By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
JACKSON – In the midst of the pandemic and other harsh realities, we recognize that all of us are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. There are significant differences in everyone’s life that require unique responses of all. At the center of last Sunday’s Scripture is the good news that no matter what boat we are in, or cave, as we heard of Elijah on Mount Horeb (1Kings 19), the living God desires to pass by and enter into the boats and caves of our lives.

Can we see him, feel his presence, and hear him? Do we want to encounter him?
After the multiplication of the loaves and fishes it was compelling to realize that Jesus himself dismissed the crowds after sending his apostles ahead of him on the Sea of Galilee. Here we have the Word of life, the Bread of life, serving as a minister of hospitality. Dismissing 5,000 people not counting women and children, nearly ranks as another miracle. This is the God who calls us by name and holds us in the palms of his hands. (Isaiah 41:13) But it is the storm on the sea of Galilee that assures us that Jesus Christ is present to us in the sudden squalls that strike without warning. (Matthew 14:22-33) As Jesus walks across the water to his storm-tossed apostles the unfolding drama reveals the contrast between the fear that paralyzes and the fear that saves. Without the Lord even the hard-boiled fishermen were going down in panic. With a hand clasp (Matthew 14:31) to save Peter from drowning, the Lord and he settled into the boat, and immediately the peace that only God can give ruled the wind and waves.

This was not the first time that Jesus accompanied Peter through his fears. On the shores of this same lake, Jesus invited himself into his fishing boat to better preach the word to the assembled throng. (Luke 5:1-11) He then directed him back into the deep to cast his nets for a catch that brought Peter to his knees. “Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man.”(Luke 5:8) Actually the preaching of Jesus of Nazareth had softened his heart to be receptive to the gift of holy fear and the ensuing life-giving words. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Like Peter in both encounters with the Lord, we too must take a step toward Jesus and follow his lead through the fog and gloom of uncertainty and anxiety that confronts us.
In the letter to the Romans, last Sunday’s second reading, the Lord is near to St. Paul in his grief over the painful realization that most of his fellow Israelites are rejecting his beloved Savior as the long-awaited Messiah. It was a heavy cross for St. Paul because he loves the Lord and his people and is deeply torn. “I have an infinite sadness and an incessant grief that torments my heart.” (Romans 9:1-5)

The pandemic hit like a sudden squall and now it has settled in like a thick gloom that will not lift. Like St. Paul, currently, a growing number of people are feeling a similar pain with the loss of life, means, in some cases the work of a lifetime, along with the rhythms of daily life. This is a daunting reality that can push us to the margins of our internal and external resources. Yet, it is also an invitation to deepen our faith in the Lord’s nearness in the face of fear. Can we hear his loving words that dispelled the distress of his apostles?

“Calm yourselves. Do not fear. It is I.” When we are feeling most vulnerable and fragile, our faith by the grace of God motivates us not to allow ourselves not to sink into fear. The amazing grace that allays our fears, also gives us the peace of Christ which allows us to walk by faith, and not by sight (2Corinthians 5:7), that shines on us who live in darkness and in the shadow of death. With our options narrowed and our movements restricted, cannot God penetrate this cloud of unknowing to help us nurture our faith and enter more deeply into intentional concern for others, and so give witness to the living Lord.

With the difficult decisions facing many educators, parents and students for the fall semester, allowing the Lord to clasp our hand is a far better state of being than sinking into our own emotional sludge. This is the difference between fear and holy fear, the capacity to hear the Lord’s words that He is near, and to act upon this faith-filled knowledge.

By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
JACKSON – The Scripture readings for last Sunday featured the prayer of the young Solomon taking over the reins from his father David as Israel’s king. The task ahead of him was daunting and in his encounter with God in a dream he was inspired to pray humbly and honestly. “I pray that you grant me wisdom of heart so that I may know how to govern your people and distinguish between right and wrong. Without wisdom who would be able to govern rightly?“

In the Hebrew scriptures, the Old Testament, there is a corpus of literature that is categorized as Wisdom Literature. These fascinating books of the bible were written over hundreds of years in the post exilic era. The Book of Wisdom features a prayer attributed to Solomon that reveals his heart and mind and his dependency upon God, at least in the earlier years of his reign. “God of our fathers, wisdom resides with you and knows all your works, from creation to this moment. She knows what is pleasing to you and in accord with your commandments. Send forth this wisdom from on high where all is holy that she may be at my side in my labors so that I may know what is pleasing to you. May she guide me with prudence in all that I do that I may guide your people justly. For who knows God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the Lord intends? For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and uncertain our plans. For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthly vessel weighs down the mind with its many concerns. Who can know your counsel unless you give wisdom and send your holy spirit from on high?” (Chapter 9)

The wisdom of Solomon, anchored in prayer, is a path for all who are making decisions that affect the lives of others during these agonizing pandemic days. This includes just about everybody, our elected officials, all who are serving in health care, business owners on every front, educators and students, church leaders, and parents and caregivers who decide on behalf of their children. In the gospel passage last weekend we heard the words of the Lord at the conclusion of the section on the parables in Matthew’s Gospel. “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of the household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” (13:52-53)

We must go deeply into the storehouse of our faith and experience to call upon time tested wisdom to negotiate all that is new, spiritually, mentally and materially. The world has not seen such a pandemic in over 100 years, and these are unchartered waters where the next bend in the rapids might present unexpected risks. We walk by faith, indeed.

Wisdom, the cornerstone of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, is not just about choosing wisely. The wisdom literature is vast, as is evident in the books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Wisdom, the Psalms and the Song of Songs. The themes from these inspired works have their origin in life’s joys and sorrows, triumphs and tragedies, and in the reality of death. The book of Job wrestles with the agonizing question of suffering, especially when it afflicts an innocent person. Always a part of life, today we are witnessing widespread suffering and anxiety. For all disciples, the wisdom in the Book of Job finds its fulfillment in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the Cross, and his resurrection from the dead. May all who are suffering exceedingly find renewed strength and hope in the God of our Lord Jesus Christ for this life and the next.

In last Sunday’s Gospel Jesus speaks about the pearl of great price and the treasure buried in a field. As St. Matthew constructed his Gospel he knew that he had found this pearl and treasure when the Lord looked at him with loving mercy and called him to abandon his way of life in order to proclaim a treasure hidden to him up until that moment. He who previously had oppressed his people with the ledger, now was providing light and hope with the living Word of God. In the midst of this world-wide crisis may the loving gaze of the Lord Jesus empower us to respond with wisdom and conviction to what life is serving us.

St. Paul gifted us with a pearl of great value and wisdom in the second reading from last Sunday. “All things work for good for those who love God.” (Romans 8:28) By God’s grace may we deepen our faith, hope and love during this time of crisis, an opportunity to value the things that truly matter.

Bishop calendar

Thursday, Aug. 6, 6 p.m. – Pro-Life Mississippi Banquet, Jackson
Saturday, Aug. 29-30 – Mission Appeal, Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Only public events are listed on this schedule and all events are subject to change. Please check with the local parish for further details.

By Most Reverend Louis F. Kihneman and Most Reverend Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
JACKSON – We join our voices to vehemently denounce racism, a plague among us. It is an evil and a force of destruction that eats away at the soul of our nation. Ultimately, it is a moral problem that requires a moral remedy — a transformation of the human heart — and compels us to act. “The evil of racism festers in part because in our nation there has been very limited formal acknowledgement of the harm done to so many, no moment of atonement, no national process of reconciliation and all too often a neglect of our history.” (Open Wide Our Hearts)

“Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love — a pastoral letter against racism” was officially endorsed in November, 2018 at the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Annual Conference in Baltimore. Following upon this near unanimous endorsement, the Cause for Canonization of Sister Thea Bowman, the granddaughter of slaves, the only African American member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, a woman who transcended racism to leave a lasting mark on Catholic life in the late 20th century, was introduced and overwhelmingly approved by the bishops. A prophetic document and a prophetic life combined to show our nation a better way, the path to greater justice and peace, whose beginning and end is the dignity of the human person.
As the church seeks to be a leaven in society for solidarity, liberty and justice for all, we must recognize our participation in the chains of racism. “Therefore, we the Catholic bishops of the United States acknowledge the many times when the church has failed to live as Christ taught, to love our brothers and sisters. Acts of racism have been committed by leaders and members of the Catholic church, by bishops, clergy, religious and laity, and her institutions. We express deep sorrow and regret for them.” (Open Wide Our Hearts)
Significant numbers of African Americans are born into economic and social disparity. We must recognize that generations of African Americans were disadvantaged by slavery, wage theft, “Jim Crow” laws, and the systematic denial of access to numerous wealth-building opportunities reserved for others. Racism can be institutional, when practices or traditions are upheld that treat certain groups of people unjustly. The cumulative effects of personal sins of racism have led to social structures of injustice and violence. (Open Wide Our Hearts)
The heartless killing of George Floyd sparked a national outcry against the tyranny of racism. The actions and inactions of the officers involved are symptomatic of a pattern that has reached critical mass and has exploded across our nation and beyond. That brutal assault violates the fundamental truth lamented in “Open Wide our Hearts” that all people are created in the image and likeness of God. When this truth is ignored, the consequence is prejudice and fear of the other, and all too often, hatred. In the Gospel of John 3:16 we hear the foundation of the Christian faith that “God so loved the world he sent his only Son.” Not surprisingly, in the first letter of John 3:15 we hear “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer.”
Despite the great blessings of liberty that this country offers, especially our freedoms afforded in the First Amendment, which includes both the freedom of religion and to peaceful protest, we must admit the plain truth that for many of our fellow citizens, interactions with the police are often fraught with fear and even danger. At the same time, we reject harsh rhetoric that belittles and dehumanizes our law enforcement personnel as a whole, most of whom labor to keep our communities safe, and we condemn attacks against police and the rioting and violence taking place across our country.
Sister Thea addressed the toxic reality of racism on many occasions and spoke on behalf of her people. “When I was growing up, many of the old women who had undergone the ignominy of slavery were around, and they told us about slavery because we had to know about freedom. They told us about misery. The black woman has a task when the world says to her children, when the world says to her husband, when the world says to her mamma and to her, ‘there is something wrong with you. Your skin is too black. Your nose is too flat. Your hair is too nappy and too short. And you’re slow. And you’re ignorant. And you can’t learn like white folks. And you’re immoral.’ That’s what the racist society told us and told our children about themselves. The result was one of the great problems of the black community, the problem of low self-esteem, and it kills us.” (Mercy College of Detroit 1989). A poster at one of the peaceful protests in our nation illuminates this lament. “We said black lives matter. Never said: only black lives matter. We know: all lives matter. We just need your help … black lives are in danger.”
The enduring call to love is the heart of the matter and the antidote to this toxin. Love is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace. For many in Mississippi who strive to live by the Word of God, we cannot ignore the prophets. “You have been told, o mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice, to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8), and from the prophet Amos, “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)
Sister Thea’s life is a living legacy and testimony to the sacrifice and commitment of many in the Catholic Church for generations across Mississippi in the quest to overcome racism. Sister Thea was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, December 29, 1937, and grew up in Canton. Her mother was a teacher and her father was the only African American physician in Canton. Her parents sent her to Holy Child Jesus School. Thea was reared as a Protestant, until at age nine when she asked her parents if she could become Catholic. “I was drawn to examine and accept the Catholic faith because of the day-to-day 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.” (The non-Catholic in the Catholic School)
Gifted with a brilliant mind, beautiful voice and a dynamic personality, Sister Thea shared the message of God’s love through a teaching career. After 16 years of teaching at the elementary, secondary school and university level, the bishop of Jackson, Mississippi invited her to become the consultant for intercultural awareness. In her role as consultant Sister Thea gave presentations across the country; lively gatherings that combined singing, gospel teaching, prayer and storytelling. Her programs were directed to break down racial and cultural barriers. She encouraged people to communicate with one another so that they could understand other cultures and races. In 1984, Sister Thea was diagnosed with breast cancer. She prayed ‘to live until I die.’ Her prayer was answered, and Sister Thea continued her gatherings seated on a wheel chair. In 1989, the U. S. Bishops invited her to be a key speaker at their conference on Black Catholics. At the end of the meeting, Sister Thea’s invitation, the bishops stood and sang “We Shall Overcome” with gusto. Sister Thea lived a full Life. She fought evil, especially prejudice, suspicion, hatred, and things that drive people apart. She fought for God and God’s people until her death in 1990. (Cause for Canonization)
As bishops in our time in Mississippi, we recommit ourselves to continue to liberate the Church from the evil of racism that severely compromises our mission to make disciples of all nations in the name of Jesus Christ. With the ordained priests and deacons, religious and laity in our diocese we pledge ourselves to strengthen our Catholic tradition to educate, to serve, and to empower all who are on the margins in our communities, especially those who are oppressed by the yoke of racism. We are not powerless and the witness of Sister Thea’s life is an icon of hope that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

In other words, how we pray establishes what
we believe and determines how we are to live.
Worship, belief and life are to be a seamless
garment, not a torn fabric.

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
“You are indeed holy, O Lord, and all you have created rightly gives you praise, for through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the power and working of the Holy Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy, and you never cease to gather a people to yourself so that from the rising of the son to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.”

This splendid prayer of praise is the opening section of the third Eucharistic prayer which is overflowing with our beliefs, our worship, our posture before God’s marvelous creation and the solidarity among all nations and peoples. It truly is an amazing expression of who we are and whose we are as a people of faith.

On Pentecost Sunday last weekend, we proclaimed from God’s Word “the power and working of the Holy Spirit” to the 11 apostles, upon the 120 gathered in the upper room and in the church through manifold gifts, ministries and works. This weekend we proclaim the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, our God of the alive in the handiwork of creation and in the design of salvation. All of our Eucharistic prayers at Mass are in thanksgiving for God’s creative and redeeming love “as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.”

“From the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name,” invites us to recall always that the Gospel has indeed gone out to all the nations, the promise of Pentecost, and the church is reborn and renewed each day around the world through this pure sacrifice of the Mass brought about “through your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.” The feasts of Pentecost, the Most Holy Trinity, and Corpus Christi flow seamlessly from the same fountain of God’s mercy.

“Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi” is a fundamental truth regarding our relationship with God, one another and the world in which we live. The Latin phrase is literally translated, the law of praying, the law of believing, the law of living. In other words, how we pray establishes what we believe and determines how we are to live. Worship, belief and life are to be a seamless garment, not a torn fabric. As we cautiously respond to the pandemic in our public liturgical gatherings, let us not overlook what the opening section of the third Eucharistic prayer is proclaiming. “All you have created rightly gives you praise” and “you give life to all things and make them holy.”

On May 24, 2015 Pope Francis, following upon this first encyclical, Evangelii Guadium, The Joy of the Gospel, gave to the church and the world the gift of Laudato Si, in praise of creation and our responsibility to care for our common home.

By far, knocking out the pandemic is our most pressing world-wide challenge, but we must not lose sight of the urgent need to foster integral human development on behalf of the planet and the poor. From section ten in this amazing document, we get a glimpse into the passion of Pope Francis. “I do not want to write this Encyclical without turning to that attractive and compelling figure, whose name I took as my guide and inspiration when I was elected Bishop of Rome. I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology, and he is also much loved by non-Christians. He was particularly concerned with God’s creation and for the poor and the outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, concern for the poor, commitment to society and interior peace.” On the fifth anniversary of this landmark encyclical may our worship inspire us to raise up God’s creation and the most vulnerable.

“From the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name,” is our commitment as a universal church to proclaim the gospel and make disciples of all the nations. This mission must rest upon a profound respect for the dignity of all peoples, their culture, traditions and way of life. This vision must also be incarnated in our marvelous melting pot of a nation, our own United States who in the moment is plagued once again by our original sin of racism. Recently, (2018) the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published a precious document entitled “Open Wide our Hearts – The Enduring Call to Love: A Pastoral Letter Against Racism.” The unrest, violence and destruction that currently rages across America demonstrates the sad relevance of this document. Just last week the USCCB issued a statement decrying the injustice of racially motivated violence against people of color in our nation. (This statement is included in this edition of the paper on page 6.) Liberty and justice for all is embedded in our nation’s founding vision.

Laudato Si and Open Wide our Hearts are well grounded in our identity as Catholics who embrace “lex orandi, lex creyendi et lex vivendi.” “You are indeed, holy, O Lord.”

From the feast of Pentecost I conclude with the ardent prayer of St. Augustine that we might make it our own for daily worship and living. “Breathe on me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may be holy. Act in me that my work also may be holy. Draw my heart that my love may be holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit that I may defend all that is holy. Guard me, O Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.”

We celebrated the consecration and turned to the
Good Shepherd in the heart of the Easter season, to hear the voice of the one who laid down his life for us, who knows each of us by name, our fears and dreams, our struggles and hopes, and wants to hear our voices
in prayer and in concern for one another.

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
On Friday, May 1, the Diocese of Jackson in solidarity with all Catholic dioceses in the United States and in Canada renewed the consecration of the United States to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The following statement of faith and hope along with the opening prayer unfolds the tradition of the centrality of the Blessed Mother’s singular vocation whom all generations will call blessed. “When our Risen Lord appeared to his disciples on Easter Sunday he said: ‘Peace be with you.’ We can be confident that he desires this same peace for all the members of his body, the church, and for the people of the entire world. In this difficult time, we turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of Peace, to ask that she intercede with her Son for all those who are affected in any way by this pandemic. As we renew the consecration of our country and of ourselves to the Mother of the God, we implore her maternal care for her children.
Let us pray.
“O God, Father of mercies, whose Only Begotten Son, as he hung upon the Cross, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary, his Mother, to be our Mother also, grant, we pray, that with her loving help your Church may be more fruitful day by day and, exulting in the holiness of her children, may draw to her embrace all the families of the peoples. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (John 19:26-27)
Mary’s identity as the Mother of the Church was sealed on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon her once again, along with the other 119 disciples at the church’s inception. (Luke 2)
Earlier in the Gospel of John she was present at the wedding of Cana, the site of her son’s first sign or miracle, where he changed the water into wine. In that moment she was a witness for all who want to be disciples when she said to the waiters, “do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5) These words link the prayer of consecration with Good Shepherd Sunday and the call to hear the voice of the Lord, and to do whatever he tells us. Not as an escape from reality, which is very complicated at this time, but as an invitation to know that God is with us always.
We celebrated the consecration and turned to the Good Shepherd in the heart of the Easter season, to hear the voice of the one who laid down his life for us, who knows each of us by name, our fears and dreams, our struggles and hopes, and wants to hear our voices in prayer and in concern for one another.
The 23rd Psalm, our responsorial Psalm of the day, is a beacon of courage and hope. “Although we walk through a dark valley, we fear no evil, because you are at our side with your rod and your staff that give us courage.” God never abandons the flock. We know this in Jesus Christ whose suffering and death and resurrection are a healing balm for our suffering and the promise of life in abundance. “Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.” (Romans 8:39)
We possess abundant treasures in the storehouse of faith. The grace of God already has led us to the restful and renewing waters of Baptism, to the anointing of our heads and hearts with holy oils, and to the Eucharistic table, filled with life and love in abundance. The Good Shepherd is at our side, in our homes, in all the spaces we carefully navigate. It is true that the borders and edges of our reality are blurred, and life and death are locked in mortal combat for all to see, too close for comfort. Yet, out of darkness and the shadow of death the voice of the Good Shepherd is not silent. May our shelter-in-place and safety at home provide for us a channel to hear his voice and follow his paths. We must drink deeper of the waters of our faith in creative in life-giving ways. It is true that we are scattered and sacramentally separated from the flock, the Body of Christ, the green pastures of our spiritual lives, but the grace and love of the Shepherd remain a living fountain that does not run dry, and already flows upward to eternal life.
We all yearn for the day when we can feast directly at the table of plenty, the Eucharistic banquet, the body and blood, soul and divinity of the Good Shepherd. The time is drawing nearer when we will hear the voices of the communion ritual: “The Body of Christ” and “Amen.” Afterall, Holy Communion with the Lord and with one another is what the Good Shepherd desires for us. But while we wait in joyful hope, let us not waste time fretting over what we are lacking, but rather, celebrating all that we have in abundance in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. With our Blessed Mother, may our souls also proclaim the greatness of God and rejoice in God our Savior. (Luke 1:45-46) This is our faith and we are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus, our Lord.