• Articles on St. Raphael Cathedral Spanish Masses in the diocese (en Español) The following is a list of Spanish Masses in the Diocese of Madison. For more information, contact the Office of Justice and Pastoral Outreach at 608-821-3092.  Beloit: St. Jude Parish, 737 Hackett St. - third Sunday of the month, 10:30 a.m.  Janesville: St. Patrick Parish, 315 Cherry St. - third Sunday of the month, 12:30 p.m.  Jefferson: St. John the Baptist Parish, 214 N. Sanborn Ave. - second Sunday of the month, 12:30 p.m.  Madison: Holy Redeemer Parish, 20 W. Johnson St. - Saturday, 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m.; St. Joseph Parish, 1905 W. Beltline - Sunday, 7 p.m.; St. Peter Parish, 5001 N. Sherman Ave. - 3rd Sunday, 3 p.m.; Catholic Multicultural Center, 1862 Beld St. - Wednesdays, 12 noon  Marshall: St. Mary of the Nativity Parish, 112 S. Beebe St. - first Sunday of the month, 12:30 p.m.  Monroe: St. Victor Parish, 1760 14th St. - second Sunday of the month, 12:30 p.m.  Sauk City: St. Aloysius Parish, 115 Madison St. - Sunday, 12:30 p.m.  Watertown: St. Henry Parish, 412 N. 4th St. - fourth Sunday of the month, 12:30 p.m.  Wisconsin Dells: St. Cecilia Parish, 604 Oak St. - final Sunday of the month, 6 p.m.
	News Briefs: Catholic women: Schedule deanery meetings Columbia Deanery RIO -- Wednesday, Oct. 18, is the date of the Columbia Deanery fall meeting to be held at St. Joseph Parish here. The theme is "Suffer the Little Children." Registration is at 4:30 p.m. followed by a concelebrated Mass at 5:45 with Msgr. Duane Moellenberndt, Sun Prairie, diocesan moderator, as homilist. A dinner will be served at 6 p.m. The program at 7 p.m. will feature Julie Cross with Jamaica Experiences at the Sunbeam Boys' Orphanage. Deanery project is contributions for the Sunbeam Boys' Orphanage. The business meeting will follow at 7:45. Reservations are due October 12 to Mae Sommers, P.O. Box 92, Rio, WI 53960. The cost is $10. East Dane Deanery SUN PRAIRIE -- "Spa for Your Soul . . . Calling all Women," is the theme of the East Dane Deanery fall meeting to be held Thursday, Oct. 26. St. Albert the Great Parish here will host the event. Registration is at 5 p.m. followed by the recitation of the Rosary at 5:40. A concelebrated Mass will be offered at 6 p.m. with Msgr. Duane Moellenberndt, Sun Prairie, diocesan moderator, as homilist. A dinner will be served at 6:45. The program at 7:30 p.m. will feature the Ministry of Mothers Sharing (M.O.M.S.). Guest speakers will be Tonya Beck and Ann Masstricht. The business meeting will follow at 8 p.m. The charitable cause will be cash or a layette item for Pregnancy Helpline. Reservations are due October 17 to Linda Leggett, 3087 Wendt Way, Sun Prairie, WI 53590. The cost is $7. Death penalty forum at Edgewood: Features Bishop Morlino MADISON -- Edgewood College will host a Forum on the death penalty at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 19, in Anderson Auditorium. A panel of speakers, led by Bishop Robert C. Morlino and Professor John McAdams, who teaches American Politics at Marquette University in Milwaukee, will provide the audience with information and opinion about the issue. The purpose of the forum is to encourage an informed discussion about the implications of the related advisory question for the state of Wisconsin on the November 7 ballot. Catholic Spirit Club JANESVILLE -- Santo Carfora, a former Janesville School District teacher and advocate for social justice, will present "To Walk in the Steps of Martin Luther King, Jr." after the Adult Catholic Spirit Club's noon potluck on Wednesday, Oct. 11, in St. John Vianney's Marian Hall. All men and women are invited to come and share friendship, food, and ideas. One-day Schoenstatt pilgrimage WAUNAKEE -- A one-day pilgrimage to three Schoenstatt shrines with Fr. Eric Sternberg will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4. The pilgrimage includes: Mass, confession (optional), Rosary, prayer, Adoration, and visits to three Marian Schoenstatt shrines. A brief history will be provided of Schoenstatt, Fr. Joseph Kentenich's life, the shrine, and other information. The bus leaves from St. John the Baptist Parish in Waunakee at 6:30 a.m. and arrives back at 5:15 p.m. Cost is $49 per person, including continental breakfast and lunch. Register by October 21. Make checks payable to Schoenstatt or Dawn Helt and mail to: Dawn Helt, 904 South St., Waunakee, WI 53597. For more information, call Dawn Helt at 608-849-5750 or e-mail thehelthouse@cs.com Worldwide Marriage Encounter MADISON -- Worldwide Marriage Encounter will be offering a Catholic enrichment experience for married couples on Friday, Nov. 10, through Sunday, Nov. 12, at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Rd. To register or for more information, contact Keith and Nancy Howard at 888-574-5653 or register online at www.alifetimeoflove.org Nominate someone for "Profiles from the pew" To nominate someone to be featured in "Profiles from the pew," download a nomination form (PDF file, 269 KB). "Profiles from the pew" runs in the Catholic Herald print edition NOTE: The nomination form is a Portable Document Format file (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.

Celebrating 150 years: Of faith as a community

By Kathleen Bushman
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF

OREGON -- Holy Mother of Consolation Parish (HMC) is celebrating 150 years this year. On September 24, the parish continued its series of sesquicentennial events with a Mass and picnic. Bishop Robert C. Morlino celebrated the Mass, with pastor Fr. Bill Connell concelebrating.

	Related articles: September 21, 2006 edition: • Oregon parish: Celebrates 150th anniversary January 12, 2006 edition: • Holy Mother of Consolation: Celebrates 150 years July 22, 2004 edition: • Oregon parish: Celebrates 20th anniversary with sister parish (print edition only)

Even HMC's sister parish in Guatemala was present - at least, by phone after Mass - to congratulate the parish on its 150 years of faith. And Governor Jim Doyle sent a proclamation to the parish, as did the state legislature, presented by HMC parishioner and State Assembly Rep. Brett Davis.

And HMC still has a few more events in its sesquicentennial celebration, including a history pageant put on by youth on November 11 and a time capsule on December 31.

As well, a new stained glass window between the gathering and worship spaces was recently installed to celebrate the 150 years, though not before the Mass on September 24. The window, donated by Bob Harty and Kathleen Harty in memory of James and Ellen Green, features seven rays symbolizing the Seven Sorrows surrounding an image of Mary holding Jesus.

Mother of Consolation

During his homily, Bishop Morlino talked about the nature of consolation.

Consolation, he said, means "I actually want to take some of your suffering on myself," and then we have to do something to show them we want to take on the suffering with them. It means compassion and suffering with others. And most importantly, it means bringing Jesus Christ to that person.

"That's the third element of consolation," he said. "To allow the person to receive the strength of Christ, so that even if they're hurting or troubled, they are made strong to rejoice in the Lord."

"Imagine the amount of real consolation that has gone on here in 150 years," said Bishop Morlino. "And so we remember the forefathers and foremothers who have gone to see the face of Christ today in a special way, and also the priests here. . . . And we thank God for them."

"Today is a festival day and rejoicing in the Lord must be our strength here today," he said. "In Christ, no sadness can be the end of you and me."

Reflections on HMC

Kerry G. Denson, brigadier general, commander of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, and a former parishioner and alumnus of HMC School, gave a reflection on the parish and school at the Saturday evening Mass. He recalled the school and the many of the times he and his brothers had gotten into trouble, or of hiding his peas at lunch.

The church has changed over the years, he said. "But what we were taught was, at the end of the day, make your decisions from the heart," he said.

"When I reflect back, I always had a good feeling" about going to HMC, he said. "I think the reason was it was grounded into us to do the right thing."

HMC is a unique church, said Joan Gefke, chairperson of the sesquicentennial and lifelong member of the church. The parishioners, she said, are very proud of their church.

"You're going to find a very devoted group of people, almost narrow-minded in that there's only one church - and that's Holy Mother," she said.

Over the past year, she said, the parish has gotten closer. "We've gotten to know each other; we've discovered problems; we've had fun together," she said. "We've gotten to know how important each layer of our community is."

And most importantly, "we've learned to be responsible for our church and to appreciate what we have," she said.

Planning: Understanding the 'assumptions and goals'

By Grant Emmel
VICE CHANCELLOR

MADISON -- The previous article reminded us of our diocese's recent history as it relates to the present linkages of parishes and gave us some idea of groundwork that has been done in preparation for the Guided by the Spirit planning process.

This article will outline the assumptions that each parish should be working under as well as the goals that they should be working toward. There is a natural relationship between the assumptions and goals as our diocese's ability to achieve these goals is only as good as the parish's understanding and following of the assumptions.

Most important goal

The most important goal is stated as "To insure that all individuals throughout our 11 counties are graciously invited everyday, in one way or another, to meet Jesus Christ 'Risen from the Dead,' and be changed by him."

A related goal is "To strengthen the presence of ministry of the Church in urban, rural, and suburban areas." An assumption that supports these goals is "The Paschal Mystery is both central to our faith and to this planning process, where changes in parish and school structures are potential examples of the life-death-resurrection mystery." Even more simply, the Eucharist gives us the strength we need to love God and to love our neighbor. This cannot be forgotten or overlooked.

Another related assumption is "Parishes do not exist for themselves, but as a presence of Christ and the Church to the local area." Parishes follow the parishioner's invitation to others to follow Christ. The parish exists as a support network for parishioners to ensure that this can happen, not that the parishioners exist for the sake of the parish.

'Teach with love'

The next two goals, "To teach with love, the truths Christ has entrusted to His Church, so that clarification and conviction would replace ambiguity and confusion where such might exist" and "To continue to offer the invitation of Jesus Christ the High Priest to young men so that, in sufficient numbers for the future, they will follow Him," both follow from the assumption that "Strong pastoral leadership, ordained as well as lay, now and in the future, is needed for planning to succeed."

The truths of our Catholic faith sometimes are difficult for others to follow or for some to proclaim; our reply has to be that of Simon Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have come to believe and to know that you are the Christ, the Son of God" (John 6:69).

Working together is the thrust of the next goal, "To enhance the quality of parish life by encouraging collaboration and the sharing of resources amongst the parishes." In order for this to occur we must understand the assumptions that, "The vision of Church must be larger than one's own local community. People must be helped to think locally, regionally, and diocesan-wide" that "Parishes will be stronger and more effective, if they work together"; and that "If and when mergers are needed, they will be less traumatic and more natural if people and parishes have already been in relationship with one another. In the future, some mergers will be suggested by parish partners as the best way to go forward."

The idea that we are part of a larger community is an important aspect of this planning process. It is similar to what allows us to work with diocesan offices and programs, looking outside of our immediate neighborhood, to accomplish our parish ministries.

Present situation

Showing people the significance of our present situation is the next goal: "To help all parishioners understand the reality of our desire to continue to be the sacramental Church we are called to be, while at the same time recognizing the diminishing number of priests available currently to serve parishes." This can be accomplished if we understand that "There is more ownership for and less resistance to planning that begins at the local level with meaningful involvement by those who will be impacted by the changes." This is a result of the preliminary discussions leading into this planning and is directly reflected in how the planning process will proceed in a "bottoms-up" fashion from the parish level.

Realizing that all that we have is a gift from God is important as the next goal reminds us that we need "To act as good stewards of all human, financial, and facility resources; which will be needed for restructuring parishes and adopting new models." This is supported by the assumption that "All parishes will be more effective if they plan for the future, especially when planning is an on-going process and not employed only in a crisis."

Clear heads and sound thinking is necessary when doing this kind of important work and the issue seems to be so large that it sometimes is difficult to get our hands around it. It is exactly for this reason that we are starting this process, to get the "ball rolling" and to make it a more manageable problem. The result will allow us to be the "good and faithful servant" we are called to be.

Catholic schools

The Holy See and the bishops of our country have repeatedly commented on the irreplaceable role of Catholic schools in the new evangelization. A goal of the planning process makes this a part of our diocese, "To ensure that quality Catholic School education is available, accessible, and affordable throughout the diocese." In order that this is accomplished it is very important that "Parishes with schools will be considered comprehensively as a unit during the planning process," as an assumption is followed.

There is a wide range of commitment to our Catholic schools and this is often reflected in the amount of resources dedicated to the school. It is important that the school and parish do not compete for the same resources, thereby starving one ministry for another, and when this happens, changes need to be made. Understanding this cooperative role of parish and school will be an important part of the planning process for the parish and school communities.

Culturally diverse

As with many dioceses, the Madison diocese is culturally diverse but sometimes there are barriers that make it difficult to understand one another. To address this need the goal, "To build a greater sense of unity within the rich ethnic, cultural, and age diverse population present within the local Church" was included. The most straightforward way that we can support this is to assume that "Planning resources will be provided in English and Spanish, where needed" and in fact offer whatever support is needed by any non-English speaking parishioners when it is requested.

The interrelationship of the Guided by the Spirit planning process goals and the assumptions that we all are working under is very important. As is true with many aspects of our life, it is important to keep focused on our goals while being well rooted in those ideas or assumptions that support us as we work toward our goals. To the extent that we keep Christ our Light the ultimate goal and do our best to follow his commandments we will have better and stronger parishes and diocese.

Next: Diocesan criteria and parish self-evaluation

George Weigel:
To speak at St. Thérèse of Lisieux lecture

(See also front-page photo.)

MADISON -- George Weigel, a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, will be speaking at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center in Madison as part of the St. Thérèse of Lisieux lecture series Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m.

Weigel's St. Thérèse of Lisieux lecture series talk is titled "The Benedict Project: The Catholic Church in the 21st Century." A sign language interpreter will be available for the lecture.

Weigel is a Roman Catholic theologian and one of America's leading commentators on issues of religion and public life. A native of Baltimore, he was educated at St. Mary Seminary College, Baltimore, and at the University of St. Michael College in Toronto.

Weigel is the author or editor of 18 books, including The Courage To Be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Church; Letters to a Young Catholic; and God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church.

He also prepared a major study of the life, thought, and action of Pope John Paul II. Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II was published in 1999. A documentary film based on the book was released in the fall of 2001 and has won numerous prizes.

In addition to his books, Weigel has contributed essays, op-ed columns, and reviews to major opinion journals and newspapers in the U.S. He has appeared on numerous television networks, cable television, radio discussion programs, and is a consultant on Vatican affairs for NBC News.

His weekly column, "The Catholic Difference," is syndicated to 60 newspapers around the U.S., including the Madison Catholic Herald. Both his scholarly work and his journalism have been translated into a variety of western languages.

Awarded eight honorary doctorates and the papal cross "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice," Weigel serves on the boards of directors of several organizations dedicated to human rights and the cause of religious freedom. He is also a member of the editorial board of First Things. He and his wife, Joan, have three children and live in North Bethesda, Md.

For reservations, contact the Madison Diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis at 608-821-3160 or ore@straphael.org