Bishop Wester celebrates 11th anniversary of ordination

Intermountain Catholic

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Elementary students bring forth the gifts to Chancellor Deacon Silvio Mayo (second from right), and Bishop John C. Wester during the celebration of the 11th anniversary of his Episcopal Ordination.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City celebrated his 11th Anniversary of Episcopal Ordination at a Mass in the Cathedral of the Madeleine Sept. 19. The Pastoral Center held a party following the bishop’s anniversary Mass to celebrate.

"In Oakland, Calif., there is Christ the Light Cathedral that has a huge, famous image of Christ in the back of the cathedral," said Bishop Wester in his homily. "And they used a computer to put little holes in a material. There is a window behind it, and at night when they turn on the lights, they shine through all the little holes onto this image of Christ.

"That image is a symbol for us today to reflect on the readings," said Bishop Wester. "It takes all those little dots together to form the one image of Christ, and we refer to the Church as the body of Christ. You and I are like those little dots of light. We let our light shine, as God wills, and when we all come together, we form the body of Christ – the Church."

Bishop Wester said we are all here, and you can’t remove any of us. God created us. We each have our place. And there are times when we have to be bold and courageous. Other times when we have to say gentle words and use words of compassion. There are times when we have to speak the word of prophecy, but they all come together to form the body of Christ.

"So as we gather today, we are grateful for who we are and for the light that shines forth from us," said Bishop Wester. "We are equally grateful that we can let our light shine with each other, because we realize that by ourselves we cannot project that picture of Christ. We need each other."

Bishop Wester said this is summarized in the Gospel, John’s dynamic of love. It is only love that prevents us from becoming selfish, egotistical, or feeling like my light is the most important. It is love that allows us to receive the light of others as well as being our own light.

"But it is not just love alone, it is love of Jesus and love of each other in Jesus," said Bishop Wester. "Jesus said ‘Abide in Me.’ And that is what I chose for my Episcopal motto – "Abide in Christ."

"We are to abide in Christ," said Bishop Wester. "That is where we get our nourishment, strength, and our very being. My pastoral role here is not about me, it is about you and us together living and abiding in Christ. My role is to listen, and figure out ways I can help the light of all of us shine brightly so the presence of Christ is keenly felt in our community, our state, our country, and our world.

"My job is to reflect your light in our diocese and reflect the light that is already there," said Bishop Wester. "So I thank you for enlightening me and for being Christ’s light in my life."