As part of my contribution to the Jubilee Year, I will be writing a series titled “Finding and Burying Again” reflecting on the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The word catechism comes from two Greek words, kata and echeo, meaning to resound. The word “echo” comes from the root. The voice of Jesus continues to echo throughout history into the hearts of those whom he seeks to draw to himself. It is echoing now. Just as we turn to see where an echo came from when we hear it, so Jesus desires that we might turn our focus toward the source of the sound— towards himself, the eternal Word of the Father.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matt. 13:44)

The kingdom of God is like the treasure that a man finds and buries again. Once it is found it must be buried. Yes, placed deep within the heart. Our faith is a gift that is ever new. We are called to gaze at the treasure and place it once again in the heart. Like a child who does not tire of reading the same book over and over, because they always find something new and the reading itself is a gift to them, so too the deposit of faith always offers something new for us.

This endeavor comes from a desire to take the treasure back out. To gaze at it. To see the glint of gold that the sun shines upon it. A glint that leads us to the Son, the greatest treasure. Jesus is the treasure that we seek and the one we bury deep within our hearts.

2025 is a special year. We celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council in the history of the Church. As I mentioned, we are also experiencing a Jubilee Year in the Universal Church, with the theme of “Pilgrims of Hope.”

In addition, there is a more local reason that prompted these reflections. December 2025 is also the 350th anniversary of Father Henri Nouvel’s Mass on Ojibway Island in Saginaw, the first Mass in the lower peninsula of Michigan. He came to the New World to be a pilgrim of hope, to bring the love of Christ and to share that love with the people of the land. What zeal must have been in his heart as he traveled across the sea! He offered Mass right in the center of what became our Diocese.

The fruits of one Mass are always more than the eye can see, and I believe that this Mass has been influential in planting the seed of faith in our region. I also believe that the Holy Spirit is not done bringing fruit from that seed. The reflections I am making on the catechism this year are a way of expressing gratitude for that missionary journey, and to pray that the same missionary spirit that made Father Nouvel a pilgrim of hope might find its way into us.