And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
August 5, 2025
Hello Everyone –
Last week, I had the opportunity to spend some time at home with my family. It is always a time of blessing and renewal. It’s the place where you cannot get away with anything because they know you to the root. It is unfortunate that the same dynamic does not play out in the larger society in which we live.
I am still a person who loves to have the time to sit and devour the daily newspaper (hardcopy, that is) — whatever the brand. On July 23, it happened to be the weekly installment of The Cap Times.
In the Letters to the Editor section, there appeared a gritty, painfully honest cartoon in which a single caricature bearing the visage of a well-known political leader was portrayed as the “Master Gardener.” He was attired in bib overalls and holding a watering can. While there were eight different pots in total needing the gardener’s attention, only the pot with the name plaque “Fear” garnered any attention. The plant itself, gnarled, thorny, and imposing, was flourishing. It was well-watered and well-nourished as indicated by the empty sack of fertilizer adjacent to the pot.
This verdant scene was juxtaposed with the other seven pots containing the remnants of once living plants and bearing different name plaques such as “Food Assistance,” “Research,” “Environment,” and “Health Care.” But the one plaque that really caught my attention was the one stating “Much Much More…” I could not help myself but to immediately start crafting my own name plaques – and they were legion. Among them were “Starvation in Gaza” — “Human Trafficking” — “Bigotry” — “Alligator Alcatraz” — “Abortion” — “Abuse of Power & Privilege” — “Discrimination” — and “Much Much More.”
As I pondered the political cartoon, I could not help but call to mind the above-cited passage from John’s Gospel as well as the Feast of the Transfiguration which as a church we celebrate tomorrow (August 6).
The “verdict” as St. John states it is truly unsettling, especially when we are called out for choosing darkness instead of the light — and quite often for being complicit to whatever degree in marring God’s greatest creation by denigrating the goodness and dignity of the human person. There is so much darkness to name and to speak out against — so many evil actions that tear at the very fabric of humankind.
As the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church in the southeastern portion of the state of Wisconsin, I ponder my own complicity at times for not speaking out more strongly and boldly in the face of the advancing darkness. As I sit before God, I ask myself if I am doing enough to name the darkness, work for change, and call upon others to do what should be natural for people of good will.
Peter, James and John were given a preview of coming attractions, if you will, when offered a glimpse of the Resurrection by the Lord Jesus as he was transfigured before them. Even though they did not at the time comprehend the pending darkness of the Lord’s Passion and Death, they would recall what the Lord had revealed when things became seemingly hopeless.
I do not know about you — but I need the Feast of the Transfiguration this year now more than ever — to help me not get lost in the darkness of my/our human frailty. It is a feast of consolation, hope and peace as I go about my life trying to speak out more courageously for those who do not have a voice — or who have had their voice stifled. I pray that the same is true for you.
As I do for you, please pray for me,
Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Archbishop of Milwaukee
Subscribe to The Branches