by Bishop Paul R. Sanchez
There is an intriguing passage in the Book of Daniel where the angel of the Lord seizes the prophet Habakkuk “by the crown of his head and carries him by the hair” (Daniel 14:36) and transports the prophet from Judea to Babylon with the speed of the wind. Habakkuk is then able to feed Daniel in the lions’ den.
This passage took on a new significance for me after I received a phone call from the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, on April 25, 2012 announcing that the Holy Father has named me an Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens. The phone call stirred up within my heart feelings of awe and fright and humility and prayer.
An angel would not be able to carry me by the hair of my head because of a lack thereof. Nevertheless, I certainly felt that I had been transported to a new place. On one level, the news was a “game-changer” in my life. On another level, the news brought me to my knees and ushered me into a retreat-like week.
From Wednesday, April 25, the day of the call, until Wednesday, May 2, the day of the public announcement, I experienced seven days of rich prayer and reflection. My life passed before me. I found myself contemplating the many people who have been part of my life, all of them images of God’s abundant graces. This reflection brought me memories of my loving parents, brother, sister and brother-in-law; of my extended family; of the reception of my sacraments at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Brooklyn; of my nieces and their husbands; and of my grandnieces and grandnephews, one of whom is already with God.
I recalled the memories of feeling called to study for the priesthood beginning from my days in the seventh grade. I cherished the memory of never knowing for certain but intuiting with confidence that faithful priests, nuns and brothers prayed in ways unseen for my vocation to the priesthood.
About six weeks before I received the phone call from Archbishop Vigano, I was privileged to make a retreat in Assisi, Italy, the birthplace and burial town of St. Francis. On the second day of that retreat, the director, Father Peter Damien, O.F.M. Conventual, reflected on the words of Psalm 94: “if today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”
Father Damien spoke of how our ways are sometimes not God’s ways and our projects are not God’s projects. He later encouraged us to respect the Providence of God by stating that “the power of God would never take you where the grace of God would not sustain you.”
I was unaware at the time of the retreat that Father Damien’s words would hold such profound meaning for me after receiving the Archbishop’s phone call. I truly rejoice in the marvels of God’s ways. God has nourished my life with the courageous and generous witness of so many people of faith and love.
During that retreat-like week, from the Archbishop’s phone call to the public announcement, these words of Scripture were sounding in my heart: “who has known the mind of God? Who has been His counselor?” and “I will call this to mind as my reason to have hope: The favors of the Lord are not spent…they are renewed each morning so great is His faithfulness.”
I accept this new ministry of Auxiliary Bishop with profound humility and respect for God’s grace. I also accept it in gratitude for all of you who have been part of my life in ways seen or unseen. To paraphrase the priest poet John Shea, who wrote a poem called “A Prayer for a Bishop,” I pray that my future bishop’s ring “may fit the finger” of each of you. Glory to God forever!
From left, a young Paul Sanchez, graduate of St. Vincent Ferrer School, East Flatbush; graduation photo from Cathedral Prep, Brooklyn; as a seminarian with his parents; and as a monsignor swinging a big stick.
