Here comes everybody:

Unity in diversity

		Notes from the  Vicar General  Msgr. Paul J. Swain

The writer James Joyce reportedly wrote, "Catholicism means: here comes everybody."

It is an acknowledgment that the Church, now over one billion throughout the world, is diverse in people and open to all who profess its faith.

The Diocese of Madison is reflective of that diversity and opportunity. We continue to grow in numbers. The latest statistics compiled for the Official Catholic Directory indicate that there are now an estimated 266,396 Catholics in the 11 counties of our diocese.

For the last reporting year, 3,101 infants and 147 adults were baptized, and 449 adults were received into full communion. There were 3,116 first communions, 2,718 confirmations, 1,159 marriages, of which 692 were between two Catholics, and 467 were interfaith. Please pray for and encourage vocations to serve our growing local church.

Diocese continues to grow

Traveling to various parishes for the celebration of Mass, I experience our diversity. This past weekend, I was at the St. Paul University Catholic Center with hundreds of University of Wisconsin students expressing their youthful enthusiasm in song and witnessing their faith in prayer.

Last week, I was in the towering church on the hill in Plain and out in the beautiful countryside at Loretto, with families whose roots go back to the founding of their parishes by Bavarian and Irish immigrants. Each parish has its uniqueness in history, traditions, and ways of doing things. The variety of speaker systems is in itself a challenge.

The immigrant church continues with the growing Hispanic and Asian presence. It is reflected in the construction of the Catholic Multicultural Center in Madison. Through the programs of St. Martin House and Centro Guadalupano, it will serve the poor, the hungry, the immigrant, and all who come in physical or spiritual need.

Central to accommodating our diversity is the unity that comes from the Eucharist. It is comforting and yet awesome as a priest to remember that the same prayers we pray are those prayed by the priest in the next parish, by the Pope in Rome or wherever he travels, and by a priest of the underground church in China.

When we attend Mass, even if we do not understand the language, we understand what is occurring because the basic elements are the same. This commonality is one reason why tinkering with the Mass out of personal preference is to be discouraged. If I have the right to change the prayer of the Church, then so does everyone else, and the unity of the prayer is lost.

Central is the Eucharist

The "General Instruction of the Roman Missal" provides the norms by which Mass is to be celebrated. It allows flexibility in many areas to recognize our diversity while protecting the essential core. The "GIRM" was approved by Pope Paul VI.

After years of experience and theological reflection, Pope John Paul II has now approved a modest revision. More will be written about this as it begins to be implemented. It will result in some changes in the way we do things.

Over time, we will become accustomed to them. It is helpful to keep in mind the strength and power that comes when over one billion Catholics pray as one, wherever we are.

May we remember the wise words of Blessed John XXIII, "In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity."