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Let the new decade begin
By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
Just shy of 47 years a priest and now 10 years as the 11th Bishop of Jackson, I give thanks to the great High Priest, Jesus Christ for the gift of serving Him, His body the church, and the Kingdom of God in this world.
The Lord pronounced that “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) This promise has been fulfilled ten-fold in my life. Indeed, abundance is the stamp of priesthood and episcopal ministry. Whether blessings or burdens, for me iIt has been a life of purpose especially over the unanticipated bends in the road.
A few days following my consecration and installation on Feb. 6, 2014, I treasured the opportunity to fly from Madison to St. Mary’s Basilica in Natchez, to St. Joseph in Greenville, to St. James in Tupelo, and to St. Joseph in Starkville, and in the process to have my first encounters with the faithful. During those 12 hours, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., from an ariel view of 3,000 feet a large swath of the Diocese of Jackson stretched out before me, a grand view that remains vivid to this day. Play it forward, and 10 years and 300,000 miles later, via modern day horsepower, have given me boots on the ground experience forming a deep bond with the Diocese of Jackson and the State of Mississippi. Of course, it’s not a matter of miles, but of mission and ministries and the Catholic people who make up the communities of faith throughout 65 counties.
As my anniversary approached there were two events a week ago that afforded me the opportunity to deepen the understanding that the gift I have received can only be graciously lived in turn. Unexpectedly, Bishop Mario Dorsonville died from health complications after serving only 10 months as the Ordinary of Houma-Thibodaux. At his Mass of Christian burial, the shock and sadness of those in the congregation were plain to see, and at moments I could not help but be self-referential considering the timeframe of his ten months and my ten years. If he were blessed to serve ten years, he would have been my age looking back in gratitude over a decade of service in the Bayou of Louisiana. We know not the day nor the hour, only that each day is the moment at hand, and the weeks, months and years follow rhythmically under the wings of Divine Providence.
The following day, on Friday of last week I had a visitor from Northeastern Pennsylvania, who was on his way to begin a new chapter of active duty in the Army Corps Band at Fort Hood, Texas. Liam and his brother Luke, my godson, served at my Mass of consecration and installation as early adolescents. Now they are 23 and their adult lives are unfolding with energy and enthusiasm.
Over breakfast at Broad Street Bakery, he just happened to mention that he could retire after 20 years at age 42, and then floated the question – “by the way, how old will you be at retirement?” That’s a number he couldn’t even compute. As he savored his grits it struck me that over ten years a number of folks in my life have left this world, and others have come of age. And yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and yes, someday I will retire. But meanwhile I am still on active duty and grateful for the energy and motivation that propel me forward each day. Another way of naming this is God’s grace in varied and splendid ways, especially implored in the Eucharistic prayer at each Mass when I am lifted up by name.
Finally, I give thanks for the countless collaborators in the ministry – ordained, religious, and lay – whose love for the Lord Jesus and the church, whose generosity and Gospel commitment are a fountain of inspiration every day. Let the new decade begin and may the bends in the road ahead continue the adventure in that sacred space between time and eternity. Ad multos anos!
Happy Ordination Anniversary
February 6
Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz
(ordained bishop)
February 7
Father Hendrik Ardianto, SCJ
Catholic Parishes of Northwest Mississippi
February 14
Father Jofin George
Holy Cross, Philadelphia
February 19
Father Vijaya Bhaskar Madanu, SVD
Holy Ghost & Holy Family, Jackson
Thank you for answering the call!
Called by Name
In John’s Gospel two disciples of John the Baptist begin to follow Jesus and ask him where he is staying. He responds with an invitation: ‘Come and See.’ (John 1:38-39)
We know that one of these disciples was Andrew, the brother of Peter. It is believed that the other disciple is John the Evangelist. John often makes mention of the disciple “whom Jesus loved,” and it is very possible that this is John himself. But we can also place ourselves in that position of the beloved disciple. We are all students of Jesus who are loved by him without reserve. Often, however, we live as if Jesus has nothing to teach us, and he’s just there to help us when we need it.
Each spring on Palm Sunday weekend, St. Joseph Seminary College hosts a ‘Come and See’ retreat for young men who are open to the call to priesthood. This retreat serves as a point on the road for young disciples as they gather information and seek to discern their vocation well.
I try to send as many guys on this retreat as possible each year because it is a great way to see what seminary life is really like. Seminarians are not ‘normal’ in many ways: they schedule their life around prayer and Mass, and that’s not the norm. But they are very ‘normal’ in other ways. They have hobbies and interests far beyond the pews. They love to build good community and spend time having fun. In some ways, the seminary is the place where men go to learn a more virtuous ‘normal.’ In the secular world, we learn many things that seem normal but are actually damaging to our consciences and our souls. Bad language is thrown around like it’s nothing, and vicious behavior is talked about on a sliding scale depending on the audience.
In the seminary men are normal, but they have been invited to ‘Come and See’ a new way of living as they are challenged to rise above the small-ness of a life focused on self and move toward a life lived for God. That focus could lead them toward the ultimate end of priestly ordination, but even if it doesn’t, they are shown a way of living that helps them be the virtuous men that our society needs. At the ‘come and see’ retreat, visitors get a look at this way of life firsthand. They see the ‘normal-ness’ of the seminarians but also they are inspired by the different way of life they have voluntarily chosen.
I hope that we will have a great group of men going to the ‘Come and See’ this spring. Please pray that the men who are being called to this event have the courage to reach out to me and overcome the obstacles that can sometimes appear when something important is happening. Pray that many more men will want to follow Jesus wherever he leads them.
Father Nick Adam, vocation director
(Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)
Breaking faith with each other
IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Is this new or are we just more aware of it? Hatred and contempt are everywhere. They are in our government houses, in our communities, in our churches and in our families. We are struggling, mostly without success, to be civil with each other; let alone to respect each other. Why? Why is this happening and intensifying?
Moreover, on both sides, we are often justifying this hatred on moral grounds, even biblical grounds, claiming that the Gospel itself gives us grounds for our disrespect – My truth is so right and you are so wrong that I can disrespect you and I have biblical grounds to hate you!
Well, even a cursory look at scripture should be enough to enable us to see this for what it is; rationalization, self-interest – and the farthest thing from Jesus.
Let’s begin with something already taught long before Jesus. In the Jewish scriptures, we already find this text: “I have made you contemptible and base before all the people, since you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your decisions. Have we not all the one Father? Has not the one God created us? Why do we break faith with one another?” (Malachi 2:8-10) Long before Jesus, Jewish spirituality already demanded that we be fair and never show partiality. However, it still gave us permission to hate our enemies and to take revenge when we have been wronged – “an eye for an eye.”
Jesus turns this on its head. Everywhere in his person and in his teaching, most explicitly in the Sermon on the Mount, he challenges us in a radically new way, telling us that, if we want to go to heaven, our virtue needs to go deeper than that of the Scribes and the Pharisees. What was their virtue?
The Scribes and Pharisees of his time were very much like the church-going Christians of our time. They were sincere, essentially honest, basically good people, who kept the commandments and practiced strict justice. But, according to Jesus, that isn’t enough. Why? If you are a sincere person who is honest, keeps the commandments, and is fair to everyone, what’s still missing? What’s still missing lies at the very heart of Jesus’ moral teaching, namely, the practice of a love and forgiveness that goes beyond hatred and grievance. What exactly is this?
In justice and fairness, you are still entitled to hate someone who hates you and to extract an appropriate vengeance on someone who has wronged you. However, Jesus asks something else of us: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. … If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)
This is the very essence of Christian morality. Can you love someone who hates you? Can you do good to someone who wishes you evil? Can you forgive someone who has wronged you? Can you forgive a murderer? It’s this, and not some particular issue in moral theology, which is the litmus test for who is a Christian and who isn’t. Can you love someone who hates you? Can you forgive someone who has hurt you? Can you move beyond your natural proclivity for vengeance?
Sadly, today we are failing that test on both sides of the ideological and religious spectrum. We see this everywhere – from the highest levels of government, from high levels in our churches, and in public and private discourse everywhere, that is, people openly espousing disrespect, division, hatred and vengeance – and trying to claim the moral high ground in doing this. Major politicians speak openly and explicitly about hating others and about exacting revenge on those who oppose them. Worse still, churches and church leaders of every kind are lining up behind them and giving them “Gospel” support for their espousal of hatred and vengeance.
This needs to be named and challenged: anyone who is advocating division, disrespect, hatred or revenge is antithetical to Jesus and the Gospels. As well, anyone supporting such a person by an appeal to Jesus, the Gospels, or authentic morality, is also antithetical to Jesus and the Gospels.
God is love. Jesus is love enfleshed. Disrespect, hatred, division and revenge may never be preached in God’s or Jesus’ name, no matter the cause, no matter the anger, no matter the wrong. This doesn’t mean that we cannot have disagreements, spirited discussions and bitter debates. But disrespect, hatred, division and revenge (no matter how deeply they may in fact be felt inside us) may not be advocated in the name of goodness and Jesus. Division, disrespect, hatred and vengeance are the Anti-Christ.
(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)
Wrath destroys relationships, pins blame on others, pope says
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Wrath is a “dark vice” that destroys relationships, focuses all blame on others and only worsens over time, Pope Francis said.
“It is capable of depriving us of sleep, of barring the way to reason and thought” because wrath completely clouds thinking clearly and builds up incessantly without mercy, the pope said Jan. 31 at his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall.
Continuing a series of audience talks about vices and virtues, the pope reflected on the vice of wrath.
“If it is born of an injustice suffered or believed to be suffered, often it is unleashed not against the offender, but against the first unfortunate victim,” he said, giving as an example people who can “withhold their rage in the workplace,” but then unleash it at home on their spouse and children.
Wrath “destroys human relationships. It expresses the incapacity to accept the diversity of others, especially when their life choices diverge from our own,” he said.
When someone is dominated by wrath, the pope said, “they always, always say the problem is the other person; they are unable to recognize their own defects, their own shortcomings.”
St. Paul recommends Christians face up to the problem right away and attempt reconciliation before the end of the day, the pope said, quoting the apostle’s Letter to the Ephesians (4:26) “Do not let the sun set on your anger.”
“The night cannot be handed over to the devil,” the pope said, repeating that it is important that any misunderstandings be handled before the day is over since this vice can keep people “awake at night, brooding over our reasons and the unaccountable mistakes that are never ours and always the other’s.”
“In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus makes us pray for our human relations, which are a minefield: a plane that is never in perfect equilibrium,” he said.
“We are all sinners, all of us,” with outstanding debts or “trespasses” committed and experienced throughout life, he said.
“Therefore, we all need to learn how to forgive” as far as humanly possible, he said. “Wrath is countered by benevolence, openness of heart, meekness and patience.”
However, the pope said, “not everything that stems from wrath is mistaken.”
“We are not responsible for the onset of wrath, but always for its development,” he said.
Sometimes “it is good for anger to be vented in the right way,” he said. “Holy indignation exists,” especially at an injustice, but this is not wrath.
Jesus felt it several times in his life, but “he never responded to evil with evil,” the pope said.
When he entered the temple and drove out the merchants and overturned the tables of the money changers, Jesus “performed a strong and prophetic action, dictated not by wrath, but by zeal for the house of the Lord,” he said.
“We need to distinguish the good,” which is holy indignation, he said, from the bad, which is wrath, and to pray to correctly govern one’s passions, “to educate them so that they turn to the good and not the bad.”
The pope also recalled Jan. 31 was the feast of St. John Bosco.
In his greetings to visitors in other languages, the pope highlighted the work of the 19th-century Italian saint, saying he helped many young people in their difficulties and, with his apostolic zeal, brought them to Christ. “Let us also be witnesses to young people that Christ wants to enter our lives to fill them with the joy that only he can give.”
He invited people to imitate the saint, “educating young people in the faith and training them in the different sciences and professions, for a better future in which humanity can enjoy peace, brotherhood and tranquility.”
Lent with ‘The Chosen’
Guest Column
By Sister Hosea Rupprecht
Season four of “The Chosen,” the wildly popular series on the life of Jesus that began its existence as a crowd-funded streaming series, is finally here, much to the delight of fans around the world. This time around, all episodes will enjoy a theatrical release before debuting on streaming and broadcast outlets.
At nearly the same time as season four is released, Catholics begin the liturgical season of Lent. “The Chosen” provides much inspiration that could kick start your Lenten reflection on how God might be inviting you to metanoia, or conversion, during this penitential season.
The first episode deals with the death of John the Baptist (David Amito) and the fallout of that for Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) and the apostles, especially Andrew (Noah James), one of John’s early followers. John’s faithfulness to his God-given vocation, even through imprisonment and death, encourages us to reflect on our own responses to God’s invitations. How have we responded to God’s prompting? How do we even recognize how God summons us to follow him on a daily basis? Are we courageous in the face of persecution, whatever form that may take, or do we shrink from it?
In episode two, things heat up for Jesus following John’s execution. More than that, though, there is dissension in the ranks when Jesus declares that Simon (Shahar Isaac) is no longer Simon but Peter, the rock upon which his church will be built. That night around the campfire, the apostles start to bicker with comments like, “Is Peter the best?” and “He doesn’t act like a rock.” Have you ever felt disappointed in those in leadership positions? How did you respond? What place does humility have in your life? How might God be inviting you to deepen your humility?
Fans of the show will remember that Matthew (Paras Patel) is depicted as having some form of autism. He’s extremely precise – that made him a good tax collector – and he really doesn’t like physical contact. There’s a small scene in episode two when Matthew encounters his old friend, the Roman, Gaius (Kirk B.R. Woller). Gaius observes that Matthew seems different, more relaxed and at peace. Matthew’s response is all about trust in Jesus and surrender to God’s will. He says, “I have only one thing to do today: Follow him. The rest takes care of itself.” What if every Christian could have that attitude? What would happen if we could let go of the problems that worry us and give them all over to God? Is there one thing in my life right now that I need to let go of and relinquish to God? How might I do that this Lent?
Lent is a time to think about the need for reconciliation and forgiveness. In “The Chosen,” the ongoing tension between Matthew and Simon (now Peter) started way back when Matthew almost turned Peter over to the Romans for unpaid taxes. Matthew has never apologized for his actions, and Peter holds onto his resentment. With hostility increasing all around them, Matthew feels unsettled and seeks out Jesus. Jesus helps him to see the need to own up to his actions and reach out to Peter. Jesus tells Matthew that one apologizes to repent, but that forgiveness is a gift from another person. It cannot be demanded.
The thing is, neither Matthew nor Peter is ready to reconcile. Jesus is gentle in his prodding saying, “There is no peace when two of my followers hold resentment against one another.” Since there are over 2 billion Christians in the world, it can be assumed that there are enough resentments to displace the peace that comes with following Jesus. What is one resentment that you could let go of this Lent? Do you need to apologize to anyone? Do you have the power to offer the gift of forgiveness to someone who has hurt you? What’s holding you back?
Yes, “The Chosen” is a made-up television series and not the Gospel itself. Yet, the power of media stories is that they show real, flawed humans, just like you and me, interacting in an imaginative way. “The Chosen,” in particular, can inspire us to take what we see on screen and prompt us to look at our inner selves and the quality of our own following of Christ, especially during this Season of Lent.
(Sister Hosea Rupprecht, a Daughter of St. Paul, is the associate director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies.)
Valentine’s Day, life as a couple and Ash Wednesday
GUEST COLUMN
By Silvio Cuéllar
This February, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, the day of love and friendship. February 14 is also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. At first glance, many will think that we will not be able to celebrate with our partners, but there are interesting parallels between true love as a couple and Lent. During Lent, we focus mainly on three important things: prayer, fasting and charity. Likewise, to have a successful and holy marriage, it is also required to have a prayer life with Christ at the center, make many sacrifices and be generous in giving ourselves to our family as Christ offered up himself for the church.
—Prayer—
Prayer is essential for a Catholic home and a couple’s relationship to last and bear much fruit. When we look at the lives of the saints, many were the fruit of their parents’ lives of prayer.
We have the example of St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine, who persevered in prayer for many years for the conversion of her son, who, despite having had a non-exemplary life, decided at one point to embrace the faith, becoming a doctor of the church.
My in-laws, Paul and Barbara, are examples of prayer, sacrifices and charity. I have always admired their great faith and commitment to serving others. They adopted a child from the foster care system and, over the years, helped many single mothers financially. From them, I learned what it means to live the faith, not just in the parish, but Monday through Sunday. I remember that, at every family gathering, they would begin with a family prayer. They always led by example and never missed going to church.
One suggestion during this Lent would be to take on (or pick back up) the practice of praying the rosary as a family, giving the children the opportunity to lead a decade. Let us remember that “The family that prays together, stays together.”
—Sacrifices—
For Catholics, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence. Likewise, the Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence; on those days, we abstain from eating meat. That may not be a sacrifice for you so there are many other ways in which we can practice sacrifice and fasting. For example, we can fast by limiting or eliminating social media and technology use during the 40 days of Lent.
Sacrifice is also very important for a couple. Spouses should love and make sacrifices for each other as Christ sacrificed himself for the church. This concept goes against the modern culture of instant gratification, where the “I” comes first.
At the beginning of a marriage, we go through the honeymoon or infatuation stage, where everything is rose-colored. Then comes the maturity stage, where every day we make the decision to love the person God has placed in our lives. That implies making sacrifices for the sake of our partner and family, putting them ahead of our needs.
I remember recently, the night after a very exhausting weekend, I was very tired on my way to bed when I received a call from my son at 10:30 p.m. He was at the gym and had no way to get home. Even though my body was telling me to go to bed, without a moment’s hesitation, I answered, “I will be there in 15 minutes.” As parents, we may have countless examples of how we have sacrificed for our children, including our time and income.
Another important way to make sacrifices and an excellent investment is, for example, to enroll our children in a Catholic school, where they can receive an excellent education and formation in the faith. I sometimes joke that I could be driving a luxury car with what I pay for my daughter in high school. But the truth is that as parents we know that any material sacrifice is not enough to give the best to our children.
—Charity—
Finally, Lent is a time to practice charity more intensely.
Many of our parishes participate in Catholic Relief Services’ Rice Bowl campaign to support the efforts of the U.S. bishops’ international relief agency, which helps the world’s most disadvantaged with development programs and emergency assistance. Diocesan Service Appeal campaigns also help fund diocesan ministries and local relief. Let us be generous with these opportunities and offer our generosity in our parish community.
In married life, we can focus on giving more of our time this Lent, seeking to strengthen the relationship between spouses and with our children by being more present in their lives and activities.
We can also make time to reconnect with family members with whom we have not spoken for a long time, call them to reconcile, ask forgiveness if we have offended them, give them a word of support and offer to pray for them.
This Lent, let us seek to focus on habits of prayer, fasting and charity, using our resources, time, treasure and talents to volunteer in ministries that serve and help others.
(Silvio Cuéllar is a liturgical music composer and journalist. He is a former coordinator of the Hispanic Ministry and editor of El Católico de Rhode Island newspaper in the Diocese of Providence.)
Centennial faith: the enduring spirit of Our Mother of Mercy
From the Archives
By Mary Woodward
JACKSON – Last Saturday, Jan. 27, was a cloudy damp day in the Mississippi Delta, but the joy and the warmth flowing from the pews filled with the faithful and friends of Our Mother of Mercy Mission in Anguilla dispelled any thoughts of the atmospheric conditions outside. The church was marking the 100th anniversary of the first Masses celebrated in people’s homes.
Anguilla is situated on Highway 61 in Sharkey County. In the early 1900s, Father Andrew Gmelch would come from Merigold. Father Gmelch served the Austrian Catholic farmers in that town, but the continual flooding challenges caused this small contingent of Catholic farmers to move away. Around 1912 Anguilla became a mission of Cleveland and Belzoni All Saints became a mission of Greenwood where Msgr. John Clerico, known as the pastor of the Delta, based himself.
Msgr. Clerico roamed the entire Delta tending to the flock scattered across the Alluvial plain. In 1927, Anguilla became a mission of Greenwood and Msgr. Clerico made regular visits to celebrate Mass in homes of the faithful and share meals and conversations in Italian with those who shared his Italian heritage and birth.
With donations from its faithful and a nice grant from Catholic Extension, Anguilla bought a small piece of land in March 1929 and built Our Mother of Mercy Church. Bishop Richard Gerow dedicated the church on Aug. 6, 1929.
Belzoni and Anguilla became missions of Leland in 1944 when Msgr. Clerico’s Greenwood parish was divided. A few years later in 1953, Belzoni was elevated to a parish and Anguilla became its mission. Today, Anguilla is served by Father Panneer Arockiam Selvam from Yazoo City.
This is a brief history of Our Mother of Mercy and its journey taken from Cleta Ellington’s book Christ the Living Water written for the 150th anniversary of the diocese in 1987. These excerpts capture only a small glimpse of the closeness of this small Catholic community in the Delta.
To get an eyewitness account of the dedication day festivities, I looked up Bishop Gerow’s account of the day in his diary and below is his entry for Aug. 6, 1929.
“This morning at 9 o’clock, assisted by Father Clerico and in the presence of a large number of people, I dedicated the new Church of Our Lady of Mercy at Anguilla.
“The lot on which this church is situated was bought with funds raised by the people of Anguilla and thereabout. Extension Society gave the people $2,500 for the building of the church and $400 worth of equipment, vestments, etc. It is quite a nice little church and substantially built, and the people are very justly proud of it.
“Joe Prestiano, a zealous and enthusiastic member of the congregation at Anguilla, was determined to make this a big day. He had, therefore, advertised it very extensively. Through his efforts the Knights of Columbus band came up from Vicksburg for the occasion. Father Clerico brought his Greenwood choir over and a great many friends from Vicksburg, Greenville, Greenwood and surrounding cities and towns were in Anguilla for the dedication; besides a great number of the faithful from the small towns who will attend Anguilla as their mission church.
“The dedication started at 9 o’clock. A procession formed at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Cook, headed by the Knights of Columbus band playing lively march music – the procession made up of the men of the congregation and a few altar boys, with Father Clerico, and the Bishop dressed in cope, miter and carrying his crozier – and marched to the front of the church.
“After the dedication Father Clerico sang the high Mass – the Greenwood choir did itself proud – and the bishop preached a sermon to the people; and after the church ceremonies a general picnic was held, the people remaining upon the grounds all day, the Knights of Columbus band supplying very good music for the occasion. It was a great day for the people of Anguilla.
“Although the congregation of Anguilla itself is very small, yet Anguilla is centrally situated and people from many other places, such as Rolling Fork, Hollandale, etc., come to church at this point.”
I was struck by how much of that same zeal and flavor was present this past Saturday in January.
Bishop Joseph Kopacz was the celebrant; Father P.J. Curley, former pastor, provided an inspiring homily only he could deliver; several former pastors were present; friends came from all over the region; and the reception after Mass in the parish hall (now occupying those original grounds) was adorned with fabulous food, fellowship and memories – a quintessential Delta brunch.
Even though there was no Knights of Columbus Band or big choir, those present filling the church to capacity offered beautiful hymns, prayers and responses of which they could be proud. I find I am as inspired by these celebrations in smaller communities as much as any Cathedral Mass. The love and joy that flows in and around the sacred mysteries is a powerful witness to the vibrancy of our faith in the diocese. Who knows what the landscape will be in another 100 years, but on a cloudy day in January 2024, Anguilla bore witness to that vibrant faith.
(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)
As season four premieres around world, ‘The Chosen’ actors talk faith, life struggles
By Paulina Guzik
WARSAW, Poland (OSV News) – When the creators of “The Chosen” started with a crowdfunding project in 2017, they would not have thought in their wildest dreams they would be walking the red carpets from Los Angeles to New York and from London to Warsaw, with screaming fans begging for selfies.
Five years since the premiere of the first season, the series about the life of Jesus of Nazareth is now garnering over 770 million views of its episodes and has more than 12 million social media followers. Season four will debut in theaters across the U.S. and Canada Feb. 1, followed shortly by debuts in several other locations worldwide.
“I wasn’t expecting any of this. I think it was one of the most enthusiastic receptions we’ve had for our premieres,” Elizabeth Tabish, who portrays Mary Magdalene in the series, told OSV News in Warsaw Jan. 27, the day after two episodes from season four were shown on big screen in the Polish capital, with 1,600 fans filling four rooms of one of the city’s biggest theaters.
“It was very exciting, you could just sense the warmth and love from the Polish people, and it just was very encouraging,” Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus, told OSV News, days after the crew got a spectacular reception at the London premiere Jan. 22.
“The Chosen” is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus Christ, seen through the eyes of those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Israel, the show shares an authentic and intimate look at Jesus’ extraordinary life and teachings. It is set to run seven seasons.
“The Chosen” is now one of the most-watched shows in the world, consistently a top performer across streaming platforms Prime Video, Peacock and Netflix.
Tabish said the series “changed every aspect” of her life, but she did not see that coming. She almost didn’t make it to the audition for the role.
“Before I booked it, I was trying to quit acting. I wasn’t getting the sort of roles that I really wanted to be doing, and I told my agent to just stop submitting me. I need to switch gears, do something more practical,” she said of a time of her life where she was struggling to even pay rent.
But the agent insisted she audition for the series, “and I read the script for the first episode, and I was so connected to her character, it was so beautifully written – just so much backstory and emotional depth and complexities. And I thought, this is what I would love to be doing,” she said.
Now, she told OSV News, “we get to make something that is affecting people in wonderful ways, bringing hope to viewers and creating something that has purpose.”
Tabish now feels deeply connected to St. Mary Magdalene, one of the best-known personalities surrounding Jesus but also the most mysterious.
“The fact that she was there, the first to see him resurrected, was like, this woman is so special to this story – and of course, she’s sort of captured the imagination of people for thousands of years,” Tabish told OSV News.
For Roumie, a practicing Catholic, the role of Jesus also came as a surprise. Years before “The Chosen” project started, he was supposed to play a good thief in a production filmed for a Good Friday church service. But at the last minute the director changed his role to Jesus.
“And I said, oh, man, Jesus has like five lines in this film. But, you know, I love Jesus. I’m a huge fan of Jesus. And I thought, well, look, this is an opportunity to play Jesus,” he recalled.
When the same director, Dallas Jenkins, invited Roumie to play Jesus in “The Chosen” series, he wanted to take the role, even though Jenkins told him the series “probably won’t go anywhere, but at least it’ll be a little bit of work.”
Roumie, like Tabish, had his own struggles before he started filming.
“I struggled in Los Angeles for eight years before ‘The Chosen’ came along, and three months before ‘The Chosen,’ I committed to to giving everything over to God, to letting go of the reins of control over my career, over my concept of how I thought my life should go, how I thought my career should go,” he said.
“And when I did that, everything changed in the span of 24 hours,” he continued. “And then three months after that one specific day where I let it all go, Dallas (Jenkins, the director) called me up and said, ‘We’re going to do this show.’ And since then, it’s just been a journey towards growing deeper and deeper into my faith.”
From the beginning, the challenge of playing Jesus was not easy for him. When a scene in the first season required Roumie to preach directly from Scripture, he felt it was a heavy burden to carry, he recalled.
“At that moment, I started to become overwhelmed, like, ‘What am I even doing here? How am I even saying these words? I’m not worthy to be preaching these words that Jesus preached and now to be portraying him for the entire world that’s going to see this.’ It was completely overwhelming,” he told OSV News.
“I had a conversation with our director, and he just reminded me that we’re meant to be here, we’re here to do this story for a reason. And that kind of gave me a lot of comfort,” Roumie continued. “And I’ve continued to just pray and discern and really stay rooted in the fact that God has me on this path for a specific reason.”
During Roumie’s stay in Poland he visited and prayed in the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy and the neighboring Sanctuary of St. John Paul II in Kraków. “It was really beautiful,” he said.
Asked about the recipe for the series’ success, Tabish said that “it starts with the writers and it starts with the script – our writers know the Bible so well.”
Writing the scriptural characters as personable, funny and smart, she added, “infuse this sort of modern sensibility into the whole thing, where modern audiences can relate to these characters. Because if you take it off the page and into real life, they are relatable. They are actually going through the same sort of struggles that we go through.”
Oftentimes biblical characters have been treated as people “floating above the ground everywhere you go,” and “people can’t relate to that,” Roumie added.
In the series, however, they see Jesus who “suffered, he had troubles the way I have troubles and struggles and trials,” Roumie said. “And so I think because of that, people see themselves in each one of the characters and then it draws them closer to their faith, knowing that all of these people, even Jesus, experienced the fullness of humanity. Jesus (was) obviously without sin, but still he experienced the entire spectrum of emotions.”
For Tabish, “Mary (Magdalene) is such a representation of all of us – flawed people who need help, who need Jesus, who need to be rescued.”
“Rescue” is not an exaggeration for people affected in real time by “The Chosen” series. He gets hundreds of testimonies of people changed by the series, including coming back to the church. He knows of people who “were going to take their own life and decided not to because there was a moment where a friend interceded and showed them this show. And after watching the first episode of the show, they were overcome with this sense that, you know, God has a purpose for them. So they decided not to go ahead and take their own life.”
Roumie met a couple who told him the show helped them restore their marriage and begin going to Bible studies. Another fan of the show is discerning priesthood, “and he said this (show) has had a direct impact. So glory to God! It’s just that. It’s incredible how much of an impact a television show can have on a person. So you, you really begin to realize that there is a sort of a hidden responsibility that we have as actors on this particular show,” he said.
Asked whether it’s challenging to be an actor whose face millions of people associate with the face of their Savior, Roumie said he tries to take it with humility.
“I’ve come to accept the fact that this is where God has put me. And I’m just trying to be a good steward of the gifts and the responsibility of playing this role and ultimately, surreally becoming what people kind of imagine as the face of Jesus for their modern era. So I try not to think about that too much. … It’s humbling and it’s an honor,” he said, adding he’s just “a flawed human being.”
“I’m just a person that, you know, has a really, really interesting job and playing this character. So I’m grateful for that,” he said.
The financial commitment of people in the first stages of “The Chosen” production indicates the series’ great meaning for the audience, the actors told OSV News.
“We’ve been provided for because, I think, the people who want to see it are desperately wanting to see it,” Tabish said.
People wanted to crowdfund the show because it has “this ring of authenticity to it and this honesty and this desire to bring something that we know to be true to the world,” Roumie added.
When the producers decided to unlock the series and stream it for free, “it exploded the minute they did that,” Roumie said. “We got like four times as many people contributing to help us fund the next phase, the next season, after we made it free.”
In season four, with stirring scenes including ones featuring John the Baptist and Lazarus, Tabish said, “We kind of come to this point of no return. Everything is a little bit more dangerous, the stakes are all higher. … There’s no turning back. It’s a painful season in a lot of ways.”
Asked whether he feels the anxiety of knowing of Jesus’ coming crucifixion as an actor portraying him, Roumie said, “I am looking forward to telling the story, but performing that is – I know – it’s going to be challenging for me personally as an actor and as a Christian. It’s a painful part of this story, but it’s not the end of the story. The end of the story ends in life and light and truth and salvation and eternity. That’s the end of the story.”
For Roumie, season four was “for a while, completely challenging to film on a technical level, and on a narrative level was painful and sorrowful and difficult at times,” but “what ultimately comes out of it and the message behind season four – and the faith and the encouragement and the hope and the message to trust and put faith in God and that he has your back – ultimately is the beauty that I think people will walk away with when they leave the theaters.”
(Paulina Guzik is international editor for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @Guzik_Paulina.)