Author: Kevin Wondrash

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Kevin Wondrash

It’s time for a new Holy League
Man crisis

According to Matthew Christoff, “There is a serious ‘man-crisis’ in the Catholic Church. It is widespread and serious. Unless the Church, including its bishops, priests, and lay men begin to take notice and make the evangelization of Catholic men a priority, the Catholic Church in the West will decay, as more and more men abandon the Church. Unchecked, the exodus of Catholic men from the faith is likely to continue as men become increasingly casual about Catholicism.”

Recognizing this crisis, Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “In vast areas of the earth the faith risks being extinguished, like a flame without fuel. We are facing a profound crisis of faith, a loss of a religious sense which represents one of the greatest challenges for the Church today . . . The renewal of faith must, then, be a priority for the entire Church in our time.”

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Kevin Wondrash

‘It doesn’t matter what you believe . . .’

A team of sociologists, led by Catholic University professor William D’Antonio, published a survey a few years ago that received quite a bit of media attention, for it showed that many Catholics disagree with core doctrines of the Church and still consider themselves “good Catholics.”

Forty percent of the respondents said that belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is not essential to being a faithful Catholic. Perhaps the most startling statistic is this: 88 percent of those surveyed said “how a person lives is more important than whether he or she is a Catholic.”

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Kevin Wondrash

Are you a sheep or a goat?

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,

This past weekend we marked the great Solemnity of Christ the King. The imagery of the Christ as king is used in many passages of Scripture and in the Gospels.

He’s likened to a king who threw a banquet. He’s likened to a king who sent his armies out to fight. He’s likened to a king who is putting his economic life in order and who was very severe to make sure his finances were well handled. Kings are pictured doing a lot of things in Scripture, and so many of those images refer to the Messiah, to Jesus.

Christ the King as the Judge

On this Feast of Christ the King in 2014, Christ the King has been presented as the Judge. He is separating the sheep from the goats. And, in doing that, He is showing us what it means for Him, for His Father, to be “all in all,” as it says at the end of the second reading (1 Cor 15:28).

God will be all in all. What does that mean? It means God will be everything for everyone. And that’s how we are judged, basically.

Did I live as though God was everything for me? Or, did I live as though God just took up some small corner of my life? Did I live as though He was everything? Or did I live as though He were only a marginal character in my life?

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Kevin Wondrash

Making plans for care of disabled daughter

Q From the past columns I have read, my situation is different. I am the 79-year-old mother of a disabled daughter.

My health is pretty good, but I realize I will not be around forever. I have taken care of “Nancy” all my life, and she and I are very close.

I have not made any plans for her and wonder where to begin. She is my only child, and the thought of any other distant relatives caring for her is out of the question.

(From a mother in Monroe)

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Kevin Wondrash

Revisiting the argument from desire

One of the classical demonstrations of God’s existence is the so-called argument from desire.

It can be stated in a very succinct manner as follows. Every innate or natural desire corresponds to some objective state of affairs that fulfills it.

We all have an innate or natural desire for ultimate fulfillment, ultimate joy, which nothing in this world can possibly satisfy. Therefore there must exist objectively a supernatural condition that grounds perfect fulfillment and happiness, which people generally refer to as “God.”

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Kevin Wondrash

Variety of Rosaries for sale in McFarland

MCFARLAND — Rosaries will be on sale the weekends of December 6 and 7 and December 13 and 14 after the Saturday 5 p.m. and Sunday 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Masses at Christ the King Church, 5306 Main St., McFarland.

There will be a wide variety of types and materials such as: gem stones, crystal, lava chain, wrist, pocket, and wall.

All Rosaries are made by Mary’s Rosary Assemblers of Christ the King.

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Kevin Wondrash

Advent reflection for adults in DeForest

DEFOREST — There will be an adult night of Advent reflection Monday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. at St. Olaf Church, 623 Jefferson St., DeForest.

The Parish and Community Life Commission has planned a quiet evening of reflection to begin the Advent season. All parishioners and their guests are invited to “prepare the way.”

Marie Lins from the Diocese of Madison Office of Evangelization and Catechesis will be the guest speaker.

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