Bishops' Schedules: Bishop Robert C. Morlino Thursday, April 7, 2005 4:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, St. Ambrose Academy located at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Madison Saturday, April 9, 2005 2:00 p.m. -- Welcome Children's Choir Festival, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison 5:15 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Maria Goretti Parish, Madison Sunday, April 10, 2005 6:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Augustine Parish, Platteville Tuesday, April 12, 2005 2:30 p.m. -- Attend Groundbreaking Event, St. Marys Hospital Construction Site, Madison Wednesday, April 13, 2005 7:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Patrick Parish, Doylestown Thursday, April 14, 2005 11:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, Oaklawn Academy, Edgerton Bishop William H. Bullock Thursday, April 7, 2005 6:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Celebration of the Eucharist, Keynote Speaker, East Dane Deanery of the Council of Catholic Women, Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, Sun Prairie Saturday, April 9, 2005 5:30 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Francis de Sales Parish, Hazel Green Sunday, April 10, 2005 10:30 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Joseph Parish, Madison Wednesday, April 13, 2005 7:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Mary Parish, Platteville Bishop George O. Wirz Wednesday, April 13, 2005 7:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at the Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Joseph Parish, Rio

Kind gestures: Encourage hope, courage in face of loss

		Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Dear Friends,

With you I continue to grieve the loss of our beloved Cathedral Church of St. Raphael. I am nonetheless filled with the courage and hope that is unleashed by the mystery of Jesus' glorious resurrection which we continue to celebrate. In fact that courage and that hope for whatever the future will bring for us as diocese and for the parish family at St. Raphael are much enlivened by the goodness around us.

The generous and heroic service of our firefighters and police continues to inspire me. And I am so deeply grateful that without our even having hinted, contributions have come from outside the diocese to assist us in dealing with our tragic loss.

Grateful for generous gestures

The first contribution that I received was a generous gift from a young priest from outside our diocese. The gift amounted to a lot of money for a young priest.

"Let us all be filled with the hope and the courage that can arise only from the glory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

And then there is the wonderful gift of our brothers and sisters who worshipped the resurrection of Jesus at sunrise on the roof of the Princeton Club on Easter Sunday. What a wonderful gesture of care and generosity from our brothers and sisters who are disciples with us of the risen Lord.

A generous check has arrived from a small Italian American parish in Staten Island, and one of my brother bishops outside our diocese has already forwarded a generous contribution. The offer of help in terms of whatever they might do has come from the various councils of the Knights of Columbus.

The above are just a few of many marvelous gestures made to assist us at a hard time. It is no wonder that my courage and hope for the future are enlivened, as yours should be as well.

Lord Jesus in the Eucharist

During this Year of the Eucharist I cannot help but keep before my mind the image of our Eucharistic Lord in the Blessed Sacrament accompanying our brave and noble firefighters out of St. Raphael Cathedral. He is the Lord of heaven and earth, and He has mysteriously chosen to need us so that the world might be saved. He chose to need the help of those firefighters whom He accompanied out of the charred ruins of our Cathedral, and they came through. As I look to the future I hope and pray that all of us will come through with the courage, the generosity and the hope that so many have already shown by God's grace.

And so as we grieve, let us all be filled with the hope and the courage that can arise only from the glory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All time belongs to Him and all the ages. As He accompanied our brave firefighters out of the rubble of our destroyed Cathedral, so too He will accompany us into the future, the One in Whom we cannot but place our complete trust.

Articles on Cathedral fire: This week's edition: • St. Raphael Cathedral: Finding hope amidst loss • Bishop's column: Kind gestures: Encourage hope, courage in face of loss Mar. 31, 2005 edition: • Letter of appreciation from Msgr. Swain Mar. 24, 2005 edition: • Front page photo and caption • Prayer commemorating the loss of St. Raphael Cathedral • Cathedral fire: Result of arson • Future of cathedral: To be determined • Bishop's column:     At Easter: With eyes of hope • Msgr. Swain's column: Moving forward ... • Mailbag/Letters Mar. 17, 2005 edition: • Firefighters work to control blaze • Bishop Morlino's statement on fire Breaking news posted Mar. 14/15: • Fire: Breaks out at St. Raphael Cathedral Past articles on Cathedral: Dec. 9, 2004 edition: • New spire crowns St. Raphael Cathedral Oct. 7, 2004 edition: • St. Raphael Cathedral: Marks 150th anniversary of cornerstone Sept. 30, 2004 edition: • New spire: To crown St. Raphael Cathedral ... • Sidebar: First phase of Cathedral Restoration ... • Spire illustration -- a detailed PDF (Portable Document Format) file of Cathedral spire and its parts (233 KB file size) Sept. 23, 2004 edition: • Stone by stone: Mason restores stones on cathedral facade Sept. 16, 2004 edition: • Cathedral: Marks 150th anniversary of laying of cornerstone Diocese of Madison site: • St. Raphael Cathedral Parish info.

As the liturgy of Easter says so beautifully from the heart of Jesus," I arose and am still with you, alleluia!" And our response is, "You rest your hand upon me and keep me safe! Alleluia!"

Thank you for reading this, and may the blessings of Easter continue to abide with you and yours in great abundance. Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! Praised be Jesus Christ!

Upcoming columns on Terri Schiavo

Given the recent situation involving the removal of the feeding tube from Terri Schiavo and her subsequent death, and the focus of the news media on the importance of living wills, etc., for the next two weeks I will address the related issues in my column.

In the first part (for next week) I will address the issues of the so-called "right to die" and also the issue of judging one's "quality of life." The following week I will address the issue of medical treatment for those in a "permanent vegetative state" or what some prefer to call those "diagnosed as permanently unconscious," the medical treatment of those who are terminally ill and close to death, and the moral obligations that are ours as Catholics with regard to advance directives for health care including living wills and the designation of a health-care proxy.

I have received many communications asking that these issues be addressed. This might be a good moment for you to invite your friends to subscribe to the Catholic Herald especially if they are particularly interested in these timely issues to which the death of Terry Schiavo has added even greater urgency.