‘Be a humble shepherd,’ Archbishop McGovern advises Bishop O’Donnell before ordination

The following was written for The Catholic Missourian, the newspaper of the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri.

Hymns, incense and prayers of intercession filled the Cathedral of St. Joseph the evening before Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell’s ordination and installation, as several hundred people from throughout the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, prayed Solemn Vespers with him.

The altar where the new bishop would minister in persona Christi — in the person of Christ — at Mass the next day held a Crucifix and a single flickering candle.

“As we pray for the Holy Spirit to come down upon you, may you be a shepherd and a sign of hope and help for all the people you will serve in the years ahead,” Archbishop Michael G. McGovern of Omaha, Nebraska, Bishop O’Donnell’s home archdiocese, told him in the homily for the service.

Joining them in the cathedral were Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, who presided; Monsignor Robert A. Kurwicki, who was serving as diocesan administrator; and a vast assembly of bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful from the Diocese of Jefferson City and beyond.

Among them were Bishop O’Donnell’s mother, siblings and other members of his family.

Archbishop McGovern encouraged the bishop-elect to be a self-sacrificing shepherd and to help all people discover Christ and turn to him as their Savior.

JULIE SMITH

The archbishop thought back to a five-day spiritual retreat he had taken before being ordained a bishop in 2020.

On Day 3, his retreat director asked him, “Who is the Jesus you want people to discover?”

“I offer that question this evening to Bishop-elect O’Donnell,” Archbishop McGovern said in his homily.

“Who is the Jesus you want the people of this great diocese and beyond to discover?” he asked. “I hope your answer includes the truth that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd Who walks with us and if we follow Him in life leads us to the Father’s house.

“This is the Jesus we can hope as priests, as bishops, that people will discover through our ministry, through our life together in community,” he stated.

The archbishop pointed out that Bishop O’Donnell, in the course of his own life, has experienced Jesus’ loving care as a Shepherd.

“In turn, you have offered to be a shepherd for others, as Christ has called you in your ministry of deacon and for many years as a priest of Omaha,” Archbishop McGovern noted. “And now (He) calls you to be a shepherd for the people of the Diocese of Jefferson City.”

This presents an opportunity for the new bishop to grow closer to Christ, the Good Shepherd, “and in turn to help others through your ministry, through your life, to discover Jesus the Good Shepherd in THEIR lives.”

He pointed to the documents of the Second Vatican Council, which reinforce that being “good shepherds who know their sheep and whose sheep know them” is an essential part of the life of a bishop.

“To do this effectively, bishops should order their lives in keeping with the needs of the times and so be ready for every good work, enduring all for the sake of God’s chosen ones,” the Council Fathers wrote in “Christus Dominus,” the Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops.

So, who specifically needs a shepherd today in the world and in this diocese?

Archbishop McGovern suggested beginning with people who are poor, sick and otherwise in need.

“They do not need discussions and theories,” he proclaimed. “They need love!”

Likewise, people who are hungry cannot wait for the rest of the world to come up with a perfect answer — “they need effective solidarity TODAY, NOW.”

The same goes for people who are dying, for immigrants, for defenseless children in the womb: “They need loving human presence and a caring hand.”

The archbishop noted that Bishop O’Donnell was to be ordained and installed on the Feast of St. Simon the Zealot and St. Jude Thaddeus, two of Jesus’s 12 Apostles. People throughout the world turn to St. Jude for intercession as the patron saint of people who are helpless or hopeless.

“They are people who need a good shepherd in their lives,” the archbishop said.

JULIE SMITH

In that spirit, Pope Leo XVI sent Bishop O’Donnell to this diocese to be a shepherd who is eager to serve, to be an example to the flock, “trusting that the Lord Jesus Who is guiding and helping you will enable you to be a strong shepherd for your people, sharing with them their burdens and their sorrows, and leading them to the font of joy in life with Jesus Christ, who offers us his love and his friendship.”

Archbishop McGovern called to mind a point the late Pope Francis made in a homily to priests during the Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2016:

“In the Eucharistic celebration, we rediscover each day our identity as shepherds. In every Mass, may we truly make our own Christ’s words: ‘This is my Body, which is given up for you.’”

That is the meaning of the life of a priest, and accordingly that of a bishop.

The archbishop also shared something Pope Leo XIV had preached the previous day while ordaining a bishop: “The first lesson every bishop must learn is humility. Not humility in words but that which dwells in the hearts of those who know they are servants, not masters; shepherds, not the owners of the flock.”

Archbishop McGovern called upon the Blessed Mother and all the saints to watch over Bishop O’Donnell and intercede for him, “that you may truly be a humble shepherd to the people the Lord has called you to serve.”

JULIE SMITH

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