“I raise my eyes toward the mountains. From where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. The Lord will guard you from all evil, will always guard your life. The Lord will guard your coming and going, both now and forever."
— Psalm 121: 1-2, 7-8
What a night to remember, the first Friday of Lent, as we welcomed our Chief Shepherd, Bishop David A. Zubik to our parish. Of our forty-day and forty-night Lenten Pilgrimage, that evening was certainly a zenith, apogee, mountaintop transfiguration moment for our faith community. Along with ten Felician sisters and seven seminarians from St. Paul Seminary, Bishop Zubik joined us for our fish fry and we had a wonderful turnout of parishioners. The Bishop went around from table to table, meeting as many people as possible, and they in turn were delighted to see him. You can tune in to our web site to recapture the night and see there the Stations of the Cross, the Bishop’s homily and the beautiful music, revisiting this high point experience in our Lenten journey.
As he always does wherever he goes, the Bishop took time to pray quietly in the church prior to beginning the service and he offered a memorable prayer in the sacristy before we began the Stations of the Cross. He prayed, “As we walk these sacred steps to Christ’s Passion and Death, may we adore the Cross, may we carry our cross, and most importantly, may we live the Cross in imitation of Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer. Give us the grace to worship You as You so deserve. And fill us with the grace to be more completely Your follower.”
During the Bishop’s homily, he told the story of the time when as a transitional deacon en route to the priesthood, Bishop Vincent Leonard, the ninth Bishop of Pittsburgh (1969-1983), asked him the question, “What are your three preferences in serving as a priest?” Deacon Zubik answered to be a parish priest in an urban setting, to be a parish priest in the suburbs, and to be a parish priest in the rural area. (The accent was that he wanted to be a parish priest!) Another question posed to him was, “What particular ministries would you rather not be placed in?” And he answered high school ministry, high school ministry, and high school ministry. After ordination by Bishop Leonard in 1966, Fr. Zubik was sent to Sacred Heart Parish in East Liberty to serve under Fr. Unger. But, after being there for only two years, lo and behold, Fr. Zubik got a call that he was being sent to Quigley Catholic in Baden, where for the next twelve years he would serve in high school ministry. Bishop Zubik noted that although he had significant reservations about this ministry, he found in serving there that it brought untold blessings to his future as a priest and bishop. He recalled how meaningful it has been over the years to perform weddings, baptisms, and even the funerals for the students he once taught.
The Bishop also relayed the story of a student who was “perfect” in every way — academically, athletically and interpersonally — and a sure shot for success. But recently, the Bishop received a letter stating that the young man’s life had bottomed out. The Bishop said, “I am sure all of us can relate to this letter and to this life. We can have incredible potential but life isn’t always on a fair playing field and can leave us flailing and lost.”
Lent is the time for contrition, to be humble, to admit our mistakes, poor choices, sins, and it is a great blessing when God manifests to us our secret sins through a humble and contrite confession. Looking back over the evening and considering our wise Bishop, it struck me that this man of faith and father of souls exemplifies certain qualities critical for personal conversion:
Contrition — sorrow for one’s transgressions
Clarity – not wishy-washy, but decisive
Courage – a reliant spirit
Conviction — no compromise of values and beliefs but striving always for God’s glory
Conqueror — being a victor not a victim
Charity — unconditional love
Compassion — suffering with and walking in someone else’s moccasins
Commitment — a radical life-long tenacity for the good
At his departure, the Bishop humbly asked for my blessing and I gave a pep talk to the seminarians. I encouraged them, saying, "Let the Lord search your heart, give your life completely, be faithful in prayer, be real, embrace the Cross and live it. Be a cross bearer for the glory of heaven!"
Prayer of the Transfiguration, Lucien Deiss, CSSp
With Moses, Elijah, Peter, James and John,
Let us pray to be transfigured into children of God.
Christ, be our light of glory.
We were children of this earth.
You transfigured us into children of God.
Thank you, Lord.
Gather us together in your heavenly home.
Christ, be our light of glory.
We heard the words of the earth.
You gave us the words of heaven.
Thank you, Lord.
Open our hearts to your Gospel of Glory.
Christ, be our light of glory.
We ate the stale bread of the earth.
You transfigured it into the bread of heaven.
Thank you, Lord.
Invite us to the feast of eternal joy.
Christ, be our light of glory.
We were a community of sinners on earth.
You transfigured us into the Church of the saints of heaven.
Thank you, Lord.
Keep us in the unity of your Church.
Christ, be our light of glory.
Everything you touch, Lord of glory,
Is transfigured through your divinity.
Transfigure our darkness into your light,
Our sadness into your joy,
Our ugliness into your beauty,
Our body of misery into your body of glory,
Our earth into your paradise,
Our mortal life into your eternity.
We will bless you forever and ever. Amen.
