Advent is a time when we listen to the prophetic voices “crying out from the wilderness,” telling us where we can encounter our Lord.
In the spirit of this holy season, Catholic Extension Society is pleased to share this Advent series, featuring short reflections from the bishops of Extension-supported dioceses that capture where they find hope and the Lord’s presence among the people they shepherd, even in the most challenging of circumstances.
We hope that this Advent series will not only introduce you to the diverse regions and peoples served by Catholic Extension Society, but help you see that the Lord’s promise of salvation that we celebrate this season is an enduring source of joy, especially among the poor and vulnerable.
I will appoint for you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you wisely and prudently.”
Jeremiah 3:15
Listen to our Vice President of Mission, Joe Boland, discuss the series on Relevant Radio.
Check back in to see a new video posted twice each week throughout Advent, on Sundays and Thursdays.
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Video 7 | Bishop Ryan Jimenez | Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, Northern Mariana Islands
Bishop Ryan Jimenez of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, faithfully serves the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. protectorate, located near the deepest part of our planet’s largest ocean. As the Psalmist writes, “They saw the works of the LORD, the wonders of God in the deep.” Bishop Jimenez shepherds his people with warmth and welcome, even amid the typhoons and economic downturn they have recently endured in these Pacific islands. He has shown that in the Catholic Church, there is “always room at the inn,” especially for the poor, just as there was for our Savior, who was born as a poor child.
Video 6 | Bishop Joseph Tyson | Diocese of Yakima, Washington
Bishop Joseph Tyson is a native son of the Diocese of Yakima, where he has served as bishop since 2011. He has distinguished himself as a shepherd who prefers to be among his people, as seen in this video, where he, his priests, and seminarians, lived among migrant farmworkers in order to serve them. In the Advent Season, we make ready the way of our Lord, who came so that he could live among his flock.
Video 5 | Bishop A. Elias Zaidan | Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon
Bishop A. Elias Zaidan leads the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, an Easter Rite Catholic Church, that serves U.S. Catholic descendants of the Middle East. Bishop Zaidan has distinguished himself as a shepherd who understands that the Catholic Church spans national boundaries, and we have a special duty to support the Catholic Church in the Middle East, which is where our salvation history began, and where our Savior came into this world.
Video 4 | Bishop James Wall | Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico/Arizona
Bishop James Wall became bishop of the Diocese of Gallup in 2009—serving a vast region that includes many Native American villages and peoples. The people he serves often lack basic infrastructure, including running water. But, even in the midst of their poverty, Bishop Wall realizes that he shepherds a people with immense cultural and spiritual richness. The name of Jesus has been known in these lands for nearly 500 years, reminding us that the Savior we are preparing to welcome this Advent, came for all peoples, all nations and all cultures.
Video 3 | Bishop Mark Seitz | Diocese of El Paso, Texas
Bishop Mark Seitz has served the Diocese of El Paso since 2013. He has distinguished himself as bishop who is deeply concerned for all the vulnerable of society—the poor, the unborn, the refugee. He does this by constantly putting his words into action, unafraid of what his critics might say, realizing that our Savior too was once a refugee child forced to flee from his homeland, like many of the children Bishop Seitz encounters in his ministry along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Video 2 | Bishop Oscar Solis | Diocese of Salt Lake City, Utah
Bishop Oscar Solis was born in the Philippines—one of the most Catholic countries, and ironically he is now the bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, which spans the entire state of Utah where Catholics are a minority population.
This is especially true in Utah’s rural towns, but Bishop Solis is distinguished as shepherd for whom no person or community is too insignificant for his attention. In the Advent season, we prepare our hearts to meet our Lord, who was born in an insignificant place, to a seemingly insignificant family, but where God’s grace abounded.
Video 1 | Bishop Chad Zielinski | Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska
Bishop Chad Zielinski has served the Diocese of Fairbanks since 2014. Previously he was a military chaplain. He says God used the survival skills he learned in the military to help him serve his vast diocese, which encompasses many remote villages, accessible only by plane.
He has distinguished himself as bishop who is capable of recognizing the face of Christ in the humble Alaskan communities he shepherds, mindful that the Savior we are preparing to welcome this Advent also came from a humble village.
