Category Archives: Diocesan News

Listening Sessions: Developing a Diocesan Vision

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Monday, February 15    St. Dominic Center, Toulouse Bldg     6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 16    Meridian, St. Patrick     6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 17    Vicksburg, St. Paul     6:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 18    Brookhaven, St. Francis     6:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 21    Southaven, Christ the King     4:00 p.m with dinner
Monday, February 22    Clarksdale, St. Elizabeth     6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 23    Madison, St. Francis     6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 24    Tupelo, St. James     6:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 25    Starkville, St. Joseph     6:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 28    Greenwood, Immaculate Heart of Mary     4:00 p.m.
Monday, February 29    Greenville, St. Joseph     6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 1    Natchez, St. Mary     6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 2    Batesville, St. Mary     6:30 p.m.

Vicksburg seniors help prevent flood damage

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By Mary Margaret Halford
VICKSBURG— Just days after returning to school from the Christmas holidays, students at St. Aloysius  School found themselves in downtown Vicksburg shoveling sand into bags to help block rising flood waters steadily approaching their town.
The St. Al seniors, accompanied by a few alumni, chose to forgo their end-of-the-day study hall class and afternoon plans to join city employees near the waterfront for a few hours of hands-on work in preparation for the Mississippi River’s crest, which was expected to reach 50.2 feet on Friday, Jan. 15.
“Floods are a different kind of disaster,” said Warren County Emergency Management director John Elfer. “They get here slow, and they leave here slow. It’s not like a flash flood where you don’t have time to get ready for it.” And get ready for it is exactly what the St. Al students did — by helping place a sandbag wall around the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Depot to help keep water out of the historic building. “The kids were excited to do something that they knew would have an immediate impact on their city and town,” said Joan Thornton, theology teacher at St. Al. “They were happy to do it. They really understand that the river is part of who we are in Vicksburg.”
“I think it’s always a great feeling when after you’re done you get to see how much help you’ve provided and how you’ve made an actual difference,” said senior Elizabeth Counts. “I think it was a great opportunity for some of my classmates and me to be able to directly help do something for our city. We were able to protect something that is an important part of Vicksburg.”
Despite the fact that winter floods of this magnitude are incredibly rare for the area, local agencies are prepared to deal with any needs that emerge. Organizations like United Way of West Central Mississippi and Catholic Charities have been in on phone calls and meetings with disaster recovery groups to discuss ways to best handle relief efforts.
“We’ll be looking at where the unmet needs are and coordinating so we don’t duplicate efforts,” said Dorothy Balsar, director of parish-based ministries for Catholic Charities.
“Those needs could be mucking kits or household items; maybe people will need access to temporary housing at a hotel. There are a number of ways just to help people get back on their feet and get back to normal.”
Michele Connelly, executive director of United Way in Vicksburg, said the needs during a flood event aren’t always clear from the start.
“The need for shelter is the most important as water is starting to come into homes at this time,” Connelly said just two days before the river’s predicted crest. “It’s a wait and see game for a lot of people.” Connelly also noted that cleanup after a flood is an important part of the recovery process.
“A lot of people are able to take things out of their homes because they’ve had warning, so there isn’t so much a need for donated “things” as there will be for cleaning supplies upon re-entry, and maybe some volunteer hours in helping people get back into their homes after the waters recede. Money is always extremely useful, sometimes you don’t know what the need is going to be until the need arises. Having funds on hand to meet those needs makes it easier,” Connelly said.
“Where we’ll really need people to help is when the flood is over with,” Elfer said. “This is going to be a long-term event – it’s going to be three weeks before the water goes down at least.” After the river reached a historic high of 57.1 feet in 2011, Connelly said the people of Vicksburg learned a lot about coping with such a disaster.
“There is a large group of people and nonprofits in the area ready to step up, there have been so many things already put in place; we’re blessed with a community like that.” That Great Mississippi River Flood of 2011, which saw a crest high enough for record books, taught valuable lessons about preparing for a flood, not just reacting to it.
“Because of what we did in 2011, like elevating structures and getting them out of the flood area, we won’t have as much damage this go around,” Elfer said.
But despite a better understanding, and a crest that wound up being a few feet lower than originally projected, the water has affected more than 100 homes in the area.
For those interested in donating to or getting involved with flood relief efforts, contact the following agencies or a local parish.
Warren County EMA, 601-636-1544; Catholic Charities, www.catholiccharitiesjackson.org.; United Way of West Central Mississippi, 601-636-1733.

Irish priests, gathered for reunion, remember their lost brothers

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BY TERRY DICKSON
LONG BEACH – Although he’s only been the bishop of Jackson for two years, Bishop Joseph Kopacz is well versed on the annual reunion of priests from St. Patrick College Seminary in Carlow, a gathering which has recently expanded to include Irish priests from throughout the United States and abroad.
“I know that the Carlow Reunion is a spirited event that certainly embodies the Joy of the Gospel that Pope Francis asks of us,” Bishop Kopacz said, during the annual memorial Mass for deceased Irish priests, which was celebrated on Jan. 5 at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, in conjunction with the 2016 reunion. “(Pope Francis) has admonished us, as Christians, not to look like we have just returned from a funeral. But, we can say, he’s probably never been to an Irish wake or memorial gathering because that’s a very spirited gathering, not one that’s overly dour.”
Bishop Kopacz said he accepted the invitation to preach at the Memorial Mass on behalf of the deceased priests of Carlow Seminary as “a good omen, especially after reading that a thousand priests in Ireland signed a document of protest over the process of selecting bishops.”
“I took this as a good omen and it looks like Bishop Morin and I have survived the purge and can continue to serve,” he added. Bishop Kopacz said the Eucharistic celebration was the perfect opportunity to express thanksgiving on behalf of the deceased priests from the seminary of Carlow, who have served throughout Mississippi and the English-speaking world.
Alluding to the missionary spirit so often mentioned by the Holy Father, Bishop Kopacz said, “Pope Francis wants the Church to get out of itself and go to those on the outskirts of existence and that could be someone right around the corner from where we live or across the ocean.
“(Pope Francis) says, “With loving contemplation of Jesus Christ, the whole Church is to become an evangelizing community of missionary disciples, avoiding a posture of maintenance, embracing a permanent state of mission.’ That’s our call in every age. Certainly, that is the gift I believe Pope Francis is bringing to the Church – renewing that call and, also, this evening, celebrating that call in the lives of so many dedicated priests who have served.”
Bishop Kopacz said the seminary in Carlow embodied that spirit of evangelization throughout its 200-year existence.
“From 1793 to 1993, over 3,100 priests were ordained out of the seminary, many of them from 1892 to 1989, when it was exclusively a seminary,” he said.
“Many set forth on a mission to bring the Joy of the Gospel to the English-speaking countries in our world.
“Those numbers are well documented,” Bishop Kopacz added. “It’s also well-documented that the most zealous and brightest of these priests were sent to Mississippi.” In his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis writes, “Missionary disciples or evangelizers must be those who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet.”
That passage, Bishop Kopacz said, perfectly captures the missionary spirit of the priests who came to Mississippi from Carlow.
The papal mandate to embrace the world with the Light of the Gospel is not just bishops and priests, Bishop Kopacz said.
“This invitation, this mandate, is for all of us,” he said. “All of us must go forth to draw near to those who don’t know or live the Gospel by building bridges, supporting others, taking on the smell of the sheep and patiently seeking to accompany them on their journeys to free them and free us from all unworthy chains of the idolatry of money and the arrogance of power, the culture of indifference, the tyranny of relativism, from violence, power, greed, drug addiction and the insatiable hunger of the arms merchants drenched in blood. Our time certainly has its challenges and, yet, we have the Light of the Gospel where the mercies of the Lord are renewed each day.”
Bishop Kopacz told all gathered that, “Each of us is a mission to be salt, light and leaven in a world that is immersed or inclined toward darkness.”
“We walk with God each day in the land of the living and we know that the Light of the Gospel continues to burn bright – dimmer in certain areas and certain times but certainly, through suffering and martyrdom and sacrifice and loving dedication, the Lord is very much present,” he said.
“For nearly 200 years, Eucharist – the Blood of the Covenant – has been our source and summit, the fountain of God’s mercy that endures forever. The deceased priests of Carlow have their chapter in the Lord’s demand to ‘Go and make disciples of all the nations.’ May they have the rewards of their labors in the Father’s rest.”
In 2014, Carlovians Father Gerard Cleary of the Diocese of Biloxi and Father Martin Ruane of the Diocese of Jackson were called home to God. The Memorial Mass is the highpoint of the three-day reunion, which also includes a golf tournament and a few celebratory meals.
Carlow Alum Father Liam Kelleher has been coming to the reunion for 15 years.
“I make this a part of my vacation, said Father Kelleher, a priest from Cobh in County Cork, who was ordained in 1978 for the Diocese of Cloyne.
“I take the month of January off because the weather is very bad in Ireland and it’s nice to get away and get to where the sunshine is. Father Jim Fennessy (of Atlanta) and I are the only two here from the Class of 68 but it’s great to see all the others and play a game of golf I want to thank the people here because this is a marvelous church, a marvelous community and it is absolutely wonderful to be here.”

Jubilee Year of Mercy

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The Diocese of Jackson has esablished ten pilgrimage sites in addition to the Holy Door at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in honor of the Jubilee Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis. These sites allow the faithful to make a pilgrimage and fully immerse themselves in the contemplation of mercy.
The pope declared certain days to be jubilee days for specific groups of people – catechists, those who work in prison ministry, youth, etc. A full schedule is posted on the diocesan website, www.jacksondiocese.org. In addition, parishes are adding their own observances of the year to their calendars.
In Booneville, Carol Dickerson created a pilgrimage site map, tracing the path between the sites with little feet and including photos of each church a pilgrim should visit in each town. She included information on the jubilee and on pilgrimages in general.
In Vicksburg, St. Paul Parish is celebrating the feast of St. Paul with a pilgrimage day packed with opportunities for liturgy, prayer and fellowship.
A schedule of a couple of events follows.
CLEVELAND Our Lady of Victories Parish will have weekly small-group discussions for six weeks after the mission (Jan. 17-19) in parishioners’ homes. The focus will be “The Holy Year of Mercy” as declared by Pope Francis.
JACKSON St. Richard Parish, Benediction, every Wednesday during the Year of Mercy from 6 – 6:30 p.m. and confession from 6:30 – 7:30 in the church.
VICKSBURG St. Mary Parish has Mass at  6:30 a.m. and a Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help at 6 p.m. The church will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. for pilgrims to visit.
St. Michael Catholic Church has Mass at 8:30 a.m. The church will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for  pilgrims.
St. Paul Catholic Church will have Mass at 7:00 a.m.; Eucharistic Adoration at 7:30 a.m.;
8:00 a.m.    Rosary: Joyful Mysteries
9:00 a.m. Rosary: Sorrowful Mysteries
10:00 a.m. Rosary: Glorious Mysteries
11:00 a.m. Rosary: Luminous Mysteries
11:00 am to noon confession
11:30 am Benediction                Noon Mass
12:30 pm    Eucharistic Adoration
1:00 pm    Rosary: Joyful Mysteries
2:00 pm Rosary: Sorrowful Mysteries
3:00 pm Divine Mercy Chaplet and the 3 o’clock prayers
4:00 pm Rosary: Glorious Mysteries
4:30 to 5:30 pm  confession
5:00 pm Rosary: Luminous Mysteries
5:30 pm    Benediction
7:00 pm    Peter & Paul Film in Farrell Hall
For additional information contact:   601.636.0140  or 601.831.0978.
If your parish or faith community is hosting a Jubilee Year of Mercy event or program, please let us know about it by emailing editor@mississippicatholic.com)

Jackson refugee program assists young people

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Debra West has several hundred ‘children,’ and she loves when they call on her. West is the director of the Catholic Charities Uncaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) Program for Catholic Charities Jackson. Every table and window ledge in her office is covered in framed photos – graduations, weddings, new babies – reminders of the hundreds of lives she has touched. She has been at her post for 13 years, but the program has been in place in the diocese since 1980.
“They still call me, years after they have left,” she said. Once a participant turns 21 he or she is ‘emancipated,’ but West said she and her staff are always available to help. “We get calls 10, 15 years later, mostly people looking for their documents,” said West, but she likes to hear where they are and what they are doing.
An unaccompanied refugee minor (URM) is a child who enters the United States prior to their 18th birthday without a parent or guardian to care for them. Children who arrive with parents or other relatives may also become eligible for URM program services if their caregivers can no longer take care of them once in the United States.
The program assists the young people in developing appropriate skills to enter adulthood and to achieve economic and social self-sufficiency.
The primary focus of the program has always been to work toward reuniting these children with relatives whenever possible. The program was developed in the 1980’s by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to initially address the needs of thousands of children in Southeast Asia without a parent or guardian to care for them.
Since 1980, Catholic Charities of Jackson, has provided specialized foster care to refugee children from Vietnam, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Haiti, Burma, Eritrea and the Republic of the Congo. These children were separated from their parents due to the outbreak of war or political upheaval in their countries. Their earliest childhood memories are of death, destruction, separation and survival. They witnessed the burning of their homes and villages and the massacre of their families and friends.
Some children had to flee without knowing who among their families had died or survived. At an age when most children were learning their ABC’s, they were running for their lives.
The children endured hunger, thirst, military assaults, and animal attacks to reach refugee camps. They learned to survive on their own and as a group. Refugee camps were able to provide the children with food, shelter, and relative safety to ease their physical suffering but could do little to heal their nightmarish memories or fears over the fate of their loved ones.
Catholic Charities also serves asylum seekers and victims of human trafficking.
Depending on their needs, the children are placed in therapeutic foster homes, group care, or independent living. “We have two group homes which can accommodate eight young men each,” said West. The foster parents in the group homes and individual homes get specialized training to help meet the needs of the young people, some of whom have been through traumatic situations before they arrive.
The URM program also offers assistance in obtaining U.S. residency, court documentation for immigration issues, translation services, English as a second language help, cultural orientation including grooming and hygiene instruction, case management, therapeutic services, tutors, socialization and recreational outlets.
Case workers and foster parents help the youth celebrate cultural holidays from their homelands and offer them the chance to learn about American holidays and culture. The success stories abound. West said 90 percent of the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan who came to Jackson, boys who fled the civil war in the African Republic to avoid becoming child soldiers, are now U.S. Citizens. Two of them even became therapeutic foster parents for the program when they completed it. West said most of them have also attainted master’s degrees. One received a prestigious scholarship from Rotary International to study diplomacy abroad. Another is in Texas working with FEMA.
One of the most dramatic success stories is that of Bul Mabil, a Lost Boy who was one of only 50 people worldwide to be selected for a Rotary Peace Fellowship to pursue a master’s of Conflict, Security and Development at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom. He was five when he and his brother were forced to flee their home without their parents. He told his story to Mississippi Catholic in 2014 before he left for his studies.
“This is a chance to make a difference globally, not just locally,” he said. “This program is to train young leaders who can be catalysts for peace and conflict resolution nationally and internationally,” he added.
There is no doubt his own history with the URM program played into his decision to take on the fellowship. “The value of this program is that they are able to help children have an opportunity here in the U.S. Wherever they come from – there was a reason they came. They did not just decide to go,” he said. “None of us (the Lost Boys) wanted to leave the country where we were born. We had to leave because of war,” he said.
“Refugee issues have become big issues nowadays. The situations affecting these people are not well understood. I would like to highlight them,” Mabil said. “It is different coming from a war-torn country. These things (his success) did not come easily. It took struggle and I would not have overcome the struggles without a program like URM,” he said.
When a URM turns 21, Catholic Charities has a celebration for them. This year, two people left the program, both are continuing their education. West is a proud mom, she takes pride in the graduates and her staff. “We do outstanding work. All of our monitoring visits indicate that. The USCCB sees us as a premiere program,” she said.
West said she would like to open another group home for girls and always welcomes people who want to become therapeutic foster parents. To learn more about the foster parent program call Michael Holloway at 601-981-4668 ext. 702.

YOUTH BRIEFS

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CLEVELAND Our Lady of Victories Parish College students who would like information or to be notified by text about our the parish’s Bible groups and other activities, call or text your name and number to Natalie Hardesty, 228-861-7253.

HERNANDO Holy Spirit Parish Theatre Company meeting, Sunday, Jan. 25, after the 10:30 a.m. Mass. The group is planning a new production for May 7. The cast will include nine women and seven men, ranging in ages from teens to senior citizens. Details: Ken Hoover, 662-420-0110.

GLUCKSTADT St. Joseph Parish, bingo fund-raiser, Friday, Jan. 29, from 6 – 8 p.m. in the parish hall. All youth who plan to attend the summer trip need to participate. Start collecting and turning in prizes – gift cards are a big hit.

GRENADA St. Peter Parish, Abbey Youth Fest parent/youth informational meeting, Wednesday, Jan. 27, after CCD in the Family Life Center. Youth who attended last year will share their experience.
– Youth LifeNights new time for meetings, 6 – 7:30 p.m. Rosary will be at prayed at 5 p.m., followed by dinner and the meeting.

MERIDIAN St. Patrick Parish, fun day for youth in sixth-12th grades, Friday, Feb. 12, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Come to play soccer and dodgeball with youth from Philadelphia, Forest, Kosciusko and Louisville. Trophies will be awarded. Lunch will be provided.

NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, spiritual renewal activities for children in PreK3- through fifth grades, Jan. 25-28 from 6:15 -7:15 p.m. Free babysitting each night for younger children.
– Multi-parish youth day for students in grades sixth-12th, Saturday, Feb. 27 from 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. A day of games, praise and worship, music by Drew David and Will Carter, and a motivational speaker.

CATHOLIC HEART WORK
SUMMER CAMP
Catholic Heart Work Camp summer mission trip in Nashville, June 19-24, for those currently in eighth grade and older (including college) Cost is $345.

Confirmation retreat draws almost 200, welcomes Holy Spirit

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By Fran Lavelle
CANTON – Last year the Department of Faith Formation launched a pilot project to see if there was interest in the diocese offering a high school confirmation retreat. It proved to be well received and valued. Determining that we would offer a similar retreat again was an easy decision. What we could not have anticipated was the amount of interest in this year’s retreat.
Watching the cars and buses unload was a sight to behold as more than 180 youth from around the diocese came out for the day-long retreat to spend some prayerful time reflecting on the sacrament they will all receive this spring. To say we were at capacity is an understatement, but the youth and their adult leaders took it all in stride.
The retreat was held on the grounds of Camp Bratton Green in Canton. Thanks be to God the weather forecast was wrong and what was expected to be a cold-rainy day turned out to be a day filled with beautiful blue skies and sunshine.
The mood of day was upbeat as the youth met new friends from around the diocese and had a chance to further strengthen the bonds within their own parish groups. Bishop Joseph Kopacz commented that the crowd present represented nearly half of the young people he will confirm this year. An opportunity to be with the larger church and spend some time with one another is perhaps the greatest benefit of day.
Looking out on that crowd of young faces was a great inspiration for the catechist, DREs and youth ministers and other adult leaders present. To echo the sentiment of Abbey Schuhmann, youth director for Madison St. Francis Parish, “Our Church is alive and well!”
Father Rusty Vincent, associate pastor at Greenville St. Joseph Parish, was the retreat master. The theme was “Proclaiming His Marvelous Deeds.” Father Vincent’s first talk focused on our gifts and talents and his second talk invited to students to think about how they are using their gifts in their own discipleship.
Even with our large crowd we were able to offer small group activities where the young people could share their faith stories and reflect on the talks. When asked his impression of the day, Father Vincent responded, “It was a wonderful day bringing those seeking confirmation together. You could really feel the Holy Spirit moving with each and every one of them.”
Bishop Kopacz joined the group for the afternoon activity and celebrated Mass at the conclusion of the retreat. Underscoring our participation in Mass of both Word and Eucharist and our responsibility to take our faith beyond the walls of the church into the world, the bishop challenged the youth to be advocates for the marginalized. He encouraged them to find ways to continue to serve others either through organizations like Habitat for Humanity or local food banks.
Encouraging the young people to recognize that they are not the future church, rather they are the church today was quite possibly the most important message imparted. Confirmation is the completion of the Sacraments of Initiation and not Catholic graduation. It is our responsibility to provide opportunities for young people to serve the church throughout their college years into older adulthood.
If we want a vibrant church we need to support our youth today. May we all pray for those to be Confirmed this year that the Holy Spirit capture their hearts and fill them with a burning love for our God. If your parish is not celebrating confirmation this year and would like to be a prayer partner for the youth of another parish, contact me at fran.lavelle@jackondiocese.org to be paired with one of our parishes celebrating confirmation this year.

Facilitators trained to lead listening sessions

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By Maureen Smith
GLUCKSTADT – When the faithful gather to share their thoughts for the diocesan shared vision plan they will have help to make sure all their voices are heard. On Saturday, Jan. 9, more than a dozen people gathered at St. Joseph Parish to learn how to be facilitators for the listening sessions.
Dennis Van Auken from Catholic Leadership Institute, the company tapped to guide the process, led the training session. Facilitators learned how to set up an honorable space for sharing and listening and got advice on how to keep the listening sessions to their allotted timeframes while allowing people to fully participate.
The sessions start Monday, Feb. 15. There are 17 sessions throughout the diocese, including ones specifically for priests and lay ecclesial ministers (LEMs) “The listening sessions are a great opportunity for the people of the diocese to speak directly to the bishop of their hopes and dreams for our church for the next three-five years,” said Msgr. Elvin Sunds, who is managing the logistics for the planning process.
A facilitator will lead each session. A full schedule is on page 11. The sessions are the first step in the process of writing a shared vision and priority plan for the diocese to follow for the next five years. A Leadership Council will spend the next year going through the results of the listening sessions and other data, getting training in strategic planning and articulating the priorities they would like to see the diocese tackle. “Out of these listening sessions we look to develop a unified vision that will give us a direction and priorities for the diocese for the next three to five years,” said Msgr. Sunds.
These priorities are then translated into SMART goals. SMART goals, an acronym used in corporate planning, are specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and timely. Each one will have a timeline and specific tasks associated with it.
Bishop Joseph Kopacz asked Catholic Leadership Institute to facilitate this process because of their experience with planning. The bishop feels that starting with the people in the pews and their pastoral leaders is the best way to identify the priorities for the plan.
“We are there to listen. The bishop will be there to listen. Everything is set up in order to make it easy for people to focus their attention on what they would like to see in the diocese for the next five years or so,” said Pam Minninger, one of the facilitators at the training.
The sessions are not the place to bring complaints. “We are not there to answer questions, discuss ongoing issues or explain or address concerns,” said Minninger. Those issues are better settled on a parish level. “This is really a chance for us to dream about what we can do,” said Minninger.
The instructor told facilitators they should not only listen, but listen with reverence. Facilitators should withhold judgement and remember that there does not have to be agreement or consensus on a particular idea. The sessions are meant to collect all viewpoints and all viewpoints matter. “The facilitators will help keep the listening sessions focused on the hopes and dreams people bring,” said Msgr. Sunds.
Sheila Przesmicki, LEM at Booneville St. Francis and facilitator said she appreciates that even shy people will have a say at these sessions. “Everyone will have an opportunity to write their thoughts down so whether or not you speak, you will be heard,” she explained.
At each session, participants will be seated at tables. They will hear the structure and then get some questions to answer. Each person will have a chance to respond in writing.  Each table will get time to share their thoughts with one another and then there will be a chance to share thoughts with the whole gathering.
“This is a chance to consider the diocese as a whole – to look at the big picture,” said Przesmicki. “One of the things I liked is the language CLI used to help us guide the sessions. Each session is bilingual. “I think that’s very important because we want participation from everyone,” said Przesmicki.
Minninger is excited about the plan that will come out of this work. “This is a chance for us to bring our faith alive and bring Jesus to people and really be on fire again,” she said.

Jubilee underway as Holy Doors open across the world

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JACKSON  – Bishop Joseph Kopacz knocked and then opened the Holy Door at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle before the start of 10:30 Mass on Sunday, Dec. 13, as a sign of the opening of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Diocese of Jackson has designated 10 pilgrimage sites across the diocese so everyone will have an opportunity to participate in a pilgrimage to a holy door. A full list of the sites, along with other activities for the year is posted on the diocesan website www.jacksondiocese.org.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – With the opening the Holy Door at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Pope Francis declared that the time for tenderness, joy and forgiveness had begun.
As holy doors around the world were opened at city cathedrals, major churches and sanctuaries Dec. 13, the pope said this simple gesture of opening God’s house to the world serves as “an invitation to joy. The time of great pardon begins. It is the Jubilee of Mercy.”
Dressed in rose vestments on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, the pope began the ceremony outside the basilica in front of the bronze holy door. The door depicts a bas relief of the crucified Christ looking down on Mary tenderly holding the baby Jesus, whose small foot shone like bright gold from the countless kisses and touches of visiting pilgrims.
“This is the door of the Lord. Open for me the gates of justice. I will enter your house, Lord, because of your great mercy,” the pope read solemnly before climbing two marble steps and pushing open the large door.
The church and the people of God are called to be joyful, the pope said in his brief homily.
With Christmas approaching, “we cannot allow ourselves to become tired, no form of sadness is allowed even if we have reason for it with the many worries and multiple forms of violence that wound our humanity,” he said.
Amid the bullying, injustice and violence wrought, “above all, by men of power, God makes it known that he himself will rule his people, that he will never leave them at the mercy of the arrogance of their leaders and that he will free them of all anguish,” the pope said.
God always protects his people, he is always near, the pope said, and that is why “we must always be joyful and with our kindness offer everyone witness of the closeness and care God has for everyone.”
The Holy Year of Mercy is meant to be a time for people to rediscover God’s real presence in the world and his tenderness, he said.
“God does not love rigidity. He is father. He is gentle. He does everything with fatherly tenderness.”
As Christians are called to cross the threshold of “the door of mercy,” they are asked to welcome and experience God’s love, which “re-creates, transforms and reforms life.”
From there, people of faith must then go out and be “instruments of mercy, aware that we will be judged by this,” the pope said. Being a Christian calls for a lifelong journey and a “more radical commitment” to be merciful like God the father, he added.
Christians are asked to be joyful as they open their arms to others and give witness to “a love that goes beyond justice, a love that knows no limits. This is the love we are responsible for despite our contradictions,” and weaknesses, he said.
Later in the day, the pope appeared at the window of the apostolic palace to recite the noonday Angelus with visitors in St. Peter’s Square.
He focused on the day’s Gospel reading according to St. Luke, in which people in the crowd, including tax collectors and soldiers, asked St. John the Baptist “What should we do?” in order to convert and become acceptable for the coming of the Lord.
St. John does not leave them waiting for an answer, the pope said, and replies with concrete instructions: to live justly, in moderation and in solidarity toward those most in need. “They are the essential values of a life that is fully human and authentically Christian,” the pope said.
The saint said to share food and clothing, do not falsely accuse others, do not practice extortion and do not collect more than the tax prescribes, which means, the pope said, “no bribes. It’s clear.”
By addressing people who held various forms of power, the prophet showed that God excludes no one from being asked to follow a path of conversion in order to be saved, not even the tax collectors, who were considered among the worst of all sinners.
God “is anxious to be merciful toward everyone and welcome everyone in the tender embrace of reconciliation and forgiveness.”
Advent is a time of conversion and joy, he said. But today, in a world that is “assailed by so many problems, the future weighed down by the unknown and fears,” he said, people really need courage and faith to be joyful.
In fact, life lived with Christ brings the gift of solid and unshakable joy because it is rooted in knowing “the Lord is near” always.
The same morning, U.S. Cardinal James M. Harvey, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, opened that basilica’s holy door.
Pope Francis was scheduled to open the fourth and last holy door in Rome at the Basilica of St. Mary Major Jan. 1, the feast of Mary, Mother of God.
(A video to accompany this story can be found at https://youtu.be/MteWoKGc9qw)
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