Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades

  • Seminary visits and March for Life

    This weekend I am traveling east for a number of engagements. On Thursday, January 19th, I will be traveling to the Pontifical College Josephinum, one of the seminaries where our diocese sends men for their priestly formation. It is a good opportunity not only to meet with the seminary rector and formation team about the progress of our seminarians, but also to meet individually with the eight young men from our diocese who are studying for the priesthood at the Josephinum, to discuss their spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation as well as their ongoing vocational discernment.

    On Friday, I will celebrate the community Mass at the Josephinum. I noticed that the Gospel that day recounts Jesus’ appointment of the twelve apostles. Our Lord sums up the duties of the Twelve in two simple phrases: “to be with him” and “that he might send them forth.” For priests and future priests, these are important words to contemplate. I intend to speak to the seminarians about their call “to be with Jesus,” to live in friendship and communion with him. This is at the very heart of the vocation to the priesthood. Only one who lives in intimate friendship with Christ can truly proclaim him to others.

    What the Church needs most in her priests is that we be men of God, men in friendship with Christ. Only then are we able to be good priests for our people. In my homily, I will encourage the seminarians to see their time in the seminary as like the time the apostles spent with Jesus, learning from him, being with him, before being sent out on mission. For priests and seminarians, indeed for all of us, there are beautiful forms of prayer that nourish our friendship with Jesus and our life in Him: daily Holy Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, Eucharistic adoration, lectio divina, and the holy rosary.

    I will leave the Josephinum on Friday and drive to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in my former diocese, to celebrate the Sanctity of Life Mass, a commitment I made quite some time ago, for the Order of Malta. This esteemed order, linked to the Holy See, has been a religious Order since the year 1113, when it was recognized by Pope Paschal II. It continues to follow its original principles — the defense of the Catholic faith and service to those who suffer.

    At the Mass for the Order of Malta, which is also open to all, I will speak about the sanctity of life, offering some reflections on the Genesis story of Cain and Abel. Blessed John Paul II, in his great encyclical The Gospel of Life, wrote about this story of the first murder and said that this page of the Book of Genesis is “a page rewritten daily, with inexorable and degrading frequency, in the book of human history.” It is a page rewritten daily here in the United States of America where there is an average of 42 homicides each day and over 3,000 abortions each day.

    We can learn so much today from the story of Cain and Abel. Human life is sacred. The blood of Abel cried out to God. The blood of the innocent continues to cry out today, the innocent victims of abortion, infanticide, homicide, war, and terrorism. Violence against human life continues in the millions who suffer from hunger and poverty, from human trafficking and drug trafficking, and a vast array of other threats to the dignity of human life.

    When God asked Cain “where is your brother Abel?” Cain tried to cover up his crime with a lie. He said “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer to that question is “yes, we are.” Whether our brother or sister is a tiny baby in the mother’s womb or a child suffering from malnutrition in Africa, a teenager who has been drawn into a drug addiction or an elderly and lonely person in a nursing home, we are called to recognize each person as our brother or sister. God entrusts us to one another. And God entrusts to us women who have had abortions, women who suffer such deep wounds, psychological and spiritual problems, resulting from the abortion of their babies. We are called to reach out to them with the love and mercy of Jesus.

    After the Mass in Lancaster, I will head to Washington, D.C., for the weekend activities of the annual March for Life. I am looking forward to Mass on Sunday with the hundreds of people, mostly youth, from our diocese who will join me for a 3:00 PM Mass at Saint Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington. Sunday, January 22nd, is the 39th anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision in which a whole segment of our human family became excluded from the protection of the law and from the recognition that all people are created equal.

    For the past 39 years, pre-born human beings have been unprotected and over 50 million unborn children have been legally killed in our nation. The culture of death prevailed as the Supreme Court committed our nation to an irrational determination of who counts as a human being, according to location, within or outside the womb. The Supreme Court insisted on calling unborn human life “potential human life,” as if passage through the birth canal turns a potential human being into an actual human being! Who of us would say that we were not yet persons when we lived in our mothers’ wombs?

    At our diocesan Mass in Washington, I will reflect on the words of Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel: “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Each of us individually is called to continual conversion, which is necessary for growth in holiness. Repentance or conversion is something deeply personal. And it is a life-long task. We all know areas of our life which need reform. We are truly blessed as Catholics with the gift of the sacrament of Reconciliation which makes sacramentally present Jesus’ call to conversion and restores us to God’s grace.

    Conversion also has a social and communal dimension. On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we think of the repentance and conversion needed in our nation for the legal killing of so many millions of unborn children. Our country needs a metanoia, a change of mentality, one that recognizes the value and inviolability of human life and that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral.

    I look forward to participating again in the March for Life on Monday, January 23rd. Many busloads of people are coming from our diocese to participate. Prior to the March, I will be concelebrating the Youth Mass at the Verizon Center in downtown D.C.

    After the March, I will continue on to Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, to visit our nine diocesan seminarians studying there. As at the Josephinum, I will meet with the seminary rector as well as individually with our young men about their growth in priestly formation. I will also have the opportunity to celebrate Holy Mass for the Mount community on Tuesday, January 24th, the Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, an exemplary priest and bishop.

    I intend to speak to the community at Mount Saint Mary’s about the priestly virtues of Saint Francis de Sales as an example for us today. In his day, Francis’ task was the re-evangelization of the diocese of Geneva after the Protestant Reformation. He was quite successful in reviving Catholicism in the region. Thousands converted to the Catholic faith.

    Our task today is the new evangelization within a culture of increasing secularism and relativism. The Church needs priests to be men of prayer like Saint Francis de Sales, men devoted to the Holy Eucharist, imbued with the spirit of pastoral charity, and intellectually prepared to proclaim and defend the Catholic faith. We need priests, like Saint Francis de Sales, who have a missionary spirit and pastoral zeal for the mission of the new evangelization.

    Please pray for our priests and seminarians, and for Bishop D’Arcy and me. And, especially this weekend, please pray for a new culture of life in our nation and throughout the world. May the Blessed Virgin Mary and Blessed John Paul II intercede for us that we will always be strong in our defense of the sanctity of human life!

    Posted on January 18, 2012, to:

  • Praying for the unity of Christians

    Next week begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an annual observance in which Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants, all of us brothers and sisters in Christ through our common baptism, pray for the restoration of perfect unity among Christians. We pray, in the power of the Holy Spirit, that divisions among Christians will be overcome.

    This Week of Prayer, which begins on January 18th and ends on January 25th (the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul), reminds us, as the Second Vatican Council taught, that prayer is “the soul of the ecumenical movement.” It reminds us of the priority of prayer in all our endeavors, including in ecumenical activities since ultimately the full visible communion of all Christians is a gift of God’s grace.

    The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity used to be called the Church Unity Octave when it began in 1908. It was founded by Reverend Paul Wattson, an American Episcopal priest, and Mother Lurana White. These co-founders of the Society of the Atonement, with thirteen lay associates, entered the Catholic Church in 1909. Thereafter, Pope Saint Pius X gave his official blessing to the Octave.

    In 1916, Pope Benedict XV encouraged the observance of the Church Unity Octave throughout the Catholic Church. Now, 96 years later, I wish to encourage the fervent observance of this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity throughout our diocese. Among the Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions in the Roman Missal are Masses “For the Unity of Christians.” I encourage their use in our parishes during weekday Masses between January 18 and 25. The Week is also a good time for ecumenical prayer services. Excellent materials and resources are available, prepared collaboratively by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches.

    Why is ecumenism important? The answer is simple: Jesus Christ wills the unity of his disciples. He prayed “that all may be one” (John 17:21). The Catholic Church’s commitment to this task is, therefore, irrevocable, despite what often seem to be insuperable obstacles in ecumenical endeavors.

    The theme of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this year is: “We will all be changed by the Victory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15: 51-58). Christ’s victory over sin and death enables us to persevere with patience in the quest for Christian unity and to look to the future with hope. As Catholic Chair of the International Theological Catholic-Reformed Dialogue, I am involved in an important ecumenical effort, a difficult one to be sure, but one which continues because of our faith in the power of God’s grace and in Christ’s victory.

    One reason for hope is that there is already a unity, though imperfect, among Christians. While we naturally regret our divisions and separations, we should also be keenly aware of the elements of unity we share with our separated brothers. Examples include the gift of the sacrament of Baptism, the Sacred Scriptures, and the common beliefs we profess in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. We should acknowledge this common ground with gratitude, recognizing that there is more that unites us than divides us.

    Last year, during his apostolic visit to Germany, our Holy Father visited the Augustinian convent in Erfurt where Martin Luther studied and was ordained a priest. While there, Pope Benedict spoke to various representatives of German Protestant communities about the unity we share. He said:

    “Our fundamental unity comes from the fact that we believe in God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth. And that we confess that he is the triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The highest unity is not the solitude of a monad, but rather a unity born of love. We believe in God — the real God. We believe that God spoke to us and became one of us. To bear witness to this living God is our common task at the present time.”

    I was moved by the Holy Father’s deep concern about the secularism of today’s culture, what he called “the withdrawal from God.” All Christians should be concerned about this cultural challenge. Pope Benedict said that “our primary ecumenical service at this hour must be to bear common witness to the presence of the living God and in this way to give the world the answer which it needs.” This means living by God’s word. It means a commitment to love. It means service of others. This is how the Christian faith becomes more credible to others.

    As Catholics, we must know our faith and live it afresh. Genuine ecumenism does not mean that we water down the truths of the faith. Genuine ecumenism happens when we live our faith deeply and with conviction in an increasingly secularized culture.

    May the Holy Spirit inspire us and all Christians to grow in faith, hope, and charity, and to bear faithful witness to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Victory over sin and death!

    Posted on January 11, 2012, to:

  • The Epiphany of the Lord

    A blessed and happy New Year to all! During these days, the Church continues to celebrate the wonderful season of Christmas. The Christmas season officially ends on the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, which is celebrated this year on Monday, January 9th.

    This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God and Savior of the world, to the Gentiles. We read the story of the Magi who, following the star, came from the east to adore the newborn King of the Jews. The Magi represent all the people of the world and reveal that Jesus has come not only as the Messiah of the Jewish people, but as the Savior of the whole world. As Saint Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “the Gentiles are coheirs… and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

    As the Magi came to Bethlehem to worship the child Jesus, it is good to reflect on our calling to be a people of adoration and worship of God. How grateful I am that so many of our Catholic brothers and sisters are returning to the worship of God at Sunday Mass, having been inspired by our on-going Catholics Come Home campaign. Let us continue to pray for this intention: for our non-practicing brothers and sisters to return to the practice of the faith in their spiritual home, the Catholic Church.

    The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the worship of God, adoration and honor given to God, is the first act of “the virtue of religion.” We see in the visit of the Magi, this virtue put into practice, an example for all of us. In a gesture of profound humility and respect, the wise men prostrated themselves before the child Jesus in the arms of His mother. They honored him with the most precious gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

    The Magi are a striking example for us who are called to be a people of adoration in our daily life. We are called to have the attitude of the wise men, humbling recognizing that we are creatures and would not even exist if it were not for God who, in His infinite and merciful love, has given us life. This awareness leads us to praise and exalt our Creator and to humble ourselves before Him. The Catechism teaches that “the worship of the one God sets man free from turning in on himself, from the slavery of sin and the idolatry of the world.”

    The Magi said to King Herod that they had come to Bethlehem to do homage to the newborn king of the Jews. “We have come to worship him,” they declared. This is what we do every time we celebrate the sacred liturgy. We offer the Lord adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. In doing so, we are sanctified. The Lord blesses us with His love and grace.

    In a more secularized society, the duty to worship God is often ignored. Herod’s pride created within him contempt for the Lord. He not only refused to worship Him; he actively sought to destroy him. We may not find this extreme attitude very often today, however, we do see a lot of indifference to God and lukewarmness in the practice of divine worship. Let us pray for a renewed commitment to Sunday Mass among Catholics in our diocese and throughout the world. I also wish to mention the beautiful tradition of adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, a wonderful opportunity to worship the Lord outside of Mass.

    Blessed John Paul II, not long before he died, spoke of the secularized culture in which we live as characterized by a forgetfulness of God and a vain pursuit of human self-sufficiency. Pope Benedict XVI has also spoken of this quite often. It is good to remember the words of the Second Vatican Council: “Without God the Creator, the creature would disappear.”

    At the beginning of this new year, let us be resolved to cultivate the attitude of the Magi. They were indeed wise men because they recognized their need for God. They had a profound respect for their Creator and humbly prostrated themselves before Him. We imitate the Magi by our own fidelity to Holy Mass, by our daily prayer, and by adoration of the most holy Eucharist. Thus we are able to say with the Magi: “We have come to worship Him.” This is not only our duty to God; it is our joy and our peace. The worship of God sanctifies us and sets us free!

    In this new year 2012, may God pour out His blessing upon you and upon our diocese!

    Posted on January 4, 2012, to:

  • Midnight Mass Homily

    December 25, 2011

    What a contrast! The great emperor Caesar Augustus, the most powerful man of that age, the ruler of the vast Roman emperor, gives and order and everyone has to obey. Throughout his empire, everyone had to get themselves enrolled in the tax registers, so that there would be enough taxes collected to finance the emperor’s many needs: to finance and expand his military power; to lay down the great network of roads and aqueducts throughout the Roman empire; and to construct the great palaces and theaters, baths and stadiums.

    In comparison, how trivial it would seem in the eyes of the world to that couple in the obscure village of Nazareth in Galilee. Mary and Joseph obeyed the imperial command and set out to enroll in the tax registers of Joseph’s hometown of Bethlehem. They were quite insignificant – not only was there no imperial palace at their disposal; there was not even room for them in the local inn. They had to make due with a stable for Mary to give birth.

    But notice, tonight, all over the world, people gather like we do here in Immaculate Conception Cathedral, not to celebrate the emperor Augustus Caesar. We gather to celebrate that birth of an infant in a manger in the little town of Bethlehem. For it is not the emperor dressed in the finest robes who is the real lord of the world, but rather, the little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. The names of the Roman emperors, like those of other great men of this world, have long passed away and are little remembered. Yet, everywhere on earth, the birth of this child is remembered with joy.

    On that holy night in Bethlehem, the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” That light is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. When we contemplate the mystery of Christmas, that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to redeem it, that He who was in the form of God emptied Himself and took the form of a slave, that the eternal Word who was with God, who was God, became flesh and dwelt among us, we cannot help but be filled with wonder and awe. We become like the shepherds and the magi: all we can do is approach the mystery in adoration. This event surpasses all human knowledge. Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote: “Of all the works of God, this surpasses reason more than any other, since one cannot conceive of God doing anything more wonderful than that (the) true God the Son of God, should be made true man.” Do we not express our reverence for this great mystery every time we recite the Nicene Creed? We bow (and tonight we genuflect) at the words: “by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary and became man.”

    By becoming man, God has in a certain way united Himself with every human person. He has revealed to us the truth about who He is – He is Love. He has revealed to us also that every human being has dignity, including the unborn child, the poor, the outcast, the suffering, and the dying. By becoming man, God came to earth to deliver us from sin and death. He came to make all things new; to bring about the new creation. He took on our human nature so that we might become partakers of His divine nature, that we become sharers in the life of the Blessed Trinity. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church speak of the Christmas mystery as “a wonderful exchange” between God and man: He takes what is ours so that He may give us what is His. In sending His Son, God has opened for us a share in His divine life, the power, Saint John says, to become children of God! (John 3:12).

    Saint Francis of Assisi was so moved by the mystery of Christmas that he began the custom of the Christmas crèche, with live figures. His love for poverty led him to this special appreciation for the wonder of that first Christmas. One of his great followers, Saint Bonaventure, wrote the following: “The King of kings and Lord of lords has become the slave and humble servant of men… God, supremely glorious, dwelling in the heights of majesty, has dwelt in a lonely manger.” Tonight we do not gather to honor or to worship a powerful emperor. We gather to honor and to worship the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, the One announced by the angel as the Savior, who is Christ and Lord. We worship Him who gives meaning to our lives, who offers us eternal life and salvation. In becoming man, He has brought eternity to us and so we live as a people of hope. This virtue of hope is truly a virtue of Christmas, a virtue that should distinguish our lives as followers of Jesus. In the midst of so much anxiety and despair in our world, may we be witnesses of Christian hope!

    May Jesus, born in the silence of this night at Bethlehem, bless you and your loved ones with His love and peace!

    Posted on December 27, 2011, to:

  • Contemplate the first Christmas

    “The Nativity” by French painter Noel Coypel features Mary, Joseph and angels in adoration of the Christ Child.

    As we contemplate the love of God in the Incarnation, I invite you to reflect on the famous account of the first Christmas as described in the second chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke, the passage read at Christmas midnight Mass. In that account, we read about Mary and Joseph traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem where “there was no room for them in the inn.” We read about Mary giving birth to Jesus, and then about the appearance of the angels to the shepherds with the “good news of great joy… For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” Continuing with the reading of Saint Luke’s Gospel, in the passage read at the Christmas Mass at Dawn, we read about the shepherds going to see “the infant lying in the manger” and their “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.”

    In this Christmas column, I’d like to reflect on these witnesses of the first Christmas: Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. When we prepare our Christmas crèches, we place figures of these persons around the infant Jesus in the manger, along with an angel, the wise men, and often figures of sheep, donkey and ox. This tradition of the Christmas crèche originated with Saint Francis of Assisi who created a live nativity scene in the town of Greccio, Italy, a few years prior to his death.

    The Blessed Virgin Mary

    In contemplating Christmas, we recall the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for the census. The journey must not have been easy for Mary since she was nine months pregnant. We can only imagine the hardship of that journey as well as the hardship Mary and Joseph experienced when they were told that there was no room for them in the inn. Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Son of God, in the most humble and poor circumstances: in a manger, a place where animals ate.

    Despite the difficult circumstances, what joy and wonder our Blessed Mother must have experienced in giving birth to the Redeemer of the world! At the Annunciation, Mary had expressed her complete willingness to cooperate in God’s plan when she said “let it be done to me according to your word.” Saint Augustine, a great bishop and doctor of the Church, praised Mary’s faith and obedience when he wrote that our Lady “conceived Christ in her heart before she conceived him in her womb.”

    After the departure of the shepherds, Saint Luke tells us that “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” As we celebrate Christmas, Mary is an example to us of faith and humility, and also of receiving the Son of God into our lives and of treasuring the mystery of the Incarnation in our hearts. Through prayer and contemplation, we are better able to enter into the mystery we celebrate at Christmas, the mystery of salvation, following the example of the Mother of the Savior.

    Saint Joseph

    In contemplating Christmas, it is good to reflect on the husband of Mary, the foster father of Our Lord. Blessed John Paul II referred to Saint Joseph as “the first guardian,” together with Mary, of the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption. Like Mary, Joseph is exemplary in his faith and obedience. After the angel’s announcement to him in a dream, Joseph “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife.”

    Saint Joseph was the guardian of the Holy Family, including on that journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. He was an eyewitness to the birth of Jesus. Later, at the circumcision, Joseph named the child “Jesus,” thus proclaiming the mission of the newborn child as Savior, since the name “Jesus” means “the one who saves.”

    As Mary contemplated the event of the first Christmas in her heart, we can imagine that Joseph did the same. Saint Joseph surrendered his whole life to the care of Jesus and Mary. Very early on, when Jesus’ life was threatened by King Herod at the massacre of the Holy Innocents, Saint Joseph protected Jesus when he took him and Mary and fled into Egypt.

    Saint Joseph is the patron of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIII wrote: “It is … fitting and most worthy of Joseph’s dignity that, in the same way that he once kept unceasing holy watch over the family of Nazareth, so now does he protect and defend with his heavenly patronage the Church of Christ.” God entrusted the beginnings of our redemption to the faithful care of Saint Joseph. We ask Saint Joseph to help us to imitate his faithfulness and purity of heart.

    The Shepherds

    It is not incidental that God chose shepherds, the lowly and unrefined, as the first to receive the good news of the Savior’s birth. They were struck with great fear when the angel of the Lord appeared to them. Immediately, the angel told them to fear not and proclaimed to them “the good news of great joy” of Jesus’ birth. They then went in haste to adore the infant Jesus.

    The shepherds remind us of God’s merciful love, which is especially shown toward the poor and humble. The shepherds are an example for us since they responded enthusiastically and immediately to the angel’s invitation. They are also an example for us of our mission of evangelization. Saint Luke tells us that after adoring the infant Jesus, they returned “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.”

    Prayer

    As we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord, let us pray for one another that we may follow the example of Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. You, the faithful of our diocese, will be remembered in my prayers in a special way throughout the Christmas season. May you and your families and friends have a blessed and merry Christmas!

    I end this column with a prayer for Christmas Eve, actually an invitation to prayer, composed by Pope Benedict XVI:

    Let us ask the Lord to grant us the grace of looking upon the crib this night with the simplicity of the shepherds, so as to receive the joy with which they returned home (cf. Luke 2:20). Let us ask Him to give us the humility and the faith with which Saint Joseph looked upon the child that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit. Let us ask the Lord to let us look upon Him with that same love with which Mary saw Him. And let us pray that in this way the light that the shepherds saw will shine upon us too, and that what the angels sang that night will be accomplished throughout the world: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”Amen!

    Posted on December 21, 2011, to: