Pope Benedict on the Role of the Bishop

On February 5 Pope Benedict ordained five new bishops in St. Peter's Basilica. His homily provided these new shepherds of the Church with a comprehensive view of the role and mission of the bishop in the world today.

Episcopal Ordination of five bishops by Pope Benedict XVI

The pope used that brief, but wonderfully descriptive, verse from Acts -- “They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” [Acts 2:42] -- to define their mission and the challenges they will face.

Encouraging them to "devote themselves" to the Truth through perseverance, the Holy Father stated,

"The Pastor must not be a marsh reed that bends in the wind, a servant of the spirit of the times. Being undaunted hence brave enough to go against current trends is an essential part of the Pastor’s task. He must not be a reed but on the contrary — in accordance with the image of the first Psalm – he must be like a tree with deep roots, sound and firmly-established. This has nothing to do with rigidity or inflexibility. Only where there is stability is there also growth."

He goes on to address the mystery of faith as a firm foundation, but also says,

"And once again, the permanence and definitiveness of what we believe does not mean rigidity. John of the Cross compared the world of faith to a mine in which we discover ever new treasures — treasures in which the one faith is developed, the profession of God who shows himself in Christ. As Pastors of the Church we live this faith and thus can also proclaim it as the glad message which assures us of God’s love, and that we are loved by him."

The pope also stresses the role of communio, "the communion with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ," as essential to the mission of the bishop, that one is "never a bishop on one's own":

"Dear friends, this is the purpose of the ministry of Bishops: that this chain of communion be not broken. This is the essence of the Apostolic Succession: to preserve communion with those who have encountered the Lord in a visible and tangible way and thus to keep Heaven open, the presence of God in our midst. It is only through communion with the Successors of the Apostles that we are also in touch with God incarnate. But the opposite is also true: only thanks to communion with God, only thanks to communion with Jesus Christ does this chain of witnesses remain unbroken."

 He continues by focusing on the Eucharist, the "breaking of the bread," telling the new bishops that,

"...the blessed Eucharist is the center of the Church and must be the center of our being as Christians and of our priestly life...Let us seek to celebrate the Eucharist, with ever deeper dedication and zeal, let us seek to structure our days in accordance with his standard, let us seek to let ourselves be modeled by it...Breaking the bread — this means at the same time sharing and communicating our love to others...Let us be careful that faith is always expressed in love and justice for one another and that our social conduct is inspired by faith; that faith is lived in love."

Pope Benedict then turned to the final element of Luke's descriptive verse, "the prayers." I especially like his description of prayer as "very personal, a uniting of myself with God in my innermost depths...my struggle with him, my search for him, my gratitude for him and my joy in him." But, although personal, prayer is not private...

"Praying is essentially and also always praying in the “we” of God’s children. In this “we” alone are we children of Our Father, which the Lord taught us to pray. This “we” alone gives us access to the Father. On the one hand our prayer must become more and more personal, must touch and penetrate ever more deeply the nucleus of our “ego”. On the other, it must always be nourished by the communion of those praying, by the unity of the Body of Christ, in order truly to shape myself on the basis of God’s love."

He concludes by referring to their vocation as "fishers of men" who must work often in the midst of storms...

"You are called to undertake tasks that concern the universal Church. You are called to let down the Gospel net into the stormy seas of our time in order to obtain people’s adherence to Christ; to lift them, so to speak, from the brackish waters of death and from the darkness that the light of Heaven does not penetrate. You must bring them to life on earth, in communion with Jesus Christ."

As I stated above, it's a wonderful homily and you can read the complete text here: Papal Mass for Episcopal Ordination.