Rev. Kevin Slattery, appointed sacramental minister for St. John Parish in Crystal Springs and its mission St. Martin in Hazlehurst, effective Feb. 1, 2022.
Rev. Mark Shoffner, appointed administrator pro tempore of St. Mary Basilica and Assumption Parishes in Natchez, effective Feb. 9, 2022.
Rev. Scott Thomas, granted a leave of absence from ministry, effective Feb. 9, 2022.
By Carol Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) – Lent, the spiritual season of prayer and sacrifice, has an extra pull to it this year because once again – and now for the third time – it will be under the cloud of the coronavirus pandemic.
And even though the third Lent in a pandemic can feel like a lot like a Jesus’ third fall on the road to Calvary, people who spoke with Catholic News Service focused more on the season’s path to Easter and how this year’s Lent also coincides with an optimism around COVID-19 cases dropping in the U.S.
“It’s a perfect storm: lower (coronavirus) numbers just as Lent approaches,” said Mary DeTurris Poust, former communications director for the Diocese of Albany, New York.
Poust, who teaches yoga, leads retreats and writes a blog called “Not Strictly Spiritual,” said that during recent virtual retreats she has led, it’s obvious how much people want to reconnect in person.
And maybe this Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday, March 2, is the time to do just that, she said about being with the parish community: gathering for Mass, prayer services and also for the returning soup suppers and fish fries.
After the tremendous losses of the past two years, she said, this Lent could be a good time for a reset. “Lent is the perfect opportunity to recalculate the internal GPS” of where we’re going, Poust said, speaking about individuals but also more broadly about what parishes can do as they look to welcome people back.
So many Catholics like the ritual of Lent and all of its “bells and smells,” she said, which makes this season a great opportunity “to pull them back in the best way.”
Jen Sawyer, editor-in-chief of Busted Halo, a Paulist website and satellite radio program, said in times of uncertainty, people “rely on muscle memory” of traditional faith practices they are used to. But this year, she thinks Lent’s usual traditions might have a different feel.
“It seems like this is the Lent we’re most prepared for; we’ve all sacrificed so much” she said. The desert experience of Lent has already been lived out and with so many people exhausted from the past two years, she said this Lent offers new opportunities to find peace, community and faith.
Paulist Father Larry Rice, campus chaplain for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, agreed, saying the church is more than ready for Lent 2022 and he hopes it will help people “respond to all the trauma we have been through.”
“We are living with long-term, low-grade trauma,” he said, adding that for many, the pain is just under the surface and he sees Lent as the antidote. “As Christian people, we believe our destination is not Good Friday. We go through that to get to Easter,” he said.
He also said this year has the added hope that “by the time we get to Easter, the pandemic we’re experiencing will look different.” And with wisdom acquired in the past two years, he also added: “There are no guarantees; there could be new (coronavirus) variants.”
The past two Lents did not have that same thread of hope.
Lent 2020 started off without a hitch with just a small number of COVID-19 cases in the country but by the second week of Lent, in early March, some dioceses urged parishes to curtail handshaking at the sign of peace and Communion from the chalice. By the third week of Lent, many dioceses lifted Sunday Mass obligations and stopped public Masses and Lenten services such as Stations of the Cross, prayer services and fish fries.
Last year during Lent, more churches were open – although many were limiting congregation sizes and requiring parishioners to sign up for Masses. Fish fries were back, as carry-out events, and in many dioceses, ashes were sprinkled over heads on Ash Wednesday.
This year, parishes are open – with differing mask regulations and social distancing in place – and the beloved fish fries are back with both in-person or carry-out options.
“These past two years for all of us have not been easy, but God has been with us,” said Mercy Sister Carolyn McWatters, a liturgist and chair of the Prayer and Ritual Committee for the Sisters of Mercy.
Sister McWatters, who lives at the Sacred Heart Convent in Belmont, North Carolina, and is involved in ministry there with the order’s retired sisters, emphasized the need to reflect on the pandemic experience this Lent. She said it’s important to recognize how we lived beyond what we could control, the inner resources we relied on and where we saw goodness and grace at work.
“The cross is never a dead end. It points to new life. Where are the signs of life for me, my community, the country, the world?” she asked.
Spiritual growth is often about relinquishing control, she said, which was certainly an aspect to pandemic life but the coronavirus also involved the hardship of isolation which was especially experienced by the retired sisters.
The convent, part of a national center for the Mercy sisters, had been a frequent spot for meetings and gatherings and many came for Sunday Masses and dinners, which was all put on hold for the past two years.
“Everybody is looking for the end,” she said.
The view of these retired Mercy sisters echoes what many are feeling, but Sister McWatters also cautions against people focusing on being victims right now and seeing the pandemic purely as “woe is me.”
Similarly, she said, Lent is not gloom and doom but should be a “joyful embrace of what will help me to grow more deeply.”
Sawyer also stressed that faith is meant to be joyful and said that Busted Halo with its “Fast Pray Give Lent Calendar” and InstaLent photo challenge aims to get that across and will continue that this Lent particularly by urging people to try something new – a new book or prayer – and to check in with others after so much pandemic isolation.
“We don’t often think of Lent as a vibrant time of community connection,” she said, adding that Catholics are “used to the desert” experience often associated with the season. But this Lent, that might change.
By Samantha Smith
ATLANTA (CNS) – Under the bright lights and falling confetti, surrounded by his team, their families and thousands of fans in SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Sean McVay raised high the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl championship trophy Feb. 13.
To win the game feels outstanding, said McVay, head coach of the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams were behind in the third quarter and most of the fourth quarter, before scoring the winning touchdown with 1:25 left in Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams won 23-20.
McVay called it “poetic.”
“You talk about a resilient team, coaches, players; I’m so proud of this group,” said McVay in postgame comments. “We talk about competitive greatness all the time, being your best when your best is required.”
McVay, 36, the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl championship in NFL history, is a graduate of Marist School in Atlanta. He gives the Catholic school a lot of credit for instilling in him many “foundational principles” he said have been instrumental in his achievements.
Marist is an independent Catholic college preparatory school owned and operated by the Society of Mary. It is the oldest Catholic secondary school in the Atlanta area.
During his five seasons with the Rams, McVay has led the team to five consecutive winning seasons, two Super Bowl appearances and now a Super Bowl championship.
As his coaching career continues to soar, he continues to hold fond memories of his time at Marist School.
“Marist is a special place because of all the unique people,” McVay said to the 2021 Marist graduating class at their guest speaker. “I’ve been so fortunate and blessed because there’s so many of the foundational principles that were instilled in me from the time I got here, from seventh grade to 12th grade, that have been instrumental in a lot of the things that have been good in my life.”
The school honored McVay with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2020.
McVay gravitated to football from soccer in eighth grade at Marist, following the footsteps of three McVay generations.
His father, Tim, played football at Indiana University in Bloomington. His grandfather, John, was vice president and director of football operations for the San Francisco 49ers from 1979 to 1995 and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2013.
Alan Chadwick, head football coach at Marist for more than 40 years, described McVay as explosive, agile and competitive as a Marist player.
“He brought great intensity to his preparation, workouts and had tremendous understanding of the game,” said Chadwick.
McVay was a four-year starter and quarterback his junior and senior year while playing for the Marist War Eagles. In 2003, he led the football team to a state championship and was named the Georgia AAAA Offensive Player of the Year. McVay was the first player in the school’s history to rush and throw for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.
Atlanta Auxiliary Bishop Joel M. Konzen, who was principal of Marist School while McVay attended, remembers him as an easygoing and friendly student.
In 2003, when Marist won the state championship, Bishop Konzen recalls McVay’s leadership.
“The team acknowledged that he was their leader,” the bishop told The Georgia Bulletin, newspaper of the Atlanta Archdiocese. “Sean gave most of the credit to his teammates for a win, making light of his own contribution. That kind of modesty was how Sean demonstrated his commitment to the Marist Way.”
After graduating from Marist in 2004, McVay attended Miami University where he played wide receiver. In 2007, he received Miami’s Scholar Athlete Award and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in health and sports studies in 2008.
His NFL career began as assistant wide receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After working for one year as the quality control and wide receivers coach for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League, McVay returned to the NFL as assistant tight end coach for the Washington Redskins in 2010.
While coaching for Washington, it was apparent that McVay was going to be a good coach, said Chadwick.
McVay was promoted twice, eventually becoming Washington’s offensive coordinator. In 2016, he coached the offensive unit to record breaking statistics for the franchise.
McVay was named head coach for the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. At 30, he was the youngest NFL head coach in history. The Associated Press named McVay the Coach of the Year in 2018 – the youngest head coach to ever receive the award.
Three years ago, McVay made his first Super Bowl appearance as head coach for the Rams against the New England Patriots when the game was hosted in Atlanta.
Chadwick and McVay have kept in touch over the years. After the Rams won the NFC championship game against the 49ers Jan. 30, Chadwick reached out to his former player to wish him luck in the Super Bowl.
“He’s done extremely well for himself and should continue to do that for many years to come,” said Chadwick.
(Smith is a staff writer at The Georgia Bulletin, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.)
NATION
CINCINNATI (CNS) – The Los Angeles Rams may have won Super Bowl LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals, but students in Catholic schools in both archdioceses are winners as well. Donors contributed more than $22,000 – and counting as of Feb. 17 – for tuition assistance scholarships as part of a friendly wager between Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles and Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of Cincinnati over the game’s outcome. The donations to each archdiocese’s Catholic Education Foundation came as the archbishops invited supporters to become involved in their good-gesture wager through the Bishops Big Game challenge. In the Feb. 13 game, the Rams were behind in the third quarter and most of the fourth quarter, before scoring the winning touchdown with 1:25 left, beating the Bengals 23-20. With the Rams’ victory, the Los Angeles foundation will receive 60% of the funds raised, while the Cincinnati foundation will received 40% of the money donated.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) – From partaking in the sacrament of reconciliation to fasting to choosing what to give up, Lent is full of traditions that Catholics around the world take part in as they prepare to celebrate Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. But there’s another sacred tradition that dates back to the early days of the Crusades; one that allows them to “walk” the Via Dolorosa with Christ: the Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross are a mini-pilgrimage, taking believers through the steps taken by Jesus on Good Friday, from his condemnation to his burial. The stations are a “way of prayerfully uniting oneself to the sacrifice of the Lord and his love for us,” said Father Eric Fowlkes, pastor of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville. “It’s also an invitation for us to place ourselves within that journey.” The Stations of the Cross date back to the Middle Ages during the religious wars between Christians and Muslims, known as the Crusades. “The Crusades awakened an interest in Europe in the places associated with Christ in the Holy Land. For the first time, Europeans were traveling there regularly and wanted to see the holy places where the biblical events took place,” said Father Bede Price, pastor of Church of the Assumption in Nashville.
VATICAN
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis advanced the sainthood cause of Argentine Cardinal Eduardo Pironio, the prelate who organized and oversaw the first six international celebrations of World Youth Day. The pope also approved a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of Capuchin Poor Clare Sister Maria Costanza Panas of the Italian monastery of Fabriano. She was born Jan. 5, 1896, and died May 28, 1963. In addition to recognizing the miracle that clears the way for her beatification, the pope approved decrees recognizing that four candidates for sainthood heroically lived the Christian virtues; the decrees were signed during an audience Feb. 18 with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. The four candidates, who are now “venerable,” included Cardinal Pironio, who had served in numerous offices in the Roman Curia from 1975 until his retirement in 1996. St. Paul VI called him to Rome as pro-prefect of the Vatican congregation for religious. When St. John Paul II named him to head the Pontifical Council for the Laity in 1984, the late pope instituted the annual celebration of World Youth Day, including huge international gatherings presided over by the pope every two years and organized by the laity council.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As part of ongoing measures to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has approved restructuring the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the oldest of the congregations. Once comprised of a doctrinal office, a discipline office and a marriage office, the new structure will see the doctrinal and discipline offices become their own special sections led by their own secretaries; the marriage office will become part of the doctrinal office. The two secretaries will serve under the congregation’s prefect. Spanish Cardinal Luis Ladaria, who has been prefect of the congregation since 2017, will celebrate his 78th birthday April 19. The heads of Vatican offices are required to offer their resignations to the pope when they turn 75. In “Fidem servare” (Preserving the Faith), published “motu proprio,” (on his own initiative) Feb. 14, Pope Francis said the main task of the congregation has been to safeguard or “keep the faith.” The changes went into effect the same day. Over time, the congregation has seen modifications to its areas of responsibilities and how it is configured, and now, Pope Francis said, further change is needed “to give it an approach more suited to the fulfillment of its functions.”
WORLD
SÃO PAULO (CNS) – The Diocese of Petrópolis and the city’s parishes have opened their doors to assist victims of the torrential rainstorm that flooded the historic city of Petrópolis. Bishop Gregório Paixão Neto asked that priests and parishioners take in people whose houses were affected by the Feb. 15 mudslides and needed shelter. “This moment is one of solidarity, and we of the Catholic Church are deeply united and in solidarity with all families,” Bishop Paixão said in a video message released on social media. “I ask you to welcome your relatives, your friends and those who are in despair, looking for a place to stay. I, myself, already have a family staying in my house,” he added. The mid-February storm is considered one of the worst in city in the past 70 years, with rainfall surpassing 10 inches in six hours, a volume greater than expected for the entire month of February. As of early Feb. 17, 104 deaths had been recorded, and dozens were still missing under the mud and rubble. The Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, through Caritas, launched the SOS Petrópolis campaign, asking for donations for families affected by the rains.
IQUITOS, Peru (CNS) – Oil spills on opposite sides of Peru – one near Lima, the coastal capital, and the other in a remote Indigenous village in the Amazon – brought together Catholics in the two regions for simultaneous Masses Feb. 13. They prayed for those suffering from the pollution caused by both spills as they marked the second anniversary of “Querida Amazonia,” (Beloved Amazonia), the papal exhortation issued by Pope Francis after the 2019 Synod of Bishops for the Amazon. The liturgies, accompanied by video messages exchanged by Bishop Miguel Angel Cadenas of Iquitos and Archbishop Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio of Lima and played at each of the Masses, formed the first such joint initiative between bishops in Lima and the Amazon. In January, similar disasters struck the two regions. A ship offloading oil Jan. 15 at a coastal refinery spilled about 6,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean, fouling at least 30 miles of shoreline. On Jan. 20, vandals cut an oil pipeline in a small Amazonian village, contaminating the river that people depend on for water for drinking, cooking and bathing. In his homily, Archbishop Castillo said, “We have a commitment – our city of Lima and our entire coast – to our Amazon region.”
SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
GREENWOOD Locus Benedictus, Healing Retreat, Saturday, April 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., presented by Maria Vadia; Mental Well-being and Trust workshop, Sunday, April 10 2-4 p.m., presented by Michael Whelan, Ph.D.; God’s Love Retreat, Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. presented by the Locus Benedictus ministry team. Details: email contactlocusbenedictus@gmail.com or call (662) 299-1232.
NATCHEZ You are Enough and Beloved Women’s One Day Retreat, Saturday, March 26 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mass at the St. Mary Basilica O’Connor Family Life Center. Cost is $10 and includes continental breakfast, snacks and lunch. Retreat will address many of the struggles experience over the past two years. Come for a day to rediscover or discover that you are enough and very beloved. Retreat facilitated by Carrie Lambert and overseen by Ruth Powers. Please RSVP. Details: (601) 455-5616 or youth@stmarybasilica.org.
PARISH, FAMILY AND SCHOOL EVENTS
BROOKHAVEN St. Francis, White Elephant Sale on April 2 by the Knights of Columbus. No clothing. Details: church office (601) 833-1799.
CLEVELAND Our Lady of Victories, Lenten Lunch prepared by parish on Wednesday, March 9 at First United Methodist Church. Details: To help, please call Mary Helen Waller, (662) 721-2855.
FLOWOOD St. Paul, Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent at 6 p.m., followed by a fish dinner prepared by the Knights of Columbus in the Family Life Center. Details: church office (601) 992-9547.
JACKSON Cathedral of St. Peter, Mardi Gras Social, Tuesday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m. in the Cathedral Center. Bring a party food to share. The Knights of Columbus will provide Mardi Gras beads. Details: church office (601) 969-3125.
JACKSON 40 Days for Life, March 2 – April 10. Gather on the sidewalk outside of Jackson Women’s Health Organization at 2903 N. State Street in Jackson. Vigil held 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Details: office@prolifems.org or call (601) 956-8636, ext. 1.
MADISON St. Francis, Fat Tuesday Parish Pancake Supper, March 1 from 5:15-7 p.m. Everyone is invited to feast before the Lenten fast. Pancakes, sausage and drinks will be prepared and served by youth group. Cost $5/person or $15/family is suggested. Details: church office (601) 859-5556.
MERIDIAN St. Patrick School, Spirit Night at Raising Canes Meridian on Fat Tuesday, March 1 from 4-9 p.m. A percentage of sales will be donated to the school.
St. Patrick, Parish Mission, March 7-9. Each evening the mission will begin at 6 p.m. in St. Patrick Church. The featured speaker is Father Clem. Details: church office (601) 693-1321.
NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, Save the Date: Blood Drive on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, from 1-5:45 p.m. Blood donors are desperately needed. Online scheduling begins in April. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
St. Mary Basilica, Fish Fry, The Knights of Columbus will hold their annual Lenten Fish Fry each Friday of Lent, beginning March 4 from 5-7 p.m. at the Family Life Center. Catfish dinners $12; shrimp dinners $12; combo dinners $14. Dinners include fries, hush puppies and coleslaw. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
YOUTH BRIEFS
FLOWOOD St. Paul, Big Deal Youth Group will host Meatless Meal after 6 p.m. Ash Wednesday Mass on March 2. Join them for food and fellowship in the Family Life Center. Donations accepted for future youth events. Details: church office (601) 992-9547.
SEARCH retreat for juniors and seniors, April 1-3, at Camp Wesley Pines in Gallman. Retreat is “for teens, led by teens” and is an experience like none other; with a strong focus on vocations. SEARCH engages youth in a special way and calls them to live out their Catholic faith in a bold real, active and healthy way. Cost $125. Details: abbey.schuhmann@jacksondiocese.org.
SAVE THE DATE
YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST A parish mission on the Eucharist and the Mass is available in the diocese at two locations this Lent. Father Aaron Williams will offer a three day mission at St. Mary’s Basilica Natchez from March 8-10 and at Immaculate Heart of Mary Greenwood from March 27-29. All sessions will begin at 6 p.m.
LENTEN NOTE
Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten Season. Prepare yourself with meditation and reflection. The Lord’s life during this period of His life brings us together for the salvation of humanity. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence. Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.
FASTING: The norms of fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. The law of fasting allows only one full meal a day, but does not prohibit taking two smaller meals for keeping up strength, but those two meals combined must still be smaller than the full meal.
ABSTINENCE: Catholics 14 years of age and older are obliged to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Fridays of Lent and Good Friday; unless health is an issue.
Por Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
El Miércoles de Ceniza nos espera en unos días, dando inicio a la jornada espiritual de 40 días de nuestro mundo católico. Es una empresa espiritual, pero no hay nada vago o sin rumbo en el precioso tiempo que se avecina porque el Señor proporciona el marco del Miércoles de Ceniza con los imperativos de la oración, el ayuno y la limosna. En conjunto, estos tres pilares, especialmente magnificados durante la Cuaresma, permiten que el Espíritu Santo realice la conversión interior que dura toda la vida, con su manifestación exterior en una forma de vida fiel, compasiva y generosa.
Por supuesto, cada año el objetivo final de esta venerable empresa de 40 días es crecer en el amor de Jesucristo, el Buen Pastor crucificado y resucitado que es el camino, la verdad y la vida. Después de una observancia de Cuaresma de todo corazón, la renovación de nuestros votos bautismales del Domingo de Pascua es la forma extraordinaria de proclamar este amor en comunión y solidaridad con los creyentes en todo nuestro mundo católico. Confiando en la seguridad del Señor, el cordón de tres capas de oración, ayuno y abstinencia fomentará en nosotros una conciencia más aguda de que ahora somos hijos de Dios y templos del Espíritu Santo.
El Miércoles de Ceniza nos lleva de regreso a los fundamentos de nuestra fe con las advertencias durante la distribución de las cenizas de “apartaos del pecado y sed fieles al Evangelio” o “recordad que polvo sois y al polvo volveréis”. En conjunto, profesan la realidad fundamental de que el pecado y la muerte nos tienen en sus manos. La salida es el llamado al arrepentimiento que descansa sobre la enseñanza fundamental de nuestra fe que conocemos como el Kerygma.
Recordamos las palabras de san Pedro, cuando dijo las palabras inaugurales del Evangelio del domingo de Pentecostés, porque queremos responder a esta llamada como si las escucháramos por primera vez.
“Cuando los allí reunidos oyeron esto, se afligieron profundamente, y preguntaron a Pedro y a los otros apóstoles: — Hermanos, ¿qué debemos hacer? Pedro les contestó: “Vuélvanse a Dios y bautícese cada uno en el nombre de Jesucristo, para que Dios les perdone sus pecados, y así él les dará el Espíritu Santo. Porque esta promesa es para ustedes y para sus hijos, y también para todos los que están lejos; es decir, para todos aquellos a quienes el Señor nuestro Dios quiera llamar.” (Hechos 2:37-39)
Una respuesta fiel al llamado a la conversión impacta quiénes somos y todo lo que hacemos. Por ejemplo, ¿cómo se aplica todo esto al proceso diocesano y mundial para el Sínodo sobre la Sinodalidad? Considere que el llamado del Señor al arrepentimiento tiene sus raíces en la metanoia, el concepto que describe el cambio de mentalidad y el ir en otra dirección. El diálogo, basado en la oración, la Palabra de Dios y el Espíritu Santo de Dios, marco de nuestro proceso sinodal, depende de que cada uno de nosotros dejemos de lado nuestras mentes manchadas por el pecado, nuestras ideas preconcebidas, nuestros prejuicios, nuestros egos, nuestro orgullo y nuestra pecaminosidad para llegar a un nivel superior de comunión, participación y misión como miembros de la Iglesia Católica.
Es cierto que nuestra amplia respuesta diocesana al Sínodo sobre la Sinodalidad, que está a punto de concluir su primera fase, dará muchos frutos en el futuro. En el nivel más profundo, tal vez imperceptiblemente, está plantando las semillas de la conversión, o metanoia, un cambio de mentalidad y comportamiento hacia una mayor apertura mutua en el Espíritu Santo. Un proceso sano de participación y comunión puede inspirar un cambio de corazón y, a su vez, la conversión de una persona puede ser un chorro de agua limpia que refresca el cuerpo. Esta es nuestra oración.
Oración: la vuelta de nuestros corazones y mentes a Dios; el Ayuno: dejar ir lo que nos está dañando, así como sacrificar los placeres simples por un bien mayor; y la Caridad: la generosidad sacrificial por el bien de los demás, y por nuestra propia conversión, son las armas del espíritu, y la medicina para mucho de lo que nos aflige. Son más accesibles que los medicamentos de venta libre y se sirven a pedido sin necesidad de descargar una aplicación.
“Y que el mismo Señor de la paz les dé la paz a ustedes en todo tiempo y en todas formas. Que el Señor esté con todos ustedes.” (2 Tesalonicenses 3:16)
Vírgenes y Santos
Martes de Carnaval. Marzo 1
Miércoles de Ceniza. Marzo 2
San Juan de Dios. Marzo 8
San Patricio. Marzo 17
San José. Marzo 19
Solemnidad de la Anunciación del Señor. Marzo 25
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Por Junno Arocho Esteves
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) — El mismo amor que le dio a San José, la fuerza para proteger a Jesús y María debe inspirar a los cristianos a amar a la iglesia, especialmente cuando denuncian sus pecados y defectos, dijo el papa Francisco.
El amor “nos hace capaces de decir plenamente la verdad, de forma no parcial; de decir lo que está mal, pero también de reconocer todo el bien y la santidad que están presentes”, dijo el papa el 16 de febrero durante su audiencia general semanal.
“Hoy es común, es de todos los días criticar a la Iglesia, subrayar las incoherencias —hay muchas—, subrayar los pecados, que en realidad son nuestras incoherencias, nuestros pecados, porque desde siempre la Iglesia es un pueblo de pecadores que encuentran la misericordia de Dios”, dijo el papa. “Preguntémonos si, en el fondo del corazón, nosotros amamos a la Iglesia así como es”.
Reflexionando sobre San José como patrono de la iglesia universal, el papa dijo que estaba concluyendo su serie de charlas de audiencia sobre el padre adoptivo de Jesús.
Las historias del Evangelio que involucran a San José dicen que lleva a Jesús y María con él y obedece los mandatos de Dios, destacando así su papel como su protector, dijo el papa.
Agregó que “un aspecto muy hermoso de la vocación cristiana” es proteger la vida y “proteger el desarrollo humano”.
“El cristiano es, podemos decir, como San José: él o ella debe custodiar”, dijo. “Ser cristiano no es solo recibir la fe, confesar la fe, sino custodiar la vida, la propia vida, la vida de los otros, la vida de la iglesia”.
Los cristianos, continuó, “también nosotros debemos preguntarnos siempre si estamos protegiendo con todas nuestras fuerzas a Jesús y María, que están misteriosamente confiados a nuestra responsabilidad, a nuestro cuidado, a nuestra custodia”.
“José, a la vez que continúa protegiendo a la iglesia, sigue amparando al Niño y a su madre, y nosotros también, amando a la iglesia, continuamos amando al Niño y a su madre”, dijo.
Amar a la iglesia, agregó, significa proteger y caminar con todos sus miembros.
“La iglesia no es ese grupito que está cerca del sacerdote y manda a todos, no. La Iglesia somos todos, todos. En camino”, dijo. “Es una bonita pregunta, esta: yo, cuando tengo un problema con alguien, ¿trato de custodiarlo o lo condeno enseguida, hablo mal de él, lo destruyo? ¡Debemos custodiar, siempre custodiar!”
El papa Francisco animó a los cristianos a pedir por la intercesión de San José, especialmente en “precisamente en los momentos más difíciles de vuestras vidas y de vuestras comunidades”.
“Allí donde nuestros errores se convierten en escándalo, pidamos a san José la valentía de enfrentar la verdad, de pedir perdón y empezar de nuevo humildemente. Allí donde la persecución impide que el Evangelio sea anunciado, pidamos a san José la fuerza y la paciencia de saber soportar abusos y sufrimientos por amor al Evangelio”, dijo el papa.
La intercesión de San José, añadió, es también fuente de consuelo para los pobres y los que sufren y de aliento para los “que sirven a los más pequeños, a los indefensos, a los huérfanos, a los enfermos, a los rechazados de la sociedad”.
“¡Cuántos santos se han vuelto a él! ¡Cuántas personas en la historia de la iglesia han encontrado en él un patrón, un guardián, un padre!” dijo el papa.
