Author Archives: Mississippi Catholic

Pope returns to Vatican after long hospitalization

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By Cindy Wooden

ROME (CNS) – Immediately before leaving Rome’s Gemelli hospital after more than five weeks of treatment for breathing difficulties, double pneumonia and infections, Pope Francis greeted hundreds of people who gathered outside the hospital March 23.

With a very weak voice, Pope Francis thanked the crowd, waving his hands and giving a thumbs up.

He also pointed to a woman carrying a yellow-wrapped bouquet of flowers and told the crowd, “She’s good.”

Massimiliano Strappetti, the nurse who is Pope Francis’ primary medical caregiver at the Vatican, adjusts a microphone for the pope as he greets a crowd of well-wishers at Rome’s Gemelli hospital before returning to the Vatican March 23, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

An aide had pushed Pope Francis in his wheelchair onto the balcony overlooking the square outside the hospital. Some 600 people had gathered at the hospital, including Rome’s Mayor Roberto Gualtieri. Hundreds of people also gathered in front of video screens in St. Peter’s Square to see the pope for the first time since he was hospitalized Feb. 14.

The pope left the hospital almost immediately after his appearance on the balcony.

The motorcycle police leading the pope’s motorcade turned onto the street leading to the Vatican entrance closest to his residence and then turned around. Rather than go directly home, Pope Francis was driven through the center of Rome to the Basilica of St. Mary Major where he has prayed before and after every foreign trip and after his two previous hospitalizations for abdominal surgery.

Pope Francis did not go into the church but left a bouquet of flowers to be placed on the altar under the Marian icon “Salus Populi Romani” or “Health of the Roman People.”

Television footage of the pope, seated in the front seat of a white Fiat, showed he was using oxygen through a nasal tube.

Just before the 88-year-old pope had come out on the hospital balcony, the Vatican released a text he had prepared for the midday Angelus prayer.

The pope’s message focused on the day’s Gospel reading of the parable of the fig tree from Luke 13:1-9, in which a gardener asks a landowner to allow him to spare a fig tree that had not borne fruit for three years; the gardener asks to be given a year to fertilize and care for the tree in the hope that it would bear fruit in the future.

“The patient gardener is the Lord, who thoughtfully works the soil of our lives and waits confidently for our return to him,” the pope wrote.

“In this long period of hospitalization, I have experienced the Lord’s patience, which I also see reflected in the tireless solicitude of the doctors and health care workers, as well as in the in the attention and hopes of the family members of the sick,” who also are in the Gemelli, he wrote.

“This trusting patience, anchored in God’s love that does not fail, is indeed necessary in our lives, especially in facing when the most difficult and painful situations,” Pope Francis wrote.

But, like the other messages he released from the hospital on Sundays, the pope also urged prayers for peace and commented on current events.

“I was saddened by the resumption of heavy Israeli shelling on the Gaza Strip, with so many dead and wounded,” he said. Israel, citing an impasse in negotiations with Hamas militias, began launching aerial attacks on Gaza March 18, ending a ceasefire that had begun in January.

“I call for an immediate silencing of the weapons; and the courage to resume dialogue, for all hostages to be released and for a final ceasefire to be reached,” the pope wrote. The humanitarian situation in Gaza “is once again very serious and requires urgent commitment from the conflicting parties and the international community.”

Dr. Sergio Alfieri, head of the medical team treating the pope, had told reporters March 22 that in his rooms at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the pope will continue using oxygen as needed through a nasal tube, will be taking medication to fight a lingering mycosis, a fungal infection, and will be continuing his physical therapy and respiratory therapy.

The doctors have prescribed two months of rest and recuperation and have urged the pope not to meet with large groups during that time. They also said his voice will require time to recover.

Dr. Luigi Carbone, the assistant director of the Vatican health service and a member of the medical team treating the pope at Gemelli hospital, said that other than an oxygen tank, no special equipment would be needed in the pope’s room. He added, though, that the Vatican health service has a doctor and other personnel on duty 24 hours a day.

Even after the pope’s return to the Vatican was announced, the rosary for him and for all the sick was continuing in St. Peter’s Square each evening.

The crowd gathered to pray March 22 loudly applauded when Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, began the recitation telling them, “The Holy Father is returning home. We give thanks to God and to the Virgin Mary for this great news.”

The Vatican press office said that March 23 the rosary would continue and would be led by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Vatican releases first photo of Pope Francis since his hospitalization

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By Cindy Wooden
ROME (CNS) – For the first time since Pope Francis was hospitalized in mid-February, the Vatican press office released a photograph of him March 16; the image shows him concelebrating Mass that morning in the chapel of his suite of rooms at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

The Mass also was the first the Vatican described as concelebrated by the 88-year-old Pope Francis in the hospital. He has been receiving the Eucharist daily and on the previous Sundays was described as having “participated” in the liturgy.

The Vatican press office did release a 27-second audio message from Pope Francis March 6 thanking people for their prayers. The pope had obvious difficulty breathing and speaking.

But for the fifth Sunday in a row, Pope Francis did not come to his window for the recitation of the Angelus prayer, but he may have seen some yellow or white balloons fly past his hospital room.

More than a hundred children gathered March 16 in the square in front of Rome’s Gemelli hospital to pray the Angelus; many were hoping the pope would come to his window to wave while a few of the little ones were more concerned about keeping ahold of their balloons.

Although the pope did not come to the window, he thanked the children in the message the Vatican press office published at noon.

Pope Francis is seen in the chapel of his suite of rooms at Rome’s Gemelli hospital March 16, 2025. The Vatican press office said the 88-year-old pope concelebrated Mass that morning. (CNS photo/Vatican Press Office)

“I know that many children are praying for me; some of them came here today to Gemelli as a sign of closeness,” he wrote. “Thank you, dearest children! The pope loves you and is always waiting to meet you.”

Pope Francis has been hospitalized since Feb. 14 and continues to be treated for double pneumonia and multiple infections. His doctors have said his condition continues to improve gradually, so they do not expect to publish another medical bulletin until March 18 or 19.

In the square under the pope’s window, Elena, 8, came with a group from Sacred Heart School in Rome’s Monte Mario neighborhood “because the pope is in the hospital. We wanted to show our affection to make him feel better.”

Giulio, 10, knows Pope Francis personally. “I met him when I was little and again when he baptized my little sister” three years ago. Giulio’s dad works at the Vatican, and was one of the employees whose newborns were baptized by the pope in the Sistine Chapel in 2022.

Leonardo was part of a group of 22 Beaver Scouts, ages 5-7, who “came to see the pope” from Jesus the Divine Teacher Parish not far from the hospital. He wanted people to know, though, that he is 7 and a half.
The children’s trek was coordinated by the Pontifical Committee for the World Day of Children and the Sant’Egidio Community’s School of Peace program.

Marco Impagliazzo, president of Sant’Egidio, told reporters the children wanted to wish the pope a speedy recovery and “thank him for his words of peace, which he gives every day.”

In fact, the pope’s Angelus message included a request that people “continue to pray for peace, especially in the countries wounded by war: tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

Pope Francis also used the message to affirm his decision, announced the previous day, to launch a three-year program to ensure implementation of the recommendations of the Synod of Bishops on synodality to promote a culture of listening to one another, valuing the gifts of each member of the church and encouraging all Catholics to take responsibility for the church’s mission.

Commenting on the day’s Gospel reading, which recounted the Transfiguration, Pope Francis said that when Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and was transfigured, he showed them “what is hidden behind the gestures he performs in their midst: the light of his infinite love.”

Saying that he was writing while “facing a period of trial,” the pope said that he joins “with so many brothers and sisters who are sick: fragile, at this time, like me.”

“Our bodies are weak,” he wrote, “but even like this, nothing can prevent us from loving, praying, giving ourselves, being for each other, in faith, shining signs of hope.”

And, the pope said, the light of God’s love shines in the hospital through the care of doctors, nurses, orderlies and the entire staff. “That is why I would like to invite you, today, to join me in praising the Lord, who never abandons us and who, in times of sorrow, places people beside us who reflect a ray of his love.”

In the afternoon, Argentine dancer Daiana Guspero brought a dozen couples to square under the pope’s window to dance the tango, his favorite dance, as a form of prayer for him.

Pope approves next phase of synod, setting path to 2028 assembly

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By Justin McLellan
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis has approved the next phase of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, launching a three-year implementation process that will culminate in an ecclesial assembly at the Vatican in October 2028.

In a letter published March 15, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, announced that the synod’s new phase will focus on applying its conclusions at all levels of the church, with dioceses, bishops’ conferences and religious communities working to integrate synodality into daily church life before the meeting at the Vatican in 2028.

“For now, therefore, a new synod will not be convened; instead, the focus will be on consolidating the path taken so far,” he wrote in the letter addressed to all bishops, eparchs and the presidents of national and regional bishops’ conferences.

Pope Francis and members of the Synod of Bishops on synodality attend the synod’s final working session Oct. 26, 2024, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Cardinal Grech told bishops that Pope Francis approved the three-year plan March 11 at Rome’s Gemelli hospital where he has been being treated since Feb. 14.

The final document of the synod on synodality, approved by Pope Francis in October 2024, emphasized synodality as essential to the church’s mission and called for greater lay participation, mandatory pastoral councils and continued study on women in ministry and seminary formation.

Over the next three years, dioceses, bishops’ conferences and religious communities will work to integrate synodal principles into church life with the guidance of a Vatican-issued document scheduled to be published in May.

Evaluation assemblies at diocesan, national and continental levels from 2027 to early 2028 will assess progress before a final ecclesial assembly at the Vatican in October 2028, where church leaders will reflect on the synodal journey and discern future steps, the cardinal said.

According to the apostolic constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis,” which governs procedures when the papacy is vacant, a council or Synod of Bishops is immediately suspended when a pope dies or resigns. All meetings, decisions and promulgations must cease until a new pope explicitly orders their continuation, or they are considered null.

In the letter, Cardinal Grech noted that implementation phase of the synod “provides the framework” for implementing the results of the 10 Vatican-appointed study groups which, since March 2024, have been examining key issues raised during the first session of the synodal assembly in 2023, such as the role of women in the church, seminary formation and church governance.

The study groups were scheduled to present their findings to the pope before June 2025; however, they can also offer an “interim report” then as they continue their work, Cardinal Grech said.

The cardinal added that a key component of the implementation process will be the strengthening of synodal teams, composed of clergy, religious and laypeople, who will work alongside bishops to accompany “the ordinary synodal life of local churches.”

In an interview with Vatican News accompanying the letter’s publication March 15, Cardinal Grech said that this phase of the synodal process is not about adding bureaucratic tasks but about “helping the churches to walk in a synodal style.” He explained that the church must continue “a path of accompaniment and evaluation” rather than treating the synod as a one-time event.

The cardinal encouraged local churches to engage in ongoing reflection on the insights of the synod rather than simply replicating past listening sessions, warning that the synod’s implementation “must not take place in isolation.”

The 2028 ecclesial assembly, Cardinal Grech said, will be an opportunity to “gather the fruits of the journey” and offer the pope “a real ecclesial experience to inform his discernment as the successor of Peter, with perspectives to propose to the entire church.”

Youth

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Reading Across America and Around Diocese

FLOWOOD – Pre-K 4 students at St. Paul in Flowood have carpet time to learn about the Cat in the Hat. (Photo by Susan Irby)
SOUTHAVEN – Sacred Heart School student Sophia reading a Dr. Seuss book to Pre-K 3 students Brooklyn and Anna as part of Read Across America. (Photo by Mary Evelyn Stonestreet)
MADISON – ST. Francis of Assis Attorney General Lynn Fitch reading to the Pre-K 2s and Pre-K-4s for Read Across America.
MADISON – ST. Francis of Assisi Ryleigh Isacc and Father Albeen – Ash Wednesday. (Photos by Latoya Kelly and Chiquita Brown
PEARL – St. Jude Youth group enjoying Bingo night on March 5, Mr. Jose Varela and Father Cesar Sanchez checking the rules of the game. (Photo by Lauren Robers)

VICKSBURG – (left) 1st and 2nd graders performed their music program, Sing a Song of Folklore. (Photo by Hannah Hinson.
(above) Our 100+ member cast performed 6 sold-out showings of Disney’s The Little Mermaid as our spring musical. (Photo by Anna Griffing)

JACKSON – St. Richard Early Learning Center students pose for a photo. (Photo by Monjenae Jackson)

Biblical tales old and new

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By Kurt Jensen
(OSV News) – Vintage biblical epics sprout like daffodils during Lent, which began with Ash Wednesday on March 5.

But one of the most visible of those re-blooming buds over the years, Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 “The Ten Commandments,” is taking Easter weekend off this year. It’s still available on streaming platforms after being an ABC-TV staple of Holy Week and Passover for more than half a century, beginning in 1973.

The acting is over the top, but that’s the fun. Who wants to see nuance from Yul Brynner as Ramses II, Charlton Heston as Moses, Anne Baxter as Nefertari, and Edward G. Robinson as Dathan snarling, “Where’s your Messiah now?”

Classic! Quotable! And when Heston spreads his arms wide to part the thundering Red Sea – what more could you want?

Like “The Ten Commandments,” Scripture-based epics with big-name actors are mostly a thing of the past – think Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward in in 1951’s “David and Bathsheba” and Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr in 1949’s “Samson and Delilah” as well as Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus in 1961’s “King of Kings.”
One of the last big-screen attempts, Richard Gere in “King David” in 1985, was a notorious bomb. Mel Gibson’s 2004 “The Passion of the Christ” inspired many but also stirred controversy.

Jamie Ward portrays Christ in a scene from the movie “The Last Supper,” in theaters beginning March 14, 2025. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (OSV News photo/Pinnacle Peak)

Yet the TV series “The Chosen,” with Jonathan Roumie as Jesus, has been a long-running success since its 2017 pilot and first season two years later. The newest episodes, dealing with the Last Supper, will have a three-part theatrical release beginning March 28.

Two other new productions downplay epic elements to focus on intimate narratives. They also take on the challenge of inserting non-Biblical elements to flesh out the scriptural accounts.

The directors of both “House of David,” a miniseries on Amazon Prime that will become available on Feb. 27, and “The Last Supper” (Pinnacle Peak), in theaters beginning March 14, put great effort into making their settings realistic and developing three-dimensional characterizations.

Mauro Borrelli, an Italian Catholic and former altar server, began to paint at age 7, instructed by a monk, and studied classical painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. His art design for movies has included “Batman Forever” (1995) and Tim Burton’s “Planet of the Apes” in 2001.

His recreation of events surrounding the Last Supper, a gathering of such significance that it’s described in all four Gospels, has Jamie Ward as Jesus, Robert Knepper as Judas and James Oliver Wheatley as St. Peter.

Of the script, co-written with John Collins, Borrelli told OSV News, “I don’t know that you can really improve Scripture, but you could add something.”

He enjoyed filling in spare details: “What did these people eat? Who served? I wanted to be accurate. I didn’t want it to be an interpretation.”

The film is told from the standpoint of Peter who, in a moment of weakness, denied ever knowing Jesus. “As a human being, we can’t always think that we’re strong,” Borrelli commented.

As for the portrayal of Jesus, “I wanted to keep him on a pedestal. I didn’t want to humanize him too much,” he said. Having Jesus manifest “a spiritual aura all the time,” Borrelli thought, kept the story faithful to the Gospel narratives.

Judas “is much weaker” than Peter, he observed, “and sensitive, intelligent. But he was being targeted by Satan.” Peter “overcomes his struggle, but Judas does not.”

Reflecting on the institution of the Eucharist, Borrelli commented, “’This is my body, this is my blood.’ You hear it (at Mass) all the time. But so familiar, It loses its meaning, you know?”

So he felt he had to make a direct connection in the script. By doing so, he gained a new insight into the meaning of Jesus’ words.

“Jesus’ blood now is replacing that lamb’s blood (of Passover). Here Jesus came to pay all the debts (for human sin) with his sacrifice. I never really realized that before. A payment for the full debt. It was a revelation for me.”

The story of David, the shepherd boy and future king of Israel who slew the Philistine giant Goliath, takes up only one chapter of the First Book of Samuel. Its staying power is built on David’s strong faith while Goliath is not only taunting David but also flouting God’s authority.

David, a country lad and unheralded warrior, needed only one stone in his sling to kill the giant. The story is so familiar that it’s often regarded as material most easily appreciated by children – almost all of whom can likely relate to the tale of an underdog standing up to a mocking bully.

There have been three film versions, notably one from 1960 in which Orson Welles played King Saul, David’s father-in-law who united the Hebrew tribes into a single nation, as sort of a hammy King Lear.
It’s one of the Bible stories that makes an easy transition to film, with a substantial cast, prophecies, kings, hard-charging desert battle scenes with javelins and shields, and the “six cubits and a span,” i.e., nine-foot, nine-inch, Goliath of Gath – terrifying to Saul and his army, but not to David.

Michael Iskander, of late a cast member of the Broadway musical “Kimberly Akimbo,” is the brooding David anointed by the prophet Samuel (Stephen Lang). Israeli actor Ali Suliman is Saul and six-foot, eight-inch bodybuilder-turned-actor Martyn Ford, through special effects, towers even higher as Goliath.
The series avoids anything that can be described as a reference to contemporary Middle East politics and stays focused on one boy’s challenge.

Showrunner Jon Irwin, who co-directed with Jon Gunn, told OSV News he regards the biblical David as similar to the fictional Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter – all of them underestimated before they were heroes. Early on, David is told, “You have the heart of a lion.”

Quite a bit of attention went into Goliath’s appearance, Irwin said. “What would a giant have to look like to have an army frozen in fear for 40 days?” he asked. Fortunately, he said, Ford’s appearance “really is unbeatable.”

Close consideration also was paid to the sling and the stone, in order to make it believable that such a weapon was all it took to kill Goliath. A specialist in ancient warfare was called in to make sure the stone was flung with enough realistic force so that it “embedded itself in his brow, and he fell on his face to the ground.” (1 Sm: 17:49)
Irwin, an Alabama Protestant who has co-directed other faith-based fare, including 2020’s “I Still Believe” and “Jesus Revolution” (2023), said he had “wanted to tell this story since I was 16 years old” when, during a family trip to the Holy Land, he visited King David’s tomb in Jerusalem.

The production, financed by Amazon MGM Studios, has the resources “to really do it justice.” He calls it “a testament” to earlier biblical epics, but not one that owes anything to other film versions of the David and Goliath story: After all, “There’s not really a definitive (screen) version of that event.”

Like most scriptural tales, the passage in First Samuel is a spare account, requiring some elaboration and a lot of non-biblical dialogue. Irwin said the goal was to “do the story that justified the events that are on the page. It’s a love letter to the source material.”

He points out that the psalms of the mature David “are the most relatable words you’ve ever seen. A man wrestling with himself and his feelings, frustrations and regret.”

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

Happy Ordination Anniversary

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April 10
Father Pradeep Kumar Thirumalareddy
St. Mary Batesville

April 12
Father Raju Macherla
St. Elizabeth Clarksdale
Father Sleeva Reddy Mekala
St. James Leland & Immaculate Conception Indianola

April 14
Father Suresh Reddy Thirumalareddy
St. Alphonsus McComb
April 18
Father Vijaya Manohar Reddy Thanugundla
St. Francis Brookhaven

April 19
Father Sebastian Myladiyil, SVD
Sacred Heart Greenville

April 24
Father Arokia Stanislaus Savio
St. Peter Grenada

April 26
Father Jesuraj Xavier
St. Francis New Albany

Thank you for answering the call!

Pope Francis congratulates CRS on Rice Bowl’s 50th anniversary

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(OSV News) – Pope Francis congratulated Catholic Relief Services on the 50th anniversary of CRS Rice Bowl, the Catholic relief agency’s annual Lenten program dedicated to global hunger and poverty alleviation efforts.

CRS, the official international relief and development agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S., is marking the 50th anniversary of its Rice Bowl program this Lent, which has raised more than $350 million to support domestic and overseas poverty relief efforts. The organization has described that effort – with its iconic cardboard donation box – as more important than ever in light of a freeze on much U.S. foreign aid.

“I was pleased to learn that the Rice Bowl program of Catholic Relief Services is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary,” Pope Francis wrote in a letter the group shared with media March 14. “On this auspicious occasion, I express my good wishes to all involved in this noble initiative as well as my gratitude for the faithful in the United States of America, who, through this service, assist the poorest and most vulnerable at home and abroad.”

Pope Francis said that for five decades, during “the holy season of Lent, when the Church invites us to pray, fast, and give alms in preparation for the Easter celebrations,” the Rice Bowl program “has offered a concrete way for Catholics to give alms as they seek to put their faith into action.”

“When caring for our neighbor, we must always remember that charity is to be given without qualifications or limits, as Jesus teaches us in the parable of the Good Samaritan,” he said, referring to the story in Luke’s Gospel. “In doing so, we reflect the closeness, compassion, and tender love of God who cares for all of his children in the one human family.”

CRS’ Rice Bowl initiative combines the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to provide humanitarian aid, spiritual renewal and increased solidarity with those in need.
The funds – 25% of which help local diocesan outreaches, with 75% benefiting CRS programs abroad – support a mission that is “critical to millions,” said Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez of Philadelphia, CRS board chair, in a March 5 statement from the organization.

The iconic CRS Rice Bowl cardboard box is pictured in this file photo. Pope Francis congratulated Catholic Relief Services on the 50th anniversary of the Lenten initiative to support its overseas charitable work in the name of the Catholic Church in the U.S. (OSV News photo/Karen Kasmauski, CRS)

The campaign, launched in 1975 by Msgr. Robert Coll as a local effort in the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, became a national initiative through its introduction at the Philadelphia-based 41st International Eucharistic Congress in 1976, and its subsequent adoption by the U.S. bishops through CRS.

In 2023, some 733 million people worldwide faced hunger, according to the United Nations’ 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. Hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition have devastating physical and psychosocial consequences, including insufficient height and weight in children.
“It is my hope therefore that the Rice Bowl program and other initiatives offered by Catholic Relief Services will continue to serve as examples of how to fulfill the Gospel’s command to love and serve our neighbor in a communal way,” Pope Francis said. “With these sentiments, I renew my best wishes as you celebrate this anniversary, and upon all who support the Rice Bowl program, I invoke Almighty God’s blessings of wisdom, hope and strength.”

(NOTES: More information about the program can be found at crsricebowl.org/give.)

The love between Jesus and Mary

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LIGHT ONE CANDLE
By Father Ed Dougherty

On March 25, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, when the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen by God to be the mother of Christ. It is a day that pierces the Lenten season with joyful anticipation of the birth of Christ. It also reminds us of the deep bond between Mother and Son as we move towards Holy Week, with all the pain and loss it held for them, but also harkening to the joy of Easter, when God’s promise of salvation was fulfilled in Christ’s Resurrection.
There is a scene in the film “The Passion of the Christ” when Mary sees Jesus fall down during His grueling walk to Calvary. This prompts a memory, captured in a flashback, of her running to Jesus when He falls as a child. And seeing Him fall under the weight of the cross, she runs to Him again, falling to her knees beside Him and declaring, “I am here.”

Father Ed Dougherty

It’s such a beautiful and heartbreaking moment because it recalls a time when these words spoken from Mother to Son would have been enough to assuage the pain of a simple childhood accident. But those words cannot mitigate the pain of the Passion and all that has been heaped upon our Savior’s shoulders. And here, Jesus raises His bloodied face to Mary and says, “See, Mother, I make all things new.”

It’s a line spoken by Christ in Revelation, when He declares, “Behold, I make all things new.” But it is brilliantly transported here to this moment because it so perfectly captures the crux of all that is being accomplished in the Passion. And that childhood scene highlights the nature of the sacrifice because it is the most perfect earthly love between Mary and Jesus and the most perfect life ever lived that is being sacrificed on our behalf.

The Solemnity of the Annunciation reminds us of the beautiful love-filled life of Christ that was so cruelly taken from Him in the Crucifixion. But those words, “Behold, I make all things new,” remind us of all that is accomplished in the pain that beset Mother and Son in the Passion because Mary’s “Yes” to the Annunciation had the intention of mission about it. And the love Jesus and Mary shared from the moment of His conception and throughout His life had the intention of mission about it because they both knew God was calling them to a purpose that required sacrifice.

This perfect love between Mother and Son sheds light on how we should look upon those placed in our lives by God. We know there will always be a struggle when we set out to accomplish great things together, but that struggle should not mitigate the joy of the love we share when we keep our eyes set on the hope of the Resurrection.

So let us greet the Solemnity of the Annunciation with the proper pause it requires during this Lenten season and appreciate all that Mary took upon herself in her “Yes” to God and all that Christ gave up in His “Yes” to suffering for our salvation. It’s a pause that can draw us into the most beautiful contemplation of the nature of the love that existed between Mary and Jesus and point us towards a new and deeper way of loving all those God entrusts to our care.

(For a free copy of The Christophers’ Lift Up Your Hearts, e-mail: mail@christophers.org)

Addressing unnecessary human suffering: Migration today

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WALKING WITH MIGRANTS
By Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
In the more than 30 articles I have written in the last three years, I have spoken from the perspective of a person with a Ph.D. in social work, concentrating on the study of migration. My doctoral dissertation dealt with research on undocumented migration as experienced in the 1970s.

Today, however, I speak more as a moral theologian focused on Catholic social teaching, whose fundamental principle is the dignity of the human person. More than 30 years ago, the Catholic bishops of the United States published a succinct description of Catholic social teaching on migration. First, every nation has a right to defend its borders. Secondly, at the same time, every nation has an obligation to take migrants when necessary to promote the international common good.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is retired bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y. He writes the column “Walking With Migrants” for Catholic News Service and The Tablet. (OSV News photo/courtesy DeSales Media Group)

While it may seem challenging, a nation must engage moral principles to help define its social policies, as moral tenets have helped determine how, as humans, we relate to one another.
With over 50 years of experience, first as a parish priest, then as a social worker in Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Newark, followed by six years at the U.S. bishops’ conference as the director of the Migration and Refugee Program, and founder of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), the largest legal support organization in the country, I have witnessed firsthand the importance of such ethical considerations.

Now, after 27 years as a bishop, I can say that I have never seen such a deplorable and unnecessary experience in human suffering that has been caused by a dysfunctional political system.

Mass deportations are unnecessary. Of course, convicted criminals who are a threat to our communities should be deported, but not without due process. The dignity of every human being, however, must be respected, especially the dignity of the worker. Our nation is not without fault because we have used undocumented labor to fill the gaps in our labor market for at least the last 50 years.

Undocumented workers work in construction, service industries, agriculture and almost every other area where U.S. workers do not want that work even when they are available. These workers are sometimes exploited. While they pay taxes and contribute to the Social Security system, they are unable to qualify for Social Security or many federal social service programs.

It is certainly a call to the conscience of our nation that we must challenge ourselves to see how we treat the aliens among us, as the Old Testament reminds us. Various efforts have been made to rectify the situation, such as the Immigration Reform and Control Act – the legalization program of 1986. However, since that legislation was not comprehensive, it merely facilitated continued undocumented migration. Undocumented migration is a benefit for some sectors of the labor market and businesses but to the detriment of the migrants, who work in substandard conditions for below-market wages.

The current political impasse has brought us to a point where we are unable to effectively negotiate issues related to U.S. immigration history. It is as bad as it can get, almost as bad as the racist curb on migration in 1924, which has been hailed as the necessary pause keeping undesirable migrants from coming to the country.

Lucky were those whose ancestors came before that date, like mine. Before 1924, almost all healthy and able-bodied immigrants could immigrate to the United States if they had either a relative or friend as a sponsor, who would guarantee that they would not become a public charge.

The end is not in sight. What made America great was migration, and without it, we may never achieve greatness again.

There are other solutions to the inherent problems which migration causes. Our intelligence and resources as a nation could certainly solve almost every one of them. The constant humanitarian gestures of our nation have made us great: When we took refugees, when we accepted asylum-seekers, and when we gave temporary protected status to people fleeing persecution and adverse conditions in their home countries.

All of these humane gestures have given us the greatness that we can call our own. Greatness is not synonymous with wealth. Moral leadership among nations creates true greatness.

Anglican Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde recently demonstrated moral courage by confronting President Trump with truth just after Inauguration Day. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in a letter to the U.S. bishops, commends the efforts of many bishops and others to confront this crisis. The most prophetic remark in his letter was, “What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”

“Fortress America” is not a country headed for greatness if it loses its moral conscience. No nation can ever survive and deserve a place among the family of nations without respecting basic human dignity. Hopefully, we will reverse course and learn this lesson before it is too late.

(Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is the retired bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. He writes the column “Walking With Migrants” for The Tablet and OSV News.)

Lenten food ‘doesn’t mean boring,’ says Catholic chef

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By Gina Christian
(OSV News) – While the season of Lent is marked by fasting and abstinence, cooking for a hungry family in this season of prayer and penance “doesn’t mean boring or ‘fish all the time,’” a Catholic chef told OSV News.

Catholics fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and forego meat on all the Fridays of Lent as well. In the Latin Catholic Church, those norms are obligatory for the faithful ages 18 through 59.

Members of the 23 Eastern Catholic churches observe their own particular restrictions during Lent, more commonly known among those churches as the Great Fast.

A gourmet crab cake prepared by certified executive chef Jim Churches, president of the American Culinary Federation’s Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association and a member of St. Patrick Parish in Brighton, Mich., is seen in this undated photo. Churches told OSV News that with planning, flexibility and creativity, Lenten meals can engage the entire family and every palate. (OSV News photo/Courtesy of Jim Churches)

But discipline and deliciousness aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, said certified executive chef Jim Churches, president of the American Culinary Federation’s Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association and a member of St. Patrick Parish in Brighton, Michigan.

Churches – who also offers culinary instruction through Homeschool Connections, a national Catholic homeschooling course provider – said the key to Lenten cooking is to “plan ahead.”

“When you don’t think about it until it’s Friday, it’s a knee-jerk reaction of, ‘What do we have around the house?’” he said.

Instead, he advised, “take the time throughout the year to write a note” about family favorites – such as “mac and cheese, or pizza” – that can be enjoyed “without the meat component,” and cook the meatless versions on a regular basis.

“You can nail it down, and have the kids excited about it,” he said. “Get their input. And then they start to say, ‘This is really good.’”

Ditching meat – and dairy, and fish – all year long is something the nonprofit PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is hoping Christians and others will embrace.

PETA’s Christian outreach division, LAMBS (an acronym for “least among my brothers and sisters”), has issued a “40 Days of Lentils” challenge, inviting faithful to adopt a vegan lifestyle for both spiritual and ecological benefits.

The campaign includes vegan starter and creation care kits and cites numerous scriptural references to animals – with the organization noting that while Jesus is recorded in the Gospels as eating fish (and likely lamb, at least during Passover), he “would be horrified by today’s factory-farming practices.”

Although he doesn’t eschew meat, Churches admitted, “My body tells me sometimes, ‘You’ve had too much meat,’ and you just don’t crave it; you want something light.”

For millions worldwide, going meatless and eating light aren’t choices, but necessities – something Catholic Relief Services, the official humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic bishops, highlights in its annual Lenten Rice Bowl initiative.

Now in its 50th year, the campaign invites participants to prayerfully eat simple, meatless meals and donate savings toward CRS’s humanitarian and development projects, with 25% of the funds benefiting local hunger relief efforts and 75% assisting those in a number of low-income nations.

As part of Rice Bowl, CRS provides meatless recipes from the areas it serves, among them egg sauce with boiled yams from Nigeria, black bean soup from Guatemala, dahl (a lentil-based dish) from Bangladesh and crispy pancakes from Vietnam.

Churches told OSV News that some of his Lenten favorites are Polish pierogi – boiled or fried unleavened dough dumplings filled with vegetables (and, outside of Lent, meat) – as well as “really creative salads” with “strawberries, goat cheese and candied nuts.”

He describes his cooking style as “very cheese-forward and butter-forward,” heavily incorporating dairy in the style of classic French cuisine.

But even on a tight budget with limited room for dairy, Lenten meals can be flavorful and interesting, Churches said.

“You can buy dried gnocchi (Italian dumplings made of flour or potato starch), which is very inexpensive but very filling,” he explained. “You can make that with a white or red sauce … keep some of the pasta water to help thicken up your sauce a little bit, and throw your vegetables in there.”

Of course, fish and seafood are still staples of Lent, said Churches, noting the fish fry he started at his parish five years ago.

“One of our top sellers is the bang-bang shrimp,” he said, describing a popular recipe for fried shrimp in a spicy, sweet chili sauce with a mayonnaise base.

That recipe and Churches’ other signature Lenten dishes are a far cry from those listed in a late-19th century “Cookery Book for Fasting and Abstinence Days” by an author simply known as “P.O.P.”

The volume – released in London by Burns and Oates, and in the U.S. by the New York Catholic Publication Society – features instructions for eel soups and pie, as well as anchovy toast and imitation mutton broth, dishes the author hoped would offset the “monotony” of faithful’s Lenten fare.

Yet the main ingredient for Lenten cooking isn’t something found in a grocery store, said Churches.
“When you gather around the table, it’s a nourishing experience; a family-driven thing,” he said. “It’s all about family connection.”

Certified executive chef Jim Churches, president of the American Culinary Federation’s Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association and a member of St. Patrick Parish in Brighton, Mich., is seen in this undated photo. Churches told OSV News that with planning, flexibility and creativity, Lenten meals can engage the entire family and every palate. (OSV News photo/Courtesy of Jim Churches)

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