As summer seemed to turn into autumn early this year, one late August day stood out among the clouds and the cool and felt like the right season again.
Category: Around the Diocese
News from around the 11 counties of the Diocese of Madison.
Rosary Rallies for religious liberty Christ the King Parish, McFarland
MCFARLAND — How do we show love to those who are hostile to us because of our Christian beliefs? How do we persevere in the faith when others would like to eliminate God and religion from this country?
What can we do to bring the light of Christ’s truth and mercy to the attacks on our religious liberty?
Hundreds protest Planned Parenthood in Madison
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Fr. Bart Timmerman, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison, leads more than 200 people in praying the Rosary outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on Madison’s east side as they protested the selling of baby body parts from abortions. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash) |
MADISON — Prayer.
That’s what it will take to end abortion.
That’s what rush hour commuters saw as more than 200 people prayed on the sidewalks near the Planned Parenthood clinic on Madison’s east side to do their part to see that facility close and protect the lives of the unborn.
The protest on Monday, Aug. 24, was held in unity with nationwide protests following reports of Planned Parenthood harvesting and selling the organs and tissue of aborted babies.
As people’s workdays ended, they arrived at the Orin Rd. site for the 5 p.m. protest, despite the unseasonably cold and gloomy late August weather.
‘All things are possible’
Fr. Rick Heilman, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Pine Bluff and St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Mount Horeb and Perry, welcomed everyone who came out.
“With man it’s impossible, but with God all things are possible,” he said. Encouraging everyone to pray and be in a state of grace, he added, “We need to lean on God and his grace . . . lean on Our Lady as much as you can. She is the one who steps on that satanic head.”
Couples young and old come together to celebrate marriage
A Sunday afternoon Mass, Aug. 16, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Monona, was part of the annual Diocese of Madison Celebration of Wedding Anniversaries.
Marshall native starts Hosea’s Heart to help women and children in Swaziland
MARSHALL — There aren’t many women in their mid-20s who would give up a teaching career and move to a southern African country to help young women in need — but sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference.
Twenty-eight year old Marshall native Mary-Kate Martin is one of those women.
The member of Holy Family Parish in Marshall and Waterloo is the founder and executive director of Hosea’s Heart.
The Red Mass: Asking the Holy Spirit for guidance for the legal community
MADISON — When the Red Mass is mentioned, people often express some curiosity about it and wonder what it is, where it originated, and why it is called “red.”
The last question is the easiest to answer. It is because the celebrant of the Mass wears red vestments and long ago, some of the royal judges also had red vestments.
What is a Red Mass?
But what is a Red Mass? It is a Mass, usually celebrated as the new judicial term begins, to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance for all those engaged in the justice and legal systems.
Madison Diocesan Choir is looking for singers, places to sing
MADISON — The Madison Diocesan Choir currently is seeking new members for all sections of the choir. The choir rehearses on Tuesday evenings (7 to 9:30 p.m.) in the chapel of the Bishop O’Connor Center on Madison’s west side. (We especially would like to add tenors and basses.)
You don’t have to be a pro! We‘re looking for people with pleasant voices who are willing to work toward our goal of singing God’s praise with full hearts, minds, and voices.
Fr. Paul Fagan to celebrate 55 years of missionary priesthood
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — Fr. Paul Fagan, CP, a native of the Diocese of Madison area, is celebrating 55 years of ordination to the priesthood.
Father Paul was ordained on June 11, 1960, at Maryknoll, N.Y. He was assigned to the Diocese of Shinyanga in what was then Tanganyika Territory, now Tanzania.
After 47 years as a missionary, he was incardinated into the Diocese of Shinyanga, in which he has served all of his 55 years as a priest.
Bishop Morlino, pro-life leaders support ban of selling fetal body parts
MADISON — “People can never be reduced to things,” said Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison as he concluded his testimony before the State Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety on August 11.
Bishop Morlino spoke in support of Assembly Bill 305 (AB 305), which would make it illegal to sell and use fetal body parts from an abortion in the state of Wisconsin.
The bill was authored by State Representatives André Jacque (R-DePere) and Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) with support from State Senator Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) and other state lawmakers.
Love Begins Here completes seventh summer
For the past seven summers, the middle and high schoolers of Love Begins Here (LBH), along with their leaders, have performed more than 45,000 hours of doing “small things with great love.”