Dr. Hoffsman Ospino to headline National Migration Week festivities
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Category Archives: Featured
Diocese partners with Givelify app
JACKSON – Donors can now give to the Diocese of Jackson through an app on their tablet or phone. Givelify is available on the Apple and Google Play download centers. Users create their own secure account and can then donate in a few taps. The diocese will take care of tax documentation.
The Office of Stewardship and Development decided to use the Seminarian Education Challenge for the launch of Givelify for the diocese. Other organizations will be added later. The Seminarian Education Challenge is an effort to raise $100,000 in one year to help pay for tuition for diocesan seminarians. “This app is a very cost effective option for the diocese and will let people give from wherever they are,” explained Rebecca Harris, director of Stewardship and Development for the diocese. “We are always looking for ways to make it easy for people to support the causes that mean a lot to them. Online and mobile giving are great ways to get people involved,” she added.
To download the app, search for Givelify in the application store on a device. The download is free. Once you have the app, open it and search for Catholic Diocese of Jackson and look for a photo of Bishop Joseph Kopacz with the seminarians.
2017 Diocese of Jackson Seminarians
The Diocese of Jackson currently has 10 men in discernment for the priesthood serving in parishes or studying at one of three seminaries. Please keep them in your prayers. Anyone interested in learning more about vocations in our diocese can find contacts and details on the vocations page of the website: www.https://jacksondiocese.org/about/offices/vocations/
Deacons to be ordained May 31, 2018
Deacon Nicholas Adam
Deacon Aaron Williams
Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans, La
Mark Shoffner
Adolfo Suarez Pasillas
César Sánchez Fermín
Franklin Eke
Andrew Nguyen
Sacred Heart Seminary, Franklin, Wis.
Carlisle Beggerly
St. Joseph Seminary College, St. Benedict, La.
Andrew Bowden
Tristan Stovall
L-R bottom: Adolfo Suarez Pasillas, Mark Shoffner, Deacon Nicholas Adam, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Deacon Aaron Williams, Andrew Nguyen, 2nd and 3rd row Andrew Bowden, Franklin Eke, group of Knights of Columbus 2nd row on left Tristan Stovall.
Purple Dress Run
By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Thursday, Oct. 19, runners took the streets of downtown Jackson decked out in purple dresses to benefit Catholic Charities’ domestic violence shelter. In its sixth year, the 5-K run lets runners and walkers have a little fun with their exercise.
Purple is the advocacy color for domestic violence and October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Many runners and walkers wear purple dresses to in honor of women who suffer or those who have ‘run’ from their abusers. Iconic downtown restaurant Hal and Mal’s hosts a gathering before and after the race, which winds around the capitol and through the streets of downtown as the sun sets.
Bishop Joseph Kopcaz kicked off the race with prayer and then handed out water at the turn by the capitol building. Bands from Jackson Prep and Madison St. Joseph High School played along the route to give the runners inspiration.
MSU Bulldog, Father Burke Masters to headline Journey of Hope dinner, luncheon
JACKSON – Catholic Charities is pleased to welcome Father Burke Masters to this year’s Journey of Hope meet-and-greet on Monday, Nov. 6 at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and then to the Journey of Hope lunch the following day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, at the Jackson convention complex.
The two-day Journey of Hope event is one of the biggest fund-raisers staged by Catholic Charities every year. The Monday evening meet-and-greet is $25 per person and runs from 6-8 p.m. This gathering gives people a chance to get up close with the speaker and get a preview of the luncheon event. The lunch starts at noon and is free to anyone. Table captains host attendees, inviting them to make an offering at the end of the program. Michael Thomas, development director for Catholic Charities makes the promise every year to keep the event to an hour so working people can always attend.
Father Masters has strong ties to Mississippi – he was part of the Mississippi State Bulldog baseball team that played in the College World Series and was nominated as one of the top student athletes in the college’s history. His vocation story is unusual since he was not raised Catholic. According to an interview he gave to Our Sunday Visitor in 2016, he went to a Catholic high school in his home state of Illinois because it offered strong academics and the opportunity to further his ambition of becoming a professional baseball player.
Father Masters became Catholic his senior year of high school, but continued to pursue baseball, earning accolades throughout his college career. God, it would seem, had other plans. He played for one professional team, tried his hand at team management and then went into the business world. He had a girlfriend and was living what he thought was a pretty normal life. He told OSV his call to the priesthood started when his girlfriend took him to Eucharistic adoration for the first time. He describes it as God’s gentle, persistent call.
After seminary, he worked in parishes in the Diocese of Joliet, Ill. Now, he is on the vocations team, helping other young men respond to God’s call to the priesthood. He also serves as the chaplain to the Chicago Cubs so he can stay connected to his love for baseball.
Tickets for the meet-and-greet are still available as are positions for table captains and seats at the luncheon. Contact Julie O’Brien at 601-326-3758 to purchase or reserve a place at both events.
This is how we march for Life: video contest
The Diocese of Jackson is having a March for Life Video Contest. The videos must be a minimum of two minutes long, maximum four minutes. Judges will select winners by category. First place in each category will receive $200. One runner up for each category will receive $100.
Grab a Go Pro, cell phone or video recorder of your choosing and record the activities your parish/school participates in that promote, affirm and help create a culture of life.
Winning videos will be posted online during the month of January. Creatively recording activities from Respect for Life month is a wonderful way to demonstrate how you March for Life!
Categories:
• Youth (up to eighth grade)
• High School (ninth – 12th grade. Includes parish youth groups or Catholic high schools)
The winning high school video will be presented at the Diocese of Jackson Youth Conference in February in Vicksburg!
• Parish Groups (for example: College Campus Ministry, Knights of Peter Claver, Knights of Columbus, Ladies Groups, Small Faith Communities)
How to Enter:
Submit a video demonstrating how your local community supports, endorses, advances a culture of life.
Submissions will not be accepted after December 3.
Multiple entries from one parish or school are allowed.
Note the category of your submission and email your video to: fran.lavelle@jacksondiocese.org
‘O Queen of Heaven and Earth, we consecrate ourselves to you’
By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Bishop Joseph Kopacz consecrated the Catholic Diocese of Jackson to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary on Sunday, Oct. 8, at the end of a 2:30 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. The act was a very public one – Bishop Kopacz led a procession through the streets of downtown Jackson at the end of the Mass and before the consecration. Seminarians carried a statue of Mary as part of the procession and more than 100 faithful joined in. The crowd then returned to the cathedral for a litany and the prayer of consecration written by Deacon Aaron Williams.
The act marks two events, the 100th anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady at Fatima and the official liturgical launch of the Pastoral Priorities for the diocese. The bishop and his pastoral team have been working for almost two years to get the Priorities written and introduce them to the parishes. This fall, the bishop has asked the pastors to have teams in the parishes write local goals and priorities aligned with the new diocesan plan. The consecration places this work in the care of the Blessed Virgin. Deacon Williams included phrases from the new plan in the prayer of consecration. The weekend started with a rosary at the cathedral on Saturday. More than 100 faithful joined for the public rosary, led by diocesan seminarians.
People came from across the diocese to be a part of the Mass and procession. Tanya Britton, former secretary at Jackson Christ the King, retired to Tupelo several years ago, but returned to the cathedral for this event. “I wanted to be a part of honoring the Mother of Our Lord, to acknowledge her and to show my gratitude to her. Mary took me by the hand and gently drew me to the bosom of Jesus when I was so far from Him that I couldn’t imagine ever being reconciled. A mother’s love is what I needed,” said Britton.
“To see our diocese honor her in such a communal way and with such a public witness reaffirmed my love for our bishop and my local church. It was also a way for me to stay connected and remind myself we are not ever really isolated from either our local diocese or Rome. We’re all on this ‘pilgrimage’ together in a world in desperate need of a Mother’s love and guidance,” she added.
Betsy Carraway, a Carmelite Secular and member of Jackson St. Therese, said she was very encouraged by the crowd of people at both the rosary and consecration. “We needed a conversion experience. When you are Christian, you are always improving and you need these conversion experiences,” said Carraway.
Elsa Baughman, retired editor for Mississippi Católico, has had a special devotion to Mary since she was a child. She said the procession appealed to her heritage. “As a Hispanic, I loved the procession. In our culture, processions are very important. We feel like we should raise Mary up on our shoulders and take her out into our neighborhoods – or into the streets of Jackson as we did here,” she explained.
The day before the consecration, Hurricane Nate made landfall in South Mississippi. Organizers had to watch the weather and come up with contingency plans for the liturgy in case the storm brought high winds and rain to the area.“The weather was beautiful,” said Baughman. At one point, the sun shone so brightly into the cathedral, and I thought, ‘this is God, smiling at us for doing this,’” she added.
Jackson Habitat house honors Sr. Therese Jacobs
By Peggy Hampton
JACKSON – Two years ago, when Polly Hammett drove down Greenview Drive in south Jackson for the first time, she cried.
“Today, I smile,” she said.
This is due, in great part, to the hard work and commitment of Polly and many other volunteers from Catholic churches in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties, who have given of their time and resources to help revitalize a decaying, blighted street.
The Catholic community in the metro Jackson area has played a significant role in the transformation by partnering with Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area on the first two houses built on the street – the Pope Francis House and the 2015 Catholic Build House – followed by the 2016 Catholic Build House and now the 2017 Catholic Build House.
The goal is two-fold — to help a local family in need of a decent, safe, affordable place to live and to transform a street filled with blighted, decaying and abandoned homes into a beautiful, safe neighborhood where working families live, grow and thrive.
Habitat has acquired 31 properties on Greenview Drive, demolished 18 derelict houses and built 13 homes on the street. The 2017 Catholic Build home is among four additional homes being built this fall. More Habitat builds are planned for 2018.
“I am tickled to see the progress made on Greenview Drive,” Polly said. “I see change, and I see hope.”
The 2017 Catholic Build Habitat House will be purchased with a no-interest mortgage by Khadijah and Xavier Ransom. Khadijah and Xavier, both 23, are a married couple with two children – Xavier Jr., 4, and younger brother Kayden, 1.
“When Xavier and I were dating and started to become serious about getting married, we began talking about and making plans to become Habitat homeowners,” said Khadijah. “Now that we have good, stable jobs and can afford a mortgage, we are thrilled to be partnered with Catholic Build on the building of our home.”
Khadijah is a licensed cosmetologist at a local salon, while Xavier is employed as a car salesman. The family of four has been living in a tiny 1-bedroom, 1-bath apartment with roof leaks, insect problems and an unreliable HVAC system. Their new Habitat home will have a modern HVAC system that is efficient and cost-effective, new energy efficient appliances, lots of space and a yard where the children can play.
The Ransoms have been working alongside of the Catholic Build volunteers in building their new home, something Catholic volunteers have been doing for many years.
Every fall, parishes in the Jackson area pool resources and volunteers to build a Habitat house for a family. This is the 32nd year for Catholic churches to partner with Habitat. Partner parishes include Flowood St. Paul, Madison St. Francis of Assisi, Clinton Holy Savior, Gluckstadt St. Joseph, the Catholic Diocese of Jackson, and the following Jackson churches: St. Therese, the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, St. Richard and Christ the King as well as St. Dominic’s Health Services.
The Catholic Build volunteers have been dedicated in their efforts throughout the years and are motivated by service and love of others.
“There is a real sense of accomplishment and community by working together to take pieces and parts of building materials and put them together to become a house,” said Allen Scott of Holy Savior.
Polly agreed, noting that a wonderful byproduct of the process is the laughter, love and good time shared by the volunteers.
“The houses we build are constructed with labor and laughter,” she said.
The 2017 Catholic Build house is built in memory of Sister Therese J. Jacobs, BVM, a pastoral minister at St. Richard Parish in Jackson from 1987-2001 and 2010-15. Sister Therese, who passed away in April, was a longtime supporter and advocate of Catholic Build and Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area.
“As many who knew Sister Therese have noted, she was a woman with a vivacious nature, energy and enthusiasm for her work, community, love of life, and her love of God,” said Raymond Barry, a member of St. Richard and longtime Catholic Build volunteer. “The spirit of giving and love of life and God demonstrated by the Catholic Build volunteers is a wonderful way to remember and honor Sister Therese.”
(Peggy Hampton is the Public Relations, Marketing Fundraising Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area.)
Back to School and Solar Eclipse
Students start new year messed, blessed
Solar Eclipse brightens science lessons
Across the diocese, students and adults alike looked to the skies on Monday, August 21, to watch a full solar eclipse. While much of the Diocese of Jackson was not in the so-called path of totality, there was plenty to see. Students and teachers had to use approved glasses or viewing devices to keep everyone safe, but many could not pass up the opportunity for this event. Some schools, such as Southaven Sacred Heart and Madison St. Joseph, hit the road to Tennessee for a better view. The Sacred Heart students watched from the Nashville Zoo where they could also observe the impact of the event on the animals. Father Greg Schill, SCJ, who went on the trip said the giraffes went wild and everyone could hear insects singing as the skies grew dark. (See facing page)
In top left photo, students from Columbus Annunication’s middle stepped outside in the early afternoon to view the final stages of the eclipse. In the photo above, right, Madison St. Anthony Students are in awe of the show in the sky. (Photos by Katie Fenstermacher and Kristian Beatty.)
Donate to Seminarian Endowment, Catholic Extension will add to gift
By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – The Diocese of Jackson is sending ten sons to college this year. Some of them are pursuing an undergraduate degree while others seek advanced studies in theology, philosophy, liturgy and ministry. All of them intend to spend their lives in service to the church, in fact, most of them spent the summer serving at parishes across the state.
As the seminarians report back to Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, St. Joseph Seminary college in Benedict, La., and Sacred Heart Seminary in Wisconsin, the costs begin to add up. Of course, the return on the investment is out of this world, but, the bills are pretty steep in the meantime. The diocese will pay $325,000 this year on seminary education.
The diocese featured snippets from the seminarians’ summer assignments on the facebook page for the last couple weeks. Among the more far-flung adventures were Tristan Stovall’s nine-day wilderness hike with COR International, Andrew Nguyen’s participation in the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University and Aaron Williams’ continuing studies at the Liturgical Institute. Closer to home, Cesar Sanchez and Adolfo Suarez learned about pastoral ministry in a hospital setting at St. Dominic’s Hospital. Andrew Bowden and Marc Shoffner served in parishes.
While regular college students might take summers off or work at home, these men continued their formation in one way or another.
Catholic Extension has offered a $25,000 match if the diocese can raise $100,000 in new donations for seminary education this year. To help people better understand how anyone can support this effort, the Office of Vocations and Stewardship and Development are sponsoring a series of brunches in three locations.
Flowood St. Paul Parish will host the first brunch on Saturday, Sept. 9. The second is at Natchez St. Mary Basilica’s Family Life Center on Saturday, Sept. 23. The final brunch is set for Saturday, Nov. 4 at Oxford St. John Parish. At the brunches, donors will meet the seminarians and have the opportunity to support this fund.
A group of people can pool their money, but each new gift must equal at least $1,000. Those who cannot attend the brunches are welcome to send donations separately. To learn more about the Seminarian Endowment, to RSVP to a brunch or to donate, contact Pam McFarland at 601-960-8479 or by email pam.mcfarland@jacksondiocese.org.
Donations can be mailed to Catholic Diocese of Jackson, Seminarian Education Challenge, PO Box 2248, Jackson, MS 39225.
