The greatest victory in the history of the world is celebrated now! Christ’s defeat on the Cross has become his victory over sin and death! We have been set free!
Day: April 1, 2010
Divine Mercy event held in Sauk City
Divine Mercy Sunday will be celebrated on April 11 at St. Aloysius Church, 115 Madison St., in Sauk City. The festivities will begin at 12:30 p.m. and conclude with the holy sacrifice of the Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert C. Morlino at 4 p.m.
May our lives sing the song that Jesus lives
A great conductor rehearsed a choir for a performance of the Messiah. The chorus sang through to the part where the soprano sings, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives.”
Her singing was flawless: perfect phrasing, pitch, enunciation, and all of the singing qualities that I wish I had. When she finished, the choir waited eagerly for the applause that would surely follow.
Instead, the conductor glared at the soloist and growled, “My dear, you do not really believe that your Redeemer lives, do you?”
The relentless grittiness of Lent
Carolyn Gordon Tate, a major figure in the literary renaissance of the 20th century American South, once wrote Flannery O’Connor of the impact that her conversion to Catholicism had had on her writing.
As Miss O’Connor recalled in a letter, “Mrs. Tate told me that after she became a Catholic she felt she could use her eyes and accept what she saw for the first time, she didn’t have to make a new universe for each book but could take the one she found.”
Catholicism, Carolyn Gordon Tate recognized, was realism. Catholicism means seeing things as they are. Catholicism means finding within the grittiness of reality the path God is taking through history for the salvation of the world. Lent is a good time to be reminded of these truths.
Recognizing Jesus along the journey
The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus that we read during the Easter season is one of my favorites. I often wonder if I would have recognized the Lord walking the path with me. Hopefully I would, but, like the disciples, I may have not.
During these Sundays after Easter the Scripture readings tell of several appearances Jesus made to the disciples after his resurrection and how the faith of his followers (like Thomas) was challenged and deepened.
Today the resurrected Jesus is all around us in our daily lives. He is present in the persons we encounter. It is up to us to recognize him.
Recognizing Jesus along the journey
The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus that we read during the Easter season is one of my favorites. I often wonder if I would have recognized the Lord walking the path with me. Hopefully I would, but, like the disciples, I may have not.
During these Sundays after Easter the Scripture readings tell of several appearances Jesus made to the disciples after his resurrection and how the faith of his followers (like Thomas) was challenged and deepened.
Today the resurrected Jesus is all around us in our daily lives. He is present in the persons we encounter. It is up to us to recognize him.
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.
Urge bishops to take action against association
To the editor: […]
Later Saturday evening Masses better for farmers
To the editor: […]
Retrouvaille offers help for marriages
Is your marriage tearing you apart? Do you feel lost and alone? You are invited to find help through Retrouvaille, where husbands and wives are helped to re-discover each other and discover that there is hope and grace.