Vírgenes y Santos
Virgen Auxiliadora. Mayo 24
Fiesta de Pentecostés. Mayo 28
Visitación de la Santísima Virgen María. Mayo 31
Jesucristo, Sumo y Eterno Sacerdote. Junio 1ero
Santísima Trinidad. Junio 4
Día del Corpus Christi. Junio 11
Inmaculado Corazón de María. Junio 17
Sagrado Corazón de Jesús. Junio 16
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Sister Cathyn Kever – 70 years
MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Sister Cathryn Kever was born in Luystown, Missouri. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Alverno College (1957) and a master’s degree from the University of Arizona (1968). In the Diocese of Jackson, Sister Cathryn taught at Sacred Heart School in Walls (1958-1960) and at Wood Junior College in Mathiston (1985-1987). She also served as pastoral associate at St. Joseph Parish in Starkville (1987-1989). Since 2017, Sister has served in the ministry of prayer and presence at Sacred Heart in Milwaukee.
Cards for Sister Cathryn may be mailed in sister’s name, Attn: U.S. Province Jubilee Committee, 1545 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53215.
Sister Marilyn Winkel, CSA – 60 years
FOND DU LAC, Wis. – When Sister Marilyn Winkel, CSA assumed her responsibilities as pastoral assistant in Meridian, Mississippi, she was known only to a few people. In November of her first year there at RCIA, Sister Marilyn briefly explained before Mass the meaning of the Rite. Then during Mass, she guided the RCIA individuals in responses and participation.
“After Mass, a parishioner with a visitor remarked that I must be a sister,” said Sister Marilyn.
“As I reflected on this comment, I felt affirmed in my ministry, along with my words and demeanor that I was recognized as a vowed woman religious. The keyboard/piano musician for the choir expressed it this way, ‘I always admired your acumen when it came to the finished product at St. Patrick’s.’”
Sister Marilyn was born in Marytown, Wisconsin. She earned a BS in elementary education from Marian University. Sister taught at St. Patrick School in Hudson, Wisconsin (1964); and Holy Family School in Bronx, New York (1969). She served as principal at Our Lady Queen of Angels School, New York (1972); St. John the Baptist School, Waunakee, Wisconsin (1984); Central City Catholic School, Milwaukee (1987); and St. Matthew/St. Lawrence, Milwaukee (1993). Additionally, she served as a volunteer and pastoral associate at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Milwaukee (1999-2010); director of religious ed at St. Patrick Parish, Bisbee, Arizona (2010); pastoral assistant and religious ed coordinator at St. Patrick and St. Joseph Parishes in Meridian, Mississippi (2013-2020); volunteer at St. Katherine Drexel Shelter and literacy program in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin (2021).
Sister Marilyn says, “Of the many years in ministry, in different areas of the country, a great blessing I received is the delight to know so many people! One comes to know them in the stories (struggles and triumphs) they share, the gift of self which they express, their participation in faith, school [and] church activities. I have come to know and appreciate people of many cultures and languages, from within the states and varous parts of the world. I am greatly enriched by all the people with whom I have shared faith and life experiences.”
FROM THE HERMITAGE
By Sister alies therese
U.S. author Karen Cushman, in “The Ballad of Lucy Whipple” said: “Look was pa’s favorite word; it meant admire, wonder, goggle at the beauty and excitement all around us.” What ‘word’ does this for you? One of my favorites is delight. Consider poor Owl in A.A. Milne’s “Eeyore Loses a Tail:”
“For Owl wise though he was in many ways … somehow went all to pieces over delicate words like measles and buttered toast.” Oh my, how words vary with each of us!
Spring is well underway though convalescence continues I have been exploring ways to study scripture. Most of you no doubt are reading each day’s readings, preparing for the Eucharist, and finding new ways to deepen your knowledge and wisdom. One way is through the Magnificat that our little parish provides us. I am always on the lookout for a word, a single word that can help me do that. “Delight” has been in my heart. Exploring words and the Word is well worth time and energy! Anais Nin, a French American writer in her diary called my attention to this:
“A trite word is an overused word which has lost its identity like an old coat in a second-hand shop. The familiar grows dull and we no longer see, hear, or taste it. “
So, I have also been exploring ‘the Word’ in “The Message,” by Eugene Peterson … a poetic and modern language edition of the Bible (Catholic books not included). Some of you may well know it and realize that just the changing of a word enlightens the mind. He taught Greek and Hebrew and is a pastor and thought that the words one found sometimes did not express a modern understanding. It is neither a study Bible nor one with footnotes (but the Intros are very worth exploring). It is a reader’s Bible… Here is a simple example from the Gospel of St Luke:
“Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, beautiful inside and out! God be with you … the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God … nothing is impossible to God… Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.” (Luke 1)
“The Message” is not an attempt to ‘dumb-down’ the scriptures but to make available words that catch our hearts and minds. The Psalms, for example, are a good place to start in any translation! I love Psalm 62:“God, the One and only – I’ll wait as long as God says. Everything I need comes from God, so why not? God is a solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, an impregnable castle: I’m set for life.”
I love that … breathing room for my soul! Delightful.
Psalm 142 anchors the cry of our word in the anguished hope that God will come to our aid:
“I cry out loudly to God, loudly I plead with God for mercy. I spill out all my complaints before God, and spell out my troubles in detail.”
Maybe you’ve never read the scriptures. I know that sounds nuts but often people listen at Mass and hope for the best. Indeed, the reading of the scriptures is a pleasure and our source of goodness and promise. How will I know what God has promised me if I do not read His Word? What can I delight in? What can help me when I am ill or fearful, joyful or expectant? Though in our Catholic tradition most of the Bible is read aloud over the 3-year cycle, each day I need the Word for sustenance, I need to hear God tell me who He is, what He has done for us, how I might follow.
Another favorite is Job and his saga with three ‘friends’ who do him no good, and a God who loves him dearly but seems silent at times. Maybe you have had this experience?
“Please, God, I have two requests, grant them so I’ll know I can count on You: First, lay off the affliction; the terror is too much for me. Second, address me directly so I can answer You, or let me speak and then You answer me. … Why do You stay hidden and silent? Why do You treat me like I’m Your enemy? You watch every move I make, and brand me as a dangerous character.” (Job 13)
Exploring the Word and finding delight draws us close to our God who left us all these inspirations and promises that we might live with God forever. The human authors and saints that follow are there to invite us into the Kingdom. In Isaiah 42:1 (referring to Jesus) we are reminded:
“Here is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen One, in whom My soul delights … I have put My spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.” In whom does your soul delight?
Blessings.
(Sister alies therese is a canonically vowed hermit with days formed around prayer and writing.)
HOLLY SPRINGS – Holy Family
COLUMBUS – Annunciation
MERIDIAN – St. Patrick
JACKSON – St. Richard
VICKSBURG
Fifth graders from several Catholic schools in the diocese attended the annual Chrism Mass on Tuesday, April 4 with Bishop Joseph Kopacz and got a chance to speak to diocesan seminarians and Sister Amelia Breton about vocations. Students also received a tour of the Cathedral of St. Peter with Chancellor Mary Woodward. (Photos by Joanna Puddister King)
PEARL
PEARL – Parishioners process behind Father Jofin George on Palm Sunday at St. Jude. (Photos by Rhonda Bowden)
JACKSON – The Holy Spirit enters the Chrism at Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. (Photo by Rhonda Bowden)
PEARL – The Paschal candle is lit at St. Jude parish by Deacon John McGregor. (Photos by Tereza Ma)
By Joanna Puddister King
JACKSON – The Diocese of Jackson celebrates two ordinations this year, giving the faithful across the diocese an opportunity to join in this special chapter in the life of the church.
Deacon Carlisle Beggerly will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, May 27 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson. The ordination is open to all. There will be reserved seating for family members and a reception will follow where all may receive a blessing from the newly ordained.
After ordination, Beggerly will celebrate his first Mass in his home parish of Immaculate Conception in West Point on Sunday, May 28 at 9 a.m.
A priestly assignment for Beggerly will be announced in the near future.
On Saturday, May 20 at 10:30 a.m. seminarian Tristan Stovall will be ordained to the transitional diaconate for the diocese.
Typically, transitional deacons spend one final year in seminary before priestly ordination. Men ordained as transitional deacons do so with the intention of becoming a priest.
Shortly after his ordination, Stovall will be joining Father Nick Adam and other diocesan seminarians on a two-month immersion trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico, located outside of Mexico City at the Benedictine Monastery of Our Lady of the Angels. Father Nick says that the purpose of the trip is to aid seminarians with Spanish language fluency by the time of ordination to the priesthood.
After the immersion experience, Stovall will embark on his diaconal assignment at the Basilica of St. Mary and Cathedral School in Natchez with Father Aaron Williams.
Please keep both ordination candidates in your prayers as they prepare for entry into Holy Orders for the diocese and service to People of God.
By Sabrina Simms Robertson/The Natchez Democrat
NATCHEZ – Cathedral School students, officials and community members of all ages gathered around a historical marker on a hilltop behind Cathedral School on Wednesday, April 26 to celebrate the dedication of a historical marker for the former Devereux Hall Orphan Asylum, out of which the Catholic school was established.
Between 1861 and 1966, the Devereux Hall Orphanage, led by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, cared for more than 1,500 boys.
One of them was James Shaidnagle, who entered the orphanage in 1955 and graduated from Cathedral School in 1962.
“As a representative of these boys, we do not want this piece of history to (be forgotten). The brothers instilled in us an everlasting work ethic and values that allowed us to become productive citizens,” Shaidnagle said during Wednesday’s dedication.
His brothers, Donnie, Billy and Paul, were raised by the orphanage also.
Shaidnagle, a lifelong teacher, retired from Cathedral in 2022 and turned his attention to memorializing the orphanage.
In 1855, William St. John Elliot willed his mansion, Devereux Hall, for the creation of a boy’s orphanage. His widow Anna Elliot later purchased the estate from the church in order to keep the house in the family and the proceeds were used to purchase 35.19 acres for a new orphanage on Aldrich and Pine streets, which could only accommodate 12 boys.
After the Civil War, a larger brick building was constructed and was right away filled with 41 orphans. Through the years, the building expanded in size. But in 1966, several factors, including the escalation in operational costs and a decline in the number of orphans, contributed to its closing and demolition.
With Wednesday’s dedication of a marker at the site of the former Devereux Hall Orphanage, younger generations learned about it and the impact it has had on their lives and the generations before.
“The school, the gym, and the football field are all on the original orphanage land,” Shaidnagle said. “The cornerstone and original bell that went with this orphanage are displayed at the back of Devereux Hall Plantation located on Devereux Drive.”
Students read aloud the Mississippi Department of Archives and History marker that explains the site’s significance.
Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz and Father Aaron Williams, St. Mary Basilica rector, blessed the location and the marker.
(Reprinted with permission)
From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – The month of May is traditionally the month dedicated to the Blessed Mother in our church. Countless May crownings, novenas, rosaries, and a myriad of other celebrations occur in parishes throughout the diocese and indeed the world.
May also is the month when many of our ordinations to the priesthood and diaconate occur. This year is no different when in the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle on May 20, Bishop Joseph Kopacz will ordain Tristan Stovall to the transitional diaconate, and on May 27, he will ordain Deacon Carlisle Beggerly to the priesthood. This is definitely an exciting time for our diocese to celebrate Holy Orders being conferred on two young men.
Looking at our current clergy and many of the past, May was the month to get ordained. Bishop Kopacz himself was ordained on May 7; Bishop Joseph Latino was ordained on May 25, and Bishop William Houck was ordained a priest on May 19 and a bishop on May 27.
Noting this, I decided to look in Bishop Richard O. Gerow’s diary back to his early days to possibly find something on his ordination. He narrowly missed being ordained a priest in May as he was ordained June 5; and he was ordained a bishop on Oct. 15. He was born on May 3, so in a way he was ordained into life in May.
But in looking at his entries in May 1927 while doing some research on the Great Flood of that year, I found a unique entry about the ordination of Thomas J. Toolen as the Bishop of Mobile on May 4, of that year. Bishop Toolen would have been the bishop to ordain Bishop Houck to the priesthood in 1951, so we have a definite connection to him.
Bishop Houck often shared many wonderful stories about Bishop Toolen, who uniquely was given the title of Archbishop prior to Mobile becoming an archdiocese. Anyway, I would like to share Bishop Gerow’s warm account of the celebration and his love for his hometown.
“At the time that I received the request of Bishop-Elect [Thomas J.] Toolen to serve as his Junior Co-Consecrator I felt highly honored and elevated. Naturally it made me happy to think that I was to have a very important part in raising to the dignity of the Episcopacy the new Bishop of my own native Mobile for I still love Mobile.
“I had not known personally the new Bishop-Elect, but since he was to be the new Bishop of Mobile where I had been born and which had been my childhood home and where I had spent fifteen happy years of my priestly life, I felt that we belonged together. Accordingly, I immediately accepted the invitation.
“On May 4, the date of the Consecration, I was in Baltimore for the ceremony. Archbishop Curley was the Consecrator, Bishop Keyes was the Senior Co-Consecrator, and I did my part as Junior Co-Consecrator.
“The Consecration of a Bishop is a beautiful and impressive ceremony. In order to give it dignity it takes place within the ceremony of the Mass. I still remember the ceremony of my own Consecration – just three years ago – and this ceremony now brings back most vividly to my memory all that took place on that occasion.
“The reading of the Papal document that called him to the Bishop’s office, the Litany of the Saints calling upon the blessed in Heaven to join us in prayer, the imposition of hands by the Consecrator and the two Co-Consecrators, the anointing of the head with chrism, the receiving of the mitre and the blessing of the people, and many other beautiful parts of the ceremony made me live over again the happy occasion of my own Consecration.”
These next few paragraphs are from the 1924 entries to Bishop Gerow’s diary and feature his memories of his own consecration celebration in Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Mobile on Oct. 15, 1924.
“The ceremony was in the Cathedral of Mobile, and this was proper. Within its shadow I had been born; within its walls, baptized; here I had served for many years as an altar boy; here I had been confirmed; and since my ordination to the priesthood, here had been my only appointment; here was the only parish in which I had ever had a domicile.
“The Consecrating Prelate was Bishop Edward Allen, who had always been to me as a father. He had sent me to college to try my vocation; he had kept me near him during my years as a priest; and I feel that his example and training have done much to mold my priestly life.
“The Co-Consecrators were Bishop Jules B. Jeanmard and Bishop James A. Griffin, the latter a close companion during my years of study in Rome. A magnificent sermon was preached by Very Reverend Edward Cummings, S.J. Provincial, with whom I had been closely associated during his years at Spring Hill College.”
I often find myself in Mobile and visit the cathedral. After reading these two entries, I now have an even deeper connection to this sacred space. All are invited to our beautiful cathedral on May 20 and May 27 to celebrate these young men entering into Holy Orders. This May is a fine time for our diocese.
(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The life and ministry of the Catholic Church is enriched by listening to everyone, especially those who are often excluded by society, and by including their experiences and perspectives, Pope Francis said.
“For the church is like a rich tapestry, made up of many individual threads that come from various peoples, languages and cultures, yet woven into a unity by the Holy Spirit,” he told a delegation from Catholic Extension.
The pope greeted the delegation during an audience at the Vatican April 26. The group included: U.S. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, chancellor of the organization’s board of governors; retired Arizona Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, vice-chancellor; and Sister Norma Pimentel, a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, who received Catholic Extension’s “Spirit of Francis” Award this year for her work providing care to hundreds of thousands of people at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I congratulate Sister Norma Pimentel,” the pope said, “for her service to the many men, women and children arriving at the southern border of the United States.”
Speaking briefly in Spanish, the pope said the border was “caliente caliente,” that is, a hotbed of activity with so many people “in search of a better future.”
He thanked Catholic Extension, which had a delegation in Rome April 23-28, for its work “providing assistance to missionary dioceses, particularly in the United States, and in caring for the needs of the poor and most vulnerable,” especially in Puerto Rico “following the various hurricanes and earthquakes which brought such devastation to the island in recent years.”
“By giving a voice to those who are frequently voiceless,” he told the delegation,”you bear witness to the God-given dignity of every person.”
As the entire church is journeying together on the path of synodality, the pope said, “listening to and including the experiences and perspectives of all, especially those on the margins of society, enriches the church’s life and ministry.”
“I am pleased to know of your concern to place those who are often victims of today’s ‘throw-away culture’ at the heart of the church’s pastoral activity; in this way, their voices can be heard, and all can benefit,” he said.
Pope Francis encouraged them to serve others with “God’s style,” that is with closeness, compassion and tender love so that “God’s loving mercy becomes visible, and the fabric of society is strengthened and renewed.”
