IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Most of us are familiar with these words from Robert Frost which have been used countless times in graduation and commencement addresses and other inspirational talks as a challenge to not just follow the crowd, but rather to risk carrying yourself and your solitude at a higher level. Well, Jesus offers us that same invitation daily as we stand looking at two very different roads.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus summarizes many of his key teachings. However, they are easy to misunderstand and rationalize. Mostly though we don’t pick up on what lies front and center in those teachings, that is, how our virtue must go deeper than that of the Scribes and the Pharisees. What’s at issue here?

Most of the Scribes and Pharisees were good, sincere, committed, religious people with a high virtue. They kept the Commandments and were women and men who practiced a strict justice. They were fair to everyone and indeed were extra gracious and generous to strangers. So, what’s lacking in this? Well, good as this is, it doesn’t go far enough. Why not?

Because you can be a person of moral integrity, fully just and generous, and still be hateful, vengeful and violent because these can still be done in justice. In strict justice you may hate someone who hates you, you may exact revenge when you are wronged, and you may practice capital punishment. An eye for an eye!

But, in doing that you are still doing what comes naturally. It is natural to love those who love you, just as it is natural to hate those who hate you. Real virtue asks more than this. Jesus invites us to something higher. He invites us to love those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, to never seek revenge, and to forgive those who kill us – even mass murderers.

Admittedly, that isn’t an easy road to take. Almost every natural instinct inside us resists this. What’s our spontaneous reaction when we are wronged? We feel vengeful. What’s our natural reaction when we hear that the gunman at a mass killing was killed? We feel relieved. What’s our natural reaction when an unrepentant murderer is executed? We feel happy he died; and we cannot help ourselves in that reaction. There’s the sense that justice has been served. Something has been righted in the universe. Our moral indignation has been assuaged. There’s closure.

Or is there? Not really. What we feel rather is emotional release, catharsis; but there’s a huge difference between catharsis and real closure. While the emotional release may even be healthy psychologically, we are invited (by Jesus and by all that’s highest inside us) to something else, to a road beyond feeling emotional release, namely, the less travelled road towards wide compassion, understanding and forgiveness.
In assessing this, it can be helpful to look at how Pope John Paul II addressed the question of capital punishment. He was the first pope in the Church’s two-thousand-year history to speak out against capital punishment. Interestingly, he didn’t say it was wrong. Indeed, in strict justice it may be done. What he said was simply that we shouldn’t do it because Jesus invites us to something else, namely, to forgive murderers.

Easier said than done! When I hear of a mass shooting, my thoughts and feelings don’t naturally turn toward understanding and empathy for the shooter. I don’t agonize about how he must have suffered to bring himself to do something like this. I don’t naturally feel sympathy for those who because of fragile or broken mental health might do something like that. Rather my emotions naturally put me on the road more traveled, telling me that this is a terrible human being who deserves to die! Empathy and forgiveness aren’t the first things that find me in these situations. Hateful and vengeful feelings do.
However, that is the road of our emotions, the road more taken. Understandable. Who wants to feel sympathy for a killer, an abuser, a bully?

But that’s only our emotions venting. Something else inside us is forever calling us to what’s higher, namely, to the empathy and understanding to which Jesus invites us in the Sermon on the Mount. Love those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Forgive those who murder you.

Moreover, such virtue is not something we ever achieve once and for all. No. Faith works this way: some days we walk on water and some days we sink like a stone.

So, like Robert Frost, on any given day I find myself standing where two roads diverge. One, the road more traveled, invites me to walk the road of hate, vengeance, and feeling I am a victim; the other, the road less taken, invites me to walk the road of wider compassion, empathy and forgiveness.

Which one do I take? Sometimes one, sometimes the other; though always I know the one to which Jesus is inviting me.

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

Reflections on Life
By Melvin Arrington

Why does no one want to talk about sin these days? Why do people refuse to admit to wrongdoing anymore. The prevailing philosophy seems to be one of “I’m okay; you’re okay.” However, Scripture teaches that “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (I John 1:8) We are all guilty as charged, every single one of us: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

No matter how we classify it, sin involves disobedience; it is a transgression of God’s law. Some infractions are minor (venial); others sever our relationship with God and put our souls at risk (mortal). For the sin to be considered mortal it has to meet all of the following criteria: 1) it must involve grave matter, for example, when a person breaks one of the Ten Commandments or fails to perform works of charity as specified in the 25th chapter of Matthew; 2) the person must have full knowledge and awareness of the seriousness of the matter; 3) he must give full consent to what he is about to do; that is, his will must be unimpaired. At the risk of oversimplification, we might say that the mortal category applies when it deals with doing something that’s really bad, and the person realizes how serious it is, and he goes ahead and does it anyway. Not all our faults involve actions we take. They can include our thoughts and words as well. And when we recite the Confiteor, we acknowledge that we are responsible not only for the things we have done but also for what we have failed to do.

During the early Christian centuries, several attempts were made to catalog what became known as the seven deadly sins, also called the seven capital or cardinal sins. Evagrius Ponticus, a monk who lived in the fourth century, put together the first list, including in his compilation what he called eight evil thoughts that lead us into temptation. Others who followed in Evagrius’ footsteps produced registers alternating between seven and eight sins. At the end of the sixth century Pope Gregory I (Gregory the Great) composed a list of seven items that closely resemble the modern-day canon of deadly vices: anger, envy, lust, pride, gluttony, sloth and greed. Although the names used for denoting each of these may have varied across the ages, the transgressions themselves have remained the same. As Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen has remarked, there are no new sins; there are only new sinners.

Why do we sin in the first place? It’s because we’re all searching for happiness. But many are searching in all the wrong places. Instead of discovering the joy and contentment that come from having a deeply committed personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they grasp at the things the world has to offer – wealth, power, pleasure, fame, etc. These usually result in only short-term gratification and long-term unhappiness.

Every sin is an excess or a defect of something that is good. Not surprisingly, much of our modern secular culture is characterized by excess, self-absorption and perversion of the good. It tells us that the classic vices are not bad at all. In fact, they can be very good. What’s wrong, they say, with trying to get even with your enemy? Why feel guilty about accumulating as much wealth as possible without concern for the needs of the poor? What harm is there in having an occasional affair as long as no one gets hurt? What’s wrong is that in each case the ego is out of control. When the predominant attitude is one of “it’s all about me,” concepts such as forgiveness, generosity and sacrificial love get shoved out of the way.

So, how do we protect ourselves from enticements that may lead us astray? For a start, we can pray for an extra measure of grace to fight off temptation and make a conscious effort to avoid the near occasions of sin, that is, the things and places that can lead us away from God and His church. In addition, we should pray to St. Michael: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.” And then we should follow up our prayers by putting them into action, for example, involving ourselves in a variety of charitable activities.

Bishop Robert Barron recommends practicing what he calls the seven lively virtues in order to cancel out the deadly vices. In other words, we should counterbalance anger with forgiveness, correct envy with admiration, exchange lust for chastity, rectify pride with humility, renounce gluttony in favor of temperance, counter sloth with zeal, and replace greed with generosity. Performing these virtues will loosen the bonds of sin and allow us to once again experience the love of God flowing through us.
Imagine an oblong box with anger, envy and lust aligned along one side, pride positioned at the head, and gluttony, sloth and greed stationed along the other side. The box represents a coffin; inside lies the soul. These deadly vices are, in the words of Archbishop Sheen, the “seven pallbearers of the soul.” They lead us down, down into darkness, down into the depths of sadness and despair, down, down to the death of the soul!

Our contemporary culture tries to pound into us the notion that the virtues are old-fashioned and out of step. But we know better. We know that by praying and doing good works we can, through the grace of God, cancel out those vices that pose the greatest threat to our spiritual wellbeing. If we follow the virtues, they will become for us stepping stones leading upward – up to peace and contentment, up to the attainment of our heart’s innermost desire, up to everlasting joy, up, up to God!

(Melvin Arrington is a Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages for the University of Mississippi and a member of St. John Oxford.)

FAITH IN EDUCATION
By Karla Luke
As summer vacations come to an end, we joyfully welcome our students, families and staff back to school for another year of learning, growth and community. We are excited and eager to begin a new school year full of great possibilities and the promise of fresh starts.

This year, our school community will be guided by the timeless and profound theme of “Faith, Hope and Love.” Rooted in 1 Corinthians 13:13, these three virtues are not just ideals but the very foundation upon which we build our lives as followers of Christ and most important Catholic educators. As we begin this academic journey together, we invite every member of our school family to embrace these virtues in all that we learn and do.

Faith is the foundation of our Catholic education. It is the lens through which we view our world, and it is the source of strength that sustains us through challenges. It is the trust we place in God’s providence, knowing that He walks with us in every step we take. In our classrooms, we are called to cultivate an environment where faith is not just taught but lived. This year, we will continue to fulfill our mission of providing a Christ centered environment by deepening our faith through prayer, worship and service. In our classrooms and at home, we will encourage our students to seek God in all things, to rely on Him in moments of doubt, and to trust in His plan for their lives.

In a world often clouded by uncertainty and challenges, hope is the light that leads us forward. This school year, we are committed to instilling a sense of hope in our students, reminding them that they are the future and that with God, all things are possible. Hope gives us the courage to dream big, to set goals, and to persevere even when the path ahead seems difficult. Hope is the source of our vision statement “Our Catholic schools thrive in a diverse and ever-changing world.”

Above all, we are called to love each other – unconditionally, selflessly and generously. Love is the heart of our Catholic faith, and of our Catholic school community. In every interaction, in every lesson, we will strive to embody the love of Christ, showing compassion, kindness and respect to everyone we encounter.

Service is the most outward expression of love. This year, we will place a special emphasis on service, encouraging our students to put their love into action by helping those in need, both within our community and beyond. Through acts of kindness, big and small, we will teach our students that love is not just a feeling, but a choice – a choice to live as Christ lived, to serve as He served, and to love as He loved.

Welcoming New Faces to Our School Family
As we begin this exciting new school year, we are blessed to welcome four new administrators to the Diocese of Jackson Catholic education school family. Each brings a wealth of experience, a deep commitment to Catholic education, and a heart full of love for our students and community.

Whest Shirley joins us as the high school principal of Cathedral Catholic School in Natchez. With a strong background in educational leadership, Shirley previously served as superintendent for Concordia Parish, Louisiana and principal of Concordia Parish Academy of Math, Science and Technology.

Cynthia Dixon will lead Holy Family in Holly Springs as principal. She brings her experience from Lewisburg Elementary, a national Blue Ribbon School, and Greenbrook Elementary, where her dynamic leadership will greatly benefit the Holy Family community.

Heather Ascherl is the new principal of St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School (Our Lady of Lourdes) in Greenville. Formerly a regional digital learning coordinator with the Mississippi Department of Education, Ascherl’s expertise in technology and professional development will be invaluable to the St. Joseph community.

Wendi Murray takes on the role of director at St. Paul Early Learning Center, coming from the Rankin County School District’s Early Learning Collaborative. She will be joined by assistant director Susan Irby, a long-time employee of St. Paul’s ELC, following the retirement of Jennifer Henry and Darlene Scanlon.
As we move forward into this new school year, I am filled with excitement and optimism for all that we will accomplish together. With “Faith, Hope and Love” as our guiding virtues, I am confident that this will be a year of incredible growth, learning and spiritual enrichment for all members of our community.

Thank you for your continued trust and partnership in the mission of Catholic education. I look forward to seeing the wonderful things we will achieve together this year. May God bless each of you and may His love guide us in all that we do.

Welcome back, and let’s make this a year to remember!

(Karla Luke is the executive director of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Jackson)

GUEST COLUMN
By Father Lincoln Dall

On the week of July 8, I arrived on the beautiful campus of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana to conclude my participation in the Mathis Liturgical Leadership Program, the culmination of a two year journey. In the inaugural cohort of this program, eighteen of us have been focusing the past two years on projects dedicated to fostering a Eucharistic culture in our parishes, dioceses, Catholic schools, and communities in conjunction with the Eucharistic revival in the United States.

For these past two years, my project has been focused on developing the Catholic prison ministry around the Eucharist at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF) in Pearl.

Back when I started this project in the summer of 2022, we were just recently granted access again to the inmate population after the pandemic lockdown. We struggled to get into the prison to celebrate Mass with the men, only seeing them once or twice a month at best. We often had to meet in the foyer of a building or at the prison fire station or outside the prison cafeteria on a picnic bench with pigeons lurking overhead. However, we never gave up on this ministry even in the midst of many roadblocks and challenges.

Finally, in the spring of 2023, we were granted access to the main chapel at the prison where we were able to celebrate Mass weekly with the men there. We now have altar servers, lectors, a Eucharistic minister, and ushers, just like any other parish in our diocese. We even have a tabernacle now at the prison chapel, with Jesus being present with them in the Blessed Sacrament every moment of the day.

We also have men in our Catholic community who visit the other inmates on pastoral visits and who invite them to join us for Mass and for our other activities. We form the men to see themselves as Eucharistic missionaries, living out the spirit of the Eucharist in the harsh prison environment. The Lord has blessed us in abundance with this vibrant ministry in which we sometimes have four different Masses in a week and in which more than 20 men have entered the church through the RCIA program this past year.

I was so excited to present my project about our prison ministry on that recent visit to the Notre Dame campus. My classmates and professors have been so supportive of our prison ministry. In conjunction with my presentation, I presented two videos prepared by the inmates themselves, showing the history of our Catholic prison ministry and giving testimony as to how many lives have been transformed. My professors and classmates were very enthusiastic about the progress of our prison ministry and about the Eucharist being at the center of all we do.

Dr. Tim O’Malley, the professor at the heart of the Mathis Liturgical Leadership program, believes that the success of the Eucharistic renewal will hinge upon the way we implement at Eucharistic culture on the local level. Our Catholic prison ministry is in the process of writing a memoir about our experiences of forming a Catholic community behind bars. We also are in the process of getting more formation for the men in leadership positions in our ministry through the Catholic Distance University and through our diocese’s catechist certification program. We are also implementing a garden project, in which the men will learn gardening techniques and skills that they will be able to take home to their families when they are released from prison.

I have been involved in prison ministry for the sixteen years I have been a priest, ever since I received a letter from an inmate in the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond requesting a visit from me. It amazes me how the humble beginnings of this ministry have now developed like the small mustard seed growing into a huge plant in Mark’s Gospel. I am grateful to the Mathis Liturgical Leadership Program of the University of Notre Dame, of the way that program has helped our Catholic prison ministry at CMCF flourish with so many blessings from God.

(Father Lincoln Dall is vicar general for the Diocese of Jackson and pastor of Holy Savior in Clinton and Immaculate Conception in Raymond.)

THINGS OLD AND NEW
By Ruth Powers

Now that the summer break is a little more than halfway over, parents and students begin to turn their attention to the start of the next school year. Although this topic may seem more suited to the celebration of Catholic Schools Week in January, as we look toward the start of the new school year it may be beneficial to take a look at the history of Catholic schools in our country and the role they played in transmitting the faith to our children. My own family has benefitted as we have had our faith shaped by Cathedral School in Natchez for six generations (my grandchildren being the sixth.)

Catholic education in what would become the future United States began with Franciscan friars establishing schools in Spanish territories in the 1500s, educating both Indigenous people and Spanish settlers. The French later established schools along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Notably, the Ursuline Academy in New Orleans, founded in 1727, which is still in operation today.

In English colonized areas, however, there was a different story. Although the original Puritan settlers came looking for religious freedom, they did not practice religious toleration. Their strict Calvinists beliefs led to hostility towards Catholics, influencing attitudes across the original colonies, especially in New England and the Northeast. Maryland, initially a haven for persecuted Catholics, was overtaken by Calvinist rebels in 1689, leading to the outlawing of Catholicism.

After the Revolutionary War religious toleration became much more widespread in law, allowing Catholics to again freely worship without fear of persecution, but social attitudes remained staunchly anti-Catholic in many places. Into this situation stepped St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, an Episcopalian convert to Catholicism, who is credited with founding the U.S. Catholic School system. Seton was approached by a priest of the Sulpician order to come to Maryland and start a school for Catholic girls, which she did in 1810. She also gathered a number of women around her and founded the Daughters of Charity. Members of this religious order travelled around the United States and founded Catholic Schools in areas where there were concentrations of Catholics.

From the 1820s through the 1850s Catholic immigration from Ireland and Germany dramatically increased, sparking a rise in anti-Catholic sentiment. This era saw the formation of the “Know-Nothings,” a political party aimed at halting Catholic immigration and eradicating Catholic influence in the United States. To achieve this, the public school system, where most immigrant children were educated due to the scarcity of Catholic schools, became a battleground. Horace Mann, the system’s advocate, staunchly opposed institutional religion, particularly Catholicism. The idea was for the Protestant teachers to use Protestant prayers, hymns, and study of the Protestant Bible to indoctrinate Catholic children against the teachings of the Catholic Church.

In response to the Know-Nothing movement and the violence it engendered, a series of Councils were held in Baltimore, Maryland in 1852, 1866 and 1884. The second and third of these councils were instrumental in the development of the system of parish-based Catholic schools that many of us grew up with. The Second Council called for the erection of parochial schools in every Catholic parish, and Catholic teachers working in public schools should be employed in Catholic parish schools wherever possible. Catechism classes were to be provided for students who couldn’t afford to attend the parish school. The Third Plenary Council went even further. It called for the establishment of Catholic high schools and addressed parents as well. It stated, “we not only exhort Catholic parents … but we command the with all the authority in our power, to procure a truly Christian education for their dear offspring … (and) send them to Catholic … schools,” unless they otherwise obtained permission from their local bishop.

Parochial schools grew exponentially after this, due in large part to the work of women religious who were willing to staff them for very little in the way of salary or benefits. Catholic schools continued to flourish, and the next waves of immigrants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century (Italians) and after WWI (Poles and other Eastern Europeans) found schools ready not only to help their children learn academics, but also to enculturate into American society without giving up their Catholic faith.

Parochial schools thrived until the early 1960’s, but declining numbers of religious vocations necessitated hiring lay teachers, coupled with rising operational costs, leading to the closure of numerous Catholic schools in recent years. Increased tuition has further restricted access for many families, resulting in a significant resurgence of Catholic students in public schools, marking a pivotal moment in the landscape of U.S. education.

Currently, there is a move to once again integrate religious chaplains and required bible study into public school classrooms. Catholic parents need to look back at what happened in the nineteenth century and ask some hard questions – what will these chaplains do, which Bible will be taught, and who will be doing the teaching to make sure there is not another attempt to indoctrinate our children.

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