February 1, 2004

Saint Paul’s letters to the young bishops Timothy and Titus, who shepherded the church in Ephesus and Crete, are full of practical advice addressed to each of them as his dear “child” which is analogous to the term the Risen Christ used when he called to his apostles as they were fishing in Galilee. It is the first duty of a bishop to announce that Jesus is risen and has conquered death. The bishop embodies Christ among the faithful, living out in his person the witness to the Resurrection, which is passed on to him by laying on of hands from the original apostles. You can look up the name of any bishop in the church records and trace his apostolic “genealogy.” By custom the pectoral cross of a bishop does not have the figure of Christ on it, because the bishop himself represents Christ who is the Chief Bishop of Souls. In our parish we have had frequent opportunity to use the liturgical greeting of a bishop at the entrance doors with the hymn “Christus Vincit” — Christ Conquers. As the bishop kisses a crucifix, which is presented to him and blesses the faithful with holy water, the hymn bids health and long life to the Pope as Universal Shepherd, and to the bishop as shepherd of the local church in communion with the Sovereign Pontiff. We shall do this again on Thursday, February 5, when Cardinal Egan celebrates the annual Red Mass for judges and lawyers.

A bishop, and the priests ordained by him, have “tria munera”, three responsibilities: to teach, to sanctify, and to govern, in the name of Christ who is Prophet, Priest, and King. They go together, as one cannot teach properly without leading those taught to holiness, and one cannot form the people in holiness unless they are properly guided and disciplined and protected. Isolated from each other, teaching becomes pedantic, sanctification becomes pietistic, and governing becomes peremptory. St. Paul tells Timothy (1 Tim. 3:5) that a bishop cannot govern the church unless he gets his own household in order. In doing that, the new Archbishop of Boston has addressed the question of Catholic politicians who promote abortion and other evils. He says we need adult catechesis because the problem “is not only politicians but those (Catholics) who vote for them.” He chides those who receive communion unworthily: “These politicians should know that if they’re not voting correctly on these life issues that they shouldn’t dare come to Communion…Catholics feel that everyone is entitled to go to Communion all the time….we’ve lost the notion of the sacredness of Communion and the kind of disposition we need to have.” Catholics must “be willing to live their faith heroically; the testimony of holiness is the only thing that’s going to be able to convince people.”

Fr. George W. Rutler