A Spiritual Journey to a Holy Place
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Pope Benedict XVI meets with from left, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor of Little Rock, Ark., Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City and Bishop Edward J. Slattery during their ad limina visit to the Vatican on Friday, March 16, 2012. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano) Ad Limina A spiritual journey to a holy place n 1585, in the height of the chaos caused by the Reformers, Pope Sixtus V determined on certain reforms that, he prayed, would strengthen the universal Church by strengthening the reciprocal relations between the world’s bishops and the Vatican. This papal legislation codified the ancient practice of bishops reporting on the health and well-being of their dioceses to the Pontiff (cf. Galatians I1:18) and regulated when and how regularly each Bishop would come to the threshold of the tombs of the Apostles to make his report. In more modern times, Pope St. Pius X advance of his visit, has demanded the during the private audience Archbishop issued a Decree for the Consistorial Con- utmost care and diligence. Paul Coakley (Oklahoma City), Bishop gregation, specifying that Bishops should I recently returned from my third such Anthony Taylor (Little Rock, Ark.) and I come every fifth year, beginning in 1911. ad limina visit and would like to share enjoyed with the Pontiff on March 16. For more than 100 years then, the quin- with you some of the experiences I had quennial visit ‘ad limina apostolorum’ (“to there, from my prayerful reflections as I The ‘ad limina’ is a pilgrimage the thresholds”) of the diocesan bishop, said Mass at the tomb of St. Peter, to the The first thing I want to share with you and the preparation of the report sent in surprising confession the Pope made to me is my realization that this ad limina visit 2 Eastern Oklahoma Catholic / May 2012 / www.dioceseoftulsa.org from the bishop was much more than a trip to Rome, even Benedict XVI, might always remain a defin- a trip to see the Vatican to confer with the ing characteristic of our episcopal ministry. Pope’s closest advisors on a variety of im- Next, we celebrated Mass at the Basilica of ad limina visits, Blessed John Paul II met portant Church matters. With my 18 years St. John Lateran. This is the Cathedral of with each diocesan bishop individually for of service here as your bishop, I have come Rome and the Chair of the Bishop of Rome. about 15-20 minutes. It was a practice he to recognize that, above everything else, the This is where the Pontiff speaksex cathedra began as a young pontiff and continued as ad limina visit is a pilgrimage, a spiritual and I am still humbled when I recall our he aged. Pope Benedict, on the other hand, journey to a holy place for the purpose of privilege of celebrating Mass for your inten- prefers to meet with the bishops of an encountering God there. We bishops who tions not 25 feet from the Chair of Peter! entire province as a group, so Archbishop go to Rome are motivated most of all by Our third major shrine was the Basilica Paul Coakley, Bishop Anthony Taylor, and the desire – common to every pilgrim – of of St. Paul outside the Walls, a massive mo- I met with the Pope and spoke to him pri- searching for, and discovering at length, the nastic complex built over the spot where vately for about 30 minutes. His Holiness Lord Who waits for us. St. Paul was beheaded by the Romans for listened attentively as each of us described The idea of a vacation is intentionally preaching the Gospel. As we celebrated our situations and our episcopal ministry. excluded. No one looks to relax on an ad Mass, I pondered how many bishops like I told Pope Benedict the simple truth that limina visit or shop for bargains on the Via St. Peter and St. Paul have shed their blood over the past 10 or more years, my episco- Veneto! Whatever inconveniences come in witness to Christ over the centuries, and pal service has been guided and shaped by about as the cost of modern travel are ac- even today how many bishops suffer in his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy and by his cepted as penance in preparation for this places like China or North Korea. I prayed first encyclical,Deus Caritas Est. expected encounter with Christ. Of the for them, and for you, too, so that if it ever I explained to him that because of the 22 bishops who were pilgrims with me in becomes illegal to be a Christian, there insights I gained from reading The Spirit of Rome, some of us came down with a virus, might be enough evidence to convict us all! the Liturgy, I began to celebrate Mass at our while others had difficulties walking. But Finally, we bishops renewed our devo- Cathedral ad orientem, that is, facing in the I think all of us accepted such penances tion to Our Blessed Mother at the oldest same direction as the people, towards the cheerfully, even gratefully, and turned them shrine in Western Christendom dedicated East, from where Christ will return to claim into spiritual stepping-stones that we might to Our Lady, the Basilica of St. Mary Major. us as His people. I mentioned to him how journey more confidently. There, in a chapel of stunning beauty built when I turn to face the congregation, I see to honor the ancient image of Our Lady of them engaged in a new and deeper level The sacred sites the Snows, I was privileged to be the prin- of prayer. “Ah yes,” he replied with a smile, Rome, of course, is filled with sacred cipal celebrant and homilist. “for this is why they come!” sites. An afternoon’s walk can take you I also spoke to the Holy Father about from the shrine where the relics of the Pas- Meetings and audiences our new Catholic Charities facilities and sion are venerated, to the chapel where St. These visits to the four Papal Basilicas watched his eyes light up when I told him Peter’s chains are kept. You can sit at an in Rome were punctuated by important that it was modeled after his first encyclical, outdoor cafe and, while sipping a cappuc- meetings between us and the staff of vari- God is Love. I told him that Mass is celebrat- cino, you can close your eyes and imagine ous congregations and dicasteries in Rome. ed daily in the chapel that is the heart of St. Robert Bellarmine hurrying past, or St. Congregations and dicasteries function Catholic Charities’ campus. He thanked me Charles Borromeo turning a corner. Look something like the president’s Cabinet in and all the people of the Diocese of Tulsa again and you could imagine St. Frances of Washington. At these meetings, we were and confessed with a smile, “This gives me Rome laughing with her schoolchildren or able to present the unique situation of the much encouragement!” St. Bridget of Sweden with her daughter, St. Church in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, Catherine. outline our struggles and explain the rea- There are so many sacred sites in Rome son for our buoyant hope for the Church’s that I sometimes think it’s called the “Eter- future here. nal City” because it would take an eternity While I missed a couple of meetings to see them all! because of the bug I caught, I was able to But during an ad limina visit, bishops visit visit with the largest and most important four major shrines, called “the papal basili- offices, including the Congregation for cas,” and our visit to each of these sacred Bishops, the Congregation for the Doc- places to celebrate Mass together constituted trine of the Faith and the Congregation the heart of our ad limina pilgrimage. for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. At The Papal Basilicas All of these meetings are designed to First, we went underneath the main altar strengthen the relationship between the at St. Peter’s Basilica to the confessio or Tomb local bishop and the Pope, but nothing of the Fisherman. There we prayed that our could have had the impact as meeting Pope unity with Peter and his successor, Pope Benedict in person. In my previous two Bishop Edward J. Slattery 3.