Perhaps this is a luxury I can enjoy because I am not a pilot, a seafarer or a driver on winding country roads. For those such as these, the inability to see in the distance is not a welcome treat.
But, when I wake up in the morning, look out my seventh story window and see a milky dew fill the air, it brings a special peace. This peace lasts even when I leave home if the streets and sidewalks are still shrouded with early morning mist.
I think my fondness for fog comes in the way it hides all that lies in the distance and forces me to pay attention, willingly or not, only to those things that are close at hand.
Perhaps I appreciate this because, sometimes there is a wisdom to living life inspired by foggy mornings. Typically, when someone describes feeling “in a fog” this is meant in the pejorative, as something to be avoided. Yet, there is also a beauty in taking time to gaze only on that which is nearby. So often, it is tempting to spend the day looking into the distance and into the future, rather than focusing on that which is up front and close by.
Lucia A. Silecchia
How often do we listen to someone across the table from us, while thinking about the texts we want to answer? How often do we hear someone speaking while we are busily planning ahead for how we will respond? How often do we greet small children by asking them what they want to be when they grow up rather than enjoying who they are? How often do we watch a play or listen to a concert while our minds wander to what the workday will hold the following morning?
How often do we gaze at the mountain in the distance without seeing the wildflowers that bloom next to us at the side of the road? How often do we pray for the “big” things in life, without seeking God’s sustenance in the daily bread of everyday life? How often do we spend our attention on the important things we plan to do someday, without noticing the little things we can do today? How often is it easier to appreciate the sights we seek a world away than it is to appreciate the highlights of our own hometowns?
I admire those who live with the grace to see the needs of the person before them, know the need to walk with God in the present moment, and do not fail to miss the opportunity to stretch out a hand to help today, not tomorrow.
When a fog rolls in, we have no choice but to live with the distance hidden for a time. Willingly or not, the beautiful and the frightening, the pleasant and the disturbing things that lie beyond are hidden. When those things lie beyond our line of sight, there is nothing to do except to focus on that which is nearby. Yes, life cannot be lived entirely this way. Planning and keeping an eye to the future have their place and are important parts of responsible adulthood.
Nevertheless, I would still like to live with a lesson from a foggy morning. Sometimes, it is just as important to surrender the future and the far away. Sometimes, it is a gift to gaze only at the blessings and burdens close at hand. Sometimes, it is worth letting the fog roll in to our ordinary time.
(Lucia A. Silecchia is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. Email her at silecchia@cua.edu.)
Walking through the park on a brisk winter morning, I glance at the parking lot near the playground and notice a colorful van.
I see big letters on its side panel: “Worry First.”
Wait a minute. I look again. Actually, it says “Worry Free,” the slogan of a utility company’s appliance service. I chuckle. I’ve proven something I know about myself all too well. I am a worrier, and I just let my eyes deceive me. Is that my slogan, I wonder, “worry first?”
We all worry. We worry about the future, about all the things that could go wrong. On the one hand, it’s good to be prepared, but worrying is a spiritual problem. A very human one, but a problem nonetheless. In Wendell Berry’s poem, “The Peace of Wild Things,” he writes of waking in the night “in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be.” How many of us can identify with that?
Nighttime is the perfect incubator of worry.
Berry tells us that he goes into nature when these fears arise, and I believe he’s speaking metaphorically when he writes, “I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the heron feeds.”
His next line is one I have memorized: “I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.”
Effie Caldarola
How much time do we waste taxing our lives with “forethought of grief?” Of all the species in this world, we humans are the only ones who worry about all the “what ifs.” The birds of the air make nests, and they carefully find a spot to protect their eggs from predators. But they are called to this, and they do it naturally and without worry. They live in each present moment.
Once a spiritual director was encouraging me to trust God more. She mentioned Jesus’ admonition (Mt 10:29-31), “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.”
I immediately mentioned the birds that would occasionally crash into my plate glass front window. Was God caring for them? My director smiled. They died without worry, she said. No forethought of grief burdened them.
Turning away from worry does not mean our lives will be without struggle, illness, frustration and certain death. Turning away from worry means that in the moment, in each precious and passing moment, we accept the presence of God with us through it all.
In Jesuit Father James Martin’s book, “Come Forth,” about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, he talks about what some psychologists call “catastrophizing,” always focusing on the negative. He gives examples: “a bumpy airplane ride meant that we were crashing … a mildly critical remark from a friend meant that he hated me.”
This thinking the worst, expecting the worst or worrying about every possibility can dominate our lives. “There’s a reason,” writes Martin, “that they call Satan ‘the Prince of Lies.’ If Satan can get you to focus on only the negatives, you are living a lie.”
Anxiety, another spiritual director told me, means a lack of trust. I was taken aback by this comment, because I know that some people are plagued by genuine anxiety for which they may need medical help. But for the anxiety that taxes my life, the worry that exhorts payment in wasted time, wasted opportunities and lost sleep, I know that God is the answer. Making the choice in each present moment to not “worry first” is a step on the spiritual journey.
(Effie Caldarola is a wife, mom and grandmother who received her master’s degree in pastoral ministry from Seattle University.)
By David Agren MEXICO CITY (OSV News) – Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa has been released from prison and sent into exile along with 18 imprisoned churchmen as the Nicaraguan government expelled its most prominent critic, whose presence behind bars bore witness to the Sandinista regime descent into totalitarianism, along with its unrelenting persecution of the Catholic Church.
Vatican News confirmed Jan. 14 at 10:41 p.m. Rome time that with the exception of one priest who remained in Venezuela, all released priests, including Bishop Álvarez and Bishop Isidoro Mora of Siuna, have arrived in Rome “in the last few hours” and are “guests of the Holy See.”
Nicaraguan independent media 100% Noticias posted a photograph on X, formerly Twitter, of the two freed bishops concelebrating Mass in Rome.
Independent Nicaraguan media reported Jan. 14 that the churchmen had departed Nicaragua on a flight for Rome after the government reached an agreement with the Vatican for their release and exile. Auxiliary Bishop Silvio José Báez of Managua – who left the country in 2019 – also confirmed the news at his weekly Mass in Miami, and was visibly moved.
“This is the power of the people of God’s prayers,” he said. “The criminal Sandinista dictatorship of (President) Daniel Ortega has not been able to defeat the power of God.”
The Nicaraguan government acknowledged the churchmen’s release in a Jan. 14 statement, which “deeply thanked” Pope Francis and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, “for the very respectful and discreet coordination carried out to make possible the Vatican trip of two bishops, fifteen priests and two seminarians.”
Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa walks outside a Catholic church in Managua May 20, 2022. After more than 500 days’ detention, the Ortega regime released the prelate, who has been the Nicaraguan government’s most prominent critic, from prison Jan. 14, 2023, and sent into exile along with 18 other imprisoned churchmen. Bishop Álvarez safely landed in Rome Jan. 14, the Vatican confirmed. (OSV News photo/Maynor Valenzuela, Reuters)
The statement continued, “They have been received by Vatican authorities, in compliance with agreements of good faith and good will, which seek to promote understanding and improve communication between the Holy See and Nicaragua, for peace and good.”
The statement struck an unusually respectful tone – far from the government’s frequent accusations of terrorism and coup mongering against church leaders, who attempted to unsuccessfully facilitate a national dialogue after mass protests erupted demanding Ortega’s ouster. The Nicaraguan government also severed relations with the Vatican and expelled the nuncio, Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, in 2022. The Vatican subsequently closed its embassy in March 2023.
“We recognize the chance for direct, prudent and very serious dialogue, a responsible and careful dialogue,” the government statement said.
The release of 19 churchmen – including Bishop Mora and more than a dozen priests detained during a wave of detentions over the Christmas period – provoked reactions of joy among Nicaraguans in exile, along with statements of defiance.
“With great joy, I thank God that my brother bishops, priests, and seminarians are out of prison. Justice has triumphed. The power of the prayer of God’s people has been displayed,” Bishop Báez said on X, formerly Twitter.
Ambassador Brian A. Nichols, assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, said on X that the regime “expelled 19 unjustly detained Catholic clergy, including Bishop Álvarez.”
“We are reassured to see the release of these religious leaders. All people have the right to worship at home and abroad. We continue to call for the release of all those unjustly detained and the restoration of the fundamental freedoms of the Nicaraguan people,” Nichols emphasized.
Bishop Álvarez has become the face of resistance in Nicaragua, raising his voice against the increasing intolerance of the Sandinista regime – which has subdued the business community, forced the free press out of the country and attempted to control the Catholic Church.
The bishop spent more than 500 days in custody after police arrested him in August 2022 during a pre-dawn raid on his diocesan curia, where he had been holed up protesting the seizure of Catholic media outlets. In February 2023, He was sentenced to 26 years in prison on charges of conspiracy and spreading false information – one day after he refused to leave the country.
Bishop Álvarez refused subsequent attempts at exiling him – as expulsion or refusing priests reentry to the country after traveling abroad became a common tactic.
“The dictatorship feels safer or more comfortable with religious people outside the country than inside the country,” Arturo McFields Yescas, a former Nicaraguan diplomat in exile, told OSV News.
“When they are inside (the country) they consider them a threat, a danger, a counterweight to their official narrative. And when they are outside, (the regime) feels that they no longer have that critical voice, or that voice of truth, which spoke to the people and people listened to,” he said.
(David Agren writes for OSV News from Mexico City.)
By Peter Jesserer Smith (OSV News) – Against gray skies and falling snow, thousands of people flocked Jan. 19 to the nation’s capital for the national March for Life, gathering them under the theme “With every woman, for every child,” showing their resolve amid the piercing cold to make abortion eventually “unthinkable” in the U.S. “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” Miguel Ángel Leyva, 21, a Catholic and third-year college student from Detroit, told OSV News.
The March for Life began in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which once legalized abortion nationwide, and gathers pro-life advocates from across the U.S. This year’s march – its second year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022 – took place as winter weather put much of the U.S. in a deep freeze, snarling transportation and canceling flights.
While the crowds appeared smaller than in years past, this year’s march showed a movement eager to up its game to help American society embrace a culture that affirms and supports the dignity of all human life, and not just for the unborn.
Pro-life demonstrators carry a banner past the U.S. Supreme Court building while participating in the 51st annual March for Life in Washington Jan. 19, 2024. (OSV News photo/Leslie E. Kossoff)
Levya said the presence of so many people amid the punishing weather conditions “shows there are many who are willing to serve God and stand up for what is right.” Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life Education and Defense Fund, and others emphasized during the March for Life Rally that not only was the national march there to stay, but pro-life marches would be multiplying throughout all 50 states in the coming years.
“We will keep marching every year at the national level, as well as in our states, until our nation’s laws reflect the basic truth that all human life is created equal and is worthy of protection,” Mancini told the thousands gathered on the National Mall.
Speaker after speaker at the march rally emphasized its theme of making abortion “unthinkable,” in particular by emphasizing the culture-changing and life-saving work of pregnancy resource centers and related efforts.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., addressed the crowd and shared that he himself was once an unplanned pregnancy for his parents, just teenagers at the time, who chose life.
Johnson said the U.S. House of Representatives passed two important pieces of legislation right before the march: the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act for colleges and universities to follow and another bill that prohibits the Health and Human Services Department from excluding pregnancy resource centers from obtaining federal funds.
However, speakers at the march acknowledged that the end of Roe came with both successes and setbacks for the pro-life movement. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., a Catholic lawmaker and co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus, told those gathered that they should remain “undeterred.”
“We will never quit in our defense of the weakest and most vulnerable,” he said.
Aisha Taylor, author of “Navigating the Impossible: A Survival Guide for Single Moms,” took to the rally stage and reminded the crowd, “It was people like you who helped people like me to choose life for my unborn twins.”
“I am eternally grateful for that pregnancy center,” she said, adding that her presence among them was part of her pledge to “pay it forward” for all the support she had received to choose life.
But March for Life speakers also indicated strongly that changing the culture for life did not just affect the unborn, but extended to all human beings. Rallygoers watched on the screens a preview of the movie “Cabrini” – a film about St. Frances Xavier Cabrini who cared for immigrants, orphans and people of all races – which Mancini said exemplified the march’s theme.
A voiceover in the “Cabrini” trailer reflected that New York, where Mother Cabrini ministered, is a city “built on immigrant bone.”
It said, “Is this bone not ours as well? Did we not all arrive as immigrants? Do we not owe these children, our children, a life better than a rat’s?”
Benjamin Watson, a former NFL tight end, said pro-life advocates must embark on “a new fight for life” that also addresses the factors behind abortion, and he connected those efforts to the wider struggle for peace and justice in society.
“Roe is done, but we still live in a culture that knows not how to care for life,” Watson said. The national march also showcased organizers’ determination to mobilize the thousands gathered for immediate and effective action. At one point, Mancini invited the crowds to pull out their phones and told them to text MARCH to 73075 and “send a message to Congress that you want to protect pregnancy resource centers.”
“We want to make sure Congress hears you are pro-life and we support pro-life policies,” said Mancini. She pointed to the large screens, which featured a map of the U.S. with “pins” showing in real time how many people were texting the number. As pins filled up the map, Mancini cajoled people from states lagging behind in pins.
“I think California needs a little love,” she said. “Come on, Texas!”
More pins popped up on the screens. Marchers also were encouraged to take the time to visit their members of Congress in person and ask them to affirm life-affirming policies.
Thousands of Catholics participating in the march came from prayer vigils and Masses held that day or the evening before.
At the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, preached to a crowd of 7,000 gathered for a vigil Mass that was followed by a National Holy Hour for Life.
At the morning Mass in the basilica Jan. 19, Bishop Earl K. Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, encouraged Catholics not to get discouraged by setbacks in the pro-life movement but to recall how Jesus Christ “fell three times under the weight of his cross but he got back up.”
“Even after defeats we get back up and we march for life in radical solidarity with women and children,” he said.
Sarai Gonzalez, 18, a public school student from Detroit who was attending the national march for the second time, said she was touched by Bishop Fernandes’ homily during the Mass, calling it inspirational and moving.
“I felt at peace and loved. I felt the fire of the Holy Spirit within me,” she said.
Braving the freezing temperatures of the early morning were nearly 6,000 youth and adults who joined the March for Life Rally coming from the second annual Life Fest at the D.C. Armory, where they had fortified themselves listening to inspiring music and personal testimonies, and engaged in Eucharistic adoration and Mass.
As the snow continued to fall, thousands of marchers took to the streets to march between the Capitol and the Supreme Court buildings as the song “God bless America” rang out through the loudspeakers. Before she went to the rally stage and on to march, Mancini told OSV News what she hoped people take away from the March for Life – besides “a lot of snowballs.”
“I hope that they take away that the pro-life movement is about the full flourishing of both mom and baby,” she said.
Ashley McGuire of The Catholic Association told OSV News that the march demonstrates that even with the end of Roe “there’s still a lot of work to be done.” In fact, the theme of the next day’s 25th Annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life at Georgetown University focused on this pro-life challenge: “Discerning the next 25 years.”
“But I think we still have that same kind of youthful energy that we need to finish the work that was started,” she said.
It was a point Gonzalez emphasized as well. “This march shows everyone – women, men, children and politicians – that we do not support abortion,” she said.
“We can’t let peer pressure hold us back,” she added. “We can’t be mediocre. We must fight for life.”
Peter Jesserer Smith is the national news and features editor for OSV News. Follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) @jesserersmith. Maria-Pia Chin, Spanish editor for OSV News and Kate Scanlon, OSV News national reporter covering Washington, also contributed to this report.
NATION SCHRIEVER, La. (OSV News) – Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Houma-Thibodaux passed away unexpectedly late Jan. 19 due to complications from recent health problems, according to the diocese. He was 63. He is remembered for his various teaching and pastoral roles in his native Colombia as well as his service as auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Washington. Bishop Dorsonville had headed the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese as its fifth bishop just under a year since his installation on March 29, 2023.
Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, the fifth bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, La., has passed away at age 63. He died Jan. 19, 2023, from complications related to recent health problems, the diocese announced. He is seen celebrating his installation Mass March 29, 2023, at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma. (OSV News photo/Lawrence Chatagnier, Bayou Catholic)
Prior to that, the bishop had served as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington for eight years since his appointment in 2015. “It is with great sadness and deep shock that I announce to you that our beloved Shepherd, Bishop Mario Dorsonville, passed away at 6:50 pm this evening after he gave in to complications arising from recent health problems,” Father Simon Peter Engurait, the diocese’s vicar general, said in posting the news of the bishop’s death on social media Jan. 19. “My heart is broken.” Washington Auxiliary Bishop Juan Esposito, vicar general and moderator of the curia, remembered Bishop Dorsonville Jan. 20 as “a special soul” and “a good and faithful servant of the Lord he loved so well.” Bishop Dorsonville was a former chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration from 2019 to 2022.
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The first U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual report, “State of Religious Liberty in the United States,” published Jan. 16 said potential threats to religious liberty in the United States largely come in the form of federal regulations or cultural trends. Five top areas of concern, the 48-page report said, include attacks against houses of worship, especially in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas conflict; the Section 1557 regulation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which the report said “will likely impose a mandate on doctors to perform gender transition procedures and possibly abortions”; threats to religious charities serving migrants and refugees, “which will likely increase as the issue of immigration gains prominence in the election”; suppression of religious speech “on marriage and sexual difference”; and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations, which the report said “aim to require religious employers to be complicit in abortion in an unprecedented way.” The report’s introduction said that due to a divided federal government, “most introduced bills that threatened religious liberty languished,” resulting in threats in the form of “proposed regulations by federal agencies,” or cultural trends like growing partisanship over migration.
VATICAN VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The skills of winegrowers – respect, perseverance and knowing how to prune to produce fruit – are also valuable messages for the soul, Pope Francis said. “Wine, the land, farming skills and entrepreneurial activity are gifts from God,” the pope told winegrowers, winemakers and others taking part in an event organized by Vinitaly – an international wine and spirits exhibition held in Verona, Italy, every year for industry professionals. The event was dedicated to Italian wine and “the economy of Francesco,” an economy inspired by St. Francis of Assisi that respects the earth and promotes peace and justice. “It is good that you find yourselves reflecting together on the ethical aspects and moral responsibilities involved (in wine production) and that you draw inspiration from the ‘Poverello’ of Assisi,” he told the group during an audience at the Vatican Jan. 22. Respect and kindness are important in treating the earth, workers and consumers, he said. “Indeed, ‘genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others,’” he said, quoting from his encyclical, “Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home.” Pope Francis thanked the group for striving to follow the example of St. Francis of Assisi and knowing the importance of harmony, helping the least and respecting creation.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis praised the legacy of an Italian priest who looked for ways the Catholic Church could make sure the poor were not left further behind in the world. “And with wisdom and love,” the late Father Lorenzo Milani found “the answer in education, through his model of schooling, which is putting knowledge at the service of those who are considered the last by others, but first for the Gospel and for him,” the pope said. During an audience at the Vatican Jan. 22, the pope met with members of a national committee in charge of last year’s celebrations and initiatives marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Father Milani. The priest used the schoolroom to help “to restore dignity to the least, respect, entitlement to rights and citizenship, but above all the recognition of the sonship of God, which includes all of us.” He saw education as the answer to the question, “How can the church be meaningful and make an impact with her message so that the poor do not fall further and further behind.” “He invites us not to remain indifferent, to interpret reality, to identify the new poor and the new forms of poverty; he invites us instead to approach all those who are excluded and to take them to heart. Every Christian should play his or her part in this,” the pope said.
WORLD PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (OSV News) – Six nuns from the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Anne were kidnapped Jan. 19 while traveling on a bus in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the Haitian Conference of Religious. Other passengers on the bus also were taken in the abduction, the conference said in a statement. “These many kidnappings fill the consecrated people of Haiti with sadness and fear,” said the statement, signed by conference president P. Morachel Bonhomme. He prayed that “the spirit of strength be given” to the sisters “to find a way out of this terrible situation.” On Jan. 21 in remarks after the Angelus, Pope Francis appealed for the release of all the hostages, while praying for “social harmony” in the country. Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau et Miragoâne prayed “to help us put an end to this bitter nightmare and this tragic ordeal of our people which has lasted too long.” In a statement published Jan. 19, the bishop offered himself in exchange for the hostages and denounced what he called an “odious and barbaric act which does not even respect the dignity of these consecrated women who give themselves wholeheartedly to God to educate and train the young, the poorest and the vulnerable in our society,” Bishop Dumas wrote, according to a translation posted to social media by Father Louis Mérosné.
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (OSV News) – The situation in the Gaza Strip is “extremely catastrophic,” and people are dying not only from violence but from preventable illnesses, said the CEO of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. “People are really losing their life because of no treatment, no medical care,” Sami El-Yousef, CEO, told OSV News Jan. 20. He repeatedly described the situation as “catastrophic” throughout the interview. The supplies that are being allowed in are being transported from Egypt into southern Gaza Strip. “There have been no supplies allowed into the northern part of Gaza,” including Gaza City, where most Christians are sheltering in the Catholic and Orthodox parishes, El-Yousef said. He said that during January, a black market has sprung up, and things like medicine and blankets were being sold for 10 times the amount they sold for before Israel declared war on Hamas in retaliation for an Oct. 7 land and air attack launched by the militant Islamic group. At the beginning of the war, a Gaza medical clinic run by the Catholic charitable agency Caritas transferred most of its medicine stock to Holy Family Catholic Parish, but all of those supplies are now depleted, El-Yousef said. El-Yousef said the local Christian community wanted to conduct clothing drives for the Gaza Christian community, but Israel is not allowing goods into Gaza.
PARISH, FAMILY & SCHOOL EVENTS 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.
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.
JACKSON – 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.
VICKSBURG – Vicksburg Catholic School, Drawdown on River, Sunday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Levee Street Warehouse. Enjoy a silent auction, food, drinks and fellowship, in addition to the $20,000 drawdown. Tickets sell out every year – so purchase yours today. Details: https://one.bidpal.net/2024vcsdrawdown/welcome.
SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT 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.
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. 6-18. 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.
Fiesta de la presentación del Señor. Fiesta de la Purificación de María Santísima y Día de la Candelaria. Febrero 2
Jesús es Navidad por Francisco Javier Franco, Cathopic
Nuestra Señora de Supaya. Patrona de Honduras.Febrero 3
La Basílica de Suyapa es iluminada por fuegos artificiales en el día de su alborada y cierre del año jubilar mariano. Cada 3 de febrero se celebra a la Virgen de Suyapa en Honduras. Por Jimmy Varela, Cathopic
Nuestra Señora de Lourdes. Febrero 11
Peregrinación con Nuestra Señora de Lourdes por Matias Medina, Cathopic
San Valentín. Patrono de los Enamorados. Febrero 14
Rosario y Rosa por Carolina Caicedo, Cathopic
Martes de Carnaval, Febrero 13
Linda Rinder mira a través de una máscara durante una fiesta de Mardi Gras el 9 de febrero en la Iglesia Católica Prince of Peace en Sun City West, Arizona. La celebración precede a la temporada penitencial de Cuaresma. (Foto CNS/Nancy Wiechec)
Los parroquianos de St. James estuvieron ocupados en varias actividades antes, durante y después de Navidad y con ese espíritu comenzaron el inicio de año, según un reporte de Raquel Thompson, quien lidera el Ministerio Hispano de la parroquia.
TUPELO – Ya desde principios de diciembre, varias niñas disfrutaron de las películas de Barbie y del Nutcracker en diciembre 7, 2023.
A inicios de diciembre comenzaron las novenas a la Virgen de Guadalupe, que culminaron con la celebración de una fiesta en su día con las tradicionales mañanitas a las 5:00 am y la Representación de la aparición de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. A esta celebración Guadalupana, el 12 de diciembre de 2023, asistieron más de 400 personas.
TUPELO – La celebración de la Guadalupe en St James ya es una tradición que incluye Procesión, Matachines, Mañanitas y Aparición representada por feligreses del lugar.
“Nuestra parroquia de St James participó además en una representación de una Posada, a nivel ecuménico junto con otras iglesias, en un programa de Navidad, realizado por el Link Centre de Tupelo y se celebró la escuela Bíblica de Navidad, para niños y jóvenes de vacaciones,” dice Thompson. La Novena al Niño Dios y las Posadas de la comunidad se realizaron desde diciembre 15 al 23.
TUPELO – En Fotos, representación durante la Escuela Bíblica, el día 16 de diciembre en St. James; participación de programa ecuménico de Navidad, realizado por el Link Center de Tupelo y celebración de Posada Parroquial.
TUPELO – Luego llegó la Navidad con la tradicional Misa de Nochebuena, donde un coro de niños hicieron la cúspide de las celebraciones del cumpleaños del Niño Jesús.
Ya en enero se hizo la celebración de la Epifanía, con Misa, convivio y la partida de la Rosca de Reyes.
TUPELO – Raquel Thompson posa con los niños que este año representaron a Melchor, Gaspar y Baltazar
Muchas de estas celebraciones se hacen detrás de colaboraciones con voluntarios y lideres de otras iglesias del mismo decanato V. El jueves 11 de enero, los lideres del Decanato V tuvieron su primera reunión del año 2024, para coordinar las fuerzas locales y diocesanas, mientras celebraron el año que terminó disfrutando el juego del sucio Santa Claus.
TUPELO – (i-d) Raquel Thompson, coordinadora del Ministerio Hispano de St James Tupelo, Danna Johnson, LEM de Inmaculado Corazón de María Houston y la Hermana Raquel de St Cristóbal de Pontotoc se toman una selfie, después de reunirse para coordinar actividades conjuntas para la feligresia en 2024.
Para continuar el 2024 con nuevas energias, jóvenes del decanato V aprendieron la importancia del servicio a los demás durante el retiro DNOW ( Discípulo Ahora) para jóvenes realizado los días 12,13 y 14 de enero, con la asistencia de más de 100 jóvenes de toda la región.
( Reporte y Fotos de Raquel Thompson, coordinadora del Ministerio Hispano)
WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Las palabras de Jesucristo en la lectura del Evangelio del 18 de enero, “Yo estoy con vosotros todos los días, hasta el fin del mundo”, son fundamentales como “una enseñanza sobre cómo vivir en este mundo quebrantado” y “traer bondad a él”, dijo el presidente provida de los obispos de EE.UU. en su homilía en la Misa de apertura de la Vigilia Nacional de Oración por la Vida.
“Cristo mismo” es la “única respuesta” para hacer de este mundo un lugar mejor “aunque persista en la imperfección”, dijo el obispo de Arlington, Virginia, Michael F. Burbidge, a la congregación que llenaba la Basílica del Santuario Nacional de la Inmaculada Concepción de Washington.
Grupo de Trenton, Nueva Jersey, sostiene carteles con mensajes provida, “Ama a los Dos” Deja que la Vida Venga,” etc., antes de la Marcha por la Vida del 20 de enero de 2023 en Washington. Ese año marcó la primera vez que la Marcha tuvo lugar desde que la Corte Suprema anuló el caso Roe vs. Wade y la protección constitucional del aborto. (Foto de OSV News/Marietha Góngora)
“Cristo pronuncia estas palabras, no como una garantía de que todos nuestros esfuerzos tendrán éxito según las métricas mundanas, sino como una promesa de que Él estará presente en nuestros éxitos y en nuestros fracasos … , en nuestras victorias y en nuestras derrotas. … Y Él lo santificará todo”, dijo el obispo Burbidge, según su texto preparado.
El movimiento provida ha visto la victoria con el fin de Roe hace dos años, pero también ha experimentado pérdidas, ya que las políticas abortistas se están impulsando más que nunca a nivel federal y estatal, dijo.
La anulación de Roe vs. Wade por la Corte Suprema en su sentencia del caso Dobbs del 24 de junio de 2022 fue “un momento de alivio, un momento de nueva vida, un éxodo de la opresión bajo la que hemos vivido durante 50 años”, dijo el obispo Burbidge, que dirige el Comité de Actividades Pro-Vida de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos.
Pero “si el último año y medio nos ha enseñado algo, es esto: Dobbs no es el final. Es una victoria, una victoria tremenda, pero no decisiva”, dijo. “Las vidas de nonatos siguen en peligro, en algunos lugares más que nunca. Están arrebatándole la vida a niños inocentes. Se sigue perjudicando a las madres. Parejas, niños y familias siguen necesitando recursos, apoyo y amor”.
El Arzobispo William E. Lori de Baltimore, capellán supremo de Caballeros de Colón, concelebra la Misa con otros prelados, incluido el Cardenal de Boston Seán P. O’Malley, a la izquierda del Arzobispo Lori, y más de 70 sacerdotes, durante el Life Fest en el D.C. Armory en Washington el 19 de enero de 2024, antes de la Marcha anual por la Vida. El evento fue organizado y copatrocinado por Caballeros de Colón y Hermanas de la Vida. (Foto de OSV News/Jeffrey Bruno, Caballeros de Colón)
Al negar su propio precedente que hizo del acceso al aborto un derecho constitucional en 1973, el alto tribunal devolvió la política abortista a los estados.
“A pesar de los incansables esfuerzos y el duro trabajo de los obispos y de todos los fieles, sufrimos una pérdida particularmente difícil para la vida no nacida después de Dobbs, cuando varios estados consagraron el llamado ‘derecho al aborto’ con enmiendas radicales a sus constituciones estatales”, dijo el obispo Burbidge.
En los estados en los que “hay victorias por conseguir”, dijo el obispo Burbidge, el movimiento provida “debe seguir siendo estratégico…. Allí donde los estados han actuado para consagrar en la ley políticas abortistas extremas, no debemos perder la esperanza. Incluso en los lugares más oscuros, podemos ser una luz”.
Raisa, una madre que compartió su testimonio en Life Fest, sonríe a una de sus hijas en los brazos de un miembro de las Hermanas de la Vida durante Life Fest en D.C. Armory en Washington el 19 de enero de 2024, antes de la Marcha anual por Vida. Raisa estaba siguiendo una carrera musical cuando se enteró de que estaba embarazada de gemelos y recurrió a las Hermanas de la Vida en busca de ayuda. También interpretó una canción que escribió llamada “Madre” en el Life Fest. El evento fue organizado y copatrocinado por Caballeros de Colón y Hermanas de la Vida. (Foto de OSV News/Paul Haring, Caballeros de Colón)
“No basta con reservar nuestro mensaje para quienes lo reciban, y buscar victorias sólo en aquellos lugares donde tengamos probabilidades de ganar”, dijo. “Debemos persistir en aquellos lugares donde nuestro mensaje es rechazado. Debemos llevar la luz a los rincones más oscuros. … Cada vida merece el esfuerzo”.
Destacando el lema de la Marcha anual por la Vida prevista para el 19 de enero, “Con cada madre, por cada niño”, dijo: “Más que nada, debemos seguir sirviendo. … Las necesidades de las madres y los bebés son dinámicas, y nosotros también debemos serlo”.
“El trabajo que realizamos en los centros de embarazo de todo el país es el centro de nuestra misión”, dijo el obispo Burbidge. “Debemos fortalecer esos esfuerzos y garantizar que quienes optan por la vida tengan un hogar, ingresos, alimentos, ropa y provisiones para sus hijos. Debemos ayudar a las madres y los padres a superar los retos del embarazo y dar la bienvenida a una nueva vida. Convertirse en padres o formar una familia suele conllevar la necesidad de un mayor apoyo emocional y espiritual. Debemos estar atentos a esta necesidad y ser creativos a la hora de responder a ella”.
El obispo Burbidge fue el celebrante principal de la Misa de vigilia, a la que asistieron cerca de 7.000 personas y a la que se unieron 138 sacerdotes, e incluyó a tres cardenales — el cardenal Wilton D. Gregory de Washington, el cardenal Seán P. O’Malley de Boston y el cardenal Christophe Pierre, nuncio apostólico en EE.UU. –, 19 obispos y arzobispos, 31 diáconos y 314 seminaristas. Entre ellos se encontraban también el arzobispo Timothy P. Broglio, de la Arquidiócesis de los Servicios Militares de Estados Unidos, presidente de la USCCB; y dos ex presidentes del comité provida de la USCCB, los arzobispos Joseph F. Naumann, de Kansas City, Kansas, y William E. Lori, de Baltimore, vicepresidente de la USCCB.
El cardenal Pierre leyó un mensaje del cardenal Pietro Parolin, secretario de estado vaticano, emitido en nombre del Papa Francisco, quien aseguró a los reunidos en la vigilia y en la marcha del día siguiente de sus oraciones y su gratitud por su “elocuente testimonio del derecho inviolable a la vida de toda persona”. Animó “a todos a perseverar en los esfuerzos para salvaguardar el don de la vida de nuestro Padre celestial mediante medidas legales adecuadas promulgadas a nivel local, nacional e internacional, porque cuando se valora y protege la dignidad y la santidad de la vida humana, se fortalece toda la sociedad”. El pontífice impartió su bendición a todos los participantes en la Marcha por la Vida.
El obispo Burbidge abrió su homilía con un agradecimiento a los partidarios de la vida por su “celo, perseverancia y amor que impulsa su compromiso”. “Les elogió por su dedicación a los ministerios provida de todo el país y por ofrecer “oración, testimonio y defensa… en nombre de los nonatos” en la vigilia y en la Marcha por la Vida del día siguiente.
Monjas participan en la 51ª manifestación anual Marcha por la Vida en medio de una tormenta de nieve en Washington el 19 de enero de 2024. (Foto de OSV News/Evelyn Hockstein, Reuters))
Frente a “nuestros oponentes” inundados de dinero que les ayuda a “decir falsedades, a engañar a la gente y a presentar a cualquiera que defienda la vida como irracional, radical e intolerante”, dijo el obispo Burbidge, el movimiento provida tiene “la Verdad”.
“Sin embargo, debemos encontrar nuevas formas de comunicarlo”, prosiguió el obispo. “¿Cómo? Sin compromisos. ¿Dónde? Incluso en los lugares más oscuros… a través del servicio y siempre con Cristo en el centro”.
“Toda la vida humana es sagrada. El derecho a la vida es absolutamente fundamental”, afirmó. “Nadie tiene derecho a quitarle directamente la vida a otro. Nadie tiene derecho a devaluar a otro. Nadie tiene derecho a decir qué vidas merece la pena salvar y vivir, y qué vidas no”.
El obispo Burbidge dijo que algunos en este mundo, “incluidos los elegidos para los más altos cargos, lamentablemente descuidan estas verdades básicas y/o quieren comprometerlas o negociarlas”, pero “es nuestro deber sagrado defender vigorosa e incansablemente” estas verdades sobre la vida.
Dijo que la victoria más profunda del movimiento provida “reside en responder de la única manera digna de la persona humana: con amor. … Nuestro mensaje debe ser inflexiblemente verdadero e indefectiblemente caritativo”.
“Nunca debemos negociar la Verdad, sino decirla con amor, llevarla a los lugares más oscuros y seguir sirviendo a las madres, padres y familias necesitadas”, añadió.
“Ama la Vida, Escoje la Vida” dice el catrtel que porta un miembro del Consejo de los Caballeros de Colón San David Rey 14706 en Princeton Junction, Nueva Jersey, es visto participando en la Marcha por la Vida en Washington el 18 de enero de 2018. (Foto OSV News/Gregory A. Shemitz)
Después de la Misa, el arzobispo Naumann iba a dirigir la Hora Santa Nacional por la Vida hasta las 8 de la tarde, seguida de una serie de Horas Santas de devoción eucarística a lo largo de la noche en diócesis de todo el país. El 19 de enero, el obispo Earl K. Fernandes de Columbus, Ohio, celebrará una Misa a las 8 a.m. para clausurar la vigilia.
(Julie Asher es editora sénior de OSV News. Síguela en X (antes conocido como Twitter) @jlasher.)
El sol brilla a través de una estatua de Cristo en una lápida junto a una bandera estadounidense en el cementerio católico de Santa María en Appleton, Wisconsin, en esta foto de 2018. El primer “Estado de la libertad religiosa en los Estados Unidos” anual de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de EE.UU., publicado el 16 de enero de 2024, identifica cinco amenazas principales a la libertad religiosa en el país, incluida una regulación federal que dice que podría imponer mandatos a los médicos para realizar procedimientos objetables y amenazas al servicio de la Iglesia a los migrantes. (OSV News photo/Bradley Birkholz)Representación de una mujer que salta al nuevo año con entusiasmo. (Foto OSV News/Mohamed Hassan, Pixabay)El cardenal Mauro Gambetti, arcipreste de la Basílica de San Pedro, observa una vaca durante la bendición de los animales de granja en las afueras de la Plaza de Pedro en el Vaticano el 17 de enero de 2024. El tradicional evento está patrocinado por la asociación ganadera italiana en la fiesta de San Antonio Abad, conocido como el protector de los animales. (Foto CNS/Lola Gómez)El Cementerio Conmemorativo Nacional en Vukovar, Croacia, conmemora a las víctimas de la Guerra de Independencia de Croacia de la década de 1990, llamada “Guerra de la Patria” por los croatas. (Foto de OSV News/Chris Herlinger, Informe Global Sisters)La nieve parece estar abrazando una estatua de San Mateo afuera de la Iglesia de San Mateo en Allouez, Wisconsin, el 19 de enero. Más de un pie de nieve cayó sobre el noreste de Wisconsin desde el 12 de enero hasta principios del 13 de enero. (OSV News foto/Sam Lucero)
