by Bishop James Conley
As I write this column in preparation for Holy Week and Easter, I would like to begin by sharing with you my recent visit to Philadelphia for the episcopal consecration of three new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
There are two reasons why I decided to attend this event. The first was because two of the three new auxiliary bishops are on the formation staff for St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, where the Diocese of Lincoln has been sending seminarians for their graduate theological formation for more than 40 years. Bishop Keith Chylinski is the rector of St. Charles and Bishop Christopher Cook is the dean of men. These two priests have played a vital role in the formation for a good number of current seminarians and our younger clergy over these past years, for which I am very grateful.
The second reason was to have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with our seminarians who are studying on the east coast. I invited our seminarians who are being formed at my alma mater, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., to travel the two and a half hours to Philadelphia to join us for the ordination of the new auxiliary bishops. I traveled to Philadelphia with Father Brian Kane, the rector of our college seminary, St. Gregory the Great in Seward. Two other Lincoln priest-alumni of St. Charles attended the episcopal ordinations as well.
We currently have 13 seminarians studying at both seminaries. I particularly wanted to meet with the five transitional deacons who will be ordained priests on Saturday, May 25, (please read the excellent profiles in the Register each of our deacons have been writing over these past weeks), as well as the two third-year men who are scheduled to be ordained deacons on Friday, May 24. Both ceremonies will be held at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln and are open to the public. I am happy to report that all of our seminarians on the east coast are happy and flourishing, and they are eager to return to the Diocese of Lincoln to serve as your future shepherds!
Unbeknown to all of us, the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, His Beatitude, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, of Kyiv, Ukraine, attended the Philadelphia ordinations. Archbishop Shevchuk was in the United States at the time to visit Ukrainian Catholics in America, and to have meetings with members of the United States Congress regarding the tragic war in Ukraine.
At the end of the ordination Mass, Archbishop Shevchuk presented a gift to the ordaining prelate, His Excellency, Archbishop Nelson Perez, Archbishop of Philadelphia. The gift was a framed shadow box with a piece of shrapnel from a drone bomb that was targeted for his home in Kyiv, but missed its target and exploded next to his home. He presented this piece of metal shrapnel to Archbishop Perez in gratitude for the prayers of the American people, and particularly to his brothers and sisters in the Catholic faith.
Archbishop Shevchuk explained to us these shards of metal represent the nails of Jesus Christ that are currently piercing the Body of Christ in Ukraine. He shared with us that at this point in time, tens of thousands of his people have lost their lives in this evil war of aggression over the past two years. He noted that many of the victims of this war have been innocent civilians living in hospitals, children attending schools, and people in their own homes. Like Nebraska, Ukraine is a rural region— known as the “bread basket” of Europe—so many of the victims have been farm families.
There were around 35 bishops who attended the ordination, and before the Mass, I was able to meet Archbishop Shevchuk. He presented each bishop with a recently published book entitled “At the Foot of the Cross: Lessons from Ukraine,” published by Our Sunday Visitor press. The book is a fascinating extended interview with Archbishop Shevchuk on the deep faith, courage and hope of the people of Ukraine. Like the archbishop himself exhibits, there is an inexplicable joy and resilience in the Ukrainian people, as they carry the cross of war.
When His Beatitude handed me the book, I was able to inform him that Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Lincoln has helped to resettle more than 200 Ukrainian refugees in our diocese. I also assured him of our prayers for his country, as well as our solidarity with him and his people. He immediately smiled and asked me to personally thank the people of the Lincoln Diocese for their prayers and support.
This week, as we make our own journey to the “foot of the cross” and meditate on the sufferings of Jesus, particularly the nails in his body, let us remember our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. War is always a tragedy, particularly a war that is unprovoked and unjust. One might ask, why does God allow these kinds of evil to exist? This mystery not unlike the mystery of the innocent Lamb who was led to the slaughter that was the source of our salvation.
Injustice has been with us forever, but our trust is in the one Who is all just and all loving. Jesus is the one who can bring good even out of the worst evil. His sacrifice on the cross turned the greatest evil ever into our salvation from sin and death. His crucifixion may have taken place 2,000 years ago, but it is all too real for us today. As our culture continues to pound the “nails” into the poor, the elderly, the lonely, the unborn and the victims of violence, let us instead lift them up to our God in prayer and stand up for them with our actions.
This Holy Week, let us see the nails in Jesus’ body as well as the shrapnel of our own lives, but let us also see the resurrection. It is there where all of us in this world will find the true peace and joy that can only come from Jesus Christ.
