Priestly, religious life vocations are gift to the Church

Jan. 11, 2007

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

In parishes across the United States, Catholics observe National Vocation Awareness Week. In our homes, schools and parishes special attention is being given to how God calls each of us to a unique vocation. Our lives are formed under the banner of God's grace and our vocation in life is the way God calls us to respond to the many graces that He has poured upon us. This week is a special time for us to focus on vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Please allow me to mention a couple of things about the "vocation situation" in our diocese. Vocations to the priesthood and to religious life are a special gift to the Church in every generation. These vocations rise out of the fundamental call to holiness. It is vital for all of us to remember and to articulate again and again that vocations to the priesthood and to religious life come from faithful homes.

Parents and Grandparents have a powerful impact upon the lives of their children. I hope and pray that our diocese will abound with parents who are strong enough to encourage their children to explore God's will in their lives. This encouragement begins when parents live out their own vocation to marriage with love and devotion. Children must be encouraged by their parents to explore every avenue of grace to discover what God has intended in His unique plan of salvation.

Prayer and serious conversation must be a part of every Catholic household. Family life is increasingly busy and the hectic pace of daily living can often steamroll over the quiet and contemplative aspects of our faith life. Regular family prayer, both at weekly Mass and in the privacy of the home is an indispensable part of Catholic family life. If parents are not teaching their children how to pray and explore the deeper realities of life then our young people will pass through our homes and our churches with little understanding of the pattern of God's hand in our lives.

I remember with fondness the profound impact that my Grandmother had on my own vocation. She continually encouraged me to consider the idea of priesthood. Her chiding, her playful teasing and her serious and pointed encouragement formed in me a desire to explore God's will in my life. I was repeatedly reminded that I should pray about my own vocation. God first called me to the priesthood through the gentle encouragement of my grandmother and my parents. Later that call was strengthened and confirmed in parish life and in my private prayer and discernment. My vocation to serve the community of the Church is rooted in the loving encouragement of my grandmother's prayerful love.

Since coming to Sioux City I have been deeply impressed by the seminarians who are studying to serve the Diocese of Sioux City. Our brave and dedicated seminarians are an inspiration to me and a great assurance that God's gracious action is alive and well in our parishes and in our homes. We have a holy, humble and talented group of young men studying for our diocese and I never fail to be impressed and edified when I meet with them. I am very encouraged by both the native seminarians who have been born and raised here in Northwest Iowa, and our Hispanic seminarians who have left home and family to explore a vocation to the priesthood here in our diocese. I beg you to join me in praying for these young men and join me too in praying that the Lord will open the hearts of other young men to join them in the Lord's service.

In addition to our own seminarians there are a total of six young men and five young women from our diocese who are studying in formation programs in various religious communities. It is a sign of spiritual health and strength that the Diocese of Sioux City continues to raise up to the Lord so many vital and dynamic young people who seek to serve the Lord in the priesthood and in religious life. This is no small spiritual blessing; dioceses all over the United States and in many places in the world are experiencing a great dearth of vocations.

With grateful humility we should not fail to praise and thank the Lord for his goodness to the Diocese of Sioux City. Our Diocese is a fruitful field for Church vocations because of the dedicated service of so many great priests and holy religious sisters who have labored here in the Lord's service. We are blessed with vocations because of the dynamic and rich faith life practiced in our homes and parishes. For many reasons I am proud to be your Bishop...I am especially proud to be the Bishop of a Diocese that is a rich fountain for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. "May God who has begun the good work among us, bring it to fulfillment."

Your devoted brother and servant in Christ,

Most Rev. R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City