Bishop Robert C. Morlino encouraged everyone to appreciate the “beauty” of the priesthood as he prepared to ordain Deacons Vincent Bryan Brewer, Garrett Buchanan Kau, and Stephen Christopher Petrica to the priesthood for the Diocese of Madison on May 24 at St. Maria Goretti Church.
Day: June 6, 2013
Sr. Becky Perez celebrates golden jubilee
BELOIT — Sr. Becky Perez, a member of the Auxiliaries of the Blessed Sacrament, will be honored at a reception celebrating her golden jubilee on Sunday, June 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. at St. Jude Church Hall.
All friends of Sister Becky are invited to the reception being served by St. Jude Marian Guild members.
Devotion to Jesus
From childhood, Sr. Becky Perez, has had a sincere devotion to Jesus. This attribute seems to motivate and energize her as she works each day serving the ministry of the Sisters of the Auxiliaries of the Blessed Sacrament.
Life in the Spirit Seminar to be held in Boscobel June 17-23
BOSCOBEL — A “Life in the Spirit Seminar” will be held at Immaculate Conception Church in Boscobel — Corpus Christi Parish — the week of June 17.
This seminar is composed of a series of talks designed to lead people through the basic message of salvation and help them yield to the action of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
It is a retreat experience that will help attendees grow in understanding and experience of the work and gifts of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives and in the life of the Church. It will be a week of teaching, guidance, sharing, and prayer, leading to a new and deeper relationship with Jesus.
The present and future of teaching the faith
MADISON — With another school year coming to a close, educators in the Diocese of Madison are taking a look at the results of their teaching this year, and looking ahead to build on and improve their students’ learning.
This school year was the first time the Diocese of Madison used the National Catholic Educational Association’s Assessment for Catechesis/Religious Education (ACRE) to assess how curriculum is aligned with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and how to improve programs year-by-year. The ACRE is used in 133 dioceses across the country.
Last year, Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison requested all parish catechetical programs join Catholic schools in administering the ACRE.
Finding beauty in the priesthood
Dear Friends,
“The love of Christ compels us (2 Cor 5:14),” says the second letter to the Corinthians. That love, which is made manifest to us in the person of Christ, is the most beautiful thing that there could ever be. It is beautiful because God is love. He is love and He is beauty itself.
Fall 2013 Confirmation schedule
Sunday, Sept. 15, 4 p.m., at Nativity of Mary Church, 313 E. Wall St., Janesville
Nativity of Mary Parish, Janesville,
St. John Vianney Parish, Janesville
St. Patrick Parish, Janesville
Saturday, Sept. 28, 7 p.m., at All Saints Church, N8566 State Rd. 49, Berlin
All Saints Parish, Berlin
Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Green Lake
Sunday, Oct. 20, 4 p.m., at St. John the Baptist Church, 209 South St., Waunakee
St. John the Baptist Parish, Waunakee
Blessed Trinity Parish, Lodi
St. Mary Parish, Portage
Support for ban on gender-based abortions
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) joined other pro-life groups in voicing support for a bill before the Wisconsin Legislature to impose a civil penalty on doctors who knowingly perform sex-selective abortions.
Assembly Bill 217 (authored by Rep. Steve Kestell, R-Elkhart Lake) received a public hearing on May 29 before the state Assembly Committee on Health.
Sex-selective abortion
A sex-selective abortion is an abortion that is performed when the parent or parents of the unborn child abort because the baby is not of the desired sex. Most of the time, unborn girls are aborted because the parents wanted to have a son.
Catholic priests: Answering the call to priesthood at many ages
Our three new priests in the Diocese of Madison seem to be following trends, according to a survey of priests being ordained in the United States this year.
Fr. Vincent Brewer, one of our newly ordained priests, has a degree in technical communication management and worked in the telecommunications industry before he entered the seminary. He attended Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass., which prepares candidates for the priesthood between the ages of 30 and 60.
Another of our new priests, Fr. Stephen Petrica, was ordained an Anglican priest and decided to enter the Catholic Church. He then sought to become a Catholic priest and was accepted by the Diocese of Madison. He studied at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
Our third newest priest, Fr. Garrett Kau, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He did not follow the later vocation path, since he became involved at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center at the university. He attended a men’s retreat featuring a panel of priests speaking about their vocations. After that, he looked into Church vocations and “decided to take the plunge” and apply for seminary studies.
Called at later ages
By and large, the age of men feeling the call to the priesthood is gradually increasing, as reported in a new study released by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and reported in an article by Catholic News Service.
Father’s Day shows dad’s importance
Sonora Louise Smart Dodd is known as the “Mother of Father’s Day.” In 1909, she heard a sermon on the need to set aside a day to honor mothers. She agreed, but she wondered why there wasn’t a day to honor fathers.
Her father, William Jackson Smart, left indelible marks of love on her heart.
He was a Civil War veteran and a widower for 21 years who heroically raised Sonora and her five younger brothers after their mother died while giving birth to her brother Marshal.