Bishops' Schedules: Schedule of Bishop William H. Bullock Thursday, March 21, 2002 10:15 a.m. -- Preside at Morning Prayer, Day of Sanctification for Priests, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison 6:00 p.m. -- Attend Janesville Serra Club "Celebration of Vocations" Banquet, Janesville Saturday, March 23, 2002 9:00 a.m. -- Preside at Lenten Communal Penance Service, Our Lady of Assumption Parish, Beloit Sunday, March 24, 2002 10:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Palm Sunday, with Solemn procession with the Palms, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Tuesday, March 26, 2002 7:30 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Chrism Mass, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Thursday, March 28, 2002 5:30 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Mass of the Lord's Supper, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Schedule of Bishop George O. Wirz Thursday, March 21, 2002 10:15 a.m. -- Attend Day of Sanctification for Priests, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison 6:00 p.m. -- Attend Janesville Serra Club "Celebration of Vocations" Banquet, Janesville Saturday, March 23, 2002 9:00 a.m. -- Concelebrate at Lenten Communal Penance Service, Our Lady of Assumption Parish, Beloit Tuesday, March 26, 2002 7:30 p.m. -- Concelebrate at Celebration of the Eucharist, Chrism Mass, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Wednesday, March 27, - Saturday, March 30, 2002 Attend Directed Retreat, Jesuit Retreat House, Oshkosh

With faith, we face life

		The Bishop: A Herald of Faith Bishop William H. Bullock

Is our faith a crutch or a cover in time of difficulty in our lives, or is it our Catholic way of life? So often we hear people say, "It's my faith that strengthens me! Without my faith, I would never have made it through my grief and sorrow, my pain, my loss."

What is faith?

No, faith is not a crutch. Faith is at the base of our journey as God's people. From the moment of our Baptism into the Body of Christ, the Church, we beg for faith. Through the eyes of faith we are able to see as God would have us see.

"We should never look upon our true Catholic identity with embarrassment or see our truths as oppressive and distasteful, even though they are not acceptable to a secular world. However, we cherish our truths as a gift from God. It is the Holy Spirit who ensures consistency, and helps us to remain faithful."

This gift of faith refers to two aspects of our Catholic life, which began with a question at Baptism: "What do you ask of God's Church?" Reply: "Faith." "What does faith offer you?" Reply: "Eternal life."

Faith in the first instance refers to the body of truths we believe in and accept on the authority of God who has revealed them to us through His Church. But also, it is out of these truths that we commit ourselves to behave accordingly.

Believe and behave

What we believe in, we are to behave by. The behavioral implications of what we believe in enable us to live a morally upright life . . . they enable us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains four major topics: 1) the truths we believe, 2) the sacraments we celebrate, 3) the Gospel principles on which we base our moral decisions, and 4) the prayer life of the Church.

Often in Catholic life we say, "We walk by faith and not by sight." We walk in the footsteps of Jesus who says to us, "Come follow me!" It is with surety of step, secure in the reality that it is Jesus, God-made-man, who calls to believe in and behave by. We can thus follow him step-by-step through the Paschal Mystery -- suffering, death, and resurrection.

The Pope and Bishops in union with him will always be concerned about weeding out everything foreign to the mission and teaching of Christ and preserving all her sacred truths. But too, all our Catholic people are concerned with clear teaching and accompanying behavior.

But also as Church we will always be concerned about searching out new ways of proclaiming and carrying out the will of the Lord in the ever-changing context of human reality.

Bringing together what we believe in and what we behave by enables us to remain united with Christ. We call it in a different word -- being faithful to Christ and His Church.

We should never look upon our true Catholic identity with embarrassment or see our truths as oppressive and distasteful, even though they are not acceptable to a secular world. However, we cherish our truths as a gift from God. It is the Holy Spirit who ensures consistency, and helps us to remain faithful.

Embrace Paschal Mystery

These past weeks and months have caused us all to embrace fully the Paschal Mystery. From September 11^th, the sorrow, grief, and prolonged uncertainty for our safety has hurt and pained us.

The war in Afghanistan, the deaths, the constant threat of nuclear and chemical warfare, Enron, impending doom in Israel and Palestine, plus the daily parade of bad news regarding priests and pedophilia cause us pain, embarrassment, sorrow, and heartache. But it is the world in which we live and by our faith we face life.

One example of pain for us is priests accused of sexual abuse of minors. May I say there are beautiful, faithful priests living lives of heroic sacrifice. As we suffer the pain to victims' families, we reach out for the enormous pain of the victims of pedophilia. We suffer humiliation, we beg for mercy, redemption, and life.

From death to life

Christ bid Lazarus to come forth from the tomb -- from death to life, to show the glory of God's power over even death itself.

And so we, as God's people and in Christ's Holy Name, seek ways to end violence. We look for an end to threats of war, bombings, and killings -- to moments of peace, joy, and holiness of life.

"Come forth," leave the wrappings of war, violence, hatred, scandal, sexual abuse behind -- and let us walk as people of the Resurrection empowered to manifest God's goodness.

Our prayer for the Fifth Sunday of Lent reads that we 1) accept the suffering of the cross, 2) change our selfishness into self-giving, and 3) transform our pain into the life and joy of Easter. With faith we face life.

Christ never disappoints

We see through the eyes of faith by which we follow our Redeemer, our Savior Jesus Christ, that all death turns into life, suffering into joy and everlasting happiness. We may disappoint and disillusion one another, but Christ never does.

He is our way, truth, and life.

The Paschal Mystery is so easy to proclaim, but difficult to live by and through. However, we know God's love is stronger than death and in the end we will triumph with Christ, leaving behind the violence of sin.

Our task is to be more consistent, and that consistency comes when our behavior matches what we believe in, and what we believe in is Christ. To follow Him through suffering and death to the resurrection joy of Easter is our Christian call to holiness.

Yes, faith is a Catholic way of life calling us to put our belief and our behavior together. It's not a crutch, but it is the Cross of Christ.

Bishop's Letter

Dear Friends in Christ:

One of the moving gifts of Holy Week liturgies is to spiritually walk with Jesus and contemplate his sacrificial gift for our redemption. Our Christian belief is not centered on specific sites or buildings but on the Risen One who is with us wherever we are until the end of time. And yet the historic sites where he prayed and taught, suffered, died, and rose are deserving of respectful care and preservation.

Each Good Friday a collection is taken to help assure that these sacred shrines are maintained. With the serious disruption in the Holy Land this year and the subsequent reduction in the numbers of pilgrims who have provided significant resources for this purpose in the past, the need for outside assistance is greater than ever. Please be generous in your support so that the sites where Jesus walked may continue to be sites where pilgrims of today and tomorrow can walk.

This Holy Week, let us join together in prayer for justice and peace in the Holy Land.

Grace, Mercy, and Peace,

Most Reverend William H. Bullock
Bishop of Madison