At the end of 2024 things may seem like they are about the same as they were at the beginning. We started the year with six seminarians, and we’ll end with the same amount. But all the seminarians will affirm that the Lord’s work is most often done very quietly. When we are faithful to our call, the Lord works. When we show up to pray each morning and pray the Mass with reverence, the Lord works in our heart.
The greatest change this year has been made in the hearts of our seminarians as they continue the work of being formed into priests after the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. That work is quiet, but its results are clear. So many people have reached out to me to tell me that they were blessed by the presence of our seminarians at one event or another. This is my favorite news to receive, and it affirms what I see as well: we have great seminarians who are working very hard and who want to do what the Lord wants them to do.
Father Nick Adam
We have great hope for the future as well. At the end of 2025 Will Foggo is scheduled to be ordained a deacon in preparation for priestly ordination in the spring of 2026. We also have two applicants for the seminary as of now for the next formation year which begins in August 2025. Please keep all of these men in your prayers. We always ask that God’s will be done, and if they are meant to enter into seminary formation, please pray that any barriers come down for them.
We may have more than two applicants as the weeks and months of the winter pass, in fact, I can say today that I expect that we will. This is the mark of a vocation program that is healthier than it was at the start of 2024. We introduced the Vocation Pathway in the summer and thanks to the help of Vianney Vocations we have walked with over 30 young men in discernment groups across the diocese. We have also collected the names of over 50 more young men who you think need this type of fellowship, and so we’ll be reaching out to them in the New Year as well.
The goal that we set at the start of this new chapter was bold, and we continue to ask the Lord to bring it to fruition – 33 seminarians by the year 2030. With that number of seminarians in the pipeline, we can staff our parishes and schools with priests. That’s the goal, that’s the vision, and we have trust that the Lord will bless our efforts.
I am grateful to all those who have supported this mission and vision this year, and in many years prior. We are building on the work of so many people who want to see our parishes thrive. In our little corner of the Chancery, God has called us to promote the diocesan priesthood, and I believe we are doing that very well right now. I am grateful to all of you, and to my part-time staff members, Cecy Arellano and Debbie Padula, who work very hard to promote the priesthood and support our seminarians. I am grateful to our six seminarians. We don’t have a huge number of guys, but they are the type of men we need, and seminary isn’t easy, so I know they appreciate your prayers and support.
By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) – With the city of Rome presenting a gauntlet of major roadworks and construction projects ahead of the opening of the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis used the disruptions as an opportunity to encourage people to do some spiritual renovation before the jubilee.
On a cloudy afternoon with the threat of rain Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis went to the center of Rome to continue the tradition of praying before a statue of Mary high atop a column near the Spanish Steps.
At dawn that morning, Rome firefighters climbed nearly 90 feet using a truck and ladder to place a ring of white flowers on Mary’s outstretched arm and bouquets at her feet, continuing a Roman tradition that began in 1949.
Pope Francis brought his own basket of white roses tied with a yellow and white Vatican ribbon, and, as is his custom, he recited a prayer to Mary rather than giving a speech to the thousands of Romans, visitors and tourists who joined him.
Pope Francis gives his blessing after reciting a prayer to Mary in front of the Marian statue near the Spanish Steps in Rome on Dec. 8, 2024, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri was there. He has been dogged with criticism about how the major jubilee projects, most of which are still incomplete, have snarled traffic and disappointed tourists hoping to see sights now covered in scaffolding.
Pope Francis said Mary knows the work is causing “quite a few inconveniences, yet it is a sign that Rome is alive, renewing itself, trying to adapt to needs, to being more welcoming and more functional.”
Speaking to Mary, he said her “mother’s gaze” sees beyond the construction chaos. “And I seem to hear your voice that with wisdom tells us, ‘My children, these works are fine, however, be careful: do not forget the worksites of the soul!”
“’The real Jubilee is not outside,’” he imagined her saying, “’it is inside: inside you, inside hearts, in family and social relationships. It is within that you must work to prepare the way for the coming Lord.’”
And, the pope added, “it’s a good opportunity to make a good confession, to ask forgiveness for all our sins. God forgives everything. God forgives always.”
Pope Francis thanked Mary for the suggestion “because, without wanting to, we risk being totally caught up in organizing, in all the things to be done,” with the risk that “the grace of the Holy Year, which is a time of spiritual rebirth, of forgiveness and social liberation,” can be stifled.
He also asked people to pray for the mayor, “who has so much to do.”
With the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope,” the pope plans to open the Holy Year at St. Peter’s Basilica before Mass Dec. 24. He also will open a Holy Door at Rome’s Rebibbia prison Dec. 26. The Holy Door at the Basilica of St. John Lateran will open Dec. 29; at the Basilica of St. Mary Major Jan. 1; and at St. Paul Outside the Walls Jan. 5.
Pope Francis thanked Mary “because still, in this time poor in hope, you give us Jesus, our hope!” He also told Mary that “the flowers we offer you are meant to express our love and gratitude; but you especially see and appreciate those hidden flowers, which are the prayers, the sighs (and) the tears, especially of the little ones and the poor.”
IN EXILE By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI Daniel Berrigan once said: Before you get serious about Jesus, think carefully about how good you are going to look on wood!
That’s a needed caution because Jesus warned us that if we follow him, pain will flow into our lives and we will join him on the cross.
What exactly does that mean? Is pain laid on a disciple as some kind of test? Does Jesus need his followers to feel the pains he experienced? Does God want the followers of Jesus to undergo pain to help pay the price of sin? Why does accepting to carry the cross with Jesus bring pain into our lives?
It’s interesting to note that the great mystic John of the Cross uses this, the inflow of pain into our lives, as a major criterion for discerning whether or not we are authentically following Jesus. For John, you know you are following Jesus when pain begins to flow into your life. Why? Does God lay special pain on those who take Christ seriously?
No. God doesn’t apportion special pain on those who take Christ seriously. The pain that flows into our lives if we take Christ seriously doesn’t come from God. It flows into us because of a deeper openness, a deeper sensitivity, and a new depth on our part. The algebra works this way: By authentically opening ourselves up to Christ we cease being overly self-protective, become more vulnerable and more sensitive, so that life, all of it, can flow into us more freely and more deeply.
Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
And part of what now flows into us is pain: the pain of others, the pain of mother earth, the pain of our own inadequacy and lack of altruism, and the pain caused by the effect of sin everywhere. This pain will now enter us more deeply and we will feel it in a way we never did before because previously we protected ourselves against it through insensitivity and self-focus.
Happily, this has a flip side: Just as pain will now flow into our lives more freely and more deeply, so too will meaning and happiness. Once we stop protecting ourselves through self-absorption, both pain and happiness can now flow more freely and more deeply into our hearts and we can begin to breathe out of a deeper part of ourselves.
Freud once commented that sometimes things can be best understood by examining their opposites. That’s partially the case here. The opposite of someone who opens herself to pain, who opens herself to the pain of the cross, is a person who is callous and insensitive (in slang, someone “who is thick as a plank.”) Such a person won’t feel a lot of pain – but won’t feel much of anything else either.
A number of implications flow from this.
First, God doesn’t lay pain on us when we become followers of Jesus and immerse ourselves more deeply in the mystery of Christ and the cross. The pain that ensues is intrinsic to the cross and is felt simply because we have now ceased protecting ourselves and are letting life, all of it, flow into us more freely and more deeply. Happily, the pain is more than offset by the new meaning and happiness that are now also felt.
Second, experiencing the pain that flows intrinsically from discipleship and the cross is, as John of the Cross wisely puts it, one of the major criteria that separates the real Gospel from the Prosperity Gospel. When the pain of the cross flows into our lives, we know that we are not feather-bedding our own self-interest in the name of the Gospel.
Third, it’s worth it to be sensitive! Freud once said that neurosis (unhealthy anxiety) is the disease of the normal person. What he didn’t say, but might have, is that the antithesis of anxiety (healthy and unhealthy) is brute insensitivity, to be thick as a plank and thus protected from pain – but also protected from deeper meaning, love, intimacy and community.
If you are a sensitive person (perhaps even an over-sensitive one, prone to depression and anxiety of all sorts) take consolation in that your very struggle indicates that you are not a calloused insensitive person, not a moral boor.
Finally, one of the implications of this is that heaven isn’t the same for everyone. Just as pain can be shallow or deep, so too can meaning and happiness. To the degree that we open our hearts to depth, to that same degree deep meaning and happiness can flow into us. A closed heart makes for shallow meaning. A heart partially open makes for some deep meaning, but not full meaning. Whereas the heart that is fully open makes for the deepest meaning.
There are different depths to meaning and happiness here on earth and, I suspect, that will be true too in the next life. So, the invitation from Jesus is to accept the pain that comes from the wood of the cross rather than being thick as a plank!
(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)
The Virgin Mary and Christ Child are depicted in the icon of the Theotokos – or Mother of God – from the Byzantine-Ruthenian chapel at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. (OSV News photo by Nick Crettier, courtesy the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception)
FAITH ALIVE By D.D. Emmons Jan. 1 is the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the final day of the Christmas octave.
In the fifth century, a heresy led by Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople (r. 428-431) claimed that Jesus was actually two persons: one human and one divine – that his divinity was instilled on him after he was born. Thus, they reasoned incorrectly that Mary was the mother of Jesus but not the mother of God. Their rationale contradicted ancient Christian beliefs as well as proclamations and canons issued at earlier church councils.
At the Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325, the church fathers had clearly determined that Jesus was consubstantial with the Father and, therefore, Mary was the Mother of God.
In response to the heretical message of Nestorius, another ecumenical council was held in 431 at Ephesus, Turkey. Led by St. Cyril (r. 412-444), bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, Mary was defended as Theotokos, God-bearer, and that Jesus was one person with a divine and human nature; Mary was the Mother of God. Nestorianism was condemned by the council and Nestorians excommunicated.
The people of Ephesus, joyful over the council decision, went through the streets chanting, “Mary, Mother of God,” which would become words prayed during the rosary devotion.
Some 1,500 years after the council, Pope Pius XI (r. 1922-1939) would claim: “If the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary is God, assuredly she who bore him is rightly and deservedly to be called the Mother of God.”
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE By Melvin Arrington Have you ever noticed on social media the use of the phrase “I love you more?” Although this seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon, its usage is becoming more and more prevalent in written communication. For example, a daughter writes to her mother, “I love you,” and the mother, instead of responding, “I love you, too,” says, “I love you more.” Does this mean “more than you love me?” Or maybe “more than you’ll ever know?” Or perhaps “more than anyone else could ever love you?” On the surface it looks rather silly, almost like a game. But true love is not a game. It’s what our lives should be about.
I have two daughters, both of whom I cherish. The intensity of my affection is the same for each of them. There is no quantifiable difference in how much I care for each one. The only distinction I can make is one of duration rather than intensity; that is, I have loved the older one longer but not any more than the younger one.
God, on the other hand, has loved all of us the same length of time, despite differences in our ages, because He has known each of us from all eternity: “He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before Him. In love He destined us for adoption to Himself through Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 1:4-5a) Psalm 139 expresses this even more vividly in the beautiful image of God as the First Knitter: “You formed my inmost being; You knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know.” (vv. 13-14) In short, God loves each of us more than we love Him and more than we will ever know, and more than anyone else could ever love us.
Throughout Scripture God is seeking to bring us back into the deep, personal, committed love relationship He intended for us to have with Him from the beginning, a relationship that has been damaged, and in some cases, broken because of our willful disobedience. In Genesis chapter 3, Adam sins and then tries to hide, but God goes looking for him and calls out to him. One of Christ’s seven sayings on the Cross, “I thirst,” (John 19:28) means, in addition to physical thirst, His thirst for souls. He longs for us, even when we turn our backs on Him. In Revelation, we see the Lord continuing to pursue us: “I stand at the door and knock.” (3:20) All we have to do is open the door and invite Him into our hearts and our lives.
We are like the little sheep that wandered off and was lost in Luke chapter 15. Jesus told this parable to make a point, but He also meant it in the sense that He would really and truly leave the ninety-nine and go in search of the one that was lost because every soul is precious to Him.
True love is self-sacrificing, and no one has sacrificed more on our behalf than Our Lord: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) Look how much Jesus loves us. When He went to the cross for us, to pay to sin debt that we couldn’t pay, He surrendered everything He had: His clothes – “They divided His garments by casting lots” (Matt. 27:35); His mother – “Behold, your mother” (John 19:27); His life – “It is finished” (John 19:30); His very spirit – “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.” (Luke 23:46) All of this, not to mention that He gave up the glory of the heavenly kingdom to become one of us, born in a filthy stable because there was no room for Him in the inn: “And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” (John 14:1a)
That’s what He did for us. That’s how much He loved us, and yet we complain about having to abstain from meat for a few days during Lent! Heaven help us! Along the same lines, St. John of the Cross once said: “Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.” I’m ashamed to admit how often I have to remind myself of that saying.
How can we let Jesus know that we really love Him during the Christmas season? Obviously, we can do it by giving generously to worthy charitable causes and by performing the corporal works of mercy. Also, we can be more patient with others, practice kindness, and let others see all of the other fruits of the Spirit in our lives. But what else can we do? Two specific things come to mind: spend more time in prayer and make frequent visits to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. He is waiting there for us.
So, when we tell the Lord we love Him and try to prove it by the way we treat others and by how much time we spend with Him in prayer, Scripture reading, and adoration, His reply might very well be, “I love you more,” because He truly does. Merry Christmas!
(Melvin Arrington is a Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages for the University of Mississippi and a member of St. John Oxford.)
ON ORDINARY TIMES By Lucia A. Silecchia It happens all year – the requests for donations for all manner of charitable causes.
Pleas come in the mail from children’s hospitals, medical researchers, religious communities and educational institutions seeking funds to further their missions.
Television ads, set to melancholy music, beg for contributions to end world hunger and save abandoned animals.
Celebrities lend their names to fundraising campaigns and telethons for the causes they embrace and the issues they champion.
Emails pour in from every charitable organization, seeking resources to expand – or to survive. In the week of “Giving Tuesday,” the promises of matching contributions and competitive giving takes on an energy all its own.
At nearly every Mass, second collections seem to be taken up to aid victims of natural disasters, support those in need at home and abroad, and fund education and welfare activities of all kinds.
It can, at times, seem overwhelming. Whether we write checks, enter our credit card number on a website, respond to a solicitation call, or drop some folded bills in a collection basket, the array of needs we are invited to meet seems endless – and, many times, impersonal. Often, convincing potential donors of the enormity of a problem, the depths of the despair and the vastness of the need can seem to be the most effective way to jolt them into a response. In this, though, it can become too easy to forget the individuals on whose behalf the help is sought. It can also become too easy to do nothing when it seems like any individual response is too small for problems so big.
I have noticed, however, that this seems to change at Christmastime. Certainly, the end of the year spurs fresh large-scale outreach to those who may want to take advantage of charitable tax deductions while time remains. Yet, it is at Christmastime that requests for help become more personal.
There are Christmas trees in the vestibules of so many churches, inviting parishioners to purchase a gift for a child in need. This is not an anonymous request for funding, but a specific invitation to buy a Lego set for a 5-year-old girl and a book for a 2-year-old boy.
There are sign-up sheets to bake casseroles for parish families in need. Again, this is not a faceless fundraiser to solve world hunger, but a specific recipe to prepare a simple meal for a neighbor. In a season celebrating the birth of a child, crisis pregnancy centers seek infant clothing and cribs, and donors respond as they recall an infant in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
Local shelters continue to seek monetary contributions, but they also solicit the warmth and care of volunteers who will serve hot food at holiday dinners for those who have no place to call home. Christmas concerts at nursing homes bring young singers into the life of those who need the gift of cheer and joy more than they may any other gift.
Families are encouraged to adopt families in need and offered the chance to purchase the essentials for a holiday meal. Food drives in schools, supermarkets and neighborhood associations invite shoppers to purchase extra grocery items for neighbors when they are shopping, with love, for their own families These small gestures do not solve the big problems of the world. In practical terms, they inefficiently ignore the economies of scale that drive larger campaigns.
Yet, in a deeply profound way, love is not efficient. It is best served in the intimate doses that are personal opportunities for sisters and brothers in Christ to see each other, to respond to each other’s needs, to learn the aches of each other’s’ hearts, and to believe that simple, small acts done with love make a difference.
Soon, in our Christmas songs we will sing of a Child with “no crib for a bed” and “a Child, a Child [who] shivers in the cold.” Soon after that, when January comes, giving can too easily become more impersonal again. But, perhaps the inefficient, personal love we are invited to share at Christmas will linger behind and be a new way of giving in ordinary times.
(Lucia A. Silecchia is Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law.)
SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT GLUCKSTADT – St. Joseph, Millions of Monicas – Praying with confidence for our children, each Tuesday from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the church. Join with other mothers and grandmothers as we pray for our children’s faithful return to the church. Details: email millionsofmonicas@stjosephgluckstadt.com.
Knights of Columbus – Grow in your faith with five short videos produced by the Knights of Columbus called the “Mission of The Family.” The Mission of the Family” videos can be found at https://www.kofc.org/en/campaigns/into-the-breach.html. The five videos are less than 14 minutes in length.
OFFICE OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION – The OCE hosts a Zoom Rosary the first Wednesday of each month during the school year at 7 p.m. On Jan. 8, St. Anthony School will lead us in prayer. Join early and place your intentions in the chat. Details: Join the rosary via zoom at https://bit.ly/zoomrosary2024 or check the diocese calendar of events.
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – School Sisters of Notre Dame invite single women to a discernment retreat Feb. 21-23, 2025, at their Sancta Maria in Ripa campus. Details: Pre-registration by Feb. 7, is requested. There is no cost for participation. Private rooms with restroom provided; all meals included. Some assistance with transportation costs is available if needed. Details: email sisters@ssnd.org or call (314) 633-7026.
PILGRIMAGE – Pilgrimage to Marian Shrines (Fatima, Spain and Lourdes) with Father Lincoln Dall and Deacon John McGregor, Sept, 15-24, 2025. Details: for more information visit www.206tours.com/frlincoln.
PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS JACKSON – Holy Family, Simbang Gabi Mass with a Novena, Dec. 16-24 at 4 a.m. Come join this Filipino tradition on the nine days before Christmas.
Holy Family, Las Posadas, Monday, Dec. 23 at 6 p.m. Details: church office (601) 362-1888.
JACKSON – Cathedral of St. Peter, Statue Dedication of Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. The statue is a gift from the Bishops of the Province of Mobile. The celebration will begin with Mass, followed by the blessing of the statue, then a reception to follow.
Cathedral of St. Peter, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 from 1-2:30 p.m. with speaker Constance Slaughter Harvey. You may write a short reflection on how Dr. King’s message impacted your life or society. Submit by Jan. 10. Details: amelia.breton@jacksondiocese.org.
MADISON – St. Joseph School, $10,000 Draw Down, Saturday, Jan. 25 from 6-10 p.m. at Reunion Golf Club. Details: visit www.stjoebruins.com/drawdown.
MADISON – St. Francis, Ring in Your Faith 10k/5k, Wednesday, Jan. 1 at 8 a.m. You are guaranteed a delicious New Year’s Day meal and fellowship after the race. Cost is $30, with proceeds to assist Knights ongoing service projects. Register at https://bit.ly/RingInYourFaith2025. Details: Joe at leslieslee@hotmail.com.
MERIDIAN – St. Patrick, Dinner and Dancing, Saturday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Tickets $30. Dress in your Sunday best for a Valentine’s weekend intimate night of fine dining and romantic melodies. Ages 21+. Details: church office (601) 693-1321.
DIOCESE Campus Ministry Winter Retreat, Saturday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Joseph Starkville. Join college students from across the diocese for a day of fellowship, games, prayer, song, scripture, Mass and more. Cost: $20. Details: register at https://bit.ly/3OoES58.
WORLD MARRIAGE DAY – Event recognizes couples celebrating special anniversaries in 2025 – 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th or longer. Celebrations held in Jackson at the Cathedral of St. Peter on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. and in Tupelo at St. James on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. Register by Jan. 7, 2025. Details: email debbie.tubertini@jacksondiocese.org.
YOUTH – DCYC, March 21-23, 2025 at the Vicksburg Convention Center. Theme is “Here I am Lord Work in Me.” Register by Feb. 21, contact your parish to register. Details: contact your individual parish offices or contact Abbey at (601) 949-6934 or abbey.schuhmann@jacksondiocese.org.
COLUMBUS – Joni House, principal of Annunciation School dressed as an “Elf on a Shelf” greeting students each morning between Thanksgiving and Christmas break. (Photos by Jacque Hince)
By Gina Christian (OSV News) – Despite a few high-profile delays in recent years, the beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen – the popular, scholarly archbishop and 20th-century pioneer of Catholic broadcasting – is “inevitable,” said the head of the foundation supporting his cause.
“The desire to see Sheen beatified is increasing, and there is a growing devotion to him,” Msgr. Jason Gray, executive director of the Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation, told OSV News.
In an article for the foundation’s 2024 year-end newsletter, Msgr. Gray – who also serves as the judicial vicar and episcopal vicar for consecrated life for the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, as well as pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Peoria Heights – pointed to several indicators of Archbishop Sheen’s expanding reputation for holiness, or “fama sanctitatis” in canonical terms.
“He didn’t just know about Jesus Christ,” Msgr. Gray told OSV News. “He knew Jesus Christ personally.” That relationship enabled Archbishop Sheen to put his considerable intellect and communications skills at the service of the Catholic Church, with international impact, said Msgr. Gray.
Despite a few high-profile delays in recent years, the beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen – the popular, scholarly archbishop and 20th-century pioneer of Catholic broadcasting – is “inevitable,” said the head of the foundation supporting his cause. Archbishop Sheen is pictured in an undated photo. (OSV News file photo)
Born in 1895, Fulton John Sheen sensed an early call to priesthood, and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in 1919. He then obtained a doctorate in philosophy and taught both that subject and theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington from 1927 to 1950.
But rather than confine himself to academia, then-Father Sheen also leveraged modern social communications platforms to spread the Gospel. He launched a weekly radio show while still a fairly young priest, drawing some 4 million regular listeners during a two-decade run. After being appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York, he transformed the show into a television program, “Life is Worth Living,” which peaked at 30 million weekly viewers.
His ministry continued to expand, with then-Bishop Sheen serving as national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith from 1950-1966. He was then appointed bishop of Rochester, New York, in 1966, where he launched a second television show. He resigned three years later as his 75th birthday approached; canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope at 75. He was appointed a titular archbishop by Pope St. Paul VI, which afforded him time to continue preaching. Archbishop Sheen, who had suffered from heart disease in later years, died in 1979 before the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel of his Manhattan residence.
His cause for canonization, opened in 2002, has been stalled by two controversies – a public battle to relocate his remains from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York to its current location, the side chapel of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria; and concerns that as bishop of Rochester from 1966-1969, the prelate might have overlooked sexual abuse by at least one former diocesan priest there.
The latter concern was magnified after the state of New York adopted lookback laws that allowed hundreds of abuse claims to be considered, with the Diocese of Rochester ultimately filing for bankruptcy. However, Msgr. Gray told OSV News, “Sheen is clean. … Not one accusation has been raised that impugned Sheen.”
He said the foundation has examined “all of the pleadings” relevant to claims against the Rochester Diocese, and “there hasn’t been anything that was brought up there” implicating Archbishop Sheen. The monsignor said the only thing remaining is a “dormant” investigation by New York State Attorney General Letitia Jones, who opened several such inquiries into other dioceses that have now been settled. Msgr. Gray told OSV News there are “three reasons” for renewed interest in Archbishop Sheen’s canonization, which has been evidenced by a surge in visits to his tomb, requests for both relics and for his more than 50 books, and reports of favors and graces received through Archbishop Sheen’s intercession.
“The first is maybe the most obvious, and it’s just that he was someone who used the modern means of communication,” said Msgr. Gray, adding “if he (Archbishop Sheen) were around today, (imagine) what he’d be doing with the internet.”
Even more important, Archbishop Sheen “was very devoted to the Eucharist,” and serves as “a model for devotion to the Blessed Sacrament” – a role that has taken on deeper significance amid the National Eucharistic Revival, said Msgr. Gray.
And, he added, Archbishop Sheen was “someone who was just so insightful on so many issues,” including the most contentious ones “facing modern man today.
“He would talk about psychology, politics, sociology,” said Msgr. Gray. “And I think maybe more than ever, we need someone … (like) Sheen to speak with so much clarity, and so much passion and so much charity about the issues that are just roiling our societies today.”
Because of his personal relationship with Christ, Archbishop Sheen “could speak from a personal perspective, and with personal passion,” said the monsignor. “He wasn’t just quoting a book. … He brought his knowledge of the faith and his knowledge of Jesus Christ into the personal trials that we face in the world today.”
(Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @GinaJesseReina.)
By Kurt Jensen (OSV News) – For those attempting to bring any part of the Gospel story to the screen, whether big or small, the four canonical accounts, as books of faith, prove to be of limited help. They’re not motion-picture treatments, and their descriptions of historical details and dialogue tend to be brief.
That’s why, ever since the first filmed versions of Scripture were produced more than a century ago, their makers have introduced non-Biblical characters, dialogue and subplots, using their own research and judgment about what will appeal to audiences. The aim is to make such narratives three-dimensional and relatable.
Now, that approach has been applied to Mariology – the theological study of the Blessed Mother – in “Mary,” an earnest drama that will be available for streaming on Netflix Dec. 6. Specifically, director D.J. Caruso and screenwriter Timothy Michael Hayes rely heavily on the “Protoevangelium of James,” a text generally dated to the middle of the second century.
Noa Cohen stars as Mary in the Netflix movie “Mary.” (OSV News photo/Christopher Raphael, Netflix)
While not recognized by the church as inspired, the Protoevangelium is both Mary-centric and rich in particulars. It deals with the Virgin’s life even before her conception – which it describes as miraculous – introducing its readers to her elderly parents, Sts. Joachim (Ori Pfeffer) and Anne (Hilla Vidor). They consecrate their daughter to God and, as a child (Mila Harris), she leaves home to live in the Temple in Jerusalem. As Mary grows up (Noa Cohen), her dedication to God steadily increases and matures. However, Caruso and Hayes have taken liberties with this source material as well. The Protoevangelium has a nameless angel telling Anne that her prayers to become a mother have been answered. Now he’s identified as the Archangel Gabriel (Dudley O’Shaughnessy). Gabriel becomes a continuous presence in Mary’s life, both before and after the Annunciation, and at one point he directly confronts Satan (Eamon Farren) to protect her.
In the movie, moreover, Gabriel – who is usually shown as a winged figure in white – appears in a blue robe, sans wings. Caruso, a lifelong Catholic from Norwalk, Connecticut, told OSV News that the change in apparel was his idea.
“A few famous icon paintings done throughout history depicted Gabriel in blue. ‘The Archangel Michael Defeating Satan’ was created in 1635 by Guido Reni, and that was an image I used for inspiration. I felt Gabriel would visually pop in blue – in contrast to some of the chaos around the Virgin Mary.”
In another visual motif, as a youth, Mary finds herself attracted to, and surrounded by, butterflies. They represent the new life conferred in baptism.
The Protoevangelium presents St. Joseph (Ido Tako) as much older than his bride. But Caruso decided they should both be about 20 when they first meet – in an encounter stage-managed by Gabriel. In contemporary terms, the story is about Mary growing into her power and accepting her unique destiny, albeit not without occasional fears. She receives much encouragement along the way, especially from the prophetess Anna (Susan Brown) who becomes her mentor.
At one point, Anna – a familiar figure from Luke’s account of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple – exclaims to Mary, “You are more powerful than words, child!” And Mary herself resolutely tells high priest Bava Ben Buta (Mehmet Kurtulus), “I am here to fulfill a promise.”
“I always felt that Mary’s story was a little underappreciated,” Caruso said. “The discovery for me was (that) in all these movies, no one ever put the emphasis on (Mary saying) ‘Let it be me!’”
He added, “Like Mary, we all have choices to make.”
After filming wrapped in Morocco, Caruso unexpectedly found himself caught up in an avalanche of toxic online sniping about the casting of the two principals. Tako and Cohen are both Israeli.
The leading topic of criticism on social media, where hate festers worldwide, was the charge that Joseph and Mary were actually Palestinians. That’s an absurd canard, the staying power of which can be attributed to centuries of anti-Semitism. It’s been given new life, however, by anguish over Israel’s war in Gaza.
The idea, nonetheless, is easily disproved. Two of the Gospels trace Jesus’ genealogy back to Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob, while the Gospel of Luke adds that Joseph was “of the house of David.” The same evangelist tells us, moreover, that both Jesus’ parents “went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover” every year. In fact, no reliable ancient document so much as insinuates that Joseph and Mary were not Jews.
“You can’t control what other people think or believe,” Caruso told OSV News with some resignation. His intent was authenticity. He cast Cohen, a 22-year-old former model, “because we thought it was important that Noa was from the region (in central Israel) where Mary was born.”
The online noise became so ugly, Cohen’s management would not make her available for what was expected to be a joint interview with Caruso.
Instead, OSV News had to settle for an email: “I decided to take on the role of Mary because it offered a unique opportunity to explore a side of her that hadn’t been fully portrayed before,” Cohen wrote. “This film,” she continued, “allows audiences to see Mary not just as a vessel for something greater but as a young woman navigating the complexities of life, balancing her divine role with her humanity.”
The role, Cohen added, “was an incredible experience that felt both humbling and a tremendous responsibility. Embodying her vulnerability and resilience as she faced both divine and very human challenges was deeply fulfilling. It was a special opportunity to bring her story to life in a way that will hopefully allow the audience to connect with her on a deeply human level.”
Two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins plays King Herod, who, in the Gospels, seeks to kill the new Messiah. But Caruso thinks Herod was a victim of his own bitterness. “Yes, he’s looking for the Messiah. Maybe not necessarily to destroy him, but because he has a hole in his life.”
Making Mary relatable, Caruso says, was his principal goal. “Wouldn’t it be great,” he thought, “for a younger person to see this movie and think, ‘These are people I understand?’ They can be role models for a younger generation. (Young women might think) ‘Mary could be my friend. Someone I could reach out to; someone I could talk to.’”
