Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

You may have heard the old adage, “promises are made to be broken.” Unfortunately, we have experienced the truth of that statement. For example, the tollway that established a tax for the use of roads, with a promise that once the tax covers the road construction, the tax will be removed. The only thing that was removed was the price — which was elevated. Now traveling the road south of us, there is a demand that one “pony up” a sizable number of “shekels” in order to travel on I-294. We should have known that once a tax, there is always a tax, no matter what is promised.

Remember when television stations switched to cable and satellite? The promise was that the viewing would be so much better. No one would be subjected to those awful commercials which interrupted viewing pleasure, because you are now personally paying for your television. Well, if you’ve happened to watch television recently, the commercials are not only back in force, but their length is now almost three minutes, as opposed to one or two in the past. And it seems like they time the commercials so that if you are a “surfer,” the other channels have commercials at the same time.

“Commercial-free” does not exist, and paid advertisements appealed quickly to pocketbooks of the management. After the three minutes of commercials, one almost forgets what the program is all about. It’s like putting down a book after being interrupted; suddenly you must be reminded where you left off. Even the quality of the programming, which was promised to be vastly improved, now varies in content from trivial to artistic, but the artistic being in short supply.

Television was always a diversion, but now one turns on the television to be exposed to the complications of families that must deal with the problems of their wealth, and sexual relationships that are anything but virtuous. Newton N. Minow, former Chairman of the Federal Communication Commission (1961-1963), called television the “vast American wasteland.” But I bet that not even Minow could have imagined the “swamp” which exists today.

There is also the promise that was posed to us when we were kids. We would go to the doctor or dentist, and we would hear from our trusted professionals, “this won’t hurt a bit” as the needle was plunged into our arms, or the drill entered our mouth. They were right, it did not hurt a bit; it did not hurt them a bit as we wiped the tears from our eyes.

But regardless, there is a promise that we can rely on – one that is never broken — and that is the promise offered to us by Jesus. He promised to be with us always. Perhaps as I grow into my senior years, I reflect more and more on how true His promise has been. I see Him in the love that family and friends have shared with me. I see Him in the profound witness offered by people of faith from the parishes, the dioceses and the archdioceses I have been privileged to serve. And as we approach the Eucharistic Revival, we understand how true it is that He feeds us with His Flesh and Blood as a source of strength in our journey through life.

We are blessed to have His “word,” His promise, and to know that we are called to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Note: This blog originally appeared as the Sept. 12, 2023, "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.