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Throughout the Gospels, Jesus steadfastly reiterates a central theme of his mission: He has come to earth to do the will of His heavenly Father.
His long nights of intimate prayer, the extended days of ministering to the crowds, His fasts and feasts, His tears and laughter all express Jesus’ fundamental desire to fulfill what the Father has asked of Him. This radical obedience to the Divine Will culminates in the events of Holy Week.
Editor’s note: During this Year of Consecrated Life, this is the first in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.
Pope Francis has declared this year as one to be dedicated to the Life of Religious Consecration.
This is not a one-sided emphasis, since this is also the year of the Synod of Bishops which will be dedicated to the discussion of married life. It is important to see both ways of life as at the heart of the whole Church’s life and calling to witness Jesus.
Dear Friends,
As with most anniversaries and milestones, it’s hard to believe it was 15 years ago, this past Sunday, that I knelt on the floor of the Cathedral of St. Helena, with the Gospel book opened over my head, being commissioned and ordained a bishop.
In some ways, that morning in Helena, Mont., seems like an eternity ago, and in other ways, it seems like just yesterday.
On November 1, 1950, more than 500,000 joyful people packed St. Peter’s Square to hear Pope Pius XII proclaim the dogma of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven.
In Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII proclaimed that “the “Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into Heavenly glory.”
In no. 59 of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council affirmed this dogma of the Church.
Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption to counter the loss of reverence and respect for the God-given identity of every human being.
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
This week we begin Lent and the readings of this past Sunday lead us perfectly to Ash Wednesday.
The First Reading (Deut 11:18, 26-28, 32) said clearly that we are to obey God’s statutes and commandments and decrees. We’re to be an obedient people — a hard word for our culture. Authority is always under fire, whether it’s civil authority in the government or whether it’s the Sacred authority of the Apostles. Even in the Church, authority is always under fire. And so it is that bishops are used to dodging the various arrows that are slung our way — and it is all in a day’s work.
But, authority is simply given out of love by God Our Father, so as to lead His people to their salvation. That’s all it is — it’s a service, and it’s a humble service. Sometimes when people in the Church have to exercise that authority they do it humbly, but then afterward they really get humbled. But, that’s okay, because authority and humility should be tied together.
