April 19, 2005

On this very joyous day, the first sentiments to be expressed are those of very sincere gratitude: gratitude to all of you gathered today in this magnificent co-cathedral of Saint Joseph and those throughout this Diocese of Burlington who are united with us in spirit and in prayer through television and other media.

I am particularly grateful to our late Holy Father of venerable memory, His Holiness, John Paul II, who named me to be the Coadjutor Bishop of Burlington. As we continue to mourn his loss, we are nonetheless inspired by the great testimony of his life which grounds us in our Catholic faith and gives us true hope as we have joyfully received the news of the election of another successor to Saint Peter, His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, who now will guide our beloved Church and fulfill Christ’s mandate: “Feed my sheep” (Jn. 21:17). As a new Bishop, I pledge to His Holiness my complete and total loyalty and filial devotion.

I am grateful to the Bishops and priests who have come today to participate in this liturgy of episcopal ordination. The Lord has blessed me in these last years by allowing me to serve at the Apostolic Nunciature under the direction of His Excellency, Archbishop Montalvo, who is the principal consecrator at today’s solemn ordination. Archbishop Montalvo has taught me the essential ingredients of being a good bishop: to love God, to love His Church, to willingly and lovingly serve His people and never to loose patience but to serve in charity. To receive the gift of the episcopacy through Archbishop Montalvo’s hands is a grace I shall always treasure. Wherever the future leads us, Your Excellency, I know we will remain united in spirit and in prayer. It is particularly an honor to have Your Excellency here today as the personal representative of our Holy Father as we are just minutes away from the announcement of his election as the new Vicar of Christ on earth, Benedict XVI. Your personal presence as the representative of the See of Peter is truly a blessing.

Of course I am grateful to Bishop Angell who has so warmly welcomed me to this Diocese in his usual kind manner. I look forward to working with Bishop Angell, our Bishop and chief Shepherd, and I assure you, Your Excellency, of my cooperation and fraternal support.

Archbishop O’Malley, as the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Boston to which this Diocese is attached, I am deeply grateful for Your Excellency’s presence among us. As one who has sacrificed for the flock and followed the Shepherd’s call to serve in obedience in every pastoral ministry that has been entrusted to you, you are an example of the character and mission of the episcopacy.

And to all the bishops, I am so grateful.

This gratitude extends in a very special way to the priests, both those from this beloved Diocese and those beyond its borders. I have lived the priesthood for thirty-three years and when I look at you today I still stand in awe of your vocation as I did as a young boy in my home parish of Saint Ann’s many years ago. You are absolutely essential to the Church, for through your hands the Holy Eucharist is celebrated, the sacraments administered and the presence of Christ is made real in the lives of the faithful. Without the Eucharist there simply is no Catholic Church and without the priesthood there is no Eucharist. My true brothers in Christ, today I thank you for your service; I thank the senior fathers of this Diocese who, while perhaps relieved of administration, continue to serve the faithful by celebrating Holy Mass and the Sacraments. And in thanking all of you, I ask the faithful of this Diocese really and sincerely to pray for vocations to the priesthood and to support this vocation with the intensity it so rightly deserves. Once again, let us remember that without the priesthood there is no Eucharist and without the Eucharist there simply is no Church!

The ministry of the priesthood in the history of the Church has been beautifully supported by the countless numbers of religious brothers and sisters who have served the Church with a dedication that is indescribable. I am so happy to have here today members of religious communities. I was educated in grammar school by the Religious Sisters of Mercy and in high school by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, who both very well prepared me for college and post-graduate studies. The diminished numbers of religious is a great loss for the Church and with their reduced numbers we are realizing more than ever how valuable they have been to the Church not only in these United States but also throughout the world. We can only pray that a renewed appreciation for religious life will blossom and the Church will once again be the beneficiary of the many apostolates of these outstanding consecrated religious women and men.

To the permanent deacons who in recent times have taken on additional responsibilities in service to the Church I am also grateful. Knowing that many of you have families and secular jobs, I appreciate your willingness to serve this Diocese with true loyalty and affection for the Church.

Today, despite all its joy, there is a tinge of sadness. I think of my beloved parents about whom I could never say enough. While I realize they are with the Lord, I do miss their physical presence. Having lost both parents in the last two years, my father as recently as last August, I empathize with all of you who have lost one ones. I think especially of the countless numbers of men and women in the military who have lost their lives in service to our country. I can only imagine the pain of parents who have experienced a son or daughter, so youthful and exuberant, tragically and suddenly taken away. Our only hope, our only consolation is the Lord Jesus. Today as you thank God for the gift of your children, I thank God for the gift of my parents and for all parents who accept the extraordinary responsibility of raising a family.

But the Lord has left me a wonderful family. Today I thank God for my wonderful sister, Vanessa, my brother-in-law, Mark and my nieces Jennifer Ann and Kristin Marie, my aunt, Sister Mary Gloria Santaniello, and for all of you my dear family and friends from near and far. How I wish I could name you all because obviously you are all so important. And now, you the dear people of Vermont also have become my family and this is my home!

At this same time, I realize that many have worked countless hours to prepare for this day. Thank you again and yet again!

To our brothers and sisters representing other faith communities, I thank you for your prayerful support and presence today. Bishop Angell has told me of your cooperative spirit.

Now what remains for this new coadjutor Bishop? What are some of his thoughts? Well to be sure any Bishop today faces a Church existing in a culture that has changed so drastically in the last fifty plus years. How very different the world was in those 1950’s. Experiencing a welcomed peace after a world war, a certain tranquility pervaded the land. The Catholic Church was enjoying a golden age that allowed her to extend her educational, social and charitable missions throughout every diocese and archdiocese with many vocations to the priesthood and the religious life to fill her ranks in managing these agencies of mercy. On the world scale, the glories of the Catholic Church were both recognized and appreciated.

But perhaps despite this illustrious period of the Church, she was still to be purified further, drawn closer to her bridegroom, not only by the insights and vision of the Second Vatican Council, but also through a real experience of the cross that would be felt in challenges which would follow in the years to come.

How very easy it is to believe in the Church when she is experiencing unprecedented growth, basking in the accomplishments of her saints, and her voice, echoing the teachings of her doctors and scholars, is heard and her message readily accepted by the faithful. But when she is challenged, even ridiculed and humiliated by those who claim to love her, strong is the faith and glorious the commitment of those who remain faithful to her; who see in her Christ, the cornerstone; who still hear His word and experience His presence even if proclaimed and celebrated by those who may be weak and even in need of forgiveness. Yes, strong is the faith of those who can proclaim that Christ is risen, but still accept the challenge “Come, follow me,” linked to the greater challenge, “If you wish to be my disciple, take up your cross!” This is the faith that I see in you my brothers and sisters.

So whether the Church lives in a golden age or in an age of trial and persecution, she must never turn her eyes away from the cross and the sacrifice it signifies. Saint Paul reminds the community at Corinth: “Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may be revealed. While we live, we are constantly being delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh.” (II Cor. 4:10-12). And to the Galatians he writes: “May I never boast of anything but the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ!” (Gal. 6:14). This identity with the cross is the foundation for our commitment to the Church, a fidelity that does not falter in times of difficulty, a dedication that does not seek glory and praise but one that is characterized by humility, understanding and compassion. Was it not on Calvary that Jesus turned to the repentant sinner who hung aside of Him and reassured him: “This day you will be with me in paradise.” All that sinner asked was that Jesus would remember him when He came into His Kingdom. Jesus not only remembered him, he brought him home!

Recognizing then this union of charity and forgiveness, the two planks of the cross that frame the Christian life, we as a people of faith live out the mandate of the Gospel and arrive at the glory of Easter. The faithful of this Diocese, you who are here today and the many who join us through television, have given admirable testimony over the years of your belief in Jesus Christ and in His Holy Church. You, the faithful, who follow the Lord, possess a faith that has burned within you with the same intensity as it did among those of the newborn Church, who, as Saint Irenaeus put it, lived when the “echo of the Apostles’ preaching was still audible and Christ’s blood was still warm and faith burned with a living flame in the heart of the believer.” This faith, this love for Christ’s holy bride the Church, this desire to serve your brothers and sisters in charity is what binds a bishop to his people as we move forward to that “unity of faith”, “in unitatem fidei.”

Now, since my appointment as coadjutor bishop of Burlington, many have reminded me of the challenges that I shall face. But allow me to remind all the members of the Catholic Church in Burlington, I am not the only Catholic in this Diocese. If I have challenges, then we all have challenges. It is the responsibility of every baptized Catholic to fulfill faithfully what Christ expects of us as His followers. These obligations begin with the most important of obligations: to attend Mass faithfully every single weekend. To willingly and purposely ignore the personal invitation of Christ to be with Him and to partake of His body, blood, soul and divinity in Holy Communion is, in the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “a grave sin” (no. 2181). If we can say no to Jesus, who declares, “If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you” (Jn. 6:53), if we can dismiss this solemn declaration, how easy it becomes to say no to any person or institution and to break or dishonor any commitment. All that we do as Catholics stems from our attachment to the Eucharist. In an age where so many are well-educated, it seems ironic that people so easily miss Holy Mass, indicative of a lack of understanding of the Eucharistic sacrifice established by Christ Himself.

Churches are not museums or mere testimonies to the past. They are the Houses of the Lord where the Holy Mass is celebrated. If they are to remain open, the love for Christ present in the Eucharist must be manifested by those believers that fill its pews. The full participation of the laity is a true sign of hope, a sign of the active presence of Christ among His people. The success of a parish depends upon the support of its members and their fidelity and devotion to the Holy Eucharist. We all know that no one is attracted to failure! How depressing it is to see empty Churches that once were filled. These occurrences should upset us all!

And if priests are to serve in parishes, parishes have the obligation to foster and to provide priestly vocations. Vocations are nurtured where there is hope, optimism, conviction and deep attachment to the faith in its entirety. No one joins an organization which has no purpose. The teachings of our beloved Church are clear and unambiguous, testifying to the Church’s identity, mission and purpose. The tragedy is that at times these teachings are mitigated, compromised or cast aside and the faithful are deprived of a great gift and a sure foundation for their lives.

Yes, there are challenges, there is the cross, but let us remember, the cross was not failure but the threshold to hope leading to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ. All of us must proclaim and believe in this hope, because I am, indeed, not the last Catholic in Burlington. I plead with those estranged from the Church: “Please come home!” I ask parents to take seriously your duty to raise your children in the Catholic faith, a promise you made at the time of their baptism. I ask all the faithful to work to establish a true culture of life that respects the dignity of every human person from the very moment of conception until natural death. Let us work together to support family life and to guarantee that our children are loved; to work for peace in our families, communities, country and world so that our children receive the inheritance they so justly deserve, namely: a place where love is not just a romantic moment or passing phase, but real and enduring; where forgiveness is not measured but freely given; and where the poor and the unwanted are orphans no longer.

Today the words spoken by Jesus to His first Pope resound: “Feed my sheep” (Jn. 21:17), “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail…you in your turn must strengthen your brothers” (Lk. 22:31-32). I ask for your prayers to fulfill this mandate in union with Bishop Angell, mindful of those words Pope Paul VI addressed to the crowds assembled in Saint Peter’s on the day of his coronation on June 30^th, 1963:

We will love those who are near and those who are far from us. We will love our own country and that of others. We will love our friends, we will love our enemies…We will love all social classes, but especially those most in need of help, of assistance and of advancement. We will love the old, the poor, and the sick. We will love those who mock us, who scorn us, who oppose us, who persecute us…We will want no one to be our enemy…We will love striving to understand, to have sympathy, to admire, to serve and to suffer. We will love with the heart of Christ.”

Invoking the intercession of Mary, Our Beloved Mother, and Patroness of this Diocese under the title of the Immaculate Conception, I pray that together, as a community of believers, we always and everywhere will echo her fiat: “Thy will be done!”

Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
Home