Bishop James Conley
Last weekend, I had the honor and joy of ordaining two men to the rank of interim deacon and five deacons to the rank of priests at the Cathedral of the Resurrected Christ in Lincoln. It has been a long-standing tradition in the Diocese of Lincoln to ordain new deacons and priests on Memorial Day weekend, a weekend that seems to me most fitting for our nation to remember and honor the men and women who have made great sacrifices to protect our freedoms. We look forward to the future with hope, knowing that God continues to raise up new spiritual leaders, shepherds, who will make great sacrifices to care for the flock entrusted to His care.
Most importantly, ordination weekend is an opportunity to thank God for providing new shepherds for their flock and to express gratitude to the families of these men who have nurtured and supported the priestly vocation in the hearts of their sons.
The five newly ordained priests bring the number of active priests in the Diocese of Lincoln to 150, the highest number in the diocese’s 137-year history. These five new priests bring the total number of priests ordained since I became Bishop of Lincoln in November 2012 to 50, exactly one-third of the total priesthood. With only two retirements this year, the average age of active priests is now 50, 13 years younger than the national average of 63. I had the pleasure of conferring the first priestly ordination on these five men last Friday, on the eve of their ordination day. They received this ordination with deep joy, as they look forward to serving in your dioceses.
“But these encouraging statistics are not a reason to boast or become proud, but rather to be humble and thank the Lord for his mercy towards this local Church. We must give all the credit to God and to the prayers of many, especially our nuns’ cloistered community, the Pink Sisters of Lincoln, the Carmelite nuns of Valparaiso, and many others. We also thank Almighty God for the generous parents and families who instructed these men in the Catholic faith at home and taught them from an early age the meaning of sacrifice and generous service to God.
Last year, I added a new sentence to the annual priestly assignment survey that I distribute to priests at the end of the calendar year. When I asked the priests if they would be willing to serve needs outside the Diocese of Lincoln, 15 priests said they would be happy to do so if requested. We know that God’s generosity is second to none. We should always be ready and willing to help those in need. We already have 12 priests serving outside the Diocese of Lincoln, and we firmly believe that God will always bless our generosity and sacrifices 100-fold.
As I write this, we are making final preparations to begin our first pastoral conference in Kearney. From Memorial Day evening until noon on Thursday (May 27-30), we will be “away” from our pastoral responsibilities and obligations for a time of rest and relaxation, fraternal recreation and refreshment.
The theme of this year’s clergy gathering, a planned biennial event, is “Flourishing as Priests: Body, Mind, Soul.” Each morning, Father John Riccardo and his team from Acts XXIX will lead a time of reflection, followed by Communion and lunch. Afternoons and evenings will be devoted to outdoor excursions that include hiking, canoeing, golfing and skeet shooting. We are grateful to the Nebraska Knights of Columbus and State Rep. Robert Wolf for generously providing the fraternity’s steak dinner on the Tuesday night of the gathering.
The Latin word is famous: acsium. Nemo doesn’t do that.literally means “you cannot give what you do not have”. All human beings need time for self-care and leisure. We are not machines and for priests the daily work of pastoral ministry can be physically, emotionally and spiritually draining. I hope and pray that our days together will energize us so that when we return to our duties we will be refreshed, rejuvenated and able to resume our pastoral duties with even more enthusiasm. There will also be the opportunity for health check-ups organised by Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital where medical professionals will be on-site to provide advice on health and wellness.
He is grateful to Father Doug Deitrich, the acting priest, who played a “biggest role” in organizing this year’s clergy gathering, as he recently stated in a Southern Nebraska Register article: “The gathering will give the priests an opportunity not only to talk about the importance of a balanced lifestyle but also to experience it. It will be more than just a few hours away from preparing for parish meetings and classes.”
Please know that in our absence we are praying for each of you. I thank you all for your prayers for us. I look forward very much to spending a few days together renewing the priestly bond that we have the privilege of sharing with Jesus Christ, and to this blessed opportunity for our priests’ spiritual and human flourishing.
