Dear Friends,
Like many of you, I’m certain, I’ve watched, with interest, the events which occurred just over one week ago. Our country has witnessed a tremendously historic event with the inauguration of President Barack Obama — an event which speaks to the tremendous strides our country has made, even in my lifetime, in terms of racial equality. Though it has become cliché to say over recent weeks, there were times when no one in my generation could have dreamed that we would “see the day.”
Dear Friends,
By the time you are able to read this column, I will have begun my vacation in warmer climes. Bishop Bullock has taught me well how advisable it is to take vacation at this time of year, and, along with so many other good things, I am grateful to him for this particular important bit of wisdom. I beg your prayers that I will have health and safety during this time of vacation and, most importantly, grow in faith. This is the very same prayer that rises up from my heart for each one of you, each day.
You will find, below, a letter which I have sent to my brother priests with regard to a national effort which is being made in every diocese in the United States, spearheaded by Cardinal Rigali of Philadelphia, chair of the Pro-Life Committee of our national bishops’ conference.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
It’s my joy to wish you and your loved ones every blessing of Christmas and of this holiday season — blessings which will extend throughout the new year.
It’s a joyful time for all of us, even those of us who might be, for one or another reason, hurting. We are not dispensed from the call to be joyful at Christmas, because Christ our Savior is born, and He is the only true source of our hope and of light for our life.
Many of you know that my current priority focus is on our Diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, of which I’ve now taken on personally the role of Director.
There has been little doubt for me, since even before I was ordained a priest, that we have, as a Catholic Church, been seriously lacking in our understanding of and teaching about the faith, for some time. With a string of recent events, it has been made even more clear than before that many of our truly faithful people are overdue for receiving a continually better catechesis than has been previously offered them. There is much work to be done in this area as a whole, and we priests and religious have a good many lay men and women ready and willing to collaborate in this area — though we need more!
This column is adapted from Bishop Robert C. Morlino’s homily at St. Patrick Church, Sunday, Dec. 14.
On the Second Sunday of Advent, we heard about John the Baptist as “a voice crying out in the desert” and we hear it again in this past Sunday’s readings. And we heard, during that second week of Advent, about our Blessed Mother. We heard how this woman who was clothed with the sun, the model of the Church, was sent into the desert, where a place had been prepared for her; the desert meaning, briefly, tough times.
A poll of Americans came out this past Sunday morning saying that 2008, largely for reasons of the economy, has been the worst year within their memory. The poll, in our terms, says that, largely because of the economy, 2008 has been, for most Americans, a desert. Those poll results surprise no one.
Editor’s note: The following column is taken from bishop’s homily of the first Sunday of Advent, Nov. 30, 2008.
We say to the Lord, at the beginning of this Advent, “Come Lord Jesus; do not delay! Stir up your power Lord and come to save us. Do not delay!” And when we pray that powerful prayer, we believe that it will be answered. And yet, we know that the coming of Jesus at the end of history, at the end of this world as we know it, may not be next week or next month. That return of the Lord is probably going to be delayed . . . at least we think so . . .
Dear Friends,
It seems that Labor Day was just yesterday and here we find ourselves at Thanksgiving and the beginning of the “holiday season.” In the first place, I am grateful for all of you at Thanksgiving — you who are my brothers and sisters in the diocesan family. We are indeed a family, and the members of a family do not always get along perfectly. But, we are still family in Christ, and no one of us, myself especially, should ever forget that. And so we live and move forward together in gratitude, precisely the way every family does and must.
Editor’s note: This column is based on Bishop Morlino’s homily at the Red Mass on October 26.
Dear Friends,
It is most interesting that, when asked which commandments are the greatest, Jesus doesn’t offer something new. When Our Lord is asked which commandments are the greatest, Jesus doesn’t say we need “change” — which is, of course, the watchword of both our political parties today. Instead, Jesus goes back to the Old Testament, basically to the Book of Exodus, and Jesus offers the summary that was very common in the early Jewish community about what we now call the natural law. Jesus points to those two great commandments: “love God above all things, and love your neighbor as yourself.” And in so doing Jesus is a teacher of the natural law that was written in the hearts of the people of His time, just as it was written in the hearts of the earlier Jewish community, just as it is written in every human heart.
Estimados amigos,
En semanas recientes, muchos católicos han hecho una pregunta muy específica, “es posible votar por un candidato en la oficina política que demande ser ‘pro-escogencia’ que es, ¿si hay razón proporcionada, entonces cuál sería esa razón proporcionada?”
Dear Friends,
Continuing the theme of last week’s column, in terms of the spiritual exercise of examining our consciences, the readings of this past Sunday have prompted me to proceed along the same line.
The Gospel story tells us of those who are called to work in the master’s vineyard only at the last hour and they still receive a full-day’s pay. Those who have worked for longer periods in the master’s vineyard complain and find fault with the master for his generosity to the late arrivals.
