Month: April 2020

On
Angela Curio, Catholic Herald Staff

Overflowing generosity at drive-thru food drive

QOP Food Drive
Volunteers at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Madison take donations for the Catholic Multicultural Center in Madison out of the back of a vehicle. (Contributed photo)

MADISON — Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish (QP) saw an overflow of generosity at its first Drive-Thru Food Drive to benefit the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) on the morning of Sunday, April 19.

“Many of you are asking for ways to help as COVID-19 continues to affect our community on a daily basis, so QP’s Social Action and Community Enrichment Board teamed up with the St. Vincent de Paul conference to find a creative way to help our neighbors in need!” read the Facebook event page that was posted just six days before the event.

“We need your help to feed the hundreds of families that are continuing to suffer by filling the Catholic Multicultural Center’s food pantry!”

High turnout

Thirty-eight individuals expressed interest on Facebook before the event, but the turnout was “more than we were anticipating,” said Annette Fox, director of the parish’s Social Action and Community Enrichment board. “It was awesome. Filled the van plus some!”

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On
Angela Curio, Catholic Herald Staff

Zoom Ministry: caring for our youth online

MADISON — “Hey, J. Gregory!” said a teen over the video conferencing platform Zoom. “Don’t you own a pair of scissors?”

Jaymes Gregory Curran, the youth director of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Madison, certainly wouldn’t have envisioned sitting in his parish’s empty youth room talking over Zoom a few months ago.

“I’d heard of Zoom before the pandemic hit,” he said. “But I have never been a fan of FaceTime, Skype, or other similar apps.”

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On
Bishop Donald J. Hying

God has entrusted remarkable powers to us

During this challenging pandemic experience, I have been meditating lately on power and the lack of it, the fear of vulnerability and dependence, the need to surrender control and accept what is beyond one’s ability to change.

Since the definition of power is “the capacity to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events,” we have probably all felt an ebbing of power and influence in our lives. The social restrictions, the loss of health or employment, the cancellation of activities and events have all thrust us into this opaque existence of limitation and diminishment.

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On
Catholic Herald Staff

Parishes offer livestream Masses and other services

Following is information on some of the livestreaming Masses and Rosaries offered by parishes in the Diocese of Madison.

Cathedral Parish, Madison: The Cathedral Parish invites people to join them in prayer online. Each weekday, Monday through Friday, Msgr. Kevin Holmes, rector, leads the Rosary in a livestream from the rectory at 12:15 p.m. Sunday Mass at 11 a.m. is also livestreamed from the Cathedral Parish at St. Raphael Church. Visit the cathedral Facebook page to join in these moments of prayer (@CathedralParishMadison). Note people can view the public posts on the page even if they don’t have a Facebook account.

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On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Two transitional deacons ordained in Madison

MADISON — Ordinations, whether to the priesthood or the diaconate, are usually very busy events filled with making sure everyone is in their right seats; lining up the men to be ordained, priests, and others in the processional before the Mass; and dozens of people doing their parts during the Mass to make sure the sacred rites are done correctly and reverently.

However, on April 15, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, as Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison said during his homily, “It’s not the ordination that any of us would have anticipated.”

He added, “By being winnowed down to its essence, we see with greater clarity the beauty of what is about to happen.

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