As Catholics we spend a lot of time every year celebrating anniversaries.
We celebrate the feast days of saints, usually on the anniversaries of the days they died. We celebrate the day Christ was born and the day of the annunciation of his birth. We commemorate the Friday he died for our salvation and the Sunday he rose from the dead.
Every Eucharist, in fact, is a kind of “anniversary” celebration. The Mass is a memorial of his death and resurrection.
And I think the Eucharist shows us the attitude that we should have toward anniversaries. We should approach them in joyful thanksgiving to God for all his gifts and blessings in our lives. We should thank God, not just with words on our lips, but with hearts, minds, and hands ready to serve him.
That is how I am feeling as I prepare to celebrate this week the fifth anniversary of my installation as your archbishop and shepherd.
I must tell you how thankful I am for your friendship and your prayers over the course of these past five years. I have been blessed to witness the faith, dedication, and generosity of so many of you. I know the daily blessing of being able to work with men and women of profound conviction and love for Jesus — my brother bishops and priests, faithful deacons, Religious, consecrated men and women, and laity in all walks of life.
Every day I thank God for his call to be here among you as your shepherd.
Our archdiocese is so alive and rich in works of faith and mercy. Parish life is vibrant. We are blessed with a deep eucharistic devotion that is expressed in many ways in our parishes and ministries. Vocations to the priesthood are growing. We have thriving retreat programs and other spiritual resources. Our ministry to youth and young adults is active and growing.
I am humbled by the work that is being done in our pastoral and social ministries. In so many ways we are making a great contribution to our church and to our society. I am thinking especially of the programs of Catholic Charities, all our efforts to build a culture of life, the work being done in our Catholic hospitals, and our many outreaches to children and teens in difficult situations.
My top priority in these past five years has been education in the faith, to help everyone to grow in the knowledge and love of our Jesus Christ.
And I am very happy to report that we have thus far been very successful in this great work in progress — in all our parish programs, in our schools, in our Assumption Seminary, in our colleges and universities, and in all our work here in the Pastoral Center.
The Gospel is being proclaimed throughout this big archdiocese every day — not only in words but in actions, too. Lives are being changed here every day, often in unseen ways.
Our Lord told us that the Gospel grows like a tiny seed that is planted in the ground and one day grows up to be a large tree. Our work as his disciples is like that, too. We are planting seeds that others will harvest. Let the planting continue.
We are so blessed, my friends! To know Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father. This love and this faith is something that we are called to share with others.
I am finishing a pastoral letter which I hope to publish very shortly. In it, I talk about the importance of this work of proclaiming Christ in everything that we do.
I have long felt that this archdiocese has an important vocation, to be a “model” for other dioceses.
In 2006, we commemorated the 275th anniversary of the founding of San Fernando Cathedral, one of the oldest Catholic churches in our country. And in 2011, we will mark the 320th anniversary of the first Mass said here — one of the first celebrations of the Eucharist on the soil of what is now the United States of America.
San Antonio was a pioneer in the first evangelization of America. Now we are called to be the pioneers of the new evangelization.
I thank you for these past five years. Your faith inspires me. I feel blessed to be a part of your lives and a part of this great and historic church of San Antonio. I am looking forward to many more years of ministry as we share in the beautiful mission of spreading the Gospel.
As we enter into Lent this week, and prepare to celebrate the anniversary of our Lord’s death and resurrection, I ask the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, that the blessings of God be upon you and your families.