Last week I preached at all the Masses about
the Bishop’s Lenten Appeal. One of the points I made
about the BLA is that it is not about the Bishop, but
rather the BLA is about the mission of the Church; that
is, spreading the Gospel. Nevertheless, after one Mass
one gentleman on his way out smugly remonstrated,
―Oh, Father, you cannot serve God and Mammon; you
cannot give money to the Bishop and serve Christ.‖ .
Particularly upsetting to me was the implied attack on
the Bishop. My inward, unspoken response was a mildly
rude phrase in German, the language of my youth.
We in the Diocese of Arlington frequently forget
just how blessed we are in our Bishop. Bishop Loverde
is at the forefront of the struggle to defend the dignity of
Life, praying frequently in front of abortion clinics,
offering Masses for an end to that crime and, always,
participating in the March for Life. He has taken on the
other great evil of our time in his sensitive pastoral letter
on pornography, ―Bought with a Price‖. No Bishop in the
country has done more to reach out to victims of sexual
abuse, offering regular healing Masses and meeting with
victims to discuss their concerns. Bishop Loverde also
tends to the ongoing spiritual formation of his priests with
regularly scheduled days of recollection and study days
and an annual convocation of the priests. He knows
each of his seminarians by name. His charity, his
orthodoxy and his commitment to Our Lord Jesus Christ
are amply and regularly demonstrated. As Bishop, he is
successor to the Apostles, and as Ordinary of the
Diocese of Arlington, he is the REPRESENTATIVE OF
CHRIST in our diocese.
That being said, I return to the Bishop’s Lenten
Appeal which, I reiterate, is not about the Bishop, but is
about spreading the Gospel in the Diocese of Arlington.
Through the Bishop’s Lenten Appeal we help to feed the
hungry, house the homeless and offer hope to those in
despair for whatever reason. In addition we help with
the spiritual formation of the laity through programs of
the Office of Family Life, the Office of Youth Ministry and
the Vocations Office, among others. As I mentioned in
my homily last Sunday, the greatest part of the BLA
goes to vocations programs and the education and
training of the seminarians, our future priests.
And, that brings me to my response to the afore-
mentioned gentleman and anyone who objects to the
BLA: If at the end of your life you have a priest there to
give you the final sacraments, say a prayer of thanks to
those who do support the BLA because their generosity
has helped make possible the presence of the priest.