Papal FlagOn Sunday, over 200 people gathered at the Spiering Farms in Powell, Wyoming to celebrate rural life. Those in attendance knew they had found the right farm by the big papal flag flying from the flag pole.

The celebration began with a Noon Mass quickly followed by a pitch in meal, complete with pork and beef roasts prepared on scene. Even though the day saw temperatures in the 90’s, we were quite comfortable beneath a tent in the shade. Everyone enjoyed a great deal of fraternity.

Our primary goals for the day were to make sure that people who live in rural America and make their living from the land know that the Church affirms them and the values they espouse.  We celebrated faith, families, ranching and farming.  We asked for God’s continued blessings upon all of our families and upon the approaching harvests and roundups.

We also invited the Executive Director of Catholic Rural Life, Mr. Jim Ennis.  Jim gave a brief introduction to the work and ministries of Catholic Rural Life hoping to attract more members from the day’s gathering.

At the conclusion of the event, someone told me: “You know, Bishop, you were preaching to the choir today.”  I said, we need to do a better job of looking for what is good in our culture today, and affirming that.  We need to expand upon the good, and complimenting solid families is a good place to start.

You can watch the video of the homily below.

You can also view photos of the event here.

+pde

0