Bishop John M. D'Arcy

  • Column is a conversation with the people of the diocese

    Coming to an end; and yet, a new beginning
    It is late Sunday afternoon and I am sitting in my office watching the snow increasing in intensity and looking at our beautiful Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. I just celebrated Mass there for the feast of the Holy Family and preached on this beautiful feast. It is hard to believe that this is (I think) the second last column that I will write as the bishop of this diocese. I began this practice as soon as I became bishop; and somehow by the grace of God, I have written a column every week missing only once a year while on vacation.

    The idea of this column has been to tell you what a bishop does and to share with you the extraordinary activity that goes on in our parishes. This is what I will remember most and cherish most, and what I hope to still enjoy; namely, the throbbing, spiritual life of the diocese. I usually prepare these remarks late on Sunday evening, sometimes after I have returned from South Bend. I always wondered what I would write about, but once I started taping the remarks they came full-force. There was always something interesting and joyful. There was always the life of the diocese and of parishes. There was always the splendid example and sacrifice of our priests.

    People seem interested
    I was always encouraged in meeting people around the diocese who spoke to me about these columns and how they enjoyed them. I have no illusion that it has been great literature or deeply insightful. I always saw it as a conversation with the people of the diocese, an attempt to teach and to bring alive for everyone all that was happening so that our love for the Catholic Church might grow.

    A heart that is full
    This is a great transition in my life and it is the intensity of prayer, for me personal prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, which helps me to understand this precious moment. On the one hand, there is the difficulty of laying down a precious responsibility. I am currently reflecting and putting together in my mind some thoughts that I will share with my beloved priests when I meet with them on Jan. 5 at Sacred Heart, Warsaw; a place where we have met so many times over the years. Over 24 years, I have made every Day of Recollection with priests except one, and part or all of every retreat. In addition, we have met to ponder difficult things and to give thanks to God at special moments. This meeting will be to share with them some things in my heart.

    A responsibility of love
    It is the laying down of a responsibility of love that is on the one hand difficult and on the other hand beautiful. The responsibility, so sacred, is something you carry in the center of your being. Indeed, the same could be true of any good pastor of a parish. I think it is somewhat like being married. Indeed, that is the ancient image which is given of the relationship of a bishop to his diocese. The episcopacy has been described as an “Officum Amoris,” an “Office of Love” or a “Work of Love.” The Second Vatican Council had as a central focus the spiritual renewal of the Office of Bishop. It has been said that the bishops who left Rome after that extraordinary meeting realized that the Office of Bishop would never be the same again.

    Challenges to be met
    My strongest realization as I live out these final days filled with joy, but also trying to comprehend every thing that has happened, is to put it all in the context of God’s love. I find myself not concentrating so much on those times when I should have done better, areas of incompleteness. I am aware of them, but the grace I am receiving is one of gratitude to God for all that has been accomplished.

    In my prayer, I place these years into the hands of Christ and of his mother, the Blessed Mother Mary, as my mother called her when she prayed to her at night alone in her room after she had lost her husband. Our Lady has been with me since I was a boy, and I can remember riding my bicycle during the month of May up to Our Lady of Presentation Church to attend May devotions.

    A period of time
    The realization that the church does not belong to any of us. The parish does not belong to the pastor and the diocese does not belong to the bishop. There is a temptation to think it so. Both the parish and the diocese belong to Christ. What an extraordinary gift it is, that the diocese is placed in the hands of a bishop and the parish in the hands of a priest for a period of years. It is important when the time comes to give it up, and to do so with joy and acceptance. It is a time to give thanks to God that he allowed me to care for this diocese in the name of Christ for so many years.

    Almost a quarter of a century. In my prayer, I have always felt unworthy of such a gift and that has intensified as the days slip down to a precious few. Unworthy, but at the same time very grateful and thankful to Christ and his mother for their constant protection.

    The promises made
    On the anniversary of my ordinations: Feb. 2, 1957, as a priest; Feb. 11, 1975, as a bishop; and May 1, 1985, as bishop of this diocese; I always try to sit down with the Ordination Service and read over the beautiful words.
    I will do it again on or near the Installation of our new bishop and this time with immense gratitude; sorry for my sins and failings, but trusting always in God’s mercy.

    Rise; let us be on our way
    Those words taken from the Gospel of Mark represent the striking title of a book Pope John Paul II wrote about his years as Archbishop of Krakow. He was sentimental about those years, but grateful and filled with thanksgiving. So am I. Pope John Paul II even referred to his guardian angel that protected him. I am also grateful to my guardian angel for, among other things, bringing me back and forth, often late at night, between our two major cities. I believe that this beloved angel kept me from serious accidents, sometimes just barely. However, in his special angelic wisdom, he chose not to protect me from an occasional speeding ticket.

    I remember one night, after the chrism Mass, when I had stopped as a result of an invitation to visit briefly with the Holy Cross priests at their provincial house. They had been to the chrism Mass and renewed their promises. So it was very late when I approached Fort Wayne, and I was trying hard to get home at a reasonable hour. Suddenly the lights flashed behind me, and I will never forget the words of the firm, but gracious, state trooper as he gave me a slip, “Be careful now, Bishop, this is a warning. After all, I cannot give a ticket to the man who gave me the sacrament of confirmation.”

    Recent events
    I am grateful to Mike and Dee Dee Dahm, and Steve and Marilyn Steckbeck, and a number of other people who have worked to prepare the house where our new bishop will be living. It is where the legendary priest, Father Tom O’Connor, lived next to the historic St. Mary’s Parish. They have done a wonderful job. It will be a comfortable, but modest, home for our new bishop. I will be meeting with Bishop Rhoades this week, and I hope he can attend two events related to vocations: The luncheon of the Serra Club and The Andrew Dinner — we have two, one in Fort Wayne and one in South Bend, and this has been a great instrument for the recruiting of priests.

    Congratulations to Father David Voors and the people of St. Mary, Decatur, for the erection of a beautiful facility — a gymnasium for their school with a beautiful hardwood floor. It was a joy to bless it this week. That parish is very devoted to the continuation of their school and it was a joy to be among them.

    And I will look forward to seeing you next week in this same place for the final time. God bless you all.

    Posted on December 31, 2009, to:

  • Busy but splendid days for Bishop John M. D’Arcy

    A triple header: Tiring but beautiful
    It began late on Saturday afternoon, when I traveled to the University of Saint Francis. It was the 20th anniversary of The Franciscan Center. Started by several of the famous Tippmann family, including Sally Ley, the center, working out of the former Sacred Heart School, feeds hundreds every day with sack lunches, and their work has increased greatly in these difficult economic times. To commemorate the day, a legendary preacher, Father Benedict Groeschel, a Capuchin Franciscan and founder of the Franciscans of the Renewal, presented a day of prayer. As always with Father Groeschel, there was a large crowd. He sat in the middle of the people due to his serious accident, and presented Catholic spirituality with joy and good humor before a large crowd. Father Groeschel is especially well known through his conversations on EWTN, and he can be heard regularly praying the rosary on Redeemer Radio, 1450 AM on your dial in the Fort Wayne area.

    He reminded me before Mass that it was 40 years ago when we first met, and he gave a retreat to the seminarians at St. John’s in Brighton. He has been a warrior for Christ, and it was a pleasure to see him.

    I celebrated Mass along with Father Groeschel and Father Ron Rieder, OFM Cap, pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Church, Huntington, a beloved priest in our diocese, also concelebrated. I preached on the mystery of Advent.

    St. Patrick’s and Our Lady of Guadalupe
    What followed next, I must say was a beautiful experience. Many will remember the painful closing of St. Paul Church and the procession with the Blessed Sacrament and the statue of Our Lady to St. Patrick’s. I recall a painful hearing at both churches with heightened anger and resistance. It was not easy for the Hispanic Catholics to make this short journey of about one mile from the place that had become their spiritual home, nor was it easy for the many older parishioners of St. Patrick’s. I think of Agnes and Jim McCardle, and also Jim and Mary Feltz. Transitions take time, but Our Lady of Guadalupe had her plans.

    The Society of the Divine Word
    Two exemplary priests are now at St. Patrick’s. That would be Father Chau Pham, SVD, and Father Tom Ascheman, SVD. St. Patrick’s, this beloved old church that has always welcomed the immigrant was packed, standing room only. Flags from all the Latin countries. Father Tom pointed out that the Irish flag was also there. Roses everywhere. The beautiful portrayal of the events that took place at Tepeyac with the apparition to Juan Diego.
    Father Tom is the perfect priest to oversee this extraordinary annual event. He received a doctorate in theology from Catholic University, and his doctoral dissertation was on the apparition; indeed, not only on the apparition, but everything surrounding it. He has told me in the past about the conversion of the bishop, from a good bishop to a bishop touched by Our Lady, and by the needs of the native people of Mexico. He preached a beautiful homily in Spanish.

    Next year, Bishop Rhoades will be able to honor this feast with homilies in Spanish, and maybe the retiring bishop will have learned enough Spanish then to preach at one of our many churches where the worship takes place in Spanish. I thought of St. Patrick’s currently baptizing about 250 children a year. The parish has gone through many changes, but now seems settled with Mass every weekend in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
    This Mass will forever remain in my memory. The prayerfulness of the people. The increasing number who went to holy Communion. The devotion to Our Lady, and the reverence of all.

    More to come
    After some nourishing Mexican tacos I went up to the top floor, to the old gymnasium, to watch a series of dances.

    Dancing. So much a part of culture. I thought of my kitchen in Brighton when I was a child, and how members of my parents’ families, brothers and sisters and cousins, would come into the kitchen and do Irish step-dancing. They called it kitchen rackets, but I could see how similar it was to these beautiful Latin-American dances.

    We had Mexican dancers, and Columbian, and dancers from Ecuador. All different and all beautiful. Father Tom pointed something out to me. The large number of people, including children, who were sitting around the edge of the gymnasium and up in the balcony and watching intently, the children focusing on every step by the dancers all in their native garb. It made us wonder what television has done to us. People used to provide their own entertainment and conversation was part of it. So it was in my home as a boy. Now we sit and look at a box, and people play fantasy football, as if that is humanly nourishing. I urged the people afterwards not to lose their native culture, but to explain it to their children.

    Off to Manchester
    Off then the next morning to St. Robert Bellarmine Parish in Manchester for the installation of Father Thomas Kodakassery, OSB. I have always felt close to this small parish, and Father Thomas is doing very well. Once a month, he offers Mass at Manchester College. I was delighted that there were a significant number of students there from that college. Thanks to Mary Glowaski and Mike Gibson for their good work at that college.

    A day for priests in the Year for Priests
    On a cold, wintry and windy morning, 62 priests gathered at St. Martin de Porres Parish in Syracuse for a Day of Prayer, which was presented by Bishop Carl Mengeling, bishop emeritus of Lansing. He is a native of the Diocese of Gary and studied at St. Meinrad’s with many of our priests.

    He gave us a beautiful talk on the five promises, which a priest makes on the day of his ordination. How beautiful to see the attention and prayerfulness of our priests as they listened to this excellent presentation; and what a source of joy to me, in this last Day of Recollection that I will make with our priests as their bishop, to see the large number going to confession as four different priests, including Bishop Mengling, hearing confessions.

    This was followed by a meeting of consultors. According to canon law, the Council of Priests ceases to exist with the appointment of a new bishop. The College of Consultors, however, remains in existence and we met at length over a number of important issues; and it is one of the things I cherish most, and will surely miss; namely, serious consultations with brother priests on important pastoral issues.

    Off then, to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for lovely evening prayer and the official installation of our seven new monsignors and the awarding of the Cross of St. Gregory to Professor John Cavadini, chair of the theology department at Notre Dame.

    These are splendid days
    At St. Patrick’s (Parrochia San Patricio) I received a magnificent picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and at Manchester — a Red Sox jacket. Tokens of affection and deeply appreciated.

    I am in regular touch with Bishop Rhoades, and I grow in admiration every time we talk. The good Lord has given us, through the Successor of Peter, an exemplary bishop who will enrich our diocese.

    I will share my plans more with you in the future. I have planned an opportunity in each end of the diocese to meet with as many as possible to thank God for his blessings on these 24 years. On Jan. 3, 2010, I will celebrate the 11 a.m. Mass at St. Matthew Cathedral Parish. A reception will follow in the parish school.

    On Jan. 10, I will celebrate the 11:30 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne. A reception will follow across the street at the Grand Wayne Center. No personal gifts. Those so inclined may make a gift to the Catholic Education Fund, which gives tuition grants to those needing help to attend Catholic schools.

    I also plan to have a prayerful meeting with my priests in a couple of weeks — priests and bishop only. I hope to reflect a bit more on these special days in our diocese and in the weeks ahead.

    See you next week.

    Posted on December 16, 2009, to:

  • The parish-wide mission is an excellent method of evangelization

    The parish mission and the
    new evangelization
    “I have been in this parish 60 years, and this is the finest and best week in all that time.” The remarks of a woman to me after I closed the parish mission at St. Matthew’s co-Cathedral Parish.

    I drove north on one of the first really wintry afternoons, and arrived just before 6 p.m. at St. Matthew Parish where I met a very encouraged Msgr. Mike Heintz and Father Jake Runyon. A delightful soup and sandwich with them, and Jim Fitzpatrick, our always devoted and able diocesan master of ceremonies.

    To say I have suggested to Msgr. Mike that he have a parish-wide mission would be an understatement. I thought when he finally agreed it would be done right. He told me that Ginny Kohrman of our Office of Spiritual Development had given to his parishioners the structure, and his excellent committee followed the advice of the Office of Spiritual Development and implemented a full court press.

    A phone bank, so that every
    parishioner receives a call
    Advertising and signs. A babysitting component in the basement of the church, so that young parents can come. A letter to every parishioner. As a result, to Msgr. Mike’s delight and surprise, he told me there were 800 people there the first night. There were excellent speakers with Msgr. Bill Schooler, Father Jim Shafer and Father Bob Van Kempen; and it was my privilege to celebrate Mass and preach on the final night.
    One night was devoted to the sacrament of penance, but there was also a night with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. A full church spent 30 minutes in silent prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

    Not new in content, but new in ardor, new in method, and new in expression
    That is how Pope John Paul II and Pope Paul VI described the new evangelization.

    Each evening was recorded and put on the Internet with the newly ordained Father Jake Runyon taking care of such “expression and method.” I was especially pleased to see so many young couples made possible by the babysitting service. The parish-wide mission, if all aspects are implemented, is an excellent method of evangelization. Another characteristic of the new evangelization is that it involves everybody — not just priests and religious, but the whole parish. In fact, as I told the pastor, the outreach and contact is the work of the laity. They are better at it than we are. Many of them do it for a living; and they know how to contact everyone and how to promote attendance.

    There is a certain anonymity, which many people desire in returning to the practice of the faith after many years. A full church, individual confession, prayer and silence gives the atmosphere for a person to slip back quietly into the embrace of Christ and the church without much fanfare. It is usually the best way.

    And evangelization to young adults
    It was a joy this past week to celebrate Mass at IPFW. We do not have a large state university with tens of thousands of resident students as you find in West Lafayette with Purdue or in Bloomington with Indiana University.

    But we do have several smaller state schools, and IPFW in Fort Wayne has the beginnings of residential students. However, it is much more difficult at what is still largely a commuter school to make the contacts over a period of time with the young people. Nevertheless, we have been working on it for many years, and it was a joy to respond to the invitation of Mary Glowaski and celebrate a noontime Mass at IPFW. There were about 50 students and several faculty members, including the assistant to the chancellor, Linda Ruffolo, Professor Bob Sedlmeyer, and other faculty members.

    It was a joy to celebrate this Mass with the students, and to preach to them about Advent and Christmas. I stayed, joyfully, for pizza and saw the vital activity that is going on there, helped in great part by Mike Gibson who has served there for a number of years.

    Plans were shared for some of the students to attend the March for Life in Washington in late January, as they have in the past. Mary Glowaski told me that the pro-life initiative is rallying many of these students. Another student presented plans for the next World Youth Day, which is to be held, I believe, in Madrid, Spain. Imagine that, in a public state school, plans are already underway for both the pro-life march and the World Youth Day, still a few years away. Also with us was the delightful Allison Sturm, who is working with the young adults on the parish level in such events as Theology on Tap.

    A task completed and
    a hidden monsignor
    In early August, after returning from vacation and the annual visits to Fenway Park, I began the task of liturgical installations of the new pastors. I think the Holy Spirit was especially with our personnel board and myself, as we had no certainty concerning the time for the coming of the next bishop. We tried to make prayer a central part of our discernment, and the Holy Spirit gave us the light.

    Now at long last, I have installed all the pastors who were named at that time, 13 in all. I drove south from Mishawaka to St. Mary of the Lake Parish, Culver, for the installation of Msgr. Thadeus Balinda. Father Tad, as we call him, was given to us by the goodness of my dear friend, Bishop Robert Muhiirwa, pastor of Fort Portal, Uganda. This is an area evangelized by the saintly and rightly honored Bishop Vincent McCauley, CSC. He is buried at Notre Dame, and I think his cause for canonization has been introduced, and now priests who were under his influence have returned to help us. Msgr. Balinda was vicar general of his diocese. He has a licentiate in canon law from Rome, and is a prayerful and intelligent man.

    He is following the excellent work of Father Glenn Kohrman, and he has been greeted joyfully by the people. He told me how much he is enjoying the work at Culver Academy, which is also the responsibility of the pastor of this parish.

    I heard many positive things about his work and was also pleased to hear similar, positive things about the leadership and ministry of Father Glenn Kohrman, who served effectively in Culver over many years.

    One more installation remains for an appointment made later after the painful loss of Father Ron Ramenaden. I will go this week to St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, North Manchester, to install Father Thomas Kodakassery, OSB, as pastor. He is a native of India.

    Saint Joseph Medical Center
    In what can be described as a kind of convocation of the Catholic community of Michiana, it was my joy to consecrate the altar and bless the chapel, and also bless the new Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center itself. I extend special gratitude to the Sisters of the Congregation of Holy Cross through their superior, Sister Joan Steadman, CSC, and to the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, through Sister Nora Hahn, PHJC, for these are the sisters who in education, and most especially in health care, planted the spirit of Christ in this area. Those congregations are especially devoted to the poor; and it is my hope that the situation in health care today, with all its complications, will not prevent this modern hospital from being a place where the poor are welcomed. I pray it will also be a place where technology is for the person and not the person for technology. On this second Sunday of Advent, I quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states in reference to Advent, “Finally, with John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit begins the restoration in man of the ‘divine likeness’ prefiguring what he would achieve with and in Christ.”

    The Catholic hospital must be a place where this restoration of the divine likeness continues, where work with the sick is seen as a ministry of love, truly the ministry of Christ the healer, and a ministry always and in every way, in support of life.

    I am preparing to celebrate for the last time as your bishop our patronal feast of the Immaculate Conception in the cathedral, also under the title of the Immaculate Conception. Two days later, I will be with our priests for our annual Advent Day of Prayer and an opportunity to make a Christmas confession. Our speaker will be Bishop Carl Mengeling, originally a priest of the Diocese of Gary, and now bishop emeritus of Lansing.
    Please note in another part of this newspaper some words about John Cavadini and the homily by Pope Benedict XVI.

    I look forward to seeing you all next week.

    Posted on December 9, 2009, to:

  • At the heart of the ecumenical movement is prayer together

    Catholic-Lutheran prayer together: Holy and beautiful, but painful, too
    We gathered in the beloved old St. Peter Parish, Fort Wayne, for the annual vesper service between Catholics and Lutherans. It all started many years ago, when we had ecumenical conversations with the two Lutheran communities (Missouri Synod and also the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America). The dialogues were on marriage, prayer, the joint declaration of Catholics and Lutherans on justification, and the Eucharist. I remember them with appreciation. We usually had a Lutheran pastor and a Catholic priest who gave a talk, and there would be some discussion.

    It has developed into a prayer service each Advent, and we alternate between a Catholic and a Lutheran church.

    This year, my partner in ecumenism, Bishop James Stuck, had emergency surgery and could not be with us. He is a stalwart Lutheran pastor, and we dearly missed him.

    Spiritual ecumenism, prayer together, is at the heart of the ecumenical movement.

    But a tinge of sadness. Bishop Stuck was replaced by Pastor Rudy Mueller, one of his associates; and beforehand, we spoke about the recent decision in the Lutheran community. He explained to me that it was a nationwide decision, a decision of ELCA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. It seems they have given approval that those involved in lifelong homosexual unions, whether male or female, may be ordained to the Lutheran pastorate.

    He also said it has caused division among the Lutheran communities.

    As graciously as I could, I indicated in my remarks that this was a setback to our efforts towards full communion. Pastor Mueller told me it might not have passed in every congregation in every synod, but it did pass nationwide. All relationships must be based on faith.

    I spoke about it with sadness and promised my prayers for the Lutheran community.

    The faith we share is rooted in the Scriptures, and the biblical teaching on homosexuality is clear (cf. Gen 19:1-29; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9). The teaching of the Catholic Church has always been clear on this matter. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says of homosexual unions: “Under no circumstances can they be approved.” (ccc 2358).

    Let us pray for our brothers and sisters in the Lutheran community in this painful moment for them.

    Two important parishes
    I continue with liturgical installations of pastors, and this past weekend it was first to Blessed Sacrament, Albion, on Saturday evening, and Sunday to Immaculate Conception, Kendallville.

    Blessed Sacrament, Albion, was one of the first parishes I visited when I came. Traditionally, they were cared for by Oblates of Mary Immaculate from Lowell, Mass. Two parishes were linked together, St. Patrick’s, Ligonier, and Blessed Sacrament, Albion. Sadly, in recent years, Albion has had a very difficult time with priests from overseas, one after another, and none of them staying too long.

    Also, the situation, which must go back 40 to 50 years with the two parishes under one pastor, is no longer as good a fit as it once was. St. Patrick’s, Ligonier, is almost entirely Spanish speaking. Recently, the pastor, Father Wilson Corzo, a native of Colombia, has given excellent leadership in St. Patrick’s, but that has become in itself a very demanding parish.

    Albion, finally, is separated and has a full-time pastor, Father Lourdino Fernandes, a native of India. The people were delighted now to have daily Mass and a full-time residential pastor. I have been there many times over the years. I especially appreciate the efforts of Mike and Sue Curtis, and so many other devoted lay people to keep the parish together and strong. What a joy to be with them on a lovely Saturday evening and follow it up with some cherry pie. Father Dino, as he is affectionately called, will serve well as he has wherever he has been stationed.

    Immaculate Conception, Kendallville
    It is not often that you find a small town parish with signs all around the property welcoming the new pastor and with his picture, but that was the way it was as I arrived on Sunday morning at Immaculate Conception, Kendallville. There is great joy and delight with Father Jim Stoyle — delight on his part and on the part of the people. I got to know Father Jim much better because of the five years he served with the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Already, he has begun evening presentations on Scripture and church teaching; and it was a joy to be there with him in this lovely small town church.

    One young man, currently a junior in high school and a parishioner in Albion, told me he hopes to enter the seminary after graduation. I was able to spend a few minutes with him, and he said that when he saw how very difficult it was for that parish without a full-time pastor, he began in his prayer to seek help from God about becoming a priest.

    About Thanksgiving Day
    For the 25th time, after celebrating the 9 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, I attended the Thanksgiving dinner at St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen. Crowds larger than ever. They expect to serve 350, and then another 1,000 or more, by bringing the dinners to their homes.
    How wonderful to see Hal and Andrea Thomas cooking in the kitchen, as they have done for many years, beginning with the beloved Father Tom O’Connor.

    About our new bishop
    He plays tennis, and I am told plays it very well. While here, he spoke with Msgr. Bob Schulte about buying a bicycle. Msgr. Bob rides a bike regularly and was heard telling the bishop about the bicycle path. Of course, this is not like a certain pastor who hangs around in the Granger area, who has been known to do 60-80 miles a day up through Michigan over steep hills, and ride ancient and holy trails in Spain. But the new bishop is both a tennis player and a cyclist. He is very devoted to Our Lady and to prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. He has experience in ecumenism.

    He believes strongly in youth ministry as a source of vocation to the priesthood and the consecrated life, but also to the vocation of Christian marriage. He understands seminaries very well, and he does his own cooking and I think his own shopping as well. Ah, but he is a New York Yankee fan. He says it goes back to his appreciation of the great Mickey Mantle. A likely excuse. Well, no one is perfect. We have begun to prepare an office for him in the Archbishop Noll Catholic Center and a place to live as well. He will be a gift for our diocese.

    Center for the Homeless
    When I was an auxiliary bishop in Lowell, Mass., I was involved with the beginning of a center for the homeless under the title of St. Vincent House. Early on, I read about the need for such a center here. Sam Talarico, a teacher at St. Jude Parish and at that time on the city council, spoke about this need. I sent Sam, Father Tom O’Connor and two women from Saint Mary Parish, to Lowell. When they returned, we started Vincent House. It is a center for homeless families and has grown into Vincent Village where over 500 families have been sent. Through the generous help of John Tippmann and many others, including Otto and Jane Bonahoom, and Rev. Richard Frazier — a now retired Lutheran pastor, this wonderful program has been a blessing for the city of Fort Wayne; and I am scheduled to participate this week in its 20th anniversary. It now includes over 30 homes where people live after leaving Vincent House. These homes have been transformed, often by volunteers, and the whole area has been improved.

    I am also preparing to dedicate the new Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka.

    How about the Luers Knights
    The day after Thanksgiving, I was off to Bishop Luers High School to celebrate Mass for the football team and their families. Father Dave Ruppert who was doing excellent work at Luers as chaplain, teacher and member of the board, and also a wonderful pastor at St. Therese Parish, Waynedale, concelebrated with me.

    This is a young Luers team. They lost five games in the regular season. It was thought that they would have no chance at a state title this year. To the surprise of everyone, they fought through the playoffs. I watched on television, and I think it was one of the best high school football games I have ever seen. Trailing 17 to 7, they came back, held the Monrovia Bulldogs with their powerful running game scoreless in the second half, and pulled it out to 24 to 20.

    They have been to the state final 12 times in football, and have won eight. Congratulations to Mary Keefer, Matt Lindsay and his excellent staff. The staff consists almost entirely of former players at Luers.

    Even as my days here as bishop dwindle down to a precious few, they are filled with joy. I look forward this week for the 25th time to celebrating our patronal feast, the feast of the Immaculate Conception at our Cathedral dedicated in her honor. I am also looking forward to a Day of Recollection with our priests on Dec. 10, and later an evening prayer service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in honor of our new monsignors and Knight of St. Gregory. All are welcome.

    See you all next week.

    Posted on December 2, 2009, to:

  • New English translation should be greeted with joy, faith, obedience

    A moment of history
    No, I am not referring to the coming of our new bishop, which is certainly for all of us, as I have said previously, an historical and also a blessed moment in our diocese. I refer rather to a moment at the meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It was the final affirmative vote concerning the various books of the Roman Missal, upon which there had been such deliberation.

    As you may know, for some years there has been in process among the bishops a new translation of the Roman Missal from Latin into English. It has gone forward in fits and starts, and some priests wondered if we would ever have a new translation of the Missal, known to us more commonly as the Sacramentary. It has been finished and now must be sent to the Holy See for what is called the Recognition, a final approval.

    It is expected that in the year 2011, this new translation of the Roman Missal will be implemented in this country, after a period of catechesis and preparation.

    What should we look for?
    First of all, we should look forward to accepting it with gratitude. It is a significant improvement. The new translation is more faithful to the Scriptures.
    The translation is more faithful to the original Latin, and also reflects a fidelity to a sound theology.

    On the matter of the prayers or collects, which begin every Mass, there is more fidelity to a translation, which truly reflects the style and wording of the original Latin prayers.

    The translation has a more majestic style; and the English words bring a tone of majesty and tend to be more inspiring.

    Why is this important?
    Remember, that the first translation came about shortly after the Second Vatican Council. There was no history over the last 500 or 600 years of a translation to the vernacular. We were new at it. The translation tended to be free and poetic, rather than careful and accurate.

    Remember also, that the translation approved for use in our country is used in many English speaking countries throughout the world. One thinks of England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It was necessary to find a language and translation reasonably acceptable in all these countries.

    Remember, too, that the Mass is not something we make ourselves; rather, it is a gift to us, a gift from the church. It is my hope that in this diocese we will accept this new translation with joy and faith, and indeed, a very important virtue of which our new bishop has already given us a significant example; namely, obedience. I was especially struck by a few words from Cardinal Francis George at the conclusion of our intense discussion and voting. He said something akin to the following: we must remember that people have died for the Roman Missal. He referred to the Elizabethan martyrs who gave their lives, rather than betray the use of this ancient prayer book. The translations will be significant, and the annual active study week for priests has been set aside to assist priests with the new translation. I am sure there will be workshops and presentations throughout the diocese, and some planning for this has already been done. Our director of the Office of Worship, Brian MacMichael, has attended a seminar with Bishop Serratelli and gave a brief summary presentation to our priests at our fall presbyterate meeting. Our new bishop is well prepared to lead us in this preparation.

    There will be the need, also, for new hymns, in both Latin and English. The end result, if we all prepare for it well, will be a more beautiful and inspiring language, and hopefully a more prayerful attendance at Mass. That must always be the goal.

    Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Good Hope
    On successive Sundays, first before flying to Baltimore for the meeting of the bishops and secondly, after returning, I had the joy of installing two new pastors.

    Our Lady of Guadalupe is a church and shrine that I enter with great joy. Seated high on a hill overlooking Warsaw, the land was given by Jerry and Savina Kralis; and the church built after a nationwide architectural contest, watched over and led by the very able Linda Furge. Father Phil DeVolder, a native of Mishawaka and much more fluent in Spanish than he admits, was installed as the second pastor of this parish. I thought of Father Paul Bueter, who was pastor of this parish for many years, including the time that Mass was said in a former automobile garage. This was a church built as part of our observance of the millennium and funds were collected throughout the diocese as part of the Legacy of Faith Campaign, along with funds raised by the parish itself.

    As soon as it was built, people came from all over the area. And now, we have two Spanish speaking priests there, Father DeVolder and the newly ordained, Father Fernando Jimenez, who also serves at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

    What a joy to celebrate Mass in my poor, halting Spanish, installing Father DeVolder as pastor.

    The following Sunday, after returning from Baltimore, I presided at the installation of Msgr. Bruce Piechocki at Our Lady of Good Hope Parish in Fort Wayne. This parish, cut off many years ago from St. Charles Parish, has had exemplary service from Father Larry Kramer, Father David Voors and Father Mark Gurtner. Msgr. Piechocki has been a blessing on the diocese as our excellent judicial vicar; that is, the priest who is in charge of the diocesan tribunal. His dear mother came all the way from St. Casimir Parish on the west side of South Bend, along with his sister and brother-in-law from Niles, Mich.

    Last spring and into the summer, after consulting our Priest Personnel Board, many transfers of pastors took place. This calls on the bishop to do a Mass of Liturgical Installation. In all, we will have done 14 of these installations, with a few more still to take place before Christmas.
    When the bishop does this, it shows the centrality of his pastoral mission and his close link to the priests. There is nothing more encouraging than to have people thank you for sending us a fine priest, and I have experienced that in every parish.

    A note from Baltimore
    How encouraging to hear so many bishops speak to me about the gifts and goodness and dedication of Bishop Kevin Rhoades. He was elected to chair a very important committee, and also received an award from the Campus Ministry Association during our time in Baltimore. A gifted and highly respected bishop. No question about it.

    Athletic report
    Alas, both of our Fort Wayne high schools, Luers and Dwenger, reached the Semi-State. The Bishop Dwenger Saints lost a heartbreaker at a stadium located in “the region,” a place fittingly called the “Inferno.” If I am correct, it was the Devils versus the Saints. I am told by some Dwenger people who attended that it is a very tough place to play and a very hard place to win. A heartbreaker, but congratulations to the Saints for a 14-1 season.

    And the Bishop Luers Knights will be off to the Dome once again to play for the state championship. No one expected it, as it was thought to be a rebuilding year, but after a painful loss to Dwenger, Coach Matt Lindsay rallied his troops and they bounded through the playoffs and will play for the state title. If the Luers Knights win, it will be their 12th championship overall, and I am told that would be an Indiana record. Bring it home, Knights.
    And now, the blessed season of Advent. A time to hear the call of John the Baptist to repentance and to open our hearts in faith as Mary did.
    See you all next week.

    Posted on November 25, 2009, to: