MS Catholic December 20, 2024 by jacksondiocese

‘Pilgrims of Hope’: Vatican prepares to welcome millions for Holy Year

BY CINDY WOODEN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The celebration of a Holy Year every 25 years is an acknowledgment that “the Christian life is a journey calling for moments of greater intensity to encourage and sustain hope as the constant companion that guides our steps toward the goal of our encounter with the Lord Jesus,” Pope Francis wrote.

Opening the Holy Door to St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, the pope will formally inaugurate the Jubilee Year 2025 with its individual, parish and diocesan pilgrimages and with special celebrations focused on specific groups from migrants to marching bands, catechists to communicators and priests to prisoners.

Inside the Vatican basilica, the door had been bricked up since Nov. 20, 2016, when Pope Francis closed the extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy.

Dismantling the brick wall be-

‘Long

BY CAROLINE DE SURY

PARIS

(OSV News)

A cloth barricade reading “Rome Jubilee 2025” surrounds a construction site at the beginning of the broad boulevard leading to St. Peter’s Square and St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 4, 2024. The city of Rome is preparing for the Holy Year with hundreds of roadworks and restoration projects. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

gan Dec. 2 with a ritual of prayer and the removal of a box containing the key to the door and Vatican medals. The Holy Doors at the basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls were to be freed of their brickwork in the week that followed.

In January 2021, as the world struggled to return to some kind of normalcy after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis announced that he had chosen “Pilgrims of Hope” as the theme for the Holy Year.

“We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and farsighted vision,” the pope wrote in a letter entrusting the organization of the Jubilee to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, presi-

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live Notre Dame de Paris!’ Jubilation as iconic Catholic cathedral reopens

– The solemn reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral put Paris in the center of the Catholic world on the evening of Dec. 7 as the archbishop of France’s capital struck the magnificent door with his pastoral staff, marking the moment of the iconic Catholic church’s rebirth.

“Today, sadness and mourning have given way to joy, celebration and praise,” Pope Francis wrote to the archbishop of Paris – a message read in Notre Dame by the papal ambassador to France,

Archbishop Celestino Migliore.

“May the rebirth of this admirable church be a prophetic sign of the renewal of the church in France,” the pope said in his Dec. 7 message.

Bad weather forced the change of logistical plans. French President Emmanuel Macron, initially scheduled to speak on Notre Dame’s forecourt, spoke inside the cathedral due to howling winds. But nothing could overshadow the moment Parisians and “tout le monde entier,” the whole world, awaited for the last five years, since the inferno of April 15, 2019, that devastated the cathedral’s interior and collapsed the now-rebuilt spire.

“I stand before you to express the gratitude of the French nation, our gratitude to all those who saved, helped and rebuilt the cathedral,” Macron said, adding that France had “achieved the impossible,” renovating Notre Dame in five years – a feat some

experts predicted would take decades.

“Tonight we can together share joy and pride. Long live Notre Dame de Paris, long live the Republic and long live France,” he said.

The cathedral, which for the last five years was home to hundreds of various trade workers, felt as if all the crowned heads and riches of the planet wanted to witness her resurrection, with Prince William, the heir to the British throne, and billionaire businessman Elon Musk present among many. But it was Archbishop Ulrich that opened the cathedral up for the world.

“Notre Dame, model of faith, open your doors to gather in joy the scattered children of God,” Archbishop Ulrich called out in front of the central door, before striking it three times with the tip of his

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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT

GLUCKSTADT – St. Joseph, Millions of Monicas – Praying with confidence for our children, each Tuesday from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the church. Join with other mothers and grandmothers as we pray for our children’s faithful return to the church. Details: email millionsofmonicas@stjosephgluckstadt.com. Knights of Columbus – Grow in your faith with five short videos produced by the Knights of Columbus called the “Mission of The Family.” The Mission of the Family” videos can be found at https://www. kofc.org/en/campaigns/into-the-breach.html. The five videos are less than 14 minutes in length.

OFFICE OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION – The OCE hosts a Zoom Rosary the ﬁrst Wednesday of each month during the school year at 7 p.m. On Jan. 8, St. Anthony School will lead us in prayer. Join early and place your intentions in the chat. Details: Join the rosary via zoom at https://bit.ly/zoomrosary2024 or check the diocese calendar of events.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – School Sisters of Notre Dame invite single women to a discernment retreat Feb. 2123, 2025, at their Sancta Maria in Ripa campus. Details: Pre-registration by Feb. 7, is requested. There is no cost for participation. Private rooms with restroom provided; all meals included. Some assistance with transportation costs is available if needed. Details: email sisters@ssnd.org or call (314) 633-7026.

PILGRIMAGE – Pilgrimage to Marian Shrines (Fatima, Spain and Lourdes) with Father Lincoln Dall and Deacon John McGregor, Sept, 15-24, 2025. Details: for more information visit www.206tours. com/frlincoln.

PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS

JACKSON – Holy Family, Simbang Gabi Mass with a Novena, Dec. 16-24 at 4 a.m. Come join this

Filipino tradition on the nine days before Christmas. Holy Family, Las Posadas, Monday, Dec. 23 at 6 p.m. Details: church o ce (601) 362-1888.

JACKSON – Cathedral of St. Peter, Statue Dedication of Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. The statue is a gift from the Bishops of the Province of Mobile. The celebration will begin with Mass, followed by the blessing of the statue, then a reception to follow.

Cathedral of St. Peter, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 from 1-2:30 p.m. with speaker Constance Slaughter Harvey. You may write a short reﬂection on how Dr. King’s message impacted your life or society. Submit by Jan. 10. Details: amelia.breton@ jacksondiocese.org.

MADISON – St. Joseph School, $10,000 Draw Down, Saturday, Jan. 25 from 6-10 p.m. at Reunion Golf Club. Details: visit www.stjoebruins.com/drawdown.

MADISON – St. Francis, Ring in Your Faith 10k/5k, Wednesday, Jan. 1 at 8 a.m. You are guaranteed a delicious New Year’s Day meal and fellowship after the race. Cost is $30, with proceeds to assist Knights ongoing service projects. Register at https://bit.ly/RingInYourFaith2025. Details: Joe at leslieslee@ hotmail.com.

MERIDIAN – St. Patrick, Dinner and Dancing, Saturday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Tickets $30. Dress in your Sunday best for a Valentine’s weekend intimate night of ﬁne dining and romantic melodies. Ages 21+. Details: church o ce (601) 693-1321.

DIOCESE

Campus Ministry Winter Retreat, Saturday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Joseph

Starkville. Join college students from across the diocese for a day of fellowship, games, prayer, song, scripture, Mass and more. Cost: $20. Details: register at https://bit.ly/3OoES58.

WORLD MARRIAGE DAY – Event recognizes couples celebrating special anniversaries in 2025 - 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or longer. Celebrations held in Jackson at the Cathedral of St. Peter on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. and in Tupelo at St. James on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. Register by Jan. 7, 2025. Details: email debbie.tubertini@jacksondiocese.org.

FEATURE PHOTO: “Principal on a Shelf” – Spreading holiday cheer

R dgeland Cl nton

APPLIANCE AUDIO VIDEO BEDDING FURNITURE SUPERSTORE

V cksburg Tupelo Columbus

Laur el r Oxford Hat t esburg Hat

Jackson Flowood Pearl

COLUMBUS – Joni House, principal of Annunciation School dressed as an “Elf on a Shelf” greeting students each morning between Thanksgiving and Christmas break. (Photos by Jacque Hince)

Hope incarnate: Christmas and the Jubilee year

BY BISHOP JOSEPH R. KOPACZ, D.D.

“The Word became ﬂesh and made his dwelling among, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

This verse from the prologue of St. John’s Gospel is the proclamation par excellence of our Christmas faith. The infancy narratives of St. Matthew and St. Luke, written a generation ahead of St. John, impart the beloved narrative of the Lord’s birth, the essence of the Christmas manger scene in all its splendor that we all know and love. But the prologue from the Gospel of John, represented by the eagle, takes us to the lofty heights of our understanding of God’s eternal Word without the participation of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds or the magi. However, in an awe-inspiring and timeless manner, the introductions to the three Gospels combine to reveal the uniqueness, the harmony and diversity of the evangelists. We are enlightened by the breath and depth of God’s Word at Christmas.

This Christmas we are doubly blessed with the inauguration of the Jubilee Year of Hope when Pope Francis ﬂings open the Holy Doors of the four Basilicas in Rome. Crossing the thresholds of home and church through a door opened in loving hospitality is always a moment of grace and peace.

Many bemoan the sad state of a airs over locked church doors in the modern world while understanding the need for security. Total access to God in our sacred houses of worship would bring us back to better days and provide much consolation in a world that appears to be losing its soul. In this sense the opening of the Holy Door to begin the Jubilee Year is full of meaning.

Pope Francis o ers this perspective: “Sustained by this great tradition, and certain that the Jubilee Year will be for the entire church a lively experience of grace and hope, I hereby decree that the Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican will be opened on 24 Dec. 2024, thus inaugurating the Ordinary Jubilee. On the following Sunday, 29 Dec. 2024 I will open the Holy Door of my cathedral, Saint John Lateran, which on the 9 Nov. this year will celebrate the 1700th year of its dedication. Then, on 1 Jan. 2025, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother God, the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica, Saint Mary Major, will be opened. Finally, Sunday, 5 Jan. 2025, will mark the opening of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.”

Happy Ordination Anniversary

December 27

Father Antony Chakkalakkal and Father Augustine Palimattam Poulose

January 8

In the Diocese of Jackson, we will inaugurate the Holy Year on the feast of the Epiphany, 5 Jan. 2025 at our Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, inviting the faithful to cross the threshold of hope imploring a year of grace and favor from the Lord. With the universal Catholic Church, the Jubilee of Hope will conclude on the feast of the Epiphany, January 2026.

Father Bill Cullen Retired

January 12

Father José Lopez Retired

Thank you for answering the call!

P.O. Box 2130 Jackson, MS 39225-2130

Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica to inaugurate the Jubilee Year of Mercy at the Vatican in this file photo from Dec. 8, 2015. He will open the Holy Door again on Dec. 24, 2024 for the Jubilee Year of Hope. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

What makes the opening of the Holy Door even more full of significance is that God first flung open the gates to paradise for us here on earth through the Incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God rolled out the red carpet to the heavenly banquet hall so that we can walk upon it as confident pilgrims

who have been washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb. At the deepest level we do have total access to God’s presence through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit whose temples we are. We carry this life with us wherever we go as God-bearers and pilgrims of hope for our own lives and for the life of the world. May we inspire one another with the conviction “that hope does not disappoint because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 5:5) In the light of faith that shines in the darkness we can bless one another. Merry Christmas!

Phone: 601-969-3581 E-mail: editor@jacksondiocese.org Volume 71 Number 2 (ISSN 1529-1693)

Publisher Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz

Communications Director Joanna Puddister King

Production Manager Tereza Ma

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC is an oﬃcial publication of the Diocese of Jackson, 601-969-1880, 237 E. Amite St., Jackson, MS 39201. Published digitally twice per month January – April and September – December; once per month June, July and August. Mississippi Catholic mails 14 editions per year – twice per month in December and January; and once per month February –November. For address changes, corrections or to join the email list for the digital edition, email: editor@jacksondiocese.org. Subscription rate: $20 a year in Mississippi, $21 out-of-state. Periodical postage at Jackson, MS 39201 and additional entry oﬃces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mississippi Catholic, P.O. Box 2130, Jackson, MS 39225-2130. Website: www.mississippicatholic.com  www.jacksondiocese.org

BISHOP’S SCHEDULE

Saturday, Dec. 21, 11 a.m. – Sister Thea Bowman Statue Dedication and Mass, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson

Sunday, Jan. 5, 10:30 a.m. – Opening of the Door for the Jubilee Year of Hope, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson

Monday, Jan. 6-9 – Region V Bishops’ Retreat, New Orleans

Friday, Jan. 10, 6 p.m. – Misa Sagrada Familia – MFCC Christian Family Movement, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 7:30 a.m. – Legislative Prayer Breakfast, First Baptist Church, Jackson

Saturday, Jan. 18, 1 p.m. – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson

All events are subject to change. Check with parishes for further details.

VOCATIONs 4

At the end of 2024 things may seem like they are about the same as they were at the beginning. We started the year with six seminarians, and we’ll end with the same amount. But all the seminarians will affirm that the Lord’s work is most often done very quietly. When we are faithful to our call, the Lord works. When we show up to pray each morning and pray the Mass with reverence, the Lord works in our heart.

The greatest change this year has been made in the hearts of our seminarians as they continue the work of being formed into priests after the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. That work is quiet, but its results are clear. So many people have reached out to me to tell me that they were blessed by the presence of our seminarians at one event or another. This is my favorite news to receive, and it affirms what I see as well: we have great seminarians who are working very hard and who want to do what the Lord wants them to do.

We have great hope for the future as well. At the end of 2025 Will Foggo is scheduled to be ordained a deacon in preparation for priestly ordination in the spring of 2026. We also have two applicants for the seminary as of now for the next formation year which begins in August 2025. Please keep all of these men in your prayers. We always ask that God’s will be done, and if they are meant to enter into seminary formation, please pray that any barriers come down for them.

We may have more than two applicants as the weeks and months of the winter pass, in fact, I can say today that I expect that we will. This is the mark of a vocation program that is healthier

than it was at the start of 2024. We introduced the Vocation Pathway in the summer and thanks to the help of Vianney Vocations we have walked with over 30 young men in discernment groups across the diocese. We have also collected the names of over 50 more young men who you think need this type of fellowship, and so we’ll be reaching out to them in the New Year as well.

The goal that we set at the start of this new chapter was bold, and we continue to ask the Lord to bring it to fruition – 33 seminarians by the year 2030. With that number of seminarians in the pipeline, we can staff our parishes and schools with priests. That’s the goal, that’s the vision, and we have trust that the Lord will bless our efforts.

I am grateful to all those who have supported this mission and vision this year, and in many years prior. We are building on the work of so many people who want to see our parishes thrive. In our little corner of the Chancery, God has called us to promote the diocesan priesthood, and I believe we are doing that very well right now. I am grateful to all of you, and to my part-time staff members, Cecy Arellano and Debbie Padula, who work very hard to promote the priesthood and support our seminarians. I am grateful to our six seminarians. We don’t have a huge number of guys, but they are the type of men we need, and seminary isn’t easy, so I know they appreciate your prayers and support.

– Father Nick Adam, vocation director

How did we come to call Mary the ‘Mother of God’?

FAITH ALIVE

By D.D. Emmons

Jan. 1 is the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the final day of the Christmas octave.

In the fifth century, a heresy led by Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople (r. 428431) claimed that Jesus was actually two persons: one human and one divine – that his divinity was instilled on him after he was born. Thus, they reasoned incorrectly that Mary was the mother of Jesus but not the mother of God. Their rationale contradicted ancient Christian beliefs as well as proclamations and canons issued at earlier church councils.

At the Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325, the church fathers had clearly determined that Jesus was consubstantial with the Father and, therefore, Mary was the Mother of God.

In response to the heretical message of Nestorius, another ecumenical council was held in 431 at Ephesus, Turkey. Led by St. Cyril (r. 412-444), bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, Mary was defended as Theotokos, God-bearer, and that Jesus was one person with a divine and human nature; Mary was the Mother of God. Nestorianism was condemned by the council and Nestorians excommunicated.

The people of Ephesus, joyful over the council decision, went through the streets chanting, “Mary, Mother of God,” which would become words prayed during the rosary devotion.

Some 1,500 years after the council, Pope Pius XI (r. 1922-1939) would claim: “If the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary is God, assuredly she who bore him is rightly and deservedly to be called the Mother of God.”

(D.D. Emmons writes from Pennsylvania.)

The Virgin Mary and Christ Child are depicted in the icon of the Theotokos – or Mother of God – from the Byzantine-Ruthenian chapel at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. (OSV News photo by Nick Crettier, courtesy the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception)

Father Nick Adam

Heaven isn’t the same for everyone

IN EXILE

By Father ron rolheiser, oMi

Daniel Berrigan once said: Before you get serious about Jesus, think carefully about how good you are going to look on wood!

That’s a needed caution because Jesus warned us that if we follow him, pain will flow into our lives and we will join him on the cross. What exactly does that mean? Is pain laid on a disciple as some kind of test? Does Jesus need his followers to feel the pains he experienced? Does God want the followers of Jesus to undergo pain to help pay the price of sin? Why does accepting to carry the cross with Jesus bring pain into our lives?

It’s interesting to note that the great mystic John of the Cross uses this, the inflow of pain into our lives, as a major criterion for discerning whether or not we are authentically following Jesus. For John, you know you are following Jesus when pain begins to flow into your life. Why? Does God lay special pain on those who take Christ seriously?

No. God doesn’t apportion special pain on those who take Christ seriously. The pain that flows into our lives if we take Christ seriously doesn’t come from God. It flows into us because of a deeper openness, a deeper sensitivity, and a new depth on our part. The algebra works this way: By authentically opening ourselves up to Christ we cease being overly self-protective, become more vulnerable and more sensitive, so that life, all of it, can flow into us more freely and more deeply.

And part of what now flows into us is pain: the pain of others, the pain of mother earth, the pain of our own inadequacy and lack of altruism, and the pain caused by the effect of sin everywhere. This pain will now enter us more deeply and we will feel it in a way we never did before because previously we protected ourselves against it through insensitivity and self-focus.

Happily, this has a flip side: Just as pain will now flow into our lives more freely and more deeply, so too will meaning and happiness. Once we stop protecting ourselves through self-absorption, both pain and happiness can now flow more freely and more deeply into our hearts and we can begin to breathe out of a deeper part of ourselves.

Freud once commented that sometimes things can be best understood by examining their opposites. That’s partially the case here. The opposite of someone who opens herself to pain, who opens herself to the pain of the cross, is a person who is callous and insensitive (in slang, someone “who is thick as a plank.”) Such a person won’t feel a lot of pain – but won’t feel much of anything else either.

A number of implications flow from this.

First, God doesn’t lay pain on us when we become followers of Jesus and immerse ourselves more deeply in the mystery of Christ and the cross. The pain that ensues is intrinsic to the cross and is felt simply because we have now ceased protecting ourselves and are letting life, all of it, flow into us more freely and more deeply. Happily, the pain is more than offset by the new meaning and happiness that are now also felt.

Second, experiencing the pain that flows intrinsically from discipleship and the cross is, as John of the Cross wisely puts it, one of the major criteria that separates the real Gospel from the Prosperity Gospel. When the pain of the cross flows into

our lives, we know that we are not feather-bedding our own self-interest in the name of the Gospel.

Third, it’s worth it to be sensitive! Freud once said that neurosis (unhealthy anxiety) is the disease of the normal person. What he didn’t say, but might have, is that the antithesis of anxiety (healthy and unhealthy) is brute insensitivity, to be thick as a plank and thus protected from pain – but also protected from deeper meaning, love, intimacy and community.

If you are a sensitive person (perhaps even an over-sensitive one, prone to depression and anxiety of all sorts) take consolation in that your very struggle indicates that you are not a calloused insensitive

person, not a moral boor.

Finally, one of the implications of this is that heaven isn’t the same for everyone. Just as pain can be shallow or deep, so too can meaning and happiness. To the degree that we open our hearts to depth, to that same degree deep meaning and happiness can flow into us. A closed heart makes for shallow meaning. A heart partially open makes for some deep meaning, but not full meaning. Whereas the heart that is fully open makes for the deepest meaning.

There are different depths to meaning and happiness here on earth and, I suspect, that will be true too in the next life. So, the invitation from Jesus is to accept the pain that comes from the wood of the cross rather than being thick as a plank!

(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)

The Pope’s Corner Amid Christmas and Jubilee preparations, prepare your hearts, pope says

By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS)

– With the city of Rome presenting a gauntlet of major roadworks and construction projects ahead of the opening of the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis used the disruptions as an opportunity to encourage people to do some spiritual renovation before the jubilee.

On a cloudy afternoon with the threat of rain Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis went to the center of Rome to continue the tradition of praying before a statue of Mary high atop a column near the Spanish Steps.

At dawn that morning, Rome firefighters climbed nearly 90 feet using a truck and ladder to place a ring of white flowers on Mary’s outstretched arm and bouquets at her feet, continuing a Roman tradition that began in 1949.

Pope Francis brought his own basket of white roses tied with a yellow and white Vatican ribbon, and, as is his custom, he recited a prayer to Mary rather than giving a speech to the thousands of Romans, visitors and tourists who joined him.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri was there. He has been dogged with criticism about how the major jubilee projects, most of which are still incomplete, have snarled traffic and disappointed tourists hoping to see sights now covered in scaffolding.

Pope Francis said Mary knows the work is causing “quite a few inconveniences, yet it is a sign that Rome is alive, renewing itself, trying to adapt to needs, to being more welcoming and more functional.”

Speaking to Mary, he said her “mother’s gaze” sees beyond the construction chaos. “And I seem to hear your voice that with wisdom tells us, ‘My children, these works are fine, however, be careful: do not forget the worksites of the soul!”

“’The real Jubilee is not outside,’” he imagined her saying, “’it is inside: inside you, inside hearts, in family and social relationships. It is within that you must work to prepare the way for the coming Lord.’”

And, the pope added, “it’s a

good opportunity to make a good confession, to ask forgiveness for all our sins. God forgives everything. God forgives always.”

Pope Francis thanked Mary for the suggestion “because, without wanting to, we risk being totally caught up in organizing, in all the things to be done,” with the risk that “the grace of the Holy Year, which is a time of spiritual rebirth, of forgiveness and social liberation,” can be stifled. He also asked people to pray for the mayor, “who has so much to do.”

With the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope,” the pope plans to open the Holy Year at St. Peter’s Basilica before Mass Dec. 24. He also will open a Holy Door at Rome’s Rebibbia prison Dec. 26. The Holy Door at the Basilica of St. John Lateran will open Dec. 29; at the Basilica of St. Mary Major Jan. 1; and at St. Paul Outside the Walls Jan. 5.

Pope Francis thanked Mary “because still, in this time poor in hope, you give us Jesus, our hope!”

He also told Mary that “the flowers we offer you are meant to express our love and gratitude; but you especially see and appreciate those hidden flowers, which are the prayers, the sighs (and) the tears, especially of the little ones and the poor.”

Pope Francis gives his blessing after reciting a prayer to Mary in front of the Marian statue near the Spanish Steps in Rome on Dec. 8, 2024, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

‘ ... during the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope ...’

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dent of the then-Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

A holy year or jubilee is a time of pilgrimage, prayer, repentance and acts of mercy, based on the Old Testament tradition of a jubilee year of rest, forgiveness and renewal. Holy years also are a time when Catholics make pilgrimages to designated churches and shrines, recite special prayers, go to confession and receive Communion to receive a plenary indulgence, which is a remission of the temporal punishment due for one’s sins.

Crossing the threshold of the Holy Door does not give a person automatic access to the indulgence or to grace, as St. John Paul II said in his document proclaiming the Holy Year 2000. But walking through the doorway is a sign of the passage from sin to grace which every Christian is called to accomplish.

“To pass through that door means to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord ... It is a decision which presumes freedom to choose and also the courage to leave something behind, in the knowledge that what is gained is divine life,” St. John Paul wrote.

Pope Boniface VIII proclaimed the first Holy Year in 1300 and decreed that jubilees would be celebrated every 100 years. But just 50 years later, a more biblical cadence, Pope Clement VI proclaimed another holy year.

Pope Paul II decided in 1470 that holy years should be held every 25 years, which has been the practice ever since – but with the addition of special jubilees, like the Holy Year of Mercy in 2015-16, marking special occasions or needs.

Pope Francis, in his bull of indiction for the 2025 Holy Year, said churches are places “where we can drink from the wellsprings of hope, above all by approaching the sacrament of reconciliation, the essential starting point of any true journey of conversion.”

The pope also asked Catholics to use the Jubilee Year to nourish or exercise their hope by actively looking for signs of God’s grace and goodness around them.

“We need to recognize the immense goodness present in our world, lest we be tempted to think ourselves overwhelmed by evil and violence,” he wrote. “The signs of the times, which include the yearning of human hearts in need of God’s

saving presence, ought to become signs of hope.”

Even in a troubled world, one can notice how many people are praying for and demonstrating their desire for peace, for safeguarding creation and for defending human life at every stage, he said. Those are signs of hope that cannot be discounted.

As part of the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis has announced the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis April 27 during the special Jubilee for Adolescents and the proclamation of the sainthood of Blessed Pier Giorgi Frassati Aug. 3 during the Jubilee for Young Adults.

The lives of the two men, active Catholics who died young, are emblematic of Pope Francis’ conviction that hope, “founded on faith and nurtured by charity,” is what enables people “to press forward in life” despite setbacks and trials.

Pope Francis, in the bull of indiction, told Catholics that “during the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind.”

In addition to individual acts of charity, love and kindness like feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger or visiting the sick and the imprisoned, Pope Francis has continued his predecessors’ practice of observing the jubilee by calling on governments to reduce the foreign debt of the poorest countries, grant amnesty to certain prisoners and strengthen programs to help migrants and refugees settle in their new homes.

Archbishop Fisichella, the chief Vatican organizer of the Jubilee Year, said in late November that the Vatican had commissioned a university to forecast the Holy Year pilgrim and tourist influx. They came up with a prediction of 32 million visitors to Rome.

The multilingual jubilee website – www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html – has been up and running for months and includes the possibility of reserving a time to pass through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s and the other major basilicas of Rome.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also has a special section on its website – www.usccb.org/committees/jubilee-2025 – with information about traveling to Rome for the Holy Year and for celebrating the special jubilees in one’s own diocese or parish.

‘ ... This new Notre Dame is a jewel ...’

– Continued from page 1 –

crosier. The pastoral staff itself was made from a beam from the cathedral’s roof structure that escaped the fire.

It was pitch-dark when the bells of Parisian churches rang out across the capital, announcing the arrival on Notre Dame’s forecourt of the liturgical procession of bishops from the Paris region, their chasubles billowing in the wind – with Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York among them.

The archbishop of Paris then entered the cathedral, followed by President Macron, and Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo. At the entrance, the archbishop paused for a long moment as La Maîtrise Notre Dame de Paris choir sang and President Macron took his place next to President-elect Donald Trump.

Firefighters, craftsmen and representatives of the 250 companies and sponsors involved in the restoration then paraded through the nave of the cathedral to prolonged applause. Outside, illuminated “Thank you” messages in several languages appeared at the same time on the facade of the cathedral.

“I salute all those, especially the firefighters, who worked so courageously to save this historic monument from catastrophe,” Pope Francis wrote in his message.

“I salute the determined commitment of the public authorities, as well as the great outpouring of international generosity that contributed to the restoration,” the pope said.

“We return it to Catholics, to Paris, to France, to the whole world,” Macron said. He evoked the sound of the cathedral’s bells ringing again, like “a music of hope, familiar to Parisians, to France, to the world,” which have “accompanied our history.”

Among those gathered inside the cathedral

were disadvantaged people specially invited through the charitable associations of the archdiocese, along with representatives of Paris’ 113 parishes.

“We were able to walk around the cathedral before the ceremony began, with the other guests, ministers, bishops, famous artists, in a smiling atmosphere,” Xavier de Noblet, 50, told OSV News. He represented the parish with the oldest church in Paris, Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, which is located on the famous hill just a few meters from the landmark hilltop Basilica of Sacré Cœur de Montmartre.

“This new Notre Dame is a jewel,” he said. “It is hard to imagine that this was done in five years, and not in 107 years, as in the Middle Ages!” de Noblet said, particularly looking forward to the organ’s revival. “It really is the voice of the cathedral,” he explained. “It is going to be a great thrill to hear it again, as if the cathedral were starting to speak anew.”

Father Gaëtan de Bodard, new chaplain of the iconic Paris fire brigade that saved Notre Dame – and successor to Father Jean-Marc Fournier, who courageously ran into the burning cathedral to first preserve the Blessed Sacrament, bless the burning church and then save the crown of thorns – was also full of admiration Dec. 7.

“The cross at the back of the choir shines brightly! What a contrast to the desolate photos of the day after the fire,” he told OSV News.

For his part, Pope Francis invited “all the baptized who will joyfully enter this Cathedral” to feel “justifiably proud,” and to “reclaim their faith heritage,” when Notre Dame is back for Paris and the world, ahead of the inaugural Mass Dec. 8.

(Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris.)

The choir, clergy and attendees stand as they sing during a ceremony to mark the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Sec. 7, 2024. (OSV News/ Ludovic Marin, Reuters)

Archbishop Sheen’s beatification ‘inevitable’ amid growing devotion, says foundation head

By Gina Christian (OSV News)

– Despite a few high-profile delays in recent years, the beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen – the popular, scholarly archbishop and 20th-century pioneer of Catholic broadcasting – is “inevitable,” said the head of the foundation supporting his cause.

“The desire to see Sheen beatified is increasing, and there is a growing devotion to him,” Msgr. Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation, told OSV News.

In an article for the foundation’s 2024 year-end newsletter, Msgr. Gray – who also serves as the judicial vicar and episcopal vicar for consecrated life for the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, as well as pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Peoria Heights – pointed to several indicators of Archbishop Sheen’s expanding reputation for holiness, or “fama sanctitatis” in canonical terms.

“He didn’t just know about Jesus Christ,” Msgr. Gray told OSV News. “He knew Jesus Christ personally.”

That relationship enabled Archbishop Sheen to put his considerable intellect and communications skills at the service of the Catholic Church, with international impact, said Msgr. Gray.

Born in 1895, Fulton John Sheen sensed an early call to priesthood, and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in 1919. He then obtained a doctorate in philosophy and taught both that subject and theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington from 1927 to 1950.

But rather than confine himself to academia, then-Father Sheen also leveraged modern social communications platforms to spread the Gospel. He launched a weekly radio show while still a fairly young priest, drawing some 4 million regular listeners during a two-decade run. After being appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York, he transformed the show into a television program, “Life is Worth Living,” which peaked at 30 million weekly viewers.

His ministry continued to expand, with then-Bishop Sheen serving as national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith from 1950-1966. He was then appointed bishop of Rochester, New York, in 1966, where he launched a second television show. He resigned three years later as his 75th birthday approached; canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope at 75. He was appointed a titular archbishop by Pope St. Paul VI, which afforded him time to continue preaching. Archbishop Sheen, who had suffered from heart disease in later years, died in 1979 before the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel of his Manhattan residence.

His cause for canonization, opened in 2002, has been stalled by two controversies – a public battle to relocate his remains from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York to its current location, the side chapel of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria; and concerns that as bishop of Rochester from 1966-1969, the prelate might have overlooked sexual abuse by at least one former diocesan priest there.

The latter concern was magnified after the state of New York adopted lookback laws that allowed hundreds of abuse claims to be considered, with the Diocese of Rochester ultimately filing for bankruptcy.

However, Msgr. Gray told OSV News, “Sheen is clean. ... Not one accusation has been raised that impugned Sheen.”

Despite a few high-profile delays in recent years, the beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen – the popular, scholarly archbishop and 20th-century pioneer of Catholic broadcasting – is “inevitable,” said the head of the foundation supporting his cause. Archbishop Sheen is pictured in an undated photo. (OSV News file photo)

He said the foundation has examined “all of the pleadings” relevant to claims against the Rochester Diocese, and “there hasn’t been anything that was brought up there” implicating Archbishop Sheen.

The monsignor said the only thing remaining is a “dormant” investigation by New York State Attorney General Letitia Jones, who opened several such inquiries into other dioceses that have now been settled.

Msgr. Gray told OSV News there are “three reasons” for renewed interest in Archbishop Sheen’s canonization, which has been evidenced by a surge in visits to his tomb, requests for both relics and for his more than 50 books, and reports of favors and graces received through Archbishop Sheen’s intercession.

“The first is maybe the most obvious, and it’s just that he was someone who used the modern means of communication,” said Msgr. Gray, adding “if he (Archbishop Sheen) were around today, (imagine) what he’d be doing with the internet.”

Even more important, Archbishop Sheen “was very devoted to the Eucharist,” and serves as “a model for devotion to the Blessed Sacrament” – a role that has taken on deeper significance amid the National Eucharistic Revival, said

Msgr. Gray.

And, he added, Archbishop Sheen was “someone who was just so insightful on so many issues,” including the most contentious ones “facing modern man today.

“He would talk about psychology, politics, sociology,” said Msgr. Gray. “And I think maybe more than ever, we need someone ... (like) Sheen to speak with so much clarity, and so much passion and so much charity about the issues that are just roiling our societies today.”

Because of his personal relationship with Christ, Archbishop Sheen “could speak from a personal perspective, and with personal passion,” said the monsignor. “He wasn’t just quoting a book. ... He brought his knowledge of the faith and his knowledge of Jesus Christ into the personal trials that we face in the world today.”

(Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @GinaJesseReina.)

By Kurt Jensen

New Netflix film presents the life of the Virgin Mary

(OSV News) – For those attempting to bring any part of the Gospel story to the screen, whether big or small, the four canonical accounts, as books of faith, prove to be of limited help. They’re not motion-picture treatments, and their descriptions of historical details and dialogue tend to be brief.

That’s why, ever since the first filmed versions of Scripture were produced more than a century ago, their makers have introduced non-Biblical characters, dialogue and subplots, using their own research and judgment about what will appeal to audiences. The aim is to make such narratives three-dimensional and relatable.

Now, that approach has been applied to Mariology – the theological study of the Blessed Mother – in “Mary,” an earnest drama that will be available for streaming on Netflix Dec. 6. Specifically, director D.J. Caruso and screenwriter Timothy Michael Hayes rely heavily on the “Protoevangelium of James,” a text generally dated to the middle of the second century.

While not recognized by the church as inspired, the Protoevangelium is both Mary-centric and rich in particulars. It deals with the Virgin’s life even before her conception – which it describes as miraculous – introducing its readers to her elderly parents, Sts. Joachim (Ori Pfeffer) and Anne (Hilla Vidor).

They consecrate their daughter to God and, as a child (Mila Harris), she leaves home to live in the Temple in Jerusalem. As Mary grows up (Noa Cohen), her dedication to God steadily increases and matures. However, Caruso and Hayes have taken liberties with this source material as well.

The Protoevangelium has a nameless angel telling Anne that her prayers to become a mother have been answered. Now he’s identified as the Archangel Gabriel (Dudley O’Shaughnessy). Gabriel becomes a continuous presence in Mary’s life, both before and after the Annunciation, and at one point he directly confronts Satan (Eamon Farren) to protect her.

In the movie, moreover, Gabriel – who is usually shown as a winged figure in white – appears in a blue robe, sans wings. Caruso, a lifelong Catholic from Norwalk, Connecticut, told OSV News that the change in apparel was his idea.

“A few famous icon paintings done throughout history depicted Gabriel in blue. ‘The Archangel Michael Defeating Satan’ was created in 1635 by Guido Reni, and that was an image I used for inspiration. I felt Gabriel would visually pop in blue – in contrast to some of the chaos around the Virgin Mary.”

In another visual motif, as a youth, Mary finds herself attracted to, and surrounded by, butterflies. They represent the new life conferred in baptism.

The Protoevangelium presents St. Joseph (Ido Tako) as much older than his bride. But Caruso decided they should both be about 20 when they first meet – in an encounter stage-managed by Gabriel.

In contemporary terms, the story is about Mary growing into her power and accepting her unique destiny, albeit not without occasional fears. She receives much encouragement along the way, especially from the prophetess Anna (Susan Brown) who becomes her mentor.

At one point, Anna – a familiar figure from Luke’s account of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple – exclaims to Mary, “You are more powerful than words, child!” And Mary herself resolutely tells high priest Bava Ben Buta (Mehmet Kurtulus), “I am here to fulfill a promise.”

“I always felt that Mary’s story was a little underappreciated,” Caruso said. “The discovery for me was (that) in all these movies, no one ever put the emphasis on (Mary saying) ‘Let it be me!’”

He added, “Like Mary, we all have choices to make.”

After filming wrapped in Morocco, Caruso unexpectedly found himself caught up in an avalanche of toxic online sniping about the casting of the two principals. Tako and Cohen are both Israeli.

The leading topic of criticism on social media, where hate festers worldwide, was the charge that Joseph and Mary were actually Palestinians. That’s an absurd canard, the staying power of which can be attributed to centuries of anti-Semitism. It’s been given new life, however, by anguish over Israel’s

war in Gaza.

The idea, nonetheless, is easily disproved. Two of the Gospels trace Jesus’ genealogy back to Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob, while the Gospel of Luke adds that Joseph was “of the house of David.”

The same evangelist tells us, moreover, that both Jesus’ parents “went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover” every year. In fact, no reliable ancient document so much as insinuates that Joseph and Mary were not Jews.

“You can’t control what other people think or believe,” Caruso told OSV News with some resignation.

His intent was authenticity. He cast Cohen, a 22-year-old former model, “because we thought it was important that Noa was from the region (in central Israel) where Mary was born.”

The online noise became so ugly, Cohen’s management would not make her available for what was expected to be a joint interview with Caruso.

Instead, OSV News had to settle for an email: “I decided to take on the role of Mary because it offered a unique opportunity to explore a side of her that hadn’t been fully portrayed before,” Cohen wrote.

“This film,” she continued, “allows audiences to see Mary not just as a vessel for something greater but as a young woman navigating the complexities of life, balancing her divine role with her humanity.”

The role, Cohen added, “was an incredible experience that felt both humbling and a tremendous responsibility. Embodying her vulnerability and resilience as she faced both divine and very human challenges was deeply fulfilling. It was a special opportunity to bring her story to life in a way that will hopefully allow the audience to connect with her on a deeply human level.”

Two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins plays King Herod, who, in the Gospels, seeks to kill the new Messiah. But Caruso thinks Herod was a victim of his own bitterness. “Yes, he’s looking for the Messiah. Maybe not necessarily to destroy him, but because he has a hole in his life.”

Making Mary relatable, Caruso says, was his principal goal. “Wouldn’t it be great,” he thought, “for a younger person to see this movie and think, ‘These are people I understand?’ They can be role models for a younger generation. (Young women might think) ‘Mary could be my friend. Someone I could reach out to; someone I could talk to.’”

(Kurt Jensen is a guest reviewer for OSV News.)

Noa Cohen stars as Mary in the Netflix movie “Mary.” (OSV News photo/Christopher Raphael, Netflix)

Sirviendo a los Católicos Hispanos de la Diócesis de Jackson desde 1997

20 de diciembre de 2024

‘Peregrinos de la esperanza’: El Vaticano se prepara para acoger a millones de personas durante el Año Santo

La cúpula de la Basílica de San Pedro se ve sobre una barricada de tela en la que se lee “Roma Jubileo 2025” que rodea una obra al comienzo del amplio bulevar que conduce a la Plaza de San Pedro el 4 de diciembre de 2024. La ciudad de Roma se prepara para el Año Santo con cientos de obras y proyectos de restauración. (Foto CNS/Lola Gomez)

Por cinDy WooDen

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – La celebración de un Año Santo cada 25 años es un reconocimiento de que “la vida cristiana es un camino, que también necesita momentos fuertes para alimentar y robustecer la esperanza, compañera insustituible que permite vislumbrar la meta: el encuentro con el Señor Jesús”, escribió el Papa Francisco.

Al abrir la Puerta Santa de la Basílica de San Pedro en Nochebuena, el Papa inaugurará formalmente el Año Jubilar 2025 – que contará con peregrinaciones individuales, parroquiales y diocesanas y con celebraciones especiales centradas en grupos específicos, desde migrantes a bandas de música, catequistas a comunicadores y sacerdotes a presos.

En el interior de la basílica vaticana, la puerta estaba tapiada desde el 20 de noviembre de 2016, cuando el Papa Francisco clausuró el Jubileo extraordinario de la Misericordia.

El desmantelamiento del muro de ladrillo comenzó el 2 de diciembre en medio de oraciones e incluyó la retirada de una caja que contenía la llave de la puerta y medallas vaticanas. Las Puertas Santas de las basílicas de San Juan de Letrán, Santa María la Mayor y San Pablo Extramuros serían liberadas de sus ladrillos en la semana siguiente.

En enero de 2021, mientras el mundo luchaba por volver a una cierta normalidad tras lo peor de la pandemia del COVID-19, el Papa Francisco anunció que había elegido “Peregrinos de la esperanza” como tema del Jubileo.

“Debemos mantener encendida la llama de la esperanza que nos ha sido dada, y hacer todo lo posible para que cada uno recupere la fuerza y la certeza de mirar al futuro con mente abierta, corazón confiado y amplitud de miras”, escribió el Papa en una

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Los obispos de Nuevo México instan a Trump a reconsiderar los planes de deportación masiva

Por KaTe scanLon (OSV News) – La próxima administración de Trump debería “reconsiderar” sus planes de llevar a cabo deportaciones masivas, escribieron los obispos de Nuevo México en una carta abierta.

El presidente electo Donald Trump hizo campaña con políticas de inmigración de línea dura, incluyendo su llamado a las deportaciones masivas, argumentando en un debate presidencial en septiembre que los que no tienen estatus legal “destruyeron el tejido de nuestro país”, y desde entonces ha indicado su disposición a utilizar la fuerza militar para un programa de deportación masiva.

Aunque Trump no ha ofrecido detalles concretos sobre cómo llevaría a cabo dicho programa, en principio, las deportaciones masivas son contrarias a la enseñanza del Concilio Vaticano II en “Gaudium et Spes”, que condena la “deportación” entre otras acciones, como el aborto, que “envenenan la sociedad humana”, una enseñanza que San Juan Pablo II afirmó en dos encíclicas sobre la verdad moral y cuestiones relacionadas con la vida.

En su carta, los obispos del estado fronterizo – el arzobispo John C. Wester de Santa Fe, el obispo Peter Baldacchino de Las Cruces, y el obispo James S. Wall de Gallup – afirmaron que la inmigración “sigue siendo un tema complicado y desafiante para el país”.

“Mientras que la Estatua de la Libertad es emblemática de las políticas de migración que han dado a los inmigrantes una nueva oportunidad de vida y han engrandecido a nuestro país, seguimos siendo testigos de trágicos fracasos en nuestra política migratoria que han puesto en gran riesgo a aquellas personas que huyen de la injusticia, la persecución y el crimen”, escribieron. “Además, nuestro fracaso en promulgar una reforma migratoria integral ha debilitado la fibra moral de nuestra sociedad”.

“Desde la experiencia de la Iglesia católica en el trabajo con migrantes y refugiados, encontramos que muchos de los que llegan a nuestra nación se ven obligados a emigrar debido a la opresión y la persecución”, dijeron. “Son víctimas de contrabandistas, traficantes de personas y cárteles de la droga. Sufren graves dificultades económicas y simplemente quieren mantener a sus familias con dignidad. La mayoría no elige emigrar por capricho, sino que son migrantes forzados, que huyen de condiciones intolerables e inhumanas”.

Los obispos añadieron que, al mismo tiempo, “reconocemos que, como con cualquier grupo, hay quienes vienen por razones nefastas y cometen crímenes violentos, y que los estadounidenses deben ser protegidos de estas personas. Del mismo modo, estamos de acuerdo en que un país soberano tiene derecho a gestionar sus fronteras, aunque de un modo que proteja los derechos humanos y la dignidad”.

Argumentando que el sistema de inmigración “está roto y necesita una reforma”, los obispos dijeron que las políticas “que ignoran los derechos humanos de los que vienen a la frontera y socavan la dignidad humana no son la manera de arreglar las cosas”.

“Si bien es cierto que las naciones soberanas tienen el derecho y la responsabilidad de controlar sus fronteras, no se trata de un derecho absoluto, ya que la gestión de las fronteras debe ir acompañada de un trato humano y de las debidas garantías procesales”, señaló la carta. “Podemos lograr ambos objetivos: la protección de los derechos humanos y la seguridad de la frontera y de la nación”.

Una política de deportación masiva, argumentaron los obispos, no solucionará esos problemas, sino que “creará caos, separación familiar y traumatización

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‘... durante el Año

Jubilar

estamos llamados a ser signos

tangibles de esperanza ...’

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carta en la que encomendaba la organización del Jubileo al arzobispo Rino Fisichella, presidente del entonces Consejo Pontificio para la Promoción de la Nueva Evangelización.

El Papa rezaba para que el Año Santo estuviera marcado por “una fe gozosa y una caridad entusiasta”.

Un año santo o jubileo es un tiempo de peregrinación, oración, arrepentimiento y actos de misericordia, basado en la tradición del Antiguo Testamento de un año jubilar de descanso, perdón y renovación. Los años santos también son un tiempo en el que los católicos peregrinan a iglesias y santuarios designados, recitan oraciones especiales, se confiesan y comulgan para recibir la indulgencia plenaria, que es una remisión del castigo temporal debido por los pecados cometidos.

Cruzar el umbral de la Puerta Santa no da a una persona acceso automático a la indulgencia o a la gracia, como dijo San Juan Pablo II en su documento de proclamación del Año Santo 2000. Pero atravesar la puerta es un signo del paso del pecado a la gracia que todo cristiano está llamado a realizar.

“Pasar por aquella puerta significa confesar que Cristo Jesús es el Señor, fortaleciendo la fe en Él para vivir la vida nueva que nos ha dado. Es una decisión que presupone la libertad de elegir y, al mismo tiempo, el valor de dejar algo, sabiendo que se alcanza la vida divina”, escribió San Juan Pablo II.

El Papa Bonifacio VIII proclamó el primer Año Santo en 1300 y decretó que los jubileos se celebrarían cada 100 años. Pero sólo 50 años después, con una cadencia más bíblica, el Papa Clemente VI proclamó otro año jubilar.

El Papa Pablo II decidió en 1470 que los años santos debían celebrarse cada 25 años, que ha sido la práctica desde entonces – pero con la adición de jubileos especiales, como el Año Santo de la Misericordia en 2015-16, marcando ocasiones o necesidades especiales.

El Jubileo de la Misericordia se centró especial-

mente en animar a los católicos a volver a confesarse, pero el sacramento es una parte clave de cada Año Santo.

El Papa Francisco, en su bula de convocación para el Año Santo 2025, dijo que las iglesias son lugares donde podemos “beber de los manantiales de la esperanza, sobre todo acercándose al sacramento de la Reconciliación, punto de partida insustituible para un verdadero camino de conversión”.

El Papa también pidió a los católicos que aprovecharan el Año Jubilar para alimentar o ejercitar su esperanza buscando activamente signos de la gracia y la bondad de Dios a su alrededor.

“Es necesario poner atención a todo lo bueno que hay en el mundo para no caer en la tentación de considerarse superados por el mal y la violencia”, escribió. “Los signos de los tiempos, que contienen el anhelo del corazón humano, necesitado de la presencia salvífica de Dios, requieren ser transformados en signos de esperanza”.

Incluso en un mundo convulso, uno puede darse cuenta de cuántas personas rezan y manifiestan su deseo de paz, de salvaguardar la creación y de defender la vida humana en todas sus etapas, afirmó. Son signos de esperanza que no se pueden descartar.

Como parte del Jubileo 2025, el Papa Francisco ha anunciado la canonización del Beato Carlo Acutis el 27 de abril durante el jubileo especial para los Adolescentes y la proclamación de la santidad del Beato Pier Giorgi Frassati el 3 de agosto durante el Jubileo para los Jóvenes Adultos.

El Papa Francisco abre la Puerta Santa de la Basílica de San Pedro para inaugurar el Año Jubilar de la Misericordia en el Vaticano en esta foto de archivo del 8 de diciembre de 2015. Volverá a abrir la Puerta Santa el 24 de diciembre de 2024 para el Año Jubilar de la Esperanza. (Foto por CNS/ Vatican Media)

Las vidas de los dos hombres, católicos activos que murieron jóvenes, son emblemáticas de la convicción del Papa Francisco de que la esperanza, fundada en la fe y alimentada por la caridad, es lo que permite a las personas seguir adelante en la vida a pesar de los reveses y las pruebas.

‘... reconsidere esta política de deportación propuesta ...’

de los niños”.

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“Aunque expulsar a quienes nos causan daño es necesario, deportar a inmigrantes que han creado capital en nuestras comunidades y no suponen ninguna amenaza es contrario a los principios humanitarios y a nuestro interés nacional”, afirmaron. “Instamos a la nueva administración a que reconsidere esta política de deportación propuesta y, en su lugar, retome las negociaciones bipartidistas para reparar el sistema migratorio de EE.UU.”.

Aunque no son políticos, añadieron, creen que los funcionarios electos deberían adoptar estos principios morales como fundamento de leyes buenas y justas.

“Como nos dicen las Escrituras, de aquellos a quienes se les ha dado mucho, se espera mucho”, decía la carta, en referencia a Lucas 12:48. “Nosotros, los obispos de Nuevo México, rezamos para que los Estados Unidos – nuestra gran nación bajo Dios – continúe recibiendo con justicia a nuestros semejantes en nuestro país, reconociendo los muchos dones que son nuestros en el mundo de gran sufrimiento humano”.

Los obispos añadieron que “están dispuestos a trabajar con la nueva administración para lograr políticas de inmigración que sean justas, humanas y reflejen los valores de Estados Unidos”.

(Kate Scanlon es una reportera nacional de OSV News que cubre Washington. Síguela en X (antes Twitter) @kgscanlon.)

Ambos jóvenes italianos sabían que la esperanza que extraían de la fe debía compartirse con los demás a través de sus palabras, su forma de actuar y su caridad.

El Papa Francisco, en la bula de convocatoria de este jubileo, dijo a los católicos que “durante el Año Jubilar estamos llamados a ser signos tangibles de esperanza para tantos hermanos y hermanas que viven en condiciones de penuria’. Además de los actos individ uales de caridad, amor y bondad como dar de comer al hambriento, acoger al forastero o visitar a los enfer-

mos y encarcelados, el Papa Francisco ha continuado la práctica de sus predecesores de observar el jubileo pidiendo a los gobiernos que reduzcan la deuda externa de los países más pobres, concedan la amnistía a algunos presos y refuercen los programas para ayudar a los migrantes y refugiados a establecerse en sus nuevos hogares.

Italia y la ciudad de Roma mantienen una de las tradiciones más trabajosas y tensas de un año santo: Las obras en las carreteras y la restauración o limpieza de monumentos, fuentes y edificios importantes. A sólo tres semanas de la apertura de la Puerta Santa, ninguno de los grandes proyectos estaba terminado, pero el alcalde Roberto Gualtieri prometió a finales de noviembre que la mayoría de las carreteras se abrirían y la mayor parte de los andamios se retirarían antes del 1 de enero.

El arzobispo Fisichella, principal organizador vaticano del Año Jubilar, declaró a finales de noviembre que el Vaticano había encargado a una universidad que pronosticara la afluencia de peregrinos y turistas durante el Año Santo. El resultado fue una previsión de 32 millones de visitantes a Roma.

La página web multilingüe del jubileo – www. iubilaeum2025.va – funciona desde hace meses e incluye la posibilidad de reservar hora para atravesar la Puerta Santa de San Pedro y de las demás basílicas mayores de Roma.

La Conferencia de los Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos también tiene una sección especial en su página web – www.usccb.org/committees/jubilee-2025 – con información sobre cómo viajar a Roma con motivo del Año Santo y para celebrar los jubileos especiales en cada diócesis o parroquia.

La esperanza encarnada: la Navidad y el año jubilar

Por obisPo JosePh r. KoPacz, D.D.

“El Verbo se hizo carne y habitó en medio, y vimos su gloria, la gloria como del Hijo unigénito del Padre, lleno de gracia y de verdad”. (Juan 1:14)

Este versículo del prólogo del Evangelio de San Juan es el anuncio por excelencia de nuestra fe navideña. Las narraciones de la infancia de San Mateo y San Lucas, escritas una generación antes de San Juan, imparten la amada narración del nacimiento del Señor, la esencia de la escena del pesebre de Navidad en todo su esplendor que todos conocemos y amamos. Pero el prólogo del Evangelio de Juan, representado por el águila, nos lleva a las alturas de nuestra comprensión de la Palabra eterna de Dios sin la participación de María, José, los pastores o los magos. Sin embargo, de una manera impresionante y atemporal, las introducciones a los tres Evangelios se combinan para revelar la singularidad, la armonía y la diversidad de los evangelistas. Somos iluminados por el aliento y la profundidad de la Palabra de Dios en Navidad.

Esta Navidad somos doblemente bendecidos con la inauguración del Año Jubilar de la Esperanza, cuando el Papa Francisco abre las puertas santas de las cuatro basílicas de Roma. Cruzar los umbrales del hogar y de la iglesia a través de una puerta abierta con amorosa hospitalidad es siempre un momento de gracia y paz.

Muchos lamentan el triste estado de las puertas cerradas en las iglesias en el mundo moderno, mientras entienden la necesidad de la seguridad. El acceso total a Dios en nuestros sagrados lugares de adoración nos llevaría de vuelta a días mejores y proporcionaría mucho consuelo en un mundo que parece estar perdiendo su alma. En este sentido, la apertura de la Puerta Santa para iniciar el Año Jubilar está llena de significado.

El Papa Francisco ofrece esta perspectiva: “Sostenido por esta gran tradición, y con la certeza de que el Año Jubilar será para toda la Iglesia una experiencia viva de gracia y esperanza, por el presente decreto que la Puerta Santa de la Basílica de San Pedro en el Vaticano se abra el 24 de diciembre de 2024, inaugurando así el Jubileo Ordinario. El domingo siguiente, 29 de diciembre de 2024, abriré la Puerta Santa de mi catedral, San Juan de Letrán, que el 9 de noviembre de este año celebrará los 1700 años de su dedicación. Luego, el 1 de enero de 2025, la solemnidad de María, Madre Dios, se abrirá la Puerta Santa de la Basílica Papal, Santa María la Mayor. Por último, el domingo 5 de enero de 2025 se abrirá la Puerta Santa de la Basílica Papal de San Pablo Fuera de las Murallas”.

En la Diócesis de Jackson, inauguraremos el Año Santo en la fiesta de la Epifanía, el 5 de enero de 2025 en nuestra Catedral del Apóstol San Pedro, invitando a los fieles a cruzar el umbral de la esperanza implorando un año de gracia y favor del Señor. Con la Iglesia Católica universal, el año Jubileo de la Esperanza concluirá en la fiesta de la Epifanía, en enero de 2026. Lo que hace que la apertura de la Puerta Santa esté aún más llena de significado es que Dios primero abrió las puertas del paraíso para nosotros aquí en la tierra a través de la Encarnación, vida, muerte y resurrección de Jesucristo. Dios extendió la alfombra roja hasta el salón de banquetes celestial para que podamos caminar sobre él como peregrinos seguros de sí mismos que han sido lavados en la Sangre del Cordero. En el nivel más profundo, tenemos acceso total a la presencia de Dios a través de la morada del Espíritu Santo, cuyos templos somos. Llevamos esta vida con nosotros dondequiera que vayamos como

portadores de Dios y peregrinos de esperanza para nuestras propias vidas y para la vida del mundo. Que nos inspiremos unos a otros con la convicción de que “la esperanza no defrauda porque el amor de Dios ha sido derramado en nuestros corazones por el Espíritu Santo”. (Romanos 5:5) A la luz de la fe que brilla en la oscuridad podemos bendecirnos unos a otros. ¡Feliz Navidad!

La Esquina del Papa

En medio de los preparativos para la Navidad y el Jubileo, preparen sus corazones, dice el Papa

by cinDy WooDen

ROMA (CNS) – Con la ciudad de Roma presentando numerosas obras viales y grandes proyectos de construcción antes de la apertura del Año Santo 2025, el Papa Francisco aprovechó las interrupciones causadas por dichas obras como una oportunidad para alentar a las personas a hacer algo de renovación espiritual antes del jubileo.

En una tarde nublada con amenaza de lluvia, el 8 de diciembre, fiesta de la Inmaculada Concepción, el Papa Francisco se dirigió al centro de Roma para continuar la tradición de rezar ante una estatua de María en lo alto de una columna cerca de la Plaza de España.

Ese día, al amanecer, los bomberos de Roma subieron casi 90 pies (más de 27 metros) utilizando un camión y una escalera para colocar un anillo de flores blancas en el brazo extendido de María y ramos a sus pies, continuando una tradición romana que comenzó en 1949.

El Papa Francisco llevó su propia cesta de rosas blancas atadas con una cinta vaticana amarilla y blanca y, como es su costumbre, recitó una oración a María en lugar de pronunciar un discurso ante los miles de romanos, visitantes y turistas.

El alcalde de Roma, Roberto Gualtieri, estaba presente en la celebración. Gualtieri se ha visto acosado por las críticas sobre cómo los grandes proyectos jubilares, la mayoría de los cuales aún están incompletos, han congestionado el tráfico y

decepcionado a los turistas que esperaban ver lugares de interés pero que los encontraron cubiertos de andamios.

Dirigiéndose a María, dijo que su “mirada de madre” ve más allá del caos de la construcción. “Y me parece escuchar tu voz que con sabiduría nos dice: “Hijos míos, están bien estas obras, pero estén atentos, ¡no se olviden de las obras del alma!”.

El Papa Francisco agradeció a María la sugerencia “porque, sin quererlo, corremos el riesgo de ser presas totalmente de la organización, de todas las cosas por hacer”, con el riesgo de que se sofoque “la gracia del Año Santo, que es un tiempo de renacimiento espiritual, de perdón y de liberación social”.

También pidió a la gente que rezara por el alcalde, “que tiene tanto que hacer”.

Con el lema “Peregrinos de esperanza”, el Papa tiene previsto inaugurar el Año Santo en la Basílica de San Pedro antes de la Misa del 24 de diciembre. También abrirá una Puerta Santa en la cárcel Rebibbia de Roma el 26 de diciembre. La Puerta Santa de la Basílica de San Juan de Letrán se abrirá el 29 de diciembre; la de la Basílica de Santa María la Mayor, el 1 de enero; y la de San Pablo Extramuros, el 5 de enero.

El Papa Francisco dio las gracias a María “porque todavía, en este tiempo pobre de esperanza, nos das a Jesús, ¡nuestra esperanza! ¡Gracias Madre!”

El Papa Francisco lleva un ramo de rosas blancas a los pies de una estatua mariana cerca de la Plaza de España en Roma el 8 de diciembre de 2024, fiesta de la Inmaculada Concepción. (Foto CNS/Lola Gomez)

La procesión de entrada durante la Misa anual en honor de La Inmaculada Concepción de María – La Purísima, en la Catedral de San Patricio de Nueva York, el 1 de diciembre de 2024. (Foto OSV News/Armando Machado, The Good Newsroom)

NACIÓN

NUEVA YORK (OSV News) – La Misa anual en honor a La Inmaculada Concepción de María – La Purísima, patrona de Nicaragua, se celebró el domingo 1 de diciembre en la Catedral de San Patricio. “Hoy nos reunimos para celebrar el Primer Domingo de Adviento – y hoy nosotros, la comunidad nicaragüense, también honramos a una mujer santa (María La Purísima) quien nos une y le damos gracias”, dijo el celebrante, el padre Pedro Bismarck Chau, rector de la Catedral Basílica del Sagrado Corazón en Newark, Nueva Jersey. Más de 1.000 personas asistieron a la liturgia de la tarde. Entre ellos estaba Alicia Jiménez, nacida en Nicaragua y madre de tres hijos. “Ella es la patrona de Nicaragua; esto es muy importante para nosotros; es parte de nuestra fe, que lo es todo para nosotros. Esta (Misa anual) es maravillosa”, Jiménez, una feligresa de Nuestra Señora de Lourdes en Manhattan, dijo a The Good Newsroom, el medio de noticias de la Arquidiócesis de Nueva York. “¿Quién causa tanta alegría?” exclamó el padre Chau, nacido y criado en Nicaragua. Y la gente respondió: “¡La Concepción de María!” Es un intercambio tradicional de La Gritería, un alegre grito nicaragüense de fe, esperanza y amor por María La Purísima, cuya fiesta es el 8 de diciembre, que coincide con la solemnidad de la Inmaculada Concepción.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Es posible que la administración entrante del presidente electo Donald Trump planee rescindir una política de larga

data que impide a los agentes del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) realizar detenciones en lo que se consideran áreas protegidas, incluyendo lugares de culto, escuelas y hospitales, según un informe de NBC News. Según las fuentes del informe, Trump, quien se ha comprometido a llevar a cabo “el mayor programa de deportación en la historia de Estados Unidos”, planea desechar la política de larga data de ICE –que prohíbe las detenciones por razones migratorias en esos lugares, así como otros eventos sensibles como bodas y funerales sin la aprobación de supervisores – tan pronto como el primer día de su nuevo mandato. El equipo de transición Trump-Vance no respondió inmediatamente a una solicitud de comentario de OSV News sobre el informe. Kevin Appleby, investigador principal de política en el Centro de Estudios Migratorios de Nueva York y ex director de política migratoria de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de EE.UU. (USCCB) dijo que los supuestos planes serían “una violación de la libertad religiosa y disuadirá a las familias inmigrantes de asistir a misa y recibir los sacramentos” y calificó la propuesta de “un ataque a la vida de la Iglesia en este país, (así) como contra las familias migrantes”. Chieko Noguchi, portavoz de la USCCB, dijo que los obispos de EE.UU. son “conscientes de las diversas propuestas que se están debatiendo con respecto a la inmigración, y nos estamos preparando para hacer frente a una serie de políticas, y nos comprometeremos adecuadamente cuando las políticas públicas sean presentadas”.

VATICANO

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO

(CNS) – Reducir el mensaje de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe a otra cosa que no sea una expresión de la maternidad universal de María disminuye la verdadera esencia de la icónica devoción mariana, dijo el Papa Francisco. El misterio guadalupano se trata de venerarla y escuchar en nuestros oídos: “¿Acaso no estoy yo aquí, que soy tu madre?”, dijo el Papa, refiriéndose a las palabras que se dice que María dijo a San Juan Diego. “Este es el mensaje guadalupano. Lo demás, son ideologías”, dijo en su homilía en la Misa en honor a la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en la Basílica de San Pedro. El Papa Francisco presidió la Misa sentado, pronunciando una breve homilía sin leer un texto preparado. El cardenal Robert F. Prevost, prefecto del Dicasterio para los Obispos y presiden-

20 de diciembre de 2024

te de la Pontificia Comisión para América Latina, fue el celebrante principal en el altar. “Sobre este misterio de Guadalupe, que lamentablemente tantas ideologías han querido derivar para sacar provecho ideológico, me vienen en mente tres cosas … la tilma, la Madre y la rosa”, dijo el Papa en español, recordando que el verdadero mensaje de Guadalupe reside en su sencillez. La devoción a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe está profundamente arraigada en América Latina y vinculada a las apariciones marianas del siglo XVI en México. Según la tradición, la Virgen María se apareció a San Juan Diego, un indígena mexicano, y dejó su imagen impresa en su manto. La imagen representa a María embarazada, y se dice que las rosas – flores poco comunes a la región en esa época – se derramaron milagrosamente de su manto cuando se lo presentó al obispo.

MUNDO

BUENOS AIRES (OSV News) – El clero católico de México ha pedido una tregua el 12 de diciembre, fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, y el día de Navidad, mientras la violencia criminal asola franjas del país y el clero que trabaja en regiones conflictivas se ve amenazado. El obispo auxiliar de Ciudad de México, Francisco Javier Acero Pérez, instó a la tregua, diciendo en un foro de discurso para líderes católicos el 5 de diciembre en la Universidad Panamericana: “Podemos mostrar al mundo que, por medio de la Virgen de Guadalupe, y por medio de esta profunda creencia de todo el pueblo, todos podemos hacer una tregua de paz, todos podemos dejar la comunicación hostil y dejar también las armas por un día y que a partir de ese día veamos cómo podemos empezar a vivir la paz en nuestro país”. La Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano (CEM) se unió al llamado de tregua de la Arquidiócesis Primada de México y pidió la intercesión de la Virgen de Guadalupe y del Niño Jesús por las numerosas víctimas de la violencia en México, incluyendo a las familias que buscan a sus familiares desaparecidos, a los migrantes y a “aquellos que viven en situación de vulnerabilidad”. La violencia ha golpeado cada vez más a la Iglesia católica. México, por su parte, sigue siendo uno de los países con más asesinatos de clérigos católicos. Al menos 10 sacerdotes fueron asesinados durante la presidencia de 2018 a 2024 de López Obrador, según un informe del Centro Católico Multimedial, que rastrea la violencia contra la iglesia.

Vírgenes y Santos

Natividad del Señor. Diciembre 25

Sagrada Familia de Jesús, María y José. Diciembre 29

San Silvestre. Diciembre 31

Solemnidad de Santa María, madre de dios. Enero 1

Epifanía del Señor. Enero 5

Bautismo del Señor. Enero 12

Envíenos sus fotos a editor@jacksondiocese.org

Síganos en Facebook: @DiócesisCatólicadeJackson TOME NOTA

NATION

MALVERN, Pa. (OSV News) – More than a million people descended upon Logan Circle on a beautiful autumn day in Center City Philadelphia Oct. 3, 1979, for a Mass celebrated by St. John Paul II, the Polish cardinal who had been elected pope less than a year earlier. At the center of it all, above a covered fountain on the city’s Eakins Oval, the pope celebrated Mass on an expansive altar in the shadow of an enormous 34-foot-tall white cross. In the days after the papal visit, the cross, a symbol of one of the greatest Catholic gatherings in North America at that time, was taken to the outskirts of the city and erected on the grounds of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. It has been on display at the busy intersection of Lancaster and City avenues the last 45 years. Earlier this year, St. Charles Seminary moved to another part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and the seminary grounds were sold. On Nov. 11, the refurbished cross was unveiled at its new place of honor at Malvern Retreat House, where Father Douglas McKay, the rector, offered prayers for a gathering of about 100 people. The priest was a seminarian in 1979 and was a cross bearer at the Mass with the pontiff. Founded more than 100 years ago, Malvern Retreat House is billed as the oldest and largest Catholic retreat community in the nation.

SANTA FE, N. M. (OSV News) – The incoming Trump administration should “rethink” its plans to carry out mass deportations, the bishops of New Mexico wrote in an open letter. President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on hardline immigration policies, including his call for mass deportations, arguing in a September presidential debate that those without legal status “destroyed the fabric of our country, and has since indicated willingness to use military force for a mass deportation program. While Trump has not offered specifics on how he would carry out such a program, in principle, mass deportations run contrary to the Second Vatican Council’s teaching in “Gaudium et Spes” condemning “deportation” among other actions, such as abortion, that “poison human society,” a teaching St. John Paul II affirmed in two encyclicals on moral truth and life issues. In their letter, the border state’s bishops – Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces and Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup – said immigration “remains a complicated and challenging issue for the country.” “While removing those who cause harm to us is necessary, deporting immigrants who have built equities in our communities and pose no threat is contrary to humanitarian principles and to our national interest,” they said. “We urge the new administration to rethink this proposed deportation policy and instead return to bipartisan negotiations to repair the US immigration system.

VATICAN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The world is in great need of hope, Pope Francis said. “Day by day, let us fill our lives with the gift of hope that God gives us, and through us, let us allow it to reach everyone who is looking for it,” the pope said

in a video explaining the intention he would like Catholics to pray for during the month of December. The pope’s message encouraging prayers “for pilgrims of hope” was released by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network Dec. 3. The network posts a short video of the pope offering his specific prayer intention each month, and members of the network pray for that intention each day. In the video, the pope said, “Christian hope is a gift from God that fills our lives with joy. And today, we need it a lot. The world really needs it a lot!” “Hope is an anchor that you cast over with a rope to be moored on the shore,” the pope said, and people of faith must hold on to that rope tightly. “Let’s help each other discover this encounter with Christ who gives us life, and let’s set out on a journey as pilgrims of hope to celebrate that life,” he said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Anyone interested in Catholic Church can now see a detailed, interactive breakdown of the body that will elect the next pope. The Vatican launched a “dashboard” for the College of Cardinals Dec. 5, allowing users of the web page to see a comprehensive list of the church’s cardinals and sort them by age, rank, country of origin, electoral status and religious order. Initially it was available only in Italian. The dashboard, created with Microsoft Power BI – an AI tool designed to visually organize data – was published on the Vatican press office’s public website just two days before Pope Francis was scheduled to create 21 new cardinals Dec. 7. The page –https://press.vatican.va/ content/salastampa/it/documentation/cardinali–-statistiche/dashboard-collegio-cardinalizio.html – allows users to see a map of where current cardinals are from, as well as the percentage of cardinals from each region who are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in conclave. As of Dec. 5, for example, 47.8% of cardinals from Europe are eligible to vote in a conclave while 100% of cardinals from Oceania are eligible electors. Cardinals lose their right to vote in a conclave on their 80th birthday or when they lose the rights and privileges of a cardinal. Previously, the Vatican website only offered separate lists of cardinals, organized alphabetically by name, by country, by age or grouped according to the pope who appointed them.

WORLD

KHARTOUM, Sudan (OSV News) – Sudanese Catholic Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali of El Obeid Dec. 2 described having survived execution in his country, where he has remained with the faithful amid a deadly war between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The bishop was returning to his diocese after attending a Eucharistic congress in Juba, the South Sudanese capital. The congress on Nov. 24 was organized to mark 50 years – or golden jubilee – of the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic bishops’ conference. In a message to fellow bishops and obtained by OSV News, Bishop Andali said that after arriving in El Obeid from the gathering, he encountered – in separate incidents – the army and, immediately afterward, the paramilitary. “Guns (were) given to the lads and (they were) instructed to carry out their usual business,” which clearly was execution, the bishop said in his message. “Thanks to the prayers of the church,” he was saved, he emphasized: A leader of the paramilitary had emerged from his office and ordered the gunmen to free the church people. But the bishop suffered “heavy blows on the neck, the face and the sides of the head.” On Nov. 21, the bishops in Sudan and South Sudan expressed deep concern over the deteriorating conflict in Sudan. The bishop said war was continuous and there was no chance for dialogue between the two fighting sides.

JERUSALEM (OSV News) – Christmas this season in the Holy Land will be celebratory despite ongoing bloodshed and war, the Holy Land’s patriarchs said. And while visiting Germany, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, encouraged pilgrims to return to the birthplace of Jesus. On Dec. 3, he said he is counting on a rapid normalization of pilgrimage tourism, especially during the Christmas season, following the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Pilgrimages and religious tourism are an important economic factor for many Christians in the region, but tourists disappeared and stores across pilgrimage sites have remained closed since Oct. 7, 2023. This year, the patriarchs and heads of the churches in Jerusalem, said the war this year won’t stop the joyful celebration of Christmas in the land of Jesus. Last year, to stand in solidarity with “the multitudes suffering” amid “the newly erupted war,” the patriarchs made “a mutual decision” to call on their congregations “to forego the public display of Christmas lights and decorations” and related festivities. But they said their intentions were misinterpreted, leading “many around the world” to say they had called for a “’Cancellation of Christmas’ in the ... very place of our Lord’s Holy Nativity.” Christmas “was diminished not only around the world, but also among our own people,” they wrote Nov. 22. This year, the patriarchs encouraged all “to fully commemorate the approach and arrival of Christ’s birth by giving public signs of Christian hope.”

Workers erect a giant cross Nov. 11, 2024, at Malvern Retreat House in Malvern, Pa. The 34-foot-tall was at the center of a Mass celebrated by St. John Paul II Oct. 3, 1979, in Center City Philadelphia. The Mass drew more than a million people. (OSV News photo/Joseph P. Owens, The Dialog)

Remembering the 1886 consecration of St. Mary Cathedral

FROM THE ARCHIVES

By Mary WoodWard

One of the main liturgical events during Bishop Francis Janssens’ tenure (1881-1888) as Bishop of Natchez was the consecration of St. Mary Cathedral now St. Mary Basilica. The construction of St. Mary was begun under Bishop John Joseph Chanche, first bishop of the diocese, in February 1842. For more than 40 years, the building of the original cathedral was carried out. It had been blessed, but it had never been consecrated according to the solemn rites. Church custom at that time was a church would not be consecrated until it was debt free.

At times during these 40 years, construction stalled, bank foreclosure loomed, and cows roamed freely in it. Even under the long term of Bishop William Henry Elder, the church had a debt. It was under Bishop Janssens that the debt was paid and on Sept. 19, 1886, the cathedral was consecrated.

A friend and fellow history lover and I were talking the other day about the beauty of the English language during the 19th century, so I will let the melodic phrasing of Brother Celestin, a Sacred Heart Brother and teacher at Cathedral School in Natchez describe the events of the day:

“At an early hour Sunday, Sept. 19th, 1886, the Feast of the Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Rt. Rev. Bishop of the Diocese, Francis Janssens, assisted by many of the diocesan clergy, began the consecration of the Cathedral and its main altar.

“Within the altar-stone was placed a tin box enclosing the relics of the martyrs, Sts. Victor, Innocentus and Celestinius and a parchment thus inscribed in Latin: ‘In the year, 1886, the 19th of September, I, Francis Janssens, Bishop of Natchez, have consecrated the Church and this altar in honor of the Transfixed Heart of the ever blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, and have enclosed the relics of Martyrs and have granted in the usual form of the Church, an indulgence of one year this day and on each anniver-

sary of the consecration an indulgence of forty days to all the faithful of Christ visiting the Church’.

“At half past ten o’clock a procession was formed at the Episcopal residence, headed by Cross-bearer and Acolytes, and followed by all the children of the schools and asylums with their banners and oriflammes, all the priests who had assisted at the Synod, the Rt. Rev. Bishops O’Sullivan of Mobile, Becker, of Savannah, the Ordinary of the Diocese, the Most Rev. Archbishop of the Province, Mgr. Leray of New Orleans, and the venerable Archbishop Elder, of Cincinnati, formerly of Natchez, who was to officiate at the Pontifical Mass.

“The church was crowded with Catholics and non-Catholics, many of whom came from a distance, and the desire to witness the grand ceremonies was so great that fully 1,250 persons admitted by tickets filled the sitting and standing room of the spacious building.

“After the Gospel, the Rt. Rev. T. A. Becker, of Savannah, ascended the pulpit, and choosing his text from that part of the I Book of Kings, descriptive of the dedication of the Temple of Solomon, said that many distinguished prelates some from contiguous dioceses and some from afar had come to form with them a triple alliance to show veneration and regard for this august ceremony, to venerate and respect the sublime ceremonial of the church that they had just witnessed, which the more it is

studied the more admired, and lastly to congratulate them on the perfection of the grand work done under their auspices and of those who rule over them in the Lord.

“The Catholic Church, he said, was One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. One in her essence and unity, Holy in her doctrines and truth, Apostolic because she can trace her descent and priesthood back to the unlearned men who received the divine commission, ‘Go, teach ye all nations.’ Had anyone lived four centuries or a thousand years ago he could have been nothing but a Catholic, for then there was no other religion. She is Catholic. She is not the Church of England, or France, or Germany or of the United States, but the Church of the living God and as such is reverenced by the greatest intellects of the age.

“In conclusion he hoped that the memory of this glorious day would ever be green, and that each recurring anniversary may bring down blessings from on high, and that each may say, ‘I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church.’

“In the afternoon, Most Rev. Archbishop Leray, of New Orleans, the last priest ordained in the Cathedral by Bishop Chanche, sang Pontifical Vespers. Before solemn Benediction, Archbishop Elder, in some feeling words, addressed the large congregation. He said ‘that he beheld a holy city decked like a bride going to meet her spouse.’ Such was this church to him.

“He spoke of the charity of many who had generously assisted in the works of zeal and benevolence. Let there be no limit to joy and to gratitude but let us not forget those that are gone; on such an occasion we remember the absent and the gaps made by death, but, said he, let us remember God loves our tears and that there is a place where all tears are wiped away. This consecration is an emblem of the Kingdom of Heaven. May all who are here present be gathered there at the end and may the dear departed not be wanting.

“With the evening Angelus Bell passed away the last ceremonies of the sacred Consecration leaving a church sanctified and holy and on the minds of the privileged beholders, a memory sweet enough to linger many a day.”

Tune in next time for more From the Archives

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

The Diocese of Jackson has launched a third-party reporting system that will enable all diocesan employees, volunteers and parishioners to anonymously (or named if preferred) make reports. Examples of this activity include fraud, misconduct, safety violations, harassment or substance abuse occurring at a Catholic parish, Catholic school or at the diocesan level. The system is operated by Lighthouse Services.

To make a report visit www.lighthouse-services.com/jacksondiocese or call 888-830-0004 (English) or 800-216-1288 (Spanish).

The Association of Priests of the Dioceses of Jackson and Biloxi provide a small pension to our retired priests. As you consider your estate plans, please remember these faithful servants by making a donation or leaving a bequest to the Association of Priests. Our parish priests dedicate their lives to caring for us, their flocks. Let us now care for them in their retirement. Donations can be made payable to the Association of Priests and can be mailed to: Diocese of Jackson, P.O. Box 22723, Jackson, MS 39225-2723

NATCHEZ – Pictured is a Mass at St. Mary Cathedral (now Basilica) in 1891. The Cathedral was consecrated in 1886 during the tenure of Bishop Francis Janssen. Construction begain under Bishop John Joseph Chanche in February 1842. (Photo from archives)

Father Daniel Gallagher: A life of faith and service

BY JOANNA PUDDISTER KING

JACKSON – Rev. Daniel Noel Gallagher, a devoted priest of the Diocese of Jackson, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024 at St. Catherine’s Village in Madison, Mississippi. A native of Cashel, South Curry in County Sligo, Ireland, Father Dan was born on Dec. 19, 1940. From an early age, he displayed a profound commitment to his faith, which ultimately led him to pursue the priesthood at St. Kieran’s College in Kilkenny, Ireland.

Father Dan was ordained on June 6, 1965, in the hallowed halls of Kilkenny’s St. Mary Cathedral. His priestly journey, spanning six decades, brought him to the Diocese of Jackson, where he faithfully served parishes in Yazoo City, Hattiesburg, Bay St. Louis, Batesville, Rosedale, Natchez and West Point.

In 1994, Father Dan found his true calling in hospital chaplaincy. Ministering at the VA Hospital in Jackson, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Methodist Rehab Center, he provided comfort and solace to patients and their families. Known for his humility and determination, Father Dan continued his ministry despite losing much of his eyesight. Unable to drive, he often walked or took the bus to reach those in need, embodying the essence of a shepherd tirelessly seeking his ﬂock.

Father Dan’s humility and resilience were perhaps most evident in how he embraced his blindness. “What always impressed me was how he accepted the gradual deterioration of his sight,” Father Cosgrove said. “He didn’t let his su ering make him bitter. It made him better.”

Father Dan’s ministry continued even at St. Catherine’s Village, where he remained a priestly presence, o ering prayers and guidance to all who sought it. “Father Dan was too humble to ask for a miracle, but God gave him the grace to bear his cross patiently,” Father Cosgrove remarked.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Dec. 6, 2024, at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Jackson. As he entered into eternal rest, his friends and parishioners found solace in knowing that Father Dan, who had walked by faith, now walked by sight in the presence of God.

Father Daniel Gallagher leaves behind a legacy of unwavering faith, boundless compassion, and a life wholly dedicated to God’s service. May he rest in peace.

Father Dan’s service extended to leadership roles in the diocese. In 2002, he was appointed Director of the Cursillo Movement, a testament to his dedication to spiritual renewal. Later, in 2007, he became the in-residence chaplain at St. Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson, where his compassionate care brought peace to the sick and their loved ones.

Even in retirement, Father Dan remained a quiet yet profound witness to God’s love. Friends and colleagues described him as a man of deep spirituality and unwavering faith. “Although Father Dan had weak vision, he had a very strong faith,” said Father Frank Cosgrove, a lifelong friend and fellow priest.

Father Cosgrove, who ﬁrst met Father Dan just after their seminary days, recalled their unique bond. Raised only 30 miles apart in Ireland, they crossed paths on an airplane bound for Jackson. Their friendship deepened over the years, particularly during their days o in Batesville and Oxford, where they would ride bicycles together as young, vibrant men in their 30s.

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JACKSON – The visitation and funeral for Father Dan Gallagher was held at St. Peter the Apostle Cathedral on Friday, Dec. 6. Pictured: Father Nick Adam pays respects to Father Gallagher and Father Frank Cosgrove prepares his homily in honor of his friend. (Photo by Tereza Ma)

He loves us more

REFLECTIONS ON LIFE

By Melvin Arrington

Have you ever noticed on social media the use of the phrase “I love you more?” Although this seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon, its usage is becoming more and more prevalent in written communication. For example, a daughter writes to her mother, “I love you,” and the mother, instead of responding, “I love you, too,” says, “I love you more.” Does this mean “more than you love me?” Or maybe “more than you’ll ever know?” Or perhaps “more than anyone else could ever love you?” On the surface it looks rather silly, almost like a game. But true love is not a game. It’s what our lives should be about.

I have two daughters, both of whom I cherish. The intensity of my affection is the same for each of them. There is no quantifiable difference in how much I care for each one. The only distinction I can make is one of duration rather than intensity; that is, I have loved the older one longer but not any more than the younger one.

God, on the other hand, has loved all of us the same length of time, despite differences in our ages, because He has known each of us from all eternity: “He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before Him. In love He destined us for adoption to Himself through Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 1:4-5a) Psalm 139 expresses this even more vividly in the beautiful image of God as the First Knitter: “You formed my inmost being; You knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are

Your works! My very self You know.” (vv. 13-14) In short, God loves each of us more than we love Him and more than we will ever know, and more than anyone else could ever love us. Throughout Scripture God is seeking to bring us back into the deep, personal, committed love relationship He intended for us to have with Him from the beginning, a relationship that has been damaged, and in some cases, broken because of our willful disobedience. In Genesis chapter 3, Adam sins and then tries to hide, but God goes looking for him and calls out to him. One of Christ’s seven sayings on the Cross, “I thirst,” (John 19:28) means, in addition to physical thirst, His thirst for souls. He longs for us, even when we turn our backs on Him. In Revelation, we see the Lord continuing to pursue us: “I stand at the door and knock.” (3:20) All we have to do is open the door and invite Him into our hearts and our lives.

We are like the little sheep that wandered off and was lost in Luke chapter 15. Jesus told this parable to make a point, but He also meant it in the sense that He would really and truly leave the ninety-nine and go in search of the one that was lost because every soul is precious to Him.

True love is self-sacrificing, and no one has sacrificed more on our behalf than Our Lord: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) Look how much Jesus loves us. When He went to the cross for us, to pay to sin debt that we couldn’t pay, He surrendered everything He had: His clothes – “They divided His garments by casting lots” (Matt. 27:35); His mother – “Behold, your mother” (John 19:27); His life – “It is finished” (John 19:30); His very spirit – “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.” (Luke 23:46) All of this,

Giving in ordinary time

ON ORDINARY TIMES

By luciA A. SilecchiA

It happens all year – the requests for donations for all manner of charitable causes.

Pleas come in the mail from children’s hospitals, medical researchers, religious communities and educational institutions seeking funds to further their missions.

Television ads, set to melancholy music, beg for contributions to end world hunger and save abandoned animals.

Celebrities lend their names to fundraising campaigns and telethons for the causes they embrace and the issues they champion.

Emails pour in from every charitable organization, seeking resources to expand – or to survive. In the week of “Giving Tuesday,” the promises of matching contributions and competitive giving takes on an energy all its own.

At nearly every Mass, second collections seem to be taken up to aid victims of natural disasters, support those in need at home and abroad, and fund education and welfare activities of all kinds.

It can, at times, seem overwhelming. Whether we write checks, enter our credit card number on a website, respond to a solicitation call, or drop

some folded bills in a collection basket, the array of needs we are invited to meet seems endless – and, many times, impersonal.

Often, convincing potential donors of the enormity of a problem, the depths of the despair and the vastness of the need can seem to be the most effective way to jolt them into a response. In this, though, it can become too easy to forget the individuals on whose behalf the help is sought. It can also become too easy to do nothing when it seems like any individual response is too small for problems so big.

I have noticed, however, that this seems to change at Christmastime. Certainly, the end of the year spurs fresh large-scale outreach to those who may want to take advantage of charitable tax deductions while time remains. Yet, it is at Christmastime that requests for help become more personal.

There are Christmas trees in the vestibules of so many churches, inviting parishioners to purchase a gift for a child in need. This is not an anonymous request for funding, but a specific invitation to buy a Lego set for a 5-year-old girl and a book for a 2-yearold boy.

There are sign-up sheets to bake casseroles for parish families in need. Again, this is not a faceless fundraiser to solve world hunger, but a specific recipe to prepare a simple meal for a neighbor.

In a season celebrating the birth of a child, crisis pregnancy centers seek infant clothing and cribs, and donors respond as they recall an infant in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Local shelters continue to seek monetary contri-

not to mention that He gave up the glory of the heavenly kingdom to become one of us, born in a filthy stable because there was no room for Him in the inn:

“And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” (John 14:1a)

That’s what He did for us.

That’s how much He loved us, and yet we complain about having to abstain from meat for a few days during Lent! Heaven help us! Along the same lines, St. John of the Cross once said: “Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.” I’m ashamed to admit how often I have to remind myself of that saying.

How can we let Jesus know that we really love Him during the Christmas season? Obviously, we can do it by giving generously to worthy charitable causes and by performing the corporal works of mercy. Also, we can be more patient with others, practice kindness, and let others see all of the other fruits of the Spirit in our lives. But what else can we do?

Two specific things come to mind: spend more time in prayer and make frequent visits to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. He is waiting there for us.

So, when we tell the Lord we love Him and try to prove it by the way we treat others and by how much time we spend with Him in prayer, Scripture reading, and adoration, His reply might very well be, “I love you more,” because He truly does. Merry Christmas!

(Melvin Arrington is a Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages for the University of Mississippi and a member of St. John Oxford.)

butions, but they also solicit the warmth and care of volunteers who will serve hot food at holiday dinners for those who have no place to call home. Christmas concerts at nursing homes bring young singers into the life of those who need the gift of cheer and joy more than they may any other gift.

Families are encouraged to adopt families in need and offered the chance to purchase the essentials for a holiday meal. Food drives in schools, supermarkets and neighborhood associations invite shoppers to purchase extra grocery items for neighbors when they are shopping, with love, for their own families

These small gestures do not solve the big problems of the world. In practical terms, they inefficiently ignore the economies of scale that drive larger campaigns.

Yet, in a deeply profound way, love is not efficient. It is best served in the intimate doses that are personal opportunities for sisters and brothers in Christ to see each other, to respond to each other’s needs, to learn the aches of each other’s’ hearts, and to believe that simple, small acts done with love make a difference.

Soon, in our Christmas songs we will sing of a Child with “no crib for a bed” and “a Child, a Child [who] shivers in the cold.” Soon after that, when January comes, giving can too easily become more impersonal again. But, perhaps the inefficient, personal love we are invited to share at Christmas will linger behind and be a new way of giving in ordinary times.

(Lucia A. Silecchia is Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law.)

Around the diocese

SOUTHAVEN – Sacred Heart School hosted “Breakfast with Santa” on Saturday, Dec. 7. (Above) Pearl and Theodora Hussein enjoy breakfast with their grandmother. (Right) The Dominguez family enjoys breakfast together. (Photo by Sister Margaret Sue Broker)

JACKSON – St. Richard first graders came together after reading about the gingerbread man and decided to make one of their own. Only when they went to pull him out of the oven, he was missing! Students would love to receive postcards from around the world letting them know where you see him! You can mail your postcards to 100 Holly Drive, Jackson, MS 39206. Pictured beginning with Ms. Ashley Sheppard are Malia Owens, Ryan Barlow, Tesni Jackson, Marilee Nelson, Lazarus Dillon, Raelynn Whitty, Federico Diaz, Thomas Morisani, Cecilia Brown, Maddie Vandiver, Corinne Thomas, Marleigh Walker and Raegan White. (Photo by

MADISON – St. Anthony sixth grader, Emerson Schuhmann assists second grader Lawson Griffin in learning the Act of Contrition prayer while preparing for the Sacrament of Penance at St. Francis parish. (Photo by Kati Loyacono)

Kathleen Hand)

PEARL – Youth at St. Jude parish welcome the new liturgical year with a fire on Wednesday, Nov. 27. (Photo by Tereza Ma)

GREENVILLE – (Above) St. Joseph students, Cadence McDonald, Malorie Lockett and Kimberly Holland help organize canned goods donated for Thanksgiving. (Left) CJ Martinek and Jay Chow help unload a truck full of canned goods for the St. Vincent de Paul food drive. (Photo by Nikki Thompson)

NATCHEZ – Cathedral School student Presley Smith loves what St. Nicholas left in her shoe. (Photo by Brandi Boles)

MERIDIAN – St. Patrick fifth graders, Valentina Espino and Italy Oregon, look at the gifts left in their shoes by St. Nicholas on Dec. 6. (Photo by Helen Reynolds)

COLUMBUS – Annunciation third graders, Austin Vidrine, Garrison Westby and Sam Sherrill learn about Reed Sancho’s science fair project. (Photo by Jacque Hince)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Mississippi

Catholic and the Diocese of Jackson

MADISON – “O Holy Night” artwork by St. Joseph Catholic School, senior Kate Kosek.