Denver Catholic

2 SEPTEMBER 10-23, 2016 | DENVER CATHOLIC Archbishop's Page General Manager KARNA SWANSON Director ANDREW WRIGHT Business Manager MICHAEL O'NEILL Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Denver Catholic (USPS 557-020) is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January. Denver Catholic is printed by Prairie Mountain Publishing, LLC in Boulder. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $35 a year in Colorado; $42 per year out of state. Foreign countries: $42 surface, all countries, 6-8 weeks for delivery; $135 air, all other countries (average). Mexico, $48 air; Canada, $55 air. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Denver Catholic, Circulation Dept., 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or email circulation@archden.org. EDITORIAL: 303-715-3230 or denvercatholic@ archden.org. ADVERTISING: 303-715-3253 or denvercatholicads@archden.org. CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 303-715-3230 or circulation@archden.org. Archbishop's Column Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila PHOTO OF THE WEEK ARCHBISHOP'S SCHEDULE SEP. 13: Mass, 50th anniversary of Notre Dame School, Denver (9 a.m.); Mass and Institution of Acolytes and Lectors for Redemptoris Mater Seminary, JPII Center (5:30 p.m.) SEP. 20-24: Archdiocesan year of mercy pilgrimage, Italy SEP. 24: Witness of Mercy in the Americas symposium, Rome @ArchbishopDen Sept. 1 Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila celebrated a special appreciation Mass for altar servers Aug. 27 at Christ the King parish in Denver, marking the fi rst Mass of its kind in the Archdiocese of Denver. Over 200 altar servers representing 20 diŒ erent parishes were in attendance. PHOTO BY DANIEL PETTY CORRECTION A shepherd after Christ's heart O n Aug. 25, I had the joy of announcing that Pope Fran- cis had named Father Jorge Rodriguez as the next auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver. In this column, I would like to introduce the faithful to the bishop-elect in a deeper way, as he will help me shepherd you. Bishop-elect Rodriguez and I fi rst met in 1998. Archbishop Chaput asked me to meet with him as I was trying to put together the faculty for the new St. John Vianney Seminary, of which I was the rector. In the 18 years since that time, I have seen that he is a man of deep faith and prayer, and that his friendship with Christ is what sustains him through the challenges of life. Both his relationship with Jesus and his knowledge of the faith are precious gifts that he brings to us as a bishop. St. John Vianney, who is the patron saint of parish priests, captured the essential nature of friendship with Jesus when he said, "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus." When he was asked at his introduc- tory press conference about how the Church could address declining Mass attendance, Bishop-elect Rodriguez applied this same truth. He said that the Church must work to form more people as true disciples of Christ — men and women who are willing to drop everything to follow Christ. During his time at the seminary, I noticed another quality that will serve Bishop-elect Rodriguez well in his new ministry – patience. Inevitably throughout the academic year, a sem- inarian would struggle to overcome a habit, hit a spiritual roadblock or wrestle with understanding one of the truths of the faith. This did not deter then Father Rodriguez. He patiently and kindly would meet them where they were at, challenge them, and help them grow intellectually, spiritu- ally and emotionally. He knew how to form both the heart and the intellect of the men. By all accounts, Bishop-elect Rodriguez has continued to gener- ously and patiently teach the faith to the parishioners of Holy Cross Parish in Thornton, and I know he will con- tinue to do so as a bishop. The fi nal gift that Bishop-elect Rodriguez has that I'd like to share with you is also best expressed in a quote from St. John Vianney, who said, "The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you." As the archbishop, I visit many parishes and hear from the faithful about their con- cerns. I have seen that Bishop-elect Rodriguez already knows these concerns quite well because he is able to draw close to both the Spanish and English-speaking communities of our archdiocese. He is a priest who serves his people, calling them to holiness. Bishop-elect Rodriguez, as a native of Mexico, is an immigrant to the United States. He is fully acquainted with the Mexican culture and Spanish is his fi rst language. Our archdiocese is over 50% Hispanic and he is well- known among the Hispanic commu- nity as always willing to go the extra mile for the care of the faithful. He is a compassionate shepherd and will be so for those he serves throughout the archdiocese. I am grateful to God the Father for the gift of an auxiliary bishop who will help me in my mission of teaching, sanctifying and leading the faithful of northern Colorado. As Jesus said, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest" (Lk 10:2). We have asked, and God the Father has given us Bish- op-elect Rodriguez. Let us give thanks to God for his generosity and ask him to pour out his grace upon our bish- op-elect. Let us also continue to pray for vocations, constantly going to the door of "the master of the harvest" and asking him to send laborers after his own heart. In the Aug. 27, 2016, edition of the Denver Catholic, the print version of the column "Colorado needs more compassionate care, not killing" misstated the reporting requirements for doctors who prescribe assisted suicide medication. Doctors must report when they write a lethal prescription, but there is no requirement for them to report when one of their patients kills themselves or for a medical professional to be present at the death. We apologize for the error. Bishop-elect Jorge Rodriguez will assist Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila in shepherding the faithful of the Archdiocese of Denver. PHOTO BY ANDREW WRIGHT Visit new website! http://votenoprop 106.com/ +sja

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