Recognizing the blessings of the American Church

It is customary each year for the U.S. Catholic bishops to hold their plenary assembly in Baltimore in November. I always come away from these gatherings with my brother bishops feeling hopeful and inspired. It becomes so clear that God is alive and His Spirit is working in the Church in so many beautiful ways. 

In the United States, we are blessed to have good bishops leading our dioceses. The same is true of our new American priests. An excellent new generation is being ordained — men on fire to spread the gospel, men who love Jesus and long to make Him loved by every heart.

The American Church is doing what Christ commanded, united in the urgent task of proclaiming His gospel of love and seeking to save souls. 

We also strive to build Christ’s kingdom, spreading the social message of the gospel and, through our charities and outreach efforts, working for a world that protects the sanctity and dignity of the human person as a child of God. 

We began our meeting with a Mass for Peace, praying especially for Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel. In our sessions, we reaffirmed our commitment to defend migrants and refugees and to seek solutions to our long-broken immigration system. 

One important discussion concerned the growing crisis of mental health and the bishops’ new National Catholic Mental Health Campaign, aimed at raising awareness and helping people find care and treatment. 

Looking to the 2024 elections, we revised the introduction of our Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship document to address the most “grave threats to life and dignity of the human person,” including abortion, euthanasia, gun violence, terrorism, the death penalty, human trafficking, and efforts to redefine marriage and gender. 

We face many challenges in the U.S. Church. But they are the challenges that the Church faces in every age and place: How do we live as followers of Jesus Christ in a world that is hostile to the gospel? How do we proclaim the gospel and pass on our faith to the next generation? 

Historically, the mission of the American Church has always been distinguished by the leadership and participation of the lay faithful. We are blessed with a diversity of lay apostolates and ministries that work in partnership with bishops and pastors to accompany and deepen the faith of our people, especially our young people and families. 

The Church here has long reflected what the Second Vatican Council called “the universal call to holiness” and the collaborative vision that Pope Francis is calling us to in the Synod on Synodality. 

That is why I am so encouraged by the two most important apostolic initiatives in the Church right now, the Holy Father’s call for “synodality” in the universal Church and the U.S. bishops’ call for a Eucharistic Revival. As the Pope’s apostolic nuncio, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, said in his address to the bishops: “Eucharistic revival and synodality go together.” 

Both are about the Church’s essential mission of evangelization — bringing our people to a new encounter with Jesus Christ, the living God, the God of love who comes to save us and make us one family. 

This divine love makes all things new in the Church and in our lives. Bringing people to know this love is the urgent reason for everything we do, all our teaching and preaching, all our works of mercy and pastoral care. 

Pray for me, and I will pray for you. Let’s thank God for all the gifts he has bestowed on his Church in America. And let’s ask our Blessed Mother Mary to make the love of her Son the heart of everything we do.