The Branches

Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, 
and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 
(2 Corinthians 9:6)

Hello Everyone –
 
Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

I was awakened at 6:04 a.m. on Sunday, September 6, 2020, by the ringing of my cell phone. Mom and I just happened to be spending a few days at home (Madison) over that Labor Day weekend.

The phone had grown silent by the time I came to consciousness. So, I clumsily hit the redial button only to hear the voice of the Apostolic Nuncio (the pope’s representative in the United States), Archbishop Christophe Pierre, on the other end. He was calling to inform me that Pope Francis had appointed me to be an auxiliary bishop in Chicago. Well, the rest of the story you can fill in.

However, from the moment I received that life-altering call, I have been dutifully waiting for a manual to arrive from the Holy See providing all the details on how to be a bishop — the inside scoop, so to speak. You may not be surprised — but it has not yet arrived.

Last Friday, I had the privilege of finding myself in beautiful downtown Belleville, Illinois, for the episcopal ordination of Fr. Godfrey Mullen, O.S.B. It was a deeply prayerful and reflective time, set in a massive cathedral dedicated to St. Peter.

While waiting for the ceremony to begin, I was thumbing through the program provided for the Mass, and there I found some excerpts from what most probably would/should appear in the long-sought-after manual if it were ever to arrive from the Vatican.

St. Augustine of Hippo wrote:

For you I am a bishop; but with you I am a Christian. The former is a duty; the latter a grace. The former is a danger; the latter, salvation. If, then, I am gladder by far to be redeemed with you than I am to be placed over you, I shall, as the Lord himself commanded, be more completely your servant.

In the Decree Concerning the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church (Christus Dominus) of the Second Vatican Council, the following is found:

…bishops should strive to become duly acquainted with their needs in the social circumstances in which they live… They should manifest their concern for everyone, no matter what their age, condition, or nationality, be they natives, strangers, or foreigners. In exercising this pastoral care, they should preserve for their faithful the share proper to them in Church affairs; they should also respect their duty and right of actively collaborating in the building up of the Mystical Body of Christ.

I guess I have my marching orders. Please pray that I serve well as we walk together into the future.

Who would have ever guessed that I would find practical advice and holy wisdom while spending time in Belleville.

As I do for you, please pray for me,

Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Archbishop of Milwaukee