All called to evangelize

Feb. 14, 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Last Sunday, I had the joy of celebrating again the Rite of Election of Catechumens, once at the Cathedral here in Sioux City, and again at St. Mary's Church in Storm Lake. The Rite of Election is the second step in the process of receiving unbaptized adults into the Catholic Church, and it closes the time of instruction in the basic beliefs and practices of our Faith. Because this Rite coincides with the beginning of Lent, it is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on the reality of sin, and the necessity of penance and inner conversion as we prepare for the Paschal Mystery.

Throughout the Diocese this year, there were many Catechumens. We can now call them "Elect," because they have received the Church's "election," the recognition of their commitment and readiness for the sacred waters of Baptism, for the strengthening of Confirmation, and for the full participation in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. I look forward eagerly, as I am sure we all do, to their full initiation into the Body of Jesus Christ which is His Church.

We also have several Candidates, that is, already baptized Christians seeking full incorporation into the Catholic Faith. These men and women, too, I greet with joy and look forward to their continuing to grow in faith in our Lord alongside the rest of us sojourners in the world. I look forward to the day when each parish has several persons interested in becoming Catholics. What a wonderful thing it would be to have the Cathedral overflow with many Catechumens and candidates each year. All of us have a mission to seek ways to share our faith with others and invite them to join us.

For the Elect and the Candidates, as for all of us Catholics, Lent is a time of preparation, of purification, of seeking to deepen and renew our interior life, in Christ and the Holy Spirit, that began (or is about to begin) with our Baptism. All of us need this renewal, no matter our role or standing in the Church or in the world. Perhaps especially we who are leaders need to learn again Christ's humility and gentleness, as He showed and taught His disciples.

For all Catholics, and indeed for all Christians who live Christ's own life from dying and rising with Him in Holy Baptism, the fruit of our inner conversion is love. Christian love is not an emotion, which arises outside of our will, but a rational choice: the one who loves in imitation of Christ chooses "the good of the other in preference to his own good." Love is a virtue, precisely because it is the daily practice of choosing for our neighbor the good which God wills, by means of our actions guided by grace. We are intended to be a tangible means of God's love reaching others, just as we experience some of the depth of His love for us through others. The sacrament of Matrimony embodies this "great mystery," as St. Paul says, when husband and wife choose humbly to put aside their individual desires for the sanctification of each other. In the same way, humble Christian love in the world has the capacity to transform hearts and minds by the mystery of the Cross.

Jesus tells us that "the Truth will set you free." What is the Truth? Jesus Himself is that Truth: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." The slavery from which He frees us is the tyranny of sin. He is precisely the way of salvation, and the truth that love is more powerful than despair, and the living hope that shines amidst the darkness of sin. All of God's children deserve to hear that truth, to be evangelized by the Church as an act of love of neighbor. All of us are meant to be evangelists for Him and the Gospel. We are all "sent" as apostles ("apo-stolos" in Greek means "the one sent out"), because of our Baptism. This mission is strengthened in Confirmation, and renewed in each Eucharistic communion with the Lord.

Especially during Lent, therefore, we must ask ourselves whether our neighbors know from our actions and attitudes, from our words and presence that we belong completely to Jesus Christ. Are we living apostolically, as missionaries and evangelists? Are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of others, and especially for the Lord who sacrifices Himself for us? Do we proclaim the Gospel, the Good News of liberty from sin and death in the life of Christ the Lord, every day, no matter the cost? Do we choose the good of the other in preference to our own good?

For the Elect and the Candidates in the Rite for Christian Initiation of Adults program (RCIA) on their journey to Baptism and full communion with the Catholic Church, these are the very questions about to be pondered in the scrutinies on the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent.

"The scrutinies are meant to uncover, and then heal all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, and then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good.... These rites, therefore, should complete the conversion of the elect and deepen their resolve to hold fast to Christ, and to carry out their decision to love God above all." (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, #141)

How instructive for the rest of us! We, too, need to complete our conversion and deepen our resolve to cling only to God. We must not demand that those seeking to join the Catholic Church are held to a different standard of loving God and neighbor than we hold ourselves. We must rather hold ourselves to the higher standard, so that our love for Jesus Christ and for one another is obvious. Then we can point to the reality of love, His love alive in us, and ask the world the question only faith can answer: where is your reason to love? What, in the end, can you stand for, if not for Him who is Love?

I pray that our gracious Lord Jesus Christ may bless each of you with sincere repentance and firm intentions to follow His example. May this Lent be filled with the joy of coming back to Him, and may that grace keep you faithful and zealous. May our Heavenly Father, the source of all good things, give you every spiritual and material blessing in His great love and infinite generosity. And may the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Advocate, be with you in mind and heart each day.

Your brother in Christ,

Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City