SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
NEW ORLEANS Our Lady of the Cenacle Retreat Center, Women’s Retreat – “The Infinite Tenderness of God,” Feb. 19-21. Presenter: Reverend Jacob DuMont, LC. God is infinite love and out of that love, he created and redeemed us. Father DuMont currently serves as the local superior and chaplain for Lumen Institute, as well as a spiritual director for the seminarians at Notre Dame Seminary. Their capacity is limited due to COVID-19 – registration on a first come first serve basis. A non-refundable deposit is required. Details: to register, contact the retreat office at (504) 267-9604 or https://www.neworleansretreats.org/retreats.
Our Lady of the Cenacle Retreat Center, “Called to Be Antibodies of Solidarity,” March 19-21. This retreat centers around Pope Francis’ statement, “This is a time to unite as one human family. An emergency like COVID-19 is overcome, above all, with the antibodies of solidarity.” Presenter: Matt Rousso, who has been engaged in pastoral ministry in four parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Since 1991, he has worked with Maryknoll Ministries, conducting mission spirituality programs in and around New Orleans and Louisiana. Actions on behalf of justice and promoting solidarity with the poor of developing countries have been key aspects of his ministry. Their capacity is limited due to COVID-19 and they are currently accepting registration on a first come first serve basis. A non-refundable deposit is required. Details: to register, contact the retreat office at (504) 267-9604 or https://www.neworleansretreats.org/retreats.
Mass Times Free Ministry to Traveling Catholics – for nationwide Mass times and locations, call 1-800-627-7846 or www.Masstimes.org.
Best Lent Ever – Get a short daily Lent reflection in your email through “Best Lent Ever” — sign up at www.dynamiccatholic.com. Listen to podcasts? Try “The Bible in a Year” by Father Mike Schmitz — each episode lasts about 20 minutes and includes reflection and prayer.

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
SOUTHAVEN Christ the King, Blood Drive, sponsored by Knights of Columbus Council 7120, Sunday, Feb. 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot. Please join us in helping give the gift of life! Details: church office (662) 342-1073.
McCOMB St. Alphonsus, Men’s retreat “Rise Up O Men of God The Truth Will Set You Free” Saturday, March 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Alphonsus Liguori Hall, 104 South 5th Street. The retreat will focus on the truth of God’s Love, Salvation in Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit and Christian Warfare. Speakers: Al Mansfield and Father Bill Henry. Al has served the Catholic Church for 50 years. He holds a master’s degree in theology from Notre Dame Seminary. He recently retired as Director of CCRNO. He and his wife, Patti, were awarded the Papal Medal, Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice in 2000 by St. John Paul II. Father Bill Henry retired last year after serving the diocese for 36 years. He previously pastored at St. Joseph Church, Greenville; St. Alphonsus, McComb and St. Therese, Jackson. He has given many retreats and spoken at conferences throughout the United States. Cost: no charge, but registration is required. Lunch will be served. Masks and social distancing are required. Donations will be accepted. Details: (601) 276-5954 or mail name, address and phone number to: Mike Brown, 1053 Riverview Drive, Summit, MS 39666.
NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, Oremus Study Program For Lent. St. Mary will be offering a study program for parishioners who wish to deepen their prayer life. The Oremus program is from Ascension Press, led by Father Mark Toups of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, and teaches you the essentials of an effective and fruitful prayer life. Over the course of eight weeks, you will discover how God speaks to you, even in the smallest encounters. Following the Tradition of the Catholic Church and the wisdom of the saints, you will learn how to express yourself to God in prayer and how to hear his voice. They intend to offer the program in both an in-person and a virtual format. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
VIRTUAL The Diaconate: Are you called? If you think you may be called to the permanent diaconate, the Diocese of Jackson is offering a series of five inquiry meetings via Zoom. Are you called? – Saturday, Feb. 13 and Wednesday, Feb. 17; What’s involved? – Saturday, March 13; The application process – Saturday, March 20; and Meeting recap – Wednesday, March 24. Details: Deacon John McGregor, Director of the Permanent Diaconate – john.mcgregor@jacksondiocese.org.

YOUTH BRIEFS
JACKSON St. Richard School, Save the Date, Krewe de Cardinal has been postponed until Friday, April 30. Raffle tickets to win a 13” MacBook Pro Laptop are available in the school and church offices for $10 each or 3 for $20. Details: school office (601) 366-1157
MADISON St. Anthony School is now accepting applications for new students for the 2021-22 school year. St. Anthony serves families with students in Pre-K3 through 6th grade. Details: (601) 607-7054 or visit their website stanthonyeagles.org.
SOUTHAVEN Sacred Heart School is now accepting applications for the 2021-22 school year. Recognized by Today’s Catholic Teacher as one of three most innovative Catholic Identity Schools in the U.S., provides a small, close knit family atmosphere with students representing 25 different countries. Details: (662) 349-0900 or bmartin@shsm.org.

SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
NEW ORLEANS Our Lady of the Cenacle Retreat Center, Women’s Retreat – “The Infinite Tenderness of God,” Feb. 19-21. Presenter: Reverend Jacob DuMont, LC. God is infinite love and out of that love, he created and redeemed us. Father DuMont currently serves as the local superior and chaplain for Lumen Institute, as well as a spiritual director for the seminarians at Notre Dame Seminary. Their capacity is limited due to COVID-19 – registration on a first come first serve basis. A non-refundable deposit is required. Details: to register, contact the retreat office at (504) 267-9604 or https://www.neworleansretreats.org/retreats.
Women’s Retreat – “Lent: Untying the “NOTS” – Feb. 24-26. Presenter: Sister Judy Gomila, MSC. With God’s grace, this Lent can be different. The retreat offers an opportunity to eliminate the “nots” in your vocabulary and to get busy living in spiritual fitness leading to deep Resurrection Joy! A Marianite Sister of Holy Cross and New Orleans native, Sister Judith is known for her practical spirituality and storytelling. She speaks from a grateful and happy heart and delights in interfacing with the “people of Gawd.” Their capacity is limited due to COVID-19 – registration on a first come first serve basis. Details: to register, contact the retreat office at (504) 267-9604 or https://www.neworleansretreats.org/retreats.

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
GREENVILLE St. Joseph, Society of St. Vincent de Paul volunteers are needed on Tuesdays or Wednesdays from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Please come to 711 Washington Avenue if you can help. Details: church office (662) 335-5251.
JACKSON St. Richard, Volunteers are needed for Meals-On-Wheels and Stewpot Lunch and Pantry. St. Richard Meals-On-Wheels delivers meals from an assigned menu to the Jackson area the second Tuesday of every month. St. Richard sends volunteers to Stewpot Lunch Service and Pantry one week per quarter. Details: call Tommy Lamas at the church office (601) 366-2335 or email him lamas@saintrichard.com.
NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, Oremus Study Program For Lent, St. Mary will be offering a study program for parishioners who wish to deepen their prayer life. The Oremus program is from Ascension Press, led by Father Mark Toups of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, and teaches you the essentials of an effective and fruitful prayer life. Over the course of eight weeks, you will discover how God speaks to you, even in the smallest encounters. Following the Tradition of the Catholic Church and the wisdom of the saints, you will learn how to express yourself to God in prayer and how to hear his voice. We intend to offer the program in both an in-person and a virtual format. Watch the bulletin for more information regarding registration for the program. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
VIRTUAL The Diaconate: Are you called? If you think you may be called to the permanent diaconate, the Diocese of Jackson is offering a series of five inquiry meetings via Zoom. Are you called? – Saturday, Feb. 13 and Wednesday, Feb. 17; What’s involved? – Saturday, March 13; The application process – Saturday, March 20; and Meeting recap – Wednesday, March 24. Details: Deacon John McGregor, Director of the Permanent Diaconate – john.mcgregor@jacksondiocese.org.

NOTICE: ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANS BANKRUPTCY ABUSE CLAIM DEADLINE
The Archdiocese of New Orleans has declared bankruptcy. If you were sexually abused in connection with the Archdiocese, including schools, orphanages, parishes, or an affiliated ministry, you could receive compensation but you need to file a claim so it is received by March 1, 2021. Sexual Abuse Survivors include anyone who was sexually abused, on or before May 1, 2020, and believe the Archdiocese may be legally responsible for the sexual abuse. This may include sexual abuse in connection with any entity or activity associated with the Archdiocese, including schools, orphanages, parishes, or an affiliated ministry. You can obtain further information and materials by visiting www.NOLAchurchclaims.com or calling 1-877-476-4389.

LELAND – St. James Catholic Church in Leland was covered in snow on Monday, Jan. 11. Mississippi Catholic would like to publish snow day photos of our parishes and schools in our next edition and online, if you have a photo you would like to submit for possible publication, please send to editor@jacksondiocese.org by Jan. 20. (Photo by Deborah Ruggeri)

By Daisey Martinez
PEARL – Sister Marirose Rudek, R.S.M., Director of the Office of Religious Education and Evangelization in the Diocese of Lake Charles, shared during a regional meeting of the diocesan faith formation directors back in November. She spoke about the great loss people in her diocese have faced and how they are all just trying to navigate these troubled times, together.
“After the hurricane Laura, people had the attitude of, ‘It’s okay we can do this. We can handle it’, but after Hurricane Delta, people were just sobbing, sobbing, sobbing. … On top of everything else, people are losing loved ones due to natural deaths, heart attacks, suicide. There’s this sense of being overwhelmed and fatigued.” These are some of the words that Sister Marirose used to describe the difficult situation over in Lake Charles.
Daniel McCormick, Director of the Office of Religious Education from the Diocese of Birmingham, was touched by what Sister Marirose had shared with the group and knew he wanted to find a way to help out. After speaking with Sister Marirose, McCormick came up with the idea of a supply drive for faith formation for the parishes who lost their religious education buildings and more due to the wind and rain damage of the hurricanes.

This was the genesis of the “Posadas Pickup Pilgrimage” project. The objective was to gather parish leaders and catechists for charitable Advent celebrations at parishes across the dioceses of Birmingham, Jackson, and Alexandria and encourage the celebration of the Posadas in parish communities and families this Advent.
McCormick planned the trip to include nine stops to symbolize the nine nights leading up to Christmas in the Posadas tradition. Three of those stops were in the Diocese of Jackson: St Patrick Meridian; St Jude Pearl, and Mary Basilica Natchez on Dec. 16 and 17. Items were collected from their parishioners and from St. Francis Madison, St. Paul Flowood and Holy Family Jackson, whom actively participated by collecting and dropping off donations at the Pearl pickup location. St. Anthony in Madison and Cathedral in Natchez were some of the local Catholic schools that were also involved in collecting supplies for the pilgrimage. The parishes in these cities provided a welcoming environment for those who dropped off donations on the dates of the pickup.
In a time when everyone must be socially distant, this served as a wonderful opportunity for people to come together and show love and kindness to our neighboring brothers and sisters.

Sister Marirose messaged everyone involved by sharing her gratitude “Thank you to everyone, … no matter what you’re able to give. Just your prayers are much appreciated because the people in our diocese are overwhelmed and things have been stressful … so we’re grateful.”

UPDATED COVID RESTRICTIONS – AS OF DEC. 4, 2020

In light of the current surge of COVID-19 cases, the Diocese of Jackson has updated the restrictions for church gatherings. Please do everything you possibly can to enforce our safety protocols currently in place. We cannot stress enough the importance of these protocols being followed completely. We do not want to add to the burden of our already overwhelmed healthcare system. These heroes need our prayers, our cooperation, and our diligence every day.

To be transparent, we will be monitoring the situation closely and if protocols are not being followed and numbers of cases continue to spiral upward, we will be forced to suspend in person Masses again.

Effective immediately:
• All church gatherings other than Masses are suspended until further notice.
• All protocols currently in place for Masses must be strictly enforced.
• Social-distance church capacity numbers must be kept.
• Weddings, if scheduled, must be small and all present must wear a mask. This includes entire wedding party, priest or deacon, photographer, coordinator and guests.
• Funerals must be small and graveside only.
• Sacraments such as baptisms and confirmations if possible should be delayed until after the Baptism of the Lord in January.

COVID-19 REMINDER

All over the age of two are required to wear a mask to attend Mass.
The obligation to attend Mass continues to be dispensed by Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, so if you do not feel safe attending, or have an underlying health condition, or feel sick, please stay home. Be safe and stay vigilant!

PRAYER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO MARY FOR PROTECTION DURING THE PANDEMIC

“We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God.”

In the present tragic situation, when the whole world is prey to suffering and anxiety, we fly to you, Mother of God and our Mother, and seek refuge under your protection.

Virgin Mary, turn your merciful eyes towards us amid this coronavirus pandemic. Comfort those who are distraught and mourn their loved ones who have died, and at times are buried in a way that grieves them deeply. Be close to those who are concerned for their loved ones who are sick and who, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, cannot be close to them. Fill with hope those who are troubled by the uncertainty of the future and the consequences for the economy and employment.

Mother of God and our Mother, pray for us to God, the Father of mercies, that this great suffering may end and that hope and peace may dawn anew. Plead with your divine Son, as you did at Cana, so that the families of the sick and the victims be comforted, and their hearts be opened to confidence and trust.

Protect those doctors, nurses, health workers and volunteers who are on the frontline of this emergency, and are risking their lives to save others. Support their heroic effort and grant them strength, generosity and continued health.

Be close to those who assist the sick night and day, and to priests who, in their pastoral concern and fidelity to the Gospel, are trying to help and support everyone.

Blessed Virgin, illumine the minds of men and women engaged in scientific research, that they may find effective solutions to overcome this virus.

Support national leaders, that with wisdom, solicitude and generosity they may come to the aid of those lacking the basic necessities of life and may devise social and economic solutions inspired by farsightedness and solidarity.

Mary Most Holy, stir our consciences, so that the enormous funds invested in developing and stockpiling arms will instead be spent on promoting effective research on how to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

Beloved Mother, help us realize that we are all members of one great family and to recognize the bond that unites us, so that, in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity, we can help to alleviate countless situations of poverty and need. Make us strong in faith, persevering in service, constant in prayer.

Mary, Consolation of the afflicted, embrace all your children in distress and pray that God will stretch out his allpowerful hand and free us from this terrible pandemic, so that life can serenely resume its normal course.

To you, who shine on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope, do we entrust ourselves, O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.