Bishop’s Appeal for Vocations 2026
Guest column by Fr. Alec Sasse,
Vocations Director
“The Priest is not his own.” By these words (and the title of a book authored by him), Blessed Fulton J. Sheen shared his theology of the priesthood: the priest, in imitation of Christ, is called to give his life away for his bride, the Church. His life no longer belongs to him. His time no longer belongs to him. He has given it all away… an intimidating calling!
Of course, we see this kind of self-gift and self-emptying love when we examine the life of Christ. Jesus, as he walked this earth, was gradually giving away everything He had: He left His home in Heaven to be with us; He left His home in Nazareth to seek out the lost; He gave away His time and schedule to the crowds who flocked around Him; He gave away His very body at the Last Supper; He gave away His Mother at the Cross; He even gave away His own Heart as a final act of love.
Kenosis: this is the theological word used to understand the path of self-emptying love which Jesus walked for us all. This self-emptying is the kind of love that Christ calls all of us, but especially priests, to imitate and implement. This love doesn’t emerge from a place of self-reliance or some kind of manufactured human strength. Rather, it flows from an intimate relationship with God the Father. The Father fills the heart of the priest with love, and the priest offers his life for the Church.
“The Priest is not his own.” These words form the theme for this year’s Bishop’s Appeal for Vocations. The Bishop’s Appeal for Vocations is the annual appeal made to support the cost of educating and forming our seminarians, and this year’s appeal begins Sept. 26-27. The average cost to educate a seminarian is $60,000 per year, considering tuition, room and board, health insurance, travel, and the costs associated with providing formational opportunities for our men preparing to be shepherds.
This is an enormous financial cost, made possible only though the generosity and love of the faithful of the Diocese of Lincoln. It is both a gift and responsibility to help the next generation of priests to be formed in the attitude and disposition of selflessness that Blessed Fulton Sheen encourages of priests in the modern world. The seminarians are daily learning to receive the Father’s love in order to give it away without reserve to each of you one day, and I humbly thank you for supporting this most important work.
