|
|
|
News Briefs:
Tribunal workshops offered
MADISON -- Jay Conzemius, director of the Tribunal for the Diocese of Madison, invites anyone interested in learning more about "Divorce, Annulment, and Remarriage in the Catholic Church" to attend one of the informative evenings planned in parishes around the diocese.
Conzemius will discuss the teachings of the church regarding annulment issues and will provide specific information about the annulment process in the diocese. An opportunity for discussion and interaction for group questions will follow his presentation. He will also make himself available on a one-to-one basis to address personal situations.
The final presentation for this spring is scheduled for:
• Thursday, April 7 - Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Madison. The presentation will begin at 7 p.m.
For additional information, contact the Tribunal at 608-821-3060.
Divine Mercy Sunday Mass
MADISON -- Divine Mercy Sunday Mass will be held on April 3 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish.
Confessions begin at 12:45 p.m. and last until 1:50 p.m.
Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. by Bishop Robert C. Morlino. The Divine Mercy Chaplet will be prayed after Communion followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction after Mass.
The Novena to the Divine Mercy began on Good Friday and ends on Divine Mercy Sunday. To receive a Divine Mercy brochure, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Friends of Mercy, 5102 Schofield Ave., Madison, 53716. For more information, call Friends of Mercy at 608-221-3563 or 608-244-5988.
West Dane Deanery
PINE BLUFF -- The West Dane Deanery Council of Catholic Women will meet Thursday, April 14, at St. Mary Parish in Pine Bluff with registration at 8:15 a.m.
Guest speaker is Beverly Hartberg of the Diocese of Madison Office of Family Ministry. She will present a program about Elizabeth House and Project Rachel, the diocesan healing program for women, men, and families dealing with loss from abortion. Business meeting, Mass, and luncheon will follow. The Offertory collection is for Project Rachel; small disposable diapers may be brought for Elizabeth House.
All are welcomed to attend. Register with Jennifer Arnold, 102 S. Eighth St., Mt. Horeb, WI 53572, or call 608-437-5879 by April 7. The cost of the day is $8.
East Dane Deanery
SUN PRAIRIE -- Last week's Catholic Herald mistakenly listed Msgr. Duane Moellenberndt as homilist for the East Dane Deanery Council of Catholic Women meeting at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish here Thursday, April 7.
Bishop William H. Bullock will be homilist and guest speaker. Offertory collection supports the deanery but donations are being accepted for Our Lady Monastery Campaign with the deanery matching funds. Registration is at 5 p.m. followed by recitation of the rosary at 5:40, Mass, and dinner.
Marriage enrichment opportunity
MADISON -- Madison Marriage Ministry, an interdenominational task force aimed at supporting and forming strong marriages, will sponsor a "Strong Marriages in Stressful Times" seminar.
It will be presented by John Trent on Saturday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Lake City Church, 4909 E. Buckeye Rd., as the task force's annual marriage enrichment event. The seminar is a marriage enrichment opportunity open to all couples: married, newlyweds, engaged, and dating.
At the seminar, Trent will explain how couples can bless their spouses and their families, build closeness and intimacy, and blend their differences as they can create a positive picture of their future with God in their midst.
To register, go to www.madisonfaithandfamily.org or for more information, call the Office of Family Ministry at 608-821-3175.
Course on advance care planning offered
BARABOO -- The End of Life Coalition - a group of area residents dedicated to improving care at the end of life - is offering a two-day course for professionals who provide assistance with advance care planning.
Advance care planning is an organized approach to discussion and documentation of an individual's wishes regarding how to be treated at the end of life. The Respecting Choices Facilitator Courses is a nationally recognized curriculum for training clergy, lawyers, physicians, counselors, nurses, social workers, and others to facilitate advance care planning.
The course will be held Friday, April 5 and 12, at St. Joseph Church, 310 Second St., Baraboo. Cost is $50 and includes a resource workbook and meals. To register, call Chaplain Bill Beers, St. Clare Hospital, 608-356-1511 or e-mail williambeers@ssmhc.com
Post abortion retreat
MILWAUKEE -- A Catholic retreat for post abortion women and men will be held in the Milwaukee area from Friday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. to Sunday, April 10, at 12:30 p.m.
The Post Abortion Helpline of Milwaukee sponsors the retreat. The staff includes two priests and three post abortion counselors.
The exact location is not publicized in order to protect the privacy of all participants, but complete information is given to all those interested in attending. Call Patti at 414-645-4050 or Mary at 414-463-9708. For information, visit www.postabortionhealing.org
Marriage Encounter Weekend
MADISON -- Madison Marriage Encounter is hosting a Marriage Encounter Weekend Friday, April 22, through Sunday, April 24, at the Bishop O'Connor Center. All faiths are welcome. To register or for information, call 608-821-3175 or visit www.marriageencountermadison.org
Madison parishes plan bereavement series
MADISON -- The westside Madison Catholic parish communities and the Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish Bereavement Ministry Team are sponsoring a six-week bereavement ministry series for anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one.
The series offers a supportive and faith-filled setting in which to learn about the natural grief process and talk about personal experiences. Facilitators of this peer ministry are both parish staff and parish members who have also experienced the loss of a loved one. Sessions will be held on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish Center meeting room from April 13 through May 18.
For more information and a registration brochure, call the Pastoral Care Office at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, 608-231-4617. Registration deadline is April 11.
St. Marys offers cancer support program
MADISON -- St. Marys Hospital Medical Center is offering the eight-week program of "I Can Cope" beginning on Monday, April 11.
An educational program and support group for those facing cancer, it runs for eight consecutive Mondays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. through May 30 at St. Marys Medical Center Assembly Hall, on Mills St. in Madison. "I Can Cope," an American Cancer Society program, is for people with cancer and anyone touched by cancer. The free program offers information, support, and encouragement in dealing with cancer.
To sign up, call St. Marys Hospital Public Relations, 608-258-5065.
Family study group meets
in Waunakee
WAUNAKEE -- The "Rededicating Our Families to Christ" study group meets in Waunakee on the second and fourth Thursday of each month.
They will hold a four-session video series by Christopher West, author of Good News about Sex & Marriage, starting on April 14. The series is Introduction to the Theology of the Body: An Adult Faith Formation Program Based on Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body.
Dinner and child care will be provided. Call Karen at 608-846-6916 for more information
|
|
|
Nominate someone
for "Profiles
from the pew"
To nominate someone to be featured in "Profiles from the pew," download a nomination form (PDF file).
"Profiles from the pew" runs in the Catholic Herald print edition
NOTE: The nomination form is 269 KB in size and may take a long time to download on a dial-up Internet connection. It is a Portable Document Format file, also called a PDF, which can be viewed using the freely available Adobe® Reader® software. Many computers already have this software and will automatically open the document when you click the nomination form link, above.
Adobe Reader is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
|
|
|
'Listen hard,
be changed':
Bishop says at Chrism Mass
By Julianne Nornberg
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF
(See also front page photo.)
MADISON -- We are called to listen hard and be changed.
That's what Bishop Robert C. Morlino, presider, told those gathered for the annual Chrism Mass Tuesday, March 22, at St. Maria Goretti Church in Madison.
At this special Mass during Holy Week, the bishop consecrates the sacred chrism and blesses the oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick. Priests of the diocese also renew their commitment to priestly service.
Each of the 135 parishes in the Diocese of Madison sends representatives to this Mass to take bottles of oil to be used during the Easter triduum and in sacraments during the coming year at the parishes.
"The Chrism Mass is one of the preeminent signs of the unity of the Church - the bishop celebrating the Eucharist with his priests and the people of the diocese," according to the program for this year's Mass. It referred to the fire at St. Raphael Cathedral when it noted that "this year's Mass has special poignancy. While we gather in sadness because of the affliction of our Mother Church, we are also filled with great joy because the Church is not confined to earthly structures nor does God need a Cathedral to do his mighty works."
Expressing gratitude
At the beginning of his homily, Bishop Morlino asked the priests to stand.
"This is one of the few chances we have to express our gratitude from the heart for the service of the priests," he said. "I can't thank them enough for the wonderful things they do day in and day out in times that are difficult for the church. But they're there, as it were, on the job for you and me. We promise them our prayers, cooperation, support, and let's tell them that."
The congregation gave the priests a long standing ovation.
"We could just go on," said Bishop Morlino. "It's so good for you and me to know how much God's faithful people are with us. Thank God for that."
He then asked the seminarians to stand and noted Rev. Mr. Michael Radowicz and Rev. Mr. Eric Sternberg who will be ordained to the priesthood in May. The congregation gave them standing ovations as well.
The bishop said, "Another one who deserves a moment of appreciation from all of us is Msgr. Paul Swain," who also received a standing ovation. "In expressing our gratitude to you, we welcome your and my family members from St. Raphael Cathedral. Your presence here means everything to all of us in the diocese but also to Monsignor Swain and myself."
The bishop also thanked Bishop William H. Bullock for his presence and Msgr. Michael Burke, Fr. Jay Poster, and the parish staff of St. Maria Goretti "who have welcomed us with warmth and love and have left no stone unturned."
In Year of Eucharist
"I hope you forgive me if I speak primarily to my brother priests and the two ready to be ordained and invite the rest of you to listen in," Bishop Morlino told the congregation.
"'Today,' Jesus says in the Gospel, 'this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,'" he said. "What does 'today' mean? Every day from the moment of the conception of Jesus until his coming at the end of history. 'Today' means every day.
"This is the Year of the Eucharist and we should take our theme for every day from the dynamic and structure of the Eucharist itself," he said. What is the structure we're familiar with? "The Liturgy composed of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. So to be a Eucharistic sacramental person, 'today' means first we listen hard - that's the point of the Liturgy of the Word. We're different every time we hear it, so we have to listen hard to the Word. That's part of the structure of the lives of priests.
"Then in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ and as we receive the Body and Blood, we are changed into the Body of Christ, the Church.
"So every day while it is still today, we are called to listen hard and to be changed," he said.
Bishop Morlino's second point was that being a Eucharistic person is reflected in all the sacraments. In baptism, a person is changed, made into a son or daughter of the Lord, he said. In Confirmation, we're changed unto strength by the Holy Spirit. In penance, we're restored to life. In the anointing of the sick, we're changed in terms of spiritual, and sometimes physical, healing. In Holy Orders, a deacon in changed into the likeness of Christ as a servant. In matrimony, a couple listens to the Word and they're changed.
"That structure of being a sacramental Eucharistic person always means we listen hard and are open to being changed," said the bishop.
Reading signs of times
His third point was that apart from the Eucharist and apart from the sacraments, we are still called to be sacramental people who listen hard and are open to change.
The Second Vatican Council said we must read the signs of the times and allow our response to be fashioned by Christ. "Being open to change ourselves, we invite the culture to be changed," he said.
Reading the signs of the times is very complicated and sometimes we get it wrong, he
said. "Reading the signs of the times does not mean accommodating ourselves to the culture that chooses sin. It means purifying the culture. So when the culture chooses death rather than life, we stand up and proclaim that no one has the authority to destroy innocent human life - every time."
We're in danger of thinking we're called to change rather than to be changed, he said. This is true even with regard to the Liturgy.
Two documents - the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and Sacramentum Redemptionis - tell us we're not called to change the Liturgy, he said. Vatican II clearly said I have no authority to change the Liturgy, I can't dispense from liturgical law, he said. The council did have that authority.
"The Liturgy is not given to us to change it," said the bishop. "It is given to us as a gift so we listen hard and are changed by it."
Reading the signs of the times where the majority carries the vote is important but the response is not to accommodate to that but to purify the culture, he emphasized.
Especially for the St. Raphael Cathedral family, the destruction is a sign of the times for us, he said. We have to listen to that sign but have to be open to be changed by that, he said.
Obedience, humility
Bishop Morlino's fourth point was that we would rather change things ourselves than be
changed. "That's human nature," he said, noting that Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane said, "Father, let this cup pass from me." Jesus wanted to change that but he listened hard and said, "Let your will be done."
Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered, said the bishop
"Where there is obedience, there is humility. Where there is humility, there is Christ," he said. "That's where you want to be and that's where I want to be - with Christ."
After the homily, the priests renewed their commitment to priestly service and the bishop blessed the sacred oils.
After Communion, pastors and parish representatives were invited by deanery to collect bottles of holy oil to take back to their parishes.
"You've received the Holy Oils. Take them back to your parish as a sign of Christ in your midst," said Bishop Morlino.
A reception hosted by parishioners of St. Raphael Cathedral followed in Marian Hall.
|
