It became officially official on May 20, as Pope Francis’ ambassador to the United States, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, installed Bishop Thomas Anthony Daly as the Diocese of Spokane’s seventh shepherd at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Reporting of the event has already been covered, but I wanted to share some thoughts, from a young Catholic perspective, on why I’m really excited about Bishop Daly’s newfound presence in Spokane. To do so, I’ll outline three main reasons why, and include quotes from the homily Bishop Daly gave at his installation:
A man of prayer
A focal point of Bishop Daly’s homily was a topic that I personally have a mighty struggle with, as do many of my millennial peers: the addiction and obsession with technology. He placed a clear emphasis on encouraging his faithful to carve out intentional and habitual periods of silence in days that are constantly filled with noise.
That noise, he made clear, is so often, “self-generated and unnecessary, further blurring the lines between home and work,” making it that much more important that we find daily, “time to be quiet with the Lord where He speaks loudest in the quiet of our hearts.” Bishop Daly went on, saying:
“Eucharistic Adoration, increasingly popular for people of all ages, especially among the young, affords us that opportunity. Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament becomes a place of rest and strength, a mini-treat you might say, to listen where the Lord is calling us to serve, to discover one’s vocation.”
Bishop Daly also noted the importance of keeping Our Lord as close to us as possible, saying:
“The complex problems facing every diocese can be overwhelming, but only if we think we must face those issues on our own. Humility, trust, and surrender — all qualities of the Mother of Our Lord and so many saints before us — will lead us to hope and healing and joy.”
A man of the Church
G.K. Chesterton, writing in his epic Orthodoxy, spoke of something he called a “democracy of the dead,” saying,
“Tradition means giving a vote to most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about. All democrats object to men being disqualified by the accident of birth; tradition objects to their being disqualified by the accident of death. Democracy tells us not to neglect a good man’s opinion, even if he is our groom; tradition asks us not to neglect a good man’s opinion, even if he is our father.”
Though it may sound odd and seem somewhat highfalutin, the point Chesterton was getting at — and the attitude Bishop Daly implicitly adopts — was that a manner of doing things or defining things ought not be disqualified simply because it’s older than us, or if our emotions suggest that something else suits the current time period.
The traditions taught by the Church are not arbitrary rules laid down by old men to take the fun out of life. Instead, they’re a roadmap to salvation and true human flourishing, a signpost that it’s not always good to follow the whims of conscience and culture. They’re a rubric laid down by God himself through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and Bishop Daly not only endorses it, but he promises to defend them at all costs, just as St. Paul did.
“Compassion always, compromise never,” were the words he spoke after being introduced a few months ago in Spokane. “Compassion always,” because we’re constantly called to love and serve our neighbor, but “compromise never,” because we trust that Jesus meant it when He said, “the gates of hell will never prevail” against the Church (Matt. 16:18).
Bishop Daly elaborated in his homily:
“Jesus is not asking that the Church be removed from the world, because the problem is not the Church in the world but the world in the Church. That insidious temptation to fit into an ever-changing secular society, to look for shortcuts, to compromise fundamental teachings on the sacredness of life, the sanctity of marriage, the dignity of the poor, the truth that God so loved the world that He gave us His only son, our Savior. A church that retreats from these challenges bears no resemblance to the Church that has been consecrated in truth and sent by Jesus Himself into the world.”
A pastor, a true shepherd
Speaking strongly about Pope Francis’ idea of fostering a “Culture of Encounter” — going out and being a witness of Jesus first and foremost by one’s life — Bishop Daly has shown already that he expects to go out and meet people where they are and to lead them by example to a closer encounter with Christ. This example, by the way, isn’t for his flock to watch and enjoy, but to study and emulate in their own lives.
In his pastoral life, it’s clear that Bishop Daly seeks to emulate St. Paul in all he does, saying about him, “St. Paul has always been the model for priests and bishops — a true shepherd, a pastor after Christ’s own heart.”
Bishop Daly went on to say:
“We recall that 2008-09 was the year of St. Paul — Pope Emeritus Benedict quoted St. Gregory the Great — ‘Paul was the greatest pastor.’ As bishops we must learn from the apostles’ great love for Jesus Christ. From the moment of his encounter on the road to Damascus, Paul’s whole life was a process of inner and apostolic confirmation to Christ’s amidst persecution and suffering, as he writes, ‘I have been crucified with Christ and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.’”
Outlining the qualities of St. Paul, Bishop Daly continued:
“The community of Ephesus saw in Paul a man of faith, of hard work, of compassion, of truth, of humility, and of courage — all qualities still needed if a priest or a bishop is give witness and ‘proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching,’ as St. Paul said to Timothy on the eve of his death.”
And so, what we have been given in Eastern Washington is a man who loves Christ, loves His Church, and loves the people with whom he has been entrusted. In all of this, we can rest assured he will protect us from the “savage wolves” described by St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, having been entrusted by the Holy Spirit with a sacred duty to, “tend the church of God that Jesus acquired with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty darn excited.
