Bishop to rely on grace, work to build bridges

Bishop W. Shawn McKnight called to mind the overwhelming sense of responsibility he felt when he learned he would become the Jefferson City diocese’s new bishop.

Then came something even stronger.

“Almost immediately, there was a feeling of being lifted up. There was spiritual support granted right away,” he told reporters at a Feb. 6 press conference about an hour after his ordination and installation.

“We are a people who trust in God,” he said. “God never asks more from us than we can do in cooperating with His grace. If we’re going to carry out His message, if we’re going to carry out His work, we have to rely on His grace.”

Bishop McKnight noted that moving to a new diocese as bishop is quite a shift after serving elsewhere as a parish priest.

“But it is a result of the call of God and the will of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, that I am here among you,” he said.

Seeking wisdom

At 49, Bishop McKnight is the youngest Latin rite diocesan bishop now serving in the United States.

He said having good health and lots of energy will certainly be helpful, but he’s looking forward to the insight that will come with age and experience.

“I will hopefully be growing in wisdom,” he said. “Ten years, 20 years from now, I will not be the same man I am today. Hopefully, my experiences will build up wisdom.

“But then again, we’re not simply relying on ourselves as human beings,” he said. “We’re also relying on grace. That’s what allows me to get up in the morning with the heavy weight of all of these responsibilities.”

He said he’s looking forward to getting to know the people and the communities of this diocese — who they are, what their lives are like, what their needs are and how their regional culture comes into play in their every-day lives.

“I want to become aware of all of that and be responsive to it,” he said.

He’s eager not only to develop a good working relationship with the Catholic clergy and faithful in these 38 counties, but also to foster new bonds with other faith communities in the area and work with all people of goodwill “in promoting peace and justice and the common good of our communities.”

He pointed out that each of his three predecessors had served the diocese for a long time.

“That seems to portend a good omen for me to be here for a while,” he said. “That gives me the opportunity to relax a little bit and know I don’t have to get it all done in a year or two or three.”

Same need for encounter

Bishop McKnight agreed with a reporter that there are some formidable differences between older and newer generations of Catholics in much of the world.

“But what we all have in common is, we’re all human and we all have the same faith,” he said. “Therefore, we all have the same need to personally encounter Jesus Christ. So we have to be open to new ways for Jesus to encounter people in their lives and in our society today.”

He said the Church must work to do a better job of helping young people “connect the dots — to see why the Church teaches what it teaches and how it is good for human beings.”

He said people of the younger generations tend to have a notable appreciation and respect for the individual, which is in concert with the faith and teaching of the Church.

“But as Catholics, we also believe that we are to rely on the revelation of God — what He says about who we are — and not simply what we choose to be ourselves,” the bishop added. “We strive in accord with what God has revealed to us about Himself and about us.”

He pointed to a shift in style that has taken place in the midst of that ongoing dialogue during the first five years of Pope Francis’ pontificate.

“Instead of trying to prove why something else is wrong, we want to draw everyone to the beauty of what we live,” the bishop said.

More or less

Bishop McKnight noted that this diocese has a strong system of Catholic schools, which he called “the primary means by which we are to convey the faith from one generation to the next.”

He said he believes the health and vitality of Catholic schools is in some ways a barometer of the health and vitality of the diocese.

Like in the Wichita diocese, from which he came, Catholic grade schools in the Jefferson City diocese do not charge tuition to families who are active, participating parishioners and consistently give freely of their time, talent and treasure.

“I want to foster that notion that we do not give to a need; rather, that we give out of the need to give,” he said. “That’s a whole different way of looking at charity and cooperation and giving oneself back to God.”

He has noticed that many people, especially younger people, tend to give generously in response to an immediate need.

What requires more cultivating in the Church is an understanding of giving in a structured way — “that is, giving out of a need to give, and having that come first, what we know and believe from the Bible that we give our first fruits, not of what’s left over, whether it’s my time or my talent or my treasure,” he said.

“From that trust in God — and this is something we need to communicate to the younger generation more effectively — comes the realization that when you give yourself, you’re not less but more,” said Bishop McKnight.

Many gifts, one Spirit

The new bishop said he still feels the weight of his responsibilities, but at the end of the day, it’s all in God’s hands.

“There is a certain human dimension to the fact that it’s not my Church, it’s not our Church. It’s God’s,” he said.

“I do have a unique and important role and a responsibility to play, but I’m not by myself,” he continued. “Aside from Bishop Gaydos, who’s now retired, everyone else in this diocese is a priest, a deacon, a religious or a layperson. But we all share in the same work together.”

He said he embraces the mystery of his new role as a successor of the Apostles — the ones who Jesus originally sent out to make disciples of all nations — and trusts in the other side of that mystery: being received.

“We believe that Holy Spirit is very much at work in the Church today,” he said.

Bishop McKnight hopes to be a catalyst for collaboration.

“When people feel like the truth is being spoken to them, and they have confidence in leadership, they are more likely to trust and follow,” he said. “So I’m looking to establish that confidence and that relationship.”