MS Catholic January 26, 2024

JANUARY 26, 2024

mississippicatholic.com

Amid cold and snow, national March for Life pledges solidarity with moms and children

By Peter Jesserer Smith

march there to stay, but pro-life marches would be multiplying throughout all (OSV News) – Against gray skies 50 states in the coming years. and falling snow, thousands of people "We will keep marching every year flocked Jan. 19 to the nation's capital at the national level, as well as in our for the national March for Life, gatherstates, until our nation's laws reflect ing them under the theme "With every the basic truth that all human life is woman, for every child," showing their created equal and is worthy of protecresolve amid the piercing cold to make tion," Mancini told the thousands gathabortion eventually "unthinkable" in ered on the National Mall. the U.S. Speaker after speaker at the march "If not us, then who? If not now, rally emphasized its theme of making then when?" Miguel Ángel Leyva, 21, a abortion "unthinkable," in particular Catholic and third-year college student by emphasizing the culture-changing from Detroit, told OSV News. and life-saving work of pregnancy reThe March for Life began in resource centers and related efforts. sponse to the U.S. Supreme Court's House Speaker Mike Johnson, 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which R-La., addressed the crowd and shared once legalized abortion nationwide, that he himself was once an unplanned and gathers pro-life advocates from pregnancy for his parents, just teenagacross the U.S. This year's march – its ers at the time, who chose life. second year since the Supreme Court Johnson said the U.S. House of Repoverturned Roe in 2022 – took place as resentatives passed two important piecwinter weather put much of the U.S. in es of legislation right before the march: a deep freeze, snarling transportation the Pregnant Students' Rights Act for and canceling flights.

Pro-life demonstrators carry a banner past the U.S. Supreme Court building while colleges and universities to follow and While the crowds appeared smaller than in years past, this year's march participating in the 51st annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 19, 2024. another bill that prohibits the Health and Human Services Department from showed a movement eager to up its (OSV News photo/Leslie E. Kossoff) excluding pregnancy resource centers game to help American society embrace a culture that affirms and supports the dignity of all human life, and not just from obtaining federal funds.

However, speakers at the march acknowledged that the end of Roe came with for the unborn.

Levya said the presence of so many people amid the punishing weather condi- both successes and setbacks for the pro-life movement. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a tions "shows there are many who are willing to serve God and stand up for what is Catholic lawmaker and co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus, told those gathered that they should remain "undeterred." right."

"We will never quit in our defense of the weakest and most vulnerable," he said.

Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life Education and Defense Fund, and others emphasized during the March for Life Rally that not only was the national

– Continued on page 6 –

Bishop Rolando Álvarez released, exiled from Nicaragua after over 500 days of detention

By David Agren

power of God." The Nicaraguan government acknowledged the churchmen's release in a Jan. MEXICO CITY (OSV News) – Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa has been released from prison and sent into exile along with 18 imprisoned churchmen as the 14 statement, which "deeply thanked" Pope Francis and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Nicaraguan government expelled its most prominent critic, whose presence behind Vatican secretary of state, "for the very respectful and discreet coordination carbars bore witness to the Sandinista regime descent into totalitarianism, along with ried out to make possible the Vatican trip of two bishops, fifteen priests and two seminarians." its unrelenting persecution of the Catholic Church.

Vatican News confirmed Jan. 14 at 10:41 p.m. Rome time that with the exception – Continued on page 6 – of one priest who remained in Venezuela, all released priests, including Bishop Álvarez and Bishop Isidoro Mora of Siuna, have arrived in Rome "in the last few hours" and INSIDE THIS WEEK are "guests of the Holy See." Nicaraguan independent media 100% Noticias posted a photograph on X, formerly Twitter, of the two freed bishops concelebrating Mass in Rome.

Independent Nicaraguan media reported Jan. 14 that the churchmen had departed Nicaragua on a flight for Rome after the government reached an agreement with the Vatican for their release and exile. Auxiliary Bishop Silvio José Báez of Managua – who left the country in 2019 – also confirmed the news at his weekly Mass in Miami, and was visibly moved.

Youth 11 Catholic Schools Week Sister Thea in bronze 8 "This is the power of the people of God's prayers," Youth photos from schools View profiles on schools Sculptor shares story on he said. "The criminal Sandinista dictatorship of (Presand parishes across the diocese new Sister Thea statue ident) Daniel Ortega has not been able to defeat the

JANUARY 26, 2024 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC

PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS

COLUMBUS – Annunciation, Mardi Gras Mambo, Friday, Feb. 9 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the Annunciation Gymnasium. Adults only. Dinner and open bar included. To attend purchase a draw down ticket for $100 or $35 silent auction ticket at the door. Details: email psa. acseagles@gmail.com.

GREENWOOD – St. Francis, Mardi Gras Celebration, Saturday, Feb. 10, from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Leflore County Civic Center (200 Hwy 7). Cost: $40 donation per adult. Event includes New Orleans style buffet served at 8 p.m.; entertainment by DJ Traxx; swing dance contest and more. Attire: mardi gras festive or semi-formal dress. Tickets available at the church office. Details: church office (662) 453-0623.

GREENVILLE – St. Joseph School, Annual Daddy-Daughter Dance, Saturday, Feb. 3 from 6-8 p.m.

Community-wide event for PreK-3 through sixth grade.

St. Joe School cordially invites dads or special loved ones and their daughters to an evening of good food, music and company. Cost: $50 per couple ($10 per extra). Tickets may be purchased at the school. Details: school office (662) 378-9711.

JACKSON – St. Richard School, Krewe de Cardinal, Friday, Feb. 2 from 7-11 p.m. at The South Warehouse. Details: school office (601) 366-1157.

Theology on Tap, Dates for 2024: Feb. 7 with Bishop Kopacz; March 6 with Father Lincoln Dall; April 10 – Easter celebration. Meetings are on Wednesdays at Martin’s Restaurant Downtown Jackson. Details: Amelia Rizor at (601) 949-6931.

FEATURED PHOTO

VICKSBURG – Vicksburg Catholic School, Drawdown on River, Sunday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Levee Street Warehouse. Enjoy a silent auction, food, drinks and fellowship, in addition to the $20,000 drawdown.

Tickets sell out every year – so purchase yours today.

Details: https://one.bidpal.net/2024vcsdrawdown/welcome.

SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT

DIOCESE – Office of Catholic Education Monthly Virtual Rosary, Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. (Link opens at 6:30 p.m. for prayer intentions.) Visit https://jacksondiocese.org/events for Zoom link and details.

NATCHEZ – 2nd annual Believe Conference, April 19-21, 2024. Featured speakers are Anne Trufant, Catholic speaker and founder of The Mission on the Mountain; Barbara Heil, Catholic speaker and founder of From His Heart Ministries; and Joanne Moody, minister author, and founder of Agape Freedom Fighters.

Cost: $100 for the weekend; $50 for students. Lunch included on Saturday. Details: visit https://www.themissiononthemountain.com.

SAVE THE DATE

VICKSBURG – DCYC (Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference), March 1-3 at the Vicksburg Convention Center. All youth in grades 9-12 are invited. Keynote speaker is Doug Tooke and Catholic worship leader, Steven Joubert. Check with your parish youth leader to register.

TRAVEL

“SPIRIT OF IRELAND AND SCOTLAND” WITH FATHER O’CONNOR – Join Father David O’Connor on a trip to Ireland and Scotland, June 8-17. Itinerary includes: flight to Dublin, two nights in Belfast, ferry to Scotland, two nights in Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh and return flight from Edinburg. Travel in a luxury coach from arrival time until departure, a professional driver/guide, 4-star hotels. Tour highlights include City of Belfast, Titanic, historic and architectural sites, wonderful landscapes and lakes of the Scottish highlands, Scottish food and entertainment. Cost: $4,955 (per person sharing) or $5,950 single. Only ten spots left! For more information/reservations contact Cara Group Travel at (617) 639-0273 or email bookings@ caragrouptravel.com.

IRELAND AND SCOTLAND WITH FATHER AUGUSTINE – Join Father Augustine on a trip to Ireland and Scotland, Sept. 6-18. Trip includes stops in Galway, Our Lady of Knock, Cliffs of Moher, Killarney, Dingle Peninsula, Dublin, Edinburgh and St. Andrew’s Cathedral. Cost: $5,499 – all inclusive, including airfare.

To register, contact Proximo Travel at (855) 842-8001 or visit www.proximotravel.com.

2155 TERRY ROAD JACKSON MS 39204 601-373-1460/601-373-3412

... A Sister’s Flight ...

In Mississippi’s land, where dreams took flight, Lived Sister Thea, a guiding light so bright.

Born in ‘37, her heart pure and keen, With a spirit bold, in faith, she’d intervene.

A girl of ten, I heard her tales, so grand, Of a life devoted to God’s loving hand.

From Yazoo City, where her roots did lay, She journeyed forth, in God’s name, to sway.

Her kin were scholars, healers in their own right, Her lineage, a tapestry of courage, shining light.

From slave to doctor, from teacher to kin, Their legacy fueled Sister Thea to begin.

She sang, she taught, in hymns, her grace did bloom, In Catholic halls, dispelling any gloom.

With music’s power and faith’s fervent call, She reached souls wick, embracing one and all.

A champion she rose for Black sisters in faith, Uniting voices, erasing any wraith.

The National Black Sisters’ Conference did rise, A testament to her work, reaching skies.

Cancer’s cruel hand seized her tender frame, Yet her spirit soared, undoused by the flame.

In ‘90 her earthly Journey met its end, But her legacy and love eternally transcend.

Thank you for your support to our apostolate of prayer.

To donate online, please visit our website www.jacksoncarmel.com

God bless you!

Our loving prayers, Carmelite Nuns of Jackson

Declared a Servant of God, a saint in queue, Her story lives on, her deeds anew.

Sister Thea’s life, a radiant story spun, In faith, she danced, her melody, still sung.

– Alex Sherrod West, II St. Francis of Assisi parish, Greenwood APPLIANCE AUDIO VIDEO BEDDING FURNITURE SUPERSTORE

JACKSON – At a Mass of Thanksgiving for MLK, Jr. and Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA with Bishop Joseph Kopacz at the Cathedral of St. Peter on Sunday, Jan. 14, Alex Sherrod West, II of St. Francis of Assisi parish in Greenwood recited his own poem entitled “A Sister’s Flight” about Sister Thea Bowman to the crowd gathered. (Photo by Karla Luke)

Jackson Flowood R dgeland Pearl Cl nton V cksburg Tupelo Columbus Laurel Oxford Hatt esburg

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC JANUARY 26, 2024

let there be light

God’s Word, ‘a light for our path’

By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

Word made flesh – the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6) – are the most important words recorded in the Bible, and truly ever spoken in the history of the human race, words that “will never pass away.”

(Matthew 24:35) From the heart of God’s word the church celebrates a diverse legacy during the month of January. At the midpoint each year is the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, a time to renew our hunger for the coming of God’s Kingdom, a kingdom of justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17) On Jan. 22 each year the church broadens the vision of God’s Kingdom with her unwavering commitment to life, justice and peace, and the dignity of the human being made in the image and likeness of God from the moment of conception. “Be- Pope Francis gives his homily during Mass for Sunday of the fore I formed you in the womb I knew you, Word of God in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Jan. 21, before you were born I dedicated you. (Jer- 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez) emiah 1:5) “You formed my inmost being; and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” works.” (Psalm 139:13-14) (Matthew 28:19-20) From time immemorial education The Word of God furthers the work of Christian has been the centerpiece of the life of faith in the Jewunity for which the Lord so ardently prayed at the Last ish-Christian tradition.

Supper anticipating the division that plagues the hu“God made a decree to Jacob, established a law in man race. “I pray not only for them, but also for those Israel: which he commanded our ancestors, they were who will believe in me through their word, so that they to teach their children; that the next generation might may all be one, as you Father, are in me and I in you, come to know, children yet to be born. In turn they were that they also may be one in us, that the world may beto recount them to their children, that they too might put lieve that you sent me.” (John 17:20-21) their confidence in God, and not forget God’s deeds, but The theme for this year’s week of prayer for Chriskeep his commandments.” (Psalm 78:5-7) tian Unity is: “You shall love the Lord, your God, and May the Lord Jesus continue to bless all who labor your neighbor as yourself.” in our diocesan catholic school system. Our schools (Luke 10:27) and all of our life-long faith formation follow the way Lastly, our commitof the Lord himself who after being found teaching in ment to Catholic School the temple at 12 years of age, “went down with them education rests upon the and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them, and Word of the Lord as he February 14 his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus departed this world in his advanced in wisdom, knowledge and favor before God glorified body. “Therefore Father Jofin George and others.” (Luke 2:52) go and make disciples of Holy Cross, Philadelphia May the treasure of God’s Word continue to be a all nations, baptizing them lamp for our feet and a light for our path. in the name of the Father

Pope Francis commenced with the following words in his homily for Sunday of the Word of God on Jan. 21 of this year. “We have just heard that Jesus said to them: ‘Come, follow me’ …

Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

(Mark 1:17-18) The word of God has immense power, as we heard in the first reading: “The word of God came to Jonah, saying: ‘Get up, go to Nineveh … and preach to them’ … So Jonah set out and went … according to the word of the Lord. (John 3:1-3) “The word of God unleashes the power of the Holy Spirit, a power that draws people to God, like those young fisherman who were struck by Jesus’ words, and sends others, like Jonah, towards those distant from the Lord. The word draws us to God and sends us to others. It draws us to God and sends us to others: that is how it works.

It does not leave us self-absorbed, but expands hearts, changes courses, overturns habits, opens up new scenarios and discloses unthought-of horizons … The Word makes us hear the call of Jesus. It calls us to set out with him for the sake of others. The Word makes us missionaries, God’s messengers and witnesses to a world drowning in words, yet thirsting for the very Word it so often ignores.”

These hope-filled words of Pope Francis point to the sacred scriptures, “a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.” (Psalm 119:105) The words of Jesus, the

Happy Ordination Anniversary February 6

Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz (ordained bishop)

February 7

Father Hendrik Ardianto, SCJ Catholic Parishes of Northwest Mississippi

February 19

Father Vijaya Bhaskar Madanu, SVD

Holy Ghost & Holy Family, Jackson

BISHOP’S SCHEDULE Friday, Feb. 2, 10 a.m. – Four Immortal Chaplain’s Day Celebration with the MS Army National Guard, Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Jackson

Thank you for answering the call!

Volume 70 Number 4 (ISSN 1529-1693)

P.O. Box 2130 Jackson, MS 39225-2130 Phone: 601-969-3581 E-mail: editor@jacksondiocese.org Publisher ........................................................................................... Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz Communications Director ....................................................................... Joanna Puddister King Production Manager....................................................................................................Tereza Ma

Friday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m. – St. Richard School’s Krewe de Cardinal, The South Warehouse, Jackson Saturday, Feb. 10, 1 p.m. – World Marriage Day Celebration, Cathedral of St. Peter, Jackson Sunday, Feb. 11, 11 a.m. – World Marriage Day Celebration, St. James, Tupelo Tuesday, Feb. 13, 7:30 a.m. – Mass, Carmelite Monastery, Jackson

Contributors ......................................................................................................... Berta Mexidor

Sunday, Feb. 18, 2 p.m. – Rite of Election, St. Francis, Madison

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.

Friday, Feb. 23, 6 p.m. – 20th Anniversary Celebration for Dedication of Church Building, Christ the King, Southaven

Website: www.mississippicatholic.com w www.jacksondiocese.org

Saturday, Feb. 24, 11 a.m. – Rite of Election, St. John, Oxford Sunday, Feb. 25, 5 p.m. – Confirmation, St. Richard, Jackson All events are subject to change. Check with parishes and schools for further details.

JANUARY 26, 2024 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC

4 VOCATIONS CALLED BY NAME Our seminarians are off and running for the new semester. Since we have a new entrant into our ranks, I’ll take a moment to update you on where everyone is.

Deacon Tristan Stovall is starting his final semester at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He will be ordained to the priesthood on May 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson.

I invite you to come and join us for this joyous occasion, especially if you have never been to an ordination before.

Will Foggo is at Notre Dame and he is preparing for a summer at St. Dominic HopiFather Nick Adam tal as a chaplain. Seminarians typically take one summer to work in the hospital to help them prepare for this vital ministry upon ordination. I am so grateful to the pastoral care staff at St. Dominic who have been very supportive of our seminarians since we began working with them back in 2016. I was actually one of the first seminarians, along with now Father Mark Shoffner, who worked with the pastoral care staff.

EJ Martin is nearing graduation from the philosophy program at Notre Dame. He’ll have four years of theology and formation training prior to ordination. Grayson Foley will graduate with his bachelor’s in philosophy from St. Joseph Seminary in Covington this May after four years of study. He’ll be transferring to Notre Dame in the fall to begin his theology studies in the same class as EJ! Grayson and EJ will both

be attending the Institute for Priestly Formation in Omaha, Nebraska this summer. This program is well known and well-loved by those who have attended. It is a two-month program with seminarians from across the country with a special focus on priestly spirituality and helps future priests prioritize prayer in their ministry.

Our newest seminarians, as I’ve stated in this space recently, are Wilson Locke, Francisco Maldonado and Joe Pearson. All three of these men are in the ‘propaedeutic’ stage of their formation. This is a fancy word that means ‘preparatory.’ This stage involves a large focus on ‘habit building’ and de-emphasizes academics. The bishops want to make sure that seminarians don’t just focus on getting good grades and seeing their formation as an academic pursuit, and so the first months of formation are focused on being a man of God – creating or growing in habits of prayer, acting virtuously and building strong relationships. Wilson and Francisco enjoyed their first semester as ‘propa-dudes’ – unofficial title – and Joe is just starting his time in this stage of formation. All three of these men will be assigned at parishes this coming summer so they can get a feel for the diocese and witness diocesan priesthood in action.

We continue to pray for all our seminarians in their various stages of formation!

– Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

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Spirituality 5

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC JANUARY 26, 2024

The law of gravity and the Holy Spirit IN EXILE

By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI

stood that the same breath that animates and orders physical creation is also the source of all wisdom, harmony, peace, creativity, morality and fidelity. God’s breath was understood to be as moral as it is physical, as unifying as it is creative, and as wise as it is daring. For them, the breath of God was one force and it did not contradict itself. The physical and the spiritual world were not set against each other. One Spirit was understood to be the source of both.

We need to understand things in the same way. We need to let the Holy Spirit, in all its fullness, animate our lives. What this means concretely is that we must not let ourselves be energized and driven too much by one part of the Spirit to the detriment of other parts of that same Spirit.

Thus, there shouldn’t be creativity in the absence of morality, education in the absence of wisdom, sex

in the absence of commitment, pleasure in the absence of conscience, and artistic or professional achievement in the absence of personal fidelity. Not least, there shouldn’t be a good life for some in the absence of justice for everyone. Conversely, however, we need to be suspicious of ourselves when we are moral but not creative, when our wisdom fears critical education, when our spirituality has a problem with pleasure, and when our personal fidelity is over-defensive in the face of art and achievement. One Spirit is the author of all of these. Hence, we must be equally sensitive to each of them.

Someone once quipped that a heresy is something that is nine-tenths true. That’s our problem with the Holy Spirit. We’re forever into partial truth when we don’t allow for a connection between the law of gravity and the Sermon on the Mount.

A sound theology and a sound science will both recognize that the law of gravity and the Holy Spirit are one in the same principle. There isn’t a different spirit undergirding the physical than the spiritual. There’s one spirit that’s speaking through both the law of gravity and the Sermon on the Mount.

If we recognized that same Spirit is present in everything, in physical creation, in love, in beauty, in human creativity and (Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teachin human morality; we could hold er and award-winning author. He can be contacted more things together in a fruitful through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.) tension rather than putting them in opposition and having the different gifts of the God’s Spirit fight each The Pope’s Corner other. What does this mean?

We have too many unhealthy dichotomies in our lives. Too often we find ourselves choosing between things that should not be in opposition to each other and are in the unhappy position of having to pick between two things which are both, in themtual disabilities, with prisoners, migrants and poor

By Carol Glatz selves, good. We live in a world in which, too often, VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Sports has the power to families. the spiritual is set against the physical, morality “It is good that everyone participates in these meetunite people, regardless of their differences, and to is set against creativity, wisdom is set against edremind everyone they are part of one human family, ings with the same dignity, including Olympic and ucation, commitment is set against sex, conscience Paralympic champions, diplomats and members of the Pope Francis said. is set against pleasure, and personal fidelity is set “It is an instrument of inclusion that breaks down Curia. I repeat the word ‘closeness,’ a closeness that against creative and professional success. becomes tender with sport,” he said. barriers and celebrates diversity,” he said Jan. 13.

Obviously there’s something wrong here. If one “Sport is a means to express one’s talents, but also And with the summer Olympic and Paralympic force, God’s Spirit, is the single source that aniGames scheduled this year, “my hope is that, in the to build society,” the pope said. “Sport teaches us the mates all these things then clearly we should not particularly dark historical moment we are living, value of fraternity. We are not islands: on the pitch, it be in a position of having to choose between them. sport can build bridges, break down barriers, and fos- does not matter where a person comes from, what lanIdeally we should be choosing both because the ter peaceful relations,” he added, recalling the tradi- guage or culture they speak. What counts is the comone, same Spirit undergirds both. mitment and the common goal.” tion of the “Olympic truce.”

Is this true? Is the Holy Spirit both the source of “This unity in sport is a powerful metaphor for our The pope made his remarks during an audience gravity and the source of love? Yes. At least if the with members of the Vatican’s sports association, lives. It reminds us that despite our differences, we are Scriptures are to be believed. They tell us that the “Athletica Vaticana,” and representatives of partner- all members of the same human family. Sport has the Holy Spirit is both a physical and a spiritual force, ing organizations, such as the world governing body power to unite people, regardless of their physical, the source of all physicality and of all spirituality of cycling – the Union Cycliste Internationale and the economic or social abilities,” he said. all at the same time.

“I encourage every one of you to see sport as a path Italian Athletics Federation. Cardinal José Tolentino We first meet the person of the Holy Spirit in de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and of life that may help you to build a more united comthe opening line of the Bible: In the beginning there Education, and Bishop Paul Tighe, dicastery secre- munity and to promote the values of Christian life: was a formless void and the Spirit of God hovered loyalty, sacrifice, team spirit, commitment, inclusion, tary, were also present. over the chaos. In the early chapters of the ScripFounded in 2019, Athletica Vaticana includes Vat- asceticism, redemption,” he said, highlighting the imtures, the Holy Spirit is presented as a physical ican employees or citizens, priests, nuns and mem- portance of amateur sports, “which is the lifeblood of force, a wind that comes from the very mouth of sporting activity.” bers of the Swiss Guard, God and not only shapes and orders physical creand competes in sporting ation but is also the energy that lies at the base competitions on the local, of everything, animate and inanimate alike: Take national and internationaway your breath, and everything returns to dust. al level.

The ancients believed there was a soul in everyIn his speech, the pope thing and that soul, God’s breath, held everything expressed his “joy at the together and gave it meaning. They believed this presence of Athletica even though they did not understand, as we do toVaticana on the streets, day, the workings of the infra-atomic world: how the tracks and playing the tiniest particles and energy waves already posfields, and for your Chrissess erotic electrical charges, how hydrogen seeks tian witness in the great out oxygen, and how at the most elemental level of world of sport.” physical reality energies are already attracting and “Athletica Vaticana repelling each other just as people do. They could has been committed to not explain these things scientifically as we can, promoting fraternity, inbut they recognized, just as we do, that there is alclusion and solidarity, ready some form bearing witness to the of “love” inside Christian faith among all things, howsportsmen and women, ever inanimate. amateurs and professionThey attributed als,” he said. all of this to God’s Wholesale and home He praised their debreath, a wind freezer service sire to be close to those that comes from Beef – Pork – Sausage who are “fragile” or marGod’s mouth and 109 - A Camellia Dr. ginalized and their initia- Pope Francis meets with members of “Athletica Vaticana,” a sports organizaultimately anitives with young people tion associated with Vatican City State, and members of partnering organizamates rocks, wawith physical or intellec- tions at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2024. (CNS photo/Vatican Media) ter, animals and human beings.

They under-

Sports can unite the world, celebrate diversity, pope tells athletes

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JANUARY 26, 2024 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC

6 DIOCESE

' ... We must fight for life ...'

– Continued from page 1 – Aisha Taylor, author of "Navigating the Impossible: A Survival Guide for Single Moms," took to the rally stage and reminded the crowd, "It was people like you who helped people like me to choose life for my unborn twins."

"I am eternally grateful for that pregnancy center," she said, adding that her presence among them was part of her pledge to "pay it forward" for all the support she had received to choose life.

But March for Life speakers also indicated strongly that changing the culture for life did not just affect the unborn, but extended to all human beings. Rallygoers watched on the screens a preview of the movie "Cabrini" – a film about St. Frances Xavier Cabrini who cared for immigrants, orphans and people of all races – which Mancini said exemplified the march's theme.

A voiceover in the "Cabrini" trailer reflected that New York, where Mother Cabrini ministered, is a city "built on immigrant bone."

It said, "Is this bone not ours as well? Did we not all arrive as immigrants? Do we not owe these children, our children, a life better than a rat's?"

Benjamin Watson, a former NFL tight end, said prolife advocates must embark on "a new fight for life" that also addresses the factors behind abortion, and he connected those efforts to the wider struggle for peace and justice in society.

"Roe is done, but we still live in a culture that knows not how to care for life," Watson said.

The national march also showcased organizers' determination to mobilize the thousands gathered for immediate and effective action. At one point, Mancini invited the crowds to pull out their phones and told them to text MARCH to 73075 and "send a message to

Congress that you want to protect pregnancy resource centers."

"We want to make sure Congress hears you are pro-life and we support pro-life policies," said Mancini. She pointed to the large screens, which featured a map of the U.S. with "pins" showing in real time how many people were texting the number. As pins filled up the map, Mancini cajoled people from states lagging behind in pins.

"I think California needs a little love," she said.

"Come on, Texas!"

More pins popped up on the screens. Marchers also were encouraged to take the time to visit their members of Congress in person and ask them to affirm life-affirming policies.

Thousands of Catholics participating in the march came from prayer vigils and Masses held that day or the evening before.

At the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, preached to a crowd of 7,000 gathered for a vigil Mass that was followed by a National Holy Hour for Life.

At the morning Mass in the basilica Jan. 19, Bishop Earl K. Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, encouraged Catholics not to get discouraged by setbacks in the prolife movement but to recall how Jesus Christ "fell three times under the weight of his cross but he got back up."

"Even after defeats we get back up and we march for life in radical solidarity with women and children," he said.

Sarai Gonzalez, 18, a public school student from Detroit who was attending the national march for the second time, said she was touched by Bishop Fernandes' homily during the Mass, calling it inspirational and moving.

"I felt at peace and loved. I felt the fire of the Holy Spirit within me," she said.

Braving the freezing temperatures of the early morning were nearly 6,000 youth and adults who joined the March for Life Rally coming from the second annual Life Fest at the D.C. Armory, where they had fortified themselves listening to inspiring music and personal testimonies, and engaged in Eucharistic adoration and Mass.

As the snow continued to fall, thousands of marchers took to the streets to march between the Capitol and the Supreme Court buildings as the song "God bless America" rang out through the loudspeakers.

Before she went to the rally stage and on to march, Mancini told OSV News what she hoped people take away from the March for Life – besides "a lot of snowballs."

"I hope that they take away that the pro-life movement is about the full flourishing of both mom and baby," she said.

Ashley McGuire of The Catholic Association told OSV News that the march demonstrates that even with the end of Roe "there's still a lot of work to be done." In fact, the theme of the next day's 25th Annual Cardinal O'Connor Conference on Life at Georgetown University focused on this pro-life challenge: "Discerning the next 25 years."

"But I think we still have that same kind of youthful energy that we need to finish the work that was started," she said.

It was a point Gonzalez emphasized as well. "This march shows everyone – women, men, children and politicians – that we do not support abortion," she said.

"We can't let peer pressure hold us back," she added. "We can't be mediocre. We must fight for life."

Peter Jesserer Smith is the national news and features editor for OSV News. Follow him on X ( formerly known as Twitter) @jesserersmith. Maria-Pia Chin, Spanish editor for OSV News and Kate Scanlon, OSV News national reporter covering Washington, also contributed to this report.

' ... The power of the prayer of God's people has been displayed ...'

– Continued from page 1 – The statement continued, "They have been received by Vatican authorities, in compliance with agreements of good faith and good will, which seek to promote understanding and improve communication between the Holy See and Nicaragua, for peace and good."

The statement struck an unusually respectful tone – far from the government's frequent accusations of terrorism and coup mongering against church leaders, who attempted to unsuccessfully facilitate a national dialogue after mass protests erupted demanding Ortega's ouster. The Nicaraguan government also severed relations with the Vatican and expelled the nuncio, Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, in 2022. The Vatican subsequently closed its embassy in March 2023.

"We recognize the chance for direct, prudent and very serious dialogue, a responsible and careful dialogue," the government statement said.

The release of 19 churchmen – including Bishop Mora and more than a dozen priests detained during a wave of detentions over the Christmas period – provoked reactions of joy among Nicaraguans in exile, along with statements of defiance.

"With great joy, I thank God that my brother bishops, priests, and seminarians are out of prison. Justice has triumphed. The power of the prayer of God's people has been displayed," Bishop Báez said on X, formerly Twitter.

Ambassador Brian A. Nichols, assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, said on X that the regime "expelled 19 unjustly detained Catholic clergy, including Bishop Álvarez."

"We are reassured to see the release of these religious leaders. All people have the right to worship at home and abroad. We continue to call for the release of all those unjustly detained and the restoration of the fundamental freedoms of the Nicaraguan people," Nichols emphasized.

Bishop Álvarez has become the face of resistance in Nicaragua, raising his voice against the increasing intolerance of the Sandinista regime – which has subdued the business community, forced the free press out of the country and attempted to control the Catholic Church.

The bishop spent more than 500 days in custody after police arrested him in August 2022 during a pre-dawn raid on his diocesan curia, where he had been holed up protesting the seizure of Catholic media outlets. In February 2023, He was sentenced to 26 years in prison on charges of conspiracy and spreading false information – one day after he refused to leave the country.

Bishop Álvarez refused subsequent attempts at exiling him – as expulsion or refusing priests reentry to the country after traveling abroad became a common tactic.

"The dictatorship feels safer or more comfortable with religious people outside the country than inside the country," Arturo McFields Yescas, a former Nicaraguan diplomat in exile, told OSV News.

"When they are inside (the country) they consider them a threat, a danger, a counterweight to their official narrative. And when they are outside, (the regime) feels that they no longer have that critical voice, or that voice of truth, which spoke to the people and people listened to," he said.

Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa walks outside a Catholic church in Managua May 20, 2022. After more than 500 days' detention, the Ortega regime released the prelate, who has been the Nicaraguan government's most prominent critic, from prison Jan. 14, 2023, and sent into exile along with 18 other imprisoned churchmen. Bish(David Agren writes for OSV News from Mexico op Álvarez safely landed in Rome Jan. 14, the Vatican con- City.) firmed. (OSV News photo/Maynor Valenzuela, Reuters)

Catholic Schools Week 2024 Jan. 28 - Feb. 3

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK ANNUNCIATION SCHOOL 223 North Browder Street, Columbus, MS 39702 www.annunciationcatholicschool.org Instagram/Twitter: @Annunciation_cs TikTok: @acseagles

Pre-K4 thru 8th Grade

(662)328-4479

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2024 CATHEDRAL SCHOOL 701 N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Street, Natchez, MS 39120 www.cathedralgreenwave.com Facebook: @cathedralschoolnatchez Instagram: @cathedralschool_natchez

Pre-K3 thru 12th Grade

(601)442-2531

COLUMBUS – Huff Morgan and Luke Thomas are amazed during reading time at Annunciation School. (Photo courtesy of school)

NATCHEZ – Kindergarteners – Jack Aubic, Anna Claire Mireles and Colin Gibson – pray during Atrium time. (Photo courtesy of school)

“I see ‘Amazing Grace’ in how my grandchildren have thrived and grown during their time at Annunciation. Two of my grandchildren are ACS graduates and now excel in high school, while one of my grands still attends in the fourth grade and has made incredible strides thanks to her teachers. For us, the Dyslexia Therapy program has really made an impact on not only Whitney’s academics, but her confidence. We will always be thankful for this precious school.”

– Mary Helen Waggoner, ACS grandmother

“In my school I have witnessed ‘Amazing Grace’ when people fully accept God’s grace and that he is our Lord and Savior. Following that, they can live their lives joyfully and peacefully in harmony with God and his children.”

– Tracen Cusic, seventh grade student

TRADITION: Annual Art Auction – Annual event where our students work together and each class does a themed art project that is later auctioned off to the highest bidder. This event allows us to come together as a school and also allows us to get our parish community involved. This is an open event for anyone in the school, church and community. In February, we will host our 23rd Art Auction.

SERVICE: Annunciation school is passionate about community outreach. “Jeans for Green” is held monthly, and benefits one grade’s service project each month. These proceeds go to a number of recipients including Operation Christmas Child, St. Vincent De Paul, Columbus Humane Society, the MS College Dyslexia Center and others. During Catholic School’s Week, the Jeans for Green service project is school-wide and this year, the school will be raising money and volunteering with Bedz4Kidz. Additionally, the school has programs such as Valentines for Veterans, Special Friends Program at the local nursing homes, and last year, students donated over 1,000 bags of food to Loaves and Fishes.

TRADITION: First Day of School Senior Sunrise Prayer Service has become a much-loved tradition at Cathedral School. On the first day of the school year, the senior class meets on the football field to begin their last first day of school together in prayer.

SERVICE: Cathedral School has a long standing tradition of conducting Advent service projects to assist the Natchez community. During this Advent season, students and families demonstrated “Amazing Grace” from Pre-K through grade 12 with the following projects: • Pre-K3 and Pre-K4: students sent a Christmas Care Package to alumni, Wyatt Fair (2023) currently in Army basic training.

• Kindergarten and first grade: collected and distributed travel size hygiene products and socks to the Senior Citizen Center and Stewpot.

• Second – fifth grade: collected gifts for families in need through Catholic Charities.

• Middle School: collected food and items needed for the Natchez Stewpot.

• High School: collected food and items needed for the Natchez Adams County Humane Society.

Continuing the Proud Tradition of Catholic Education

www.cathedralgreenwave.com

Natchez w 601-445-9844

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK ST. PAUL EARLY LEARNING CENTER 5969 Highway 25, Flowood, MS 39232 www.saintpaullearningcenter.com Facebook/Instagram: Search St. Paul Early Learning Center

Infants thru Pre-K5

(601)992-2876

FLOWOOD – The “Older Twos’” class makes lemonade to share with friends. (Photo courtesy of school) “I witness ‘Amazing Grace’ daily at St. Paul ELC when my children are truly excited to attend school because they love the staff, curriculum and time with friends.”

– Allison Wallace, parent

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2024 ST. ELIZABETH SCHOOL 150 Florence Avenue, Clarksdale, MS 38614 http://seseagles.com Facebook: @seclarksdale Instagram: @seseagles47

Pre-K3 thru 6th Grade

(662)624-4239

CLARKSDALE – St. Elizabeth sixth graders, Anna Mims Linley and Avery Ruscoe, sort and pack donation items for Fairland Treatment Center for their Advent Service Project. Fairland Treatment Center serves residents with “Amazing Grace” as a long-term residential alcohol and drug facility specializing in the unique needs of pregnant women, mothers, and fathers with children. (Photo courtesy of school)

“I witness ‘Amazing Grace’ at St. Paul Early Learning Center every day as the Lord provides me with a place that I feel totally at peace sending my children to as a working mom. I am thankful for their precious teachers, directors and support staff for loving and guiding them as they grow and learn each day.”

– Maegan Speights, parent

“Choosing a Catholic School not only enriches our children academically but also spiritually. The amazing grace and love of God literally shines through their smiling faces each and everyday. I’m so thankful to be a part of SES! “

– Vanessa Campbell, second grade assistant teacher

MISSION: Christ-centered, quality care, early education for the whole child.

MISSION: St. Elizabeth School provides a safe and loving environment where all members of our school family become life-long learners and disciples of Christ.

TRADITIONS: Each December the school celebrates the Christmas Story with a program that includes all the children – ages two months to five years old.

At the end of the school year, St. Paul Early Learning Center celebrates with a “Family Fun Day’” with barnyard animals, snow cones, a picnic lunch and lots of games.

SERVICE: Every year the school hosts a luncheon for first responders to show appreciation for their service to the community. Additionally, the school assists the St. Paul parish Backpack Ministry by collecting food for children in need.

TRADITION: The St. Elizabeth Parish Fair has been held for more than 75 years to support our school. It is an event the entire Clarksdale community looks forward to each year.

SERVICE: The school offers “Free Fridays” where students bring $1 to wear their choice of bottoms with an SES t-shirt. All funds collected are donated to a charity such as our local animal shelter or St. Jude Hospital.

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK SISTER THEA BOWMAN SCHOOL 1217 Hattiesburg Street, Jackson, MS 39209 www.theabowmanschool.com Facebook: @SrTheaBowmanCatholicSchool Instagram: @srtheabowmanjackson

Pre-K3 thru 6 Grade th

(601)352-5441

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2024 ST. JOSEPH SCHOOL 308 New Mannsdale Road, Madison, MS 39110 www.stjoebruins.com Facebook: @StJosephMadison Instagram/Twitter: @stjoemadison

7th thru 12th grade

(601)898-4800

JACKSON – Deacon Denzil Lobo gives a blessing to Pre-K students, Ka’Miyah Anderson and Joelle Carpenter, during Friday Mass. (Photo courtesy of school)

MADISON – Senior Brandon Cooley helps Theology chair, Ryan Starrett deliver collected food items to The Gleaners to provide meals for families who don’t have enough to eat. (Photo courtesy of school)

“I witness ‘Amazing Grace’ through everyone getting along with each other. We pray everyday during the morning and afternoon announcements. We pray for each other also.

We sing at Mass and programs.”

– Harry Noel Chia, fourth grade

“Amazing Grace encompasses the atmosphere at St. Joseph Catholic School through everyone who sets foot on the beautiful campus. Here at St. Joe, we welcome all – the academic, the athlete, the artist, the advocate, the amuser – and encourage everyone to live out the gifts God has given them. On the daily, I witness academically inclined students helping developing learners or talented athletes cheering on budding ones to keep pushing. Everyone has purpose here.” – Jessica Brown, seventh grade parent and senior English/Dual Credit teacher

“We sing ‘Amazing Grace’ every year during Black History month. The teachers uplift us to be better students each day. The student council works together to have events that the other students will enjoy.”

– Caleb Johnson, sixth grade TRADITIONS: The annual $5,000 Draw Down is held the last Saturday in April to raise funds for the school. Also, parents and the parish community look forward to student performances in the annual Christmas program.

SERVICE: Green 4 Jeans – Every Wednesday, students donate $1 to give back to a charity of our student council’s choice.

Due to the water crisis in Jackson on multiple occasions, the school began a recycling initiative where they recycle empty water bottles and cans. The school has partnered with “Replenysh” to ensure products are recycled properly.

PreK3 - 6th Grade theabowmanschool.com 601.352.5441

1217 Hattiesburg St. Jackson, MS 39209

TRADITION: The holiday cheer at St. Joseph Catholic School extends beyond the campus, reaching the wider community through the much-anticipated annual Christmas concert, Gifts of the Season. This event, starring the Bruin Band and St. Joe Singers, has become a beloved tradition that brings together students, families, and community members for an afternoon of musical delight spreading Christmas joy and goodwill.

SERVICE: Guided by the principles of compassion and empathy, each student, from middle school to seniors, actively participates in service projects designed to spread love and support to those in need. This year, middle school students took the lead in the Thanksgiving drive, assembling 20 family boxes for the season. Each box thoughtfully contained a $25 gift card for a turkey, ensuring that families could enjoy a bountiful feast. Moreover, the students collected a staggering 595 pounds of food, which were delivered to the Gleaners organization, to alleviating hunger in the community.

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK VICKSBURG CATHOLIC SCHOOL 1900 Grove Street/ 1400 Hayes Street, Vicksburg, MS 39183 St. Francis Xavier/St. Aloysius www.vicksburgcatholic.org Facebook: @vicksburgcatholicschool Instagram: @vicksburg_catholic_school

Pre-K3 thru 12 grade th

(601)636-2256 (601)636-4824

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2024 HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL 395 West Street, Holly Springs, MS 38635 www.hfamilyschool.org Facebook: @hfamilyschool Twitter: @holyfamilyscho9

Pre-K3 thru 8th grade

(662)252-1612

VICKSBURG – Senior Theology students assist lower elementary students as part of the Senior Buddies program. (Photo courtesy of school)

HOLLY SPRINGS – Holy Family students sort and package fresh fruit for food baskets to help struggling families in the Holly Springs area. (Photo courtesy of school)

“Being a part of a Catholic school community means to me that I have a family that will always be there for me – most importantly to help me strengthen my relationship with God. It means to me that I have a family that loves me, will always support me, and will push me to my full potential that God has planned for me. Being a part of this amazing Catholic School community is something that I will forever be thankful for and I don’t know what I would do without them.”

– Grace Windham – senior and member of St Michael’s Catholic Church

”We remain steadfast and remember the Lord in everything that we do. We praise Him for his everlasting mercy and rejoice in Him at all times.”

– Anita Pledge, Kindergarten teacher

“By seeing students be kind to each other, give each other grace, and make genuine attempts to make the days of their classmates and teachers brighter and full of love.”

– Noah Ponder, sixth grade MISSION: Lead with humility, Serve with love, Strive for excellence, Prepare for distinction.

TRADITION: In the spring, students memorialize and honor loved ones, both past and present, by inviting the community to join in prayer by walking the prayer labyrinth.

SERVICE: Each year, students collect food for the food pantry, make Christmas cards and ornaments for the Carmelite Monastery and participate in the yearly Sister Fatima Thanksgiving Basket Collection.

VICKSBURG CATHOLIC SCHOOL Lead with Humility Serve with Love Strive for Excellence Prepare for Distinction

www.vicksburgcatholic.org

”Being a part of a Catholic school community allows the unique opportunity to combine our Christian obligation of serving others through projects which target the needy of the community with an education in academics as well as the Catholic faith.”

– Lesa Scott, interim principal MISSION: Holy Family School is a Catholic environment dedicated to developing young people whose actions reflect respect, love, compassion, knowledge and integrity.

TRADITION: All staff and students gather for daily prayer and devotions. The school’s Reading Around the Christmas Tree program and annual Christmas production are dearly held school traditions.

SERVICE: Students take part in a variety of service projects throughout the year, including: volunteering at the Sacred Heart Southern Missions Mobile Food Pantry and Garden Café (soup kitchen); delivering Thanksgiving and Christmas food/gift boxes to elderly community members; as well as, various individual service projects throughout the year.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

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JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2024

NATCHEZ – The Cathedral School Emerald Tide Dance Team prays prior to an out of town Friday night football game. (Photo by Cara Moody) COLUMBUS – Annunciation first grader, Noah Stafford, happily receives a blessing from Father Jeffrey during our Thursday morning Mass service. (Photo

by Logan Gentry)

HOLLY SPRINGS – Bishop Kopacz celebrated Mass at Holy Family school in October 2023 and took time to visit our classrooms.

(Photo by Laura Grisham) CLARKSDALE – Preschool and kindergarten students sang Christmas carols for residents of Flowers Manor, a local assisted living community in Clarksdale. (Photo by Sarah Cauthen)

MADISON – James Bowen and Mac Brown enjoying hanging out together during Malouf Construction’s visit for “Community Helper” month at Assisi Early Learning Center. (Photo by Chiquita Brown)

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

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JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2024 JACKSON – Sister Thea Bowman School hosted a Thanksgiving Lunch on Nov. 16. Students were able to invite their parents, grandparents, and relatives to fell o w ship together and be thankful for God’s G r a c e .

(Photo by Chris Payne)

GREENVILLE – Abigail Duthu helps load up cans at St. Vincent de Paul for the Annual St. Joseph School Canned Food Drive. (Photo by Nikki Thompson)

JACKSON – St. Richard sixth graders, Lorin Bass and Sutton Davis help a shopper for the Manhattan Mall Service Project. Annually, sixth graders collect items and set up a shopping area for residents of the Manhattan Nursing Home to choose Christmas gifts for themselves and family members. (Photo by Kelly Kron)

FLOWOOD – The Pre-K4 class works as a team to build a structure in the outdoor play area. (Photo by Susan R. Irby)

MADISON – Sixth grader Nicholas Harris assists second grader Ava Harris with her preparation for First Reconciliation. (Photo by Anne Cowger)

MERIDIAN – First grade teacher Melanie Pressly helps students, from left to right, Isadora Oregon, Krit Patel and Jace Smith with their reading. (Photo

by Helen Reynolds)

SOUTHAVEN – The Sacred Heart School fifth and sixth grade varsity volleyball team won the league championship, as well as the tournament championship for the Parochial Athletic Association. (Photo by Bridget B. Martin)

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK ST. JOSEPH SCHOOL 1501 V.F.W. Road, Greenville, MS 38701 Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary St. Joseph Middle/High School www.stjoeirish.org Facebook: @sjsgreenville

Pre-K3 thru 12 grade th

(662)334-3287 (662)378-9711

JANUARY 29 – FEBRUARY 4, 2023 ASSISI EARLY LEARNING CENTER 4000 West Tidewater Lane, Madison , MS 39110 www.aelcmadison.org Facebook: @AELCMadison

Infants thru Pre-K4

(601)856-9494

GREENVILLE – Sophia Jones and the Interact Club visited Magnolia Gardens Nursing Home and delivered handmade Christmas ornaments and sang a few Christmas carols. (Photo courtesy of school)

MADISON – Robin Love assists Nathaniel Hernandez to explore a vehicle on “Community Helper Visit Day” at Assisi Early Learning Center. (Photo courtesy of school)

“I am witnessing ‘Amazing Grace’ in my school by the family the school has created. Everyone lifts each other up. The Irish family feels like a home which helps people succeed.

The family the school has built is everlasting and will continue to bring joy to my life, as I succeed and thrive with others from this family.”

– Kent Tonos, senior MISSION: The mission of the St. Joseph Catholic School is to provide a Catholic faith-based education rooted in Gospel values offered in a safe, caring, academically challenging and creative environment.

“Amazing grace is shown in the way the teachers love the children!” – Jennifer Kilburn

TRADITION: A unique tradition at the school is the big/lil program that fosters relationships between older students and younger ones. This is something that each student looks forward to at some point in both elementary and high school.

SERVICE: Each year the sixth grade class participates in an Advent service project where they adopt six children through the Department of Human Services for Christmas. The students then do a little shopping for them to help fill the season with a little more joy.

Each year students also collect food to donate to St. Vincent de Paul. The organization allows those who need it to come in and have access to things that they need throughout the year and especially during the holidays.

“ Amazing grace is shown daily at Assisi Early Learning Center. The teachers love like Jesus.

They accept their students for who they are and celebrate the students for who they are as individuals. AELC also shows daily grace to us parents by exhibiting compassion and mercy as we work together to raise our children to show God’s grace to others.”

– Anabeth Duncani MISSION: Assisi Early Learning Center is a faith-based childcare center that strives to educate the whole child. We strive to help children grow socially, emotionally, academically and spiritually. From six-weeks to four-years of age, children at Assisi are cared for in a safe, loving and educational environment.

TRADITION: We have a tradition that we have a door decorated with Christmas cards from both current and past families. When it is Mardi Gras season, the school holds a Mardi Gras parade with the children, with traditional Mardi Gras music and a dance party around the courtyard.

As a center, each year the school hosts a huge Thanksgiving feast for families and students make handprint gifts for the parents for Christmas.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK ST. RICHARD SCHOOL 100 Holly Drive Jackson, MS 39206 www.strichardschool.org Facebook: @StRichardJackson Instagram: @saintrichardcardinals

9 Pre-K3 thru 6 Grade th

(601)366-1157

JACKSON – Beck Kenyon, Parker Ramsey, Samuel Nicholas, Olivia Mokry, Federico Diaz, Presley Creel, Cecilia Brown and Lucius Hoover were recognized on “Praise Friday” – a monthly celebration where students gather for prayer and recognized for virtuous deeds such as kindness towards others, being helpful and working hard. (Photo courtesy of school) “When I think about grace, I think about the idea that it is free and undeserved – a gift. So much about our school is a gift to me as a teacher and as a parent. I witness this gift at Mass in the voices of children being used to serve in the liturgy and in the atrium where they share their love of Jesus so freely. I witness it in the classrooms of my own children – in the love they are given by each of the adults they interact with. This is a school filled with ‘Amazing Grace’ and, no matter how undeserved, I’m so grateful to be on the receiving end of it.”

– Catherine Simmons, Religious Education teacher and parent TRADITIONS: The school honors the Sisters of Mercy each year by hosting a Mercy Day Mass and Tea for them as founders of the school. Also, the school has a house system that separates students into four houses that have competitions and participate in monthly service projects.

SERVICE: St. Richard School participates in monthly service projects. The school works to mold students to be community-minded adults. Students are encouraged to participate in collections for Birthright, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and Pennies for Patients. Not every month involves physically donating items, rather the students are encouraged to think of other ways to give back to the community by writing notes and cards of encouragement for seminarians and patients in facilities such as St. Dominic Hospital.

Serving a need for parents who have to work by providing a loving, safe, stimulating environment in which each child can become the best version of themselves.

A ministry of St. Francis of Assisi Parish

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2024 ST. ANTHONY SCHOOL 1585 Old Mannsdale Road, Madison, MS 39110 www.stanthonyeagles.org Facebook: @StAnthonyEagles Instagram: @st.anthonycatholicschool

Pre-K4 thru 6h Grade

(601)607-7054

MADISON – Jonathan Stringer and Joseph Rouse work together to make a blanket for patients at Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital. (Photo courtesy of school) “I witness grace at STA from the moment we start our day in prayer until we end the day.

Our teachers are constantly leading us to be the hands and feet of Jesus and are always willing to help us. I love the way that students go out of their way to make everyone feel welcome at St. Anthony.”

– Josie Jones, student MISSION: Recognizing each child’s unique gifts, our curriculum is taught in the light of Catholic faith, emphasizing character development and academic excellence in a safe, nurturing environment.

TRADITIONS: Because St. Anthony is a ministry of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, they celebrate the Feast of St. Francis with an annual pet blessing. Students look forward to the day each year when their pets can join them at school for a special blessing from the pastor.

SERVICE: The St. Anthony community participates in several service projects each year. Students and their families pack “Boxes of Joy” to send to children overseas through Cross Catholic Outreach, make blankets for community members who are ill in hospitals or nursing homes, collect Silver for Saltillo, make door decorations for the residents of St. Catherine’s Village, and assist with the Mississippi Food Network’s Backpack Ministry.

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK ST. PATRICK SCHOOL 2700 Davis Street, Meridian, MS 39301 www.stpatrickcatholicschool.org Facebook: @stpatrickcatholicschool2700

Pre-K3 thru 6th Grade

(601)482-6044

MERIDIAN – Juliana McKenna and her grandparents, Kay and Mark McKenna, participate in St. Patrick School’s 7th Annual Candy Cane Dash on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (Photo courtesy of school) “At St. Patrick School all students have the opportunity to participate in leading Mass each Thursday. This is a great way for us to serve the Lord and each other.”

– Helena Rutledge, sixth grade student “Being a part of a Catholic School Community means that I learn how to put my faith into action. It is important to know why we do what we do in the Catholic church, and I like having the opportunity to learn about the Catholic faith with my peers.”

– Jackson Spitzkeit, sixth grade student TRADITION: Kindergarten students dress up as saints for the annual All Saints Day Mass and tell a little bit about why their saint is special. Also, first grade students act out a live Stations of the Cross for students and parents on Holy Thursday each year.

SERVICE: Each year St. Patrick students participate in Jeans for Green on the last Friday of each month, where students may wear blue jeans for a $1 or more donation. Funds are giving to a charity at the end of the year.

Students also collect canned goods during November and early December to donate to local charities/food banks.

CELEBRATING

150

YEARS OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION

St. Patrick Catholic School

2700 Davis Street • Meridian, MS 39301 • 601.482.6044 www.stpatrickcatholicschool.org

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2024

SACRED HEART SCHOOL 5150 Tchulahoma Road, Southaven, MS 38671 www.sheartschool.org Facebook: @sheartschool

Pre-K3 thru 8th Grade

(662)349-0900

SOUTHAVEN – Sacred Heart School kindergarteners assist Sister Margaret Sue Broker pick vegetables from the winter gardens. The next day the students got to have a tasting party with what was picked! (Photo courtesy of school) “We begin our day with prayer and sing songs praising the Lord. We are kind to one another and our teachers. During NET Team retreats, we play games about serving the Lord. We have fun and enjoy giving back to our community through several service projects during the year.”

– Lyla Moore, student TRADITION: On the first day of school, eighth grade students are presented with their eighth grade jersey at a special assembly. They may wear the jersey with jeans every Friday if they are in good academic and behavior standing. After the assembly there is a breakfast for the students and their parents.

SERVICE: Students complete many projects throughout the year. The larger projects include various middle school students volunteering monthly at the mobile food pantry, recycling projects and programs like food donations and toy drives. Each month the school highlights a social service ministry at Sacred Heart Southern Mission. Students learn about the ministry, pray for the people volunteering, working and benefitting from the ministry and make a financial donation at the end of the month.

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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK SISTERS OF MERCY EARLY LEARNING CENTER 1220 Howard Street, Vicksburg, MS 39183 www.vicksburgcatholic.org Facebook: @vicksburgcatholicschool Instagram: @vicksburg_catholic_school

Infant thru 2 years

(601)638-5810

JANUARY 28 – FEBRUARY 3, 2024

Gift of Catholic education lasts forever MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION

By Karla Luke

VICKBURG – Sisters of Mercy ELC teacher, Connie Southerland reads to her class of one-year-olds about the color red. Seated from left to right are Brody Gargaro, Miller Masterson, Tanner Carruth, Brody Rushing, Marilyn Maynord, Emma Thornton and John Glenn Carpenter. (Photo courtesy of school) “We witness ‘Amazing Grace’ through the love and care we give to our children. Also, how the staff comes together to take care of the children.”

– Lisa Hubbard, staff member “Our family witnesses ‘Amazing Grace’ from the moment that we walk in the doors at ELC by being welcomed with a smile by all faculty and teachers down the hallway to our classroom. It is heartwarming to experience the love that our teachers have for each student in their care.”

– Sarah Soverns, parent since opening in 2021 TRADITION: Fun traditions at the Sisters of Mercy Early Learning Center include: Make It with Mom; Fishing with Dad; Mercy’s Balloon Parade; Pirate Day; and Pumpkin Patch.

SERVICE: Families and students participate in a variety of service projects, including: Food Pantry; Keep Vicksburg Warm; and United Way.

VICKSBURG CATHOLIC SCHOOL Lead with Humility Serve with Love Strive for Excellence Prepare for Distinction

www.vicksburgcatholic.org

As I look through the pages of the Catholic School Week edition of Mississippi Catholic and see the amazing ways our students have demonstrated the Annual theme of “Amazing Grace,” it causes me to think about the amazing graces I received from the benefits of a Catholic education.

When I reflect on my time in Catholic school, I’m flooded with memories of penny parties, First Friday Mass and doughnuts after, weekly school Mass, school fairs, and moments of big and little recess – all defining elements of my childhood. From first grade through college, the Dominican sisters, my teachers, and principals shaped not just my education but also gave me lasting friendships and mentorships.

Catholic education is not just about academics; but about building a solid spiritual foundation. In today’s complex world, the need for deep spirituality and a connection to Christ is more crucial than ever. During the time of my education and now, teachers and administrators in Catholic schools transcend the traditional roles; they are models of Christian faith and trusted advisors, guiding students in various aspects of life.

In sixth grade, I vividly recall Sister Bernadette emphasizing the importance of prayer during the consecration. She even told us what to say, silently of course! In high school, the encouragement from sisters and teachers to build a community has endured, even years after leaving school. College brought an education steeped in Catholic values, emphasizing our responsibility not only to each other but also to all of God’s creation.

Receiving the gift of a Catholic education, courtesy of the sacrifices from my parents, a second-grade teacher, and a postal worker, formed the basis of our value system. It instilled a strong work ethic and a profound understanding of the value of serving others. In the Diocese of Jackson, our focus is to instill the timeless values of faith, love and service in our students today.

The mission of Catholic education here in the Diocese of Jackson is to support and sustain learning communities that foster disciples pursuing academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment. Teachers and staff work tirelessly every day, following Jesus’ example to teach students how to use their distinct gifts in service to others. Committed educators make personal sacrifices to create a unique atmosphere of a school and church family, providing a sense of belonging.

We extend gratitude to Bishop Joseph Kopacz for supporting Catholic education, recognizing its importance in developing young people. We thank our pastors and canonical pastors, who play a vital role in spiritually nourishing the school community, and the support of groups like the School Advisory Council, parent organizations, and school volunteers enhances the school experience. Our extremely dedicated administrators continually seek ways to enrich the Catholic education experience, and teachers, teacher assistants, and staff invest in students’ lives daily, ensuring holistic development. We express our sincere and profound gratitude to all, acknowledging our deep appreciation.

In the Office of Catholic Education, we consider it a privilege and an honor to serve our school communities. Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to shaping the future.

Our Catholic schools are thriving in a diverse and ever-changing world!

Karla Luke is the executive director of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Jackson.

Catholic Schools Week 2024

January 28 - February 3

Discover the Benefits of Catholic Education...

Join us as we celebrate our schools during National Catholic Schools Week.

For an activities schedule near you, contact your local school.

Visit schools.jacksondiocese.org

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC JANUARY 26, 2024

BRIEFS 7 growing partisanship over migration.

VATICAN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The skills of winegrowers – respect, perseverance and knowing how to prune to produce fruit – are also valuable messages for the soul, Pope Francis said. “Wine, the land, farming skills and entrepreneurial activity are gifts from God,” the pope told winegrowers, winemakers and others taking part in an event organized by Vinitaly – an international wine and spirits exhibition Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, the fifth bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, La., has passed held in Verona, Itaaway at age 63. He died Jan. 19, 2023, from complications related to recent ly, every year for inhealth problems, the diocese announced. He is seen celebrating his installation dustry professionals.

Mass March 29, 2023, at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma. (OSV The event was dedicated to Italian wine News photo/Lawrence Chatagnier, Bayou Catholic) and “the economy of Francesco,” an economy inspired by St. Francis of Assisi that respects the SCHRIEVER, La. (OSV News) – Bishop Mario E. earth and promotes peace and justice. “It is good that Dorsonville of Houma-Thibodaux passed away unex- you find yourselves reflecting together on the ethical pectedly late Jan. 19 due to complications from recent aspects and moral responsibilities involved (in wine health problems, according to the diocese. He was 63. production) and that you draw inspiration from the He is remembered for his various teaching and pasto- ‘Poverello’ of Assisi,” he told the group during an aural roles in his native Colombia as well as his service dience at the Vatican Jan. 22. Respect and kindness are as auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Washington. important in treating the earth, workers and consumBishop Dorsonville had headed the Houma-Thibodaux ers, he said. “Indeed, ‘genuine care for our own lives Diocese as its fifth bishop just under a year since his and our relationships with nature is inseparable from installation on March 29, 2023. Prior to that, the bish- fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others,’” he said, op had served as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese quoting from his encyclical, “Laudato Si’, On Care for of Washington for eight years since his appointment Our Common Home.” Pope Francis thanked the group in 2015. “It is with great sadness and deep shock that for striving to follow the example of St. Francis of AsI announce to you that our beloved Shepherd, Bishop sisi and knowing the importance of harmony, helping Mario Dorsonville, passed away at 6:50 pm this evening the least and respecting creation. after he gave in to complications arising from recent VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis praised the health problems,” Father Simon Peter Engurait, the legacy of an Italian priest who looked for ways the diocese’s vicar general, said in posting the news of the Catholic Church could make sure the poor were not bishop’s death on social media Jan. 19. “My heart is left further behind in the world. “And with wisdom broken.” Washington Auxiliary Bishop Juan Esposito, and love,” the late Father Lorenzo Milani found “the vicar general and moderator of the curia, remembered answer in education, through his model of schooling, Bishop Dorsonville Jan. 20 as “a special soul” and “a which is putting knowledge at the service of those who good and faithful servant of the Lord he loved so well.” are considered the last by others, but first for the GosBishop Dorsonville was a former chairman of the U.S. pel and for him,” the pope said. During an audience at Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migra- the Vatican Jan. 22, the pope met with members of a tion from 2019 to 2022. national committee in charge of last year’s celebraWASHINGTON (OSV News) – The first U.S. Con- tions and initiatives marking the 100th anniversary of ference of Catholic Bishops’ annual report, “State the birth of Father of Religious Liberty in the United States,” published Milani. The priest Jan. 16 said potential threats to religious liberty in used the schoolthe United States largely come in the form of federal room to help “to reregulations or cultural trends. Five top areas of con- store dignity to the cern, the 48-page report said, include attacks against least, respect, enhouses of worship, especially in the aftermath of the titlement to rights Israel-Hamas conflict; the Section 1557 regulation from and citizenship, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, above all the recogwhich the report said “will likely impose a mandate on nition of the sondoctors to perform gender transition procedures and ship of God, which possibly abortions”; threats to religious charities serv- includes all of us.” ing migrants and refugees, “which will likely increase He saw education as the issue of immigration gains prominence in the as the answer to election”; suppression of religious speech “on mar- the question, “How riage and sexual difference”; and the Equal Employ- can the church be ment Opportunity Commission’s Pregnant Workers meaningful and Fairness Act regulations, which the report said “aim to make an impact require religious employers to be complicit in abortion with her message in an unprecedented way.” The report’s introduction so that the poor do said that due to a divided federal government, “most not fall further and introduced bills that threatened religious liberty lan- further behind.” guished,” resulting in threats in the form of “proposed “He invites us not regulations by federal agencies,” or cultural trends like to remain indiffer-

NATION

ent, to interpret reality, to identify the new poor and the new forms of poverty; he invites us instead to approach all those who are excluded and to take them to heart. Every Christian should play his or her part in this,” the pope said.

WORLD

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (OSV News) – Six nuns from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Anne were kidnapped Jan. 19 while traveling on a bus in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the Haitian Conference of Religious. Other passengers on the bus also were taken in the abduction, the conference said in a statement. “These many kidnappings fill the consecrated people of Haiti with sadness and fear,” said the statement, signed by conference president P. Morachel Bonhomme. He prayed that “the spirit of strength be given” to the sisters “to find a way out of this terrible situation.” On Jan. 21 in remarks after the Angelus, Pope Francis appealed for the release of all the hostages, while praying for “social harmony” in the country. Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau et Miragoâne prayed “to help us put an end to this bitter nightmare and this tragic ordeal of our people which has lasted too long.” In a statement published Jan. 19, the bishop offered himself in exchange for the hostages and denounced what he called an “odious and barbaric act which does not even respect the dignity of these consecrated women who give themselves wholeheartedly to God to educate and train the young, the poorest and the vulnerable in our society,” Bishop Dumas wrote, according to a translation posted to social media by Father Louis Mérosné.

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (OSV News) – The situation in the Gaza Strip is “extremely catastrophic,” and people are dying not only from violence but from preventable illnesses, said the CEO of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. “People are really losing their life because of no treatment, no medical care,” Sami El-Yousef, CEO, told OSV News Jan. 20. He repeatedly described the situation as “catastrophic” throughout the interview. The supplies that are being allowed in are being transported from Egypt into southern Gaza Strip. “There have been no supplies allowed into the northern part of Gaza,” including Gaza City, where most Christians are sheltering in the Catholic and Orthodox parishes, El-Yousef said. He said that during January, a black market has sprung up, and things like medicine and blankets were being sold for 10 times the amount they sold for before Israel declared war on Hamas in retaliation for an Oct. 7 land and air attack launched by the militant Islamic group. At the beginning of the war, a Gaza medical clinic run by the Catholic charitable agency Caritas transferred most of its medicine stock to Holy Family Catholic Parish, but all of those supplies are now depleted, El-Yousef said.

El-Yousef said the local Christian community wanted to conduct clothing drives for the Gaza Christian community, but Israel is not allowing goods into Gaza.

8 DIOCESE

By Mary Queen Donnelly

JANUARY 26, 2024 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC

Sister Thea in bronze

At first, this idea did not sit well with Bertha’s parents. After all, Bertha was their only child. Neighbors and friends called her an “old folk’s child.” At her birth, Dr. Bowman had bought an expensive bottle of champagne to be popped open at her wedding. The bottle of champagne, still unopened, is kept in the Thea Museum in Canton, Mississippi.

Davidson and her husband Ken were commissioned to create many works after that moment in Sacred Heart Church in Camden. Among them: a bust of Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze, an African American bishop who was the first bishop of the Biloxi diocese.

In between artistic creations, Mary and Ken taught classes in stone carving, bronze casting and sculpture at workshops for 20 summers in Wisconsin and New Jersey.

They also conducted classes in design, pottery and sculpture in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Although embroiled in many artistic projects, Mary Davidson never forgot that hand on her shoulder in Camden, Mississippi where she first heard of Sister Thea Bowman.

One quiet day in July 2022, Davidson contacted a friend whom she remembered grew up with Sister Thea in their hometown of Canton, Mississippi. Her friend put her in touch with Mary Woodward, Chancellor of the Diocese of Jackson, who serves as diocesan liaison for the canonical process for Sister Thea’s canonization cause.

The rest is an inspirational tale that has resulted in Davidson’s creation of a nearly six-foot clay statue of Sister Thea, currently being prepared by artisans for bronze casting at the Inferno Art Foundry in Union City, Georgia.

Before commissioning David- SAUCIER – Close up details of the Sister Thea Bowman clay son to create the statue, the proj- model sculpted by Mary Davidson in her studio. The bronze ect had to be funded. Scouring her model will be cast at the Inferno Art Foundry in Union City, memory for a potential patron Georgia before being temporarily placed at the Cathedral of who might be interested in sup- St. Peter in jackson. (Photos by August Taconi) porting such a project, Davidson remembered that she had taught phase of the development of a proposal to create a Archbishop Thomas Rodi of the Archdio- bronze statue of Sister Thea, Davidson’s lifelong arcese of Mobile in Alabama, when he was in tistic partner and husband Ken was taken ill. He was eighth grade at Our Lady of Lourdes School diagnosed with Lewy Body Syndrome, a debilitating in New Orleans. At the time, Davidson was and fatal condition that left him with just months or known as Sister Mary Augustine, O.P. – a Do- weeks to live. minican sister.

So, while contemplating the signing of a contract “He was a difficult, typical boy,” David- in March 2023, she relied on her faith to embark on a son remembers. challenging project – without the physical and emoArchbishop Rodi agrees. “We definitely tional assistance of someone she had relied upon for tested her patience and resolve on many oc- a lifetime. casions,” he said.

In addition, she had promised Ken that she would Upon being contacted by Davidson about take care of him. And so it was that Davidson used the proposal to create a bronze statue of what few moments left to bring life to the roll of clay Sister Thea Bowman, Archbishop Rodi was that lay before her. In between struggling to take Ken very interested. As a former bishop of the to doctors, dressing and feeding him, answering his evBiloxi diocese, Archbishop Rodi was very fa- ery call for help (as his mind was deteriorating along miliar with Davidson’s work, especially the with his body) she worked her arthritic fingers into the bust of Bishop Howze. clay – and prayed.

Archbishop Rodi contacted Bishop JoOn Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, Ken died. seph Kopacz of the Diocese of Jackson, to ofDavidson’s friend and spiritual director, Father fer his support in bringing the project to fru- George Murphy, who knew both Ken and Davidson, ition. With the assistance of all the bishops helped her through the dark days ahead. of the Mobile Province – Archbishop Rodi, She had signed a contract. Realizing she needed Bishop Louis Kihneman of Biloxi, Bishop help to continue with the project, she requested the Stephen Raica of Birmingham, and funds assistance of a former student from a class she had from the estate of his predecessor, Bishop taught in Wisconsin.

Joseph Latino – Bishop Kopacz was able to On Oct. 21, 2023, Davidson completed the clay vercommission Davidson to create the statue of sion of the statue. She invited the Sister Thea Statue Sister Thea. Thus, the statue is a unique and Committee to visit her studio in Saucier, Mississippi, symbolic gift from the bishops and dioceses in order to view the statue and give their approval beMary Woodward, Fabvienen Taylor and Mary Davidson stand of Mississippi and Alabama.

– Continued on page 12 – It should be noted that at this critical next to a “life-size” clay model of Sister Thea Bowman.

CANTON – Sculptor Mary Davidson and her co-artist-husband Dr. Kenneth Davidson watched as the “Black Christ” was being erected on the wall behind the altar at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Camden, Mississippi. Suddenly the voice of a parishioner spoke to Mary, almost in a whisper. It was 2007.

“I hope one day you will create a statue of Sister Thea Bowman,” the voice said.

It was the first time Mary Davidson had heard of Sister Thea Bowman. However, having been alerted to the name, she began to take notice of articles about Sister Thea.

She learned that Sister Thea, like herself, was a native Mississippian, that she was the only African American to enter the all-white religious congregation of nuns, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Additionally, she learned that Sister Thea was the grandchild of a slave; and that she converted to Catholicism at age nine from her family’s Protestant religious background. Thea had been inspired by the kindness and love demonstrated by the Franciscan Sisters who had come to serve her community in Canton, Mississippi, by starting a school for African American children.

Bertha, her name at birth, was the treasure of Dr. Theon Edward Bowman, a physician, and her mother Mary Esther Coleman Bowman, educator and housewife. At an early age they transferred Bertha to Holy Child Jesus Catholic School where the Franciscan Sisters administered and taught. As educators, Bertha’s parents were dissatisfied with the caliber of education in the segregated Canton Public Schools.

A bright child, Bertha rapidly advanced at Holy Child School, skipped grades and excelled in every aspect of the curriculum. At age 15, she decided she wanted to leave her beloved home in Canton, Mississippi and join the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC JANUARY 26, 2024

Columns 9

I love a foggy morning ON ORDINARY TIMES

By Lucia A. Silecchia

Perhaps this is a luxury I can enjoy because I am not a pilot, a seafarer or a driver on winding country roads. For those such as these, the inability to see in the distance is not a welcome treat.

But, when I wake up in the morning, look out my seventh story window and see a milky dew fill the air, it brings a special peace. This peace lasts even when I leave home if the streets and sidewalks are still shrouded with early morning mist.

I think my fondness for fog comes in the way it hides all that lies in the distance and forces me to pay attention, willingly or not, only to those things that are close at hand.

Perhaps I appreciate this because, sometimes there is a wisdom to living life inspired by foggy mornings.

Typically, when someone describes feeling “in a fog” this is meant in the pejorative, as something to be avoided. Yet, there is also a beauty in taking time to gaze only on that which is nearby. So often, it is tempting to spend the day looking into the distance and into the future, rather than focusing on that which is up front and close by.

How often do we listen to someone across the table from us, while thinking about the texts we want to answer? How often do we hear someone speaking while we are busily planning ahead for how we will respond? How often do we greet small

Of worrying and wild things FOR THE JOURNEY

By Effie Caldarola

Walking through the park on a brisk winter morning, I glance at the parking lot near the playground and notice a colorful van.

I see big letters on its side panel: “Worry First.”

Wait a minute. I look again. Actually, it says “Worry Free,” the slogan of a utility company’s appliance service. I chuckle. I’ve proven something I know about myself all too well. I am a worrier, and I just let my eyes deceive me. Is that my slogan, I wonder, “worry first?”

We all worry. We worry about the future, about all the things that could go wrong. On the one hand, it’s good to be prepared, but worrying is a spiritual problem. A very human one, but a problem nonetheless.

In Wendell Berry’s poem, “The Peace of Wild Things,” he writes of waking in the night “in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be.” How many of us can identify with that?

Nighttime is the perfect incubator of worry.

Berry tells us that he goes into nature when these fears arise, and I believe he’s speaking metaphorically when he writes, “I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the heron feeds.”

His next line is one I have memorized: “I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.”

How much time do we waste taxing our lives with “forethought of grief ?” Of all the species in this world, we humans are the only ones who worry about all the “what ifs.” The birds of the air make nests, and they carefully find a spot to protect their eggs from predators. But they are called to this, and they do it naturally and without worry. They live in each present moment.

Once a spiritual director was encouraging me to trust God more. She mentioned Jesus’ admonition (Mt 10:29-31), “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your

children by asking them what they want to be when they grow up rather than enjoying who they are? How often do we watch a play or listen to a concert while our minds wander to what the workday will hold the following morning?

How often do we gaze at the mountain in the distance without seeing the wildflowers that bloom next to us at the side of the road? How often do we pray for the “big” things in life, without seeking God’s sustenance in the daily bread of everyday life? How often do we spend our attention on the important things we plan to do someday, without noticing the little things we can do today? How often is it easier to appreciate the sights we seek a world away than it is to appreciate the highlights of our own hometowns?

I admire those who live with the grace to see the needs of the person before them, know the need to walk with God in the present moment, and do not fail to miss the opportunity to stretch out a hand to help today, not tomorrow.

When a fog rolls in, we have no choice but to live with the distance hidden for a time. Willingly or not, the beautiful and the frightening, the pleasant and the disturbing things that lie beyond are hidden. When those things lie beyond our line of sight, there is nothing to do except to focus on that which is nearby.

Yes, life cannot be lived entirely this way. Planning and keeping an eye to the future have their place and are important parts of responsible adulthood.

Nevertheless, I would still like to live with a lesson from a foggy morning. Sometimes, it is just as important to surrender the future and the far away. Sometimes, it is a gift to gaze only at the blessings and burdens close at hand. Sometimes, it is worth letting the fog roll in to our ordinary time.

(Lucia A. Silecchia is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. Email her at silecchia@cua.edu.)

Father’s care.” need medical help.

I immediately menBut for the anxiety that taxes tioned the birds that my life, the worry that exhorts would occasionally crash payment in wasted time, wastinto my plate glass front ed opportunities and lost sleep, window. Was God caring for them? My director smiled. I know that God is the answer.

They died without worry, she said. No forethought of Making the choice in each present grief burdened them. moment to not “worry first” is a Turning away from worry does not mean our lives step on the spiritual journey. will be without struggle, illness, frustration and certain death. Turning away from worry means that in the (Effie Caldarola is a wife, mom and grandmother moment, in each precious and passing moment, we ac- who received her master’s degree in pastoral ministry cept the presence of God with us through it all. from Seattle University.)

In Jesuit Father James Martin’s book, “Come Forth,” about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, he talks about what some The Diocese of Jackson has launched a third-party reportpsychologists call “cataing system that will enable all diocesan employees, volunteers strophizing,” always foand parishioners to anonymously (or named if preferred) cusing on the negative. He make reports. Examples of this activity include fraud, misgives examples: “a bumpy conduct, safety violations, harassment or substance abuse airplane ride meant that occurring at a Catholic parish, Catholic school or at the diwe were crashing ... a ocesan level. The system is operated by Lighthouse Services. mildly critical remark Based in Deerfield, Illinois, Lighthouse Services maintains from a friend meant that ethics, safety and fraud hotlines for over 4,100 organizations he hated me.” between the U.S. and abroad.

This thinking the worst, expecting the worst or worrying about every To make a report visit www.lighthouse-serpossibility can dominate vices.com/jacksondiocese or call 888-830-0004 our lives.

(English) or 800-216-1288 (Spanish).

“There’s a reason,” writes Martin, “that they call Satan ‘the Prince of The Association of Priests of the Dioceses of Jackson and Lies.’ If Satan can get you Biloxi provide a small pension to our retired priests. As you to focus on only the negatives, you are living a lie.” consider your estate plans, please remember these faithful Anxiety, another spirservants by making a donation or leaving a bequest to the itual director told me, Association of Priests. Our parish priests dedicate their lives means a lack of trust. I to caring for us, their flocks. Let us now care for them in their was taken aback by this retirement. Donations can be made payable to the Associacomment, because I know tion of Priests and can be mailed to: that some people are Diocese of Jackson, P.O. Box 22723, Jackson, MS 39225-2723 plagued by genuine anxiety for which they may

Please be generous February 17 & 18

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC JANUARY 26, 2024

YOUTH 11

Around our Catholic Schools

MADISON – The St. Joseph Spirit Steppers and Band participated in Governor Tate Reeves' inaugural parade on Tuesday, Jan. 9 in downtown Jackson. (Photo by Tereza Ma) Senior Maddie-Claire Spence snags a Bruin News Now interview with Governor Tate Reeves immediately after his swearing-in ceremony on inauguration day. (Photo by Dr. Dena Kinsey)

COLUMBUS – Kindergarteners in Mrs. Ford's class at Annunciation School finished their study on the winter season by playing in the "snow!" (Photo by Jacque Hince)

JANUARY 26, 2024 MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC

12 Diocese

‘... work of art to honor legacy and spirit of Sister Thea Bowman ...’

– Continued from page 8 – fore proceeding to the bronzing stage of the statue. Woodward led the committee and brought with her Fabvienen Taylor, longtime friend of Sister Thea and former photojournalist with Mississippi Catholic. They arrived at Davidson’s studio to view the almost finished clay statue for the first time on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2023.

Woodward recorded her reflections of that moment.

“As we approached the garage/ studio where the statue awaited us, I remember feeling drawn in by the aura of the creation, similar to how a magnet draws metal to itself,” Woodward said. “The more I gazed upon her, the more I was moved by the complexity of the moment. I could feel a tear inching its way down my cheek.

“It was an honor to work on the project with Mary – sharing wonderful lunches with her and Ken and knowing what tremendous loss she was now bearing; I knew Sister Thea, Ken and the Lord were giving her the strength to bring life to the statue – for indeed the statue seemed to move and breathe. The hands, styled from a photo of Sister Thea that Mary and I SAUCIER – Mary Davidson both loved, welcome the viewer into makes an adjustment to the her mystical space,” Woodward conclay statue of Sister Thea cluded.

Taylor too was struck by the clay Bowman in her studio. The mold. “Sister Thea’s statue captures model will soon be placed her welcoming, vibrant, and lov- in bronze. (Photo by August ing outreach to all people. The out- Taconi) stretched hands and smile evoke the Sister Thea I remember: a woman of God over-flowing with a powerful desire and relentless energy to inspire and empower everyone she encountered with the knowledge and understanding of God’s all-encompassing and unwavering love for them,” she added.

On Oct. 29, 2023, Mary Davidson opened her studio for invited guests to view the statue. Some were familiar with her work. Some not. The reviews were glowing. Comments varied from “The hands!” “The eyes!”

“I feel like she is inviting me to hug her.”

Days later, the artisan from the Inferno Art Foundry of Union City, Georgia, arrived to form a mold from the clay statue. The mold was taken to the foundry in Georgia to undergo several stages in the process before finally pouring bronze to form the final stage – a bronze statue of Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA. According to Bishop Kopacz, the current plan is to house the bronze statue at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson until a permanent shrine can be developed as part of the canonization process. The installation ceremony will occur sometime after Easter this spring, 2024.

“We are grateful to all those who have assisted in this wonderful project, especially Mrs. Davidson, who despite her personal tragedy has created an amazing work of art to honor the legacy and spirit of Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman,” Bishop Kopacz said. “I very much look forward to its arrival at the Cathedral,” he concluded.

(Mary Queen Donnelly, a contemporary of Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA, was born and raised in the same town of Canton, Mississippi, and remained a lifelong friend of Sister Thea until Thea’s death March 30, 1990.

Donnelly has published several articles on her friend. Of late, Donnelly published and produced Thea’s Turn, a stage play based on the life of Sister Thea Bowman.)

“Whether it is Theology on Tap, an event, or retreat – young adults are all extremely appreciative of the diocese and their investment in them.”

After 20 years of youth ministry God called Amelia Rizor into a new role.

Through months of prayerful discernment, in Autumn of 2022, she answered the call and became the Coordinator of Campus and Young Adult Ministries.

Amelia helps college students and young adults from all corners of the diocese, come together and grow in our Catholic faith. Students who participated in the October Retreat expressed anticipation and excitement for the next Retreat in February. In December, the first ever Young Adult Day of Reflection was received in gratitude. Whether it is Theology on Tap, an event, or retreat, young adults are all extremely appreciative of the diocese and their investment in them.

The Catholic Service Appeal helps Catholic Campus and Young Adult Ministry face the growing needs and costs of these ministries. Outside support has been dwindling, and young adults struggle with stagnant wages against growing inflation. Offering lower rates and continuing great projects like the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage and service trips, need continual funding. Amelia’s vision and faith, strives to strengthen our diocese, from innovative 5-year plans for new young adult ministers, to creating our own venue for Catholic Retreats and events, there is a bright future for all of us to share in.

Your gift to the Catholic Service Appeal helps Amelia to inspire our young adults to deepen their Catholic faith.

You can mail your check to: Catholic Service Appeal PO Box 22723 Jackson, MS 39225-2273

(Please put your parish name in the memo section of your check)

Donate today at: csa.jacksondiocese.org