[Yours Truly, greeting newly-installed Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami]
I’ve just returned to Tallahassee, having made the 16-hour round trip to Broward County in order to attend one of the new Archbishop of Miami’s “Welcome Masses.”
Those who have followed this blog, and my published articles at LifeSiteNews and RenewAmerica, know well how significant this moment is for the Catholic Church in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe Counties. Morally, fiscally, and spiritually, the Church in South Florida is stagnant and increpid. This past week, there has been such a surge of joy among the faithful that hasn’t been seen in years, if not decades. We all have very high hopes for Archbishop Wenski.
The Mass I attended on June 3 was held at Plantation’s St Gregory Parish. The newly-renovated church’s art and architecture is magnificent: modern but not iconoclastic, a model of noble simplicity and the Pope-Benedictine “hermeneutic of continuity.” The Mass itself was your typical liturgical mediocrity, but Archbishop Wenski was a reverent celebrant, and he preached a soul-stirring sermon on the need for Catholics to evangelize the public square with missionary zeal, witnessing to the hope we have in Christ Jesus. Wenski is a true Christian Humanist, and we Catholics are blessed to have him, a true liberal traditionalist, sitting on the episcopal throne in Miami.
A good article on the Mass can be read here: “Broward County (FL) Welcomes New Archbishop”
After Mass, I lines up to greet His Grace, and my friends wondered whether he would recognize me. My turn came, I rendered the Archbishop the proper obeisance, and I introduced myself as Eric Giunta. (That was all I said: my name.) He responded: “Eric Giunta? Oh, I read your blog!”
He smiled, and with his characteristic twinkle-in-the-eye, as he said those words. I was so flattered, and so humbled, and at such a loss for words. I simply poured out my heart to the man, making known how honored I felt to have him for an Archbishop, and letting him know that the Catholics of Florida are praying for him, and are ready to support him.
Of course, I’m in no position to represent Florida’s Catholics – I just happen to know so many who feel this way, and it felt like the right thing to say . . .
Meanwhile, I’m thrilled to know I have a reader in the new Archbishop! Not precisely an endorsement, mind you, but not a rebuke either! That’s good enough for me!
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In other news, the Episcopal Church has just ordained a new bishop for one of it’s dioceses: an auxiliary for Los Angeles. Here’s the new Successor to the Apostles, offering her apostolic benediction to all the faithful:
Wait – this ISN’T an Episcopal bishop? It’s some comedian named “Glozell”?!
Oopsies!
The real bishop is actually a partnered lesbian named Mary Glasspool.
I can be forgiven my error, though. These days it’s hard to tell the difference between a left-wing parody and a bishop of the Episcopal Church . . .
[...] Giunta? I read your blog!” — Archbishop Thomas Wenski of [...]
[...] In my spare time, I have taken up political and religious commentary, debuting in the pages of RenewAmerica in May 2009, and since then having written for Human Events,LifeSiteNews, and FrontPage Magazine. My commentary has received international attention, being cited by the UK Daily Telegraph the New York Times, Politics Daily, and the New Times Broward-Palm Beach, among others. I maintain a well-read blog, which is viewed regularly by pundits, journalists, columnists, and even bishops. [...]