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Dear Friends in Christ,

On this Feast of Christ the King, I can say with all honesty, that perhaps no people on the face of the earth have more long-lasting reason, to believe in one, and only one king, than the people of China.

Passing from the most ancient of ages known to man, down to this day of our own time, China has seen many leaders, many governments, many political and economic systems comes and go. History paints China as a panorama of changing panels - tribes, feudal estates, dynasties, nation-states, kingdoms, empires and tyrannies. And like all human systems, all human endeavors, these realities of Chinese history have given to her people some good things, and some bad things. But of all the actions of human endeavor that have come and gone over the centuries, only one has given to the Chinese people, and to all the people on earth, the path into eternity, up mountain of faith which will not be torn down, and entry in to the court of the true King - the King who sees all other powers crumble before Him, but who shelters the souls of those who come in humility and love.

This endeavor is the faith of the Church - belief in our one Lord Jesus Christ, a gift of the Holy Spirit, through the Apostles and missionaries - it is the gift that brings us here today, that joins us in thanksgiving, and that makes us aware of our close and unbreakable kinship in the Lord.

You, the Chinese Catholics of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, represent a vintage return on the original investment of the Church, in sending the word of Christ into the land of China. For like the children of Israel, who were lifted out of the midst of Egypt, and transported into the Promised Land, you also, in ways various and wonderful to tell, have been lifted up out of the land of your ancestors, and brought here, to this country, and to this part of your family in Christ. The Catholics of North Georgia, recognize your valor and courage, and the valor and courage of your fathers and mothers and grandparents - and take this opportunity, by sending me, the bishop of all, into your midst - to recognize the courage which has brought you here - to welcome all who seek to become a part of this community and this Church - and to thank you for the special gifts you bring among us - your culture and language, your art, your customs, and your spirit of unconquerable love and faith.

But I would be a poor bishop, if I did not also come to teach, and to remind you of those special duties which you have accepted, and which, from time to time, must be recalled and focused anew, so that a stronger impact may follow from your efforts and prayers.

The first task which I remind you of, is the duty to remember every day, the struggle of those Catholics who remain in China, and who face every day, new hardship and challenge, and who live under the burden of being hated by men and women who should be their brothers and sisters, and with whom they long only to live in peace. But though they cannot, they continue to try, for the sake of the Lord - and for this reason, they are living martyrs for our Faith. Some may think of them as a last remnant - a few thousand among the millions, who still cling to the faith of the Church of Rome, as it was given to the Apostles and saints. But I say, and I know you join me in this belief, that they are the seed, miraculous and yet un-germinated, that will be released in good time upon the people of China - a seed which will flower into the life of the Risen Lord, a love that will one day remake the face of China into the land for which you all hope and dream - a land where millions will win for the first time, the dignity that is theirs, and that can only come, to nations and to people, by accepting the kingship of Christ. You who are here can rally on their behalf, you can send them whatever assistance is possible - but the best thing you can do for them, and the first duty you have, whenever you fall on your knees in prayer before this gentle yet powerful King, whose day we celebrate today, is to pray for them - to ask God in His deep wisdom, to save His Church in China, and to set His people free, to worship Him, to give Him glory, and to live with one another in peace.

The second duty, is the duty that all families bear - to take care of their own, to come to the assistance of the members who are old, poor, sick, and any who cannot take care of themselves. It is said that the most striking feature of the early Church, in contrast to pagan society, was the fact that no one, no person - old, young, infirm, helpless, with whatever shortcoming or debilitation - no one among the Christians was unwanted, unloved, or without a home to go to.

In this world of ours, which in so many ways has reverted to the spirit of pagan times, let the Chinese people, especially those who have come here to the United States, remain a shining example of what the Church was, and is - a shelter for the homeless - a haven for the oppressed - a harbor for those who have wandered too far, and who want only to come home.

Dear friends of the Chinese community, your hearts are in two places, and yet, we know that they are not, for this, torn in two. For the love of Christ, which in you is so strong, has given you the ability to care no less for the home of your ancestors, than you do for the country you have embraced now as your own. You are an example to the entire Christian community, of what God's love, and the strength of man, can both endure and accomplish. I thank you - the Church thanks you - and together, let us thank God, for the blessings He has given us, blessings so bountiful, as to stretch from one side of the globe to the other. As the Psalm declares:

O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things…and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

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