A couple of weeks after Bishop David Malloy was ordained and installed as our bishop, someone at a Mass remarked to me that I would likely see him at work more than most anyone else.

Especially during that initial year, which included a lot of “firsts” for him, he was indeed the premier subject of my camera. Sometimes I still have the privilege of watching this ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Rockford as he makes his way through diverse settings and events around the diocese.

What impressed me most early on is his courage. It is a quiet courage, a type that walks without fanfare into new and sometimes difficult or intimidating circumstances.

One of his first tasks — that very first weekend after he was installed — was to ordain two men to the priesthood.

All of us who worry about tripping on a step or dropping something while in front of a roomful of people can perhaps empathize with the small jitters inherent to such a momentous occasion. But only priests can fully appreciate the enormity of such an event. With that full appreciation, our brand-new bishop waded in and conducted himself with grace.

Late that year, as we walked down a hallway deep into the Winnebago County Jail for his first Christmas Mass for inmates, Bishop Malloy mentioned to a guard that he had never set foot in a jail before. Because providing a Christmas Mass was a good thing to do, he had it arranged and then stepped into the unknown on behalf of those otherwise-hidden souls.

Time and again, I’ve watched him take a breath and step onto the path set before him, whether or not it suited his nature. His faithfulness to that road and his fidelity to the Savior he has chosen to follow is something he brought with him. My theory is that his determination to love Christ and His Church to the best of his ability was honed by his many years of service in difficult places when his dream was to be a parish priest.

God allowed His future bishop to enjoy two short-and-sweet experiences of that “dream job” only to soon call him to the much-less-gratifying task of administration. Priests with a heart for helping people know the inner sacrifices that can come once they are made pastors and have to deal with the unappreciated tasks of maintaining physical structures and negotiating staff and parishioner issues.

How much more so for a bishop, whose task is to oversee an entire diocese full of personnel issues and infrastructures — all blended together with the emotions of sometimes-short-sighted or not well catechized folks and by our secular society. We laity might try to multiply our nuclear and extended family issues by ... well, by a lot ... to try and imagine what it’s like.

Like parents who can’t anticipate the future or comprehend the inner workings of their kids, so also the men who accept the call to serve as bishops — and then get the wind knocked out of them.

Through my camera lens I have at times noticed Bishop Malloy’s ring and thought of a comment from Galadriel, the elven queen in the first Lord of the Rings movie, to the hobbit Frodo: “To bear a ring of power is to be alone.” It must feel like that  at times to bishops, and probably sometimes for the priests.

Fortunately that aloneness is not absolute. Obviously, God is with those whom He has called to leadership in His Church. He is pleased with those who continue in fidelity when the road gets rocky, especially if the rocks are being thrown at them because of their loyalty to Christ and their faithfulness to their promises.

Every Catholic who is faithful provides spiritual support to Church leaders. Prayers for our bishop, priests and the diocese itself hearten those who labor in the Lord’s vineyards.

Monetary support is helpful, including to entities like Catholic Charities as they labor on the Church’s behalf.

Our own fidelity can inspire our priests and our bishop. Our sacrifices can boost their spirits and help them realize that their holy struggles are worthwhile and appreciated.

As Bishop Malloy marks his fifth anniversary as Bishop of the Diocese of Rockford, let us prayerfully ponder how we might support and encourage him over the next five years.