Bishop Buddy Scrapbook 1938-1940

LEAVE WORTH DIOCESE MISSIONARY, -MARCH-APRIL ISSUE

LEAVENWORTH DIOCE'.lE MIS8IONARY, MARCH-APRIL ISSUE

of the rest you deserve so well. The miter has been lifted from your brow and in its place you are crowned anew with the dual coronet of suffering and victory won. Your gold pectoral Cross and your Episcopal ring have lost none of their lustre, and the vir- tues symbolized in your life by these jewels will shine as the stars for all eternity. While we are confident that not death but life eternal has claimed you, yet Holy Mother Church bids us to pray for you. May our glorious St. Patrick whose feast day you always honored, receive you at your coming. May the Poor Man of As.sisi with the thousands of your flocks who have gone before us, greet you at the portals of Heaven. May the Imiha:culate Mother of God who cherishes every fervent recitation of y-0ur soul stirring· Hail Mary, may She, the Queen of Apostles, lead you to the vision of God. Merciful Jesus, grant him eternal rest, Amen. What Finer Tribute of Affection! Last summer we were privileged to record the giving of seven perpet- ual memberships by Mr. J. B. Pur- cell, of St. Patrick's parish, Atchison. Mr. Purcell gave these memberships in memory of deceased r elatives. Once more has Deat h robbed him of a loved relative, and once more does Mr. Purcell come forwar d with a per- petual member ship, this time for Mr. W. N. Purcell. We sincerely thank Mr. Purcell, and congratulate him on the very Catholic manner in which he shows his affec- tion for the deceased members of his family. It might well be the hope of all r eaders of the "Missionary" that when our time comes some kind relative will do unto us as Mr. Pur- cell has done unto his loved ones. Let us follow his example and enroll our deceased loved ones as perpetual memberships if possible, and if not possible, let us enroll them as or din- ary miembers. The Society has a plan whereby the entire family, living and deceased, may be enrolled by the payment of six dollars, annually.

lame, will grieve most at his pass- ing. It is true that the Ward High Scho:>l with its splendid curriculum l"! nd its enrollment of six hundred stu- dents, the Confraternity of Christian Doctrines, the Organization of the Propagation of the Faith, with its far reaching parish branches, to ex- tend the Kingdom of God on earth- the Leavenworth Missionary-illum- inating publication that travels across the continent-these are indeed en- during works. There are genE}rations s till unborn who will thank God for the fervent promotion· of Bishop Johannes of the Sodalities of the Blessed Virgin Mary to protect the . faith and morals of the young and to foster devotion in the academies and high schools of the Diocese. But greatest of all is the deceased P~~- late's immortal Apostolate of the · poor-the establishing in every parish a conference of the St. Vin·- cent de Paul Society. Already we pray he has merited to hear from the S1vior, "I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty aitd you gave me to drink; naked and you clothed me; a stranger and you took me in." While other shepherds of Leaven-. worth may be known as pioneer, or- · ganizer, executive, educator, Bishop Johannes will be hailed as the Apostle of Charity, and in this he harmonized all the elements of his vast Diocese. My dear sorrowing people, men die but the Church lives on. She lives in the hearts of loving; loyal children. B:shop Johannes is dead, but the in- fluence of his life still lives and throbs to increase your faith and to warm your hearts with love for Jesus Christ. And so dear Bishop Johannes, hero of my youth and inspiration of later years, my devoted friend, farewell. !n our own halting way we have tried to imitate the consoling messages by which in your day you lift-ed the hearts of thousands in affliction. For me and for many a priest you have pointed a better way-solving our difficulties, gently leading us along the path of the Cross. Your consecrated hands have re- Jaxed their hold upon the Crosie:r:and are now folded in prayer, significant

s~on of the original diocese. Eminent- ly successful was the brief but con- structive administration of Bishop Thomas F. Lillis, now the Venerable and nationally esteemed Bishop of Ifansas City. Under his jurisdiction r eligion took on a vigorous growth. New congrega tions were founded and new churches and schools dotted the h ills. He revised the Diocesan sta- t utes to conform with the decrees of t he Third Plenary Council of Balti- more and strengthened the religious edifice by the formation of Catholic Societies. Then followed the long and fruitful ca reer of Bishop John Ward, k nown for his greatness of mind and k indness of manner. He inaugurated Ca tholic high schools and promoted Christian education. My dear friends, you are witnesses that while each one of his pred,eces- w rs completed an effective program according to the plan of the Al- mighty, Bishop Johannes by a life of personal sanctity and progressive achievement measured up to each and to all. The very motto on his coat of arms "Deo Servare Regnare Est"-to serve God is to reign-indicated the mo- tive of his reg ime. Be it said to the honor of the Catholicity of Leaven- worth that priests and people re- sponded whole heartedly to their Bishop's zeal. The Sons of Ignatius and th,e Sons of St. Benedict, as well as the Franciscans, Carmelites, Au- gustinians, the great religious orders, the bulW:arks of the Kingdom of Christ on earth-the Sisters of Char- ity, Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholas- tica's, Sis ters of St. Francis, Ursu- Iines, Sisters of St. Joseph, Oblates, and Sisters Servants of Mary--all worked hand in hand with the secular clergy for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, letting their lights ,shine that the people seeing mi~ht glorify their Father in Heaven. It is not necessary to recount the material monuments that follow Bishop Johannes, the schools and churches erected under his direction, for these are but corollaries of a fer- vent Apostolate~ Like St. Paul, he was "all things to all men," but the orphans, the poor, the halt and the

t he Word of God with all the elo- quence and conviction "of one having power .. . going, therefore, teach ye all nations, ba pt ising them in the name of t he Father and of the Son and of t he Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatso- ever I have commanded you. . . For I give you to under stand, Brethren, that the Gospel which was pr eached unto you is not according to man ; for neither did I r eceive it of man, nor did I learn it; but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." The eloquence of Bishop Johannes brought many souls to t he t ruth. He literally carried out the injunct ion of St. Paul: "Preach the Wor d ; be in- stant in season, out of season; r e- prove, entreat, r ebuke in all patience and doctrine." With the ideal of Christ ever before his mind, the great teacher we are laying to rest never lost sight of his mission. Where force of argument failed to convince, his priestly life compelled respect so that like his divine Master he could challenge the whole world. "Which of you shall convince me of sin?" With this background it is no won- der that the elevation of Father J ohannes to the Episcopate rejoiced the Church of God. His advent to the diocese of Leavenworth was greeted by a loyal and enthusiastic priest- hood. It mattered not whence he came nor how obscure--sufficient that he was sent by Rome. This au- thority unites the See of Peter with the See of Leavenworth and again manifests to the wor ld the four marks of the Church--one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic. "One heait and one mind . . . by t his shall all men know that you are my disciples ... this is the victory that overcometh the world." Here in Leavenworth there was placed on t he shoulders of its fifth Bishop the heavy burden of glorious traditions in the records of his illus- t rious predecessors. The pioneer Bishop Miege, zealous missionary of t he Society of Jesus, laid the founda - tion and in the construction of this magnificent Cathedral builded more wisely than he knew. The learned Benedictine Bishop Louis Mary Fink, known as the organizer, saw the divi-

Father Johannes turned his hand to tiie ploY1 and never looked backward. If you Y::!r~ to ask what was the un- derlying m~tive that made him a great patrfot and a great churchman devoted to the best interests of God and country, my answer would be that he lived always in the presence of God. On that substantial founda- tion his life was reared and out of that unity came the tiinity of vir- tues-humility, justice and charity- that dominated his every action, that made him so beloved of God and man, that enabled him to stand four square to all the winds that blew. Well poised and deliberate, his bearing, like his life, was upright. His achieve- ments were but the fruits ,of this great tree. The priests of the Leavenworth diocese will cherish his memory as their kindly Shepherd and Father in fhrist. But we priests of St. Joseph !mow h im best as the ideal priest. In- deed he was the glory of the priest- hood. As must needs be, we had our share of trials and sorrows in our day, but no matter how many of us proved unworthy, we could always point t o Father Johannes as the faith- ful exponent of the priesthood, t he man of prayer, the Alter Christos and the Vir Dei. We marvelled a t the long hours he kept vigil in the Con- fessional, where Mercy and Hope ,abounded and where every penitent felt t h e gr ace to " be reconciled to God." How well he exemplified the charity of Christ as fore told by thti Prophet-"The bruised reed he shall not break and the smoking flax he shall not quench." He had been sent to teach the Gospel to the poor, to heal the contrite of heart. In each function of his sacred office, whether at a marriage feast or at the bedside of the dying, his presence brought in- spiration for the better things. "Much peace have they t hat love Thy law; unto them ther e is no stumbling- block." But the outstanding constructive work of his life was that of teacher. ' 'Son of Man, I have made Thee a watchman to the house of Israel; and Thou shalt hea r the word out of My mouth and shalt tell it them from Me." As a true Ambassador, he spoke

,ar r ived when t h e young Levite con- secr nted a ll t h e powers of body and soul t o t he service of J esus Christ. My dear friends, it is difficult for any one of us to realize the awful r e- sponsibility of that final step when by ordina tion mer e man is endued with power from on High to offer the Adorable Sacrifice of the Mass, to administer t he Sacraments, to preach the Word of God. You know, of course, something of the exacting demands, the self denial and mortification thnt must charac- t erize the Catholic Priest. "If any man will come after me," says Jesus, "let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." On this solemn day t he young Levite heard the sacr ed charge: "As the Father hath sent Me I also send you." "For Christ we are ambassadors, God, as it were, exhorting by us." St. Chrysostom says: "Priests have received a power such as God has given neither to angels nor to arch- angels, for it was not to them but to t he priests of the new Law that Christ said : 'Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven t hem ; an d whos e sins you shall retain, they are r etained, "--a power that reaches out and extends to Heaven. And as if t his were not enough, God still fur- t her lavishes His bount y when the newly ordained receives the power to offer up t he spotless sacrifice of the New Testament where "the Blood of Christ, who by t h e Holy Ghost offered Himself unspotted unto God, cleanses our conscience from dead works, to serve t h e living God." "This is My Body which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of Me." What precious gift s are these calling forth our wonder and admiration, compell- ing us to reverence and venerate the 11>riests of the new Covenant, who are by vocation, vow, and divine -..:om- mand, God's agen ts and representa- tives, "Ambassadors of Christ," " St ewards of the Grace of God," "Ministers of Reconciliation," "Media- tors," " Physicians," "Teachers," "Dis- pensers of the Mysteries of God," "The Light of the World," and "Th e Salt of the Ear t h." F ortified with the sublime preroga- tives of these God-given powers,