Shepherds After Christ’s Heart

With our diocesan clergy brothers during our visit to the Basilica of Saint Josaphat in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 29, 2026.

Last year, every Thursday evening, we met on Zoom with one of our parishes to talk about our diocesan theme, “Love One Another.” We often began with a simple icebreaker question: “Who, for you, best reflects this commandment to love one another?” I was deeply moved when, in parish after parish, many gave the same answer: “Our pastor, our Der Hayr.”

It tells us something beautiful about the life of our Diocese. Love in the Church is not only spoken from the pulpit, but lived and carried faithfully, day after day.

We see this love before the Holy Altar, at the baptismal font, in hospital rooms, at funerals, in Sunday School classrooms, at youth gatherings, and even in the church kitchen, around a table, in simple and human moments. And at the center of all those places stands the priest.

The priest is the breath of the Diocese within his community. He is often the one who opens the church doors early in the morning and closes them at the end of the day. He proclaims the Word of God. He blesses, baptizes, anoints with Holy Muron, and crowns couples in the sacrament of marriage.

He comes close when people are sick, grieving, suffering, or searching for hope. Like a father and a brother, he shares in the joys and sorrows of his people.

So much of this love happens quietly, when no one is applauding. It happens in phone calls, in visits, in prayers whispered by name, in burdens carried silently before God. And yet this hidden love is one of the strongest foundations of our diocesan life.

Today, I give thanks to God for the clergy of our Diocese. I thank them for their faithfulness, for their endurance, for their patience, for their compassion, and for the countless ways they pour themselves out in service. I thank them for loving the people entrusted to them. I thank them for being shepherds in the image of Christ.

Let’s pray for our clergy more often and let’s encourage them more intentionally, as they continue to walk with us, serve us, and lead us closer to our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Shepherd of us all.