MADISON — The […]
Author: Kevin Wondrash
Let the splendor of holiness shine out
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| 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,
I have in my hands a vocation pamphlet from 1965, and on the cover we have Bishop O’Connor ordaining a priest, and the overall title of the pamphlet is, “The Hands of Christ.” The truth on the cover of the pamphlet is stated simply this way: “Christ works today through His bishops, whose hands are those of the priests’.”
Thank you so much, dear brother priests, for coming out in such good numbers, so that we can celebrate and manifest the bond of the priesthood. God knows we don’t all have to be alike, but we all have to be bonded together by the mystery of the Holy Spirit’s seal on our soul, forging us together in an alliance that — as long as we’re open to grace — no human reality can obstruct.
Alliance between bishop and priests
So, the alliance of the priest with his bishop is like the alliance of the bishop with his own hands, as that pamphlet from 1965 says it so well, and it hasn’t changed. That’s the way it was, that’s the way it is, that’s the way it’s been since the time of Jesus. So, dear priests, thank you so very much for doing your best to be the hands of the bishop. Thank you so very much for doing your very best to allow the Holy Spirit to forge among all of us that unbreakable alliance which has as its root none other than that priestly seal of the Holy Spirit upon our souls. So, I’d invite all of us to offer our expression of gratitude to our priests.
Holy Week and protecting true marriage
Dear friends,
As we make our way through Holy Week to Easter, one of the most remarkable things we encounter is a startling oxymoron, a seeming contradiction, in terms of Jesus’ death on the Cross as ugly and tortuous, and yet beautiful.
It’s one of the most tremendous mysteries of our faith — horrible ugliness and tortuousness, behind which is concealed the most beautiful Truth in all of human history.
Holy Week itself maintains the juxtaposition of these two realities. Our liturgies for Holy Week open with beauty on Palm Sunday, with the procession of Jesus into Jerusalem.
We have a pope! Habemus Papam!
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| This column is the bishop’s communation with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
We have a pope! Habemus Papam! Last week, even as the Catholic Herald was finding its way to your homes, the Holy Spirit, working through the College of Cardinals, gave to us a new Holy Father, Pope Francis.
He is, as you have surely noticed on your own and through even the secular media reports, a “Pope of firsts” — he is the first Pope from the “new world” — an Argentinian, the first Pope who was trained as a Jesuit priest, the first Pope to take the name Francis — taking that name especially in honor of the much beloved (though often misunderstood) St. Francis of Assisi.
We are just getting to know our Holy Father, but already there is a great deal that sets him apart and helps us to know who he is.
Clash between Catholicism and National Socialism lecture
MONONA — St. Ambrose Academy will host a faculty lecture entitled “The Clash between Catholicism and National Socialism” by James Reuter, faculty history teacher, at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, 5101 Schofield St. on Thursday, March 21 at 7 p.m in Marian Hall.
‘Do you love me? . . . Feed my sheep’
Last weekend in Madison, more than 100,000 meals were packed for hungry people at home and around the world.
A good number of the meals are going to children. Many of the meals were packed by children.
Saturday, March 16, was the second annual Lenten “Feed My Sheep” food-packing day at the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) in Madison.
The driving force behind the event is “6:8,” a group based out of Prairie du Sac that spearheaded a fundraising event and brought the money needed for the 100,000 meals. Last year, the group raised enough money to package more than 68,000 meals.
The executive directors of 6:8 are the husband and wife team of John and Sarah Ramthun.
As volunteers, including many children of all ages, poured into the chapel at the CMC for orientation, John shared the message of 6:8: “We desire to transform communities by making service personal,” said John.
Post-abortion healing available
MADISON — Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats offer healing for those who have been affected by abortion.
Spreading the truth about the papacy
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| 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,
We are right in the midst of our Year of Faith and at the heart of an attempt to undertake what both Blessed John Paul the Great and Pope Emeritus Benedict have called us to — that is, a “New Evangelization.” And not only that, but we find ourselves in the era of a new pope. As I write this column the Conclave has yet to begin, but by the time you are reading it, it is quite possible that we will have a new Pope.
Adjusting to the empty chair
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Dear Friends,
Last Thursday morning, as I was leaving Rome to return to Madison, Pope Benedict was still the Bishop of Rome and the Pope of the Universal Church; by the time I arrived in the United States in midafternoon, the Chair of Peter was empty.
Researcher uncovers the dark world of the Pill
Author’s note: This is the second in our series of interviews on Heroes for Life — Catholics who are doing extraordinary things for the pro-life movement. I have included the scientific citation links in the text of the interview so you can read more on the published research on this compelling topic which has far-reaching implications for our society. — Lillian Quinones, senior, St. Ambrose Academy, Madison
Following is an interview with Vicki Thorn, founder of Project Rachel and the executive director of the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing located in Milwaukee.
She is an international speaker/author on the topic on post-abortion healing. She has done extensive research on the biology of bonding/attachment and on the biochemistry of attraction which relates to the Theology of the Body.