Together on the Journey: A Weekly Word from Archbishop Hebda
As America emerges from the “dog days of summer,” it seems fitting that we would be celebrating National Dog Day. One of my predecessors, Archbishop Flynn, was a great dog lover and always had a few four-legged companions keeping him company. After he passed, I had the pleasure of sharing a residence with his Megan and Katie until they found their way to Louisiana, where they had been promised by Archbishop Flynn to a dog-loving priest.
I’ve always loved dogs, but have to admit that I was formed by the culture of my home Diocese of Pittsburgh that frowned upon priests having dogs in their rectories. Ordained at a time where most parishes had multiple priests, my classmates and I were always reminded that pets made it difficult to assign and transfer priests. When I was newly ordained, one of our more seasoned pastors kept falcons, and I remember praying that I wouldn’t get assigned to him.
Archbishop Flynn, on the other hand, told me that he always found that our dog-owning priests were his best pastors. To his way of thinking, a pet owner always has to be attentive to another’s needs…and that makes for a good shepherd.
Given my first name, you won’t be surprised that I have always been particularly drawn to St. Bernards (even though our names are pronounced differently). You may be surprised to learn that the breed is not named for my heavenly patron, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, whose feast we just celebrated last week on August 20, but for another holy man with the same first name, St. Bernard of Menthon. As a priest of the diocese of Annecy, Bernard began a religious community that ministered to poor travelers passing through an ancient pass through the Alps which was particularly treacherous in the winter. It was in that setting that he erected a hostel, and the community began training dogs to be of assistance in finding and assisting those who were lost.
The pass, the hostel and the breed of dogs are all today named for St. Bernard of Menthon—how impressive is that! He’s not as famous as his 12th century namesake from Clairvaux (we have two churches in the Archdiocese–in Saint Paul and Cologne–named for St. Bernard of Clairvaux and none for St. Bernard of Menthon) but he was clearly an amazing man who continues to be a role model for us today. Let’s be sure to ask for his prayers whenever we’re traveling or spot one of those huge loveable dogs with a keg under his chin. St. Bernard of Menthon, pray for us!
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