From the Bishop

“Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy.”  These are the words that open Pope Francis’ letter announcing the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.

As you receive this issue of Harvest, we are in the Christmas Season. I hope your celebration of these days is full of joy, the spirit of the season.

“Pray for me.  Don’t forget! Pray for me.” These were the final words of Pope Francis as he concluded Mass for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and brought an end to his incredible visit to our country.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting Philadelphia for the annual Knights of Columbus convention. The meeting brings together the leadership of councils and states from around the world to hear the annual report and elect new leadership...

The blessings of Easter be with you!  It is the season of joy. When Jesus rose from the dead, He opened for each of us the promise of eternal life.

The present issue of Harvest gives us a chance to rejoice in the gift of vocation in our diocese.  We have celebrated the ordination to sacred priesthood of Father Steven Cartwright ...

Fifty years ago, the people of the Church watched the news from Rome regarding the closing sessions of the Second Vatican Council.

As you know, I have only been a bishop a short time, not yet two years.  Happily, therefore, I was grateful for a gift I received at my ordination...

About midway through November, driving along and going through the dials on the car radio looking for some music, I came across a station broadcasting Christmas carols.

During these last months, we have had the privilege of celebrating some special anniversaries and jubilees.  It was a great joy to gather in the spring with those of our priests who have special anniversaries this year.

One of the joys of my ministry during these first months in the diocese has been my visits to our schools.

We are in the season of Easter, the joyous time of year when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. 

On the December day I was driving to Maine for the announcement of my appointment as the new Bishop of Portland, I passed a sign on the highway that welcomed me, and all those passing by, to the beauty of this state.

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has called me to leave the Catholic community of Maine, where I have served as diocesan bishop since 2004.

Pope Saint Gregory the Great (d. 604) gives a dire warning to “pastors who…hesitate to say openly what is right because they fear losing the favor of men.”

Millions of people in our world began this day with empty stomachs, knowing from the moment they awoke that they would somehow need to scrounge up a few morsels of food to keep their families fed and to have enough strength to go about the day.

A number of Harvest readers commented appreciatively on the book recommendations I offered in last year’s November edition.

n his most recent and superb book Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith (NY: Image Books, 2011) Chicago theologian Father Robert Barron tells of a dinner at which a young Flannery O’Connor...

I celebrated Mass in July with 49 Catholic teens, gathered with the staff of our diocesan Office of Lifelong Faith Formation for the second annual New Evangelization Week at Saint Joseph’s College.

Airports, alas. My obligations with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops necessitate my spending much more time in airports than I like.

No, this is not about nature’s welcome signs of spring after a long, cold, snowy Maine winter. This is rather about the radical meaning for our lives of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Parents: Do you worry about your son’s or daughter’s faith as you anticipate them going off to college? There are reasons why you should. And there are reasons why you shouldn’t.

I have a confession to make. Every year, even before Advent is over, I search the radio dial until I find an FM station that plays Christmas music and nothing but 24 hours a day.

“What are you reading?”… a question a friend of mine inevitably poses whenever our paths cross.

Among my fondest ministry memories are the college and university chaplaincies where I served while a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston.

Readers will probably not be surprised to learn that the deadline for submission of my Harvest columns is always a couple of months prior to publication

Since my arrival in Maine as your bishop six years ago, I have subscribed to Down East: The Magazine of Maine. I look forward every month to its informative and enjoyable mélange of Maine facts, opinion, fiction and trivia.

“Long before its ground started shaking, Haiti was already a byword for a broken place.” So began a recent New York Times front page article about the earthquake that devastated the country.

Forming One' Conscience

As I suspect is the case with most bishops newly appointed to head a diocese, my first question upon arriving in Maine five years ago was, what are my priests like?

Rather than write about teens in this annual teen issue of Harvest, I decided this year to write to you, young members of our Church.

The issue of marriage, and in particular “same-sex marriage,” continues to be one of the most debated societal issues in Maine.

“When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Yes, we quickly answer.