July 7, 2009

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We thank God for the gift of good weather in these early summer days.  His generous bounty makes possible the fruits of the earth, on which so many of us depend for our livelihood, and all of us for our sustenance.  Summer’s warmth reminds us of the fire of divine love, and the extra hours of daylight help us work and play a little more.  I hope we also take time to pray a little more, in thanksgiving for all His most gracious gifts, and for each other.  Let us pray for our priests, especially, in this new Year for Priests which we are now celebrating.

GIFT OF PRIESTS

The priesthood is one of Christ’s most precious gifts to the Church.  From the consecrated hands of these dedicated men, we receive the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  From their lips, purified by God’s grace as the prophet Isaiah’s lips were purified with a burning coal, we hear the joyful words of absolution in the Sacrament of Penance.  Our priests baptize our children, witness our marriages, and send us into the next life in Christian burial.  Their constant prayers and sacrifices for the whole Diocese of Sioux City help keep us in loving submission to God’s most gracious will.  So please thank your priest for his dedication to his holy vocation, and please pray for him.

Some of you have already (or will soon) say farewell to your pastor or parochial vicar. They have either retired or been moved to a new assignment.  I know there will be sadness in your hearts as well as in the hearts of our priests.  We give thanks to God for their ministry among us.  Please also welcome with joy your new priest and pray in gratitude for our newly retired priests who served us so well.

We can also show respect for the work of our priests in our conduct at Holy Mass.  When we are well disposed for our participation in the Mass, we can better receive and appreciate the gift of Jesus Christ in His priest.  We can better support the priest’s sacrifice with our own baptismal priesthood.  In return, we receive the Lord more deeply and for a more efficacious transformation, by the grace of the Blessed Sacrament.  This deepens our longing and hunger for our Lord, as the Psalms so often put it, “Like a deer that yearns for running streams…” (Ps 42).  Christ in His most Blessed Sacrament satisfies this hunger like nothing else.  When we recognize this completion in Christ, because we are well disposed and fully participating, we give more joyfully our own sacrifices for His sake. 

We can then welcome Him more fittingly.  In simple ways, such as the modesty of our dress and the silence we offer before and during the Holy Mass, we offer the Lord the hospitality of a “humble, contrite heart” (Ps 51). Especially in these summer months we should think about we dress for Mass on weekends.  It is easy to be just a bit “too casual” when we decide how we want to be dressed at the heavenly banquet of the Eucharist.  It is good that we are there, but also important how we respect the community and the Lord Himself present in our midst, and dress appropriately for such a special meeting.  Would we even think of welcoming an important sports hero or movie star to our homes without suitable preparations?  Why should we do less for the Lord, whose glory is without end, than for these mere passing trifles?  Modesty is important, not because we judge by appearances, but because how we act reflects what we believe.  We believe and know without doubt that the Blessed Sacrament is the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, poured out for us and for our salvation.  We can’t, then, be content to act casually in our preparations and disposition to receive and welcome Him “under my roof” (Mt 8:8) and into my heart.

NEW CHANCERY STAFF

In the last two weeks, I have had the pleasure of welcoming our two newest Chancery employees to their new positions.  Dan Ryan’s first day as Superintendent of Catholic Schools was June 29, and Sean Martin’s first day as Director of Religious Education and Family Life was July 6.  I hope you will soon have an opportunity to meet them and welcome them in their new duties, and will of course pray for them and their families as they get settled.

POPE BENEDICT’S THIRD ENCYCLICAL, “CARITAS IN VERITATE, TRUTH IN LOVE”

This week, the third encyclical letter from Pope Benedict XVI was released.  I’m sure that few of us have had time to read it yet, but I’m quite looking forward to doing so myself.  I’ve managed only to glance through it very quickly, but I’m struck already by the Holy Father’s vigorous insistence on the social meaning of the dignity of the human person.  The Holy Father is teaching about the relevance of the Faith to social, especially economic, life.  I think we will appreciate even more strongly, when we have had time to ruminate on this letter, this important reminder that our social actions and institutions must serve people, both materially and spiritually, and not the other way around.

I pray earnestly that you will remain strong in your faith and your love for our Lord Jesus Christ.  May He constantly fill you and your loved ones with many blessings of His infinite grace.  May He send us good weather for our summer recreation, and especially just enough rain for a bountiful harvest to come.  Please continue to pray for me, so that I may serve you all as God wills.

Your brother in Christ,

Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless