Editor’s Note: On December 31, 2013, West Texas Angelus editor Jimmy Patterson sat down with Msgr. Michael Sis, bishop-elect of the Diocese of San Angelo. Their two-part conversation will be featured in this and the February edition of the West Texas Angelus. Angelus: It’s been almost a month now since you received that call from the papal nuncio, informing you of your appointment. What are your thoughts now? Bishop-elect Sis: I have felt sustained by the prayers and the encouragement of people who have contacted me since that announcement. I have experienced profoundly the impact of that prayer support. That’s encouraging for me as I face the prospect of seeking to carry out the role as a successor of the Apostles. I certainly couldn’t do it on my own. I continue to face the reality of the limits of my knowledge and experience, and I’ve been very busy these past three or four weeks just doing my job. I’m still the Vicar General of the Diocese of Austin, which is an extremely demanding position. I will resign on the 24th of January, but right now I’m still going full-speed ahead trying to do my job locally, so that has not allowed me much time to do proactive planning for my next role. The amount of correspondence since December 12 has been surprisingly high, through emails, texts, phone calls, letters and cards, and people wanting to see me one last time before I leave Austin. You combine the already demanding job that I have now as Vicar General and the Moderator of the Curia with trying to do the necessary preparatory work for becoming a bishop — like the coat of arms, clothing, the insignia — and then you combine that with trying to learn something about the Diocese of San Angelo, I’m faced these days with the limitation if time. The amount of time between the announcement on December 12 and the ordination on January 27 is very quick. One week of that is retreat, which I’ll be doing from January 4-10 in San Antonio. That’s been the central core of my experience these days. It’s been a joyful time. I’ve been tremendously encouraged by the support of fellow members of the Church, friends and family, and I’m very grateful for that support. I’ve been contacted by some of the priests, and seminarians, and by some of the lay faithful, as well.
Angelus: You have been warmly welcomed?
Bishop-elect Sis: Everyone has been very welcoming, and I’m grateful for that. I had an interesting conversation with somebody from the San Angelo Diocese who grew up there and now lives in Austin. She’s a friend. She gave me two gifts to prepare me. One of them was a bag of Julio’s Tortilla Chips, and the other was a can of Prestone Windshield De-icer. She said, ‘You’ll need both of these.’ I’ve been receiving lots of support from Bishop Michael Pfeifer. He’s been staying in touch by telephone and email and regular mail. He’s been very gracious and very helpful in helping me to prepare to come and serve.
Angelus: How will a new bishop affect the Catholics in the Diocese of San Angelo? Bishop-elect Sis: I think in the lived experience of most Catholics, it doesn’t make a large difference. They go to their local church, they have their pastor, they have the Sacraments, and they have their friends. They go on about their lives, whoever the bishop is. I think that it’s important to recognize: that their lives continue. I think another thing to keep in mind is that I’m new to the area, and new to being a bishop. To me it’s going to be a learning and growing experience. I will be affected by and shaped by this job. The way I exercise my ministry five years from now, or 10 years from now, will probably be slightly different from how I exercise it this spring, because this spring I will be a neophyte to this role. There are things I need to learn that I haven’t learned yet, and that’s important for the people in the diocese to realize. When I look back on my years in the priesthood, I can see each of the places where I served molded and shaped me as a priest. I can anticipate that happening in the future. I will be molded and shaped by the people and the Church in San Angelo.
Angelus: One of the priorities you mentioned at your December news conference concerned your hope that people can discuss the faith fluently; that they learn enough so they can talk about it intelligently. Is it a problem that people discuss the faith without proper knowledge and perhaps state things that are not entirely factual?
Bishop-elect Sis: I think it’s more that people often don’t feel confident to say anything about it. When their teenage son comes home from public high school and they say “My classmate said blah-blah-blah about Catholics,” they don’t know what to say in return. I want to empower people to have something to say, because I think that’s a common issue for Catholics everywhere. They’re afraid, they’re not confident enough in their ability to articulate the faith. I think the Church will fulfill its mission more fully if Catholics gain the confidence to articulate the faith. I don’t know if that’s the case in San Angelo, but I’ve seen it wherever I’ve been.
Angelus: Talk a little, if you will, about your discernment process after you received the call of your appointment from the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Vigano.
Bishop-elect Sis: When the nuncio called me to tell me the Holy Father had appointed me the next Bishop of San Angelo, I asked him if I could pray about it and get back to him and he said yes you can, call me tomorrow. Part of my prayer included the Office of Readings on the morning of Tuesday, December 3. That had a significant impact on my own response. It’s from the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier and it’s from the second reading from the Office of Readings, from a letter by St. Francis Xavier. He speaks of people who will need to settle their account with God for their learning in the talents entrusted to them. God has given each one of us talents and education, and God will hold us accountable for how we put those to good use. It goes on to say what God is saying to them, that they would forget their own desires and human affairs and give themselves over entirely to God’s will and His choice. They would cry out, ‘Lord I am here. What do you want me to do? Send me anywhere you like.’ Those are powerful words. St. Francis Xavier went to Asia from Western Europe to spread the Gospel. Those words, “Lord send me anywhere you like” were instrumental in helping to guide me in my response to the appointment.
Angelus: Did you read that particular reading before or after the call from the nuncio?
Bishop-elect Sis: I read them after. I got the call on December 2 and I didn’t read these until the morning of December 3. It was very instrumental for me in solidifying my discernment. Another thing that happened after I got the call is that I spoke with my spiritual director, who has been guiding me for many years. I think he started serving as my spiritual director in 1989. It’s been a long time. He knows me well. He’s a very wise and holy priest. One of the first things I did after this call was I went into our chapel in our pastoral center and I prayed with my Bible in the presence of the Lord. Then I went to see my spiritual director and we talked it through, then I applied to my own situation some tools that I’ve given to people over the years for discerning major decisions. In my work with young people, I was often involved in helping people discern their life direction in major decisions in life. I applied those tools myself in thinking through my response, and they were very helpful in helping to clarify my response. Those were the key things I did: going to the chapel to pray, turning to Scripture, talking to my Spiritual Director, applying these tools for discernment, taking it to prayer to the Eucharist in Mass, and doing the regular prayers in Church. Through all of those the message was very consistent and clear that I should say yes to this. I didn’t say yes with the first phone call. I needed to go through that prayer process. So I said yes on the morning of December 3, and we announced it on December 12. I didn’t even tell my Mom and Dad until after it was announced at the Vatican. One other thing that came to mind immediately when I got the call was that San Angelo has St. Michael the Archangel as its patron saint. The patronage of St. Michael was also a source of reassurance for me.
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Coming in February: Part 2 of Bishop-elect Michael J. Sis’ talk with The Angelus.