Bridging the Gap: DEAR AL

	Bishop David Zubik

Dear Al,

As it has been just over two weeks since you left us, you have been on my mind much lately.

One of the reasons that your presence looms so vividly in my mind and heart rests with a very special observance which many of our parishes in Green Bay and a number of others throughout the country will note this weekend of Oct. 29-30: PRIESTHOOD SUNDAY.

Bishop  Aloysius J.  Wycislo  1908 - 2005  • More coverage

As you know, this tradition formally began only a few years ago to give so many of us in the Church a reminder to thank the priests who serve us so well. The theme of this year's observance is: Celebrating America's Priest Heroes.

You naturally came to mind because for me and so many others, you were an exemplary priest and a shepherding bishop. As one of the Council Fathers of Vatican II, you not only pioneered the way for many laywomen and laymen to become even more involved in the Church; you also remained so steadfast in the support of the distinctive role which ordained priests have in the Church.

In that groundbreaking document on the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, you and the other council fathers wrote about priesthood:

"By the power of the Sacrament of Orders, and in the image of Christ the High Priest, they (priests) are consecrated to preach the Gospel, shepherd the faithful, and celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New Testament." (Lumen Gentium #28)

As your good friend and later our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II would reflect in his Apostolic Exhortations, Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992) and Pastores Gregis (2003); priests share in the three important "munera" or works entrusted to Bishops as successors of the Apostles: "to teach; to sanctify; to shepherd."

And so as I reflect on Priesthood Sunday, I cannot help but thank you for being one who taught so effectively; you who called the Church to holiness so convincingly; and you who served all God's people so diligently. As I remember and honor you as TEACHER; SANCTIFIER and PASTOR, I am moved to recognize the faithfulness of my brother priests in this diocese who share in and extend those three important works of the Church.

As a TEACHER, you not only earned a reputation for preaching God's word in unforgettable ways; you took that role seriously in the classroom, and in your writings. As late as two weeks before your death, you entertained a "class" with diocesan staff on the Vatican Council. Likewise, you used your outstanding gifts as a writer to invite us to a deeper faith in your books and articles.

Our priests share in that important role of TEACHER: through their homilies; their reflective articles in parish bulletins; their classroom instructions in our day schools and religious education programs; their outreach to help adults grow in the knowledge of the faith. I am so grateful for all that our priests do as teachers to read, study and expand their minds and hearts, open to the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

Just as you did; I give thanks for the gift of our priests as TEACHERS.

As SANCTIFIER, you especially cherished so carefully your role as celebrant of the seven sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist. Moreover, you called us to be a holier people by the example of your own quest for holiness. Your dedication to praying the Liturgy of the Hours (the breviary) on our behalf, and your daily devotion to praying the Rosary, not only helped us but also inspired us.

Our priests share in that important role of SANCTIFIER: by their own personal fidelity to prayer; by making Christ present to us in: the waters of Baptism; in the forgiveness of sin in Penance; in preparing candidates to receive Confirmation; in witnessing the vows of woman and man to each other in Matrimony; in inspiring other men to respond to the call to Priesthood in Holy Orders; in bringing comfort to the infirm in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and especially in the "breaking of the bread" and "the sharing of the cup" in the ultimate gift of the Holy Eucharist. In his beautiful Encyclical letter of Holy Thursday, 2003, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, our late Holy Father, People John Paul II, quoted yet again Lumen Gentium on the indispensable role of the priest in the celebration of the Eucharist as he wrote "yet it is the ordained priest who 'acting in the power of Christ brings about the Eucharistic Sacrifice and offers it to God in the name of all peoples.'" (Lumen Gentium #56)

Just as you did; I give thanks for the gift of our priests as SANCTIFIERS.

And finally, as SHEPHERD: you wisely guided the course of our local Church for more than fourteen years the best way you could; through your countless meetings; in expanding the service arm of the Chancery; in every appointment which you made; in every decision you enacted; in recognizing the rich treasure of and contributions of women and especially women religious; in widening the scope of leadership of laity; and in every dream of the Holy Spirit which you brought to reality for the growth of this Church of Green Bay.

Our priests likewise share in that role of SHEPHERD: by their visits to the hospitalized and the shut-ins; by their hours of consultation with parish representatives on numerous councils and committees; by their counseling and interventions; by their challenge for greater involvement of more parish leaders and volunteers; by their balancing act of being administrators of parish finances and properties on the one hand and pastors to people's hearts and souls on the other; by their generous outreach to the needy and the immigrants; and in so many other countless ways, our priests share in the life of the Good Shepherd who came not to be served, but to serve. Perhaps the most striking and dramatic way our priests shepherd is in the total giving of their lives toward God and toward others in the gift, the charism, of celibacy.

Yes, just as you did, I give thanks for the gift of our priests as SHEPHERDS.

Dear Al, as you look down on us from your permanent retirement home in heaven, I know that you smile on us. I am sure that you from time to time whisper a prayer for us in God's ear that He send His blessings on us as the Church of Green Bay - laity, religious, deacons and especially on this Priesthood Sunday - our priests who strive as did you to be courageous TEACHERS; devoted SANCTIFIERS; and loving SHEPHERDS.

Grateful for our belief that "Nothing is Impossible with God," I remain

Your admiring brother in Christ,
[signed]
Most Reverend David A. Zubik
Bishop of Green Bay