MADISON — When you hear the word “abortion”, does your mind shut down, not wanting to face discomfort, uncertainty, confusion about what is right and what is wrong?
Do you believe abortion is a woman’s right? You are not alone.
Has your life been touched by abortion . . . as the mother, father, grandparent, or relative? You are not alone.MADISON — “I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me,” a program on the Immigration Legal Services Program at the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC), will be held Saturday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m. at St. Dennis Parish, 505 Dempsey Rd., Madison.
Janice Beers, the CMC’s immigration services coordinator, will speak on assistance provided to low- and no-income immigrants unable to afford an attorney, and Steve Maurice, assistant director at the center, will discuss the Catholic social teaching behind these services.
SINSINAWA — The annual Mass to commemorate the death of Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, will be held at St. Patrick Church, Benton, at 10 a.m. Sunday, March 1.
The Mazzuchelli Assembly 4th Degree Knights of Columbus invite everyone to attend and join them for a social in the parish hall afterward.
Father Mazzuchelli died in the house near the church on February 23, 1864, and is buried in the parish cemetery. The house is open for tours during warm-weather months. For more information, contact Mike Plear at 608-744-3639.SINSINAWA, Wis. — Sr. Ann O’Hara, OP, died February 2, 2020, at St. Dominic Villa, Hazel Green, Wis. Her religious name was Sister Michaud. The funeral Mass was held at the Dominican Motherhouse, Sinsinawa, February 7, followed by burial in the Motherhouse Cemetery.
Sister Ann made her first religious profession as a Sinsinawa Dominican August 5, 1950, and her perpetual profession August 5, 1953. She taught for 38 years and served as a pastoral minister for 15 years. Sister Ann shared her gift of being present with people in the tender moments of life and celebrated the joyous moments with delight. She served in Minnesota, Alabama, Wisconsin, and Illinois. |
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| Bishop Donald J. Hying blesses a mosaic of Blessed Frederic Ozanam at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington on January 26. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn) |
Last week, I was honored to celebrate Mass in the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and to bless a newly-installed mosaic of Blessed Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Society’s presence in the United States.
I have been involved with the Vincentians for 20 years as a chaplain, serving for the last two years on the national level. In preparing my homily for the Mass, I dug deeper into the life and legacy of Frederic Ozanam, realizing with greater clarity his inestimable contribution to Catholic thought and the wisdom of the Church in addressing the social issues of the day.
As a visionary founder of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, Frederic has helped millions of Catholics to live the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in a practical and generous manner. He was a journalist, scholar, professor, social activist, husband, and father. He taught literature, history, and law, deeply engaged in the intellectual problems and social challenges of his day. Ozanam has much to say to our present age.
Frederic was born in Milan in 1813, going to Paris to study law, where he suffered a deep loneliness but also was befriended by André Ampère, a scientist exploring the wonders of electricity, in whose home Ozanam became a boarder.
Simultaneously a sophisticated scientist and a devout Catholic, Ampère showed his young charge that there was no inherent dichotomy between Christianity and science or between Catholicism and the social ills of workers and the poor.MADISON — Scott Klaas has started his new position as executive director of the Catholic Diocese of Madison Foundation (CDMF), taking over from Daun Maier.
Maier has served the CDMF and the Diocese of Madison for the past 19 years. She stepped down from the position to spend more time with her family and her family farm.
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In the more than 30 annual Washington, D.C., Marches for Life I have participated in, I always think the current march is the largest ever. But since accurate figures are hard to come by, it usually comes down to taking a good guess.
But a 60-second time-lapse video produced by Students for Life of America clearly reveals, regardless of the exact number, that this year’s March flowed on and on.
It’s heartening to see that lots of people care. But do we really care enough?
PINE BLUFF — Bishop Donald J. Hying will be coming to St. Mary of Pine Bluff Parish, 3637 CR P, on Friday, Feb. 7, to launch the “St. Joseph Strong” challenge, calling all men to enter into the 33 Day Consecration to St. Joseph (February 16 to March 19, Feast of St. Joseph).
All men who attend will receive a free copy of Fr. Donald Calloway’s book, Consecration to St. Joseph, along with a free “St. Joseph Strong” challenge coin. |
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I write these words from the Eternal City of Rome, whither I’ve come with my brother bishops from Region 11 (California, Nevada, and Hawaii) for our ad limina visit.
This is a regular and canonically required trip to pray at the limina apostolorum (the threshold of the Apostles), the tombs of Ss. Peter and Paul, and to meet with the successor of Peter.
Yesterday was the first official day of the pilgrimage, and it was extraordinary indeed.
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| Sr. Constance Veit, LSP |
During February my thoughts turn to two of my favorite biblical figures, Simeon and Anna.
Simeon is described in St. Luke’s Gospel simply as “a man in Jerusalem” and Anna as an 84-year-old “prophetess.”
These two elders greet Mary and Joseph as they bring their newborn infant to the Temple in Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. We celebrate this moment in Jesus’ life, referred to as the Presentation in the Temple, on February 2.
