Bishops' Schedules: Bishop Robert C. Morlino Sunday, Aug. 20, to Friday, Aug. 25, 2006 Attend Region VII Bishops' Retreat at Cardinal Stritch Retreat House, Mundelein, Ill. Bishop William H. Bullock Sunday, Aug. 20, to Thursday, Aug. 24, 2006 Attend Region VII Bishops' Retreat at Cardinal Stritch Retreat House, Mundelein, Ill. Bishop George O. Wirz Sunday, Aug. 20, to Thursday, Aug. 24, 2006 Attend Region VII Bishops' Retreat at Cardinal Stritch Retreat House, Mundelein, Ill.

God's gift to us:
All invited to accept salvation

		Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Dear Friends:

In recent days I have had the privilege to be present and concelebrating at the consecration of Bishop Daniel Thomas as Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia. Bishop Thomas and I became good friends when we studied and resided together at the Graduate House of Studies in Rome for the North American College. We have been in touch ever since.

The occasion of Bishop Thomas' episcopal consecration was a particular gift of God's providence to me, falling as it did within days of my observance of my third anniversary as Bishop of Madison. It is always a unique experience to pray through the ordination ritual once again as Christ calls a brother to share in His High Priesthood as a successor of the Apostles.

God is glorified by those he has chosen

The entire prayer for the consecration of a bishop is magnificent but as the years go on, one particular line still stands out for me: "from the creation of the world, God our Father, you have been pleased to be glorified by those whom You have chosen." That particular prayer never ceases to amaze me because, for example, King David was chosen by the Lord and yet engaged in behavior which hardly glorified the Lord. The same is true of St. Augustine.

The same is true of Pope Alexander VI, whose personal misconduct was virtually record breaking. And indeed, every one of us, especially myself, must admit to those aspects of our life which do not glorify God - truly we are all sinners. And yet the prayer insists, that from the creation of the world God has been pleased to be glorified by those whom he has chosen.

King David repented and wrote the Book of Psalms under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. St. Augustine repented and became the great scholar, teacher, and bishop that he was. Pope Alexander VI, when confronted with the claim that the native peoples in South America were not to be considered human, taught definitively that every human person has unsurpassed dignity and is to be respected as such.

God's salvation plan cannot be thwarted

God is not glorified by those whom he has chosen because they are perfect, except of course in the case of our Blessed Mother, who alone is the perfect human being. God is pleased to be glorified by those whom He has chosen precisely because no evil that they do or participate in can ever thwart God's plan for salvation, to lead those who would follow Christ back to heaven. This design of God for the salvation of people simply cannot be thwarted.

This truth does not in any way condone anyone's misconduct, and indeed all of us will have to give an account before the fearsome judgment seat of Christ for the evil we have done and participated in - there can be no "end run" around that fearsome judgment seat. But His mysterious plan that all of us have the free choice to accept the gift of salvation, and that all are invited to arrive at the heavenly banquet where God is everything for everyone who has opened his or her heart to him, that cosmic plan cannot be thwarted by the evil in our lives.

Every human evil pales when confronted with the Eternal Determination of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to bring about the Kingdom of Truth and Life, of Holiness and Grace, of Justice, Love, and Peace. That Kingdom is the only destiny possible for those who love the Lord.

As we look at all the negatives about our world, and as I look into my own self to see the faults and sins that remain in need of purification after these three years of being with you in Madison, all of you, who are my life and whom I love so much, I cannot help but take great courage from the "big picture" as it were.

And so I am deeply grateful to all of you, for all that you are and have been to me during these three years and I am grateful to Bishop Thomas, a good and holy bishop, for once again having been the occasion of a beautiful gift of the Lord to myself, and for being the Lord's wonderful gift of the Lord to the Church.

Thank you for reading this, God bless you, I hope that you will enjoy an always deeper faith during the remaining days of summer! Praised be Jesus Christ!