‘60 Minutes for Jesus’

MADISON  Father James Sichko works hard to maintain a deep trust in the Lord, which makes him ready to touch anyone he meets with the light and love of Christ in his travels around the world — even a famous actress and singer.

A while back, Father Sichko, an internationally known preacher, evangelist and motivational speaker, spent time on a flight to Melbourne, Australia, praying the rosary in his seat. A woman next to him told him that she had cancer and asked him to pray for her. Father Sichko gave her a papal crucifix. That woman in need of prayer was Olivia Newton-John, the priest revealed during “60 Minutes for Jesus,” a three-day retreat he gave at St. Vincent Martyr Parish recently.

“That night after the flight, Olivia Newton-John came to my talk at a church. She isn’t Catholic but she and her husband knelt before the Blessed Sacrament. She is now doing RCIA [Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults] with me privately on Zoom,” Father Sichko, a priest of the Diocese of Lexington, Ky. He spoke on three topics of faith designed to inspire Catholics: how to become a kinder person, how to cultivate a deeper trust in God and how to become a Christian leader. “Pope Francis tells us to go out into the world and transform people’s hearts — not become ‘pew potatoes.’ We receive the Word and Jesus in the Eucharist at Mass and then are to ‘go forth’ and evangelize. Who has ever seen Christ through you? We are called to live out God’s Word and he gives us the grace to do it. Your mission begins now,” the priest said.

During each of three talks, a small congregation sat in St. Vincent’s Church captivated by Father Sichko’s animated and family-friendly delivery. He sang hymns, cracked jokes and told Bible stories and personal stories about famous people he met in his travels — some that seemed almost too fantastic to be true. He tied real-life experiences into the message of the Gospel for the talks on each topic, which he delivered three times on those days.

In St. Vincent’s Church, the faithful wore face masks and social distanced in the pews to help slow the spread of COVID-19. On each day of the mission, parishioners at home also could watch one of the talks livestreamed in real time or later on video on the parish’s website, svmnj.org. The presentations received more than 1,000 views online.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is teaching us that we are not in control and that God is in control. We need to ‘be not afraid,’ as the Bible tells us, and surrender to him and let God be God. Today, God is dropping us to our knees, reminding us of what’s most important,” said Father Sichko, who brings his Gospel message to places around the world. “To develop trust in the Lord, we need to spend quality time with him at Mass and in personal prayer to form a relationship with him by both speaking to him and listening to him. Also, open Scripture. If your Bible is in good shape, then you are not. We must try — that’s all God wants us to do,” the priest said.

During the mission, Father Sichko urged St. Vincent’s parishioners to become kinder by “stop being a jerk to people” and going to Confession regularly. He told a story about sitting in a seat on a flight and unloading his complaints about the airline to the passenger next to him. Then to his horror, the priest realized that the unwitting passenger was the airline’s president and chairman.

“That man acted more like Jesus to me than some of my fellow priests. He didn’t get angry or make excuses. He was like Jesus who meets us where we are and journeys with us,” Father Sichko said.

In his talks, Father Sichko urged Christian leaders to stay rooted in the Eucharist, “our internal anchor, no matter our problems;” maintain an attitude of gratitude” for blessings in life; and communicate their vision effectively just as Jesus often was clear in teaching people through parables. Christ demonstrated another critical quality of a Christian leader during his 40 days in the desert fasting and fighting off temptation by the devil: he was willing to undertake very difficult tasks, he said.

Father Sichko arrived at St. Vincent’s already internationally known for his “60 Minutes for Jesus” geared for everyone in a family. He has grabbed headlines for random acts of generosity and kindness, giving away thousands of dollars to people at the grocery stores, on the streets and especially to those most in need. In 2016, Pope Francis commissioned the priest as one of his Papal Missionaries of Mercy of which there are only 1,000 in the world and just 100 in the United States. During his mission visits, he sells jars of tomato sauce from his mother’s recipe to fund his ministry.

At the conclusion of the mission, Msgr. George Hundt, St. Vincent’s pastor, called Father Sichko’s talks “an inspiring message that has touched the hearts of many people, including mine, and made a difference in our lives.”

“Father Jim’s visit was providential. At this time when we are stressed out, we all needed his message: to trust that God will get us through this and that we all — not only clergy — are called to leadership,” Msgr. Hundt told The Beacon. “Father Jim’s presentations gave St. Vincent’s some degree of regular parish life,” he said.

One St. Vincent’s parishioner, Ann Marie Brady, called Father Sichko’s talks “captivating and animated with all his hopping around.

“Father Jim is real and down to earth. People are drawn to him. I have a strong faith already but he strengthened it even more,” Brady said.

Another parishioner, Ed Walz, called the presentations “dynamic. It’s clear that Father Jim has spent a lifetime thinking about practical, everyday applications to faith and he distilled them for us,” Walz said.