Bishop Mengeling surprises many by performing Lansing ordination

I just returned from the Ordination Mass of Rev. John Linden. Most notable among the day's events was the attendance of our Bishop of Lansing, Carl Mengeling, who had previously cancelled performing the ordination because of his recent bout with cancer [I've been covering that story here].

Mengeling's decision to attend the ordination was last-minute enough that the programs still thanked Bishop Murray of Kalamazoo (who had been asked to preside in Mengeling's absence) for consenting. Incidentally, Bishop Murry is also past his retirement age. Bishop Mengeling had already missed the ordination of a permanent deacon for the diocese of Lansing in May, and it was with great joy that the Lansing presbyterate and faithful welcomed their Bishop back to his chair.

Father Linden, during his post-ordination comments, was clearly moved by the heroic effort of his Bishop, saying that if he needed an example of priestly ministry poured out "to the last drop" for his flock, he needed to look no farther than the presider's chair.

Bishop Mengeling mentioned his illness and recovery during the homily, saying that the Lord had "granted him more time for conversion." The diocese of Lansing website states that his recuperation "... is considered exceptional and almost miraculous by medical standards, given the type of cancer he had." All this, and he just celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood [read an interview here.] He spoke of his willingness to continue ministering as Bishop of Lansing for the "weeks or months" before Rome relieves him.

The moderator of the Lansing Curia, Rev. Msgr. Michael Murphy, took the microphone after the celebration to voice the thoughts of the congregation: "It's good to have our shepherd back."

As for the man being ordained, I knew Father Linden briefly while he was at Sacred Heart and have great confidence in his ability to be an excellent priest for Christ and his Church.

More good things are on the horizon for the diocese of Lansing. Bishop Mengeling also mentioned during his comments that - while Pope Benedict reminds us that God does not speak through statistics - the diocese of Lansing can still boast 14 new men entering seminary this fall.

Now that's an encouraging statistic, and maybe even an instance of God speaking to his Church.