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A special
year for the Church
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
From where I stand, the fifth year of the third millennium was memorable
for a number of reasons. For many it was a year of suffering. Acts of
terrorism and the continuing war in Iraq, the Asian tsunami, the
destruction caused by the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, and the
earthquake in Pakistan cut a path of misery, loss and hopelessness
across the planet. While the death of loved ones, separation of family
members and an uncertain future make for terrible scars on the psyche,
there have also been moving incidents of heroism and generosity. Many
accounts of men and women risking their lives and health to save others
were noted. And, there was a tremendous outpouring of generosity in this
diocese for the folks in the Gulf states. More than $400,000 was donated
to the pulpit appeal for humanitarian relief.
In April, of course, the world was graced to witness the slow death of
John Paul II. Much attention had been given to the struggle of Terri
Schiavo. It was not death with dignity. The death of our pope stood in
stark contrast. Karol Jozef Wojtyla died on April 2, 2005. An
astonishing week followed as the world (literally) said its goodbyes.
For several years a number of my bishop friends and I had talked about
the possibility of attending the Holy Father’s funeral, but none of us
actually did. We were naďve to think we could do so. There was far too
much to attend to at home.
The diocesan memorial Mass was celebrated at the cathedral on April 4.
The church was full. Some 30 priests concelebrated the Mass with me.
Similar Masses were held throughout Northcentral Indiana. I remember
commenting to someone that when I cry, I prefer to do so in the privacy
of my residence. I was truly surprised by my emotions. The tears came
more than once during the early morning televised funeral Mass,
especially as the pope’s coffin was carried into the basilica for
entombment. Vivid in memory are the sustained shouts from the huge crowd
in front of St. Peter’s: Santo Subito (Saint now!). It is
estimated that as many as one million people were on hand for the
funeral and that one billion watched on television.
On Monday, April 18, I celebrated the 8:15 a.m. Mass at the cathedral
marking the opening of the conclave that would select Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger to succeed John Paul the Great. Cardinal Ratzinger was not
listed among the favorites going into the conclave. The Catholic
Moment highlighted eight cardinals as viable candidates. Ratzinger
was not among them. He was positioned as a long shot. Yet, from the
beginning, Benedict XVI stepped up to the plate in grand fashion, the
one cardinal known best by the bishops of the United States from our
ad limina visits.
It would have been a remarkable year had it ended with the installation
of Benedict XVI as the 265th successor of St. Peter on April 24. But
there was more to come.
The largest crowd I can remember filled the Cathedral of St. Mary of the
Immaculate Conception on June 11 for the ordination of Jeff Martin and
Christopher Weldon to the priesthood and Josh Janko and Eric Underwood
as transitory deacons. A magnificent celebration, it uncorked optimism
for the future. The ordination of two priests reduced our corps of
seminarians to 12. However, in September five fresh faces went off to
the seminary, giving us a total of 17 currently in preparation for the
priesthood, the highest number since 1993. In 1999, only three men were
enrolled. The ordination, with seminarians functioning as Mass servers,
was seen as a great blessing, an assurance that the future is one of
hope.
The June ordinations were followed in September by the ordination of the
first class of permanent deacons for our diocese. A week later, via the
ceremony of candidacy, members of the second class were officially
launched on their road toward ordination as permanent deacons.
Yet another special moment was celebrated on July 10: the observance of
the 60th year of the foundation of our Local Church. Our foundation date
actually is Oct. 21, 1944. Our first bishop, John George Bennett, was
consecrated Nov. 11 that same year, but was not installed as our bishop
until Jan. 10, 1945. On Feb. 2, 1945, Bishop Bennett ordained four men
to the priesthood: Father Donald Hardebeck; Father George Lanning;
Father Charles Muller, and Father Richard Puetz. Father Hardebeck and
Father Puetz survive. On August 16, 1945, he ordained his second class
of priests: Father Harold “Pat” Weller. The Jubilee Mass focused on all
of these events.
Accolades for the three priests ordained in 1945 were heartwarming, as
were their stories of the pioneer days of our Local Church. Father
Hardebeck related how his excitement upon being assigned his first
pastorate was tempered by the fact the rectory had no indoor plumbing.
When he decided he should go to the seminary, Father Weller discovered
there was one huge hurdle: He hadn’t completed high school. He did not
let that detail derail him. Father Weller went home to God 11 days
before the 60th anniversary of his ordination.
The Jubilee celebration was an opportunity to thank God for the
blessings of 60 years as a Local Church. Spirits were lifted and there
was a chance to see that as a people of faith, we should always have an
attitude of gratitude to God. Regardless of challenges and
disappointments, our blessings are numerous.
A final special moment took place at St. Alphonsus Church in Zionsville
on Oct. 16, the day the diocese officially closed the Year of the
Eucharist. The Mass and Eucharistic Procession were exceptionally well
done, moments of true faith and prayer, a fitting tribute to John Paul
II who had inaugurated the Eucharistic Year.
2005 was a historic year, both for the Church universal and for our
Local Church.
As a sidebar, Benedict XVI has dispensed John Paul II from the normative
five-year period before a cause for canonization may be introduced. The
late pope’s “cause” has begun. Karol Jozef Wojtyla is now known as
Servant of God. You may want to join others in making the following
your prayer: “O Blessed Trinity we thank you for having given Pope John
Paul II to the Church and for allowing the tenderness of your fatherly
care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy
Spirit, to shine through him. Trusting fully in your infinite mercy and
in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of
Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that holiness is the necessary
measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal
communion with you. Grant us, by his intercession, and according to your
will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among
your saints. Amen.” |
