Look for the Lord in Our Midst

BY ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY P. BROGLIO

Christmas 1983 found me in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. I had arrived at the Apostolic Nunciature in the first days of July for my initial assignment as a diplomat of the Holy See. The country defied categories. Abidjan looked a bit like a small Manhattan with tall buildings, smart shops, and traffic. Not too far away was the “brus”, the rural areas with a more tribal society. In some places they had only discovered the wheel over the last two hundred years. It was a country of vivid contrasts.

Some weeks before Christmas an Italian missionary came to see me and invited me to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in his parish, which consisted in some ten mission stations. “If you come to the mission, between the two of us every mission station will have the possibility of Mass at Christmas.”

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Christmas 2020 | 5

Some apostolic fervor poured into my veins. The idea of providing confessions and Mass to people, being useful to a hard-working missionary appealed to me. I had to convince the Nuncio, my boss, to let me go. It was worth it.

The third Mass of Christmas was in a little village, and a religious woman came with MR. ANDREW LANE, CO-SPONSORED SEMINARIAN FROM THE me. After Mass, she told me

ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA; ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY that we had been invited to

P. BROGLIO, BISHOP TIMOTHY C. SENIOR, AUXILIARY OF PHILADELPHIA AND RECTOR OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO SEMINARY; MR. CALEB MAGOWAN, CO-SPONSORED lunch and that we had to accept. “This village never

SEMINARIAN FROM THE DIOCESE OF ARLINGTON. makes an effort. This is the first time.” I still remember the tough piece of chicken breast and the yam. It was, by far the simplest

Christmas dinner I have ever had. It was, however, wonderful to bring Christ to those good people on Christmas Day.

Now thirty-seven years, later I am preparing with all of you for another unique Christmas. I hope to be in Alaska in order to minister to our men and women in uniform and their families in that vast state. It is a way to show how important the Eucharist is. It is a way to minister to a portion of the people entrusted to my pastoral care.

The pandemic continues to reshape the everyday activities of the archdiocese. By the time I leave for the Christmas pastoral visits I will only have been out of Washington for 83 days in 2020. That fact alone illustrates how different this year has been.

You have already read about the combined Memorial and Capodanno Mass in the main chapel of the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center on the Sunday of the Labor Day weekend. It was good to have about half of the co-sponsored seminarians present, but the presence of the usual large congregation filled with so many familiar faces was lacking. It was one more pandemic adjustment.

We have all been learning to meet via Zoom or through some other system. It does make meetings shorter and more efficient, but the human contact, the exchange of a few words over coffee, and the spontaneity are all missed.

Most of my confirmations were local in this period with the exception of a few for a good priest friend in the Diocese of Cleveland. He is the Pastor of a largely Hispanic parish there that invited me to confirm his parishioners. Due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, four Masses were necessary, and I was able to do three of them. I enjoyed the excuse to visit Cleveland and, even more, the opportunity to impart the gift of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. It was also good to be able to be home—even for brief visits. The Cleveland Seminary did welcome me for Mass and dinner

ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY P. BROGLIO (CENTER) CELEBRATING MASS WITH BISHOP TIMOTHY C. SENIOR (SEATED AT THE RIGHT).

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with the seminarians in September. That is normally a moment to gather supporters in the Cleveland area with the families of the seminarians. This year, however, large gatherings were not recommended.

Fort Detrick, Fort Belvoir, and Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall all welcomed me to their chapels for confirmation at different moments this fall. Saint Luke Institute honored the chaplains and me at their annual benefit. The event was virtual and only lasted 45 minutes. {See photo page 11 and article on page 39.)

The postponement of the Young Adult Symposium has opened up the opportunity to engage in a year-long period of preparation and reflection on the recent General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on youth and vocation. The on-line sessions have been interesting and allow an addition avenue of contact with our young adults.

The annual meeting of the Canon Law Society of America was also virtual, but Monsignor Foster organized a small gathering to follow the proceedings on line here at the pastoral center. We had the benefit of exchanging some thoughts about the presentations and discussion of other canonical topics.

MCCW MASS HELD IN THE EDWIN CARDINAL

O’BRIEN PASTORAL CENTER. L-R: MONSIGNOR JOHN J.M. FOSTER, REVEREND MR. JASON ALLAN, Some of the parishes in the ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY P. BROGLIO, FATHER MARK Arlington Diocese were able to J. RUTHERFORD, AND FATHER ROBERT R. CANNON. organize confirmations, and I am always pleased to lend a hand there. Since I missed my annual Palm Sunday Mass at Joint Base Andrews, I did have Mass there in late October and also visited Annapolis for the annual celebration of the “Navy Birthday”. 8

The high point of the autumn season was the Beatification of Father Michael McGivney, a priest of the then Diocese of Hartford and the founder of the Knights of Columbus. An impressive vigil for priests was held on 30 October in St. Mary’s Parish of New Haven where the priest is buried. Several speakers addressed the virtues of this new blessed. The evening was prayerful and extremely thought-provoking. It was a superb preparation for the events the next day.

Daniel Schachle, from the Diocese of Nashville, spoke about the miracle attributed to Father McGivney’s intercession. It was in favor of his yet-to-be-born son who had been diagnosed with a fatal condition. The lad, Michael, was at the beatification Mass and stole the hearts of all present. Unaware, he preached a wonderful pro-life message!

The beatification Mass on Saturday morning in the Hartford Cathedral was limited to two hundred people due to the COVID-19 virus. The huge structure seemed almost empty, but the beautiful music provided by some members of the choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception animated the liturgy and contributed to the prayerful atmosphere.

Given the expansion of the Knights of Columbus across the globe; the magnificent efforts that characterize their service to the poor, to the cause of life, to formation of men, to vocations, and more; and their irreplaceable support to the AMS, I was delighted to concelebrate this Mass. It was worth the over nine hours that the train took to bring me back to Washington. Seldom in my life have I welcomed the time change more than I did on All Saints’ Day!

The month of November has been filled with meetings for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops—all virtual and the official beginning of the MCCW worldwide gathering. Planned for April and rescheduled for

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November, it finally became a virtual event. We did begin with a livestreamed Mass in the main chapel of the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center with the presence of the MCCW President Kim Miller and two very faithful women from Quantico, Denise Hummel and Mariana Dionne. There were more concelebrants than faithful!

MCCW MEMBERS PRESENT FOR THE MASS L-R: The slower schedule also MS. DENISE HUMMEL, MS. MARIANNA DIONNE, allowed me to visit the two AMS ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY P. BROGLIO, AND MS. KIM MILLER, MCCW PRESIDENT. co-sponsored seminarians at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. Both men are doing well, and the welcome at the seminary was delightful. It was over Veterans Day, and so Father Brian Kane, a National Guard chaplain and the Dean of Men at the seminary, gave an excellent presentation about his deployments to Iraq. When he finished, I was almost ready to sign up!

Thanksgiving this year reminds us to look around for the blessings received. It is more challenging this year, because the pandemic has locked us in and kept us separated from extended families. However, we give thanks, because the Lord is with us. He is here, even if we fail to look for Him. We have learned that we are not always in charge. Perhaps also, we have remembered to look out for our neighbor.

I finish these lines as Advent is about to begin. It will be a different Christmas this year. The pandemic will keep me in the States, but I do hope to make a pastoral visitation to some of the installations in Alaska. It will be good to visit the flock there, encourage the priests, and fill in for those in the Fairbanks area who will be deployed.

As we reflect on the love of Almighty God for us manifested in the sending of His only begotten Son born to the Virgin Mary, we recognize that we are loved. The isolation, lock-down, and the violence to our routine that have occurred this year do invite us to some reflection. We ask what is truly important. Are we attuned to eternal life? Is that truly the goal that motivates the direction of my life and the decisions to be made?

We are certainly more mindful of the sacrifices made by healthcare workers, grocery store employees, garbage collectors, police and fire personnel, and those priests who still anoint the sick, hear confessions, and bring the sacraments to those most in need. At the AMS our ministry to the men and women in uniform, the VA, and their families has continued. At times, it has been necessary to be more creative and more responsive. The times do oblige us to be more reflective and to appreciate what is so precious and so easily lost, our good health.

While I was soaking wet at the Christmas lunch thirty-seven years ago in tropical Côte d’Ivoire, I would imagine that heat will not be a problem, but a sought-after commodity in Fairbanks this coming Christmas. I imagine that the menu will also be different. However, the mystery of divine love celebrated will be the same regardless of the place. V

L-R: RETIRED REAR ADMIRAL AND MRS. JAMES HINKLE, ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY BROGLIO, FATHER DAVID SONGY, AND BOARD CHAIRMAN DAVID S.J. BROWN AT VIRTUAL BENEFIT FOR SAINT LUKE INSTITUTE.