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Bring Mary’s gratitude and hope into the new year, pope says

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By Justin McLellan
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – On New Year’s Eve, believers and non-believers alike give thanks for all they have received in the last 12 months and express their hopes for the coming year, but Christians are called to cultivate their gratitude and hope following the example of Mary, Pope Francis said.
“Faith enables us to live this hour in a way different than that of a worldly mindset,” the pope said during an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 31. “Faith in Jesus Christ, the incarnated God, born of the Virgin Mary, gives a new way of feeling time and life.”
Pope Francis said that while many people express thanks and hope on New Year’s Eve, in reality, they often “lack the essential dimension which is that of relationship with the Other and with others, with God and with brothers and sisters.”
With a worldly mentality, gratitude and hope are “flattened onto the self, onto one’s interests,” he said. “They don’t go beyond satisfaction and optimism.”
Pope Francis encouraged Christians to look to the example of Mary who, after giving birth to Jesus, had a mother’s gratitude in her heart for bearing the child of God.
“Mystery makes room for gratitude, which surfaces in the contemplation of gift, in gratuitousness, while it suffocates in the anxiety of having and appearing,” the pope said. “The church learns gratitude from the Virgin Mary.”
The pope also said that the hope of Mary and the church “is not optimism, it is something else: it is faith in a God faithful to his promises.”
“This faith takes the form of hope in the dimension of time,” he said. “Christians, like Mary, are pilgrims of hope.”

Pope Francis prays in front of an icon of the “Madonna Lactans” or Nursing Madonna near the main altar of St. Peter’s Basilica after an evening prayer service at the Vatican Dec. 31, 2023. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Near the basilica’s main altar was an icon of the “Madonna Lactans,” or Nursing Madonna, from the Benedictine Abbey of Montevirgine in Mercogliano, Italy. The icon, in late Byzantine style, shows Mary nursing the infant Jesus. The pope prayed silently before the image before leaving the basilica.
The service culminated with the choir and the 6,500 people present in the basilica singing the “Te Deum” (“We praise you, oh God”) in thanksgiving for the blessings of the past year.
In his homily, Pope Francis noted that the coming year would involve intense preparation for the Holy Year 2025. Yet more than worrying about organizing logistics and events, the pope asked people to be witnesses to “ethical and spiritual quality of coexistence.”
As an example, he pointed out that people of every nationality, culture and religion come together in St. Peter’s Square, so the basilica must be welcoming to all people and provide accessible information.
The pope then praised charm of Rome’s historic center but said it must also be accessible to people with disabilities and the elderly.
Roberto Gualtieri, mayor of Rome, sat in the front of row of the basilica during the prayer service and greeted the pope at its conclusion.
Pope Francis noted that a pilgrimage “requires good preparation,” and recalled that 2024 would be dedicated to prayer before the Holy Year.
“And what better teacher could we have than our holy Mother?” the pope asked. “Let us learn from her to live every day, every moment, every occupation with our inner gaze turned to Jesus.”
After the prayer service, the pope greeted people lined along the basilica’s central nave. Then, riding in his wheelchair, he went outside to pray in front of the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square, taking his time to wave to visitors, bless children and listen to the Swiss Guard band as it played Christmas carols.

Our over-complex, tortured selves

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IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
When all is said and done, our lives are not all that serene and peaceful. In a manner of speaking, we are always somewhat pathetic. That shouldn’t scare us. Pathetic is not a pejorative term. The word comes from the Greek, pathos, which means pain. To be pathetic is to live in pain, and we all do because of the very way we are made.
You might say that doesn’t sound right. Aren’t we made in the image and likeness of God so that each of us, no matter how messed up our lives might be, carry a special dignity and a certain godliness within us? We do carry that special dignity. However, despite that and largely because of it, our lives tend to be so complex as to be pain filled. Why?

Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI

Godliness isn’t easy to carry. The infinite inside us doesn’t easily fit itself into the finite. We carry too much divine fire inside to find much peace in this life.
That struggle begins early in life. To create a self-identity as a very young child, we need to make a series of mental contractions which ultimately limit our awareness. First, we need to differentiate ourselves from others (That’s mom – I’m me); then, we need to differentiate between what is living and what is not (the puppy is alive – my doll isn’t); next, we need to differentiate between what is physical and what is mental (this is my body – but I think with my mind). Finally, and critically, as we are doing all this, we need split off as much of our luminosity we can consciously handle from what is too much to consciously handle. With that we create a self-identity – but we also create a shadow, namely, an area inside us which is split off from our consciousness.
Notice that our shadow is not first of all a looming darkness. Rather, it’s all the light and energy inside us that we cannot consciously handle. Most of us, I suspect, are familiar with the words of Marianne Williamson made famous by Nelson Mandela in his inauguration speech: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
Our light frightens us because it is not easy to carry. It gives us great dignity and infinite depth, but it also makes us pathologically complex and restless. Ruth Burrows, one of the foremost spiritual writers of our time, begins her autobiography with these words: I was born into this world with a tortured sensitivity and my life has not been an easy one. You wouldn’t expect those words from a mystic, from someone who has been a faithful nun for more than seventy-five years. You wouldn’t expect that her struggle in life was as much with the light within herself as with the darkness within and around her. That’s also true for each of us.
There’s a famous passage in the Book of Qoheleth where the sacred writer tells us that God has made everything beautiful in its own time. However, the passage doesn’t end on a peaceful note. It ends by telling us that, while God has made everything beautiful in its own time, God has put timelessness into the human heart so that we are congenitally out of sync with time and the seasons from beginning to end. Both our special dignity and our pathological complexity take their origins in that anomaly in our nature. We are overcharged for life on this planet.
St. Augustine gave this classic expression in his famous line: You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. There is an entire anthropology and spirituality in that single line. Our dignity and our perpetual restlessness have one and the same source.
Thus, you need to give yourself sacred permission for being wild of heart, restless of heart, insatiable of heart, complex of heart and driven of heart. Too often, where both psychology and spirituality have failed you is in giving you the impression that you should be living without chaos and restlessness in your life. Admittedly, these can beset you more acutely because of moral inadequacy, but they will beset you no matter how good a life you are living. Indeed, if you are a deeply sensitive person, you will probably feel your complexity more acutely than if you are less sensitive or are deadening your sensitivity with distractions.
Karl Rahner once wrote to a friend who had written to him complaining that he wasn’t finding the fulfillment he longed for in life. His friend expressed disappointment with himself, his marriage and his job. Rahner gave him this counsel: In the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable, we ultimately learn that in this life there is no finished symphony.
There can be no finished symphony in this life – not because our souls are defective, but because they carry godliness.

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

Late Pope Benedict remembered on first anniversary of his death

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By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As an expression of ongoing affection and gratitude for the late Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis led tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square in a round of applause for his predecessor on the first anniversary of his death.
“A year ago, Pope Benedict XVI concluded his earthly journey after having served the church with love and wisdom,” Pope Francis told an estimated 20,000 people gathered in the square for the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer Dec. 31.
Pope Benedict, who led the church from 2005 to 2013, died Dec. 31, 2022, at the age of 95.
“We feel so much affection, gratitude and admiration for him,” the pope said. “From heaven, he blesses and accompanies us.”

Before the Angelus, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Pope Benedict’s former personal secretary, presided over a memorial Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica. German Cardinal Gerhard Müller and Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, concelebrated the liturgy.
In his homily, the archbishop shared some of Pope Benedict’s meditations on the readings for the day’s feast, the feast of the Holy Family. Several times his voice broke with emotion remembering the pope he lived with and served.
Looking at how prayer was an essential part of the life of Mary and Joseph, Archbishop Gänswein quoted Pope Benedict’s last Angelus address, just days before his resignation went into effect, when he explained:
“The Lord is calling me ‘to scale the mountain,’ to devote myself even more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning the church; indeed, if God asks me this it is precisely so that I may continue to serve her with the same dedication and the same love with which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suited to my age and strength.”
In the same way, the archbishop said, prayer marks the rhythm of the life of the church, “which is the great family of God.”
As the retired pope aged, he said, his life – with a growing intensity and interiority – became more focused on prayer.
Born Joseph Ratzinger, he tried to model his life on St. Joseph, the archbishop said. It could be seen in his intimacy with the Lord and with the people around him, “relationships distinguished by great courtesy, humility and simplicity.”

Called by Name

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I am pleased to announce that we have a new seminarian who will be starting his formation this month. Joe Pearson is a native of Flora and attended St. Richard Elementary, St. Joseph Middle and High School, Co-Lin Community College and the University of Mississippi. He graduated from Ole Miss in December and decided to apply to enter the seminary. I have known Joe since he was in high school and am very proud that he is taking this step in his journey with the Lord. Joe knows that his decision to enter the seminary is not a decision to become a priest, but rather it is a decision to discern fully whether or not the Lord is calling him to be a priest.

Father Nick Adam

The seminary is the place where men who have the maturity and the desire go to know their vocation. The guys who enter do not know for sure that they will be ordained. They literally cannot know for sure because they are not the only ones who are making the decision. The church discerns with the man as well, and it’s my job as vocation director to help our seminarians discover their particular path. I am very happy with the group that we have studying for our diocese. I believe that each of our seminarians was called to the seminary and will become who they are called to be by the Lord, whether they get ordained or not.
Over the Christmas holidays I’ve been blessed to host three of our seminarians here at the Cathedral Rectory: Will Foggo, Wilson Locke and Francisco Maldonado. Will is one of our senior-most seminarians while Wilson and Francisco just started back in August. We had a great time and I believe that the best way to prepare men for the priesthood is to give them a realistic look at what being a priest is like. They were able to participate in various events from meetings to parties, but they also have blessed our Catholic community by their witness and their talents. Will and Francisco visited two of our elementary schools and Wilson and I will visit Sr. Thea Bowman School in January before he goes back to seminary. All of them have assisted with Masses and helped with parish activities as well.
One testament to the quality of our seminarians is the feedback that I receive from the community. Wilson and I have been going to a local gym downtown to exercise in the afternoon. One of the employees shared with me how impressed he was by Wilson’s witness when he had a brief conversation with him one day. I am grateful for our seminarians and ask you to continue praying for all of them as they embark on another semester of formation.

Father Nick Adam, vocation director

(Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)

New seminarian, Joe Pearson pictured with Father Mark Shoffner outside St. John parish in Oxford. (Photo courtesy Father Nick Adam)

In memoriam: Sister M. KristinRever, OP

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Dominican Sister M. Kristin Rever died Dec. 27, 2023, at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield. She was born in 1942, in Assumption, Illinois, to John H. and Wanda M. [Nee: Simpson] Rever who gave her the name Kay Frances. She was baptized at Assumption BVM, Assumption, Illinois, and in 1962 made her profession of vows at Sacred Heart Convent.

Sister M. Kristin taught elementary school for 19 years at parochial schools in Chicago, Matteson, and Newton, Illinois, and in Duluth, Minnesota. After study, she began ministry as a respiratory therapist, serving in that capacity intermittently at St. Dominic Hospital, Jackson, Mississippi, for a total of 14 years and at St. Mary-Rogers Memorial Hospital, Rogers, Arkansas, for two. While in Jackson she also served in the development office for St. Catherine’s Village, and as pastoral visitor at St. Catherine’s Village, 2006-2019.
She remained deeply committed to the healing ministry of Jesus in all of her healthcare assignments. She frequently volunteered as pastoral visitor in parishes and worked in parish healthcare in Springfield.
Sister M. Kristin was preceded in death by her parents and her brother John. She is survived by her nephew Robert Rever and niece Rhonda Beck, both of Taylorville, Illinois, her nephew John Rever, Omaha, Nebraska, and many dear cousins.
Memorials to honor the memory of Sister M. Kristin may be made to the Dominican Sisters Retirement Fund, 1237 W. Monroe St., Springfield, IL, 62704.

Celebrating the legacy of MLK, Jr. and Sister Thea Bowman

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By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
Coming out of the splendor of the Christmas season with the culminating feasts of the Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord, we now return to ordinary time to remain steadfast in the work of the Lord to announce the Good News of Salvation, and the presence of the Kingdom of God, the work of conversion, and of justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)
The feast of the Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus Christ to all nations, inspired us to follow the radiance of the Gospel while circumventing the power and pull of evil in our world, as did the Magi in eluding King Herod. The Baptism of the Lord inspires us as God’s children, baptized into the life-giving death and resurrection of God’s beloved Son, to hear the call of the Lord and to put it into practice as his disciples. With the Holy Spirit as out guide we pray and dedicate ourselves to the will of God “on earth as it is in heaven.” The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the foretaste and promise of glory (2Corinthians 5:5), raising us beyond the horizon of this world to the vision of eternal life.

Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

The national holiday this weekend offers us the bonus of an additional day away from many of our offices and workplaces and much more in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. At our Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, we are going to mark this occasion in an extra special way with an additional Mass on Sunday afternoon honoring the legacy and witness of King and of our own Sister Thea Bowman, Servant of God. They were not exactly contemporaries of one another, yet they breathed the same air with the same passion for civil rights, for freedom, justice and equality for all of God’s children.
When Martin Luther King Jr. was slain in Memphis in April 1968, Sister Thea was pursuing an advanced degree at Catholic University in Washington DC. She would take up the torch for the next 20 years until her untimely death. They were committed disciples of the Lord Jesus, MLK, Jr. a Baptist, and Bowman, a Catholic, who like the Magi were inspired to live by the light of faith and the power of the Gospel.
When Pope Francis spoke to the United States Congress in 2015, he honored King as a prophetic voice for our nation’s conscience, along with Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day and Abraham Lincoln. As a national icon, Martin Luther King Jr. is a Christian prophet whose life and violent death challenge us to resist the many-sided faces of evil nonviolently. His witness still confronts us today to turn away from the sins of racism, and unbridled materialism and militarism.
On the other hand, Sister Thea is not as well known nationally but her life, cut short by cancer, also rises to the distinction of prophetic witness. She labored untiringly in the vineyard of the Lord for greater justice and peace with a passion securely anchored in the joy of the Holy Spirit. Her cause for canonization continues to gain traction in our Catholic world around our nation, while the Diocese of Jackson works behind the scenes to fulfill the requirements to move the cause forward. For example, in the recent past the diocese sponsored a documentary on her amazing life, entitled “Going Home Like a Shooting Star.” (https://bit.ly/SisterTheaFilm) Later this spring we will unveil a life-size bronze statue of Sister Thea to be nestled in the cathedral until a shrine is built in a permanent location in the diocese.
In conclusion, allow the words of these two spiritual giants to capture our imagination and vision for living.

“Everyone does not have access. When I say that, I mean that Martin Luther King Jr. was demonstrating for the rights of the poor, he was demonstrating for fair and decent housing, he was demonstrating for opportunities for adequate education. And not just adequate educational opportunity for blacks, but for all children. He was demonstrating for a land where we could love another as brothers and sisters and work together for a solution to our common problems.” (Sister Thea Bowman)
“Love yourself, if that means rational, healthy, and moral self-interest. You are commanded to do that. That is the length of life. Love your neighbor as yourself. You are commanded to do that. This is the breath of life. But never forget that there is even a greater and first commandment, ‘Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy mind.’ This is the height of life. And when you do this, you live the complete life.” (MLK, Jr.)

Calendar of Events

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PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS
ANGUILLA – Our Mother of Mercy, Celebrating 100 years of our Catholic faith, Saturday, Jan. 27. Mass at 10:30 a.m. with reception following. Please join us!
CLINTON – Holy Savior, Garage Sale, Saturday, Jan. 27 from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Proceeds benefit youth program. Donation collection begins weekend of Jan. 21. Details: church office (601) 924-6344.
COLUMBUS – Annunciation, Mardi Gras Mambo, Friday, Feb. 9 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the Annunciation Gymnasium. Adults only. Dinner and open bar included. To attend purchase a draw down ticket for $100 or $35 silent auction ticket at the door. Details: email psa.acseagles@gmail.com.
Annunciation School, Open House, Sunday, Jan. 28 from 1-3 p.m. Accepting students Pre-K3 through eighth grade. Learn more at www.annunciationcatholicschool.org.
DIOCESE – World Marriage Day, Saturday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter Jackson and Sunday, Feb. 11 at 11 a.m. at St. James Tupelo. This is a wonderful celebration of the sacrament of matrimony for those couples in the diocese celebrating their 25th, 50th, 60th or greater anniversary. To register contact your parish office or go to www.jacksondiocese.org/family-ministry to register yourself. Details: Office of Family Ministry (601) 960-8487.
GREENWOOD – St. Francis, Mardi Gras Celebration, Saturday, Feb. 10, from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Leflore County Civic Center (200 Hwy 7). Cost: $40 donation per adult. Event includes New Orleans style buffet served at 8 p.m.; entertainment by DJ Traxx; swing dance contest and more. Attire: mardi gras festive or semi-formal dress. Tickets available at the church office. Details: church office (662) 453-0623.
GREENVILLE – St. Joseph School, Annual Daddy-Daughter Dance, Saturday, Feb. 3 from 6-8 p.m. Community-wide event for PreK-3 through sixth grade. St. Joe School cordially invites dads or special loved ones and their daughters to an evening of good food, music and company. Cost: $50 per couple ($10 per extra). Tickets may be purchased at the school. Details: school office (662) 378-9711.
HOLLY SPRINGS – Love Your #Selfie Weekend, Jan. 26-28 at Gregory House. Life is like a camera, just focus on what is important! For young women in grades 9-12. Enjoy fun, crafts, games, prizes, food and more. Details: Vickie at (662) 895-5007 or sign up in the commons area.
JACKSON – Cathedral of St. Peter, Mass of Thanksgiving for MLK, Jr. and Sister Thea Bowman, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, at 3 p.m. Details: Office of Intercultural Ministry at (601) 949-6935.
St. Richard School, Krewe de Cardinal, Friday, Feb. 2 from 7-11 p.m. at The South Warehouse. Details: school office (601) 366-1157.
Theology on Tap, Dates for 2024: Feb. 7 with Bishop Kopacz; March 6 with Father Lincoln Dall; April 10 – Easter celebration. Meetings are on Wednesdays at Martin’s Restaurant Downtown Jackson. Details: Amelia Rizor at (601) 949-6931.
MADISON – St. Joseph School, Jeans, Jazz and Bruin Blues $10,000 Draw Down, Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Reunion Country Club. Sponsorships available. Details: www.stjoedrawdown.com.
St. Joseph School, Evening with Legendary MSU Baseball Coach Ron Polk, Saturday, Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. at the St. Joseph Fine Arts Building. (Doors open at 5 p.m.) Cost: $30 per person and don’t miss the 50/50 cash raffle. All proceeds support the St. Joe Baseball team. Details: https://bit.ly/StJoePolkFundraiser or call (601) 317-8050 with questions.
NATCHEZ – St. Mary, Trivia Tuesday Night, on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. Cost: $5 to play; $1 soft drinks; $5 potato bar. Prizes awarded. Event is BYOB. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
PEARL – St. Jude, Floral Design for Churches Workshop, Saturday, Jan. 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost: $20 to cover cost of flowers and lunch. Details: RSVP at mary.woodward@jacksondiocese.org or call (601) 969-1880.
St. Jude, Knights of Columbus Super Bowl Spaghetti Dinner, Sunday, Feb. 4. Tickets $7 each. All dinners are to-go only. Spaghetti and sauce are imported from Italy! Details: church office (601) 939-3181.
SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, Youth Activities Night, Friday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. in the parish hall. Event is for children from Kindergarten to fifth grade. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.
Christ the King, Knights of Columbus Spaghetti Dinner, Saturday, Jan. 20 in the parish hall after Mass. Please sign up in the gathering space. Details: church office (662) 342-1073.

SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
CLEVELAND – Our Lady of Victories, Parish Mission, Sunday/Monday, Jan. 28-29 from 6:30-8 p.m. Featured speaker is Paul J. Kim. He utilizes his many talents (music, comedy, inspirational talks) to communicate the Gospel message of Christ to people in a way that is engaging, entertaining and life-changing. Free meals (5:30-6:30) and babysitting! Details: church office (662) 846-6273.
DIOCESE – Office of Catholic Education Monthly Virtual Rosary, Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. (Link opens at 6:30 p.m. for prayer intentions.) Visit https://jacksondiocese.org/events for Zoom link and details.
NATCHEZ – 2nd annual Believe Conference, April 19-21, 2024. Featured speakers are Anne Trufant, Catholic speaker and founder of The Mission on the Mountain; Barbara Heil, Catholic speaker and founder of From His Heart Ministries; and Joanne Moody, minister author, and founder of Agape Freedom Fighters. Cost: $100 for the weekend; $50 for students. Lunch included on Saturday. Details: visit https://www.themissiononthemountain.com.
PINE MOUNTAINS, GA – The Girls Garden Retreat, April 4-7, 2024 at Callaway Resort and Gardens. Retreat is for any woman who seeks goodness of God through beauty, rest, prayer and small community. Featured speaker is Laura Huval, a Grammy-nominated recording artist, Catholic speaker, author and more. Details: for registration, information and pricing visit www.girlsgardenretreats.com.
LOUISVILLE, KY – National Black Catholic Women’s Gathering, July 26-28, 2024. Join Black Catholic women to engage talents for becoming and forming missionary disciples. Sponsored by the National Black Sisters’ Conference. Details: nbsc@nbsc68.org.
GLOBAL ROSARY for World Peace, Friday, Feb. 16 at 9 a.m. CST. This digital prayer event will begin live from Rome. Details: visit www.HCFM.org/PrayForPeace for more information.
“9 DAYS FOR LIFE” – Respect Life Novena begins Tuesday, Jan. 16 and concludes Wednesday, Jan. 24. Join Catholics nationwide in pray for the protection of human life! Download the novena or get the daily prayers and reflections by email or text message at 9daysforlife.com.

SAVE THE DATE
VICKSBURG – DCYC (Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference), March 1-3 at the Vicksburg Convention Center. All youth in grades 9-12 are invited. Keynote speaker is Doug Tooke and Catholic worship leader, Steven Joubert. Check with your parish youth leader to register.

TRAVEL
“SPIRIT OF IRELAND AND SCOTLAND” WITH FATHER O’CONNOR – Join Father David O’Connor on a trip to Ireland and Scotland, June 8-17. Itinerary includes: flight to Dublin, two nights in Belfast, ferry to Scotland, two nights in Glasgow, Inverness and Edinburgh and return flight from Edinburg. Travel in a luxury coach from arrival time until departure, a professional driver/guide, 4-star hotels. Tour highlights include City of Belfast, Titanic, historic and architectural sites, wonderful landscapes and lakes of the Scottish highlands, Scottish food and entertainment. Cost: $4,955 (per person sharing) or $5,950 single. Only ten spots left! For more information/reservations contact Cara Group Travel at (617) 639-0273 or email bookings@caragrouptravel.com.
IRELAND AND SCOTLAND WITH FATHER AUGUSTINE – Join Father Augustine on a trip to Ireland and Scotland, Sept. 6-8. Trip includes stops in Galway, Our Lady of Knock, Cliffs of Moher, Killarney, Dingle Peninsula, Dublin, Edinburgh and St. Andrew’s Cathedral. Cost: $5,499 – all inclusive, including airfare. To register, contact Proximo Travel at (855) 842-8001 or visit www.proximotravel.com.

Benedicto XVI es recordado en el primer aniversario de su muerte

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Por Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) — Como expresión de afecto y gratitud por el fallecido Papa Benedicto XVI, el Papa Francisco dirigió a decenas de miles de personas en la Plaza de San Pedro en una ronda de aplausos para su predecesor en el primer aniversario de su muerte.

“Hace un año, el Papa Benedicto XVI concluyó su camino terrenal después de servir a la Iglesia con amor y sabiduría”, dijo el Papa Francisco a unas 20.000 personas reunidas en la plaza para el rezo del Ángelus a mediodía del 31 de diciembre.

El Papa Benedicto XVI camina por un sendero durante su retiro estival en Les Combes, en las montañas del norte de Italia, en 2006. (Foto CNS/L’Osservatore Romano)

El Papa Benedicto, que dirigió la Iglesia de 2005 a 2013, murió el 31 de diciembre de 2022, a la edad de 95 años.

“Sentimos por él tanto afecto, tanta gratitud, tanta admiración”, dijo el Papa. “Desde el cielo nos bendice y nos acompaña”.

Antes del Ángelus, el arzobispo Georg Gänswein, antiguo secretario personal de Benedicto XVI, presidió una Misa en su memoria en el Altar de la Cátedra de la Basílica de San Pedro. El cardenal alemán Gerhard Müller y el cardenal suizo Kurt Koch, prefecto del Dicasterio para la Promoción de la Unidad de los Cristianos, concelebraron la liturgia.

En su homilía, el arzobispo compartió algunas de las meditaciones del Papa Benedicto sobre las lecturas de la fiesta del día, la fiesta de la Sagrada Familia. En varias ocasiones, su voz se quebró de emoción al recordar al Papa con el que vivió y al que sirvió.

Observando cómo la oración era una parte esencial de la vida de María y José, el arzobispo Gänswein citó el último discurso del Ángelus del Papa Benedicto, pocos días antes de que se hiciera efectiva su renuncia, cuando explicó:

“El Señor me llama a ‘subir al monte’, a dedicarme aún más a la oración y a la meditación. Pero esto no significa abandonar la Iglesia; es más, si Dios me lo pide es precisamente para que yo pueda seguir sirviéndola con la misma entrega y el mismo amor con el cual he tratado de hacerlo hasta ahora, pero de una forma más acorde a mi edad y a mis fuerzas”.

Del mismo modo, dijo el arzobispo, la oración marca el ritmo de la vida de la Iglesia, “que es la gran familia de Dios”.

A medida que el Papa jubilado envejecía, dijo, su vida — con una intensidad e interioridad crecientes — se fue centrando más en la oración.

Nacido Joseph Ratzinger, trató de modelar su vida según San José, dijo el arzobispo. Se notaba en su intimidad con el Señor y con la gente que le rodeaba, “relaciones distinguidas por una gran cortesía, humildad y sencillez”.

Declaración del obispo Joseph R. Kopacz sobre “Fiducia Supplicans,” declaración del Dicasterio para la Doctrina de la Fe.

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JACKSON – “Fiducia Supplicans”, la declaración emitida esta semana por el Dicasterio para la Doctrina de la Fe (DDF) de la Santa Sede y aprobada por el Papa Francisco nos recuerda que cada uno de nosotros necesita las bendiciones, la curación, la compasión y la misericordia de Dios. Buscar la bendición de un sacerdote es reconocer la necesidad de Dios en la vida y el deseo de fortalecerse en una relación con Dios.
La declaración no cambia la enseñanza de la Iglesia sobre el matrimonio como la unión de un hombre y una mujer con fidelidad para toda la vida y apertura a los hijos; ni es un paso hacia la ratificación de las uniones entre personas del mismo sexo ni un compromiso de las enseñanzas de la iglesia sobre estas relaciones irregulares.
Es un documento sobre la naturaleza de las bendiciones y el uso pastoral de dar bendiciones informales y espontáneas a personas que buscan experimentar el amor sanador y la gracia de Dios en sus vidas.
Para citar directamente el documento, el DDF resume su declaración así:
“… Teniendo en cuenta todo lo afirmado anteriormente, siguiendo la enseñanza autorizada del Santo Padre Francisco, este Dicasterio quiere finalmente recordar que «esta es la raíz de la mansedumbre cristiana, la capacidad de sentirse bendecidos y la capacidad de bendecir […]. Este mundo necesita bendición y nosotros podemos dar la bendición y recibir la bendición. El Padre nos ama. Y a nosotros nos queda tan solo la alegría de bendecirlo y la alegría de darle gracias, y de aprender de Él a no maldecir, sino bendecir».[31] De este modo, cada hermano y hermana podrán sentirse en la Iglesia siempre peregrinos, siempre suplicantes, siempre amados y, a pesar de todo, siempre bendecidos.” (FS #45). Animo a todos los fieles a leer el documento en su totalidad.


El texto completo del documento se puede encontrar en línea en: https://bit.ly/FiduciaSupplicansDeclaration

(Puede leer el texto en español siguiendo el enlace ES, arriba de la página.)