The Heart of the Sovereign King: Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Ruth Powers

THINGS OLD AND NEW
By Ruth Powers

In popular Catholic piety, the month of June is traditionally devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, celebrated this year on June 24. Most Catholics are familiar with the image of the Sacred Heart: a heart topped with a flame and a cross, signifying Jesus’ love and compassion for us, and circled with a crown of thorns, representing His Passion. Many Catholic homes display a picture of Jesus pointing toward his heart, shown exposed in his chest. The practice of displaying such an image arose after a series of apparitions to a 17th century French nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, but the origins of devotion to the Sacred Heart are much older.

Some of the early Church Fathers used the image of the heart of Jesus to symbolize his love for us, especially in his willingness to die to save us, but it wasn’t until the 11th century that a specific devotion to the wounded heart of Jesus began to develop.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote that the piercing of Christ’s side revealed his goodness and the charity of his heart for us. Practices honoring the Sacred Heart were prevalent in the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries as private devotions, and soon began to spread to other religious orders. Franciscans had developed a special devotion to the Five Holy Wounds of Jesus, and St. Bonaventure wrote in his Mystic Vine, “Who is there who would not love this wounded heart? Who would not love in return Him, who loves so much?” The Sacred Heart also figured in the visions of several female mystics of the time.

By the 16th century, devotions to the Sacred Heart had become more formalized and special exercises and prayers were written. The Jesuits had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart and placed its image on the title pages of their books and on the walls of their churches. As lay people became more familiar with the idea of the Sacred Heart through the influence of the Jesuits, the devotion began to spread outside of the religious orders. St. Francis de Sales promoted this devotion, and his protégé St. Jane Frances de Chantal was influenced by him in her founding of the Visitation nuns. It is from this order that the best-known devotions to the Sacred Heart developed, thanks to visions of Jesus experienced by a Visitation nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

St. Margaret Mary experienced a series of visions of Jesus beginning in 1674 and ending in 1689. These visions have become the most significant source of devotion to the Sacred Heart in modern times. In these visions, Jesus called for special devotion to Him and his heart because of his great love. He requested reception of Holy Communion on the First Friday of every month for nine consecutive months, Eucharistic Adoration during a Holy Hour on Thursdays, and the celebration of a Feast of the Sacred Heart. In return, he made twelve promises to those who observed this devotion. “I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life. I will establish peace in their homes. I will comfort them in all their afflictions. I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings. Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

Lukewarm souls shall become fervent. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection. I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart. I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.”

After initial resistance, the nine First Friday devotions, along with the establishment of the Feast and the Holy Hour, spread throughout the world, aided by promotion by the Jesuits. A formal feast day for the Sacred Heart was recognized in 1765 in France and established as a feast day to be recognized by the whole church in 1899 by Pope Leo XIII.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart has a long history in the church. It recognizes the humanity of Christ in the image of the human heart, and the depth of his love and compassion for us in his Passion. The promises tied to devotion to his Sacred Heart are very powerful, and the practice of these devotions (the novena of First Fridays, Holy Hours, placement of a picture of the Sacred Heart in the home) are beneficial to any Catholic.

(Ruth Powers is the program coordinator for St. Mary Basilica Parish in Natchez.)

Church future determined by how we communicate our faith

KNEADING FAITH
By Fran Lavelle

Fran Lavelle

In the last decade we have solicited the input of the young church from the Pope’s synod for youth and young adults which was detailed in Christus Vivit (Christ Alive), a USCCB national process of youth and young adult listening, and most recently the Synod on Synodality. In our diocesan efforts to produce a listening process we were keen on hearing from the young church. We heard a lot in our local and regional listening sessions for the Synod that folks are worried about losing our youth. It seems that it has been a problem that in the past few years has grown exponentially. Every year or so a new research poll comes out underscoring what we already know. Many of our youth and young people today are spiritual but not religious. They do not reject the idea of God, but do not support organized religion. This is not an exclusive problem for Catholics as other traditions are facing the same issue.

Looking at the input young people have shared with church leaders over the past decade we have more than enough input to begin to look at ways to improve how we communicate our faith to the young church. As Pope Francis is oft to say they are not the church of the future, they are the church of the now. And, as such, we must find ways to engage our youth and young adults in ways that connect faith and action. In our recent experience with the Synod on Synodality, the young church spoke and was not shy in sharing their perspective.

They asked for more opportunities for service, they feel a call to take care of the poor. They asked that church leaders (ordained and lay) be more authentic in words and actions. Specifically, they asked for leaders to stop being hypocritical. They asked for better preaching that is more relevant and address issues that matter. They asked that we stop using religion to support political views. They want the church to be better examples of faith in action and be more welcoming of others.

In 2017, the National Dialogue on Catholic Pastoral Ministry with Youth and Young Adults began a listening and reflection process focused on understanding and enhancing the church’s ministries with young people. Many national organizations were collaborators in this effort, including the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA) and the National Catholic Network de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (LaRED).

The results of that process clearly identified what the young church needs. Included in their findings was a call for more intentional connecting the life of faith with the lived experiences of young people. Address the “authenticity gap.” Many voices expressed that the church needs to show more empathy and authentic engagement with the young. Increase the investment in accompaniment. The church must train more people in “the art of accompaniment” with youth and young adults. Expand ministry with young adults. Reimagine faith formation. There was regular encouragement to move away from a classroom model and toward more relevant learning models featuring mentorship, small groups, accompaniment, faith sharing and authentic witness. Reconsider preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. There was a clear call to reexamine and reconsider how the church prepares young people for Confirmation. Partner with parents and enhance family ministry. There must be increased dialogue and collaboration with families and the domestic church, including the growth of intergenerational/family ministries. And, last but not least, transform ministry leadership. It was evident from the feedback that the church needs to seriously address the formation, support, and resourcing of ministry leaders and create a culture of collaboration and unity across ministerial and ecclesial lines.

If you are an older adult, you might be thinking that no one ever asked you what you needed from the church and you turned out just fine. If that is where you are, I understand and appreciate you. I imagine if you think back to your own Confirmation and ask yourself how many of your high school or college friends are still Catholic, you can easily see the need to adjust how we convey faith to the young church. Be assured, we are not reinventing doctrine or dogma to suit present day culture. The rich beauty of the church and that of the Catholic faith are to be preserved and treasured. What we are looking for are ways to animate our faith in order to keep the young church on fire with the love of God.

The reality is that we cannot unknow or unhear the voices of the young church. We cannot afford to be idle with our “we have always done it like…” mindset. The future of the church will be determined by our ability to dare to reimagine how we communicate our faith. I believe we can find a way.

El amor, no las excusas, hace que las cosas avancen

Por Ron Rolheiser

Lo excusable no necesita ser excusado y lo inexcusable no puede ser excusado.Michael Buckley escribió esas palabras comentando la triple traición de Pedro a Jesús. Aquí está el contexto. Pedro había traicionado a Jesús en su hora de mayor necesidad, no por malicia, simplemente por debilidad. Ahora, frente a Jesús por primera vez desde esa traición, es comprensible que Pedro se sienta incómodo. ¿Qué dices después de traicionar a alguien?

Padre Ron Rolheiser, OMI

Bueno, no necesitaba decir nada. Jesús tomó la iniciativa y, como destaca Buckley, no excusó a Pedro. Jesús no dijo cosas como, ¡es perfectamente comprensible tener miedo en una situación como esa! ¡No eras realmente tú mismo! ¡Entiendo cómo puede pasar eso! Ni siquiera le dijo a Peter que todavía lo amaba. Nada de eso. Simplemente le preguntó a Pedro: “¿Me amas?” y cuando Peter dijo que sí, todo siguió adelante. No se necesitaban excusas. Lo excusable no necesita ser excusado y lo inexcusable no puede ser excusado. Nuestra humanidad ya explica por qué somos propensos a la traición; lo que hay que decir a su paso es una reafirmación del amor.

A una pareja que conozco le sucedió esto en su matrimonio. Fueron juntos a una fiesta un viernes por la noche y la esposa, en parte por la influencia del alcohol y las drogas, se fue de la fiesta con otro hombre. Su esposo no se dio cuenta de esto por un tiempo pero, al enterarse de lo que había sucedido, estaba comprensiblemente muy angustiado. Se fue a casa solo y pasó una noche sin dormir pensando, sus pensamientos moviéndose a través de una serie de fantasías vengativas a lo que (gracias) finalmente decidió.

Estaba sentado a la mesa de la cocina a media mañana del día siguiente cuando su esposa, tímida y autocastigada, llegó a casa. Tenía ensayadas sus disculpas y estaba lista para enfrentar su ira y furia justificadas. Ella consiguió algo más. Su esposo no dejó que ella expresara disculpas o excusas, ni explotó de ira. Más bien, tranquilo y triste, simplemente le dijo esto: “Me voy a mudar de casa por una semana, así que puedes pensar en esto. Tienes que decidir. ¿Eres mi esposa o eres otra persona? Regresó una semana más tarde para disculparse, pero lo que es más importante, para su compromiso renovado y más radical con su relación. Su matrimonio ha sido sólido y lleno de gracia desde entonces. Ahora está comprometida con un matrimonio como nunca antes.

Sin duda, a su regreso, la esposa de este hombre ofreció algunas disculpas y excusas entre lágrimas. Su negativa a dejar que ella las expresara antes bien pudo haber tenido un propósito a largo plazo, pero ciertamente fue algo cruel a corto plazo. Incluso cuando algo no se puede excusar, aún necesitamos la oportunidad de decir que lo sentimos. Las disculpas son importantes, tanto para quien las ofrece como para quien las recibe. Hasta que se haga una disculpa explícita, siempre hay asuntos pendientes. Sin embargo, la contrición explícita no es en última instancia lo que hace avanzar las cosas cuando una relación ha sido herida o fracturada. Lo que hace avanzar las cosas es un renovado compromiso de amor, de una fidelidad más profunda.

Lo inexcusable no puede ser excusado. Estrictamente hablando, eso es cierto, aunque a veces una comprensión más profunda de las cosas excusa un poco lo inexcusable. Aquí hay un ejemplo.

Hace varios años, este incidente ocurrió en Australia. Una junta escolar católica acababa de terminar de construir una nueva escuela multimillonaria. No mucho después de su apertura, uno de sus estudiantes, un chico de secundaria, inició un incendio en su casillero, sin saber que las válvulas de gas para el sistema de calefacción de la escuela estaban justo detrás de su casillero. Comenzó un gran incendio y se quemó toda la escuela. Para su crédito, el niño se armó de valor y reconoció lo que había sucedido. Luego, por supuesto, siguió una serie interminable de preguntas: ¿Por qué haría eso? ¿Por qué alguien iniciaría un incendio en su casillero? ¿Qué explica ese tipo de estupidez imprudente? ¿Qué puede excusar lo inexcusable?

Aprecié mucho la respuesta dada a estas preguntas por uno de los obispos australianos. Hablando ante un grupo de profesores y administradores escolares que lo interrogaron, su breve respuesta lo dijo todo. ¿Por qué este joven estudiante haría algo así? ¡Porque es un niño! Los niños han estado (sin razón explicable) iniciando incendios mucho antes de que aparecieran las válvulas de gas en el planeta. Además, no hay excusa para ello, salvo la propia naturaleza humana.

Muchas veces, esa es la excusa para lo imperdonable: ¡Porque somos humanos! De hecho, esta fue la verdadera excusa para la mujer que bajo la influencia del alcohol y las drogas traicionó a su esposo, así como fue la verdadera excusa para Pedro cuando traicionó a Jesús.

Pero, esto debe ser leído correctamente. Esto no nos da permiso para apelar a nuestra naturaleza humana moralmente inepta como excusa para la traición o la estupidez. ¡Somos humanos! ¡Los niños serán niños! La lección es más bien que cada vez que nuestra ineptitud moral nos hace caer en la traición o la estupidez, lo que finalmente hace avanzar las cosas no es una disculpa o una excusa, sino un compromiso renovado en el amor.

(Ron Rolheiser es un columnista habitual de Mississippi Catholic. Puede encontrar todo acerca de él en su Sitio web: www.ronrolheiser.com)

Interesados ​​en escuchar a Iglesia joven

Por Fran Lavelle

En la última década, hemos solicitado el aporte de la iglesia joven del sínodo del Papa para jóvenes y adultos jóvenes, que se detalló en Christus Vivit (Cristo vivo), un proceso nacional de escucha de jóvenes y adultos jóvenes de la USCCB, y más recientemente el Sínodo sobre sinodalidad.

En nuestros esfuerzos diocesanos para producir un proceso de escucha, estábamos interesados ​​en escuchar a la iglesia joven. Escuchamos mucho en nuestras sesiones de escucha locales y regionales para el Sínodo que la gente está preocupada por perder nuestra juventud.

 Parece que ha sido un problema que en los últimos años ha crecido exponencialmente. Cada año, más o menos, aparece una nueva encuesta de investigación que subraya lo que ya sabemos. Muchos de nuestros jóvenes de hoy son espirituales, pero no religiosos. No rechazan la idea de Dios, pero no apoyan la religión organizada.

Este no es un problema exclusivo de los católicos, ya que otras tradiciones se enfrentan al mismo problema.

Al observar los aportes que los jóvenes han compartido con los líderes de la iglesia durante la última década, tenemos aportes más que suficientes para comenzar a buscar formas de mejorar la forma en que comunicamos nuestra fe a la iglesia joven. Como suele decir el Papa Francisco, no son la iglesia del futuro, son la iglesia del ahora. Y, como tal, debemos encontrar formas de involucrar a nuestros jóvenes y adultos jóvenes en formas que conecten la fe y la acción.

En nuestra experiencia reciente con el Sínodo sobre la sinodalidad, la iglesia joven habló y no fue tímida al compartir su perspectiva. Pidieron más oportunidades de servicio, sienten un llamado a cuidar a los pobres. Pidieron que los líderes de la iglesia, ordenados y laicos, sean más auténticos en palabras y acciones.

Específicamente, pidieron a los líderes que dejaran de ser hipócritas. Pidieron una mejor predicación que sea más relevante y aborde los problemas que importan. Pidieron que dejáramos de usar la religión para apoyar puntos de vista políticos. Quieren que la iglesia sea un mejor ejemplo de fe en acción y que sea más acogedora con los demás.

En 2017, el Diálogo Nacional de Pastoral Católica con Jóvenes inició un proceso de escucha y reflexión enfocada a comprender y potenciar la pastoral de la iglesia con los jóvenes. Muchas organizaciones nacionales colaboraron en este esfuerzo, incluida la Federación Nacional de Pastoral Juvenil Católica (NFCYM), la Asociación de Ministerios Universitarios Católicos (CCMA) y la Red Católica Nacional de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (LaRED).

Los resultados de ese proceso identificaron claramente lo que necesita la iglesia joven. Incluido en sus hallazgos había un llamado a conectar más intencionalmente la vida de fe con las experiencias vividas por los jóvenes. Aborde la “brecha de autenticidad”. Muchas voces expresaron que la iglesia necesita mostrar más empatía y compromiso auténtico con los jóvenes. Incrementar la inversión en acompañamiento. La iglesia debe formar a más personas en “el arte del acompañamiento” con adolescentes y jóvenes adultos. Expandir el ministerio con adultos jóvenes. Re-imaginar la formación en la fe.

Hubo estímulo regular para alejarse de un modelo de salón de clases y hacia modelos de aprendizaje más relevantes con tutoría, grupos pequeños, acompañamiento, compartir la fe y testimonio auténtico. Reconsiderar la preparación para el Sacramento de la Confirmación.

Hubo un claro llamado a reexaminar y reconsiderar cómo la iglesia prepara a los jóvenes para la Confirmación. Colaborar con los padres y mejorar el ministerio familiar. Debe haber un mayor diálogo y colaboración con las familias y la iglesia doméstica, incluido el crecimiento de los ministerios intergeneracionales/familiares.

Y, por último, pero no menos importante, transformar el liderazgo del ministerio. A partir de los comentarios, fue evidente que la iglesia necesita abordar seriamente la formación, el apoyo y los recursos de los líderes ministeriales y crear una cultura de colaboración y unidad a través de las líneas ministeriales y eclesiales.

Si eres un adulto mayor, quizás estés pensando que nunca nadie te preguntó qué necesitabas de la iglesia y saliste bien. Si ahí es donde estás, te entiendo y te aprecio. Me imagino que si piensa en su propia Confirmación y se pregunta cuántos de sus amigos de la escuela secundaria o la universidad siguen siendo católicos, puede ver fácilmente la necesidad de ajustar la forma en que transmitimos la fe a la iglesia joven.

Tenga la seguridad de que no estamos reinventando doctrinas o dogmas para adaptarlos a la cultura actual. La rica belleza de la iglesia y la de la fe católica deben ser preservadas y atesoradas. Lo que estamos buscando son formas de animar nuestra fe para mantener a la iglesia joven encendida en el amor de Dios.

La realidad es que no podemos desconocer o dejar de escuchar las voces de la iglesia joven. No podemos darnos el lujo de estar ociosos con nuestra mentalidad de “siempre lo hemos hecho así…”

 El futuro de la iglesia estará determinado por nuestra capacidad de atrevernos a re-imaginar cómo comunicamos nuestra fe. Creo que podemos encontrar una manera.

Mississippi summers provided bishop with many challenges

From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – As we begin our journey into the lovely days of summer filled with that heat and humidity we treasure so much, I thought I would share some more experiences of Bishop John Gunn’s adventures. These few entries detail his battles with travelling in July on the Gulf Coast, which was once part of our diocese until the Diocese of Biloxi was established in 1977.

The 17 counties that make up the Diocese of Biloxi would have been Deanery VII of this Diocese in Bishop Gunn’s time. It stretches up to Laurel and over to Tylertown. Bishop Gunn enjoyed being on the Gulf and spent a lot of time in Pass Christian. He attributed it to the easier access to rail and road travel from the Coast than Natchez had.

DeLISLE – The interior of Our Lady of Good Hope parish is pictured in Christmas of 1920. Bishop John Gunn takes readers on summer adventure at the parish when he visited in July of 1912. Established in 1872, the church was first destroyed by fire in 1905 and rebuilt by Father René Sorin and ultimately destroyed beyond repair by Hurricane Camille in August 1969. (Photos courtesy of archives)

The week of July 23, 1912, Bishop Gunn, who was only a few months into his tenure as bishop, spent a couple of days visiting DeLisle and its missions. Once again, the entries reflect Bishop Gunn’s dry wit and matter-of-fact demeanor. As a disclaimer, the reader needs to remember this is 110 years ago and conditions would have been different in the state of communities and parishes.

“July 23 – DeLisle and Missions: Big reception at the church – dinner in St. Joseph’s Hall. DeLisle has a long history and is connected with big men. The present Bishop of Oklahoma [Théophile Meerschaert] commenced his missionary career at DeLisle. Father [Alphonse] Ketels, now in Biloxi, followed him and Father [René] Sorin has spent nearly 20 years in the most abject poverty and isolation that it is possible to imagine a priest can have.”

“July 24 – Gave Confirmation after Mass in DeLisle. Gave a lecture at Cuevas at eight o’clock on Wednesday night and got the scare of my life in the house to which I was assigned to sleep after the lecture. It was a little bungalow, and I got the best room in the house and I think I got the concentrated heat of the entire coast.”

“I was wet and tired, and I fell asleep as soon as I could. … In the middle of the night I thought my last hour had come as something got into the bed with me and fought me like a tiger. I had nothing but a sheet covering me and in my surprise, to get the bed all to myself I rolled the sheet round the visitor and we had an unequal tussle.”

“It seems a big Scotch Collie had been accustomed to sleep in the bed and had not been notified of the change of occupants. I rolled the sheet ‘round the collie who objected to the familiarity and frightened me thoroughly before I let him loose.”

“July 25 – I gave Confirmation in Cuevas or Pineville. After the Mass and Confirmation and a sermon, I felt as if I had been pulled out of the ocean and it was then I was told that I had to see all the people.”

“I was wet – the church itself was the reception room. The Protestant idea of using the church for everything obtains unfortunately in Mississippi when actual service is not going on. For a little while, I endured the handshaking and the heat, but I begged the priest to get me somewhere where I could get rid of my wet clothes and effect a change at least in parts.”

DeLISLE – Our Lady of Good Hope parish was served by Father René Sorin, from 1896 until his death on Feb. 6, 1955.

“There was no available spot in the church nor in the sacristy, nor behind the altar – nor anywhere and I found my wet clothes now growing cold. Finally, the priest asked me if I would use a kind of closet that was in the sacristy. The closet was about three feet square and contained a barrel in which all the things the ladies of the Altar Society did not want the Bishop to see – old flowers, old candles, broken vases, etc., but I was glad to get even there to get out of my wet clothes.”

“I was progressing rapidly and quickly, when I looked at a slit in the closet and there to my horror, I saw a snake looking right into my eyes. About four or five inches of him stuck to the wall and the rest of him hissed at me.”

“I did not take long to beat a retreat and I never thought I could be such a coward. Irishmen and snakes don’t agree.”

So, I sit here in my air-conditioned office, thinking of those mid-summer days growing up without this luxury and how we managed to endure it. Then I imagine the most likely wool-suited Bishop Gunn perspiring in buckets in his missions throughout the diocese – fending off creatures in the night and slithering snakes in closets – to be shepherd to his sheep. God bless him.

As we make the slide into the heat and humidity of Mississippi’s summer through the traditional doorway of Memorial Day weekend, let us remember to offer prayers and thanks for all who have served our country and paid the ultimate price on the battlefields of the world. Bishop Gunn, who loved three things – his Catholic faith, his Irish heritage, and his American citizenship – would expect that of us. Amen.

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

May God go with you into ordinary time

On Ordinary Times
By Lucia A. Silecchia
As a teacher, I have mixed feelings about graduations. While commencements launch new beginnings for graduates, they are also bittersweet farewells.

Each year, the basic formula of our graduation ceremonies remains the same. The setting, order of events and cherished traditions remain remarkably unchanged, reflecting the enduring desire to mark important passages with predictable rituals. In spite of their comforting sameness, however, each graduation ceremony heralds a significant change in my own life, not just in the lives of my students.

Lucia A. Silecchia

Each year, I see my students’ joy and am happy for them. However, as a teacher left behind there is a certain sadness knowing that each year’s graduating class – as individuals and as a group – will no longer be part of my everyday life. Certainly, commencement day is about my students and not me. Yet, the day when this celebration no longer tugs at my heart may be the day I should start another path of work.

The years I spend with my students are brief – only 3 or 4 years do we walk together. For that time, I am privileged to be part of their lives and to have them as part of mine. I am deeply grateful to my students for all they share with me during the time we travel together along the path of life. The class of 2022, in a particular way, crossed my path in a unique set of pandemic-provoked disruptions. Thus, in a special way, I am grateful for their good will through some challenging days.

I am grateful for all the ways they shared their joys with me. Some of them knew great joy in the years we spent together as they welcomed children, became aunts or uncles, achieved academic success, or wore new rings on their fingers. Some overcame great obstacles, were surprised at wonderful job offers, and learned that they had talents they did not know that they had. Some made life-long friends and I have celebrated at the weddings of those who sat together in my class.

I am grateful for all the ways they also shared their sorrows with me. Some of them had loved ones who started the journey with them but are no longer at their sides to share the joy of graduation. Some had struggles with finances or health, watched plans disrupted and mourned dreams denied. Like life itself, the journey through school has its highs and lows.

I am grateful for all the ways they shared their families with me. Those who teach young children rather than adults see far more of their students’ families than I do. Yet, my students tell me of their loved ones – their parents, children, spouses and siblings. Many tell me much about beloved grandparents because, often, it is in the years of young adulthood that their grandparents pass away.

In particularly entertaining ways, my students share their families with me at graduation. I still feel a vague dread when someone’s proud dad says, “I’ve heard all about you!” because that is not necessarily a good thing. I sense that my students feel similar dread when a proud mom says, “How did he do in your class?” Fear not, students! I have a well-practiced repertoire of non-responsive answers to that question.

I am grateful for the ways my students thank their loved ones, my colleagues and their classmates as we share our pride and common joy with them. As they receive their diplomas while wearing the strangest of hats and smiling the biggest of smiles at their cheering families, they remind me that few accomplishments are achieved alone.

I am grateful for the ways in which many students have shared their faith with me. Although much is said by many – myself included – criticizing Gen Z’s and Millennials, I have been inspired by them. In an age of shallow soundbites, some have asked me the big questions. In an age of secularism, some have prayed with me. In a time when faith is thought to be private, some have prayed for me. In a time when the world can seem thoughtless, they reach out with commitments to service, good-hearted kindnesses and traces of that idealism a cynical world so desperately needs.

My students – soon to be my former students – were once strangers to me and to each other. Through many different paths, they and I came together for a time and shared a unique season of our lives. As May and June unfold, teachers like me will be saying our good-byes.

“Good-bye,” however, is a comforting word of farewell – an ancient abbreviation of the phrase, “God go with you.” So, to all those whose diplomas say “2022,” I pray that God does, indeed, go with you as you embark into our fragile world. Bring that world your courage, your hope and your love. And, if you think of it, say a prayer for me – I’ll miss you. Thanks for sharing with me some of your ordinary times.

Congratulations! May God go with you, Class of 2022.

(Lucia A. Silecchia is a Professor of Law at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.)

Who’s listening to the women?

AMID THE FRAY
By Greg Erlandson (CNS)
The leaked draft Supreme Court document that laid out the case for overturning Roe v. Wade making abortion a constitutional right has provoked an uproar.

Abortion advocates are furious that the forthcoming ruling may toss abortion back to the legislatures. Abortion opponents are working furiously to have laws in place at the state level to ban abortions. In either case, the struggle won’t be ending. It will be punted to nearly level of government for the foreseeable future.

As we wait for the high court’s final decision in June, we might do well to listen to Getty Israel, the founder and CEO of Sisters in Birth, located in Mississippi.

Greg Erlandson, (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Sisters in Birth exists to help poor and underserved women in the poorest state in the union to give birth to healthy babies and to help mothers find the care they need. In a recent interview, Israel sounded fed up with the swirling national debate.

When interviewed on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,” Israel did not take the standard NPR line on abortion. She sounded ticked off at everybody.

“When we get calls from women – and we do – who are looking for an abortion, the first question I ask is, ‘What’s going on?’”
“Because, yes, I want to change her mind. Yes, I want to reduce the abortion rate. That’s a lot of Black lives lost in an era of Black Lives Matter,” she said.

“Pro-choice people are willing to wage a war … to protect (Roe v. Wade). But they’re not willing to help create any community-based interventions to address the various underlying risk factors that will lead a woman to look for an abortion,” Israel charged.

What’s missing from the national debate, she added, are the voices of women who are considering abortion. “No one ever says, What do you need? What can we do to help improve your life so that you don’t find that you need to have an abortion?”

“When a woman is seeking abortion, 9 times out of 10, she is alone,” she continued. “Pro-choice people aren’t walking down the path with her, and neither are the pro-life people, beyond beating her over the head with a Bible and Scripture.”

Almost 38% of Mississippians are Black, the highest in the nation. Yet they account for 68% of abortions. Women looking for abortion often work minimum-wage jobs without health insurance. They are beset by poverty and a torn social net.

Mississippi also has the highest rate of infant deaths in the first 12 months of life. Sixty percent of those babies are Black, many of whom were born premature. Yet state medical care for pregnant women and for new mothers in poverty is minimal and underfunded.

Banning abortion will not make Mississippi a pro-life state.

The racist murder of Black shoppers in Buffalo, New York, has transfixed the nation, but Getty Israel is right: Hundreds of thousands of Black babies are being aborted or dying in their first year of life for lack of adequate health care and support.

Nationwide there are bold pro-life efforts like the Women’s Care Centers that help expectant mothers, but so much more is needed. Passage of a new child tax credit program is one place to start.

Catholic bishops are calling for all Catholic institutions to step up and support moms in need. In the words of the New York bishops, if “every Catholic parish, every Catholic Charities program, every Catholic health facility, every Catholic school, every Catholic college and university” were asking women how they could help, the impact could be culture changing. The challenge is, how do we make this more than just a slogan?

(Erlandson, director and editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service, can be reached at gerlandson@catholicnews.com.)

Called by Name

Father Nick Adam
Father Nick Adam

I am happy to report that we not only have a new priest, Father Andrew Bowden, but we also have a new seminarian, Mr. John Le. John was born in Vietnam but had to flee the country as a teenager after the communist takeover. He settled in Houston, Texas and attended high school there before enrolling at Texas A&M. John studied engineering and worked as a microelectronics engineer in Houston and Dallas before entering the Jesuits. After over a decade as a Jesuit brother, John began to discern diocesan priesthood. He has lived and worked with his brother in Brookhaven for the last year or so, and that’s when I started to get to know him. John will be enrolling at Sacred Heart Seminary in Hales Corners, Wisconsin this August. Sacred Heart specializes in educating second-career seminarians, and recent graduates from Sacred Heart in our diocese include Father Lincoln Dall. Carlisle Beggerly enjoyed two years at Sacred Heart even more recently as he did his pre-theology studies at Hales Corners before coming to Notre Dame in New Orleans for theology.

John Le

I was heartened to hear Bishop Kopacz announce at Father Andrew’s ordination that he has now ordained 12 priests since being consecrated as Bishop of Jackson in February of 2014. That is a great blessing, and we are seeing great work done by our recently ordained men.

It is encouraging for me to see my classmates and former seminary brothers become pastors. Father Aaron Williams is now pastor at St. Mary Basilica and Assumption Parishes in Natchez, Father Mark Shoffner is now pastor at St. John in Oxford, and Father Adolfo Suarez is pastor in Forest.

Also, Father Andrew Nguyen will be pastor soon at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Greenwood, and I am excited to be rector at St. Peter Cathedral beginning this July. The good news is that this is not the end; it is only the beginning. God willing, we will have four new priests entering the fold in the next three years. Carlisle Beggerly’s diaconate ordination is coming up on June 4 at his home parish in West Point, and so next year we will get to see him ordained a priest, followed the next year by Ryan Stoer and Tristan Stovall.

Our prayers for a “Homegrown Harvest” continue to be answered, and I ask that you continue to ask the Lord for more laborers for His harvest. I would like to thank our current seminarians for their dedication to their formation. And remember — we are about quality, not necessarily quantity! I’m so happy with our current group of men because I believe they are dedicated to being formed well, and so even if they do not ultimately present themselves for ordination, they will be great husbands and fathers in our parishes. Please pray for our men in formation, and continue your great work of praying for vocations, and encouraging more young men to consider whether the Lord is calling them to shepherd his people as a priest of Jesus Christ.

Rally around the call to accompany expectant mothers

By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
As Catholics we are in the midst of a nine-day Novena undertaken by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in preparation for the great feast of the Visitation on May 31. This second joyful mystery of the rosary recalls that tender scene when Mary and Elizabeth, two of the most well-known pregnant women in world history, encountered one another with unbounded joy in God their Savior. Even the “baby stirred in my womb for joy” Elizabeth exclaimed to her younger cousin who had arrived at Zachariah and Elizabeth’s doorstep to assist her who was in her sixth month with the unborn John the Baptist. Women helping women in preparation for birth and in the months following the emergence of new life from the womb into the light of day, is fundamental for family life, community, and civilization.

The need for caring support around a pregnancy and the earliest stage of life is fundamental for mothers and their infants, for family life, communities, and ultimately civilization. There are many in our churches and in our communities in Mississippi who rally around the call to accompany expectant mothers, and in the time following the birth of their children. We can only rejoice to see such loving support. For the Catholic Church, as the whole world knows, the right to life is fundamental because we are made in the image and likeness of God (Imago Dei). The dignity of the human person is rooted in this fundamental belief.

Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz

What the whole world may not know, or chooses to ignore, is that the church commits herself, in season and out of season, to the well-being of the human person at every stage of life. This is evident in our social teachings that foster the common good, serve the poor, marginalized and vulnerable, champion health care, sponsor education, and support life’s basic needs: food, shelter and clothing and gainful employment. Moreover, in recent years, care for our common home, the earth, has become more urgent.

Pope Francis’ masterpiece, Laudato Si, rejoices in God the creator, and addresses this God-given obligation. When we add it all up it is all about what St. Paul eloquently states in his letter to the Romans. “The Kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking, but about justice and peace, and the joy of the Holy Spirit. (14:17)

Now back to the Visitation and the gift of unborn life that opened this column. The decision of the Supreme Court of the United States over the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is imminent and the prospect of overturning of Roe v. Wade is sending shock waves across the land from the White House to all points on the compass.

There is no doubt that this is an historic moment for our nation. The passion surrounding this life issue burns no less intensely than nearly 50 years ago when Roe v. Wade became the law of the land in 1973. There has been a creeping shadow ever since because at the core of our collective consciousness is a tortured conscience that is unable to reconcile a self-image of inherent goodness with the blood of the innocents. But whether Roe v Wade is overturned or rolled back, abortions will not cease, as we know. The political onus will return to the legislatures of the 50 states to enact laws going forward, and as we have already experienced, these laws will vary greatly.

Like the fires engulfing our western states, there will be widespread conflagrations that burn at the fault lines of our fractured society. The personal onus is another dimension, the terrain of conscience and conversion, challenging every individual to safeguard the gift of sexuality knowing there is freedom through boundaries, to cherish the gift of life, one’ own and the vulnerable in our midst, and to realize that violence against the unborn is at the root of the violence that roils our nation and world.

What can one person or one church do? “The light shone in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it,” (John 1:5) is the promise that our labors with God will always matter. Praying, serving, empowering and advocating are always relevant.

Pope Francis encourages encounter with the other and accompaniment, and a recent project worthy of praise in every Catholic diocese is “Walking with Moms in Need.” Whatever the ruling on Roe v Wade, the church in league with other networks is redoubling its efforts to accompany mothers, their preborn and children in the early stages of development so that they and we, like Mary and Elisabeth, can rejoice in the gift of life and in God our Savior.

Managing an ascension

IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
A friend of mine, somewhat cynical about the church, recently remarked: “What the institutional church today is trying to do is to put its best face on the fact that it’s dying. Basically, it’s trying to manage a death.”

Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI

What he’s suggesting is that the church today, like a person struggling to accept a terminal diagnosis, is trying to reshape its imagination to eventually accommodate itself to the unthinkable, its own dying.

He’s right in suggesting that the church today is trying to reshape its imagination, but he’s wrong about what it’s trying to manage. What the church is trying to manage today is not a death, but an ascension. What needs reshaping in our imagination today is the same thing that needed reshaping in the imagination of the first disciples in the forty days between the resurrection and the ascension. We need to understand again how to let go of one body of Christ so that it can ascend and we can again experience Pentecost. What’s at stake here?

Among the elements within the paschal mystery, the ascension is the least understood. We are clearer about the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost. We have less understanding of the ascension.

The forty days between the resurrection and the ascension were not a time of unadulterated joy for the first disciples. It was a time of some joy, but also of considerable confusion, despondency and loss of faith. In the days before the ascension, the disciples were overjoyed whenever they recognized again their risen Lord, but most of the time they were confused, despondent, and full of doubt because they were unable to recognize the new presence of Christ in what was happening around them. At one point, they gave up completely and as John put it, went back to their former way of life, fishing and the sea.

However, during that time Jesus slowly reshaped their imaginations. Eventually they grasped the fact that something had died but that something else, far richer, had been born and that now they needed to give up clinging to the way Jesus had formerly been present to them so that he could be present to them in a new way. The theology and spirituality of the ascension is essentially contained in these words: Refuse to cling to what once was, let it go so that you can now recognize the new life you are already living and receive its spirit. The synoptic gospels teach this to us in their pictorial rendering of the ascension, where a bodily Jesus blesses everyone and then rises physically out of their sight. John gives us the same theology but in a different picture. He does this in his description of the encounter on Easter morning between Jesus and Mary Magdala when Jesus says, “Mary don’t cling to me!”

Today, the church is trying to manage an ascension, not a death. I can easily see where my friend can be confused because every ascension presupposes a death and a birth, and that can be confusing. So where, really, is the church today?

Edward Schillebeeckx once suggested that we are living in that same despondency that was felt by the early disciples between Jesus’ death and their realization of his resurrection. We are feeling what they felt, doubt and confusion on the road to Emmaus. The Christ we once knew has been crucified and we cannot yet recognize the Christ who is walking with us, more alive than before, though in a new way. Hence, just as those first disciples on the road to Emmaus, we also frequently walk with faces downcast, in a confused faith, needing Christ to appear in a new guise to reshape our imaginations so that we can recognize him as he is now present to us.

I think Schillebeeckx is right about this, except that I would put it in another way. The church today is in that time between the resurrection and the ascension, feeling considerable despondency, with its imagination attuned to a former understanding of Christ, unable to recognize Christ clearly in the present moment. For many of us who grew up in a particular understanding of the faith, our former understanding of Christ has been crucified. But Christ is not dead. The church is not dead. Both Jesus and the church are very much alive, walking with us, slowly reshaping our imaginations, reinterpreting the scriptures for us, telling us again: Wasn’t it necessary that the Christ (and the church) should so suffer. …
For many of us today, to live in faith is to be in that time between the death of Christ and the ascension, vacillating between joy and despondency, trying to manage an ascension.

On the road of faith, there’s always bad news and good news. The bad news is that invariably our understanding of Christ gets crucified. The good news is that Christ is always very much alive, present to us still, and in a deeper way.

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