Lincoln, Neb., Sep 20, 2017 / 15:50 pm
An Oklahoma priest martyred in Guatemala will be beatified on Saturday, and his life has much to teach us, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln has said.
"To trust God can be risky and even dangerous at times," Bishop Conley said in a Sept. 22 column for the Southern Nebraska Register.
"It requires courage. To be courageous requires that we know the Lord. To know him requires that we pray. Not all of us are called to martyrdom, as Father Stanley Rother was. But each one of us is called to trust the Lord, and to know him, love him, and serve him bravely."
The priest's life "gives me pause to reflect on my own courage, or lack thereof, in following the Lord," the Nebraska bishop said. "Fr. Rother was so confident in what the Lord wanted of him. He was unwavering in courage. He walked into danger, even when others warned him against it. At the heart of his courage and confidence was his intimacy with the Lord in prayer."