I hope that everyone enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving. Truly, we have numerous blessings for which to give thanks. I am particularly grateful that our Catholic schools have been operating in-person this fall and that they have been able to provide children with a safe, faith filled, educational experience that honors and develops their intellectual, physical, social, spiritual and emotional traits by cultivating human relationships through in-person education. I am thankful that our students have experienced this aspect of “normal” life in the midst of a most abnormal year.
Month: November 2020
The Order of Christian Funerals: vigil
The following article is the next installment in a series that will appear in the Catholic Herald to offer catechesis and formation concerning end of life decisions, dying, death, funerals, and burial of the dead from the Catholic perspective.
Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ amid COVID-19; the Diocese of Madison nine months in
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MADISON — This week marks nine months that we as the local Church have been struggling, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to continue to proclaim the Gospel and the good news of salvation, only made possible through Our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection.
While so much of our daily life has been altered, the need for the Church and Our Lord’s graces through the sacraments made available through Her have only become more crucial. Even in a pandemic, we are still called to Go Make Disciples and grow in our holiness.
Specific to keeping the Sunday Mass obligation
As the number of cases, hospitalizations, and sadly, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 continue to increase, Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison reminded us last week in one of his daily videos that those vulnerable or at risk, and those who work or live with those at risk, should “take advantage of the generous dispensations that are written into Canon Law.”
You are likely already dispensed from your Sunday obligation, if you are older, immuno-compromised, live or work with someone who is, or are subject to other COVID-related situations.Let us be thankful wherever we are
Norman Rockwell’s painting Saying Grace originally appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post’s 1951 Thanksgiving issue. It soon became one of Rockwell’s most beloved works.
Parishes around the diocese to host Men of Christ event
MADISON — The Men of Christ-Madison and the St. Francis Xavier Parish Knights of Columbus Council #3924 are hosting an Advent Men’s Retreat on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 5.
The event has come together after the initial in-person Men of Christ-Madison event had to cancel.
Due to COVID-19, the format has been adjusted to a mixed design.
The speakers’ presentations are being recorded and extended out to participating parish sites.
Each participating parish will host a live event, following the recommended health guidelines for their area.
Do-it-yourself this Christmas!
Christmas is going to be different this year. It will be a somber and perhaps mournful season for those suffering from the multiple effects of the pandemic.
Sisters of Mary Morning Star begin construction of their new chapel
MONONA — Construction of a new chapel for the Sisters of Mary Morning Star in Monona began on November 9, and is set to be finished in June 2021.
Throughout this summer and fall, we have been working hard with our architect David Ferch and contractor Brad Crowley of 1848 Construction to carefully plan all the elements of the construction project of our new chapel and to ensure a smooth and successful completion.
Site blessing
On August 15 of this year, Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison blessed the future chapel site.
St. John the Baptist School aims to ‘Go Make Disciples!’
JEFFERSON — Students and staff at St. John the Baptist School in Jefferson completed the first quarter of this new school year with much success despite the ongoing pandemic.
‘What else is going on?’
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There are two major news stories going on right now: the election and the pandemic.
We have even reached a point where we don’t have to be specific about which election and which pandemic we are talking about. All we need is “the”.
Part of the goal of an editorial is to focus on some sort of current event.
So that means more words about the election and the pandemic, right? No, not this time.Letter to the editor (11-19-2020)
Understanding the meaning of ‘pre-eminent’
Editor Kevin Wondrash commented in last week’s editorial, that he received a plethora of letters to the editor from those who do not agree with the use of the word pre-eminent in regards to abortion.
Hopefully the logic in following quote from St. John Paul II can help them understand why abortion is the pre-eminent Catholic concern:
“Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights — for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture — is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.”