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El arzobispo Gomez interpela a los líderes sobre la inmigración durante Misa en reconocimiento de todos los inmigrantes

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By Angelus staff

LOS ÁNGELES (OSV News) — Los sombríos acontecimientos en la frontera sur y la “frustrante” falta de reforma migratoria estaban en la mente de unos 1.500 católicos del sur de California en la Misa anual en Reconocimiento de Todos los Inmigrantes el 17 de septiembre en la Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles.

Ya se tratara de la crueldad percibida de enviar autobús tras autobús de migrantes de Texas a Los Ángeles, o de un juez federal que recientemente dictaminó que el programa de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA) — que permite que las personas que fueron traídas a los Estados Unidos cuando eran niños sean protegidas de la deportación — sea ilegal, la decepción fue una emoción subyacente del día.

El arzobispo de Los Ángeles, José H. Gomez, celebra la Misa anual en Reconocimiento de Todos los Inmigrantes el domingo 17 de septiembre de 2023 en la Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles. (John Rueda/ADLA) (Foto OSV News/John Rueda, cortesía de la Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles)

“Este ha sido otro verano frustrante, parte de otro año frustrante para todos los que esperamos una reforma migratoria”, dijo el arzobispo de Los Ángeles, José H. Gomez, en una homilía bilingüe. “La gente está siendo enviada desde la frontera a todo el país. No hay un ningún plan para que sean bienvenidos. No hay un plan para que sean atendidos. Todos estamos trabajando juntos para acogerlos y atender sus necesidades. Pero nuestros líderes parecen estar de brazos cruzados en lugar de unirse y trabajar para arreglar nuestro sistema de inmigración roto”.

El arzobispo Gomez celebró la Misa junto con el cardenal Roger M. Mahony, el arzobispo retirado de Los Ángeles, además de estar acompañado por los obispos electos Brian Nunes y Slawomir Szkredka, varios sacerdotes y unos 1.500 fieles de diócesis y grupos de todo el sur de California, incluyendo de las Diócesis de Orange, San Bernardino y San Diego, además de la arquidiócesis.

A pesar del aire de frustración, en el acto se elogió a todos los que trabajan para ayudar a los inmigrantes necesitados, especialmente al Colectivo LA Welcomes, que ha estado a la vanguardia del reciente traslado de inmigrantes en autobús.
El colectivo, formado por la Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE-LA), Central American Resource Center-Los Angeles (CARECEN), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project e Immigrant Defenders Law Center, ha entrado en acción para apoyar y atender a los cientos de inmigrantes que han sido enviados en autobuses desde Texas a Los Ángeles desde principios de junio.

Durante la Misa también se honró a líderes, voluntarios y feligreses de la Iglesia Croata de San Antonio, la Iglesia Italiana de San Pedro, la Escuela Secundaria Catedral y la Escuela Secundaria Salesiana por sus esfuerzos en la recepción de los migrantes, ofreciéndoles atención y ayudándoles con recursos. Los jóvenes adultos de la Iglesia de los Mártires Americanos de Manhattan Beach fueron reconocidos por su servicio de acompañamiento y apoyo a los menores inmigrantes.

Todos los homenajeados recibieron un pin especial diseñado por el artista Lalo Garcia para conmemorar al obispo auxiliar de Los Ángeles, David O’Connell, cofundador del Grupo de Trabajo Interdiocesano sobre Inmigración e incansable defensor de los inmigrantes antes de su repentina muerte en febrero.

Las reliquias de San Junípero Serra, Santa Francisca Javier Cabrini, San Juan Bautista Scalabrini, Nuestra Señora de la Buena Cosecha y Santo Toribio Romo también se expusieron para su veneración tras la Misa.

El arzobispo Gómez dijo que es responsabilidad de todos ver a cada persona como Jesucristo, y reconocer que todos merecen dignidad y ser tratados humanamente — inmigrantes o no.

“Tenemos el poder de amar como (Dios) ama”, dijo el arzobispo Gomez. “Tenemos el deber de perdonar como Él perdona”.

“Pidámosle especialmente que nos dé ojos nuevos para ver que cada persona es alguien como nosotros”, añadió.

(Angelus es el medio de noticias de la Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles.)


Notes: Para ver el video de la homilía vaya al canal de YouTube de LA Catholics: https://youtu.be/6lISKIOPJQ0?si=op9oRu_cH06NIiXI

La Iglesia de Estados Unidos está viva

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By Arzobispo José H. Gomez

Al orar por la futura Asamblea sinodal, que se celebrará en Roma del 4 al 22 de octubre como parte del Sínodo de tres años sobre la sinodalidad, convocado por el Papa Francisco, he estado reflexionando acerca de la diversidad y vitalidad de la Iglesia de Estados Unidos.

A dondequiera que yo mire, veo una Iglesia viva, joven, que vive de su amor a

Jesucristo y que está comprometida en la maravillosa obra de llamar a la gente a seguirlo y a promover su perspectiva sobre la dignidad de la persona humana.

Durante todo el verano, nuestras oficinas diocesanas e iglesias locales de Los Ángeles han estado trabajando con líderes de la ciudad y grupos comunitarios para acoger a la gente que llega en autobús desde la frontera de Texas para solicitar asilo.

El arzobispo José H. Gómez de Los Ángeles pronuncia la homilía durante la misa en la Basílica del Santuario Nacional de la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María el 14 de noviembre de 2022 en esta foto de archivo. (Foto de OSV News/Bob Roller)

Esto es un recordatorio de que en todo el país pueden encontrarse católicos que llevan la delantera en el servicio a los pobres, proporcionándoles alimentos, vestidos, alojamiento y otros tipos de asistencia.

Las agencias de Caridades Católicas hacen gran parte de este trabajo, con la ayuda de una red de voluntarios comprometidos. Pero hay también muchos otros grupos y órdenes religiosas independientes que los apoyan.

En Los Ángeles tenemos la bendición de contar con órdenes de ese tipo, como son las Misioneras de la Caridad, los Amantes de la Santa Cruz y los Frailes y Hermanas de los Pobres Jesucristo, entre tantas otras que sirven a los más pobres de entre nosotros.

Aquí en Los Ángeles al igual que en todo el país, los católicos también están trabajando para encontrar soluciones políticas y cambios culturales que promuevan la dignidad humana y la justicia social.

Existen católicos que hacen importantes contribuciones en los debates sobre cómo lograr que las políticas públicas ofrezcan un mayor apoyo a las parejas casadas y a las familias. Hay católicos que están realizando trabajos creativos para difundir las enseñanzas profundas de la Iglesia acerca de la belleza de la sexualidad dentro del plan de Dios.

Muchas personas y grupos de apostolados más pequeños están dando pasos audaces para proclamar el mensaje de la Iglesia para la persona humana, no sólo en áreas como el del cuidado tutelar de menores y la adopción, sino también en sectores como son el de la reforma de la justicia penal, la vivienda asequible, la reforma migratoria y la mejora de los salarios y condiciones para los trabajadores.

Es también una fuente de esperanza para mí el liderazgo católico que, mediante toda una serie de iniciativas, promueve nuevas formas de pensar sobre nuestro sistema de atención médica, especialmente en lo que se refiere a las mujeres y niños vulnerables.

La energía y la vida de la Iglesia estadounidense brota de la fuerza y diversidad de los laicos y de tantos apostolados, que complementan el eficiente trabajo de las parroquias, de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos y de tantas otras instituciones de la Iglesia.

En la Iglesia estadounidense podemos realmente ver el florecimiento de la idea del Concilio Vaticano Segundo sobre el llamado universal a la santidad y el deber de los cristianos bautizados de ser discípulos, utilizando sus talentos para llevar las enseñanzas de la Iglesia a toda área de nuestra sociedad y cultura.

Recientemente, tuve la bendición de pasar un tiempo con miembros de dos apostolados que ayudé a fundar hace años.

El primero es Endow, que capacita a las mujeres para que vivan su auténtica vocación dentro de la Iglesia, es decir, lo que San Juan Pablo II llamó “el genio femenino”.

La otra es la Asociación Católica para el Liderazgo Latino, que les proporciona a los hispanos las herramientas para que aporten su fe y sus tradiciones a los negocios y asuntos cívicos.

Me complace ver que estos apostolados están ya bien establecidos en las diócesis de todo el país. Esto es otro reflejo del celo evangélico que hay en la Iglesia de Estados Unidos.

Podríamos señalar muchas cosas más: la fidelidad de los obispos de Estados Unidos, la dedicación de nuestros sacerdotes, la notable calidad de los hombres que están en nuestros seminarios, el florecimiento de la educación católica en todos los niveles, los múltiples medios de comunicación y editoriales católicas.

Podríamos también poner el ejemplo de tantos programas y apostolados de educación religiosa que están trabajando para ayudar a los jóvenes a crecer en su amor a Jesús y en su conocimiento de la fe. Estamos dando también grandes pasos en este país para cumplir el llamado del Vaticano II a la renovación bíblica, para que nuestro pueblo sea iluminado y fortalecido por la palabra de Dios.

El Papa Francisco nos ha invitado a aumentar las contribuciones de las mujeres dentro la Iglesia. Y es sorprendente cuántos de los católicos más exitosos e influyentes de Estados Unidos son mujeres laicas, y cuántas mujeres son líderes de opinión dentro de la Iglesia de Estados Unidos.

La fe se está viviendo en nuestros hogares y en nuestras parroquias. Todos los días me siento admirado por los hombres y mujeres jóvenes que viven su amor a Jesús dentro de una cultura difícil, que se han comprometido a crecer en santidad, a formar familias sólidas y a glorificar a Dios con la vida que llevan.

Cuando pienso en la perspectiva del Papa Francisco sobre la sinodalidad, son este tipo de cosas las que me vienen a la mente. ¡Y me parece que hay tantas cosas que nos llenan esperanza! Nos estamos preparando para una nueva primavera de la evangelización.

Oren por mí y yo oraré por ustedes.

(El arzobispo José H. Gomez lidera la Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles, la comunidad católica más grande del país.)

Parish pioneers celebrate 40th anniversary

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By Joanna King and Tereza Ma
GLOSTER – Families gathered to celebrate a relatively “new” church in the history of the diocese on Saturday, Sept. 9 at Holy Family in Gloster. Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Father Anthonyclaret Onyeocha and several of the founding families gathered for a special Mass in celebration of 40 years of the “young” parish.

In 1983, the few Catholics of Amite County were scattered but one woman had a dream to bring them together.

June Vallely moved to Gloster in 1980, she and her husband Bill, along with their five children had to travel over 23 miles away to St. Joseph in Woodville for Mass.

“Trying to get the kids ready, get them up, feed them, get them ready to go to church … it was hard work,” said Vallely.

GLOSTER – June Vallely displays her plaque presented to her for her contributions to the Holy Family parish in Gloster. On left, the tabernacle sits behind the altar at Holy Family parish. It was donated to the fledgling parish in 1983 from a church in Illinois. (Photos by Tereza Ma)

“So, I started asking around in the community if there were any Catholics, or did they know of a Catholic.”
From that, Vallely began making a list; making it her mission to establish a Catholic Church in Amite County.

“Something was just pushing me and pushing me,” said Valley.

Then it hit like lightening.

One night in the middle of a thunderstorm, Vallely shot up from a slumber and went to the kitchen table and began to write.

Father Anthonyclaret Onyeocha and Bishop Joseph Kopacz process out after Mass at Holy Family parish in Gloster on Saturday, Sept. 23 for the 40th anniversary of the parish.

“I started writing this letter to the Bishop. The words kept coming out.”

A couple of months later, Bishop Brunini gave permission for a church building in the small Catholic community in Gloster. The name Holy Family was even drawn from a brown paper bag. Everyone at Mass that given Sunday submitted a name and the youngest member of the church, Jason Chabreck, drew the name.

With the assistance of Sister Margaret Maria Coon, a retired college philosophy teacher and former provincial of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth of Kentucky, who had retired to the area, the fledgling congregation began to take shape.

The first location was an old store front on Main Street, the walls of which were covered in burlap to cover large holes.

“Our first altar was a kitchen cabinet from one of our parishioners,” said Vallely, reminiscing.

Other first items were a brass crucifix from an army surplus story, a baptismal font from a Methodist church in Crosby, a tabernacle from a Catholic Church in Illinois and various hand-me-downs from other parishes across the diocese. It didn’t matter where the items came from, the founding families were happy to have a church of their own for their growing community.

June Vallely visits with Bishop Kopacz and Pauline Gauthier after Mass, about her history with the parish. Vallely and other founding members were present for the 40th anniversary celebration of Holy Family Gloster.

To fundraise families would hold dinners on Fridays during Lent, serving Cajun delicacies such as jambalaya and shrimp etouffee. Parishioners would take orders from the area, including Liberty, Woodville, Centreville and Gloster. Each week earning $1,000 or more for their young parish.

“It was lots of fun,” said Vallely. “We loved bringing the whole community together.”

Michele Chabrek was also of one of the founding families of Holy Family. Along with Vallely, she is one of the only remaining families from the beginning of the parish.

“Through hard work and faith, we’ve managed to come together and provide for the community and any of our spiritual needs.”

At the 40th anniversary celebration, Vallely was recognized for her contributions to the history of the parish with a special plaque.

“We wanted to do something special for June to let her know all of her hard work did not go to waste,” said Pauline Gauthier, a resident of Gloster for 36 years.

“We’re not a big parish or big community, but those of us that are here – we’re family.”

St. Joseph Woodville celebrates 150 years

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By Berta Mexidor and Tereza Ma
WOODVILLE – A grand gathering, after a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Joseph Kopacz, took place in the gardens of the St. Joseph community in Woodville where parishioners and Catholic community commemorated the 150th anniversary of the founding of the parish, on Sunday, Sept. 9.

The historic Mass was concelebrated by Father Anthonyclaret Onyeocha, pastor of St. Joseph Woodville and Holy Family Mission Gloster and Father PJ Curley, who served the parish in the 1970s.

WOODVILLE – Samuel Bray reaches in for a hand shake hand with Bishop Joseph Kopacz after a Mass celebrating the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph parish. Also pictured is Spencer Bray.

The congregation that filled the pews came from Woodville, Baton Rouge and other surrounding areas.

The year 1873 marked the opening of St. Joseph Catholic Church, under the direction of Father Germain Martin. Catholic believers were present around Fort Adams area since 1682, when on Easter Sunday, historians claimed the celebration of the first Mass, not only of the area but for all Mississippi soil.

The town of Woodville was incorporated in 1811, and for years the only Catholics families were the Elders, the Gordons, and the Poseys, who gave the community and history from a General to a Bishop.

The first Mass for the Woodville community was celebrated in the Gordon family house. The first families and their descendants have claimed and kept the history until these times.

For years the Catholic community of Woodville was served by priests of Natchez, until 1905 when Father Joseph B. Weis was the first resident priest.

The history of the Woodville community is rich, with many home and buildings, including St. Joseph Church, being included on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.

St. Joseph’s current pastor, Father Anthonyclaret was also celebrating his American citizenship during the festivities. He stated that all the parishioners “worked on weekends for months and contributed to the celebration.”

Bishop Joseph Kopacz blesses new vessels, surrounded by (right) Father Curley who served at St. Joseph in early 70s, Father Anthonyclaret Onyeocha (left) with Wil Seal and Wallace Ferguson as altar servers.

Edward (Eddie) Rispone, a Catholic from Baton Rouge, owns acres of property in the area for recreation, and even though he has his parish at home, he registered his family at St. Joseph, and contributes to the area because “it is special to belong to a historical Catholic Church.”
Like him, many of the attendees from Louisiana came because of the ties of their ancestors to the parish.
Ann and Octavio Gutierrez were parishioners for years. They moved back to the area from Texas, sharing their ties of many sacraments in this church. Ann now sings in the choir. Even though they have other homes, she said this has always been her “home church.”

Beautiful weather provided for a wonderful outdoor gathering for the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph Church. On right, smoke- master Mac Fletcher of Daddy Mac’s BBQ in action at the event. (Photos by Tereza Ma)

Order of the Fleur de Lis holds meeting, invests Bishop and others with Knight Commanders Cross

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By Tereza Ma and Joanna Puddister King
NATCHEZ – The Order of the Fleur De Lis held its annual meeting Aug. 25-27, in Natchez, with several events at the Basilica of St. Mary. The Order of the Fleur de Lis is an organization of Catholic men incorporated under the laws of the state of Louisiana as a non-profit organization. The Order’s domain is a five states region consisting of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Grand chancellor of the Order of Fleur de Lis, Steve Koach of Enterprise, Alabama said “for us to be here for the meeting, this is special because only every two years we do an investiture ceremony.”

Objectives of the order include supporting and defending the Catholic Church and its teachings; promoting patriotism and good citizenship, encouraging public morality and unselfish service to God and country; assisting and publicizing the activities of other organizations; memorializing the memories and achievements of Catholic leaders in religion, the arts and sciences, philanthropy education, exploration and archeology, government and international relations, medicine and jurisprudence and other established professions.

NATCHEZ – Front, left to right in black: Father Jeffery Bayhi, Father Vernon Huguley, Bishop Joseph Kopacz and Father Joshua Rodrigue were invested in the Order of the Order Fleur de Lis on Saturday, Aug. 26 at the Basilica of St. Mary. (Photos by Tereza Ma)

Bishop Joseph Kopacz, who was inducted as a part of the Order on Aug. 26 said, “These qualities define the vision of the Order of the Fleur de Lis, and I wholeheartedly embrace these virtues that enrich the lives of our members and their families, as well as their parish communities, and ultimately our nation.”

After their business meetings, the Order attended the Vigil Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary and after Mass an investiture was held with 23 Catholic gentlemen being invested with the Knight Commander Cross of the Order. Grand Prelate Bishop Glen J. Prevost, of Lake Charles, Louisiana presided over the ceremony. Leading the group of Knight Commander designates was Bishop Kopacz, Eleventh Bishop of Jackson. Other investees from the Diocese of Jackson were Father Aaron Williams, of the Basilica of St. Mary, Commanders William O’Connor of Clinton and Craig Harrell of Raymond. From the Diocese of Biloxi was Commander Larry Tabor.

Grand chancellor of the Order of the Fleur de Lis, Steve Koach of Enterprise, Alabama said that the group conducts an investiture ceremony every two years. “We all love the Catholic Church and this means an awful lot to us.”

NATCHEZ – Father Vernon Huguley, Father Aaron Williams and Father Joshua Rodrigue clasp the Knight Commander Cross of the Order of the Fleur de Lis on each other on Saturday, Aug. 26 at the Basilica of St. Mary.

During the evening activities, the Order’s memorial chalice was presented to Father Carlisle Beggerly, parochial vicar of St. Patrick and St. Joseph Parishes in Meridian. The chalice memorialized the following Knight Commanders, who died during the prior year, John H. Shields (Arkansas), George C. Zimmer, Jr. and Wilmer Dugas (Louisiana).

Including the 2023 investiture, the Order’s total membership stands at a total of 97 members. Of that number, 43 are members of the clergy. Included in that number are His Eminence Justin Cardinal Rigali, Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile, Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans and Bishops of the Dioceses of Lake Charles, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Birmingham and Nashville. There are 54 are lay commanders over the 5-state region.

“Defending and furthering the Catholic faith throughout a good part of the Deep South is one of the goals of the Order, and a noble endeavor on their part. The more they can promote knowledge and appreciation for our Catholic tradition that leads to a lively faith in Jesus Christ, the more the Order of the Fleur de Lis will carve out a special niche of evangelization in our region,” said Bishop Kopacz.

Yellow fever martyrs abound in the South

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – This past June at the U.S. bishops’ annual spring meeting, the Diocese of Shreveport put forward the cause for canonization of five priests who had served and died there during the 1873 Yellow Fever epidemic. These men ministered to the sick and dying in and around Shreveport until succumbing to the dreaded fever themselves.

HOLLY SPRINGS – Archive photo of St. Joseph Catholic Church. Six Sisters of Charity along with the pastor died during the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1878 at the Marshall County church. Archivist, Mary Woodward gives an account of that time period in her latest “From the Archives” column.

I mentioned in the last installment of this series that our second bishop, James Oliver Van de Velde, died of Yellow Fever in 1855. Yellow Fever was a frequent visitor to the South in the 1800s.

Bishop William Henry Elder, our third bishop, contracted the fever but survived it. However, much like Shreveport, Bishop Elder lost six of his priests to the fever’s outbreak in 1878. From Aug. 31 – Sept. 14, 1878, the then Diocese of Natchez lost: Fathers Jean Baptiste Mouton (8/31), Patrick Cogan (9/8), John McManus (9/8), Anacletus Oberti (9/11), Charles Van Queckleberge (9/11) and John Vitolo (9/14).

In a letter from November 1878, Father Patrick Hayden writes Bishop Elder from Columbus lamenting the loss of the six men, especially Father Mouton, who was a trained architect and had designed several of the churches in the eastern half of the diocese, including the original church in Columbus.

Father Cogan was in Canton and was said to be the only remaining minister in the town when the outbreak occurred. An interesting note from a newspaper article reveals ministers of other denominations wanted to stay but were convinced to leave due to the fact that they had wives and children, who would be left destitute without them if they died. There is a monument for Father Cogan at Sacred Heart in Canton.

We must remember, though, that alongside these priests were fearless women religious – Sisters of Mercy and Sisters of Charity – Angels, who served as nurses to the sick and eventually themselves died. Rarely are these heroic women given names, but in the case of Holly Springs St. Joseph, we do have at least the first names of the six Sisters of Charity who died – Stanislaus, Stella, Margaret, Victoria, Lorentia and Corinthia.

Cleta Ellington in her masterwork “Christ the Living Water” written for the Diocese of Jackson’s 150th anniversary in 1988, gives a stirring account of the epidemic of 1878 in Holly Springs. It follows below along with the tribute given to Sister Corinthia Mahoney by an eyewitness account.

“In the late summer and early fall of 1878, yellow fever swept across Mississippi like a conquering army, but it appeared that Holly Springs was to be spared. The city fathers, in a burst of generosity and believing that the germ could not live in such a high and dry climate, opened the doors of the town to fever refuges from surrounding counties.

“Two articles from New Orleans newspapers reveal the swiftness with which the townspeople learned their leadership was in error.

“Aug. 13, 1878: ‘The town is clean and healthy…no symptoms of the outbreak here. We have thrown open our hospitality to our sister cities, even accepting Grenada where the fever rages. The mayor and the community council decided today to use disinfectants merely as a precautionary…’

“Aug. 19, 1878: ‘Yesterday there were seven deaths, last night six, five of whom died in our house. The situation is too appalling to be described and the worst is, not a single case has recovered or promises recovery.’

“The Marshall County Courthouse was turned into a hospital where beds were piles of straw, where black and white lay together to await medical treatment almost certainly useless.

“The 12 sisters at Bethlehem Academy closed the school and took over the courthouse hospital. They were joined by a number of volunteer doctors who had heroically rushed to the town and by Father Anacletus Oberti, a friendly Italian priest, 31 years old, who had been working very hard to establish a Catholic library at St. Joseph.

Archive photo of Father Jean Baptiste Mouton. Father Mouton died on Aug. 31, 1878 from Yellow Fever. (Photos from archives)

“Six of the sisters, all of them part of the original group at Holly Springs, died during September and October. Father Oberti died on Sept. 11. Over 300 of the townspeople perished, 30 of them Catholic.

“Dr. R.M. Swearingen, a volunteer from Austin, Texas, penciled a tribute to Sister Corinthia Mahoney on the plaster wall of a jury room.

“It remained there until 1925 when the courthouse was renovated.

“To save the tribute, R.A. McDermott had workmen remove that section of the wall. Then he took it to Nazareth, Ky., where it remained until 1971 when it was returned to Holly Springs to the Marshall County Historical Museum where it can be seen today.

Within this room, September 1878, Sister Corinthia sank into enteral sleep. Among the first to enter this realm of death, she was the last, save one, to leave. The writer of this humble notice saw her in health, gentle but strong, as she moved with noiseless step and serene smiles through the crowded wards. He saw her when the yellow plumed angel threw his golden shadows over the last sad scene, and eyes unused to weeping paid the tribute of tears to the brave and beautiful “Spirit of Mercy.”

She needs no slab of Parisian marble
With its white and ghastly head,
To tell wanderers in the valley
The virtues of the dead.
Let the lily be her tombstone,
And dewdrops pure and bright,
The epitaphs the angels write
In the stillness of the night.
R.M. Swearingen, M.D.
Austin, Texas
Let no one deface.

“Father Oberti and the sisters were laid to rest in the local cemetery where a monument was erected by a grateful town. And Bethlehem Academy reopened its doors.”

Kudos to Shreveport for putting forward the five martyrs from their diocese. The clergy and sisters in our diocesan history may be called martyrs too.

(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)

Youth

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Around the diocese

GLOSTER – Holy Family parish celebrated 40 years on Saturday, Sept. 9. Bishop Joseph Kopacz visits with Kayla Zumo with sons Charlie and Anthony, of Baton Rouge. (Photo by Tereza Ma)
VICKSBURG – Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a favorite of Vicksburg Catholic School Kindergartners! To really bring the story to life, each student made a snack that looked like a coconut tree. (Photo by Lindsey Bradley)
MADISON – St. Joseph School celebrated Bruin teams with a special tailgate gathering on Wednesday, Aug. 23. Pictured are students and parents at attention during the National Anthem performed by the school band. (Photo by Tereza Ma)
WOODVILLE – St. Joseph parish hosted their 150th anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 10. Bishop Kopacz shakes hands with Stella Ferguson, while Helen Claire Wesberny gets ready for her chance to greet her bishop. (Photo by Tereza Ma)

Pope’s travels reach worldly margins

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By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
Pope Francis, furthering the tradition of modern popes, has made pastoral visits around the world. He has gathered millions on the beaches of Brazil and the open fields of the Philippines, and recently, one and a half million pilgrims flocked to Portugal for World Youth Day. But there have been much smaller gatherings that are no less extraordinary. A few years ago, during the pandemic Pope Francis undertook a pastoral visit to the neighboring county of Iraq, the first of its kind, to encourage the suffering church in this war-torn nation, and to pray for peace. In Mosul, formerly occupied by ISIS, the pope proclaimed. “Today, however, we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than hatred, that peace more powerful than war.” These words echoed around the world.
As September dawned upon the world the Holy Father went much further east than Iraq, flying 10 hours across Asia, even over Chinese airspace to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia to proclaim the Gospel, to celebrate the Eucharist, and to engage government, civic, ecumenical and inter-faith leaders with words of faith, fraternity and solidarity. Immediately upon landing it was obvious that Pope Francis had gone to his beloved margins of our world and our Catholic faith. There were not hundreds of thousands to welcome his motorcade, rather hundreds, like two hundred. At the closing Mass of this pastoral visit in the Steppe Arena in Ulaanbaatar there were an estimated 2,500 hundred in attendance, nearly all of the 1,500 Catholics in Mongolia, along with a 1,000 additional pilgrims from around the world.

However, during this time of Eucharistic renewal, the Pope gave an excellent message regarding all of humanity’s hunger and thirst fulfilled in the Gospel.

Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

“With the words of the Responsorial Psalm, we prayed: O God, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Ps 63:2) We are that dry land thirsting for fresh water, water that can slake our deepest thirst. Our hearts long to discover the secret of true joy, a joy that even in the midst of existential aridity, can accompany and sustain us. Deep within us, we have an insatiable thirst for happiness; we seek meaning and direction in our lives, a reason for all that we do each day. More than anything, we thirst for love, for only love can truly satisfy us, bring us fulfilment; only love can make us happy, inspire inner assurance and allow us to savor the beauty of life.

“Dear brothers and sisters, the Christian faith is the answer to this thirst; it takes it seriously, without dismissing it or trying to replace it with tranquilizers or surrogates. For in this thirst lies the great mystery of our humanity: it opens our hearts to the living God, the God of love, who comes to meet us and to make us his children, brothers and sisters to one another.”

The culmination of Pope Francis’ homily was the heart of our way of life as the Lord’s disciples.
“This, dear brothers and sisters, is surely the best way: to embrace the cross of Christ. At the heart of Christianity is an amazing and extraordinary message. If you lose your life, if you make it a generous offering in service, if you risk it by choosing to love, if you make it a free gift for others, then it will return to you in abundance, and you will be overwhelmed by endless joy, peace of heart, and inner strength and support; and we need inner peace.”

In his spontaneous remarks at the end of Mass, the Pope made a sublime association between Eucharistic spirituality and the Mongolian language.

“I was reminded that in the Mongolian language the word for ‘thank you’ comes from the verb ‘to rejoice.’”

Indeed, the Mass is our great prayer of thanksgiving as our spirits rejoice in God our Savior who in Jesus Christ poured out his life for us in an act of eternal love. Pope Francis went on to say that “to celebrate Mass in this land brought to my mind the prayer that the Jesuit Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin offered to God exactly a hundred years ago, in the desert of Ordos, not far from here. What was Father Teilhard de Chardin, SJ doing in Mongolia? He was engaged in geological research.”

The Pope recalled that his Jesuit brother fervently desired to celebrate Holy Mass, but lacked bread and wine. So, he composed his “Mass on the World,” expressing his oblation in these words: “Receive, O Lord, this all-embracing host, which your whole creation, moved by your magnetism, offers you at the dawn of this new day.” This priest, often misunderstood, had intuited that “the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world” and is “the living center of the universe, the overflowing core of love and of inexhaustible life.”

For the more than 3 million who are not Catholic in Mongolia and to billions around the world, Francis of Rome wove a marvelous pattern with Jesus Christ, through whom and for whom all things were made, (Colossians 1:16) the Eucharist and the world.

Called By Name

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God won’t move a ‘parked car.’ Father Brett Brannen of the Diocese of Savannah wrote a very popular book on priestly discernment called To Save a Thousand Souls. In the book, he encourages all young people to move toward their vocation in life. He writes that “God won’t move a parked car,” meaning that the Lord honors our freedom, and if we are not willing to start seriously discerning our vocation, then he won’t force us into a decision. The longer we wait, however, the more we deprive ourselves of the grace that God gives to those who have courageously chosen a vocation. It is important to remember that the church calls us to give ourselves fully to a vocation, a call to another, at some stage of our life. This call includes a lifelong commitment that we make solemnly before the Lord and His church. This call can be to marriage, or the priesthood/consecrated life.

Father Nick Adam

It has become popular to delay making a choice on a vocation until we are a little more ‘mature,’ but it is important to remember that maturity does not magically happen just because we get older. I know some folks who are in their early 20s who are way more mature than I was at that age, and while they don’t have ‘life experience,’ they do have a real direction in their life. Faith Formation is more important than life-experience, and when young people are formed in a strong life of faith in their families and parishes from a young age, they are able to move toward life-long vocational commitments faster, and this is a good thing!

On the other hand, some people who delay making vocational commitments in the name of getting more life experience risk stunting their formation even more because they don’t progress in maturity, but only in age, and the extra time they give themselves is spent de-forming their consciences rather than preparing them for the lifelong sacrificial love that our vocation demands.

God won’t move ‘a parked car.’ He won’t force us to grow in our life with him. If we don’t have a solid life of prayer and participate in the sacraments, then we risk missing out on the vocation that the Lord has called us to. Please encourage the young people in your life to grow in maturity. Challenge them to live virtuously and help them to understand that God will help them when they ask for it. All young people should be praying to know their vocation – praying to know who they are called to give their life for. When we move toward the Lord and we ask Him to help us, we will be challenged to do things we never would have chosen ourselves, and yet we become fully alive because God gives us the grace to do things we never would have been capable of otherwise.

Father Nick Adam

For more info on vocations email: nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.

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Homegrown Harvest – Saturday, Oct. 21

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