“Everything for everyone” – Herwig Gössl consecrated in Bamberg

In a full cathedral basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul and St. George, Archbishop Ludwig Schick consecrated the new auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Bamberg, Herwig Gössl, at 47 Germany’s fourth-youngest bishop.

In his homily, Archbishop Schick outlined the full calling of a bishop, to be everything for everyone: a bishop has to proclaim the entire Gospel and the entire faith and celebrate all of sacramental life. The entire diocese, all of humanity and the entire world is his work place. He also quoted Pope Francis in saying that a shepherd has to have the smell of his sheep, that he has to be close to his people.

Going further back in time, the archbishop also passed on some advice from Saint Boniface, the Apostle of the Germans, who said that bishops “should not be dogs who don’t bark, not silent onlookers and unpaid servants who flee before the wolf,” but good shepherds “who watch over the flock of Christ. Let all of us, great and small, rich and poor, people of all ranks and ages, proclaim all of God’s plan, to the extent that God, conveniently or not, gives us the strength.”

Among the other bishops present at the consecration were Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg and Heiner Koch of Dresden-Meiβen and the auxiliaries Wolfgang Bischof of München und Freising, Florian Wörner of Augsburg, Reinhard Pappenberger of Regensburg and Otto Georgens of Speyer. Bishops Karl Braun and Werner Radspieler, retired auxiliary bishops of Bamberg, served as co-consecrators.

Bishop Gössl chose a simple style of staff, ring and pectoral cross, but is not a stranger to symbolism, as his coat of arms shows:

The motto comes from the Gloria, “You alone [are] the Lord”. On the red half of the shield we see Mount Tabor, on which Jesus, his monogram shown above the mountain, was glorified. The red refers to the sacrifice about which He speaks with Moses and Elijah (Luke 9:28-36). This Gospel passage is, of course, read on the second Sunday of Lent, the day of Bishop Gössl’s consecration. The right half of the shield shows the coat of arms of the city of Bamberg and below it a river, which is to be understood as the River Jordan and an image the Sacrament of Baptism. The river can also refer to the places where Bishop Gössl worked as a priest: Pegnitz, Seebach, Regnitz and Main. The colours of the coat of arms can, finally, also be seen to refer to his birth place of Munich (gold and black) and to Nuremberg, where he attended school (red, silver and black).

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The Transfiguration of the Lord

A detail from the Transfiguration by Raphael

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Transfiguration. All three the synoptic Gospels include this occurence on Mount Tabor. St. Luke writes:

Now about eight days after this had been said, he took with him Peter, John and James and went up the mountain to pray. And it happened that, as he was praying, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became sparkling white. And suddenly there were two men talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they woke up and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what he was saying.
As he was saying this, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’
And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.

Gospel of Luke 9: 28-36

This is not the only time that Jesus changes His appearance, but it is the only time before His death on the cross. After the Resurrection, there are multiple instances where He physically appeared to the Apostles (they could touch Him and they ate breakfast together, for example), and where they did not immediately recognise Him. The best example is perhaps the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Only when their fellow traveler broke the bread and said the blessing at the dinner table, did they recognise Jesus.

So the Transfiguration can perhaps be seen as a foretaste of what was to come. After His death and resurrection, Jesus gained a new body, and that, by the way, lies at the basis of the Catholic belief in the bodily resurrection at the end of time. My parish priest mused today that perhaps this was also a means of support for the Apostles, who would be scattered in the days surrounding the crucifixion, and who would suffer greatly. But Jesus showed them here that on the other side of the pain and suffering, beauty and glory lies.

The presence of Moses and Elijah, the Law and the prophets, and of course God’s cloud who descends upon the mountain (not unlike how He accompanied the people of Israel out of Egypt – Moses would not have been surprised), firmly places Christ in the history of salvation, in both the Old and New covenants. Not that he didn’t have this place before all this, but we, being both us and the Apostles, need to become aware of it.