Holy Week and the great Paschal celebration draws near. In fact, the Chrism Mass is traditionally celebrated on the morning of Holy Thursday. “This Mass is a clear expression of the unity of the priesthood and the sacrifice of Christ, which continues to be present in the Church today.” (Ceremonial of Bishops, #274) During this Mass, we consecrate the holy chrism and bless the other oils that will be used in the coming year for sacramental celebrations. Tonight, we focus our attention on the Lord, Jesus, who was anointed by the Father and sent into […]
On Thursday this past week, our strategic planning process received some renewed energy. After Listening Sessions held around the Archdiocese last spring, the Leadership Team (Department Heads of Archdiocesan Staff) spent several months studying and summarizing the results and developed from them the Mission, Vision, Values and a set of Priorities. These were shared with the priests of the Archdiocese on Thursday. Early in his pontificate, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel in which he lays out his basic vision for advancing the mission of the Church today. In brief points, these are the […]
Just a few days ago, our USCCB Retreat concluded. We gathered at the request of Pope Francis, and enjoyed the direction and wisdom of the Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM. With nearly 280 bishops registered, which is a similar number of those who are present for our plenary assemblies, we experienced a unique opportunity over the course of six days to pray together. While Bishops gather regularly for retreats on a Regional basis, this year’s retreat was a rare gathering of the entire body of bishops from the United States. As […]
For various reasons, I have been slow to share my own thoughts with you about our USCCB meeting in Baltimore earlier this month. I needed time to sit and pray with all the events and input of the week. I am sure about two things, one; the People of God need to hear from their bishops in the wake of our meeting in Baltimore, and two, there is hope for our future. No Vote: Without a doubt, the ‘show-stopper’ moment came at the beginning of our meeting, when Cardinal DiNardo announced that he had only […]
After three months of painful revelations of sexual misconduct of priests and bishops, along with allegations that some bishops covered up these criminal behaviors, this weekend we are seeing some positive developments. Before I spell out these new developments, it bears saying once again, that as Church, and as an Archbishop, we apologize again to victims of sexual abuse. My prayer and plea during these past few months is that by our actions we give clear evidence that we are listening compassionately to victims while at the same time taking actions to report their claims […]
Today, Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement updating the public to recent actions taken by USCCB leaders to address the issues of abuse and accountability of bishops. It is important that the faithful people of God hear that the USCCB is taking action in these days. With that in mind, I share the statement of Cardinal DiNardo here: “In communion with the Holy Father, I join the Executive Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in taking upon ourselves […]
Today, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Fatih released a document entitled Placuit Deo, On Certain Aspects of Christian Salvation. The focus is on the gift of Salvation that is ours through Jesus Christ. Likewise, the document draws attention to some of the errors in today’s concept of the human person as well as certain concepts of Christian Salvation that can be difficult for people to properly understand. The document seeks to correct two modern ways of thinking, which are called a ‘neo-pelagianism’ which is an extreme individualism which believes each person is capable […]
In recent months, I’ve been prayerfully asking: “What kind of Church is God calling us to be today?” I believe that much of the answer lies in the papacy of Pope Francis. As St. Francis himself was called to ‘Renew my Church” I believe we are being called to a renewal in our time by this Pope. I’m all in! As a new year begins, I wish to share with you some basic components of where we will be directing our energies in the foreseeable future. Already planning is underway to schedule a series of […]
I have written numerous times in this blog that one of the primary (If not THE Primary) solutions to many of our social ills today is a proper understanding – in fact recognition – of the human person. In today’s Gospel, (Luke 13:10-17) there is a woman present in the Synagogue where Jesus is teaching. She for eighteen years ‘had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.’ She made no demand or request of Jesus. She was simply ‘present’ before Jesus, in the midst of the assembly in […]
After ten months in office, there was a distinct sense during last night’s celebration of the Imposition of the Pallium by Apostolic Nuncio, +Christophe Pierre, that this date was chosen by our Blessed Mother. On the Nativity of Mary, I received the gift of the Pallium in the presence of the bishops, priests and a church full of the faithful representing the Province of Alaska. Archbishop Pierre graciously accepted the invitation to give the homily during Mass, and gave a beautiful reflection on the importance of symbol in our faith, and in this case, the […]