Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Scranton
Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick Clerical Address
Genetti’s, Dickson City – March 17, 2011
Some of you are familiar with my history – and my relationship with a well known parish here in the mid-valley whose church ceiling collapsed during the final months of my tenure as its pastor. I can’t seem to distance myself from that experience – to the point where someone recently sent me the words of an old Irish blessing that perhaps you’ve heard: “May the roof above us never fall in. And may the friends gathered below it never fall out.”
Seems to me that while the Lord may have forgotten about the first part of the blessing – at least as it pertains to me – he doubled up on the second part. It is indeed a great blessing to be here tonight with so many friends. Everyone has made me feel so welcome – meeting many of you for the first time yet feeling as if I’ve known you forever. You have a great way of making everyone – and especially me – included.
In fact your welcome reminded me of something that a friend of mine shared with me recently:
He was in Ireland on a combination business / pleasure trip. His last meeting was in Cork City. Due to a tight schedule, he had arranged for a care service to take him to the airport. The meeting ran late and he had concerns about making his flight. When he got into the car, the driver asked him: “Have you seen our hospital?” “No, I haven’t had the time.” The driver suggested: “I’ll drive you by. I won’t take very long.”
They drove a bit and eventually, the driver announced: “Well, there it is. The Cork City Hospital.” The hospital was a typical looking hospital, red brick and occupying one city block. “Very nice,” said my friend. “But it looks like just about every other hospital that I’ve ever seen.” The driver said: “Look what it says over the entrance – let me tell you about that.”
“Henry Ford was visiting Cork City, the home of his mother. His reputation for wealth had long preceded his arrival. Checking into his hotel, he found two local town officials waiting for him. They asked if he would make a contribution to the construction of the Cork City Hospital – in honor of his dear mother.
“Ford, who was quite accustomed to being touched in that fashion, pulled out his checkbook and wrote out a check for $5,000.
“The next day, the headline in the local paper and the Dublin Sunday Independent read: ‘Henry Ford contributes $50,000 for the Construction of the Cork City Hospital.’ Later that morning, the two called on Mr. Ford again, saying: ‘We’re terribly sorry, Mr. Ford. It was not our fault. It must have been a typographical error. We’ll be happy to see that a retraction is printed in tomorrow’s paper, using the same size print.’”
“Ford asked for his original check. They gave it to him. He promptly tore it up and said: ‘I’ll give you a check for $50,000 if you let me do one thing regarding the hospital.’ They said: ‘Of course – anything.’ Ford replied: ‘I would like to select the inscription over the entrance way.’ They agreed.
“Today, taken from the Book of Saint Matthew, the inscription over the main entrance of the Cork City Hospital reads: ‘I Came among you – and you took me in.’”
I am very mindful of the fact that your kind welcome has been a bit of stretch for some of you – new bishop – born of Polish parents – an Italian sounding name – with German roots. Thanks for taking me in … I think.
Last fall, I was privileged to spend two weeks in Rome with 109 new bishops from around the world who had been appointed by Pope Benedict during the previous year. Of those 109 new bishops, 23 of us were from the United States. Of those 23 new bishops from the United States, only two have the unique distinction and privilege of serving in their home dioceses. Bishop Terry LaValley of the Diocese of Ogdensburg is one – I’m the other.
Now there are some drawbacks serving in your home diocese. I spent my whole life living in Bill Pryle’s neighborhood in Carbondale. As a neighbor, Bill gets to see me in a slightly different light than most of you. Shortly after I was installed as the 10th Bishop of the Diocese, I was at my mom’s house for the day. More precisely, I was puttering around in her yard and I could tell that one of her gutters was blocked. She lives in a one-story house so I got out the ladder, propped it up against the eaves – thought about what I was going to do and wondered if it was proper for the bishop to be doing something so menial – and then decided that I’d put on a baseball cap (Red Sox) and sunglasses and take care of what needed to be done. So I climbed up on the roof to begin the rather non-episcopal task of cleaning out a gutter. I finished the task, looked around, determined that nobody seemed to have noticed me and breathed a sigh of relief. … That night I attended Carbondale Capers and I ran into Bill and his wife. … The first words out of his mouth: “Bishop, my grandson saw you on your mother’s roof today. Know what he asked me? He said: Pop, do you think the bishop wears that ring when he’s cleaning out gutters?” … Make no mistake about it – while it’s a blessing, there are a few disadvantages to being a hometown bishop.
Yet the blessings of serving as bishop in my home diocese far outweigh any disadvantage. There are the obvious blessings – of knowing the names of countless numbers of faithful parishioners – the locations of churches and schools – and the written and unwritten history of what has brought us to this moment in our lives.
More importantly, there is the profound blessing of having experienced life – with so many of you – life filled with joys and struggles, setbacks and accomplishments – and life filled with a deep, abiding sense of faith and belief in God – a faith and belief that carries us through each day with hope. If I came to this diocese from somewhere, I would eventually understand what kind of people live in the eleven counties that we know as the Diocese of Scranton. Because I was born here, however, who YOU are is woven into who I AM.
People often say to me: “Bishop, what is your vision for the Diocese of Scranton?” For all that I hope and dream for this local Church, foundational to any vision is my sincere desire that the people of this diocese come to know and appreciate how blessed they are; how gifted they are; and how capable they are – you are – of doing great things for God.
One of my predecessors, the 7th Bishop of the Diocese who later became Cardinal John O’Connor, Archbishop of New York, often spoke words similar to these to the people of this Diocese. “You are infinitely better, more capable, more loving and more holy than you would ever imagine yourselves to be.” … While some might say he was playing to the crowds, he wasn’t. He was calling the people of this Church to recognize that all of us have been richly blessed and despite our brokenness and imperfections, all of us have been richly blessed by God. All of us, with God’s grace, can make a difference for good in our world.
Look at the countless numbers of people who have roots in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania and have distinguished themselves in their service to our country and our world so well – Governors and Senators – artists and educators – physicians and philanthropists – scientists and soldiers – one of whom was recently recognized for his service to our country: Lieutenant General Frank Wiercinski – who was an altar boy in St. Mary’s Church here in Dickson City and a graduate of Scranton Prep.
Yet for all of the noteworthy figures who have emerged thoughout our history from families and neighborhoods right here in Lackawanna County, it’s the ordinary, faithful men and women who have and continue to create a tapestry of life that is rooted in Gospel values – hardworking, compassionate souls who are still not too proud to identify themselves first as members of a particular parish and then tell you more precisely where they live – loving and forgiving souls who treat one another, more often than not, with respect and dignity because they believe that life really is created in the image and likeness of God.
Because of such people, I am richly blessed to serve as Bishop of this Diocese. Because of such people, you are richly blessed as well.
And one more thing – so many of these people whose lives have been a blessing to us all – so many of them have roots planted on a little green island in the Atlantic.
Two hours south of where we gather tonight there is a bell – a bell that remains the symbol of liberty around the world – a symbol that reminds us of how truly blessed we are to live in this great country with unsurpassed liberty and freedom.
It is fitting that we recognize with unending gratitude those who made such great sacrifices and in many cases the ultimate sacrifice to provide this freedom with which we are blessed today. We’ve witnessed people giving up everything in their lives – including their very lives, as evidenced by the coffin ships that they sailed – to become a part of the fabric of this great nation.
Earlier today I had the privilege to speak with Taoiseach John Bruton. Ireland faces challenges today and so do we in our country. The Church faces challenges as well. Such realities are a part of life. Yet deep within the hearts of every one gathered in this room tonight there is a deep sense of gratitude – to Almighty God, for the gift of faith planted by Patrick, his saint – and a reverence for the blessed lands that together have made this night possible.
God bless America. God save Ireland. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. And God bless you all.
