Christmas 1997 Message...
As we near the end of 1997, during which we have celebrated together the Sesquicentennial observance of the founding of our Diocese of Albany and concluded it on December 7 at the end of our ecumenical prayer service with a festival of lights illuminating the inner and outer Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, I rejoice to greet you on this wondrous Feast of our Savior's Birth.
In a world that is still afflicted with war, violence and injustice, and still brightened and strengthened by the compassionate efforts of countless people on behalf of others, the mystery and beauty of this season fill our hearts with an indefinable peace and a vibrant hope.
Each year at Christmastime, as the Gospel of Luke celebrates the birth of Jesus our Lord and Savior, we rejoin the company of the shepherds watching in turn over their flocks. Hearing that incisive account again is like crossing the threshold into a sacred place in our lives:
"The angel of the Lord appeared to them as the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were very much afraid. The angel said to them: 'You have nothing to fear! I come to proclaim good news to you--tidings of great joy to be shared by the whole people'" (2:8-10).
It was to a gathering of lowly folk that the glorious proclamation came: "This day in David's city a savior has been born to you, the Messiah and Lord. Let this be a sign to you: in a manger you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes." As the shepherds received this startling announcement, they heard the praise uttered by "the heavenly host: 'Glory to God in high heaven, peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests.'"
The response of the shepherds calls us again with joy and urgency: "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this event which the Lord has made known to us" (11-15).
The openness of the shepherds to the glory and the goodness of God matched their unwavering trust and mutual resolve. Along with the common needs and the lot they shared, they surely had their differences and divisions as well. In their faith in the living God, however, they were of one heart; and they spontaneously received the good news as a community of faith. Sustained and heartened by the Word of God, they hastened to Bethlehem.
What a sign they are to us of a deep and united response of a community of faith to the Word of the Living God!
The Advent Season has prepared the Church of Albany to go over to Bethlehem with the shepherds "to see this event which the Lord has made known to us," and to journey together as a community of faith and trust and openness to the Word of God.
St. Paul has given us a powerful reminder of the community we are: "Because there is one bread, we, though many, are one body, for we all share in the one loaf and in the one cup" (l Cor 10:17). The shepherds hastened to Bethlehem with one heart and purpose: "to see this event" revealed to them by the Lord.
Such a response calls the Church of Albany to rejoice together in God's eternal gift of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, and to seek and advance that unity among us for which our Savior prayed.
The prophet Isaiah's voice has rung out with vitality and hope and challenge during our Advent preparation for the coming of the Lord. Isaiah celebrates God's wondrous gifts of Emmanuel and of life by announcing that "a shoot shall sprout from the root of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom" (11:1).
This wonderful passage in Isaiah presents the Peaceable Kingdom of Emmanuel, in which justice and peace flourish and former enemies become caring neighbors: "The calf and the young lion shall browse together with a little child to guide them" (11-6).
Such are the peace and the concern for one another to which the Lord calls us as Church, loving one another as our Savior has loved us, despite the differences and, at times, the divisions that can exist among us.
This has been a year of thanksgiving to God whose loving providence has brought us to this hour, this Christmastime. We have prayed, celebrated and worked together in "Honoring Tradition, Discovering Tomorrow." The response of the clergy, religious and laity of our Diocese has been overwhelming in support of the numerous diocesan, parish, cluster and community events.
The memorable celebration in Auriesville on September 14, 1997, attended by as many as 7,000 people, including guests from the interfaith community, was a joyful proclamation of our faith centered in the Eucharist. Through the tremendous generosity of the parishes and people of the Church of Albany, the collection for the poor taken up that day amounted to approximately $120,000, and has been distributed internationally, nationally and locally.
Our Sesquicentennial observance has witnessed a year of God's mighty blessings and of the wholehearted participation of the parishes, clusters and institutions of the Church of Albany in our celebration.
Our goal of "Discovering Tomorrow" continues to be a heartening and challenging one. Our Holy Father Pope John Paul II has urged us to prepare for the Jubilee Year by intensive spiritual and pastoral renewal. In response, the Church of Albany is offering Renew 2000 over a three-and-one-half-year period, already underway.
The wholehearted and joyful response of the shepherds to the Good News of the Birth of our Savior foreshadows the disposition of openness to God's grace to which we are now called and a deeper awareness of the sacred in our everyday lives.
The time of renewal ahead of us relates to our utmost commitment in faith to the Living God and to the saving mysteries of the Incarnation, Redemption and Resurrection of Jesus the Lord. As the shepherds, united by their faith and trust in the Word of God, went over together to Bethlehem, let us seize this opportunity to renew our faith, our oneness in Christ, and our growth in the Spirit together.
"Discovering Tomorrow" links our Sesquicentennial observance with the renewal to which Pope John Paul II has called us in preparation for the Jubilee. One of the meanings of "to renew" is "to make new spiritually." Such a goal calls upon us who are the Church of Albany to embrace the ripe opportunities for spiritual and pastoral renewal that will be available and to grow together as one body in Christ in our understanding of the Word of God, in the depth of our prayer and worship, and in our response to the Gospel of Jesus the Lord in our daily lives and in our concern for the dignity and the needs of others.
Our purpose of "Discovering Tomorrow" is, therefore, a heartening and challenging one to be pursued together with the joy and the urgency of the shepherds who went over to Bethlehem to behold their Savior.
In my Christmas message to you a year ago, I extended to you and your loved ones my prayerful best wishes "for a memorable and graced Sesquicentennial Year of Celebration as we seek together to fulfill its theme of 'Honoring Tradition, Discovering Tomorrow.'" I also repeated the blessing I had pronounced at the Opening Ritual of the Sesquicentennial, which followed the singing of the Te Deum: "From the God who is, who was, and who is to come at the end of the ages, peace and grace be with you all."
It is with gladness of heart and gratitude for your wonderful spirit, reflected in so many ways this past year, that I repeat that blessing and extend to you my prayerful best wishes for a joyful and peaceful Christmas for you and your loved ones as you celebrate the coming of Jesus the Lord to be our brother, our friend, our Good Shepherd and our Savior.