Post Ordination Remarks By The Most Reverend Michael Boulette, D.Min., D.D.
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Post Ordination Remarks By The Most Reverend Michael Boulette, D.Min., D.D.
Auxiliary to the Archbishop of San Antonio
The Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary
March 20, 2017
St. Mark Catholic Church
San Antonio, Texas
1. Blessings to all. I am more than humbled by your presence here this afternoon. I have been asked many times if I am excited by this appointment and for this ordination day. I donāt think that āexcitedā is my principal emotion. Oh, yes, there is very real joy for the opportunity to once again serve my God and His Church. However, as I have noticed in my daily reading of the Sacred Scriptures, the Patristic writers of the early Church, the homilies and exhortations of our dear Holy Father Francis, and as Archbishop Gustavo has reminded me and all of us in todayās homily, the call to be a bishop opens us to a joyful response to God, but it is also a grave responsibility. El peso de esta responsibilidad es la razon por la que he pedido a muchos que me han felicitado que recen por la Iglesia, to pray for the Church, that my ministry will inspire us all to be more faithful to Godās call in our lives. En este sentido, me siento consolado y animado de saber que estoy acompanado por nuestro Dios Trino, Padre, Hijo y Espiritu Santo, and accompanied by all of you on this prayerful path of faithfulness to our baptismal commitments, to our marriage vows, and to the promises we made in our clerical ordinations. De hecho, es nuestro viaje comun—our common journey.
2. Beloved Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, by representing to our country the prayerful presence of Our Holy Father Francis, you remind us of the very Catholic nature of our faith and of our call and desire to stay united to the Christ, to His Vicar on earth, and to the entire Church that announces and lives in Christ Jesus. Please convey my gratitude to the Holy Father for the confidence he has placed in our Archdiocese by allowing us to have an auxiliary bishop. El ha reconocido la importancia de la Iglesia Catholica en nuestra region, por la cual estamos muy agradecidos. On a more personal note, your cheerful, welcoming voice on the phone as you communicated the Holy Fatherās appointment seemed to make incarnate the person of the Holy Father, whom we have come to know and love through his homilies and exhoratations y a traves de su testimonio personal de amor al pobre y al migrante. Gracias por compartir este dia con nosostros. We will seek to be worthy of the discipleship to which you call all of us.
3. My dear Archbishop Gustavo, even as you have presided over this Ordination Eucharist this afternoon, we are very aware of the Holy Spirit that you have breathed upon the Archdiocese since your arrival. It is a Spirit of unity and service in proclamation of the Word made Flesh; un Espiritu de gozo en el amor a su Iglesia, and an energizing Spirit that calls us to action on behalf of the weakest and least welcomed among us. I pray that God will give me sufficient grace to serve you and our people with a similar deep faith and hearty courage. Mucho antes de sugerir mi nombre al Santo Padre, usted me ha tratado a mi y a los presbiteros aqui como hermanos. Gracias por hacer esta transicion tan agradable como podia serlo. I pray with you and honor you today as you celebrate your 14th anniversary as a bishop. May St. Joseph continue to be a guide for you as you lead us.
4. Brother bishops, I am very grateful for the way you have welcomed me in this new role of service. Gracias pore star aqui y ser testigos de la bondad de lo que Dios esta hacienda en nuestro mundo. Bishop emeritus Charles and Bishop Arturo, you have honored me by being principal co-consecrtors, called here by our history together. God has surely blessed me as our journeys have shared many roads. Each of those moments was grace. I share Godās joy at your lives of service.
5. My dear brother priests, 41 years ago on this Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of Mary, you welcomed me into the presbyterate of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Throughout the intervening years I have been enriched by your faithfulness, your service, and your love for the Church. Sera una alegria continuar esa colaboracion. No dejemos nunca de orar y trabajar unos con otros para anunciar que la Buena Nueva es nuestra alegria and that our love for His flock is our very reason for being.
6. To the deacons celebrating with us today, yours is an important work in Godās Church, and your assistance of the clergy and the parishioners is both vital and appreciated. Gracias por su presencia fiel, tanto hoy como en los proximos anos, cooperando en nuestro trabajo por el Reino.
7. A los religiosos y religiosas consagrados presents aqui hoy, por favor, sepan mi amor y apoyo por sus innumerables contribuciones a la Madre Iglesia. So many of you and your predecessors have guided my own formation and education in the Church. Your example blesses us all and speaks eloquently of our need for you. Que Dios nos siga permitiendo servir junto en la gracia.
8. We are also joined by the seminarians from Assumption Seminary. I can say that I know your journey well, since I spent over 20 years on your campus as both a student and faculty member. You men bring us joy because it means that God is still at work for His Church. Les doy las gracias por su servicio y su presencia hoy, y espero ser parte de su trayecto de formacion que esta en curso.
9. The Pastoral Center team en pastoral conjunto, has labored long and faithfully to assure that this celebration would be an act of praise and thanksgiving. Thank you so much for your love and care. La bienvenida que me han dado ha sido extraordinaria y espero con ansias nuestro recorrido comun en el Senor en nombre de su Iglesia.
10. Thank you especially to the archdiocesan choir for the beauty you have added to our celebration on this joyful day. You have led us to joyful prayer through your praise-filled singing.
11. With us today is my mom, Philomena Mary āPatā Boulette, the constant joy of my life. Recently she turned 96 years old, and I am profoundly blessed to have her witness this day. She has never been jealous of Godās call of my life and has always directed me to His Presence and Love. Mom, thank you for faithfully loving God and leaning on His protection and (as a Baptist friend says) INTO his grace. Thanks also to my brother Peter and sister-in-law Linda, as well as other family members here today. My cousin Greg and his wife Cherie have made their way here from my birthplace in upstate New York. Please know that I appreciate it greatly.
12. I have already expressed my belief that the principal reason that I have arrived at this day—besides, of course, Godās love and mercy—is that very many people in my life have faithfully responded to the Gospel—the people who have worshipped with me, studied with me, trabajado o sudado comigo, las que me han amonestado, washed feet with me, been in spiritual direction, formation and supervision with me, y las que han celebrado conmigo. It is you and your ministries that the Church, Pope Francis, and the Archbishop have noticed. Y vieron que son Buenos!
13. This day, once again, I have pledged myself to the work of the Church under Pope Francis and Archbishop Gustavo. Some of you have asked what my new ministry will entail. To define that specifically I will continue prayerfully working with God and the Archbishop. But I believe it will be much like what Blessed Pope Paul VI described in 1975 as I was being ordained a deacon at Assumption Seminary. In his Apostolic Exhortation āEvangelization in the Modern Worldā that he wrote following the 1974 consultations of the Synod of Bishops he expresses clearly the essential missionary character of the church and the responsibility of every baptized person to proclaim the salvation of Christ to the world. He challenged with these words: āThe presentation of the Gospel message is not an optional contribution for the church. For the Christian community is never closed in upon itself. The intimate life of this community—the life of listening to the Word and the apostlesā teaching, charity lived in a fraternal way, the sharing of bread, this intimate live only acquires its full meaning when it becomes a witness, when it evokes admiration and conversion, and when it becomes the preaching and proclamation of the Good News. Thus it is the whole church that receives the mission to evangelize, and the work of each individual member is important to the whole.ā This message continues to be as relevant and alive for us today as it was then.
14. Nuestro Santo Padre Francisco, imitando a Cristo, ha insistido aun mas, con palabras y obras, que este discipulado misionero debe incluir siempre a los mas debiles y vulnerables de entre nosotros: el no nacido, el inmigrante, el efermo, el preso, el solitario, the spiritually lost, and the wealthy with impoverished spirits. This is the ministry with which the Archbishop has asked for assistance, and I wholeheartedly accept.
15. Then…andele! Onward! Ven Holy Spirit Ven! Que viva Nuestra Senora De Guadalupe! Que viva Cristo Rey…Que vivia Cristo Rey! Que viva Cristo Rey!