From the Archives By Mary Woodward On my drive to the Diocesan Chancery building each morning, I am fortunate not to have to use the interstate. I can drive through two historic Jackson neighborhoods, past museums and the last of some of the original Jackson business buildings to get to my office downtown.
Leaving my house, I pass Eudora Welty’s house, which is now a museum dedicated to her life. The small window on the second floor is where she sat and typed up her wonderful stories. Soon the famous or infamous “Jitney 14” is on my left. This is where Miss Welty shopped among a myriad of characters who would stop at Parkins pharmacy next door to have an egg salad sandwich or a burger and a milkshake. Further down the road I pass the old White House, a former boarding house that served great Saturday lunches and is now an eclectic coffee and small batch bakery known as Urban Foxes. Two blocks later I see Carter Jewelers off to the right and the New Capitol Building, which is called new even though it is more than 100 years old because the original Capitol Building still stands.
Bishop Gerow prays on roof of the diocesan chancery building in Jackson on Dec. 12, 1948. On right, the dedication plaque for the diocesan chancery building located in the Smith Park Architectural District of Jackson.
Straight in front of me is that Old Capitol. On the way up to it on the left, I pass three amazing buildings housing the State of Mississippi’s history – the Mississippi History Museum, the Civil Rights Museum, and the William F. Winter Archives. I appreciate how the history museum and archives building are classic architecture that sandwich the unique contemporary architecture of the Civil Rights museum. The whole complex works and graces that block with its formidable presence.
Between these buildings and the Old Capitol stands the War Memorial building. Turning onto Amite Street, I can see the clock on the Lamar Life building over on Capitol Street. This is one of Jackson’s coolest buildings architecturally along with the Standard Life building further down. Complete with gargoyles on the upper ridge, the Lamar Life building is a tribute to Gothic Revival style. The Standard Life building is a masterpiece in Art Deco design. Once homes to business endeavors, both are now residential and mixed use.
Driving down Amite Street I now enter the Smith Park Architectural District, an area of downtown encompassing all these unique styles of architecture. Smith Park itself is one of the oldest continually used public parks in the country. It dates back to 1838. The area is part of the national register of historic places.
Workers pour concrete for the second floor of the chancery building at 237 East Amite Street in January 1947.
The reason I mention all these is because our diocesan cathedral, cathedral rectory, and chancery office are all located in and are a part of this historic district. The southwest corner of Amite and West Streets is where the cathedral rectory and the chancery sit. Across Amite on the northwest corner is the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary.
Finished in 1900, this current building is the third St. Peter’s parish church. The first was built in 1846 and located eight blocks to the south and burned in the Civil War. The second was finished in 1868 and sat where the rectory and chancery now sit.
Once the new brick church across the street was completed, the second wood-framed church was used as a gathering center for the KCs and other parish events. In 1913, Rev. Aloysius Heick, SVD, came and loaded the second church on mule carts and took it several blocks north to become the first Holy Ghost church.
(Mary Woodward is Chancellor and Archivist for the Diocese of Jackson.)
SOUTHAVEN – During Sacred Heart School’s “Living Museum of Saints” on Oct. 31, a student portraying St. Thérèse of Lisieux (B.J.) shares her story with classmates dressed as Mary (Vivian) and St. Clare (Maddie). (Photo by Sister Margaret Sue Broker)JACKSON – St. Richard School invites families to join the First Friday Rosary in the Father Brian Kaskie Chapel on campus. This event serves a special opportunity for parents and families to pray together, spend time with students, and experience the faith-filled spirit that makes our school shine. Pictured: Caroline Compretta and son, Andrew Compretta. (Photo by Celeste Saucier)
JACKSON – At St. Richard Catholic School’s Halloween celebration, sixth graders led Pre-K students trick-or-treating through the halls. (Above) Teacher Sheila Foggo high-fives students as they pass her classroom. (Left) JD Poole and Drue Beal visit older students who handed out candy to the youngest trick-or-treaters. (Photos by Celeste Saucier)
By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D. During his homily last Sunday on the commemoration of the World Day of Prayer for the Poor, Pope Leo XIV urged world leaders to listen to the cry of the poorest, which challenges those who bear political responsibility. “There can be no peace without justice,” he said, “and the poor remind us of this in many ways – through migration as well as through their cries, which is often stifled by the myth of well-being and progress that does not take everyone into account, and indeed forgets many individuals, leaving them to their fate.”
The pope also encouraged the efforts of charity workers and volunteers and invited all Christians to seek the Kingdom of God by working to transform human coexistence into a “space of fraternity and dignity for all, without exception.”
Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
This is a challenging time across the world where currents of nationalism and isolationism are fracturing global solidarity that is essential for a sustainable commitment on behalf of justice and peace. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, has been resolute in word and action for 2,000 years and notably in the modern era since the time of Pope Leo XIII on behalf of human dignity and international solidarity. It is unmistakable that there has been a seamless garment of Catholic Social Teachings from the heart of the church that has been carefully articulated in papal documents.
In recent history there are the writings and witness of Popes Francis and Benedict, St. John Paul II, St. Paul VI, and St. John XXIII. Each Holy Father in their generation spoke passionately to world leaders to turn away from war and unbridled nationalism in order to foster a more peaceful and interdependent fraternity of nations. During the pandemic, Pope Francis sat alone in St. Peter’s Square before the Blessed Sacrament and commended to Divine Providence the wellbeing of all nations and peoples. From imposed isolation and prayerful solitude in 2020 Pope Francis wrote his third encyclical Fratelli Tutti, (Brothers and Sisters All) on fraternal social friendship and global solidarity that springs from our shared humanity.
Pope Saint John XXIII released Pacem in Terris in the midst of the Second Vatican Council, a profound prayer and a plea for peace and solidarity in our world. A few years later St. Paul VI wrote Populorum Progressio on the Development of Peoples and prophetically taught that Integral Human Development contains the imperative of Moral, Spiritual, and Social Growth, not just material wellbeing. St. John Paul II in Sollicitudo Rei Socialis on the 20th Anniversary of Populorum Progressio in 1987 taught unreservedly that the Social Teaching of the Church is integral to its evangelizing mission. Pope Benedict in his 2005 document Deus Caritas Est wrote that “the church’s deepest nature is thus expressed in her three-fold duty: to proclaim the Word of God, celebrate the sacraments, and exercise the ministry of charity. These duties are inseparable and presuppose one another.”
The Catholic Church in the United States wholeheartedly embraces the teachings of our Holy Fathers as core values and a Gospel vision for our world. On the commemoration of the World Day of Prayer for the Poor, we are proud that as a global church we have vast experience in providing humanitarian aid and development assistance through International Agencies such as Catholic Relief Services in collaboration with NGOs and governments alike.
“The Catholic Church has long recognized that helping those in need, regardless of nationality or faith, is a moral imperative. Humanitarian and development aid are an integral part of the church’s commitment to human life and dignity. As the church pursues a more peaceful world through dialogue and diplomacy, lifesaving and life-affirming assistance act as necessary complements that allow for sustainable solutions to take root.
“A comprehensive pro-life, Catholic vision for U.S. humanitarian and development assistance recognizes that the U.S. government, alongside the church, shares a responsibility to advance the common good. Given that government institutions and the church are jointly called to create a more just world, a Catholic approach to U.S. international assistance invokes both parties as essential partners in the promotion of sustainable change that effectively addresses global needs.” (Catholic Vision for U.S. Humanitarian and Development Assistance USCCB)
Pope Leo XIV has reminded us in Dilexi Te, his first Apostolic Exhortation “that the burning heart of the church’s mission convinces me of the need to go back and re-read the Gospel, lest we risk replacing it with the wisdom of this world. The poor cannot be neglected if we are to remain within the great current of the church’s life that has its source in the Gospel and bears fruit in every time and place. This too is essential for the path to holiness.”
IN EXILE By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI John Muir once asked: “Why are Christians so reluctant to let animals into their stingy heaven?”
Indeed, why? Especially since St. Paul tells us in the Epistle to the Romans that all creation (mineral, plant, animal) is groaning to be set free from its bondage to decay to enter eternal life with us. How? How will minerals, plants and animals go to heaven? That’s beyond our present imagination, just as we cannot imagine how we will enter heaven: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard. Nor has it entered the heart of man the things God has prepared for those who love Him.” Eternal life is beyond our present imagination. What John Muir asks concerning animals might be asked in a wider sense: are we too stingy about who gets to go to heaven?
What I mean by “stingy” here is how we are so often obsessed with purity, boundaries, dogma and religious practice that we exclude millions from our church doors, our church programs, our sacramental programs, our Eucharistic tables, and from our notion of who will be going to heaven. This is true across denominational lines. As Christians, we all tend to create a stingy heaven. However, I can appreciate the instinct behind this. Following Jesus must mean something concrete. Christian discipleship makes real demands and churches need to have real boundaries in terms of dogma, sacraments, membership and practice. There is a legitimacy in creating a dividing line between who is in and who is out. The instinct behind this is healthy. But its practice is often not healthy. We often make heaven stingy. Metaphorically, we are too often like that group in the Gospel who is blocking the paralytic from coming to Jesus, so that he can only get to Jesus by entering through a hole in the roof.
Our instinct may be right, but our practice is often wrong. We, those of us who are invested deeply in our churches, need to be strong enough in our own faith and practice to be anchors of a spirituality and ethos that welcomes in and dines with those who are not invested. How so? Here’s an analogy.
Imagine a family of ten, now all adults. Five of the children are deeply invested in the family. They come home regularly for visits, have meals together every weekend, check in with each other regularly, have regular rituals and celebrations to ensure that they stay connected, and make it their family business to see that their parents are always okay. They might aptly be called “practicing” members of the family. Now, imagine that five of the children have drifted from the family. They no longer cultivate any regular meaningful connection with the family, are dissociated from its everyday life and ethos, aren’t particularly concerned with how their parents are doing, but still want to have some connection to the family to occasionally share an occasion, a celebration, or meal with them. They might aptly be described as “non-practicing” members of the family.
This poses the question: Do the “practicing members” of the family refuse them entry into their gatherings, believing that allowing them to come jeopardizes the family’s beliefs, values and ethos? Or do they allow them to come, but only on condition that they first make a series of practical commitments to regularize contact with the family?
My guess is that in most healthy families the “practicing” members would happily welcome the “non-practicing” members to a family event, gathering or meal – grateful they are there, graciously accepting them without initially asking for any practical promises or commitments. Nor would they feel threatened by them joining the celebration and taking a seat at the table, fearful that the family’s ethos might somehow be compromised.
As “practicing” members of the family they would have a steady confidence that their own commitment sufficiently anchors the family’s ethos, standards and rituals so that those who are present and uncommitted aren’t threatening anything but are making the celebration richer and more inclusive. That confidence would be grounded on knowing (in terms of this particular family) that they are the adults in the room and can welcome others without compromising anything. They would not be stingy with the gift and grace of family.
There’s a lesson here, I submit: We who are “practicing” Christians, responsible for proper church practice, proper doctrine, proper morals and the authentic continuation of preaching and Eucharist, should not be stingy with the gift and grace of Christian family.
Like Jesus, who welcomed everyone without first demanding conversion and commitment, we must be open in our welcome and wide in our embrace. Inclusion, not exclusion, should always be our first approach. Like Jesus we should not be threatened by what seems impure, and we should be prepared to occasionally scandalize others by whom we are seen with at table.
Let’s not be stingy in sharing God’s family, especially since the God we serve is a prodigal God who isn’t threatened by anything!
(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a professor of spirituality at Oblate School of Theology and award-winning author.)
By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) – In many ways, the Catholic Church is always a “construction site” where God is constantly shaping its members who must dig deep and work diligently but patiently, Pope Leo XIV said.
The construction site is “a beautiful image that speaks of activity, creativity and dedication, as well as hard work and sometimes complex problems to be solved,” the pope said as he celebrated Mass at Rome’s Basilica of St. John Lateran Nov. 9, the feast of the basilica’s dedication in the fourth century.
The basilica is the pope’s cathedral as bishop of Rome and is referred to as “the mother of all churches.” Standing at the “cathedra” or bishop’s chair, Pope Leo preached about the basilica as “a sign of the living church, built with chosen and precious stones on Christ Jesus, the cornerstone.”
He also spoke about the feast day when he returned to the Vatican for the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer.
Pope Leo XIV sits in the “cathedra” or bishop’s chair at Rome’s Basilica of St. John Lateran as he celebrates Mass Nov. 9, 2025, the feast of the basilica’s dedication. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)
“We are the church of Christ, his body, his members called to spread his Gospel of mercy, consolation and peace throughout the world, through that spiritual worship that must shine forth above all in our witness of life,” he told people gathered to pray with him in St. Peter’s Square.
“So often, the frailties and mistakes of Christians, together with many clichés and prejudices, prevent us from grasping the richness of the mystery of the church,” he said. However, the holiness of the church “is not dependent upon our merits, but on the ‘gift of the Lord, never retracted,’ that continues to choose ‘as the vessel of its presence, with a paradoxical love, the dirty hands of men,’” the pope said, quoting Pope Benedict XVI’s 1968 book, “Introduction to Christianity.”
In his homily at the basilica, Pope Leo asked the congregation to consider the foundations of the church they were standing in.
“If the builders had not dug deep enough to find a solid base on which to construct the rest, the entire building would have collapsed long ago or would be at risk of doing so at any moment,” he said. “Fortunately, however, those who came before us laid solid foundations for our cathedral, digging deep with great effort before raising the walls that welcome us, and this makes us feel much more at ease.” As members of and laborers in the church, he said, Catholics today also “must first dig deep within ourselves and around ourselves before we can build impressive structures. We must remove any unstable material that would prevent us from reaching the solid rock of Christ.”
The church and its members must constantly return to Christ and his Gospel, the pope said, “otherwise we risk overloading a building with heavy structures whose foundations are too weak to support it.” Building up the church of Christ is a time-consuming labor requiring hard work and patience, he said. Part of that work, the pope said, is being humble enough to allow God to work on each member, the “living stones” who make up the church.
“When Jesus calls us to take part in God’s great project, he transforms us by skillfully shaping us according to his plans for salvation,” Pope Leo said. “This implies an uphill journey, but we must not be discouraged. Instead, we should continue with confidence in our efforts to grow together.”
By Peter Jesserer Smith (OSV News) – From the start of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ fall plenary assembly to its end, a resounding concern for the God-given dignity of immigrants, and for unity in teaching the faith clearly and renewing the country spiritually, dominated the days’ proceedings.
The first order of business for the bishops, at the start of the Nov. 10-13 gathering was to invoke the intercession of the Holy Spirit. More than 320 active and retired bishops joined the opening Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore Nov. 10. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the USCCB and archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, reminded bishops in his opening homily of “their duty to be servants of truth,” and shared the story of a young airman who asked him “how to be a saint.”
The fall meeting was also Archbishop Broglio’s farewell as USCCB president after leading the bishops for the past three years through a National Eucharistic Revival, its first National Eucharistic Congress in more than eight decades, the recently concluded Synod on Synodality, and the election of the first American pope.
Bishops pray during a Nov. 12, 2025, session of the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
In his final presidential address, he emphasized the need for the bishops to model unity and help “convince people to listen to each other” amid polarization.
“We have to draw on our unity to illustrate that civil discourse is not only possible, but the most authentically human way forward,” he said.
For Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal ambassador, it was his first opportunity to address the bishops as Pope Leo XIV’s representative to the U.S. since the pope’s election in May. On the theme of unity, he emphasized continuity between the late Pope Francis and Pope Leo’s pontificates, while encourging them to look to the Second Vatican Council as their guide. As he has for the past several years, he encouraged them to develop a synodal culture that could help them unify the church at a time when many Catholics “identify more with tribes and ideologies than with the body of Christ.”
He said, “The synodal path invites us to a different way: a style of being church that makes communion concrete, allows dialogue to become discernment, and catholicity to become shared mission.”
The cardinal’s remarks about synodality, as a means to help the bishops bring about unity, were underscored by a Leadership Roundtable survey from the prior week. It showed that Catholics tend to give their parish pastors and parish high marks, yet a consistent “trust deficit” pattern prevails at the diocesan and national level.
The bishops elected new leadership for the next three years on Nov. 11, the first day of public meetings, choosing the conference’s secretary, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, as their next president out of 10 possible candidates. Archbishop Coakley won on the third ballot in a close run-off with Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas. The bishops then decisively chose Bishop Flores, the conference’s former doctrine committee chair and its point man on implementing synodality in the U.S., as vice president, succeeding Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori.
The following day, the bishops elected Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, as their next secretary. Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland, Oregon, was selected to succeed Bishop Rhoades as chair of the Committee on Religious Liberty. The bishops then elected five other committee chairs: Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob of Milwaukee, for Canonical Affairs and Church Governance; Auxiliary Bishop Peter L. Smith of Portland, Oregon, for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs; Bishop William A. Wack of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, for Evangelization and Catechesis; Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of Philadelphia, for International Justice and Peace; and Bishop Mark W. O’Connell, newly named bishop of Albany, New York, for Protection of Children and Young People.
While many of the elections were close contests, the bishops’ voice on major issues – from teaching on immigration and gender ideology to public manifestations of Catholic witness and devotion – was overwhelmingly united in every vote.
On Nov. 12, the second public session of the gathering, the prelates approved a special pastoral message on immigration “to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity.” They amended the message on the floor to clearly condemn “indiscriminate mass deportation” alongside their call to end “dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.” The bishops applauded and many got to their feet after it passed with a resounding 216 votes in favor, five votes against, and three abstentions.
The bishops’ plenary assembly heard a report on the immigration situation in the U.S. under the Trump administration, as well as a new initiative of solidarity with migrants called “You Are Not Alone.” In a press conference, Bishop Rhoades also revealed that the issue of the ability of Catholic immigrants in ICE detention to receive sacraments “is now at the top of our concerns.”
“Obviously, the beliefs of the church have political consequences, but they’re not political in the usual sense of the word,” Archbishop Richard G. Henning of Boston told OSV News, explaining the bishops’ special message was “a pastoral address to our people rather than an attempt to lobby.”
The bishops also heard about promising signs of progress in their ongoing efforts to resolve backlogs for religious worker visas with the Trump administration. Close to 90% of the nation’s Catholic dioceses rely on foreign-born clergy and religious.
The bishops also heard a presentation on revisions to their “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” which they approved the following day. They approved the new ERDs – 206 bishops voted yes, with eight abstaining and seven opposing – with substantial revisions from the previous version. They incorporate guidance issued in 2023 by the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine, which prohibited surgical or chemical interventions seeking to exchange or simulate the sex characteristics of a patient’s body for those of the opposite sex.
The bishops also learned that a new English version of the Bible will be called The Catholic American Bible, which aims to unify American Catholics’ reading of Scripture from the Bible they use in the home to the readings they pray with in the liturgy. They also learned that the Vatican approved the new English edition of the Liturgy of the Hours – concluding a 13-year process of revision – and it would be available for everyone by Easter 2027.
As the U.S. marks its 250th anniversary next year, the bishops voted to consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 2026, during their spring assembly in June, which concludes on the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Before the bishops concluded the second and final day of public proceedings – the last day, Nov. 13, was spent in executive session – they approved holding an 11th National Eucharistic Congress in the summer of 2029 following a presentation by Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota. Bishop Cozzens, chairman of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., which will organize the event, said Nov. 12 that a “Revival Impact Study,” which will be made public in December, has shown that a great deal of fruit resulted from the National Eucharistic Revival effort, which included the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
Bishop Cozzens said one of the gifts of the National Eucharistic Congress is the unity it brings to the whole church – something he saw at the 2024 event.
“I think we’ll experience that again in 2029,” he told OSV News. He said a theme is in development and the 2029 National Eucharistic Congress itself will be “a beautiful experience of the power of the Holy Spirit.”
(Peter Jesserer Smith is the national news editor for OSV News. OSV News’ Gretchen R. Crowe, Gina Christian, Kate Scanlon, Lauretta Brown and Julie Asher contributed to this report.)
A driver appeared in court charged with parking his car in a restricted area.
“Defense?” asked the judge.
“Yes, there shouldn’t be such misleading signs around … the sign clearly said, Fine for Parking Here.” Oops – how things can get easily misunderstood! Still, it is a bit funny, isn’t it? What makes you laugh? What makes you hee hee hee or haw haw haw until your sides wiggle?
You know what I mean. What do you consider hilarious? Michael Dorris, the Native American author of Guests, once wrote, “I got dizzy from laughing, lost my breath from laughing. My stomach hurt from laughing. Tears ran from my eyes, everything was funny.”
Quite possibly, on the other hand, you do not laugh but a little he he hey … almost like a tiny sneeze? Or are you a giggler, one who guffaws, or one who hides behind your hands and lets no one know you found something amusing? Maybe laughter is not your thing – or so you say – and yet you laugh and laugh when hidden in the bathroom or away from people.
Henry Ward Beecher once said, “A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs – jolted by every pebble in the road.” I have to say, I think a sense of humor is critical to the spiritual life. Where do we begin?
A good laugh at ourselves usually works. Not taking myself too seriously helps me get things into perspective. As Proverbs 17:22 reminds us, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Yes, go to the Scriptures and discover laughter mentioned more than once: “He will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.” (Job 8:21) Check out the Psalms: “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy” (Psalm 126:2), and “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy.” (Psalm 28:7)
As with our driver who got it wrong, we can as well – by laughing at others. Not recommended. Nothing is more painful than being laughed at. Yes, we are called to laugh, but how about laughing with? I marvel at those who have been badly treated, who teach me so much about laughter. W.E.B. Du Bois, the African American educator, once wrote in “My Soul Looks Back, ’Less I Forget”: “I am especially glad of the divine gift of laughter; it has made the world human and lovable, despite all its pain and wrong.” Can you laugh in November? That’s a good test! Death, purgatory, people dying around us, wars, abortions, hunger, governmental challenges, the death penalty – darkness falling all around us. So what’s so funny?
It is more difficult to laugh or make decisions when the days are rainy, cold and lonely. Yet Norton Juster reminds us in “The Phantom Tollbooth” – “Ordinance 175389: It shall be unlawful, illegal and unethical to think, think of thinking, surmise, presume, reason, meditate or speculate while in the doldrums.”
What comes, however, into our orbit near the end of the month? Thanksgiving, of course – and if you don’t laugh at that dinner table, you will cry! Maybe it will be an old story Uncle George tells, a funny accident by a 3-year-old or even a teenager venturing out to tell a joke. Who knows? It might be the food. It might be just anything.
Go prepared – or you might get caught in a bit of misery. Arguments are ugly. I love this little prayer: “Give me eyes to see what I would miss without you!” (anonymous)
Go to that kitchen to help, that table to eat, and take that opportunity to clear up – having asked the Lord to show you! You just might be the one to prevent a Thanksgiving Day disaster.
T. Hulbert of Rockaway, Oregon, once shared this in Guideposts (1999): “My 1998 resolution: With the help of God, I resolve to be a good witness to those around me by what I say and through what I do.” David Saltzman wrote in “The Jester Has Lost His Jingle” – “Laughter’s like a seedling, waiting patiently to sprout. All it takes is just a push to make it pop right out.”
Be careful at that table, in that kitchen or dining room. Things often pop out that we had no intention of saying! There is much left to heal.
“Laughter is God’s medicine; the most beautiful therapy God ever gave humanity,” says an anonymous author. Why in the world would laughter be medicine? What needs healing? We often don’t find out until someone pushes that little button we thought we had hidden so artfully away.
There is hope for most of us if we have learned anything this past year. When we join others at the table, watch the person you trust the most before you speak. He or she will give you the go-ahead or hold up a hand – like any good base coach.
I have that super picture of Jesus laughing in my prayer corner. He had to laugh now and then – look who he surrounded himself with!
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)
Your laughter does not need to be outrageous or loudly offensive – just a good deep chuckle will get those endorphins working. It might even be as simple as a sweet smile to dispel the gloom.
As Sister Monique of Owatonna once said, “May this Thanksgiving help you give thanks for all the turkeys in your life.”
Blessings.
(sister alies therese is a canonical hermit who prays and writes.)
NATION NEW ORLEANS (OSV News) – The Archdiocese of New Orleans has edged one step closer to finalizing its long-running – and costly – bankruptcy proceedings to resolve hundreds of clerical abuse claims. A committee of survivors and additional creditors overwhelmingly voted to accept the plan for a $230 million settlement, which would include tailored payment amounts factoring in the scope of the alleged abuse and its impact on claimants. The plan would also permit the release of files on abusive clergy. However, one group of bond investors filed an Oct. 28 request calling for further discussion of the archdiocese’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan, now in its fifth version. In response, the official committee of unsecured creditors in the case filed a response with the court, accusing the bondholder of “delay and subterfuge tactics” in “an attempt to fruitlessly delay confirmation and thwart justice for the more than 99% of abuse survivor creditors who voted in favor of the Plan.” A confirmation hearing is set to begin on Nov. 17, with testimony scheduled through Dec. 4. The Dec. 2 session will see survivors take the stand to share their personal experiences. OSV News has confirmed with the archdiocese that its legal fees to date in the case have so far totaled approximately $50 million.
People gather for an annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Fatima Rani – or Mary, Queen of Fatima – at St. Leo’s Church in the Baromari hills in the Sherpur district of the Mymensingh Diocese in Bangladesh Oct. 31, 2025. The pilgrimage attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims from different parts of the country, including Muslims and Hindus, who come seeking spiritual connection and possible miracles. (OSV News photo/Stephan Uttom Rozari)
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Amid concern about the ability of those detained by immigration enforcement authorities to receive Catholic sacraments, a key U.S. bishop said Trump administration officials have “assured” him the matter is “under careful review.” Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to the Department of Justice’s Religious Liberty Commission, said in a Nov. 3 social media post that he and Father Alexei Woltornist, a Melkite Catholic priest and a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Advisory Council “have been in touch with senior officials in both the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security and have brought forward the concerns of the church regarding detainees’ access to Sacraments.” Bishop Barron’s post included an OSV News article about a delegation of clergy, religious sisters and laity, and a Chicago auxiliary bishop who were barred for the second time in three weeks from bringing the Eucharist to those being held at an immigration detention center just west of Chicago on the feast of All Saints Nov. 1. Spokespersons for the Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment from OSV News.
VATICAN VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV offered words of joy to Catholics in India’s Kerala state after the Nov. 8 beatification of Mother Eliswa Vakayil, founder of the Teresian Carmelite congregation. Speaking at his Nov. 12 general audience, the pope praised the 19th-century nun as “a source of inspiration” who championed the dignity of women and the education of poor girls. Mother Eliswa, born in 1831 and widowed at 20, became Kerala’s first Indigenous nun in 1866, establishing what is now the Congregation of Teresian Carmelites – and was then Third Order of the Discalced Carmelites – with her sister and daughter. Today the community includes more than 1,500 sisters in over 200 convents worldwide. Over 20,000 faithful filled the Basilica of Our Lady of Ransom in Kochi for the beatification Mass celebrated by Cardinal Sebastian Francis, the pope’s delegate. Church leaders hailed Blessed Eliswa as a pioneer of women’s empowerment in a deeply patriarchal era. Her congregation is now praying for a second miracle “to pave the way for the canonization of our founder,” said Sister Sucy Kinattingal, who has been vice postulator for Mother Eliswa’s cause since 2012.
WORLD AUCHI, Nigeria (OSV News) – The Diocese of Auchi in Nigeria is mourning the death of teenage seminarian Emmanuel Alabi, who died after being kidnapped with two classmates in July. Diocesan officials confirmed Nov. 4 that while seminarians Japhet Jesse and Joshua Aleobua were freed, Alabi “died in the course of the ordeal.” Bishop Gabriel Dunia expressed deep sorrow and urged Nigerian authorities to prioritize citizens’ safety amid worsening insecurity. The seminarians were abducted July 10 when gunmen attacked Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary, killing a security guard. It was the seminary’s second kidnapping in less than a year. In 2024, its rector, Father Thomas Oyode, was abducted after offering himself in place of students. A Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria report said 145 priests have been kidnapped in Nigeria since 2015, 11 of whom were killed. With the rise of extremist Islamic ideology, Nigeria has become “the most violent place in the world for followers of Jesus,” according to Open Doors International, an organization that supports persecuted Christians around the world. While the conflict is also driven by other factors, including extremist groups’ desire for power and control, more Christians are killed by the extremists than Muslims, Open Doors said.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (OSV News) – In northern Bangladesh, thousands of Catholics have gathered at St. Leo’s Church in the Diocese of Mymensingh to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Mary, Queen of Fatima shrine, known as Fatima Rani. Nearly 40,000 pilgrims joined the two-day celebration in late October, marked by rosary prayers, candlelight processions, and the Stations of the Cross. Bishop Paul Ponen Kubi of Mymensingh led the closing Mass, joined by Vatican nuncio Archbishop Kevin Randall and local clergy. Parish pastor Father Torun Bonwary said the anniversary, which falls during the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, brought “a different level of spirituality” to local Catholics – many of them Indigenous. Pilgrims climbed a 1.2-mile mountain path lit by thousands of candles, praying for forgiveness and peace. Despite limited resources, organizers said the shrine remains a symbol of faith and hope for Bangladesh’s small but vibrant Catholic community of about 400,000 faithful in the Muslim-majority nation. “The sight of thousands of devotees walking on the hilly path with candlelight in their hands proves that no matter what obstacles we face, we will move forward on the path of light with the grace of Mother Mary,” one pilgrim said.
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Before joining hundreds of people for lunch, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for the Jubilee of the Poor and prayed that all Christians would share “the love of God, which welcomes, binds up wounds, forgives, consoles and heals.”
With thousands of migrants, refugees, unhoused people, the unemployed and members of the trans community present in St. Peter’s Basilica or watching from St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo assured them, “In the midst of persecution, suffering, struggles and oppression in our personal lives and in society, God does not abandon us.”
Pope Leo XIV and his guests enjoy their first course, a vegetable lasagna, at a luncheon marking the Jubilee of the Poor Nov. 16, 2025, in the Vatican audience hall. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Rather, “he reveals himself as the one who takes our side,” the pope said in his homily Nov. 16, the church’s celebration of the World Day of the Poor.
Volunteers with Vatican, diocesan and Rome-based Catholic charities joined the people they assist for the Mass. The French charity Fratello organized an international pilgrimage, bringing hundreds of people to Rome for the Mass, visits to the major basilicas of Rome and prayer services. The Vatican said 6,000 people were at Mass in the basilica and another 20,000 people watched on screens from St. Peter’s Square. By the time Pope Leo led the recitation of the Angelus prayer, some 40,000 people were in the square.
After the Angelus, as part of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of their foundation, the Vincentian Fathers sponsored and served lunch for the pope and his guests. Members of the Daughters of Charity and volunteers from Vincentian organizations helped serve the meal and handed out 1,500 backpacks filled with food and hygiene products.
The luncheon featured a first course of vegetable lasagna, followed by chicken cutlets and vegetables and ending with baba, a small Neapolitan cake soaked in syrup. Rolls, fruit, water and soft drinks also were on offer.
Before the Mass, Father Tomaž Mavric, superior general of the Vincentians, symbolically gave Pope Leo house keys from the Vincentians’ “13 Houses Campaign.” The name of the project, which has constructed homes for the poor around the world, is an homage to St. Vincent de Paul and his decision in 1643 to use an endowment from French King Louis XIII to build 13 small houses near the Vincentian headquarters in Paris to care for abandoned children.
In his homily at the Mass, Pope Leo noted how the Bible is “woven with this golden thread that recounts the story of God, who is always on the side of the little ones, orphans, strangers and widows.”
In Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, “God’s closeness reaches the summit of love,” he said. “For this reason, the presence and word of Christ become gladness and jubilee for the poorest, since he came to proclaim the good news to the poor and to preach the year of the Lord’s favor.”
While the pope thanked Catholics who assist the poor, he said he wanted the poor themselves to hear “the irrevocable words of the Lord Jesus himself: ‘Dilexi te,’ I have loved you.”
“Yes, before our smallness and poverty, God looks at us like no one else and loves us with eternal love,” the pope said, “And his church, even today, perhaps especially in our time, still wounded by old and new forms of poverty, hopes to be ‘mother of the poor, a place of welcome and justice,’” he said, quoting his exhortation on love for the poor.
While there are many forms of poverty – material, moral and spiritual – the thing that cuts across all of them and particularly impacts young people is loneliness, he said.
“It challenges us to look at poverty in an integral way, because while it is certainly necessary at times to respond to urgent needs, we also must develop a culture of attention, precisely in order to break down the walls of loneliness,” the pope said. “Let us, then, be attentive to others, to each person, wherever we are, wherever we live.”
Poverty is a challenge not only for those who believe in God, he said, calling on “heads of state and the leaders of nations to listen to the cry of the poorest.”
“There can be no peace without justice,” Pope Leo said, “and the poor remind us of this in many ways: through migration as well as through their cries, which are often stifled by the myth of well-being and progress that does not take everyone into account, and indeed forgets many individuals, leaving them to their fate.”
