DECEMBER 23, 2022
mississippicatholic.com
New Albany parishioners celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe BY GALEN HOLLEY
Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been depicted in many ways, most often as a NEW ALBANY – The soft, musical blushing, pale European. Our Lady of whispering of the rosary was interrupted Guadalupe is an ethnic image of Mary, only momentarily by the raucous, heartone with dark, distinctly indigenous feafelt shouting of “Vive!” as Hispanic patures who exemplifies the universality of rishioners at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic the Christian Gospel. Church in New Albany welcomed the In the Guadalupe apparition, Mary approaching dawn. had dark skin and spoke in Nahautl. Her They prayed the Joyful Mysteries. turquoise cloak signaled royalty to the inThe Holy Rosary is a blessing from the digenous people; the black sash around Virgin, and although all the mysteries her waist was their sign for pregnancy. depict episodes throughout the gospels, She was clothed in stars and stood upon perhaps none more vibrantly unfold the the moon – signs connecting her both to feminine, motherly life of Mary as do the Indian concepts of deity and to RevelaJoyful Mysteries. tions 12:1. The parishioners started at 4:30 a.m. Today, the image of "Nuestra Senora Many had to be on factory furniture lines de Guadalupe" is perhaps the most perwhen the belt started rolling at 6 a.m. vasive religious image in Hispanic culStill, they rose early, put on at least one ture. special article of clothing, and found a St. Francis of Assisi Parish demonspot in the crowded little church to kneel strates to the surrounding community and pray. NEW ALBANY – Alejandro Caballero and his friend, Maria, pose in front of the Alejandro Caballero and his friend, decorated statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic how the Christian Gospel reaches across Maria, donned matching shirts bearing Church in New Albany in the early morning hours of Dec. 12. (Photo by Galen racial, ethnic and cultural divides. Father Jesu Raj Xavier, a native of India, speaks the image of the Virgin. Their garments Holley) excellent English, and he’s quickly learnwere bedecked with sequins and many ing Spanish. Pablo Garcia has long been a leader in the Hispanic community, and now handmade, special attentions. Many of the faithful, like Bernie Garcia and family, whose patriarch, Pablo, is study- he’s making a focused effort to improve his English. Anglo and Hispanic parishioners ing to be a deacon, brought in cooing babies in bassinets. Others walked arm-in-arm feel equally at home at both Sunday morning masses. Juan Diego, the native man to whom the Virgin appeared, was canonized as a saint with aging abuelos, wrapped in shawls against the damp, morning air. “Ave, Maria,” they all whispered, crossing themselves with holy water and never turning their backs – Continued on page 6 – on the Blessed Sacrament.
'O Holy Night' tops all hymns used in churches in December, according to poll BY MARK PATTISON
WASHINGTON (CNS) – The Christmas carol "O Holy Night" ranked first in a list of hymns most played in December at Christian churches in the United States. "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Silent Night" ranked second and third, respectively. The list was compiled by Pushpay, which offers electronic giving options for churches and their congregants. It asked its 15,000 subscribing churches last December what hymns they used that month, and released the results this Dec. 1. A Pushpay spokeswoman, Katie Griffin, could not supply a breakdown of Catholic parishes among those churches. The top-10 list is filled with carols familiar to Catholics. Following the top three choices are, in order, "The First Noel," "Joy To The World" and "Angels We Have Heard On High." Following those are two songs featured more in the repertoire of non-Catholic churches. "Glorious Day," which ranked seventh overall, was recorded by the contemporary Christian group Passion, featuring Kristian Stanfill on vocals. It is more of a salvation narrative without any lyrics taking note of the birth or infancy of Jesus. Still, the song's official music and lyrics video has received 6.6 million views on YouTube.
There are several versions of the eighth-ranked song, "Goodness of God." One video of the song has climbed up to 7 million YouTube views. The song is another in the Christian contemporary genre which focuses more on a first-person-singular, personal relationship with Jesus than a first-person plural voice found more often in Catholic hymnody. Ninth is the gospel melody "Go Tell It On the Mountain," which has found a home in many Catholic hymnals and parishes.
And, to prove that the list took into account all of December and not just the week beginning Dec. 25, winding up in the 10th spot was "O Come O Come Emmanuel," an Advent song based on a chant melody familiar to Catholics not only in the United States but throughout the world. Griffin told Catholic News Service it's conducting the poll again this December. The top five songs from the 2020 poll were, in order, "Joy To The World," "O Come All Ye Faithful," "Silent Night," "O Come O Come Emmanuel" and "O Holy Night."
INSIDE THIS WEEK
In memoriam Sister Olivia Obregon, RSM passed Dec. 1
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From the archives Christmas traditions of Bishop Houck
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Youth 14 Photos from around the diocese