John Paul II High School. John Paul II High School was initiated by Bishop Carmody and will graduate its first senior class this May. The school also boasts a new fine arts center and a cafetorium and an athletics field. Bishop Carmody prays during the unveliing of the statue of Jesus and the Centurion. The Centurion is the mascot of the school.

"I often think of Oscar Wilde, the poet. He has one great statement in there that really helps me along in life, and it is, ‘He who lives more lives than one, more deaths than one must die.' When I look at all the changes in my life, the changes in the church, you have to die to many things."

The words of Bishop Edmond Carmody mirror the paschal mystery — the cycle of Christ's passion, death and resurrection — the essence of Catholic faith and the pattern of life.

The week before his retirement, Bishop Carmody shared some reflections on his life, his immediate future and a couple of things he holds most closely to his heart, including the students of John Paul II High School, where he will maintain an office.

There is a certainty in this life life, said the bishop; it is always changing.

"We were trained formed, prepared to serve in the church which changed significantly after the Vatican council," recalled the bishop, who turned 76 this past January. He turned in the required letter of resignation to the Vatican last year upon the occasion of his 75th birthday and waited for the letter advising him of his retirement.

"So you die to one way of liturgical practice and then there's a resurrection, a new life a new joy.

"The same when I left Ireland at the age of 23 and dying to that way of life. But then coming to San Antonio was resurrection, joy, happiness, beauty, excitement." There were many subsequent deaths and resurrections along the way to Corpus Christi.

"Now, I die to this way and have to await a new resurrection. I've never been retired before," the bishop said.

For those who know him, "retire" may not be the best word to describe what the bishop will be doing the day after Bishop Michael Mulvey succeeds him. He will undoubtedly be active and plans to offer his certified teaching and counseling skills to John Paul High School. He also hopes to assist daily at the new shrine dedicated to Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos.

Bishop Carmody admitted that the general population may have a few misconceptions about bishops.

"The idea of the bishop comes back through history. Bishops have played different roles in the church. People have the stereotype that he's aloof, he's removed from people, but they have to realize that the bishop is there to serve them, there to take care of them."

Bishop Carmody acknowledged that he had a few misconceptions of his own when he began his prettily ministry.

"When you're first ordained you can change the world," he said, thinking back over the past 50 years.

Life does certainly change, but "You have to realize it's the Lord who makes the changes," said the bishop. "We are the instruments and the Lord works through us."