Bishop Neal J. Buckon

perspective

BY BISHOP BILL MUHM

The ongoing COVID crisis limited my travels in summer and early fall. I was able to visit our Catholic communities, celebrate Sunday Mass, confirm, and shepherd our priests in Baumholder, Landstuhl, Daenner Kaserne, Vogelweh, Ramstein, Wiesbaden, Grafenwoehr, Vilseck, Stuttgart, Ansbach, Hohenfels, Garmisch, Spangdahlem, and Geilenkirchen, Germany; in Vicenza, Aviano, and Naples, Italy; and in Lakenheath, Alconbury, and Croughton, England. I was disappointed that I was unable to visit our AMS priests and Catholic communities in other locations. However, in times of disappointment, seeing things in perspective helps.

St. Teresa of Calcutta pointed out that many developing nations endure material poverty but enjoy spiritual richness: intact nuclear families, strong faith, and strong cultural traditions. On the other hand, she said, many developed nations on earth enjoy material wealth but endure spiritual poverty.

One cause of our wealthy society’s spiritual poverty is that we cannot just walk outside on any night and see a sky full of stars. Our ancestors could easily do that, but most of us today have to travel long distances to escape city lights in order to see the night sky in all its splendor.

Seeing the night sky has no practical benefit—it will not pay the rent or mortgage, nor will it put food on the table. But seeing the beauty and majesty of the night sky is good for the soul. It puts things into perspective!

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Many of those Catholics whom the AMS serves have an advantage in this regard. Sometimes they are sent to places they do not want to go, but once they arrive, they can see stars at night. I remember this experience aboard ships at sea, in Iraq, and at Twentynine Palms, California.

This is one of the ways our AMS faithful become enriched spiritually. Their spiritual richness becomes a gift to their families, to their units, to their chapel communities, to our country, our world, and to our Church.

We can think of AMS as a supernatural version of seeing the night sky. Almost anywhere our Catholics go, they can be confident that the Church will be there to provide Mass, sacraments, religious education, and pastoral care. Some of our people go to places so remote that a lay Catholic must lead them in Sunday prayers, but even in those extreme situations, Christ and His Church are present (Mt. 18:20) to put things into perspective. All of this happens through the ministry of the AMS. The spiritual richness of our AMS Catholics becomes a gift to the world. Thank you for your prayers and support for us at the AMS. V

BISHOP MUHM CONFIRMS SOPHIA AT U.S. ARMY GARRISON WIESBADEN ON 12 JUNE 2020. AT RIGHT IS FATHER STEPHEN MCDERMOTT, USA. PHOTO BY BRIAN BARNES.

Archbishop Broglio Celebrates Combined Memorial/Father Capodanno Mass

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On Sunday, 6 September 2020, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, celebrated in combination the annual Memorial Mass for all who serve or have served in the U.S. Military, and the Memorial Mass for Vietnam War hero Father Vincent R. Capodanno, M.M., Servant of God. The two Masses, normally celebrated separately in Washington, D.C., at the sprawling Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, were combined and moved across Michigan Avenue to the small main chapel of the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center due to social distancing restrictions imposed by the City of Washington, D.C., over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concelebrating the 10:00 a.m. Mass were Auxiliary Bishops F. Richard Spencer, Joseph L. Coffey, and several other priests of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. The sparse, socially distanced congregation included several AMS supporters and laypersons but consisted mainly of co-sponsored seminarians preparing to become U.S. Military chaplains, all of whom were gathered in Washington for their annual Labor Day weekend retreat.

“Christians seek what is good for others,” Archbishop Broglio preached from his cathedra (Bishop’s chair), holding his crozier. “So often in our national history men and women have given of themselves to overturn totalitarian regimes, to free oppressed people, to stop looting in the face of a natural disaster, to distribute aid after a hurricane or flooding, and in so many other situations. Many have given their lives for these noble ends. Today we pause to honor their service, to pray for their eternal repose, and to beg for peace….

“We also pray for those who still serve in harm’s way and those who bear the marks of war or old age served by the medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Can we forget the spouses or families whose loved ones never returned? We are a community of faith and we hold all our members in a close embrace of prayerful solidarity. In this stressful time of a pandemic, we also pray for those who continually respond to the needs of others—even at the risk of their own health….

“Father Capodanno immediately comes to mind. Here is a true leader. He finds his way to the front— despite the desires of the Command, because his mission is to be with his Marines. The danger is not rejection, but death. He cannot step back from his mission as watchman. He must bring what he alone can provide: sacraments, intercessory prayer, and the Person of Jesus Christ to those in danger of death. Remember the unique dimension that a Catholic priest in the military offers. It is not generic. It is specific and necessary for salvation. Father Capodanno continues to teach us that undeniable truth.”

Read the full text of Archbishop Broglio’s homily at www.milarch. org/archbishop-homilies.

Originally this year, the Memorial Mass was scheduled for 31 May and the Mass for Father Capodanno, for 3 September. Normally, each Mass draws a congregation of hundreds or more, but beginning in mid-March, with the coronavirus spreading rapidly throughout the nation’s capital, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a series of increasingly restrictive protective measures. She ordered the shutdown of public schools, libraries, and nonessential businesses, and banned gatherings of ten or more people. With lingering uncertainty about how gatherings would be treated as the nation grappled with the pandemic, Archbishop Broglio decided it best for all concerned to celebrate both Masses at the same time and place with a scaled-down congregation.

After the Mass, His Excellency hosted a brunch, that was socially distanced, for participants in the third floor dining room of the pastoral center. Archbishop Broglio expressed hope the annual Memorial Mass and the annual Memorial Mass for Father Capodanno will be held next year according to schedule. Those Masses are scheduled as follows:

Twenty-Seventh Annual Pilgrimage and Memorial Mass

Sunday, 16 May 2021 - 4:30 p.m. Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Great Upper Church

Mass for the Servant of God Vincent Robert Capodanno

Tuesday, 7 September 2021-6:30 p.m. Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Crypt Church. V Fall 2020 | 29