I can’t tell whether he’s one of the better players on the team. That doesn’t matter. I know he’s right where he needs to be right now. And so am I.

Pastor of the National Shrine of St. Alphonsus Liguori in Baltimore since 1998, Monsignor Bastress has ministered throughout the archdiocese since his May 19, 1951, ordination at the Baltimore Basilica.

As a priest, Monsignor Bastress was in fact enlisted to act “in persona Christi” – in the person of Christ – throughout various aspects of his ministry.

Is human life a gift to be revered, or something to be discarded when it seems unproductive or inconvenient to others? There is still time for all of us to help choose the answer.

God doesn’t care whether we’re immaculately dressed in fancy clothes or wearing an old bathrobe with sausage grease on the sleeve.