Category: Bishop

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

As we struggle through the pandemic, persevere, keep praying, hold Lord’s hand

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The Bible is so rich and vast that we can never fully fathom or remember the totality of the Scriptures, which allows for constant pleasant surprises when we discover a text which bears a new divine revelation to our hungry hearts.

This phenomenon happened to me recently as I was reading the Letter to the Hebrews. This New Testament letter was addressed to Jewish Christians to strengthen them in the practice of the faith and not to grow weary or become indifferent.

Two central themes of the text are the Priesthood of Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer and the pilgrimage of the people of God to the heavenly Jerusalem, where Jesus ministers in the heavenly sanctuary.

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

God has entrusted remarkable powers to us

During this challenging pandemic experience, I have been meditating lately on power and the lack of it, the fear of vulnerability and dependence, the need to surrender control and accept what is beyond one’s ability to change.

Since the definition of power is “the capacity to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events,” we have probably all felt an ebbing of power and influence in our lives. The social restrictions, the loss of health or employment, the cancellation of activities and events have all thrust us into this opaque existence of limitation and diminishment.

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

The resurrection invites us to leave sin and death behind

We may be tempted to think that once Jesus had risen from the dead and sent the Holy Spirit upon the early Church, the lives of the Apostles were easy; after all, they were filled with the light and joy of knowing that the Lord had conquered sin and death; they knew that He was with them in the power of the Holy Spirit and the sacraments of the Church.

Yet, a simple reading of the Acts of the Apostles reveals that they met with immediate and violent opposition when they began to proclaim the Resurrection of Christ. Those who had conspired to kill Jesus certainly did not want Him coming back from the dead. How much easier for them if He had remained cold and lifeless in the tomb.

Proclamation of resurrection seen as subversive threat

The rising of Jesus on Easter Sunday is a clear and compelling confirmation of the truth of His identity as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. If Christ were inexplicably alive again, in a new and glorious fashion, such an astonishing fact demanded faith in Him and a devout adherence to His teachings and the truths of the holy Gospel. The proclamation of the resurrection is a subversive threat which must be silenced, in the minds of those who violently opposed the teachings of the Master during his earthly life.

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

Love and mercy always win

In the summer of 2016, I was blessed to go to World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland, with 80 pilgrims from the Diocese of Gary.

The highlight was Saturday evening. More than a million of us from every country on earth gathered to spend the night in an open field as an oppressive sun in a cloudless sky beat down.

After the pope’s talk, he placed an enormous monstrance on the altar for Eucharistic Adoration and we all knelt down in silent prayer for 20 minutes.You could hear a pin drop.

The evening shadows lengthened as the sun descended towards the horizon.

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

Holy Week: Celebrating the strangest things

With the coronavirus, this year’s Holy Week will be strange and different.

We will not be gathering in churches in large numbers. We will not receive the Eucharist. We will not be joining family and friends for Easter.

We all feel the vulnerability and struggle of this painful moment, wondering what the future holds for us, especially the elderly, ill, and unemployed.

Holy Week: why ‘strange’?

But even in a normal year, Holy Week is the strangest thing.

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

Answering God’s invitation

Bishop Donald J. Hying's column

Needless to say, this global pandemic is unprecedented in our history, especially in terms of its impact on our daily lives. The consequences of our essential shutdown as a nation are far reaching and disturbing.

We are all praying for the victims worldwide — those who have died, those who are ill and suffering the effects of this corona virus. We pray for health care workers, first responders, and government leaders who must feel overwhelmed. I pray for our elderly and vulnerable populations, including the poor and the homeless. I pray for those who have lost income already and are economically struggling. We think of families who have their children home all the time. All of this equates to tremendous stress, anxiety, suffering, and fear.

God is inviting us

In the face of all of this, God is inviting us to a deeper, radical trust in Him. In some ways, with our normal routines disrupted and many of our securities stripped away, we are faced with a profound existential moment — do I truly believe in God and confide my life to His mercy or not?

Our whole life of faith and practice of our religion has prepared us for this trial. Now is the time for us to truly let our faith in the Lord shine forth for others to see and draw strength from our witness. In some ways, with the suspension of public Masses, this time reminds me of the Babylonian captivity in the Old Testament.

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