Episcopal mottos you will never see, I

Going back to the Middle Ages, it has been customary for Catholic bishops to have a coat of arms with a motto.  Almost every bishop creates his own coat of arms, and when he becomes an ordinary, that is, the head of a diocese, he joins his to the coat of arms of the diocese or epharchy.  Sometimes he adds a motto to the coat of arms.  The mottos may be taken from Sacred Scripture, a writing of a saint or pope, or from an ancient source.  He may also make one up.  Pope John Paul II's motto was "Totus tuis," or translated from the Latin, "Totally yours," (that is, totally dedicated to Christ).  Pope Benedict XVI has a coat of arms, but no motto.

For example, here are the mottos of the Latin bishops of Pennsylvania:

Charles J. Chaput, archbishop of Philadelphia:  "As Christ loved the church."

Joseph Bambera, bishop of Scranton:  "Walk humbly with your God."

Mark Bartchak, bishop of Altoona-Johnstown:  "Christ our hope of glory."

John Beres, bishop of Allentown:  "Holiness and mission."

Lawrence Brandt, bishop of Greensburg:  "Ignis caritatis."

Joseph McFadden, bishop of Harrisburg:  "Mary the model - Jesus the center."

Donald Trautman, bishop of Erie:  "Feed my sheep."

David Zubik, bishop of Pittsburgh:  "Nothing is impossible with God."

Mottos obviously have great spiritual significance to the man who chose it.  But they can also be the subject of jokes.  Bishop Thomas Tobin, former auxiliary of Pittsburgh and now bishop of Providence, chose a passage from Second Timothy, "Strong, loving, wise." However, a couple of his friends, knowing his personality, changed it to "Strong, loving, cheap."

I dearly remember that when then-Bishop Donald Wuerl was ceremonially installed as 11th bishop of Pittsburgh in March 1988, Cardinal John O'Connor, archbishop of New York, attended the Mass and offered remarks after Holy Communion. The cardinal had many good things to say about the young (47 year old) bishop, then said, "With his appointment as bishop of Pittsburgh he has fulfilled his episcopal motto, 'My kingdom come.'" The SRO congregation in St. Paul Cathedral roared with laughter, at the pun on his real motto, "Thy kingdom come."

Last week I was jazzing one of my classmates about becoming a bishop, and was offering him some (irreverent) suggestions for an episcopal motto. It got me thinking -- always a dangerous pasttime -- and so I came up with the Top Ten mottos from the Old Testament you will never see a Catholic bishop put on his coat of arms. 

10.)  "Common folk are only a breath, great men an illusion."  [Psalm 62]

9.)  "I am poor and needy."  [Psalm 86]

8.)  "Am I my brother's keeper?"  [Genesis 4:9]

7.)  "I am a worm and no man."  [Psalm 22]

6.)  "Lord, why do you reject me?"  [Psalm 88]

5.)  "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb."  [Job 1:4]

4.)  "We have sinned and transgressed."  [Daniel 3:27]

3.)  "It is not good for the man to be alone."  [Genesis 2:18]

2.)  "Oh that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort, that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts."  [Isaiah 66:11] 

And the number one Old Testament passage you will never see in the episcopal motto of a Catholic bishop,

1.)  "He who sits in the heavens laughs."  [Psalm 2]


Next week, passages from the New Testament you will never see as episcopal mottos of Catholic bishops.