Archbishop Wester says goodbye to Utah

Friday, May. 29, 2015

One of my favorite quotes is from T.S. Eliot’s Little Gidding: “We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

One of the reasons I like this quote so much is that it captures two important themes in our experience: the need to explore and the need for continuity in that journey. The quote captures the mystery of being away from home, but never far from it. An analogy might be the baseball player who hits a home run: He starts at home and ends up at home, but covers a lot of distance in between, and when he crosses home base things are not the same – in fact, at times the whole game has changed!

As I prepare to leave the Diocese of Salt Lake City, a place I have come to call home, I give thanks to God for the journey of these past eight years. I also am looking around “as if for the first time” and with renewed gratitude. I am aware, too, of how much I have grown because of all of you, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Although I knew little of our state when I arrived eight years ago from San Francisco, I now am familiar with its beauty, from Logan to St. George, from Vernal to Wendover and so many places in between.  (With great thanks to the generosity and driving skills of Deacon Lynn Johnson!) More importantly, I know you, the people of this great diocese, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

By celebrating with you Confirmations, anniversaries, the jubilees of our religious sisters, high school graduations, special birthdays or just a quiet weekday Mass, I have come to know of the deep faith, generous hearts and loving spirits of all of you.

I am proud of our lay ecclesial ministers, permanent deacons and their wives, religious sisters and all the lay faithful who live the Catholic faith with great enthusiasm, and thus participate in the New Evangelization that is so important in our time. I have been the recipient of your kindness many times over and I will never forget the hospitality, warmth and love that you have shown me.  I am a better person and a better bishop because of you.

In a special way I have grown because of our splendid priests. Our presbyterate is comprised of priests from a great variety of cultures, countries of origin, ages and backgrounds. At the same time, there is a unity and a common concern for each other that marks our presbyterate as truly graced. Our priests have taught me once again the importance listening attentively to the needs of others, of valuing relationships over administrative efficiency, and of trusting in God always and in all things.

My colleagues at the Pastoral Center and the Chancery, as well as at Catholic Community Services and Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery, have also been a source of great strength and encouragement.  I have worked closely with them and I value their competence and generous spirit. It is amazing to me that they keep their positive outlook and kind demeanors despite the pressures and difficulties they sometimes face.  In particular, I will always be grateful to Monsignors Fitzgerald and Bircumshaw for their unfailing support and assistance. I cannot imagine my life and ministry here without them.

The Lord is working beautifully in this local Church and it has been one of the greatest gifts of my life to share in the work of the Holy Spirit in this portion of the vineyard – Catholic education and religious education; youth and young adult ministry; outreach to the poor and marginalized and disabled; hospitality to the stranger in our midst; the Pastoral Planning process; Stewardship; advances in diocesan communications, especially on the social media front; the Intermountain Catholic newspaper and the diocesan archives; all the support services rendered by finance, the Catholic Foundation of Utah, the Development and Liturgy Offices, the Tribunal, Safe Environment, the Vocations Office, Family Life, Hispanic Ministry and so many more – these are just some of the graces that weave their way through my grateful thoughts.

Our diocese is blessed with many cultures. Immigrants have enriched us and made us a stronger Church that reflects the face of God in its splendor and diversity. I pray that this diocese will continue to integrate the beauty of our cultural traditions as we worship God as one family of believers, united in Christ.

I thank God especially for the ordinations – both to the priesthood and the permanent diaconate – that have graced these past eight years.  With you, I have given thanks to God for calling these men to ordained service and I look forward to returning to our beautiful Cathedral to ordain Deacons David Trujillo and Joseph Delka to the priesthood as well as our seminarian, Jorge Martinez, to the diaconate in Mexico. I am also pleased that we have a new class of permanent deacons in formation; your new bishop will ordain them in about two years.

For me, our beautiful Cathedral with its magnificent liturgy program and the Madeleine Choir School represents my starting place as your bishop.  I am indebted to Msgr. Mayo and Father Diaz, who have given and continue to give so much to the support and development of the Cathedral of the Madeleine.  Of course, the Cathedral is a place for all of us, where we are all at home with God. The beauty of our mother church raises our hearts in worship and in thanks to our loving God.  The Cathedral represents all of us together around the one altar, as we are nourished by Word and Sacrament. 

I hope to return again and again to our splendid Cathedral, my “starting place,” knowing that when I do I will be returning to you, my dear brothers and sisters, who have been and always will be such an important part of my journey, and whom I look forward to greeting “for the first time.”

God bless you all and please keep me in your generous prayers.

Yours in Christ,

+Archbishop John C. Wester