios es unir cielo y tierra. Crear por la gracia de Dios un “cielo nuevo y una tierra nueva” cada día está en nuestro poder. La respuesta al salmo del domingo pasado transmite la visión de Dios y nuestro objetivo. “El amor y la verdad se darán cita, la paz y la justicia se besarán, la verdad brotará de la tierra y la justicia mirará desde el cielo.” (Salmo 85:10)
De hecho, ya hemos sido bautizados con el Espíritu Santo tal y como lo profetizó Juan el Bautista en el río Jordán, una unción y una morada que es la garantía de la vida eterna y la inspiración para edificar el Reino de Dios hoy y todos los días. Al hacer esto, tendremos un impacto durante 1000 años.
“¡Maranatha! ¡Ven, Señor Jesús! “

Like parents, God loves his children even at their worst

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By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While sin may distort and disfigure the image of Christ that every person bears, it does not completely erase it, nor does it remove people from God’s abundant mercy, Pope Francis said.
At his weekly general audience Dec. 2, the pope said that even when a sinner remains “in error for a long time,” God waits patiently, “hoping that the sinner’s heart will eventually open and change.”
“God is like a good father and a good mother: They never stop loving their child, no matter what he or she may have done wrong,” the pope said during the audience, which was livestreamed from the library of the Apostolic Palace.
While continuing his series of talks on prayer, Pope Francis also offered prayers for the victims of a terrorist attack Nov. 28 in Nigeria; 43 farmers near the northeastern city of Maiduguri were brutally murdered.
According to BBC News, no one has claimed responsibility. However, it is believed that either Boko Haram or the Islamic State West Africa terrorist organizations, both active in the area, were responsible.
Remembering the victims, the pope prayed that God would “welcome them in his peace and comfort their families and convert the hearts of those who commit such horrors, which seriously offend his name.”
In his main talk, the pope reflected on blessings, which, he said, are “an essential dimension of prayer.”
Noting that there is a “continual repetition of blessings” in the first pages of the Bible, the pope said that both God and humankind give blessings, and that a blessing “possesses a special power that accompanies the person who receives it throughout his or her entire life and disposes the person’s heart to allow God to change it.”
Even though sin “altered” the beauty of God’s creation and converted the human being into “a degenerate creature capable of spreading evil and death in the world,” it did not take away the inherent goodness embedded in each person, he said.
God did not make a mistake creating the world or people, he said.
“The hope of the world lies entirely in God’s blessing: He continues to desire our good; he is the first, as the poet Peguy said, to continue to hope for our good,” the pope said, citing the French poet Charles Peguy, whose works were heavily influenced by Catholicism.
Departing from his prepared remarks, Pope Francis drew a comparison between God’s love for all and the love of countless mothers who wait in long lines to visit their children in prison.
“They do not stop loving their children, and they know that the people who pass by in the bus are thinking, ‘Ah, that is the mother of that prisoner,’” he said. “Yet they are not ashamed of this, or rather, they are ashamed, but they keep going because their child is more important than shame.”
“Thus, for God, we are more important than all the sins we can commit because he is a father, he is a mother, he is pure love, he has blessed us forever. And he will never stop blessing us,” the pope said.

(Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju)

An invitation to maturity – weeping over Jerusalem

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IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Maturity has various levels. Basic maturity is defined as having essentially outgrown the instinctual selfishness with which we were born so that our motivation and actions are now shaped by the needs of others and not just by our own needs. That’s the basic minimum, the low bar for maturity. After that there are degrees and levels, contingent upon how much our motivation and actions are altruistic rather than selfish.
In the Gospels, Jesus invites us to ever deeper degrees of maturity, though sometimes we can miss the invitation because it presents itself subtly and not as explicitly worded moral invitation. One such subtle, but very deep, invitation to a higher degree of maturity is given in the incident where Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. What’s inside this image?

Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI

Here’s the image and its setting. Jesus has just been rejected, both in his person and in his message and he sees clearly the pain the people will bring upon themselves by that rejection. What’s his reaction? Does he react in the way most of us would: Well the hell with you! I hope you suffer the full consequences of your own stupidity! No. He weeps, like a loving parent dealing with a wayward child; he wishes with every fiber in his being that he could save them from the consequences of their own bad choices. He feels their wound rather than gleefully contemplating their suffering.
There’s a double challenge here. First, there’s a personal one: are we gleeful when people who reject our advice suffer for their wrong-headedness or do we weep inside us for the pain they have brought onto themselves? When we see the consequences in people’s lives of their own bad choices, be it with irresponsibility, with laziness, with drugs, with sex, with abortion, with ideology, with anti-religious attitudes, or with bad will, are we gleeful when those choices begin to snake-bite them (Well, you got what you deserved!) or do we weep for them, for their misfortune?
Admittedly, it’s hard not be gleeful when someone who rejects what we stand for is then snake-bitten by his own stubborn choice. It’s the natural way the heart works and so empathy can demand a very high degree of maturity. For example, during this COVID-19 pandemic, medical experts (almost without exception) have been telling us to wear masks to protect others and ourselves. What’s our spontaneous reaction when someone defies that warning, thinks he is smarter than the doctors, doesn’t wear a mask, and then contracts the virus? Do we secretly bask in the cathartic satisfaction that he got what he deserved or do we, metaphorically, “weep over Jerusalem?”
Beyond the challenge to each of us to move towards a higher level of maturity, this image also contains an important pastoral challenge for the church. How do we, as a church, see a secularized world that has rejected many of our beliefs and values? When we see the consequences the world is paying for this are we gleeful or sympathetic? Do we see the secularized world with all the problems it is bringing onto itself by its rejection of some Gospel values as an adversary (someone from whom we need to protect ourselves) or as our own suffering child? If you’re a parent or grandparent who’s suffering over a wayward child or grandchild you probably understand what it means to “weep over Jerusalem.”
Moreover the struggle to “weep over” our secularized world (or over anyone who rejects what we stand for) is compounded by yet another dynamic which militates against sympathy. There’s a perverse emotional and psychological propensity inside us which works this way. Whenever we are hurting badly, we need to blame someone, need to be angry at someone, and need to lash out at someone. And you know who we always pick for that? Someone we feel safe enough to hurt because we know that he or she is mature enough not to hit back!
There’s a lot of lashing out at the church today. Granted, there are a lot of legitimate reasons for this. Given the church’s shortcomings, part of that hostility is justified; but some of that hostility often goes beyond what’s justified. Along with the legitimate anger there’s sometimes a lot of free-floating, gratuitous anger. What’s our reaction to that unjustified anger and unfair accusation? Do we react in kind?“You are way out of line here, go take that anger elsewhere! Or, like Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, can we meet unfair anger and accusation with tears of empathy and a prayer that a world that’s angry with us will be spared the pain of its own bad choices?
Soren Kierkegaard famously wrote: Jesus wants followers, not admirers! Wise words. In Jesus’ reaction to his own rejection, his weeping over Jerusalem, we see the epitome of human maturity. To this we are called, personally and as an ecclesial community. We also see there that a big heart feels the pain of others, even of those others who reject you.

(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)

The four C’s of Christmas

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GUEST COLUMN
By Reba J. McMellon, M.S.,LPC
Coping doesn’t sound very festive, but it is an undeniable part of our holiday season. We cope with expectations others have of us. We are coping with the expectations we put on ourselves. And we try to cope with time deadlines, long lines and even perhaps ghosts from Christmas past. The holiday season is about jazzing up life during the winter season. A wonderful way to cope is to think about ways you can jazz up your life. Not the neighbor’s life, the economy or anything else. Jazz up life for you. If you enjoy certain traditions, do them. If you don’t enjoy the traditions or begin to find them monotonous, change them. Remember, it’s about jazzing up your life.

Reba J. McMellon, M.S.,LPC

Centering is a must in an effort to cope. Take some time to center yourself. Focus on what holds value and meaning for you this holiday season. Forgetting to center can have the same results as forgetting to breath. You’ll get lightheaded and dizzy and feel like you just might faint.
In fact, after a prolonged period of being off center, you might find the thought of fainting for a few minutes oddly comforting. Centering can be done in three minutes or less.
For instance, instead of trying desperately to pass the slow driver in front of you, relax and enjoy the easy pace. Or sit in your car in the parking lot of the shopping center for about three minutes, just breathing. Another idea is to simply sit in your own living room and look around at all the comforts of home-quietly. Try smiling during these times. It’s amazing how far this will go to center your body, mind and spirit.
Caring is paramount to making the holiday season a positive one. We are all guilty of getting so caught up in holiday planning and pleasing, we find ourselves with no strength or energy left to truly care about our family and friends. Take away the glitter and decorations, the ribbons and bows and examine the true gift underneath.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it were possible to wrap up a big box of caring and give it to the ones you love. Opening a big box of caring and love given to you by others would be wonderful as well. Showing more love and concern for each other goes a long, long way. In our communities, churches, synagogues and families, truly caring for one another will last long after the tree is taken down and the holiday decorations are packed away for another year.
Celebrate what it is you truly love. That can include most anything. Eat special holiday foods that you don’t indulge in the rest of the year. Think eggnog, or cheese straws; or candy canes and fudge.
Remember which songs you love to hear and sing during this season only. Play them, dance to them and sing them. If you have happy holiday memories, share them. Something as simple as putting a red bow on your pet’s collar can be a celebration of the season.
Learn a little about how Christian cultures around the world celebrate Christmas and maybe adopt some new ideas. Sometimes the best celebrations are quiet contemplations.
When we center ourselves, truly care for our family and friends, use our coping skills and celebrate the True Meaning of Christmas, we might look forward to doing it again next year. Masks or no masks.

(Reba J. McMellon, M.S. is a licensed professional counselor with 35 years of experience. She worked in the field of child sexual abuse and adult survivors of abuse for over 25 years. She continues to work as a mental health consultant and freelance writer. Reba can be reached at rebaj@bellsouth.net)

What our suffering world needs most of all

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Making a Difference
By Tony Magliano
More than anything else the world needs saints! And that is exactly what God is urging you and me to become. Not next week, not next month, not next year, but now is the time humanity needs us to decisively commit our lives to faithfully walk in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus – just like thousands of canonized saints and countless little known saints have done throughout the centuries.
Well, you may think that you are not the stuff saints are made of; that you can’t possibly be that good, that kind, that generous, that just, that peaceful, that selfless, that prayerful, that loving, that Christ-centered, that holy. And you’re right, that is, if you think you can become a saint solely through your own efforts.
The desire of becoming a saint, and the life-long ongoing effort it takes to progress toward that most important goal, cannot be attained if you and I simply rely on just our own will-power, talents and skills. The age-old temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil are far too powerful; they will overwhelm our best intentions.

Tony Magliano

Rather, sainthood is a gift from God. For only the Divine Holy One can fill us with divine life. But for divine grace, divine life to enter and evermore fill us, we must cooperate with God’s grace. We must consistently open our minds and hearts to the ultimate power of God and God’s love, and what God is calling us to do, and then the evil one will have no power over us. For as the psalmist says, “I keep the Lord always before me; with him at my right hand, I shall never be shaken.” So, it is essential for us to stay focused on the Lord!
Similarly, in the words of St. Paul, let us likewise “put on the Lord Jesus Christ!” And may our lives also echo his acclamation that in God “we live and move and have our being.”
You and I were created by God to fully immerse ourselves in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus; to daily pray over it, think about it, and radiate it in word and deed.
To love God with our whole soul, heart, strength and mind, and to love everyone as we love ourselves is how a saint lives her or his life. This way of life – the only way to fully live life – is the only sure, comprehensive, lasting cure for all that ails our largely sick world and wounded planet.
From abortion to euthanasia, from gun violence to war, from poverty and hunger to homelessness, from drug cartels to refugees, from child labor to human trafficking, and from pollution to climate change the world is desperately in need of saints!
Be inspired, sign-up to receive Saint of the Day (see: https://bit.ly/34Gwgkx).
Each holy person not only inspires others to strive for holiness, but also prays and works to change what St. Pope John Paul II called “structures of sin” into structures justice and peace; thus answering the saint’s clarion call to build the “culture of life.”
In his new social encyclical letter titled Fratelli Tutti (“All Brothers”), Pope Francis urges us to encounter one another – especially those human beings existing on the margins, victims of the “throwaway culture” – and to build-up a world of “universal fraternity” and “social friendship” where welcoming replaces exclusion, where bridges replace walls, where mutual respect replaces distain, where nonviolence replaces violence, where social justice replaces greed and where fraternal love replaces hate and indifference. (see: https://bit.ly/3e4NsDb)

(Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at tmag6@comcast.net.)

Pope creates 13 new cardinals, including Washington archbishop

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By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – One by one 11 senior churchmen, including two U.S. citizens – Cardinals Wilton D. Gregory of Washington and Silvano M. Tomasi, a former Vatican diplomat – knelt before Pope Francis to receive their red hats, a cardinal’s ring and a scroll formally declaring their new status and assigning them a “titular” church in Rome.
But with the consistory Nov. 28 occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis actually created 13 new cardinals.
Cardinals Jose F. Advincula of Capiz, Philippines, and Cornelius Sim, apostolic vicar of Brunei, did not attend the consistory because of COVID-19 travel restrictions; however, they are officially cardinals and will receive their birettas and rings at a later date, the Vatican said.
In his homily at the prayer service, Pope Francis told the new cardinals that “the scarlet of a cardinal’s robes, which is the color of blood, can, for a worldly spirit, become the color of a secular ’eminence,'” the traditional title of respect for a cardinal.
If that happens, he said, “you will no longer be a pastor close to your people. You will think of yourself only as ‘His Eminence.’ If you feel that, you are off the path.”
For the cardinals, the pope said, the red must symbolize a wholehearted following of Jesus, who willingly gave his life on the cross to save humanity.
According to canon law, cardinals are created when their names are made public “in the presence of the College of Cardinals.” While many Rome-based cardinals attended the consistory, more members of the college were “present” online.

Pope Francis finishes presenting a ring and scroll to new Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington during a consistory for the creation of 13 new cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Nov. 28, 2020. (CNS photo/Stefano Spaziani, pool)

The pandemic also meant the gathering was unusually small; each cardinal was accompanied by a priest-secretary and could invite a handful of guests, so there were only about 100 people in the congregation at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The new cardinals came from eight countries: Italy, Malta, the United States, Brunei, the Philippines, Mexico, Rwanda and Chile.
Cardinal Gregory, like the other new cardinals coming from outside Europe, was tested for COVID-19 before flying to Rome and again upon arrival. Even after testing negative, he and the others were required to quarantine for 10 days and were tested again immediately before the consistory.
In an interview with Catholic News Service, the cardinal said he hopes Pope Francis will find him to be “supportive, encouraging and trustworthy” in his role as a cardinal, but his primary ministry is still to be the archbishop of Washington.
Of course, he said, he regrets that “my two sisters are not here, and the many people I know and love from Chicago and Belleville (Illinois) and Atlanta and Washington,” who were watching the livestream instead.
One of Cardinal Tomasi’s guests was the pastor of his boyhood parish, San Rocco in Casoni di Mussolente, a town of fewer than 8,000 people in northern Italy. In the past 80 years, the cardinal told CNS, the parish has produced more than 100 priests and religious sisters, “and now also a cardinal. I hope it will help to continue the flourishing of vocations from the parish.”
With the consistory the College of Cardinals now has 229 members, 128 of whom are under the age of 80 and eligible to enter a conclave to elect a new pope. Pope Francis has given the red hat to 57% of electors.
With Cardinals Gregory and Tomasi, who was born in Italy but is a U.S. citizen, the number of U.S. cardinals rose to 16; nine of them are cardinal electors.

Catholics say they’re able to deepen their approach to Advent season this year

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By Maria Wiering
ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) – Despite the pandemic-related dearth of holiday parties and typical social engagements that – for many – stuff the weeks before Christmas, Jolene Gerads said she’s feeling a special excitement about this year’s Advent.
There’s more time, more space, more energy, she said.
In the past, she, her husband, Robert, and their four boys, ages 9 and under, spent the holidays traveling to different parts of the state to celebrate with both sides of the family. That meant that many traditions they started on the First Sunday of Advent – such as the Jesse Tree – petered out as Christmas drew near, and never saw completion.
For the Geradses, this year’s quieter season of preparation at home means potential for greater focus and fewer distractions ahead of Christmas.
Catholics across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis may relate. With the COVID-19 pandemic upending daily routines and now some long-held pre-Christmas traditions, some are embracing the space created – both in their calendars and their minds – by fewer social obligations, an eliminated commute and more time at home. The First Sunday of Advent was Nov. 29.
Busy Advents of the past pushed the Geradses to exchange their stationary Jesse Tree – which follows salvation history through tracing Jesus’ family tree, often through ornaments on a real tree – for a book with a similar idea, “Jonathan’s Journey,” which could accompany them on Christmas travels.
The Jesse Tree didn’t work for her family, Gerads explained, because she never tied it to something already in their routine. Her successful Advent traditions, such as prayer around the wreath, are tied to things her family already does, like sharing meals.
This year, the Geradses plan to turn off the lights right before dinner and light the Advent wreath in darkness, said Jolene, 34.
Other families noted rooting some of their children’s Advent traditions in practicing selfless behavior. One common practice is putting a piece of straw in an empty manger each time a child makes a sacrifice, making a home for Jesus in their hearts as they make one for him in the creche.
Gerads admires a friend’s tradition, where family members write down their sacrifices on paper and put them in a designated “stocking for Jesus.” On Christmas Eve, the stocking is emptied and their selfless deeds are read aloud.
“There’s a lot of neat ways to dig into the season, since we have this extra time,” she told The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Gerads is optimistic about this year’s Advent because the family observed an exceptional Lent, she said. When Masses were first suspended in March due to COVID-19, her family decided to “make a rich Lent” for themselves, and doubled down on their intentionality for the season.
“We had nothing else to rely on,” she said of that Lent. “We didn’t have our normal ‘crutches'” such as external Bible studies or prayer groups. “We knew that this is what we have to work with right now, so let’s make it as rich as possible.”
Observing Advent as a family – and the liturgical seasons year-round – helps to instill faith in children, but it’s also important for adults, Gerads said.
Following the liturgical calendar makes their faith “not just a Sunday thing, not just a nighttime prayer thing,” she said. “It’s how we do life.”
“We need to be so much more intentional about bringing the beauty of the faith, and the church and the traditions of the church and the liturgical year … to our children, and into ourselves,” she added. “When you enter into it fully, the Lord can give so much grace through it.”
For Catholics who live alone, virtual Advent resources abound, many with opportunities to connect online for faith-sharing.
Advent during “Covidtide,” as some have termed the pandemic, allows families to enter a type of “family cocoon” or period of dormancy, said Anne Nicklaus, 57, whose family belongs to Our Lady of Peace Parish in Minneapolis.
“Like the plants that go to sleep in the winter, something is happening, and they are becoming recreated and renewed for something much greater in the spring,” she said. “And I think that can happen in their families. But it can’t happen if it’s crowded out with other things. In other words, we have to say no to something to make space for that greater thing that can happen.”
The Nicklauses also focus on the penitential aspect of Advent, which, she noted, is made easier this year with the COVID-19-related restrictions.
“Advent is a time of sacrifice,” she said, “but we are making room for something better.”

(Wiering is editor of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.)

Vardaman group serves taste of the South at Thanksgiving

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By William Moore Daily Journal
VARDAMAN – Catholic Charities provided around 100 Thanksgiving dinners Thursday evening to migrant workers in Calhoun County.
For organizer Danna Johnson, it was much more than just giving away food.
“The beauty of this is how we can integrate a multicultural community through food,” Johnson said. “We wanted to make sure it was a traditional Southern meal – no beans, no tortillas.
“For many of the workers, it might be the first time they have ever eaten turkey.”
The event started last year when the group served meals to around 40 workers at the downtown Vardaman location and sent out another 15 meals. It was a way for several cultures to come together. A migrant worker said grace before the meal. A board member shared the story of Thanksgiving and the reasons behind the traditions of turkey and dressing.
Officials hoped the second year would be even bigger, but then the pandemic hit and forced this year’s event to become carry-out only.
To make sure as many of the workers as possible knew about the event, Johnson enlisted the help of Paola Diaz to get the word out. Diaz works for a company that brings the migrant workers in from Mexico, processes the immigration paperwork and allocates the workers to the various farms around the area.
“I work in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, and I love this place,” Diaz said.

Since she deals directly with the workers, Diaz was an integral part of getting the word out. She not only knew the rural county roads where the workers live, she was the ticket in the door.
“These people don’t go out much and avoid a lot of new places and new people,” Johnson said. “They are not used to coming to places they don’t know. If I went to the door by myself, they wouldn’t answer the door. When I showed up with Paola, we were welcomed in.”
So, the two women spent the last couple of weeks riding around county roads, letting the workers know that a special meal would be waiting for them, if they wanted it.
“The goal was to show them hospitality and many of the workers were actually working until noon today,” Diaz said.
Heidi Stephens, a retired teacher who helps with the Catholic Charities after school tutoring program, said they worked for several weeks to organize the event. Two local churches prepared the food.
“Last year, St. Christopher in Pontotoc did the food,” Stephens said. “This year, St. Christopher and St. James in Tupelo took care of the food.”
Some of the items were purchased while three different groups at the Tupelo church did the bulk of the cooking, including three men from the Knights of Columbus who cooked the turkeys.
While the meal is prepared by Catholic Services and most of the migrant workers are Catholic, the meal is not a religious event or church service.
“They don’t have time to go (to regular church services),” Johnson said. “They work every day when the crop is coming in, even Sundays and holidays.”
The event does help to introduce the workers to the church, but officials wanted to make it more about hospitality, with thanks to God present, but in the background.
“It’s a ministry of presence, we are not looking for recruits,” Stephens said. “It is good for the community to see an ecumenical project take off.”

(This story was reprinted with permission of the Daily Journal. Follow the author on Twitter @WilliamMoore_DJ, photos by Thomas Wells)