Bishops' Schedules: Schedule of Bishop William H. Bullock Thursday, March 20, 2003 6:30 p.m. -- Preside at Lenten Communal Penance Service, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Madison Tuesday, March 25, 2003 9:00 a.m. -- Preside at Blessing of Silicon Prairie Business Park, Madison Wednesday, March 26, 2003 7:00 p.m. -- Preside at Evening Prayer, Guest Presenter, Madison Downtown Catholic Parishes Lenten Series, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison Thursday, March 27, 2003 3:00 p.m. -- Preside at Midday Prayer for Vocations, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Schedule of Bishop George O. Wirz Thursday, March 20, 2003 6:30 p.m. -- Participate at Lenten Communal Penance Service, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Madison Saturday, March 22, 2003 4:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Catholic Boy Scout and Girl Scout Celebration, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison Thursday, March 27, 2003 3:00 p.m. -- Attend Midday Prayer for Vocations, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison

Privacy of confessional and need for reconciliation

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

It's good to keep in touch with the daily papers of the secular press.

It's good because they frequently announce a challenge in our day which affects people adversely or is a great boon to their existence.

This past Sunday I was asked by Monsignor Fiedler to preside at a celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation for Religious Education students at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Madison.

"The call of Ash Wednesday was to 'Repent and Believe the Good News' or 'Remember, you are dust and unto dust you shall return.' The call to ongoing conversion is through the Church's Sacrament of Reconciliation."

Privacy vs. technology

Earlier that morning, as I was preparing my homily for the occasion, I read an article in the Wisconsin State Journal entitled, "Parenting in the Information Age" with the subtitle of "Spying on families is big business."

Parents can turn to computer technology to keep tabs on their children. It detailed how parents can track their children in their cars and on the computer. CSI - Crime Scene Investigation - everything is investigated. Transmitters in cars can trace every movement - computer systems of investigation. Such are the technological advancements of our day.

The article in the Wisconsin State Journal said there were two reasons why this type of information gathering would sell here in Madison: 1) that Madison is considered one of the most wired cities in the nation and 2) 72 percent of households have computers.

In a kidding fashion I mentioned to the young people gathered for confession that each priest here could just get a computer download or tape from their parents and they would not have to confess.

I am not sure how I would sort out the issues of parenting in an age of information. But I shared with our young people at Queen of Peace Parish the guarantee of privacy in confessing their sins and the beauty of the holy sacrament by which we order our lives as we confess our sins and amend our lives in order to follow closely in the footsteps of Jesus.

I find this computerized tracking of children by parents very odd, because years ago the Sisters of the school, parents, and the pastor would remind us that God sees everything and is watching all our moves.

In the Church we shifted from this "fear" tactic to a more wholesome and loving approach. We now emphasize God's love, his friendship, Jesus, as God-made-man and friend, and a relationship with him that is described as open, free, loving, and personal.

God's love and friendship

I like the new emphasis because God desires that we turn to him as a Father who cares, as a God of love . . . and we turn to Jesus, who befriended us, and who died for our sins because he loved us.

So, where does that lead us in today's time and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Penance, Confession, Forgiveness?

To answer that, I have a few questions for you: as you "grow up" what hard rules are in place in your life against which you measure your conduct?

Relationships carry privileges and obligations: 1) with God - who is he personally in your life? How do you believe, treat God, and take good care of his name? 2) with family - how's the relationship with dad and mom, brothers and sisters? 3) with work - student learning, helping those who don't learn so easily.

Do you get a mark for conduct on your report card? How do you mark yourself? How do your teachers mark you? How is your relationship with God and what marks does he give you?

Repentance and conversion

The call of Ash Wednesday was to "Repent and Believe the Good News" or "Remember, you are dust and unto dust you shall return." The call to ongoing conversion is through the Church's Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The Gospel read today was Mark 10:28-34 which speaks of the commandment of total love . . . with whole heart, mind, body, and soul. Jesus invites us to be his followers, his disciples, and tells us forthrightly, "if you will be my disciple, I ask you to deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me."

Your conscience, which is a power given every human person, is the means by which you know what is right and what is wrong. So, I ask you - what does it mean to deny yourself, take up your cross, and each one of us has one, and follow step-by-step in Christ. How do we get in step with Christ?

This declaration or proclamation is the what: what we are to achieve in a loving relationship with God and with one another. The second approach, however, centers on the how: how you get there. Deny yourself - you don't always take the convenient way, the easy way; let others be first. Pick up your cross - what's the hardest thing for you to do in your life now, what is your cross? Follow Christ - in friendship, in loyalty, hard work; see your footsteps in Jesus, love him and keep on the path he has for you.

As we celebrate this sacrament of God's forgiveness, we join the what and the how together. Love God totally by denying yourself, carrying your cross, and following Jesus in all things.

In the Scriptures we read that God renewed people's hardened hearts and gave them a heart of flesh with his laws written on them.

Today we might say that the "law of God is love" is not logged in a computer but written in our hearts. There is no invasion of the privacy of our conscience, but in the Sacrament of Reconciliation we bare our hearts to the purifying fire of God's love.