As soon as the paper is torn from the presents and the dinner leftovers are packed up and stored in the fridge we begin to get retrospective.
It is a worthy exercise at the end of each year to reflect on the moments that bring us once again to a new year.
There have been some amazing moments in our diocese during 2025, and there have been some sad. One of the most notable moments of sorrow turned to joy in 2025 was when in April we mourned the loss and death of Pope Francis. But then in May our diocese joined the world in welcoming a new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, a native of our very own state of Illinois.
As one year ends and another approaches, we must sit back and consider the graces gained in these moments of joy and of sorrow. A healthy look back doesn’t mean we take up residence in the past. Dwelling there does not allow us to grow. But looking back to give thanks and remember is always a good thing.
As we close out 2025 I would like to use a little space to do as Bing Crosby crooned in the 1954 classic movie White Christmas: “When I’m worried and I can’t sleep/ I count my blessings instead of sheep/ and I fall asleep counting my blessings.”
I am reflecting and counting as blessings the following moments in 2025.
n Several diocesan parishes and organizations marked anniversaries.
n Launching and celebrating the Jubilee Year of Hope.
n Record number of people entering the Catholic Church and attending the annual Rite of Election.
n The Annual Diocesan Appeal celebrates 50 years.
n The diocese welcomes two new priests, Father Ian Ordoñez and Father Ryan Nooraee, ordained in June 2025 along with three transitional deacons.
n Priests and women religious celebrated significant jubilees as they continue service to God and all of us.
n A new religious order began service in the Rockford Diocese.
n The Permanent Diaconate Program celebrated 50 years of forming men to serve God and the Church.
n A new ministry for those who lose a child began.
n Hundreds of couples celebrated marriage during the annual Silver and Gold Mass.
n Laypeople around the diocese worked hard to support life through marches, letters and phone calls. Their efforts helped close an abortion business but failed to stop an assisted suicide law. But action always makes a difference.
n And blessings always taken for granted but in need of counting are the thousands of Masses said, confessions heard, baptisms and funerals held, confirmations completed and anointings given.
And speaking of blessings, when we turn the page and settle into the new year 2026, diocesan Catholics will be asked to contribute to the National Appeal. (You can read more about the appeal on page 8 of this issue.) Included in the combined appeal is funding for the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC). Your contribution to this part of the appeal is a great blessing.
Contributions to CCC give direct assistance to the communication efforts in this diocese as well as to communication efforts throughout the United States. But I want you to know that when you give to the Communication Campaign, you help bring the local Catholic Mass to people who are ill or infirmed and rely on the TV Mass for their spiritual nourishment — and have for more 50 years. Your CCC donations also help Bishop David Malloy bring the Gospel directly into viewers’ homes through his Top of the Morning messages each Monday through Friday at 6:58 a.m. on the local NBC affiliate, WREX Channel 13. Catholic Communication Campaign donations also greatly assist the diocese in spreading the word of special projects like Be Reconciled Day each year and helping the public share in diocesan events like the Jubilee Mass and Masses for Popes Francis and Leo via livestreaming. We very much appreciate and encourage your generosity to this portion of the National Appeal. And remember that every contribution, regardless of size, makes a great difference in communicating the mission of Christ to Northern Illinois and beyond.
Thank you for being counted among our special blessings in 2025. We look forward to serving you as we turn the page to 2026. Happy New Year, dear readers.
