Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, and Bishop-designate Donald DeGrood of Sioux Falls, S.D., and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
St. Peter’s transformation from an erring disciple to the “rock” on which Jesus built his Church was not the result of lessons gleaned from a “self-help” book, but from growing ever closer to the Lord, said Bishop John M. Quinn of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota.
Standing before St. Peter’s tomb Jan. 13, Bishop Quinn was the principal celebrant and homilist at a Mass with the bishops of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota as they began their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to pray at the tombs of the apostles and report on the status of their dioceses.
In St. Peter’s Basilica early in the morning, before meeting Pope Francis, the bishops of the 10 dioceses renewed their profession of faith and offered special prayers for the pope.
“Jesus always sees more in every person he encounters than that person sees in themselves,” Bishop Quinn said in his homily. St. Peter is an obvious example: “Jesus knew he wasn’t the rock when he called him, but Peter becomes the rock.”
“Jesus sees in Peter the potential,” the bishop said. Peter reached that potential not because he learned “some self-help tips, it’s not because he read a few books on how to become a leader.”
Rather, he said, “Peter encountered Jesus” and allowed him to become the foundation of his life.
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There were times, the bishop said, that Peter was not a rock. He denied Jesus three times and at times was much more like “shifting sand” than solid rock.
Becoming “the rock” was a process that involved a daily encounter with a real person, learning about and coming to love Jesus and allowing his heart to be converted, the bishop said.
“Today we have great challenges in our Church,” he said. “Maybe none of us feels like the rock.”
But in faith, he said, the bishops know that Jesus will strengthen them as he strengthened Peter.
For that to happen, though, he said the bishops must devote time to getting to know Jesus, setting aside a “holy hour” each day, reading the Scriptures “so that Jesus becomes a person whom I want to follow and whose forgiveness and mercy in my life is a real encounter.”
“Every one of us is shifting sand,” Bishop Quinn said. “Every one of us needs Jesus Christ in our life. Don’t be afraid to come to him. Peter did and it changed his life, Peter on whom the Lord built his Church.”
“Be the rock,” he told his brother bishops, “but be the rock because Jesus has made you that solid.”
Bishop Donald J. Kettler of Saint Cloud, Minn., and Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., visit the tomb of St. Peter after concelebrating a Mass with U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop Donald J. Kettler of Saint Cloud, Minn., and Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., pray at the tomb of St. Peter after concelebrating a Mass with U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop John T. Folda of Fargo, N.D., left, and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop John M. Quinn of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minn., center, arrives with other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota to concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Young adults from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the Diocese of New Ulm, Minn., and the Diocese of Bismarck, N.D., attend a Mass with U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop-designate Donald DeGrood of Sioux Falls, S.D., and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota pray the Lord’s Prayer as they concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Auxiliary Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., center, and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota arrive to concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Archbishop Bernard Hebda center, and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota including Bishop Cozzens and Bishop-designate Donald DeGrood of Sioux Falls, S.D., concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner of Crookston, Minn., left, and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop John M. Quinn of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minn., gives the homily as U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop John M. Quinn of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minn., celebrates the Eucharist with U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop John M. LeVoir of New Ulm, Minn., center, and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Young adults from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the Diocese of New Ulm, Minn., and the Diocese of Bismarck, N.D., attend a Mass with U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Young adults attend a Mass with U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop Donald J. Kettler of Saint Cloud, Minn., and Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., visit the tomb of St. Peter after concelebrating a Mass with U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop Donald J. Kettler of Saint Cloud, Minn., returns to his seat after receiving Communion as U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop John M. LeVoir of New Ulm, Minn., center, and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop Donald J. Kettler of Saint Cloud, Minn., and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota arrive to concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, and Bishop-designate Donald DeGrood of Sioux Falls, S.D., and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Young adults from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., arrive with U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota for Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
Bishop John M. Quinn of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minn., and other U.S. bishops from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota pray as the concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Jan. 13, 2020. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Paul Haring
