Let's strive to accomplish all the Lord desires

March 29, 2007

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As the holy season of Lent draws to close, please know of my continued prayers for you and your family. The Lenten journey is a gift to us to help us grow in holiness and help us see only more clearly God's will in our lives. I am sure that this Lent, many, especially through the Sacrament of Confession, have come to experience God's forgiving love. May we never forget God's unconditional, unfailing love for us.

SERRA ESSAY CONTEST

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of celebrating Mass at the Cathedral for not only the usual parishioners, but also some of the winners from the Serra Vocation Essay Contest. This was followed by a dinner with all of the winners sitting at my table for a meal. I had to watch my manners and table etiquette and try not to give bad example to the guests. I usually eat too fast and I tried to slow down. We had a wonderful conversation about faith, the Church, vocations. They had many questions for the Bishop, such as where are you from, why do you wear a ring, and why did you want to become a priest. This event was sponsored by our Vocation Office and the Serra Club. I want to thank personally all the men and women of Serra especially for their prayers for vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and the consecrated life. Prayer is a powerful tool and I am sure that sincere prayer by all of us will result in many religious vocations. Blessed Junipero Serra, the Patron of the Serra Club, was a Franciscan missionary priest who spent his life spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. May his intercession bring us the vocations we need.

VOCATIONS

Father Brian Hughes has served as our Director of Vocations and Seminarians for several years. He has done a wonderful job in recruiting, sustaining and nurturing the vocations of many men presently in the seminary and some now serving as priests. I thank him for his outstanding dedication to this important work. This summer, Father Brian will receive a new parish assignment. No priest likes to stay too long in the administrative side of the diocese. Father is looking forward to being a "real priest" again. He has certainly been an inspiration of the priesthood to many young men and once again, he will have a chance to serve a parish community with that same dedication and love for his people.

I have asked Father Brad Pelzel to assume the duties of Vocation Director and Seminarian Director effective July 2, 2007. Father Pelzel has been ordained a priest for five years and is presently serving at Holy Trinity Parish in Fort Dodge. I appreciate the willingness of Father Brad to accept this important position. His love of parish work makes him a fine model especially for priestly vocations. Fr. Brad recently reminded me that in the Church we must all accept our God-given vocations with love and commitment. Vocations come from families, so the vocation to married life is of prime importance. Religious women are special gifts to the Church. We all need to encourage young women to discern the will of God in their lives and to give their lives totally to Him in service and love. Each one of us has a vocation from God to grow in holiness. We received this vocation (or call) when we were baptized. When we embrace our baptismal call, we can then begin to see the other vocation we might have been given: marriage, priesthood, diaconate, single life, or consecrated life. Father Brad will not be alone in his role as Vocation Director; all of us, by living our own particular vocation, will assist him in leading other young men to follow God's will totally. Please pray for him and for all vocations.

HOLY WEEK

Holy Week begins on Sunday. Please make plans now to participate in the events of this holiest week of the year. At your local parish or at our Cathedral church, the celebrations of our faith this week are of extreme importance. The palms and the passion of this Sunday set the stage for the Holy Week to follow.

On Monday, I will celebrate the annual Chrism Mass with all of the priests of our diocese. Not only will the holy oil used for the sacraments be blessed, but each priest will renew his priestly commitment to serve Jesus Christ and his beloved bride, the Church. Please join us at the Cathedral at 1:00 p.m. Monday, April 2 for this special Mass. The Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday is usually followed by adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I ask that this year as many as possible take time to pray in adoration of this most wonderful sacrament. Recently our Holy Father issued his Apostolic Exortation on the Eucharist. It is called The Sacrament of Charity. In this document our Pope again reminds us of the centrality of the Eucharist for our faith. He writes at length about this sacrament and how it is to be "celebrated and adored." This year, before the Blessed Sacrament, please pray for our diocese. May we be blessed with renewed faith, committed love and blessed hope as we strive to accomplish together all that the Lord desires.

Holy Week continues with the service of Good Friday, a day of fast and abstinence from meat. It is the only day of the year when Mass is not celebrated. We focus on the Cross of Christ, a sign of defeat, but even more a sign of victory. Please join me at noon for our service at the Cathedral or in your local parish to pray in thanksgiving for the life-giving death of our Savior.

The Easter Vigil, the first Mass of Easter, is the highlight of Holy Week and the greatest feast in our Church year. Many people stay away from this Mass, afraid of its length. This is very sad. The Easter Vigil celebration is full of meaning and symbolism. It covers every aspect of our faith and is a celebration of all we have been preparing for these forty days of Lent. New Catholics will be welcomed into our Church and all of us already baptized will renew our baptismal promises. Please make a special effort this year to attend this Mass, which is the most beautiful of the year.

May God's blessings continue to spring forth among us. The long season of winter is gone and the new spring is just beginning. Let us sing a new song to the Lord and be grateful for all His blessings.

My love and prayers are with you all.

Your brother in Christ,

Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City