“In faith, hoping against hope” A look at Bp. Wübbe’s motto

This afternoon will see the consecration of Bishop Johannes Wübbe, who will be auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Osnabrück and titular bishop of Ros Cré. The Mass, in which the new bishop will be consecrated by Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, ordinary of Osnabrück, and Bishops Norbert Werbs, auxiliary of Hamburg, and Theodor Kettmann, emeritus auxiliary of Osnabrück, will be streamed life from three o’clock local time via the diocesan website.

Bishop Wübbe’s coat of arms, displayed below, takes inspiration from his background: the ear of grain taken from the coat of arms of his native Lengerich, and the wheel which also appears in the coat of Osnabrück. The motto that Bishop Wübbe chose is derived from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans: “In spe credere” refers to the line “Abraham, then, believed, hoping against hope; and thus became the father of many nations” (4:18).

This line is further explained in the following verses (20-25):

“Counting on the promise of God, he did not doubt or disbelieve, but drew strength from faith and gave glory to God, fully convinced that whatever God promised he has the power to perform.

This is the faith that was reckoned to him as uprightness. And the word ‘reckoned’ in scripture applies not only to him; it is there for our sake too — our faith, too, will be ‘reckoned’ because we believe in him who raised from the dead our Lord Jesus who was handed over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification.”

God’s promise is not without reason, and it is certainly not impossible for Him. Abraham’s example shows us that, in faith, we may always have hope. Abraham certainly did not know how God would make him the father of many nations, and in many cases we will not know hom God will fulfill His promises. But that is no reason not to hope. But having hope is not only something we are invited to do, it will also be reckoned as a measure of our faith.

Faith leads to hope. Faith is made visible through the hope we have and share.

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The harvest continues – Fr. Johannes Wübbe appointed as auxiliary of Osnabrück

Clearly, it’s the season for new bishops in Germany. Following Freiburg im Breisgau and Cologne, the Diocese of Osnabrück gets a new auxiliary bishop. He is 47-year-old Johannes Wübbe, a priest since 1993 and the first bishop to be consecrated, on 1 September, in Osnabrück’s St. Peter’s Cathedral since 1989.

Fr. Johannes Wübbe has been, until today, parish priest in four towns just west of Osnabrück. Before his ordination, he studied Catholic theology in Münster and Freiburg. His first assignment as priest was in the city of Osnabrück, with the added task of the pastoral care for the city’s Catholic youth. In 1997, he was appointed to Meppen, just across the border from where I was born and raised (as a personal aside). In 2000, he was appointed to spearhead the diocesan pastoral care for the youth. In 2010, he was assigned to his current placement in the towns of Spelle, Schapen, Venhaus and Lünne.

Bishop-elect Wübbe will work with Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, who has been the ordinary of Osnabrück since 1995. Although there is no real concept of auxiliary bishops succeeding one another, in Germany there are several dioceses which do have a traditionally set number of auxiliaries, each tasked with the pastoral care of a specific region or field. Bishop-elect Wübbe, in that sense, succeeds Bishop Theodor Kettmann, who retired in November of 2011, and may then take over the responsibility for the Caritas and other social services in the Diocese of Osnabrück that Bishop Kettmann has held until today.

As a titular see, Bishop-elect Wübbe has been assigned Ros Cré in Ireland, previously held by Bishop Heiner Koch before the latter was appointed to Dresden-Meiβen. His motto is a paraphrase from the Letter to the Romans: In spe credere (4:18), which means “to believe in hope” or “hopefully believing”.

Photo credit: Bistum Osnabrück