Category: News

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the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

National Vocation Awareness Week is November 3-9

Seminarian Group
Seminarians from the Diocese of Madison are pictured with Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison and Fr. Gregory Ihm, vocations director for the diocese, right. For more on discerning and answering God’s call, see the special section on vocations in the October 31 issue of the Catholic Herald. (Contributed photo)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Catholic Church in the United States will celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week, November 3-9, 2019.

During this week, dioceses across the U.S. lead the effort in parishes and schools to uphold and encourage the fostering of vocations among the faithful, and to pray for those currently discerning a call to marriage, ordained ministry, or Consecrated Life.

In his message for the 2019 World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Francis reminded the faithful that unlike a secular career, a vocation is a gift born from God’s own initiative: “The Lord’s call is not an intrusion of God into our freedom; it is not a ‘cage’ or burden to be borne. On the contrary, it is the loving initiative whereby God encounters us and invites us to be a part of a great undertaking.”

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

A ‘beautiful’ priesthood for Bishop Hying

“It’s a call that comes to you through God, obviously mediating through others, and through our experience,” said Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison.

In his first year as the fifth Bishop of Madison, Bishop Hying is celebrating 30 years of priesthood.

While now the spiritual shepherd of the diocese, Bishop Hying’s journey began like that of many men — discerning and living out a call to the priesthood.

“Every priest really has a vocation narrative,” he said.

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the Cistercian Sisters, For the Catholic Herald

Relic collection available for veneration on November 3

PRAIRIE DU SAC — We recently celebrated All Saints’ Day. This celebration makes manifest our belief that there is a powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven (the “Church Triumphant”), and the living (the “Church Militant”).

We venerate relics — not because the individual saint is worthy of some sort of worship, or because there is anything inherently powerful in the relic itself — but because relics are used by God as a means of grace and to show His power and love.

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