Author: Kevin Wondrash

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Kevin Wondrash

Bishop Morlino calls canonizations a ‘special gift from God’

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,

Last week I was blessed to take part in the wonderful Canonization ceremony and Mass of Thanksgiving for St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII. The experience certainly was one of the most precious of my entire life.

I was blessed to visit Rome for the first time in the mid-’70s and God’s providence has enabled me to return a good number of times. Yet, never once have I seen Rome so crowded as it was during those days leading up to the Canonizations. More so than the crowds that might gather at a secular event such as a World’s Fair, I was reminded of the crowds that fill the streets at World Youth Days.

‘Reverential joy’ in the air

There was not only a wonderful spirit of devotion, but also a tremendous number of energetic young people who moved around the city, even through the night, attending the numerous programs and opportunities for prayer in the various churches around Rome.

 

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Kevin Wondrash

Peace project at St. John the Baptist School in Jefferson

JEFFERSON — “Let Peace Begin With Me” is a song with a powerful message of personal responsibility in planting and nurturing the seeds of peace in one’s own world.

The fifth and sixth grade classes at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Jefferson, under the guidance of school counselor, Mrs. Joanna Becker, embraced the idea of working towards world peace by bringing it closer to home.

Sadako’s story

Mrs. Becker introduced the “Peace Project” by sharing the true story of a young Japanese girl, Sadako Sasaki, who was an innocent victim of war as she suffered the effects of deadly radiation after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. She was only two years old on the day of the bombing and died 10 years later as a result of leukemia.

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Kevin Wondrash

A path of renewal for the sterilized couple

Among married men and women who undergo surgical sterilization through a vasectomy or a tubal ligation, it has been estimated that anywhere from 10 to 20 percent will come to regret the choice.

Sometimes there may be an immediate awareness of wrongdoing following the surgery, while in other cases, as Patrick Coffin, radio host and author of Sex au Naturel notes, sterilized couples may “. . . drift for years before acknowledging that something between them is no longer in sync. After the initial pregnancy fear subsides, and the vision of 1001 erotic nights turns out be something of a scam, spouse may (subtly) turn against spouse while doing their best to ignore the silent, disturbing ‘presence’ of the choice they made.”

Their decision to seek out a permanent form of contraception can also affect their marriage in other important ways. As Dr. John Billings has noted, there is “an effect that is even more tragic than the clinical, and it is that in many cases the use of contraceptive methods in marriage has been followed by an act of infidelity of one of the members.

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Kevin Wondrash

Donate four-packs for St. Vincent de Paul’s food pantry garden

COTTAGE GROVE — Eager to get your garden going? A visit to a local garden center from Friday to Sunday, May 2 to 4, could give you that chance — and the opportunity to help local people in need.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is asking those visiting America’s Best Flowers Garden Center in rural Cottage Grove this weekend to purchase and donate vegetable-transplant four-packs destined to become fresh produce on the tables of Dane County families in need.

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Kevin Wondrash

Immaculate Heart of Mary hosts Hispanic Heritage Day on May 3

MONONA — Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) School, 5913 Schofield St., is hosting the second annual Hispanic Festival on Saturday, May 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. The festival celebrates the heritage of the Hispanic community at IHM and in the Diocese of Madison.

Children at IHM School have participated in a Hispanic dance group all year. They will be performing the traditional dances they have learned and be dressed in authentic costumes. Entertainment will also be provided by other Hispanic dance groups from the area. A dinner of homemade traditional foods, such as tamales and salsa, will be provided along with drinks.

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Kevin Wondrash

First Saturday at Durward’s Glen observed May 3

BARABOO — On December 10, 1925, Our Blessed Mother appeared to Lucia at Pentevedra, Spain.

She said, “I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, in order to make reparation to me, on the first Saturday of five successive months, go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary.”

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Kevin Wondrash

Summer skills workshop at St. Ambrose Academy

MADISON — Students in Catholic schools devote much effort to mastering the subjects they study, like math, history, and literature, but also worthy of attention is how those students study, according to St. Ambrose Academy history and science teacher Michael Kwas.

“Good students aren’t usually the smartest ones,” Kwas said. “Instead, they are the ones who have learned how to study and have developed the best work habits.”

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