At about 12 noon on Saturday, Bishop Stephen Parkes, my bishop, called me to say he would be attending, in choir dress, our 5 pm Vigil Mass for Palm Sunday. Our parochial vicar was the celebrant. I invited the bishop to preach, though, which he graciously did. He has some humorous remarks too, after the Prayer after Holy Communion. He often just drops in for Sunday Masses in our diocese or simply to greet people afterward. I never have had a bishop do this. I also invited him to our non-liturgical Lenten Confessions on Holy Wednesday at 6pm. And yes he will come to hear Confessions. That's new too!:
Sunday, April 10, 2022
OUR BISHOP OF SURPRISES!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Good to see the bishop at a parish where the Liturgy is not stuck in the 1970s!
I suspect his Lordship was checking up on you - given your remarks on PF's 'back to the 1970s' mindset, he is worried that you might be straying too far into the 21st century.
John Nolan,
Well there is definately a priest whom his Lordship should be checking up on, and it is not Father McDonald.
TJM,
Forget about it.
1. Unless he is VERY different than most other bishops, regardless of what the current boss finds, status quo will rule.
2. "A certain priest" is smart enough to do and say exactly what he thinks the boss wants to hear.
3. There is a closed communication within the ranks of the ordained that we laity know nothing about. The door will never open and we will never get a handle on it.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I think our bishop enjoys visiting parishes. If he's "checking up" on priests, then it is all of us - he pops up here and there and everywhere! At least Fr. McDonald had advance warning. Bishop Parkes has arrived here twice to speak briefly to the people in my parish, once before mass and once after, and his arrival was unannounced!
I'm always happy to have him - it is his church after all!
Give him the benefit of the doubt. He might just be very personable / "one of the guys" who enjoys the company of the people and his priests. Perhaps he is fortunate, I have no feel for the size of your diocese, where his schedule permits this. He just might enjoy / thrive upon having the freedom to mingle and not be locked down / have all his movements planned in a calendar. Be grateful you can interact more informally if you aren't already.
Jerome Merwick -
1) You are likely to a certain extent correct. What possibly can change when Bishop's boss wears the white suit?
2) Depends upon the person and the dynamic. I'm sure some do - perhaps those more junior, those who are more seasoned might be invited, or, might feel more comfortable being candid.
3) Of course there is closed communication. Why would you expect the "door to open"? Spiritual matters pertaining to parishioners are confidential. Otherwise, their "brotherhood" likely discusses things/goings on/problems privately in the same way you speak to your spouse and/or family about sensitive matters. Total transparency is neither realistic nor reasonable.
John Nolan -
There is nothing going on within this blog that would cause an American Bishop to bat an eye. Fr. AJM likes bells, smells, good architecture and the TLM but, he adheres to current norms set by the USCCB / Bishop Parkes. At the end of the day, there's nothing sensational to see here aside from some spirited "conversation". Fr. AJM knows how to stay on the rails.
Byz, our diocese is quite large, 37,000 square miles, 5,000 square miles larger than all of Ireland! Georgia is the 21st largest state, and it can be a 4 to 5 hour drive going from corner to corner.
ByzRus
My comment was lighthearted and meant to be ironic. For some reason irony doesn't work on the internet.
Post a Comment