April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Bishop offers gratitude, encouragement to priests and pledge for the future
The actual date of my episcopal ordination, as has been noted, was March 27, 1977. Since March 27 this year fell on Wednesday of Holy Week, the committee planning for the silver anniversary celebration concluded that neither that date nor the Sunday prior or subsequent to the actual anniversary -- namely, Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday -- would be particularly appropriate for this observance. Thus, the planning committee suggested to me that we observe my silver anniversary on the first Sunday after Easter.
That suggestion resonated perfectly well with myself; and over the past few months, when people asked me if there was going to be a celebration for my 25th anniversary as a bishop, I would respond affirmatively, "Yes, the Sunday after Easter."
It was only after I saw the printed invitation, with the date Sunday, April 7, in bold type, that it dawned on me how appropriate, indeed providential, this particular date is for this liturgy of thanksgiving, because it was 65 years ago today, April 7, 1937, that my parents -- Howard Hubbard and Elizabeth Burke -- were married at St. Patrick's Church in Troy.
Without that milestone occasion, today's celebration would not be possible. So, in a very special way, today I remember my parents with great affection and with gratitude for the gift of life they accorded me, as well as for their love, faith, prayers, sacrifices, affirmation, encouragement, support and example, which were the formative and enduring influence in my life.
Wedding day
Interesting to note, my parents were married not in St. Patrick's Church but in the parish rectory. Why? Because my father was 38 years of age and my mother 31 when they were wed. In those days, such an age was considered pretty ancient for marriage. So it was deemed that a very low-key, non-church service with an exchange of vows was more appropriate for their "embarrassing situation."How times have changed! Today, the average age for marriage is in the late 20s.
However, perhaps in my family the affinity for postponing marriage may be genetic: Three of my nephews are in their mid- to late-30s and still haven't made it to the altar. So guys, take it from your maternal grandparents: There's hope!
Cathedral
While the date for today's celebration was chosen somewhat arbitrarily, albeit fortuitously, the place was selected quite deliberately.As you can see from the scaffolding outside, we are in the process of renovating and restoring this venerable cathedral: the third oldest in actual use in the United States. We will be observing the 150th anniversary of its dedication this coming November.
The money for the exterior renovation has been raised. The funds for the interior, however, must still be secured. So the planning committee determined that there could be no better way to launch the fund drive for the interior renovation than to have such a prestigious group of movers and shakers as yourselves sit for a couple of hours behind those impenetrable pillars or in those most uncomfortable pews, which I am convinced, having been built by Irish immigrants, were designed for leprechauns.
The committee is quite confident that this cruel and unusual punishment you have been enduring this afternoon will move you to donate generously, indeed sacrificially, to the Cathedral's interior restoration. Thus, the ushers will be waiting to take your pledges as you exit.
Appreciation
Seriously, I am most grateful to each of you for joining with me to observe this anniversary. There are so many to whom I owe gratitude today:* First, of course, to Almighty God for the numerous blessings bestowed upon me over the years.
* I am most grateful to His Holiness Pope John Paul II for his warm greetings and for the superb Petrine ministry he has exercised over the past 24 years, giving such sterling pastoral and spiritual leadership to the Universal Church.
* I thank, too, His Eminence, Cardinal Egan, for his gracious letter.
* I am grateful as well to my brother bishops for their presence and for their fraternal support over the years.
* Let me thank specifically Bishop Matthew Clark of Rochester for his beautiful homiletic reflection on the episcopacy and for his gracious, if undeserved, tribute to my ministry. Bishop Clark has been my close and dear friend since our first year in the seminary together in 1957. He has been an exemplary sacerdotal and episcopal role model, as well as an unending source of inspiration through his integrity, humility, courage and prophetic witness.
* I am also grateful to Bishop Edwin Broderick, my predecessor, and co-consecrator with Cardinal Terence Cooke and Bishop Edward Maginn at my episcopal ordination. Bishop Broderick has bequeathed an indelible legacy to our Diocese through his superb leadership in implementing within our Diocese the norms and reforms of the Second Vatican Council with great foresight, steadfastness, patience, perseverance and unfailing sense of humor. Bishop Broderick continues to be an enormous asset for myself personally and for our Diocese through his generous and selfless availability in celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation with those making a commitment to live as adult members of our Catholic Christian community.
* I thank as well, Archbishop Harry Flynn, whom I was privileged to ordain as bishop in this Cathedral on June 24, 1986, and whose leadership as the bishop of Lafayette, Louisiana, and now as archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis has been such a great blessing for the entire Church. His episcopal ministry has brought such an honor to our Diocese, knowing that he is a gift of this local Church at Albany to the Church Universal.
* I am grateful to my sisters, Joan Engelman and Kathleen Kawola; to my brothers-in-law, Dick and Con; to my 13 nieces and nephews and their spouses; and to my 23 grandnieces and nephews for making me such an integral part of their lives, for keeping me grounded in reality, and for their unconditional love and acceptance. I salute especially my grandniece Madeleine Fitzgerald, a kindergartner at St. Mary's School in Ballston Spa, who is celebrating her sixth birthday today.
Friends in faith
I also want to acknowledge the presence of friends and colleagues from the ecumenical and interfaith community. They are such wonderful partners in a wide variety of ministerial endeavors, and in creating an atmosphere or climate of civility, tolerance, mutual respect and pastoral cooperation among the various faith communities, which, I believe, is truly extraordinary.It was evident so magnificently in response to the events of Sept. 11 as the religious community in the Capital District rallied around our brothers and sisters in the Muslim community, and sought to combat any indication of hostility or retaliation against Arab Americans or adherents to Islam.
I am grateful as well to the representatives from federal, state, county, municipal and town governments for your presence today, and for the very positive and mutually beneficial relationship we have had in partnering with the public sector in promoting the common good and in responding to human need within the communities of our 14-county Diocese. Your support and assistance are most appreciated.
I thank as well Sister Kathleen Turley, Father Kenneth Doyle and all the members of our Silver Anniversary Committee...Father William Pape, the rector of the Cathedral...Elizabeth Simcoe, the director of our Diocesan Office of Prayer and Worship...Glenn Osborne, the Cathedral organist...and the magnificent choir for all they have done to make this celebration such a joyous and meaningful experience.
Gratitude
Last, but certainly not least, I extend my deepest gratitude and appreciation to the priests, deacons, religious and lay men and women of our Diocese for their incredible collaboration and cooperation over the past 25 years.You have been patient with and understanding of my faults and failings; you have helped me address knotty issues and dilemmas far beyond my limited comprehension and impoverished imagination; you have offered constructive criticism, honest feedback, sage insights, creative solutions, bold initiatives and viable alternatives; and above all you have graced me with your prayers, your loyalty, your unfailing cooperation and sacrificial generosity.
So, I welcome the opportunity this anniversary of my episcopal ordination accords to thank you profusely: above and beyond what words can adequately express.
I consider myself most fortunate to have the opportunity to serve as bishop in my home Diocese, and to have had such a truly faithful and wonderfully supportive community of ordained, vowed and lay ministers with whom to share ministry. I am both humbled and proud to serve as your bishop.
Brother priests
In a special way today, I want to offer a word of encouragement to my brother priests, my cherished co-workers in ministry. You and your priestly ministry have been placed under a cloud as a result of the serious misconduct of a few of our numbers, here and elsewhere, and as a result of the assessment of how Church leaders like myself have handled these reprehensible violations of sacred trust.It is grossly unfair, however, that you are bearing the brunt of a scandal not of your own making, a scandal grievous enough in itself, but exacerbated further by some both within and without the Church who seek to utilize this grave crisis to foster agendas unrelated to the core issue at hand. Sadly, you good and faithful priests who go about your daily ministry with diligence, dedication and heroic sacrifice have been caught in the crossfire: your image tarnished, your ministry ridiculed, and your integrity and moral probity questioned.
But I know your goodness and the selfless service you exercise, day in and day out -- and your people do, too. I hear it constantly both in the correspondence and the unsolicited comments I receive. So please take this celebration today as an affirmation of your own ministry. For in the parishes and apostolates of our Diocese where you serve, you are the visible and tangible extension of the apostolic office I hold. Without you, my mission simply could not be fulfilled. Know, then, of my love, support, affirmation and gratitude.
Called by God
Upon being appointed bishop, I chose as my episcopal motto "Rejoice, We Are God's People," an adaptation from Psalm 100. This motto or theme, I believe, is as apropos today as when I used it as the theme for the homily at my episcopal ordination.It remains critically important that we understand, appreciate and rejoice in the fact that God has called us to be a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart...and that we perceive God's call in our life and our response to it both individually and collectively not as a drudgerous duty or onerous burden of laws to be kept and commandments to be obeyed but as a life-giving and privileged opportunity to keep alive in our day God's marvelous plan of salvation, and to be co-creators with God in bringing about that kingdom of truth and light, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace that God intends for humankind.
Yes, there are problems and difficulties to be faced, and defeats, failures and setbacks to be endured both in our own personal lives and in the life of the institutional Church, but as the Resurrection of Jesus, which we celebrate during this Easter season, proclaims so powerfully: Despite all the challenges and obstacles we experience, already we are saved, already we are redeemed!
Source of hope
That fundamental truth of our faith should be a source of great hope, confidence, inspiration and rejoicing for us, and lead us to work tirelessly and selflessly to be about that sacred mission which is ours: namely, to be a people formed by the Scriptures, nourished by the Eucharist and the other sacraments, and animated by the Spirit...a people who are truly known by our love for one another, by our commitment to social justice, healing, reconciliation, and to washing the feet of our brothers and sisters in the human family, regardless of their racial, religious, ethnic or socio-economic background...and by our prayerful, prophetic and spirit-filled witness to that kingdom which is to come.Today, then, I recommit myself to promoting this vision in our midst, and I ask you to journey with me along the road of discipleship so that together we might give flesh and blood to our diocesan mission statement:
"To be God's people, sharing in the responsibility to witness God's unconditional love and to bring Christ's healing presence to our world."
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