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May 2007 Issue
Bishop's column
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our snows melted away, many of us are in the mood for
all the signs of spring. The clearing and planting, the
putting out of warm-weather chairs and tables, the cleaning
out of garages and basements - these are some of the activities
that spring inaugurates. Many seem to come out from the
dark and behind closed doors into the light and outside.
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Walkers, joggers, ball-players, cyclists - they
all seem to want to be in motion again after the winter freezes
and snows.
I'm happy to observe and to be a part of a
similar spiritual event. We Catholics and other Christians
have just come out of the Lenten season, which is a time of
spiritual reawakening - just as spring is a time when nature
reawakens all around us. We've celebrated the great gift of
the Lord's Resurrection. We have new life because he who is
risen has brought us his new life. And what we do, when we
have new life from the Lord, is to come closer to him and
to his mission. We happily move with him and in his power
into the great outdoors of our world. We exercise our share
in his ministry with renewed vigor. I see this happening in
all the fi rst holy Communions taking place in the parishes
of the diocese during spring. Our children, with the help
of their parents and teachers, joyously take their rightful
place at the community's table of the Lord. The entire parish
family is strengthened when our children recognize the risen
Lord under the humble signs of bread and wine. And when the
parish community is revitalized by the fi rst Communion of
its children, so is all the diocesan community of faith. Our
common faith and union with Christ become all the stronger.
The same thing happens with all the celebrations
of the sacrament of confi rmation that take place during this
season. When I am in the Cathedral of Saint Andrew with all
those young candidates for confi rmation, I can feel the energy
and power of Christ's Spirit reawakening our church in them.
They are the young disciples of Jesus. We owe them our best
example and our attentive mentoring. They are taking the Gospel
and the church into our world already now and will continue
to do so far toward the end of this century. They are as promising
to the faith as any spring time. As you are aware, a new parish
is being established. It will serve the community of Catholics
in the Allendale area. Named St. Luke University Parish, it
will also serve the students and whole campus community of
Grand Valley State University. This will be a spring time
of faith for the area. Like St. Luke, the patron of the new
parish, who announced the Gospel, this new community will
also give witness to Christ.
So, as bishop, I take great joy in witnessing
to these signs of budding and blossoming in our community
of faith. In a special way, I congratulate the teachers, sponsors
and parents of our young people for patiently bringing their
children closer to our Lord and the mission the Lord shares
with us. And I marvel gratefully at the way the entire diocesan
community rolls up its sleeves in that same spirit of faith
and contributes generously toward our shared resources in
helping the poor, tending the needy and providing for the
religious training of our young people and our future shepherds.
These are the signs of a people whose faith is alive and vibrant!
- Bishop Walter A. Hurley is the
11th bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids.
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