MS Catholic 12/23/2022

New Albany parishioners celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe

BY GALEN HOLLEY

NEW ALBANY – The soft, musical whispering of the rosary was interrupted only momentarily by the raucous, heartfelt shouting of “Vive!” as Hispanic parishioners at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in New Albany welcomed the approaching dawn.

They prayed the Joyful Mysteries. The Holy Rosary is a blessing from the Virgin, and although all the mysteries depict episodes throughout the gospels, perhaps none more vibrantly unfold the feminine, motherly life of Mary as do the Joyful Mysteries.

The parishioners started at 4:30 a.m. Many had to be on factory furniture lines when the belt started rolling at 6 a.m. Still, they rose early, put on at least one special article of clothing, and found a spot in the crowded little church to kneel and pray.

Alejandro Caballero and his friend, Maria, donned matching shirts bearing the image of the Virgin. Their garments were bedecked with sequins and many handmade, special attentions.

Many of the faithful, like Bernie Garcia and family, whose patriarch, Pablo, is studying to be a deacon, brought in cooing babies in bassinets. Others walked arm-in-arm with aging abuelos, wrapped in shawls against the damp, morning air. “Ave, Maria,” they all whispered, crossing themselves with holy water and never turning their backs on the Blessed Sacrament.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been depicted in many ways, most often as a blushing, pale European. Our Lady of Guadalupe is an ethnic image of Mary, one with dark, distinctly indigenous features who exemplifies the universality of the Christian Gospel.

In the Guadalupe apparition, Mary had dark skin and spoke in Nahautl. Her turquoise cloak signaled royalty to the indigenous people; the black sash around her waist was their sign for pregnancy. She was clothed in stars and stood upon the moon – signs connecting her both to Indian concepts of deity and to Revelations 12:1.

Today, the image of "Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe" is perhaps the most pervasive religious image in Hispanic culture.

St. Francis of Assisi Parish demonstrates to the surrounding community how the Christian Gospel reaches across racial, ethnic and cultural divides. Father Jesu Raj Xavier, a native of India, speaks excellent English, and he’s quickly learning Spanish. Pablo Garcia has long been a leader in the Hispanic community, and now he’s making a focused effort to improve his English. Anglo and Hispanic parishioners feel equally at home at both Sunday morning masses.

Juan Diego, the native man to whom the Virgin appeared, was canonized as a saint

Continued on page 6 –

'O Holy Night' tops all hymns used in churches in December, according to poll

BY MARK PATTISON

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The Christmas carol "O Holy Night" ranked first in a list of hymns most played in December at Christian churches in the United States.

"O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Silent Night" ranked second and third, respectively.

The list was compiled by Pushpay, which offers electronic giving options for churches and their congregants.

It asked its 15,000 subscribing churches last December what hymns they used that month, and released the results this Dec. 1. A Pushpay spokeswoman, Katie Griffin, could not supply a breakdown of Catholic parishes among those churches.

The top-10 list is filled with carols familiar to Catholics. Following the top three choices are, in order, "The First Noel," "Joy To The World" and "Angels We Have Heard On High."

Following those are two songs featured more in the repertoire of non-Catholic churches.

"Glorious Day," which ranked seventh overall, was recorded by the contemporary Christian group Passion, featuring Kristian Stanfill on vocals. It is more of a salvation narrative without any lyrics taking note of the birth or infancy of Jesus. Still, the song's official music and lyrics video has received 6.6 million views on YouTube.

There are several versions of the eighth-ranked song, "Goodness of God." One video of the song has climbed up to 7 million YouTube views. The song is another in the Christian contemporary genre which focuses more on a first-person-singular, personal relationship with Jesus than a first-person plural voice found more often in Catholic hymnody.

Ninth is the gospel melody "Go Tell It On the Mountain," which has found a home in many Catholic hymnals and parishes.

And, to prove that the list took into account all of December and not just the week beginning Dec. 25, winding up in the 10th spot was "O Come O Come Emmanuel," an Advent song based on a chant melody familiar to Catholics not only in the United States but throughout the world.

Griffin told Catholic News Service it's conducting the poll again this December. The top five songs from the 2020 poll were, in order, "Joy To The World," "O Come All Ye Faithful," "Silent Night," "O Come O Come Emmanuel" and "O Holy Night."

In memoriam

Sister Olivia Obregon, RSM passed Dec. 1

From the archives 9 Christmas traditions of Bishop Houck

Youth 14 Photos from around the diocese

NEW ALBANY – Alejandro Caballero and his friend, Maria, pose in front of the decorated statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in New Albany in the early morning hours of Dec. 12. (Photo by Galen Holley) –

FEATURED PHOTO

...Bruins join in Madison Christmas Parade...

R

MADISON – The St. Joe Bruins marching band performs in the annual Madison Christmas parade on Saturday, Dec. 9. (Photo by Joanna Puddister King)

Dreams, center of salvation history

By BishoP JosePh r. koPacz, D.D.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, an experience of pure magic coming down from the heavens, settling on trees, lawns and Christmas scenes but not on roadways or sidewalks. This could be a reality in Jackson on Christmas day, but it’s too early to tell. However, there is no uncertainty that Jesus Christ is born once again into our lives through faith at Christmas. It is the stuff that dreams are made of – the Word made Flesh, the light coming into the world filled with grace and truth as pure gift. (John 1:14)

Dreams are at the center of salvation history in the Bible, especially in the Infancy narratives. Mary’s encounter with the Angel was more like a daytime vision or dream that progressed from confusion to certainty and peace, by God’s grace. (Luke 1:28-38) For Joseph the nighttime dream became his

pathway to discern the will of God regarding Mary and the child that was not his own, but rather the One belonging to the whole world. (Matt 1:18-24)

The scriptures say that Joseph is a righteous man (Matt 1:22) in right relationship with God and others, especially with Mary. We can readily accept that he possessed a rich inner life of prayer, a discerning spirit and a purity of heart; the first beatitude, all of which God formed in him through faith in order to accomplish His will through Mary and Joseph in the plan of salvation.

Building upon last Sunday’s Gospel from St. Matthew, the dreams continued when Joseph was alerted to escape from the murderous rage of King Herod, (Matt 2:13) and then, forewarned once again to return from Egypt to Nazareth (Matt 2:20) where the Holy Family could finally settle down, allowing Jesus to grow in wisdom, knowledge and grace until the time of his public ministry.

The promptings of the Holy Spirit in the minds and hearts of all of us, asleep or awake, can be as impactful because these inspirations come from the mind and heart of Jesus Christ and the bosom of the Most Holy

Trinity. But no different than Mary and Joseph, we understand that that the gifts we need at Christmas and every day of the year are purity of heart, humility, obedience to God’s will, and an abiding awareness that we are God’s children now, already having received the first installment of the promise of eternal life. (Eph 1:14)

Over the Advent season we were exhorted to prepare the way of the Lord, through prayer and repentance, to cultivate a discerning spirit to value the things that really matter, and through acts of loving service, justice and peace to make this world a better place. Like Mary and Joseph, we are called to dream with God.

Rejoice, as we joyfully celebrate the Lord’s birth, because God so loved the world that he sent his only Son to save us, (John 3:16) to draw us out of darkness into his own marvelous light. (1Peter 2:9) This is a dream come true, white Christmas or not, and with all of the heavenly hosts, let our voices resound with, “Glory to God in the Highest,” (Luke 2:14) and with Mary, let us proclaim, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46)

Merry Christmas!

BISHOP’S SCHEDULE

Saturday, Jan. 14, 4:30 p.m. – Closing Mass for 2023 GO! Gulf Coast Faith Formation Conference, Pontchartrain Center, Kenner, Louisiana

Sunday, Jan. 15, 10:30 a.m. – Mass with Vietnamese Community, Chapel at St. Dominic, Jackson

Sunday, Jan. 29, 7 p.m. – Mass, Millsaps College, Jackson

Friday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m. – Rite of Candidacy for new deacon cohort, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson

Sunday, Feb. 5, 5 p.m. – Confirmation, St. Richard, Jackson

Friday, Feb. 10, 6 p.m. – St. Richard Krewe de Cardinal, The South Warehouse, Jackson

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

PEARL –

Dec. 18, parishioners at St. Jude gathered for Christmas dinner, along with a Christmas Nativity play and choir performance. (Photo by Tereza Ma)

Celibacy is discerned alongside the priesthood. In the Roman Church celibacy is a discipline that is the norm for all ordained priests. This is distinct from various eastern Catholic Churches which allow for married priests while all bishops are celibate. The church venerates the celibate life for her priests because our high priest, Jesus Christ, was celibate. The tradition of the church also proclaims that all the apostles, the first bishops, lived celibately following their call from Christ, and that this is not simply a way for priests of the church to ‘have more time’ for ministry, but it is a call into a spousal relationship with the church itself.

The longer I live my priesthood the more I appreciate the spousal aspect of my celibacy. Just as a husband lives for his wife and seeks to give himself to her in all that he does, the priest should do the same for the church. As the love between a husband and wife bears fruit through children and in the community, the priests’ love for the church and his care of protection of her brings forth spiritual fruit in the people of the parish and those that he encounters in the wider community.

Priesthood is most fruitfully lived by men who understand and ‘lean into’ their spousal identity. This means that priesthood is not reserved for men who otherwise would not desire marriage, or who simply want to ‘do good in the world.’ Priesthood is for men who are invited into a relationship with God through the church that brings out a not just a true fatherhood, but first a spousal union. Men are husbands before they are fathers, and so a priest has to be dedicated to giving himself fully to his bride, the church.

When a man is discerning the priesthood, he should pay close attention to the call to celibacy. There should be a discernable movement within the heart of a man as he progresses through the seminary that he is willing and able to give his life away for his bride. Our society has many roadblocks to maturity that sometimes need to be tackled outside the seminary system, and so it is my job and that of the formators at the seminary to help our men see those roadblocks and overcome them. In our day, the ability to commit to lifelong covenant relationship is inhibited by constant distractions, some more gravely immoral than others. Our understanding of our own manhood can be threatened by cultural movements that seek to limit the specific genius of masculinity and femininity. All of these issues are addressed within the seminary as men are encouraged and required to grow in maturity so they are able to be a leaven in society, not to simply go with the flow.

If he is not willing or able to grow in this identity, then he is may not called to priesthood, or he needs to step away in order to grow in maturity and an understanding of who he is as a man. The church needs husbands and fathers seeking to give themselves completely for the life of the church. The call to celibacy must be present if a man is to live out his priesthood as a true spouse of the church, and as he gives himself more and more to that life giving relationship, he will see the fruits of his labor through many spiritual children.

In memoriam: Sister Olivia Maria Obregon, RSM

ST. LOUIS

1, 2022.

Sister was born July 10, 1937 to her beloved parents, Alfonso Obregon and Bernarda Cervantes. She is the sibling to Gilbert (Nancy) Obregon; Eligio (Irene) Obregon; Marta (Mickey) French; Robert (Ofelia) Obregon; Ana (Joe) Perez, Zita (Ron) Colvin; Francisca (Sylvestre) Garcia; Sister Bernard Mary Obregon, RSM; Mary (Gus) Sanchez; and Dominga Obregon. In addition, she is survived by a host of multi-generational nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, several siblings and in-laws, and two nephews.

She entered the Sisters of Mercy Community in 1954 and has been a loving member for 68 faith-filled years. She studied nursing and served in various ministries throughout the former St. Louis Regional Community. Her service in healthcare was experienced predominantly in cities within the states of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi. She was a true South Texan who embraced the Mexican American culture with joy, dance and a fullness for all that life offers. Her spirituality encompassed the multiple issues rooted in the critical concerns of her sacred community, the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. She shared the community’s deep desire to empower others as Mercy Associates and co-workers always in service to God’s people. She will be dearly missed by family, loved ones and many whose lives she touched.

A funeral Mass was held on Wednesday, Dec. 7 and she is interred at Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis.

Feast of the Holy Family – December 30

STEWARDSHIP PATHS

By Julia Williams

The church deeply venerates the Holy Family and proposes it as the model of all families. Inserted directly in the mystery of the Incarnation, the Family of Nazareth has its own special mystery. And in this mystery, one finds true parenthood.

Joseph’s commitment to fatherhood is not one that derives from begetting offspring; but neither is it an apparent, nor merely, substitute fatherhood. Rather, it is one that fully shares in authentic human fatherhood and the mission of a father in the family.

Mary’s suffering shows the full extent of her motherhood — not just bringing life forth but offering it to God. The Blessed Mother never forgot her Infant, and, therefore, we cannot fail to recall the fidelity of the Lord to His covenant with us.

The diagnosis of ‘family’ today is bleak. Sociocultural realities discourage the young from marrying, contributing to factors like ‘fear of commitment’ and ‘high divorce rates’. This disrespect for marriage belittles parenthood.

Commitment is a key characteristic of an everyday steward. The examples and commitment to parenthood by Joseph and Mary help us to be strong when it seems that life is hard. More importantly, reflecting on their lives can help us truly see the ways God moves in our lives and the gifts He has given us to use for His glory.

The Feast of the Holy Family

prompts us to recognize the importance of the family. Indeed, Jesus is born in a family!

Source: Magnificat, Nine Days with St. Joseph; 4lpi.com and catholicsteward.com.

c. 16601670; Public Domain.

– Father Nick Adam

CALLED BY NAME

Father Nick Adam

Artwork: The Holy Family, Bartolome Esteban Murillo,

– Sister Olivia Maria Obregon, RSM, a native of Edinburgh, Texas, transitioned to eternal life on the evening of Dec.

Jesus’ dysfunctional ancestry

IN EXILE

By Father ron rolheiser, oMi

The full story of how Jesus Christ came to be born includes elements that we do not easily imagine when we sing our Christmas hymns. Jesus’ family tree and bloodline were far from perfect and this, according to the renowned biblical scholar, Raymond Brown, needs to be kept in mind whenever we are tempted to believe in Jesus, but want to reject the church because of its imperfections, scandals and bad history. Jesus may have been immaculately conceived. However, as the Gospels make clear, there is much in his origins that is as jolting as any contemporary church scandal.

For example, in giving us the origins of Jesus, the Gospels point to as many sinners, liars and schemers in his genetic and historical lineage as they do to saints, honest people, and men and women of faith.

We see, for example, in Jesus’ genealogy a number of men who didn’t exactly incarnate the love, justice and purity of Jesus. Abraham unfairly banished Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, rationalizing that God favors some people over others; Jacob, by scheming and dishonesty, stole his brother Esau’s birthright; and David, to whom Jesus explicitly connects himself, committed adultery and then had the husband of his mistress murdered to cover up an unwanted pregnancy in order to marry her.

Moreover, the women mentioned in Jesus’ background don’t fare much better. It is interesting to note, as Raymond Brown does, which women don’t get mentioned in reference to Jesus’ origins. The Gospels don’t mention Sarah, Rebekah or Rachel, all of whom were regarded as holy women. Whom do they mention?

They mention Tamar, a Canaanite woman, someone outside the Jewish faith, who seduces her fatherin-law, Judah, so that she can have a child. They mention Rahab, also a Canaanite woman, and an outsider, who is in fact a prostitute. Next, they mention Ruth, a Moabite woman who is also outside the official religion of the time. Then they mention Bathsheba, a Hittite woman, an outsider who commits adultery with David and then schemes to make sure one of her own offspring inherits the throne.

All of these women found themselves in a situation of marriage or pregnancy that was either strange or scandalous, yet each was an important divine instrument in preserving the religious heritage that gave us Jesus. It is no accident that the Gospels link these women to Mary, Jesus’ mother, since she too found herself in a ritually taboo pregnancy and in a marital situation that was peculiar.

Further still, beyond these less-than-saintly characters in Jesus’ lineage, we see as well that some of the institutions that shaped the Jewish faith were also less than saintly. Institutionalized religion back then suffered from many of the same problems it has today, including the corrupt use of power. Indeed, Israel itself (perhaps justifying the deed by referring to what Jacob had done to

Esau) seized the land of Canaan from those who had a prior claim to it, claiming ownership by divine privilege.

Finally, and not insignificantly, we see too that the lineage that gave us Jesus built itself up not just on the great and the talented, but equally on the poor and insignificant. In the list of names that makes up the ancestors of Jesus, we see some that are famous but also others who can make no claim to specialness or significance. Jesus’ human blood, scripture tells us, was produced equally by the great and the small, the talented and the talentless.

What’s to be learned for all of this? Perhaps Raymond Brown captures it best. What all this tells us, he says, is that God writes straight with crooked lines, that we shouldn’t accept an overly idealized Christ, and that our own lives, even if they are marked by weakness and insignificance, are important too in continuing the story of the incarnation.

As Brown puts it: “The God who wrote the beginnings with crooked lines also writes the sequence with crooked

The Pope’s Corner

lines, and some of those lines are our own lives and witness. A God who did not hesitate to use the scheming as well as the noble, the impure as well as the pure, men to whom the world harkened and women upon whom the world frowned – this God continues to work through the same mélange. If it is a challenge to recognize in the last part of Matthew’s genealogy that totally unknown people were part of the story of Jesus Christ, it may be a greater challenge to recognize that the unknown characters of today are an essential part of the sequence.”

Christianity isn’t just for the pure, the talented, the good, the humble and the honest. The story of Jesus Christ was also written and keeps being written by the impure, by sinners, by calculating schemers, by the proud, by the dishonest and by those without worldly talents. Nobody is so bad, so insignificant, so devoid of talent, or so outside the circle of faith, that he or she is outside the story of Christ.

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

Doubt can be a step toward deeper faith, pope says

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Even the most fervent believers go through moments of doubt and questioning about God, and it is a good thing, Pope Francis said, because it helps one see that God does not fit into the little box people make for him.

Doubt “helps us understand that God is always greater than we imagine him to be. His works are surprising compared to our calculations; his actions are different, always, they exceed our needs and expectations; and therefore, we must never stop seeking him,” the pope told people joining him for the Angelus prayer Dec. 11.

People face a constant “temptation: to make ourselves a God to our measure, a God to use,” the pope said. But “God is something else.”

Pope Francis spoke about the day’s Gospel reading about how John the Baptist, while in prison, sent followers to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah even though John had earlier baptized Jesus in the Jordan.

With an estimated 25,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the midday prayer, the pope said sometimes people find themselves in an “inner jail,” unable to recognize the Lord or even trying to hold him “captive” to precon ceived ideas about who God must be.

“Dear brothers and sisters, one never knows everything about God, never!” he said. “Perhaps we have in mind a powerful God who does what he wants, instead of the God of humble meekness, the God of mercy and love, who al ways intervenes respecting our freedom and our choices.”

And, he said, it is a temptation to think one knows everything about other people, too, using one’s prejudices “to attach rigid labels to others, especially those we feel are different from us.”

Advent, he said, is a time to let go and allow oneself to be surprised by God.

Especially as families prepare a Nativity scene or one goes to look at one set up some-

where, he said, it is an occasion to think about who the Lord really is and how to imitate him in daily life.

“Advent is a time in which, instead of thinking about gifts for ourselves, we can give words and gestures of consolation to those who are wounded, as Jesus did with the blind, the deaf and the lame,” the pope said.

After reciting the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis blessed figurines of the baby Jesus that hundreds of children had brought to the square in preparation to place them in Nativity scenes at home or at school.

He asked children “to pray before the creche that the nativity of the Lord will bring a ray of peace to children all over the world, especially those forced to live the terrible and dark days of war, this war in Ukraine that destroys many lives, so many lives, and many chil-

Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Dec. 11, 2022. The pope blessed figurines of the baby Jesus brought by children for their Nativity scenes. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Pope

'... motherly love of Our Lady of Guadalupe ...'

– Continued from page 1 –in the Roman Catholic Church in 2002. His cloak, bearing Mary's image, hangs in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe near Mexico City on the site of the Tepeyac Hill. The basilica is one of the most visited sites in Christianity, second only to the Vatican in number of annual pilgrims.

Southern culture is one in which mothers’ welcome children and their friends to the table. The abundance of life and nourishment found in the Gospels is the bread that feeds us all. The motherly love of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which the parishioners at St. Francis of Assisi demonstrate so well, is a symbol of the life available to all of us through the sacraments and in loving union with one another.

(Galen Holley is a parishioner of St. Francis in New Albany.)

(l-r) Symbols in the processions: Ayoyotes – Seed bones are the "fire of personal tradition" of the warrior's soul; Censer – Incense is the offering to the divinity. The drum or “huehuetl” is the sound of the warrior's heart; Penacho – The "plume hat" is the devout surrender to the will of on high; The Conch Seashell or Atekokolzin – Its touch invokes love and faith; and the banner is the "tree of tradition" and the representation of the protector of the dance, in this case, The Virgin of Guadalupe. In past photos of processions, Angeles Torres, sounds the conch, in front of the Cathedral of San Pedro and carrying the banner, Juan Salazar, of Our Lady of Victories of Cleveland. (Pictures by Joanna King, Berta Mexidor and courtesy of Father Kent Bowlds )

PEARL – St. Jude parish hosted its first Guadalupe procession beginning with a Spanish Rosary on Saturday Dec. 10. Below parishioners get ready for the procession. (Photos by Tereza Ma)

JACKSON – Enmanuel Solano, 7, is one of the dancers who processed through the streets of Jackson near the Capitol building for Our Lady of Guadalupe on Sunday, Dec. 11. (Photo by Berta Mexidor)

She wears a black band on her waist. This means she is pregnant with child –

She is not a conquistador. She is Aztec. She has a faint inviting smile, encouraging people to approach her.

Looking closely at her hands, one can see keys. She holds the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

There

Her right knee is bent. This meant that she is poised for a liturgical dance. She is not a goddess, but she gives honor and glory to God.

TUPELO – The colorful and traditional dance of "matachines" is performed in celebration for the Virgin of Guadalupe at St. James parish on Dec. 12 (Photo by Raquel Thompson)

MADISON – A group of dancers from St. Therese Jackson perform on Dec. 12 at St. Francis Madison. (Photo by Elsa Baughman)

HOUSTON – Hipólita Gutierrez, brings an offerings to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 11 at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Houston. (Photo by Danna Johnson)

PEARL – Elisandro Gonzalez and Hector Peñaloza blowing the sea shells during Guadalupe celebration at St. Jude parish on Dec. 10. (Photo by Tereza Ma)

Mary stands on the crescent moon. In the Aztec world, Mexico was the land in the middle of the moon. Therefore, Mary was the queen of Mexico.

Jesus.

are 46 stars on her mantle. A comet had predicted the end of their civilization. The Indian flower in the center of her dress indicates the center of the cosmos.

For the Aztecs it meant that her child was the center of the universe.

Rays: The straight ones indicate the light of the sun and the wavy ones indicate the light of Venus.

A graphic shows some of the symbolism in the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. To see a full description from Msgr. Michael Flannery, visit mississippicatholic.com.

Simbología Guadalupana

Por MoNseÑor FlaNNery

MADISON – En el mundo de los indios aztecas, se examinaban los signos y símbolos y los relacionaban entre sí, de modo que los jeroglíficos contaban toda la historia cuando se juntaban. Se encuentran diferentes explicaciones, pero todas ellas son variaciones de un mismo tema.

1. María está de pie sobre la luna creciente. En el mundo azteca, México era la tierra en medio de la luna. Por lo tanto, María era la reina de México.

2. La luna es negra. Esto significaba que María vencería la falsedad y conduciría a la verdad.

3. Su rodilla derecha está doblada. Esto significaba que ella está preparada para una danza litúrgica. Ella no es una diosa, pero da honor y gloria a Dios.

4. Hora de la aparición. Fue temprano en la mañana. Esto significaría la prim-

era manifestación de Dios.

5. Hay nubes en los extremos de la imagen. Las nubes significaban la presencia de Dios. Los rayos: Su forma es elíptica, pequeños en los extremos y más grandes más cerca de la fuente. Los rectos indican la luz del sol y los ondulados indican la luz de Venus.

6. María está de pie frente al Sol y Venus. Esto indicaba que ella era más grande que el sol y Venus. El sol y Venus eran dos de las deidades importantes en el mundo azteca. Ella no se los iba a quitar a los aztecas.

7. Lleva un manto azul. Este es un color real, pero ella no es un dios. Hay 46 estrellas en su manto. Un cometa había predicho el fin de su civilización. Ahora las estrellas indican un nuevo comienzo. En tiempos recientes, los astrónomos han de-

– Continúa en la pág. 4 –

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

JACKSON – Muchos jóvenes se unen a retomar las tradiciones de sus ancestros. La danza Azteca de la Catedral de San Pedro no es excepción. Este año muchas de las danzantes son niñas y adolescentes. (arriba) El niño Enmanuel Solano encabeza una de las filas. Por meses estuvo ensayando sin descanso a la par de los demás. Enmamuel es hijo de Miguel Solano, tamborero de la Danza y junto a Celia Alemán encargado de ésta por 10 años. (Foto de Berta Mexidor)

Virgen de Guadalupe, Universalidad del Evangelio Cristiano

Por Galey Holley

NEW ALBANY – El susurro suave y musical del rosario fue interrumpido solo momentáneamente por el estridente y sentido grito de "¡Vive!" mientras los feligreses hispanos de la Iglesia Católica St. Francis of Assisi en New Albany daban la bienvenida al amanecer que se acercaba.

Rezaron los Misterios Gozosos. El Santo Rosario es una bendición de la Virgen, y aunque todos los misterios describen episodios a lo largo de los evangelios, tal vez ninguno despliega más vibrantemente la vida femenina y maternal de María como lo hacen los Misterios Gozosos. Los feligreses comenzaron a las 4:30 a.m. Muchos tenían que estar en la de muebles de la fábrica a las 6 de la mañana.

Aun así, se levantaron temprano, se pusieron al menos una prenda de vestir especial y encontraron un lugar en la pequeña iglesia, llena de gente, para arrodillarse y orar. Alejandro Caballero y su amiga María vistieron camisetas a juego con la imagen de la Virgen. Sus prendas estaban engalanadas con lentejuelas y muchas hechas a mano, con especial atención.

Muchos de los fieles, como Bernie García y su familia, cuyo patriarca, Pablo, está estudiando para ser diácono. Otros caminaron del brazo con abuelos envejecidos, envueltos en chales para protegerse del aire húmedo de la mañana. “Ave, María”, susurraban todos, persignándose con agua bendita y sin dar nunca la espalda al Santísimo Sacramento.

María, la madre de Jesús, ha sido representada de muchas maneras, la mayoría de las veces como una europea pálida y sonrojada. Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe es una imagen étnica de María, con rasgos oscuros claramente indígenas que ejemplifican la universalidad del Evangelio cristiano. En la aparición de Guadalupe, María tenía la piel oscura y hablaba en náhuatl. Su manto turquesa señalaba realeza a los indígenas; la faja negra alrededor de su cintura era su señal de embarazo. Estaba vestida de estrellas y se paró sobre la luna, signos que la conectaban a ambos. Conceptos indios de deidad y Apocalipsis 12:1. Hoy en día, la imagen de "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe" es quizás la imagen religiosa más omnipresente en la cultura hispana, la parroquia de San Francisco de Asís demuestra a la comunidad circundante cómo llega el evangelio cristiano a través de divisiones raciales, étnicas y culturales.

Padre Jesu Raj Xaxier, nativo de la India, habla un inglés excelente y está aprendiendo español rápidamente. Pablo García ha sido durante mucho tiempo un líder en la comunidad hispana y ahora está haciendo un esfuerzo concentrado para mejorar su inglés. Los feligreses anglosajones e hispanos se sienten igual de cómodos en las misas de los domingos por la mañana.

Juan Diego, el hombre nativo a quien se apareció la Virgen, fue canonizado como santo en la Iglesia Católica Romana en 2002. Su manto, con la imagen de María, cuelga en la Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe cerca de la Ciudad de México en el sitio del Cerro Tepeyac. La basílica es uno de los sitios más visitados de la cristiandad, solo superada por el Vaticano en el número de peregrinos anuales.

La cultura sureña es aquella en la que las madres dan la bienvenida a los niños y sus amigos a la mesa. La abundancia de vida y alimento que se encuentra en los evangelios es el pan que nos alimenta a todos. El amor maternal de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, que los feligreses de San Francisco de Asís demuestran tan bien, es un símbolo de la vida disponible para todos nosotros a través de los sacramentos y en la unión amorosa de unos con otros.

NEW ALBANY – Alejandro Caballero y María Caballero posan frente a la estatua decorada de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en la Iglesia Católica St. Francis of Assisi en New Albany en la madrugada del 12 de diciembre. (Foto de Galey Holley)

HOUSTON – Para las festividades de la Virgen de Guadalupe, en la iglesia Inmaculado Corazón de María, la comunidad disfrutó de las presentaciones del grupo de danza de IHM y del grupo musical Sagrado Corazón de la iglesia Santa Ana de Carthage. (Foto de Danna Johnson)

PEARL – La danza Azteca de la Catedral de San Pedro hizo su primera presentación, el sábado 10 en St. Jude. (Foto de Tereza Ma)

Alégrate, Estamos llamados a soñar con Dios

Por obisPo JosePH r. KoPacz, D.D.

Estoy soñando con una Navidad blanca, una experiencia de pura magia que desciende del cielo, posándose en los árboles, el césped y las escenas navideñas, pero no en las carreteras ni en las aceras. Esto podría ser una realidad en Jackson el día de Navidad, pero es demasiado pronto para saberlo. Sin embargo, no hay duda que Jesucristo nace de nuevo en nuestras vidas a través de la fe en Navidad. Es la materia de la que están hechos los sueños: la Palabra hecha Carne, la luz que viene al mundo llena de gracia y verdad como puro regalo.” Aquel que es la Palabra se hizo hombre y vivió entre nosotros. Y hemos visto su gloria, la gloria que recibió del Padre, por ser su Hijo único, abundante en amor y verdad. (Juan 1:14)

Los sueños están en el centro de la historia de la salvación en la Biblia, especialmente en las narraciones de la Infancia. El encuentro de María con el Ángel fue más como una visión diurna o un sueño que progresó de la confusión a la certeza y la paz, por la gracia de Dios. (Lc 1,28-38) Para José, el sueño de la noche se convirtió en

su camino para discernir la voluntad de Dios respecto a María y al niño que no era suyo, sino del mundo entero. (Mateo 1:18-24)

Las escrituras dicen que José es un hombre justo (Mateo 1:22) en la relación correcta con Dios y con los demás, especialmente con María. Podemos aceptar fácilmente que poseía una rica vida interior de oración, un espíritu de discernimiento y una pureza de corazón; la primera bienaventuranza, todo lo cual Dios formó en él por la fe, para cumplir su voluntad por medio de María y José en el plan de salvación.

Sobre la base del Evangelio del domingo pasado de San Mateo, los sueños continuaron cuando José fue alertado para escapar de la ira asesina del rey Herodes (Mateo 2:13) y luego, se le advirtió una vez más que regresara de Egipto a Nazaret (Mateo 2:20) donde la Sagrada Familia finalmente pudo establecerse, permitiendo que Jesús creciera en sabiduría, conocimiento y gracia hasta el momento de su ministerio público.

Los susurros del Espíritu Santo en la mente y el corazón de todos nosotros, dormidos o despiertos, pueden ser igualmente impactantes porque estas inspiraciones provienen de la mente y el corazón de Jesucristo y del seno de la Santísima Trinidad. Pero al igual que María y José, entendemos que los dones que necesitamos, en Navidad y todos los días del año, son la pureza de corazón, la humildad, la obediencia a la voluntad de Dios y una conciencia permanente de que somos hijos de Dios

ahora, habiendo recibido ya la primera entrega de la promesa de la vida eterna. (Efesios 1:14)

Durante la temporada de Adviento se nos exhortó a preparar el camino del Señor, a través de la oración y el arrepentimiento, a cultivar un espíritu de discernimiento para valorar las cosas que realmente importan y, a través de actos de amoroso servicio, justicia y paz, para hacer de este mundo un mejor sitio. Como María y José, estamos llamados a soñar con Dios.

Alégrate, mientras celebramos con alegría el nacimiento del Señor, porque Dios amó tanto al mundo que envió a su Hijo único para salvarnos (Juan 3:16) para sacarnos de las tinieblas a su propia luz admirable. (1 Pedro 2:9)

Este es un sueño hecho realidad, seas blanca Navidad o no; y con todas las huestes celestiales, que nuestras voces resuenen con “Gloria a Dios en las alturas” (Lucas 2:14) y con María, proclamemos: “Mi alma alaba la grandeza del Señor; mi espíritu se alegra en Dios mi Salvador.”. (Lucas 1:46-47)

En fiesta de Guadalupe, iglesia es solidaria con inmigrantes

Por catHolic News service

WASHINGTON – En la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, el presidente de migración de los obispos de Estados Unidos reafirmó la solidaridad de la iglesia con los inmigrantes, "cada uno de ellos es un hermano o hermana para todos nosotros".

"Cuando hablamos sobre el tema de la inmigración, nos referimos fundamentalmente al movimiento de personas, humanos creadas a imagen y semejanza de Dios", expresó el obispo Mark J. Seitz de El Paso, Texas, presidente del Comité de Migración de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos.

"Desafortunadamente, esta verdad a menudo se ve oscurecida por la retórica política, el alarmismo, y la hipérbole. Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe nos señala un camino mejor, uno que conduce a la reconciliación", manifestó en un comunicado emitido el 12 de diciembre.

"Los obispos de Estados Unidos continúan afirmando el derecho natural a migrar, en equilibrio con el derecho soberano de los países a respetar sus fronteras, así como sus obligaciones de proporcionar procesos solidarios para los recién llegados", agregó el obispo Seitz.

El prelado invitó a los católicos y a todas las personas de fe a orar "para que, por

intercesión de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, demos consuelo a los que se ven obligados a abandonar sus hogares, y que Nuestra Señora sea una guía para todos los que tienen la responsabilidad del liderazgo".

MADISON – En contraste con los coloridos trajes que se ven en éste dia, este grupo de danza de St. Therese Jackson, celebra a la Guadalupe en traje típico blanco, la noche del 12 de diciembre en St. Francis. (Foto de Elsa Baughman)

¡Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas!

TUPELO – La representación de la aparación de la Virgen a Juan Diego fue ésta vez representada al aire libre e interpretada por jóvenes Hispanos de St. James. (Foto de Raquel Thompson)

"... Ella une el cielo y la tierra ..."

– Viene de la pág. 1 –

scubierto que esa era la ubicación exacta de las estrellas el 12 de diciembre de 1531.

8. Lleva una banda negra en la cintura. Esto significa que está embarazada de un niño. Tiene un broche con una cruz. Ella está embarazada de un niño y el niño es Jesús.

9. Su rostro y color. Ella no es una conquistadora. Ella es azteca, tiene una leve sonrisa tentadora, animando a la gente a acercarse a ella. Sus ojos son tiernos y suaves. Su cabello está peinado al estilo del indio azteca. Otro indicio es que ella no ha venido con los conquistadores.

10. Sus manos. Una mirada cercana a sus manos y uno puede ver las llaves. Ella tiene las llaves del reino de los cielos.

11. El Angel. Ella es sostenida por un ángel. El ángel tiene cejas oscuras. Es un ángel maduro y el mensaje de la dama es creíble. El ángel sostiene su túnica en una

mano y su manto en la otra. Para los aztecas, esto significaba que ella unía el cielo y la tierra.

12. Habló náhuatl a Juan Diego. Este era el idioma de los aztecas. Se invierten los papeles. Es el conquistado ahora diciéndole al conquistador qué hacer para construir un templo para Nuestra Señora.

13. Las flores y la música eran las mejores formas de comunicarse con los dioses y tanto las flores como la música se utilizan a medida que se desarrolla el drama.

14. Su vestido. Es un rojo pálido. El color del sol naciente. Indicó que viene una nueva vida. La flor india: Justo en el centro de su vestido está la flor india. Esto indicaba el centro del cosmos. Para los aztecas, significaba que su hijo era el centro del universo. Este era el nuevo templo de la presencia de Dios y estaba en su vientre.

15. La J invertida. La J invertida del lado derecho de su vestido significaba la luz del mundo en la cultura azteca.

Maria está de pie en luna creciente. Para Aztecas, México era la tierra en medio de la luna.

Sus ojos son gentiles y suaves.

a las

Usa una banda negra en su cintura. Esto significa que esta embarazada.

Sus manos. Ella tiene las llaves del reino de los cielos.

Su manto es azul. Color de realeza. Hay 46 estrellas, indican un nuevo comienzo. La luna es negra. María superaría la falsedad y conduciría a la verdad.

TOME NOTA

Vírgenes y Santos

Santa María Madre de Dios. 1ro de Enero Epifanía del Señor. Enero 6 Solemnidad del Bautismo. Enero 10 Cristo Negro de Esquipulas. Enero 15 Nuestra Señora de Altagracia. Enero 21 San Juan Bosco. Enero 31

Envíenos sus fotos a editor@jacksondiocese.org

Síganos en Facebook @ Diócesis Católica de Jackson

PEARL – Como siempre, todos se esmeran en celebrar y adornar a "Lupe" con sus rosas características, ofrenda de los Guadalupanos. En esta foto, la Virgen de los parroquianos de St. Jude. Casi siempre las mujeres la adornan y los hombres la llevan en procesión (Foto Tereza Ma)

Los rayos: su forma es elíptica. Los rectos indican la luz del sol y los ondulados indican la luz de Venus.

Su rodilla derecha esta doblada. Ella estaba preparada para la danza litúrgica.

MADISON – El Padre Michael Flannery (arriba) da una charla sobre la Virgen de Guadalupe,

miembros del grupo M&M de St. Francis Madison, donde hizo una reseña histórica de la aparición de la Virgen y de la vida de la cultura azteca durante ese tiempo. (debajo) Monseñor Flannery celebra Misa el lunes 12 y feligreses visten tradicionalmente. (Reporte y foto de Elsa Baughman)

Bishop’s Christmas rituals reflect love for tradition

FROM THE ARCHIVES

By Mary WoodWard

JACKSON – For those of you who knew Bishop William Houck, you know he was a larger-than-life persona. His booming voice and laughter were recognizable before he ever entered the room. He was a great man of the church and never missed a chance to evangelize others through word and deed.

Bishop Houck clung to traditions and for every holiday he had one. We always knew which holidays were spent with whom and what time he would head to Mobile for family celebrations. He adored his family, and they looked forward to his visits with great joy.

At Christmas, Bishop Houck loved for his residence to be decorated with lights, angels, poinsettias, wreaths and any Christmas merriment that could be found in his vast collection. He had an outdoor nativity set given to him by Virginia McCaskey, owner of the Chicago Bears. For this festive ensemble, he had a local craftsman build a stable that could be disassembled and stored in the garage after Epiphany. It was my task to meet the craftsman each year to retrieve the stable from the garage rafters, set out the holy family, and plug up the lights; then meet him again to take it all down while Bishop Houck was on the annual region V bishops’ retreat.

Another annual tradition was getting the live Christmas tree for his house. Bishop Houck did not like artificial trees. I still remember the look on his face when someone suggested he get one. Yikes for that person!

Jim McCraw, Knight of Columbus extraordinaire, was the man with the truck who was called upon each year to go with Bishop Houck to get the perfect tree. Keeping

with his tradition, Bishop liked to wait until closer to Christmas to get the tree. I remember one year he waited a little too late and the lot where they normally got the tree had been abandoned. Fortunately, the trees that didn’t sell were left behind as well, so that year the evergreen was a little dry but gratis.

McCraw was reminiscing about tree shopping a few weeks ago and sent me the following account of the yuletide expedition.

“Right about now I’d be getting a call from the bishop wanting to go tree shopping. I looked forward to it every year and always enjoyed his stories about his dad taking him to get their tree as a child. After getting it in the house, his mother would make him go outside and look through the window to make sure it was straight.

“Bishop would look all the trees over until he found the perfect one. You knew when he found it because he’d explode in energy: ‘THIS IS IT!’ He talked to everyone – a true man of the people.

“After getting the tree inside and in place my final task was to put the bowl of water under it. I’d offer to do the lights, but he always said: ‘No Jim, I leave all that to Mary Woodward.’ (Author’s note: I would have been fine if Jim had put the lights on the tree, but it was Bishop’s tradition, and I was blessed to be a part of it.)

“One of our early trips had us looking for Christmas tree lots in northeast Jackson. We ended up driving past the Gray-Lewis house with the kids playing outside. They waved so he wanted to stop. “Vic and Geri had a neighbor who was in her final hours, and they asked if Bishop would give her a blessing. Out he went ... they told him she didn’t speak English. ‘Fine, Fine’ he said in his booming voice.

“As he got back in the truck, in his non-clerical tree-shopping attire, the youngest Gray-Lewis child asked: ‘Are you really the bishop?’ You can imagine his laughter. Made his day.

“I asked him about the language barrier, and he said: ‘It’s

not what you say, it’s that you’re there, Jim.’ Great man. I do miss him.”

I miss him too. He was an imparter of great wisdom and a wonderful mentor to so many. The memories of his traditions will live on in my heart, Jim’s heart, and especially the hearts of his family.

Whether you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day; whether you go to the family Mass at 4:30 p.m., Midnight Mass, or Mass on Christmas Day; whether you eat turkey, ham or tofu; may you all have a very Merry Christmas where you joyfully celebrate your own cherished traditions and maybe create a few new ones. Take time to remember those who have gone on to the Lord (as Bishop Houck would say) and thank God for placing them in your path.

Christus natus est!

LEXINGTON – Bishop William Houck opens a gift during a party held in 1985 in the St. Thomas Lexington community. (Photo from archives)

JACKSON – Bishop William Houck’s outdoor nativity set, given to him by Virginia McCaskey, owner fo the Chicago Bears. A local craftsman made the stable that had to be assembled and taken apart each year.

(Photos courtesy of Mary Woodward)

NATION

MENDOTA, Minn. (CNS) – A small article in a Christian magazine caught Bob O’Connell’s eye in 1982. It described a national program that provides Christmas presents to children who have a parent in prison. O’Connell was looking for a way to apply the Gospel message by serving the poor and suffering. “I had been in the charismatic movement ... for seven, eight years,” said O’Connell, 78, a member of the Church of St. Peter in Mendota. “I was restless. I was itchy for doing something. I was just kind of bored. ‘OK, I’ve got a full-time job, but when it comes to doing some ministry, something for the Lord, I’m not doing anything.’ So, I thought, ‘What can I do?’” The article described a ministry called Project Angel Tree. It was started by a woman who had been incarcerated herself: Mary Kay Beard of Alabama. She had been hired by an organization called Prison Fellowship and was asked to come up with a Christmas project. She decided to erect Christmas trees at two local shopping malls and attach paper angels with the names of boys and girls who had a parent in prison. On the angels were gift ideas, and Beard coordinated a team of people to deliver gifts to these children of inmates. O’Connell started doing this in the Twin Cities that same year. He has done it every year since, coordinating the program from his Burnsville home. It has expanded to include northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and North and South Dakota. This year, Missouri was added to the list.

LANSING, Mich. (CNS) – A Catholic parish in the Diocese of Lansing has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to protect its right to hire parish employees and staff for its grade school who uphold the tenets of the Catholic faith. The filing follows a July 28 ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court that reinterpreted a state civil rights statute’s definition of sex to include gender identity and sexual orientation without any exemption for religious organizations. Filed Dec. 5 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan-Southern Division, the suit names state Attorney General Dana Nessel, the Department of Civil Rights and the Civil Rights Commission. Becket, a Washington-based religious liberty law firm, is representing the plaintiff, St. Joseph Catholic Church

in St. Johns, Michigan. Founded in 1857, it is the only Catholic parish in town. Its elementary school opened in 1924. The state Supreme Court’s “new understanding” of the civil rights statute “would make it illegal for St. Joseph to operate in accordance with the 2,000-yearold teachings of the Catholic Church on marriage and sexuality,” Becket said in a statement. “This threatens the school’s right to hire staff who will faithfully pass on the tenets of the faith to the next generation,” it said.

VATICAN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Decrying what he described as “hostile times” when antisemitism and violence against Christians are on the rise, Pope Francis said a renewed commitment to Catholic-Jewish dialogue is needed. “The path we have traveled together is considerable,” but the work clearly is not done, the pope told members of the Amitié Judéo-Chrétienne de France, a dialogue and education group founded in 1948 by Jules Isaac, a French historian who worked to improve Christian-Jewish relations after World War II and met with Popes Pius XII and John XXIII. “We must give thanks to God” for the progress, the pope said, especially “given the weight of mutual prejudices and the sometimes-painful history that must be acknowledged. The task is not finished, and I encourage you to persevere on the path of dialogue, fraternity and joint initiatives. This beautiful work, which consists in creating bonds, is fragile, always to be resumed and consolidated, especially in these hostile times in which attitudes of closure and rejection of the other are becoming more numerous, including with the worrying reappearance of antisemitism, particularly in Europe, and of violence against Christians.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Celebrating Christmas is important and beautiful, Pope Francis said, but he asked people to spend less on their celebrations this year and donate the savings to help the people of Ukraine. As he has done at his general audiences since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the pope asked pilgrims and visitors Dec. 14 to express their “closeness to the martyred Ukrainian people, persevering in fervent prayer for these brothers and sisters of ours who are suffering so much. Brothers and sisters, I tell you, they are suffering

so very, very much in Ukraine,” the pope said. “I want to draw your attention to Christmas, which is coming, and to the festivities,” he said. “It’s beautiful to celebrate Christmas and have parties, but let’s reduce the level of Christmas spending a bit; let’s have a simpler Christmas with more modest gifts.” And, the pope said, “let’s send what we save to the people of Ukraine, who are suffering so much.” People in the country are hungry and cold, he said.

WORLD

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (CNS) – Uruguay, South America’s most secular country, is poised to get its first homegrown saint. Bishop Jacinto Vera, the first bishop of Montevideo, was declared venerable in 2015 and on Dec. 17 the Vatican announced that he would be beatified, after Pope Francis formally signed off on a miracle attributed to the future saint. Bishop Vera’s path to sainthood not only reflects the country’s history, but also the new path for the church in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay under the stewardship of Pope Francis, an Argentine. “The image of a saint like Jacinto Vera, someone with such important meaning for our country and our history, is of great benefit for Catholics. He walked our country. There is not a place you go where he has not been,” said Father Gabriel González, a professor at the Catholic University of Uruguay who has written extensively about the life and work of Bishop Vera. Jacinto Vera was born at sea in 1813 to parents who set sail from Spain’s Canary Islands with the goal of reaching farmland in Uruguay, which was still a Spanish colony. He gravitated to the church early in life and studied with the Jesuits in neighboring Argentina until his ordination in 1841 as a diocesan priest. As bishop of Montevideo, he invited the Jesuits to return to Uruguay and brought in several congregations of women religious to reestablish order to a church on the fringes of the continent. González said the local church was in disarray, but that changed with Bishop Vera.

YANGON, Myanmar (CNS) – A Christmas of darkness, silence and fear awaits thousands of Christians in camps for internally displaced persons in Myanmar, where carols, decorations and illuminations are banned because of ongoing conflicts. The sounds of gunfire, fighter jets and artillery shelling have replaced those of carols and celebrations in predominantly Christian Kachin, Kayah, Karen and Chin states, reported ucanews.com. Thousands of Christians have been forced to take refuge in churches, makeshift camps and in forests following military attacks against civilians. Ucanews.com talked to some people in the camps, but, at their request, changed their names to protect their identities. Ucanews.com reported that Josephine Pho Mu, 42, said this is the second time since 1988 she has had to flee her home in Kayah state. “I thought we would be temporarily displaced and go back home. But we have been away from home and sheltering at this camp for 19 months,” said Pho Mu, who has taken refuge at a church-run camp in Loikaw, capital of Kayah state, after leaving her village in Demodo township in May 2021. The mother of three said this will be her second Christmas in the camp. “It is a mix of joy and sorrow when Christmas approaches. We are joyful about welcoming Jesus Christ’s birthday, but we are sorrowful as we are in the camp due to the conflict and don’t know when we will be able to return home.”

Bishop Jacinto Vera of Montevideo, Uruguay, who lived in the 1800s, will be beatified, Pope Francis announced in a series of decrees for sainthood causes released Dec. 17, 2022. (CNS photo/Archdiocese of Montevideo)

Mississippi bishops issue statement on latest execution

By BishoPs JosePh r koPacz, D.D. anD Louis F. kihneMan, iii BishoP oF BiLoxi

JACKSON (Dec. 13, 2022) – In anticipation of the execution of Thomas Loden tomorrow, our thoughts and prayers go out to the Gray and Farris families as they continue to grieve and heal from his horrific act of violence. Their unspeakable suffering remains a heavy cross in their lives.

We share in their suffering. In 2016, two Catholic Nuns were murdered in Holmes County, Mississippi. Sister Paula Merrill, and Sister Margaret Held, served at a local medical clinic. Their brutal murders in the small community of Durant, Mississippi caused shock and sadness.

Even in the midst of such profound loss, the Sisters’ religious communities, their families, and the local church stated their opposition to the death penalty. This response is deeply rooted in our Christian faith and Catholic tradition.

The death penalty is not a deterrence to murder. We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill others. Likewise, the antidote to violence is not more violence.

The execution of Thomas Loden is the second in just over a year in Mississippi. We respectfully submit the perspective and teachings from our Catholic faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that promote the abolition of the death penalty.

We encourage and pray for a more comprehensive debate that calls into question our assumptions used to morally legitimize the death penalty in Mississippi and in our nation.

We recognize that the State must protect innocent people from violent criminals. Our State and country have the ability to provide justice and protect the innocent without using the death penalty. At this time in our nation when violence afflicts the web of life, we do not need state sanctioned violence to add to this vicious cycle.

We implore our fellow citizens to ask our elected officials to end the violence of the

Oregon commutations, Oklahoma scheduling pace key death penalty report

By Mark Pattison

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The commutation Dec. 13 of all condemned prisoners on Oregon’s death row was one key in the Death Penalty Information Center’s 2022 report on capital punishment in the United States.

Counterbalancing Oregon’s move was Oklahoma’s effort to execute 25 deathrow inmates in a 29-month span.

Even though 2022 was another year with fewer than 30 executions, more than half of those were in just two states, Oklahoma and Texas.

By contrast, according to Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, there are 37 states that either do not issue death sentences or have not executed a prisoner in at least 10 years.

“That’s three-quarters of the country,” he told Catholic News Service in a Dec. 15 phone interview.

Fewer than 50 new death sentences were issued, but getting from a death sentence to an execution has proven more challenging for governments trying to impose the ultimate sentence, as botched executions and protocol errors led to halts in Alabama and Tennessee, while Kentucky became the second state to pass an exemption for serious mental illness.

Further, two more people were exonerated outright last year, bringing the total of exonerees since 1973 to 190. Concerns about innocence attracted unlikely spokespeople to the abolitionist cause, including Republican state legislators and self-described supporters of capital punishment, according to the report.

The Death Penalty Information Center’s prosecutorial accountability project has identified more than 550 trials in which capital convictions or death sentences were overturned or wrongfully convicted death-row prisoners were exonerated as a result of prosecutorial misconduct.

Half of those executed had spent 20 years or more on death row, according to the report, in violation of international human rights norms. Executions took place despite objections from county prosecutors and the relatives of victims. And 83% of prisoners executed in 2022 had evidence of a significant impairment.

“At least 13 of the people executed in 2022 had one or more of the following impairments: serious mental illness (eight); brain injury, developmental brain damage, or an IQ in the intellectually disabled range (five); chronic serious childhood trauma, neglect, and/or abuse (12),” the report explained.

death penalty and to replace it with non-lethal means of punishment. We are called to respect every human life because each of us is created in the image and likeness of God. (Genesis 1:27)

As Christian leaders we call for alternatives to capital punishment more in keeping with our Christian values, the common good, and the dignity of the human person.

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. Based in Deerfield, Illinois, Lighthouse Services maintains ethics, safety and fraud hotlines for over 4,100 organizations between the U.S. and abroad.

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, Attn: Cathy Pendleton, P.O. Box 2248, Jackson, MS 39225-2248

REFLECTIONS ON LIFE

By Melvin Arrington

Gift giving and the Christmas season go together like trees and decorations. It’s hard to think of one without the other. Adults understand this, but children usually have a different perspective.

When I was a little boy, Christmas to me was all about getting gifts rather than giving them. What was the best present you received as a child? I can still remember a few of mine. When I was in second grade my parents gave me a little robot. It was only about a foot tall, but it was simply the finest Christmas toy ever because it would come alive when I moved it forward and backward by remote control! Another year my favorite present was an illustrated copy of Dickens’ Christmas Carol, a book I still have on my shelf after all these years.

When I was around ten my favorite was a transistor radio. That little Zenith model really opened up the world to me. It wasn’t even necessary to stay home to listen to it. I could take it with me practically anywhere and listen to ball games and all the wonderful music of that era. To my young, immature way of thinking that was the greatest present ever.

But as I grew older those childhood attachments gradually became less significant as the things that really matter began to occupy more of my time and thoughts. Eventually, I came to realize that residents of Western democracies have been endowed with individual God-given liberties that oppressed and/or poverty-stricken peoples around the world do not have. How often do Americans take for granted clean air and water, abundant food, warm clothing, comfortable housing, good health and loving family members? And what a wonderful bless-

ing to have children and grandchildren! Of course, not everyone in our country enjoys these benefits, but a lot of us do, and we should take the time to acknowledge these things and give thanks for them. And most of all we should be grateful for the gift of life itself.

But rather than focus on things received, our thoughts should concentrate on giving during this holy season. This means not only material gifts but monetary ones as well. Everybody has probably received requests for charitable contributions in which the sender lists a series of suggested donation amounts, ending with a blank space and the words “my best gift,” or something to that effect. The amount written in may be less than the minimum suggested donation or it may be greater. Either way, that phrase allows the contributor to set the amount according to his or her own resources.

This raises a question worth pondering: What’s my best offering? A friend of mine likes to say, God sent us His best: His Son and His Spirit. He loved us so much that He sent His love, His only Son, to be our Savior; and He sent the love He shares with the Son, the Holy Spirit, to be our advocate and comforter. Those are gifts that can’t be topped!

The Holy Family also left us beautiful models to follow. Mary gave her best when she said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) What hope would the human race have if she had not agreed to become the Mother of God? In addition, Joseph set a high standard when he responded in the affirmative to God’s call by lovingly taking Mary into his home rather than denouncing her as the law prescribed.

Jesus offered Himself as well. The King of Kings left his celestial home and humbled himself by becoming the Babe in the manger. Then, at the end of His earthly life he sacrificed himself on the Cross in order to pay our sin debt. And now, so that we might have the Divine Life

within us He offers His precious Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

So, if the members of the Holy Family gave their finest gifts, why shouldn’t I try to do likewise? Giving of self in service to others is not easy, but it affords tremendous bonuses because the giver receives abundant spiritual gifts in return. As St. Paul, quoting the words of Jesus, tells us: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

During this time of year many people, unfortunately, suffer from sadness and loneliness. If you are one of these, here’s a suggestion to bring some happiness into your life: do something to help another person. In doing so you will experience the joy that comes from cooperating with God’s plan. Here’s a quotation that helps put service to others in perspective: “Whenever you have an opportunity to do something for someone, do it, because you may be the instrument God uses to answer that person’s prayer.” The chorus to an old Protestant hymn gracefully captures the essence of these thoughts: “Others, Lord, yes others. Let this my motto be. Help me to live for others, that I may live like Thee.”

If we have God’s love in our hearts, it will be nearly impossible to keep it bottled up inside; we will feel compelled to share it with others. Christmas is about giving, and nothing has greater lasting value than the gift of God’s love. The more we love, the more we will want to give of ourselves. After all, that’s the most precious thing we can give this Christmas.

LIGHT ONE CANDLE

By FAther ed dougherty, M.M., the Christophers’ BoArd oF direCtors

January opens with the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, which serves as a joyous reminder that the Christmas season is still upon us. Celebrating Mary’s role in saying “yes” to God and the Incarnation of Christ is a wonderful way to keep the spirit of the season alive within our hearts. And what a relief it is to realize that we can and should still celebrate the Christmas season because the time we spend in preparation for that special day and the activities surrounding it can be so hectic.

Of course, our preparation and celebration of Christmas is intended to leave us with something that lasts throughout the year. It is a time to awaken our appreciation for God’s gift of His Son for the salvation of all humanity, and it is fitting that we pull out the stops on Christmas Day to allow the reality of that miracle to open our hearts to be transformed by God’s love for us.

But our Christmas celebration should continue beyond even January 1 for a much simpler reason. Our celebration should extend throughout the entirety of the Christmas season, a period that lasts until Epiphany Sunday, held this year on January 8.

The most enduring way to keep Christmas alive within our hearts throughout the season is to attend Mass as often as possible. The Solemnity of Mary concludes the period of eight feast days known as an Octave that began with the Nativity of Our Lord, and this first week of January continues with great Christmas season feast days, with one of the highlights being the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus on January 3.

The Christmas season culminates with Epiphany Sunday on January 8, when we honor the recognition of Christ’s Divinity by the Wise Men who travelled from afar to reverence the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem. It is the perfect capstone to this festive time when we gather with family and community to heighten our own and everyone else’s awareness of the importance of Christ’s birth and His presence in our midst today.

So, if the whirlwind of preparing for Christmas Day has left you feeling like the whole thing has come and gone without giv-

ing you the chance to appreciate it, take heart in the fact that our celebration is ongoing. When considering the extended nature of this celebration, you might realize there’s a time and place for virtually everything. We have the hustle and bustle surrounding Christmas Day, the food and fun and time we share together, and the gift giving to show our appreciation for one another.

But as we approach Epiphany Sunday, when the realization of the meaning of Christ’s birth becomes clear, perhaps we might take some time to appreciate the season in a different way. Perhaps we might slow things down, do a bit more prayer and contemplation, take time with friends and family in quieter ways, ways that enable us to truly understand each other’s hopes and dreams and even fears and struggles as we embark upon this New Year together.

When we do these things, we will find ourselves growing in appreciation for the way Christ is present in each and every one of us, and we will allow that presence to flourish within our midst. In this way, we open our hearts to all the Christmas season has to offer so that we can be transformed throughout the year by the coming of Christ into our lives.

(For a free copy of The Christophers’ LIFT UP YOUR HEARTS, write: The Christophers, 5 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org)

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

Catholics give back for #iGiveCatholic on #GivingTuesday

By Joanna PuDDister king

JACKSON – Eight years ago (2015), the #iGiveCatholic campaign for #GivingTuesday took off as an initiative of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, raising over a million dollars in a 24-hour period for Catholic parishes, schools and ministries. Subsequently, this campaign spread to other dioceses throughout the nation, with participating dioceses increasing with each year. The 2022 #iGiveCatholic campaign had a great impact, with partnerships including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Catholic Educational Association, raising over $18.5 million for Catholic entities this year.

The Diocese of Jackson joined the #iGiveCatholic campaign in 2016, making this year the seventh year of participation in the nationwide campaign, and generating a record $207,000 in gifts to a total of 43 parishes, schools and ministries within the diocese.

The success of each organization is based on the amount of effort put forth in publicizing their causes, or reason to raise funds, by reaching out to donors via social media (Facebook, Instagram, emails, websites, etc.) and print publications such as bulletins, posters and flyers.

The #iGiveCatholic campaign focuses on electronic giving and includes a specific website provided to the organizations at no cost, in hopes to encourage greater participation and help generate funds. Each year, the diocese receives a generous grant from

Catholic Extension to cover half of the online giving platform fees.

Also included in the grant from Catholic Extension was additional money earmarked for training or prizes to aid in a successful campaign and help generate excitement. Five prizes were awarded in random drawings for entities who had online donors during specific time frames; and three prizes were awarded to the top three fundraisers. The grand prize winners this year were St. Richard Catholic School in Jackson; St. Jude Catholic Church in Pearl; and the Carmelite Monastery in Jackson.

The National Sponsor of #iGiveCatholic this year was Our Sunday Visitor, a Catholic publisher that serves millions of Catholics globally through its publishing and communication services. For the past few years, Our Sunday Visitor has donated offertory envelopes at no cost to participating organizations, to encourage donors, who otherwise would not want to give electronically, helping to increase participation and overall total giving.

“Throughout history, Catholics have always been generous people. Our world and our society need to see and experience increased generosity, but more importantly, they need to see the joy Catholics have as we ‘give back’ out of gratitude in return for how we have been blessed,” said Julia Williams, assistant development director for the Diocese of Jackson and diocesan support contact for the #iGiveCatholic program.

“Each year, we are so grateful to the Catholic Community as they support various ministries as they continue to ‘Give Thanks – Give Back and Give Catholic.’”

an irreversible punishment that does not allow for correction ...’

– Continued from page 11 –

“Three prisoners were executed for crimes committed in their teens,” it added. “At least four of the people executed this year were military veterans.”

The Supreme Court continued to withdraw the federal courts from regulation of death penalty cases, limiting access to federal habeas corpus review for death-row prisoners, vacating lower court rulings that had halted executions, and declining to review death-penalty cases that presented serious constitutional issues.

Public support for the death penalty is near its alltime low in the past 50 years. In a Gallup poll, support ticked up 1%, and opposition went down 1%, despite respondents’ concerns over a rise in violent crime.

Dunham said outgoing Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s mass commutation in Oregon was a big deal. The 17 whose sentences were commuted to life in prison without parole make up the second largest group in the past 50 years to receive a blanket pardon, next to Illinois Gov. George Ryan’s commutation of 160 death sentences in 2003.

“It is an irreversible punishment that does not allow for correction; is wasteful of taxpayer dollars; does not

make communities safer; and cannot be and never has been administered fairly and equitably,” Brown said announcing the commutations.

The Death Penalty Information Center’s report said capital punishment continues to be applied discriminatorily. “Eight of the 18 prisoners executed were people of color: five were Black, one was Asian, one Native American and one Latino,” the report said.

One relatively unexamined result of November’s midterm elections was that prosecutors who support criminal legal reform were elected, and in some cases they succeeded death penalty advocates in the process.

In Shelby County, Tennessee, which includes Memphis, Attorney General Amy Weirich, a Republican, who had been investigated for prosecutorial misconduct, lost her reelection bid to Democrat Steve Mulroy, a law professor at the University of Memphis who had formerly been a civil rights prosecutor in the federal Department of Justice.

In Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, the incumbent prosecutor, a death penalty advocate, retired.

penalty convictions overturned than three other counties in the United States,” he added. “So who do they elect? The former director of the Innocence Project.”

Editor’s Note: The Death Penalty Information Center’s full report can be found online at https://bit.ly/3G20ssK.

In its annual year-end report released Dec. 16, 2022, the Death Penalty Information Center says the use of capital punishment continued its long-term decline in the U.S. in 2022. (CNS screen grab/Death Penalty Information Center)

“Oklahoma County carried out more executions than any state except the state of Texas,” Dunham said. The county, which includes Oklahoma City, “has had more wrongful death

‘...

COLUMBUS – (Above) Annunciation fourth and fifth graders sing carols at Trinity Nursing Home. (Right) Third graders lead Mass. (Photo by Logan Waggoner)

Advent programs at our Catholic Schools

JACKSON – St. Richard students perform for parents and loved ones for their annnual Advent program on Friday, Dec. 16, orchestrated by teacher, Andrew Dillon.

(Photo by Tereza Ma)

Serving Our Lady

Principal serves with a smile

VICKSBURG – St. Aloysius Assistant Principal, Jon Graham, helped serve lunch with a smile to students and staff. Vicksburg Catholic School students, faculty and staff: "lead with humility, serve with love, strive for excellence and prepare for distinction." (Photo by Lindsey Bradley)

PEARL –St Jude parish held their first Guadalupe procession on Saturday, Dec. 10. Altar servers, Thomas, Dori Pazcak and Olinsar Villafranca are pictured. (Photo by Tereza Ma)

JACKSON – St. Richard School sixth grade girls (white) play a game on their home court against Jackson Prep (blue). (Photo by Tereza Ma)

HOLLY SPRINGS – Cazateatro Theatrical Group helped celebrate Hispanic Heritage month at Holy Family School. Brother Diego Diaz enjoyed every second of the production. (Photo by Tunia Sangster)

Merry Christmas

CLINTON – The Nativity scene is depicted in stained glass at Holy Savior Church in Clinton. (Photo by Joanna Puddister King)

PEARL – Nativity silhouettes are illuminated on the parade float at St. Jude parish in Pearl. (Photo by Tereza Ma)

JACKSON – St. Richard School decked out all of the hallways and the front office window for Christmas.

(Below) The creche at St. Richard parish is awaiting the coming of the Lord. (Photos by Tereza Ma)

JACKSON – Merry Christmas from the Carmelite Gift Shop. (Photo by Tereza Ma)