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A peek into
2008
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
The year 2008 should be interesting. Ash Wednesday will come very early:
Feb. 6. That means it likely will be chilly, perhaps even a few
snowflakes, when the Easter Vigil is celebrated after nightfall on March
22. The 50-day Easter season will have ended by May 12. That doesn’t
happen any earlier. Liturgically, there will be no St. Patrick’s Day
(March 17) or feast of St. Joseph (March 19) since both of these days
will arrive during Holy Week. The feast of the Ascension will be
celebrated on May 4, a Sunday, unless you happen to find yourself in
several eastern ecclesiastical provinces, or in the Diocese of Lincoln,
Neb., where it is still observed on the Thursday before the seventh
Sunday of Easter. The feast of the Assumption on Aug. 15 will be
celebrated as a holy day of obligation, but, because it falls on
Saturday, the feast of All Saints will not. Immaculate Conception (Dec.
8) is always a holy day of obligation, unless it falls on a Sunday (it
won’t in 2008) when it is celebrated on the following Monday without
obligation. Confused?
If it were up to me, there would be only two holy days of obligation:
Dec. 8, the feast of our national patron, and Dec. 25. That is the
Canadian model. The number of holy days of obligation varies from
country to country. Over the years, some holy days have been transferred
to the nearest Sunday, for example, Corpus Christi and the Ascension.
However, I am not the legislator when it comes to all this, so we accept
what we have, or are expected to do so.
Major cathedral events will be held on Feb. 10 and Feb. 17, the first
two Sundays of Lent. The Rite of Election is held the first Sunday of
Lent, while the Call to Continuing Conversion will be celebrated on the
second Sunday. In 2007, 404 adults preparing to become Catholics
participated in these ceremonies. It would be magnificent to see that
number double. Living in an area where a high percentage of people have
no religious affiliation it is not an unreasonable expectation, or would
not be if we pro-actively invited the unchurched to consider the
Catholic faith community.
The annual Chrism Mass takes place on the Tuesday of Holy Week, March 18
this year. The oils used in the administration of baptism, confirmation,
ordination and the anointing of the sick will be blessed. It is at the
Chrism Mass that priests renew their commitment to priestly service.
An important date for our Local Church will be June 7. On that day it
will be my privilege to ordain Christopher Shocklee a transitory deacon
(which means in 2009 he will advance to the priesthood) and Deacon
Dennis Faker to the priesthood. Then on Sept. 20, five men will be
ordained permanent deacons.
April 15 through April 20, our Holy Father, Benedict XVI, will make a
pastoral visit to the United States to commemorate the 200th anniversary
of the establishment of Baltimore as the first archdiocese in the United
States, plus the establishment of Boston, Bardstown (Kentucky),
Philadelphia and New York as dioceses. Bardstown eventually was
transferred to Louisville, just as Vincennes was transformed to
Indianapolis. Northcentral Indiana was once part of the Diocese of
Bardstown. That aside, the bishops of the United States will meet with
the Holy Father in Washington on April 16 and concelebrate Mass with him
the next day before he moves on to New York, where he will address the
United Nations.
Asked to name the number one challenge the diocese faces as we
pilgrimage through 2008, no doubt there would be multiple responses.
From where I sit as diocesan bishop, it is the ordained staffing of our
parishes.
At the present time, 15 of our 63 faith communities do not have a
resident priest. It seems inevitable that number will grow. This
underscores the urgency of recruitment for the priesthood. Many
understand this and are pro-active in promoting the diocesan priesthood.
Unfortunately, others seem oblivious to the urgency.
Some parishes have never given a son to the diocesan priesthood. For
others, it has been generations since they celebrated an ordination. Six
diocesan parish priests are now in their 70s. Four religious community
men fall into that same category. A number of priests are struggling
with health issues. The list of retirees has grown to 22. In simple
fact, we do not have enough priests to bring our parishes up to full
ordained staffing, to say nothing of placing priests where their
presence would be desirable. That means ever-increasing demands are
placed on the priests that we do have, demands that make it increasingly
difficult for them to meet the expectations people have of priests.
There are, of course, other pressing needs. Catechesis is high on the
list. Awareness of what the Church teaches and the responsibilities that
are ours as Catholics needs major attention. Mass attendance is far from
what it should be. Many Catholics are lacking in understanding of
Catholic teaching on current pressing issues: embryonic stem-cell
research, same-sex unions, the immorality of sexual intimacy outside
marriage, or the role of conscience as seeker of truth, rather than a
generator of truth.
Providing ministry to an ever-increasing number of our Spanish-speaking
brothers and sisters is yet another challenge, and a huge one. Efforts
to provide this ministry often ignites resistance. Yet, all of our
families once were immigrants. Frequently their presence was fought by
anti-Catholic neighbors. It was the Church who advocated for them and
ministered to them. That continues to be the mission of the Church.
In the meantime, various groups in our Local Church judge themselves
isolated or neglected.
There are cries for more effective youth ministry, for ministry to the
bereaved, ministry to those with broken marriages, ministry to the
infirm and homebound, ministry to children with special needs, for the
handicapped, etc.
The one thing we can do is to pray for one another. It varies from
parish to parish, but I see a great deal of energy, involvement, concern
and selfless outreach. It is important to see challenges as
opportunities.
It is my prayer that 2008 will see the conversion of many hearts,
spiritual enrichment and growth in our appreciation of the great
treasure God has given us in our Catholic faith.
Let us name our blessings and, with an attitude of gratitude, praise God
from whom all blessings flow. |
