St. Augustine said in one of his letters, “The way to Christ is first through humility, second through humility, third through humility” (Letters 118:22). Humility is a word that comes to mind when I look at all the people and figures that we are honoring in the Diocese of St. Cloud in this new year of 2024.

In December, we celebrated the ordination to the priesthood of Father Jean-Claude Duncan who, just a few years ago, asked Bishop Emeritus Donald Kettler to receive him and his entire family into the Catholic Church. A father of nine children, he was granted a dispensation by the Vatican to be ordained a Catholic priest. An extraordinarily gifted man, he is humble and loving to the core.

We begin this new year by honoring Mary, the Mother of God. It is amazing how God chose a simple, humble handmaid of 15 years of age to bear the greatest gift he could give us: his only beloved Son.

The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the Three Kings who humble themselves on bended knee before Christ the King: our God incarnate in a tiny child lying in a manger.

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord underlines the mystery of the Son of God humbling himself to become one with us. As a human person, Jesus identified with us not only in our strengths, but in our frailty.

This month, we pray for the legal protection of unborn children, who are the tiniest and most vulnerable of human beings, created in the image and likeness of God.

We honor Martin Luther King, Jr., who once said about his mother, “She taught me that I should feel a sense of ‘somebodiness’ but that, on the other hand, I had to go out and face a system that stared me in the face every day saying you are ‘less than,’ you are ‘not equal to.’” He managed to remain humble and loving in the face of countless humiliations.

In this month when we also celebrate Catholic Schools Week, we honor our Catholic school teachers for their humble and loving service of our young people. In the words of Pope Francis, “Let us thank all those who teach in Catholic schools. Educating is an act of love; it is like giving life.”

Being a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, I truly admire our first Holy Cross saint, St. André Bessette, whose feast day is Jan. 6. He could not read or write and humbly served students at College Notre Dame in Montreal, Canada, as a porter, which meant that heswept, mopped andmaintained thecleanliness of the school. He prayed long hours and was known for his gift of healing through the intercession of St. Joseph. He once wrote that, “It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the most exquisitely beautiful pictures.”

Let us never forget that while we may be the smallest of brushes, God, the artist, paints the most exquisitely beautiful pictures with each one of us. The way to Christ is through humility.

Yours in Christ,

Bishop Patrick M. Neary, C.S.C

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Dear Friends:

Every Christmas morning, we hear proclaimed at mass the prologue of John’s gospel. In John 1:14, the Greek literally says that “the word became flesh and pitched his tent among us.” We might say that God became flesh and moved into the neighborhood. We know that God tented with the Israelites in the wilderness and now Christ pitches his tent with us. Why did the word leave a glorious throne in heaven to pitch a tent in the rough and dusty confines of earth? It says a lot about how God sees us and how much god loves us!

In this Parish Year of the Eucharistic Revival, it’s fitting to think of each celebration of the Eucharist as Christ pitching his tent with us, the people of God. He gladly enters into solidarity with whatever we are experiencing in life. In her book “Redeemed,” Heather King imagines Jesus saying at each celebration of the Eucharist, “I’m in solidarity not only with your humanity, your brokenness, your sins; I’m in solidarity with your pathologies. And in offering up my very flesh, I am going to transform the consciousness of all humanity, for all time.”

By now my first pastoral letter as bishop, titled “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” has been distributed around the diocese. There are four sections to it: Eucharist as gift, Eucharist as encounter, Eucharist as communion, and Eucharist as mission. Ultimately, the Eucharist sends us forth as missionary disciples to pitch our tents with those most in need and to take the Christ we have received in our hearts to those who do not yet know him.

Clearly, we must begin with the poor. I am aware that the homeless in our community will soon enough have to pitch their tents in the snow. Some families and the elderly suffer from food scarcity. Especially at Christmas, let us consider offering our time or financial support to Catholic service organizations, such as Catholic Charities, which through its food shelf program meets the needs of our brothers and sisters who are hungry.

Though far away, our hearts go out to the victims of the war in the Holy Land and in Ukraine. We see migrants who risk everything, and who face exploitation and danger as they flee violence and oppression, seeking to find a better life in our country, just as our own ancestors did. Even the Holy Family fled violence and moved to Egypt. Surely Christ has pitched his tent among them, and so can we, through our sympathy and prayers.

As Christmas approaches, we give thanks that the Word became flesh and chose to pitch his tent among us human beings. The greatest gift we have ever received, Jesus Christ, dwells within us and comes to us at every Mass. As his disciples, we take him to others so that he can pitch his tent in the hearts of the lonely, the homeless, those struggling with mental or physical illness, immigrants, prisoners, struggling farmers and any who are in need.

Yours in Christ, Bishop Patrick Neary

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I have been blessed to attend a St. Andrew Dinner on two occasions. These are dinners for young men of high school and college age who are discerning a possible vocation to the priesthood. Both times we had 20 or more young men attend them. Recently I learned that the Poor Clares have a new postulant and some other young women are considering becoming postulants. With 19 men in formation for the priesthood for the diocese and numerous others discerning a possible vocation to the priesthood and religious life, your prayers are bearing much fruit! 

On Sunday, Nov. 19, we will celebrate the World Day of the Poor. It was established by Pope Francis in 2017 to celebrate the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. The theme for World Day of the Poor 2023 is a passage from the Book of Tobit: “Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor.”

Pope Francis wrote that “The poor are the true treasures of the Church.” I doubt that many people look at the poor in this way. Yet if we have been awakened to the presence of Christ in his many disguises, he prefers to appear as a poor person. In his day, only the poor, the “humiliati,” would give him a hearing, not the elite, the wealthy or the powerful. While a pastor in Portland, Oregon, we had a team that took food to the nearby homeless encampments every Saturday, and on occasion I joined them. To share a meal and conversation with the people there changed me. You could sense, underneath the guise of a poor man or woman, the living presence of Christ. I invite all of us to find ways to connect with Christ in the poor, especially through Catholic Charities and other service organizations that serve the most vulnerable of our diocese. 

Sharing a meal with the poor naturally turns our minds and hearts to ponder Christ in the Eucharist, who is bread for the world. In this Parish Year of the Eucharistic Revival, we’ve been renewed in our appreciation for the sacrament that is the source and summit of our lives. I’m pleased to inform you that all the parishes will receive my first pastoral letter on the Eucharist, just in time for Advent. I hope that you enjoy it. 

Finally, I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! I know that it is hard to witness so much division in our country and a growing collective sense of fear and mistrust. Having lived overseas, I want to remind people that for all of our challenges, we live in a privileged land where our democracy guarantees us certain rights and freedoms that many people in the world do not enjoy. We people of faith are called to serve the common good and to uphold those values and principles that have their roots in Catholic social teaching. We have so much to be grateful for each day, as individuals and as one nation under God. Might you consider, as part of the prayer portion of the meal, asking those who wish to share one reason as to why they are thankful on Thanksgiving Day? You’ll be touched by the responses! 

Yours in Christ, Bishop Patrick M. Neary, C.S.C.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Diocese of St. Cloud:

Like all of you, I feel deeply saddened by the recent violent attacks that have taken place in Israel and Palestine. Many innocent people have been killed, some are still being held hostage, and many families have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods in the conflict. Displaced families in Gaza now face a humanitarian crisis, as they struggle to find food, water and shelter for their families.

Pope Francis, at the end of a recent General Audience, issued a warning against a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and ongoing conflicts elsewhere, saying, “War does not solve any problem: it sows only death and destruction, increases hatred, multiplies revenge. War cancels out the future.”

The possible widening of the conflict is disturbing, he added, while so many other wars are being fought in the world. “Please,” he said, “let us continue to pray for peace in the world, especially in tormented Ukraine.”

“May weapons be silenced, and let us heed the cry for peace of the poor, the people, the children,” the pope said. He urged people of faith to take “just one side in this conflict: that of peace. But not in words — in prayer, with total dedication.”

Pope Francis has therefore called for a day of fasting, penance and prayer for peace in the world on Friday, October 27.

He invited men and women of every Christian denomination and other religions, as well as those committed to the cause of peace, to participate in any way they feel is appropriate.

I ask all our parishes and schools to participate in this global event on October 27 as we do our part as the Diocese of St. Cloud to heed the call of Pope Francis.

I also invite those who might be free to join me on October 27 in offering the 12:05 p.m. Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral for world peace.

Lastly, please consider making a financial contribution to Catholic Relief Services, the international relief and development agency of the U.S. Catholic Church. CRS and its partners are on the ground in the Holy Land meeting the urgent humanitarian needs. Send your contribution to the St. Cloud Mission Office, 11 – 8th Ave. S., St. Cloud, MN 56301. Please write “Holy Land Relief” on the memo line of your check. The Mission Office will forward your contribution to CRS.

As we continue to pray for peace in our world, a moving quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., comes to mind: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

May our fasting, penance, and prayer be as light to dispel the darkness of our world and be as love to drive out hate from human hearts.

Yours in Christ,

Bishop Patrick M. Neary, C.S.C.

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“Those two disciples were confused and dismayed, but their encounter with Christ in the word and in the breaking of the bread sparked in them a desire to set out again and proclaim that the Lord truly had risen,” Pope Francis said in his Jan. 6 message on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.

“In the Gospel account we perceive this change in the disciples through a few revealing images: their hearts burned within them as they heard the Scriptures explained by Jesus, their eyes opened as they recognized him and, ultimately, their feet set out on the way. The Risen Lord remains close to his missionary disciples and walks beside them always. The image of the feet setting out reminds us of the ‘missio ad gentes,’ the mission entrusted to the Church by the risen Lord to evangelize all individuals and peoples, even to the ends of the earth.” 

Presently in the world where so much continues to divide us, World Mission Sunday unites us all as missionaries to help build the Body of Christ through a shared mission of hope, goodness and compassion. To be in mission is to be willing to think as Christ does, to love as Christ does, to share as Christ does and to welcome all of our brothers and sisters as Christ does. This message reinforces the idea that together as disciples we are urged to carry out Christ’s mission and message; to live the mission entrusted to us; to bear witness and to be witnesses of Christ throughout the world.

World Mission Sunday is set aside for Catholics worldwide to celebrate their individual and communal call to mission, to solidarity, to unity and to evangelization. Mission is so central to the Gospel and the needs are so urgent throughout the world, that I encourage you to embrace this responsibility wholeheartedly. Every parish, every home, every workplace must be a place of mission awareness, prayer and sacrifice. 

Through this World Mission Sunday celebration, our Mission Office and Society for the Propagation of the Faith connect with the loving work of great missionaries in every time and every place. It shares directly in the work of the Holy See, not with one mission but with all missions of the world. 

Thousands of priests, religious and laity who serve in various ways in mission dioceses throughout the world depend on annual subsidies from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and on the prayers of all of us. A special collection will be taken during the month of October to support these mission churches, which provide a spiritual home for those most in need, offering them the Lord’s peace, hope and love.

May all our hearts be on fire as we live out Christ’s mission in the world, being his feet on the move in our own communities. 

Sincerely Yours in Christ,

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I have been a bishop for just over six months now and it has been quite the adventure as I settle into an entirely new role. I have thoroughly enjoyed traveling across the 16 counties of the diocese getting to know so many of you. I think that as your shepherd, I’m starting to ‘smell of the sheep,’ as Pope Francis has called on the world’s priests to do to be close to their flock.

Recently I gave a presentation to the members of our pastoral team about my priorities as the new bishop of St. Cloud. The six priorities are: the well-being, support, and enrichment of our Pastoral Team; care for the priests of the diocese; seeing synodality as the model for the Church and the diocese; the Eucharistic Revival in the diocese; the Latino presence in the diocese; strategic planning for the next phase of our Area Catholic Communities. What follows is a brief observation about these priorities:

We have an impressive pastoral team, primarily comprised of lay people, who are intelligent, faith-filled and zealous. We want to do more faith-based enrichment and find new ways to collaborate between our many offices to offer more resources to our schools and parishes. They are a fun group to be around and we laugh a lot together.

I have spent my Fridays traveling to interview my brother priests so I can get to know them better. We currently have 62 active priests and 39 retired priests. When I visit with them, I simply ask them where they grew up, the sports they played in their youth, their hobbies and how they discerned a call to the priesthood. I love hearing their stories. I do worry that they are being overworked and we need to explore ways to reduce the pressure on them.

The synodal process that Pope Francis introduced to the universal Church isn’t a new program but a way of being Church that was inspired by Vatican II. It basically means to encounter the Lord in one another, to listen to others, and to discern with them how we must change in order to live life more abundantly. This is the model of being Church that we hope to follow at all levels of the diocese.

I’m happy to announce that as we initiate the parish year of the Eucharistic Revival we will have a new pastoral letter on the Eucharist, with a study guide, coming out in time for Advent. I hope we can appreciate that the sacrament of the Eucharist is about mission and invites us to become missionaries who each day are called to carry Christ to others.

I am concerned that we are losing Latino Catholics in increasing numbers. I would like to see us take the synodal process to them, in the towns where they are located in our diocese, to become aware of their hopes, dreams and concerns.

Last but not least, would be the next phase of planning for our Area Catholic Communities. The invitation before us is to use the synodal process to listen to those in leadership in the ACCs to understand the wisdom on the ground, to encounter, to listen and to discern the way forward.

Though I’m only a “baby bishop,” as some jokingly call it, I feel excited as I look towards the future. How blessed I feel that Christ called me to serve as his shepherd of the Diocese of St. Cloud. May St. Cloud intercede for all of us, that God’s will be done!

Yours in Christ,

+ Bishop Patrick Neary, C.S.C., is the 10th bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota.

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