November 8, 2016
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
As part of the mission of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ sends us out to care for His little ones. All of us are poor before God – poor in our sins, and poor because everything we have, we have only as God’s generous gift. We owe Him everything, and therefore we see the poor in this world as our own dear brothers and sisters. In our eagerness to follow the Lord, we then willingly respond to His call to care for the poor.
 
Jesus Christ became poor for our sake, giving us a perfect example in Himself of both charity and solidarity. Pope Francis has urged us to embrace this example. During his visit to Brazil, for example, Pope Francis said, “The measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need” (World Youth Day, July 25, 2013). With these words, Pope Francis continues to bring our attention back to the poor and our shared responsibility toward them.
 
At the close of this jubilee Year of Mercy, we are called to continue to share Christ’s mercy with all those around us. The solemnity of Christ the King reminds us prayerfully to support the poor, not least in the special collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). This collection, an arm of the Catholic Church in the United States, tries to address the root causes of poverty here at home. Funding from the collection offers new hope every year to those living in poverty throughout the United States. This collection will be taken up in our diocese on November 20, the Solemnity of Christ the King. Please support with your generous prayers this collection and the good works for which it provides, and if you are able, please consider making a donation.
 
Your brother in Christ,
 
Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City