“Because of the truth which lives in us and will be with us forever: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love (2 John 1: 2-3).”
On the night before he died, Jesus cautioned Peter, “he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword (Matthew 26: 52)” as he tried to defend the Lord against his captors in the Garden of Gethsemane. Neither way of life is good, living by the sword or dying by the sword.
In 1226, one of the Catholic Church’s most beloved saints authored a poem that has come to be known as the “Canticle for All Creation.” 789 years later, Pope Francis used that poem as the backdrop for his long awaited encyclical on the environment, borrowing the Canticle’s phrase “Laudato si (Praised be)” for its title. That encyclical was released today, June 18, at the Vatican in Rome.
I “played hooky” this year! When I came out of the hospital in February it wasn’t clear if I would be able to preside at the various Catholic high school graduation Masses throughout the Diocese, so rather than keeping our wonderful Catholic high schools and graduates “on hold,” I asked my episcopal vicars to pitch in. And they did so with the generosity so typical of them!
Five years ago today, June 4, 2010, I stood here in the Bishop Ahr Conference Room of the Chancery and was introduced to the Diocese for the first time as its new coadjutor bishop by Bishop John M. Smith. To say I was a bit nervous is an understatement, since you only get one chance to make a good first impression. A little humor always helps.