ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Your Eminences: Cardinal Bevilacqua, Cardinal Keeler, Cardinal Foley,
Archbishop Soroka, Archeparch of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians,
Archbishop Sulyk, Archeparch Emeritus of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians,
My brother Archbishops and Bishops,
especially you the Co-Consecrators, Bishop Thomas and Bishop Bransfield,
Bishop-elect Senior,
Dear Priests, Deacons, Religious, Seminarians and Laity,
Dear Family of Bishop-elect Senior,
Esteemed Ecumenical and Interreligious Guests,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,

Some years ago, Pope John Paul II wrote a book called Gift and Mystery. It was a beautiful account of the fifty years of his life and ministry in the priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, to which he had been called, including its highest sacramental level, which is the Episcopacy.

This afternoon we assemble in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, to celebrate the calling of our brother Monsignor Timothy C. Senior, to the life and ministry of a Bishop. In this celebration we reflect on the great gift of the Episcopacy to be bestowed on Monsignor Senior and the great mystery in which he will now be involved.

The “gift” to be given to Monsignor Senior is then the priesthood of Jesus Christ, to be exercised at its highest sacramental level. The “mystery” is simply the divine reality of this gift with all its consequences for Monsignor Senior and for the Church. It is another way of speaking about God’s plan of love for His Church.

The word of God today helps us to delve into the mystery of both the priesthood and the episcopacy. The word of God lets us know so much about the mission that Monsignor Senior will receive today in his ordination as a Bishop.

Both the Responsorial Psalm and the Gospel highlight the role of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Shepherd of His Church. The Bishop-elect through his ordination will take on a deeper personal relationship with Christ. He will be more intimately conformed to Jesus Christ as High Priest and share more deeply in His role as Good Shepherd.

In the mystery of God’s plan for providing for His people, Monsignor Senior will be a special instrument of Christ. He is being called to share Christ’s own shepherd’s care for the Church. The Psalm says so beautifully: “The Lord is my shepherd; ... in verdant pastures he gives me repose; besides restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.” The Bishop never substitutes for Christ. Rather he is called, through his ministry, to make present in the community, Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd of the Church.

In the Gospel today Jesus so beautifully explains that He is the Good Shepherd of His Church. He explains further what this involves for Him. It means that He lays down His life for the flock. He gives Himself completely for His people. The challenge of the Bishop, and for all priests, is to share the role of Jesus and to imitate His generosity and sacrificial love. This is what Bishop-elect Senior is being called to do in a particular way today, in imitation of Jesus.

At this point in the Gospel the words of Jesus become so very explicit in describing what His generosity and sacrificial love involve. Jesus summarizes His own attitude by saying: “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” But Jesus insists on this word “to lay down” his life. He uses it not once or twice but five times in this short Gospel passage. He wants the Apostles to begin to grasp what being a shepherd is all about, for Him and for them. He wants them to enter into the mystery of His love, the mystery of redemption, the mystery of mercy.

And so Jesus begins to repeat what He has already clearly stated. A second time He says: “I am the good shepherd...and I will lay down my life for the sheep.” And then a third time Jesus uses the same verb, saying: “This is why the Father loves me because I lay down my life ....” The fourth time Jesus emphasizes the freedom with which He controls His life, stating: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.” Finally, a fifth time Jesus ratifies everything He has said about His life, asserting: “I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.”

This laying down own’s life with Christ, dear friends, is the great ideal of God’s plan for the ministry of the Bishop, in which, in a few moments, Monsignor Senior will be initiated. And the purpose of this laying down of one’s life is to be identified with Jesus Christ, precisely in order to give the Church of God a shepherd’s care. The episcopacy—the office of Bishop—is indeed then, at one and the same time, a divine gift to Monsignor Senior and to the Church herself. But it is also, in the words of Pope John Paul II, that mystery—that design of God’s plan—by which God shepherds His people and leads them to eternal life.

There are so many aspects of this gift and mystery—this divine reality—which deserve our reflection. The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah which we have heard proclaimed in our first reading shows how when God calls someone to a special mission this divine call is totally gratuitous . In the case of Jeremiah, God asserts that the call pre-dates the Prophet’s birth. God says: “...before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.” It is the same for Monsignor Senior. For him also, like the Old Testament Prophet, the same conditions are associated with his vocation. He is to go to whomever God sends him and to speak whatever God commands him. In other words, the People of God look to him to proclaim not his own message but the message that God has entrusted to His Church. The Lord said to Jeremiah: “See, I place my words in your mouth.”

At the same time, as God spoke to Jeremiah, He speaks today to Bishop-elect Senior, saying: “Have no fear...because I am with you.”

Dear Timothy, as you present yourself for the laying on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, the word of God offers you deep confidence. God is with you as you receive the great gift of the Episcopacy and enter into this great mystery. There is no reason to fear. Your important task from now on shall be to exercise a special role in shepherding God’s people, together with your brother Auxiliary Bishops and myself. This task requires you to maintain a special intimacy with the Lord Jesus, a close union with our Holy Father and all the Bishops of the Church, and a deep involvement with our brother priests and all the religious and laity as you minister the sacraments and proclaim the word of God. You will be constantly challenged to lay down your life for the flock. In recompense, what joy it will be for you to repeat those words of Jesus: “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life ....” And what profound fulfillment in love will be yours as you help shepherd God’s people to salvation and eternal life!

On this occasion of your Ordination Day, the People of God rejoice with you and are close to you. The whole Archdiocese of Philadelphia is invited to recommit itself to Jesus Christ. So many of the faithful will indeed look to you as a Bishop in order to know Jesus better and, in His name, to serve humanity more faithfully.

And Mary, our Blessed Mother and the Mother of Jesus Christ our great High Priest, will certainly sustain you in her love and support you by her prayers as you lay down your life in order to help shepherd the Church of her beloved Son. Amen.