I recommended (HERE) that you who attended the Pontifical Mass on 24 April in Washington DC, or who watched it on TV, send Bishop Slattery of Tulsa, the celebrant, a note of thanks via the combox on the blog of the Diocese of Tulsa.
To my delight, many of you did just that!
To my additional delight, many people are writing to tell me that Bp. Slattery sent back kind and personal responses which don’t appear to be form letters!
Impressive.
This bishop is a class act.
If you have received some responses, perhaps you might share a line or two in the combox.
Folks, writing can make a difference!
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Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well.
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you,
Brandon, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
The Bishop wrote to me – with his greeting in Irish!
***
Tá súil agam go mbeadh tú go maith, a Dhiarmuid.
I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you,
Dermot, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Mise, le meas,
***
I just received an email of thanks from Bishop Slattery. It was not just a form letter, as it specifically mentioned our 6 hour round trip drive at the end:
Let us all give thanks that there were no difficulties in your six hours on the road!
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa”
Sorry I cut off the ending, it goes:
Mise, le meas,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
I am heartened to know that the bishop has responded. It is an amazing thing to think that a bishop would respond to those of us who took the time to drop him a note.
He is the episcopal definition of STLSTW!!!!!
May God continue to bless and hold Bishop Slattery close!
Michael,
Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well. I bet spring is beautiful is Oswego.
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
I was also surprised to recieve a personal thanks from the bishop that mentioned some of the themes I wrote about in my thank-you post:
Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you, Dan, for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well. As you can tell from our diocesan website, many hundreds of Catholics across the world felt the same sense of of comfort, courage and hope which you did. How good God is to us! Is that not what the Credo teaches us?
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you,
Brian, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
The Bishop’s response to my email was the exact word-for-word rendering as Larry D’s!
I’m glad that he has taken the time to answer all the emails that people sent him!
From H.E. to me:
“I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you, Gil, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa”
Such a warm, humble, magnanimous, holy response.
AMDG your Excellency.
Some standard paragraphs, but hey, who wouldn’t do exactly that. I was impressed to just GET an email.
The middle paragraph was more personal:-
Thank you for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well – and all the way from the U.K. I was in Durham last October to pray at the tombs of Venerable Bede and St. Cuthbert. How much I enjoyed being in England. How wonderful were the people I met.
As you say Father – “A CLASS ACT”
I barely wrote anything…just that I had sent some of his words on suffering to my mother who is going through a rough time. He wrote back the neatest email. I will definitely be praying for him. God bless him!
Wow – what a nice surprise it was to receive a reply to a very brief comment of thanks to the bishop:
I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you,
Sue, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
Sounds like a very classy guy. Kudos to Bishop Slattery.
I got an Email, fairly standard as my message was short.
But – here’s the kicker – then I got an Email from the bishop apologizing for misspelling my name! (I hadn’t even noticed – it was just an extra character at the end.)
Suspecting that his administrative assistant was helping send the Emails and was feeling a little embarrassed, I replied:
“Your Grace, Please don’t worry about a little typo!
It was SO kind of you to send a reply. We will continue to pray that God bless you (and your hardworking staff!) abundantly in all of your undertakings.”
And I got ANOTHER reply:
“Thank you, I will let my staff know you appreciate their work.
Bishop Slattery
Tulsa”
It appears that the bishop is pounding away on his keyboard HIMSELF. I am beyond impressed. More prayers aloft for Bishop Slattery, and that His Holiness will send us a dozen more just like him!
I was unable to attend as I live in the UK. I didn’t even see it BUT having heard the sermon via Fr Z and read articles and seen the pictures in circulation – I just wanted to say a big thank-you. Here’s what I received.
“I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you, Anthony, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe, especially the United Kingdom. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa”
What a wonderful Bishop. I never expected a reply. May Our Lord Continue to bless Bishop Slattery and the good work he does.
“Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you, Father Finelli, for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well. As you can tell from our diocesan website, many hundreds of Catholics across the world felt the same sense of of comfort, courage and hope which you did. How good God is to us!
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa”
The Bishop is so kind! He wrote me a similiar email to those above but added personal details that let me know that this was not just a form letter. I then replied and sent a thank you for his thank you – and sent a few pictures along with it. His Excellency wrote back and said he enjoyed the photos!
Our dear bishop must be burning the midnight oil keeping up with all of these messages and emails!
It would appear that the Bishop had to write the same response to all of us who thanked him (not surprising from someone who has to write a lot of responses) but it is great he took the time to do so. =)
As for mine,
“I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you,
Justin, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.”
I left for Bishop Slattery a comment to the effect that I am convinced that the Holy Spirit was behind the events that led to his presence as the celebrant and homilist for this historic Mass. I did not notice this precise thought in the other comments I saw there. At any rate, I received an e-mail reply from His Excellency containing the following paragraph that I have not seen in others’ replies from him:
“I think we would do well to remember, Henry, that the Holy Spirit is behind everything in our lives. He is the ineffable energy that we need to love and to seek God. So, yes, the Spirit was behind the decisions made at this Mass, just as He behind everything.”
Just think of the time required to merely scan many hundreds of comments and e-mails and then, even if some boilerplate paragraphs have already been written–as anyone would do in such a circumstance–then insert a personalized sentence or two reacting the specific comments. Who has ever heard of a bishop responding promptly like this to communications from people at large?
I recall that, in a post some time ago, I mentioned that in past times of crisis in the Church, a living saint had often stepped forward in time of direst need, and asked whether we could possibly hope for such a saint in our own time. Perhaps we can.
And a bonus “ineffable” sighting in the wild!!!
I received a response from Bp. Slatterly as well! Totally unexpected! I only sent a few words of thanks — nothing special from me. The fact that his excellency (and/or staff) took the time to respond to seemingly everyone is very VERY impressive.
–ghp
I think many bishops miss the pastoral aspect of ministry….their being so administrative with their office. I remember my own bishop, Gregory Aymond, personally contacted me at work in answer to an email I’d sent him asking for help in a juridical matter involving a grave liturgical abuse. The problem was fixed very quickly, but I was humbled that he’d take time out of his schedule to give me reassurance.
ghp,
Re: “and/or staff”
See my 4:28 message above. I thought the same thing, but I don’t think so any more.
I hope Bishop Slattery is an accomplished 95 wpm touch typist. He’ll need to be to keep up with all the well-wishers!
Oh, yes, I also got a personal answer. I was pretty much bowled over! I’m not even in his diocese. How wonderful of him to do this!
I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you,
Mark, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
—————————————-
Fr. Z,
I agree fully: a class act!!!
I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you,
Phil, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you, Marilyn, for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well. As you can tell from our diocesan website, many hundreds of Catholics across the world felt the same sense of of comfort, courage and hope which you did. How good God is to us!
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
I was astounded to get this reply to my email.
Frankly, it doesn’t even matter to me that he apparently did a form e-mail (with individual names inserted). The fact that he’d take the time to do that is still the mark of a class act. How many others would bother?
markomalley: How many others would bother?
Something a lot of bishops who style themselves as being “folksy” would do well to emulate.
His Excellency was most gracious in his reply to me, with the little personalization that made me know he really read my comments. For someone of his stature to pay attention is unheard of in my part of the country.
My reply was similar to the others, (sucha s bruno) but i was pleasantly delighted that he responded. That alone meant alot to me.
I had meant that viewing the Mass brought such peace that it was (and I used it…) an ineffable experience to witness it. You’re all right…form letters, but, that the good bishop took the time too write back was, well, ineffable…;)
—
Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you, Bryan, for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well. As you can tell from our diocesan website, many hundreds of Catholics across the world felt the same sense of of comfort, courage and hope which you did. How good God is to us!
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you, John, for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well. As you can tell from our diocesan website, many hundreds of Catholics across the world felt the same sense of of comfort, courage and hope which you did. How good God is to us!
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
To be honest, I assumed His Excellency’s response was a form letter (which didn’t bother me; like others, I was impressed enough at that) and didn’t read it all the way through, until I read this post. Upon re-reading it, I realized that his response made specific mention of my wedding anniversary; I had mentioned to him in my original note of thanks that my wife and I were attending the Mass in celebration of our 6th wedding anniversary as well as the Pope’s 5th. I am truly stunned that he would take the time to respond personally to so many.
Isn’t it amazing that this Pontifical Mass, which many have dismissed as “haughty” and “unpastoral”, has led to these seemingly small but patently holy responses from His Excellency that epitomize humility and pastoral sensitivity? How many of the clergy in our Church who harp on the hubris of something like the cappa magna would take the time and effort to give such heartfelt, personal, and warm responses to their flock in the same situation?
Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you, C—-, for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well. As you can tell from our diocesan website, many hundreds of Catholics across the world felt the same sense of of comfort, courage and hope which you did. How good God is to us!
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
—————————————————
This reminds me of a reply I once received from another great bishop, Abp. Raymond Burke, to whom I wrote a few years ago thanking him for standing up for canon 915. I was greatly touched in both cases.
I agree Fr. Z, Bishop Slattery is class act! He personalized many of the e-mails…like the one he sent me. I didn’t mention I was an Oratorian priest but I did sign my name with a C.O. at the end and this is what I got:
“I will remember you especially at the beatification of Cardinal Newman this year. Pray that it goes well with the Pontiff in England!”
I was touched and humbled…and I still am when I think about how he took the time to acknowledge a post in a combox!
I got a letter too even though I thought my comments were too few and short to merit one.
This is unstoppable. Look at the sign I saw in the hallway visiting Central Catholic in Toledo Last Week:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jd1pwh-awwM/S9DP6I4IPSI/AAAAAAAAB3g/17kjHNRCruQ/s1600/CIMG5367.JPG
In 2005, Latin was re-introduced into the curriculum and now they have 6 grads in the seminary:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jd1pwh-awwM/S9DNgYcRHsI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/vIU7YFKMLI0/s1600/CIMG5369.JPG
Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you, Sandra, for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well. As you can tell from our diocesan website, many hundreds of Catholics across the world felt the same sense of of comfort, courage and hope which you did. How good God is to us!
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
——————————————————————————————————
Your Excellency you can be assured that I do pray for you, as well as Our Holy Father, all pastors and priests and those with a call to the vocation of the priesthood.
I received the same couple of sentences as printed above in other comments. I am really impressed that these emails are personalized to all of us. Here’s the personal part in mine.
Thank you, Sue, for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well. As the future mother of a priest, you have a unique perspective, thank you for sharing it with me. I know that the time your son spends in the seminary seems lengthy, but it leads to the most wonderful, the most rewarding life imaginable. I will keep him and his classmates in my prayers.
I was indeed quite surprised to receive a letter back, so much so that I even sent a letter back to His Excellency, noting that I would fondly remember his civility, as even friends and family rarely nowadays return correspondence within 24 hours, let alone a bishop with very grave and time-consuming responsibilities, and mentioning a specific prayer request.
To my surprise, Bishop Slattery answered that letter as well and within a few hours. Fr. Z, you are absolutely correct; he is a real gentleman. Would that more clergy were like him!
Aside, I can’t help but wonder if those priests who make so much noise about liturgy and practice being “accessible to the people” and would declaim anything higher than the Mass of Cremation as being obsolete and over-hierarchical would answer a simple letter from the likes of somebody as insignificant as myself so quickly, if at all.
It appears that there was a “standard response” as my letter was the same as several others above…
Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well.
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
But I mean, seriously…I would expect to get a standard for response for something like this. It seems that he did respond personally to some of them, and that shows some real effort.
This is unstoppable. Look at the sign I saw in the hallway visiting Central Catholic in Toledo Last Week:
I will be posting a complete article about this very idea at my own blog, but it might be worth mentioning here.
I am working on the “First Mass” for one of our seminarians who is graduating from the Pontifical North American University and who will be ordained at the end of the month. I have known him for several years (he may well be reading this…I have seen him comment here a few times) and talking to other seminarians, he seems to be more the norm than the exception in this respect. In selecting music, he rather assumed that we would be using Chant for the Ordinary (we decided on the Missa de Angelis) and more traditional hymnody (Adoro Te Devote/ Ubi Caritas at communion).
I wrote several years back that things would change dramatically when this first wave of seminarians became priests after Summorum…imagine perhaps ten years from now as such men move into positions as pastors. There will be little need for “legislation” to move things forward then…
Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well. As you can tell from our diocesan website, many hundreds of Catholics across the world felt the same sense of of comfort, courage and hope which you did. How good God is to us!
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
Celebrating Mass at the National Shrine on Saturday was a moment of grace for me, as it was – evidently – for many Catholics throughout the nation.
Thank you for you kind words which I read and found most encouraging. I am grateful that you took the time to express your thoughts so well – especially given the many demands on your time at the seminary. I hope that the rest of the year goes well and that your exams are crowned with success.
Please continue to pray for me, for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, and for the whole Church that this period of suffering be for all of us a time of purification that leads to holiness. Know that I will be praying for you and those whom you love, May God bless you that you might always walk in the footsteps of His Son.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop Edward J. Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you,
(my name), and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
But here’s the awesome part, when I sent a reply back thanking him for taking time, he wrote back another response…
Your excellency bp slattery
Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to reply back to my comments. It’s simple things like these that inspire me to be a priest. May Mary protect you under her mantle
Pax vobis
(my name)
Please God one day you shall celebrate the Holy Mass at the altar and give the Eucharist to his people. I will pray that day comes quickly.
Bishop Slattery
He is replying to these e-mails, I am beyond humbled that he’d take the time to reply to someone well outside of his diocese. May God grant him many years
His Excellency wrote me a very kind response to my thank you:
I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of support and love which I have received from you,
Jason, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across the globe. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
I mentioned in my note to him that it was the Catholic understanding of redemptive suffering that brought be back to the Church, as it was the only one that made sense to me. In his response he wrote:
“As you say, the Catholci understanding of suffering is the only one that makes sense.”
I was and am astounded. I expected no response, as he must be very busy.
I was so surprised and thrilled to receive an email from His Excellency. It was the same as many above, but with my name in it. This is the work of someone who is authentically “pastoral” (as opposed to the way the word is is often used) and understands how people love to be “called by name.” I didn’t say much, just that I thought this was one of the best homilies I’ve ever read.
I did not see the mass, I read about it on this blog. Is it online anywhere? I think the flap over the long cape is hilarious! What a silly thing to get upset over.
BTW, please say a prayer for our bishop who has upset NCR crowd. http://ncronline.org/news/women/cincinnati-bishop-among-sponsors-pull-support-womens-conference?nocache=1#comment-111341
Being a bishop isn’t all long capes and great homilies!
I was truly in awe when I opened my email and saw ‘Bishop Slattery’ in the subject line. It took a second to realize what I was seeing. I thought it was something ‘about’ Bishop Slattery, not an e mail ‘from’ him.
My response from the good Bishop is like semperficatholic’s @ 8:03 am.
I am truly humbled by and grateful for his kindess. Now that’s how to Bishop.
Bishop Slaterry gave this reply to me:
quote:
I am overwhelmed with gratitude to God for the marvelous way He has used last week’s Pontifical Mass in Washington to reawaken faith and trust in His power to save.
Hundred and hundreds of Catholics (and a surprising number of non-Catholics as well) have written to me to tell me that they felt the Mass represented a kind of turning point for them in their spiritual journeys. These testimonials have poured in from around the country and from around the world – with three today just from Malasia – leaving me astonished at the goodness of God.
Thank you, Davin, for writing and sharing your own relfections on this celebration in honor of Pope Benedict’s 5th anniversary. I will rely upon your promise of prayers, as indeed I promise you a sharing in my own. Let us together ask God to heal the wounds of the Church, to protect and safeguard our Holy Father, and to strengthen everywhere the courage of our people.
Your letter touched my heart.
In?Domino
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
end quote
I am surprised that he actually replied in the first place. But the reply feels very personalised in my case. I mentioned to him the fact that I am from Singapore, and Malaysia(he spelt it, “Malasia”) is our neighbour.
Bp. Slattery continues to be a class act.
Would that all bishops responded in the same generous manner.
###
I cannot tell you how moved I have been these past several days at the outpouring of
support and love which I have received from you,
Tony, and from hundreds and hundreds of other Catholics across the nation and across
the globe. Thank you.
The Mass was received with incredible joy, not simply because so many people have an
affection and attraction to the ancient liturgy of the Church but more so because
the Mass in Washington spoke to the needs of the Church today in ways that I think
most people could not have imagined. It offers a sense of permanency in a changing
world, a promise of hope, in the midst of the terrible confusion we face, and it
speaks powerfully to the presence of God in our midst.
I am pleased that my homily was able to touch so many people at the same level, and
give grateful praise to God for having used me for his instrument on Saturday.
Know that I will be praying for you, even as I humbly ask you to remember me in your
daily prayers and sacrifices, and most of all, when you pray the Mass next.
Sincerely and gratefully yours,
Bishop Edward Slattery
Bishop of Tulsa
###
I was pleasantly surprised that the Bishop took time to respond to my comment. His diocese is blessed to have him.