He Dwells Among Us

With Mary we contemplate—and learn to become—the face of Jesus.

Doctors tend to be very thorough in prescribing care for their patients. I will be the first to admit, though, I haven’t always been very good about taking their advice to heart—at least not until my symptoms worsen and get my attention. It was much easier when I was living at home. My mother never failed to remind me what was needed and to help me recover when I was sick. I think this is one reason why I particularly like the month of October, a month dedicated to our Heavenly Mother.

In front of our Chancery building stands a statue of Mary holding the child Jesus. Inscribed at the base of the statue are the words of Mary at the wedding at Cana: “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). When it comes to our spiritual health, no better words can be offered. And the best way to internalize the words of Christ as a prescription for the soul is to meditate upon the Gospel, especially with the help of Mary and her gift to us, the rosary.
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Our spiritual growth and that of our diocese requires repentance and hope.

“To be young again!” The older we get, the more this thought occurs to many of us, or at least it does to me. But in a certain sense, when I left the Archdiocese of St. Louis to come to Knoxville, I became young again. I left a diocese that’s 184 years old and was established in 1826 for one that turns 22 this month. On Sept. 8, when the Church celebrates the birth of Mary—the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin—we celebrate our youth and our growth.

I wish I could first speak about this youthful joy that many of us take for granted. But for some, memories of youth are just too painful to recall. Such is the case for Warren Tucker, a very private man whose courageous act in exposing the ultimate form of betrayal made him a very public figure. Mr. Tucker was the victim of the heinous crime of sexual abuse perpetrated by Bill Casey, one who will never again bear the title of a priest of the Catholic Church, much less serve in that capacity.

Victimized long ago and for many years, Mr. Tucker has tragically become a victim again, this time in the form of death threats he has received for exposing this most grave offense against the dignity of the human person. As bishop of this diocese, I wish in no uncertain terms to condemn this horrible act against Mr. Tucker. I renew my total pledge of support to him and to his family and especially ask your prayers for him. I pray Mr. Tucker’s example will in some way inspire and help other victims of abuse to come forward. As they initiate the process of justice, I pray that the process of healing may begin for them.
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Those imprisoned, physically or spiritually, need our help and prayers.

“Remember me . . .” These words recorded in the Gospel of St. Luke (23:42) begin the last prayer of a condemned and dying man—the Good Thief. Addressed to Jesus, who was crucified next to him on Calvary, this prayer was certainly his last, and it may have been his first. But God’s mercy is so rich that with those simple but sincere words, the thief received infinitely more in his conversion than he could ever have stolen in his lifetime.

I couldn’t help but think of these words of Dismas, the Good Thief, as I finished a pastoral visit to the Morgan County Correctional Complex last month. The humble men Father Michael Sweeney, Deacon Norm Amero, Sean Driscoll, Paul Beanblossom, John Cross, and I met that day asked only one thing: to be remembered.
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Life’s tragedies often lead us in new directions of hope.

“You ought to be dead.” Not a day has gone by since my near-death experience last August when I haven’t recalled those words of my doctor, spoken in the blunt manner doctors are sometimes known for. He immediately followed those words with the only explanation he could come up with for my survival, a reason that ought to have been more obvious to me than to him: “I can’t explain it,” he said, “except for the power of prayer.”

Does God hear our prayers, and can he bring good out of suffering and tragedy? Absolutely. And if I needed to be persuaded of this before, I sure didn’t need it after my hospitalization.
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Youth—and their special contributions—are a treasure of the Church.

The older I get, the more I appreciate Jesus’ words in Matthew’s Gospel about the necessity of becoming as little children (18:3). I must admit, though, I sometimes find myself agreeing with the artist Pablo Picasso, who said, “It takes a long time to become young.” But I hope to receive a lesson on this over the course of the next two weeks, when I will be visited by eight of my nephews and nieces.

Pope John Paul II is remembered as the pope of the youth, among many other things, and he often referred to them as a “special treasure” of the Church. He noted that as we get older, it’s not uncommon for us look down on youth and perhaps become overly critical of them. But this mindset limits us to a “ministry to youth” rather than also emphasizing a “ministry of the youth.”
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