I truly love the Emmaus story, when two disciples decide to call it quits and hightail it out of Jerusalem. Jesus has been killed in humiliating fashion on a cross and his mission has failed. They are afraid of being arrested and meeting a similar fate. Suddenly, a stranger walks up beside them, and over the course of their journey, he opens their minds to the Scripture passages that foretold the death, crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord. When they invite the stranger to stay with them at the inn, he takes the bread and breaks it and their eyes are opened. They then see Christ who vanishes from their sight. He had been with them all along! They immediately turn back toward Jerusalem, their hearts burning within them.
If one could choose a word to describe this encounter, perhaps it would be the word “accompaniment.” Accompaniment is at the heart of the Church’s mission. It is the act of walking alongside others with love, patience and understanding. Just as Christ journeyed with his disciples, Catholics are called to be present in the lives of others, offering hope and solidarity. Through accompaniment, the Church fosters a community where no one walks alone.
Who are those people we need to accompany and journey with as Christ did? Who are the most vulnerable in our human family with whom we are called to be in solidarity? How can we be true pilgrims of hope in the closing months of this Jubilee Year of Hope?
We can begin with young people. A 2021 Harvard survey found that 61% of U.S. young people ages 18-25 felt profoundly lonely. Loneliness and social isolation are serious public health concerns among the elderly. Immigrant families are experiencing great fear and isolation arising from widespread anti-immigration sentiment and discrimination.
We also cannot ignore what Pope Francis identified as the “technocratic paradigm”— the belief that technology and economic growth can solve any problem — as the primary driver of humanity’s alienation from the earth. He posited that this mindset leads to a “throwaway culture” that devalues nature and marginalizes people. We also need to be in solidarity with the earth, our common home.
As we walk through November, a season of gratitude and thanksgiving, let our theme also be a spirit of accompaniment. Will you join me in committing ourselves to walking alongside others with love, patience and understanding, offering hope and solidarity to all we meet? Let us foster in our diocese a spirit of community where no one walks alone. And remember, Christ is with us all along!
Yours in Christ,
Bishop Patrick M. Neary, CSC
“Accompaniment is at the heart of the Church’s mission. It is the act of walking alongside others with love, patience and understanding.”
As a former parishioner of Holy Cross Church, Harding, I find irony in this message. The motto of “All Things New” is “Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future.” When the Catholic Church at Platte burned in 1917, Bishop Joseph Busch, with foresight and pastoral concern, decided to build the new church in the neighboring village of Harding. This location would be more accessible to the Catholic population located in the remote rural and lake areas in the northeastern area of the diocese.
The current plan for the area which now includes the parishes in Harding, Lastrup, Buckman and Pierz, calls for closure of the two northeastern parishes and keeps open Pierz and Buckman which are six miles apart. Harding itself is twelve miles from either of those locations and the distance is greater for those to the north and east. Pastoral concern would suggest that one of the northeastern parishes remain open as well as one more centrally located. Or, if three Masses are permitted on a weekend, why not have one in an area nearer the parishioners? Catholics residing in the lakes area to the east, who regularly attended Harding particularly in summer, are unlikely to travel the additional distance to Pierz or to Buckman.