Month: December 2017

On
Kevin Wondrash

Workshops for extraordinary ministers of Communion

MADISON — The Diocese of Madison Office of Worship is holding workshops for extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion at the following dates and locations:

• Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, 9:30 to 11 a.m., at St. Clare of Assisi Parish (St. Victor Church), 1760 14th St. in Monroe. Snow date is Saturday, March 3, at the same time

• Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Holy Name Heights (formerly the Bishop O’Connor Center), 702 S. High Point Rd. in Madison. Snow date is Thursday, Feb. 22, at the same time.

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On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Give pregnant women loving support

This is the time of year when we are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

We know that for his mother, Mary, her pregnancy could not have been an easy time. Although she knew she was carrying the Son of God in her womb, it must have been challenging to discuss her pregnancy with others, especially since she and Joseph were not yet married.

Fortunately, Joseph supported her. Yet, they travelled to Bethlehem in the last month of her pregnancy for a census and could find no place to stay in an inn. So Jesus was born in a stable, probably not the easiest place for labor and delivery!

Unexpected pregnancy

Many women today may find themselves with an unexpected pregnancy. We may know such women; they could be members of our families or friends, people who work with us, married or unmarried.

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On
Elizabeth Durack

Faith practice, good works do not need to be in competition

To the editor:

A Catholic Herald letter by Kenneth R. Studinski calls guidance about what it means to be a practicing Catholic “a list of assumed credentials for an acting Catholic,” however he says being a “practicing Catholic” requires the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

I reflect that Works of Mercy that are authentic Christian charity are fruits of the life of grace that we received first at Baptism and have and preserve through faith by the sacraments, prayer, embrace of Catholic teaching, and ordered participation in the life of the Church. It is reductionistic to call these things “assumed credentials” when they are profoundly necessary to our incorporation in the Body of Christ and having His life, the life of grace.

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On
By Dick Jones, For the Catholic Herald

New organ will highlight this year’s Festival of Lessons & Carols

diocesan choir gorman
At the Advent/Christmas party sponsored by the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities are, from left: Katie Gorman, one of the newest members of the Madison Diocesan Choir; her father, Dr. Patrick Gorman, director of the choir for over 25 years; and Pat Paska, a member of the choir since its beginning nearly 45 years ago. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)

MADISON — Much as O Come All Ye Faithful is a favorite known by all since childhood, the opening hymn of Lessons & Carols will become a glorious new sound Sunday, Dec. 17.

That’s when Dr. Patrick Gorman directs the Madison Diocesan Choir and all present, accompanied by a classic pipe organ described as magical, restored, and installed in the Holy Name Heights chapel.

Seeking an organ

“I have literally been working on this since I arrived in Madison,” said Gorman, now in his 26th year as director. “We put together so many different proposals, and it’s always been, ‘We can’t afford it! We can’t afford it.’

“New pipe organs are extraordinarily expensive. Then we started to look at organs that have come out of churches.”

With the help of Bruce Case of Case Pipe Organ Company in Verona, an exceptional pipe organ was found in Kenosha at the First Congregational Church that closed in 2013.

Though silent for years, the organ was in surprisingly good condition. The new owners, an evangelical congregation, had no use for it and agreed to sell it.

Rolls Royce of organs

Thanks to a generous gift from the estate of the late Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer, the Diocese of Madison was able to buy and restore the pipe organ, built by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company in Boston nearly 70 years ago.

According to Case, it rivals the commanding Klais organ in the Madison Overture Center, and in some respects is superior.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Message for Advent: ‘Watch!’

Dear Friends,

We have entered into the Season of Advent. It is a short Season of Advent this year, so let’s get right to it. Our message from the Lord on this first Sunday is simple: “watch!” The Gospel of this past Sunday (MK 13:33-37) doesn’t even contain 100 words, yet, in this small discourse we hear Jesus say repeatedly, “Be watchful,” “be alert,” “watch,” “What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

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On
Steve Grunow

What the Immaculate Conception means

Word on Fire
Fr. Steve Grunow

In December, the Church celebrates a mysterious and miraculous event of such importance to God’s plan for our salvation in Christ that it happened in a manner that went virtually undetected.

This event is the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Not to be confused with another mysterious and miraculous event, the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus, the Immaculate Conception is about how God acted in an extraordinary way in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that from even the first moment of her own conception, she was rescued from the power of original sin.

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