By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth! (Psalm 8:2)

During the third weekend of October, the Propagation of the Faith, the world-wide mission arm of the Catholic Church, is at the forefront of World Mission Sunday. This year’s theme chosen by Pope Francis was “Hearts on Fire, Feet on the Move.” The Holy Father again shed light on the Emmaus story when the risen Lord walked alongside two forlorn disciples, crushed by the crucifixion. In that encounter their hearts began to burn while walking, they recognized the stranger at table in the breaking of the bread and hurried on eagle’s wings to the other disciples to announce the Good News of the risen Lord’s appearance.

World Mission Sunday magnifies the Great Commission of the Lord, the work of the church every day and in each generation to proclaim the Gospel to all the nations with hearts inflamed at the Eucharistic table, and a joyful sense of going in peace to love and serve the Lord.
There is not a nation on the planet that is beyond the reach of the proclamation of the Good News and the gradual inculturation of the Gospel. Although the channels of modern communication are used widely and can traverse the most remote areas, the church is most faithful to the Lord’s mandate where she has boots on the ground.
The light of the Gospel is often repulsed by the darkness of this world, but God’s grace prevails and many women and men, at home and abroad, embrace the Cross in order to be the Lord’s faithful witnesses. The sacrifice is often heroic in countries where religious persecution is virulent. The yearly review of discrimination and oppression that at times ends in martyrdom, exposes an appalling reality for those under daily duress. Yet, the voice of the Gospel cannot be silenced.

Most of the time those who labor in the Lord’s vineyard where lack of work is never an issue, do so below the radar. All of the church’s corporal and spiritual works of mercy, her commitment to justice and peace, to education, and to health care are all linked to the core work of evangelization. We are who we are and do what we do because we belong to Jesus Christ. “The gift we have received, give as a gift.” (Matthew 10:8)

The Gospel calls forth the best in others and cultivates the grace of a generous soul. “And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple – amen, I say to you, he or she will surely not lose their reward.”

Pope Francis, like Pope Benedict and Pope St. John Paul II in our post-modern world, have been joyful missionary disciples, embodying the Gospel from the center of the church and going to the margins of our world to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ with words of hope, justice and peace. Consider Pope Francis memorable pilgrimages in recent years.

During an ecumenical trip to South Sudan and the Republic of the Congo he prayed for reconciliation and a new day of hope for these war-torn nations. During the pandemic he brought the light of Gospel hope where the church has been decimated by war and internecine strive. In Canada he asked forgiveness for the abuse inflicted upon the indigenous peoples by the church and the Canadian government. In Mongolia, he celebrated Mass with the entire Catholic population which is less than the number of persons in our larger parishes.

At this time of terror, tragedy and war in the Holy Lands, Pope Francis has pleaded that “the only side we should be taking is the side of peace.” Whether it is in our own families, in our diocesan parishes exploring the deeper meaning of One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, or the world-wide Synod on Synodality, the beginning and the end of our efforts is the faithful undertaking of the Lord’s Great Commission.

The church of nearly 2,000 years has raised up two incredible saints who are the co-patrons of the Missions. St. Francis Xavier, S.J. whose heart burned and whose feet took him as far as India and Japan. St. Therese of Lisieux, who although her feet did not carry her too far beyond her convent had a heart that God enflamed, transporting her to the ends of the earth by means of prayer and love.

St. Francis Xavier, pray for us! St. Therese, pray for us!

By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

The third phase of the Synod on Synodality began in Rome on Oct. 6 and will be in session for most of this month. In summary, recall that the Catholic Church throughout the world conducted an extensive array of processes beginning in late 2021 that invited the laity, consecrated and ordained to actively participate in the synodal journey of described as one of communion, participation and mission. That was the first phase on the local level of each (Arch)diocese.

During the second stage a committee of delegates in each continental region oversaw the development of the diocesan syntheses into the continental documents of which there are seven. These represent the voices of the faithful from the United States/Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Oceana. The good fruit of the Holy Spirit from the first two stages in the worldwide undertaking now guides the delegates in Rome as a roadmap for discussion, dialogue and discernment. Drafted from the seven continental syntheses is the working document known as the Instrumentum Laboris. This is replete with the theology of Synodality and the process to be undertaken in stage three for three weeks this month in Rome.

It is only natural to inquire about the participants in Rome who are devoting three weeks of their lives to the third phase of the Synod process, and who will have an extraordinary voice at this time in church history. In the spirit of transparency, the Vatican on Sept. 21 released the final list of names of those participating in the upcoming Synod assembly, including laypeople who will be full voting delegates at a Catholic Church synod for the first time. The delegates are made up of representatives selected by bishops’ conferences and Eastern Catholic Churches, leaders in the Roman Curia and 120 delegates personally selected by Pope Francis. (See https://bit.ly/SynodParticipantList2023) In total, 363 people from around the world will be able to vote in the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, according to statistics released by the Holy See Press Office on July 7. Among them, 54 of the voting delegates are women. In addition to the voting members, 75 other participants have been invited to the synod assembly to act as facilitators, experts or spiritual assistants. (Catholic News Service Release)

The Instrumentum Laboris portrays all that the Holy Spirit has accomplished during the first two stages and reads as follows. The first phase enables us to understand the importance of taking the local church as a privileged point of reference, as the theological place where the baptized experience in practical terms “walking together.” First of all, we have experienced the joy expressed in the sincere and respectful encounter between brothers and sisters in the faith: to meet each other is to encounter the Lord who is in our midst. The continental stage has made it possible to identify and share the particular situations experienced by the church in different regions of the world. The daily hardships of poverty, violence, war and climate upheavals came into full view for many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world, especially in the Middle East and Africa.

As noted, the theme or vision for the Synod is “Communion Participation and Mission.” This understanding of the church is interwoven in the direction we have taken in our pastoral reimagining process of the church as One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. There is no doubt that one has to be patient with a process of listening and discerning within the word-wide church of well over a billion members.

At times there are more questions than answers, but as the Instrumentum Laboris states, a synodal church is open, welcoming and embraces all, and characteristic of a synodal church is the ability to manage tensions without being crushed. At the same time, a synodal church confronts honestly and fearlessly the call to a deeper understanding of the relationship between love and truth according to St. Paul’s invitation. “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” (Eph 4:15-16) To authentically include everyone, it is necessary to enter into the mystery of Christ allowing oneself to be formed and transformed by the way he lived the relationship between truth and love.
The image of the Cross comes to mind when seeking a clearer focus and a deeper understanding of the Synod process. The vertical beam of the Cross takes us into the vaults of heaven where God has revealed the plan of salvation in the Lord’s death and resurrection and where he transcends the whole of life’s transient nature. This is who we proclaim and teach. The horizontal beam of the Cross represents the daily life of the believer in every age, and the immanence of God in Jesus Christ who is with us until the end of time.

This is the realm of the Holy Spirit who works to bring about the Kingdom of God in the church and in the world. This is the hard work of the Synod which requires patience and trust as we build upon nearly 2,000 years of church history.

By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

Sunday, Sept. 24 marked the 110th commemoration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees in our Catholic Church tradition. This commemoration was inaugurated in 1914 by Pope Benedict XV at the peak of immigration from southern and eastern Europe to the United States, Canada and elsewhere. Both sets of my grandparents immigrated from Italy and Poland in 1914-1915 seeking a life of dignity, rooted in faith, family and hard work.

This year Pope Francis has chosen the theme, Free to Migrate – Free to Stay. With this designation the Holy Father is only reminding the nations of the world of Articles 13 and 14 from the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights that state: (13) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own and to return to his country. (14) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

In our time the reality and plight of hundreds of millions of immigrants, migrants and refugees, displaced by natural disasters, war and violence, and unyielding conditions of poverty often strain the spiritual and material resources of many nations. However, there have been admirable responses to the waves of the displaced, for example, with Poland’s welcoming of millions of Ukrainians, Lebanon’s reception of Syrians, and in our own country, the daily processing of 1000s of immigrants, refugees and migrants. All of this is best proclaimed in the spirit of Lady Liberty in New York harbor. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, send these the homeless tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp besides the golden door.”

Yet, there are many in every generation of Americans who struggle with the reality of immigration, or who are even hostile toward the waves of migration that have come to our shores and borders. Today, the sheer number of immigrants at our southern border daily strain the resources of the receiving communities and states. The conditions that drive this mass exodus of people from their homelands will not change any time soon and challenge all of us in the United States, especially living on or near the border to respond at the very least, humanely and respectfully.

Recalling St. Paul’s instruction to the Philippians from last Sunday’s second reading, “to live in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27a) the bar is even higher for a more humane and respectful response from those who are the Lord’s disciples.

The Holy Spirit who unveils the heart and mind of Jesus Christ and his Gospel, can illuminate the path to follow the Lord who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus understood the experience of living in the flesh in everything but sin. (Hebrews 4:15-16) He responded to people’s spiritual and bodily needs with compassion and care.

In the light of the 110th anniversary, on behalf of migrants and refugees; soon after his birth Jesus, Joseph and Mary became refugees in Egypt seeking asylum, running for their lives away from King Herod’s raging paranoia.

Many are on the move today for similar threats to their lives. Throughout his life, Jesus Christ the exile in this world from heaven, had no status in the Roman world and so could be and was crucified. But God’s ways are not our ways, and God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) The mystery of God’s plan of salvation reveals that in the resurrection from the dead “you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one, and has broken down the dividing wall, that is the hostility between us.” (Eph 2:13-14)

Therefore, driven by a love that cannot be walled in, and inspired to a mission that does not let anyone be walled out; the church continues to transcend borders, build bridges and build communities that are a sign of God’s presence among us. Moreover, the conviction of our faith that our citizenship is in heaven can transform our earthly allegiances and guide us from otherness to oneness, and from alienation to communion.

Confessing Jesus as Lord, means that Caesar is not. As Christians follow Jesus as Lord, they challenge the deification of money, the idolatry of the state and the glorification of power. Before God all are one. Here is the bulwark against an ideology of racial superiority, here is the challenge to absolute claims of natural or cultural boundaries, here is the basis for all human dignity, including the dignity of strangers in the land, the right of the migrant to cross borders, whether in fleeing danger or seeking opportunity; the obligation to welcome the stranger and to provide refuge and respect. (The Theology of Migration – Daniel G. Goody) This is the biblical vision which is embraced by the universal declaration of human rights.

In 1914 when Pope Benedict XV inaugurated a World Day for Migrants and Refugees, he understood the apostolic nature of the church; the Body of Christ perpetually in motion, a migrant church, sent into the world on the day of Pentecost with missionary zeal, scattered among the nations by persecutions and martyrdom, perennially and faithfully bearing the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ until the Lord comes again. Although we are not of the world because we strive to live in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ, we are in the world and for the world, for the ultimate good of all.

By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.
Pope Francis, furthering the tradition of modern popes, has made pastoral visits around the world. He has gathered millions on the beaches of Brazil and the open fields of the Philippines, and recently, one and a half million pilgrims flocked to Portugal for World Youth Day. But there have been much smaller gatherings that are no less extraordinary. A few years ago, during the pandemic Pope Francis undertook a pastoral visit to the neighboring county of Iraq, the first of its kind, to encourage the suffering church in this war-torn nation, and to pray for peace. In Mosul, formerly occupied by ISIS, the pope proclaimed. “Today, however, we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than hatred, that peace more powerful than war.” These words echoed around the world.
As September dawned upon the world the Holy Father went much further east than Iraq, flying 10 hours across Asia, even over Chinese airspace to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia to proclaim the Gospel, to celebrate the Eucharist, and to engage government, civic, ecumenical and inter-faith leaders with words of faith, fraternity and solidarity. Immediately upon landing it was obvious that Pope Francis had gone to his beloved margins of our world and our Catholic faith. There were not hundreds of thousands to welcome his motorcade, rather hundreds, like two hundred. At the closing Mass of this pastoral visit in the Steppe Arena in Ulaanbaatar there were an estimated 2,500 hundred in attendance, nearly all of the 1,500 Catholics in Mongolia, along with a 1,000 additional pilgrims from around the world.

However, during this time of Eucharistic renewal, the Pope gave an excellent message regarding all of humanity’s hunger and thirst fulfilled in the Gospel.

“With the words of the Responsorial Psalm, we prayed: O God, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Ps 63:2) We are that dry land thirsting for fresh water, water that can slake our deepest thirst. Our hearts long to discover the secret of true joy, a joy that even in the midst of existential aridity, can accompany and sustain us. Deep within us, we have an insatiable thirst for happiness; we seek meaning and direction in our lives, a reason for all that we do each day. More than anything, we thirst for love, for only love can truly satisfy us, bring us fulfilment; only love can make us happy, inspire inner assurance and allow us to savor the beauty of life.

“Dear brothers and sisters, the Christian faith is the answer to this thirst; it takes it seriously, without dismissing it or trying to replace it with tranquilizers or surrogates. For in this thirst lies the great mystery of our humanity: it opens our hearts to the living God, the God of love, who comes to meet us and to make us his children, brothers and sisters to one another.”

The culmination of Pope Francis’ homily was the heart of our way of life as the Lord’s disciples.
“This, dear brothers and sisters, is surely the best way: to embrace the cross of Christ. At the heart of Christianity is an amazing and extraordinary message. If you lose your life, if you make it a generous offering in service, if you risk it by choosing to love, if you make it a free gift for others, then it will return to you in abundance, and you will be overwhelmed by endless joy, peace of heart, and inner strength and support; and we need inner peace.”

In his spontaneous remarks at the end of Mass, the Pope made a sublime association between Eucharistic spirituality and the Mongolian language.

“I was reminded that in the Mongolian language the word for ‘thank you’ comes from the verb ‘to rejoice.’”

Indeed, the Mass is our great prayer of thanksgiving as our spirits rejoice in God our Savior who in Jesus Christ poured out his life for us in an act of eternal love. Pope Francis went on to say that “to celebrate Mass in this land brought to my mind the prayer that the Jesuit Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin offered to God exactly a hundred years ago, in the desert of Ordos, not far from here. What was Father Teilhard de Chardin, SJ doing in Mongolia? He was engaged in geological research.”

The Pope recalled that his Jesuit brother fervently desired to celebrate Holy Mass, but lacked bread and wine. So, he composed his “Mass on the World,” expressing his oblation in these words: “Receive, O Lord, this all-embracing host, which your whole creation, moved by your magnetism, offers you at the dawn of this new day.” This priest, often misunderstood, had intuited that “the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world” and is “the living center of the universe, the overflowing core of love and of inexhaustible life.”

For the more than 3 million who are not Catholic in Mongolia and to billions around the world, Francis of Rome wove a marvelous pattern with Jesus Christ, through whom and for whom all things were made, (Colossians 1:16) the Eucharist and the world.

By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

“Todos, Todos, Todos” was Pope Francis’ heartfelt declaration during World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal earlier this month. This Spanish mantra states that all are welcome, the baptized especially, to come into the presence of God within the Catholic Church to know the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

Young and older, from nearly every nation on the planet were on hand to celebrate with the successor of Peter, the Servant of the Servants of our merciful God. What a marvelous manifestation of the church’s identity and mission in Lisbon, encapsulated as One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, the focus of our own pastoral reimagining. This universal vision for the church begun on the first Pentecost, actually began to emerge early in the Old Testament. However, it came to fulfillment in the life-giving death and resurrection of the Lord, and in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But the Cross reminds us that this vision of unity among all the nations in the church labors to run its course and requires repentance, conversion and sacrifice to overcome the sin that sows division.

The Canaanite woman of last Sunday’s Gospel is an excellent point of departure to look back into the wellspring of the Old Testament. Her unexpected and anguished plea to Jesus on behalf of her possessed daughter began with the greeting, “Lord, son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus was actually speechless for a moment over this pagan woman’s clear grasp of his identity. Respecting her courage and faith, he reminded her of the Israelite attitude and prejudice toward foreigners that “it is not right to take the food of the household and give it to the dogs.”

“But even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the master’s table” was the desperate woman’s retort. The Lord responded in awe over her faith, and in that instant this “unclean woman’s” daughter was healed. This is a fascinating encounter with the Lord that challenges us to go deeper in our knowledge and understanding of God’s will. The Old Testament holds this key.
The Book of Ruth is a parable, a narrative that confronted the harsh policies of the Israelites in the time of Ezra as they returned home from exile. (Ezra 10) Basically, Ezra was directing the Israelites to leave their foreign wives where they found them because they had been unfaithful to the Covenant.
In this mindset God does not want the blood of foreigners polluting the chosen people’s lineage. Really! Enter the Book of Ruth. It is an endearing story of a Moabite women, a pagan, who chose to return to the land of Israel with her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth’s words are forever enshrined in our biblical memory. “Wherever you go, I shall go. Wherever you live, I shall live. Your people shall be my people and your God, my God. Wherever you die, I wish to die, and so be buried beside you.” (Ruth 1:16-17) The hand of providence placed Ruth in the direct line of the story of salvation as the great-grandmother of King David from whose lineage came the Messiah, the Son of David. The seeds of universality were already sprouting even before King David sat on the throne of Israel.

There is nothing subtle or hidden about Isaiah’s prophecy in last Sunday’s first reading as he anticipates the Great Commission of the Lord at the end of Matthew’s Gospel. “My house will be a house of prayer for all the peoples.” (Isaiah 56:7) All who are righteous are invited to the banquet of God’s love. “On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines.” (25:6)

The story of the prophet Jonah is another masterpiece of God’s plan for universal salvation. His preaching prompted the citizens of Nineveh, from the King on down, to sincere repentance. As it turns out, Jonah deeply resented God’ action in granting mercy to the hated Assyrians who had destroyed the northern Kingdom of Israel. Too bad for Jonah. The prophet’s three days in the belly of the fish prefigured the Lord’s three days in the tomb and his resurrection from the dead, the final step in the plan of universal salvation. The letter to the Ephesians captures the essence of the Lord’s sacrifice.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. And in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” (Eph 2:13,16-17)

In our own time, we need to put to death hostility wherever it rears its ugly head and hear the call of the Gospel that rings true in the words of Pope Francis at World Youth Day. Todos, Todos, Todos. This, of course, is the great commission of the Lord “to make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19) one person, one family, one community, one nation at a time. With the invitation comes the call to repentance, conversion and change with the same attitude of Peter, the first pope, after Jesus had invited himself into his boat. Peter, overwhelmed by God’s grace with the enormous catch of fish exclaimed, “leave me Lord for I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8)

Our diocese is blessed with the faithful from many nations, a truly Catholic presence. In light of the above, we can say that a welcoming attitude, faith, prayer, compassion, repentance and conversion are ever-ancient and ever-new components on the journey of salvation. Even though our efforts may seem meager at times, now and then even a scrap that falls from the Master’s table is enough to start the feast.

Editor’s note: Below is the homily, Bishop Joseph Kopacz gave on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of St. Augustine Seminary on Saturday, June 24 at Sacred Heart parish in Greenville.
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By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

The Great Commission of the Lord Jesus to make disciples of all the nations, through teaching and baptizing, was embraced by St. Father Arnold Jansen the founder of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) established on Sept. 8, 1875.

We proclaimed the Great Commission in the Gospel this morning and throughout the past nearly 148 years the Society of the Divine Word has pitched their tent, (to apply the phrase from the Prologue of St. John’s Gospel about the Son of God) in approximately 70 countries, and now number 6,000 priests and brothers, the largest religious order in the Catholic Church.

The Great Commission of the Lord Jesus is the culmination of the four Gospels before he ascended into heaven. Today we heard from Matthew. We could easily have heard from Mark, Luke and John. “Go into the world and preach the Gospel to all creatures.” (Mark 16:15) “Go into the city of Jerusalem and wait to be clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49) “As the Father has sent me so I send you. Then he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you retain are retained.’” (John 20:20)

St. Father Jansen prophetically lived by the motto that “announcing the Gospel is the first and greatest act of charity.” He provided this vision for the Society of the Divine Word in the following excerpts from his writings.
“The ultimate purpose of our mission today is the same as it has been since the time of our founder, ‘to proclaim the Kingdom of God’s love’ as the common destiny of all humanity and the horizon toward which we travel.”

“It is from the internal loving dialogue of the triune God that this mission emerges, a dialogue of love and forgiveness with all humanity. We do not invent our own mission – it is Missio Dei – we are called by the Father, sent by the Word, and led by the Spirit.”

I would be remiss to pass over the impact of Father Janssen’s family life on his faith formation, vocation and ultimate vision for the Society of the Divine Word. Gerhard and Anna Katharina Janssen, his parents were people of great faith and lived the domestic church at the highest level.

Father Arnold Janssen’s father was blessed with eyes that saw, and ears that heard God’s Word while putting it into practice. He had a great love for the Trinity, and for the sacred scriptures, and steadfastly built a house set on rock for his son Arnold, the second of 10 children.

From the writings of members of the Society of the Divine Word, we are given four charisms or characteristics for their world-wide religious community. “Many religious orders and congregations have certain characteristics or traits that make them known. We are recognized by the four characteristic dimensions: the Bible; Mission Animation; Justice and Peace; and Integrity of Creation.”

In part, the commitment to justice and peace led the Society of the Divine Word to the Deep South and to Mississippi at the turn of the 20th century. One of their singular accomplishments was to launch Sacred Heart seminary in 1920, the first school for African American candidates for the priesthood in the United States.

This was an intrepid accomplishment in the Delta of Mississippi in the environs of Jim Crow. In fact, after a few years it became obvious that the seminary would have a better chance of surviving and thriving if the SVDs relocated it to Bay Saint Louis, where there were far more Catholics and resources. Understand that at the time the Diocese of Jackson encompassed all of Mississippi. In 1923 the change occurred, and the seminary was renamed to St. Augustine.

We are here today to acknowledge that although the 100th anniversary celebration of the seminary will be celebrated later this year, its beginnings were at Sacred Heart on these grounds. At the time the Society of the Divine Word had not yet reached the half century mark since its founding which only adds to this remarkable endeavor to go to all the nations.

Blessings to all who are part of the Society of the Divine Word, and much gratitude for your continuing presence in the Diocese of Jackson, now for well over 100 years. I conclude with a heartfelt yearning and a personal prayer from the personal spirituality of St. Father Arnold Janssens.

“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the Light of the Word and the Spirit of Grace and may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all.”

O God, eternal truth, I believe in you.
O God, our strength and salvation, I trust in you.
O God, infinite goodness, I love you with my whole heart.

Editor’s note: Below is the homily, Bishop Kopacz gave at the Feast of the Sacred Heart on Friday, June 16 at Christ the King parish in Southaven.
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By Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, D.D.

We gather joyfully at the Eucharist, the great prayer of thanksgiving, as we mark the hundred anniversary of the arrival of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in the United States, and 80 years here in northern Mississippi, known as the Southern Missions. Father Hendrick “Ardi” Ardianto, SCJ informed me before Mass that it is also the 100th anniversary of the Sacred Heart Fathers in Indonesia where their mission continues to thrive. This beloved and dynamic religious order, founded in 1878 by the Venerable Father Leon John Dehon whose missionary desire was to diffuse far and wide the Sacred Heart of Jesus, remains faithful to Christ’s work of rebuilding our world into God’s kingdom of justice and love.

I stand with the Bishops of Jackson since 1944 when Bishop Richard Oliver Gerow invited the Sacred Heart Fathers to expand their mission and ministries in the United States to northern Mississippi. This was a fortuitous moment in the history of the Diocese of Natchez. For the past 80 years the SCJ’s have witnessed to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through worship, through education, and through social action on behalf of justice and the common good which is evident in the array of ministries that continue to rebuild God’s kingdom of justice and love.

On this feast of the Sacred Heart the biblical texts draw us more deeply into the height and depth, length and breadth of God’s love. From Deuteronomy we heard that God set his heart on Israel, and his compassion and mercy will endure over 1,000 generations.

Jesus in the Gospel of Luke assures his listeners, then and now, that he is “meek and humble of heart, and we will find rest in him.” Here together at the Eucharist we are yoked to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a people set apart in praise of God “who has loved us first,” in the words of St. John in the second reading.
In this year of Eucharistic revival in our nation let us cherish the words of Father Dehon in our celebration of faith. “When we adore the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist, our adoration does not always require many words; there are moments when silence itself is eloquent. Our heart must become a ciborium in which the Eucharistic Heart alone reposes. I leave you the most wonderful of treasures, the Heart of Jesus.”

Father Dehon inspires us to embrace the awesome mystery of the real presence of the Lord. “All the sacraments are marvelous gifts of our Lord, but the Eucharist far surpasses the others. For in the others, he gives us his grace; in the Eucharist, he gives us himself.”

Pope Benedict, in Sacramentum Caritatis, (2007) the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist, captures this Dehonian charism of the Eucharist as bread broken for the life of the world. “The bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” (Jn 6:51)

Pope Benedict wrote that in these words “the Lord reveals the true meaning of the gift of his life for all people. These words also reveal his deep compassion for every man and woman. The Gospels frequently speak of Jesus’ feelings towards others, especially the suffering and sinners… Our communities, when they celebrate the Eucharist, must become ever more conscious that the sacrifice of Christ is for all, and that the Eucharist thus compels all who believe in him to become ‘bread that is broken’ for others, and to work for the building of a more just and fraternal world. Keeping in mind the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, we need to realize that Christ continues today to exhort his disciples to become personally engaged. ‘You yourselves, give them something to eat.’ (Mt 14:16). Each of us is truly called, together with Jesus, to be bread broken for the life of the world.”

This is the Dehonian spirit that continues to inspire many in our time through the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Through the world-wide synodal process, Pope Francis has invited the People of God to embrace our identity through communion, participation and mission. From the water and blood that flowed from the pierced heart of Christ on the Cross, our communion flows from our Baptism and through the Eucharist. We are invited into active participation around the tables of God’s Word and Sacrament, and from this source and summit we are sent on mission to actively participate in the drama of the Kingdom of God. This Dehonian charism is alive on both fronts, so to speak, as a people of contemplation in worship, and as a people of action in an array of ministries.

At this time, I invite the priest and brothers of the Sacred Heart, as well as the lay associates to come forward to renew their commitments to serve the Lord in his Kingdom of justice and love.

(To learn more about the work of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in our diocese with their ministry Sacred Heart Southern Missions, visit shsm.org.)