The Bishop’s Note
Today is the feast of our dear patroness, St. Gertrude the Great. She has been good to us over the years and I trust that she will continue to intercede on our behalf until each and every one of us has reached eternal beatitude. Blessed feast day to all of you!
Today also marks 22 years since this church was dedicated and I remember it well. I was just a seminarian and our young priests would have been around First Communion age, I believe. The parking lot was muddy and the hallways covered in dry mud from the workers’ boots. The cloister was not built yet and the convento was still being worked on. The ladies were on their hands and knees scrubbing the social hall floor. Every-thing came together nicely, though, in time for the beautiful ceremonies. Those were different times. We certainly have seen a lot of changes in these last 22 years—but most of all, we have received many graces during this time.
Fr. Lehtoranta has been a priest for 14 years to-day, and he has done much good work over these years. Father, as you know, has always been a teacher in our school, and has more recently taken on a role as a seminary professor. Be sure to wish him a happy anniversary today and say an extra prayer for him. Today is also my 20th priestly anniversary.
The Forty Hours Devotion in Nigeria, which started on Friday, ends today. Bishop Nkamuke gave a good news report. Among other things, His Excellency blessed two ships, oil rigs, to be more precise. The owner named them “Deo Juvante” and “Deo Servante.” You can look up the Latin translation.
Tomorrow is the feast day of St. Hugh of Lincoln, the patron of our Milwaukee chapel. The parishioners have done so much good over the years. The work they have done on the chapel is amazing. They themselves even built the choir loft and installed the wooden cross beams in the ceiling. We clergy have always been amazed at how much this small congregation has done and continues to do. They manage to do many of the same ceremonies as we do here, with a lot less people. Holy Week, Vigil of Pentecost, Candlemas, and many others. They even do Forty Hours! What is most edifying is that they do forty consecutive hours and manage to have at least one adorer for each hour. That is quite a feat for such a small parish with so many of the parishioners living rather far away. A blessed feast day to everyone at St. Hugh’s!
I leave on Friday to visit Fr. Arnoldo Villegas and his chapels in Tijuana and Mexicali, where Confirmation will be administered. Say a prayer for safe travels and a successful apostolate there. Be assured that you are being remembered in my prayers.
– Bishop McGuire