By Dan Waters
Most Rev. Mark Bartosic offered the plenary address on Friday morning of the NACC retreat last week.
Bishop Bartosic, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago, greeted the congregation with, “I’ve never entered a church with everyone singing like that!” His topic, “How My Right Hand Walked Me Through the County,” expanded the retreat theme of “Remember the Treasure.” Earthen vessels, in the sense of down-to-earth and practical, were touch points throughout his address.
A story from his parish work explored care to those with mental illness. Once, he remembered, his homily on the hypostatic union (Jesus divine and human) put the weekday parishioners to sleep – but a gentleman who battled bipolar syndrome resonated deeply with the idea of two natures existing in one person.
Bishop Bartosic’s two years of chaplaincy in the Cook County Jail allowed further development of a “five-finger catechism” – hence the title of his address. A sacramental connection was tied to each of these fingers:
- The Word became flesh – Holy Orders and Matrimony
- He gave his life on the cross – Baptism
- So that we might call God’s son our brother – Holy Communion
- In calling him brother we claim his father as our own – Confirmation
- Which gives direction to my life and meaning to my suffering – Reconciliation
Stories of the earthen vessels of himself, his parents and siblings came back to finding and renewing direction in one’s life, and to the deep challenge of finding meaning in suffering. A doctor once told his parents that they would have no children, but they ultimately had seven children. He also shared his personal journey of moving to Chicago to pursue a career in theater, then entering the seminary, and then becoming a bishop.
A deeper dive into suffering invited his hearers to consider the thought of bringing even the parts of life we are ashamed of to the altar. This is the antithesis of the statement “my life is a waste,” because through Jesus everything is healed. He shared stories of his mother’s death a year and a half ago, and the story an inmate in Cook County Jail facing a retrial that could lead to release or more jail time. Amazingly, this person said that he was good with either outcome – because “I like who I am now.” No matter what, his life is not a waste.
Deacon Dan Waters, BCC, is director of mission at St. Charles Hospital in Oregon, OH, and director of spiritual care for Mercy Health Toledo Market.
