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Why Catholic? Meet Bishop Edward C. Malesic
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‘God has an amazing plan for you,’ Bishop Malesic tells graduates

News of the Diocese

May 23, 2021

‘God has an amazing plan for you,’ Bishop Malesic tells graduates
‘God has an amazing plan for you,’ Bishop Malesic tells graduates
‘God has an amazing plan for you,’ Bishop Malesic tells graduates
‘God has an amazing plan for you,’ Bishop Malesic tells graduates
‘God has an amazing plan for you,’ Bishop Malesic tells graduates
‘God has an amazing plan for you,’ Bishop Malesic tells graduates
‘God has an amazing plan for you,’ Bishop Malesic tells graduates

Bishop Edward Malesic returned to familiar territory on May 21: St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

He had been scheduled to deliver the commencement address and to receive an honorary doctor of divinity degree last year, but the pandemic forced cancelation of the event so seminary officials rescheduled it for this year.

“I want to say just how good it is to be back at St. Vincent’s here in Latrobe. This place has played such an important part in my life,” the bishop said, noting he made annual retreats at the seminary and archabbey during his time as a priest in the Diocese of Harrisburg. “The (Benedictine) monks were always so hospitable and the atmosphere always so charged with mystical grace. And the food wasn’t too bad, either,” he quipped.

After his installation as the fifth bishop of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, he said the monks welcomed him once again.

“But we are here to talk about the graduates,” he said.

Bishop Malesic reflected on how the pandemic impacted the past year, noting that he hoped “God used the cross of the pandemic to bring about some greater good for you. Perhaps it brought you closer to each other as a community. It certainly taught all of us the need to row in the boat together, as Pope Francis reminded us last year. I hope the pandemic taught us the value of life and the need to protect it, sometimes at great cost. I hope it helped us to slow down a bit and appreciate the good things that are all around us,” he said. “I hope we come out of this pandemic better than when we went into it. In whatever way this pandemic affected you, you made it through to today,” he told the graduates.

“All of us here believe that God has an amazing plan for you – a plan that you might not yet fully grasp. If you have learned one thing studying theology it is that people are required to trust God over human beings, which means you must trust God even above yourself and your plans for yourself.”

He also told the graduates and guests that today there is much talk about the new evangelization, which he described as “a clarion call to bring the Gospel to our culture with new methods, ardor and style. You must also be a part of that new evangelization,” he said, encouraging them to become translators of what they know about God, his Church and his world so that the people in the pews and those who never venture into a church “can come to know the Gospel message in its simplicity and beauty … Yes, become translators of the Gospel for the culture of the modern world.”

There will be challenges, Bishop Malesic said, explaining that at times the graduates will have to distill a three-credit seminary course on the Eucharist into something the average second-grader can understand before receiving first Communion. “A good theologian should be able to talk to children about God, Jesus, the Church and salvation,” he said.

The bishop also encouraged the graduates to stay informed and up to date, to stretch their minds, talk together and keep their minds stimulated.

“Become men of service. Use it all for God’s people, including those on the fringes of faith,” he said, referring to their degrees and knowledge.

After degrees were conferred, the bishop received the honorary doctor of divinity in recognition of his work deepening the spirit of hope, encouraging others to take up the call of the new evangelization his dedication to sharing the joy of the risen Lord.

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