LINCOLN (SNR) – Bishop James Conley recently completed meeting in person with the active priests of the Diocese of Lincoln.
The diocese spans more than 24,000 square miles, and more than 130 active priests serve its 134 parishes and institutions and a Catholic population of 95,000 people.
When Bishop Conley returned from medical leave in November 2020, he hosted a large Zoom meeting with all the priests of the diocese. He told them as he resumed leadership of the diocese, he wanted to meet with them in small group settings, after being on leave for nearly a year. And so, beginning in January 2022, Bishop Conley met with priests from across the diocese on 12 occasions.
Bishop Conley invited all the active priests in the diocese to come together fraternally for a dinner and discussion at these events. There were 12 meetings in total, most of which took place at Bishop Conley’s home in Lincoln. However, to better accommodate the priests who serve farther away from Lincoln, Bishop Conley conducted meetings in Falls City, Hastings, and McCook.
Bishop Conley said he wanted every active priest of the diocese to attend the meetings to get an objective understanding of the state of the diocese, and to allow every priest to offer his perspective. Bishop Conley said he wanted priests to speak openly and freely about their perspectives.
The meetings were structured upon three essential agenda items: thoughts for the diocese and parishes for the upcoming nationwide Eucharistic revival; inquiring about the health and well-being of the presbyterate; and collecting priest input in regard to the future of the Diocese of Lincoln.
Eucharistic revival
The Eucharistic revival is an initiative from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops with the intent to rediscover the Eucharist through a deep commitment of prayer, pilgrimage, and worship on the part of the entire Church in the United States. The Eucharistic revival will begin on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi June 19, and will culminate in a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July 2024.
In the diocesan meetings with priests, Bishop Conley encouraged priests to seek opportunities for Eucharistic renewal in parishes and schools, including Eucharistic adoration. Many parishes in the diocese already have strong Eucharistic adoration programs, some which have been going on for several decades.
Bishop Conley emphasized in the meetings that he did not want the Eucharistic revival to be a viewed as a “program” for or from the Chancery, but rather something done in solidarity with each other in the diocese, and with Catholics throughout the United States.
“The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life,” the bishop said. “And yet, if the studies are correct, only 30% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The solution to this problem will not be solved simply through a new program, but through a re-encounter with Jesus Christ.”
Priests’ well-being
Bishop Conley spoke about the need for priests to find balance in the various facets of their lives: their own personal health, spiritual lives, fraternity among priests, and their pastoral work.
He said he desires to create a diocesan culture where priests have a zeal for souls while also taking care of themselves and avoiding burnout. He encouraged priests to find time for rest and renewal including taking a weekly day off, finding time for prayer and retreat, and getting away on vacation.
“Priests are called to the high task of continuing Christ’s ministry of teaching, governing and sanctifying,” he said. “But, to do this with the heart of the Christ, priests must continue to be interiorly renewed in their own spiritual lives. I want a culture among the priests of the diocese that prioritizes that renewal.”
Future of the Diocese
Bishop Conley also asked the priests for input on the future of the Diocese of Lincoln over the next several years. The bishop noted there are many challenges that the Universal Church and the diocese itself face, but also many blessings and strengths of the diocese.
“The Lord has blessed the Diocese of Lincoln in countless ways,” he said. “We have a large number of priests for the size of our diocese, and priests who are faithful and orthodox. We have many good, holy religious sisters, Brides of Christ, who serve selflessly through the Evangelical Counsels. There are many committed, generous members of the lay faithful, who are genuine disciples of Jesus.”
Father Lee Jirovsky, chief administrative officer of Bishop Neumann Jr/Sr High School in Wahoo, reflected on the meeting he attended in Lincoln.
“These dinners were a privileged time to be able to open up our priestly hearts to each other and to the bishop, from whom our ministry flows,” he said. “At one point in the conversation, I reflected that this may have been similar to the experience of the Apostles as they sat with Our Lord at the end of a long day and were able to share their encounters with Him.”
He said while the priests shared personal joys, victories, struggles, and pain, “at the heart of it all was the ways in which Christ’s love is present in the lives of our people, parishes, and diocese. To that end, one of the deepest longings expressed from the priests was a question, ‘How do we bring people back to a profound experience of Our Eucharistic Lord?’”
