Southwest Liturgical Conference

The Dallas Fort Worth area is blessed to be able to host a number of ecclesial gatherings of study and prayer for those in ministry from all over the United States. Last we year the National Society of St. Vincent de Paul met here, followed not long after by Catholic Charities USA. And we have each year now the annual Dallas Fort Worth Ministry Conference which is sponsored by the Dioceses of Dallas and Fort Worth and the University of Dallas, at which last year over 5000 people were in attendance. Just this past week, the Southwestern Liturgical Conference hosted its annual meeting here to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its establishment. The gathering was blessed with a presentation by Donald Cardinal Wuerl of Washington and Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta. There were many well presented workshops on that related to worship, prayer, and the Sacred Liturgy.  Bishop Farrell presided at the opening Mass and I presided at the closing Mass.  What follows is my homily, based on the readings of the day (Friday of the third week in Ordinary Time, and the feast day of St. Angela Merici), and the theme of the Conference. 

SOUTHWEST LITURGICAL CONFERENCE
CLOSING MASS HOMILY

Most Rev. Kevin W. Vann, J.C.D., D.D.

Bishop of Fort Worth

  
Dear friends, brothers and sisters, and all involved in the Church's Liturgy,

Queridos amigos, hermanos y hermanas, y todos involucrados en la Liturgia de la Iglesia.


Thank you for being here these days in North Texas. I think that you brought us the blessing of being here without ice, which is normal for us in this month. You have brought to us the blessing of rain, and your presence and commitment to liturgical life of the Lord's people. And, like so many others present in our State, I know that you got here as quickly as you could! I certainly did. I guess that I am a reformed Midwesterner or Yankee - and a reformed St. Louis Cardinal's fan....if you followed any of that nationally this year!

At any rate, welcome - y'all - thanks for being here with us, and more importantly, for praying with us.

Gracias por estar aquí estos días en el Norte de Texas. Yo creo que nos trajeron la bendición de estar aquí sin el hielo, que es lo normal para nosotros en este mes. Nos trajeron la bendición de la lluvia, como también su presencia y compromiso a la vida litúrgica del pueblo del Señor. ¡Y, como muchos otros aquí presentes en nuestro estado, yo se que llegaron aquí lo más pronto que pudieron! Seguramente eso hice yo. ¡Creo que soy un Yankee reformado – y, de los St. Louis Cardinals un fanático reformado también… por si siguieron algo de esto a nivel nacional este ano!

De cualquier manera bienvenidos “ya’ll” y gracias por estar aquí con nosotros y aun más importante por orar con nosotros. 

Your theme of reflection in these days - keeping the flame alive - can certainly be a reflection of the Latin liturgical saying of "Lex Credendi, Lex Orandi". Because what you believe, you pray, and what you pray you believe, and thus bring the warmth of the love of Christ to all whom you help to pray, sing, and participate in the Liturgy. I think that your theme for these days is more than a theme - it is a proclamation of mission and the witness of your lives.

El tema de reflexión estos días – conservando la llama viva – puede ciertamente ser una reflexión del verso litúrgico en latín “Lex Credendi, Lex Orandi”. Porque lo que crees, eso rezas, y lo que rezas crees, para así acercar el calor del amor de Cristo a todos a quienes ayudan a orar, a cantar, y participar en la liturgia. Pienso que su tema estos días es  más que un tema – es una proclamación de misión y de testimonio de sus vidas.

Because also a flame not only gives warmth, it gives light, and light will show us the path to walk in the years ahead, in love with the Liturgy of the Church. I might suggest these ways:

1) By your Faith, worship, and ministry, you bring the light of Christ to the present time and in the days and years to come. Keeping the flame alive is not a matter of nostalgia for the 1960's, but rather a light to proclaim the Gospel anew to the present age, whose needs and searching for God are not those of 50 years ago. It is the challenge of the new Evangelization to a far different time and place from where we came. But is not the Sacred Liturgy one of the best teachers and witnesses to the truth and love of Christ to every age? Thus it has been, and thus it will be: what you pray, you believe.

2) The Readings for this day may at first seem a little different for this gathering, but in fact that are the Church's readings - in her public prayer - for the Liturgy. They, too, are a flame that lights the path for living of the Faith in our age - for believing and for praying: 

Las lecturas para este día a primer vista pueden parecer algo diferentes para esta convocación, pero de hecho son las lecturas de la Iglesia—en su oración pública- para Liturgia. Son también una llama que ilumina el camino para vivir nuestra Fe en nuestra epoca - para creer y para orar:

A. David and the Responsorial Psalm: May keeping the flame of authentic liturgical renewal prayer, shine the light of penance, reconciliation, mercy and the necessity of living lives of integrity to those who come to believe and to pray with us!

B. The Gospel: May the light of this Gospel proclaimed in this Liturgy help humanity to see that even the smallest efforts, or the ministry of one person in a tiny parish church or one person in the biggest of our congregations - can lead to greatness, magnificence and new life to someone who may stop by to pray with us, or who are routinely present at Sunday Mass. The great moments in our encounters with the Lord at times begin with the smallest efforts: because we pray, and we believe!

El Evangelio: Que la luz del Evangelio proclamado en esta Liturgia ayude a la humanidad para ver que aun en los mas pequeños esfuerzos, o en el ministerio de una sola persona en una pequeña parroquia o una sola persona en la más grande de nuestras congregaciones – puede llegar a grandeza, magnificencia y nueva vida para alguien quien se detuviera a orar con nosotros, o que rutina mente esté presente en Misa dominical. ¡Los momentos grandes comienzan con los más pequeños esfuerzos: porque oramos y creemos!

C. The Saint of the Day: A part of the Liturgical calendar that I love is the calendar of the Saints. Sometimes, - I know that it is not preferred (!) but I do change from the weekday cycle so that the life of the Saint can shine Forth. Today is St. Angela Merici. She may not mean much to us, unless somewhere in our educational background is the heritage of her daughters, the Ursuline Sisters. In a time when the world as she knew it seemed to be falling apart, St. Angela said that "I also beg to be concerned about every one of your daughters. Bear them, so to speak, engraved upon your heart---This will not be difficult for you if you embrace them with a living love." St. Angela's vision and love for the Body of Christ, and her new community, was, without doubt nourished by the Church's liturgy - where she found the flame and light of Faith to show her the way. May the flame of faith which is strengthened and nourished at the Table of the Lord - through your efforts and lives - help all have that living love. Angela could love because she prayed, she believed.

The Church's year is still new, as the Liturgical Calendar reminds us. The counting or ordering of the Sundays is not even five yet! Having then, begun a new year, we also recently began historic new time in the life, teaching and worship of the Church, in which I believe everyone here played an important role. I know firsthand the work of parish priests, deacons, liturgists, cantors and musicians and others here in Fort Worth. It is a new day, and a new song, a time to believe and to pray: the path for which is illuminated by the fire of the love of Christ in worship and song. It is your and our song; it is song of the entire Body of Christ.

El ano de la Iglesia aun es nuevo, así nos lo recuerda el calendario Litúrgico. ¡El conteo u orden de domingos aun no llega ni a cinco! Siendo así pues, comenzado un ano nuevo también comenzamos un tiempo histórico en la vida, enseñanza y alabanza de la Iglesia, en cual yo creo todos aquí ya han tomado un rollo importante. Soy testigo del trabajo de los sacerdotes en sus parroquias, los diáconos, de los liturgistas, cantores, y músicos y otros más aquí en Fort Worth. Es un nuevo día, y un nuevo canto, un tiempo para creer y para orar: el camino el cual es iluminado por el fulgor del amor de Cristo en alabanza y canto. Es tu canto y el mío, es nuestro canto, el canto de todo el Cuerpo de Cristo. 
The Lord be with you - And with your Spirit –

¡El Señor sea contigo – Y con tu Espíritu!    AMEN, ALLELUIA! 

"Chaminade Day" at Nolan Catholic High School

On January 19, I celebrated Mass for what is called "Chaminade Day" at Nolan Catholic High School. This co-educational Catholic High School is celebrating the 50th year of its foundation. The school was founded by then Bishop Thomas Gorman of Dallas-Fort Worth, and was a coming together of Laneri High School for boys (staffed by the Benedictine Monks of Subiaco Arkansas), and Our Lady of Victory Academy which was sponsored by the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur. The new school, Nolan Catholic, was then staffed and administered by the Marianists and the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur. Today it has an enrollment of nearly 1100 students. Chaminade Day is named after the founder of the Marianists, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, and a medal is awarded to a student who most exemplifies the life and faith of Blessed Chaminade. All of the recipients of this honor since 1972 were present for the all school Mass and a celebration afterward. What follows is my homily for the all school Mass. Thank you to all who together are dedicated to the mission of Nolan Catholic, which has made such an impact in the life of the Church here in Fort Worth and beyond over many years. Special thanks to Fr. Richard Villa SM, President, and Mrs. Cathy Buckingham, Principal.

HOMILY FOR THE 50TH ANNIVESARY OF
NOLAN CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

GOD'S FACEBOOK PAGE
January 19, 2012

        There are certainly a lot of celebrations for this wonderful 50th anniversary of Nolan Catholic this year. As we pray here in the gym, and as we attend classes or walk the halls, or come to all the events and games, we are blessed. But you know… like all good things, this wasn't always so, and we can take what we have for granted. I wonder if we could get a perspective on this day, by imagining a conversation for this day, and this year. And, seeing this conversation take place for this year on what we could call God's “Facebook” page! Although the Diocese has a Facebook page (I don't!), I do know that conversations take place on these pages, sometimes with a picture of the person and his or her thoughts. We believe, certainly, in the communion of Saints, and therefore, that is a type of Facebook page where the "Friends" of God are conversing, and I do believe that many of the principals involved in the history of Nolan Catholic today are indeed visiting and conversing on God's Facebook page. And, this conversation is for us, and our thoughts and our prayer today in this Eucharist, now part of that same Facebook page.

        The first person to speak on the Facebook page is St. John, and beside his picture are his words today in the Gospel, with the story of the water being changed into wine at Cana in Galilee. Mary the mother of Jesus says to the servants, when there is no wine, "Do whatever He [Jesus] tells you." And, so the day and the wedding are saved. We know that this is the first miracle of Jesus in his public ministry, and St. John's tells us that “God's glory is revealed, and so people began to believe in Him."

        At that point there is another entry on the Facebook page from centuries later, Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, trying to live his priesthood after the reign of terror of the French Revolution. He refused to take the oath of allegiance to the State of France, and thus risked his life. He would tell us to believe in the guidance and prayers of the Mother of God, as well, and for people to become Saints to show that even in the midst of the terrible effects of the French Revolution, people could be saints, and that God's glory could be shown. He would say "I want to show the people of France the ‘spectacle of a people of saints.’

        Another entry on face book might come about now, and challenge us not only to become saints, but see the glory of God in our lives, and know that the miracle in the Gospel can find a place in the miracles that faith can show to us on a daily basis. This person might say "Father Chaminade, you show us the way, because your life and your prayers have paved the way for miracles in the lives of the followers of Christ."

        The next entry on God's Facebook page might indeed remind us of miracles, because maybe we are living one here and now. All of those involved in the history of Nolan over fifty years ago - Bishop Gorman, The Sisters of St. Mary - and He would post their entries from eternity for us to see. And they might be something like: We had to leave the security of our schools, Our Lady of Victory and Lanari High. What would be of our identity? Bishop Thomas Gorman might say that “I was being pushed by the business community of Dallas and Fort Worth… that 'if I wanted vocations to the priesthood and religious life' I had to start new high schools. It meant we had to leave the comfort of our schools, but we had to set out on a journey to do it. And so we did and so you are here today.” And, the Provincial Superior of the Sisters of St. Mary at that time, might have said in her post "We loved our Academy and all it stood for. It is not easy for us to leave it behind, but a new time, and these 1960s which are upon us, call us to make sure that our mission and heritage is transmitted in this new school, which will bring so many more the Gospel. And, so, let us go forth!”

        St. Peter, the often companion with John and James, the one to whom the Lord gave the keys, would have his turn and post his entry saying "Remember friends, I told you this could be done….didn't I write to all of you and say that what you are doing, I said long ago? 'Whoever preaches let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ…' My friend St. John speaks of the glory of God today for you. Thus, the history of these fifty years - the miracles of these fifty years and your presence now - are a living testimony to the words that I wrote years ago.”

        One more entry might come from Blessed William Chaminade, and he might say "Do not forget the Mother of God. My friend, St. John, reminds us how she intercedes for us and shows us the way to her Son. She helped me as ‘Our Lady of the Pilar’, and I know that she will help you see the miracles of my son in your life daily."

        You would have entries on God's Facebook for today, as would all of the alums and faculty and families who have walked these halls all of these years. The men and women of faith who made this time possible for us: faculty, parents, The Sisters of St. Mary, The Marianists, and all who have formed and continue to form this community of faith.

For the last post for this moment, St. John would come back again for us: "During these celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of Nolan Catholic, I take my quill and parchment in hand, and point to the words which I wrote so long ago, and which are still the living word of the Lord: ‘Do whatever He tells you….Jesus did this at the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed His glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.’ Those who together began the journey of faith for Nolan Catholic did, and you, go and do likewise: Continue to be people of Faith and Courage!”

AMEN!

North Texas Catholic Bishops Call for First Amendment to be Upheld in Latest HHS Ruling

        Bishops Kevin Vann and Kevin Farrell, bishops of the Catholic Dioceses of Fort Worth and Dallas, respectively, as well as Dallas Auxiliary Bishops Douglas Deshotel and Mark Seitz, join Catholic bishops from throughout the United States in strongly calling for Congress to uphold the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution in regard to the latest U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule that would force religious organizations to provide sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs as part of their health plans.

        The Dioceses of Fort Worth and Dallas are among the fastest growing Catholic dioceses in the country, with a current population of 710,000 Catholics in the Fort Worth Diocese alone.

        The joint statement of Bishops Vann, Farrell, Deshotel and Seitz is:

        The United States is a nation founded on the principle of life, liberty and justice for all and throughout the history of this great nation, the religious communities and those in posts of civil authority have recognized that free practice of religious beliefs are foundational to our country. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." But in recent days the latest salvo in the attack on religious freedom was fired by the Obama Administration and, sadly, by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic. On Friday, Secretary Sebelius announced the Administration’s decision to mandate the inclusion of particular health services in insurance coverage which would result in Catholic institutions having to provide coverage that violates Catholic Church teaching and, therefore, Catholic conscience.

        The HHS ruling requires that sterilization and contraception, including controversial abortifacients, be among the "preventive services" coverage in almost every healthcare plan available to Americans, including health plans offered by religious organizations.

        The one-year concession allowed to implement these provisions is, as Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said, "a one-year period to violate our consciences." Cardinal Roger Mahony, retired archbishop of Los Angeles, says this is a "full frontal attack" on religious freedom.

        As the shepherds for nearly 2 million Catholics in North Texas, we cannot stand by silently.

        This decision is outrageous. It is an unprecedented and untenable abrogation of religious freedom in the United States. This ruling, upon its implementation, would force Catholic institutions--hospitals, schools, social service agencies--to either violate the fundamental tenets of their faith or stop offering health insurance coverage to their employees, students, and clients.

        This is part of a pattern in the United States that has degenerated from the recognition of religion as good and salutary in our society to religion being subjected to punitive discrimination.

        We ask that the Catholics of North Texas, and other people of good will, join us by speaking out for the protection of conscience rights and religious liberty that are essential to the common good of our nation and in keeping with the basic human rights enshrined in our American way of life. We ask our civil authorities at all levels of government to "reform the law and change this unjust regulation," as Cardinal-designate Dolan said after the ruling.

        The Catholic Dioceses of Dallas and Fort Worth, just as every religious organization in the United States, must be allowed to follow the fundamental tenets of their faith in all aspects of life without unwarranted government interference as is guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

I am asking members of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth to contact their members of Congress regarding this deplorable federal ruling.

• Click here to find your representative
• Click here to contact Senator Hutchison
• Click here to contact Senator Cornyn

Dallas Roe Memorial Mass and Prayer Vigil for Life at the National Shrine in Washington, D.C.

Some of the crowd in attendance.          Photo: Juan Guajardo



Bishop Kevin Vann (center) with Bishop Kevin Farrell (right),
Auxiliary Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel (left) and Auxiliary Bishop Mark Seitz (far left)
Photo: Juan Guajardo



Two pictures from the Dallas Roe Memorial Mass on January 21. The gathering numbered well over 2,000 people who attended Mass at the Cathedral of Guadalupe in Dallas and then walked peacefully to the Dallas County Courthouse where Roe v. Wade was decided.

Young people at the Prayer Vigil for Life

Only a small part of the many young people who were present at the Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on January 23.

Young people from the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth

A group of young people from the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth. This group prayed night prayer after the Prayer Vigil for Life at the National Shrine. Seminarians Thomas Jones and Justin Conover were also present. Fr. John Robert Skeldon, who is studying at Catholic University of America, is on the right.

Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Fort Worth

On Sunday morning, January 22, I celebrated Mass at Our Lady of Fatima parish in Fort Worth. This is one of the four Vietnamese parishes in our Diocese. The Church was filled to capacity. The pastor is Fr. Jim Khoi CMC, assisted by Deacon Michael Huong. The Mass was to celebrate the Lunar New Year - and this year is the "Year of the Dragon." After the Mass, there were great festivities in the parish hall, with the children receiving the famous "lucky money" and being entertained by dragons!

Homily at Our Lady of Fatima

Fort Worth, Texas

January 22, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters at Our Lady of Fatima,

        Happy New Year! I am thankful to be with you and Father Jim once again. I really appreciate being with you on New Year's Day... for the “Year of the Dragon.”

        I understand that the Dragon stands for: Luck, Wealth, Strength and Power. These are important for us in the New Year, and I believe that if we search the Scriptures from this Sunday's Mass, we can find these gifts for us in the light of Faith.

        Luck can be better understood as what we call "God's Providence." That is to say that the events of our lives are understood in the presence of God guiding us and directing us. Peter and Andrew, James and John were fishing when the Lord passed by and he called them, and they followed. So, too, in the events of our lives, the Lord passes by and calls us. He makes His presence known through the events of our lives. This is better than luck... it is grace! So, when the Lord passes by us and calls us in the daily events of our lives, let us follow right away, like the Apostles and do not delay.

        Strength and power come from God - to do the right thing and to always be faithful. Jonah was called by God to speak His word. He didn't want to do it, and it was difficult, and he at first ran away. Yet, in the end, he did what God wanted him to do. Let us pray this year to have the strength and power to always do what is right, even if it is not easy: in our work, with our family, and in the decisions of daily life. There we will have real power and strength!

        Wealth - let us remember that even with the material resources that we all need, our real wealth and resource is in God: the gift of Faith. Let us pray for this gift to be stronger for us this year, to teach us gratitude for all God has given us!

        We have many blessings to thank God for in this New Year. I thank God for the gift of your parish and your faith in my life!

God bless you in 2012, in this Year of the Dragon!

Parishioners prepare for the celebration.

Respect Life Mass

Dear friends,

I will be posting a series of pictures and reflections about recent happenings around North Texas and the Diocese of Fort Worth. I wish to begin these reflections, however, with my homily from the Respect Life Mass held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Fort Worth on Friday evening, January 20. This was the evening of the very day that the department of Health and Human Services issued the most unfortunate ruling that health insurance coverage must include mandatory contraceptive and Plan B (abortifacients are included in this one), and that this includes Catholic Institutions such as Catholic schools, universities and hospitals. Such mandates are in absolute contradiction to the freedom to practice our Faith that our country was founded upon. There is evidently no longer such a thing as freedom of conscience, and free practice of religion in our country. More commentary to follow later...

Respect Life Mass

St. Patrick's Cathedral

January 20, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

        Thank you for coming here this evening to St. Patrick's Cathedral and gathering on the evening of the weekend of Respect Life. Even as we hear today the discouraging news that the HHS health insurance regulations have been published, and that there is no protection of conscience, we gather as a people of faith, strength, and conviction. We do not ever give into the negative spirits of anger and discouragement, but rather walk by Faith.

        We hear this evening from St. Matthew's Gospel, and we need to always remember that by the time this Gospel, and the others, had been written, the early Church (the early followers of Christ) had been seemingly dispersed in the persecutions of Emperor Nero and the other despotic emperors that immediately followed. Yet, in all of this the Gospels are considered to be "Good News," and "Good News" is what is preached! "Good News" in the face of seeming destruction. But, the Paschal Mystery, the power of God, is always at work.

        I remember Cardinal Francis George of Chicago reflecting on the election of Pope Benedict XVI; as he was looking out from the loggia of St. Peter's, from the Vatican Hill over where St. Peter was buried, while the Holy Father was giving his first blessing, he knew that in the distance were the ruins of the Roman Emperor's palace on the Palatine Hill. This hill was where Nero had lived, and it was looking back! What was in the ruins? Nero - he was gone as well as his palace. What remains? What endures? The Faith - the proclamation of the Gospel, the Body of Christ the Church; clearly illustrated by the successor of St. Peter, blessing the city and the world from the Vatican Hill, the same hill where St. Peter was crucified and martyred. The Gospel and the Faith remain, which proclaim the great gift of life from God!

        This year, we are also blessed in the new Roman Missal to have actual prayers for this day inserted just for the Church in the United States: A “Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life!” We walk by Faith, we pray together -- where two or three are gathered, there am I in your midst!

        We remember that the prayer this evening (our prayer this evening) acknowledged that God alone has the power to impart the breath of life, and that gift of life is formed in our mother's womb. We pray as well that moment to moment, day to day, we may remain faithful to the sacred trust and constant in safeguarding the dignity of every human life!

        The first reading of prophet Isaiah speaks of the desert. There are certainly times these days that we seem like we are walking in a desert where this gift of life has little or no protection. This can seem to be the reality after the announcement of the new HHS regulations with no conscience protection. Yet, if any of us have seen the barren deserts of the Southwest in the spring we know very well that those deserts do bring forth life where there was seemingly none before. When this same first reading tells us that the Spirit from on high will be poured out, we do know that the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon us to bring to life those seven gifts, so that, walking by Faith, we will know courage, wisdom, wonder and awe, and all of the rest in our efforts to work, live, preach and proclaim the Gospel of Life. This is so that those preborn who are waiting to come into the world may do so because we walk by Faith and are not, and never will be afraid.

        We pray, we walk by Faith, and we commit ourselves to making our voices heard in this country that once guaranteed religious freedom, and which now has seemingly allowed it to fall by the wayside. We pray and commit ourselves to a clear witness of the value of human life, not only this weekend, but every day in the year ahead, so that our religious freedoms and our consciences may never be silenced. We remember the words of the Polish Bishops before the Second World War, especially the late heroic Cardinal Stefan Wysinsky of Warsaw that "Caesar may never sit on the altar." Never! Then, and now!

        We pray this evening for all in our Respect Life Ministries, we pray for mothers, fathers, families and preborn children. Thanks to all of you for being here this evening, and joining together.

        When we celebrate and then finish Mass, the words in Latin are always "Ite, Missa est!" This exhortation tells us, then, that our prayer and Mass together is not a matter of staying back and saying nothing, but taking the Gospel and going forth so that society and culture are transformed. In the new Roman Missal, one of the formulas for the end of Mass is "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life."

        That is what we do this evening. We go forth, and glorifying God by the commitment we have in our lives to live our prayer and commitment to our respect life ministries in every way, and by bringing our convictions about what we have received from God, and what our country was founded on - and is now seemingly lost - in the public square.

        As St. Paul says we are never discouraged, because “We walk by Faith, not by sight!” (2Cor. 6-7)

AMEN.

Onward to DC

Today I attended Mass in Dallas and then headed to Weatherford for the Hike for Life. Tonight I will celebrate another special Mass. I will post more on this very important weekend soon.

Bishop Vann and Fr. Casey SAC in Weatherford

Young people prepare to Hike for Life in Weatherford, Texas.

Why I Love Religion

Here We Come

I just heard that Region X's ad limina dates have been released.

Auguri

Coat of Arms for "Cardinal Dolan"

Congratulations to Cardinals Elect Dolan and O'Brien!

In one of the previous posts, you saw two cardinals in a tree in the winter. This was an allusion to Cardinals Elect Dolan and O'Brien and their forthcoming elevation next month. This is a personal blessing for me. I have known Cardinal designate Dolan for many years now, and I wish to publicly congratulate him and thank him for the years of friendship and support in many moments of priestly ministry. Since I had studied at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, and then right after that, the North American College in Rome, we have had many chances to visit and be together these past years, and have many common friends and relationships. He gave our Diocesan priests' retreat three years ago and his words were very much appreciated by our priests. As he himself mentioned, his nomination to the College of Cardinals is a reflection of his years of ministry in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Milwaukee, and New York, the North American College and many other places and people. A priest would say, like Cardinal Dolan, that an honor or recognition to the priesthood or episcopacy is connected with the lives and faith journeys of the people whom the Lord sends our way. Such it is with Cardinal Timothy Dolan. I know that the bishop who ordained me a priest in 1981, Bishop Joseph McNicholas of Springfield (native of St. Louis) would be - and undoubtedly is - proud of Cardinal elect Dolan.

Cardinal elect O'Brien                                    Credit:CNS/Paul Haring

Congratulations, as well to Cardinal Elect Edwin O'Brien. His service in the Archdiocese of New York as Rector of both St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers and the North American College in Rome, his years as Archbishop of the Military Services and Archbishop of Baltimore, and now as Grand Master of the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre have been a source of untold blessings and the building up and strengthening of ecclesial relationships throughout the Body of Christ in the entire world. I wish to add a special note of thanks to Cardinal designate O'Brien for his encouragement to me in my work and ministry with the Pastoral Provision.

AD MULTOS ANNOS GLORIOSQUE ANNOS TO BOTH!!!

ACE

After the announcement of the establishment of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter at Our Lady of Walsingham in Houston, the Bishops of Region X were on retreat at the Oblate Center in San Antonio. Following a weekend back in the Diocese, where among other duties, I installed  the new Pastor of St. Mary's in Gainesville, Texas, Father Victor Cruz. I returned to San Antonio with the Bishops of Texas for a meeting with faculty from the University of Notre Dame concerning the mission of Catholic schools and how to maintain, strengthen, and how to establish new schools with an unmistakable Catholic identity. 

Many of the Dioceses in Texas are already blessed with the presence of the ACE students of the University of Notre Dame, whose vocation is that of being Catholic educators. The faculty of the University of Notre Dame were especially interested in how they can assist the Bishops of Texas in expanding the presence of Catholic schools for immigrant groups, such as the Hispanic population. The Church in the United States has a long and blessed history of educating immigrant populations in Faith and life through Catholic schools. Many dioceses in Texas, including Fort Worth, are planning new Catholic schools to meet this need.

Varia

Sorry for the delay in posts. There has been plenty of New Year work to take care. But in the meantime...


Did you know that there is a ship called the USS Fort Worth that is scheduled to be commissioned on September 22, 2012 when she sails into Galveston, Texas? It is a Freedom class littoral combat ship. Littoral, from the Latin litus means "seashore" and so it is designed to be agile and stealthy "in the littorals". In the video, which I won't post here, it defines Fort Worth as "a pioneering city in the State of Texas known for its grit and tenacity".

The USS Fort Worth                                           Photo Credit: Lockheed Martin

And speaking of grit and tenacity, tonight's match up should be full of that. There has been a lot in the news regarding the purposeful display of Faith for Denver's Tim Tebow. It will be interesting to see how things play out.

Photo Credit: Jack Dempsey

Congratulations Archbishop O'Brien and Archbishop Dolan!

Pics

Here are some pics from the campus of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, where the Texas Bishops are finishing up their retreat.

Grotto

Modeled after Tepeyac

The Nativity

A New Year

St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Austria                     Credit: Lisi Niesner

A bit delayed but here is my prepared statement on the recent announcement of the Personal Ordinariate. Right now, I am on retreat with the other Bishops of Texas in San Antonio.

Good morning all, dear brothers and sisters and friends present here today. 


Happy New Year! 

I'm very grateful to be present here at Our Lady of Walsingham today, at this historical moment for the announcement of the establishment of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter under the Patronage of Our Lady of Walsingham. I wish to offer my personal word of congratulations and fraternal support to Fr. Steenson, whom I came to know not long after I became the Bishop of Fort Worth nearly seven years ago, and I now consider a good friend. He will be a faith filled shepherd for the Ordinariate, and is also a scholar of the Fathers of the Church, whose writings are so key to understanding the nature of the Church, and the call to communion. I might add here that Father Steenson gave the Texas Bishops' retreat just two years ago at this time in San Antonio, on the theme of "Episcopal Ministry in the Fathers of the Church", and it was well received by all of the Bishops present.  

I also acknowledge the presence of my friend Cardinal DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, and also thank Cardinal Donal Wuerl of Washington, D.C., Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, MA, and Fr. Scott Hurd of Washington, D.C., with whom I have worked very closely in these past two years.  

I have been a member of the Anglicanorum coetibus commission, and am now the Ecclesiastical Delegate for the Pastoral Provision. Both of these are distinct, yet complementary expressions in the contemporary life of the Church of the will of the Lord himself when he prayed that all may be one (John 17). They reflect the quest and call for Full Communion with the Catholic Church, and I also believe, the opportunity to give a witness of the joy and peace that come from the journey to full communion with the Church. As a canon lawyer, I also know that the last canon in the Code of Canon Law states that the supreme law is the "salvation of souls", and that is, in the end, this is the reason for this journey of Faith into the Ordinariate.  

Bishop Vann and Rev. Steenson
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

When I was appointed to Fort Worth in 2005, I found that the some of the foundation for this historic day had been already laid in Fort Worth by these individuals and groups: the mutual work and ministry of the late Bishop Delaney, my predecessor in the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth and Bishop Clarence Pope, then Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth; together with a community of Anglo-Catholics in the Diocese of Fort Worth who now make up the parish of St. Mary the Virgin in Arlington, Texas. There were also other Episcopalian priests and laity as well who were seeking full communion with the Catholic Church in the years before I was sent to forth worth. These individuals had been brought to Christ and their Faith nourished in Baptism in their respective Anglican communities and the prayer and liturgical traditions of those communities.

I need also here to mention here the friendships, good will and ecclesial relationships, within and among the Catholic and Episcopalian Diocese: especially my friendship with the members of the Society of the Holy Cross and Bishop Jack Iker that I believe are part of this providential history. 

Not many years after the establishment of the Pastoral Provision by Pope John Paul II in 1981, its lived reality proved to be a blessing and a part of the life of the local Church of Fort Worth - where life long Catholics and priests, and priests and individuals and communities who came through the Pastoral Provision have lived and worked together to proclaim the Kingdom of God and built up the Body of Christ.  

Not long after my appointment to Fort Worth, I was appointed as Vice Delegate for the Pastoral Provision with special responsibility for Texas. Now, as the Delegate of the Holy See for the Pastoral Provision, I am here to offer my personal support to Fr. Steenson and the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter; and my promise to continue to work together, and pray with and for the Ordinariate and Father Steenson: in the calling to help build up and strengthen the life of the this new Ordinariate. At the same time, I will continue the work of the Pastoral Provision for those Episcopalian priests who wish to become members of a Latin Rite Diocese.   

Anglicanorum coetibus brings to the entire Church the reality of Faith that has been the lived experience of the Pastoral Provision in the Diocese of Fort Worth. Today is a day of rejoicing as we begin in this new year, and a new chapter in the life of the Church in the United States.

Thank you and God bless you. 

St. Timothy's at St. Mary's

Members of St. Timothy's

On January 1, 2012, the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, and the same day as the announcement of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, the community of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church made their first step into the journey of Full Communion with the Catholic Church. The community of St. Timothy were welcomed to classic and beautiful St. Mary of the Assumption Church near downtown Fort Worth by Fr. David Bristow, Pastor, Bishop Kevin Vann, and Lucas Pollice, Director of Catechesis for the Diocese of Fort Worth. Fr. Christopher Stainbrook, who had been their pastor at St. Timothy's, celebrated the Anglican Liturgy for them at 2:00 PM. They were also joined by some members of the community of St. Peter the Rock, who had been received in September of 2011.   

With the establishment of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter the same day, it was a day of thanksgiving for what had been, and rejoicing in the Providence of God that had brought them to this next step into their journey of Full Communion. St. The readings for that day called them, and all of us in this journey of Faith, to bless God at this moment, to give glory and praise to God by their lives, and like Mary, to reflect on these events in their hearts. 

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter

Catholic leaders on the establishment of the new ordinariate

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington
Cardinal Wuerl was the Vatican’s representative for the implementation of Anglicanorum coetibus in the United States

Reverend Jeffrey Steenson
Ordinary of
the Chair of St. Peter

It is with great joy that I welcome the establishment of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, and the announcement that Reverend Jeffrey N. Steenson, DPhil, has been appointed its first Ordinary. 


Today’s events are the fulfillment of the hopes of many Anglicans in the United States who have longed and prayed for reconciliation with the Catholic Church while retaining cherished elements of the Anglican patrimony. The establishment of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is the culmination of careful preparation and much consultation with Vatican officials and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 


I am especially grateful for the generous assistance and fraternal welcome that many local bishops have extended to those Anglican clergy and groups seeking to join the Ordinariate. As the former Episcopal Bishop of the Rio Grande, Father Steenson brings to the position of Ordinary great pastoral and administrative experience, along with his gifts as a theologian. Under his leadership, and through the intercession of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter will both flourish and be a rich blessing to the Catholic Church in the United States.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
Cardinal DiNardo has been very supportive of the ordinariate, which will be based at Our Lady of Walsingham parish in Houston.

Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham

I welcome the establishment of the ordinariate and the appointment of Father Steenson, whom I have known since 2009.

He is a wise and prudent administrator who will bring a vibrant intellect and humility to his role as head of the ordinariate. He has a very deep sense of the meaning of Church. Father Steenson is not only an outstanding patristic scholar, but a priest with a strong pastoral sense and an abiding respect for all people. He will surely be an effective, kind and joyful leader who will love and guide God’s people with the attitude of Christ.