Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • December 20, 2024 15 72nd annual meeting of the Conference of Chancery and Tribunal Officials Six members of the Diocese of Biloxi Chancery attended the Conference of Chancery and Tribunal Officials in New Orleans December 3-5: Father Adam Urbaniak, Vicar General; Deacon Karl Koberger, Chancellor; Father Vincent Ajayi, Episcopal Vicar for Temporal Matters; Dave Wyrwich, Director of Lay Personnel; Father Bartosz Kunat, Adjunct Judicial Vicar; and Donna Brown, Moderator of the Tribunal. Archbishop Gregory Aymond celebrated the Mass along with a myriad of priests from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Our Diocese of Biloxi’s own Donna Brown of the Tribunal was lector. And our Vicar General, Fr. Adam Urbaniak, gave the outstanding homily! Mass was followed by the Archbishop’s Banquet at Notre Dame Seminary. Below is Father Adam’s Homily: Your Excellency Archbishop Aymond, My brother priests, My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, It’s a great honor and pleasure to stand here in this beautiful, recently renovated chapel of the Notre Dame Seminary and preach before this esteemed Sanhedrin -- pardon me, the chancery and tribunal officials. The Holy Mother Church gives us a perfect Gospel passage from Matthew. It invites us into a profound reflection on our vocation as officials of the Church. Whether in tribunals, chancery offices, or other areas of diocesan service, we are entrusted with a ministry that demands much of us -- our intel- lect, diligence, discernment, but, above all, our hearts formed by the love of Christ. Ever since I became a vicar general the prayer I most often go to is this invocation from the Litany of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto yours. Our ministry is a ministry that must balance justice and mercy, truth and compassion, all while remembering the sacred humanity of those we serve. The image of Christ presented in today’s Gospel offers us not only inspiration but also a spiritual blueprint for our service. Consider Jesus, who after healing the sick and restoring hope to the multitudes, performs a deeply human and divine act: He feeds them! Such a simple gesture, yet in this act, we glimpse the very heart of Christ, who cares for the whole person and whose compassion is never limit- ed by human constraints. The Gospel begins with a striking detail: Jesus ascends the mountain, and the crowds bring to Him their brokenness -- the sick, the suffering, the out- cast. He receives them, heals them, and remains with them. But He also notices their deeper, unspoken need: Their hunger. “I do not want to send them away hungry.” This insight is crucial for our ministry. At times we may be tempted to see only the “cases” before us -- files, documents, pro- cedures -- and miss the human faces behind them. While in reality each dec- ree, each deci- sion represents a person longing for clarity, heal- ing, and justice. And like Jesus, we are called to look beyond the paperwork and see the person -- their pain, their dignity, their hope. This is not just a practical necessity but a spiritual imperative. The heart of the Church’s ministry is always personal, rooted in the truth that every soul is precious in the eyes of God. Jesus could have easily sent the crowd away, reasoning that He had already healed their bodies and done enough, and that their physical hunger was a secondary concern. Yet His response reveals the nature of divine love: “My heart is moved with pity.” Compassion, not convenience, governs His actions. In our work, there are times when the demands seem overwhelming, the cases too complex, the resources too few. It is in these moments that Christ’s example calls us to allow compassion to be the engine of our ministry. It is true: compassion disrupts our comfort. It invites us to go beyond this Homily for the 72nd Conference of Chancery and Tribunal Officials of the Provinces of New Orleans and Mobile what is required, walk the extra mile, and see even the inconvenient needs of others as opportunities for grace. Like the disciples who questioned where bread could be found in such a deserted place, we may often feel inadequate. Yet Christ does not ask for what we do not have; He asks to bring what we do have, trusting in His power to transform it and mul- tiply it. The miracle of the loaves and fishes is not only a testament to Christ’s divine power but also a lesson in the mystery of grace. The disciples bring to Jesus their meager resources -- seven loaves and a few fish -- and He transforms them into an abundance that satisfies thousands. This is a profound encouragement for those of us in ministry. We may feel that our time, energy, or abilities are insufficient for the immense needs before us. But when we offer even our smallest efforts with faith and love, God multiplies them. The quiet, unseen work of reviewing cases, drafting decrees, or offering pas- toral counsel may seem insig- nificant, yet God uses these acts to bring healing and justice to His people. The Gospel’s Eucharistic over- tones are unmis- takable: Jesus takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and gives it to the crowd. This foreshadowing of the Last Supper reveals that Christ’s compassion extends beyond satisfying physical hunger. He offers Himself -- His very life -- for the salvation of the world. For us, this is a call to self-giving in our ministry. Like the bread that is broken and shared, our service must be an offering of love. This is not merely a job or an administrative task; it is a participation in Christ’s mission. To serve with a Eucharistic heart means to give of ourselves, even when it costs us personally. It means allowing our ministry to be a living witness to the self-giving love of Christ. As officials of the Church, we stand at the inter- section of justice and mercy, law and grace. This is no small calling. Every case we handle, every deci- sion we make, every person we encounter is an opportunity to reflect the heart of Christ. Today’s Gospel challenges me and all of us to embrace our ministry with renewed fervor: To see the person behind the process. Recognize their dig- nity, their story, their needs. To let compassion, not convenience, shape our work, trusting that God will provide the grace to meet every challenge. To offer what we have with faith, knowing that God multi- plies even the smallest gifts for His glory. And to serve with the Eucharistic heart of Christ, who gave everything so that we might have life. Let us pray for the grace to follow His example, that our work may become a channel of His healing, His justice, and His love for the people entrusted to our care. May we, like Christ, not send anyone away hungry -- hungry for truth, for mercy, for hope. Jesus meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto yours. Amen. Donna Brown Father Urbaniak