Denver Catholic

B14 OCTOBER 22-NOVEMBER 11, 2016 | DENVER CATHOLIC Congratulations Bishop Jorge Rodriguez from Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, Archbishop Emeritus Eusebius J. Beltran, the clergy, religious, and the people of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Sincere congratulations to Bishop-Elect Jorge Rodriguez We are wishing you peace and blessings. Our prayers are with you. The clergy, sta and parish family of All Souls Centro San Juan Diego, rejoices with Msgr. Jorge Rodriguez's elevation to the episcopacy, and on his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop - Elect of the Archdiocese of Denver. CONGRATULATIONS Bishop-elect Rodriguez Centro San Juan Diego, rejoices with Msgr. Jorge Rodriguez's elevation to the episcopacy, and on his appointment as COUNT ON OUR SUPPORT AND PRAYERS! Blessings Around the Archdiocese P ope Francis won't be in atten- dance at the episcopal ordi- nation of Bishop-elect Jorge Rodriguez, but if he were to attend, we are sure he'd have some wise words of advice for the soon-to-be bishop. To get a sense of what advice the Pope could have given, here are three short excerpts from recent comments the Pope has made specifi cally to bishops. DIALOGUE AND ENCOUNTER "We are promoters of the culture of encounter. We are living sacra- ments of the embrace between God's riches and our poverty. We are wit- nesses of the abasement and the con- descension of God who anticipates in love our every response. "Dialogue is our method, not as a shrewd strategy but out of fi delity to the one who never wearies of visiting the marketplace, even at the eleventh hour, to propose his oƒ er of love. "The path ahead, then, is dia- logue among yourselves, dialogue in your presbyterates, dialogue with lay persons, dialogue with families, dialogue with society. I cannot ever tire of encouraging you to dialogue fearlessly."† Pope Francis to the bishops of the United States, Sept. 23, 2015 AN ICON OF MERCY "Make of your ministry an icon of mercy, the only force capable of seducing and attracting in a perma- nent way the heart of man. Even the thief at the last hour let himself be enthralled by him who 'had done nothing wrong.' "On seeing him pierced on the cross, they beat their chest confessing what they could never have recog- nized on their own, had they not been moved by that love that they had never known and which neverthe- less gushed freely and abundantly! A distant and indiƒ erent god can be ignored, but one cannot easily resist a God who is so close and more than that, wounded out of love. "The kindness, the beauty, the truth, the love, the goodness – see what we can oƒ er this mendicant world, even if in half broken bowls." Pope Francis to a meeting of new bishops, Sept. 16, 2016 THE TENDERNESS OF A MOTHER "Above all,†laŠVirgen Moren- ita†teaches us that the only power capable of conquering the hearts of men and women is the tenderness of God. That which delights and attracts, that which humbles and overcomes, that which opens and unleashes, is not the power of instruments or the force of law, but rather the omnip- otent weakness of divine love, which is the irre- sistible force of its gentleness and the irrevo- cable pledge of its mercy." Pope Francis to the bishops of Mexico, Feb. 13, 2016 From the Pope, a word of advice BY KARNA SWANSON karna.swanson@archden.org @KarnaSwanson The only power capable of conquering the hearts of men and women is the tenderness of God." "

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