As his Eagle Scout project, Phillip Fonfara — with the help of Boy Scout Troop 333 — built a living Advent wreath for Sacred Hearts Parish in Sun Prairie.
Month: December 2010
A new Year’s resolution: Sharing our resources with others less fortunate
In the weeks before Christmas, we heard that there was renewed confidence in the economy in our country.
Give witness at Christmas, urges bishop
MADISON — The Christmas season is a time when people open their hearts to God and their neighbor, noted Bishop Robert C. Morlino in his remarks at the “Lessons and Carols” performance on Sunday, Dec. 19, at the Bishop O’Connor Center.
Bishop’s letter to the Apostolate to the Handicapped
During this Christmas season of gratitude and thanksgiving for the birth of Our Lord, I extend my heartfelt gratitude and indebtedness to both Msgr. Thomas Campion and to you for your faithful volunteer service and financial support for the Apostolate to the Handicapped.
Llamados a ser luz de Cristo
Esta columna está destinada por el Obispo para los fieles de la Diócesis de Madison. Cualquier circulación más amplia va más allá de su intención.
Queridos amigos:
Al leer esta columna, Navidad estará sobre nosotros y el año del Señor 2010 habrá casi expirado. Al ver el mundo entero, apreciamos la violencia de la guerra y el terrorismo rampante, el hambre en muchos lugares así como la extrema pobreza, vemos a los ancianos sufriendo la eutanasia real o virtualmente, y vemos la masacre de los no nacidos, vemos también el don de la sexualidad humana, orientada naturalmente al amor generoso, malbaratada y usada continuamente para entretenimientos egoístas. Esta no es una “bonita imagen” pero es la cara del mundo que, afirmamos, pertenece a Dios esta Navidad.
Podemos de hecho identificarnos con las palabras del profeta Isaías: somos un pueblo “caminando en la oscuridad… viviendo en una tierra de sombras”. Nada de esto es dicho para borrar la alegría de la Navidad, sino para invitarlos a una aproximación realista para alcanzarla. Isaías dice luego que “quienes han caminado en la oscuridad han visto una luz mayor… y sobre quienes caminan en la tierra de las sombras una luz ha brillado”.
A call to be the light of Christ
This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
As you read this letter, Christmas will be upon us and the Year of the Lord 2010 will have almost expired. As we look around the whole world, we see the violence of war and terrorism raging, we see hunger thriving in so many places as well as extreme poverty, we see senior citizens being actually or virtually euthanized and we see the slaughter of the unborn, we see God’s gift of human sexuality, naturally oriented toward unselfish love, cheapened and continually used for every kind of self-centered entertainment. It’s not a “pretty picture,” but it is a picture of this world that, we claim, belongs to God this Christmas.
Annual Mass and party for disabled and elderly
Although he wasn’t there in person, Msgr. Thomas F. Campion was certainly there in spirit — and in the minds and hearts of so many of the disabled and elderly guests and the many volunteers at the annual Apostolate to the Handicapped Christmas Mass and Party held on Saturday, Dec. 4, at the Monroe High School gymnasium.
Vigil for Life hosts ‘Empty Manger’ caroling December 23
Vigil for Life will host “Empty Manger” caroling on the sidewalk outside Planned Parenthood at 3706 Orin Rd. in Madison on Thursday, Dec. 23, from 5 to 6 p.m.
Christ bids us to come – and go
I have a ritual I practice on New Year’s Eve or day, depending on what is going on in my life. I take some quiet time to review how God has worked in my life over the past year.
Last year I recalled a journal entry that summarized a talk I still remember. It was given during a day of prayer. The presenter, a wonderful Holy Cross priest, made a simple but profound statement. He said that Christian discipleship can be summed up by two words — “Come” and “Go.”
Audrey Auby, mother of Fr. John Auby, dies
Audrey Auby, Madison, mother of Fr. John Auby, pastor of St. William Parish, Janesville, died on Thursday, December 23, 2010.