MADISON — On June 4 of this year, volunteers with Pro Labore Dei (PLD)-Madison chapter served their 100,000th meal to homeless people in downtown Madison. As of September 17, the number of meals served passed 103,000, according to Jim Flad, local PLD coordinator.
“In this Year of Mercy, we are grateful and thankful to God for choosing us to be His hands and legs here in Madison,” said Flad.
 |
|
Second in a two-part series on a Pew Study about why young people are leaving the active practice of Christianity. Part one looked at, first, the relationship between religion and science and, second, the dismissive “psychologizing” of beliefs. In this second part, Bishop Barron examines two more reasons young people offered in the study for “walking away from Christianity.” His analysis of the source of the problem, included in part one, is reprinted here in the first two paragraphs.
For the past 50 years or so, Christian thinkers have largely abandoned the art of apologetics and have failed (here I offer a j’accuse to many in the Catholic universities) to resource the riches of the Catholic intellectual tradition in order to hold off critics of the faith. I don’t blame the avatars of secularism for actively attempting to debunk Christianity; that’s their job, after all.
 |
||
MADISON — This election year, Catholics may find it difficult to choose candidates and be tempted not to vote.
However, failure to vote would not be in keeping with Catholic teaching, which emphasizes that faithful citizens should be involved in the political process.
That’s what Barbara Sella told those gathered recently at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Madison for her presentation, “Be Catholic First: Tools for Discerning as We Approach Election 2016.”
Sella is associate director for respect life and social concerns for the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC), the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops.
Faithful citizens “cannot and must not remain on the sidelines,” she said in quoting Pope Francis. “We have an actual role to play in the politics of our nation.”
Sella said, “The Church emphasizes that our choices have to be grounded in moral principles, and we have to use our prudential judgment based on the values of our faith.
“Forming our conscience is the first step. But we have to form it in line with the teachings of the Church.”
The role of the Church itself is as a “teaching institution.” The bishops and priests teach the laity. “We are the doers,” Sella emphasized.
“The bishops and priests rely on the expertise of lay people.”
This year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is emphasizing four key principles in its materials on Faithful Citizenship (see www.faithfulcitizenship.org):
 |
|
Allow me to share with you one of the high points of my life — a short, yet deeply enriching encounter with a saint.
Nearly 30 years ago, I worked at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington’s emergency food warehouse. Missionaries of Charity Sisters caring for HIV/AIDS patients at their Gift of Peace House in Washington, D.C., used to regularly stop by for food assistance.
Since I helped with food distribution, I got to know the Sisters. One day while picking up food, one of the Sisters said to me, “Mother is coming.”
St. Aloysius Church and School at Divine Mercy Parish are joining pro-life efforts in Madison and around the world this fall.
Dear Friends,
As autumn approaches as well as the start of the new school year, I hope and pray that the summer has been good to you, each in accord with your needs and the Lord’s Providence.
The summer (though too short, of course) has finished with a great flourish of late, as I’ve been able to bless or consecrate a number of new altars around the diocese.
In the first place, a few parishes have recently completed renovation projects — some minor but beautiful, some more involved — in order to enhance their sanctuaries and especially to have a fitting place for the tabernacle in the middle of the sanctuary.
Thank you to all the pastors and people who have worked hard on these projects to date. (And thanks to all those who are working on projects for the future.)
In addition, two weeks ago I blessed the lovely chapel built into the tremendous new development at the Catholic Charities’ All Saints Community. It is a fitting centerpiece for that growing retirement community and assisted living facility. Jackson Fonder and his team, along with the All Saints Board, should be proud.
We living in the Diocese of Madison have a unique opportunity to view the world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
The statue will be visiting four cities in our diocese (see schedule) and will be displayed outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Madison on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 3 p.m.
I did some research on this statue, and it has a remarkable story.
STOUGHTON — The September “Our Faith Stories” at St. Ann Catholic Church will feature Dan Schultz and Marie Powers. They will share their stories Sunday, Sept. 25, at 6:30 p.m. in Healy Hall.
Dan said about his talk, “My story is a collection of rambling thoughts from a guy on the older side of middle-aged, shaped by his experiences of being a son, brother, friend, husband, and father.
MADISON — Due to the success of the Priests for Our Future capital campaign, the future of the Diocese of Madison seminarian program continues to be strong.
This is thanks in part to the generous donors to the Priests for Our Future campaign and most importantly the Holy Spirit working through your continued prayers.
MADISON — Due to the success of the Priests for Our Future capital campaign, the future of the Diocese of Madison seminarian program continues to be strong.
This is thanks in part to the generous donors to the Priests for Our Future campaign and most importantly the Holy Spirit working through your continued prayers.
