Anniversary Mass a Celebration with Family, Faithful
By Amanda Hudson, News Editor
May 19, 2022
ROCKFORD—Several of Bishop David Malloy’s family members and a good number of the faithful of the diocese gathered for his 10th anniversary Mass on May 14 at the Cathedral of St. Peter.
On that day 10 years ago, the feast day of the apostle St. Matthias, Msgr. David Malloy was ordained and installed as Bishop of Rockford at the BMO Harris Bank Center in downtown Rockford. That ordination day had come with beautiful blue skies, as did the 10th anniversary.
For both events, many of his family members, including his brother, Father Frank Malloy of Tampa, Fla., and his mother, Mary, were in attendance along with his sister and his youngest brother — and his brother’s daughters Charlotte and Grace. As a youngster, Grace helped bring up the gifts at the ordination Mass. In 2022, she was the server for her uncle’s anniversary Mass.
In his homily, Bishop Malloy reflected on how “in a very real sense, we are going through this world, seeking out and trying to fulfill the plan God has for us. But even as we do that, that plan is one that we cannot see completely or clearly at the moment.”
He pointed to St. Paul’s mission and ministry, how he would not likely have known how instrumental his example and letters have been in growing the faith over some 2,000 years.
“Perhaps what seemed like a failure has become a victory and what seemed to be fruitless has gone on to bear much fruit,” he said.
“The point is, while we use our will, there is much of our life that is outside of our control, but it is all in the context of God’s grace and God’s plan.”
The bishop described how Paul and Barnabas returned to the place of their ministry’s origin. And they “reported to the Church all that God had done through them,” he said, encouraging his listeners to reflect back on their own lives, “trying to see what it is about the plan of God” for them.
“On this 10th anniversary, I feel a bit like St. Paul,” Bishop Malloy said. “Just as he returned to where it started … how good it is to come here to this cathedral. The night before … this is where Bishop (Thomas G.) Doran, my predecessor, took on that altar my oath of fidelity, my profession of faith, acknowledging my acceptance of all the Church teaches and handed on, and acknowledging that it is my goal, my consecration of self, that that is what as bishop I will give back to the faithful and to the Diocese of Rockford and, to the extent that I can, to the Church more widely.”
Looking back, Bishop Malloy noted that his 10 years as bishop “have been years of challenge — the pope for the first time in hundreds of years unexpectedly resigns … and all the changes … COVID over the last few years … and yet the joys of the strength of faith … the joy of sharing this work.”
He mentioned also what he has previously said is perhaps his favorite activity and one he had provided earlier on his anniversary: “the joy of confirming … time after time imparting the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The bishop noted that he has “a particular task,” as do the priests, and also the lay faithful of the diocese, which includes, he said, “a very real task and place of evangelizing … of witnessing to an increasingly secular world … that needs to be reminded of what has been very rapidly forgotten.”
Above all, Bishop Malloy emphasized his gratitude, first and foremost to God. “My point is to thank you,” he said to all gathered.
“It is to express my thanks for your prayers, for your generosity, for your faithfulness to the Church, and for the support the Bishop of Rockford has constantly found both here and in churches throughout the diocese.”
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