Bishops' Schedules: Schedule of Bishop William H. Bullock Thursday, December 12, 2002 10:00 a.m. -- Preside at Advent School Penance Service, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Madison Friday, December 13, 2002 6:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Annual Bishop's Christmas Gathering with Serrans, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Saturday, December 14, 2002 9:00 a.m. -- Preside at Advent Parish Penance Service, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Madison 11:30 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Schedule of Bishop George O. Wirz Thursday, December 12, 2002 10:00 a.m. -- Participate at Advent School Penance Service, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Madison Saturday, December 14, 2002 9:00 a.m. -- Participate at Advent Parish Penance Service, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Madison Wednesday, December 18, 2002 7:00 p.m. -- Participate at Parish Advent Communal Penance Service, St. Andrew Parish, Verona

God's disabled --
our opportunity

		The Bishop: A Herald of Faith Bishop William H. Bullock

Mother Teresa of Calcutta said we should be glad that we have the poor to care for, the disabled and handicapped to assist because without them we may not make it to the Kingdom of heaven.

What a reassuring thought that is as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Apostolate to the Handicapped. We praise God that we have been given that opportunity.

"How do you read the signs of the times given us in this Advent Season? Do you see and feel grief and anguish but also underneath it all great joy and hope?"

Thirty-five years of care

For 35 years our Diocese has been graced with a mission to care, in an organized way, for our disabled and handicapped.

For a 10th time I was privileged to offer Mass for the Christmas Gathering of the Handicapped in the Monroe High School gymnasium. Each year on the first Saturday of Advent, we gather for Mass, for lunch, and for a Christmas Party for the disabled and their caregivers. It's marvelous to behold the over one thousand persons assembled.

Monsignor Thomas Campion, Director of the Apostolate to the Handicapped, is very present to the disabled. I watched him visit with almost every person there as well as organize the servers, the gift bearers, and still find time to greet the priests who came to concelebrate Mass.

We are grateful for the Apostolate to the Handicapped, its leader, Monsignor Thomas Campion, and for the many who support it.

The date of our celebration was Saturday, December 7th, the 61st anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor (1941). The Scripture texts for Mass were taken from Isaiah 30:19-21,23-26 and the Gospel from Matthew 9:35-10:1,5a,6-8. What follows now is my text for the homily.

Homily

The prophet Isaiah was blessed to foresee a time when God's people would no longer weep. In those days to come, Isaiah says, the Lord himself will hear and answer his people as soon as they cry out.

In those days to come, the Lord will abundantly provide his people with the Bread they hunger for and the Water they thirst for. In those days, the Lord will give them the guidance they need, speaking in their hearts.

Isaiah's vision is breathtaking in both its scope and beauty. But I'd like to ask you a question: How do you read the signs of the times given us in this Advent Season? Do you see and feel grief and anguish but also underneath it all great joy and hope?

Service to those in need

Eight hundred years after Isaiah was given the great vision described today, namely that an infant is born in a cave, in obscurity and poverty - in the middle of winter in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere - but who is that infant? This infant, helpless and fragile, is the only begotten Son of God, true God, true man - Jesus, the Lord and Savior.

Jesus gave us hope and he established the Church as his sacrament of salvation. This is why we are here today.

In that Church and in today's Gospel we hear his words, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few" (Mt 9:37b). This means that there are still people who have a disability or a handicap. There are still people with special needs that call out for assistance. The harvest is still plentiful - the opportunities to help people abound.

His hands and feet, eyes and ears

In simple terms, Jesus deliberately chose to share his ministry with us, his followers. It means simply, yet profoundly, that we are Jesus' hands and feet, his eyes and ears. When the disabled call out into the night, we are the ears of Christ that hear them. We are the hands and feet of Christ, rushing to help.

The priest and prelate who has held out to the handicapped and disabled a genuine hope and deep joy is Monsignor Thomas Campion. Monsignor Tom has held high the banner of hope, the banner of joy and love. He holds the banner high and persuasively asks us all to love and serve the disabled in the Apostolate to the Handicapped.

Christ-like service to those we serve

It is my privilege each year, and this is my 10th time, to offer Mass for all of you in the Advent Season, lifting all of you through Jesus to the Father.

The greatest power we have to help the disabled and handicapped is a love patterned on Christ. The things we do for others must be based on love for them. We are to love others as Christ has loved us. Mother Teresa said often, "do everything with love; if you are unable to do it with love, don't do it."

Monsignor Thomas Campion has been called to be our leader in this apostolate for 35 years. He has led us carefully, constantly, and with deep joy. He has taught us to love them and receive from them.

When we think of the disabled, we often think of just caring for them, of giving care and compassion to them. We don't always think of what they have to give us.

But they have unique gifts. They can do something for us. They can enrich our lives in profound ways. I can testify personally, in my own family, my nephew, John Patrick. He has been a source of strength and love for all of our family. He is a special gift to us.

Witnesses of Christ

Each one of us has been blessed and we always receive more than we give, we learn more than we teach them. We have been blessed to know the disabled individually.

Perhaps you know firsthand that the disabled bring with them a special insight into the meaning of life, "for they live - more than the rest of us, perhaps - in the shadow of the cross. And out of their experience they show forth needed virtues of our day such as courage, patience, perseverance, compassion, and sensitivity that should serve as an inspiration to all Christians" (Persons With Disabilities, para. 13).

Conclusion

Because of the apostolate, because of Monsignor Campion, his leadership, care and concern, and his call to us to help, we can see a fulfillment of a prophecy of Isaiah: "when God's people no longer need to weep." In these days, the Lord himself hears and answers our prayers.

In our Diocese and in Monroe, the Lord abundantly provides all his people with the Water they thirst for, the Bread they hunger for, the understanding they seek, and the care they deserve.

In these days, the Lord gives to us joy and hope even as we embrace the grief of sexual abuse, the anguish of an impending war in Iraq, and an uncertain economy.

And, in these days, Jesus abundantly provides us with deep joy and genuine hope. We as God's people rejoice in the Lord with grateful and humble hearts.