St. Joseph’s Education Society – 2019

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Through our Holy Baptism and Confirmation, each one of us is personally and eternally configured to our Lord Jesus Christ, Priest, Prophet, and King. Our duties as Christ’s devout disciples shape our individual vocations, give life to the Church, and shine the light of the Gospel into the darkness of the world. Yet, it is also God’s will that His holy Church should depend in another way upon the dedicated ministry of men consecrated by Holy
Orders. Bishops, priests, and deacons sanctify the People of God with the sacraments, preach the Word of God “in season and out of season,” and strive to lead the Church in her pilgrim Way of the Cross.

During National Vocations Awareness Week, we pray for all the many vocations in the Church. “Vocation” means a call from God, to follow Jesus in a particular way of discipleship. The three most common vocations are marriage and family life, the clergy, and religious life. Mary’s total “Fiat! (Yes!)” to God is our model for accepting
God’s call. Each vocation is an embrace of the Cross, a sacrifice of the good for the sake of the better, and an imitation of Christ and of Mary. The devil hates each of these vocations and does whatever he can to corrupt and distort God’s will for us, and our faithful acceptance of it. We must therefore pray for each other!

Next weekend, at all Masses for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 2 and 3, I ask you to support the special collection for the St. Joseph’s Education Society. The St. Joseph’s Education Society is a fund of the Diocese of Sioux City that provides for the formation for our permanent deacons, the continuing formation of all our clergy, and the education of our seminarians. The costs of these educational commitments continue to
mount. This is an annual collection, because our needs for deacon, seminarian, and on-going clergy formation continue every year. Please consider prayerfully your contribution to this important local collection.

We all rely on the priests and deacons assigned to our parishes. We need them to be well-formed, so that their devotion to the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ will bear good fruit in you, the faithful, whom they serve. We all benefit from the opportunities the Diocese strives to offer them, to grow in their own formation, in order to serve you better. Most especially, I ask you to continue to pray during this Vocations Awareness Week for
families, religious, and all our current and future priests and deacons. May God bless you for your devotion and generosity.

Your brother in Christ,

Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City