June 5, 2022

Pentecost Sunday

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord’s Church and the fulfillment of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. The scene from the Acts of the Apostles is filled with drama, as “a noise like a strong driving wind” and “tongues as of fire” accompany the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. What was the effect of this outpouring? We read that the apostles went forth confidently, speaking in the many languages of the visitors to Jerusalem. In the words of St. Bede, “Now the Holy Spirit appeared in fire and in tongues because all those whom He fills He makes simultaneously to burn and to speak – to burn because of Him and to speak about Him.”

From the beginning of time, the Holy Spirit has been at work with the Father and the Son on the divine plan for our salvation. Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at our baptism, we are each called to be cooperators with that plan, not only for our own sanctification, but for the sanctification of the whole world. The Catholic Church is God’s sacramental presence on earth, imbued with the Holy Spirit, given to us as a means for our salvation. All the resources of the Church – human, physical, financial – must be ordered to Jesus’ great commission to proclaim the Good News of salvation and make disciples of all nations.

This is the purpose of Beacons of Light, to best enable the proclamation of the Gospel in our own archdiocese. On July 1, we will move on to the next major phase of Beacons of Light, implementation of the new Families of Parishes and the start of intentional pastoral planning within each of those Families. This planning will be rooted in sincere prayer and open collaboration as each Family together discerns the best and highest use of their shared resources to radiate the love of Christ and form a strong, vital community of evangelization and service centered on the Eucharist. There will undoubtedly be hard decisions involving sacrifice and loss, but which will bear great fruit in the future. This is the enduring Christian journey, one which needs to be offered up in prayer to God’s providence.

In a 2006 homily, Pope Benedict XVI said, “in Pentecost the Spirit, with the gift of tongues, demonstrates that His presence unites and transforms confusion into communion.” As we move forward into an unsure and sometimes confusing future, let us stay united as the Body of Christ, confident that the Holy Spirit is with us until the end of time. Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your commitment to the flourishing of our local Church. May God bless and keep all of us as we journey together on the path of discipleship.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

Archbishop of Cincinnati

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The episcopal consecration of Bishop-elect Earl K. Fernandes and his installation as the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Columbus is an occasion for great joy as one of our own archdiocesan priests joins the college of bishops. Although we will miss his incredible intellect, unflagging energy and compassion for all people, we know Bishop Fernandes will serve and shepherd his new diocese well.

From its earliest days the Church has had bishops. The first letter to Timothy (1 Tim. 2) refers to bishops, as did many of the Church Fathers, notably St. Ignatius of Antioch early in the 2nd Century. Bishops have always been recognized as the successors of the apostles, fulfilling their special calling to teach, sanctify and govern the faithful of their local churches while also sharing responsibility for the universal Church.

The documents of the Second Vatican Council have much to say about dioceses and their bishops. “A diocese is a portion of the people of God which is entrusted to a bishop to be shepherded by him with the cooperation of the presbytery. Thus … it constitutes a particular church in which the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church of Christ is truly present and operative” (Christus Dominus, 11).

In other words, the diocese is not simply a branch office of Rome, nor is the bishop a branch manager for the pope. The Holy Father is, of course, the successor of Peter and the “foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful,” according to the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. The individual bishops, however, are the foundation of unity in their particular churches, “from which churches comes into being the one and only Catholic Church. For this reason, the individual bishops represent each his own church, but all of them together and with the pope represent the entire Church in the bond of peace, love and unity” (Lumen Gentium, 23).

Thus, the diocesan bishop governs the local church as its pastor in unity with the pope and assisted by priests and deacons. The model for bishops in that task, the Council said (LG, 27), is that of the Good Shepherd. For that reason, every bishop receives upon his installation a staff called a crosier that is curved at the top like a shepherd’s crook as a symbol of his pastoral office. Christ Himself uses shepherd imagery when he tells St. Peter, chief of the apostles and the first pope, to “Feed my lambs,” “Tend my sheep,” and “Feed my sheep” (Jn. 21:15-17).

The Good Shepherd is, of course, Jesus (Jn. 10:11, 14), who came not to be served, but to serve (Mt. 20:28; Mk. 10:45). Following His example, the service of the bishop to the faithful in his diocese is three-fold: he teaches the faith, by word and by witness; he sanctifies, by administration of the sacraments; and he governs as a servant leader. By his temperament, training and 20 years of experience as a priest in many different roles (including pastor, teacher and seminary academic dean), Bishop-elect Fernandes is well suited to his new ministry.

No bishop, no matter how well equipped and suited to the task, can model the Good Shepherd alone. He needs the help not only of his priests and deacons, but also of the lay faithful. In my own ministry, I have been deeply grateful for the support of the laity in this archdiocese, especially in challenging situations. I am confident that Bishop Fernandes will find the same generous spirit among his flock as they work together as the Body of Christ to build up their local church.

Most of all, a bishop needs prayers. Please join me in praying for our beloved brother, Bishop Earl K. Fernandes, as he expands his ministry to shepherd the faithful of the Diocese of Columbus.

May 25, 2022

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Yesterday’s horrific news of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas shakes us to our core and reminds us once again of the fragility of human life. This senseless, heartbreaking tragedy reinforces the desperate need for conversion to a culture of life in our country, one that respects the inherent dignity and sacredness of every human being from conception to natural death. I join my fellow U.S. Catholic bishops in sharing the following statement:

“There have been too many school shootings, too much killing of the innocent. Our Catholic faith calls us to pray for those who have died and to bind the wounds of others, and we join our prayers along with the community in Uvalde and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller. As we do so, each of us also needs to search our souls for ways that we can do more to understand this epidemic of evil and violence and implore our elected officials to help us take action.”

God alone is the Author and Lord of life. The intentional taking of innocent human life is intrinsically evil. I implore everyone of faith to join in prayer for the victims, their family members and their loved ones. May we, the Catholics of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, together petition our Blessed Mother to intercede for them so that they might know the peace and healing of Jesus, her Son.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

Archbishop of Cincinnati

Devotion to the saints, those holy men and women who have gone before us on earth and are now with God in heaven, has been a vital part of Catholic culture and practice from the earliest centuries of the Church. In particular, we venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary. We honor her as the mother of God, the mother of the Church and our mother, as well.

Depictions of the Blessed Virgin as an aid to prayer have appeared on frescos in the catacombs of Rome, on icons and on statues and paintings in churches throughout the world and over the centuries. Many of our most beautiful Catholic hymns are about Mary, reflecting the affection Christian people have always had for her. She is not a remote figure, but close to us as our model of faith, intercessor and Blessed Mother. In all of these roles, she leads us to Christ.

Mary is often called the first and most perfect disciple of Jesus. She believed in the message of an angel even though she did not know how it could be. In response to her kinswoman Elizabeth’s cry of “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” at the Visitation, she responds with the beautiful prayer, the Magnificat: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior” (Lk. 1:46-47). Mary is a model of faith, and we draw on her example for courage and strength as she accompanies us during life’s challenging times and big transitions.

In the Gospel according to John, we see Mary as intercessor when she subtly advocates for the bridal party at the wedding feast of Cana. She says just two things: “They have no wine” (Jn. 2:3) and “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn. 2:5). Despite protesting that His hour has not yet come, Jesus turns water into wine at the behest of His mother. Following the ancient practices of the Church, Catholics often ask Mary to go toGod on our behalf. That is what we do when we say such treasured Marian prayers as the “Hail Mary,” the “Hail! Holy Queen” and the “Memorare.”

Mary is the ideal intermediary because she is close to the Lord and close to us, a mother to both. She became the mother of God Incarnate when she told the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation, “May it be done unto me according to your word” (Lk. 1:38). She became the mother of the Church and its members when Jesus said to her at the foot of the cross, “Woman, behold your son” and to the beloved disciple, “Behold, your mother” (Jn. 19:26-27). Later, she was with the other disciples in the Upper Room (Acts 1:13) as a part of the early Church community in Jerusalem.

There are many ways in which the faithful can devote themselves to Mary, including the rosary, the Angelus, Mary gardens, Marian pilgrimages and May crownings. And since her assumption into heaven body and soul, the Church has found many apparitions of Mary worthy of belief, generating special devotions and feast days to Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Guadalupe and others.

In my own life and in my ministry as priest and bishop, I have always felt close to the Blessed Virgin and valued Marian devotions as a means to follow her to Christ. Last June 19, on the bicentennial of the founding of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, I was pleased to re-consecrate our local Church to Jesus through Mary culminating a 33-day pilgrimage during which a blessed statue of Our Lady of Fatima was carried to 36 parishes across the archdiocese. This March 25, I again called upon Mary, asking her to watch over our archdiocese. We can be sure of Mary’s maternal care as we strive to be faithful disciples and joyful witnesses.

Holy Mary, Mother of God and our mother, pray for us!