COLUMBUS – On Tuesday, December 19, Annunciation School pre-k through fifth graders performed in the annual Christmas Extravaganza at the Rent auditorium on the campus of Mississippi University for Women. (Photo by Katie Fenstermacher)
GREENVILLE – (first photo) Chaunce’ White, left, Kent Tonos and Abigail Duthu, sixth graders from St. Joseph School, shop for needy children as part of their Advent service project. Each Christmas, students collect money for local children to ensure every little boy or girl has something for Christmas. The students develop a budget and do their own shopping. This year each of the seven groups collected $175 for their special child. (Photos by Missi Blackstock)
JACKSON – Children at St. Therese Parish were the stars of the program, singing in English and Spanish, at the beginning of Christmas Mass. The children are singing Las Posadas, a reenactment of Joseph and Mary looking for shelter. (Photos by Elsa Baughman)
CORINTH – On Christmas Eve, families of St. James Parish celebrate the final Posada of 2017 with food, music and festivities. (Photo by Luis Rosales)
Click on CSA to see brochure: CSA
Wednesday, Jan. 17, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Catholic Day at the Capitol
Saturday, Jan. 20, 4 p.m. – Closing Mass Pilgrimage for Life, Greenwood Locus Benedictus Retreat Center
Sunday, Jan. 21, 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. – Mass, Philadelphia Holy Cross
Thursday, Jan. 25, 8:30 – 10:30a.m. – Mass, Columbus Annunciation School
Sunday, Jan. 28, 8 a.m. – National Catholic Schools Week begins
Monday Jan. 29, 9:15 a.m. – Mass, Greenville St. Joseph
Tuesday Jan. 30, 8:15 a.m. – Mass, Jackson St. Richard
Tuesday Jan. 30, 1 p.m. – Mass, Jackson Sister Thea Bowman
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 8:15 a.m. – Mass, Madison St. Anthony
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 9:50 a.m. – Mass, Madison St. Joseph
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 1 p.m. – Mass, Vicksburg Catholic Schools
Only public events are listed on this schedule and all events are subject to change.
Please check with the local parish for further details
Angel tree tradition spreads
YAZOO CITY – Father Paneer Arockiam, pastor of St. Mary Parish and Vay McGraw place the last angels on the parish angel tree. McGraw read about the angel tree in Mississippi Catholic in 2016 and wanted to bring the tradition to her own parish for 2017. (Photo by Diane Melton)
SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
CULLMAN, Ala., Benedictine Sisters Retreat Center, A Lenten Journey with Gerard Manley Hopkins, February 9-11. He was a Jesuit priest and poet whose life was one of rejection, loneliness and ill health. In spite of this, his strong faith in the Paschal Mystery sustained him and evoked the most powerful poetry of his time. Retreat Director: Sister Marian Davis, OSB, Ph.D. Cost: Private Room $245; Shared Room $205/person. Details: Sister Magdalena Craig, OSB, (256) 615-6114, www.shmon.org.
FORT SMITH, Ark., St. Scholastica Monastery, Seven Stages of Suffering, Tuesdays, February 22, March 1 and March 8 from 9:30 – 11 a.m. Using the book Teilhard: Seven Stages of Suffering: A Spiritual Path for Transformation by Louis M. Savary and Patricia H. Berne, this Lenten program will lead one through the seven stages with an emphasis on the positive and transformative energy of suffering. Cost: $60.00. Details: retreats@stscho.org or www.stscho.org/retreats or (479) 783-1135.
GREENWOOD, Locus Benedictus Spirituality Center, “Body, Mind, and Spirit Women’s Retreat,” Saturday, January 27, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (with 4 p.m. vigil Mass) sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary #5267. Presenters: Michael Whelan, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and author; John Cook, exercise physiologist, and Magdalene Abraham, spiritual director. Cost: $35. Details: (662) 299-1232 or www.locusbenedictus.org.
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn., Women’s Morning of Spirituality Saturday, February 10, Church of the Incarnation, 8:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with a continental breakfast beginning at 7:15 a.m. Mass at 12:30 p.m. with Bishop Martin D. Holley, bishop of the Diocese of Memphis. Details: Hernando Holy Spirit church office (662) 429-7851.
PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
GRENADA, St. Peter, couples’ book study at Teresa and Luther Owens’ home on Wednesday, January 24, at 6 p.m. Discussion of Climbing the Mountain by Anne, a lay apostle; Book study guides are in the back of the church. Details: church office (662) 226-2490.
Blood Drive, Sunday, January 28, after Mass. Sign up for a time online at www.bloodhero.com. Details: church office (662) 226-2490.
JACKSON, St. Peter Cathedral, training course for adults interested in becoming catechists in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program. The course will run one Saturday a month for ten months beginning January 20 and ending December 8, excluding June and July. The Catechesis is a method of religious formation for children ages three to 12 which utilizes the educational principles of Maria Montessori. This course will be for Level I, the foundational level for children ages 3 to 6. Details: Hope Johnston (601) 969-3125 or hcjohn1@aol.com.
MADISON, St. Joseph School, Jeans, Jazz and Bruin Blues annual fundraiser, Saturday, February 3. Details: Marcie Ralston, (601) 214-9809, Bobbie Simpson, (601) 953-6365 or Tricia Harris, (601) 898-4803 or tharris@stjoebruins.com.
NATCHEZ, St. Mary Basilica, book club to resume, Tuesday, January 16 at 6 p.m. Discussion of Chapters 1-8 of A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century, by Paul Kengor. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
IN MEMORIAM
Sister Mary Paul Francis Bailey, B.V.M.
Sister Mary Paul Francis Bailey, B.V.M., died January 1 at Marian Hall in Dubuque, Iowa at the age of 91. She entered the BVM congregation in 1947 and professed her final vows in 1955. In the Diocese of Jackson, Sister Paul Francis taught first, second and third grades and taught high school typing and shorthand at Clarksdale Immaculate Conception School. She was buried in Mount Carmel cemetery in Dubuque. Memorials may be given to the Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, Iowa 52003 or online at www.bvmcong.org/whatsnew_obits.cfm
Sister Margaret Mary Flynn, O.C.D
Sister Margaret Mary Flynn, O.C.D., died January 2 at the Carmelite Monastery in Jackson at the age of 88. She was the last of seven nuns from the Carmel of St. Joseph, Clayton, Missouri, who came to Jackson in November, 1951, to establish the first and only Carmelite Monastery in the state of Mississippi. The funeral took place on January 5 at the chapel with burial following in St. Joseph Parish Cemetery in Gluckstadt.
SAVE THE DATE
World Marriage Day, the Catholic Diocese of Jackson and the Office of Family Ministry is pleased to announce that the diocesan World Marriage Day Celebration will be held Sunday, February 4, at 3 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson. There will be Mass with a reception immediately following. The Mass honors all married couples, but invites those celebrating their 25th, 50th and 60th anniversaries or any significant anniversary. Please contact your parish office for registration. Details: Office of Family Ministry at 601-960-8487 or email Charlene Bearden at charlene.bearden@jacksondiocese.org .
Por César Sánchez-Fermin
CANTON – El sábado 2 de diciembre, en la parroquia Sagrado Corazón, seis parejas hispanas recibieron la bendición de Dios en el Sacramento del Matrimonio. La celebración Eucarística fue presidida por el padre Raúl Ventura y concelebrada por el padre Mike O’Brien.
A las 10:00 a.m., la marcha nupcial anunció que los novios ya estaban listos para entrar a la casa de Dios y salir como marido y mujer con el compromiso de amarse y respetarse en lo próspero y en lo adverso todos los días de sus vidas.”
El padre Raúl enfatizo durante la homilía que “los sacramentos son signos visibles del infinito amor de Dios al mundo.” De la misma manera subrayó que la comunidad reunida estaba participando como testigo del compromiso que los cónyuges estaban libremente aceptando ante Dios. Al terminar la homilía inicio el rito propio del matrimonio.
Pero todo gran evento requiere preparación. Por tal motivo, las seis parejas (Oscar Félix y Estela Gabriel, Julián Marroquín y María Miranda, Trinidad Pérez y Silvia Miranda, Rene López y Candelaria Pérez, Carlos López y Olimpia García, Sergio Félix y María Isabel) en coordinación con la Señora Blanca Peralta, encargada del ministerio Hispano, y el seminarista Cesar Sánchez, llevaron a cabo una catequesis intensa profundizando en la sacramentalidad de nuestra fe. Por varios fines de semana se reunieron para la doctrina. Además tuvieron dos retiros en los cuales abordaron los sacramentos, enfocando en la confesión y matrimonio.
Damos gracias a Dios por sus abundantes bendiciones. Esta gran celebración es signo de que Dios desea darnos su gracia a través de los sacramentos. El matrimonio está dentro de la economía de la salvación. Por esta razón, seguimos invitando a aquellos que aún viven en amasiato para que le permitan a Dios bendecir su unión.
By César Sánchez
CANTON – On Saturday, December 2, after months of preparation, six couples received God’s blessing in the Sacrament of Matrimony. The community of Canton Sacred Heart Parish was honored to witness their commitments during a Mass concelebrated by Father Raúl Ventura, ST, and Father Mike O’Brien. Most of the brides and grooms hail from Guatamala.
At 10: 00 a.m., the bridal march rang as the couples entered God’s house. Family and friends from Carthage, Forest and Morton gathered to witness their commitment to love and respect each other in the good and bad times all the days of their lives.
Father Raúl emphasized with vigor and eloquence, “The sacraments are visible signs of the infinite love of God to the world.” He also stressed that the community participated as a witness of the commitment that the spouses are freely accepting before God.
The six couples are Oscar Felix and Estela Gabriel; Julián Marroquín and María Miranda; Trinidad Pérez and Silvia Miranda; Rene López and Candelaria Pérez; Carlos López and Olimpia García; Sergio Félix and María Isabel.
They prepared by meeting with the parish coordinator of Hispanic ministry, Blanca Peralta and seminarian César Sánchez, who carried out an intense catechesis deepening their faith in the sacraments. The couples reflected on the need for the Sacrament of Marriage as they met as a group during several weekends and two retreats.
After the Mass, the couples and their guests had a standing-room-only reception in the parish center.
This celebration is a sign that God wants to give us His grace through the sacraments. Marriage is within His plan of salvation. For this reason, we continue to invite those couples who have not had their unions blessed by God in the Church to seek the Sacrament of Matrimony. To begin preparations, contact the pastor in your parish.
(César Sánchez is a seminarian for the Diocese of Jackson.)
CANTON – Six Hispanic couples were married Saturday, December 2, at Sacred Heart Parish. After the Mass, the couples celebrated in the parish center. (Photo by Beth Ann Ross)
