JULY 2009 REFLECTION

A BISHOP AND HIS FAMILY

Martin J. Doe

I will now tell you a story of a bishop and his family.  This bishop in no ordinary bishop, oh no, for you see this bishop is eight years old.  How can this be one may ask?  Well, as we proceed through this reflection you will come to know the answer.

The eight-year old bishop I know bears the name of a great Old Testament saint.  One might say that this saint was a lion of a saint, but I digress.  Bishop “D” has a family made up of five siblings; a mixed bag of boys and girls.  In the course of the reflection they too will have their moment in the sun but right now let’s return to bishop “D”.  Bishop is an ordinary yet in one respect an extraordinary eight year old.  He enjoys the company of others but is quite content in enjoying the company of himself.  As his father had at his age bishop “D” is filled with an active and most vivid imagination.  While not the most theologically astute of bishops he is nevertheless astute enough to say his prayers daily and can now stay awake for an entire Mass.  In this respect I think he has a leg up on a lot of our present day bishops.  Joyful and rambunctious he finds happiness and contentment in the simplest of things and is happiest when in the protective arms of his family and dogs.  So what makes this so ordinary eight-year-old bishop extraordinary?  Well, this eight-year bishop desires to become the first American to ascend to the Chair of St. Peter, yes, he wants to become the first American Pope.  How ‘bout them apples?  Now on to his family.

Bishop “D” has three sisters all of which are older than he (pity him later). 

THE THREE SISTERS

Sister number one also happens to be the eldest child of the family.  This sister can be motherly yet stern, quiet and yet as talkative as a chatterbox, she is the embodiment of dichotomies but with one exception, she is not known for her “patience”.  Physically beautiful she is also spiritually beautiful with an inquisitive spiritual mind that asks the profound questions of man in a most genuine and longing way.  Not willing to take guff from anyone she nevertheless seeks to serve and to render unto the Lord of her time and of herself, hence, she is the embodiment of dichotomies.

Sister number two is the bishop’s middle sister.  This sister is more often than not quiet and at times seems too introspective.  She has been given the ability to show up / pop up when you least expect it almost ghostly but in a friendly manner like “Casper”.  Hidden deep inside this sister of bishop “D” is the heart of good and gentle young lady who will blossom into a kind and giving woman.  Unlike so many of her age she doesn’t try to “cook up things” behind her parents back but…she has been known to bake, hum…

Sister number three is the youngest of the bishop’s sisters. Like her brother she dances before the Lord with joy but in her there is an imperceptible yet perceptible difference for while you can see this joyful innocence you also sense in her an ability to see into you, not beyond you but into you.  How so?  It is difficult to explain but you can sense it if you are open to it.  God is most present to us in the innocence of children this is why so often His Blessed Mother has been sent to children as in the case of Lourdes and “Bernadette”.

The bishop has two brothers both of who are older than he.

THE TWO BROTHERS

The oldest brother of our eight-year-old bishop bears the name of one my favorite saints, so much so that I wrote a reflection paper on this saint when we celebrate the month in his honor.  This brother has many talents and although he is unaware of it he has something in common with a character of my favorite parable given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.  This brother can be serious and yet light up ones heart when he laughs. He has entered adulthood and with this entry has come the trials and travails that accompany this passage.  Stubborn but good and decent this bearer of the name of the Lord’s foster-father is deeply loved by the bishop and his family.  And why shouldn’t he be for each and every one of us has something in common him and with my favorite parable character because each and every one of us have been a “prodigal son or daughter” in one-way or the other.  There are times in life when we must walk away from something in order to see it clearly and appreciate it more dearly.  Fortunately for me I have always seen things clearly, “JJ.” “Just Joking”.

The last of the bishop’s brothers is named after the Proto-Martyr of the Church.  When we enter this life we are helpless to decide the circumstances of our entry.  But God sees beyond the why and the how and asks, “why not?”  Thanks be to God!  This brother of our bishop is really quite extraordinary.  He can vex you and tax you as only a teenager can but once you see him run…well, all the vexations and taxing melt away.  This brother is also fearless; fearless enough to kneel before his God in the presence of others his own age while dressed in a football uniform and oblivious to his surroundings he does as St. Paul did “…I kneel before the Father…” (Ephesians 3:14a). How common is that among our youth?  Perhaps others his age should watch him and learn.  With a desire to become a “first responder” as other members of his family are he will enter into one of the noblest of vocations and will be numbered among the few who are willing to give their life for a complete stranger.  Little does he know that because of this desire of his and because he is who he is he is truly a hero, at least in this writers eyes.  Not normally given to laughter this brother of our bishop can grace you every now and then with a few  “chuckles”, but don’t tell him that.

Oh yes, the bishop has two parents.

THE PARENTS

Blest as our eight-year-old bishop is with his brothers and sisters our bishop has been blest all the more with two people who started it all, mom and dad. 

Mom, or mother as someone calls her, is quite an astounding woman.  One can never win by saying no to her but one never really loses by saying no to her.  Generosity is her middle name.  She and her husband struggle, as do all families, to raise Christian children in a most un-Christian society.  Her husband is one of the few men that I admire because he reminds me of St. Joseph who was called upon by God to be the father of a child that was not his own and like Joseph, bishop’s father obeyed God and has loved the same woman and the children that came with her all these many years.  Truly in this bishop’s family the words of St. Paul ring true, “…[love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.”  (1 Corinthians 13:7-8).

Does this family of our bishop have problems?  Yes, of course they do.  The children are not perfect and mom and dad are not either.  But I have shared with you what can be accomplished when a family lives the Catholic faith and parents make no excuses to their children about who and what we are as Catholics.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “…Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and “A school for human enrichment.”  Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous – even repeated – forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one’s life.”  (CCC 1657, cf. Gaudium Et Spes #52 vs. 1) 

So you see my friends there is hope left in the Church and when there is hope in Christ’s Church there is hope in the world.  Oh yes, you probably thought I forgot but I did not.  This is how the eight-year-old bishop became a bishop at such a young age.  It’s quite simple really; confusing me for a parish priest, he called me “Father” thus ordaining me. 

Please pray for “His Excellency” and his family