Lifetime of Service, Round Two

By Deacon Ed Sheffer 

I was asked recently what it is I like about Bishop Gerald Kicanas. I love his playful nature. The way he brings lightness into even the most ordinary moments, turning them into moments of joy. He is warmhearted and his kindness doesn’t just touch you for a moment; it stays with you. He makes you feel seen, valued, safe, and you can be yourself in his presence. The picture of Bishop Kicanas wearing a Chicago Cubs hat reveals all this. If you know him, you know he is a White Sox fan. And if you’re from Chicago like we both are, you know there is a bit of rivalry between these teams. Back in 2016 I was asked to speak at a conference and Bishop was there. The Cubs just won the World Series, the first in 108 years. Bishop smiled when he saw me climbing up the stairs to the podium wearing the jersey and hat. I handed him the hat and winked. He put it on his head and posed for this picture.  

Bishop Kicanas lives God’s love in his every word, gesture, and daily actions. In the last twenty-five years I have witnessed firsthand his presence in a vast array of human settings. What’s most telling is his attentiveness to people and their life journey. I have been touched deeply by witnessing firsthand his presence among the marginalized: prison death row inmates, drug addicts, immigrants, and the homeless. It doesn’t matter what state of life you’re in, he sees you, and he listens to you. And when he encounters someone who feels lost, he listens without judgment. When they doubt their worth, he reminds them they are a beloved child of God. When he is the celebrant at a Wedding, he celebrates the couples' joy and their joy is his joy too. When asked to pray for someone, they are prayed for by name, for he remembers each of them by name.  

His homilies feel like a conversation with a friend who truly understands both God’s word and the human heart. The stories he weaves into them are more than life lessons, they are truths of Jesus wrapped in warmth and wisdom that reach straight to your heart.  

His spiritual advice to me over the past twenty-five years has been invaluable. Once when we were both at a Conference in New Orleans, someone came up to me and complimented me about something. I brushed the compliment away quickly. When Bishop and I were alone he asked me why I dismissed the blessing. I said I didn’t want the attention to be on me. He lovingly explained to me that the blessing wasn’t for me to be discarded. He said that God put it on this person’s heart to acknowledge the blessing they had received through me and to take their gratitude away is potentially robbing them of the blessing of joy God has designed for them.

Each time we were present together visiting prisoners on death row I had a powerful takeaway. In one of those visits Mass was to be Celebrated along with the Sacraments of Initiation. According to the Warden, this was a first ever at Arizona States Browning Unit Death Row Facility. There were tears running down more than my face that day. On another occasion, while administering the Sacraments of Initiation to an inmate, the young man fell to his knees, openly weeping. Bishop knelt in front of him, placed his hands on the face of Jeremy, looked him in the eyes and said: “Welcome home.”  These deeply moving moments taught me that hope can bloom in the darkest of places, when kindness and love are offered freely lives can be changed.

I treasure the pilgrimages we have led together around the world. We celebrated Mass in distant places, on sacred grounds. His presence and words in these sites brought to life that church is not just a building, but a universal family, and that God’s grace often comes to us through the gracious gift of self to others.  

As an ordained deacon, I greatly appreciate his deep understanding of the diaconate. His heartfelt embrace of my brother deacons and I help to keep me motivated. I have always felt his affirmation of the vital hierarchal role of the diaconate in the life of the Church. He inspires all the clergy and laity alike to live more fully in Christ’s example of humble service, self-giving love, and unwavering commitment to the Gospel.

When Bishop Ordained me, he handed me a Book of the Gospels, and as I knelt before him, I pledged my loyalty to the Church, to him, and to is successors. He looked into my eyes that day and said: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.” As I reflect on the quarter of a century that I have known him I can say that Bishop Kicanas is an iconic image of this. He is a living voice of the Word, a servant of that Word, and a true messenger of Christ’s good news.  

I have begun to pray for our new Bishop. I pray that he too may fulfill his most challenging Apostolic Mission, to preach, teach, and administer to the needs of all in a worthy way. May his words and actions mirror in some way Bishop Kicanas, shepherding with wisdom, compassion, and courage, inspiring us to draw closer to Christ and serve others with love.