Pope’s messenger spends weekend in Wichita

The readings for Sunday, Nov. 16 began with the Prophet Malachi warning, “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire.” In the Gospel of Luke that followed, Jesus spoke of nation rising against nation, insurrections, the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple, natural disasters, and coming persecutions for his disciples.

During his homily at the 10 a.m. Mass at Wichita’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Cardinal Christophe Pierre acknowledged that the readings contained fearsome elements. Nevertheless, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States contrasted rightly-ordered holy fear with anxiety.

“None of this is what the scriptures mean,” he said. 

Rather, the cardinal explained, the fear described in scripture means knowing that the world is in God’s hands, which frees individuals from the burden of judgment and the need to impress others.

Therefore, Cardinal Pierre related, those with the gift of holy fear will receive healing and better relationships with God and others.

“May the Holy Spirit open our hearts to the only fear that sets us free – the fear of the Lord, which gives our souls the courage, steadies us, compels us, and leads us to joy,” he said.

Fiat Ministries

Before the cardinal presided over Mass with Diocese of Wichita Bishop Carl A. Kemme, Cathedral Rector Fr. Gabriel Greer, and several other priests of the diocese, Bishop Kemme led the cardinal on a tour of the diocese’s mother church. That tour included a stop alongside the tomb of Venerable Emil Kapaun.

After Mass, Cardinal Pierre and Bishop Kemme visited with the faithful in the cathedral gathering area before taking a few moments with some diocesan seminarians.

Cardinal Pierre came to Wichita to speak at a Fiat Ministries event the preceding evening. He acknowledged his weekend visit was too brief to reach many conclusions about the diocese, but spoke well of Fiat, which seeks to help young women discern their vocations.

“It has been a very short two days, but I felt very good impressions,” the cardinal said. “I came for the encounter with Fiat and can tell you that I am quite impressed.” 

The cardinal went on to affirm Fiat President Emily Savage and the work the ministry does in providing retreats and other means to help women build and deepen their relationships with the Lord in a way that can help them hear his particular call for them.

“I see that as a source of renewal for the whole church,” Cardinal Pierre said.

The nuncio serves as a diplomatic link between the central governing body of the Catholic Church – the Holy See – and the country in which the nuncio is stationed. “As the Vicar of Christ, the pope appoints nuncios (literally, ‘messengers’) to serve as ambassadors of the Holy See,” the U.S. Apostolic Nunciature website explains. “The premises where the apostolic nuncio fulfills his diplomatic mission are known as the apostolic nunciature. The nuncio’s responsibilities are twofold: serving as a bridge between the pope and the Church in a specific country and representing the Holy Father to that nation’s authorities.”