• Articles on St. Raphael Cathedral
	News Briefs: Brunch with former Packer Beebe at St. Dennis MADISON -- St. Dennis Parish in Madison is offering the opportunity to share a meal and conversation with a member of the Packers Super Bowl XXXI team. Don Beebe will be the guest of honor at a special Sunday brunch on Jan. 13 at the parish at 11 a.m. A man of deep religious faith, Beebe believes God has a plan for our lives and encourages and inspires others to "take up their crosses" and follow Jesus Christ, no matter where it leads. Tickets are $50 each and only 150 will be sold. For each adult ticket sold, one child under 12 can attend at no cost. In addition to a message from Beebe, attendees can get autographs and photos. Beebe will be visiting St. Dennis Parish for a special presentation on Sunday and Monday, Jan. 13 and 14; however, autographs and photos with Beebe will be available at this Sunday brunch only. For information or to order tickets, contact Judy Hronek at 608-246-5123 or Deacon David Hendrickson at 608-246-5129 at the St. Dennis parish office, or go to www.stdennisgift.org Brown at Rally for Life MILWAUKEE -- Judie Brown will be the featured speaker at the January 12 Rally for Life sponsored by Pro-Life Wisconsin and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society to be held at Three Holy Women, St. Rita campus, 1601 N. Cass St., Milwaukee. Mass is at 9:30 a.m. and lunch at 12 noon. Mass is open to the public, but advance registration is required for the luncheon and keynote speech. Call 262-796-1111 for reservations. Judie Brown is the president of the American Life League. Choirs begin rehearsal SINSINAWA -- The Sinsinawa choirs will begin rehearsal for the spring semester the first full week of January 2008. Everyone is invited to join a choir: Sinsinawa Mound Children's Choir, Sinsinawa Mound Civic Chorus, or Sinsinawa Singing Seniors. Contact Sr. Marie Juan Maney at 608-748-4411, ext. 807, or visit www.sinsinawa.org Climate change through eyes of faith MADISON -- The approach to global climate change by the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change and Catholic Bishops' Environmental Justice Program has been to focus on the themes of prudence, poverty, and the common good, as well as Catholic social teaching. An eight week program, held at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, 602 Everglade Dr., on Saturday mornings, 8 to 10:30 a.m. beginning Jan. 12, will draw out arguments for and against action and demonstrate - through both faith and science - the hazards to poor people of doing nothing. This module will include action items for stopping further global warming and what will be needed to help the poor at home and abroad who will be most impacted by climate change. Sessions will cover: Catholic Theology on the Environment; The Science of Climate Change; Climate Change and the Poor; and Border-Crossing Experience. Cost for materials is $25. To register, contact Jennifer Ludtke at 608-833-2606 or Jennifer@stamadison.org before Friday, Jan. 4. Natural Family Planning events MADISON/JANESVILLE/ CAMBRIDGE -- Talks and classes on Natural Family Planning (NFP) will be held in the upcoming months. Informational talks include: "Family Planning: Think Outside the Pill" at the Janesville Theology on Tap at The Speakeasy, on Thursday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m.; "NFP: Think Outside the Pill" Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 6:30 p.m., at St. Pius X Parish, Cambridge; an NFP talk will be presented to the UW-Madison Life Society at the Memorial Union, Wednesday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. Creighton Intro Classes are available the first Monday and third Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at the Bishop O'Connor Center. Follow up sessions are private and scheduled with the instructor. Next classes will be January 7 and January 15. Cost is $30 for class only or $55 with materials. Follow up sessions are $30. The Couple to Couple League and Northwest Family Services both offer sympto-thermal method instruction in the area. Contact Jessica Smith (below) for more information. All NFP methods are looking for more teachers. There is no cost and teachers don't have to be medical professionals. For more information on NFP, the talks, classes, or teaching, contact Jessica Smith, NFP coordinator for the Diocese of Madison, at 608-821-3035 or nfp@straphael.org or visit www.madisondiocese.org/nfp or www.nfpworks.wordpress.com Epiphany prayer service SINSINAWA -- As the Christmas season comes to a close, people are invited to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany at the 10:30 a.m. Eucharist on Sunday, Jan. 6, at Sinsinawa Mound. Later in the day, the Sinsinawa Mound Civic Chorus will sing at the Epiphany Prayer Service at 4 p.m. This reflective ceremony will include preaching, music, and a procession to the Christmas crèche. For more information, contact the liturgy office at 608-748-4411, ext. 843, or visit www.sinsinawa.org Relationship loss support groups MADISON -- Two local parishes offer peer support groups that provide support to those hurting from separation, divorce, or loss of a significant relationship. The groups are open to all ages and faiths. People interested in attending do not need to be a member of the parishes. For information, call 608-663-5011. Friends on a Journey meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3 and 17, at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, 401 S. Owen Dr. New Directions meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10 and 24, at St. Dennis Parish Center, 413 Dempsey Rd. Nominate someone for a profile Do you know a person to nominate for a profile? This could be someone in a paid or volunteer position in the Catholic Church. It could be someone working outside the Church who lives his or her faith in ordinary or extraordinary ways in daily life. Send nominations with information about the nominee to: Catholic Herald, 702 S. High Point Rd., Madison, WI 53719, or e-mail info@madisoncatholicherald.org

Choir's Lessons
and Carols

(See also front-page photo.)

MADISON -- Interspersed with songs telling of the joy of Christmas, the readings at the Madison Diocesan Choir's Lessons and Carols detailed the story from the fall of humankind to the birth of the one who would save us from sin.

	The Madison Diocesan Choir will encore its Lessons and Carols on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Ignatius Parish, Mt. Horeb. The choir's annual Spring Concert, featuring selections from Gabriel Fauré's Requiem, will be held at the Bishop O'Connor Center in Madison on Saturday, May 3, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.

Joined by the rich arias of soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine and the stirring motets performed by cellist Karl Knapp, both guest performers, the choir reminded the congregation of the sacredness of the season through its solemnly celebratory songs.

With such pieces as "People Look East" and "An Advent Carol," following readings that respectively told from Genesis of the eating of the apple in Eden and from Isaiah of the prophecy "there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse," the choir called on Christians to prepare for the coming of Christ.

And in such traditional hymns as "As With Gladness Men of Old" and "What Child is This," joined by the congregation, as well as Guarrine's moving "Rejoice Greatly" from Handel's work Messiah, the choir's call to "come let us adore" in "Gesu Bambino," and a collection of Christmas hymns, they rejoiced over Christ's birth.

Before the blessing and dismissal, Bishop William H. Bullock, bishop emeritus, who hosted the Lessons and Carols, reminded the congregation that at the beginning of the celebration, he had addressed them as people of God - "And that's exactly who we are," he said.

"We are on a journey to the kingdom where there is no more war, or poverty or injustice, or anger or hatred or deprivation, no more shooting sprees at shopping malls, but only peace," he said. "We are God's holy people and called by him to be exactly that."

At the base of the journey is gratitude, Bishop Bullock said. "And that means we are grateful to the Lord for the gift of life - that we are grateful for all he has given us, and that our gratitude is expressed in our willingness to share it with other people."

Implementation assumptions and goals

Much has been written about our diocese's recent history as it relates to the restructuring of parishes, and even more has been accomplished in preparation for the Trusting in the Spirit implementation.

This article will remind us of the assumptions that we are all operating under as well as the goals that we should be working toward. As in Guided by the Spirit, there is a natural relationship between these assumptions and our goals and everyone in the diocese needs to refer back to them periodically to ensure that we remain on-track, going in the direction that Bishop Morlino has given us. It is also important to realize that these goals are long-term in nature while being universal in application.

Invited to meet Jesus Christ, strengthen ministry in all areas

The most important goal is stated as, "To insure that all individuals throughout our 11 counties are graciously invited everyday, in one way or another, to meet Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, and be changed by Him."

Related is the goal, "To strengthen the presence of ministry of the Church in urban, rural, and suburban areas."

An assumption that supports these goals is, "The Paschal Mystery is both central to our faith and to this implementation process, where changes in parish and school structures are potential examples of the life-death-resurrection mystery."

Even more simply, the Eucharist gives us the strength we need to love God and to love our neighbor. This cannot be forgotten or overlooked.

Another related assumption is, "Parishes do not exist for themselves, but as a presence of Christ and the Church to the local area." Parishes exist as Christ through each of us giving Christ's invitation to follow Him, by word and by action, to others in our local community - right where we are.

Each parish exists as a support network for us to ensure that this can happen most effectively. Depending upon where we live, be it the city or rural area, we will have needs and concerns that our parish is uniquely positioned to help us with.

Teach truths of Church, encourage vocations to priesthood

The next two goals, "To teach with love, the truths Christ has entrusted to His Church, so that clarification and conviction would replace ambiguity and confusion where such might exist" and "To continue to offer the invitation of Jesus Christ the High Priest to young men so that, in sufficient numbers for the future, they will follow Him."

Both follow from the assumption that "Strong pastoral leadership, ordained as well as lay, now and in the future, is needed for implementation to succeed."

The truths of our Catholic faith sometimes are difficult for others to follow or for some to proclaim; our reply has to be that of Simon Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have come to believe and to know that you are the Christ, the Son of God" (John 6:69).

Encourage collaboration, sharing

Working together is the thrust of the next goal, "To enhance the quality of parish life by encouraging collaboration and the sharing of resources amongst the parishes."

For this to occur we must understand the assumptions that, "The vision of Church must be larger than one's own local community. People must be helped to think locally, regionally, and diocesan-wide when implementing the Bishop's Directives"; that "All parishes will be more effective if they work together to implement plans to conserve human resources and avoid needless duplication of ministerial and financial resources"; and "Parishes will be stronger and more effective because they are implementing the Bishop's Directives together."

That the whole is stronger than the sum of its parts is a key strength of the parish restructuring implementation. This ability to work with one another, similar to what allows parishes to work with diocesan offices and programs, looking outside of our immediate neighborhood to accomplish our parish ministries is the "fuel" of the implementation - what will keep things going even when the going gets difficult.

Continue to be sacramental Church

Giving hope to people despite the significance of our present situation is the next goal, "To help all parishioners understand the reality of our desire to continue to be the sacramental Church we are called to be, while at the same time recognizing the diminishing number of priests currently available to serve parishes."

This will be accomplished because 'There will be more ownership for and less resistance to implementation of the Bishop's directives because people were involved in the planning process and their suggestions were taken seriously."

This is a direct result of how the Guided by the Spirit planning process proceeded in a "bottom-up" fashion from the parish level. Like all big problems, putting concrete solutions into place takes time, thus, the assumption that "Implementation of Bishop Morlino's Directives is an on-going process which will unfold over the next five to 10 years" should help keep people realistic as Trusting in the Spirit moves forward.

Act as good stewards

Realizing that all that we have is a gift from God is important as the next goal reminds us that we need "To act as good stewards of all human, financial, and facility resources; which will be needed for restructuring parishes and adopting new models."

This is supported by the assumption that, "As implementation proceeds, there may be times when the Directives will need to be reviewed and adjusted based on changing realities. The Implementation Commission will oversee that process working with clusters and using a format similar to Guided by the Spirit."

One of the best ways to ensure success is to do something in the way that has succeeded previously. Thus, the familiarity and sound thinking of Guided by the Spirit will be leveraged as needed to keep the Trusting in the Spirit implementation manageable.

Quality Catholic school education

The Holy See and the bishops of our country have repeatedly commented on the irreplaceable role of Catholic schools in the new evangelization. A goal of implementation brings this into our diocese, "To ensure that quality Catholic school education is available, accessible, and affordable throughout the diocese."

While some parishes considered schools as an integral part of their planning process, it became clear that a general directive from the Bishop would be needed to focus everyone on Catholic education both in our schools and in our parishes.

There is a wide range of commitment to our Catholic schools and this is most often reflected by the resources dedicated to the school by surrounding parishes. It is often thought that schools and parishes compete for the same resources, thereby starving one ministry for another.

While it is clear that changes need to be made, first there must be an understanding of the cooperative roles of parish and school; that will be accomplished in a separate diocesan-wide school study as parishes begin to live into their new communities.

Build greater sense of unity

The Madison Diocese is diverse in culture and age, but often there are barriers that make it difficult to understand one another. To address this need, the goal, "To build a greater sense of unity within the rich ethnic, cultural, and age diverse population present within the local Church" was included.

One way that we can support this is to assume that, "Planning resources will be provided in English and Spanish, where needed" and in fact offer whatever support is needed by any parishioners when it is requested, regardless of their language of origin, age, or cultural maturity.

Keep focused on our goals

The interrelationship of the Trusting in the Spirit implementation goals and the assumptions we are now working under is very important. As is true with many aspects of our life, it is important to keep focused on our goals while being well-rooted in those ideas or assumptions that support us as we work toward our goals. To the extent that we keep Christ our Light the ultimate goal and do our best to follow His commandments, we will have better and stronger parishes and diocese.

If you have any questions or comments, e-mail trustinginthespirit@straphael.org or mail Trusting in the Spirit, 702 S. High Point Road, Madison, WI 53719.

Next Article: Diocesan Criteria & Parish Accountability

Pontifical Mass at the Throne
Bishop Morlino celebrates 'extraordinary form' of Mass at Holy Redeemer Church

MADISON -- The beautiful Latin hymns and prayers brought back memories to many of the hundreds of people attending the Pontifical Mass at the Throne celebrated according to the 1962 Missal of Blessed John XXIII at Holy Redeemer Church in Madison on Gautete Sunday, Dec. 16.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino was principal celebrant of the Latin Mass. Priests of the Institute of Christ the King assisted, along with diocesan priests and servers. Music was provided by the Schola Cantorum with members from Holy Redeemer Parish and Choir.

In his homily, Bishop Morlino thanked members of the Institute of Christ the King and the local society which sponsored the Mass.

Bishop Morlino emphasized that the Mass is the "extraordinary form" of the Mass, whose use Pope Benedict XVI authorized this year. This is the first time this Mass has been celebrated in the Diocese of Madison, since Madison was the only diocese in the state where it was not authorized before this time.

Bishop Morlino noted that the "Holy Spirit enlivens the Church of Jesus Christ in every era and every age. There can never be a post-Vatican II and pre-Vatican II Church. The Holy Spirit is always with us." The bishop said that serving "this beautiful liturgy" helped develop his own vocation to the priesthood.

Bishop Morlino reflected on Pope Benedict's message on Gaudete Sunday as he discussed the meaning of joy for Christians.

The Holy Father talked about Mother Teresa, who experienced the absence of God during most of her life. "She did not feel joyful, yet she always had a smile," said Bishop Morlino. "The smile on the face of Mother Teresa was the smile of Jesus Christ. He gave her that grace to smile that smile, because she believed with her whole heart that he was the way, the truth, and the light.

"That's the vocation to which we are called. We have to be very close to Jesus Christ. Let's receive him so he can smile through us so people can receive him," he said.