Tag: bishop

On
Bishop Donald J. Hying

How to vote according to our Catholic faith

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Many faithful Catholics have asked me to offer some direction regarding conscience formation and the moral aspect of the many issues facing us as a nation, as we approach this year’s presidential election.

We would all agree that this election has a contentious and angry divisiveness that we have not seen in our lifetimes.

This is due, in part, to the personalities, policies, and factions in play, and it certainly has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and social unrest (I believe that there are other, more significant and fundamental reasons for the growing tension in our society, but that’s a topic for another time).

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

Why attending Mass is important

Recently, the Catholic bishops of Wisconsin jointly decided to lift the suspension of the Sunday Mass obligation in all five dioceses in the Province during the month of September.

So, beginning the weekend of September 26 to 27, it will be once again obligatory for Catholics in our diocese to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation.

I lifted the obligation six months ago, beginning on March 17 in the very beginning of the COVID pandemic.

These months have been long and difficult; the inability to go to Mass and receive the Eucharist has been a great hardship, but I made that decision out of concern for the public health and in union with my brother bishops in the state and the country.

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the Wisconsin Catholic Conference

Wisconsin bishops to announce end of dispensation from Sunday Mass

In March, as communities responded to the growing coronavirus outbreak, the bishops of Wisconsin’s five Roman Catholic dioceses each granted a dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. As the outbreak grew into a pandemic, all dioceses suspended the public celebration of Mass until it was safe to resume in-person worship.

In recent months, dioceses and parishes throughout the state have been able to resume public worship by adhering to strict safety standards and by restricting access to services for those who are symptomatic, sick, or at risk of serious illness. Throughout this time, the faithful have not been required to attend Mass on Sundays.

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

Care and support for rural life

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Last week, I met with Tom Nelson and a dedicated group of priests, social workers, and farmers who care deeply about the troubling crises facing our rural communities.

I listened as they spoke movingly about the fact that, in the last 10 years, 50 percent of family farms in Wisconsin have disappeared, milk prices are untenable, and no economic future exists for young people who would like to remain in farming.

COVID and its impact on the economy and the food supply chain has only exacerbated these challenges. Depression and suicide are on the rise in troubling numbers.

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Brent King, For the Catholic Herald

Follow Bishop Hying on social media

MADISON — In late June, Bishop Hying waded back into the Twitterverse, and started tweeting brief personal messages and reflections for the first time since coming to Madison last year.

His messages are clearly designed to inspire and invite us all into closer relationship with Christ, and therefore with one another.

So, here in print, and online, is your invitation to “follow” Bishop Hying on social media (@bishophying on both Twitter and Facebook) and invite your friends, children, and grandchildren to do the same.

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

Building a monastery of the heart

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Last week, I was blessed to lead the annual retreat for the Cistercian Nuns here in our diocese.

The Valley of Our Lady Monastery in Prairie du Sac has been a sacred place of contemplative prayer, cloistered life, and beautiful peace since it was established in the 1950’s.

This community of Sisters radically dedicated to God through a life of prayer, silence, and work is a blessing for all of us. Being with them was a privilege and a grace.

Four degrees of love

St. Bernard of Clairveaux breathed new life into Cistercian monasticism in the Middle Ages during the 11th century and monasteries began all over Europe in a refreshing movement of spiritual fervor.

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

Pray the Liturgy of the Hours

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The Liturgy of the Hours is the official prayer of the Church and serves as an enriching compliment to the daily Mass.

A compilation of psalms, Scripture, prayers, and writings of the saints, the Hours are divided into seven daily prayer times with morning and evening prayer as the pillars.

Priests, deacons, most Religious, and many lay faithful pray it on a daily basis and find its rhythm and cycle to be rich spiritual fruit.

Having prayed it myself for almost 40 years, the psalms and readings have become comforting and holy companions on my path to God.

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