Author: Kevin Wondrash

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Kevin Wondrash

The power of Baptism

This Sunday, we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, the closing of the Christmas season and an opportune moment to thank God for the remarkable grace of our own Baptism.

Jesus receives the Baptism of repentance from John, not because He needs it, but to sanctify the waters of Baptism and to identify with us in our sinful, fallen state, without ever having sinned Himself.

This compassionate identification with our weakness and death reaches its ultimate saving conclusion in the mystery of the crucifixion and resurrection.

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Kevin Wondrash

Bishop Hying to speak at dinner

MADISON — The 2020 St. Thomas Aquinas Dinner and Lecture is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23, at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Madison.

Bishop Donald J. Hying will be the program speaker. He will focus on St. Catherine of Siena, her work with the Church, and her example of discipleship.

The event marks the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas and is part of the parish’s annual four-part series to honor Dominican saints on their feast days.

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Kevin Wondrash

Bishop to lead Men’s Retreat February 1

BARABOO — Bishop Donald J. Hying will be the featured speaker for the St. Joseph Parish Men’s Retreat on Saturday, Feb. 1.

St. Joseph Parish in Baraboo is organizing this annual event, which will be held at Camp Gray, located at E10213 Shady Lane Rd., Reedsburg. The retreat is open to all men in the diocese.

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Kevin Wondrash

Appointments (12-3-2019)

Msgr. James Bartylla, Vicar General, announces the following priest appointments made by Most Reverend Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison, effective as specifically stated below.

The following nine priests are reappointed to the office of vicar forane, per canons 553 and 554, effective December 3, 2019, for a term ending October 2, 2022, in the vicariates forane listed below:

• Very Rev. Fr. David Greenfield, V.F., vicar forane of the Columbia North Vicariate Forane

• Rev. Msgr. Duane Moellenberndt, V.F., vicar forane of the East Dane Vicariate Forane

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Kevin Wondrash

Working for peace in the new year

We begin each new year with the feast of the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. The World Day of Peace also occurs on January 1.

Mary, the mother of God, gave birth to the prince of peace, who helped the human race to begin anew to work for peace.

Be persons of peace

Since New Year’s is a time to make resolutions, one resolution might be to continue to try to be persons of peace during the new year.

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Kevin Wondrash

The Crown and the ‘primacy of grace’

Like, I daresay, most of the English-speaking world, these past couple of years I’ve been watching episodes of The Crown, the beautifully filmed, marvelously written program on the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II.

The series deals with the psychological dynamics within the royal family as well as with the cultural changes and political challenges that the Queen has faced in the course of her long reign. But what has been, at least to me, most surprising has been the insightful and sympathetic way in which it has addressed issues of faith.

Especially in the first season, we saw the fairly frequent conflicts between Elizabeth’s devotion to her family and her role as head of the Church of England.

In season two, there was a deeply affecting episode on the visit of Billy Graham to the UK in the mid-50s. We saw that, despite reticence regarding the American evangelist on the part of some in the British establishment, the Queen found his preaching illuminating and uplifting.

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Kevin Wondrash

May Holy Family bless, strengthen, and heal us

This Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, honoring the beautiful truth that God entered into the world through a family, an extraordinary one at that, but a human family.

Pondering this remarkable truth for 2000 years, the Catholic Church has a highly developed theology of marriage and family, seeing each Christian home as a domestic church, a sacred place where children are conceived, born, nurtured, and raised to know, love, and serve God.

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Kevin Wondrash

Speaker to share conversion from Islam to Catholicism

MADISON — Fariba Roughead, a convert from Islam to Catholicism, will share her personal testimony to facilitate interfaith dialog.

She will speak on Monday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. at Holy Name Heights, 702 S. High Point Rd.

Following the model of New Evangelization, as encouraged by the Magisterium and modeled by Saint John Paul II, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis, Fariba’s intention is to deepen mutual understanding and respect, the first essential step to evangelization.

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Kevin Wondrash

A Christmas crib brought peace to a prison

The original Christmas crib was built at Bethlehem.

Centuries later, St. Francis of Assisi built another Christmas crib and made it popular.

According to The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by St. Bonaventure, in 1223, St. Francis received permission from Pope Honorius III to set up a manger with hay and two live animals — an ox and a donkey — in a cave in the Italian village of Grecio.

He then invited the villagers to visit the scene while he preached about “the babe of Bethlehem.” (Francis was supposedly so overcome by emotion that he couldn’t say “Jesus.”)

A gift of peace

The Christmas crib inspired a group of German POWs in Algona, Iowa, to build a Christmas crib.

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Kevin Wondrash

Going forth as missionary disciples

Bishop Donald J. Hying's column

The fourth part of the Kerygma is giving witness to the saving love of the Lord to others, to go forth as missionary disciples.

Too often as Catholics, we have quietly and individually lived out our faith, but seldom have we equipped believers to share that faith with those around them.

Missionary discipleship

Believers focus on their relationship with God; missionary disciples help others grow their own spirituality. Believers embrace a deep prayer life which is seldom shared with other people; missionary disciples boldly and joyously pray with others out loud and speak of their love for Christ.

Any pastoral renewal seeks to help our leaders and people grow in their understanding and practice of missionary discipleship. We can look at missionary discipleship through the lens of Jesus’ two commands, “Follow me” and “Go forth.”

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