Bishops' Schedules: Bishop Robert C. Morlino Sunday, May 20, 2007 4:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach, Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Madison Tuesday, May 22, 2007 11:00 a.m. -- Attend Presbyteral Council meeting, Bishop O'Connor Center, Madison. Wednesday, May 23, 2007 11:15 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Mass, Madison Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, Bishop O'Connor Center, Madison Thursday, May 24, 2007 6:30 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Mass celebrating the family and sanctity of all human life, Bishop O'Connor Center, Madison Bishop William H. Bullock Saturday, May 19, 2007 5:15 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Sacrament of Confirmation, Saint Mary of the Lake Parish, Westport Sunday, May 20, 2007 1:00 p.m. -- 40th Priesthood Anniversary Celebration, Rev. Msgr. Raymond N. Kertz, St. Patrick Church, Cottage Grove Monday, May 21, 2007 12:00 noon -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison

May is mothers' month:
Birth, Mary, and Church

		Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino

(en Español)

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the Eternal City! Just prior to my departure for Rome I had a moment to reflect on the great time of year we are in. During this month of May I'm always overjoyed to see Madison filled with new life and with a greater abundance of light. As the days grow longer, the sun returns, and the occasional dreariness of winter has melted away, we see the parks, farmer's market, and lakes filled with people.

Perhaps most of all, I love to see the flowering trees which fill the city. The mature branches which have laid barren for so many months, pushed down by the weight of snow and frost have returned to life with a fiery flourish of color, putting forth their best and most glorious face and announcing that springtime is upon us. It would seem, in fact, that in this month of May even the trees reflect the plan of God.

Month of renewed life and light

We are called to remember in this month of renewed life and light that it is through Mary the Creator chose to bring new life to the world. The Gospel of Luke tells us that in anticipation of the angel Gabriel visiting Our Lady to announce the plan that God had for mankind, the angel visits Mary's cousin Elizabeth and announces the new life which has sprung forth within her.

In the very anticipation of the Son of God dawning upon the earth, new life can be seen! Elizabeth, an older woman who herself had been barren for many winters, seemingly unable to conceive, is filled with life and flowers in such a truly glorious way, conceiving John the Baptist - a child who will come to announce the new Springtime of humanity with the same fire that those flowering trees announce Spring in Madison.

How wonderful it is to look upon Mary in this month of May, to consider the beauty of God's plan and the new life she brings forth simply by saying "yes" to the plan of God.

Mothers' month

Let us not fail to consider in this month when we also celebrate Mother's Day, that each of us can truly celebrate our own mothers . . . plural. Each of us has three mothers - our birth mother, the one who cared for us in our youth; Our Lady, the mother who out of love opened the path of Salvation by accepting Jesus into her womb; and our Mother the Church, the one who loves and nurtures us with sacrament and truth.

We celebrate in this month the beauty which is motherhood. We celebrate those beautiful ladies among us who offer their very selves for the formation and nurturing of new life. We celebrate those women who taught us about life, our faith, and how to love.

How appropriate is it then, that in this month we celebrate our Mother Mary. Remember it was Mary who at the foot of the cross Jesus gave to John and to all of us as our mother. Remember, as we prepare for Pentecost, that it was Mary who remained prayerfully caring for the Apostles and disciples after their Lord had gone to His Father. Remember it is Mary who is to this day the most perfect example of a Christian and of holiness, who points always to her Son and her God. And remember it is Mary who loves us to this day, ready to intercede for us, for whatever the Church and the faithful need.

But, let us remember too that in this month of May we can celebrate our Mother the Church. It was the great martyr St. Cyprian who, speaking of Church unity in the third century wrote, that no one "can have God as Father who has not the Church for his Mother."

Truly the Church is our Mother: she bathes us with the waters of Baptism; she feeds us with the Bread of Life; she strengthens us with the gift of Confirmation; she cares for our woundedness with Holy Anointing; and she holds us close, forgiving us by the sacrament of Reconciliation. The Church remains a stable and comforting mother for us, to whom we can always turn and should always love.

Springtime in the Church

In this month of May we also celebrate several sacraments of life. During the Easter season we recall the new life found by those who have just come into our Church, as well as the many Confirmations and First Holy Communions experienced in our parishes. And we should be reminded, each of us, regardless of our age, that we have been brought into a new life as Christians, that we must therefore reflect the new life we have been given.

Our world is often filled with dreariness and death. We truly do live in a culture of death. But we are called to be, like those flowering trees around us and like our Mother Mary, shining witnesses to life. The Son has risen upon us and we are given light and new life. We are being called today to reflect that light and life. We are called to flourish to remind the world around us that there is hope, that there is new life in Jesus through Mary, and that there is much cause for rejoicing.

Praised be Jesus Christ!