March 2015 – Page 5 – Madison Catholic Herald


	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,

I pray that your Lent continues to be fruitful and full of hope!

Here below, I want to extract one short line from our readings this past week and reflect upon it very briefly.

I know that many of you did not receive much in the way of a homily this past weekend because many of our pastors wisely decided to shorten or even forgo their homilies due to the Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA) and the parish request that took place this week.

Before I go further, though, I wish to offer a word or two in that regard.

Thank you for service, support

The first word I have to offer is my thanks. With every ounce of sincerity, I thank you for all that you’ve done in the past, are doing this year, and may continue to do into the future, in service to our diocesan Church.

So much of the good that we do as a Church relies upon our united effort and our cooperation in and with the Spirit. While I would not stop trying to carry out the mission I have been given, no matter what, we certainly could not be as effective without your prayerful support.

On March 12, 2015

Virginia Schmitt

Pray the Rosary daily for world peace

To the editor:

There was a write-up in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald about the kidnapping and rescue of the mother of Fr. Paul Arinze. I was overjoyed when I heard of her rescue.

Even more awesome was the fact that she distracted herself by praying the Rosary on her fingers all through this frightening ordeal. What a powerful weapon is Mary’s Rosary, and how she shows her care for those who pray her Rosary faithfully!

On March 4, 2015October 19, 2022

Kevin Wondrrash, Catholic Herald Staff

More than 120 catechumens and candidates participate in the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion

A range of emotions were seen on the faces of more than 120 soon-to-be full members of the Catholic Church on Sunday, Feb. 22, at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee.

On March 4, 2015

Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Madison woman prepares to enter Church

MADISON — “It’s the best thing ever.”

“I love it. I can’t get enough.”

Those are just a couple of the verbally-expressed emotions from 27-year-old Tina Saviano from Madison as she is just a few weeks away from becoming a member of the Catholic Church.

On March 4, 2015May 10, 2021

Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Using the gifts of knowledge, reverence, fortitude


	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,

Please allow me to return to one of my familiar themes at this beginning of Lent. I mention often at Mass and in other contexts that all of us, especially we adults, should be mindful of the graces and gifts received at our Confirmation.

I think forgetfulness that we have been confirmed is one of the true enemies of our growth in holiness.

So many times in life we need courage, we need consolation, we need joy, we need to be freed from confusion, we need to make prudent judgments –and we forget that in the Holy Sacrament of Confirmation, we have been strengthened by the Holy Spirit, in precisely the gifts which we need to face the difficult moments in life.

How often do we fail to pray, “Lord, you gave me the gifts to face this problem, with prudence, patience, and strength when I was confirmed. Now Father, stir up these gifts. Make them real for me, so that by these gifts and by your grace you will bring me through whatever difficulties I might face.”?

On March 4, 2015

Kevin Wondrash

Bishop Morlino to receive Christ Brings Hope Award

MADISON — Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison will be honored at the Relevant Radio 1240 AM Christ Brings Hope Award Dinner on Thursday, March 19, with the inaugural Christ Brings Hope Award.

Relevant Radio Executive Director Fr. Francis J. “Father Rocky” Hoffman said, “Bishop Morlino has certainly brought much hope and inspiration to the Diocese of Madison and beyond by his steadfast dedication, loving service, and fearless defense of the Catholic Church and her teachings.

On March 4, 2015

Ask IPS

Dealing with guilt and shame

Ask IPS

Question: “During Lent, I feel like there is a large emphasis on sinfulness. I find myself feeling constantly ashamed of my past sins. Is this healthy?”

Response:William McKenna, M.S., Clinical Extern at the IPS Center for Psychological Services

On March 4, 2015

Fr. Robert Barron

A message written in blood

Recently, the attention of the world was riveted to a deserted beach in northern Libya, where a group of 21 Coptic Christians were brutally beheaded by masked operatives of the ISIS movement.

In the wake of the executions, ISIS released a gruesome video entitled A Message in Blood to the Nation of the Cross. I suppose that for the ISIS murderers, the reference to “the Nation of the Cross” had little sense beyond a generic designation for Christianity.

Sadly for most Christians, too, the cross has become little more than a harmless symbol. I would like to take the awful event on that Libyan beach, as well as the ISIS message, as an occasion to reflect on the still startling distinctiveness of the cross.

Baptism: Renounce sin and proclaim Christ

Patrick Gorman

Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the fourth in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.

Imagine yourself in darkness with only a few candles providing light. You are standing in a secret location in the middle of the night, shivering from the cold and damp.

You have been “apprenticing” as a Christian for some time and at last you are about to join this small sect. You have no idea what will happen next and you don’t understand some of the things that already have been done.

Suddenly, your companion (godparent) turns you around, you are told to reach out and imagine standing face-to-face with the devil. Finally a booming voice from out of the darkness asks, “Do you renounce Satan?”

Some laws say a lot about who we are, our values

Wisconsin’s laws make for some pretty dull reading. Most laws consist of technical prose defining eligibility for programs and drawing lines between legal and illegal conduct.

But some laws serve a different purpose. Some declare a policy vision for our state or define the scope and mission of what our government should do.

It is in these sections of the statutes that prose becomes poetry. It is there that we Wisconsinites define who we are and what we want our state to be.