Author: Kevin Wondrash

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Kevin Wondrash

Sacred Hearts students participate in Destination ImagiNation Global Finals

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two Destination ImagiNation (DI) teams from Sacred Hearts School in Sun Prairie qualified at the recent state tournament for the Global Finals in Knoxville, Tenn.

The two teams were made up of middle school students, who joined students from 48 states and 30 countries for the Global Finals, which ran May 24 to 27 at the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville. In all, over 8,000 students competed in seven different challenge categories.

Program in ninth year

Sacred Hearts School is in its ninth year of providing this after-school co-curricular to fourth through eighth graders.

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Kevin Wondrash

Pope Francis speaks to priests

I write these words from the Nuremore Hotel in Monaghan, Ireland, where I am conducting a retreat for the good priests of the Dublin Archdiocese.

As I look out at these men, I am reminded of so many of my own relatives on both sides of my family (“Gosh, he looks like Uncle Charlie” and “That one is the spitting image of my cousin Terry”), for I am Irish all the way through. Many of the priests who are making the retreat are retired, and it is edifying to see so many who have bravely borne the heat of the day. Do say a prayer for them.

The theme that I have chosen for my talks is “Pope Francis Speaks to Priests.” I have culled a number of motifs from the pope’s numerous talks, sermons, and lectures to priests, seminarians, and bishops. Allow me, in the course of this brief article to say just a few words about each one.

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Kevin Wondrash

Struggle is necessary in this life

Everyday Faith column by Julianne Nornberg

Slowly, slowly, with back hunched over and knees bent up toward the handlebars, my six-year-old daughter trudged on her big-wheeled tricycle toward the grocery store to get popsicles.

So adamant was she about not trying her two-wheeled bicycle that she resorted to a preschooler vehicle to reach her destination.

Swallowing my usual remarks during such displays of tenacity, I patiently walked beside her, giving her a push now and then up the slopes, then gently reminded her that when she masters her two-wheeler, she will not struggle so much.

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Kevin Wondrash

NFP Awareness Week begins July 23

MADISON — “It’s time! Say ‘Yes’ to God’s plan for married love” is the theme of this year’s Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, a national educational campaign of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to celebrate God’s vision for marriage and promote Natural Family Planning.

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an umbrella term for the safe, natural, and effective methods of both achieving and avoiding pregnancy. NFP education courses teach couples how to observe and interpret the woman’s signs of fertility and infertility. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, NFP methods “respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them, and favor the education of an authentic freedom” (CCC, no. 2370).

The dates of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week are July 23 to 29. These dates highlight the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (July 25) that articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, marriage, conjugal love, and responsible parenthood.

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Kevin Wondrash

St. Ambrose Academy Reading Institute gives presentations

MADISON — Debra Krebs, director of the St. Ambrose Academy (SAA) Reading Institute, will give two presentations on dyslexia and the program the SAA Reading Institute uses to provide participating students the help they need to become successful readers.

The presentations will be given on Sunday, July 16, at 11:15 a.m. in the basement of St. Clare of Assisi Church at 1760 14th St., Monroe, and Saturday, July 22, at 5:15 p.m. in the St. Dennis Parish Center, 505 Dempsey Rd., Madison. Snacks will be provided.

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Kevin Wondrash

Visit historic St. Wenceslaus Church

WATERLOO — The Island Church Foundation invites the public to visit the historic St. Wenceslaus (Island) Church on Sunday, July 16, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Featured events include a historic tractor display presented by neighbors and local historian Edward Langer presenting his research on the emigration from Landskron to Waterloo and other places in Wisconsin at 12:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose building next to the church.

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Kevin Wondrash

Madison Society of St. Vincent de Paul featured in EWTN television series

MADISON — The District Council of Madison Society of St. Vincent de Paul will be featured in some episodes of the special series titled Our Faith in Action: Today’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul, showcasing how members of St. Vincent de Paul conferences (known as Vincentians) and other volunteers contribute to helping our neighbors in need across the country.

Episode three, airing on Wednesday, July 26, includes the local St. Vincent de Paul that serves Dane County, and showcases the Lacy Pantry Garden and the Food Pantry.

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