Bishop Hying’s Columns – Page 22 – Madison Catholic Herald

If you knew the date of your death, how would you live differently?

Such a question may seem strange, but it is one I think about once in a while. Perhaps, I would live fearlessly; knowing how much time I have left would enable me to take risks and face danger more boldly.

If I was facing a premature death, would that knowledge painfully shadow my thoughts and feelings every day? If I was blessed with a long life, maybe I would be tempted to put off conversion, foolishly thinking I have so much time to pull things together.

Obviously, all of these questions and thoughts are moot, since we know neither the day nor the hour of our passing from this life.

On November 6, 2019May 8, 2021

Bishop Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison

Humility is the basis of the spiritual life

“Though He was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather, He emptied Himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. He was known to be of human estate, and it was thus that He humbled Himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross!”

Paul quotes these lines of the Kenotic Hymn in the second chapter of his letter to the Philippians, citing Christ’s example of humility as a model for the community to emulate.

Two leaders of the Christian community in Philippi were fighting with each other, causing dissension and conflict, so Paul, from his prison cell, seeks to heal the division. The Kenotic Hymn is probably the earliest Scriptural articulation of the Paschal Mystery, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The Greek word “kenosis” means “self-emptying,” a pouring out, a radical gift of self.

On October 31, 2019May 8, 2021

Bishop Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison

Reflections on Dominus Iesus, part two

In my last column, I began speaking about the Declaration Dominus Iesus (“the Lord Jesus”), which recalls for us “certain indispensable elements of Christian doctrine” that we all need to keep in mind as we think about one of the big questions confronting the Amazon Synod in Rome, which is simply this: how are we called to relate to followers of non-Christian religions, many of whom have never heard the proclamation of the saving truth of the Gospel?

What are these “indispensable elements of Christian doctrine”? The Declaration mentions more things than we have space to discuss here, but I want to highlight the first one in particular, which has to do with the fullness and definitiveness of the revelation of Jesus Christ.

On October 24, 2019May 8, 2021

Bishop Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison

Reflections on ‘Dominus Iesus’

The primary aim of the Amazon Synod that is happening right now in Rome is, in the words of Pope Francis, to “identify new ways for the evangelization of that portion of the people of God, and especially the indigenous peoples.”1

This question of how to evangelize is very important, not only for the Amazon Region, but for the whole Church. How do we bring Jesus Christ to those who have never heard of him? And more specifically, how are we called to treat other cultures and other religions with the respect they deserve yet without compromising the saving truth of the Gospel?

On October 17, 2019May 8, 2021

Bishop Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison

Catechism stands as a light in the darkness

I was blessed to do a series of talks on the Catechism of the Catholic Church recently at St. Dennis Parish. I was impressed with the intense interest and attendance level every night.

People are hungry to learn more about the Faith and to put it into practice. Copies of the Catechism flew off the back table at an inspiring rate, which made this bishop’s heart very happy!

On October 10, 2019May 8, 2021

Bishop Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison

We’re called to build civilization of love and life

We congratulate and rejoice with Deacons Timothy Mergen and Enan Zelinski, who were ordained last week in St. Peter’s Basilica and will be ordained priests here next June for the Diocese of Madison.

These men, so representative of all our seminarians, are prayerful, holy, committed, and zealous in living out the Gospel of Christ and shepherding His holy people. Our prayers and gratitude go to these inspiring servants of the Lord, as well as to their parents, families, and friends.

On October 3, 2019May 8, 2021

Bishop Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison

Words of Saint John Paul II lit a fire in me

Forty years ago this week, Saint John Paul II energized and inspired our country during his epic first Pastoral Visit to the United States.

Saint Paul VI had visited New York City in 1965 during a visit to the United Nations, but that short encounter was the extent of any papal presence in this country. Arriving directly from his remarkable pilgrimage to Ireland, Saint John Paul landed in Boston on a Monday afternoon and electrified all of us.

Listening to the pope

I was 16 at the time, thinking of priesthood, struggling to discern the mystery of such a call. I was also working my first restaurant job; having graduated from washing dishes to frying chicken, I was making $2.32 an hour, which even then was a terrible wage.

On September 26, 2019May 8, 2021

Bishop Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison

Go forth and make disciples!

When I became a bishop back in 2011, I attended a nine-day conference in Rome for new bishops from all over the world, put on by the Vatican.

The best part of the experience was meeting the other participants, 16 other Americans, 25 from Brazil, and one bishop from Iraq whose predecessor had been murdered by terrorists. The informal conversations were often more interesting than the scheduled talks.

Dealing with declining Church

At lunch on the third day, I sat with a newly appointed bishop from a diocese in the southern Netherlands. He told me that Mass attendance there hovered at about two percent, mostly elderly people; he had no seminarians, so there was no future for the priesthood. It wasn’t so much that the Church had collapsed as that it had evaporated!

I asked him where he was going to start in such a daunting situation. How do you begin when everything seems so hopeless? What he said did not surprise me, but it has stuck with me.

On September 19, 2019May 8, 2021

Bishop Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison

We are called to build a monastery in our hearts

The center point of my spiritual geography is New Melleray Trappist Abbey, just west of Dubuque, Iowa. I have returned there often for retreats ever since I first visited at the age of 19.

Founded in 1849 as a daughter house of Melleray Abbey in Ireland, this monastic community rises at 3:30 a.m. every morning for Vigils, the first liturgical hour of the day. The monks’ days are filled with prayer, meditation, work, and silence.

From the first time I entered their beautiful stone chapel, I have felt profoundly embraced by God at New Melleray; some of my deepest prayer experiences have occurred there. If I could have ever convinced God that the Trappist life was my vocation, I would be peeling potatoes and scrubbing floors there as I write now!

On September 12, 2019May 8, 2021

Bishop Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison

Freedom of religion is at risk worldwide

Worldwide, Christians are being killed explicitly for their faith in alarmingly large numbers these past years. North Korea, the Middle East, and Africa are some of the top hotspots for Christian persecution.

Believers in Christ are being systematically driven out of the Holy Land through intimidation, prejudice, and lack of opportunity. Soon, there will be almost zero Christians in the country where Jesus lived. More martyrs are being born through a bloody death than any time since the early Church!

Religious freedom at risk

Here at home, we do not face such overt violence because of our religious beliefs, but some significant shifts in political praxis have put our religious freedom at risk.

The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees religious liberty in our country. This right is not some beneficent gift from the government; it is inscribed in our human nature as an inherent right to exercise freedom of conscience. No one can either compel or restrict religious belief or practice. Faith is a sacred gift nurtured in the heart and soul.