The 2017 summer season at Camp Gray may be over, but the faith, friends, and fun will be back next year.
Day: August 17, 2017
Veneration of relics and bodies of saints
I write these words from Milan, Italy, where I am with my Word on Fire team filming new episodes for our Pivotal Players series.
I’ve seen lots of marvelous things on this trip, including the ruins of the ancient baptistery under the Milan Cathedral where, in the spring of 387, St. Augustine was baptized by St. Ambrose.
But the most fascinating sight I’ve taken in is the vested and mitered skeleton of that same Ambrose, which rests in the basilica that bears his name, not far from the cathedral.
Skeletal remains
Behind a grille, just under the main altar, lie the skeletal remains of Ambrose and two martyr saints, Gervasius and Protasius, whose bodies were recovered during his lifetime.
Growing in knowledge of faith in the diocese
MADISON — “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”
We begin by reflecting on these words by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, which define our mission as Christians as being a disciple to Christ and thus our relationship with him gives “direction” to our lives.
The world is awash with weapons
If someone’s house was on fire, would you pour gasoline on it? Well, the answer is obvious: Of course you wouldn’t. Yet that is very similar to what the United States and many other more economically developed nations are doing.
Despite the tragic fact that approximately 40 current armed conflicts worldwide are causing over 150,000 deaths annually, countless serious injuries, untold destruction, and 28,300 people per day fleeing from their homes, many of the wealthiest countries continue to pour flammable weapons into these volatile conflicts. And the U.S. is leading the pack (see: http://bit.ly/2ufpP5Y).
St. Coletta renews its Lourdes grotto
JEFFERSON — On the peak of the hill overlooking the original St. Coletta of Wisconsin campus, just below the St. Coletta cemetery in Jefferson, lays a replica rock grotto depicting the Virgin Mary appearing before a girl, St. Bernadette of Lourdes.
Mazzuchelli memorial Mass August 27
BENTON — The annual Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli Memorial Mass and dinner will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, at St. Patrick Church in Benton.
The public is invited to attend the day’s events sponsored by the Father Mazzuchelli Assembly 1202 Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus of Lancaster.
Pilgrimage to Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse
MIDDLETON — All are invited to participate in a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse on Thursday, Oct. 5 (Feast of St. Faustina).
The pilgrimage will leave from St. Bernard Church, 2015 Parmenter St., Middleton, loading the motorcoach at 6:45 a.m., leaving at 7 a.m. The group will leave La Crosse at 4 p.m., arriving at St. Bernard’s parking lot at approximately 6:30 p.m.
Hopes Church will continue to offer Mass in both rites
To the editor:
R. Jared Staudt’s article (July 27 issue of Catholic Herald) suggesting the Church use both the Extraordinary Form (with priest facing ad orientem) and Novus Ordo rites was interesting.
The Extraordinary Form offers much rich music, protocol, vestments, rubrical gestures, and the ranking and roles of the celebrants. God is adored and worshiped, and this worship is strictly conducted. Much attention is given to well-defined ritualistic human behaviors and postures which are meant to indicate the pious devotion of each worshiper.
The Novus Ordo offers a simpler worship . . . a community called by Christ nourished and fed in Word and sacred sacrament, and gathered around the living and active Christ who is present in the celebrant, the Word, His holy body and blood . . . and His people.
Pontifical Mass at the Throne on August 22
MONONA — On Tuesday, Aug. 22, at 6 p.m., at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Monona, His Excellency Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, will celebrate a Pontifical Mass at the Throne for the traditional Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Mass will be in the Roman Rite’s older, traditional form, sometimes called the “Extraordinary Form.” The music will be in Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony, with motets and hymns, including:
Take action to protect dreamers
The official name for individuals who meet the general requirements of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is DREAMers.
However, I think we could call them dreamers in the regular sense, because they are young people who dream of staying in the United States and becoming citizens of this country.
In 2012, a policy called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — popularly known as DACA — was implemented under the Obama administration. It gave young people — mostly 15 to 30 years of age — a temporary reprieve from deportation and the authorization to be employed in our country.