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But what is this “one necessary thing” of which Jesus speaks? That one necessary thing is to accept his invitation, “Come to me!”  To be with Jesus. To spend time with the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Peter and St. Paul, may your pastor continue to lead with fidelity and joy and may this pastorate continue to grow and flourish in God’s abundant grace!

This evening, on the eve of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, I have the joy and privilege of conferring candidacy upon Nicolas and Jordan who will soon depart for the Eternal City to continue their priestly formation.

As bishops, we do indeed live with the public/private divide every day. But to help us do so well and wisely, the reading from 2nd Corinthians and the Gospel of Matthew present two vices for us to avoid and two virtues for us to embrace.

We gather today in a spirit of deep gratitude and with no small amount of urgency. We are grateful for the faithful and persevering work of Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities, & the Society of St. Vincent de Paul—organizations that don’t just provide aid, but witness to the love of Christ in the flesh.

There’s thin line, it appears, between a desire for equal treatment and envy, and like all thin lines, it is easily crossed.

Let us embrace the feast of the Ascension, the preeminent feast of hope, with joy, gratitude, and thanksgiving. And in the grace of this feast, let us resolve to live our daily lives, with their ups and downs, their fears, anxieties, and questions with our hearts fixed on what is above where the Risen Lord is seated in our humanity at God’s right hand.

Confirmation, as many you wrote, is not an end but a beginning. It is a Sacrament of Initiation not graduation from the faith, as you know.