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Bishop Nickless challenges youth to be counter-cultural at Adore’s closing Mass

By KARA KOCZUR, Globe staff reporter
(Email Kara)

OMAHA - Don’t be afraid to be different, Bishop R. Walker Nickless told a crowd of teenagers June 15 at the Adore Eucharistic Congress in Omaha.

“Don’t be the same as everybody in the world,” he said. “If somebody hits you and you want to hit them back, [remember] Jesus says, ‘No, turn the other cheek.’ Pray for them, do something different.”

The bishop celebrated and gave the homily at the closing Mass of the congress that began June 13. It was the second Eucharistic Congress held in Omaha. Adore, which is sponsored by the Alliance of the Holy Family, International, was first held in South Sioux City, Neb., in 2003. Since then it has become popular at other locations in America, Australia and the Philippines. Hong Kong and New Jersey held congresses earlier this year.

The theme for the weekend was “Believe. . .and you will receive the power!” Talks centered on prayer life, purity, spiritual warfare, the seven capital sins, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and a love and reverence for the Blessed Mother and the Eucharist.

Bishop Nickless also told the youth the Eucharist is a beautiful gift.

“How lucky we are to know that Jesus isn’t here in a symbol, but he is truly present, the real presence of Christ in the bread that becomes his body and the wine that becomes his blood,” he said. “How lucky we are to be so close to Jesus.”

Bishop Nickless recalled the story of the conversion of St. Paul and how he was called to preach the Good News. Through Paul’s writings, he said, Christians are reminded that they too must preach the Gospel, whether it is convenient or inconvenient by their actions and the words they use.

“What St. Paul says to the people in Corinth, I say to you this morning,” the bishop said. “Don’t just take the grace of God in vain. You have all been graced with the presence of God in your lives. …Don’t waste it. Use the gifts and the graces that you have. Don’t worry about the past. You can’t do anything to change it. The future is here, so spend your time, your life and your love for the moment right now when the Lord wants you to work and to do what needs to be done.”

It isn’t always easy to follow the Lord. St. Paul was attacked and ridiculed in numerous ways. He was put in jail and beaten, Bishop Nickless said. Just like in the time of St. Paul, people are trying to twist the truth today, making it hard to seek the truth in love.

He gave the examples of abortion and same-sex marriage. The world thinks it’s okay to kill an innocent baby, Bishop Nickless said, and challenged the youth to think of what they’re doing to help end abortion and what they’re doing to change people’s opinions of it so they recognize that human life begins at conception.

“Unfortunately I live in a state that has also tried to redefine what marriage is,” he said. “They say people can be the same-sex and be married. But we know that’s not true. We know what marriage is all about. We know it’s one man and one woman. From the beginning of creation, God created us that way.”

Human sexuality has also been cheapened, he said, through the internet, pornography, television and movies people view. Young people must reclaim it for the beautiful gift that it is.

“God says I depend on you, the young people of the church, to be pure and open,” Bishop Nickless said. “To witness to one another by keeping that beautiful gift of your virginity to be able to give it to your spouse or give it to the church in whatever way God asks you to do that.”

He reminded the youth to stay close to the sacraments in order to obtain a fuller strength as Catholics. Through the opportunities of confession, Eucharist, adoration, praying the rosary and coming together as a community of faith, Bishop Nickless told the teens he hoped the congress was fruitful for them.

“I hope that the experiences you’ve had the past three days has enabled you,” he said, “even though you’re tired and have done a lot of things, to maybe understand and be proud of the Catholic faith that you have.”