Chicago Priests and their Archbishop in Convocation
The feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus this year fell on June
11, the last day of the priests’ convocation. The feast of the
Sacred Heart has been celebrated for the last five years as the
“World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.” The Holy
See’s Congregation for the Clergy has been encouraging Catholics
around the world to mark this feast with prayers that Christ will
make his priests holy so that they can be better instruments in
Christ’s hands to make the people holy. In turn, the people are
to make the world holy.
Modern devotion to the heart of Jesus has been shaped by the apparitions
to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque from 1673 to 1675 in France; but
it goes back to the Gospel according to John, which gives a “snapshot”
of God’s mercy in showing Jesus’ side pierced by a lance after
he died on the cross (John 19:34). From his heart poured blood
and water, symbolizing the sacraments of Eucharist and Baptism.
Like Eve from the side of Adam, the Church comes to be from the
side of her savior and bridegroom, the new Adam. From the twelfth
century, mystics and theologians wrote of God’s love made flesh
in the heart of Jesus; but it was Christ’s promises to St. Margaret
Mary, especially the promise of salvation to those who would receive
communion on nine first Fridays consecutively, that inspired much
of this century’s devotion to the Sacred Heart.
This June 11, celebrating Mass with the priests of the Archdiocese
gathered in convocation, I prayed that Christ will make us truly
holy and increase our pastoral charity by conforming our hearts
to his. I hope many Catholics in the Archdiocese will make this
their prayer as well in the days and months to come.
The priests’ convocation, a yearly event in most dioceses, comes
only every two or three years in the Archdiocese of Chicago. I
have been looking forward to it. It was the first time I could
be with all the priests together since I spoke to all of them
on May 6, l997, the evening before my installation as Archbishop.
The convocation is a time of prayer together, of recreation, of
learning and of reflection. It should deepen priestly fraternity
and therefore increase pastoral charity.
Unity between the priests of a diocese and their bishop is a condition
for pastoral effectiveness, since every Catholic has three pastors:
the pastor of the parish, the pastor of the diocese and the pastor
of the universal Church. Each of these three, by reason of ordination
and mandate, enjoys pastoral authority in the Church--a priest
in a parish to which he has been sent by the bishop, the bishop
in a diocese to which he has been sent by the Pope in the Latin
rite of the Catholic Church, and the pope in the universal Church.
It is essential, therefore, that these three be of one mind and
heart if Christ’s people are to be effectively pastored. A convocation
is one means of increasing that unity of mind and heart.
When a local bishop is also a Cardinal, he belongs not only to
the clergy of the diocese he serves as bishop but also to the
clergy of Rome. Every Cardinal bears a “title”, the name of a
church in Rome where he is honorary pastor. My church in Rome
is that of St. Bartholomew on the Tiber Island. Besides containing
the church of St. Bartholomew, the small island is home to a large
hospital, a restaurant, a police station and the synagogue for
young Roman Jews. Because Cardinals are the honorary pastors of
Rome, they elect the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. They also serve
as a kind of Senate or advisory group to him by becoming members
of the departments of the Roman Curia. My being a Cardinal should
increase unity between the Pope and myself and, therefore, strengthen
the unity between the Holy Father and Chicago priests.
Unity has many possible bases, but the strongest unity is based
on love. The universal love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus unites
the world to the Father. The pastoral charity a priest shows the
people he serves has to be rooted in his love of Christ and of
his brother priests and their bishop. With the help of God’s grace,
that love will grow during convocation. Please keep your priests
in your prayers.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
