Why We Are Catholic: A Bishop's 12-Minute Defense of the Faith

 

Dinner With a Football Star

My name is Bishop Edward Burns. I am the Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas. I oversee the 77 parishes spread across nine counties in North Texas. Across those parishes, we have about 185 priests, a large number of deacons, and 1.4 million Catholics. It is a joy to be here at Mary Immaculate celebrating this confirmation.

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And right now, Pittsburgh is the site of the NFL Draft. We in Pittsburgh love our football, so we are all excited about that.

A number of years ago, our Catholic Bowl brought an NFL superstar in as grand marshal. The Catholic Bowl featured six Catholic high schools playing each other in football, with teams from Little Rock, Oklahoma, Houston, Fort Worth, and Dallas. The grand marshal that year was Rocky Bleier of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was my hero growing up, watching those Super Bowls.

The night before the big games, we went out for dinner. We were talking all things Steelers, all things football, when he turned to me. He knew I was from Pittsburgh, though we had never met before. He looked at me and said, “So Bishop, what brought you to Dallas?”

I said, “What brought me to Dallas? The Pope.”

It was the Holy Father who named me Bishop of this diocese. Before coming to Dallas, Pope Benedict XVI appointed me Bishop of Juneau, Alaska in 2009. I served in Alaska for seven years, and there are some days here in Texas when I wish a little of that Alaska weather would come down.

About nine years ago, Pope Francis appointed me Bishop of Dallas. I felt for all of you, because the previous Bishop, Bishop Farrell, was named a Cardinal and sent to the Vatican. And what a joy it was to learn that he later became the Camerlengo. He oversaw the Vatican and was responsible for all the details surrounding Pope Francis’ funeral. He made Dallas proud. But after he left, you were waiting for your new Bishop, and one day you learned he was coming from Alaska. And sure enough, here I am.

---

The Appointment of Bishops and the Unbroken Chain of Apostolic Succession

The point I want to make is this. I came to you, Bishop Farrell came to you, and every Bishop before us came to you through the appointment of the Pope. The Pope is the successor of St. Peter.

It was to Peter that Jesus said, “Peter, you are rock, and on this rock I will build my church, and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it.” Peter was appointed head of the apostles. And recognizing the need to pass on that authority to the next generation, the apostles laid their hands on the heads of the men they chose to carry the authority of the Church forward. That is called apostolic succession.

That laying on of hands, my friends, has never been broken.

Rejoice with me today, because this very morning I ordained six men to the diaconate. They are preparing for the priesthood, God willing, next year. And God willing, I will ordain them again to the priesthood through the imposition of hands.

When I was ordained a bishop, I was ordained by a bishop who was ordained by a bishop who was ordained by St. John Paul II, who was ordained by an archbishop in Kyiv. And that line goes all the way back to Jesus Christ. It has never been broken. The men ordained this morning received that same unbroken succession through the imposition of hands. That connection matters because this is the church established by Jesus Christ.

---

Why Are We Catholic?

So why are we Catholic? We are Catholic because we want to stay connected to Jesus Christ.

I was telling Father Alphonse that when you drive here, you pass a lot of churches before you arrive at Mary Immaculate. It seems like there is a church on every corner around here. And the question comes, especially for young people: why are we going to this corner and not some other corner?

Because we want to be part of the church established by Jesus Christ.

And going even deeper, we find in John’s Gospel that Jesus said to his disciples, “Unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you will not have life in me. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.” At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said, “This is my body.” Then he took the cup filled with wine, said the blessing, and said, “This is the cup of my blood.” And he gave us a new commandment: “Do this in memory of me.”

So every time we gather for Mass, we celebrate the Eucharist. And in celebrating the Eucharist, we recognize that it is his body, it is his blood, it is the cup of salvation that we participate in.

You can ask other Christian communities whether the communion they celebrate is actually the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Even the leaders of those communities will tell you, “No, it is a commemoration of the Last Supper. It is a memorial meal.” For us, we know that the saints gave their lives for the Eucharist. The martyrs shed their blood for Jesus present in the Eucharist. Jesus gave us a new and everlasting covenant in his body and his blood.

That is why we are Catholic. We are Catholic because we want to stay connected to the church established by Jesus Christ.

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work of Faith and evangelization.

---

Go Ahead and Google It

Now, you might be sitting there thinking, “Well, this is the Bishop speaking. The Bishop is a little biased.” Fair enough. So forget the Bishop for a moment.

Go home and Google it.

Ask Google: “Who started the Catholic Church?” Do not do it now. Put the phones away. Do it later, and then pray about what you find.

And while you are at it, find the name of any other Christian community and search: “Who founded” followed by that community’s name. You will find a person’s name every time. But when you search who founded the Catholic Church, you will find that it is Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We are Catholic because we want to stay connected to our Lord Jesus Christ. We are Catholic because he called this church to be his body in the world. And we cherish the fact that we are his disciples today. We cherish the fact that he continues to give of himself so that we can be strong.

---

A Call to Use the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Today, those of you stepping forward will receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those sevenfold gifts will lie dormant in you until you use them, until you exercise them.

I say to you: use them.

We need strong disciples of Jesus Christ today, now more than ever. A faithful disciple reflects his love, his compassion, his mercy, his forgiveness. A faithful disciple reflects the one we follow, the way, the truth, and the life.

And let me be honest with you. It is not easy being Christian in this world. It is not easy being Catholic. That is why our deacon proclaimed from the Gospel the words Jesus spoke to his disciples: “If they are going to persecute me, they are going to persecute you also.” If you speak the words of truth, if you speak the words of the Gospel, be prepared. In today’s world, in today’s society, that will invite persecution.

As your shepherd and your Bishop, I say this to you: stay strong in the faith. Stay close to our Lord Jesus Christ. Know that in following him, you will have the fullness of life. Use the gifts of the Holy Spirit and use them to be strong disciples of Jesus Christ.

---

Those of you who are ready to receive the sacrament of Confirmation, if your faith makes you ready to receive the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit, I invite you now to stand and renew your baptismal resolutions.

God Must Crush You: How Killing Your Comfort is the Only Way to Heaven

The Power of These Readings

The message today is very simple.

When preparing a homily, the first step is to read the readings. Before you come to Mass, read them. Sit with them. Something will capture your attention.

In the first reading, Peter stood up, raised his voice, and said: “Repent and be baptized.” In the second reading: “By his wounds, we have been healed.” And then this: “We have gone astray like sheep and have now returned to the shepherd.”

In the gospel, there is one verse that stands out. “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy. I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

It is almost as if Jesus is saying: I will also take something from you. But what I take, I replace with something far greater. Life. Abundance. More than what you had before.

You read those passages, you sit with them, and then things start happening throughout the week that bring them alive.

Hiding at Worship

On Wednesday, an invitation came to me to join a family for praise and worship. It turned out to be a little charismatic. Tapping a foot was about the extent of my participation. And to make things more interesting, they were live streaming. When I arrived, they sent me straight to the front. Everyone around me had arms up, open, and my hands were covering my face. 

I may not be invited back.

But they sang a song called “Abide.” The verse goes: For my waking breath, for my daily bread, I depend on you.

It is a beautiful song. Sitting there, I began asked myself honestly: how do I depend on God?

I started thinking negatively.

“I depend on God to make me feel good. I depend on God for my popularity. I depend on God for my power. I am the pastor. I’m the boss. If I say something, people do it. Not really, but that’s the theory.”

And there it was. Not dependence. Something closer to use. Using God as a prop for status, for authority, for comfort. Invoking God’s name to justify decisions rather than being in genuine union with God.

But then came a different thought. A harder one.

“I depend on God to crush me.”

There is no verse in that song about being crushed. No line about being knocked down, rebuilt, and lifted back up. But that is exactly what the readings were describing all along. Repentance. Wounds. Sheep gone astray. The thief who destroys so that life can come through.

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work of Faith.

At Our Weakest

Nobody wants to be crushed. Nobody signs up for that. But here is the proof that it works.

Every time my father was ill, before he died, the man was the nicest he ever was. Kind. Considerate. Patient. Gentle.

And how did you know he was better? When he started raising his voice again. When he began to complain, to argue and belittle people. That was the sign he had returned to full health.

It is almost funny. But it is also true. It’s true for me to. I have the same genetics.

In your weakest moments, have you ever noticed that you become more courteous? More vulnerable? More willing to ask for help and to offer it? The illness, the fear, the crisis strips away the armor and leaves something more human underneath.

The problem is that we do not stay there. We want to feel better. And the moment we do, we go right back to our old selves. The same genetics, the same habits, the same patterns. Taking everything for granted again.

Grace & Politicians (I Know!)

After a reception following the parish’s first communions and confirmations, getting back into the car around 10 PM, I turned the radio on. There had been a shooting scare at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Reporters in the dining hall had ducked for cover. People ran. The first lady’s face showed real fear. Even Wolf Blitzer from CNN said openly: “I was scared. I was terrified.”

And then something unexpected happened.

CBS reporter Weijia Jiang, who is always clashing with President Trump, asked him a question. But before that, Trump told her she looked lovely. He thanked her for organizing the dinner. He said she had done a beautiful job and that he felt terrible the evening had been disrupted.

She thanked him. Warmly.

Then she asked: “Mr. President, when all of this was happening, what was going on in your heart and your mind?”

And he said: “What a wonderful question. What an amazing question.”

That exchange had to be rewound to be believed.

Two people who are usually combative with each other, softened in an instant by a shared moment of fear. Humility showed up. Kindness showed up. Because something happened that reminded everyone in that room that they are human, that life is fragile, and that none of it is guaranteed.

When You Were Small

You pray to God that maybe we do not forget. That the fear and the vulnerability leave something behind.

If you are feeling high and mighty right now, think of a moment when you were scared. When you were weak. When you needed someone and you knew it.

Hold onto that moment. Keep it close.

Because that feeling, as uncomfortable as it is, is the thing that makes you more courteous, more kind, more dependent on something greater than yourself. It is the beginning of real growth.

The lesson is this:

• There is no Christ without the cross.

• There is no shortcut to heaven.

• There is no conversion without repentance.

• There is no first without being last.

• And there is no greatest without first feeling the lowest.

That is it. That is the whole message.

Amen?

Amen.

The Hardest Rule in Catholicism - And Why Your Teen Needs It

 

Confirmation Time!

Good afternoon, everyone. 

I am not the bishop. I am only Father Alfonso. We also have Father Juan and Deacon David here with us today to support all of you who are going to get confirmed.

It is much nicer to have the priest here, because I am not afraid to ask you questions. And so I am going to ask some of you.

Are you ready?

If you had to describe in just one word what it means to be a Catholic, to be a Christian, to be a follower of Jesus, what would that word be? Because that is what you are doing today. Today you are saying, I believe everything that Jesus said and did. I believe it is the best way to live your life. Even though it is very difficult, I still believe it is the best way to live your life.

Now, I want to ask some of you to stand up. Let everybody see how beautiful and elegant everyone looks today. Very, very nice.

Here is something I want to talk about. What is the rule in middle school? What is the rule in high school? You hate me, I hate you. That is the rule. You don’t like me, I don’t like you. You hurt me, I hurt you. You push me, I push you. You don’t talk to me, I don’t talk to you.

I know, because that was the rule when I was in high school too. Middle school is even worse. They make fun of you. At least in high school, people learn to be a little more subtle about it.

Now that you are getting confirmed, there is a new rule. What is the new rule?

I like you.

Hey, if you don’t like me, that is okay. I will always like you. You don’t want to talk to me? I am here for you. Isn’t that much harder? And isn’t it so much more beautiful?

---

One Word for What It Means to Be Catholic

If you had to describe in one word what it means to be a Catholic, what would you say?

One young man said: faithful. Beautiful. Faithful. I wasn’t even thinking of that one.

Another said: proud. Oh, beautiful. Proud. To be a Christian, you should be proud. It is like the highest form of evolution. I no longer live for myself. I live for others. You cannot get any higher than that. It is not survival of the fittest. It is the more you give, the more you receive.

Then someone said: loving. Yes. Love.

Now, I know what you are thinking. When I was your age, I would have rolled my eyes at that word too. Love? Can you pay your taxes with love? Can you pay your expenses with love? No. I used to think the same thing. If you walk into a grocery store and say “I love you” to the cashier instead of paying, they will throw you in jail.

I understand. I really do.

Hey! I’m publishing a book in the next few months on school leadership, for pastors who want to transform their parish from bored to booming. Check out 10LessonsinLeadership.com for more details.

---

What Six Weeks of Illness Taught Him About Love

But let me tell you something.

When I was sick, when I had an infection and needed surgery, I was in bed for six weeks. Six weeks. If I stood for two minutes, I was in pain and had to lay back down. I didn’t care how much money I had. I didn’t care about any of it. I felt alone.

You know what helped me?

One day, letters arrived. Small letters that the children of the parish had written to me. Little notes from the kids at the school and the church. One of them said, “Dear Father Alfonso, I am praying that you have a good surgery and a good recovery. I have missed your homilies and your preaching. You are the best priest of all, and you have taken care of my faith.”

When I was reading those letters, it was like something transformed inside me. I got stronger. I felt better.

Do not let anyone ever tell you that the more money you have, the happier you are. 

I know what you are thinking. “The better looking you are, the more popular you are, the better you feel.” Sure, you will feel good for a moment. But I will be honest with you. I am not the most beautiful or the best looking, but I believe I have a good heart. If someone loves me because I have a good heart, that is worth more than being loved for my hair or my nose or how I look.

If people love you for how you look or what you have, it means nothing. I prefer that people love me for who I am.

---

What Will Never Change

Boys and girls, let me tell you something. The world will change in 10 years, in 20 years, in 50 years, in 100 years. The world will be so different. But there is one thing that will never, ever change. When you love someone, it means everything to them. And the love that God has for you will never change. Never.

So if today you understand what I am telling you, great. But one day you will. That is a 100 percent guarantee. One day you will understand, because we all get old. And we realize that we need God in our lives.

---

What You Are About to Receive

Today you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. You will receive everything that the saints received. Everything. How you use it is up to you. But you will have everything that the apostles, the saints, the martyrs had. All the gifts you need to be a good person.

All you have to say is: this is what I want in my life, and this is how I want to live.

When you receive the oil, when I put it on your head, it is not going to be this dramatic, overwhelming moment. You are going to think, that’s it? That’s it.

Jesus is simple. Jesus is not Hollywood. Jesus is simple.

Think about it this way. In this country, when you do something amazing, they give you a medal or a certificate. And you feel good holding it. But that certificate only represents what you already are. When you receive the oil today, you are being confirmed as another Jesus Christ in the world. Do not waste the gift of the Holy Spirit. Be the best version of who you are, now and forever.

---

This Is Your Home

This is not meant to be a goodbye. This is your house. This is your home. We all need God. Why? Because we need to love and be loved. And God’s love is very pure.

Remember what we talked about. Why are you getting confirmed? Because you believe and you accept everything that Jesus said and did. And what did he do? He loved. He gave and he forgave. He gave and he forgave. And his love is pure.

It does not matter how much you have. It does not matter what clothes you wear or what house you live in. The only thing that matters is who you are.

Who are you?

You are a gift from God. You are a gift to the world.

If you ever forget that, it is because you stopped coming back to church. If you come back, you will never forget who you are. That you are a child of God. That you are a beautiful gift to this world.

Amen.