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The Christ-Child of the Year

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Father Ron Rolheiser

IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Every year Time magazine recognizes someone as “Person of the Year.” The recognition isn’t necessarily an honor; it’s given to the person whom Time judges to have been the newsmaker of the year – for good or for bad. This year, instead of choosing an individual to recognize as newsmaker of the year, it recognized a category of persons, the Silence Breakers, namely, women who have spoken out about having experienced sexual harassment and sexual violence.
Part of the challenge of Christmas is to recognize where Christ is being born in our world today, where two thousand years after the birth of Jesus we can again visit the stable in Bethlehem, see the new-born child, and have our hearts moved by the power of divine innocence and powerlessness.
For Christmas this year, I suggest we honor refugee children as the “Christ-Child of the Year.” They bring as close to the original crib in Bethlehem as we can get within our world today because for them, as for Jesus two thousand years ago, there is no room at the inn.
Jesus’ birth, like his death, comes wrapped in paradox: He came as God’s answer to our deepest desire, badly wanted, and yet, both in birth and in death, the outsider. Notice that Jesus is born outside the city and he dies outside the city. That’s no accident. He wasn’t born a “wanted” child and he wasn’t an accepted child. Granted, his mother, Mary, and those with genuine religious hearts wanted him, but the world didn’t, at least not on the terms on which he came, as a powerless child. Had he come as a superstar, powerful, a figure so dominant that knees would automatically bend in his presence, a messiah tailored to our imagination, every inn door would have opened to him, not just at birth but throughout his whole life.
But Christ wasn’t the messiah of our expectations. He came as an infant, powerless, hidden in anonymity, without status, invited, unwanted. And so Thomas Merton describes his birth this way: Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for Him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because He cannot be at home in it, because He is out of place in it, and yet He must be in it, His place is with those others for whom there is no room.
There was no room for him at the inn! Biblical scholars tell us that our homilies and imaginings about the heartlessness of the innkeepers who turned Mary and Joseph away on Christmas Eve miss the point of that narrative. The point that the Gospels want to make here is not that the innkeepers in Bethlehem were cruel and calloused and this singular, poor, peasant couple, Joseph and Mary, were treated unfairly. The motif of “no room at the inn” wants rather to make a much larger point, the one Thomas Merton just highlighted, namely, that there’s never room in our world for the real Christ, the one who doesn’t fit comfortably into our expectations and imaginings. The real Christ generally shocks our imagination, is a disappointment to our expectations, comes uninvited, is perennially here, but is forever on the outside, on the periphery, excluded by our imaginations and sent packing from our doors. The real Christ is forever seeking a home in a world within which there’s no room for him.
So who best fits that description best today? I suggest the following: Millions of refugee children. The Christ-Child can be seen most clearly today in the countless refugee children who, with their families, are being driven from their homes by violence, war, starvation, ethnic cleansing, poverty, tribalism, racism and religious persecution. They, and their families, best fit the picture of Joseph and Mary, searching for a room, outsiders, powerless, uninvited, no home, no one to take them in, on the periphery, strangers, labeled as “aliens.” But they are the present-day Holy Family and their children are the Christ-Child for us and our world.
Where is the crib of Bethlehem today? Where might we find the infant Christ to worship? In many places, admittedly in every delivery room and nursery in the world, but “preferentially” in refugee camps; in boats making perilous journeys across the Mediterranean; in migrants trekking endless miles in hunger, thirst and dangerous conditions; in people waiting in endless lines to be processed in hope of being accepted somewhere, in persons arriving at various borders after a long journey only to be sent back; in mothers in detention centers, holding their young and hoping; and most especially, preferentially, in the faces of countless refugee children.
The face of God at Christmas is seen more in the helplessness of children than in all the earthly and charismatic power in our world. And so today, if we want, like the shepherds and wise men, to find our way to the crib in Bethlehem we need to look at where, in this demented inn, the most helpless of the children dwell.
(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, theologian, teacher and award-winning author, is President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX.)

Daughters and Sister of Charity take up new ministries in Holmes County

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By Maureen Smith
DURANT – A trio of sisters began their ministries in the Diocese of Jackson a week before Thanksgiving. Daughters of Charity Mary Walz and Madeline Kavanaugh and Sister of Charity of Halifax Sheila Conley spent their first few weeks getting settled and meeting new members of their community before they welcomed Bishop Joseph Kopacz to their house for a Mass and lunch.
It is hard to avoid the obvious connection to another set of Sisters living in the rural community. Sister Paula Merrill, SCN, and Sister Margaret Held, SSSF, were murdered in Durant a little more than a year ago. The new sisters emphasize that they are not in Mississippi to replace Sisters Paula and Margaret, but to answer a call to serve in new ways.
Sister Kavanagh has worked all over the world. She served in Bolivia for 17 years, the Cook Islands, Brooklyn and, most recently, Georgetown, South Carolina, where she worked in pastoral ministry at a parish.
She is coordinating with local corrections officials to do prison ministry. “I have basically been a missionary for the last 30 years, so this is to me a wonderful opportunity to continue a call I feel to work in missionary settings. Also, working with the people in South Carolina has been a big help for me to have a better understanding of the Southern culture,” she said.
Sister Conley, also a northerner, easily identified by her accent, will be working with a federal program called “Need a Job, Get a Job.” She said this ministry is an opportunity to get back to her roots. She was an educator for decades before her religious order asked her to help with the reconstruction of a retirement home for fellow sisters. The self-proclaimed ‘most organized person in the world’ enjoyed the work and her sisters, but missed interacting with students.
“I was in Boston and when I heard they needed an educator, my heart just soared,” she said.
The program is for young people, aged 16-22, who have no job or job prospects. Most never graduated from high school. “It’s a year-long program where job ethics, job professionalism, job searching, are all an integral part of the program. They get paid for coming, but they have to come from nine to five three days a week and they get penalized if they don’t come. After the first phase of the program, the culminating activity is helping them prepare for an interview – we really role play for that,” she explained.
The program even encourages companies to hire the students by paying for a couple weeks’ worth of salary and following up with the student to make sure he or she is continuing to do well for a year. Sister Conley said one of the objectives is to help the young people dream – to think in terms of career goals and not just a job. “The possibilities are wonderful.”
As a side project, Sister Conley is starting a “Dress for Success” fund to pay for interview outfits.
Sister Mary Walz is a social worker. She will be working at the same clinic where Sisters Paula and Margaret worked as nurse practitioners, but in a different role.
“When we met with Dr. (Elias) Abboud (the clinic owner), he was saying ‘I can hire another nurse practitioner who is licensed in Mississippi, but what I need is a social worker,’” said Sister Walz. “One of the chief issues is medication. There are patient assistance programs where pharmaceutical companies provide their prescription medications free to qualified patients if they don’t have coverage or if their coverage doesn’t cover the medicine – there are a lot of ways to go through all that paperwork. This also gives me an entrée to meet people and explore if there are other issues they are struggling with that also affect their health. So it’s all one piece,” she explained.
This is not her first time to work at a clinic. “I have been on our leadership team for the last 13 years for our province. Before that I was in Southwest Arkansas working in a clinic,” she explained “When this came up Sister Mary Beth (Kubera, the provincial for the Daughters of Charity) and I came down to take a look. I love small towns. I love the rural experience. When I was in Arkansas, I was in the Delta. So really I was just across the river. This seemed like a really nice fit,” she said.
Sister Walz said she honors the memory of Sisters Paula and Margaret, but is not trying to fill their roles.
“No one could replace what they were. They were so beloved and uniquely engaged in this community.”
As it turns out, this is far from the first time the Daughters of Charity have served here. They were some of the very first women religious to serve in what was the Diocese of Natchez. Sisters Martha and Philomena, DOC, arrived in 1847 to open an orphanage in Natchez. Since then, Daughters have come and gone, filling roles as educators, catechists, social workers and more. They opened Natchez St. Joseph and Cathedral schools; provided outreach ministries in Charleston, Hernando, Jackson, Port Gibson and Walls; opened a day care at Pearl St. Jude and provided Sisters who worked in what is now the Diocese of Biloxi.
“The Daughters have a commitment to serve the poor. Mississipppi is the poorest state in the nation and Holmes county is the poorest in the state. It seems like if ever there was an indicator that we need to look at that, this is it,” said Sister Walz.
“To be a presence to the people – that’s the greatest gift, I think. If we can be instruments to reflect back the love of God for them. If we can act as reflectors or channels of God’s love – that’s the whole goal for me,” said Sister Kavanaugh.

DURANT – Sister Madeline Kavanaugh, DC, and Bishop Joseph Kopacz laugh as Sister Mary Walz tells a story before Mass and lunch in the Sisters’ new home in Durant.

Sister Madeline Kavanaugh, left, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Sheila Conley, SC, and Sister Mary Walz share a lunch after the bishop celebrated Mass in their home Saturday, Dec. 9. (Photos by Maureen Smith)

With new U.S. administration, USCCB enters policy debates more often in ‘17

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By Dennis Sadowski
WASHINGTON (CNS) – A new presidential administration and a new Congress kept the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as busy as ever in addressing public policy issues during 2017.
Hardly a week passed without at least one reaction, statement or commentary, all based on traditional Catholic social teaching, on a public policy matter from a USCCB committee chairman or other conference officers.
From President Donald Trump’s January travel ban on the entry of people from certain Muslim-majority nations to the Republican-written tax reform legislation that continued to be debated in Congress in mid-December, bishops repeatedly laid out moral arguments on the importance of protecting human dignity at every turn.
The bishops issued an estimated 115 public statements and letters addressing public policy concerns through Dec. 12, according to the news releases listed on the USCCB website, www.usccb.org. That’s more than double the approximately 47 public statements and letters released in 2016.
Some of the statements were joined by leaders at Catholic Charities USA and Catholic Relief Services when appropriate. Those agencies also issued their own statements on many of the same issues.
But it was the bishops’ voice gaining the attention of Congress and the White House.
Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, has added his name to many of the statements.
He told Catholic News Service that he and his fellow bishops didn’t go out looking “to make a lot of statements,” but that it became necessary to bring a Catholic perspective to policy stances being addressed by the White House and in Congress.
“I think it wasn’t just us. A number of these issues were arising for a number of reasons,” he said.
“It’s cyclical,” he said. “It’s cyclical in the sense the issues arose that touch deeply on the principles we look at to guide society. These policies are always the same for us.”
Bishop Dewane pointed to the Trump administration’s immigration-related policies and the high-profile tax reform legislation – the first major overhaul of the tax code in more than 30 years – as two areas where the bishops wanted to be sure to have their voice heard.
“Budgets and tax legislation are moral documents. … We’re looking to care for the poor, strengthen family, progressivity in terms of the tax program. If we stop and reflect on the centrality of the family in every society, we need to speak up for that,” Bishop Dewane said.
Immigration policy – from continued calls for comprehensive immigration reform to the administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status for people from Nicaragua, Haiti and Sudan – drew the most public responses from various USCCB committee chairmen with more than two dozen statements.
In 2016, the bishops addressed immigration six times.
Their first statement on immigration actually came in response to an early January change in policy by President Barack Obama’s administration that ended a long-standing agreement that allowed Cubans who arrive in the U.S. without visas to remain in the country and gain legal residency. The change came just before Trump assumed the presidency.
At the time, Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the Committee on Migration, said that the bishops opposed the change in the so-called “wet foot, dry foot” policy, saying doing so will “make it more difficult for vulnerable populations in Cuba, such as asylum seekers, children and trafficking victims, to seek protection.”
Other issues that have garnered significantly more comments from the bishops in 2017 than 2016 include the federal budget and the importance of prioritizing the needs of poor and vulnerable people in spending and tax reform; racism; health care; the environment and climate change; and religious liberty, particularly around the world.
When it came to pro-life issues, including conscience protections for health care workers, the bishops issued eight statements, the same as in 2016.
At mid-year as Congress attempted to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, the bishops repeatedly called for certain provisions to remain, saying that rescinding the law altogether would result in millions of people losing health care insurance coverage.
The ACA has been controversial since it became law in 2010 because some of its provisions – abortion coverage, the contraceptive mandate of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the exclusion of immigrants in the country illegally from being covered – violated church teaching. But in the end the bishops opposed its total repeal because it had significantly reduced the number of Americans without health insurance coverage. Ultimately, the Republican-led Congress failed to repeal the ACA.
The bishops also took a strong stance in favor of the environment, addressing the topic 10 times. Their statements opposed Trump’s decision to begin the process of withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate agreement and efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency to roll back the Clean Power Plan that limits carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Bishop Dewane told CNS that being in the forefront of various public debates is vital for the life of the church. He admitted he did not expect as a committee chairman to have to devote as much time as he has to reviewing statements, signing letters and appearing at news conferences this year.
“I could us a little more prayer time,” he said.
Still, he added, the need to publicly uphold human dignity is necessary for the church.
“We’ve got to speak up.”

(Follow Dennis Sadowski on Twitter: @DennisSadowski)

Dando gracias por aquellos que sirven

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Obispo Joseph Kopacz

Por Obispo Joseph Kopacz
La celebración del nacimiento del Señor, la Encarnación, literalmente, “el Verbo se hizo carne, y puso su morada entre nosotros” (Juan 1, 14) es un dramático anuncio de fe que Dios está en medio de nosotros y nos persigue implacablemente en la maravillosa historia de la salvación. La traducción literal de la carpa en nuestro medio es tan apropiada porque en cualquier momento el Señor Jesús puede mudarse y caminar con nosotros, o perseguirnos a donde sea que vayamos. Este es el misterio hacia el cual el Papa Francisco nos está dirigiendo en el Evangelii Guadium, la Alegría del Evangelio, cuando nos invita a luchar contra la declaración, “el tiempo es más importante que el espacio”. Cuando nos encontramos con nuestro vivo y amado Señor encarnado, o mejor dicho, cuando nos agarra (Flp 3, 14) podemos gritar con alegría, “Gloria a Dios en las alturas y paz en la tierra” (Lucas 2, 14), porque incluso si nos mantenemos en silencio las piedras gritarían. (Lucas 19,40)
Los relatos de la infancia en su sencillez y sofisticación entremezclan las tinieblas y la luz. La violencia y el odio de Herodes, haciendo estragos en nuestro propio tiempo, persigue al Cristo para destruirlo a él y a todos los asociados con él. Sin embargo, él no pudo acallar las voces de los ángeles y los pastores, ni amenazar a los Magos en su búsqueda de la verdad. Esto es cierto para nosotros en nuestra época porque las voces de odio y violencia contra los discípulos del Señor, la Iglesia, a menudo sólo refuerza nuestra determinación, especialmente en la sangre de los mártires. La encarnación del Señor no debe ser separada de su crucifixión y resurrección, y cuando la recordamos podemos ver un hecho similar en la historia de San Pablo. Durante un tiempo, él era Herodes en disfraz implacablemente a la caza de los discípulos del Señor, a fin de destruir la naciente comunidad de creyentes. Joseph Holzner en su libro Pablo de Tarso ofrece un inspirado relato del principio de la conversión de Saúl en el que vemos el propósito de la encarnación divina en acción.
“Él, San Paul, era el cazador impulsado por una insaciable sed de la presa. Sin embargo, en esos días en el camino de Damasco, otro, el maestro de aquellos discípulos que estaba cazando, también se encontraba en el sendero. Pablo pensó que él era el cazador, pero de hecho, él era la presa. Cristo es el Divino cazador, el sabueso de los cielos, y aquí en el camino de Damasco, está persiguiendo una presa muy preciosa que no podrán escapar”. El deseo divino de Dios de abrazar el corazón y la mente de cada ser humano en Jesucristo, la Palabra hecha carne, está en trabajo en la Iglesia en cada momento en todo el mundo. Cada uno de nosotros y todas las personas son preciosas para Jesucristo quien inspira nuestras esperanzas y sueños en su temporada santa. Esta labor se hace evidente a través de la Diócesis de Jackson, en temporada y fuera de temporada. (2Timoteo 4, 2)
Cuando nos detenemos a reflexionar y atesorar todas estas cosas en nuestros corazones, como lo hizo María después de la visita de los pastores, podemos ver y oír el Evangelio vivo en forma ordinaria y extraordinaria, cada día en los 65 condados de nuestra diócesis.
En comparación con otras denominaciones cristianas más grandes, podemos ser pocos en número, pero estamos “anunciando al Señor Jesús al vivir el Evangelio de manera que todos puedan experimentar al Señor crucificado y vivo”. (Declaración de Misión) Estoy agradecido por tantos colaboradores en la viña del Señor quienes sirven en numerosos ministerios y de admirables maneras para traer la Buena Noticia de Jesucristo a los hombres de nuestro tiempo.
Algunos de ustedes han servido durante mucho tiempo. Algunos han instalado sus tiendas de campaña entre nosotros recientemente. En particular, en nombre de toda la Diócesis de Jackson y muchos en el Condado Holmes, quiero dar la bienvenida a la Hermana Mary Walz, DC, a la Hermana Madeline Kavenaugh, DC, y a la Hermana Sheila Conley, SC, quienes llegaron el mes pasado para construir de nuevo la esperanza del Evangelio en las secuelas de la Hermana Paula y la Hermana Margaret quienes fueron asesinadas hace año y medio.
Con sus propios talentos forjados en los fuegos del ministerio pastoral a lo largo de muchos años tomarán el relevo de servicio amoroso en el nombre del Señor Jesús. Durante los últimos días del Adviento, podemos orar para que el camino del Señor en nuestras vidas esté abierto de par en par para celebrar su nacimiento en nuestras vidas a través de la fe.
Feliz Navidad.

Giving thanks for those who serve

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Bishop Joseph Kopacz

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
The celebration of the Lord’s birth, the Incarnation, literally, the “Word became flesh, and pitched his tent among us,” (John 1, 14) is a dramatic proclamation of faith that God is in our midst and relentlessly pursues us in the wonderful story of salvation.
The literal translation of the tent in our midst is so apt because at any moment the Lord Jesus can pull up stakes and walk with us, or pursue us wherever we may go. This is the mystery that Pope Francis is pointing us towards in the Evangelii Guadium, the Joy of the Gospel, when he invites us to wrestle with the statement, “time is more important that space.”
When we encounter our living and loving incarnate Lord, or better said, when he grasps us (Phil 3, 14) we can joyfully shout, “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth” (Luke 2, 14), because even if we remained silent the very stones would shout out. (Luke 19,40) The Infancy Narratives in their simplicity and in their sophistication intermingle darkness and light. Herod’s violence and hate, reeking havoc in our own time, pursues the Christ in order to destroy him and all associated with him. Yet, he could not silence the voices of the angels and shepherds, nor menace the Magi’s search for truth.
This holds true for us in our time because the voices of hate and violence against the Lord’s disciples, the Church, often only strengthens our resolve, especially in the blood of the martyrs. The Incarnation of the Lord must not be severed from his crucifixion and resurrection, and when we play it forward we can see a similar account in the story of Saint Paul.
For a time, he was Herod in disguise relentlessly hunting down the disciples of the Lord in order to destroy the nascent community of believers.
Joseph Holzner in his book Paul of Tarsus offers an inspired account of the beginning of Saul’s conversion in which we see the divine purpose of the Incarnation in action.
“He, Saint Paul, was the hunter driven by an insatiable thirst for the prey. However, in those days on the road to Damascus, another, the Master of those disciples he is hunting, is also on the trail. Paul thought that he was the hunter, but indeed, he was the quarry.
Christ is the Divine Hunter, the Hound of Heaven, and here on the road to Damascus he is running down a most precious quarry who will not be able to escape.”
God’s divine desire to embrace the heart and mind of every human being in Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh, is at work in the Church at every moment throughout the world. Each of us and all people are most precious to Jesus Christ who inspires our hopes and dreams in his holy season. This work is evident throughout the Diocese of Jackson in season and out of season. (2Timothy 4, 2)
When we pause to reflect and treasure all these things in our hearts, as did Mary in the aftermath of the shepherds’ visit, we can see and hear the Gospel alive in ordinary and extraordinary ways, every day in the 65 counties of our diocese. In comparison to much larger Christian denominations, we may be small in number, but we are “proclaiming the Lord Jesus by living the Gospel so that all may experience the crucified and living Lord.” (Mission Statement)
I am grateful for so many coworkers in the Vineyard of the Lord who serve in numerous ministries and admirable ways to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people of our time. Some of you have been serving for a long time. Some have pitched their tents among us just recently. In particular, on behalf of the entire Diocese of Jackson and many in Holmes County, I want to welcome Sister Mary Walz, DC, Sister Madeline Kavenaugh, DC, and Sister Sheila Conley, SC, who arrived last month to build back up the hope of the Gospel in the aftermath of Sister Paula and Sister Margaret’s murders a years and half ago.
With their own unique gifts forged in the fires of pastoral ministry over many years they will take up the torch of loving service in the name of the Lord Jesus. (See related story on page 4)
During the closing days of Advent may we pray that the way of the Lord in our lives is wide open to celebrate his birth into our lives through faith.
Merry Christmas.

Parish calendar

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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT

CHATAWA St. Mary of the Pines Retreat Center, A Lenten Day of Reflection, God’s Love and Mercy. Saturday, February 17, 2018, 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Presenter: Sister Dorez Mehrtens, SSND. Cost: Suggested donation: $40, includes lunch. Details: Sister Sue Von Bank (601) 783-0801 retreatcenter@ssndcp.org
St. Mary of the Pines Retreat Center, Tending the Soul of Marriages, Married Couples Retreat, February 16-18, 2018. Begins Friday 4 p.m. – Sunday morning. Presenters: Robin and Easton Hebert, spiritual directors and retreat leaders from Lafayette. They have built a ministry of mentoring those who prepare for marriage and those who desire to live the sacrament more fully. Cost: Suggested donation: $360 per couple. Details: Sister Sue Von Bank (601) 783-0801 retreatcenter@ssndcp.org
CULLMAN, Ala., Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center, Epiphany Retreat: The Invitation of Epiphany, January 5-7, 2018. With the season of Christmas behind us and the new year inviting us forward, Epiphany is a perfect time to pause and reflect on Christ in our midst. Retreat Director: Sister Elisabeth Meadows, OSB. Cost: Private Room $245.00; Shared Room $205.00/person. Details: contact Sister Magdalena Craig, OSB at (256) 615-6114, www.shmon.org
GREENWOOD Locus Benedictus Spirituality Center and the Redemptorists of Greenwood announce the second bilingual Pilgrimage for Life and Family on Saturday, January 20, 2018. All faiths are welcome. The day begins with gathering from 9-10 a.m., a rally from 10-11 a.m., a three-mile pilgrimage on the grounds of Locus Benedictus and an ecumenical prayer service before a picnic lunch. The day ends with the celebration of Catholic Mass at 4 p.m. at the shrine. Details: (662) 299-1232 or www.locusbenedictus.org

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS

JACKSON Christ the King, Mardi Gras Ball, Saturday, February 3 at JSU E-Center, sponsored by the Knights of Peter Claver, Ladies Auxiliary #199. If you want to be represented in the ad booklet, contact any member to purchase an ad. Tickets will be available at a later date. Details: (601) 948-8867
St. Therese, Society of St. Vincent de Paul meets every Thursday at 6 p.m. in St. Therese Parish Hall. Participation is welcomed as an active or associate member. Calls are accepted every Thursday from 3-5 p.m. Details: If you know of anyone in need of their services, please have them call (601) 896-8710.
St. Richard, “Following Christ,” begins, Tuesday, January 23, 2018. Gives important ways of maintaining and growing in our relationship with Jesus. Go to www.christlife.org for details. Details: If you have completed Discovering Christ and have not yet signed up for Following Christ, go to www.saintrichard.com or call Nancy McGhee at (601) 942-2078.
NATCHEZ Mental Health First Aid training, January 25 (adult) and 26 (youth). 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. This public education program introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental illnesses, builds understanding of their impact and overviews common supports. Course can be used for continuing education credits. Cost $30. Catholic Charities is one of the sponsors. Details: Ann Elizabeth Kaiser 601-807-1840 or annelizabeth.kaiser@catholiccharitiesjackson.org.
VICKSBURG St. Paul, Following Christ – Part two of Christ Life, (repeat sessions from last Fall, 2017), January 10 – February 14, 6:30 – 8 p.m., Farrell Hall. Details: church office (601) 636-0140

YOUTH BRIEFS

JACKSON St. Richard, 5th Annual Krewe de Cardinal Carnival Ball at the Railroad District in downtown Jackson (new venue), Friday, February 9, 2018, featuring New Orleans- style cuisine and cocktails, music from the Southern Komfort Brass Band, and both a live and silent auction. Hibbett and Susan Neel have been selected as this year’s Grand Marshals. Details: school office (601) 366-1157 to purchase tickets or to become an event sponsor
MADISON St. Francis of Assisi, Save the Date for NET Retreat for 7th – 12th graders, Saturday, February 10, 2018. Details: church office (601) 856-5556
PEARL St. Jude, Family Friendly New Year’s Eve Party, Saturday, December 31, 6:30 – 9 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Bring your favorite party food to share. Dancing, karaoke, games, food and more. Details: Stacy in the church office (601) 939-3181

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 4, 2018, 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. 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 .
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.

Encuentro team examines results for Diocese of Jackson, plans next step

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By Sister María Elena Méndez, MGSpS
WINONA – On Saturday, November 18, the Hispanic ministry team and its delegates; Susana Becerril, Maria Isamar Mazy and Danna Johnson met at Sacred Heart Parish to take the next step in the V Encuentro process. The group took the results of the two diocesan encuentro gratherings to discern the three priorities that the Diocese of Jackson will share at a regional meeting. Jackson is in Region V which includes 30 dioceses in nine states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Before arriving at an agreement, the group reviewed the seven priorities of the Hispanic community that emerged from the V Encuentro process. Many of the issues came from the Diocesan Pastoral Plan. They include: evangelization, proclaiming Jesus Christ and our Catholic faith; creating welcoming and reconciling communities; facilitating the ongoing formation of life-long disciples; promotion of vocations; social outreach and a focus on strengthening family and youth.
Each person chose three areas they believe the Jackson diocese shares with other ministers in the Southeast region. After much discussion regarding common issues and differences, the team agreed to concentrate on the following three areas while emphasizing two projects for each.
1. Evangelization: Proclaiming Jesus Christ and our Catholic faith
Projects: Offer evangelization retreats
Visit those separated from the church and welcome them into the community
2. Family Outreach
Projects: Continue to support the activities that include families, youth and vocations
Work with the Office of Education to foster faith, ministry and Catholic school education to better serve Hispanic children and youth in religious and academic areas.
3. Ongoing formation of life-long disciples
Projects: Offer catechist training for adults
Facilitate formation programs (School of ministries and training workshops)
The team understands that there are other needs in Hispanic communities that require attention, such as needs for children and young people. But the Encuentro approach emphasizes creating a long-term plan which strengthens faith, family and leadership training. Using this approach, leaders will be able to respond to the specific needs of each group one need at a time. It is important that each person offers their gifts and talents in their parish communities in order to respond to all needs.
The Encuentro team shared their plan with Bishop Joseph Kopacz, who reviewed and approved it. Encuentro teams from the entire Region V will meet in Miami from February 22-24, 2018, to share the priorities from their dioceses. The regions will then discern a set of priorities to take to the national gathering scheduled for September 20-23, 2018 in Grapevine, Texas.

Encuentro

History, Civil Rights museums open

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – On Friday, Dec. 8, the Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History hosted a gala reception for all the individual donors and donating organizations who helped make these projects possible. The Diocese of Jackson sponsored the exhibit on the Sovereignty Files and a delegation including Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Chancellor Mary Woodward, Fabvienen Taylor, administrative assistant for the tribunal and Tereza Ma, production manager for Mississippi Catholic, attended the gala. Linda Raff, former director of Catholic Charities, and Valencia Hall, a catechist at Natchez Holy Family Parish and member of the advisory board for the museums, were on hand as well as other diocesan representatives.
Ma said despite the snow that had fallen earlier in the day, the reception was packed with people. The crowd was invited to explore the museums before the program began. “What first caught my attention was a giant changing light sculpture hanging from ceiling. The sculpture called, “This Little Light of Mine” was made by Hilferty and Associates, Inc. As more people came close by the sculpture, the music became louder and louder – when the singers sang “let it shine” it was beautiful and powerful with the changing light interaction,” said Ma.
Several Catholic priests are featured in the museum, including Father Nathaniel Machesky, OFM, who worked at Greenwood St. Francis Parish during the Civil Rights Movement. Other Catholic lay people and priests are named in the Sovereignty Files, maintained as a watch list of so-called agitators by a state commission aimed at preventing integration.
Ma said the history museum also reflects the Catholic influence on the state. “I am sure I missed a lot, so as many other folks said – I will be back to discover some new stuff about my second home Mississippi and finally I may, as William Faulkner said, start to understand the world.”