Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades

  • Increase in vocations is a great blessing, offers hope

    Here we are at the end of the July. The summer is passing quickly. I hope that you have been having a good and refreshing summer. We have had some hot and humid days, not unlike what I experienced during the summer in Pennsylvania. Still, I enjoy the warmth of summer and especially the opportunity for outdoor activity and some sports.

    Seminarians
    Two weeks ago, I enjoyed a day with our seminarians at Holy Family Parish in South Bend. It was a good opportunity to share with them some thoughts on the call to priestly holiness and then to meet one-on-one with our young men in priestly formation. We finished the day with Mass and dinner, to which the parents of our seminarians were invited to participate. It was good to meet the parents and to thank them for their support of their sons’ vocations.

    I am very happy to announce that we have experienced a significant increase in applications to the seminary this year for our diocese. In addition to the 15 men currently in formation, I accepted 10 new seminarians who will begin their priestly formation next month. This increase is a great blessing and gives me much hope for the future of priestly vocations in our diocese. I thank all the faithful of our diocese for their prayers for this intention. I believe that the prayers of our people are the main reason we are seeing such an increase in number of seminarians. I also thank Msgr. Bernard Galic, the director of our Office of Vocations, and his staff for their dedicated work in support of this mission.

    Speaking of the promotion of priestly vocations, on July 21, I attended my first Andrew Dinner. Father Jacob Runyon, our associate director of vocations, led this evening event at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Fort Wayne. There were dozens of young men, mostly high school age, who attended the Andrew Dinner at the invitation of their pastors. These men were identified as having qualities that indicated a possible vocation to the priesthood. I was really impressed by the faith and joy of these young men and their openness to the possibility that God may be calling them to the priesthood. Several priests were also in attendance at the dinner. These dinners are named for the Apostle Andrew, who brought his brother Peter to Jesus.

    Our Franciscan Brothers Minor are also experiencing growth in numbers. When they came here to Indiana with me, there were eight brothers, including Father David Engo, the superior. They now have three additional young men who have recently become postulants.
    Please continue to pray for all our seminarians and those who are discerning the call to the priesthood.

    Institute for Catholic Liberal Education
    I was happy to celebrate Holy Mass on July 14 for a group of Catholic School teachers attending the academic retreat at Holy Cross College. This retreat was sponsored by the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education, an organization that leads Catholic educators to a clear understanding of the riches of Catholic education and helps them implement the Church’s vision in their schools. The theme of this year’s retreat was “Truth and Joy in the Catholic School.” It was good to meet teachers from Catholic schools around the country who are so strongly committed to the Catholic educational mission.

    Ordination of Bishop Timothy Doherty
    On July 15, I made my first visit to Lafayette to attend the episcopal ordination of the new bishop there, Bishop Timothy Doherty. Bishop Doherty was a priest in the Diocese of Rockford, Ill. It was a beautiful ordination liturgy. I extended to Bishop Doherty the prayerful best wishes of the faithful of our diocese. As you probably know, the territory of the Diocese of Lafayette was once part of the Diocese of Fort Wayne. The Diocese of Lafayette was established in 1944 when 24 largely rural counties of our diocese were separated to form the Lafayette diocese. This was during the time that Bishop John F. Noll was the bishop of our diocese. When it was created, the diocese of Lafayette was almost 10,000 square miles and had 30,000 Catholics. Ours was indeed “the mother diocese” of Lafayette, which has now welcomed its sixth bishop. May God bless Bishop Doherty as he begins his episcopal ministry!

    New pastor of St. Adalbert and St. Casimir Parishes
    On July 17, I celebrated Holy Mass at St. Adalbert Parish in South Bend and installed the new pastor of St. Adalbert and St. Casimir Parishes, Holy Cross Father Peter Pacini. It was a joyful occasion as the parishioners of both parishes warmly welcomed their new pastor. Speaking of “warm,” St. Adalbert’s is not air-conditioned so it was indeed a warm evening. It reminded me of the church where I was once pastor in Harrisburg, St. Francis of Assisi, which was also inner-city and did not have air-conditioning. In any event, we cooled off after Mass in the parish hall, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner together. It is beautiful to see the sharing of cultures, both Hispanic and Polish, at these parishes, both at the liturgy and at the dinner. May God bless Father Pacini as he begins his pastoral ministry at these historic South Bend parishes!

    St. Catherine of Siena Parish
    On July 18, I celebrated Holy Mass at St. Catherine of Siena Parish (St. Jude Church) in South Bend. Again, it was a beautiful liturgy and joyful celebration. Many thanks to Father John Delaney for his warm welcome and hospitality! After the Mass, I spent a couple hours at the parish festival, enjoying especially a delicious Polish dinner following Mass. I believe this is the newest parish in our diocese, having been established with the merger of the former St. Jude, Sacred Heart and St. Mary parishes on the south side of South Bend. We are looking at the possible purchase of land for a new church for St. Catherine of Siena Parish.

    Antioch youth Mass
    After most of the day at St. Catherine of Siena, I went in the evening to St. Bavo Church in Mishawaka. There the church was packed for a Mass I celebrated for the Antioch youth group. It was great to see so many young people in attendance and participating with such zeal for the faith. The music was very well-done and uplifting. Many of the young people had spent the weekend at a youth conference at Franciscan University in Steubenville. They came home renewed in their faith.
    After the Mass, I joined the young people for pizza in the parish school hall. I thank Father Barry England for his gracious hospitality. I am constantly edified by the enthusiasm for the faith of so many of our youth.

    Archbishop Sheen film
    On July 19, over 100 people joined me at the Allen County Public Library for an advance showing of a new documentary film on the life and legacy of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The film was very well done and I recommend it to you. It will be shown at various parishes throughout our diocese. The cause for Archbishop Sheen’s beatification and canonization has begun. Archbishop Sheen led so many people to Christ. He touched the minds and hearts of millions of people. If it is the Lord’s will, may he one day be proclaimed a saint!

    Prayer service for ACE
    students at Notre Dame
    On another hot and humid evening, July 22, I celebrated a prayer service at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes at Notre Dame for the students of the ACE (Alliance for Catholic Education) program being sent forth on mission to Catholic schools throughout our country. Many of the students’ parents were on retreat at Notre Dame for a few days as well and joined their children at the grotto service. I thank Father Tim Scully, CSC, and all who assist him in this program dedicated to the service of Catholic education in our country.

    ACE is a remarkable program. It places college graduates in under-resourced Catholic schools throughout the country. They prepare these teachers through an intensive two-year service experience that includes professional preparation and spiritual formation. ACE also has a Leadership Program that trains future Catholic school principals and administrators as well as an English as a New Language (ENL) Program. ACE is leading a movement to enrich and champion our Catholic schools.

    Immaculate Conception Parish, Auburn
    I continue to enjoy visiting parishes throughout our diocese. This past Saturday, I made my first visit to Auburn at the invitation of the pastor, Father Derrick Sneyd. I celebrated the Saturday Vigil Mass at Immaculate Conception Church and then enjoyed meeting parishioners at a reception afterwards. In my homily, I reflected on the Gospel account of Jesus teaching His disciples the “Our Father.”
    St. Thomas Aquinas says the following about the Our Father:

    The Lord’s Prayer is the most perfect of prayers. … In it we ask, not only for all the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired. This prayer not only teaches us to ask for things, but also in what order we should desire them.

    Posted on July 27, 2010, to:

  • Eucharist helps us to be an evangelizing community

    Holy Cross Sisters
    Two weeks ago, I was honored to visit and celebrate Holy Mass for the Sisters of the Holy Cross at the Church of Our Lady of Loretto in South Bend. I had already visited the communities of the Holy Cross Brothers and Priests in recent months. I have enjoyed getting to know the Holy Cross family of sisters, brothers and priests.

    The Congregations of Holy Cross have played, and continue to play, an important role in our diocese. They were among the pioneers of the Catholic Church here in our diocese. The Holy Cross Sisters were certainly some of the pioneers of Catholic education here.

    When I celebrated Mass for the sisters and guests at the Loretto Chapel, I thanked all the Sisters of the Holy Cross for their example of consecrated life and generous service of Christ and His Church. After enjoying lunch with Sister Joan Marie Steadman, the congregational president, and the leadership team of the congregation, I was able to visit many of the infirm sisters who were unable to attend the Mass. It was very moving for me to meet these incredible women and to learn about their lives and apostolates. I even met some sisters who had taught in Catholic schools in Lancaster, Pa., in my former diocese. I met many sisters who had devoted their lives to serving in various foreign missions and others who served in our diocese and throughout the United States. I left with thanksgiving in my heart for the selfless devotion and example of holiness of these consecrated religious women.

    Priest picnic gatherings
    One of the enjoyable traditions of our diocese is the summer gatherings of our priests, at both ends of the diocese. I enjoyed hosting a picnic at my residence at St. Mary’s in Fort Wayne and also joining the priests’ picnic at St. Pius X in Granger some weeks ago. As I have said many times, we have a great presbyterate here in our diocese. These opportunities for fellowship build our fraternity and provide an opportunity for relaxation and refreshment. Many of our seminarians also joined these gatherings. Please continue to support our priests and seminarians with your prayers.

    Vincent Village
    For months, I have heard so many positive things about Vincent Village in Fort Wayne. I was finally able to visit there on June 30. Located on the campus of the former St. Hyacinth Church, Vincent Village and two other organizations, Literacy Alliance and Park Center, are using diocesan property to serve the needs of the community.

    Vincent Village provides shelter, basic needs, supportive services and affordable housing for homeless families with children. Ann Helmke, the executive director, and members of the board of directors, gave me a tour of Vincent House, the former St. Hyacinth convent, which is the temporary shelter for homeless families. Then, we walked through the neighborhood, which has truly been revitalized by Vincent Village through the 32 homes that have been renovated and are now attractive affordable homes for families who are ready to leave the shelter. It is great to see that a poor inner-city neighborhood can indeed be revitalized when people join together and work together with such vision and commitment, motivated by faith. It was remarkable to see the transformation not only of buildings, but of peoples’ lives. Thanks to all who support Vincent Village!

    Let us always remember the words of Jesus: I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. — Mt 25: 25:35-36.

    Mass at St. Jude Church, Fort Wayne
    A few months ago, the faith-filled parishioners of St. Jude Parish in Fort Wayne who attend the daily 6:15 a.m. Mass invited me to celebrate this Mass for them sometime. I was privileged to do so on July 1, the feast of Blessed Junipero Serra. I expected to see a few dozen parishioners at that early Mass and was pleasantly surprised, and very edified, to see 150 people in attendance, including parishioners of all ages. I joked with the people that I had to set two alarm clocks so I would not oversleep and miss the Mass!

    I wish to thank Father Tom Shoemaker and Father Bob D’Souza who serve at St. Jude’s and also all who attended the Mass. I spoke in my homily about Father Serra, the holy Franciscan missionary of California. In my prayers, I also remembered the members of our Serra Clubs, who do so much to promote priestly and religious vocations, on the feast of their patron. I share with you the opening prayer of the Mass on that feast since Blessed Junipero Serra is an example for all of us of our missionary vocation:

    God most high, your servant Junipero Serra brought the gospel of Christ to the peoples of Mexico and California and firmly established the Church among them. By his intercession, and through the example of his evangelical zeal, inspire us to be faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

    Dedication of St. Anthony of Padua Church, Angola
    This past Saturday, I had the privilege of dedicating the new church and altar at St. Anthony Parish in Angola. This was my first visit to Angola. The new church is truly beautiful. It was interesting to see how the architects incorporated some of the items of the previous churches into the new church, including stained glass windows, the Stations of the Cross and other artwork. One item of particular interest is the center circle of the rose window over the main altar which shows a bouquet of lilies. This window had appeared over the main entrance of the original church. It had been removed years ago, stored in a garage, and forgotten. It was only rediscovered when the garage was being demolished. A parishioner found it in a pile of scrap. Now refurbished, it appears in the beautiful rose window above the main altar of the new church. Some parishioners commented about how appropriate this is since their patron, St. Anthony, is the patron saint of lost articles!

    The dedication Mass was beautiful. I was very impressed by the excellent music of the parish choir. Conventual Franciscan Friars, who have staffed the parish since 1931, continue to serve at St. Anthony’s. Several of the friars concelebrated the Dedication Mass, including the provincial, Father Jim Kent. I thank the devoted pastor of St. Anthony’s, Father Fred Pasche, and all the priests and parishioners of this vibrant parish community.

    During the liturgy, I reminded all that the most important reason why the new church was built, and the greatest act to be celebrated there, is the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Every time we attend Mass, we are strengthened by the Holy Eucharist to live our faith and to be witnesses of Christ’s love. The Eucharist is what builds up the parish and nourishes its members to love as Christ has loved us. The Eucharist helps us to be an evangelizing community, one that proclaims the truth of the Gospel in word and deed.
    Our diocese now has another new house of God, one that is now permanently designated for the worship of God. May the St. Anthony Parish community be a beacon of Christ’s love in Angola and the northeast region of our diocese!

    Posted on July 13, 2010, to:

  • Bishop Rhoades celebrates first priestly ordination in diocese

    Greetings in the grace and peace of Christ! I hope you are enjoying a good and refreshing beginning of the summer season.

    USCCB Assembly
    I recently attended the spring assembly of the United States Bishops in St. Petersburg, Fla. On the way to Florida, I stopped home in Pennsylvania for the high school graduation of my nephew and godson Johnny. I am very proud of him, as is my sister and her husband. He graduated from Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown, Pa., and will be attending the college his uncle attended, Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md. It was great to visit with family and friends while home for a day and a half.

    The bishops’ spring assembly this year (and every three years) is more of a spiritual retreat than a business meeting. It was good to gather with my brother bishops in prayer and reflection.

    The retreat centered on the theme of the relationship of bishops with their priests. Throughout the week, I thought about the priests of our diocese and of how blessed I am to have such a great presbyterate in our diocese. I have really enjoyed getting to know our priests and already feel very much a fraternal communion with them.
    The assembly began on June 14 with a wonderful keynote address by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York. Throughout the week, different bishops spoke on various topics connected to the overall theme, including “The Bishop as Father, Brother and Friend to his Priests,” “The Renewal of the Spiritual Lives of Bishops and Priests,” “Challenges for Bishops in Fostering Unity among Priests,” and “Communio Related to Bishops and Priests as Ministers of Word and Sacrament.” All the speakers were good, yet I was especially grateful for the presentation by Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto on the prayer life of bishops and priests. It was a very practical reflection on the necessity of prayer in our lives.

    We were blessed to have as our spiritual director for the retreat assembly His Eminence, Cardinal Peter Turkson, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Cardinal Turkson, who is from the Ivory Coast in Africa, is a Scripture scholar. He preached the homilies during Morning and Evening Prayer each day, as well as at the Eucharistic Holy Hour and Penance Service.

    So often when we bishops meet, we have a full and busy agenda with many important issues to deal with. It was nice to gather this time for prayer together. The only “business” I had to attend to was on the day prior to the assembly: meetings of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine and of the Subcommittee on the Catechism, of which I am a member.

    Happy belated Father’s Day!
    Blessings to all the fathers reading this column! I hope you all had a happy and blessed Father’s Day on June 20. This was the first Father’s Day since my own Dad died. It is good on this day to remember all fathers, living and deceased, and to pray for them.

    All of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, are children of the heavenly Father. On Father’s Day, as we give thanks for our earthly fathers, we also remember God our Father. We can reflect on the mystery of the fatherhood of God. “Jesus revealed that God is Father in an unheard-of sense: he is Father not only in being Creator; he is eternally Father in relation to his only Son, who is eternally Son only in relation to his Father” (CCC 240). As the Church teaches, the Son is “consubstantial” with the Father, which means “one only God with him.”

    Though God’s fatherhood pertains first of all to the fundamental mystery of God’s inner life, to the mystery of the Holy Trinity, it also pertains to God’s relationship with us. Jesus has revealed to us the providence and merciful love of God, our almighty Father. Because of our union with Christ, we can dare to call God “our Father.” God has adopted us as His children in His only Son. This adoption is a great gift that calls us to continual conversion and new life. St. Cyprian said that “we must remember … and know that when we call God ‘our Father’ we ought to behave as sons and daughters of God.”

    Priestly Ordination
    Speaking of fathers, it was a great joy to celebrate my first priestly ordination in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend this past Saturday. Deacon Andrew Budzinski was ordained a priest and is now “Father” Andrew Budzinski. By ordination, he became sacramentally conformed to Jesus Christ as Head and Shepherd of the Church. He is now enabled to act and serve in the name and person of Christ. He and all priests are called “Father” because they share in spiritual fatherhood, continuing the mission of Christ to reveal the Father in His absolute self-giving and life-giving love.

    St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.” — 1 Cor 4:15. The Apostle Paul is a wonderful model of spiritual fatherhood for our priests. His example teaches me and our priests how to give ourselves in generative love to the people entrusted to our pastoral care. What are the qualities of a good and holy priest? They are the same qualities of a good and holy father of a family: Reliability, courage, justice, temperance, selfless generosity and love.

    We rejoice with Father Andrew and his family on his ordination to the priesthood. I have assigned Father Andrew to serve as parochial vicar of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Fort Wayne. Let us pray for this wonderful new priest of our diocese, that he will serve the Church with zeal, fidelity and charity. Congratulations, Father Andrew!

    For your reflection, I close with part of the beautiful Prayer of Ordination that the bishop says when ordaining a priest:

    Grant, we pray, Almighty Father, to this, Your servant, the dignity of the priesthood; renew deep within him the Spirit of holiness; may he henceforth possess this office which comes from You, O God, and is next in rank to the office of Bishop; and by the example of his manner of life, may he instill right conduct.

    May he be a worthy coworker with our Order, so that by his preaching and through the grace of the Holy Spirit the words of the Gospel may bear fruit in human hearts and reach even to the ends of the earth.

    Together with us, may he be a faithful steward of Your mysteries, so that Your people may be renewed in the waters of rebirth and nourished from Your altar; so that sinners may be reconciled and the sick raised up. May he be joined with us, Lord, in imploring Your mercy for the people entrusted to their care and for all the world.

    Posted on June 29, 2010, to:

  • Holy Eucharist, the Church’s most precious treasure

    Courtney Hammoud, a resident of the Center for the Homeless since last July, was welcomed into the Catholic Church this past Easter after attending R.C.I.A. at St. Monica in Mishawaka. Center for the Homeless Director Steve Camilleri says the residents celebrated with her when she shared her good news on Easter Monday.

    Center for the Homeless
    On the evening of Memorial Day, I had the pleasure of visiting the Center for the Homeless on Michigan Street in South Bend. The executive director, Steve Camilleri, invited me to participate in their weekly community meeting. The meeting began with the presentation of the colors, followed by announcements by Steve and others. Then I was invited to share some thoughts and answer questions. After closing with a prayer and blessing, I had the opportunity to meet several of the residents.

    I was truly impressed by the wonderful work of this center. It not only provides food and a shelter for the homeless, but also a multitude of services to help people who have encountered various difficulties in life. I met and spoke with two men who were celebrating 18 months of sobriety, thanks to the assistance of the center. Other guests receive educational assistance and various life skills. I was very impressed by the individualized attention each guest receives. Each person is treated according to their unique situation and particular needs, whatever circumstances precipitated their homelessness. The Center for the Homeless appears to me to address the root problems of homelessness and is committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness. I am glad our diocese supports this wonderful place.

    Visit to the University of Saint Francis
    I have been to the University of Saint Francis a few times since coming to Fort Wayne, but my first “official” visit was on June 2. I celebrated the 12:05 p.m. Mass there, followed by lunch with the sponsoring religious congregation, the Sisters of Saint Francis. Sister Elise, the president of the university, then gave me a wonderful tour of the beautiful campus. It was an enjoyable afternoon, an opportunity to learn more about the educational and spiritual life programs at our Catholic university in Fort Wayne. We are blessed to have the University of Saint Francis in our diocese. I am looking forward to returning there in the fall for a few events.

    Confirmations
    This week I finished the busy Confirmation season. I celebrated Confirmation Masses at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Elkhart, Our Lady of Hungary Church in South Bend, and St. Patrick Church in Ligonier. It was my first visit to all three of these parishes. I have really enjoyed visiting so many of our parishes through the celebration of these Confirmation liturgies. Let us pray for all the young people of our diocese who received the gifts of the Holy Spirit this spring through the sacrament of Confirmation. May they open their hearts to these gifts and be faithful disciples of the Lord Jesus and strong members of His Church.

    Discernment retreat for men
    This past weekend, Deacon Terry Coonan led a retreat for young men discerning the call to the priesthood. It took place at the motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Francis in Mishawaka. As always, the sisters spoiled us with their great hospitality and delicious food! I was very edified by the faith and zeal of the young men thinking about the possibility of seminary. I enjoyed an hour session with them in which I spoke about obedience, chaste celibacy and voluntary poverty, important aspects of the life of a priest. A question-and-answer period followed. It was enjoyable to talk to some of the men over meals, learning about their lives and interests. I pray that each one will be open to God’s call, whether it be to the priesthood, religious life, marriage or the single life. Of course, I am hoping that God is calling several of them to serve as His priests here in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend!

    Solemnity of Corpus Christi
    The highlight of my week was the celebration of the beautiful Eucharistic feast of Corpus Christi this past Sunday. St. Matthew Cathedral was filled for the diocesan Hispanic Mass I celebrated at 1 p.m. After the Mass, we processed with the Blessed Sacrament to Our Lady of Hungary Church. It was a beautiful, prayerful and reverent Corpus Christi Procession. I couldn’t believe when we ended that it was about 5 p.m.! We sang hymns to our Eucharistic Lord, prayed the holy rosary and received Benediction at different locations along the way.

    We cannot thank God enough for the great gift of the Holy Eucharist, the Church’s most precious treasure. While carrying the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance, my heart was filled with joy and thanksgiving. Carrying our Lord, I felt the whole diocese was present in our prayer. The devotion of our Hispanic brothers and sisters was also a source of great joy for me.

    St. Thomas Aquinas called the Eucharist the greatest of the miracles of Jesus Christ. St. Peter Julian Eymard, the founder of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, wrote that the Eucharist “is superior to all the other miracles in its object and surpasses all the others in its duration. It is Jesus’ permanent incarnation and perpetual sacrifice. It’s like the burning bush burning on the altar forever. It is the manna, the true bread of life which comes down daily from heaven.”

    The Second Vatican Council also affirmed the greatness of this sacrament when it proclaimed that “the Most Blessed Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth, that is, Christ Himself, our Passover and living bread. Through His very flesh, made vital and vitalizing by the Holy Spirit, He offers life to men.”

    I encourage all the people of our diocese to be faithful to Sunday Mass, especially during these upcoming summer months. If you are going away on vacation, please be sure to check out the churches and Mass times at your destinations. For those who are unable to attend Holy Mass due to sickness or frailty, I invite you to watch Mass on TV if possible, making at that time a spiritual communion. The Eucharist is the center of our lives! We cannot live without it, because we cannot live without Christ, who is indeed the Bread of Life come down from heaven.

    I also encourage all to make visits to the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacles of our churches and also in those churches where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed on the altar for adoration. In His Eucharistic presence, our Lord remains miraculously in our midst. Let us not be afraid of silence in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Adoring Christ in the Eucharist, we listen to God who speaks to us in our hearts. In our busy and noisy world, we need the inner silence found in Eucharistic adoration where we are centered on Christ, on God who is love.

    This Friday, we will celebrate the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Paul VI called the Eucharist “the outstanding gift of the Heart of Jesus.” It is the greatest of all the sacraments, a sacrament of love par excellence.

    “May the Heart of Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection at every moment in all the tabernacles of the world even until the end of time! Amen.”

    Posted on June 8, 2010, to:

  • The Most Holy Trinity, the greatest mystery of our faith

    Trinity Sunday
    This past Sunday, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the greatest mystery of our faith, a mystery we cannot fully comprehend, but which Jesus revealed to us. He, the Son, revealed to us the Father and gave us the Holy Spirit. He revealed to us that God is eternal and infinite love, a communion of three divine Persons. God is not infinite solitude, but an eternal communion of life and love.

    Though the mystery of the Trinity infinitely transcends us, it is also the reality closest to us because it is the very source of our being. In God, we “live and move and have our being.” As we heard in the beautiful passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans: “the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

    On Trinity Sunday, I celebrated Mass with the Confirmation of adults at St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend. Their souls were marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit, as happened to the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. The Gospel for Trinity Sunday was appropriate for the celebration of Confirmation since in it Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit as the One who leads us to all truth. We can also say that on Pentecost, the Holy Trinity was fully revealed. Since that day, the Holy Spirit has been poured out on believers through the ages by means of the sacraments of Christ’s Church.

    This past week, I was also privileged to celebrate Confirmation Masses at Christ the King Church in South Bend and at St. Dominic Church in Bremen. Before the candidates receive the sacrament, they renew their promises of Baptism. They profess their faith in the Most Holy Trinity! We also do so every day when we make the sign of the cross. Hopefully, it does not become too rote, too routine, as it is a way to give glory to God and to enter into the Holy Trinity’s eternal dialogue of love.

    Graduations
    This past week, my calendar was filled with baccalaureate/graduation Masses, beginning with the eighth-grade students of the Catholic schools in the Fort Wayne area. On May 24, I celebrated Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception with all these wonderful young people preparing to enter high school.

    On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I celebrated the baccalaureate Masses for Saint Joseph’s High School, Marian High School and Bishop Luers High School. On Wednesday, Bishop D’Arcy celebrated the baccalaureate Mass for Bishop Dwenger High School. I was extremely happy to gather in prayer with our graduates and offer them personal congratulations. I met many of them and their families after the Masses. I am very impressed by the faith and friendliness of these young people.

    In my homilies to our graduates, I reflected with them on words I heard Pope Benedict XVI speak to young people at World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia: “Dear friends, life is not governed by chance; it is not random. Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed and given a purpose! Life is not just a succession of events or experiences, helpful though many of them are. It is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise freedom; it is in this — in truth, in goodness and in beauty — that we find happiness and joy.”

    I called upon our graduates to go forth as young men and women of hope, the hope held out by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that they will be ambassadors of hope wherever they go. I told these young people that the Church needs them and their witness of faith, their idealism, their generosity and their service. May God bless all the high school graduates of our diocese with His grace!

    Year For Priests
    The Year for Priests will soon be coming to an end (on June 19). This has been a special year in which our priests have been encouraged by Pope Benedict to imitate the virtues of St. John Vianney, a shining model of a pastor totally dedicated to the service of God’s people. This year was the 150th anniversary of his death.

    Though I have been here less than five months, I have already been very edified by the priests of our diocese. I have seen their prayer and good works and their great dedication to the spiritual good of their people. They have made me feel welcome and at home. I look forward to our retreat together next week.

    I extend deep thanks to all the people of our diocese for your prayers for our priests and for all you do to support them in their ministry. Recently I heard from the Year for Priests Committee of Queen of Peace Parish in Mishawaka. I was very grateful to learn about the various initiatives they worked on this past year. I was happy to hear about the day of Eucharistic Adoration they are having for priests on June 19. Also, they told me about the Web-based Spiritual Bouquet for priests, which they developed. I invite you to check it out on our diocesan Web site, clicking under the vocations office. Our priests will surely benefit from the many prayers and sacrifices offered for them!

    Corpus Christi
    Next Sunday, we will be celebrating the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord (“Corpus Christi”). I am looking forward with joyful anticipation to celebrating my first Mass with the Hispanic communities of our diocese. After the 1 p.m. Mass at St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend, we will have a Eucharistic Procession through the streets to Our Lady of Hungary Church. All are invited to join in the procession, whether you speak Spanish or not. This will be a beautiful public manifestation of our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

    Corpus Christi processions are a beautiful part of our Catholic tradition. I recall with joy the privilege I had as a deacon to serve and accompany Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger during the Corpus Christi procession in Rome back in 1982.

    I close with some words from Pope John Paul II about the Corpus Christi procession:

    “In the procession, the public and solemn tribute to the Blessed Sacrament, we expressed visibly the communion to which it commits us and we renewed the prophecy of new times when humanity, united in brotherhood through love, will progress as one on its earthly way, singing praises to its Lord…

    Our procession through the streets and between the houses of the city is at the same time a celebration of the pilgrim Church and a shining example of what the Eucharist is meant to accomplish in social life…

    Thus our procession together, side by side, listening together to the Word of God, one in heart and mind in our praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, reminds us that we are a pilgrim Church.”

    Posted on June 1, 2010, to: