Bishop Wenski Preaches

As I mentioned as few weeks ago, Thomas Wenski, our bishop here in the Diocese of Orlando has been elevated to Archbishop and will soon be installed as the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami. This past Tuesday evening, the pastor of our parish, along with three deacons and their wives, drove to Orlando to join Archbishop Wenski as he celebrated a Mass of Farewell at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, a beautiful church that I recommend visiting during your next Disney vacation. Mass was followed by a delightful dinner at a local hotel. It was a wonderful evening, and provided us with an opportunity to say goodbye to our shepherd.

Archbishop Wenski is a remarkable man. Fluent in Spanish, Creole, Polish, and probably a few other languages, he seems to be the perfect fit for the Archdiocese of Miami with its large Hispanic and Haitian populations. He was also born and raised in the Miami area, so this will be a homecoming for him. But what many folks don't know is that he also drives a Harley, a rather rare avocation for a bishop. The photo at left shows him about to tear up the highway. You gotta love a bishop biker.

The archbishop and I arrived here in Orlando at about the same time, and during the past few years I have heard him preach on numerous occasions. But I have especially enjoyed his homilies aimed at the young men and women who were about to be confirmed. Today while doing a little surfing on YouTube, I discovered that a video of one of these homilies is available online. Because of YouTube's 10-minute restriction, the homily is divided into three videos for a total of about 26 minutes. (Only a bishop can get away with a 26-minute homily in the Catholic Church.)

The homily was delivered at St. Paul's Parish in neighboring Leesburg, FL, and among the confirmandi were a number of young men and women from our parish. The videos are well worth watching, and provide a wonderful catechesis on how we, as Christians, must live in the world as witnesses of Jesus Christ. I have included all three segments below:




 




God's peace...