Aug 3, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
It was on July 31, 2019 that I formally left the Diocese of Ogdensburg to take up residence in my new home of the Diocese of Syracuse. It happened also to be the memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola whose prayer known as the “Suscipe” is one of my favorites. For those...
Jul 20, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Editor’s note: Here is Bishop Douglas J. Lucia’s homily at the 5:10 p.m. July 16 Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse: Today, the Word of God is so rich. There are so many different angles that you and I can reflect upon, but I would like to...
Jul 18, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Bishop Douglas J. Lucia — seeking to “ensure that in various regions of the diocese there would be greater cooperation among clergy in service of the People of God, along with better communication with the Diocesan Bishop and the Diocesan Curia...
Jul 6, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
It is hard to believe that another Fourth of July has passed! Yet, our second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (5:1, 13-18) two Sundays ago was the perfect prelude to what we celebrate each Independence Day: “Freedom!” What particularly moved in that...
Jun 22, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
I have returned from the West Coast and was very impressed with the Spring Assembly and its speaker, Australian Archbishop Anthony Fisher. His hour-long discourses in the morning and afternoon were very well presented and provided much food for thought. In addition,...
Jun 8, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Risen Lord, Pentecost is all about stepping out and putting into practice the words of the Risen Jesus found in Acts 1:8 before his ascension into heaven: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be...
Jan 6, 2023 | Bishop Lucia
This first column of 2023 finds us still in the midst of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Besides counting off time between Christmas and the Epiphany of the Lord (also known as, Little Christmas), the Twelve Days of Christmas is for many of us a seemingly fun Christmas...
Jun 1, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
It is a Wednesday morning and I have just returned from the blessing of the Nancy J. Toscano Learning Center at Bishop Grimes Jr./Sr. High School. What a beautiful new learning center and my gratitude to the Toscano family and their friends for bringing this vital...
May 25, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Editor’s note: This is Bishop Douglas J. Lucia’s homily delivered last Saturday morning during the Ordination Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the Order of Deacon; 10 permanent deacons were ordained for the diocese. Formed … Dedicated …...
May 18, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Editor’s note: The following is Bishop Douglas J. Lucia’s homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Mahatma Gandhi is reported to have said, “I love your Christ, but your Christians are not like Christ.” Difficult words to hear, sisters and brothers, but from this...
May 11, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Last Saturday morning as I was preparing both for morning Mass and the Diocesan Pastoral Council meeting, I had one of those moments when I felt God was speaking to me. The idea came to mind that as a Diocesan family we should make the five First Saturdays as...
May 4, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day and I want to begin by expressing both our gratitude and our prayers to all mothers, grandmothers, godmothers and all who show a mother’s care to us. As I write these words, I am embraced by my own mother’s love and the witness of so...
Apr 28, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
This coming Sunday as we observe the Third Sunday in the Easter Season, we will read from one of my favorite chapters in the Bible—John 21:1-19. It is the post-resurrection account of Jesus meeting up with his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias (aka, Sea of Galilee) and...
Apr 20, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
On Friday evening, the beginning of Passover, Jewish households throughout the world gathered at table and kindled light, and then the question was asked: “Why is this night different from all other nights?” The response given to the inquiry was: “This night is...
Apr 12, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Editor’s note: The following is the homily that Bishop Douglas J. Lucia delivered April 12 at the Chrism Mass. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me” (Is. 61:1). Dear sisters and brothers, this day, as we gather around the diocesan...
Apr 7, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Holy Week 2022 is drawing near and for some it will coincide with Spring Break. Some of our neighbors will seek a warmer climate in hopes of finding green grass and blossoms a-blooming. Others of us will hope for the miracle of a beautiful spring day on which to...
Mar 30, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
The following is the homily I shared on the occasion of the Solemnity of the Annunciation and in conjunction with the Consecration of Ukraine and Russia, and indeed the world, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I was so deeply moved by the Act of Consecration itself,...
Mar 23, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
As we approach the Fourth Sunday of Lent, we are at the half-way mark of our Lenten journey and definitely our Easter destination is getting ever closer. I don’t know about you, but I know my high hopes for Lent have not panned out as I planned (at least in my mind)....
Mar 9, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Editor’s note: This is Bishop Douglas J. Lucia’s homily for the First Sunday of Lent. Brothers and sisters, I am not trying to sound morbid this day, but I would not be surprised that with the tenor of the news this past week, the question, “And then what?” has...
Mar 2, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Just in one week a great deal has gone on in our world that gives us much pause. As I noted in my Feb. 17th statement on the crisis in Ukraine: “In truth, this moment is a wakeup call for all believers. If we want to counter the works of evil and sin in our world it...
Feb 25, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
It may seem hard to believe but Ash Wednesday is next week and you and I will begin our 40-day journey of prayer, penance and charitable works. I have decided that my Catholic Sun columns will be an offshoot of a book that I have been reading by Dr. Brandt Pitre who...
Feb 17, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Editor’s note: The following is Bishop Douglas J. Lucia’s homily for World Marriage Day, Feb. 13, 2022: A Ukrainian Hasidic rabbi, Levi Yitzhak, stated that he had discovered the meaning of love from a drunken peasant. The rabbi was visiting the owner of a tavern in...
Feb 2, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
This week I have been making the rounds of the Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Syracuse as we observe Catholic Schools Week 2022. Last Friday I had Mass with the students from Blessed Sacrament School in Syracuse. On Sunday I joined the parish community of...
Jan 26, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Editor’s note: Here is the homily delivered by Bishop Douglas J. Lucia on Jan. 22, 2022, at the Respect Life Mass: “Hear me, O coastlands, listen, O distant peoples. The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name” (Is. 49). In western Canada a...
Jan 19, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
I know in one way I should probably feel a little guilty being down here in the warm south when I know what is going on up north in the next couple of days. I guess it was epitomized for me when I got a picture of the front of my Chancery in Syracuse yesterday and...
Jan 12, 2022 | Bishop Lucia
Happy New Year! This week I would like to share my reflections on the new year as contained in the homily I delivered on New Year’s Eve at Sacred Heart Basilica and on New Year’s Day at the Cathedral: My brothers and sisters, at the start of a new year, Mary, a key...
Dec 15, 2021 | Bishop Lucia
Here we are in the third week of the Advent Season and the Church invites us to “Rejoice. … The Lord is near” (see Phil. 4:4-5). I don’t know about you, I want to rejoice, yet I am struggling a bit. This year I have had to say farewell not only to my own mother, but...
Dec 7, 2021 | Bishop Lucia
“I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you” (Phil 1:4a). Sisters and brothers, these words of St. Paul in today’s second reading remind me of words that are attributed to the Jesuit priest and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin, “Joy is the most infallible...
Dec 1, 2021 | Bishop Lucia
Editor’s note: Bishop Douglas J. Lucia recently participated in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Fall General Assembly in Baltimore. The meeting took place November 15 through 18. According to the USCCB website, the “meeting agenda includes...
Nov 17, 2021 | Bishop Lucia
This week I am at my first in-person meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) since my ordination some 27 months ago. I suspect it may be one of the longest intervals between ordination as a bishop and meeting one’s brother bishops. It will...
