Photo by Julianna Leopold

ATLANTA—The bishops of the Atlanta Province, which includes Georgia and the Carolinas, convened for prayer, fellowship and their annual meeting June 24-26 at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta.

The meeting provides the bishops of the province the opportunity to discuss topics relating to the region. Attending the gathering were Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., of Atlanta; Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., of Charlotte; Bishop Luis Zarama of Raleigh; Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS, of Charleston; Bishop Stephen Parkes of Savannah; and Atlanta’s three auxiliary bishops: Bishop Joel Konzen, SM, Bishop Bernard Shlesinger III and Bishop John Nhan Tran.

Bishop Stephen Parkes of Savannah greets a member of the congregation following the province Mass on June 25 at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta. Photo by Julianna Leopold

Archbishop Hartmayer, OFM Conv., celebrated a midday provincial Mass at the cathedral June 25. His homily focused on the parable of the two builders in Matthew 7, from the day’s Gospel reading.

The archbishop highlighted Jesus’ challenging words that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord” will enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Jesus warns that not even prophesying, driving out demons or doing mighty deeds in his name is enough, shared the archbishop. Jesus doesn’t dispute their activities but rather questions their foundation, said Archbishop Hartmayer.

“‘I never knew you,’ he said. You never opened your heart to me. You did all those things that look good, but there was not relationship between us,” said the archbishop in summarizing Jesus’ words.

In the parable, the wise man built his house on a rock to withstand the rain, floods and wind. The foolish man built his house on sand, and it collapsed in ruin.

Mass is celebrated communally as an act of faith in the “foundation on which we should build our house,” said Archbishop Hartmayer.

When bishops pray, govern, teach or sit with others in crisis, “we do this work on (the) rock, or not at all,” he said.

“The question is not whether we have been busy in the Lord’s name. The question is whether the Word of God has reached the foundation of our lives,” said Archbishop Hartmayer.

The Eucharist serves to strengthen this foundation, he emphasized.

“That is why you are here. We are not here to inspect a building, but to shore up our foundation, to continue to add another layer of solid rock,” he said.

Following Mass, the bishops chatted with parishioners outside the cathedral. During their meetings, the bishops listed to presentations from Atlanta’s synod leaders to talk about next steps that the Vatican is asking dioceses to take in the synodal process. They also discussed issues related to growth and how to support clergy, religious and the faithful.