From the Bishop

BISHOP KEVIN VANN: A WEEK OF BLESSINGS

By The Most Reverend Kevin W. Vann, Bishop of Orange     5/28/2015

A book that is often used by priests and deacons in their ministry is the Roman Ritual’s “Book of Blessings.” In the introduction to this book we find the following words: “As the Church, through the working of the Holy Spirit, fulfills its many-sided ministry of sanctifying, it has accordingly established many forms of blessing. Through them it calls us to praise God, encourages us to implore his protection, exhorts us to seek his mercy by our holiness of life, and provides us with ways of praying that God will grant the favors we ask.

“The blessings instituted by the Church are included among those signs perceptible to the senses by which human sanctification in Christ and the glorification of God are ‘signified and brought about in ways proper to each of these signs.’ Human sanctification and God’s glorification are the ends toward which all the Church’s other activities are directed.”

We have been very blessed in recent days, on the Christ Cathedral campus, to experience not only the ritual of blessings, but to have a celebrations of thanksgiving for the generosity of so many in building this part of the “City of God,” continuing our journey into the future with the continued progress on the cathedral building itself. Each of these ceremonies was a “stepping stone” on the journey of faith on the Christ Cathedral campus toward the future.

We were able to bless the “Chapel in Sky” in the Tower of Hope, and celebrate Mass surrounded by the beauty of Orange County, and to officially inaugurate this chapel as a Catholic place of prayer. We had the very powerful experience of the blessing of the exhibit area of the second floor of the Cathedral Cultural center where the beautiful new tabernacle by Egino Weinert can be seen. This moment was a reflection on the centrality of the Eucharist in our lives and in the life of Christ Cathedral. Monsignor Art Holquin gave a very inspirational reflection on the tabernacle—its beauty, and its catechetical value for all who will see it and pray in its presence when the Blessed Sacrament will be reserved there. Finally, there was the dedication of the new West Coast studio of EWTN, with its latest state-of-the-art technology, in the Tower of Hope. This not only follows on Dr. Robert Schuller’s pioneering work in television, it also establishes a West Coast presence for the Eternal Word Network, which will be instrumental in the continuing of the New Evangelization on the West Coast and elsewhere in our country, especially honoring all of the ethnic cultures here and the living out of our Catholic faith.

The joy of these days of blessings, in the journey of faith that has been and is Christ Cathedral, is best summed up in this special blessing prayer: “Lord, let the effect of your blessing remain with your faithful people to give them new life and strength of spirit, so that the power of your love will enable them to accomplish what is right and good. We ask this through Christ our Lord.”

Thank you to all who attended, who prepared these days of blessings, and whose generosity made all of this possible, as we move in our journey of faith at Christ Cathedral, siempre adelante—always forward.