Month: February 2014

On
Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

Pope’s Lenten message: Follow Jesus seeking out poor, sinners

Msgr. James Bartylla, vicar general of the Diocese of Madison, distributes ashes on Ash Wednesday in the chapel of the Bishop O’Connor Center, Madison. Ash Wednesday is observed on March 5 this year. (Catholic Herald file photo)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Courageously follow Jesus in seeking out the poor and sinners and in making difficult sacrifices to help and heal others, Pope Francis said in his message for Lent, which begins March 5.

Christians are called to confront the material, spiritual, and moral destitution of “our brothers and sisters, to touch it, to make it our own, and to take practical steps to alleviate it,” the pope said in his Lenten message.

Saving the world will not come about “with the right kind of human resources” and token alms, but only “through the poverty of Christ,” who emptied himself of the worldly and made the world rich with God’s love and mercy, Pope Francis said.

Focus on Christ’s poverty

The pope’s message focused on the theme of Christ’s poverty, with the title: “He became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich,” from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians.

Pope Francis said he chose the passage to explore what St. Paul’s references to poverty and charity mean for Christians today.

There are many forms of poverty, he said, including the material destitution that disfigures the face of humanity and the moral destitution of being a slave to vice and sin.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Church needs ‘dynamic’ fraternal correction

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 week in my column I talked a lot about conscience, and I’d like to pick the theme back up, as our Gospel from this past Sunday touches on that very same message.

Conscience should always drive us toward perfection. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:48),” is the parting exhortation from our Lord in this past Sunday’s Gospel. A correctly formed conscience never says to you, “How little can I do and still call myself a Catholic?”

Conscience doesn’t make us minimalistic

Conscience does not open the door to be a minimalist. It is not a tool for our saying, “How can I give myself permission to do the minimum?”

Conscience opens the door to perfection, to the heroic, to the maximum, because the well-formed conscience serves as that truth-seeking radar, by which we choose to follow the law of the Lord.

As I said, we very much need to spread the word about conscience, and the readings of this past Sunday really help us with one detail of how to do that.

If we’re going to spread the good word about conscience, that means we’re going to have to correct others, especially our brothers and sisters who are Catholic. We know that this is not easy.

What is easy, when we seek to inform the consciences of others, is to seem as if we are judging the person themselves. We have to avoid that judgment of the individual, but we must not hesitate to help them, by offering the truth about their actions.

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On
Chris Lee

La Iglesia necesita la “dinámica” de la corrección fraterna

Esta columna es la comunicación del Obispo con los fieles de la Diócesis de Madison. Cualquier circulación más amplia va más allá de la intención del Obispo.

Queridos amigos:

La semana pasada en mi columna hablé sobre la conciencia y me gustaría volver a ella, ya que el Evangelio del domingo pasado contiene el mismo mensaje.

La conciencia debe siempre llevarnos a la perfección. “Sean perfectos como es perfecto vuestro Padre celestial (Mt 5:48)”, es la exhortación de nuestro Señor en el Evangelio del domingo pasado. Una conciencia correctamente formada nunca te dice “¿Qué es lo mínimo que debo hacer para llamarme todavía católico?”

La conciencia no nos hace minimalistas

La conciencia no abre la puerta del minimalismo. No es una herramienta para que digamos “¿Cómo puedo permitirme hacer lo mínimo?”

La conciencia abre la puerta a la perfección, a lo heroico, a lo máximo, porque la conciencia bien formada sirve como un radar que busca la verdad, por medio de la cual elegimos seguir la ley del Señor.

Como dije, necesitamos mucho difundir la palabra sobre la conciencia, y las lecturas del domingo pasado realmente nos ayudan con un detalle sobre cómo hacer eso.

Si vamos a difundir la buena palabra sobre la conciencia, eso significa que vamos a tener que corregir a otros, especialmente a nuestros hermanos y hermanas que son católicos. Sabemos que eso no es fácil.

Lo que es fácil, cuando buscamos informar las conciencias de otros, es que parezca como si estuviéramos juzgando a la persona misma. Tenemos que evitar ese juicio del individuo, pero no tenemos que dudar en ayudarlos, al ofrecerles la verdad sobre sus acciones.

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On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

It’s a moral imperative: We must take care of both our souls and our bodies

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

As Catholics, we hear a lot about making sure we have a healthy spiritual life by attending Mass, praying regularly, and doing good works. Taking care of our souls should be a priority in our lives.

However, that does not mean that we should ignore our bodies. It is very important to take care of our bodies, too.

In religion class in Catholic grade school, I remember learning that our bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit.” The complete quote from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

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On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Hundreds attend chastity talk on the UW-Madison campus

Internationally-known chastity speaker and author Jason Evert speaks to a packed hall of more than 300 students on the UW-Madison campus for his talk “Save Your Marriage Before Meeting Your Spouse.” The event was presented by student group Badger Catholic. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)

MADISON — On Thursday, Feb. 6, the University of Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team defeated number one ranked Minnesota 2 to 1 before almost 9,000 fans at the Kohl Center.

While Bucky was defending the home ice against Goldy, less than one half mile away at UW-Madison’s Gordon Dining and Event Center, more than 300 college students packed the building’s “Concerto Room” to hear about chastity.

Internationally known speaker Jason Evert was on hand to give his talk, “Save Your Marriage Before Meeting Your Spouse.”

Evert and his wife, Crystalina, have spoken on six continents to more than one million people about the virtue of chastity. He and his wife are the authors of more than 10 books, including How to Find Your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul and Theology of the Body for Teens.

The event was presented by Badger Catholic, a student organization on the UW-Madison campus that seeks to inspire greater discussion about spirituality and faith in order to encourage students to better their lives and the lives of those around them.

A large crowd

As the event began, additional chairs had to be brought in, but it wasn’t enough to seat the overflow crowd, who either sat on the floor or stood against the walls.

Evert began his talk, acknowledging the large attendance. He said he was happy to see “standing room only of people skipping a hockey game to save your future marriage . . . this is a beautiful thing.”

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On
Cathy Lins, For the Catholic Herald

St. Joseph School in Baraboo expanding to include middle school program

BARABOO — St. Joseph Catholic School is re-establishing its middle school program and has started open enrollment.

During each of the next three years, the school will add one grade level, starting with a sixth-grade class next school year and seventh- and eighth-grade classes added in the two subsequent years.

The school currently offers a daycare, four-year-old kindergarten (4K), and kindergarten through fifth-grade classes. In 4K through fifth grades, the school has a total enrollment of 143 students.

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