NACIÓN
WASHINGTON (CNS) – El presidente del Comité de Migración de los obispos de Estados Unidos exhortó al Senado tomar medidas y aprobar un proyecto de ley para proteger a los “Dreamers” y también a los beneficiarios de los programas de Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS por sus siglas en inglés) y de Salida Diferida Forzada. La declaración del obispo auxiliar de Washington Mario E. Dorsonville, emitida el 4 de junio pasado, se realizó para celebrar el primer aniversario de la aprobación de la Ley de Promesas y Sueños Americanos, HR6, en la Cámara de Representantes. Esta ley proporciona una vía a la ciudadanía para aquellos traídos ilegalmente a Estados Unidos por sus padres cuando eran niños. Más conocidos como “Dreamers”, ellos son beneficiarios de DACA, la sigla en inglés del programa de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia.
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Los obispos católicos de Estados Unidos dijeron el 29 de mayo que están “con el corazón roto, asqueados al ver otro video de un hombre afroamericano siendo asesinado ante nuestros ojos”. “Lo que es más sorprendente es que esto está sucediendo a pocas semanas de otros hechos similares …” dijeron en un comunicado sobre la muerte del 25 de mayo de George Floyd mientras estaba bajo custodia policial en Minneapolis. Hace unas semanas, Ahmaud Arbery, un hombre afroamericano desarmado de 25 años en Georgia recibió un disparo mortal, y tres hombres blancos fueron arrestados y enfrentan cargos de asesinato por su muerte. En marzo, Breonna Taylor, una mujer afroamericana de 26 años, murió a manos de policías blancos cuando ingresaron a su departamento en Louisville, Kentucky.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (CNS) – Los Caballeros de Colón llamaron a los católicos de la nación a participar en una novena a partir del 7 de junio para rezar por la unidad nacional y el fin del racismo en medio de los disturbios tras la muerte de George Floyd a manos de un oficial de policía de Minneapolis. “Pedimos a todas las personas que se unan en solidaridad para forjar un camino hacia adelante, libre de discriminación y odio, para nuestra nación”, dijo el Caballero Supremo Carl A. Anderson.

VATICANO
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – El Papa Francisco en sus misas matutinas ha estado rezando por:
• Estados Unidos, y califica el racismo como un asunto provida
• Las personas que viven en países donde COVID-19 todavía está causando una gran cantidad de muertes.
– En la historia del patriarca Abraham – respetado por judíos, cristianos y musulmanes – la fe se convierte en una relación directa con Dios que se caracteriza por una oración constante, la cual a veces toma la forma de “debate” con Dios, “el Dios de Abraham se convierte en “mi Dios”, el Dios de mi historia personal, que guía mis pasos, que no me abandona; el Dios de mis días, el compañero de mis aventuras”, dijo el papa Francisco el 3 de junio.

MUNDO
CHALCO, México (CNS) – El padre jesuita Raúl Vázquez siempre había deseado incluir mejor a los barrios marginados a lo largo del alcantarillado, que varios siglos antes, se había llamado el “Canal de la Compañía”, por la Compañía de Jesús. A medida que la crisis de COVID-19 se introducía en México, investigó sobre las necesidades del barrio, pero descubrió que la mayoría de la gente de allí ya recibía algún tipo de asistencia social o patronazgo político. El verdadero problema, descubrió, venía de los barrios habitados por mercaderes, muchos de los cuales vendían sus artículos en mercados itinerantes y “ya no tenían lugar donde vender”, dijo el padre Vázquez. Otros, sencillamente perdieron sus trabajos.

EL SALVADOR – Una mujer con una mascarilla protectora pasa frente a un grupo de autos dañados en San Salvador, El Salvador, el 31 de mayo de 2020, después de que la tormenta tropical Amanda afectara el área. Centroamérica, batallando el COVID, ahora enfrenta efectos de tormentas tropicales causando destrucción en la región. (Foto CNS / José Cabezas, Reuters)

LIMA, Perú (CNS) – Diego Ramírez, un padre soltero que vive en una aldea rural en el sur de Guatemala, trabajaba en un restaurante y mantenía una granja de pollos, vendiendo las aves en un mercado para mantener a sus tres hijas. Luego se produjo la pandemia del coronavirus y en abril los funcionarios guatemaltecos ordenaron el cierre del país en un esfuerzo por prevenir la propagación de la enfermedad, que había llegado junto a un residente que regresó a su hogar desde Europa. Con el restaurante y el mercado cerrados, Ramírez está vendiendo sus pollos uno por uno para mantener a flote a su familia. Frente a un futuro incierto, la fé que tiene es lo que hace que siga adelante.
SAO PAULO (CNS) – Los misioneros católicos en América Latina expresan haber notado signos preocupantes de un aumento en el abuso infantil durante la pandemia del COVID-19. El desorden social provocado por la enfermedad y algunas de las restricciones impuestas por los gobiernos para evitar una mayor propagación del virus pueden estar amplificando los riesgos, dijeron. La Organización Mundial de la Salud anunció el 26 de mayo que las Américas se habían convertido en el nuevo epicentro de la enfermedad ya que la tasa de mortalidad diaria de Brasil se había constituido en la más alta del mundo. La organización está preocupada por las curvas ascendentes en países como Perú, Chile y El Salvador.
TANZANIA (CNS) – Cuando tenía solo 8 años, Ghati fue vendida por su hermano mayor a un hombre de 55 años, quien colocó al huérfano en una motocicleta y se dirigió a su casa cerca de Musoma, Tanzania. Allí, el hombre la violó. Después de dos semanas de asaltos diarios, Ghati escapó mientras el hombre trabajaba en sus campos. En el camino hacia la aldea local, conoció a una joven y pidió ayuda. La mujer, que tenía entrenamiento legal, le aconsejó a Ghati que regresara a la casa del hombre y esperara hasta que pudiera ir a buscarla esa noche. Cuando la mujer llegó esa noche, trajo a la policía, que se enfrentó al hombre. “Oh, no”, dijo el hombre. “Ella es solo la chica de mi casa” – “Pero me llamas tu esposa”, dijo Ghati. El hombre fue arrestado y finalmente sentenciado a prisión. Ghati, un seudónimo para proteger su identidad, fue llevada a la ciudad de Musoma, a orillas del lago Victoria, y colocada en un refugio bajo el cuidado de las Hermanas del Inmaculado Corazón de África.

TANZANIA – Se ven dos mujeres jóvenes en el jardín del centro Jipe Moyo en Musoma, Tanzania. Jipe Moyo, un programa de la Diócesis de Musoma, cuida a los niños que han estado viviendo en la calle o que han sido abusados. (Foto CNS/ Sean Sprague, cortesía de Maryknoll)

Meet Carlisle Beggerly

In preparation for our Homegrown Harvest Gala in the fall, which will benefit the Diocese of Jackson Office of Vocations, over the next several weeks we will feature a Q&A with one of our seminarians. This week, meet Carlisle Beggerly, who is entering his fourth year of formation.

Carlisle Beggerly

What is your home parish?
Immaculate Conception, West Point

What is your background? (Where are you from, how did you end up in Mississippi, etc.)
I was born in Jackson. I grew up in Florence. I now live in West Point. I have lived most of my life in Mississippi.

What is your vocation story? Who influenced you and why?
I grew up Protestant. In college, I read St. Augustine’s Confessions. This led me to seek out the church to which he belonged. I entered the church after instruction from Father Bill Voller in Hattiesburg. I felt a call to priesthood from the beginning of my conversion. I spent about a year and a half with a religious order. However, I did not feel it was the right fit for me. I left and went to law school, but continued to feel a calling to priestly life. After completing law school and working for awhile, I entered seminary for the Diocese of Jackson.

What draws you to diocesan priesthood? And to the Diocese of Jackson?
I am very much a son of Mississippi and Jackson Diocese. I want to minister to the people who have helped form me through the years. My family and friends also live here and I want to be near them in the future.

What are your hobbies/interests?
I paint religious icons. I also play the piano. Hagiography (writings about the lives of saints) is one of my favorite things to study. I also enjoy reading and music.

Who is your favorite saint and why?
I have many favorite saints. Different saints have assisted me at different periods of my life. St. Stanislaus Kostka is probably my favorite at the moment. He overcame many seemingly impossible obstacles in his formation for religious life and endured to a happy death. I find his intercession very powerful at this point in my discernment.

Do you have a favorite devotion? What draws you to this devotion?
I have a fascination with relics. For Catholics, the body and the soul are essential for salvation. I like praying before these physical reminders of the saints since they were temples of the Holy Ghost. I also like meditating on the fact that the holy relics will be restored to the glorified bodies of their owners after Christ’s Second Coming.

What is something people might be surprised to learn about you?
I was an exchange student to Japan when I was in high school.

Who is your favorite sports team?
Manchester United.

What has been the most rewarding part of being a seminarian? And the most challenging?
The most rewarding part of being a seminarian is having my day revolve around prayer. The Eucharist truly is the source and summit of my life in formation. This is a great blessing. The most challenging aspect of formation is probably the length of time in formation. Six years is a very long time.

What advice do you have for those discerning a vocation?
Go to Jesus in the Eucharist. Stay close to Mary and Joseph. Seek the help of the Saints and Angels, especially your Guardian Angel.

Where can people send you a personal note?
I will be at St. Joseph’s in Starkville this summer or you can mail a note to me at Notre Dame Seminary.

Youth news

Pomp and pandemics …

HOLY SPRINGS – Cameron Walton rides in the eighth grade graduation parade around Holy Family school on May 15. In celebration, principal Tunia Sangster prepared gift bags for each student and tokens of love from teachers and staff. (Photo by Laura Grisham)

Thank you teachers

MADISON – Second graders show appreciation for their teachers, Mrs. Gail Kraft and Mrs. Beth Burns, in this heartfelt photo collage. (Photo by Kati Loyacono)

Public Mass returns to the Diocese of Jackson with precautions

Masses returned to many parishes within the diocese over Pentecost weekend, May 30 and 31, after over a two-month break.
While some parishes added more Masses, some are not yet ready to fully open, making sure they have all mechanisms in place to assure the safety of parishioners in light of the pandemic. Please check with your individual parish for proper procedure on attending Mass.
Several restrictions for the safety of parishioners include mandatory masks for those over age 2, social distancing, Communion in the hand only, no choir or ensemble singing and the sign of peace should not include physical contact.
Bishop Joseph Kopacz continues to dispense all of the faithful from the Sunday Obligation to participate in Mass until further notice.

JACKSON – Blue painters tape separates the pews at St. Richard to help ensure proper social distance is kept. Father John Bohn and Father Nick Adams celebrated Pentecost Mass with parishioners for the first time since churches were shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Beth de Gruy)
SOUTHAVEN – Father David Szatkowski, SCJ, of Sacred Heart parish distributes communion into the hands of a parishioner, while maintaining social distancing. (Photo by Laura Grisham)
OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace parish welcomed Emily Mendoza into the church on Pentecost Sunday as her parents, Janie and Jeffery, sister Madilynn and sponsor Connie Hegwood look on. (Photo by Laura Grisham)
PEARL – St. Jude parishioners enjoyed a drive-in Mass on Saturday, May 30. Pictured are chancery employee, Carolyn Callahan and her husband (Danny) receiving Communion from Father Lincoln Dall. (Photo by Tereza Ma)

Knights ‘praying for years’ for beatification

By Kurt Jensen
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Father Michael McGivney, the founder of the Knights of Columbus, may be an ideal prospective saint for the current age, said Carl A. Anderson, supreme knight of the international fraternal order.
“We’ve been praying for years for this to occur, and finally this day has arrived,” he told Catholic News Service May 27.
First, he’s a pro-life hero. The miracle recognized by the Vatican paving the way for his beatification occurred in 2015 and involved an U.S. baby, still in utero, with a life-threatening condition that, under most circumstances, could have led to an abortion.
He was found to be healed after his family prayed to Father McGivney. “The Vatican likes to be the one to discuss more details than that,” Anderson said.
The Vatican announced early May 27 that Pope Francis, who met with the board of directors of the Knights of Columbus in February, had signed the decree recognizing the miracle through the intercession of Father McGivney. Once he is beatified, he will be given the title “Blessed.”
Father McGivney (1852-1890), ordained a priest for what is now the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, founded the Knights of Columbus at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882. The fraternal order for Catholic men has become the largest lay Catholic organization in the world with 2 million members and sponsors a wide range of educational, charitable and religious activities.

Pope Francis has approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, clearing the way for his beatification. Father McGivney is pictured in an undated portrait. (CNS file photo)

The initial work on his sainthood cause began in 1982 on the Knights’ centenary. His cause was formally opened in Hartford in 1997, and he was given the title “servant of God.” In March 2008, the Catholic Church recognized the priest heroically lived the Christian virtues, so he was given the title “venerable.”
His beatification ceremony will be held in Connecticut sometime this fall – like all other events, scheduling is uncertain because of the COVID-19 pandemic – “and sometime after that, we’ll be looking for another miracle,” Anderson said.
Generally, two miracles attributed to the candidate’s intercession are required for sainthood – one for beatification and the second for canonization.
Father McGivney, who will be the first American parish priest to be beatified and has long been a hero of working-class Catholics, can be viewed as a martyr of a pandemic. When he died from pneumonia complications at age 38 in 1890, it was during an outbreak of influenza known as the Russian flu in Thomaston, Connecticut. Some recent evidence, according to the Knights, indicates the outbreak may have been the result of a coronavirus.
Anderson praised Father McGivney’s modesty and “dedication to charity and unity and the way he embodied the good Samaritan” after founding the Knights of Columbus, originally a service organization to help widows and orphans, in New Haven. At the time, Father McGivney, the son of Irish immigrants, who was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, was an assistant pastor at St. Mary’s Parish. He is buried in New Haven.
“Father McGivney did not want to be the leader of the Knights of Columbus,” Anderson observed. “He was at first the group’s secretary and then the chaplain.”
Further, Father McGivney’s legacy also includes “the empowerment of the laity” through service projects, Anderson said. “His work anticipated the Second Vatican Council. He created a universal call to holiness that gave the laity a way to be more faithful Catholics. He provided a mechanism for them to go into society and make a difference.”

(Editor’s Note: The Knights have set up a new website for Father McGivney’s sainthood cause: https://www.fathermcgivney.org.)

Pope clears way to sainthood for three, advances causes of others

By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of two women and 11 men, including a miracle attributed to Blessed Charles de Foucauld.
In a meeting May 27 with Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the pope also authorized decrees recognizing miracles attributed to Blessed Cesar de Bus, founder of the Fathers of Christian Doctrine, and Blessed Maria Domenica Mantovani, co-founder and superior general of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family.
The pope’s recognition of the miracles ascribed to Blesseds de Foucauld, de Bus and Mantovani clear the way for their canonization.
Born in Strasbourg, France, in 1858, Blessed de Foucauld lost his faith during his adolescence. However, during a trip to Morocco, he saw how Muslims expressed their faith, so he returned to the church.
His rediscovery of his Christian faith prompted him to join Trappist monasteries for seven years in France and Syria, before choosing to live a life of prayer and adoration alone.
After his ordination to the priesthood in 1901, he chose to live among the poor and finally settled in Tamanrasset, Algeria, until 1916, when he was killed by a band of marauders.
Although he lived several centuries before Blessed de Foucauld, Blessed de Bus was born in France and, like his compatriot, also lived his early adulthood away from his faith.
After returning to the church, he entered the priesthood and was ordained in 1582. Ten years later, he founded the Fathers of Christian Doctrine, a religious congregation dedicated to education, pastoral ministry and catechesis. He died in Avignon, France, in 1607.
From the age of 15, Blessed Mantovani, born in 1862 in Castelletto di Brenzone, Italy, played an active role in her parish. Her spiritual director, Father Giuseppe Nascimbeni, encouraged her to teach catechism and visit the sick.
In 1892, Blessed Mantovani co-founded the Little Sisters of the Holy Family with Father Nascimbeni and became the congregation’s first superior general. During her time leading the congregation, she dedicated her life to serving the poor and needy as well as assisting the sick and the elderly.
After her death in 1934, the Little Sisters of the Holy Family spread throughout Europe, Africa and South America.
The other decrees approved by Pope Francis May 27 recognized:
– The miracle needed for the beatification of Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus. He was born in 1852 and died in 1890.
– The miracle needed for the beatification of Venerable Pauline-Marie Jaricot, foundress of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith and of the Association of the Living Rosary. She was born in 1799 and died in 1862.
– The martyrdom of Cistercian Friar Simon Cardon and five companions, who were killed in 1799 by French soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars.
– The martyrdom of Franciscan Father Cosma Spessotto, who was killed by assassins in San Juan Nonualco, El Salvador, in 1980, several months after St. Oscar Romero was killed.
– The heroic virtues of French Bishop Melchior-Marie-Joseph de Marion-Bresillac, founder of the Society of African Missions. He was born in 1813 in Castelnaudary, France, and died in 1859 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju

Drive-in Mass at St. Jude

PEARL – Saturday May 30, St. Jude parish had a “drive-in” Mass. Pictured left to right are Mark Bowden, Deacon John McGregor and Father Lincoln Dall. The parish used a former hunting trailer turned into a Mardi Gras float as a platform. Communicants remained in their cars listening to Mass on their radios. Father Lincoln and Deacon John went to each car to distribute Holy Communion. This worked especially well for vulnerable parishioners as well as those with young children. (Photo by Rhonda Bowden)

A seamless garment

In other words, how we pray establishes what
we believe and determines how we are to live.
Worship, belief and life are to be a seamless
garment, not a torn fabric.

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
“You are indeed holy, O Lord, and all you have created rightly gives you praise, for through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the power and working of the Holy Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy, and you never cease to gather a people to yourself so that from the rising of the son to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.”

This splendid prayer of praise is the opening section of the third Eucharistic prayer which is overflowing with our beliefs, our worship, our posture before God’s marvelous creation and the solidarity among all nations and peoples. It truly is an amazing expression of who we are and whose we are as a people of faith.

Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz

On Pentecost Sunday last weekend, we proclaimed from God’s Word “the power and working of the Holy Spirit” to the 11 apostles, upon the 120 gathered in the upper room and in the church through manifold gifts, ministries and works. This weekend we proclaim the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, our God of the alive in the handiwork of creation and in the design of salvation. All of our Eucharistic prayers at Mass are in thanksgiving for God’s creative and redeeming love “as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.”

“From the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name,” invites us to recall always that the Gospel has indeed gone out to all the nations, the promise of Pentecost, and the church is reborn and renewed each day around the world through this pure sacrifice of the Mass brought about “through your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.” The feasts of Pentecost, the Most Holy Trinity, and Corpus Christi flow seamlessly from the same fountain of God’s mercy.

“Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi” is a fundamental truth regarding our relationship with God, one another and the world in which we live. The Latin phrase is literally translated, the law of praying, the law of believing, the law of living. In other words, how we pray establishes what we believe and determines how we are to live. Worship, belief and life are to be a seamless garment, not a torn fabric. As we cautiously respond to the pandemic in our public liturgical gatherings, let us not overlook what the opening section of the third Eucharistic prayer is proclaiming. “All you have created rightly gives you praise” and “you give life to all things and make them holy.”

On May 24, 2015 Pope Francis, following upon this first encyclical, Evangelii Guadium, The Joy of the Gospel, gave to the church and the world the gift of Laudato Si, in praise of creation and our responsibility to care for our common home.

By far, knocking out the pandemic is our most pressing world-wide challenge, but we must not lose sight of the urgent need to foster integral human development on behalf of the planet and the poor. From section ten in this amazing document, we get a glimpse into the passion of Pope Francis. “I do not want to write this Encyclical without turning to that attractive and compelling figure, whose name I took as my guide and inspiration when I was elected Bishop of Rome. I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology, and he is also much loved by non-Christians. He was particularly concerned with God’s creation and for the poor and the outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, concern for the poor, commitment to society and interior peace.” On the fifth anniversary of this landmark encyclical may our worship inspire us to raise up God’s creation and the most vulnerable.

“From the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name,” is our commitment as a universal church to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of all the nations. This mission must rest upon a profound respect for the dignity of all peoples, their culture, traditions and way of life. This vision must also be incarnated in our marvelous melting pot of a nation, our own United States who in the moment is plagued once again by our original sin of racism. Recently, (2018) the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published a precious document entitled “Open Wide our Hearts – The Enduring Call to Love: A Pastoral Letter Against Racism.” The unrest, violence and destruction that currently rages across America demonstrates the sad relevance of this document. Just last week the USCCB issued a statement decrying the injustice of racially motivated violence against people of color in our nation. (This statement is included in this edition of the paper on page 6.) Liberty and justice for all is embedded in our nation’s founding vision.

Laudato Si and Open Wide our Hearts are well grounded in our identity as Catholics who embrace “lex orandi, lex creyendi et lex vivendi.” “You are indeed, holy, O Lord.”

From the feast of Pentecost I conclude with the ardent prayer of St. Augustine that we might make it our own for daily worship and living. “Breathe on me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may be holy. Act in me that my work also may be holy. Draw my heart that my love may be holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit that I may defend all that is holy. Guard me, O Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.”

Una prenda sin costuras

En otras palabras, tal como rezamos establece lo
que creemos y determina cómo debemos vivir.
La adoración, la creencia y la vida deben ser una prenda perfecta, no una tela rasgada.

Por Obispo Joseph Kopacz
”En verdad eres santo, ¡oh Señor!, y todo lo que has creado correctamente te alaba, porque a través de tu Hijo, nuestro Señor Jesucristo, y a través del poder y la obra del Espíritu Santo, le das vida a todas las cosas y las haces santas y nunca dejas de reunir a un pueblo hacia ti, de modo que desde la resurrección del hijo hasta su venida, se pueda ofrecer un sacrificio puro a tu nombre.”

Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz

Esta espléndida oración de alabanza es la sección de apertura de la tercera oración Eucarística que desborda nuestras creencias, nuestra adoración, nuestra postura ante la maravillosa creación de Dios y la solidaridad entre todas las naciones y pueblos. Es realmente una expresión sorprendente de quiénes somos y de quiénes somos como personas de fe.
El domingo de Pentecostés del pasado fin de semana, proclamamos desde la Palabra de Dios “el poder y la obra del Espíritu Santo” a los 11 apóstoles, sobre los 120 reunidos en el aposento alto y en la iglesia a través de múltiples dones, ministerios y obras.
Este fin de semana proclamamos el misterio de la Santísima Trinidad, Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo, nuestro Dios de los vivos en la obra de la creación y en el diseño de la salvación. Todas nuestras oraciones Eucarísticas en la Misa son en acción de gracias por el amor creativo y redentor de Dios “como fue en el principio, ahora y siempre será. Amén.”. “Desde la salida del sol hasta su puesta se puede ofrecer un sacrificio puro a su nombre”, nos invita a recordar siempre que el Evangelio ha salido a todas las naciones, con la promesa de Pentecostés, la iglesia renace y se renueva cada día en todo el mundo a través del puro sacrificio de la Misa que se realiza “a través de tu Hijo, nuestro Señor, Jesucristo”.
Las fiestas de Pentecostés, la Santísima Trinidad y el Cuerpo de Cristo fluyen a la perfección desde la misma fuente de la misericordia de Dios.
“Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi” es una verdad fundamental sobre nuestra relación con Dios, entre nosotros y con el mundo en el que vivimos. La frase latina se traduce literalmente como “la ley de la oración, la ley de creer, la ley de vivir”. En otras palabras, tal como rezamos establece lo que creemos y determina cómo debemos vivir. La adoración, la creencia y la vida deben ser una prenda perfecta, no una tela rasgada. Mientras respondemos con cautela a la pandemia en nuestras reuniones litúrgicas públicas, no pasemos por alto lo que proclama la sección de apertura de la tercera oración eucarística. “Todo lo que has creado correctamente te alaba” y “das vida a todas las cosas y las haciéndolas santas”.
El 24 de mayo de 2015, el Papa Francisco, siguiendo esta primera encíclica, Evangelii Guadium, La alegría del Evangelio, dio a la iglesia y al mundo el regalo de Laudato Si, en alabanza a la creación y nuestra responsabilidad de cuidar nuestro hogar común.
Con mucho, eliminar la pandemia es nuestro desafío mundial más apremiante, pero no debemos perder de vista la urgente necesidad de fomentar el desarrollo humano integral en nombre del planeta y los pobres. De la sección # 10 de este asombroso documento, podemos echar un vistazo a la pasión del Papa Francisco. “No quiero escribir esta encíclica sin recurrir a esa figura atractiva y convincente, cuyo nombre tomé como guía e inspiración cuando fui elegido obispo de Roma. Creo que San Francisco es el ejemplo por excelencia del cuidado de los vulnerables y de una ecología integral vivida con alegría y autenticidad. Es el santo patrón de todos los que estudian y trabajan en el área de la ecología, y también es muy querido por los no cristianos.San Francisco estaba particularmente preocupado por la creación de Dios y por los pobres y los marginados. Amaba y era profundamente amado por su alegría, su generosa entrega, su corazón abierto. Era un místico y un peregrino que vivía en simplicidad y en maravillosa armonía con Dios, con los demás, con la naturaleza y consigo mismo. San Francisco nos muestra lo inseparable que es el vínculo entre la preocupación por la naturaleza, la preocupación por los pobres, el compromiso con la sociedad y la paz interior.” En el quinto aniversario de esta encíclica histórica, que nuestra adoración nos inspire a levantar la creación de Dios y a los más vulnerables.
“Desde la salida del sol hasta su puesta se puede ofrecer un sacrificio puro a su nombre,” es nuestro compromiso como Iglesia universal para proclamar el evangelio y hacer discípulos de todas las naciones. Esta misión debe descansar en un profundo respeto por la dignidad de todos los pueblos, su cultura, tradiciones y forma de vida. Esta visión también debe encarnarse en nuestro maravilloso crisol de nación, nuestros Estados Unidos, que en este momento está plagado una vez más por nuestro pecado original de racismo. Recientemente, (2018) la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos publicó un valioso documento titulado “Abre de par en par nuestros corazones (Open Wide our Hearts, por su nombre en inglés): el llamado duradero al amor, una carta pastoral contra el racismo”. Los disturbios, la violencia y la destrucción que actualmente se desatan en todo Estados Unidos demuestran la triste relevancia de este documento.
La semana pasada, el USCCB emitió una declaración denunciando la injusticia de la violencia por motivos raciales contra las personas de color en nuestra nación. (Esta declaración se incluye en esta edición del periódico). La libertad y la justicia para todos están integradas en la visión fundacional de nuestra nación.
Laudato Si y Open Wide our Hearts están bien fundamentados en nuestra identidad como católicos que abrazamos “lex orandi, lex creyendi et lex vivendi”. “En verdad eres santo, ¡oh, Señor!”
De la fiesta de Pentecostés, yo concluyo con la oración ardiente de San Agustín para que podamos hacerla propia para la adoración y la vida diaria. “Respira en mí, Oh Espíritu Santo, para que todos mis pensamientos sean santos. Actúa en mí, Oh Espíritu Santo, para que mi trabajo también sea santo. Llama a mi corazón, Oh Espíritu Santo, para que ame solo lo que es santo. Fortaléceme, Oh Espíritu Santo, para defender todo lo que es santo. Guárdame, entonces, Oh Espíritu Santo, para que siempre pueda ser santo.”

Pandemic is an opportunity for mission, service to others

By Junno Arocho
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While isolation, social distancing and economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prove to be a challenge, Christians are called by God to take part in the church’s mission in the world, Pope Francis wrote in a message for World Mission Sunday 2020.
“The impossibility of gathering as a church to celebrate the Eucharist has led us to share the experience of the many Christian communities that cannot celebrate Mass every Sunday,” the pope wrote in his message, which was released by the Vatican May 31.
“In all of this, God’s question: ‘Whom shall I send?’ is addressed once more to us and awaits a generous and convincing response: ‘Here am I, send me!’” he said.
World Mission Sunday will be celebrated Oct. 18 at the Vatican and in most dioceses.
In his message, the pope said that despite the suffering and challenges posed by COVID-19, the church’s “missionary journey” continues. Although pain and death “make us experience our human frailty,” it also serves as a reminder of “our deep desire for life and liberation from evil.”
“In this context, the call to mission, the invitation to step out of ourselves for love of God and neighbor presents itself as an opportunity for sharing, service and intercessory prayer,” he wrote. “The mission that God entrusts to each one of us leads us from fear and introspection to a renewed realization that we find ourselves precisely when we give ourselves to others.”

Capuchin Franciscan Brother Andrew Corriente hands out food to those in need in Washington May 19, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. Christians are called by God to take part in the church’s mission in the world to help those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis wrote in a message for World Mission Sunday 2020. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn)

To be a “church on the move,” he explained, is neither a program nor “an enterprise to be carried out by sheer force of will,” but rather follows the prompting of the Holy Spirit “who pushes you and carries you.”
Pope Francis said the celebration of World Mission Sunday offers an opportunity to reaffirm that one’s prayers, reflections and offerings are ways “to participate actively in the mission of Jesus in his church.”
He also reminded Christians that the mission of evangelization is “a free and conscious response to God’s call” that can only be discerned by one’s “personal relationship of love with Jesus present in his church.”
“In all of this, God’s question, ‘Whom shall I send?’ is addressed once more to us and awaits a generous and convincing response: ‘Here am I, send me!’” the pope said. “God continues to look for those whom he can send forth into the world and to the nations to bear witness to his love, his deliverance from sin and death, his liberation from evil.”