I Have Searched For You, Now You Come To Me

More than 1,000 pilgrims joined us for the feast of Saint John Paul II last Wednesday! The day’s celebrations included multiple Masses and community prayers, veneration of our first class relic of St. John Paul, and the opening of our new permanent exhibit, A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II.

Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, celebrated the second festal Mass. In his homily he said:

This great Holy Father was so close to the family of the Knights of Columbus. How much he loved us; how well he knew us; how constantly he encouraged us! Now in the Providence of God and thanks to the vision of our Worthy Supreme Knight, we are able to transform this building from a center to a shrine, a place of grace and holiness, truth and love, …not only, as it were, to repay St. John Paul II for his kindness to us but much more so, to proclaim the message of his life and pontificate within the Church and before the world.

Pilgrims who visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine last week heard this message as they walked through our exhibit on the life and legacy of the late Holy Father. They also learned more about John Paul II from Most Rev. Mieczysław Mokrzycki, former personal secretary to the great saint.

Prayer for the New Evangelization

Check out this Prayer for the New Evangelization on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s website:

‘“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’  But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent?” –Romans 10: 13-15

Heavenly Father,

Pour forth your Holy Spirit to inspire me with these words from Holy Scripture.

Stir in my soul the desire to renew my faith and deepen my relationship with your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ so that I might truly believe in and live the Good News.   

Open my heart to hear the Gospel and grant me the confidence to proclaim the Good News to others.

                 

Pour out your Spirit, so that I might be strengthened to go forth and witness to the Gospel in my everyday life through my words and actions.  

In moments of hesitation, remind me:

Congratulations, Archbishop Lori!

Last Wednesday, Archbishop William E. Lori was installed as the 16th bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the nation’s Premier See. Archbishop Lori, who serves as Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus and chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, will now lead a new flock just a stone’s throw from Washington D.C.

Keep him in your prayers and hearts this week and he begins in his new role.

Archbishop-designate Lori will focus on New Evangelization

Archbishop-designate William Lori, who served for 11 years as bishop of Bridgeport and currently serves as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty, said he will focus particularly on the New Evangelization with his new flock in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

“Evangelization is at the heart of the mission of the Church,” he said in a press conference last week. “Evangelization is not something the Church does, alongside other things. Really, everything the Church does — whether it’s proclaiming and teaching the word, celebrating the sacraments or engaging in works of charity and education — everything is a proclamation of Christ.”

Let us pray for Archbishop-designate Lori as he prepares for his new position in the Church.