By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz
JACKSON – “Fiducia Supplicans,” the declaration issued by the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) and approved by Pope Francis reminds us that each one of us is in need of God’s blessings, healing, compassion and mercy. To seek a blessing from a priest is to acknowledge the need for God in one’s life and the desire to grow stronger in a relationship with God.
The declaration does not change the church’s teaching on marriage as a union of one man and one woman in lifelong fidelity and openness to children; nor is it a step toward the ratification of same-sex unions nor a compromise of the church’s teaching on these irregular relationships.
It is a document on the nature of blessings and the pastoral use of giving informal, spontaneous blessings to individuals seeking to experience God’s healing love and grace in their lives.
To quote the document directly, the DDF sums up its declaration thusly:
“ … following the authoritative teaching of Pope Francis, this Dicastery finally wishes to recall that ‘the root of Christian meekness’ is ‘the ability to feel blessed and the ability to bless. This world needs blessings, and we can give blessings and receive blessings. The Father loves us, and the only thing that remains for us is the joy of blessing him, and the joy of thanking him, and of learning from him to bless.’ [Catechesis on Prayer: The Blessing (2 December 2020)] In this way, every brother and every sister will be able to feel that, in the church, they are always pilgrims, always beggars, always loved, and, despite everything, always blessed.” (FS #45)
The full text of the document may be found on line at: https://bit.ly/FiduciaSupplicansDeclaration
I encourage all the faithful to read the actual document in its entirety.

January 8
Father Bill Cullen
Retired

January 12
Father José Lopez
Retired

Thank you for answering the call!

By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As an expression of ongoing affection and gratitude for the late Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis led tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square in a round of applause for his predecessor on the first anniversary of his death.
“A year ago, Pope Benedict XVI concluded his earthly journey after having served the church with love and wisdom,” Pope Francis told an estimated 20,000 people gathered in the square for the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer Dec. 31.
Pope Benedict, who led the church from 2005 to 2013, died Dec. 31, 2022, at the age of 95.
“We feel so much affection, gratitude and admiration for him,” the pope said. “From heaven, he blesses and accompanies us.”

Before the Angelus, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Benedict’s former personal secretary, presided over a memorial Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica. German Cardinal Gerhard Müller and Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, concelebrated the liturgy.
In his homily, the archbishop shared some of Pope Benedict’s meditations on the readings for the day’s feast, the feast of the Holy Family. Several times his voice broke with emotion remembering the pope he lived with and served.
Looking at how prayer was an essential part of the life of Mary and Joseph, Archbishop Gänswein quoted Pope Benedict’s last Angelus address, just days before his resignation went into effect, when he explained:
“The Lord is calling me ‘to scale the mountain,’ to devote myself even more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning the church; indeed, if God asks me this it is precisely so that I may continue to serve her with the same dedication and the same love with which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suited to my age and strength.”
In the same way, the archbishop said, prayer marks the rhythm of the life of the church, “which is the great family of God.”
As the retired pope aged, he said, his life – with a growing intensity and interiority – became more focused on prayer.
Born Joseph Ratzinger, he tried to model his life on St. Joseph, the archbishop said. It could be seen in his intimacy with the Lord and with the people around him, “relationships distinguished by great courtesy, humility and simplicity.”

JACKSON – Genevieve “Gen” Feyen was born June 14, 1931 to Henry and Alma Feyen in Fond-du-lac, Wisconsin. While in seventh grade she was asked to play the piano, by the Sisters at Holy Rosary School, for the summer weekday Masses. She gathered Kathleen and classmates to get up early and sing in the choir. This went on for six long summers, which turned out God was preparing her for directing a choir.

Following in her aunt Emily’s footsteps, she become a student at St. Agnes School of Nursing in Fond-du-lac, graduating in 1952. She then moved to Milwaukee to work in a hospital there. She had an encounter with God, asking her to dedicate her life to Him.

In 1955, she went to St. Francis Center, which was a part of Pax Christi Franciscans in Greenwood, for one year of service to God. This was in the days of segregation, and the Black community was at the bottom of the list for everything, including health care. She was the nurse working with patients in the dispensary and making home visits. At the end of her year, she moved back to New Holstein, but was bored within a month so returned to Mississippi.

Besides nursing, she worked with Father Daniel Machesky, OFM and developed a skating project for teens. The students really learned to skate well, jumping, spinning, skating backwards and with partners. They learned so quickly that they formed a skating show, the “Centerama” and traveled around to other schools to perform.

Gen’s greatest concern was family centered care and patient teaching. She did home deliveries for many years, and St. Francis Center moved toward the idea of developing a birthing center. In 1964-65, she reluctantly went to school to become a nurse midwife. She graduated as a Certified Nurse-Midwife and being the first in the state of Mississippi. Her license was stamped #1.

In 1968 Gen moved to Jackson and became a member of Christ the King parish where she joined the choir, then became the organist. She loved this part of her life and worked with the choir for the early Mass.

While in Jackson, Gen’s first job was working at Hinds General Hospital. Then, in 1970 she joined the Nurse-Midwifery program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Gen supervised Nurse-Midwifery students in clinics, labor and delivery. She also supervised Nurse-Midwifery Assistants who made home visits to the mothers and babies for the infant’s first year of life. Later she taught a course at UMMC for nine young ladies who became OB technicians, and she delivered babies when she could in the hospital.

Her work continued in nursing in Family Centered Care in the hospital in 1973, seeing to it that the babies were taken out of the nursery and “roomed in” with their mothers. She taught daily, prenatal classes in the clinic, as mothers waited for their turn to be seen by the residents. She then began working as a Nurse-Midwife in the Prenatal and Women’s Health Clinics at the Mississippi State Board of Health in Jackson in 1977. In 1983 she was honored, receiving the Public Health Nurse Clinician of the Year in Mississippi, and then joined the staff at Rankin County Health Care Center. In 1993 she was awarded the Mississippi Primary Health Care Association’s Outstanding Mid-Level Clinician of the year. This also brought an end to her Nurse-Midwifery career.

Gen continued working with the choir at Christ the King parish. She and Grace Lee formed the Senior Swingers group. It was stated very clearly in the beginning that this was a group to have fun, not another working group. The seniors worked all their lives and it was time for them to relax a bit. She helped out at the school by working one on one with students. She worked many yard sales, raising money for the parish. She was a member of the liturgy team, King’s Workers, Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary and Senior Swingers.

On Feb. 24, 1991, she was presented with the L.W. Sampson Award from the Knights of Peter Claver for “Outstanding Leadership Service and Dedication in Christ the King Catholic Church and Community.”
Following her mother’s dreams of traveling, Gen visited Medjugorje, where her life was completely changed. She went from a reluctant disciple to an enthusiastic disciple.

Genevieve was the current president of Pax Christi Franciscans, a position she held many times. Under her direction, she formed the PCF associates with members in Greenwood and Jackson. She continued to be active in so many aspects of life it is hard to name them all, as she served 68 years in Mississippi.
Her last major project and accomplishment was writing a book on her life, “The Reluctant Disciple” which will go to print soon.

Genevieve passed on Nov. 8, 2023 and her funeral service was held at Christ the King Church in Jackson on Saturday, Dec. 2.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Pax Christi Franciscans in her honor.

December 27
Father Antony Chakkalakkal
St. Dominic Hospital & Cathedral of St. Peter

Father Augustine Palimattam Poulose
St. Patrick & St. Joseph Meridian

January 8
Father Bill Cullen
Retired

January 12
Father José Lopez
Retired

By Joanna Puddister King

JACKSON – Nine years ago (2015), the #iGiveCatholic campaign for #GivingTuesday took off as an initiative of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, raising over a million dollars in a 24-hour period for Catholic parishes, schools and ministries. Subsequently, this campaign spread to other dioceses throughout the nation, with participating dioceses increasing with each year. The 2023 #iGiveCatholic campaign had a great impact, with growth in dollars given and donors, raising over $20.1 million for Catholic entities this year.

The Diocese of Jackson joined the #iGiveCatholic campaign in 2016, making this year the eighth year of participation in the nationwide campaign, and generating nearly $193,000 in gifts to a total of 27 parishes, schools and ministries within the diocese.

The success of each organization is based on the amount of effort put forth in publicizing their causes, or reason to raise funds, by reaching out to donors via social media (Facebook, Instagram, emails, websites, etc.) and print publications such as bulletins, posters and flyers.

The #iGiveCatholic campaign focuses on electronic giving and includes a specific website provided to the organizations at no cost, in hopes to encourage greater participation and help generate funds. Each year, the diocese receives a generous grant from Catholic Extension to cover half of the online giving platform fees.

Also included in the grant from Catholic Extension was additional money earmarked for training or prizes to aid in a successful campaign and help generate excitement. Five prizes were awarded in random drawings for entities who had online donors during specific time frames; and three prizes were awarded to the top three fundraisers. The grand prize winners this year were Carmelite Monastery in Jackson; Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Canton; and St. Richard Catholic School in Jackson.

The National Sponsor of #iGiveCatholic this year was Our Sunday Visitor, a Catholic publisher that serves millions of Catholics globally through its publishing and communication services. For the past several years, Our Sunday Visitor has donated offertory envelopes at no cost to participating organizations, to encourage donors, who otherwise would not want to give electronically, helping to increase participation and overall total giving.

“I am always amazed at the generosity of the Catholic community in our diocese,” said Rebecca Harris, director of Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of Jackson. “It is such a blessing to see that same generosity across the country as Catholics generously give to so many ministries.”

In a year when overall donations were down for #GivingTuesday, #iGiveCatholic did not experience that trend, with the giving day raising 8.7% more than in 2022 and a total of 11% more donors.

Harris said, “A big thank you goes out to all those who participated in our diocese and a big thank you to all of the donors who supported so many great projects.”

“What a joy it is to be a part of so many Catholics joyfully sharing their blessings.”