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Browsing Father Michael Deering's Sunday Homilies

The Duty that goes along with the Position!

Homily originally presented July 7, 2019

 

The Duty that goes along with the Position!

 

With the joy of the very successful and very well-attended Eucharistic Congress that took place in downtown Birmingham last weekend still fresh in our minds ...

I want to tell you of a thought I had before and during the big event.

 

I thought there was a chance that that great gathering would be the time & place where we’d hear who would succeed Bishop Baker as Bishop of Birmingham.

 

Yes, with 6 Bishops at the Eucharistic Congress,

including our Metropolitan: Archbishop Rodi of Mobile,

              Bishop Spencer of the Military, and

              the special presence of Archbishop Cristophe Pierre,

who is the Apostolic Nuncio meaning the Pope’s delegate to the United States ...

              all present with us celebrating the 50th Anniversary of our Diocese ...

I thought that would be the perfect setting for that important announcement.

 

But it wasn’t to be.   And here’s the reason ... Rome doesn’t know yet!

 

You see, selecting succeeding Bishops to shepherd God’s people is a very big job ... an endless job ... due to the vast number of Bishops around the world.

 

There are currently 5,100 Bishops in the world ... and as they get to the retirement age of 75 or get sick or injured or die, Rome has to replace them.

 

In the United States, there are 266 Bishops in service to the People of God and we currently have 10 Dioceses “open” awaiting the appointment of a new Bishop.

 

Please pray for the Holy Spirit to guide the selection of all new appointments ... including the next Bishop to lead us here in the Diocese of Birmingham ... the geographical area that encompasses the northern half of the state of Alabama.

 

Bishop Baker turned in his resignation on June 4th ... his 75th Birthday.

All we know is that the appointment of his successor will eventually happen.

And when it does, we can trust that this will be the very best man for the job.

 

Why? Because this is God’s Church! It’s divinely founded by God’s Son ...

                                                   and it’s divinely empowered by God’s Spirit.

 

So we trust that whoever is selected, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, will be the very best leader for the Church in Birmingham at this time in history.

 

Now I can tell you what will happen when the name of the new Bishop is announced … the Church will enter into a period of celebration.

 

If the man is already a Bishop and has been serving in another Diocese, there will be a formal installation and party as he is installed as the new Bishop of our Diocese.

 

If a Priest is chosen,

he will first be ordained to the fullness of Holy Orders as a Bishop ... and then

he will be installed as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama.

 

This will be a time of great joy for the local Church here in Alabama as we will get to see the reality of true Apostolic Succession take place right before our eyes.

The same power that Jesus gave to St. Peter some 2000 years ago, will be passed on to the man who will lead our Diocese today through an unbroken chain of authority!

 

What an honor to be a Bishop of Christ’s Church and to have the fullness of power that comes with that Office.          This will truly be a time

                                for our new Bishop and this Diocese to celebrate and rejoice.

 

Since our new Bishop will most likely come from outside our Diocese,

he will have many new people to meet ... many new Parishes to visit

and many new operating groups to work with.

 

So, for a short time the new Bishop will be on a “honeymoon” so to speak,

              as he becomes familiar with new people and his new duties.

 

But in no time at all, the honeymoon will be over and he will be fully immersed in and fully engaged in the concerns and the duties of his office as Bishop!

 

Not all of these times will be times of celebration;

              there will be plenty of crosses for him to bear as well.

 

In our little diocese, the Bishop is the Leader and Spiritual Father to:

some 80 Priests, 50 Parishes, 27 Schools all the Diocesan Offices and Ministries,

              EWTN, which is the worldwide leader in Catholic media,

                   and all the Catholic faithful, some 100,000 souls.

 

That’s a daunting job indeed … it’s a huge responsibility.

              It will involve a lot of work ... and a lot of prayer!

 

Realizing that it takes a lot of work to be a Bishop,  we Priests have a saying:      

“Any Priest who wants to be a Bishop, deserves to be one!”

 

Becoming Bishop is similar to becoming President of the United States ...  in that:

  • A lot of energy goes into the selection process,
    • Presidents are elected while Bishops are appointed,

 

 

  • There’s a great celebration when the new person is chosen.
  • There are heavy crosses to bear in carrying out the duties of those offices.

 

It’s not all roses being the head of a Company, or a Country, or a Church.

 

In fact, it’s not all roses simply being a member of a Church either!

 

Just ask the 27 people who came into the Catholic Church here at Easter. They spent months in prayerful preparation to be confirmed into the Church in April.

 

When they came in, we threw them a party in our Parish Hall after the Vigil Mass. We even held follow-up classes for the 2 following weeks while they reveled in their newfound position in God’s family as Catholics.

 

But then the daily living out of that great new position ...

              presented them with crosses as well as joys.

 

Some of them advised that they were feeling persecution and rejection ... from family or friends or even strangers ... for their decision to be become Catholic.

They were experiencing some of “ the crossesof being a disciple of Christ.

 

In our Gospel today, Jesus appointed and dispatched 72 disciples to go ahead of him to every town to proclaim that the Kingdom of God was at hand.

 

And He tells them right up front that some towns will accept them and some will reject them; so they were to expect both joys and sorrows in being His disciples.

 

What Jesus alerts them to is the fact that since they embraced Him who is goodness they were sure to experience struggle while living in a world that opposes goodness.

 

We see this in the Crucifix that is the central image in every Catholic Church.

 

There’s Jesus ... He’s attached to the Cross!

indicating that when you get Jesus ... you also get a cross.

 

St. Paul spoke powerfully of this today, writing,

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,

through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

 

You see, when we were baptized into Jesus Christ, we took on the same mission

that Jesus gave to his 72 disciples … to be witnesses of God to the world.

 

Just as Jesus sent his disciples out in our Gospel, He sends all of us out on mission … to carry the Good News of God to all who will listen.

 

This will involve joy for sure ... but it will also involve the cross.

 

Jesus and Paul both speak from experience when they tell us to expect it.

 

We know Jesus suffered horribly in His Passion.w/ scourging, crowning & nailing.

 

And His Apostle Paul says today, “I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.”

 

You see, during his ministry, Paul was beaten, stoned, whipped, imprisoned, shipwrecked and eventually martyred by the sword.

 

His position as Holy Apostle and Bishop of the Church wasn’t all joy and celebration. It didn’t preserve him from experiencing the struggle and the cross.

As he says today, through which the world has been crucified to me & I to the world.”

 

So you see, being a disciple of Jesus is going to involve both joys and crosses.

 

It’s easy to see the joy of discipleship at infant Baptisms.

The proud Parents and Godparents happily take pictures of their child who has just taken on the new title of “Child of God” and brother or sister of Jesus Christ.

And the whole family goes back to the house to celebrate with a big reception.

 

But they all know that the living out of that great position as Child of God ...

              is going to involve some crosses throughout the child’s life.

 

But the good thing is … we’re not alone!

 

Just as the cross comes with Jesus ...

Jesus comes with every cross!  You get one ... you get the other, they’re attached!

 

We’re not left in the struggle by ourselves ... left to carry our crosses on our own.

Jesus is with us ... as well as ... all of our Brothers & Sisters also in God’s family.

 

That’s the whole point of Jesus establishing the Church,

                                                the household of God on earth.

 

It is the Church that will nourish us and sustain us to be good disciples of Christ.

It is the Church that will be there to carry us in good times and in bad

              enabling us to persist on the road to the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

In our First Reading, Isaiah spoke of Jerusalem,

              which was the heart of the household of God at that time ...

                   assuring them of God’s tender, yet strong embrace there.

 

 

He says “As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms and fondled in her lap;

as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you;

in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.”

 

By God’s design, that same warm embrace and comforting care is still available to us today in the Church that Jesus established 2000 years ago, the Catholic Church.

 

It’s here that we have Jesus.

It’s here that we can tap into His Wisdom and His Power.

Jesus assures us today, “Behold, I have given you the power to tread upon ...

                                       the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.’

 

The Church is here to rejoice with you in your joys ...

                               to console you in your sorrows ...

                                and help you in your struggles.

             

You are not alone if you live in the Church ... the holy household of God.

 

Across the street at Catholic Social Services people line up every day to get help with their struggles in life.

 

When you ask any of them where they go to Church,

              they often admit ... they don’t go to church!

which means they’re trying to carry their crosses without the help of God.

That’s not God’s intention. He wants us to have

              His help and the help of other believers in the struggles of life.

 

Please pray for all the disciples

              that God has called, formed and sent into the world by Baptism... that they will be enduring witnesses to the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ.

 

And here’s the real good News ...

The day is coming where there will no longer be a struggle ...

              where our crosses will be gone and only Jesus will be left.

 

In our Gospel, Jesus encourages us to persist to that day saying,

“rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

 

How wonderful!

For, you see, Heaven is the only place ... where the honeymoon never ends.

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