column – Page 22 – Madison Catholic Herald

Under the Gospel Book by Bishop Robert C. Morlino

This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

Dear Friends,

As we begin the month of October, we recall first of all that this is Our Lady’s month — specifically the month of the Most Holy Rosary. Both Pope John Paul the Great and Pope Benedict have indicated many, many times, that the Rosary prayed well is a most efficacious prayer and a wonderful way to promote the relationship of daughter or son to our Blessed Mother.

And, indeed, whenever we look to Mary, she directs us to her Son. Since her maternal cooperation, her freewill assent to the Incarnation of Our Lord, was necessary for God’s saving plan to be carried out in history, we all need her precious intercession, that we ourselves might have evermore the grace that she did when she said her, “yes,” to the Lord. The daily Rosary is surely in order, ideally in a family setting, during the month of October and, indeed, all year round.

On September 23, 2010May 10, 2021

Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Survival: a victory truly worth celebrating

This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

Dear Friends,

Last Friday evening I was privileged to celebrate the Eucharist for the International Retrouvaille gathering here in Madison. It is always an honor to welcome others to our diocese, particularly when the community gathered has an international flavor.

Many of you know that Retrouvaille is an excellent movement in the Catholic Church which calls for husbands and wives whose marriage is, to some degree, in trouble, to the kind of conversion-of-heart that enables them to rediscover the sacramental grace that they receive for the first time on their wedding day and that they are called to renew in the Lord every blessed day. The members of Retrouvaille are very seasoned people as husbands and wives, though not necessarily seasoned in the sense of “older,” and they are very strong in their faith. It is always an energizing experience to be among them.

On September 23, 2010May 10, 2021

Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Survival: a victory truly worth celebrating

This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

Dear Friends,

Last Friday evening I was privileged to celebrate the Eucharist for the International Retrouvaille gathering here in Madison. It is always an honor to welcome others to our diocese, particularly when the community gathered has an international flavor.

Many of you know that Retrouvaille is an excellent movement in the Catholic Church which calls for husbands and wives whose marriage is, to some degree, in trouble, to the kind of conversion-of-heart that enables them to rediscover the sacramental grace that they receive for the first time on their wedding day and that they are called to renew in the Lord every blessed day. The members of Retrouvaille are very seasoned people as husbands and wives, though not necessarily seasoned in the sense of “older,” and they are very strong in their faith. It is always an energizing experience to be among them.

On September 16, 2010May 10, 2021

Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Gifts of the summer of priestly renewal

This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

Dear Friends,

“Back-to-school” and “Labor Day” mean for me, among other things, back to my column with as much regularity as I can muster for any given week. Thanks be to God, the summer was, for me, a serene time of priestly renewal. Of course, there are always problems in a diocese or in a parish that require attention from the bishop, and that attention is always ready to be given, but the grace of the Office of Bishop sustained me beautifully through a summer of serious priestly renewal, and I would like to trace the path of that renewal for you briefly in this first column after Labor Day.

On May 27, 2010

Michael Lancaster

Schools plan is complete

MADISON — The new strategic plan for Catholic schools in the diocese has been completed after over 18 months of work and the involvement of hundreds of people from throughout the diocese. The plan, entitled Catholic Schools: Our Faith, Our Future, details specific strategies for meeting the critical challenges faced by our schools.

On May 27, 2010May 10, 2021

Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Working with and trusting in the Holy Spirit

This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

Dear Friends,

We live in a time of great hope for our diocese. This week we will see two men ordained to the transitional diaconate, next month two will be ordained to the ministerial priesthood, and we have the Holy Spirit to thank for His continued guidance of our diocese and answered prayers, through rather difficult times.

As each of you has experienced first hand, the Diocese of Madison has been undertaking the very serious, difficult, and much needed task of diocesan, parish, and school planning for the past four (plus) years. It began with the Guided by the Spirit process, gathering input from everyone in the diocese who wished to participate. An overall plan was adopted by the diocese, and specific plans were developed by parishes and parish clusters throughout the diocese, affecting every parish and each one of us in some way.

On May 27, 2010

Dick Berning, Sinsinawa

Catholic Herald calls him back for second, third time

To the editor:

We are lucky and I am thankful to get the chance to read the good news. The Catholic Herald paper calls me back a second and third time to make sure something wasn’t missed.

On April 15, 2010May 10, 2021

Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Finding hope, healing in the Resurrection

This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

On behalf of all the priests of the Diocese of Madison, and behalf of all my staff, I want to promise our sincere and continued Easter prayers, in this Resurrection season. Each one of you has our prayers for health, safety, and above all, deeper union with Christ. I beg you, too, to offer your Easter prayers for us, because each of us and our Church certainly always stand in need of prayer. I wanted to share with you here a few of the thoughts I offered at the Easter Vigil this year.

We celebrated Easter Sunday this year on April 4th — that day on which Christ was raised from the dead, the day which changed history forever. In some ways I had hoped to see some large signs and advertisements on Easter Sunday about how the Resurrection of Jesus Christ had happened and how we celebrated our new life on April 4. Instead, all the signs told me that April 3 was the launch of iPad! That tells me — and it should tell you — something significant about the mission that Jesus Christ places in our hands this Easter and everyday.

On April 1, 2010May 10, 2021

Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Reflecting the joy of the greatest victory

This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

I want to wish you all a very blessed Holy Triduum and a very happy Easter. May it be a joyful and prayerful time for you and your family, and may it provide a powerful experience with our Lord Jesus, risen from the dead.

We are called, each and every day, to invite people to meet Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. In a very real way, this is the mission of my episcopacy here — it is the stated mission of my staff, and, by extension, it is truly the mission of each of us here in the 11 counties of south-central Wisconsin.

In order, credibly, to invite our neighbors to meet Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, we have to have met Him. So these days of Holy Week and Easter should be a very special time for each of us, when we intensify that meeting which we are called to have with the risen Christ. The proper celebration of Holy Week and Easter has everything to do with the mission to which each of us, by nature of our Baptism, is called.

On February 18, 2010May 10, 2021

Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Aid in Haiti — the beginning to a Lent of love

This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

Dear Friends in Christ,

As was mentioned last week, you, your parishes, and your pastors are to be highly commended in general! We as a diocesan family have come together in an incredible show of our love of neighbor and our unity as a diocese by raising a remarkable $508,130.02 for our sisters and brothers in Haiti.

Very soon after the devastating earthquake, Pope Benedict XVI promised the people of Haiti of the prayers and concrete support of Catholics around the world. And even before the Holy Father made these promises, Catholic Relief Services was there in Haiti helping those injured and dying; you and your parishes were asking “what can we do?” and our diocesan offices were organizing how we could respond.