Bishops' Schedules: Schedule of Bishop William H. Bullock Thursday, July 31, 2003 6:00 p.m. -- Attend Solemn Vespers Service, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Friday, August 1, 2003 2:00 p.m. -- Concelebrate at the Mass of Installation of The Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, S.T.D. as the Fourth Bishop of Madison, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Monday, August 4, 2003 5:00 p.m. -- Concelebrate at Celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop O'Donnell Holy Name Memorial Chapel, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Schedule of Bishop Robert C. Morlino Thursday, July 31, 2003 6:00 p.m. -- Preside at Solemn Vespers, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Friday, August 1, 2003 2:00 p.m. -- Celebration of the Eucharist, Taking Canonical Possession of the Diocese of Madison, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Sunday, August 3, 2003 10:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Monday, August 4, 2003 5:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop O'Donnell Holy Name Memorial Chapel, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Thursday, August 7, 2003 6:30 p.m. -- Preside at Evening Prayer, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish, Portage Schedule of Bishop George O. Wirz Thursday, July 31, 2003 6:00 p.m. -- Attend Solemn Vespers Service, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Friday, August 1, 2003 2:00 p.m. -- Concelebrate at the Mass of Installation of The Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, S.T.D. as the Fourth Bishop of Madison, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Monday, August 4, 2003 5:00 p.m. -- Concelebrate at Celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop O'Donnell Holy Name Memorial Chapel, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison

'I will gladly spend myself and be spent . . . for you' (2Cor 12:15)

		Comments from the Administrator and Bishop Emeritus + William H. Bullock Bishop Emeritus

In St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians he speaks both of spending and being spent for Christ and it appears a fitting closing theme for my years as your Bishop and in the past months as Administrator - all the while we wait for that solemn moment on August 1st when Bishop Robert Morlino is escorted to the Cathedra, the Bishop's Chair, by our Holy Father's personal representative to the United States, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Papal Nuncio, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Milwaukee.

"My appeal to all who read my column this week is that we become what St. Paul invites us to namely, spend ourselves and be spent for the sake of Christ. Obviously in spending ourselves we enlist our full talent, time, and energy for the Lord God. Spending and being spent are ways of loving God with our whole heart, whole mind, whole soul, whole body and spirit; and our neighbor as ourselves."

It is at that moment that I officially retire as Administrator and Bishop Morlino becomes the Fourth Bishop of Madison.

Spend ourselves

My appeal to all who read my column this week is that we become what St. Paul invites us to namely, spend ourselves and be spent for the sake of Christ. Obviously in spending ourselves we enlist our full talent, time, and energy for the Lord God. Spending and being spent are ways of loving God with our whole heart, whole mind, whole soul, whole body and spirit; and our neighbor as ourselves.

Reaching out in loving Christian service is spending ourselves for Christ. It means giving our last drop of energy and strength for the sake of others in the name of Christ and for the sake of his Kingdom.

Spending ourselves for Christ is a work of real generosity. When we do all in the name of Jesus, we stretch ourselves to new limits. When we commit ourselves to the task of the Gospel, we lovingly and sacrificially give ourselves to Christ.

Good Samaritan parable

There is, however, another way of service and commitment that needs our attention and that is "being spent." In this regard I often reflect on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. My hero in that parable is not the Samaritan; it is the Innkeeper.

The Samaritan dutifully stops along the road, reaches with compassion and caring words to the man lying in the ditch. He washes out his wounds, bandages him up, has him delivered to the Innkeeper and says to him, "Take care of him, give him all he needs and I, on my return, will pay you all."

That required a lot of trust on the part of the Innkeeper and I believe it is similar to many situations in human life, family, and in the Church.

Sometimes we discover that the person with the proposed project is not the one who is around when the real work begins. The work is assigned to another who is willing to "be spent."

Step up and spend yourself

Yes, the Good Samaritan is the spender. He sees and arranges but the Innkeeper is the one spent, who is put upon by others, who waits on the needs of others and day-by-day trusts the master will return to pay him all.

In our day in society and in the Church in the new millennium, as they say in the West and in the movie by the same name, "It is high noon!" It is now the time to step up to our responsibilities and spend ourselves in love, prayer, sacrifice, and hard work for the sake of the Kingdom.

It is a time to be spent, to be put upon, in order that Christ's Church may be once again the glorious image and sign of God's redeeming love.

These thoughts are beautifully expressed in the Liturgy of the Hours, Week I, "Arise, Lord, help your Church. Be its shield so that it may hold up its head and radiate the glory of the resurrection."

How can we do this? We do it by spending ourselves, by giving ourselves and by being spent. Mother Teresa reminds us, "Give and work until it hurts."

This is also expressed in the following prayer: "May our lips praise you Father, our lives proclaim your goodness, our work give you honor and our voices celebrate you forever." (Morning Prayer, Liturgy of the Hours, Week I)

If only every person in the noble and beautiful Diocese of Madison would spend and be spent for Christ, we would sparkle for all to see the goodness of the Lord Jesus who spent his life to the point of shedding the last drop of his blood for us and was spent in death on the cross, that you and I may have life and have it to the full.

Special thanks to all

Thanks to all who helped me by spending and being spent - not in the least is Pat Born, my Administrative Assistant, who types, retypes, and retypes again and again, the copy of my weekly columns for the Catholic Herald.

To all who spend themselves and are willing to be spent, to the Good Samaritans and Innkeepers, I wish God's Grace, Mercy, and Peace.

Bishop William H. Bullock
Bishop Emeritus

Official Appointments:

Most Reverend William H. Bullock, Diocesan Administrator, wishes to announce the following:

Reverend David W. Timmerman, from Pastor, Immaculate Conception Parish, Kieler, linked with St. Joseph Parish, Sinsinawa, to Administrator, St. Andrew Parish, Verona, linked with St. William Parish, Paoli, effective noon, July 23, 2003.

Reverend Francis J. Steffen, in addition to Pastor, Holy Ghost Parish, Dickeyville, as Administrator, Immaculate Conception Parish, Kieler, linked with St. Joseph Parish, Sinsinawa, effective noon, July 23, 2003.

Reverend Francis Xavier Ekwugha, as Parochial Vicar, Holy Ghost Parish, Dickeyville, Immaculate Conception Parish, Kieler, and St. Joseph Parish, Sinsinawa, effective noon, July 28, 2003.