by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann
These days, I am often asked the question: “When will you retire?” I turned 75 in early June, and, as required by canon law, I submitted my letter of resignation to Pope Francis. In my letter, I expressed a willingness and preference to remain archbishop for another year or more.
I received a letter from Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the pope’s ambassador in the United States, informing me that the Holy Father received my letter and I remain the archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas until my successor is named.
I ask for your prayers that I will finish my term as archbishop strong — doing as much as I can to strengthen and build up the Catholic community of northeast Kansas. In particular, I wish to continue to implement the three super priorities that emerged from the Archdiocesan Envisioning Process 10 years ago: 1) to create a culture of evangelization; 2) to strengthen marriage and family life; and 3) to foster encounters with Jesus through living the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
The summer of 2024 was phenomenal! I was privileged to ordain one priest, three transitional deacons (who are on track to be ordained priests in 2025) and 14 permanent deacons. I also participated in a leadership retreat with our 25 seminarians. We have some amazing men in the seminary that are discerning a call to the priesthood.
The highlight of my summer was participating in the 10th National Eucharistic Congress for the Catholic Church in the United States. More than 60,000 Catholics gathered in Indianapolis in mid-July to praise God, adore and receive Jesus in the Eucharist and to encourage each other to live our Catholic faith with fidelity and joy. Many more thousands of Catholics participated in the Congress through EWTN’s telecasts.
I wish all of you could have been present at the congress. It was a Catholic moment. More than 200 bishops, thousands of priests, deacons and seminarians, many thousands of religious Sisters and tens of thousands of laity from across our country participated in the congress.
Each day, there were several opportunities to participate in Mass and receive Our Lord in the Eucharist. Throughout the day, there were a variety of educational and inspirational sessions about different aspects of our Catholic faith and what it means to be a eucharistic people. Every evening, more than 50,000 gathered to hear some of the best Catholic evangelists and catechists as well as inspiring witness stories from laity, religious and priests. Every night concluded with an hour of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
On the final full day of the Congress, more than 50,000 Catholics processed with our eucharistic Lord through the heart of the city of Indianapolis. The procession concluded with eucharistic adoration and Benediction at a huge outdoor venue.
On the final day of the Eucharistic Congress, we were given a mission to “Walk with One.” This mission is not just for those who attended the congress, but it is a mission for every Catholic in the United States.
There are four steps to “Walk with One”:
1) Ask the Lord in prayer to reveal to you the person with whom he desires for you to journey. Your “Walk with One” companion could be a parent, sibling, child, grandchild, cousin, friend, co-worker or neighbor. It could be someone who is Catholic but not really practicing their faith, which minimally means participating in Mass every Sunday. It could be someone who is unchurched or perhaps does not believe in God.
2) Pray daily for the Lord to bless the person with whom you are called to walk — to remember this person at Mass, during times of eucharistic adoration, during the rosary, during times of praying over the Scriptures and other times of prayer. Part of this step is to do intercessory prayer by fasting, offering suffering, and making sacrifices — imploring the Lord to pour out abundant graces on this special person.
3) Be intentional about cultivating a deeper relationship and friendship with this particular person. This step requires spending more time with this person and making an effort to get to know him or her better. In conversation with them, seek to understand what they enjoy, what inspires them, what challenges they are facing and what burdens they carry.
4) Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your relationship. Do not immediately attempt to talk about religion. Rather, in the course of spending time with this person, share with them in a way that is natural: a) the difference your friendship with Jesus makes in your life; b) describe to them your own prayer life; and c) share with them the gift your Catholic faith is for you.
Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in your friendship. Ask the person: “How can I pray for you?” At some point, the Holy Spirit may inspire you to invite them to pray the rosary with you, to discuss the Gospel or some inspirational book, to come to eucharistic adoration with you or to attend Mass with you. If the person is a non-practicing Catholic, you may want to share with them the gift confession is in your own spiritual life.
There are 180,000 Catholics in the archdiocese. Ponder what it would be like if all of us just walk with one other person in the course of this year? Do not give up on this person. No matter how they respond, persist in your efforts to cultivate a deeper relationship with them. There are no greater gifts we have received than our friendship with Jesus and our Catholic faith. There is no greater joy for a Catholic than to lead another person to Jesus and his bride, the church.
“Walk with One” is really an opportunity to become what Pope Francis terms a “missionary disciple.” The mission statement for the Archdiocese of Kansas City is: “Growing as disciples of Jesus, making disciples for Jesus.” “Walk with One” is a way in which each of us can live our mission statement.
