When flying geese make a “V” shape as they head south in fall, the formation helps the geese conserve their energy and keep track of each other.

The bird in front pushes through the wind while the others fly just above the bird in front of them, taking advantage of the lessened wind resistance. One theory is that they honk as they fly in order to encourage the goose in front.

Often when we think of an organization, including the Catholic Church, we picture a triangular structural chart. In the Church’s case, the pope is located at the point and then comes layers of cardinals, archbishops, etc. and all the rest of us.

I like to take that vertical image and lay it flat, envisioning the pope pushing through the wind as he leads us on, taking the brunt of the storms and making it at least a little easier for the rest of us to keep striving to grow in holiness and love, to draw nearer to God and to serve Him better.

Within that imagined structure are many smaller-size entities, including families led by parents, parishes led by pastors, religious orders led by superiors and dioceses led by their respective bishops. Each of those leaders pushes ahead into the various storms as they lead their flocks on within the overall structure.

In keeping with that nature image, I’ve been pondering what “honking encouragement” to our leaders would be for Catholics who appreciate the Church’s assistance as we fly through the turbulence of our world. Given that we have a new bishop at our diocesan helm, it’s timely to ponder how we can encourage and assist him in his new role.

The most obvious, and most important, encouragement we can give is prayer. We all can pray for Bishop Malloy and our priests, no matter our incomes, locations, talents or schedules. Prayers from all corners of our diocese will surely benefit our leaders and the rest of the diocese as well.

We can pray for our bishop’s safety as he travels around the diocese and beyond. We can pray for his health and general wellbeing. We can pray for his protection from the evils in the world. We can pray for the Holy Spirit to flow to us through our new bishop and his priests, and for the resulting fruits to flow forth from us out to others.

Prayer is vital because, as we all know, distressing things happen no matter how talented, intelligent, kind and capable our leaders are. Only God can work out in front of our newest leader to calm storms and smooth the paths he must walk.

Another way we can encourage our new bishop is to cheer him on at events. Everyone who attended his ordination and installation contributed to an overwhelming sense of joy in what could have been an echo-y emptiness in such a cavernous space. Those who attended the more recent Memorial Day Mass where Bishop Malloy presided contributed in a similar way at that smaller venue. It’s heartening for our pastors also to see people of the diocese come together to pray and to celebrate at graduations, parish events, Masses, groundbreakings and numerous other happenings throughout the diocese. Come celebrate our faith and our Church whenever you can!

Encouragement of our new bishop, our priests and our fellow Catholics will happen whenever we as individuals strive to grow in knowledge and faith, including through parish and diocesan programs, retreats and classes. We uplift one another as we share our experiences of God and the exciting new things we’ve learned about God’s love for us and for all. The joy of the Lord is contagious, and the givers of such joy gain from their giving as they build up the entire Body of Christ.

We encourage one another, and our leaders also, whenever we are kind, and especially when we are forgiving of the faults and failings of our fellow Catholics. Parishioners and priests bring to church some of the same, and some different, burdens that we ourselves bear, acting or reacting in less-than-stellar ways as a result. Our attempts to develop the habit of appreciating others, including our leaders, will increase our ability to be kind to them and to everyone who comes to church. That can only be an encouragement to everyone.

We are blessed to have our new bishop. Let’s each figure out how we might “honk” out our support and encouragement.