In the final paragraph of this section in which Pope Benedict explores the effects of modern philosophies on our Christian understanding of faith and hope, he draws a simple yet blunt conclusion: “man needs God, otherwise he remains without hope.” (Spe salvi, 23) The Holy Father agrees with modern thinkers in acknowledging the importance of reason, how it is indeed “God’s great gift to man” and that “the victory of reason over unreason is also a goal of the Christian life.” (ibid.) But the danger is when reason pushes God aside and deems Him irrelevant or even dangerous to the program of progress. It is from that perspective that the pope concludes that we need God, and that:
There is no doubt, therefore, that a “Kingdom of God” accomplished without God—a kingdom therefore of man alone—inevitably ends up as the “perverse end” of all things as described by Kant: we have seen it, and we see it over and over again. (ibid.)
As Catholics, we know this to be true, how much we need God in our lives. And thankfully, the Lord has made His presence in our lives something very real and personal. Jesus has left us the great gift of His presence in the sacraments by which He not only remains with us, but that He actually dwells in us, guiding our lives with His grace through the challenges of this life toward our final destination in Heaven, the final goal of our hope. As we celebrate Corpus Christi this Sunday, we are especially grateful for the gift of the Eucharist by which Jesus nourishes us, giving us the strength we need to persevere along this path of life.
We are also grateful for the gift of His presence with us in the Church, whose birth we celebrated two weeks ago on Pentecost. In particular, we are grateful that He, the Good Shepherd, has arranged that His flock be continually cared for by the shepherds He has appointed, namely the Apostles and their successors, the bishops. In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) from the Second Vatican Council, the bishop is described as follows:
Bishops, as vicars and ambassadors of Christ, govern the particular churches entrusted to them by their counsel, exhortations, example, and even by their authority and sacred power, which indeed they use only for the edification of their flock in truth and holiness, remembering that he who is greater should become as the lesser and he who is the chief become as the servant. (Lumen Gentium, 27)
Today, we celebrate with great joy our local shepherd, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, who, as of today, June 22, has been with us as our bishop for the 15 years. The entire diocese has been blessed by his leadership, and we at the Cathedral have had the benefit of his regular presence among us, especially in so many of our liturgical celebrations.
I am most grateful to God for the gift that Bishop Paprocki has been to our diocese, to our parish, and to me personally. As he mentioned at this year’s priesthood ordination, he has now ordained 40 men to the priesthood for our diocese over his 15 years here. I am humbled to have been the first of that group back in 2011. Having lived and worked with him for most of my priesthood, I can confidently say that much of who I am as a priest is thanks to his example, his fatherly leadership, and his friendship.
Please join me in thanking God this day for Bishop Paprocki on his anniversary of his installation as our bishop, and that the Lord will bless him abundantly in the years ahead.