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By Ben Kessler
FOR THE CATHOLIC HERALD

When is the last time you did something courageous? When speaking to the people of St. Ignatius Parish in Mt. Horeb and the people of St. Mary Parish in Pine Bluff, I told them that they were acting courageously simply by going to Mass. When reading this, you may be wondering how going to Mass can be considered courageous.

A word from vocations director "We're excited about having some of our seminarians speaking on vocations this summer at the parishes," said Fr. Jim Bartylla, director of the Diocese of Madison's Office of Vocations. "They bring with them a youthful zeal for the Catholic faith and the priesthood. I'm sure our seminarians will gain a broad understanding of the parishes in our diocese, and our parishioners will see the vitality of the men studying for the priesthood." If anyone is interested in a vocation to priesthood or religious life, speak to one of our seminarians when they visit your parish or contact Fr. Jim Bartylla at 608-821-3088.

It takes courage to be a Christian; it takes courage to be a Catholic. This especially holds true in today's society. One needs only to turn on his television to see the millions of people in society that are controlled by their personal desires and physical passions.

In our contemporary culture, it seems that no one takes time to live for Christ or for others; people are just too busy living for themselves.

Secular society

Advertisers portray that a life filled with fast cars, lots of sex, and hoards of food brings happiness, and even worse, many consumers believe their advertisements. Few people stop to think about how they are harming their bodies and souls by chasing after such worldly pleasures. I hate to tell these advertisers and consumers, but excessive amounts of cars, sex, food, and selfishness pave the way to hell, not happiness. Living for Jesus Christ and others is the way to happiness; this unselfish way of living always has been and always will be the way to happiness.

	Upcoming visits MADISON -- Diocese of Madison seminarians will visit the following parishes: June 26-27: Eric Sternberg at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Madison; Greg Ihm at St. James Parish, Madison; Ben Kessler at St. Patrick Parish, Janesville.

Priest shortage

What led me to the subject of courage is the great need for priestly vocations in this diocese and in dioceses throughout the nation. Currently, the Diocese of Madison has six seminarians and under 100 active priests. The future does not look bright, especially with the fact the diocese has many priests soon to be at the age of retirement and zero ordinations this year.

In the future, Catholics may not have Mass or the Eucharist in many places throughout the diocese because of this shortage. NO PRIESTS EQUALS NO EUCHARIST. It is that simple. The Eucharist, standing as the center of Catholic faith is necessary for the physical well being and spiritual well being of all Catholics. If numbers of ordained priests keep falling the way they have been, all Catholics are in trouble.   Full story ...