By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
We are now at the halfway point of the month of November, a month that majestically begins in our Catholic tradition of faith with the feast of All Saints along with the hope-filled commemoration of All Souls. During this time of year, our hearts and minds are naturally and spiritually drawn to the end of time and space, as we know it, to the mystery of eternal life.
“We are God’s children now.  What we shall later be has not yet come to light. (1Jn3). We see things dimly now, as in a mirror, but then we shall see face to face,” (1Corinthians 13). We are called to be in eternal communion with living God, through Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. “I believe in the communion of saints, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting,” are the statements of faith that conclude the proclamation of creedal belief that we proclaim on Sundays and feast days.
The seasons of the year, God’s gift of creation, speak to the seasons of human life, and the inexorable engine of time. Autumn provides the natural setting in the Northern Hemisphere to reflect upon, and embrace the reality that mortality has the upper hand in this life. Even in Mississippi as the daylight hours diminish the early autumn mornings can be brisk, bordering on cold.
During these southern November days, I am delighting in the fall foliage, and the brown grass, and the leaves that cover backyards and fairways, a full month after NEPA (Northeast Pennsylvania). The natural world in manifest ways is dying to self, preparing to rest in winter’s dormancy. In a paradoxical way there is a unique beauty with dying and death in the natural world that can draw us deeper into the finitude of our own lives.
So it is with the seasons of human life. Developmental psychologists have made enormous contributions to our understanding of life’s challenges and opportunities at every stage on the journey, beginning with life in the womb up to the moment when the sun sets on a person’s life. Early on we seek to establish our identity.
Upon this foundation we continue to build the structure of our lives at the onset of adulthood. At mid-life, stagnation frequently comes knocking at the door, and we must dig deeper to remain loving and productive. With the onset of old age wisdom can be the welcome guest, or a person could succumb to various forms of despair. “Therefore we do not lose heart.  Although our outer selves are wasting away, our inner selves are being renewed each day,” (2Corinthians 4,2).
It is true that the gift of faith in Jesus Christ blesses us with the promise of eternal life through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Yet, there is sober reality all around us slogging through time, even while we possess the sense dof the eternal. In the movie, “The Hobbit,” Gollum and Bilbo Baggins go head to head with riddles that entertain, but also confront the viewer with life’s somber reality.
Riddle 3:
It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
It lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
It comes out first and follows after,
Ends life, kills laughter.
The answer is darkness. A poignantly clever riddle, no doubt, but in faith one that succumbs to the powerful words of the Word made flesh, Jesus the Christ. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” (John 8,12).
Gollum’s final riddle stumps Bilbo, and he needs more time to solve it.
Riddle 5:
This thing all things devours;
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats mountain down.
Bilbo needed more time to realize that the answer to the riddle is time. Sometimes people are given more time to get it right, or to right wrongs, and sometimes not. Time is fleeting (tempus fugit); it passes quickly. “Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die,” (Psalm 103,15). Yet, once again we have the words that are eternal in the face of the conquering worm. “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die,” (John 11,25).
Jesus once said to the Sadducees, non-believers in eternal life, who were trying to trip him up: “You are so wrong. Our God is the God of the living, not the dead,” (Matthew 22, 32). The Catholic Church celebrated the promise of eternal life in the recent canonizations of Saint Pope John Paul II, and Saint Pope John XXIII. We embrace the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting.
As we pray for our beloved dead with greater attention and intention this month, and ask the intercession of the saints, may their love and prayers on our behalf inspire us to live a life worthy of the calling we have received by virtue of the three gifts that last, faith, hope, and love.

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
The Pastoral Synod on the Family has been launched in the Catholic world, and it has created a buzz far beyond the corridors of the Vatican, and the confines of Catholic parishes and ministries throughout the world. Representatives from around the world, laity and bishops, gathered in Rome for two weeks to wrestle with the realities that affirm and afflict marriage and family in the modern world.
When I attended the orientation sessions for new bishops in Rome in September it was emphasized time and again that the Synod is called pastoral because its purpose is to strengthen the bonds of marriage and family, and to reconcile those who have been hurt by the very institution that God established to be life-giving. It is not a Synod whose purpose is to change the Church’s teaching on marriage. But, to apply the wisdom of “Guadium et Spes,” the landmark document of the Second Vatican Council, it is absolutely necessary to read the signs of the times in the modern world, and to respond in loving service while being faithful to the Church’s tradition. Without a doubt, this is a herculean task before us.
Consistent with his philosophy for the Catholic Church as expressed in the “Joy of the Gospel,” the Apostolic Exhortation on evangelization, Pope Francis encouraged a climate of openness embodied in dialogue and discernment in light of the mystery of God’s gaze upon us. In other words, it is an open process that is intended to create a bond of trust and communion in order to better serve the People of God. Of course, this led to some feisty conversations among the Synod’s participants, and an intense trolling by the secular media to expose any fault lines in the Church’s unity. Part of Pope Francis’ closing statement is on page 17 of this edition of  Mississippi Catholic and I would like to highlight several of his observations.
At the end of the Synod he reminded everyone that we “still have one more year to mature, with true spiritual discernment, the proposed ideas and to find concrete solutions to so many difficulties and innumerable challenges that families must confront, to give answers to the many discouragements that surround and suffocate families.”
The knowledge and wisdom produced by painstaking efforts will not lay dormant in some bureaucrat’s file cabinet. The year ahead will mirror the year that led to the Synod in Rome with active participation from many stakeholders in every corner of the Catholic world.
The Pope describes the immediate future as “one year to provide a faithful and clear summary of everything that has been said and discussed in this hall and in the small groups.” The year ahead will be a time for the fine wine of the Synod’s deliberations to age so that Pope Francis can fashion for the Church an Apostolic Exhortation that will guide and inspire us for years to come.
The Pope astutely pointed out in his closing remarks that there are inevitable temptations that can undercut our long journey together. There is the temptation to ‘hostile inflexibility” that bars the doors against any surprises from the Holy Spirit. This is the frozen terrain of the rigid traditionalist.  Likewise, there is the temptation of the ‘do-gooders” who in the name of deceptive mercy, bind the wounds without curing them and treating them. These are the so-called progressives and liberals. The latter is the temptation “to turn stones into bread to break the hard fast, and the former is the temptation to transform the bread into stones and cast them against the sinners, the weak and the sick, that is to transform it into unbearable burdens.”
The Pope continues powerfully. “The temptation is to neglect the deposit of faith, to come down off the Cross, to please the people, and not to stay there, in order to fulfill the will of the Father, to bow down to the worldly spirit instead of purifying it and bending it to the Spirit of God.” Likewise, there is “the temptation to neglect reality” the veritable ostrich with one’s head in the ground as the world turns.
The work ahead is a critical mission on behalf of the family, society and the church. Pope Francis, with heartfelt concern, reveals the path of compassion and truth. “I have felt that what was set before our eyes was the good of the Church, of families, and the supreme law, the ‘good of souls.’  And this always we have said here in the Hall without ever putting into question the fundamental truths of the Sacrament of Marriage; its indissolubility, unity, faithfulness, fruitfulness, and openness to life. …And this is the Church, the vineyard of the Lord, the fertile Mother and caring Teacher, who is not afraid to roll up her sleeves to pour oil and wine on people’s wounds; who doesn’t see humanity as a house of glass to judge or categorize people. It is the Church not afraid to eat and drink with prostitutes and sinners.
The joy and hope of the gospel for all people is crystal clear in the closing reflections of Pope Francis, opening the door to a year of grace and favor from the Lord that is intended to guide the Church deeper into the mystery of God.  It’s an exciting time.
May the Holy Spirit open our minds and hearts to know the goodness of the Lord.

Por el Obispo Joseph Kopacz
El Sínodo Pastoral de Obispos Sobre la Familia ha sido lanzado al mundo católico y ha creado un rumor más allá de los pasillos del Vaticano y de los confines de las parroquias católicas y de los ministerios en todo el mundo. Representantes de todo el mundo, laicos y obispos, se reunieron en Roma durante dos semanas para dialogar sobre las realidades que afirman y afectan el matrimonio y la familia en el mundo moderno.
Cuando asistí a las reuniones de orientación para los nuevos obispos en Roma en septiembre se enfatizó, que al sínodo se le llama pastoral porque su objetivo es fortalecer los lazos del matrimonio y la familia, y para conciliar aquellos que han sido lastimados por la institución que Dios estableció para ser dador de la vida. No se trata de un sínodo cuyo propósito es cambiar la enseñanza de la iglesia sobre el matrimonio sino para aplicar la sabiduría del “Guadium et Spes”, el histórico documento del Concilio Vaticano II. Es absolutamente necesario interpretar los signos del tiempo en el mundo moderno y responder con servicio amoroso mientras se mantiene fiel a la tradición de la iglesia. Sin duda, se trata de una enorme tarea que tenemos ante nosotros.
Consistente con su filosofía de la Iglesia Católica tal como se expresa en la Alegría del Evangelio, la Exhortación Apostólica sobre la evangelización, el papa Francisco alentó un clima de apertura englobado en el diálogo y el discernimiento a la luz del misterio de la mirada de Dios sobre nosotros. En otras palabras, es un proceso abierto con la intención de crear un vínculo de confianza y comunión con el fin de servir mejor al pueblo de Dios. Por supuesto, esto llevó a algunas abruptas conversaciones entre todos los participantes en el sínodo, y una intensa atracción en las medios de comunicación secular para exponer cualquier línea de falla en la unidad de la Iglesia.
La declaración de clausura del papa Francisco está publicada en esta edición de Mississippi Catholic y me gustaría destacar varias de sus observaciones.
Al final del sínodo el papa les recordó a todos que “todavía tenemos un año más para madurar, con verdadero discernimiento espiritual, las ideas propuestas y para encontrar soluciones concretas a las muchas dificultades y los numerosos desafíos que las familias deben afrontar para dar respuesta a los muchos desalientos que rodean y ahogan a las familias”.
El conocimiento y la sabiduría producida por arduos esfuerzos no permanecerán inactivos en algún archivo burócrata. El próximo año será un reflejo del año que llevó al Sínodo de Roma con la participación activa de muchos de los interesados en cada rincón del mundo católico. El papa describe al futuro inmediato como “un año para proporcionar un resumen claro y fiel de todo lo que se ha dicho y discutido en esta sala y en los pequeños grupos”. El próximo año será un tiempo para que madure el buen vino de las deliberaciones del sínodo para que el papa Francisco pueda preparar para la iglesia una Exhortación Apostólica que nos guíe e inspire en los años venideros.
El Papa astutamente indicó en su discurso de clausura que hay inevitables tentaciones que pueden debilitar nuestro largo camino juntos. Existe la tentación de la “rigidez hostil” que impide cualquier sorpresa del Espíritu Santo. Este es el congelado terreno del rígido tradicionalista. Del mismo modo, existe la tentación de los “voluntariosos” que en nombre de una falsa piedad vendan las heridas sin curarlas y medicarlas. Estos son los llamados progresistas y liberales.
Esta última es la tentación “de transformar las piedras en pan  para romper la rigidez rápidamente, y el primero es la tentación de transformar el pan en piedras para tirarlas a los pecadores, los débiles y los enfermos a fin de transformarla en cargas insoportables”.
El papa continua con fuerza. “La tentación es descuidar la confianza de la fe para descender de la cruz, para complacer al pueblo y no quedarse allí, con el fin de cumplir la voluntad del Padre, para doblarse al espíritu mundano en vez de purificarlo y encauzarlo hacia el Espíritu de Dios”. Del mismo modo, hay “la tentación de descuidar la realidad” la verdadera avestruz con la cabeza en la tierra mientras el mundo gira.
El trabajo que tenemos por delante es una misión crítica en nombre de la familia, la sociedad y la iglesia. El papa Francisco, con profunda preocupación, revela el camino de la compasión y la verdad.
“He tenido la sensación de que lo que se ha puesto ante nuestros ojos es el bien de la iglesia, de las familias, y de la ley suprema, el “bien de las almas”. Y esto siempre lo hemos dicho aquí en la sala sin jamás poner en cuestión las verdades fundamentales del sacramento del matrimonio; su indisolubilidad, unidad, fidelidad,  fecundidad, y apertura a la vida. …Y esta es la iglesia, la viña del Señor, la madre fecunda y cuidadosa maestra, que no tiene miedo de enrollarse las mangas para verter aceite y vino sobre las heridas de la gente; quien no ve la humanidad como una casa de cristal para juzgar o clasificar a la gente. Es la iglesia que no tiene miedo de comer y beber con prostitutas y pecadores.
La alegría y la esperanza del evangelio para todos los hombres está muy clara en el cierre las reflexiones del papa Francisco, lo que abre la puerta a un Año de Gracia y Favor del Señor con el objetivo de orientar a la iglesia más profundamente en el misterio de Dios. Es un tiempo muy emocionante. Qué el Espíritu Santo abra nuestra mente y corazón para conocer la bondad del Señor.

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
In his brief time as the Holy Father, Pope Francis has challenged all Christians, and most especially all of us as Catholics to live the joy of the Gospel.  We are called to be missionary disciples wherever we live, and in whatever circumstances. The joy of the Gospel through prayer and action during the month of October in recent decades is the promotion of the gift of human life from the first moment to the final breath. It is the Church’s insatiable quest for a more just social order.
Pope Francis reminds us in the “Joy of the Gospel:” “It is no longer possible to claim that religion should be restricted to the private sphere and that it exists only to prepare souls for heaven…An authentic faith which is never complacent or completely personal, always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave the earth somehow better than when we found it.”
The call to live lovingly and justly is the heart and soul of the Word of God, the Sacred Scriptures. In Psalm 85 we hear the inspired poetic words: “Loving kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven.”
I think that we would all agree that Pope Francis has embodied in a more apparent way the loving kindness and truth that Jesus Christ wants from the Chief Shepherd of his Church. This is nothing new; it is rather ever ancient. Saint Peter in his letter to the early Christian communities wrote, “In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1Peter 3:15). Remember that Saint Pope John Paul visited in prison the man who attempted to assassinate him, and embraced and forgave him. This is not restricted to the Pope; it is the call of all the baptized.
Loving kindness and truth are the streams that feed the quest for justice and peace in our society. Remembering that the sun shines on the good and the bad, the just and the unjust we bring the goodness of God to the public square even as we stand unflinchingly in the face of injustice, indifference and hostility.
The foundation of all human life is the right to life of the unborn. Where else can our quest begin, but to be the voice of those who have no voice? Medical advances and technology are drawing us deeper into the miracle of life in the womb to experience its wonderful complexity at the earliest stages.
Pope Francis in the Joy of the Gospel avows: “Among the vulnerable for whom the church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us. Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this. Frequently, as a way of ridiculing the church’s effort to defend their lives, attempts are made to present her position as ideological, obscurantist and conservative. Yet this defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development.
Human beings are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving other problems. Once this conviction disappears, so do solid and lasting foundations for the defense of human rights, which would always be subject to the passing whims of the powers that be. Reason alone is sufficient to recognize the inviolable value of each single human life, but if we also look at the issue from the standpoint of faith, “Every violation of the personal dignity of the human being cries out in vengeance to God and is an offense against the creator of the individual.” (213)
Francis concludes this critical consideration with a complete call for justice. “On the other hand, it is also true that we have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty. Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?”(213)
In the preceding section of his exhortation he refers to the grim reality that many women face, often depriving them of human dignity. “Doubly poor are those women who endure situations of exclusion, mistreatment and violence, since they are frequently less able to defend their rights. Even so, we constantly witness among them impressive examples of daily heroism in defending and protecting their vulnerable families.” (212)
Pope Francis throughout the Joy of the Gospel laments the widespread assaults on human life and dignity including the plight of the poor, the victims of war and terrorism, the horrors of human trafficking and the plundering of creation. Indeed, many Christians and people of good will are laboring to create a more just and peaceful world order, but there is much to be done. Too many, at home and abroad, are without basic education, adequate health care, clean water, and a healthful diet.
Yet in spite of all of the assaults on human life and dignity, in the power of the Lord’s cross and resurrection, we are a people of hope who know that we can cultivate the image of God in our world. We have not received a spirit of timidity, but of love, power, and discipline.
May the Lord strengthen our resolve in our thirst for a more just, humane, and compassionate society that will continually give birth to loving kindness and truth, justice and peace.

By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
I am writing this column from way above the earth, in flight back to Jackson, and to the diocese and ministry that await me. For those of you who may not know, I participated in a conference in Rome, Italy for all newly ordained bishops throughout the world. About 250 bishops were on hand to listen to a series of talks that touched upon the many dimensions of a bishop’s life. The Cardinals, who are the heads of various departments within the Vatican that serve the Catholic Church throughout the world, gave most of the talks.
One of the lasting benefits of the conference is the new relationships that emerged with my fellow bishops from around the United States. We are all in the same boat, so to speak, as recently ordained and appointed bishops, and it is enriching to begin to know their stories, and something of the dioceses where they now serve.
Of course, no diocese is as interesting as Jackson. In addition, getting a better perspective of the bishops who serve throughout the world is always worthwhile. Some are serving under extreme duress due to poverty and unrest.
Apart from sitting in four conferences per day, celebrating the Eucharist along with morning and evening prayer each day while eating three substantial meals, what else occurred to create lasting memories?
For starters, all of the bishops had the opportunity to celebrate Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica above the tomb of Saint Peter. As we processed out after Mass, we reverently paused at his place of burial, a very stirring moment.
On Sunday, the following day, I hopped on the bus and journeyed to Assisi like a good pilgrim to spend a day in the ambience of the great Saint Francis after whom our Holy Father is named. We celebrated Mass with the Franciscan priests at a regularly scheduled Sunday service in the Basilica of Saint Francis. The visitors to Assisi and the parishioners of the parish were a bit stunned to look up and see the entourage of bishops who processed in during the opening hymn. Later in the day we visited the Church dedicated to our Blessed Mother, Santa Maria degli Angeli, I tweeted from the expansive piazza, leading into the church where tradition marks the location of the death of Saint Francis.
The culminating moment of the journey to Rome was our audience with Pope Francis in one of the spacious, yet cozy Vatican halls that easily accommodated our entourage. It was super to be able to see him up close and personal, to hear his encouraging words and to personally greet him.
There was a surreal feeling to the whole experience, yet it was also a well-grounded hour with plenty of time to savor the encounter with my brother bishops. Twenty of them were from Argentina and the Pope really lit up when he recognized many of them at the personal greeting. Those were endearing moments to observe.
I have selected a few of Pope Francis’ reflections from the talk that he gave us. He began by saying that he was happy to meet us, and quickly encouraged us by saying that we are “the fruit of the arduous work and tireless prayer of the Church who, when she chooses her pastors, recalls that entire night the Lord spent on the mount, in the presence of the Father, before naming those He wanted to stay with him and to go forth into the world.” In the company of bishops from all over the world, the Pope’s words resonated in a compelling manner.
As a good father ought to do he then proceeded to challenge us to embrace the ministry, the gift, entrusted to us. “Now that you have overcome your initial fears and excitement of your consecration, never take for granted the ministry entrusted to you, never to lose your wonder before God’s plan, nor the awe of walking aware of His presence and the presence of the Church who is, first and foremost, His.”
Continuing with this sentiment he proceeded to highlight the close relationship between a bishop and the people of his diocese. “There is an inseparable bond between the stable presence of the bishop and the growth of the flock”. This touches the heart of Pope Francis’ vision in proclaiming and living the Gospel which he articulated in “Evangelii Guadium,” his Apostolic Exhortation, i.e., we are to encounter one another, and accompany one another in the light of the Gospel as we serve the Lord in our daily lives. Along these lines, the Holy Father advised us to imitate Moses’ patience in leading his people, as “nothing is more important than introducing people to God!”
Toward the end of his address he poetically urged us to be especially solicitous of two groups of people. Dear brothers, “begin with the young and the elderly, because the first are our wings, and the second are our roots; wings and roots without which we do not know what we are, much less where we are going”.
I am happy to be able to share some of my experience with you from this unique trek to Rome, the eternal city, and I am even more content to be on terra firma, at home once again in Jackson, the crossroads of the South.