This past Saturday, we concluded the third and final piece of our Go Make Disciples Live, the diocesan collaboration with The Evangelical Catholic to provide some practical formation for the lay faithful of our parishes to engage and evangelize others with greater competence and confidence.
More than 600 people participated in the original sessions and 300 of those went on to more intensive group training.
We ended by commissioning committed and formed missionary disciples to return to their families, parishes, workplaces, and friendships to proclaim the Gospel and engage others in the ways of faith.
I am very grateful to our diocesan staff, Jason Simon and the Evangelical Catholic, our priests and parish staff members, the host sites, the Knights of Columbus, and the hundreds of people who love the Lord, and joyfully participated in this transformative endeavor.
Continuing to grow
I encourage everyone to continue growing in their understanding and practice of Catholicism as we move ever more deeply into the love and mystery of God revealed to us by Jesus Christ.
This Pentecost, the birthday of the Church in the sending of the Holy Spirit, marks the third anniversary of Go Make Disciples, our diocesan effort to engage everyone more fully to live out Jesus’ Great Commission: Go proclaim the Gospel to every creature and make disciples of all nations.
Call on the Holy Spirit daily to give you the courage, wisdom, words, and insight to witness to the power and love of Jesus.
Last week, I celebrated the annual Rural Life Mass at St. Jerome Parish in Columbus on the feast of St. Isidore the farmer.
The parish school students participated, many farmers were there, and after Mass, I blessed all the fields of the diocese, farm machinery, seeds, cows, goats, and ponies.
Farming is a sacred vocation, whereby we cultivate the earth which the Lord has entrusted us and provide food for the world. As I say often, I have never met a farmer who is an atheist.
Living in the beauty of God’s world, in the wind, rain, sun, and earth, farmers see God’s creative action up close, as they rely on Providence for an abundant growing season and a fruitful harvest.
Blessings to all of our farmers in the diocese and many thanks to Tom Nelson, who heads up our diocesan Rural Life ministry.
Last week, I also celebrated the annual Blue Mass at St. Bernard Parish in Madison, as we honored all first responders. The men and women who lay their lives on the line every day for the safety and health of the community deserve our support, commendation, and prayers.
Imagine our world, country, and community without public servants to defend and protect us, keep the peace, respond to health emergencies, assist lost children, and perform countless acts of charity and service which often go completely unnoticed.
Many speakers after Mass reflected on the intrinsic connection between service of the common good and sacrificial love, which makes us Christians immediately think of Jesus in His saving death and Resurrection.
Upcoming blessings
This Friday, I will ordain Deacons Mark Foley and Simon Tipps to the priesthood at St. Maria Goretti Church in Madison.
I am grateful for their vocation, generous response to the Lord, and the grace of Holy Orders, the sacrament by which the Lord sustains His Church through the proclamation of the Gospel and the celebration of the sacraments.
Please pray with me for these two fine men who are giving their lives completely to Jesus Christ and His service, all of our seminarians, and for the grace of many and holy vocations to the priesthood.
If you have never been to an ordination before, I highly encourage you to attend. You will leave inspired, joyful, and grateful!
This upcoming week, the diocese is highlighting our cemeteries, encouraging people to visit the graves of loved ones, to pray for the dead, and to honor those who have fallen in the service of our country.
A partial indulgence is given to those who do indeed pay such a visit and pray for the faithful departed.
Sadly these days, when a loved one passes away, the family often does not even have a funeral. They perhaps have a celebration of life at the funeral home or a bar, but nothing in church.
Not surprisingly, the cultural erosion of religious faith leads to a decreased sense of the Christian meaning of death or the importance of prayers for the dead.
To arrange for a funeral Mass and to lovingly, prayerfully bury the body of a deceased loved one honors them as a Christian disciple, offers prayers for their eternal salvation, and reveres the human body as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
As Catholics, we can be prophetic by observing the beautiful and efficacious funeral customs of our beloved Church.
Join me at Resurrection Cemetery in Madison for a special Memorial Day Mass this coming Monday morning at 10 a.m.
As you can see, there is always much happening in our local Church!
Praise the Holy Spirit for being so powerfully at work!