Much to learn, much to reflect upon

Sept. 13, 2007

Dear Sisters and brothers in Christ,

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Now that both our Catholic Schools and public schools are well into another academic year, it is a good time to reflect briefly on continuing religious education. One of my goals as bishop is to continue to support in as many ways as possible continued growth in our Catholic faith. This must happen among all age groups, not just the young.

PARENTS ROLE Parents, especially, are called to know their faith so that they can pass it on to their children. There is no substitute for parental involvement especially in the religious education of their children. What we do as Church, both in our Catholic Schools and Parish Religious Education programs, is to try and assist parents in their role as primary educator of their children. If what is taught in school or in the religious education program is not supported and upheld in the home, growth in faith is very difficult. No Catholic School, no religious education program can do it all. I encourage our good and faith-filled parents to continue to give good example to their children by taking them regularly to the Sacrament of Confession and of course, to the weekly Sunday Mass. I encourage parents to "talk about religion" whenever they can and to be interested in what their children learn especially in religion classes. RELIGION TEACHERS AND VOLUNTEERS I want to acknowledge and thank in a particular way all the faithful of our diocese who teach religion. This applies both to our Catholic School teachers and Religious Education teachers and volunteers. Thank you for the witness of your faith and for sharing that witness with our young people. Thank you for all the time and effort you put in to being prepared and for your willingness to grow in your own understanding of the faith and devotion to your work. Young people look to you for witness, knowledge and true love of the Church and all her teachings. My thanks to Youth and Young Adult Ministries as well. What a treasure we have to share with our young people. The gift of faith and knowledge of that faith is truly a blessings.

GROWTH IN UNDERSTANDING OUR FAITH

Our diocese is blessed with a program of continuing education opportunities both at the parish and diocesan levels. The Adult Education program at our parishes and the Church Ministry Classes provided by the Diocese can be very helpful for continued growth in faith. Our diocesan paper, the Globe, continues to be a source of information for further growth as well. Soon Catholic radio will become more and more available to us. It too will bring opportunities for deepening our knowledge of what we believe. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a prime source of education. I hope that every household in our diocese has at least one copy of the Catechism along with the Bible and that they are used, not just gathering dust. Other books, periodicals, DVD's, tapes are always good sources for us to enhance our understanding and love of the truth of our faith. Attending the upcoming Ministries Conference in Spencer the weekend of September 23rd and 24th is a wonderful opportunity to better understand the Eucharist and its central place in our belief. I hope to see many of you there.

CATECHETICAL SUNDAY

I say all of this about our growth in understanding our faith as we Celebrate Catechetical Sunday this weekend. The Church sets aside this time to remind us of the importance of knowing our faith and to appreciate the ways we may expand that knowledge. "Catechesis" is nothing more or less than the handing on of the faith. Catechesis begins with hearing the gospel message and initial conversion. We call Jesus' message the "Good News" because we hear it from someone else, ultimately from the Apostles and Jesus Himself. The four Gospels are the Truth we need to hear over and over. Pope Paul VI wrote that, "[T]he presentation of the Gospel message is not an optional contribution for the Church. It is the duty incumbent on her by the command of the Lord Jesus, so that people can believe and be saved. This message is indeed necessary. It is unique. It cannot be replaced. It does not permit either indifference, syncretism or accommodation. It is a question of people's salvation. It is the beauty of the Revelation that it represents. It brings with it a wisdom that is not of this world. It is able to stir up by itself faith - faith that rests on the power of God. It is truth. It merits having the apostle consecrate to it all his time and all his energies, and to sacrifice for it, if necessary, his own life" (Evangelium Nuntiandi, 5). Faith always begins with the Word of God.

Catechesis is the work of all of us, but in a special way it belongs to parents and those who teach others of faith. Catechesis continues with commitment, with living the sacramental life and seeking ongoing conversion. Jesus demands from us that we become "holy, as my Father in Heaven is holy." This is a long, hard process, for which we need time and effort, and much grace. We will fall often on this road, but with the help of our Lord and all our brothers and sisters in faith, we can climb back to our feet and continue the journey. This is why the Church is absolutely necessary: "[N]ot without sorrow, we can hear people - whom we wish to believe are well-intentioned but who are certainly misguided in their attitude - continually claiming to love Christ but without the Church, to listen to Christ but not the Church, to belong to Christ but outside the Church. The absurdity of this dichotomy is clearly evident in this phrase of the Gospel: "Anyone who rejects you rejects me." (Evangelium Nuntiandi, 16). Faith always grows in and with the Church, Christ's own Body.

Catechesis is fulfilled in mystical union, in the intimacy of a life utterly surrendered to our Lord. "Evangelization will also always contain - as the foundation, center, and at the same time, summit of its dynamism - a clear proclamation that, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, who died and rose from the dead, salvation is offered to all men, as a gift of God's grace and mercy. And not an immanent salvation, meeting material or even spiritual needs, restricted to the framework of temporal existence and completely identified with temporal desires, hopes, affairs and struggles, but a salvation which exceeds all these limits in order to reach fulfillment in a communion with the one and only divine Absolute: a transcendent and eschatological salvation, which indeed has its beginning in this life but which is fulfilled in eternity" (Evangelium Nuntiandi, 27). Faith always ends in the complete transformation of sin by grace. All of us must give ourselves to the hard work of growth in knowing and living our faith. There is so much to learn, so much to reflect upon. There is also much to share and that is what catechesis is all about. Catechesis is the handing on of faith. All of us hand on our faith in both explicit and implicit ways. The measure of our faith is always love, in and with and through Jesus Christ our Lord. "Love the Lord with your whole heart, your whole mind, and your whole soul; and love your neighbor as yourself." This is the complete faith given to us by Christ, handed down unchanged and unchangeable to every generation for two millennia.

Let us never take our Catholic faith for granted or presume that "we know all we need to know" just because we have been Confirmed. Growth in faith and learning is a lifelong process. Let us all do our part: teaching, learning, growing, loving. May God bless our efforts.

So far, so good for your bishop's favorite NFL football team: GO BRONCOS!

Your brother in Christ,

Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City