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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.