March 2015 – Page 2 – Madison Catholic Herald Archive (2001-2025)

Writing a column on social justice and peace offers me plenty of timely issues to choose from. And I always truly sense from God the exact issue he desires that I write on.

I’m not claiming here any special revelation. God’s active, guiding presence is available to everyone. All we need to do is deeply trust, quietly listen, and patiently wait.

Now in my case, God knows I’m on a deadline. And almost always his Spirit graciously gives me plenty of lead time. But regarding this particular column, the Spirit seemed to be silent, that is, until I visited a parishioner at the Little Sisters of the Poor’s home for the elderly in Baltimore.

Guest column

On March 26, 2015

Patrick Gorman

Baptism: Reforms of the Second Vatican Council

Patrick Gorman

Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the seventh and final article in a series of articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.

Our Lord’s parting words to his disciples were, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt. 28:19-20).

Ever since that day, that is what the Church has done.

A very Christian ‘Cinderella’

Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella is the most surprising Hollywood movie of the year so far.

The director manages to tells the familiar fairy tale without irony, hyper-feminist sub-plots, Marxist insinuations, deconstructionist cynicism, or arch condescension. In so doing, he actually allows the spiritual, indeed specifically Christian, character of the tale to emerge.

It probably strikes a contemporary audience as odd that Cinderella might be a Christian allegory, but keep in mind that most of the fairy stories and children’s tales compiled by the Brothers Grimm and later adapted by Walt Disney found their roots in the Christian culture of late medieval and early modern Europe.

Reliving Christ’s Passion, Death, 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.

Dear friends,

We stand at the threshold of the holiest of weeks, reliving the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Indeed, the Sacred Triduum — Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday — comprise a microcosm of our whole life lived in Christ.

To enter as fully as possible into the mysteries of these days is to enter more fully into the mysteries of the life of each one of us. For instance, in the fervent celebration of the days of Holy Week, we can come to have an initial grasp of the mystery of why good people suffer.

Meaning of life unveiled

The meaning of life is unveiled by a fervent and serious celebration of the mysteries of these days.

So, please make every effort to be present for the Holy Thursday evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the solemn commemoration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, and the great Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.

Our churches really should be full (and then some) on these days, because of the gifts of grace available to us at so special a time — and available in a way that they are not otherwise available.

Around the Diocese

On March 19, 2015

Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Reviewing services provided to those with disabilities in the Diocese of Madison

MADISON — “We call upon people of good will to reexamine their attitudes toward their brothers and sisters with disabilities and promote their well-being, acting with the sense of justice and the compassion that the Lord so clearly desires.

“Further, realizing the unique gifts individuals with disabilities have to offer the Church, we wish to address the need for their integration into the Christian community and their fuller participation in its life.”

Around the Diocese

On March 19, 2015

Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Men gather to grow closer to Christ at retreat

MADISON — More than 60 men from the Diocese of Madison and surrounding areas recently gathered at the Bishop O’Connor Center (BOC) in Madison for “Fortes in Fide” (“Strong in Faith”) — the annual diocesan Lenten Men’s Retreat.

The retreat is a joint effort between the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis and the Knights of Divine Mercy men’s apostolate.

Around the Diocese

On March 19, 2015

Michelle Nilsson, For the Catholic Herald

Lenten Holy Hour for women

MADISON — Lent is a time for fasting, prayer, self-reflection, and entering into the suffering and beauty of the cross. It is a time to find our true identity in the mystery of the cross.

As women in the Church, we look for examples of how to unite ourselves to Christ and share in his mission to the world.

Wisdom from St. John Paul II

St. John Paul II gave women wisdom and insight into this through letters and documents focused on the dignity and vocation of women.

Word on Fire

On March 19, 2015

Fr. Robert Barron

Strategy for the New Evangelization

I once gave a sermon in which I mentioned Keith Richards, the lead guitarist for the Rolling Stones.

I recounted how struck I was by a passage from Richards’ autobiography in which the guitarist described the almost maniacal dedication with which he and his bandmates set out to learn Chicago blues.

“Benedictines,” he said, “had nothing on us.” I urged my listeners to approach their spiritual lives with the same “Benedictine” focus and fervor that the young Rolling Stones had in regard to the blues.

Guest column

On March 19, 2015

Patrick Gorman

Baptism: Immerse yourself in mystery

Patrick Gorman

Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the sixth in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.

When I was studying liturgy, there was a running joke with both teachers and students — “If you don’t know the answer to a question, write down that it is a mystery” (because so much of our faith is a mystery — something which we will never understand completely in this life).

The mysteries of our faith are not like the mysteries we read. They are not a puzzle to be figured out if offered enough clues but rather realities that need to be lived and that each of us reflect upon.

Baptism: Immerse yourself in mystery

Patrick Gorman

Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the sixth in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.

When I was studying liturgy, there was a running joke with both teachers and students — “If you don’t know the answer to a question, write down that it is a mystery” (because so much of our faith is a mystery — something which we will never understand completely in this life).

The mysteries of our faith are not like the mysteries we read. They are not a puzzle to be figured out if offered enough clues but rather realities that need to be lived and that each of us reflect upon.