Recently, on two occasions, I participated in gatherings with priests, deacons, consecrated women and lay faithful of our Diocese. On both occasions, I witnessed their love for the Lord and His Church and their desire to faithfully follow and serve Christ. Their example made me so terribly proud to be their bishop.
The first occasion took place in New York City at the Investiture Vigil, and on the following day, the Mass of Investiture for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Some might ask, what’s that?
If you have attended solemn diocesan ceremonies such as the recent Mass of Welcome for our Coadjutor Bishop, the Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre processed together into the Church. They were dressed in their very distinctive garments – men in white capes and black berets; women in black capes and black mantillas. Featured on their ceremonial robes is a very large red cross. It is the Jerusalem Cross, and in each of the four quadrants of the large cross is a very small red Jerusalem Cross. Thus, five distinctive Jerusalem Crosses, which are a reminder of the five glorious wounds of the Lord from which the grace of God poured out on Calvary for our salvation.
The Jerusalem Cross is the venerable sign of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. In the past, it was known as the Cross of the Five Wounds. The Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem not only wear the Jerusalem Cross, they also lift high that cross as the sign of our faith by which the salvation of the human race was accomplished in the City of Jerusalem. For Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre, the Crucified Lord is the center of their lives.
Two members of our diocesan chapter, Pati Sparks and Rose Tanzi, were advanced in rank at the Vigil Service that took place in the exquisite Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The following day, the Mass of Investiture was celebrated at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick by His Eminence Cardinal Dolan. He asked me to deliver the homily at the Mass. At that Mass, new members of our Order accepted membership and were invested. That evening, a splendid gala was held in the New York Hilton, and Cardinal Dolan addressed the gathering and spoke about the distressing situation the Catholic Church suffers in the Holy Land.
The Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre were established long ago for the custody of the holy places, for the protection of the Church in the Holy Land, and for the care of the faithful in the Land of the Lord. Their charity and their prayers assist the Church in the land where Jesus was born, lived, died, rose and ascended into glory. They commit their time and energy in the service of God, the Church and neighbor. They generously offer help to the most vulnerable and less fortunate people, in particular in exercising solidarity in favor of the population of the Holy Land with concern for the Christian presence in the Holy land.
The Order supports Catholic schools, hospitals, parishes and charitable agencies throughout the Holy Land. The members of the Order pray for the peace of Jerusalem, especially through the intercession of Our Lady of Palestine. When they are able, they must do a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and visit the sacred places of our faith. For example, the little but bustling town of Bethlehem where Christ was born; the Sea of Galilee in which the Apostles fished and around which Jesus preached and even on one occasion calmed a storm; Cana of Galilee, where the first of the Lord’s miracles took place; the town of Nazareth, where Mary responded with deep faith to the message of the Angel Gabriel and accepted to be the Virgin Mother of the Savior, the Son of God; Calvary, where Christ died on the Cross; the Holy Sepulchre out of which He rose to life and broke the clutches of human death, and many other sacred places.
Members also visit the institutions our Order supports and sponsors to see firsthand what our charity accomplishes for a suffering people and to be inspired by speaking with those who are in charge of those institutions and those who benefit from the charity of the Order. The Knights and Dames of the Order strive to live the Christian life and share an ancient bond to the Holy Land.
The second gathering was an all-day meeting in Vineland to study the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry, produced by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). This plan developed out of a process called Encuentros (Encounters), which has been in effect among Hispanic/Latino Catholics in the United States for more than 45 years. To date, there have been five Encuentros. I actually participated in the second many years ago as a young priest and in the fifth a few years ago in Texas, accompanied by representatives of our Diocese.
The Encuentro model with its emphasis on listening, accompanying, dialogue and discernment has resulted in establishing Hispanic/Latino ministry throughout the country. This plan seeks to strengthen the Church’s response to the growing Hispanic/Latino presence in the Catholic Church in our country.
The morning meeting included Spanish-speaking priests, deacons and consecrated women; the evening session brought together about 120 leaders from different Spanish-speaking parishes in the Diocese. Our director of the diocesan Hispanic Ministry Office, Andrés Arango, hosted the meetings, and Deacon Asterio Velasco from the Archdiocese of Newark led the training on the content of the Plan Nacional.
The National Plan is a resource for our parishes, schools and Diocese. It proposes a vision of and identifies pastoral priorities for ministry among Hispanics. It is a call to be an evangelizing Church and encourages missionary discipleship among the faithful.
Among the topics identified in the Plan Nacional are: Catholic Education; Leadership; Faith Formation; Catechesis; Immigration and Advocacy; Youth and Young Adult Ministry; Pastoral Accompaniment of Families; Formation for Ministry in a Culturally Diverse Church; Social Justice Formation and Mission. Each of these topics has objectives that could help to implement the initiatives in the National Plan.
The bishops of the United States have committed to carry out the plan over the next 10 years. With the enthusiasm, commitment and dedication of those who participated in the diocesan meeting – and with their and your prayers – I pray that great pastoral advances will be made for our Church in Camden.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
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