Giving glory to our Father

By Bishop Robert Banks

	Bishop Robert J. Banks

As I near the end of my 13 years as Bishop of Green Bay, people keep asking me about my accomplishments or about the legacy I hope to leave behind me. The reporters, of course, want to know how I feel about having the events of Boston clouding these last couple of years. Other people want to know if I attained the goals that I had set for myself.

S p e c i a l   S e c t i o n : Farewell to Bishop Banks
• 'Blessed be God Forever'     Bp. Robert Banks retires as the     diocese's chief shepherd and spiritual     leader  • Highlights of 13 years in Green Bay  • Bishop seen as priest-servant     Friends, colleagues, see Bishop as     spiritual, caring  • Bp. Robert Joseph Banks biography  • Accepted the hard times with grace     Bishop believes God at work  • A style that works     Bishop noted for his care and listening     skills  • Timeline of Bp. Banks' years in Green Bay  • College presidents remember Bp. Banks  • Lay Catholics remember Bp. Banks  • Diocesan employees remember Bp. Banks  • Bishops, priests comment on Bp. Banks  • Religious leaders discuss Bp. Banks  • Thirteen years as the leader draw to an end  • Editorial -- Job well done     Bp. Robert Banks has served the     church of the Diocese of Green Bay     well for 13 years

Frankly, I am not a person who thinks much about accomplishments or legacy, and the past is the past. Right now I am spending my time trying to figure out how to make the transition from Green Bay to Kewaunee, where I hope to help Fr. Bill Kuhr.

As for goals, the one I mentioned years ago was making the Church of Green Bay a singing Church. There is still a little work to go on that.

Preaching and teaching

But as I thought about all these questions, it struck me that I could say something about my preaching/teaching ministry. Usually when we think of accomplishments of a pastor or bishop, we think of buildings and new programs. We don't usually think about the normal tasks that he carries out week after week. But those normal tasks constitute most of what he has accomplished, and the preaching/teaching ministry is one of the most important tasks the ordained minister carries out.

So what have I preached about these past 13 years?

Importance of the Trinity

I hope you have noticed that the Trinity has been an important subject in my preaching.

First, the title "Father" has been one of my favorites, despite the concerns that some people have about it. As far as I am concerned, it is the title Jesus used, and it speaks of a personal, family-type relationship between the Father and us. I hope I have communicated that the Father is the one to whom almost all the prayers of the Mass are directed.

I hope that people have noticed that Jesus is very much central to my preaching/teaching. I do not speak so much about praying to Jesus. Rather I like to emphasize that we pray with him to the Father. Again, I hope people have heard me lift up the personal relationship that we can have with Jesus, who is our friend.

In the last half of the 20th century, our Church has become more aware of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit's role in the Church and in our lives. I hope I have reflected that in my preaching. It seems to me that I have stressed the power of the Holy Spirit, especially in the Mass. It is the Holy Spirit that gathers the Church, inspires us and accomplishes, in and through us, whatever is good. For me, the Church is basically the Holy Spirit in people, forming a community of faith.

I have to confess that Mary, our Blessed Mother, has not been prominent enough in my preaching. She obviously is important in my life and thinking. For instance, I made sure that the intercession of Mary was included in the diocesan prayers for RENEW 2000 and the Stewardship Thrust. But, in comparison to Pope John Paul II's devotion and emphasis on Mary, I have to hang my head.

Celebrating Eucharist

When it comes to preaching about the sacraments, I hope people have noticed that I talk a lot about the Eucharist. I have tried in most homilies, no matter the topic, to end with a reference to the Eucharist. The celebration of the Eucharist is, after all, the source and summit of the Church's activity. A series of columns on the Eucharist a few years ago and a Pastoral Letter on the Celebration of the Eucharist would seem to indicate that the Eucharist has been a major topic for me.

The other sacrament that has figured large in my preaching has been, of course, Confirmation. One of my main targets in preaching at Confirmations is the many adults present who usually are not regular Mass-goers, so I always mention participation in Sunday Mass as a basic responsibility of a Catholic. I also recognize that, among the teen-age candidates, there is a variety of attitudes toward Church and Sunday Mass, so you might have noticed that I usually suggest it might take a while for the Holy Spirit to have an effect in the life of someone who has been confirmed.

My basic aim in the Confirmation homily has been to help everyone understand that the main thing in Confirmation is not the candidate's decision to be confirmed but Jesus' gift of the Spirit to each of the young persons, a gift won on the cross of Calvary.

Morality sermons

When it comes to sermons on morality, I could be faulted for not talking much about the Commandments, especially the Sixth and Ninth. It just so happens that, early in my time here, I was struck by St. Paul's words about what we have traditionally called the "fruits of the Holy Spirit:" love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and self-control (Gal 5:22). Since then, I have kept lifting them up as Gospel way of life. Perhaps I should have also focused on the previous paragraph in Paul's letter, where he lists the ways in which we are not faithful to the Gospel. However, I did issue a report on the use and abuse of alcohol, but it did not receive much attention.

It was also in reading the Scriptures that I ran across some lines that described so well what I would like to see happen in our Church of Green Bay. The lines were St. Paul's prayers for the church in Ephesus; I adapted them into a prayer for the Church of Green Bay. Let me repeat it here:

Father, father of this Church of Green Bay, a Church that you love and that I love, and ask that I might always love more. Bestow on this family gifts in keeping with the riches of your glory.

Strengthen the members of this family inwardly through the working of your Spirit.

May Christ dwell in our hearts through faith, and may love be the root and foundation of our lives.

Let us grasp fully the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love, and experience this love which surpasses all knowledge.

To you, Father, whose power now working within us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine, to you be glory in Christ Jesus through all generations. Amen.