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News Briefs:
Lenten events at east-side Madison parishes
MADISON -- Various Lenten events are scheduled at Madison east-side parishes.
Communal reconciliation services will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 24, at Immaculate Heart of Mary, 5101 Schofield St.; 4 p.m. Sunday, March 28, at St. Bernard, 2450 Atwood Ave.; 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, at St. Dennis, 505 Dempsey Rd.; and 7 p.m. Thursday,
April 1, at St. Peter, 5001 N. Sherman Ave.
A "Renewing Our Faith" series will be held on Tuesdays from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and repeated from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Dates, topics, and locations include the following:
• March 2 - "Scripture," led by Kate Wiskus, director, Office of Pastoral Services for the Diocese of Madison. Hosted by Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Marian Hall inside the school.
• March 9 - "Prayer," led by Patti Sensenbrenner, director of Adult Faith Formation at St. Albert the Great Parish, Sun Prairie. Hosted by St. Peter Parish in the Parish Hall.
• March 16 - "The Easter Triduum," led by Dr. Pat Gorman, director of the Office of Worship and Prayer for the Diocese of Madison. Hosted by St. Dennis Parish in Upper Room B.
• March 23 - "The Eucharist," led by Sr. Denise Hermann, director of liturgy and worship and pastoral associate at St. Maria Goretti Parish, Madison. Hosted by St. Bernard Parish in the church hall, lower level.
Another Lenten event of interest includes:
• March 3-5 - "The Labyrinth" will be available at St. Bernard Parish, Madison, to use as a meditative tool. Walking the labyrinth may help one find peace and illumination
from within, clear the mind, or give one the opportunity to process something that has happened. It will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 3; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 4; and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, March 5.
Bishop keynotes
Parish Staff Day
MADISON -- "How Does the Church Serve and Save the World?" is the theme of Parish Staff Day, to be held Thursday, March 18, sponsored by the Diocese of Madison's Office of Pastoral Services. Keynote speaker is Bishop Robert C. Morlino.
The day begins with gathering and social from 8 to 9 a.m., followed by morning prayer at 9:15
a.m. Part one of Bishop Morlino's presentation will be at 10:15 a.m.
During the mid-day break that includes lunch, participants have the opportunity to attend
Mass or a workshop on the diocesan Policy Regarding Abuse of Minors, Sexual Misconduct, and Sexual Harassment and its implementation at the parish level presented by Msgr. Paul J. Swain, vicar general, or a workshop on VIRTUSTM and the Protecting God's Children Program
presented by Kate Wiskus, diocesan coordinator.
Part two of Bishop Morlino's presentation will be held at 1:45 p.m., followed by closing remarks and prayer at 2:30 p.m.
Registration deadline is March 12. For information, contact the Office of Pastoral Services
at 608-821-3083.
Praying for vocations
MADISON -- Holy Redeemer Parish in downtown Madison is praying for vocations to the priesthood in a special way during Lent.
During Eucharistic Adoration on Wednesdays, beginning on Feb. 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., worshippers are encouraged to dedicate an hour of prayer for priestly vocations. This prayer effort continues on seven consecutive Wednesdays from Ash Wednesday through April 7.
Nocturnal Eucharistic Adoration is also available on Saturdays, March 6 and April 3, from
8 p.m. to midnight.
Fr. Michael Moon, parochial vicar at Holy Redeemer, noted, "Our goal is to offer 500 hours of Eucharistic Adoration during Lent for priestly vocations. We heartily welcome parishioners from throughout our diocese to join us here in this effort.
"We have prepared prayers and spiritual readings to assist adorers, so that time spent before our Lord will be both restful and renewing."
For further information, contact Holy Redeemer 608-255-1658.
Singles group hosts 'Visit
to Nicaragua'
MADISON -- The St. Thomas Aquinas Singles (STA) will hold an "Armchair Visit to Nicaragua," Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. in the parish library. Parishioner Mary Crave will show a video and tell about work she and others have done in Nicaragua through Wisconsin/ Nicaragua Partners of the Americas. Non-singles are also invited. There will be games and socializing afterwards. See the STA Web site or contact Mary at: mtcrave@wisc.edu or 845-3510 for more information. St. Thomas Aquinas Parish is located at 602 Everglade Dr., two blocks east of the intersection of Gammon and Old Sauk Rd.
Program focuses
on men's health
MADISON -- "Men's Health Matters: A Gender In Crisis" will be presented Thursday, March 11, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Bernard Parish gym, 2450 Atwood Ave.
Besides men, all wives, family members, spouses, and significant others are invited and
encouraged to attend the program. It will be presented by Dr. Robert Alt, an internist at Dean East Clinic in Madison. An advocate for men's health for years, he presented a workshop entitled "Men's Health in Primary Care" at Johns Hopkins University.
This program is presented free of charge; refreshments will be furnished. Knights of Columbus St. Bernard Council 9082 and St. Bernard parish nurse, Peggy Weber, are hosting the program.
Support groups
for divorced, separated
MADISON -- Peer support groups for those hurting from separation, divorce, or loss of a significant relationship are open to all ages/faiths.
New Directions meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at St. Dennis Parish Center, 413 Dempsey Rd., top floor. For information, call 608-821-3170.
Friends on a Journey will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 4, at Our Lady Queen of Peace nursery, 401 S. Owen Dr. For information, call 608-821-3170.
Presentation on pilgrimage to Italy
WAUNAKEE -- Msgr. James Gunn, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Waunakee, will hold an informational presentation regarding his pilgrimage to Italy.
The presentation will be held at St. John the Baptist Parish on Sunday, Feb. 29, at 4 p.m. Everyone is invited.
The pilgrimage is scheduled for June 16-25 with visits to Florence, Siena, Pisa, Assisi, Loreto, and Rome.
For more information, call toll free: 1-877-446-3746 or St. John the Baptist Parish at 608-849-5121.
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Diocesan Services Appeal: Bishop writes
to Catholics
By Mary C. Uhler
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF
(See also front page chart.)
MADISON -- This week, Catholics throughout the Diocese of Madison will be receiving a personal letter from Bishop Robert C. Morlino.
The bishop is communicating directly with over 66,000 households in the diocese about the annual Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA).
Along with the letter is a brochure describing diocesan ministries that the DSA helps to fund, along with the budget for the diocese. A pledge envelope is also enclosed.
Blessed community
"As I have become acquainted with the people of the Diocese over the past six months, I have found a community that has been blessed a thousand times over," writes Bishop Morlino.
"We have been given not only what we need to meet our basic human needs of food and shelter, but so much more that fulfills and enriches our lives. It is out of our gratitude to God for these blessings that we are called by Jesus to be generous in helping to fulfill His mission of building the Kingdom of God. To make the mission of our Church, founded by Jesus, a reality, we need your spiritual and financial support."
Bishop Morlino notes that parishioners give to their parish each week to fulfill most
of their local community's needs. "BUT as Catholics we each recognize that we are part of a greater Church community, which reaches beyond our parish's boundary," he points out.
"Our Diocese is really our connection to the universal Church. In a sense the Diocese is the larger parish of which we are all a part, and I am your pastor through this diocesan Church. The Diocese provides ministries and services that no single parish could provide. Actually it's only by acting collectively, as a Diocese, that we can meet the depth of needs across South Central and Southwest Wisconsin."
Promoting the DSA
Jay Conzemius, director of the diocesan Office for Stewardship and Development, noted that the DSA promotion materials are helping the parishes pay their diocesan assessment.
Checks are still made out to the parish. Envelopes may be returned in the Sunday collection basket at one's parish or may be mailed to the parish.
Bishop Morlino encourages people to make a pledge instead of just a one-time gift to
the appeal. "Keep in mind that all excess funds raised over your parish's DSA assessment will stay at your local parish," he says.
Pledging gives people the opportunity to 'lighten the load' of their gift by paying in installments and instead of having to pay all at once," said Conzemius.
DSA goal raised
This year's overall DSA goal has been raised to $2.75 million. "Individual parish goals will be increased from last year," said Conzemius.
"Parishes determine the size of the average gift," he said.
Soon the bishop will be forming a diocesan stewardship committee to advise him on how the diocese should conduct this annual appeal as well as other stewardship activities.
"This is another important step in the diocese as we work together with the parishes in promoting parish and diocesan needs and the idea of stewardship," said Conzemius.
"As Catholics, it is important for us to stand together, concretely expressing our communion with one another and our solidarity with every sister and brother. DSA is a fine opportunity to do so," writes Bishop Morlino.
For more information about the Diocesan Services Appeal campaign, contact the Office for Stewardship and Development, P.O. Box 44983, Madison, WI 53744. Jay Conzemius may be reached via e-mail at jconzemius@straphael.org
Rites of initiation:
Bishop Morlino presides
at celebration Feb. 29
SUN PRAIRIE -- The Rite of Election of Catechumens and Call to Continuing Conversion for Candidates for Full Communion in the Catholic Church will be celebrated by parishes of the Diocese of Madison on Sunday, Feb. 29, at 2:30 p.m. at St. Albert the Great
Parish in Sun Prairie.
Over 50 parishes will send nearly 300 people who will celebrate the sacraments of
initiation this Easter, as well as their sponsors, family, and friends. Bishop Robert C. Morlino will preside.
The celebration comes from an ancient Christian practice where those who were to celebrate the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist) come forward at the beginning of Lent to show their intent. The people of the church, in turn, promise their support, guidance, and prayers.
The celebration is one part of a long process which is called The Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults(RCIA). The RCIA encompasses many facets of initiation, from the time a person experiences the call of Christ or wishes to know about the church, to the celebration of the sacraments of initiation and continued growth as a Christian.
It also includes adaptations for those who were baptized in another Christian denomination and seek to become members of the Catholic Church through the sacraments of confirmation and Eucharist.
The service includes three parts. First, all listen to reading of scripture which recalls that Christ has called each person by name.
Following the readings and a homily, the catechumens - all those who are seeking baptism,
confirmation, and Eucharist - are called by name to come forward. The bishop offers a brief instruction and asks the assembled group questions. He asks their sponsors and all assembled if they will continue to support the catechumens with their prayers.
Then, the catechumens sign their name in the Book of the Elect. The book will be taken to St. Raphael Cathedral for the Lent and Easter seasons.
The candidates - those who were baptized in another Christian denomination and wish to be welcomed into the Catholic Church - are each called by name. The bishop speaks to candidates and asks their sponsors and the assembly if they will support them with prayers. Then the candidates gather around the baptismal font and recall their own baptism.
Each parish celebrates many aspects of initiation (including the sacraments) in their own church.
Healing Mass:
Special emphasis
on healing the family tree
By Fr. Rick Heilman
FOR THE CATHOLIC HERALD
MONTELLO -- All are invited to worship together at a special Healing Mass for "Healing the Family Tree." This Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 2, at 6:30 p.m. at St. John the Baptist Church, 277 E. Montello St.
This Mass is being offered to pray for all those seeking healing in their lives, be it physical, spiritual, emotional, relational, or any area in which healing is desired. Special
emphasis will be placed on seeking "Intergenerational Healing" within our family tree.
Spiritual inheritance
What is intergenerational healing? We all understand the concept of a material inheritance. After people die, they often leave money, property, and possessions to members of their family.
We also are aware of a physical inheritance. Doctors always ask for the family history of a new patient.
There is also a spiritual inheritance. We can thank God and our family for the benefit from our virtuous ancestors going back a thousand generations (see Sir 44:10-12). We are also adversely affected by the sins of parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents
and by the sins of the ancestors who adversely affected them, with consequences that may extend to what is inherited materially, emotionally, and physically.
Family influences
In his book entitled, Intergenerational Healing, Fr. Robert DeGrandis writes: "To give the reader an introductory glimpse into this aspect of the healing ministry, I will borrow a poignant lament from an unknown source: 'I have Jesus in my heart, but grandpa in my bones.' Having 'grandpa in my bones' is a common struggle.
"Intergenerational healing is, for the Christian, an opportunity to recognize and bring healing to family influences from the past, with implications for the future. Intergenerational healing suggests the possibility that negative acts and deeds of our ancestors can somehow enter our 'bloodstream' and take a toll on future generations.
Transforming the connection with these troublesome roots is what intergenerational healing is all about. It's an exciting, fascinating area of the healing ministry."
Father DeGrandis goes on to write: "Whenever I sin, in a sense the whole body of Christ is diminished. Likewise, when I do something good, the whole body of Christ benefits. In a
deeply significant way that perhaps no one fully understands, we are rooted in each other. The old saying seems to be true - 'no man is an island.' Your pain is my pain, and my joy is your joy.
Scripture references
Included here are just a few brief Scripture passages that speak of the transmission of effects of parental sins onto their children:
"Our fathers sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment" (Lamentations 5:7). The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge"(Ezekiel 18:2).
"For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate Me, down to the third and fourth generation . . ." (Exodus 20:5).
As well, included here are Scripture references to holy influences of parents:
" . . . but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love Me and keep My commandments" (Exodus 20:5). "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands. His children will be mighty in the land; each generation of the upright will be blessed . . ." (Psalm 112:1-2).
Patterns in families
In his book, "Healing Your Family Tree," Fr. John Hampsch writes: "Families are the building blocks of society; as basic natural social clusters they have a very special place in God's plan of corporate sanctions. Because families are constituted by the sacred union of matrimony, they fall in a special way under His sanctions. The frequent blessings in the Old Testament on God-reverencing families make this clear with regard to external things such as wealth, social status, and even health."
Things internal to the family reflect the family members' allegiance to God and his law. When a family strives to live together in unselfish love and to worship God together in
praise and thanksgiving and trust, its members will know contentment and harmony.
If they are negligent or disobedient in these areas, they will experience God's judgment negatively by the presence of domestic strife, jealousy, infidelity, suspicion, unhappiness,
marital discord, broken marriages, recalcitrance in children, arguments, addictions, and in-law conflicts.
In obeying or rejecting God, these sowing-reaping patterns are not just personal, but a trans-generational phenomenon. Generations are so knit together that one generation sows and
another reaps - sometimes slow growing or even "skipping" a generation or two.
Seeking healing
Even one member of a family may be the instrument of God in the salvation of all others in that family tree or household. God offered to save the entire city of Sodom for even 10 good
representatives (Genesis 18:32). Noah was an instrument of the salvation of his family by his righteousness and obedience (Genesis 7:1).
At this special Healing Mass, we are seeking personal and familial healing by accepting the possibility that we are being called, like Noah, to be that "instrument of salvation" for our family past, present, and future.
Please plan to join us. For additional information, phone the parish office: 608-297-7423.
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