From Archbishop Donoghue

Ordination of J. Kevin Boland as Bishop of Savannah
April 18, 1995
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist
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Your Eminences, my brother Bishops, Reverend Fathers, brothers and sisters all,

On this day, Holy Mother Church, through the rites for the ordination of a bishop lays upon me a two-fold responsibility in the carrying out of my commission to preach the homily - first, I am to address the people of God who have gathered to witness this event, and who are truly the recipients of this special gift of God to the Diocese of Savannah, and then I am to speak some words to Bishop Boland himself, to recall for him the special responsibility of being a Bishop of the Catholic Church, and a legitimate successor of St. Peter and the Apostles.

This is not the first time I have had the privilege of standing before the clergy and people of this Diocese - Bishop Lessard, who will remain a vital memory in the history of this diocese, and whom we also honor today, has often extended the warm hand of invitation to me in the past - I, and countless others, are especially grateful for the fraternal support he has always shown, and which we know will continue to sustain us in his retirement. But even though I have visited often in the past, I am again, as always, moved by the living legacy of faith which you represent, and which renews itself by your presence here today. Savannah holds a place of prestige in the history of American Catholicism, and God alone can count the number of souls that have found their way to His Church through the efforts of the people and clergy of this pioneering diocese.

But our recollection today reaches further into history than the origins of this local church. Indeed, today we look back to those times when Jesus entrusted the safety and care of His Church to the men He had chosen to follow Him in the sacred priesthood. For from the beginning, the Lord had it in mind that His followers would not be left without guidance and example, and from the beginning He desired that His Church would have bishops, to guard the deposit of Faith, and to serve the needs, not of a few, but of all.

And though we bishops are but men, we all try to follow the profile of Jesus Christ, incorporating into our lives the spirit of service which He exemplified perfectly, and upon which He founded His Church. On this level, it is possible to know the future of Bishop Boland, and to know the future of his time here in Savannah. For we believe what St. Paul says of the Lord’s ministers - we believe that our new Bishop “will not give in to discouragement, that he will not falsify the word of God, and that he will not preach himself but instead, Jesus Christ as Lord.

We make known these expectations to our brother, not because we would coerce him into being one manner of person or another, but because we wish to entrust to him the confidence of the people he will now lead, and for whom he will now care.

And this confidence is not without foundation. The man who is now called to be your bishop, to be the servant of all the servants of Christ in this area, is no stranger. Rather, he is a man already well practiced in serving the people of Savannah and Southern Georgia - a man described not in terms of his own accomplishments, but in terms of what he has accomplished for others - His worth has been proven by years of work among us - his generosity by the multiplicity of tasks with which he has been charged, and which he has accepted joyfully, not as burdens, but as blessing. This is not only the proof of what your bishop will be, it is also the recognition of what he has already done, flowing from the hearts of his faithful friends, a blessing of gratitude which will now enrich and fortify him for the tasks ahead.

And so, my brothers and sisters, today, in the person of Bishop Boland, we welcome our link with the Apostles, given to us by the trust of St. Peter’s successor, Pope John Paul II, and raised into the college of bishops by the laying on of hands and anointing with holy chrism. Respect him as a minister of Christ and a steward of the mysteries of God. He has been entrusted with serving you unfailingly in the spirit of the Gospel, and with the authority that Christ Himself conferred when He said to the Apostles: “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me.”

The second part of my duty today is to address the candidate himself, and for this, I am hesitant to offer any particular words of my own device, but rather, I will turn once more to the wisdom of Sacred Scripture.

Dear brother, though often filled with the undeniable power of his own personality, St. Paul never fails to curb what might be his pride, and reassert the power of God to rule our lives. When he says, “God has saved us and has called us to a holy life, not because of any merit of ours, but according to his own design, “ he utters perhaps the best message than anyone could share with a new bishop. For like St. Paul, we are called to a position of power, of governance, of administrative competence, and our human natures, if left unchecked, may grow too fond of the control we exercise. For this reason, Holy Mother Church has always confirmed the necessity of our living according to the wisdom of her counsel - according to the holy virtues of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These saving counsels, if faithfully attended, will yield immeasurable results on behalf of Jesus Christ and for the welfare of His Church. But we have a task above the simple observance of these virtues - with the strength that we gain from their exercise, we also share the task of absolute fidelity to the teaching they represent, and the charge of never withholding or obscuring the light of that teaching before the eyes of the Faithful. Again, to quote St. Paul, “Guard the rich deposit of faith with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.” Therefore, brother, strive, as all your brother bishops strive, to be a faithful steward, overseer and guardian of the mysteries of Christ. Ask the Holy Spirit for His light, that through you, the eyes of your priests, of your deacons, of your religious, and of all the faithful may see the radiant face of the Lord, who looks to them through you, with love and fairness

My brothers and sisters, we share a great opportunity today, here in this Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the principal Church of the Diocese of Savannah.

We share first, the chance to reinvigorate our own faith at the splendid table of this sacrament, where Christ presides, and where He has called Bishop Boland to be His vicar for the people of the Savannah Diocese, in a line distinguished by many great Servants of God;

second, we share the opportunity to be a sign to the world of the greater reality of Jesus Christ, whose presence dwells among us in the Eucharist we profess, who makes us one, and who is the only Light that can possibly save the world from the darkness which always threatens;

and finally, each of us, in the private depths of our souls, share the opportunity to thank God the Father Almighty for the supreme gift we recall during this Easter Season - that “He has robbed death of its power and has brought life and immortality into clear light through the gospel.”

From this wealth of opportunity then, may we find all the courage we need to go back into the world, to face the varied occupations of our days, to meet and overcome the challenges that await us, and to do it all with the confidence of the Magdalene, whose words to the Apostles were few in number but infinite in power - for we are the inheritors of her faith, who returned to where the disciples were and who said to them, “I have seen the Lord!”

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