JACKSON – The children of St. Therese Parish presented the nativity story before the 4 p.m. Mass on Christmas Eve. After Mass parishioners enjoyed dinner together. (Photo by Elsa Baughman)
Featured photo . . .walking with the Holy Family
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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
Assisi Prayer Chain, The power of prayer is available to all those in need through the Assisi Prayer Chain. Details: (601) 937-5943 or (601) 214-3093 between 5-7 p.m.
BROOKSVILLE The Dwelling Place, Feel the need to get away for one or several days of solitude and self-care? The Dwelling Place is a place of hospitality and prayer open to people of all Christian traditions. Treat yourself to an overnight, a weekend or longer to let God in. It can be a life-changing experience. They have everything you need – a beautiful quiet setting, a lovely chapel, library and good food! No stress! Just rest in the Lord. Details: (662) 738-5348 or email dwellpl@gmail.com for more information.
CHATAWA St. Mary of the Pines Retreat Center, “The Lenten Journey: A Couple’s Response to Christ’s Call” for married couples, Friday, March 8, through Sunday, March 10. Begins Friday at 4 p.m. until Sunday morning. Presenters: Lloyd and Jan Tate, both trained spiritual directors of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Suggested donation: $360 per couple. Details: Sr. Sue Von Bank (601) 783-0801 retreatcenter@ssndcp.org.
Saturday, March 9, A Lenten Day of Reflection – Chosen, Blessed, Broken and Shared, 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. The Eucharist is the very pattern of our lives. Listen to the wisdom of Pope Francis as he calls us all to be sent in holiness. Presenter: Christine Ingrassia, who is a lay minister, graduate of Loyola Institute for Ministry and spiritual director. Suggested donation: $40, includes lunch. Details: Sister Sue Von Bank (601) 783-0801 retreatcenter@ssndcp.org.
CULLMAN, Ala., Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center, Hildegard of Bingen: A Woman for Our Times, February 1-3. Explore the life and gifts of Hildegard of Bingen, a Benedictine visionary, artist, composer and physician who lived in the 1100s. Will include reflection on many of her visions, using her remarkable paintings and writings. Retreat Director: Sister Mary McGehee, OSB. Cost: $245; Shared room $205 per person. Details: (256) 734-8302, retreats@shmon.org or www.shmon.org.
VICKSBURG Prayer Ministry, The Mercy Associates are a group of lay men and women who work with the Sisters of Mercy to further the charism of mercy in our parishes and community. The group of 20 women is committed to pray for each intention several times each day for seven days. All prayer requests are held in complete confidentiality. Details: Contact Mercy Associate, Karen Harrison at (601) 397-7879 to submit a prayer request.
PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
CLARKSDALE Catholic Community of St. Elizabeth, 2019 Beginner Italian Language Class starts Thursday, January 17, at 6 p.m. at Delta State Ewing Hall. The class fee is $40 for the eight-week course. Professors Franco and Matteo Zengaro will teach the class. This is sponsored by the Italian American Cultural Society of the Delta. Details: contact David Malatesta at malatesta565@yahoo.com or the church office (662) 624-4301.
CLEVELAND Our Lady of Victories, “Awaken Our Hearts” Parish Mission by Father Joe Sica, January 27-30. The mission kicks off with a Family Concert featuring Matt Daniels on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Mission talks will be Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Sunday through Wednesdays there will be a meal served in the Parish Center at 5:30 p.m. Details: church office (662) 846-6273 or visit www.faithonfiremissions.org.
Spaghetti Supper, Thursday, February 7. Details: church office (662) 846-6273.
GLUCKSTADT St. Joseph, January 27-29 Parish Mission by Jon Leonetti, author of the book, “The Art of Getting Over Yourself and Why You will Be Happier when you do” about discovering the freedom Christ offers by way of his life and love. Details: parish office (601) 856-2054.
GRENADA, St. Peter, Lifeline Screening, Thursday, February 7. They are offering this preventive health event. Five screenings will be offered that scan for potential health problems. There are three ways to register for this event and to receive a $10 discount off any package priced about $129. Details: 1-888-653-6441 or visit https://lifelinescreening.com/communitycircle or text the word circle to 797979 or the church office (662) 226-2490.
JACKSON St. Richard, Renewal Weekend by Gus Lloyd Friday, January 25, from 7-8 p.m. and Saturday, January 26, from 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Gus is a national radio host, author, speaker and host of “Seize the Day” on Sirius XM’s The Catholic Channel. There is no charge, but registration is helpful for meal planning. A love offering will be collected. Details: church office (601) 366-2335 or www.saintrichard.com.
YOUTH BRIEFS
CLARKSDALE Catholic Community of St. Elizabeth, Bible Adventure for Pre-4 through 2nd graders meets Sundays from 9:40-10:20 a.m. in the daycare room at St Elizabeth School. Details: church office (662) 624-4301
JACKSON St. Richard School Krewe de Cardinal, Friday, March 1, 7-11 p.m. at the Railroad District. Mardi Gras party with silent and live auction, live music and Creole Cusine. Tickets are $100 per couple. Details: www.strichardschool.org or (601) 366-1157.
Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship, St. Richard Parish gym. Saturday, Jan. 19 10:30 a.m. Open to boys and girls age 9-14. Participants do not have to attend St. Richard. Competition is free. Details: Rusty Haydel, (601) 953-9711.
MADISON St. Joseph School, “Jeans, Jazz and Bruin Blues,” Annual Draw Down, Saturday, February 23, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $130 and admit two adults; second chance insurance may be added for $20. Each ticket includes a chance to win $10,000. Scholarship opportunities available. Details: school office (601) 898-4800, tharris@stjoebruins.comor www.stjoebruins.com.
SAVE THE DATE
World Marriage Day, the Catholic Diocese of Jackson and the Office of Family Ministry is pleased to announce that the diocesan World Marriage Day Celebration will be held Sunday, February 24, at 3 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson. There will be Mass with a reception immediately following. The Mass honors all married couples, but invites those celebrating their 25th, 50th and 60th anniversaries or any significant anniversary. Please contact your parish office for registration details. : For additional information, or questions, please call the Office of Family Ministry at 601-960-8487 or email Charlene Bearden at charlene.bearden@jacksondiocese.org .
U.S. bishops take part in weeklong retreat about clergy sex abuse crisis
By Carol Zimmermann (CNS)
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Catholic bishops, including Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Diocese of Jackson, took part in a closed-door retreat Jan. 2-8 at Mundelein Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake near Chicago to prayerfully consider ways to rebuild trust over the clergy sex abuse crisis.
U.S. bishops receive Communion during Mass in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at Mundelein Seminary Jan. 3 at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Illinois, near Chicago. The U.S. bishops are on retreat Jan. 2-8 at the seminary, suggested by Pope Francis in September, which comes as the bishops work to rebuild trust among the faithful as questions continue to revolve around their handling of clergy sex abuse. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)
“We are honored to welcome the bishops of the United States to Mundelein as they prayerfully unite to reflect on the urgent issues facing the Catholic Church today,” said Father John Kartje, rector of Mundelein Seminary in a statement.
He said it was fitting that the bishops were gathered where “seminarians come from around the nation to be formed into the next generation of parish priests and hundreds of lay men and women are trained for parish service.” He added: “The people of God deserve servant-leaders who are holy, joyful and competent in their ministry.”
Mundelein Seminary is the major seminary for the Archdiocese of Chicago and is the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. It currently has more than 200 seminarians from 34 dioceses across the country and around the world.
The structure of the retreat will emphasize quiet reflection, including silent meal times, and will offer daily Mass, time for personal and communal prayer before the Eucharist, vespers and an opportunity for confession. No ordinary business will be conducted.
Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the papal household, led the retreat with the theme, “the mission of the apostles and their successors.” This time of prayer came at the suggestion of Pope Francis and was planned largely in response to last summer’s revelations of sex abuse that reached the highest levels of the U.S. church.
In a letter distributed to the bishops at the start of the gathering, Pope Francis said he was convinced their response to the “sins and crimes” of abuse and “the efforts made to deny or conceal them” must be found through “heartfelt, prayerful and collective listening to the word of God and to the pain of our people.”
“As we know,” he said, “the mentality that would cover things up, far from helping to resolve conflicts, enabled them to fester and cause even greater harm to the network of relationships that today we are called to heal and restore.”
Prior to the retreat’s start, Msgr. Jeffrey D. Burrill, associate general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told CNS that more than 200 bishops were expected to attend. Active U.S. bishops number 271 and there are 185 retired bishops.
A few bishops have tweeted about the retreat and asked for prayers. Portland Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, tweeted en route to the retreat: “Pray for us that our response to the call to holiness will be renewed and that we will be faithful shepherds according to the mind and heart of Christ and his apostolic Church.”
New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan asked for prayers in his tweet, which described the retreat as means to “respond to important matters facing the Church. Our first reliance is upon the Lord’s grace (and) mercy. Without intense prayers for healing, guidance, in reparation, we will not be successful.”
Bishop Frank J. Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, tweeted praise for the opening remarks of Father Cantalamessa, which he said focused on the “need to choose the right priorities around which we can live our daily lives. Of course, a central priority is daily prayer.”
During the retreat, many Catholics were joining in prayer for its success.
The website of Mundelein Seminary encouraged people to “join our seminary community in an online prayer chain for the healing of the Catholic Church,” suggesting that Catholics pray the rosary, attend daily Mass, engage in an act of penitential sacrifice or simply offer the prayer posted on their website – https://bit.ly/2VrAlST – called “Prayer for the Healing of Our Church.”
St. Maximilian Kolbe Shrine, adjacent to the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Libertyville, Illinois, was conducting its usual 24-hour adoration during the bishops’ retreat with specific emphasis on praying for the bishops.
Its website urged Catholics who could not pray at the shrine to pray at their own parish adoration chapel that the bishops’ retreat would be “truly guided by the Holy Spirit.”
Conventual Franciscan Father Benedict La Volpe, the shrine’s rector, told Catholic News Service that the shrine, where perpetual adoration “has been nonstop since 1928” has had more participants since the bishops’ retreat began Jan. 2.
He stressed that abuse victims are always in the church’s prayers but during this time of retreat, there is an urgency to pray for the bishops, specifically, that they “understand what happened and what needs to happen.”
The priest, who was going to hear confessions during the retreat, said he hoped the bishops would take away from this gathering the importance of taking time to “pause, pray, reflect and convert.”
Follow Zimmermann on Twitter: @carolmaczim)
Reconciliation retreat
CORINTH – St. James the Less’ First Communion Class plays during their First Reconciliation retreat on Saturday Dec. 1. Teachers include Yolanda Salinas, Edith del Ángel, Teresita Peña, Mariana García, Roberto Santamaria and the candidates are Maya Gomes, Jairo López, Emilio Ceron, Pascual Baltazar, Aylin Hernandez y Yoseline Ruiz. (Photo by Luis Rosales)
Southaven students offer Christmas program
SOUTHAVEN – The Sacred Heart Middle School band playing “The Christmas Crabs,” a piece based on the movement of the crabs on Christmas Island. The song was part of the Christmas concert presented Tuesday evening, Dec. 4, by the choir and band. (Photo by Sister Margaret Sue Booker)
Mississippi Day in Vicksburg
VICKSBURG – Students at Vicksburg Catholic School’s St. Francis Xavier Elementary celebrated National Mississippi Day by reading “Love Is All Around Mississippi” by children’s author Wendi Silvano. (Photo by Christin Matthews)
St. Nicolas visits St. Patrick
MERIDIAN – On the Feast Day of St. Nicholas, St. Patrick School students left a shoe outside their classroom for St. Nicholas to fill. The children received a candy cane, chocolate coins and a prayer card. Shown are first graders Hayden Thompson, foreground, and Chance Glass as they discover what St. Nicholas left for them. (Photo by Celeste Saucier)
St. Peter leads the way in Grenada Christmas parade
GRENADA – Members of St. Peter Parish won first place in the church division for their float in the annual city Christmas parade by offering “the greatest story ever told.”
Volunteers built the float, which held a living nativity made up of children from the parish. It rolled through the streets on Saturday, Dec. 1.
Faith Formation conference registration open
All those involved in leading formational ministries are invited to attend the Gulf Coast Faith Formation Conference to be held in New Orleans, January 10-12, 2019. The theme for this year’s regional conference is “Go Forth: That All May Be One”. This conference is for anyone involved with religious education, adult formation, RCIA, youth ministry, music ministry, liturgy or Catholic schools. Featured keynote presenters include Jason Angelette and Dr. Joann Paradise as well as multiple breakout sessions covering a variety of topics and disciplines. Please visit the event website for registration information and conference schedule – https://go4th.faith/
Merciful Mufflers : ministry of hands and hearts
By Mary Billups and Maureen Smith
MERIDIAN – Back in 2016, the Catholic Community of Meridian launched a new ministry in response to Pope Francis’s Jubilee Year of Mercy. Seeking to respond to the Gospel challenge of “clothe the naked,” the members of the newly formed Merciful Mufflers gathered weekly to knit and crochet more than 150 scarves, hats and hand-warmers for the homeless and those fleeing domestic violence. The ministry then looked inward to its own parishioners, and for the past two years has provided prayer shawls and lap robes for the home-bound, the ill, and their caregivers.
“People have called and told me they were moved to tears when they received a blanket because someone thought of them,” said Pam Walston, who has been with the group from the beginning. “This (ministry) drew the parish together. Sometimes when people get older, they think you have forgotten them, especially if they can’t come to church anymore,” she explained. The blankets and scarves are a tangible reminder of their connection to their faith community. She said the original group had about five members but continues to grow each year. The group worked together to create a blanket for pastor Father Augustine Palimattam.
They only meet during the school year and each year they pick a particular project.
They instituted the tradition of giving hand-made white baby blankets to the infants newly baptized into St. Patrick and St. Joseph parishes. “Mary (Billups) has all these wonderful ideas – she genuinely wants to reach out and draw the community together,” said Walston.
The members’ mercy-driven commitment has further expanded to encompass Meridian’s Center for Pregnancy Choices, where the ministry provided layettes consisting of baby blankets, baby caps and booties for the infants, along with beautiful scarves for the mothers, all delivered in special tote bags.
“Everything we make comes with a prayer of one kind or another and sometimes a medal or something else,” said Walston. The group is about more than just the handiwork. The last half-hour of every meeting is dedicated to prayer for those in need, including those who will receive the blankets.
The parish helps with supplies, but members also participate. One member crocheted a bedspread this year that was auctioned off. The money raised went back into the ministry.
Beginning in January 2019, this ministry will work to fashion lap-size afghans for those dependent upon dialysis for their continued well-being. Walston encourages others to join. She said the members have all different skill levels in knitting and crochet and members help one another with projects.
For more information, or to begin a group like this one, contact Mary Billups at 601-693-1321 or mary@catholicmeridian.org.
(Mary Billups is the director of adult faith formation for the Catholic Community of Meridian.)