Category Archives: Columnists

August brings three “H’s” in Mississippi

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From the Archives
By Mary Woodward

JACKSON – In Mississippi, the month of August stirs a myriad of thoughts of the “3-H’s” for which we are so well-known – heat, humidity and hurricanes. This August is no different. I would like to share a couple of memories of Augusts gone by.

Two of the worst hurricanes to make landfall in the history of the state and country were August hurricanes named Camille (Aug. 17 and 18, 1969) and Katrina, which actually made landfall first across Miami on Aug. 23, 2005, then again in Mississippi on Aug. 29.

Well, let me now date myself. I remember Hurricane Camille. We grew up on Millsaps College campus in Jackson in faculty housing. When Camille came ashore 170 miles south of our house, the old-style metal two-inch green Venetian blinds stood out from the windows rattling in the wind all night long. That image is forever etched in my mind.

Destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina is seen in Gulfport, Miss., Sept. 6. Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding left more than 500,000 people homeless. Catholic churches, organizations and schools were among the institutions taking in evacuees and providing temporary shelter and schooling. (CNS photo by Ed Foster, Jr.) (Sept. 8, 2005)

Prior to destroying all wind measuring tools, Camille was clocked at a one minute sustained 175 mph winds with a 25-foot storm surge. She was fierce and became the benchmark of storms for years to come until 2005, when Katrina made her way toward the Gulf Coast.

What many may not remember is Katrina had already made landfall near Miami and caused widespread flooding and power outages there a week before. I remember because Bishop Joseph Latino was in Miami when the first landfall occurred. He had that kind of luck throughout his life.

As I watched the path of Katrina develop, it became eerily similar to Camille’s path straight up the Gulf. When I picked up Bishop Latino at the airport upon his return from Miami a few days after the initial landfall, I made the remark that Katrina was following him. There was definitely a bad feeling about this storm.

That weekend, the Cathedral in Jackson experienced standing room only congregations – filled with evacuees from the Gulf Coast and Louisiana. As people came forward in the communion line, there was not a dry eye in the house.

While Katrina was making landfall early Monday morning, we in the chancery office were sent home and told to be where we needed to be for the next 12 hours by 11 a.m. When I arrived home after dropping off a couple of cases of Catholic Extension Bibles for evacuees at the Coliseum, I hunkered down with my pimento cheese and Zapp’s. Taking comfort in the fact that my 70-year-old house had survived Camille, I watched the news until the power was knocked out around noon.

Still, I was confident in the structure of my house even when the attic turbine snapped off, bounded down the roof and landed at my feet on the back porch. I was losing confidence when I took my nearly decapitated self into the attic to put a bucket under the hole in the roof left by the now absent turbine. I recall thinking “next stop Oz.”

After what seemed like a 10-hour tornado in slow motion, the next morning I ventured out following the sounds of the chainsaw to get neighbors to put me on their list of tree removal. They came and dispatched the tree on the fence, shared some cold water I had in an ice chest (I was prepared because of the really bad feeling about the storm), and moved on to the next neighbor.

We all pulled together to help because we knew if it was this bad in Jackson, it had to be 1000 times worse on the Coast. I recollect seeing the helicopter flyover of the Gulf Coast – we were wrong – it was a million times worse. Who could have ever imagined worse devastation than Camille? Those thoughts entered my mind in the attic the night before, but the reality of it in one flyover report removed all doubt.
After a day of clean up in the neighborhood, the next day provided a chancery office with electricity and air-conditioning. It also became a hub for evacuees to come and use email and Facebook on our computers to let family and friends around the world know they were ok.

Indeed, it was quite the time in Jackson, but nothing in comparison to our friends at the chancery office in Biloxi whom we did not know whether they were ok or not for a full two days due to shattered communication lines and towers.

From an archive’s perspective, after dealing with the humanitarian needs of these disasters, thoughts turn immediately to sacramental registers in destroyed churches. These registers contain our sacramental lives, which are often used to establish identity, get a passport and obtain pensions. In our diocese, every 10 years we bring in these registers and make copies of the contents in the event of such a disaster.
Because there were microfilm copies of registers in 1969, parishes that may have lost registers to the storm were able to get copies of them. Ideally, these registers would be stored in secure environments, but that is not always possible.

As we move through August and the Gulf continues to heat up, this is a prime time for parishes to reexamine plans for sacramental register safekeeping. Simple things such as large Ziploc bags on hand and portable watertight containers available can go a long way in protecting these lifelines for parishioners and the church.

Another handy thing to have is a disaster clean up kit in a bucket that includes bleach, gloves, masks and scrubbing brushes. As I write this, I remember there is a bucket is still in my attic… Take care and stay safe.

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

Christian marker: The Cross

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FROM THE HERMITAGE
By sister alies therese

On Aug. 9, 2022, we celebrate the feast day of Edith Stein (St. Sister Benedicta of the Cross, OCD), German (born, 1891, in Breslau in what is now Poland) intellectual, scholar, typhoid-nurse hospital worker and Jewess-cum-Catholic Christian (1922) and Carmelite (1933), who at 52 was taken to the Nazi chambers and murdered (1942). I like what Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, points out:

“The fact is Edith Stein is not important because she was martyred for anything. Edith Stein is not a light to take into the 21st century because she was killed by Nazis for whatever reason. Edith Stein is a pathway through darkness because of the courage it takes to critique your own.” (emphasis mine, A Passion for Life, Orbis, 1996)

She might be best known in Carmelite circles, unlike some of her more famous Sisters, Teresa of Avila, or Therese. That she was caught up with Bonhoeffer or Kolbe and others also annihilated for religious reasons during the Nazi regime, points to the highlights (1942) of the brutal reality of authoritarian politics. Though she had been smuggled to the Netherlands, she and her sister Rosa were found out and eventually reached Auschwitz where their earthly lives ended abruptly.

In the day (and maybe today as well?), a sister professing Carmelite life took a ‘title’ pointing her in a special direction within her prayer vocation … in this case ‘of the Cross’ was chosen and the fact that she was born on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, she had been on this path her whole life. She saw her life as one united with the suffering of God, the anguish of the innocent, and the prayer of the powerless. The Cross for her became the Christian marker where the greatest love had been shown, even to those who ravaged the world, who lived out of greed or insensitivity, who barreled through country after country demanding obedience and submission.

Mostly the Cross was the symbol of success, despite its narrow appearance, of the empathy theory she’d studied reminding people that to walk in another’s shoes across barriers (class, culture, ethnicity and…) is to accept a call to build together the beauty of peace. We ‘cross over,’ out of our zones into a graced place serving one another. The beauty of God, reflected in the common good, is torn asunder when the innocent are ravaged when lies become common currency for truth, and when hope seems impossible as attacking armies (of whatever kind) seek to dominate. Aren’t we just a bit too cozy with violence? Just look at Oklahoma, executing 25 men one a month (on Thursdays) for two years beginning this month. That the Cross reaches up and stretches out is a reminder that God is not just the God of ‘me’ but the God of ‘we’; when will we nourish one another and cease scrambling in darkness … perhaps they’ll come for me, for us?

In her book The Wisdom of the Cross, she remarks that through a process of death, all will come to life in Him if we are willing to give our lives.

She says, “This faith in the Crucified – united with devoted love – is for us the doorway to life and the beginning of the glory to come. The Cross is our only boast … But the cross is not the end: it is lifted high and shows us the way to heaven.” (ICS, Washington, 1996)

She had no illusion about what that meant for her, her sister Rosa and so many more; it meant death. Equally, she understood that through her tool of conversion (the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, 1921) she saw ‘the truth.’ Her mother was brought to tears at her conversion. ‘I’ve nothing to say against him (Jesus),’ she told Edith, ‘just that he claimed to be God.’

Before her conversion, during her years as a professor, she was very outspoken about women’s roles and wrote in the Ethos of Women’s Professions, for example: “One could say that every normal healthy woman can hold a position. And there is no profession which cannot be practiced by a woman.” (ICS) Not long after she would become unemployable because she was both woman and Jew. No place in academia for her. Does that sound familiar? How is the truth rejected? What can/not be taught? How do we ignore history?

Next month we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Cross on Sept. 14, and maybe our study of St. Benedicta might open to us deeper wisdom and help us put the suffering, especially targeted violence, at His Cross.
“As for what concerns our relations with our fellowman, the anguish in our neighbor’s soul must break all precepts. All that we do is a means to an end, but love is an end in itself because God is love.” (ICS)

(Sister alies therese is a canonically vowed hermit with days formed around prayer and writing.)

St. Rose of Lima and the call to service

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Reflections on Life
By Melvin Arrington

We know we all have a purpose in life. We are here to know, love and serve God. If we come to know Him, we will love Him. And if we love Him, we will want to serve Him. St. Rose of Lima learned these truths at a young age and took them to heart. I, on the other hand, was nearing retirement age when I discovered them and began putting them into practice.

St. Rose of Lima (1586-1617) was born into a well-to-do family in Peru’s capital city during Spanish America’s Colonial era. Early on, she showed an inclination to the austere life, fasting often and praying constantly. As a young lady she was considered to be very beautiful. But she was so fearful of the pitfall of vanity that, before going out into the street, she would soak her hands in lime and intentionally disfigure her face by rubbing pepper on her cheeks to mar her complexion. At one point she began wearing a self-fashioned crown of thorns because of a deep desire to imitate Christ.

Why perform these excessive mortifications? Perhaps it was an attempt to take the words of our Lord a little too literally when He proclaimed, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out” and “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off.” (Matthew 5:29-30) In any case, the object was to enhance her spiritual rather than physical beauty. These extreme forms of penance seem strange to us, like the actions of someone who is out of touch with reality. But we can also view them as a protest against the materialism and evils of those times, an era plagued by violent acts of cruelty and the savage lust for gold.

When the family fell on hard times, Rose began working in their home vegetable garden by day and doing needlework, including making exquisite lace and embroidered silks, at night. Many friends encouraged her to marry in order to escape poverty, and her great beauty would have easily made this possible. But instead, at age 20, she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic after seeing a black and white butterfly come to rest on her shoulder, taking that as a sign God wanted her to wear the black and white habit. As a member of the Third Order, Rose was allowed to wear the habit and continue living and working at home.

She greatly admired and hoped to imitate St. Catherine of Siena and chose the great Italian saint as her patron. Like St. Catherine, Rose received visions from God and experienced mystical ecstasy. This aroused the suspicions of church authorities, including the Inquisition. But after theologians conducted an examination, they concluded that her holiness was genuine.

Hoping to live a life of solitude, Rose managed to construct a hut as a little hermitage on the grounds of the family home. There she lived as a recluse, spending much time in prayer.

St. Rose reportedly protected the city of Lima from disaster three times. When Dutch pirates invaded the city in 1615, the fearless young woman stood guarding the tabernacle in the Church of Santo Domingo as the raiding party entered the church. When they saw her there, they returned to the ships and canceled their plans to plunder the city. In two other instances her prayers saved Lima, once from attack during an indigenous uprising and, on another occasion, from damage by an earthquake.

In reading about this saint, I found out that she’s considered the founder of social services and social work in Peru. The term “social services” refers to promoting the welfare of others by providing assistance such as medical care and housing for the benefit of those in need in the community, and that’s exactly what Rose did. During the latter portion of her life, in true Dominican fashion, she added an active component to the contemplative life by roaming the city in search of homeless children, the sick, the elderly and the dying and taking them to some rooms reserved in her parents’ house, where she fed and bathed them and saw to their needs. In fact, that’s the sort of thing we should all be doing in some form or other – serving the less fortunate – either directly or indirectly through prayer and financial support.
At age 31 Rose fell sick and died. She was so highly regarded by the citizens of Lima that during the funeral procession the city’s leaders took turns carrying her coffin. St. Rose of Lima is the patron saint of Latin America (feast day, Aug. 23). Canonized in 1671, she was the first person born in the New World to be raised to the altars.

One lesson we can learn from this saintly life is that faith must be put into action. As mentioned earlier, I came to this realization rather late. As a young man, I spent most of my time selfishly caring for my own needs, with relatively little concern for the common good. Later, after I had a family of my own, I just didn’t seem to have enough free time to pull away from obligations at home to become involved in community service. Only in mid life did I come to understand that I needed to make time for volunteer work. There are opportunities for involvement in every community. In retirement I’ve found mine. These activities are good for the soul. They have changed the direction of my life, and clearly for the better.

In the final analysis, we’re here to serve others, not ourselves. As Pope Francis says, “It is not enough to say we are Christians. We must live the faith, not only with our words, but with our actions.” St. Rose of Lima would wholeheartedly agree.

(Melvin Arrington is a Professor Emeritus at University of Mississippi and member of St. John Oxford.)

Disarmed and dangerous

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IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
After his first arrest, the peace activist Daniel Berrigan went into hiding. After four months, he was captured, but during those months underground, although a threat to no one, he was put on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. There’s an irony here that did not go unnoticed. Someone put up a poster of him with this caption: Wanted – Notorious consecrator of bread and wine. Disturber of wars and felonious paper burner! The fugitive has been known to carry the New Testament and should be approached with extreme caution. Disarmed and dangerous.

Disarmed and dangerous! Corny as that may sound, it expresses the real threat to injustice, violence and war. Disarmament is dangerous. Someone who is genuinely unarmed is ultimately the one who poses the greatest danger to disorder, immorality and violence. Violence can withstand violence, but it can be brought down by non-violence. Here are some examples.

In our own generation, we have the example of Christian de Cherge, one of the seven Cistercian monks who were kidnapped and later killed by Islamist extremists in Algeria in 1996. His journey, and that of the other monks who died with him, is chronicled in a number of books (including some of his own letters and diaries) and in the awarding-winning film, “Of Gods and Men.” Living within a small community of nine monks in a remote Muslim village in Northern Algeria, Christian and his community were much loved by that Muslim community and, being French citizens and enjoying the protection of that citizenship, their presence constituted a certain protection for the villagers against Islamic terrorists. Alas, the situation was not to last.

On Christmas Eve, 1995, they received a first visit from the terrorists with the clear warning that they had best leave before they would become its victims. Both the French and the Algerian governments offered them armed protection. Christian, acting alone at first, against the majority voice in his own community, categorically refused armed protection. Instead, his prayer became this: In face of this violence, disarm us, Lord. His response to the threat was complete disarmament. Eventually, his entire community joined him in that stance.

Six months later they were kidnapped and killed, but the triumph was theirs. Their witness of fidelity was the singular most powerful gift they could have given to the poor and vulnerable villagers whom they sought to protect, and their moral witness to the world will nurture generations to come, long after this particular genre of terrorism has had its day. Christian de Cherge and his community were disarmed and dangerous. There are innumerable similar examples of other persons who were disarmed and dangerous. Rosa Parks, disarmed and seemingly powerless against the racist laws at the time, was one of the pivotal figures in ending racial segregation in the United States, as was Martin Luther King. The list of dangerous unarmed persons is endless: Mahatma Gandhi, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Desmond Tutu, Oscar Romero, Franz Jagerstatter, Dorothy Stang, Daniel Berrigan, Elizabeth McAlister, Michael Rodrigo, Stan Rother and Jim Wallis, among others. Not least, of course, Jesus.

Jesus was disarmed and so dangerous that the authorities of his time found it necessary to kill him. His complete non-violence constituted the ultimate threat to their established order. Notice how both the civil and religious authorities at the time did not so much fear an armed murderer as they feared an unarmed Jesus … Release for us, Barabbas! We prefer to deal with an armed murderer than with an unarmed man professing non-violence and telling people to turn the other cheek! Give them credit for being astute. Unconsciously, they recognized the real threat, someone who is unarmed, non-violent and turning the other cheek.

However, “turning the other cheek” must be properly understood. It is not a passive, submissive thing. The opposite. In giving this counsel, Jesus specifies that it be the right cheek. Why this seemingly odd specification? Because he is referring to a culturally-sanctioned practice at the time where a superior could ritually slap an inferior on the cheek with the intention not so much of inflicting physical pain as to let the other person know his or her place – I am your superior, know your place! The slap was administered with the back of the right hand, facing the other person, and thus would land on the other person’s right cheek. Now, in that posture, its true violence would remain mostly hidden because it would look clean, aesthetic, and as something culturally accepted.

However, if one were to turn the other cheek, the left one, the violence would be exposed. How? First, because now the slap would land awkwardly and look violent; second, the person receiving it would be sending a clear signal. The change in posture would not only expose the violence but it would also be saying, you can still slap me, but not as a superior to an inferior; the old order is over.

Disarmed and dangerous. To carry no weapon except moral integrity is the ultimate threat to all that is not right.

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

Called by Name

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The first week of August there was a flurry of activity for the seminarians of our diocese. Some were wrapping up their summer assignments while our four new men were busy getting the last requirements met for seminary studies this fall. We all took a few days of rest of relaxation in Ridgeland for our annual Seminarian Convocation. This gathering started as a seminarian-led initiative back in 2016. Back then Father Aaron Williams and I were still in seminary and we wanted to schedule a few days away to build community with the other seminarians. It had been a few years since we’d had such a gathering, and we knew we wanted to make it a little more formalized.

Father Nick Adam

Each year since we’ve gathered in some way, shape or form, and I think each year it’s done what it’s supposed to do: build camaraderie and facilitate good communication. Since I’ve been vocation director, I’ve used the Convocation to talk to the guys about what to expect for the coming year. This was especially helpful this year since we have four new seminarians. It was fun to see how to the dynamic of the group was bolstered and changed by the addition of new blood, and to see our returning guys step up and be good leaders for the new men.

I realized this year how important it is not to over-schedule. Our seminarians get a lot asked of them throughout the year. They have academic duties of course, but they are also very involved in the community life of their respective seminarians. This is all on top of what they are responsible for here in the diocese. So, these few days provided some good rest and relaxation, and the guys could just sit and visit with one another. I enjoyed racing Grayson Foley across a pond on a paddle board — sadly I lost twice, but I didn’t fall in!

One more tradition that has grown is a day where Bishop Kopacz comes and has a conversation with the seminarians. The topics have varied over the years, but it is a great gift to have a Bishop who wants to build up relationships with the seminarians. This year we also celebrated with Will Foggo as he was instituted as a “candidate” for Holy Orders. This is a canonical process that allows Will to wear the roman collar as a public representative of the church. It is a great opportunity for a seminarian to realize that he is a public representative of the church, even if he is not yet ordained.

I’d like to thank Bobby Arnold, who donated his property for the week to us. Please say a prayer for him and his intentions if you would in thanksgiving for his generosity!

– Father Nick Adam

If you are interested in learning more about religious orders or vocations to the priesthood and religious life, email nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.

Pope’s “penitential pilgrimage” aims to bring healing, hope

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Beginning in the heart of the believer, the Holy Spirit can bring about divine renovation, a new creation on all points on the compass of human relations.

By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

The apostolic visit of Pope Francis to Canada during the last week of July was self-described as a “penitential pilgrimage” in the service of forgiveness, healing, reconciliation, hope and new life for the Indigenous Peoples of the First Nations, Metis and Inuit Peoples who suffered greatly in the residential schools throughout Canada for nearly a century and a half. What occurred in these schools was government policies with which the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations collaborated.

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard over 7,000 testimonies from former students of residential schools in Canada “that recalled in painful detail the way our language was suppressed, our culture taken from us, our spirituality denigrated and our families torn apart” according to Chief Wilton Littlechild, one of the members of the Commission.

Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz

At the outset of the pilgrimage Pope Francis entered straightforwardly into the caldron of pain that afflicts the memories and the lives of the indigenous today. “The overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic. What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ … I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the indigenous peoples. Dear brothers and sisters, many of you have stated that begging pardon is not the end of the matter. I fully agree that it is only the first step, the starting point to assist the survivors of the residential schools to experience healing from the traumas they suffered.”

A constant theme throughout his apostolic visits, homilies and addresses was the reconciling power of the Cross and Resurrection, the only power on earth that can bring about lasting healing and hope in the lives of the victims. “In the face of evil, we pray to the Lord of goodness; in the face of death, we pray to the God of life. Our Lord Jesus Christ took a grave which seemed the burial place of every hope and dream, leaving behind only sorrow, pain and resignation, and made it a place of rebirth and resurrection, the beginning of a history of new life and universal reconciliation. Our own efforts are not enough to achieve healing and reconciliation: we need God’s grace. We need the quiet and powerful wisdom of the Spirit, the tender love of the Comforter … to advance together on our journey.”

The Church of the Sacred Heart of the First Peoples designated in 1991 as Canada’s national indigenous parish is also a point of reference for the Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Croatian and Eritrean communities. On this holy site, Pope Francis reflected that the church is the house of reconciliation for everyone, but most words and deeds of reconciliation take place at the local level, in communities like this where individuals and families travel side by side, day by day. To pray together, to help one another, to share life stories, common joys and common struggles: this is what opens the door to the reconciling work of God.

In proposing that reconciliation is local, Pope Francis embodied the Gospel conviction of St. Paul that all believers are ambassadors for Jesus Christ, and therefore, ministers of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5) Beginning in the heart of the believer, the Holy Spirit can bring about divine renovation, a new creation on all points on the compass of human relations. Beyond Canada and reaching out to the ends of the earth, the Synod on Synodality is the dream of Pope Francis for the church and for the world. Whenever and wherever the church can model and live communion, participation and mission, there will be an overflow that could be a fountain of life, light and love for the world.

During the synod process in our diocese, there was a repeated call for greater unity built upon forgiveness, healing, reconciliation and hope. Whether the source of the brokenness was rooted in personal sin, a diminishment in physical or mental, health, the impact of the pandemic or scandals in the church, divorce, drug overdose or despair, as Pope Francis said in the Church of the Sacred Heart of the First Nation, the universal Catholic Church and each parish and ministry are intended to be a house of reconciliation.

May the Holy Spirit awaken in us the heart and mind of the One who draws us out of darkness into the marvelous light of God’s love.

Bishop schedule

Saturday, Aug. 27, 6 p.m. – LIMEX Awards Ceremony, St. James, Tupelo

Sunday, Aug. 28, 10:30 a.m – Confirmation, St. Elizabeth, Clarksdale

Sunday, Sept. 11, 11 a.m. – Red Mass, St. John, Oxford

Thursday, Sept. 15 – 40th Annual Bishop’s Cup Golf Tournament, Lake Caroline Golf Club, Madison

Saturday, Sept. 17, 4 p.m. – 75th Anniversary Mass, Sacred Heart School Gymnasium, Southaven

Monday, Sept. 19, 6 p.m. – Catholic Charities Journey of Hope Meet & Greet with David Magee, Sal & Mookies, Jackson

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 12 p.m. – Catholic Charities Journey of Hope Luncheon with David Magee, Jackson Convention Complex

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

“Peregrinación Penitencial” y Sínodo sobre Sinodalidad: perdón, sanación, reconciliación y esperanza

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Por Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
La visita apostólica del Papa Francisco a Canadá, durante la última semana de julio, fue autodescrita como “peregrinación penitencial.” La misma fue dada al servicio del perdón, sanación, reconciliación, esperanza y vida nueva para los Pueblos Indígenas de las Primeras Naciones, Metis y Pueblos Inuit que sufrieron mucho, durante casi un siglo y medio, en las escuelas residenciales de todo Canadá. Lo que ocurrió en estas escuelas fueron políticas gubernamentales con las que, la Iglesia Católica y otras denominaciones cristianas colaboraron.

Obispo Joseph R. Kopacz

La Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación de Canadá escuchó más de 7000 testimonios de exalumnos de escuelas residenciales en Canadá “…que recordaron con doloroso detalle la forma en que se suprimió nuestro idioma, se nos arrebató nuestra cultura, se denigro nuestra espiritualidad y se desgarraron nuestras familias,” según el jefe Wilton Littlechild, uno de los miembros de la Comisión.

Al inicio de la peregrinación, el Papa Francisco entró de lleno en la caldera de dolor que aflige hoy la memoria y la vida de los indígenas. “Los efectos generales de las políticas vinculadas a las escuelas residenciales fueron catastróficos. Nuestra fe cristiana nos dice que esto fue un error nefasto, incompatible con el Evangelio de Jesucristo… Humildemente pido perdón por el mal cometido por tantos cristianos contra pueblos indígenas.”

“Queridos hermanos y hermanas, muchos de vosotros habéis dicho que pedir perdón no es el fin del asunto. Estoy completamente de acuerdo en que es solo el primer paso, el punto de partida para ayudar a los sobrevivientes de las escuelas residenciales a experimentar la sanación de los traumas que sufrieron.”

Un tema constante, a lo largo de sus visitas apostólicas, homilías y discursos, fue el poder reconciliador de la Cruz y la Resurrección, el único poder en la tierra que puede traer sanación duradera y esperanza en la vida de las víctimas.

“Ante el mal, roguemos al Señor del bien; ante la muerte, roguemos al Dios de la vida. Nuestro Señor Jesucristo tomó una tumba que parecía el lugar de sepultura de toda esperanza y sueño, dejando solo tristeza, dolor y resignación. Hizo de ella un lugar de renacimiento y resurrección, el comienzo de una historia de vida nueva y de reconciliación universal. Nuestros propios esfuerzos no son suficientes para lograr la curación y la reconciliación: necesitamos la gracia de Dios. Necesitamos la sabiduría serena y poderosa del Espíritu, el tierno amor del Consolador… para avanzar juntos en nuestro camino.”

La Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de los Primeros Pueblos, designada en 1991 como parroquia nacional indígena de Canadá, es también un punto de referencia para las comunidades italiana, portuguesa, española, croata y eritrea. En este lugar sagrado, el Papa Francisco reflexionó que la iglesia es la casa de la reconciliación para todos, pero la mayoría de las palabras y los hechos de reconciliación tienen lugar a nivel local, en comunidades como esta, donde las personas y las familias viajan juntas, día a día. Orar juntos, ayudarnos unos a otros, compartir historias de vida, alegrías y luchas comunes: esto es lo que abre la puerta a la obra reconciliadora de Dios.

Al proponer que la reconciliación es local, el Papa Francisco encarnó la convicción evangélica de San Pablo de que todos los creyentes son embajadores de Jesucristo y por lo tanto, ministros de la reconciliación. (2 Corintios 5) Comenzando en el corazón del creyente, el Espíritu Santo puede producir una renovación divina y una nueva creación en todos los puntos de la brújula de las relaciones humanas.
Más allá de Canadá y alcanzando los confines de la tierra, el Sínodo sobre la Sinodalidad es el sueño del Papa Francisco para la iglesia y para el mundo. Siempre y donde la iglesia pueda modelar y vivir la comunión, la participación y la misión, habrá un desbordamiento que podrá ser fuente de vida, luz y amor para el mundo.

Durante el proceso del sínodo en nuestra diócesis, hubo un llamado repetido a una mayor unidad basada en el perdón, la sanación, la reconciliación y la esperanza. Ya sea que la fuente del quebrantamiento tenga sus raíces en el pecado personal, una disminución de la salud física o mental, el impacto de la pandemia o los escándalos en la iglesia, el divorcio, la sobredosis de drogas o la desesperación, como dijo el Papa Francisco en la Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de la Primera Nación, de la Iglesia Católica universal, y cada parroquia y ministerio está destinado a ser una casa de reconciliación.

Que el Espíritu Santo despierte en nosotros el corazón y la mente de Aquel que nos saca de las tinieblas a la luz maravillosa del amor de Dios.

Desarmado y peligroso

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Después de su primer arresto, el activista por la paz Daniel Berrigan pasó a la clandestinidad. Después de cuatro meses, fue capturado, pero durante esos meses bajo tierra, aunque no representaba una amenaza para nadie, fue incluido en la lista de los Diez Más Buscados del FBI. Hay una ironía aquí que no pasó desapercibida. Alguien puso un cartel de él con esta leyenda:

¡Se busca – Notorio consagrador del pan y vino. Perturbador de guerras y criminal quemador de papel! Se sabe que el fugitivo lleva el Nuevo Testamento y debe ser abordado con extrema precaución. Desarmado y peligroso.

Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI

¡Desarmado y peligroso! Por cursi que pueda sonar, expresa la amenaza real a la injusticia, la violencia y la guerra. El desarme es peligroso. Alguien que está genuinamente desarmado es, en última instancia, el que representa el mayor peligro para el desorden, la inmoralidad y la violencia. La violencia puede resistir la violencia, pero puede ser derribada por la no violencia. Aquí hay unos ejemplos.

En nuestra propia generación, tenemos el ejemplo de Christian de Cherge, uno de los siete monjes cistercienses que fueron secuestrados y luego asesinados por extremistas islamistas en Argelia en 1996. Su viaje y el de los otros monjes que murieron con él está narrado en una serie de libros (incluidas algunas de sus propias cartas y diarios) y en la galardonada película Of Gods and Men. Viviendo dentro de una pequeña comunidad de nueve monjes en una remota aldea musulmana en el norte de Argelia, Christian y su comunidad eran muy queridos por esa comunidad musulmana y, siendo ciudadanos franceses y disfrutando de la protección de esa ciudadanía, su presencia constituía cierta protección para los aldeanos contra terroristas islámicos. Por desgracia, la situación no iba a durar.

En la Nochebuena de 1995 recibieron la primera visita de los terroristas con la clara advertencia de que lo mejor era marcharse antes de que se convirtieran en sus víctimas. Tanto el gobierno francés como el argelino les ofrecieron protección armada. Christian, actuando solo al principio, contra la voz mayoritaria de su propia comunidad, rechazó categóricamente la protección armada. En cambio, su oración se convirtió en esta: Ante esta violencia, desármanos, Señor. Su respuesta a la amenaza fue el desarme completo. Eventualmente, toda su comunidad se unió a él en esa postura.

Seis meses después fueron secuestrados y asesinados, pero el triunfo fue suyo. Su testimonio de fidelidad fue el regalo singular más poderoso que pudieron haber dado a los aldeanos pobres y vulnerables a quienes buscaban proteger, y su testimonio moral al mundo nutrirá a las generaciones venideras, mucho después de que este género particular de terrorismo haya tenido su día. . Christian de Cherge y su comunidad estaban desarmados y eran peligrosos.

Hay innumerables ejemplos similares de otras personas que estaban desarmadas y eran peligrosas. Rosa Parks, desarmada y aparentemente impotente frente a las leyes racistas de la época, fue una de las figuras fundamentales para poner fin a la segregación racial en los EE. UU., al igual que Martin Luther King. La lista de peligrosos desarmados es interminable: Mahatma Gandhi, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Desmond Tutu, Oscar Romero, Franz Jagerstatter, Dorothy Stang, Daniel Berrigan, Elizabeth McAlister, Michael Rodrigo, Stan Rother y Jim Wallis, entre otros. No menos importante, por supuesto, Jesús.

Jesús estaba desarmado y era tan peligroso que las autoridades de su tiempo consideraron necesario matarlo. Su completa no violencia constituía la última amenaza a su orden establecido. Fíjate cómo tanto las autoridades civiles como las religiosas de la época no temían tanto a un asesino armado como a un Jesús desarmado… ¡Suéltanos, Barrabás! ¡Preferimos tratar con un asesino armado que con un hombre desarmado que profesa la no violencia y le dice a la gente que ponga la otra mejilla! Dales crédito por ser astutos. Inconscientemente, reconocieron la verdadera amenaza, alguien desarmado, no violento y que ofrece la otra mejilla.

Sin embargo, poner la otra mejilla debe entenderse correctamente. No es una cosa pasiva, sumisa. Lo contrario. Al dar este consejo, Jesús especifica que sea la mejilla derecha. ¿Por qué esta especificación aparentemente extraña? Porque se refiere a una práctica culturalmente sancionada en la época en que un superior podía abofetear ritualmente a un inferior en la mejilla con la intención no tanto de infligir dolor físico como de hacerle saber a la otra persona cuál era su lugar: yo soy tu superior. , ¡conozca su lugar! La bofetada se administraba con el dorso de la mano derecha, mirando hacia la otra persona, y por lo tanto aterrizaba en la mejilla derecha de la otra persona. Ahora, en esa postura, su verdadera violencia permanecería mayormente oculta porque se vería limpio, estético y como algo culturalmente aceptado.

Sin embargo, si uno pusiera la otra mejilla, la izquierda, la violencia quedaría expuesta. ¿Cómo? Primero, porque ahora la bofetada caería torpemente y se vería violenta; segundo, la persona que lo recibe estaría enviando una señal clara. El cambio de postura no solo expondría la violencia sino que también estaría diciendo, todavía puedes abofetearme, pero no como un superior a un inferior; el viejo orden ha terminado.

Desarmado y peligroso. No portar más armas que la integridad moral es la máxima amenaza para todo lo que no está bien.

El padre oblato Ron Rolheiser es teólogo, maestro y autor galardonado.

Se le puede contactar a través de su sitio web www.ronrolheiser.com.

Ahora en Facebook www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser

Santa Rosa de Lima y la llamada al servicio

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Melvin Arrington

Sabemos que todos tenemos un propósito en la vida. Estamos aquí para conocer, amar y servir a Dios. Si llegamos a conocerlo, lo amaremos. Y si lo amamos, querremos servirlo. Santa Rosa de Lima aprendió estas verdades a una edad temprana y las tomó en serio. Yo, en cambio, me acercaba a la edad de jubilación cuando los descubrí y comencé a ponerlos en práctica.

  Santa Rosa de Lima (1586-1617) nació en una familia acomodada en la ciudad capital de Perú durante la época colonial de la América española. Desde muy temprano mostró una inclinación por la vida austera, ayunando con frecuencia y orando constantemente. Cuando era joven, se la consideraba muy hermosa. Pero tenía tanto miedo al escollo de la vanidad que, antes de salir a la calle, se empapaba las manos de cal y desfiguraba intencionadamente su rostro frotándose pimienta en las mejillas para estropear su tez. En un momento ella comenzó a usar una corona de espinas hecha a sí misma debido a un profundo deseo de imitar a Cristo.

¿Por qué realizar estas mortificaciones excesivas? Tal vez fue un intento de tomar las palabras de nuestro Señor un poco demasiado literalmente cuando proclamó: “Si tu ojo derecho te hace pecar, arráncatelo” y “Si tu mano derecha te hace pecar, córtala. ” (Mateo 5:29-30.) En cualquier caso, el objetivo era realzar su belleza espiritual más que física. Estas formas extremas de penitencia nos parecen extrañas, como las acciones de alguien que está fuera de contacto con la realidad. Pero también podemos verlos como una protesta contra el materialismo y los males de aquellos tiempos, una era plagada de actos violentos de crueldad y la feroz codicia por el oro.

Cuando la familia atravesaba tiempos difíciles, Rose comenzó a trabajar en la huerta de su casa durante el día y a hacer labores de punto, incluida la confección de exquisitos encajes y sedas bordadas, durante la noche. Muchos amigos la animaron a casarse para escapar de la pobreza, y su gran belleza fácilmente lo habría hecho posible. Pero en cambio, a los 20 años, se unió a la Tercera Orden de Santo Domingo después de ver una mariposa blanca y negra posarse sobre su hombro, lo que tomó como una señal de que Dios quería que usara el hábito blanco y negro. Como miembro de la Tercera Orden, a Rose se le permitió usar el hábito y continuar viviendo y trabajando en casa.

Admiraba mucho y esperaba imitar a Santa Catalina de Siena y eligió a la gran santa italiana como su patrona. Como Santa Catalina, Rosa recibió visiones de Dios y experimentó éxtasis místico. Esto despertó las sospechas de las autoridades eclesiásticas, incluida la Inquisición. Pero después de que los teólogos realizaron un examen, concluyeron que su santidad era genuina.

Con la esperanza de vivir una vida de soledad, Rose logró construir una choza como una pequeña ermita en los terrenos de la casa familiar. Allí vivió como reclusa, pasando mucho tiempo en oración.

Según los informes, St. Rose protegió a la ciudad de Lima del desastre tres veces. Cuando los piratas holandeses invadieron la ciudad en 1615, la intrépida joven se puso de guardia en el tabernáculo de la Iglesia de Santo Domingo mientras el grupo de asalto entraba en la iglesia. Cuando la vieron allí, regresaron a los barcos y cancelaron sus planes de saquear la ciudad. En otros dos casos, sus oraciones salvaron a Lima, una vez del ataque durante un levantamiento indígena y, en otra ocasión, del daño causado por un terremoto.

Al leer sobre esta santa, descubrí que es considerada la fundadora de los servicios sociales y la obra social en el Perú. El término “servicios sociales” se refiere a promover el bienestar de los demás al brindar asistencia, como atención médica y vivienda, en beneficio de los necesitados de la comunidad, y eso es exactamente lo que hizo Rose. Durante la última parte de su vida, al más puro estilo dominicano, agregó un componente activo a la vida contemplativa recorriendo la ciudad en busca de niños sin hogar, enfermos, ancianos y moribundos y llevándolos a algunas habitaciones reservadas en su casa. casa de los padres, donde los alimentaba, los bañaba y atendía a sus necesidades. De hecho, ese es el tipo de cosas que todos deberíamos estar haciendo de una forma u otra, sirviendo a los menos afortunados, ya sea directa o indirectamente a través de la oración y el apoyo financiero.

A los 31 años, Rose se enfermó y murió. Era tan apreciada por los ciudadanos de Lima que durante el cortejo fúnebre los líderes de la ciudad se turnaron para llevar su féretro. Santa Rosa de Lima es la patrona de América Latina (fiesta, 23 de agosto). Canonizada en 1671, fue la primera persona nacida en el Nuevo Mundo en ser elevada a los altares.

Una lección que podemos aprender de esta vida santa es que la fe debe ponerse en acción. Como mencioné anteriormente, me di cuenta de esto bastante tarde. Cuando era joven, pasaba la mayor parte de mi tiempo cuidando egoístamente de mis propias necesidades, con relativamente poca preocupación por el bien común. Más tarde, después de tener mi propia familia, simplemente no parecía tener suficiente tiempo libre para alejarme de las obligaciones en el hogar para involucrarme en el servicio comunitario. Solo en la mediana edad llegué a comprender que necesitaba hacer tiempo para el trabajo voluntario. Hay oportunidades para involucrarse en cada comunidad. En la jubilación, he encontrado el mío. Estas actividades son buenas para el alma. Han cambiado la dirección de mi vida, y claramente para mejor. En el análisis final, estamos aquí para servir a los demás, no a nosotros mismos. Como dice el Papa Francisco, “No basta con decir que somos cristianos. Debemos vivir la fe, no solo con nuestras palabras sino con nuestras acciones”. Santa Rosa de Lima estaría totalmente de acuerdo.

Called by Name

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I spent Fourth of July weekend in Mexico. It was not the most stereotypical setting for celebrating our country’s Independence, but our party rivaled that of the best backyard barbecues. I was in Cuernavaca, a city that rests about an hour and a half’s drive southwest of Mexico City, at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Angels. At this monastery the monks along with lay professors have put together an immersion program for seminarians from the U.S. The program includes four hours of one-on-one intensive language study on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, then group discussion on Thursday for four hours, and cultural immersion discussion and activities on Friday.

Father Nick Adam
Father Nick Adam

I first heard of the program thanks to Father Victor Ingalls, who is the vocation director for the Archdiocese of Mobile. Father Vic has been sending seminarians to this program for the last two summers, and he was going to check in on his guys and invited me to tag along. I was blown away by the program. It was wonderful to see the seminarians, one month into the challenge of being immersed in a new language and culture, stepping up to the plate and relying upon the Lord to help them persevere and grow. Since we were visiting on Fourth of July Weekend (or Cuatro de Julio en Español), the seminarians had planned a big barbecue for the staff of the program and their families. They cooked hamburguesas on the grill, and while we couldn’t find french fries and potato salad, we made some macaroni and cheese and had lots of chips and dip!

It was a wonderful evening, and I came away very excited to have some of our seminarians enroll in this program in future years. Father Vic’s homily on the Fourth of July really hit home to me. He told the seminarians: “I’m sure there have been points this summer when you have felt like you were dying, when you felt like you couldn’t keep going, and yet this is where Jesus meets us. Whenever we offer ourselves freely to the Lord, he can do incredible things and help us to accomplish tasks that we did not think were possible.” I’m paraphrasing, but I could see that the homily hit home with the men who were studying in Cuernavaca, and it certainly hit home to me.

My first weekend as rector of the Cathedral was July 8-9, and I was struck by the great diversity of the parish. There are generational Jacksonians who have been members at the Cathedral for decades, and there are young professionals just moving in. There is also a thriving Hispanic community at St. Peter, and it’s a community I know I need to encounter in a real way. Learning Spanish and learning how to listen in their language is one way to hasten and broaden this encounter. I am happy that we have found a space for our seminarians to learn a new language, but I’m even happier that it is a space where they can truly encounter and minister to the people that they find there.
– Father Nick Adam

If you are interested in learning more about religious orders or vocations to the priesthood and religious life, email nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.