By: By Jennifer Willems

Ending the church year on a note of gratitude, Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, praised the men and women of central Illinois “who have given us such good example in living out their Christianity by all they say, but most especially by all they do.”

Past recipients of the Pere Marquette medal and pontifical honors were invited to the annual Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria last Sunday, which was also intended as an expression of thanks to God for the fruits of the harvest and blessings received.

Noting that Jesus taught his disciples to love God with their whole heart, mind, strength and soul and “your neighbor as yourself,” Bishop Jenky said the Lord did not intend this to be a suggestion or offer it as a good idea.

“This is an imperative for living. This is what the Savior of the world, the very Son of God, commands,” he said.

“Our honorees have recognized the face of God in the needs of their neighbors,” Bishop Jenky told his listeners. “By their fidelity to the corporal works of mercy, they teach us that what we do in this life really counts and matters.”

WELCOMING THE MISSAL
Continuing conversion is the work of all people of faith, however, and another opportunity will present itself next weekend when the new English translation of the Roman Missal takes effect, the bishop said.

“The revised translation of the prayers and sacred rituals of the divine liturgy that we will begin next Sunday has been deliberately given to us so as to present more faithfully both the mystery and majesty of our great and glorious God, whom we worship and adore, whenever we assemble for the most holy sacrifice of the Mass,” Bishop Jenky explained during his homily.

He said Pope Benedict XVI had insisted that this new translation show greater fidelity to Scripture and tradition, describing these changes as “the renewal of the renewal.”

“This will be a great opportunity to recommit ourselves to all the graces offered by the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the work and promise of the Second Vatican Council,” Bishop Jenky said. “We can leave behind what may have marred or even tarnished the renewal of the church and, more personally, the renewal of our lives.”

By welcoming the new missal, “we can give even greater reverence to the glory of the Trinity, the one true God whose infinite nature bears no restraints and whose boundless power is without any limit,” he said.