MS Catholic March 8, 2024

Diocese enters third phase of pastoral reimagining process

BY JOANNA PUDDISTER KING

JACKSON – The Diocese of Jackson began a year-long pastoral reimagining process at Pentecost 2023 and looks to conclude by Pentecost this year. This process was initiated as a result of the diocesan Synod on Synodality in 2021.

During the Synod process three priorities were articulated across the diocese which included all demographics (age, gender, race, etc.). They were a call for healing and unity; greater catechesis at all levels; and a deeper understanding of scripture.

The reimagining process spreads across five major phases. The first phase ran from Pentecost through early September of 2023, with each pastor or lay ecclesial minister (LEM) establishing a pastoral reimagining committee and having the committee view four ecclesiology video sessions and answer a series of questions designed to guide conversation on who we are as a church.

Bishop Kopacz said that phase one, “set the table in reminding ourselves what it means to be a church and what our identity as Catholics requires of us in the world. Our desire was to create a common understanding from which to grow a vision for the Diocese of Jackson.”

“In other words, to foster a sense of unity underscored by the four marks of the church.”

Parishes were given until the end of January this year to complete phase two, with each parish undertaking a parish assessment which included the current

situation at the local parish – the growing edges; the areas that are diminishing; and the opportunities for collaboration with other parishes in the area and other local realities.

Bishop Kopacz previously stated that in phase two, “we will reimagine the responsibilities of each parish and mission to foster a sense of unity, underscored by the four marks of the church and grounded in data,” said Bishop Kopacz.

This phase also included a detailed report on dioce-

BY GALEN HOLLEY

NEW ALBANY – The theological term “domestic church” expresses well the genesis of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, which began as a modest gathering of Catholics who met in their homes and were ministered to by missionary circuit priests.

In 1922, E.W. Viola, and Dorothy Kelso moved from Jackson, Tennessee, to New Albany, in order to open a bakery. That’s when the first Catholic community began to take shape. Because there was no church in New Albany, the Kelsos had to drive to Oxford or Tupelo for Mass. That changed when an Irish priest, Father Patrick Moran, became pastor of the already established St. Patrick Parish in Water Valley. He also assumed responsibility for St. Patrick’s missionary district, which, among 11 counties, included New Albany.

The fledgling Catholic community celebrated the first Mass in Union County in the fall of 1938. It was in the Kelsos’ home, at 357 Garfield Street, with Father Moran as celebrant. The faithful used a portable altar, about the size of a card table. Dorothy Kelso joked that the table and furnishings were so modest, that, as she put it, “We often thought that only a prayer held it up.” Those present at the first Mass included Viola and Dorothy Kelso, Tom Bonner, a Mr. Flanagan, Mrs. John Tilly and her daughter, Margaret Ellen, and Mrs. Edith Stone.

The following year the center of the missionary circuit shifted from Water Valley to St. John’s in Oxford, and Father Cletus Manon became responsible for mak-

san demographics by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) of Georgetown University. The report summarizes the overall demography of the diocese, as well as a profile of the Catholic population living in the confines of the diocese.

“After analyzing the demographic data, parishes were given opportunities to look to the report for areas of growth; to evaluate ministries and evaluate challenges that could be addressed,” said Fran Lavelle, director of faith formation for the diocese and member of the core team working on the reimagining process.

At a convocation for priests, deacons and LEMs held in Natchez during February, Bishop Kopacz and Lavelle covered findings from phase two from the CARA report and gave an overview to those gathered on phase three of the reimagining process.

The report indicated that during COVID, as expected, there was a 50% decline in all Sacraments within the diocese, with the exception of infant Baptisms and Confirmations, which each saw 39% declines.

Bishop Kopacz reported at the convocation that the CARA research indicates that nationally Mass attendance is now only 2% below pre-COVID levels.

Part of the CARA report highlighted the Pew Religious Landscape Study from 2014, in which 4% of adult

ing the rounds and celebrating Mass in people’s homes.

Under Father Manon’s leadership, the New Albany Catholics (consisting of less than 20 adults) built their first, physical church on Cleveland Street. Bishop Richard Gerow bought the land in 1948, and the construction was made possible by aid from the Extension Society, along with private donations, including those from Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lewis, as well as Dr. Palmer Patterson, and volunteer labor, as from the Milton DeNault family. St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church was dedicated on June 19, 1949, by Archbishop William O’Brien of the Extension Society. The first child

NATCHEZ – Bishop Joseph Kopacz speaks on the pastoral reimagining process to priests, deacons and LEMs from across the diocese on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at a convocation event at the Family Life Center of St. Mary Basilica. (Photo by Joanna King)

PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS

BROOKHAVEN – St. Francis, Easter Egg Hunt and Photos, Sunday, March 31 following 9 a.m. Mass. Details: church office (601) 833-1799.

FLOWOOD – St. Paul, Easter Egg Hunt, Sunday, March 24 after 10:30 a.m. Mass. Details: church office (601) 992-9547.

HERNANDO – Holy Spirit, Easter Egg Hunt, Sunday, March 24 at 11:45 a.m. Hunts by age group (0-3; 4-6; 7-10). Lunch provided and prizes awarded. Details: church office (662) 429-7851.

JACKSON – St. Richard, Bereavement group, “The River of Grief,” Thursday, March 14 at 6 p.m. in the Mercy room. Speaker: Claudia Addison. Details: Nancy at (601) 942-2078 or email ncmcghee@bellsouth.net.

St. Richard School, Flight to the Finish 5k and Fun Run, Saturday, April 20 at 9 a.m. Details: Visit website for more info and to register at https://runsignup. com/Race/MS/Jackson/FlighttotheFinish.

JACKSON – Sister Thea Bowman School, Annual Draw Down, Saturday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose building. Grand prize $5,000; tickets $100 (admits 2), second chance insurance $20. Enjoy great food, entertainment, silent auction, door prizes and more. Casual attire. Details: contact Shae at (601) 351-5197 or stbdrawdown@gmail.com.

MADISON – St. Francis, Luella and Floyd Q. Doolittle Golf Tournament, Saturday, April 15 at Whisper Lake Country Club. Information and registration form available at https://stfrancismadison.org/ knights-of-columbus. Details: Tunney at (601) 622-4145 or tunneyv1@icloud.com.

NATCHEZ – St. Mary Basilica, St. Patrick’s Parade, Saturday, March 16, gather at 5:30 p.m. at Memorial Park, walking parade begins at 6 p.m. Details: email kreweofkillarney@gmail.com.

OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace, Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, March 23 at 10 a.m. Details: church office (662) 895-5007.

STARKVILLE – St. Joseph, Spring Trivia Night, Thursday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. Cost: $20/person or $10/ student (college undergrad or under) Details: email

ben.bachman@gmail.com for reservations. Tables seat up to 8 participants.

VICKSBURG – VCS Annual Alumni banquet, Saturday, April 6, 5:30 p.m. Mass at St. Michael, with 6:30 p.m. social and 7 p.m. banquet at the Levee Street Warehouse. Honorary classes include Class of 1974 and 2024. Guest Speaker: George Valadie. Details: register to attend at https://www.vicksburgcatholic.org/apps/ page/alumni.

SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT

BATESVILLE – St. Mary, Lenten Parish Mission, Wednesday, March 20 and 21, with dinner from 5-5:45 p.m. and Mission at 6 p.m. Details: church office (662) 563-2273.

BROOKHAVEN – St. Francis, Parish Lenten Mission, March 18 and 19 from 6-8 p.m. Gifts of the Holy Spirit presented by Father Bill Henry. Details: church office (601) 833-1799.

GREENWOOD – St. Francis, Revival with Father Anthony Bozeman, SSJ, April 8-9 at 6 p.m. Details: church office (662) 453-0623.

NATCHEZ – 2nd annual Believe Conference, April 19-21, 2024. Featured speakers are Anne Trufant, Cath olic speaker and founder of The Mission on the Moun tain; Barbara Heil, founder of From His Heart Min istries; and Joanne Moody, minister author, and founder of Agape Freedom Fighters. Cost: $100 for weekend; $50 for students. Lunch included on Saturday. Details: visit https://www.themissiononthemountain.com.

SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist,” Thursdays, April 4, 18, 25; May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; and June 6 from 6:30-8 p.m. How do these Jewish roots help us, to understand his real presence in the Eucharist? Facilitator is Don Coker. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.

Christ the King, Lenten Lunch and Learn, Saturday, March 16 at 11 a.m. Topic: Conversations Overheard by the Cross. RSVP by Sunday, March 10. Details: church office (662) 693-1321.

TUPELO – St. James, Lenten Parish Mission –“How Faith Changes Us,” March 17-19 with Father Xavier Raj. Details: church office (662) 842-4881.

COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. – Women’s Morning of Spirituality, Saturday, April 13 at Catholic Church of the Incarnation (360 Bray Station Road). Continental breakfast in the gym at 7:15 a.m; Program begins in Sanctuary at 8:15 a.m.; Mass at 12:15 p.m. Opportunities for Adoration, Reconciliation, Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet. Details: church office (901) 441-6157.

JOB OPENING

JACKSON – The Department of Faith Formation is looking for a full-time administrative assistant. The successful candidate will provide administrative assistance exercising quality pastoral skills for those in pastoral and formational ministry in the Diocese of Jackson. Details: 3-5 years’ experience in an administrative role providing direct support to a multicultural intergenerational department. Understanding basic accounting a plus. High school diploma or GED required; completion of college degree in business preferred. Contact fran.lavelle@jacksondiocese.org with

God

APPLIANCE AUDIO VIDEO

FURNITURE SUPERSTORE

LONG BEACH – Director of Catholic Education for the diocese, Karla Luke was bestowed the Dr. Keith Shaffer Memorial Educational Leadership Award by Cognia at their Annual Spring Continuous Improvement Institute on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Cognia is a global accrediting agency that strengthens school performance by centering efforts on school improvement. Luke was described as “a shining example of servant leadership.” (Photo courtesy of Bridget Martin)

“Cabrini”

BY BISHOP JOSEPH R. KOPACZ, D.D.

The American Catholic experience has been blessed far and wide from the outset by the sacrifice and dedication of religious women and men who arrived with their immigrant communities or came soon after to live and serve among them. At times, God had to raise up these dedicated servants from within to respond to the glaring needs of marginalized and persecuted populations in our country.

In our southern and western regions Sister Katherine Drexel, a native-born Philadelphian, (PA) and the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament come to mind who served Black and Indigenous Americans since their founding in 1891. Our own Sister Amelia Breton who serves as the coordinator of Intercultural Ministry, is a member of this religious community.

At the beginning of the 19th century Elizabeth Ann Seton founded the Sisters of Charity in 1809, the first American Religious Sisters congregation. She was deeply committed to education and is recognized as the foundress of Catholic school education in the United States. Members of her community came to Natchez in 1847 at the behest of Bishop John Joseph Chanche, S.S. to begin the legacy of Catholic education in our diocese. This religious community maintained a presence in Natchez until the early 2000s. Furthermore, God raised up our own Sister Thea Bowman from among the African American population in Canton to become a prophetic messenger of hope for Black Catholics and for all who are marginalized. Her cause for canonization is underway.

In theaters on March 8 across our nation, “Cabrini” is scheduled for release. It is the story of Frances Xavier Cabrini who founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Italy in the second half of

the 19th century. The name of her community and her chosen middle name in honor of St. Francis Xavier, co-patron of the Missions, declare the purpose of her life and the charism of her community to bring the Gospel in its fulness to the nations. It is a compelling production, exceptional in its content and acting.

In one of the decisive scenes, Mother Cabrini and Pope Leo XIII are having tea and discussing possibilities. She is trying to convince him to give her order permission to venture east to China as she explains, “my mission is bigger than this world.” He calmly and clearly responds: “In that case it doesn’t matter where you begin.” He directed her to go west to New York to serve among the Italian immigrants who came in large numbers to the east coast between 1850 and 1910. The movie proceeds to realistically portray the harsh conditions for immigrants in the church and in society in the late 19th and early 20th century in New York.

Cristiana Dell’Anna stars in a scene from the movie “Cabrini.” The OSV News classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 – parents strongly cautioned. (OSV News photo/Angel Studios)

On a personal note, it was around 1910 that my maternal grandparents who were from southern Italy passed through Ellis Island and began a new life with the clothes on their backs and a dream in their hearts. The movie is a gem that illustrates the plight, the vulnerability and determination of the immigrant population in ways that are true from one generation to the next. Against all odds Mother Cabrini succeeded in gaining a foothold in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, and from there fulfilled her mission around the globe, a mission that was “bigger than this world.”

The movie never missed a beat in capturing her heroic virtue and perseverance. This story of religious life that passed from the margins of church and society to the mainstream of both, will be a catechetical and evangelizing tool for generations to come. Kudos to all who had a hand in its development and production.

Moreover, the story of Mother Cabrini can chal-

Happy Ordination Anniversary

March 2

Father Henry Shelton

Retired

March 6

Father Albeenreddy Vatti St. Francis of Assisi, Madison

Thank you for answering the call!

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

Phone: 601-969-3581 E-mail: editor@jacksondiocese.org

Volume 70

Number 7 (ISSN 1529-1693)

Publisher Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz

Communications Director

Joanna Puddister King

Production Manager Tereza Ma

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

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

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

lenge our Catholic communities and all people of good will to respond to the challenges, and at times crises, of immigration through the lens of the Gospel imperative to “welcome the stranger” and the ideals that are forever inscribed on the Statue of Liberty in the poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus. The following is from the second of two stanzas: “Give me your tired your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, send these the homeless, tempest tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

In our times, many religious are serving the immigrant population at our borders and in many corners of our nation. Often, they are as heroic as Mother Cabrini because some are pressuring to shut them down, and extremists are even advocating that they be shot. The current reality of immigration with its blessings and its burdens challenges us to go beyond the political posturing and invective that too often dominate the public narrative. In the time ahead we will add our voice to the public domain.

BISHOP’S SCHEDULE

Monday, March 25, 6:30 a.m. – Mass and Men’s Prayer Breakfast, St. Richard, Jackson

Monday, March 25, 6 p.m. – Penance Service, St. Paul, Flowood

Tuesday, March 26, 10:30 a.m. – Chrism Mass, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson

Wednesday, March 27, 5:30 p.m. – Adoration and Reconciliation, St. Elizabeth, Clarksdale

Thursday, March 28, 5:15 p.m. – Mass/Holy Thursday, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson

Friday, March 29, 6 p.m. – Good Friday Service, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson

Saturday, March 30, 8 p.m. – Easter Vigil Mass, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson

Wednesday, April 3, 6 p.m. – Confirmation, Holy Savior, Clinton

Saturday, April 6, 11 a.m. – Confirmation, St. Anne, Carthage

Saturday, April 6, 6 p.m. – Confirmation, St. Elizabeth, Clarksdale

Sunday, April 7, 1 p.m. – Confirmation, St. Therese, Jackson

Wednesday, April 10, 6 p.m. – Confirmation for Sacred Heart and St. Joseph parishes, Sacred Heart, Greenville

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

CALLED BY NAME

I was blessed to spend the first weekend of March with the youth of the diocese at DCYC in Vicksburg. I know that this is being covered in another part of this issue, but I wanted to share my perspective! Each year I am blown away by the excellence of the event which our diocesan youth office puts on under the leadership of Abbey Schuhmann. The speaker and the musicians were full of faith and energy and inspired the kids, and myself.

Our seminarians help in various ways for the youth convention each year, and this year we noted that it felt like we were all a ‘well-oiled machine.’ I was really proud of Deacon Tristan Stovall and Grayson Foley as they were the masters of ceremony at the event; and Will Foggo, as he organized all the liturgies for the weekend. Our newer seminarians got their feet wet at the event supporting the organizing efforts of the other guys and walking with the youth and getting to know them.

But it wasn’t just our seminarians providing support – I’m just in charge of them! It was really encouraging to see the network of young people in the church bringing along the younger generation and walking with them. Amelia Rizor helped coordinate a team of college students from her campus ministry team to walk with the kids and organize events. There were fantastic chaperones and youth ministers who continue to help our young people grow in their faith and inspire them to share the Gospel.

I came away from the weekend encouraged by the teamwork and dynamic leadership that our church has, especially in the young people who are at these events and on fire for the Lord. I have known

MARCH 8, 2024

many of our seminarians since they were in high school – they’ve been formed by our schools and our parish catechesis programs and our pastors and youth leaders, and they are sharing those gifts. I’ve also known many of our young youth leaders since they were in high school, and they are sharing their gifts as well.

This is the sort of teamwork that shows that we are members of One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I’d like to thank Abbey and her team for letting my department play a role at diocesan youth convention, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow and bring forth great leaders in the church for years to come.

– Father Nick Adam, vocation director

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

VICKSBURG – Parish teams engaged in team building to construct the tallest tower to see which group will be first in line for dinner at DCYC. (Photo courtesy Lauren Roberts)

Father Nick Adam

After the bloom has left the rose

EXILE

By Father ron rolheiser, oMi

What is our deepest center? Normally, we take that to mean the deepest part of our heart, the deepest part of our soul, our affective center, our moral center, that place inside of us which Thomas Merton called le pointe vierge. And that is a good way of imagining it. But there’s another.

The classical mystic, John of the Cross saw things differently.

For him, the deepest center of anything is the furthest point attainable by that object’s being and power and force of operation and movement.

What does he mean by that?

In essence, this is what he is saying: The deepest center of anything, be it a flower or a human being, is the furthest point to which can grow before it dies.

Take a flower for example: It begins as a seed, then grows into a tiny bud that sprouts into a young plant. That plant eventually bursts forth in a beautiful bloom. That bloom lasts for a while, and then begins to dry out and wither. Eventually, what was once the substance of a beautiful bloom turns into seeds, and then in its very act of dying, the flower gives off those seeds to leave new life behind.

Thus, for John of the Cross, the deepest center for a flower is not its moment of spectacular beauty, its bloom, but its last moment when its bloom has turned to seed, and it is able to give off that seed in its very act of dying.

There’s a lesson in which goes against how we commonly assess things. When are we the most generative potentially? When do we have the greatest capacity to use our lives to give off the seeds for new life? What is our deepest center of growth?

Normally, of course, we think of the deepest center as the bloom, namely, that period or moment in our lives when a combination of good health, physical attractiveness, talent, achievement, and influence make us someone who is admired and perhaps envied. This is the time in our lives when we look our best and, as they say, are at the peak of our game. This is our bloom! The best we will ever look!

John of the Cross wouldn’t denigrate that moment in our lives. Indeed, he would challenge us to be in that moment, to enjoy it, be grateful to God for it, and to try to use the advantages and privileges that come with that to help others. But, he wouldn’t say this is the peak moment of our generativity, that this is the moment or period of our lives when we are giving off the most seeds for new life. No, like a flower that gives off its seeds in its very act of dying, we too are potentially most generative after the bloom has given way to the grey of age and our achievements have given way to a different kind of fruitfulness.

Imagine a young woman who is beautiful and talented, and becomes a famous movie actor. At the height of her career, she is in full bloom and is given the gaze of admiration. Indeed, she is adulated. Moreover, in her life outside of the movies she may be a generous person, a wonderful wife, a dedicated mother, and a trusted friend. However, that bloom is not her furthest point of growth, her deepest center, that time in her life when she is giving off the most vis-a-vis generating new life. Instead, when she is an aged grandmother, struggling with health issues, her physical looks diminished, facing the prospect of assisted living and imminent death that, potentially, like the flower whose bloom has dried and turned to seed, she can give her life away in a manner that helps create new life in a way she couldn’t do when she was young, attrac-

tive, admired, envied and in full bloom.

A similar case might be made for a star male athlete. At the height of his career, winning a championship, becoming a household name, his envied youthful athletic image seen everywhere in ads and on billboards, he is in full bloom; but at that time, he is not optimally generative in terms of his life giving off seeds to bring about new life. That can happen later, in his old age, when his achievements no longer define him, and he, like everyone else, with his hair greying, is facing physical diminishment, marginalization and imminent death. It is then, after the bloom has left the rose, that in his dying he can give off seeds to create new life.

We tend to identify a spectacular bloom with powerful generativity. Fair enough, that bloom has its own importance, legitimate purpose and value. Indeed, one of our challenges is to give that bloom the gaze of admiration without envy. Not easy to do, and something we often don’t do well. The bigger challenge however is to learn what we ourselves are called to do after the bloom has left the rose.

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

The Pope’s Corner Still sick, pope has aide read his audience talk on envy and pride

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Arriving in a wheelchair instead of walking with his cane, Pope Francis began his weekly general audience by telling visitors and pilgrims, “I’m still a bit sick,” so an aide would read his prepared text.

The pope had canceled his appointments Feb. 24 and Feb. 26 because of what the Vatican press office described as “mild flu-symptoms,” but Pope Francis led the recitation of the Angelus prayer Feb. 25 without obvious difficulty.

At his general audience Feb. 28, his voice was hoarser and softer. Besides briefly telling the crowd he would not be reading his prepared text, he took the microphone only to pray at the beginning and end of the gathering and to read his appeals for peace and for an end to the use of landmines.

The Italian news agency ANSA reported that Pope Francis went from the audience to Rome’s Gemelli Isola Hospital for a checkup before returning to the Vatican. In late November when he was suffering similar symptoms, he had gone to that hospital for a CT scan of his lungs.

The Vatican press office later said the pope had gone to the hospital for “diagnostic tests.” It provided no other information.

Pope Francis’ main audience talk focused on envy and vainglory, or exaggerated pride, as part of his continuing series of audience talks about vices and virtues.

Envy and vainglory “go hand in hand,” the pope wrote. “Together these two vices are characteristic of a person who aspires to be the center of the world, free to exploit everything and everyone, the object of all praise and love.”

Reading the Book of Genesis, envy appears to be “one of the oldest vices: Cain’s hatred of Abel is unleashed when he realizes that his brother’s sacrifices are pleasing to God,” he wrote.

“The face of the envious man is always sad: he’s always looking down, he seems to be continually investigating the ground; but in reality, he sees nothing, because his mind is wrapped up in thoughts full of wickedness,” he said. “Envy, if unchecked, leads to hatred of the other. Abel would be killed at the hands of Cain, who could not bear his brother’s happiness.”

The root of the vice and sin of envy, he said, “is a false idea of God: we do not accept that God has His own ‘math.’”

As an example, Pope Francis cited the parable from Matthew 20:1-16 about workers hired at different times of the day to work in a vineyard, but the owner pays them all the same.

When those who worked longest protest, the owner says, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?”

“We would like to impose our own selfish logic on God; instead, the logic of God is love,” the pope’s text said. “The good things he gives us are meant to be shared. This is why St. Paul exhorts Christians, ‘Love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor’ (Rom. 12:10). Here is the remedy for envy!”

Pope Francis described vainglory as “an inflated and baseless self-esteem,” which leads to having no empathy and to seeing others only as objects to be used.

The vainglorious person “is a perpetual beggar for attention,” the pope wrote, and when recognition is not given, “he becomes fiercely angry.”

Usually, he said, the remedy for such pride comes automatically when people offer criticism rather than praise.

Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

A wise person recognizes, as St. Paul did, that freedom comes from recognizing one’s weaknesses and failures, relying only on God for strength, Pope Francis’ text said.

Pope Francis gathers with a group of religious sisters for a group photo at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Feb. 28, 2024. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

' ... good process that will bear fruit moving to the future ...'

– Continued from page 1 –

respondents living within the Diocese of Jackson self-identified as Catholic. With a reported current population of 2,138,154 within the diocese, the survey-based estimates would assume that there are 85,513 Catholics within the diocese, reported Bishop Kopacz.

In 2021, the reported Catholics registered at parishes numbered 42,850. “Thus, one can assume there are approximately 42,663 self-identified Catholics in the diocese who are not attending Mass or active in a parish in any other way,” said Bishop Kopacz to those gathered at the convocation.

“So, there are many who could be welcomed back and evangelized.”

If current trends continue, the Catholic population of the diocese is expected to grow to nearly 54,000 by 2030; and to nearly 56,000 by 2040.

Bishop Kopacz also highlighted the growing Hispanic population and raised the question to consider – how do we serve them faithfully and effectively.

“I’m grateful to a number of our parishes that have opened up with inviting the Hispanic population through having Mass and liturgy. It’s just amazing to see the growth.”

Bishop Kopacz reported that some parishes, like Sacred Heart in Canton, are considering adding second Spanish Masses to accommodate the numbers attending with sometimes only standing room left available.

The synthesis of the parish reports from phase two of the reimagining process showed areas of opportunities, such as the growing Hispanic population, outreach to different ethnic groups within the diocese and economic development in various areas of the diocese. The growing Hispanic population was also pointed out as one of three challenges within the Diocese of Jackson – specifically in how to evangelize to the population. The two other challenges include the aging population and the migration of young adults out of the state.

At the convocation event, each priest within their respective deaneries received the reports each completed in phase two with the data analysis they completed, as they enter phase three of the reimagining process. “Each parish has identified their reality and what’s important … like exploring growth opportunities in general, such as reaching the growing Hispanic population,” said Bishop Kopacz.

He also reminded each to remember the theme of the synod to reach a deeper

level of “Communion, Participation and Mission” as they meet to examine their respective deaneries and parishes.

This month, the third phase of the reimagining process will consist of guided and facilitated sessions for each of the Diocese of Jackson’s six deaneries to work through challenges, both the growing edges and diminishing areas of ministry locally and within the deanery.

“The goal of phase three is to gain a realistic perspective of the health and well-being of the deanery within the setting of the individual parishes; and to look at areas of redundancy and potential areas for sharing resources,” shared Lavelle.

As for the reports compiled from almost every parish, Lavelle said the material “is very powerful and that a lot of really good, thoughtful work has been done on the parish level to look at challenges, growing edges and to as what is it that is needed to continue to grow our parishes.”

Lavelle also pointed out it is not just about priest or religious making change in their respective parishes. “We have to start thinking about who it is that occupies our pews on the weekend and engage them and empower them to do the work with us.”

In April, Bishop Kopacz will be visiting each deanery to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving and meet with the key people who worked on the pastoral reimagining for each parish.

Pope Francis through the synod process asked bishops to engage their respective dioceses more. Bishop Kopacz said that through the deanery visits and engaging in “a Thanksgiving Eucharistic conversation,” the diocese is doing just that through the reimagining process through fruitful dialogue, discernment and the openness to the Holy Spirit.

The fourth phase of the reimagining process will include a period of discernment on reports from the six deaneries in the diocese and a pastoral letter from Bishop Kopacz, outlining the finding in each deanery and set forth parameters for implementation of an overall diocesan vision.

“I think faithful to the spirit of synodality and all that can come from that through the power of the Holy Spirit … this is a good process that will bear fruit moving to the future,” said Bishop Kopacz.

' ... St. Francis will always have a special place in my heart ...'

– Continued

from page

1 –

to be baptized at St. Francis was a young man named Robert Thomas, in 1950.

St. Francis continued as a mission of St. John’s in Oxford, and throughout the years the Sisters of Mercy taught vacation Bible school, and later, Franciscan Sisters from Holly Springs headed educational endeavors. For 10 years, Sacred Heart priests from St. Joseph Parish in Holly Springs served as pastors at St. Francis.

In 1965 it was announced that the small community of St. Christopher’s in Pontotoc would be linked to St. Francis, under the leadership of the Cincinnati based Glenmary Home Missioners. Father Bob Rademacher became the first Glenmarian to pastor both the New Albany and Pontotoc churches in 1967.

Rademacher was a robust, hands-on man, and he continued the tradition of visiting families, celebrating Mass in members’ homes, and maintaining close ties with the rural community. He was even known to help farming families harvest crops.

In October of 1986 the congregation purchased the land on which the church now stands, on Highway 15.

By the late 1990’s many Catholics had begun arriving from Latin America, primarily from Mexico. Mississippi had not experienced an influx of native Catholics like that since the Irish arrived in the early part of the 20th century. Like the Irish, Hispanic Catholics brought with them folk customs, liturgical traditions, and valuable cultural symbols, perhaps none more sacred than the Virgin of Guadalupe. Their contributions enriched and deepened the Catholic heritage at St. Francis and gave members a good perspective on the universality of the Catholic faith.

Glenmary priest, Father Will Steinbacher was pastor when the present sanctuary was built in 1993. He spoke about the intentional choice of architecture. “We chose the design to symbolize arms, reaching into and embracing the community,” said Father Will.

Steinbacher spoke glowingly of the Kelso family,

having once humorously referred to Dorothy as “the bishop” as well as of the other hardworking people who built the community. True to the Glenmary spirit, and in perfect agreement with the life of St. Francis, Father Will recalled the creation of the Good Samaritan Center as one of the highlights of his time in New Albany. The Good Samaritan Center is an inter-faith, non-profit that helps meet the emergency needs of the poor.

Father Steve Pawelk followed Steinbacher as the pastor in 1993. Pawelk, a Minnesota native, oversaw many of the developments with which younger parishioners are familiar. Pawelk started the Spanish Mass, as well as overseeing the church paying off its debt for the sanctuary and rectory. He was a member of the Board of Directors at New Albany’s Boys and Girls Club and worked vigorously in ecumenical efforts.

Pawelk spoke warmly about his time in New Albany. “St. Francis will always have a special place in my heart,” said Pawelk. “This was my first pastorate. During this time the parish grew with new converts, people moving in and with the beginning of the Spanish Mass. We had a wonderful youth group. Part of my heart will always be there.”

Father Xavier Jesuraj took over as pastor in February 2016, and he has worked hard to learn Spanish as his third language in order to serve the flourishing Hispanic community, while also honoring the Anglo traditions that were there from the church’s inception.

The welcoming spirit upon which it was founded still abides today in the congregation of St. Francis of Assisi, as together in Christ, they continue their seventh decade of worship.

The Diocese of Jackson has launched a third-party reporting system that will enable all diocesan employees, volunteers and parishioners to anonymously (or named if preferred) make reports. Examples of this activity include fraud, misconduct, safety violations, harassment or substance abuse occurring at a Catholic parish, Catholic school or at the diocesan level. The system is operated by Lighthouse Services. Based in Deerfield, Illinois, Lighthouse Services maintains ethics, safety and fraud hotlines for over 4,100 organizations between the U.S. and abroad.

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

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

Diocese of Jackson, P.O. Box 22723, Jackson, MS 39225-2723

Around the diocese: Lenten meals, Stations and Reconciliation

LENTEN MEALS/STATIONS

BATESVILLE – St. Mary, Fish fry, Friday, March 22. Dine-in or takeout. Cost: $12/plate.

BROOKHAVEN – St. Francis of Assisi, Stations every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m. with meal following. Knights of Columbus Fish Fry on March 8. Details: church office (601) 833-1799.

COLUMBUS – Annunciation, Fish dinner following Stations, every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m. Details: church office (662) 328-2927.

CORINTH – St. James, Soup supper, 5 p.m. Fridays during Lent. Stations to follow at 5:45 p.m. (bilingual) and Mass at 6:30 p.m.

FLOWOOD – St. Paul, Fish Fry following Stations, every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m. Participants in Sattions served first, then if enough food, take-out orders may be available.

GLUCKSTADT – St. Joseph, Fish Fry, Friday, March 22 after Stations at 6 p.m. Cost $10/plate – includes fried catfish, fries, hushpuppies, coleslaw and drink.

GREENVILLE – St. Joseph, Knights of Columbus Fish Fry, Friday, Feb. 23 in the parish hall. Details: church office (662) 335-5251.

GREENWOOD – Immaculate Heart of Mary, Knights of Columbus Fish Fry, every Friday during Lent through March 22 from 5-7 p.m. Cost: $15 per plate. Details: church office (662) 453-3980.

HERNANDO – Holy Spirit, Soup and Stations, every Friday during Lent at 6:30 p.m. Variety of meatless soups available with bread/crackers and tea. Donation of $1 per person with proceeds to go to Hernando Catholic Social Services.

Holy Spirit, Men’s Association Fish Fry, Friday, March 15 beginning at 4 p.m. Dine-in or take out. Cost: $13/plate or $6 for children under 12 –includes fish, fries, hushpuppies, slaw and dessert.

JACKSON – Cathedral of St. Peter, Stations in English at 5:30 p.m and in Spanish at 7 p.m. Simple Lenten meal served in between.

JACKSON – St. Richard, Knights of Columbus Fish Fry following Stations, every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m. Dine-in at Foley Hall or carry out. Plate cost: $12 adult; $6 children; $40 all inclusive price for families of four or more. Details: church office (601) 366-2335.

MADISON – St. Francis, Stations every Friday during Lent at 6:30 p.m. with Lenten meal at 7 p.m.

MERIDIAN – St. Patrick/St. Joseph, Stations and Lenten Fish Fry, every Friday in Lent. Fry follows Stations at 6 p.m. Rotates between parishes. St. Joseph on March 8 and 22; St. Patrick on March 15 is led by youth group with soup and salad. Cost: $10/plate. Details: church office (601) 693-1321.

NATCHEZ – St. Mary Basilica, Lenten Fish Fry, every Friday during Lent from 5-7 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Cost: catfish $12; shrimp $12; combo $14. Dinners include fries, hushpupppies and coleslaw. For grilled catfish call 30 minutes ahead to Darren at (601) 597-2890.

OLIVE BRANCH – Queen of Peace, Lenten Fish Fry, Friday, March 15 at 5:30 p.m. Dine-in or carry out. Meal includes fried catfish, fries, coleslaw and dessert. Cost: $12 per plate or $35 per family.

PEARL – St. Jude, Lenten Fish Fry, Every Friday during Lent, immediately following 6 p.m. Stations. Menu: catfish, fries, hushpuppies, coleslaw and tea. Dine-in only. Proceeds benefit Knights of Columbus community programs. Details: church office (601) 9393181.

SENATOBIA – St. Gregory, Stations every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m. followed by Lenten potluck meal.

SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, Lenten Fish Fry, March 15 from 4-7 p.m. Dine-in or carryout. Cost: $13/ adult plate and $6/children under 12 plate. Meal: catfish, fries, hushpuppies, slaw and dessert. Potluck Lenten meals, March 8 and 22. Meals at 5:30 p.m. with Stations at 7 p.m. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.

STARKVILLE – St. Joseph, Fish fry every Friday after Stations at 5:30 p.m. Cost: $10/plate or $30 per family. Meal includes fried or baked catfish, fries, coleslaw and hushpuppies. Email Richard to reserve a plate at rcoughlin@gmail.com.

St. Joseph, Men’s Lenten Lunches, every Tuesday through March 26 at 11:30 a.m. in the parish hall. Topic is “Seven Last Words of Jesus.”

VICKSBURG – Knights of Columbus Council 898, Fish Fry, Fridays during Lent from 5:30-7 p.m. Cost $15, dine-in or carry out. Meal: fried or grilled catfish, hushpuppies, fries, coleslaw, baked potato, baked beans and bread.

LENTEN RECONCILIATION

BATESVILLE – St. Mary, Penance Service, Thursday, March 21 from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

BROOKHAVEN

– St. Francis, Reconciliation Service, Monday, March 18 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and 7:30-until.

CORINTH – St. James the Less, Reconciliation Service, Tuesday, March 12 at 5:30 p.m.

FLOWOOD – St. Paul, Reconciliation Service, Monday, March 25 at 6 p.m.

OLIVE BRANCH

– Queen of Peace, Reconciliation Service, Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m.

PEARL – St. Jude, Reconciliation Service, Wedneday, March 20 at 6 p.m.

STATIONS ONLY

BATESVILLE – St. Mary, Stations, every Friday during Lent at 10:30 a.m. followed by Mass at 11 a.m.

CANTON – Holy Child Jesus, Stations every Friday during Lent at 12 p.m.

CORINTH – St. James, Stations every Wednesday during Lent at 2 p.m. and Fridays at 12 p.m. Bilingual stations at 5:45 p.m. on Fridays.

GLUCKSTADT –St. Joseph, Stations every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m.

GREENVILLE – St. Joseph, Stations every Friday during Lent at 5 p.m.

GREENWOOD – St. Francis, Stations every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m. (English) and 7 p.m. (Spanish).

HOLLY SPRINGS – St. Joseph, Stations every Friday during Lent at 7:30 p.m. and each Friday following Mass at 4 p.m.

JACKSON – Christ the King, Stations every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m. Rosary after Stations.

MAGEE – St. Stephen, Stations every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m.

NATCHEZ – St. Mary Basilica, Stations every Friday during Lent at 5:15 p.m.

Assumption, Stations every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m.

PEARL – St. Jude, Stations every Friday during Lent after 10 a.m. Mass.

SARDIS – St. John, Stations, every Wednesday during Lent at 4:30 p.m. followed by Mass at 5 p.m.

Veronica’s compassionate Hands

JACKSON – St. Veronica’s Compassionate Hands is a small women’s group that meets weekly to create items to help post-operative patients, as well as the homeless in the Jackson area.

Most recently, the group has started making plastic mats for the homeless out of plastic shopping bags, using a weaving loom. By partnering with Sister Trinita, known for her heart for the poor through the Central Urban Ministry Center (Stewpot and St. Dominic Community Healthy Clinic), the mats will be distributed to the homeless in the Jackson area. The group is named after St. Veronica who displayed a great act of kindness and charity by wiping the face of Jesus with her veil while on His way to Calvary. If interested in volunteering, contact Marie Morris at pinkpanther5518@ yahoo.com.

Pictured (l-r): Rosemary Grantham and Marie Morris work on a plastic mat project. (Photo by Julia Williams)

Decade of faith: Bishop Kopacz celebrates 10-year milestone

By Joanna Puddister King

JACKSON – Bishop Joseph Kopacz, surrounded by priests and deacons from the Diocese of Jackson, commemorated his 10th anniversary of ordination to the episcopacy at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson with a special Mass on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

Bishop Kopacz was ordained and installed as the 11th Bishop of Jackson on Feb. 6, 2014, but he fondly remembers getting the initial call the day before Thanksgiving – in an unforgettable Italian accent – “Holy Father is directing you to be the bishop of Jackson in Mississippi.” Bishop mused to those gathered at his anniversary Mass, that “it was an offer you can’t refuse.”

“These 10 years later has given me an opportunity to reflect and appreciate the call and the ongoing challenge and blessing of serving as the 11th bishop of the dio-

JACKSON – Bishop Joseph Kopacz celebrated his 10th anniversary as the Bishop for the Diocese of Jackson with priests and deacons from around the diocese on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at the Cathedral of St. Peter. Inset, a comemorative photo collage with scenes from the past 10 years. (Photos by Tereza Ma)

cese,” said Bishop Kopacz. He fondly remembered traversing the diocese by airplane days after being installed as Bishop and visiting a few parishes across the diocese, including St. Mary’s Basilica in Natchez, St. Joseph in Greenville, St. James in Tupelo and to St. Joseph in Starkville. “It was great to experience and see what a large swath of land the diocese covers,” said Bishop Kopacz. “So, 10 years later and possibly 300,000 miles later on my car, I think I can say I know a little bit about Mississippi and its geography.”

But more than miles, Bishop Kopacz reflected, are the countless souls who have touched his life along the way through parishes and the variety of missions and ministries that make up the diocese. He continued by celebrating the dedication of the clergy, the resilience of parishioners and the transformative power of God’s grace working through each individual.

In his homily, Bishop Kopacz credits his enthusiasm and energy for the diocese to the Eucharistic prayer at Mass when the clergy pray for him every day. Joking with those clergy present, that they “can’t skip that part … as a lot of grace flows from that on good days and bad. It truly carries me forward.”

Turning 74 later this year, Bishop Kopacz says that he hopes to still be around to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the diocese in 13 years. He expressed how grateful he was for the people of the diocese, all of the priests and religious, coworkers at the Chancery and all the staff at parishes across the diocese who respond to God’s call every day.

“I thank everyone for the kindness and generosity for the 10th anniversary of my consecration and installation as the 11th Bishop of Jackson,” said Bishop Kopacz. “It was a splendid and joyful occasion.”

JACKSON – Bishop Joseph Kopacz lays prostrate during his ordination as Bishop of Jackson on Feb. 6, 2014 at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. He recently celebrated his 10th anniversary at the Bishop for the Diocese of Jackson. (Photo from archives)

Vatican publishes full papal schedule for Holy Week, Easter

By Justin McLeLLan

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis’ calendar for Holy Week and Easter is just as full as in previous years despite a mild illness which has caused him to cancel meetings in the days leading up to the release of his liturgical calendar for March.

The pope canceled meetings Feb. 24 and Feb. 26 due to “flu-like symptoms,” the Vatican said. Although he held his general audience Feb. 28, an aide read Pope Francis’ prepared remarks, and the Vatican said he briefly visited a Rome hospital after the audience for medical tests.

The pope is scheduled preside over all the major liturgical celebrations of Holy Week.

As is customary when first publishing the pope’s calendar for Holy Week, the Vatican did not provide the time or place for his celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, March 28. Pope Francis has made it a tradition to celebrate the Mass and foot-washing ritual at a prison or detention center, refugee center or rehabilitation facility; last year he did so at a prison for minors in Rome.

Here is the schedule of papal liturgical ceremonies and events for March released by the Vatican Feb. 29:

– March 24, Palm Sunday, morning Mass in St. Peter’s Square.

– March 28, Holy Thursday, morning chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

– March 29, Good Friday, afternoon liturgy of the Lord’s passion in St. Peter’s Basilica.

– March 29, Way of the Cross at night at Rome’s Colosseum.

– March 30, Easter vigil Mass in the evening in St. Peter’s Basilica.

– March 31, Easter morning Mass in St. Peter’s Square, followed at noon by the pope’s blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world).

Por loreNe haNleY DUQUiN

(OSV News) – ¿Qué vas a hacer para Semana Santa?

Está bien si su lista de Semana Santa incluye colorear huevos, limpiar y hornear para Pascua, comprar ropa nueva, viajar a la casa de un familiar o ir de vacaciones de primavera. No hay nada de malo en las actividades seculares de Semana Santa.

Pero es importante tener en cuenta que también existe una base espiritual profunda para la celebración de este tiempo.

La Semana Santa comienza con el Domingo de Ramos y finaliza al atardecer del Domingo de Resurrección.

Nuestro recuerdo de los acontecimientos que rodearon la muerte y resurrección de Jesús hace de la Semana Santa la época más sagrada del año para los católicos.

¿Cómo equilibrará la parte sagrada de la Semana Santa con todas las demás cosas que hará? Todo ello es importante en su vida y en la vida de los miembros de su familia. Pero mantener un equilibrio entre lo espiritual y lo secular requerirá un poco de planificación de su parte.

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

Guia Definitiva de Semana Santa

Empiece por hacer una lista de todo lo que hay que hacer durante la Semana Santa. Luego reserve tiempo en su apretada agenda para asistir a las liturgias de Semana Santa. Asegúrese de reservar momentos específicos todos los días durante la semana para los devocionales de Cuaresma, la oración tranquila, la lectura de las Escrituras y la meditación.

¡Su mayor tentación será escatimar en sus necesidades espirituales porque están sucediendo muchas cosas! Si deja que eso suceda, su celebración de Pascua puede parecer perfecta en la superficie, pero se sentirá espiritualmente insatisfactoria.

– Domingo de Ramos de la Pasión del Señor

El Domingo de Ramos de la Pasión del Señor, sexto domingo de Cuaresma, marca el inicio de la Semana Santa. La Misa de este día conmemora la entrada triunfal de Jesús en Jerusalén cuando la gente agitaba ramas de palma y gritaba "Hosanna".

Antes de que comience la Misa, se bendicen las palmas y hay una procesión que simboliza el comienzo del viaje espiritual hacia el Misterio

El Domingo de Ramos comienza la Semana Santa. (Foto cortesía de BigStock Photos)

– Continúa en la pág. 2 –

JACKSON – Algunos de los símbolos y actos que acompañan a la Cuaresma y Semana Santa. (izq.) Los santos óleos, preparados para todo el año venidero, por el obispo Joseph Kopacz, en Misa Crismal en la Catedral de San Pedro, para sanación corporal y espiritual. (centro) El principal símbolo cristiano, la Cruz, decorada para Cuarema, y (der.) Lavado de los pies en Jueves Santo, como símbolo del servicio. (Fotos de archivo y cortesia de St. Therese Jackson)

8 de marzo de 2024

... La Cruz, como recuerdo, de causa y consecuencia ...

– Viene de la pág.

Pascual que se desarrollará durante la Semana Santa.

Durante la Misa se lee el relato evangélico completo de la pasión y muerte de Jesús. El sacerdote leer los versos atribuidos a Jesús. Varios lectores toman otros papeles. La gente en los bancos lee las líneas atribuidas a la multitud.

La Misa continúa con la celebración de la Eucaristía.

Se anima a las personas a llevarse las ramas de palma bendecidas a casa, donde podrán formar cruces o colocarlas detrás de un crucifijo.

Las palmas benditas que quedan en la iglesia son quemadas y utilizadas como cenizas el año siguiente, el Miércoles de Ceniza.

– Lunes de Semana Santa

La lectura del Evangelio de este día, Juan 12, 1-11, recuerda a la mujer que ungió a Jesús con aceite.

– Martes de Semana Santa

El Evangelio de hoy, Juan 13, 21-33, 36-38, ofrece una pista de los acontecimientos que vendrán cuando Jesús predice la traición de Judas y la negación de Pedro.

– Miércoles de Semana Santa

Este día se conoce tradicionalmente como "miércoles de espías" porque recuerda la decisión de Judas de traicionar a Jesús por 30 monedas de plata.

– La Misa Crismal

Durante la Semana Santa, los obispos bendicen los óleos sagrados en la catedral diocesana en una liturgia especial conocida como Misa Crismal.

El aceite del crisma se utiliza durante los bautismos, la confirmación, la ordenación y la consagración de altares. El óleo de los catecúmenos se utiliza en la Vigilia Pascual. El aceite de los enfermos se utiliza para ungir a las personas durante el sacramento de la unción de los enfermos. Luego, los aceites se distribuyen a las parroquias para las celebraciones sacramentales durante todo el año.

Como parte de las reformas litúrgicas del Vaticano II, se incorporó a la Misa Crismal la renovación de las promesas sacerdotales.

La Misa Crismal es una celebración ancestral que tradicionalmente se realiza la mañana del Jueves Santo. Pero en los últimos años, muchas diócesis celebran la Misa Crismal una noche más temprana en Semana Santa para que más personas puedan asistir.

– Misa del Jueves Santo de la Última Cena del Señor

La Misa de la Cena del Señor conmemora la cena de Pascua que Jesús compartió en el Cenáculo con los apóstoles la noche antes de morir. Antes de la comida, les lavó los pies para inculcarles el llamado a servir a los demás. La Iglesia reconoce la Última Cena como la institución del Sacramento del Orden Sagrado.

Durante la comida, Jesús también instituyó la Eucaristía transformando el pan y el vino en su propio cuerpo y sangre.

Después de la comida, Jesús fue a Getsemaní donde sufrió la agonía en el huerto, la traición de Judas y la brutalidad de ser arrestado.

La Misa de la Última Cena es una liturgia dramática en la que el sacerdote lava los pies a 12 feligreses.

Después de la Comunión, se desnuda el altar y tiene lugar una procesión con el Santísimo Sacramento, que es llevado a un altar de reposo aparte, generalmente ubicado en un altar lateral o en una capilla. No hay palabras de despedida ni bendición final. Es la última vez que se celebrará la Eucaristía hasta la Vigilia Pascual.

La gente sale en silencio, pero continúa velando con Jesús en el corazón en anticipación de los acontecimientos que tendrán lugar al día siguiente.

– Viernes Santo

La Celebración de la Pasión del Señor el Viernes Santo es un servicio sombrío que conmemora la crucifixión, muerte y sepultura de Jesús. Como se considera una continuación de la noche anterior, la liturgia comienza en silencio. El sacerdote entra y se postra al pie del altar.

El servicio comienza con la Liturgia de la Palabra,

que incluye una lectura sobre el siervo sufriente de Isaías, un salmo, una lectura del libro de Hebreos y el relato de la pasión y muerte de Jesús del Evangelio de Juan. Durante esta parte de la liturgia hay oraciones especiales por todas las personas del mundo.

La segunda parte de la liturgia es la veneración de la cruz, una práctica antigua que permite a cada persona tocar o besar el instrumento de tortura que conduce a la salvación.

La tercera parte de la liturgia es un servicio de Comunión con hostias que fueron consagradas la noche anterior. Luego, el tabernáculo se deja vacío y abierto. Se apaga la lámpara o cirio que suele situarse junto al tabernáculo, que denota la presencia de Cristo.

La gente sale de la iglesia en silencio, pero continúa velando con Jesús, que ha entrado en el sepulcro y resucitará al tercer día.

– Normas de ayuno del Viernes Santo Sólo se permite una comida completa el Viernes Santo para los católicos entre 18 y 59 años. Se permiten dos comidas más pequeñas, pero no deben equivaler a una segunda comida completa. Se permite beber café, té y agua entre comidas, pero no comer bocadillos entre comidas.

Todos los católicos que hayan cumplido 14 años deben abstenerse de comer carne el Viernes Santo.

– Vigilia Pascual

En el siglo I, los primeros cristianos celebraban to dos los domingos en conmemoración de la resurrección de Jesús. En el siglo II, establecieron un día particular para la celebración de la resurrección, que estaba relacionado con la Pascua judía.

Su celebración comenzó al atarde cer del sábado por la noche. La llama ron la Noche de la Gran Vigilia, un ti empo de recuerdo y expectación que se prolongaba durante toda la noche para poder cantar el "aleluya" al amanecer de la mañana de Pascua. Fue duran te la Noche de la Gran Vigilia que los nuevos cristianos fueron recibidos en la iglesia.

En el siglo IV, se hizo costumbre que la gente hiciera peregrinaciones a Jerusalén para celebrar lo que se llam aba la "Gran Semana", que incluía el Jueves Santo, el Viernes Santo, la Vig ilia Pascual y el Domingo de Resurrec ción. El diario de una mujer llamada Egeria en el año 381 contiene los prim eros relatos de los ritos especiales, oraciones y devociones que tuvieron lugar

TUPELO – La Cruz recuerda los orígenes de la Pasion de Cristo y el significado de la misma. En cada semana Santa los parroquianos de todas las edades escenifican la Pasión de Jesús. (izq.) José Luis Ortega, de la parroquia de St. James, escenifica en el 2021, en la estación nueve, como Jesús llevaba el peso de la cruz. (Foto de Danny McArthur Daily Journal)

MADISON – (der.) Representación en los jardines de San Francisco de Asis en Semana Santa del 2022. (Foto de Elsa Baughman)

en Jerusalén durante la Gran Semana.

Con el tiempo, la práctica de observar la Semana Santa se extendió por todo el mundo cristiano, con oraciones, recreaciones históricas y liturgias especiales. Durante la Edad Media, la celebración de la Vigilia Pascual fue perdiendo práctica. Los días importantes de la semana eran el Domingo de Ramos, el Jueves Santo, el Viernes Santo y el Domingo de Resurrección.

En 1955, el Vaticano restableció la Vigilia Pascual como una parte importante de las celebraciones de la Semana Santa.

Durante el Concilio Vaticano Segundo (1962-1965), los obispos pidieron la restauración de los primeros rituales cristianos para recibir a los nuevos cristianos

– Continúa en la pág. 4 –

El Obispo Joseph Kopacz bendice las palmas, antes de la celebración del Domingo de Ramos, en la Catedral de San Pedro. (Foto de archivo Mississippi Catholic)

"Cabrini"

Por obisPo JosePh r. KoPaCz, D.D.

La experiencia católica estadounidense ha sido bendecida por el principio y la dedicación de mujeres y hombres religiosos que llegaron o vinieron poco después para vivir y servir en comunidadesde inmigrantes. A veces, Dios tuvo que levantar desde adentro a estos dedicados siervos para responder a las evidentes necesidades de las poblaciones marginadas y perseguidas en nuestro país. En nuestras regiones del sur y occidental, la hermana Katherine Drexel, nativa de Filadelfia, Pensilvania y las hermanas del Santísimo Sacramento, quienes vinieron a servir a los estadounidenses negros e indígenas, desde su fundación en 1891. Nuestra propia hermana Amelia Breton que sirve como la Coordinadora del Ministerio Intercultural de la Diócesis de Jackson, es miembro de esta comunidad religiosa.

A principios del siglo XIX, Elizabeth Ann Seton fundó las Hermanas de la Caridad en 1809, la primera congregación de hermanas religiosas estadounidenses. Ella estaba profundamente comprometida con la educación y es reconocida como la fundadora de la educación escolar católica en los Estados Unidos. Los miembros de su comunidad llegaron a Natchez en 1847 a instancias del obispo John Joseph Chanche, S.S. para comenzar el legado de la educación católica en nuestra diócesis. Esta comunidad religiosa mantuvo una presencia en Natchez hasta principios de la década de 2000. Además, Dios levantó a nuestra propia hermana Thea Bowman, de entre la población afroamericana en Cantón, para convertirla en una mensajera profética de esperanza para los católicos negros y para todos los marginados. Su causa de canonización todavia está en marcha.

En los cines de nuestra nación, desde el 8 de marzo, la película "Cabrini" está programada para su lanzamiento. Es la historia de Frances Xavier Cabrini, quien fundó en Italia a las hermanas misioneras del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús en la segunda mitad del si-

glo XIX. El nombre de su comunidad y su segundo nombre elegido en honor de San Francisco Xavier, co-patrón de las misiones, declaran el propósito de su vida y el carisma de su comunidad para llevar el evangelio en su plenitud a las naciones.

La película es una producción convincente, excepcional en su contenido y actuación. En una de las escenas decisivas, la Madre Cabrini y el Papa Leo XIII están tomando té y discutiendo las posibilidades. Ella está tratando de convencerlo de que le dé permiso a su orden para aventurarse al este a China como explica: "Mi misión es más grande que este mundo". Él responde con calma y claramente: "En ese caso, no importa dónde comiences". Él la dirigió a ir al oeste a Nueva York para servir entre los inmigrantes italianos que llegaron en grandes cantidades a la costa este entre 1850 y 1910. La película procede a retratar de manera realista las duras condiciones para los inmigrantes en la iglesia y en la sociedad a fines del 19 y principios del siglo XX en Nueva York.

Cristiana Dell’anna protagoniza una escena de "Cabrini", la película del director Alejandro Monteverde sobre la madre Frances Xavier Cabrini, quien fue canonizada en 1946, menos de 30 años después de su muerte. La calificación de la asociación de películas es PG-13. (Foto de noticias OSV/Angel Studios)

herramienta catequética y evangelizante para las generaciones venideras. Felicitaciones a todos los que participaron en su desarrollo y producción.

En una nota personal, fue alrededor de 1910 que mis abuelos maternos, que eran del sur de Italia, pasaron por la isla Ellis y comenzaron una nueva vida con la ropa en sus espaldas y un sueño en sus corazones. La película es una joya que ilustra la difícil situación, la vulnerabilidad y la determinación de la población inmigrante de manera quese repite de una generación a la siguiente. Contra todas las probabilidades, la madre Cabrini logró obtener un punto de apoyo a la sombra de la estatua de la libertad, y desde allí cumplió su misión en todo el mundo, una misión que era "más grande que este mundo".

La película nunca perdió el ritmo al capturar su heroica virtud y perseverancia. Esta historia de vida religiosa que pasó de los márgenes de la iglesia y la sociedad a la corriente principal de ambos, será una

Además, la historia de la madre Cabrini puede desafiar a nuestras comunidades católicas y a todas las personas de buena voluntad a responder a los desafíos y, a veces, crisis de inmigración a través de la lente del imperativo del evangelio de "dar la bienvenida al extraño" y los ideales que están siempre inscritos para siempre en la estatua de la libertad en el poema El Nuevo Coloso de Emma Lázarus. "Dadme a vuestros rendidos, a vuestros pobres, Vuestras masas hacinadas anhelando respirar en libertad, El desamparado desecho de vuestras rebosantes playas, Enviadme a estos, los desamparados, sacudidos por las tempestades, ¡Yo elevo mi faro al costado de la puerta dorada!"

En nuestros tiempos, muchos religiosos están sirviendo a la población inmigrante en nuestras fronteras y en muchos rincones de nuestra nación. A menudo, son tan heroicos como la madre Cabrini porque algunos están presionando para cerrarlos, y los extremistas incluso abogan por que les disparen. La realidad actual de la inmigración con sus bendiciones y sus cargas nos reta a ir más allá de la postura política e invectiva que a menudo dominan la narrativa pública. En el tiempo por delante, agregaremos nuestra voz al dominio público.

Papa: "...El coraje de Mártires Cristianos es bendición para todos ..."

Un manifestante sostiene una bandera de Burkina Faso en Uagadugú, capital de Burkina Faso, en 2014. Al menos 15 personas murieron en un ataque de hombres armados contra católicos reunidos para la misa dominical en un pueblo de Burkina Faso el 25 de febrero de 2024. (Foto OSV News/Joe Penney, Reuters)

Por Carol Glatz

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) – Los cristianos que nunca renuncian a su amor por Cristo y son fieles hasta el punto de la muerte son una bendición para todos, dijo el Papa Francisco.

"Siempre habrá mártires entre nosotros. Esta es una señal de que estamos en el camino correcto."

Este mensaje lo dijo el Papa en un mensaje en video para la Red Mundial de Oración del Papa, anteriormente conocida como el Apostolado de la Oración, y publicado el 27 de febrero. La intención de oración del Papa para el mes de marzo está dedicada a los mártires modernos como testigos de Cristo.

"La valentía de los mártires, el testimonio de los mártires, es una bendición para todos", dijo en su mensaje en vídeo, señalando que se estima que hay más mártires hoy que durante la época de la iglesia primitiva.

"Oremos para que aquellos que arriesgan su vida por el Evangelio en varias partes del mundo puedan infundir a la Iglesia su coraje y su impulso misionero. Y estar abiertos a la gracia del martirio", dijo.

(El video del Papa se puede encontrar en varios idiomas en thepopevideo.org.)

El Papa Francisco, en una captura de pantalla de un vídeo, pide a la gente que oren para que aquellos que arriesgan sus vidas por el Evangelio puedan inspirar a la iglesia con su valentía e impulso misionero. Para el mes de marzo, la Red Mundial de Oración del Papa está dedicada a los mártires modernos como testimonio de Cristo. (Foto CNS/ThePopeVideo.org)

8 de marzo de 2024

... Se vence oscuridad con Nueva Vida en Cristo ...

– Viene de la pág. 1 –

en la iglesia en la Vigilia Pascual. En 1988 se publicó el Rito de Iniciación Cristiana de Adultos.

Hoy, la Vigilia Pascual con el fuego pascual, el encendido del cirio pascual, la lectura de la historia de la salvación, la celebración de los sacramentos de iniciación para los catecúmenos y la renovación de las promesas bautismales para los fieles vuelve a ser parte integral de las celebraciones de Semana Santa.

Al igual que el Viernes Santo, la celebración comienza en silencio con la gente esperando en la oscuridad.

La primera parte de la Vigilia es el Servicio de Luz, que comienza al aire libre con el fuego pascual y el encendido del cirio pascual.

La vela se lleva a la iglesia a oscuras como símbolo de la Luz de Cristo, un poderoso recordatorio de que Jesús es luz en la oscuridad.

En Semana Santa, se reproduce las estaciones de la Cruz, como recordatorio de los soldados, seguidores de Jesús y pueblo en general que lo traicionaron y ejecutaron y de aquelllos que se compadecieron de su sufrimiento y de los que hacieron reverencia a su deidad. (Foto de archivo)

Las velas individuales, sostenidas por las personas en los bancos, se encienden con el cirio pascual. Cuando la procesión llega al altar, la iglesia está bañada por la luz de las velas.

Se canta el Exultet (también conocido como Pregón Pascual), antiguo canto de anuncio que da gracias y alabanza a Dios.

Durante la Liturgia de la Palabra, las lecturas de las Escrituras y los salmos ayudan a las personas a reflexionar sobre todas las cosas maravillosas que Dios ha hecho a lo largo de la historia de la salvación.

Luego se bendice el agua bautismal, los candidatos y catecúmenos reci-

ben los sacramentos de iniciación y la congregación renueva los votos bautismales.

Durante la Liturgia de la Eucaristía, la gente comparte el cuerpo y la sangre de Cristo.

El misterio y el ritual de la Vigilia Pascual tocan lo más profundo del alma de las personas con elementos de oscuridad, luz, silencio, música, fuego, agua y aceite, junto con el pan y el vino que se convierten en cuerpo y sangre del Señor resucitado.

Se les recuerda que la nueva vida en Cristo nunca puede ser vencida por la oscuridad o la muerte.

– Domingo de Pascua

Para los primeros cristianos, la celebración de misas en la mañana de Pascua se desarrolló como una forma de dar cabida a las personas que no podían asistir a la Vigilia Pascual.

Jesús bajado de la Cruz, que hace hermanos a los que creen en Cristo. (Foto Cortesia de BigStock Photos)

Hoy en día, las Misas del Domingo de Pascua son celebraciones llenas de alegría del Señor resucitado con el canto del Gloria y los aleluyas, la renovación de los votos bautismales y una aspersión con agua pascual. Después de compartir la Eucaristía, las personas salen fortalecidas en la fe para servir al Señor y a los demás.

El Domingo de Pascua marca el comienzo del tiempo pascual, que durará los próximos 50 días e incluirá la celebración de la ascensión de Jesús y el descenso del Espíritu Santo en Pentecostés.

(Lorene Hanley Duquin es una autora y conferencista católica que ha trabajado en parroquias y a nivel diocesano)

TOME NOTA

Vírgenes y Santos

San Patricio. Marzo 17

San José. Marzo 19

Solemnidad Anunciación del Señor. Marzo 25

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En cada Viernes de Cuaresma:

Estaciones de la Cruz Día de Pescado Frito (Pregunte en su parroquia por detalles)

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Mississippi Católico Mande un texto: MSCATHOLIC a 84576

An image taken with the near-infrared camera from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the Ring Nebula Aug. 21, 2023. (CNS photo/courtesy ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Barlow, N. Cox, R. Wesson)

NATION

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (OSV News) – Alabama lawmakers in both the state’s House and Senate Feb. 29 passed similar bills to implement legal protections to in vitro fertilization clinics following a ruling by that state’s Supreme Court that frozen embryos qualify as children under the state law’s wrongful death law. IVF is a form of fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church on the grounds that it often involves the destruction of human embryos, among other concerns. Both chambers passed similar bills, but they must reconcile their pieces of legislation before sending one to the governor’s desk. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey has signaled her support for protecting IVF in law. The ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court found that embryos are children under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, a statute that allows parents of a deceased child to recover punitive damages for their child’s death. That ruling came in response to appeals brought by couples whose embryos were destroyed in 2020, when a hospital patient improperly removed frozen embryos from storage equipment, which they argued constituted a wrongful death. The judges found that under the law, parents’ ability to sue over the wrongful death of a minor child applies to unborn children, without an exception for “extrauterine children.” Though limited in scope, the ruling has created complex legal questions about what it entailed for IVF treatments in the state.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (OSV News) – A candidate for sainthood is inspiring Catholic Scouts in Illinois to earn a new patch while deepening their relationship with Christ in the Eucharist. The Catholic Committee on Scouting in the Diocese of Springfield has announced the creation of the Venerable Father Augustine Tolton Activity Patch, which honors the first recognized Black priest in the U.S. Requirements for the patch include learning about Tolton’s life, visiting a seminary or religious community to better understand vocational discernment, modeling Father Tolton’s patient disposition and engaging in prayer. Kyle Holtgrave, the diocese’s director for catechesis, said the inspiration for the Tolton patch came from the upcoming National Eucharistic Congress, set to take place in Indianapolis July 17-21 as the culmination of the threeyear National Eucharistic Revival, a grassroots e ort by the U.S. bishops to rekindle devotion to the Real Presence. Father Tolton, who persisted in his faith despite systemic racism and rejection, exemplified a love for the Eucharist – one that speaks to a new generation, said Holtgrave.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The ability of Catholic and other faith-based groups to “meet migrants’ basic human needs” at the U.S.-Mexico border is a religious liberty issue and must be defended, U.S. bishops said in recent statements. In a Feb. 26 statement issued in response to a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an attempt to shut down Annunciation House, a Catholic nonprofit in El Paso serving

migrants, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty, expressed solidarity with faith-driven ministries to migrants. He noted the “strong tradition of religious liberty” in the U.S. “allows us to live out our faith in full,” and said that as “the tragic situation along our border with Mexico increasingly poses challenges for American communities and vulnerable persons alike, we must especially preserve the freedom of Catholics and other people of faith to assist their communities and meet migrants’ basic human needs.” Paxton’s suit targeting El Paso’s Annunciation House comes as some Republicans have grown increasingly hostile toward nongovernmental organizations, particularly Catholic ones, that provide resources such as food and shelter to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Bishop Rhoades’ statement followed the Texas bishops’ Feb. 23 statement, which he praised for “expressing solidarity with those seeking simply to fulfill the fundamental biblical call: ‘whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

VATICAN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Orbiting the sun nearly 1 million miles from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope is reshaping the way scientists understand the universe and its origins, a number of astronomers said at a Vatican-sponsored meeting. “The telescope is able to see things that prior telescopes just could not see,” Jonathan Lunine, a professor of astronomy and department chair at Cornell University, told Catholic News Service Feb. 28. It has such unprecedented power in terms of its sensitivity, wavelength range and image sharpness that it is “doing revolutionary things” and leading to exciting new discoveries in multiple fields, he said. Lunine, who is a planetary scientist and physicist, was one of nearly 50 experts in the field of astronomy attending a Feb. 27-29 workshop organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences to discuss the newest results from the Webb telescope. Launched Dec. 25, 2021, NASA’s latest space science observatory is the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built. It began sending full-color images and data back to Earth after it became fully operational in July 2022. NASA said on its Webb.nasa.gov page, “Telescopes show us how things were – not how they are right now,” which helps humanity “understand the origins of the universe.” “Webb is so sensitive it could theoretically detect the heat signature of a bumblebee at the distance of the Moon,” it said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Crying out to God and demanding answers when one’s child dies is anything but a sign of a lack of faith, Pope Francis told a group of grieving Italian parents. “There is nothing worse than silencing pain, putting a silencer on su ering, removing traumas without facing them, as our world often encourages in its rush and numbness,” the pope said in a speech written for members of the “Talità Kum” Association from Vicenza, Italy. While the pope had an aide read his speech March 2 because he was su ering from bronchitis, he personally greeted each member of the group.

In the text, the pope said he wanted to “o er a caress to your heart, broken and pierced like

that of Jesus on the cross: a heart that is bleeding, a heart bathed in tears and torn apart by a heavy sense of emptiness.” The loss of a child is “an experience that defies theoretical descriptions and rejects the triviality of religious or sentimental words” or “sterile encouragements,” the text said. Recognizing that too often the pious phrases Christians o er to grieving parents do nothing to help and may just add to the pain, the pope said that the best response is “to imitate the emotion and compassion of Jesus in the face of pain,” not trying to minimize it, but to share it.

WORLD

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (OSV News) – As the wave of violence torments gang-decimated Haiti, six male religious, a lay teacher and a priest were kidnapped in two separate incidents Feb. 23 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The six members of the Congregation of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart were abducted on their way to the John XXIII School, which is run by the order. A teacher who was with them was also taken, the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need confirmed. “In view of this painful event, the John XXIII institution is closing its doors until further notice. The other institutions of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart throughout the country will continue the work of raising awareness among the new generation of the values of living together in harmony, with a view to the emergence of a new society that is more humane, more caring, and more united,” said the congregation in a statement sent to ACN. Only a few hours later, a priest was also kidnapped in Port-au-Prince. He was taken from his parish church, alongside some of the faithful, soon after celebrating morning Mass. Despite the tireless work of the church, clergy and religious have not been spared the violence of armed gangs.

DORI, Burkina Faso (OSV News) – At least 15 people were killed in an attack by gunmen on Catholics gathered for Sunday Mass in a Burkina Faso village Feb. 25, according to multiple news reports. Twelve Catholics were dead at the scene in the village of Essakane, with another three dying while being treated at a health center, and two others wounded, according to a statement from Bishop Laurent Birfuoré Dabiré of the Diocese of Dori in Northern Burkina Faso, which includes Essakane. “In these painful circumstances, we invite you to pray for the eternal rest of those who have died in the faith, for the healing of the wounded and for the consolation of sorrowful hearts,” the bishop said in the statement. “We also pray for the conversion of those who continue to sow death and desolation in our country. May our e orts of penance and prayer during this period of Lent bring peace and security to our country, Burkina Faso,” the bishop said. According to AP, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but jihadis who have perpetuated similar violence are suspected of carrying it out. Christians in Burkina Faso have been increasingly targeted in recent years by terrorist groups amid political and social upheaval.

MISSISSIPPI CATHOLIC MARCH 8, 2024

FROM THE ARCHIVES

By Mary WoodWard

JACKSON

–

Managing the Diocese of Jackson’s historical archive is always an adventure and takes me down many paths to a plethora of requests for great grandparent’s marriage records, decrees of establishing long lost churches, name of saint whose relic is in an altar, and so on. Unfortunately, I cannot always fulfill these requests because the information might not have been recorded or it might not be in the place it is supposed to be according to the index.

I always tell people our diocesan archives do not exist for genealogical purposes or answering various questions from the street; and that as a “lone arranger” it will take a long time before I can even get to their request. Most people are fine with that.

With that being said, working with history and the documentation of it is quite a rewarding adventure. Right now, I am working on developing a project that will look at some pivotal moments in recent history that affected our state, country and church. Recent for people in archives is 75 years or less. I always laugh and cry a little to myself when someone asks for an old baptismal record from 1970.

As part of this still evolving venture, I ran into another research mission that had been initiated more than 10 years ago and had fallen by the wayside as can happen when you get distracted by more pressing matters in church life.

In 2012, as part of exploring possible events to highlight our diocese’s 175th anniversary, I came across a thread that led me to the location of the original handwritten copy of Bishop William Henry Elder’s diary he kept during the Civil War.

Bishop William Henry Elder, a native of Baltimore, studied at Mount St. Mary College in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He graduated in 1837 and entered Mount St. Mary Seminary. Following completion of seminary studies, he was sent to Rome for graduate studies at the Pontifical Urban University where he earned a Doctor of Divinity in 1846.

After his ordination there on March 29, 1846, he returned to Maryland and Mount St. Mary where he served as a professor at the seminary. Eleven years later in 1857, he was named the third Bishop of Natchez by Pope Pius IX. In 1880, he was named co-adjutor

Living in different times

Archbishop of Cincinnati.

Upon departing the then Diocese of Natchez in 1880, Bishop Elder took many of his personal papers with him to Cincinnati. His Civil War diary was one of these items. The diary travelled even more making stops in the collections of Mount St. Mary Seminary, Woodstock College, and ultimately the archives of Georgetown University in Washington.

Twelve years ago, I had made contact with the Georgetown archivist, a Jesuit, and worked with him to get the diary in digital format. Bishop R.O. Gerow had created and published a typed version of the diary, but here we had the handwritten version. In the midst of the project which involved complicated file formats for our fledgling digital system, contact was lost, and the project was forgotten.

Recently, while researching the current project mentioned above, I did a side search for the diary in the Georgetown archives special collections. There it was the original handwritten diary available for viewing in PDF format. Soon I’ll have a link to it on our website.

Bishop Joseph Brunini, our eighth bishop and only native son from Vicksburg, went to Georgetown in the late 1920s and graduated in 1930. He was editor of the campus newspaper The Hoya. His brother Ed was The Hoya’s sports editor.

According to the description next to his senior photo in the 1930 Ye Domesday Booke, Georgetown’s yearbook, Joseph B. Brunini was: “The Hoya’s high priest. Joe lives a hectic life dashing around from printer to printer…all the while pulling copy from the humble newswriters by means of his persuasive Southern ‘oil.’”

In his senior year, Bishop Brunini was also vice president of the Philodemic Society, one of the country’s oldest debating societies in the United States and the oldest secular student organization at Georgetown. In fact, Philodemic was marking its centennial in 1930. That’s kind of a big deal.

Like Bishop Elder, upon completion of his collegiate

studies at Georgetown, Bishop Brunini was sent to Rome where he finished his seminary studies at the North American College, which at that time was in downtown Rome. He was ordained there on Dec. 5, 1933.

As you can see, exploring archives creates a web of interconnectedness among collections scattered across not only the country but also across epochs of time. It is easy to end up down a different rabbit hole from the original one intended.

The phrase “hunh, what a small world” is heard and uttered infinitely. Until next time…

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

Bishop Joseph Brunini is pictured in the 1930 “Ye Domesday Booke,” the yearbook for Georgetown University. (Photos courtesy of archives)

Pictured is a digital copy of the handwritten Civil War diary of Bishop Elder, which over the years was found in the archives of Mount St. Mary Seminary, then Woodstock College and ultimately at Georgetown University in Washington.

BY PAULINA GUZIK

As war enters third year, Ukrainians helped by church number in the millions

KRAKOW, Poland (OSV News) – A group of women from a little village between Kharkiv and Izium in eastern Ukraine decided they were fed up with landmine danger in their village, preventing residents from living their lives in some normality amid war.

So with materials as simple as a plank and a long string, they constructed their own equipment and demined a part of the village.

“They really show the incredible resilience of this country!” Father Leszek Kryza told OSV News.

Father Kryza travels to Ukraine at least once a month, especially to the devastated eastern regions. In January, he visited the “mine-blowing” women not only because of their sheer bravado, but because the Polish bishops’ O ce for Helping the Church in the East led by Father Kryza equipped them with sewing machines so that – despite ongoing war – they have a job.

Once the war started, the women sheltered with the Orionine sisters in Korotych and it was the sisters who signaled Father Kryza, who then alerted his friends in the church in Italy, and that’s how supplies and sewing machines eventually landed in eastern Ukraine.

“It has worked like that since Feb. 24, 2022,” he told OSV News, referring to the start of a full- scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“It’s a constant chain of good hearts,” he said.

Entering the third year of war several church institutions wrapped their aid e ort in “two years of war” reports, showing that millions of people have been saved thanks to the Catholic Church.

A million people – whether Ukrainian refugees in Poland or those inside Ukraine – have been helped by Caritas Poland. In 2023 alone, the aid was worth $37 million.

Another 1.6 million have been helped by the Knights of Columbus, with $22.3 million raised for Ukraine since 2022.

CNEWA, or Catholic Near East Welfare Association, rushed $5,8 million in emergency funds over the past year to church-led relief e orts in Ukraine and in neighboring countries receiving those fleeing the missiles.

The Vatican sent 240 trucks with supplies to Ukraine over the past two years, with $2.2 million of its charity funds dedicated to Ukraine just in 2022.

Asked what percentage of help for 17 million Ukrainians, including 5 million of those internally displaced, comes from the Catholic Church, Father Kryza said, “I tried to calculate it once, but it’s impossible! Because it’s not that you’ll gather data from Caritas, Knights of Columbus, the Vatican and other ‘big actors.’ It’s the orders, female and male congregations, individual priests, volunteers spread across Ukraine, it’s just one big church on the front lines.”

Father Luca Bovio, an Italian Consolata Missionary who works next door to Father Kryza in Warsaw, in the Polish branch of Pontifical Mission Societies, told OSV News that it’s an “incredible international chain” of aid. “When the war started, people from Africa, Canada and several European countries called me, and said, ‘We want to help, where do we send the funds or supplies?’ So I knocked on my neighbor’s door – Father Leszek, for whom Ukraine is another home, and that’s how since his first trip after February 24, we’re in this together!”

If numbers hide the concrete faces of people aided by the church, Polish Dominican Sister Mateusza Trynda, who is working in the western Ukraine city of Zhovkva, has plenty to talk about.

Sister Mateusza was on front pages of Polish media when the war started, pictured with a ladle and huge pot of soup, standing in the middle of a field next to the road leading to the Ukrainian border with Poland.

Now she said the help looks di erent – but the needs are just as great.

“We distributed aid packages to 700 people in Feb-

ruary, but in the war’s peak moment we handed aid to a group of 2,500 internally displaced people regularly,” she told OSV News.

“We distribute everything that is needed for life. So there’s food, clothing, furniture, mattresses, pillows, quilts, dishes, heaters, irons,” she said.

All is needed – a sentence repeated over and over again from Kyiv to the Vatican.

“In one of our trucks we had thousands of jeans. One was full of chairs. And in one we sent hundreds of electric shavers,” Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity and papal almoner, told OSV News.

“The war is not ending. The needs are huge. I am told by Ukrainians all the time, ‘We need everything.’ Everything,” he said, adding that the shavers were sent to soldiers and that he recently received a picture of a female sergeant cutting the hair of her colleagues somewhere on the front line.

Cardinal Krajewski visited Ukraine seven times since the start of the full-scale invasion, including Zaporozhzhia, where had to escape gunfire in September 2022.

In the eastern Ukraine city, the Albertine brothers still distribute 1,500 meals a week. Their bakery is operated by the homeless they shelter on a daily basis.

Russian occupation authorities banned the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and other Catholic ministries, including Caritas and the Knights of Columbus in December 2023 in occupied areas of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.

“That ban shows how important the role of the church is, and under what circumstances we can and must act to help those most in need,” said Szymon Czyszek, the Knights of Columbus’ director of international growth in Europe.

The organization delivered aid to the besieged town of Avdiivka before it fell to the Russian forces in mid-February.

“It must be said that such actions involve the risk of loss of life. A bomb exploded in front of the car with the Knights driving with help,” he said. “They were lucky to survive,” he added.

From establishing border Mercy Centers at the beginning of the war, to distributing 250,000 care packages with 7.7 million pounds of food and supplies, and thousands of warm coats to Ukrainian children in addition to running programs deactivating landmines, the Knights will continue to help, said Czyszek.

“No matter how tense the political situation over Ukraine will be, we won’t stop. Because Ukraine is the embodiment of the su ering Christ – we cannot be indi erent,” he said.

“We can’t be bored by this war,” Father Marcin Izycki, director of Caritas Poland, told

journalists ahead of the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

Father Bovio added that “the situation is as bad as it was at the beginning of the invasion, it’s sad, but that’s the reality.”

Cardinal Krajewski emphasized that the church won’t stop helping as it’s the “pure Gospel” to stand with those that su er, but that discussions in the West regarding whether to send or not to send aid to Ukraine are worrying him the most.

“Being divided never helps, it doesn’t help any country, it doesn’t help any church, and it doesn’t help Ukraine,” he said.

“I know so many people who still dedicate all their free time of the year to go to Ukraine and distribute help as volunteers – the world needs to learn how to be compassionate from them,” he said.

“It’s so that hope doesn’t die,” Sister Mateusza told OSV News. “I met people with damaged houses that have nothing at all. But they still had hope. Because if hope dies, that’s really the end.”

Sister Mateusza said psychological help is urgently needed for people tired of war, and desperate for it to end, widows and orphaned children, but also those internally displaced and over 6 million Ukrainians living abroad as refugees.

She said everyone can help with prayer, too. “It’s crucial. None of us in Zhovkva, and there are four of us sisters there, won’t go to bed without saying a rosary for soldiers. We added those prayers to our daily order routine. Please pray, Ukrainians need you.”

(Paulina Guzik is international editor for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @Guzik_Paulina)

Protection of CHILDREN

The Diocese of Jackson is committed to ensuring that no one being served by the church be (is) at risk of sexual abuse or exploitation by clergy, religious or lay church personnel. The spiritual well-being of all the victims, their families and others in the community is of particular concern to the church. In accordance with our policy, all victims are o ered counseling and pastoral care.

Anyone who has been a victim of abuse or exploitation by clergy, religious or lay church personnel and has not yet reported it is encouraged to do so. Our victim assistance coordinator, Erika Rojas, a licensed social worker, is available to assist in making a report. Please contact her at (601) 326-3736.

For more information about diocesan policies and procedures and to learn what the diocese is doing to create a safe environment for everyone, please visit the diocesan website at www.jacksondiocese.org and click on “Protection of Children.”

To report an allegation of abuse or mishandling of allegations of sexual abuse by a bishop, please visit https://reportbishopabuse.org.

+Joseph R. Kopacz D.D., Ph.D. Bishop of Jackson

“How’s Momma?”

KNEADING FAITH

By Fran LaveLLe

”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Church leadership hears the same often bleak news about the state of religion in our country. According to the most recent PEW Research study, 28 percent of adults in the United States are religiously unaffiliated. The religiously unaffiliated are also known as nones.

The decline in membership is being felt across the spectrum of Christian denominations. The questions this reality begs are many but chief among them is simply – why? Why are folks leaving organized religion? According to the PEW study:

The reason “nones” give most often for not having a religion is that they question religious teachings: 60% say doubt about these teachings is an extremely or very important reason why they are nonreligious. In addition, 32% cite a lack of belief in God or any other higher power. Altogether, 67% cite skepticism or nonbelief (or some combination of both) as a key factor in why they are nonreligious.

Meanwhile, 47% of “nones” say their dislike of religious organizations is an extremely or very important reason they are nonreligious. And 30% cite bad experi-

ences with religious people. Altogether, 55% of “nones” mention religious organizations or religious people (or both) as key reasons for being nonreligious.

About four-in-ten “nones” attribute their lack of religiousness to not having a need for religion in their lives. And 12% say they don’t have time for religion. Altogether, 44% cite a lack of need or a lack of time (or both) as reasons for why they are not religious

I have been working on the Pastoral Reimagining process for the diocese for the last year. Enveloped in this process is a desire to dream. It is important to dream but it is equally important to anchor our dreams in reality. This process for me has done both. The question posed by many of our parishes and missions is how do we reach out to the “nones” that once identified as Catholic? What are the areas of church life that need to be examined and reimagined?

The diocesan process for the Synod on Synodality identified unity and healing as the greatest need in our parishes. I refer to it as finding our way back to one another. Like any relationship some people have moved on feeling like they no longer need the church. Other folks have told me that they “took a break” for going to Mass and didn’t really miss anything. The challenge in all of this is not be defensive and assign blame on those who no longer worship with us. The difficult thing to do is look at who we are as a community and ask how we can be more welcoming and inviting. This is not to say that there needs to be a cheesy welcome to visitors like it’s their first time on a cruise ship, but a reinforce-

ment of everything we do from the time people arrive in the parking lot until the time they get in their cars to leave they have been surrounded by the love of Christ manifested in how they were treated when they were with us.

We have a tendency to dismiss the missing. Statements like, “if they only believed this” or “if they were more that” diminish our responsibility to understanding why people leave in the first place. Many of those who have left said that once they were gone no one called or wrote to see how they were doing. One of my former college students told me after she left college and moved to a large city, “no one noticed when I was there, and no one noticed when I was gone.”

Catholics are creatures of habit. Most families sit within a two-pew area every week. The other members of this noted pew seating chart know when someone is not there. How can we respectfully reach out without seeming nosey? One of my friends at St. Joseph in Starkville lets me know when she is out of town, so my Mom doesn’t worry about her. Likewise, when Mom is not at Mass several church members “drop by the pew” on the way out and ask, “How’s Momma?”

It not only makes me realize how much they care about her, but it also makes me realize how easy it is to make the effort to let people know that their presence matters.

As Lent continues and Holy week approaches, who do we need to ask, ‘How’s Momma?”

(Fran Lavelle is the Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Jackson.)

This Lent, say sorry – and mean it

GUEST COLUMN

By Dr. GreG PoPcak

Lent is a time of reparation – a season of sorrow for sins committed and expressions of a sincere desire to reform our lives. But what does it mean to be sorry? What are the components of real remorse?

Whether we are expressing sorrow to God, a spouse, family member or friend, it can be hard to say, “I’m sorry.” It can be even harder to say it well. Sometimes, when people say that they are sorry to us, we can feel like there is something missing. Often, it’s because there is. But what?

As we express our sorrow to God this Lent for the ways that our lives do not reflect his plan for us, it can be important to make sure our “I’m sorrys” have all the components of sincere remorse. Researchers note that good apologies involve three ingredients: empathy, restitution and objective criteria.

When people offer a sincere apology rooted not in obligation but genuine remorse, they tend to express a real emotional understanding of how their actions hurt us. “I am so sorry for doing that. I never meant to treat you that way. I know how badly you were hurt. Please forgive me.”

The truly remorseful person doesn’t make excuses or tell the person they hurt that they were “just kidding,” or that the wounded party needs to get a thicker skin or a better sense of humor. They understand the impact of their actions and they let you know that they feel your pain.

When we express our sorrow to God this Lent, are we going through the motions of repentance, or are we allowing ourselves to express genuine sorrow for the pain God feels when we reject his attempts to love us and make us whole?

When people offer a sincere apology, they don’t just “say the magic words.” They offer a plan for making things right again. Or, if they don’t know what to do to make it right, they ask you what you need them to do to heal the hurt their actions caused. They say things like, “The next time I feel that angry about something, I’m going to do this instead of that,” or, “I really want to make this right. What can I do to earn your trust again?”

Restitution isn’t about asking people to jump through hoops for the sake of watching them dance. It is about committing to the process of reconciliation – healing the wounds our actions caused.

When we confess our sins this Lent, have we put some time into how we would handle similar problem situations differently in the future? Hearing the words “I absolve you” is just the beginning. How will we let the grace of that absolution compel us to heal the wounds our actions have caused those we love, and how can we make sure to avoid those problem behaviors the next time we are tempted to go down a similar path?

Truly sorrowful people don’t hide out behind the belief that “the real problem” is that others are expecting too much of them. If we are truly sorry, we recognize that the person we hurt had an objective right to expect more from us.

How often do others apologize to us in ways that make us feel strangely ashamed for daring to expect them to be faithful, trustworthy or respectful? How often do the apologies others offer sound like, “I’m sorry, but don’t you think you’re being a little controlling/sensitive/judgmental/ needy/demanding/unfair?”

The person offering a sincere apology acknowledges that anyone in a similar situation would be reasonable to expect what you are asking of them. “You’re absolutely right to expect more of me. I’m really sorry I let you down.”

In our relationship with God, how often do we think that the real problem is that he is just asking for entirely too much. Sure, we’re sorry for what we did, but the real problem is that he expects us to be saints. Saints, I tell you! Can you believe it?!? How ridiculous is that?!?

As we conclude Lent, will we continue to pay lip service to the idea that God wants great things for us, or will we embrace the fact that every day he is calling us into deeper union with him and greater perfection in his grace?

Whether we are expressing remorse to God or others, being sorry isn’t, ultimately, about making ourselves seem pitiful enough or appearing pathetic enough to make the other person feel bad and let us off the hook.

Apologizing is about picking up our cross and embracing the hard work that comes with changing our behavior – not so that we can jump through some spiritual hoop but so that we can participate more effectively in the healing process that allows us to achieve our ultimate destiny: loving union with God.

(Dr. Greg Popcak is an author and the director of www.CatholicCounselors.com.)

2024 YOUTH BISHOP CHANCHE AWARD RECIPIENTS

Hampton Derivaux

St. Paul Vicksburg

Andrew Doherty

St. Richard Jackson

Jaime Mendoza, Jr.

Holy Family Jackson

Greta Nalker

Immaculate Conception Raymond

Jeremy Napoles

Christ the King Southaven

Around the Diocese

Travis Ross

St. Joseph Meridian

Menelik Rozelle

St. Alphonsus McComb

Elese Serio

St. Joseph Greenville

Benjamin Sylve, Jr.

St. Joseph Gluckstadt

Agatha Taquino

St. Joseph Starkville

Madalyn Weisenberger

Holy Savior Clinton

Anna Williams

St. Francis Madison

Loria Williams

St. Francis Madison

Grace Windham

St. Francis Madison

YAZOO CITY – Youth at St. Mary’s Church celebrated Valentine’s Day with treats and bingo. (Photo by Babs McMaster)

JACKSON – St. Richard School students learn to type with “Keyboarding Without Tears.” (Photo by Chelsea Dillon)

Around our schools

JACKSON – (Above) St. Richard School students are presented with "Cool 2B Kind" awards by John Dorsa for earning the highest points in their houses for virtuous and honorable deeds. (Photo by Chelsea Dillon)

COLUMBUS – Students line up to slap hands with the Mardi Gras mascot at Annunciation School during their annual parade. (Photo by Jacque Hince)

COLUMBUS – Annunciation school recently held a Robotics Pep Rally. (Photo by Jacque Hince)

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage to include shrines, secular landmarks, diocesan events

BY MARIA WIERING

(OSV News) – On May 18-19, groups of eight young adults will leave San Francisco; New Haven, Connecticut; San Juan, Texas; and Itasca State Park in Minnesota.

For eight weeks they'll travel, mostly on foot, along four routes through major U.S. cities, small towns and countryside toward Indianapolis, where they're expected to arrive July 16, the day before the opening of the National Eucharistic Congress.

Together, they'll cover more than 6,500 miles over 27 states and 65 dioceses. With them every step of the way will be the Eucharist, held in a specially designed monstrance, or reserved in a support vehicle's tabernacle.

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is a major prelude to the National Eucharistic Congress, which expects to bring together tens of thousands of Catholics July 17-21 in Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium for worship, speakers and Eucharist-centered events. The pilgrimage and the congress are part of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the U.S. Catholic bishops that began in 2022 with the aim of deepening Catholics' love for the Eucharist.

"A cross-country pilgrimage of this scale has never been attempted before," said Tim Glemkowski, CEO of the Denver-based National Eucharistic Congress, Inc., in a Feb. 22 media release announcing updated routes and related events. "It will be a tremendously powerful action of witness and intercession as it interacts with local parish communities at stops all along the way."

The pilgrimage's four groups of Perpetual Pilgrims are young adults ages 19-29 selected in an application process to travel the full length of each route. Their names will be announced March 11.

People who wish to travel as a "day pilgrim" or attend a pilgrimage-related event along the routes may register online at www. eucharisticpilgrimage.org. Day pilgrims must make their own arrangements for meals, transportation and lodging, as needed.

Each route passes religious and secular landmarks, including Folsom State Prison in California, Ellis Island in New York, the campuses of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and Benedictine College in Kansas, and the shrines of Our Lady of Champion in Wisconsin, the Most Blessed Sacrament in Alabama, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Maryland.

Dioceses that the routes cross through have planned special events to welcome the pilgrims. Detailed event information for these events and each of the routes – the St. Junipero Serra Route from the West, St. Juan Diego Route from the South, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Route from the East and Marian Route from the North –will be posted at www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org.

Pilgrimage events will include Masses, Eucharistic adoration and prayer, as well as service projects. All public events are free.

Supporting the Perpetual Pilgrims spiritually will be a "rotating cadre" of 30 Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Father Roger Landry of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, plans to accom-

pany the Seton Route pilgrims for the entire route.

"Following Jesus and praying through cities and rural towns is going to be life changing for the church across America," Glemkowski said. "I personally cannot wait to participate in this pilgrimage!"

(Maria Wiering is senior writer for OSV News.)

NOTES: For details on the Southern route of the Eucharistic Pilgrimage traveling through the Diocese of Biloxi, visit https://biloxidiocese.org/eucharist.

To learn more about the National Eucharistic Revival, Congress and Pilgrimage visit: https://www.eucharisticcongress. org. Scholarships are available to the National Eucharistic Congress, visit https://www.eucharisticcongress.org/solidarity-fund for more information.

This is an updated map showing the four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage to the National Eucharistic Congress in 2024. Pilgrims traveling in "Eucharistic caravans" on all four routes will begin their journeys with Pentecost weekend celebrations May 17-18, 2024, leaving May 19. They will all converge on Indianapolis July 16, 2024, the day before the five-day Congress opens. (OSV News illustration/courtesy National Eucharistic Congress)

“Sometimes people say, 'thank you for …' but the real reward is internal, a sense that somehow, I may have made a di erence in that person’s life.”

Entering ministry through a lifelong sense of calling, Deacon John McGregor reects on how God has prepared him for his journey towards becoming the Director of the Permanent Diaconate. e joy of connecting with others to the love of God surpasses any sense of pride. "Sometimes people say, 'thank you for ...' but the real reward is internal, a sense that somehow, I may have made a di erence in that person’s life," says Deacon John.

Even in the most di cult times, there have been profound moments. During a hospital visit, o ering communion to a patient near death, through the Holy Spirit he was given words and prayer that brought true hope to the distressed family, reinforcing the beauty and impact of what he has dedicated his life to.

Deacons serve an essential role in our Catholic communities, ministering the homebound, engaging in advocacy, calling others to service and bridging gaps. Support is critical, as Deacon John emphasizes the nancial needs of the ministry are increasing. His ultimate vision of the Permanent Diaconate, is to be the hidden force of the Spirit, fostering an intimate relationship with Christ through service and calling others to do the same.

Contributions to the Catholic Service Appeal help enable deacons to continue their transformative work, making their journey and impact possible.

Your gi to the Catholic Service Appeal helps Deacon John McGregor and other deacons throughout the diocese to ful ll their call to serve.

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