ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Your Eminences: Cardinal Bevilacqua, Cardinal Keeler, Cardinal Foley,
Archbishop Soroka, Archeparch of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians,
Dear brother Archbishops and Bishops,
Dear brother Priests, Deacons, Religious, Seminarians and Laity,
Dear Family members and friends of our Bishops-elect,
Esteemed Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Guests,
Distinguished Civil Authorities,
And especially you, John and Michael, about to be ordained as Bishops,

Today, August 6th, the Church throughout the whole world celebrates a great feast, a great event: the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel which we have just proclaimed describes the event for us in detail.
Back in the fifth century Pope Saint Leo the Great explained beautifully to the Church the context in which the Transfiguration took place.

Jesus was very much aware during His public life that the time of His Passion and Death was rapidly approaching. He knew full well that His Apostles would be severely shocked and scandalized by His suffering and His crucifixion. They would begin to wonder how all the humiliations that Jesus would endure could possibly happen to the Lord, who had claimed to be God and to identify Himself as the Son of the eternal Father.

And so it was that Jesus chose three of His Apostles—Peter, John and James—and led them up a high mountain to witness His glory, even if only in a momentary way, in order to prepare them to withstand the violent impact of His sufferings on their faith.

For a brief time Jesus permitted His Apostles to see His glory. They received a glimpse of what Jesus was like in His divine glory so that they would not lose hope when they would see Him in the weakest hours of His humanity.

What is of supreme importance in the event of the Transfiguration, when Jesus’ face shone like the sun and His garments became dazzling white, was the fact that God the Father proclaimed Jesus His chosen, beloved Son and commanded the Apostles to listen to Him.

Throughout all of the Gospels, the voice of the eternal Father is heard only three times. And this is one of those three times that the Father speaks in order to bear personal witness to His Son, as divine, and to proclaim that He loves Him.

And in this proclamation are those final words of God the Father that thunder down the centuries: “Listen to Him.” Listen to Jesus.

This is the great mandate given to the Apostles and through them to the world.
Today in this Ordination Rite, the mandate of God the Father is solemnly transmitted to two new Auxiliary Bishops and is likewise shared with all of us.

In the divine plan it is Jesus, the beloved Son of the eternal Father, who reveals the meaning of life and who, in His love for us, leads us to eternal life. This is why the Father has told us to listen to Jesus. And Jesus Himself has told us that He is the Good Shepherd who, out of love, lays down His life for His flock.

Today as we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, with all of its profound meaning, the Church in Philadelphia also rejoices in the ordination of her two new Bishops. We are deeply grateful to our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI for having called Monsignor John McIntyre and Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald to the episcopacy. As priests of this Archdiocese they have generously and zealously collaborated for years with their Archbishop and their brother priests in the presbyterate. With deep pastoral love they have served the people of God through the various specific priestly ministries that were entrusted to them. The Church now entrusts to both of them a new and even deeper participation in the pastoral mission of Jesus Christ the High Priest and Good Shepherd of the Church. The hopes and joys, the concerns and sufferings of the people of God—priests, consecrated religious and lay faithful—which, with deep pastoral sensitivity, they have shared up until now as priests, they will continue to be involved in as Bishops. Morever, they will face the new personal challenge of listening ever more faithfully to Jesus and, with ever greater love, proclaiming Him in word and action.

The close bonds of fraternal priestly solidarity which they have always experienced with their brother priests will be ever more meaningful for them as they intensify their own service to the presbyterate with the same simplicity and dedication they have always shown.

But what then is the Church now asking of these priests as they are about to be ordained Bishops in order to shepherd the people of God in the name of Jesus, the eternal Shepherd?

It is clear from the Gospel that the primary duty for them is to do exactly what the eternal Father has directed: to listen to Jesus, to listen to Him ever more attentively. And it is Jesus who through the Church will spell out all the other expectations for them and their pastoral ministry. As Bishops-elect, John McIntyre and Michael Fitzgerald are being told first of all to love, with the charity of a father and brother, all those whom God designates as their co-workers, beginning with their closest co-workers, the priests and deacons. It is clear that the shepherd’s love required of them involves the laying down of their lives, just the way Jesus as the Good Shepherd laid down His life for His flock.

In just a few moments, our candidates will be solemnly interrogated about their intention and their resolve, namely: to preach the Gospel of Christ with constancy and fidelity; to guard the deposit of faith as handed down by the Apostles; to build up the Body of Christ, the Church, and to remain in union with the order of Bishops under the authority of the Successor of Saint Peter the Apostle; to render obedience faithfully to the Successor of the blessed Apostle Peter; to guide the people of God in the way of salvation; to be welcoming and merciful to the poor, to strangers and to all who are in need; and to seek out the sheep who stray and to gather them into the Lord’s fold. In these and in other ways their role as Bishops is to be, in the expression of the venerable Pope John Paul II, “servants of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the hope of the world.”

But in order to be able to accomplish all of this in the name of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, they are charged to pray without ceasing and to carry out their office without reproach. In other words: they are meant to be, ever more, men of prayer and men of integrity and holiness of life. This is such an important part of their being called to be Bishops.

Dear John and Michael: here today in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, where you were both ordained to the sacred priesthood, in the presence of the people of God, including your beloved families, brother Bishops, priests and deacons, consecrated religious, seminarians and lay faithful of the Church, you are publicly attesting to your resolve that as Bishops of the Church you will indeed continue to listen to Jesus and to transmit His words, His teaching, His commandments, His promises, His way of life, His love to all those who will freely open up their hearts to you.

To make this possible, the Church today invokes upon you the Holy Spirit, that governing Spirit whom the Father gave to Jesus Christ His Son and whom Jesus Christ bestowed on the Apostles, and whom He bestows on you through the great Sacrament of Holy Orders which you are about to receive in all its fullness. And finally, John and Michael, the Church entrusts you confidently to Mary, the Mother of Jesus and Mother of the Apostles, so that, for years to come, you may rejoice in her protection and find strength in her love. Amen.