1 Timothy 6:20
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you.
A bishop’s job is to preserve what has been entrusted to him. What has been entrusted to him is not a thing, not a mere body of doctrine, not a mere administrative structure, not a building full of chancery rats, not a bunch of pressure groups, not an idea, not a bevy of lawyers, not a gaggle of nuns with theories about incorporating Diana-worship into the Mass, not a seething nucleus of embittered malcontents who want to repeal Vatican II, not a public relations burden, not a debt load, and not a commission to protect a machine from the cries of outraged and wounded children and families. It is Jesus Christ. That’s it. A bishop who gives his people Jesus Christ and sees to it that his priests give them Jesus Christ is carrying out the task appointed him. He is teaching, sanctifying, and governing–as he should. To do this, he must live the gospel entrusted to him or, as we are painfully learning, he cannot do his office and he throws a shadow over those who are trying to. Today, pray for your bishop. He needs it now, more than ever.
