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of Homily by The Most Reverend John J. Myers October 9, 2001 Welcome, my friends. Your Eminences, especially Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, esteemed predecessor whom I join the united people of the Archdiocese in greeting with affection, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Bernard Cardinal Law, Archbishop Montalvo, our Nuncio who represents the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, whose appointment to the Archdiocese I acknowledge with gratitude and whose office as Pastor of the Universal Church I respect profoundly, Auxiliary Bishop Bootkoski who has served superbly as Administrator, Archbishop Gerety, the Auxiliary bishops and bishops of New Jersey, and my many brother bishops who honor us by their presence today. My thanks to Sister Thomas Mary Salerno, our Chancellor, Msgr. Richard Groncki, Curia officials, Ecumenical guests, Public officials, My dear family and friends from Illinois, including priests of the Diocese of Peoria. I greet my father and members of the family who will see this liturgy via videotape. Warmest greetings to priests, religious, and laity of the Archdiocese of Newark. A special greeting to all seminarians present, both from Newark and Peoria. We gather in a time of great national sorrow which has taken a toll on many in our nation and many in the Archdiocese and across this metropolitan area and in Washington, D.C. People’s lives have been violated, our families have been violated. Our nation has been rocked by these attacks which have struck at the way of life of most nations of the world. We pray for the dead. We stand with the bereaved, and pledge to continue to do so. Our hearts go out especially to children who have lost a parent. As I have said elsewhere, I am especially grateful to and proud of the priests, chaplains, pastoral workers, and all in the Archdiocese who have reached out with care to help. We commend to the Lord’s care our President, national leaders and military women and men who are even now seeking justice to preserve free and open lives for the people not only of the United States but also of the whole world. How moving it was when so many who anticipated death on planes or in the buildings used cell phones to call loved ones just to say "I love you." Love, we are told, endures. And "nothing can separate us from the love of Christ." May I thank you for the warm and gracious welcome you have been extending to me in these weeks since the announcement of my appointment as Archbishop. I can identify at least to a small degree with the tens of thousands of our brothers and sisters who have come to these counties from places far and near and have found a welcome even though we may have to learn some new ways. In my own name I want to assure them of our continuing welcome and to reaffirm our purpose of assisting them as we can. A mis hermanos y hermanas que han venido de lugares donde se habla español. Sepan que yo tambien he llegado a esos lugares desde un sitio distinto. Tambien yo tengo mucho que aprender. Quiero asegurares que continuaremos dándoles la bienvenida en la Arquiodiocesis de Newark y sus parróquias e instituciones. Son ustedes parte de nuestra familia diocesana. Nos alegra celebrar la Santa Misa y los sacramentos con ustedes y deseamos trabajar con ustedes y ayudarles en todo lo que podamos. Even when I was young, our family lived in a rural area in the northeast corner of the Diocese of Peoria in Illinois. We were a large family and so we had one of those large old wooden tables so that we could all be seated together for meals. At that time and place most of our meals were eaten as a family. We each had our customary place at the table. (If you wanted to get action going early, you could sit in someone else’s place!). Food was plentiful and good. There was a lot of visiting and teasing. The family togetherness and the environment of love and trust were really of the greatest importance. Only in later years would we realize that all of that goodness was rooted in our parents love for one another, in their marriage in Christ, in their generosity and openness to children, in their faithfulness in good times and bad, and in their hard work which is always involved in raising a family. And these virtues and qualities of theirs were purified, strengthened and expanded by the grace of God which nourished their own individual lives and our common life. When we speak of a deeper relationship with God, we speak of an expanded and intensified interior relationship, nurtured by prayer, the sacraments and holy scripture, which then takes expression in the way we live, especially in our relationships with others and with the world. We speak, then, of the holiness to which we are all called. The holy scriptures proclaimed in today’s Eucharist remind us that we are members of the Family of God. God started to form His family long before the time of Jesus. The reading from Deuteronomy recounts the great actions by which God called the patriarchs and then how he stretched out His arm in power to remove an oppressed people from the midst of the mighty Egyptian empire, formed them into a renewed people and gave them a land of their own. God’s unique love called forth a loving response from them and they, in turn, developed a culture founded on that relationship and enriching human life in ways that touched all of subsequent history. The sacred author asks, "Has anything so great ever happened before?" God had greater yet in His plan. God entered more deeply into human history – unimaginably so – when God the Son was incarnate in Jesus Christ. Jesus was born into that people formed by God, but He utterly transformed their faith, their lives, their own culture, and all of human history. He lived and taught, He loved and served and healed and finally was rejected and executed on a cross. But He rose victorious. God wanted to continue to form His family, but now through Jesus Christ. That is what we learn from the magnificent conclusion to St. Matthew’s Gospel account. The eleven disciples went to the mountain indicated. They saw Jesus. They adored Him. They knew doubt. Then Jesus took over. "All power in heaven and earth has been given to me." A startling claim of something already accomplished. Those who would attribute the Christian claim to overzealous theology must take this and many other clear affirmations from the foundational period into account. "Go Make disciples of all nations... baptize them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit...teach them to observe all that I have commanded you." In that challenge and mission – stated in the present for them and intended in the present for us - Christ sent the Church forth entrusted with His word and not its own. Through Jesus, God would invite the entire human family to join His family. We are invited into the intimate life of the Blessed Trinity. Our God is not only personal, He is a community of persons. Focused on this transforming relationship which profoundly underscores the value of every person a great dynamic has been established which can touch and transform each human heart, each human life, each human culture, and the human family as well. If we welcome the Word as entrusted to the Church and allow (even encourage) it to grow more deeply within us we can live as the people God truly wishes us to be. A) We are a people who value, protect and promote human life from its very beginning - even in the embryonic form - to its natural end because God values it and wants us to do so. We care for the powerless and the weak, as evidenced by Catholic Community Service and so many groups in this archdiocese and, really, in every diocesan church around the country and around the world. B) We welcome human knowledge in all its many forms and need never fear the truth for ours is the God of truth and source of all. We note here in this Archdiocese Seton Hall University, the other local colleges and universities and the deep commitment of the Church to schools here and throughout the world to aid in this human quest. C) We consider human sexuality differently, according to its God-given purpose. D) We consider marriage a mutual self-gift and mutual commitment between a man and a woman for life, open to children, and made possible by the grace of God even in the midst of human difficulty. Yet, we renew our commitment to offer support and assistance to our sisters and brothers who are affected by failed marriages or find themselves in an abusive situation of any kind. E) We know God to be the Lord of Life and Death – and not ourselves. We strive to live humbly, uprightly, and justly as His children in this wonderful universe He has entrusted to us. We are happy to underscore our commitment to Cathedral Healthcare and the other excellent Catholic healthcare institutions in the Archdiocese. F) Technology and all human activity is to be enlivened and directed by this Gospel-supported vision. Technology and science which refer only to their own principles often fail to follow limits required by the larger and deeper vision of the human person. The Gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed as it is entrusted to His Church does not shackle human freedom, it is not an obstacle to human life. It is, rather, a grace which enhances and enriches them and, perhaps most of all as a gift from the God who reveals Himself, roots the human endeavor including each culture in the fundamental truths about our existence and our transcendent destiny while remaining peacefully open to the future. G) We are a people who know that God is the source of all the good things in our lives. I am pleased that the Archdiocese of Newark has embraced Stewardship as a way of life! Stewardship is not just some program that is executed and then runs it course. Stewardship is a powerful vehicle for conversion. Stewardship as a way of life can transform individuals, parish communities and entire dioceses. I am encouraged with the progress made in Newark so far, and I pledge to support this important mission as I begin my days as your shepherd. As the Archdiocese looks forward to celebrating our 150th Anniversary in 2003 and the 50th Anniversary of the completion of the Cathedral in 2004, I look forward to working with the bishops, priests, and people to find appropriate vehicles for our celebrations. Surely, continued care for those who are suffering from our recent tragedies will be part of our commitment. Yet, like those early disciples we might doubt or know fear when confronted with this great, God-given mission. Jesus words are for us, too. "Behold, I am with you until the end of the age." We are not left alone as either the human family or the family of God. St. Paul reminds us of this wonder in the second reading, "I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you. This is my body which is for you. This cup is God’s covenant in my blood. Do this in memory of me." "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes." The Holy Eucharist makes present Jesus’ loving and obedient death for us – His complete self-surrender to the Father’s will. This very action is present at every Mass and His presence is continued in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Jesus is present for us. We would do well to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patroness of this Archdiocese, who was present throughout Jesus’ life to the foot of the cross and beyond. She embraced God’s will for her Son, for herself, and invites us to do so in our turn. We are invited to be children of God, growing ever-more-deeply in our interior lives of prayer, adoration, and petition. As we do so, our daily lives will be refashioned and enriched. As we are transformed, our everyday actions will take on deeper meaning and human culture itself will be purified, enriched, and ennobled. Nos ayudará mucho si imitamos a la Bienaventurada Virgen María, Patrona de esta arquidiócesis, que estuvo presente durante toda la vida de Jesús hasta más alla del pie de la Cruz. Ella abrazó la voluntad de Diós por su Hijo y por Ella y nos invíta a hacer lo mismo por nuestra parte. Estamos invitados a ser hijos de Diós, creciendo cada vez más intensamente en nuestra vida interior de oración y petición. Si así hacemos, nuestras vidas se reharán y enriquecerán. Y al ser transformados, nuestras acciones de cada día adquirirán un significado más profundo y la misma cultura humana se purificará, enriquecerá y será ennoblecida. C’aiuterà molto se noi imitiamo la Benedetta Virgine Maria, Patronessa di questa Arcidiocesi che era presente in tutta la vita di Gesù al piede della croce e oltre. Lei ha abbracciato la voluntà di Dio per suo Figlio, per lei stessa e c’invita a fare lo stesso nella nostra parte. Siamo invitati a essere figli di Dio, sempre crescendo più profondamente nella nostra vita interna di preghiera, adorazione e petizione. Se noi facciamo così, le nostre vite quotidiane saranno rimodernate e saranno arricchite. Come noi siamo trasformati, le nostre azioni di ogni giorno assumeranno significato più profondo e la cultura umana stessa sarà purificata, sarà arricchita e si sarà nobilitata. We are the family of God. Let us gather around our family table - which is the altar of sacrifice – and find our nourishment unto eternal life.
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