Bishop John Noonan | Diocese of Orland website

Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

In a recent letter, Bishop John Noonan addressed the ongoing importance of faith for members of the Catholic community. He emphasized that faith is not something achieved once but must be nurtured continuously. “Our cry all our days is like the apostles, as they ask Jesus to ‘increase our faith.’ We ask for God’s blessings to us and moan like the Israelites to God when things don’t go our way. When we pray to God to increase our faith, we are also asking God to lead us according to His will, not our own,” he wrote.

Bishop Noonan reflected on the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and its role in strengthening believers. “We have with us, Jesus the Eucharist, Emmanuel, God with us. As we participate in the celebration of Mass, we receive this holy gift, Jesus the Eucharist, and we are joined with all the angels and the communion of saints to praise God with thanksgiving, for God does not leave us to increase our faith on our own. United with the heavenly liturgy, we anticipate eternal life, where God will be all in all.”

He continued by stating that faith requires constant attention: “Faith is not a one-time event, instead it requires continual tending and building up like a flame burning.” Bishop Noonan referenced this jubilee year as an opportunity for renewal: “This jubilee year, we sing about the journey of our faith, living as pilgrims of hope... This continuous attention to our faith means that we will not become lukewarm in our understanding of God and how to live according to His Covenant.”

The bishop also cited St. Paul’s encouragement regarding courage provided by God: “St. Paul exhorts us that God provides us with the gift of courage, sustaining us on the journey that our faith will abound in His divine love.”

Pope Leo XIV was quoted addressing challenges faced by many today: “A very widespread ailment of our time is the fatigue of living: reality seems to us to be too complex, burdensome, difficult to face. And so we switch off, we fall asleep, in the delusion that, upon waking, things will be different. But reality has to be faced, and together with Jesus, we can do it well. At times we feel blocked by the judgment of those who claim to put labels on others. Let us go to Jesus. He can heal us. He can revive us. Jesus is our hope!”

Bishop Noonan urged parishioners to integrate their faith into daily life beyond church services: “Here we must pause to assess how we are living our faith... When we leave the sanctuary of the church building, we may turn off our faith and forget to pray together as a family... Jesus’ presence... is about invitation... bringing others to Him by our care for one another...” He also quoted St. Irenaeus: “Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist, in turn, confirms our way of thinking.”

He highlighted upcoming events such as a convocation for permanent deacons on October 4 aimed at strengthening their ministry through renewed faith: “We pray with gratitude for our permanent deacons and their families. Our deacons will be participating in a convocation on Oct. 4...”

On October 11 at the annual Harvest Ball organized by Magnify of Central Florida through Bishop Grady Villas and other initiatives within the Diocese of Orlando, participants will celebrate individuals served by these programs.

The letter concluded with reference to St. Francis whose feast day falls on October 4: “St. Francis... teaches us that as a rich man of earthly treasure he had nothing; when he found God he had everything and needed nothing else.”

The Diocese of Orlando was established in 1968 and serves nine counties including Brevard and Orange Counties across Central Florida.