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TUPELO – A group of three photos depict community fun at St. James parish’s annual trunk or treat event. (Photos by Michelle Harkins)
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Black Catholics, a gift to our diocese and nation
By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
The Feast of All Saints is the portal at the beginning of November that invites all of the living members of the church to transcend time to see the Cloud of Witnesses that surround the throne of the Lamb in Heaven. The lives of the holy ones reveal God’s ultimate plan for us in eternity, and a well-defined pathway for this life to reach the goal.
In the book of Revelation, the heavenly vision is comprised of a “vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.” (7:9) What a great gift of hope the apostle John has given to the church for every generation until the Lord comes again.
In manifold ways the Lord Jesus molded all of the saints in their uniqueness into his image and likeness. Among this number, too great to count, are the six African American causes for canonization. They are remarkable women and men whom God called out of the darkness of slavery and unforgiving segregation into the light of sanctity and dignity. They are Mother Mary Lange, Father Augustus Tolton, Mother Henriette DeLille, Pierre Toussaint, Julia Greeley, and, of course, our own Servant of God, Sister Thea Bowman. They are outstanding witnesses of faithful discipleship for the universal church and even more so throughout November which is dedicated to Black Catholic History.
We know that the church was insnared in the evils of slavery and its aftermath, and for this we are called to repentance and the light of a new day. This month we also want to celebrate the church as a loving mother who nurtured the seeds of faith, hope and love through loving service and education within many African American settings.
St. Paul’s words to the Thessalonians is the paradigm for the church as the beating heart of Christ. “Brothers and sisters: We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.” (1Thessalonians 2:7-9 and 13)
This was Sister Thea’s experience when the religious brothers, sisters and priests shared their lives in the manner that St. Paul describes. “I was drawn to examine and accept the Catholic faith because of the day to day lived witness of Catholic Christians who first loved me, then shared with me their story, their values, their beliefs; who first loved me, then invited me to share with them in community, prayer and mission. As a child I did not recognize evangelization at work in my life. I did recognize love, service, community, prayer and faith.”
Last weekend on Saturday at the outset of Black Catholic History month, I participated in a parade, walkabout and program in Jonestown, Mississippi in honor of the late Sister Kay Burton, SNJM, a sister of the Names of Jesus and Mary. This religious community was founded by Eulalie Durocher in 1843 in Quebec, Canada. Sister Kay had overseen the development of various Jonestown community services and programs during her thirty years of ministry. The gift is that they continue through local leadership among this generation of Christian collaborators.
On Sunday I participated in the Women’s Day Program sponsored by the Holy Ghost Ladies Auxiliary. Our diocese was fully immersed in the quest for justice and peace in the late Jim Crow years and Civil Rights era, a reality that was gratefully acknowledged during the program. All of this is to say that along with the six Black Catholic women and men on the path of canonization, there are countless other Black Catholics here in our diocese and throughout our nation who are now witnessing, serving, teaching, and evangelizing because the gift they once received continues to flourish.
The participants at the Synod that recently concluded in Rome at the end of October had representation from nearly every county in the world, or as we proclaim, from every nation and tribe, people and language. For them and for all of us may the Holy Spirit deepen our commitment to unity, participation and mission. With St. Paul and Sister Thea, may the beating heart of Christ direct our steps in this life and enflame our vision for the promise of eternal life.
Happy Ordination Anniversary
November 10
Deacon Mark White
Deacon Emeritus, Queen of Peace
Olive Branch
November 19
Father Jack Kurps, SCJCatholic
Parishes of Northwest Mississippi & Sacred Heart Southern Missions
November 27
Father Tim Murphy
St. James Tupelo & St. Christopher Pontotoc
A subtler kind of poverty
IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI
There are different ways of being excluded in life.
Earlier this year, one of my older brothers died. By every indication he had lived an exemplary life, one lived mainly for others. He died much loved by everyone who knew him. His was a life lived for family, church, community, and friends.
Giving the homily at his funeral, I shared that, while he almost always brought a smile, a graciousness, and some wit to every situation, underneath he sometimes had to swallow hard to always do that. Why? Because, even though through his entire adult life he gave himself to serving others, for much of his life he didn’t have much choice in the matter. Here’s his story.
He was one of the older children in our family, a large second-generation immigrant family, struggling with poverty in an isolated rural area of the Canadian prairies where educational facilities weren’t easily available at that time. So, for him, as for many of his contemporaries, both men and women, the normal expectation was that after elementary school (an eighth-grade education) you were expected to end your school days and begin to work to support your family. Indeed, when he graduated from elementary school, there was no local high school for him to go to. Making this more unfortunate, he was perhaps the brightest, most gifted mind in our family. It’s not that he didn’t want to continue his formal education. But, he had to do what most others of his age did at that time, leave school and begin working, giving your entire salary over every month to support your family. He did this with good cheer, knowing this was expected of him.
Through the years, from age sixteen when he first entered the work force until he took over the family farm in his mid-thirties, he worked for farmers, worked in construction and did everything from operating a backhoe to driving a truck. Moreover, when our parents died and he took over our farm, there were a number of years when he was still pressured to use the farm to support the family. By the time he was finally freed of this responsibility, it was too late (not radically, but existentially) for him to restart his formal education. He lived out his final years before retirement as a farmer, though as one who found his energy elsewhere, in involvement in ongoing education and lay ministries programs where he thrived emotionally and intellectually. Part of his sacrifice too was that he never married, not because he was a temperamental bachelor, but because the same things that bound him to duty also, existentially, never afforded him the opportunity to marry.
After I shared his story at his funeral, I was approached by several people who said: That’s also my brother! That’s also my sister! That was my dad! That was my mother.
Having grown up where this was true of a number of my older siblings, today, whenever I see people working in service jobs such as cooking in cafeterias, cleaning houses, mowing lawns, working in construction, doing janitorial work and other work of this kind, I am often left to wonder, are they like my brother? Did they get to choose this work or are they doing it because of circumstances? Did this person want to be a doctor, or writer, a teacher, an entrepreneur, or a CEO of some company, and end up having to take this job because of an economic or other circumstance? Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing demeaning or less-than-noble in these jobs. Indeed, working with your hands is perhaps the most honest work of all – unlike my own work within the academic community where it can be easy to be self-serving and mostly irrelevant. There’s a wonderful dignity in working with your hands, as there was for my brother. However, the importance and dignity of that work notwithstanding, the happiness of the person doing it is sometimes predicated on whether or not he or she had a choice, that is, whether or not he or she is there by choice or because factors ranging from the economic situation of their family, to their immigrant status, to lack of opportunity, have forced them there.
As I walk past these folks in my day-to-day life and work, I try to notice them and appreciate the service they are rendering for the rest of us. And sometimes I say to myself: This could be my brother. This could be my sister. This could be the brightest mind of all who was not given the opportunity to become a doctor, a writer, nurse, a teacher or a social worker.
If in the next life, as Jesus promised, there’s to be a reversal where the last shall be first, I hope these people, like my brother, who were deprived of some of the opportunities that the rest of us enjoyed, will read my heart with an empathy that surpasses my understanding of them during their lifetime.
(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)
Pope Francis asks Mary to ‘convert those who fuel and foment conflict’
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis asked Mary to look mercifully upon the human family, “which has strayed from the path of peace,” and entrusted to her protection the world’s regions and nations at war.
“Queen of Peace, you suffer with us and for us, as you see so many of your children suffering from the conflicts and wars that are tearing our world apart,” the pope said during a prayer service for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica Oct. 27.
“At this dark hour this is a dark hour, mother we submerge ourselves in your luminous eyes, we entrust ourselves to your heart, sensitive to our problems,” he said, looking at an icon of Mary.
With a black-beaded rosary in hand, Pope Francis prayed with cardinals, bishops and delegates of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops, recalling Mary’s strength and initiative from several Gospel scenes the visitation, the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus’ passion and resurrection.
“Now, mother, once more take the initiative for us, in these times rent by conflicts and waste by the fire of arms,” the pope said. “Teach us to cherish and care for life each and every human life! and to repudiate the folly of war, which sows death and eliminates the future.”
Pope Francis asked Mary to “touch the hearts of those imprisoned by hatred, convert those who fuel and foment conflict.”
“Queen of all peoples, reconcile your children, seduced by evil, blinded by power and hate,” he said.
The pope also asked her to care for the victims of war: children, the elderly and isolated, the sick and wounded and those forced to abandon their homeland and loved ones due to conflict.
“To you we consecrate our world, especially those countries and regions at war,” the pope said without naming any particular nation or region. “To you we consecrate the church, so that in her witness to the love of Jesus before the world, she may be a sign of harmony and an instrument of peace.”
Present on the altar was icon of Mary, “Salus Populi Romani,” which has been present on the stage of the Vatican audience hall where the assembly of the synod on synodality has been held.
Among the cardinals present for the ceremony was Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, the pope’s Ukraine peace envoy and a synod delegate. Ambassadors to the Holy See from many nations also attended.
On the eve of the last working day of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis asked Mary to “help us preserve unity in the church and to be artisans of communion in our world.”
“Make us realize once more the importance of the role we play,” he said, “strengthen our sense of responsibility for the cause of peace as men and women called to pray, worship, intercede and make reparation for the whole human race.”
After Pope Francis’ prayer for peace, the Eucharist was exposed on the basilica’s main altar and a moment for silent prayer in adoration was observed.
Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, led benediction, blessing the people gathered in the basilica by making the sign of the cross with the monstrance, praying “let us adore with living faith the holy mystery of your body and your blood.”
Called by Name
In early November , I spent a few hours speaking to some of the senior theology classes at St. Joseph School in Madison. I spoke with the students much more about prayer than I have in the past. Many people want to do God’s will, but they don’t know how to discover God’s will.
We can only understand what our call from God is, in an affirmative way, if we come to the Lord in silent prayer and develop a relationship with him. Pope Benedict XVI said that ‘young people, if they know how to pray, can be trusted to know what to do with God’s call.’ What a powerful statement! But it is true! Once we understand how to enter into a living dialogue with the Lord, then he can speak to us and we can speak back to Him. One of the first steps of entering into deeper prayer is understanding who we are in Christ. In other words, who we are as baptized Christians and members of the church.
Through our baptism we are given an exalted position before the Lord. We are made sons and daughters of our heavenly Father. Like any good father, the Lord wants to help guide us along our way. He wants to see us reach our full potential, and he wants to support us as we strive to reach that potential. But many people struggle to experience a true, living relationship with God. This is why it is so important that we are rooted in a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is only in Christ that we are sons and daughters of the Father, and so it is in Christ that we can form a relationship with the Holy Trinity.
Our confirmation seals us in the grace of our baptism, and is another way that God generously pours forth grace into our hearts as the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit are made manifested in our acts of virtue. With the frequent reception of communion and regular visits to reconciliation, we are well on our way to deepening our relationship with the Lord.
But personal prayer is a must if we are going to discover God’s will for us. When we enter into prayer we have to enter into silence. We live in a world full of distractions, and so to step away from those distractions is our first step in prioritizing God above all things. The Scriptures are a powerful well-spring of prayer. When we read the Word of God, we begin to realize that we are not alone. Faithful people throughout the ages have struggled with their relationship with God, and with others, and this is related again and again in the Scriptures. In our next issue I will discuss how we pray with the Scriptures. Please share this article with a young person in your life and encourage them to develop a life of personal prayer.
– Father Nick Adam, vocation director
(Read about our current seminarians and their inspirational vocation stories at https://jacksondiocese.org/seminarians. Father Nick Adam can be contacted at nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.)
Putting God first
Reflections on Life
By Melvin Arrington
We all know what the commandment says: “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3) The text goes on to state in a straightforward manner: “You shall not make for yourself an idol … You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” (verses 4a and 5a) Unfortunately, the Israelites did just that. They built altars to pagan idols and worshipped them rather than the one true God.
In our time we obviously don’t bow down to Baal or any of the other false gods mentioned in the Old Testament. Nevertheless, idolatry (worshipping some aspect of creation instead of the Creator) is pervasive in our contemporary culture. Our society considers practically everything more important than matters of faith. And anything we put before God becomes, in essence, an idol. Think about how our culture idolizes celebrities of all kinds. We put rock stars and sports heroes on a pedestal. The fact that we call certain movie actors matinee idols is especially telling.
What about family, friends, possessions, careers and leisure activities? Are we guilty at times of prioritizing any of these at the expense of Sunday worship? Instead of going to Mass, some choose to stay in bed a little longer on Sunday or perhaps play a round of golf or go to the lake. But because God is, in the words of St. Anselm, “that than which nothing greater can be thought,” we should always give Him precedence in our lives, especially on Sundays. In other words, we should make sure we get to Mass, and then we can do some of the other things, as long as we “keep the Sabbath day holy.” God wants first place in our lives. If we will make Him a priority, He will in turn supply our needs: “Strive first for the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)
When we pray the spiritual communion prayer, we say to Jesus: “I love you above all things.” Not some things, but all things. If I say I love God more than anything, I need to prove it; I need to live it. Others are watching, and the last thing I want to do is turn someone away from God and the church because they see that I’m not living out my faith.
Years ago, I met a man who belonged to a well-known civic organization that has clubs in practically every large city in the country. This man was heavily involved in the club’s service activities; it was his life. I know this because he told me one time that the club was his religion. Admirable as his commitment to service was, he clearly had his priorities mixed up.
Some people put flag and country first. It’s right and proper to love our country, but we should never privilege country over God. I belong to a local civic club (a different one from the club referred to above). Our meetings open with a prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the flag, in that order. But that wasn’t always the case. At one point, confusion arose among club members regarding how we should begin our meetings.
After some discussion, we finally resolved the issue by acknowledging that God is paramount. Prayer is always the first thing on our agenda. As is often the case, tradition helps us to get things right. As everyone knows, the phrase is “God and country,” not the other way around.
Daily scripture reading and prayer are other ways we can make the Lord preeminent in our lives. We offer up prayers of thanksgiving, praise, petition and intercession first thing in the morning, at various times during the day, including before meals and immediately before going to bed at night. Scripture study and prayer allow us to enter into intimate conversation with God. Do I sometimes forget one of my prayer times or fail to do the daily readings? Sure I do, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up my reading and prayer regimen altogether. The Christian life is a struggle in many ways, and one way this can manifest itself is in our study and prayer time.
If our modern society were to put things in their proper order, God, the source of all good things, would come first; others would be second, and we would place ourselves last. However, our culture usually gets that turned around. What we actually see is the self, the ego, first and foremost; and everything else far behind. Regrettably, the classic expression – looking out for number one – still holds sway. Advertising backs this up by encouraging consumers to pamper their ego, to “go for all the gusto.” So where does this leave God? It leaves Him out of the picture altogether.
How often do we put family, friends, sports and our own wishes before God? It’s difficult for me to reflect on this because I’ve been guilty of relegating God to second place or lower at various times in my life. But imagine what society would look like if we all gave God His rightful place. It would, in short, revolutionize our culture.
As in everything else in life, we have a choice. We must choose between the kingdom of God and the things this world has to offer. Choosing both is not an option because “no one can serve two masters.” (Matthew 6:24) As Christians, our desire should be to serve God first, always, and everywhere, because He is, was and always will be before all things. It’s His proper place.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 contains the schema, the fundamental statement of the Jewish faith: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Practicing Jews still recite this passage twice a day. Jesus expands on these words by showing us how to apply them to our lives: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)
Keeping the commandment “You shall have no other gods before me” requires that we love God with all of our being and that we put our faith into practice by transforming our selfishness into selflessness. In short, we show our love for God by our love for others. When we give God first place in our lives, we put others before ourselves. That’s the correct order.
(Melvin Arrington is a Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages for the University of Mississippi and a member of St. John Oxford.)
New Albany parish celebrates patron saint – St. Francis of Assisi
By Galen Holley
NEW ALBANY – Outdoors, on a perfect fall morning, was the ideal place and time to celebrate the life of perhaps the most popular saint in history.
The parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New Albany, as they do each October, gathered in the three-acre lot behind the church, in an open field, skirted by pine and oak, and sat facing the altar, shaded by a redbud tree.
The faithful, some 350-plus, sat in folding chairs, and many stood in a wide semi-circle, as youngsters carried in the statue of St. Francis, led by the rhythmic thumping of drums, and the colorful blaze and synergetic movements of La Danza.
The community of St. Francis of Assisi is 74 years old. The first gatherings were in the home of the Kelso family. Priests from the Glenmary Home Missioners were among the first to provide ministry to the faithful. St. Francis is now a parish in the diocese, with Father Jesuraj Xavier as the pastor.
“St. Francis spoke the language of love,” said Father Raj, during his homily. “The saint asked God to make him a channel of peace.”
That peace is much needed in a world torn by war, Father said. He mentioned the devastating conflicts raging in Israel and Ukraine.
“For us, St. Francis is not simply a name, but an identity,” said Father Raj. “St. Francis embraced poverty and humility, as well as joyful charity, and today we celebrate in nature, gathered around the Eucharist and united as one.”
As Father Raj explained, the Italian mystic and itinerant preacher known to the world as St. Francis of Assisi (d. 1226), was never ordained a priest. “He didn’t consider himself worthy to celebrate Mass and preside at the Eucharist,” said Father Raj. “He remained a deacon and knew that his role was to exemplify poverty and simplicity.” St. Francis is also one of the very few saints to have borne the stigmata, or the wounds that Christ suffered during crucifixion.
“St. Francis embraced nature and animals” said Father Raj, with a broad smile. “He would say ‘brother tree’ or ‘sister cat.’”
As the faithful received Communion, almost incredibly (and quite comically) an orange tabby cat, with which children had been playing along the edge of the woods, made its way to the altar area. The cat inspected things, leaped upon a chair or two, then moved on.
Before sending forth the congregation, Father Raj reminded the faithful to live the identity of their patron saint.
“If you do one thing today, if you take away one message,” Father Raj said, “pray for peace.”
Synod synthesis shows agreement, divergences, including on ‘synodality’
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A report summarizing discussions at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops said the church may need more welcoming pastoral approaches, especially to people who feel excluded, but also acknowledged fears of betraying traditional church teachings and practices.
Among the topics addressed in the report were clerical sexual abuse, women’s roles in the church, outreach to poor and the concept of “synodality” itself.
The assembly, with 364 voting members – 365 counting Pope Francis – met in working sessions six days a week Oct. 4-28 after a three-day retreat outside of Rome. They were scheduled to join the pope Oct. 29 for the assembly’s closing Mass.
After the voting on the synthesis concluded, the pope said he wanted to remind everyone that “the protagonist of the synod is the Holy Spirit.” He briefly thanked the synod officers and joined members of the assembly in giving thanks to God.
The assembly’s discussions set the stage for a year-long period of reflection that will culminate in the second and final synod assembly in late 2024 on the same topic.
The 41-page synthesis report, voted on paragraph-by-paragraph Oct. 28, described its purpose as presenting “convergences, matters for consideration and proposals that emerged from the dialogue” on issues discussed under the headings of synodality, communion, mission and participation.
Every item in the report was approved by at least two-thirds of the members present and voting, synod officials said. They published a complete list of the votes.
Within the synod topics, members looked at the role of women in the church, including in decision making, and at the possibility of ordaining women deacons. The report asked for more “theological and pastoral research on the access of women to the diaconate,” including a review of the conclusions of commissions Pope Francis set up in 2016 and 2020.
The paragraph, one of several on the theme of women deacons, was approved 279-67, which was more than the needed two-thirds support but still garnered among the highest negative votes.
Among members of the assembly, the report said, some thought the idea of women deacons would be a break with tradition, while others insisted it would “restore the practice of the Early Church,” including at the time of the New Testament, which mentions women deacons.
“Others still, discern it as an appropriate and necessary response to the signs of the times, faithful to the Tradition, and one that would find an echo in the hearts of many who seek new energy and vitality in the church,” it said. But, the report added, some members thought that would “marry the church to the spirit of the age.”
The paragraph on how different members explained their support of or opposition to women deacons also was approved by more than two-thirds of the voting members, but it received more negative votes than any other item, passing 277 to 69.
Assembly members also discussed pastoral approaches to welcoming and including in the life of parishes people who have felt excluded, including the poor, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ Catholics and Catholics whose marriages are not recognized by the church.
The synthesis report did not use the term “LGBTQ+” or even “homosexuality” and spoke only generally of issues related to “matters of identity and sexuality.”
Jesuit Father James Martin, a synod member involved in outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics, told Catholic News Service, “From what I understand, there was too much pushback to make using the term ‘LGBTQ’ viable, even though it was contained in the ‘Instrumentum Laboris,'” or synod working document.
“This opposition came up often in the plenary sessions, along with others who argued from the other side, that is, for greater inclusion and for seeing LGBTQ people as people and not an ideology,” he said.
The synthesis said that “to develop authentic ecclesial discernment in these and other areas, it is necessary to approach these questions in the light of the Word of God and church teaching, properly informed and reflected upon.”
“In order to avoid repeating vacuous formulas, we need to provide an opportunity for a dialogue involving the human and social sciences, as well as philosophical and theological reflection,” it added.
The divergences in the assembly, it said, reflected opposing concerns: that “if we use doctrine harshly and with a judgmental attitude, we betray the Gospel; if we practice mercy ‘on the cheap,’ we do not convey God’s love.”
Still, it said, “in different ways, people who feel marginalized or excluded from the church because of their marriage status, identity or sexuality, also ask to be heard and accompanied. There was a deep sense of love, mercy and compassion felt in the Assembly for those who are or feel hurt or neglected by the church, who want a place to call ‘home’ where they can feel safe, be heard and respected, without fear of feeling judged.”
The report emphasized the “listening” that took place on the local, national and continental levels before the assembly and the “conversations in the Spirit” that took place during it, which involved each person speaking in his or her small group, other participants at first commenting only on what struck them, silent reflection and then discussion.
In several places throughout the report, assembly members insisted that greater efforts must be made to listen to the survivors of clerical sexual abuse and those who have endured spiritual or psychological abuse.
“Openness to listening and accompanying all, including those who have suffered abuse and hurt in the church, has made visible many who have long felt invisible,” it said. “The long journey toward reconciliation and justice, including addressing the structural conditions that abetted such abuse, remains before us, and requires concrete gestures of penitence.”
Members of the assembly said the process helped them experience the church as “God’s home and family, a church that is closer to the lives of her people, less bureaucratic and more relational.”
However, it said, the terms “synodal” and “synodality,” which “have been associated with this experience and desire,” need further clarification, including theological clarification and, perhaps, in canon law.
Some participants, it said, questioned how an assembly where about 21% of participants were lay women, lay men, religious and priests could be termed a Synod of Bishops.
The report also acknowledged fears, including that “the teaching of the church will be changed, causing us to depart from the Apostolic faith of our forebears and, in doing so, betraying the expectations of those who hunger and thirst for God today.”
In response, though, assembly members said, “We are confident that synodality is an expression of the dynamic and living tradition.”
“It is clear that some people are afraid that they will be forced to change; others fear that nothing at all will change or that there will be too little courage to move at the pace of the living tradition,” the report said.
“Also,” it added, “perplexity and opposition can sometimes conceal a fear of losing power and the privileges that derive from it.”
Members of the assembly described the synodal process as being “rooted in the tradition of the church” and taking place in light of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, particularly its emphasis on “the church as Mystery and People of God, called to holiness.”
Synodality, they said, “values the contribution all the baptized make, according to their respective vocations,” and thus “constitutes a true act of further reception of the Council.”
The report also insisted the purpose of synodality is mission.
“As disciples of Jesus, we cannot shirk the responsibility of demonstrating and transmitting the love and tenderness of God to a wounded humanity,” the report said.
Throughout the synod process, the report said, “many women expressed deep gratitude for the work of priests and bishops. They also spoke of a church that wounds. Clericalism, a chauvinist mentality and inappropriate expressions of authority continue to scar the face of the church and damage its communion.”
“A profound spiritual conversion is needed as the foundation for any effective structural change,” it said. “Sexual abuse and the abuse of power and authority continue to cry out for justice, healing and reconciliation.”
(To view the Synod synthesis report of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, visit https://www.synod.va/en/news/a-synodal-church-in-mission.html)
Unlocking philanthropy: Catholic Foundation offers Charitable Gift Annuities to support your faith and financial future
By Joanna Puddister King
JACKSON – So many of us have large philanthropic hearts, but our wallets and budgets don’t allow us to make that large gift that is in our heart. The Catholic Foundation offers donors an opportunity to give a gift and receive income back called a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA).
Charitable Gift Annuities (CGA) are gaining popularity due to the rising payout rates. “Now is a great time to consider establishing a CGA,” said Rebecca Harris, executive director of the Catholic Foundation. “A CGA is a simple arrangement where assets are given and in return the donor will receive fixed lifetime payments.”
Harris can help walk anyone interested in CGAs through the process. This is a way for a donor to give a gift now, receive income, and help their parish, school, or favorite Catholic ministry. The Catholic Foundation and the Diocese of Jackson are partnering with Catholic Extension to work with donors on establishing a CGA.
“Many donors shy away from these types of donations because they feel they are too complicated for them. Our goal is to walk you through the process to determine if this is the right type of gift for you,” says Harris.
A CGA is a simple contract guaranteeing it will pay the donor a fixed lifetime income based on a donor’s age and gift size that can be for one or two annuitants, and the payouts can be deferred. This is often a preferred strategy for retirees who want to put their charitable dollars to work and not have to worry about giving away a large sum of your retirement at once. “Simply, it is a way to support your Catholic faith and retain your cash flow,” says Harris.
The primary benefit of a CGA is that the donor receives a fixed payment for life, no matter how long he or she may live. A portion of the payments are tax-free for a specified time. Further, because the donor is making a gift, a portion of the amount paid for the annuity is an immediate deductible charitable gift for income tax purposes, as allowable by IRS rules.
Harris says, funding a CGA can be done with cash, IRA required minimum distribution, and stocks and securities.
“If you are looking for a way to decrease your income tax obligation after retirement and support your Catholic faith, a CGA may be what you are looking for,” says Harris.
To receive a free illustration of your gift contact Rebecca Harris at (601) 960-8477. With a few details her office can provide you with a gift illustration. Included in the illustration is your potential charitable income tax deduction and your yearly payments for life as well as an estimated amount that will go to your beneficiary.
