Author: Kevin Wondrash

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Kevin Wondrash

A call to be the light of Christ

Under the Gospel Book by Bishop Robert C. Morlino
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,

As you read this letter, Christmas will be upon us and the Year of the Lord 2010 will have almost expired. As we look around the whole world, we see the violence of war and terrorism raging, we see hunger thriving in so many places as well as extreme poverty, we see senior citizens being actually or virtually euthanized and we see the slaughter of the unborn, we see God’s gift of human sexuality, naturally oriented toward unselfish love, cheapened and continually used for every kind of self-centered entertainment. It’s not a “pretty picture,” but it is a picture of this world that, we claim, belongs to God this Christmas.

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Kevin Wondrash

The sacramental grace, joy of the priesthood

Under the Gospel Book by Bishop Robert C. Morlino
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 in Christ,

It has been a while since I’ve been able to write down here my thoughts for you in the form of a column. Know that you’ve been very much in my thoughts and prayers, especially as we come upon Christmas.

This week I’d like to share with you my homily from the wonderful Priestly Ordination we were fortunate to celebrate this past week. At this ordination the Lord blessed us with two great young men as priests and blessed me in a special way with two new sons.

I address my homily to Fr. John Putzer and Fr. Chad Droessler, but I think the words are a good reflection for all of us on the priesthood and on the great Grace with which the Lord blesses all of us:

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Kevin Wondrash

Humans in ‘frozen orphanages’ need protection

A key argument in the embryonic stem cell debate — widely invoked by scientists, patient advocacy groups, and politicians — involves the fate of frozen embryos.

Barack Obama put it this way in 2008: “If we are going to discard those embryos, and we know there is potential research that could lead to curing debilitating diseases — Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s disease — if that possibility presents itself, then I think that we should, in a careful way, go ahead and pursue that research.”

The head of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, embraced this same line of reasoning by

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Kevin Wondrash

Bob’s last Christmas: a holiday to remember

grand mom

When I look at the pictures taken last year on Christmas Eve, they bring tears to my eyes and a smile on my lips.

Our family gathered as usual: eight of the 10 children and 12 grandchildren and great-grands who live in the area, not in Grandma’s house or Aunt Krissy’s, but at Countryside Nursing Home in Jefferson. Since Grandpa couldn’t join us, we joined him in the beautiful parlor with its huge fireplace and Christmas tree.

 

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Kevin Wondrash

Getting ready for Advent … of 2011

Under the Gospel Book by Bishop Robert C. Morlino
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 approaching, hard as it is to believe, the First Sunday of Advent 2010. On the First Sunday of Advent 2011 we shall begin to use the new translations of our liturgical prayers at all of our Masses throughout the diocese and throughout our country. The new translations are in fact translations into English, though they sound differently than the translations to which we have become accustomed since the Second Vatican Council. In the translations presently at use, certain Latin words are left untranslated, and certain sentences or parts of sentences are more a “paraphrase” than a formal translation.

The new translation is a formal translation from the Latin to the English. No Latin words are omitted in the translation and the rich biblical allusions in the original Latin are all restored. For example, when the priest elevates the host just before Communion the congregation will say, “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.” In this we are reminded of and echo the part of the Centurion in the familiar Gospel passage (Mt 8:8), a reminder which is lost when we simply say, “Lord I am not worthy to receive you.”

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Kevin Wondrash

What to do with the rings?

Grand Mom by Audrey Mettel Fixmer

Since my husband passed away last spring, I have often looked at my wedding rings wondering: should I be taking them off now? Or should I wear them on another finger? They still represent the love of my life, and I won’t pass them on to my oldest daughter until I die.

I began noticing the many widowed friends around me. Some wore nothing like wedding rings, and some wore them on other fingers. We all remember the dramatic story of Jackie Kennedy removing her wedding ring as the wounded Jack lay dying and placing it into his hand. That’s not for me. Still, I wanted to know what was right for me. I was hoping to get an answer from Bob.

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Kevin Wondrash

Spinning stem cell fairy tales

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Discussions about the morality of stem cell research often focus on the differences between adult stem cells and stem cells derived from embryos.

The adult variety, such as those derived from bone marrow or umbilical cords, are already providing an impressive array of treatments and cures for sick people, while the embryonic kind are not.

Adult stem cells can be obtained without crossing any moral boundaries, whereas embryonic stem cells cannot, because they are obtained by destroying young human beings still in embryonic stages of growth.

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Kevin Wondrash

October is a time of prayer

Under the Gospel Book by Bishop Robert C. Morlino
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,

As we begin the month of October, we recall first of all that this is Our Lady’s month — specifically the month of the Most Holy Rosary. Both Pope John Paul the Great and Pope Benedict have indicated many, many times, that the Rosary prayed well is a most efficacious prayer and a wonderful way to promote the relationship of daughter or son to our Blessed Mother.

And, indeed, whenever we look to Mary, she directs us to her Son. Since her maternal cooperation, her freewill assent to the Incarnation of Our Lord, was necessary for God’s saving plan to be carried out in history, we all need her precious intercession, that we ourselves might have evermore the grace that she did when she said her, “yes,” to the Lord. The daily Rosary is surely in order, ideally in a family setting, during the month of October and, indeed, all year round.

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