Author: Chris Lee

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Chris Lee

Nuestro sufrimiento nos acerca a Cristo

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:

Han estado en el corazón de mis oraciones en los días y semanas recientes. Además de mis oraciones habituales por su crecimiento en las virtudes de la fe, la esperanza y el amor, he rezado por su seguridad y calor, ¡así como por su alegría en estos días frígidos!

He sido muy afortunado al tener un tiempo de descanso y renovación en climas más cálidos, como casi siempre que recibo esta bendición en enero. (Hay muchas cosas por las que estoy agradecido a mi predecesor, el Obispo Bullock, pero a nivel persona, ¡siempre le agradeceré sus sabios consejos como el hecho de que tome mis vacaciones en enero y no en el verano!) No doy por descontado por un minuto las bendiciones que he recibido. Estoy agradecido y esperanzado porque esos momentos de descanso me preparan más para mi servicio.

Y así creo que es con algo de ironía que el Señor ha fijado mi atención en las siguientes tres palabras o frases de nuestras lecturas del domingo pasado: purificación, sufrimiento y signo de contradicción. Y cada una de esas palabras acompañan las lecturas, en orden. Sobre la purificación se habla en la primera lectura, Mal 3,1-4; del sufrimiento en la segunda lectura, Hb 2,14-18; y sobre ser “signo de contradicción” habla la lectura del Evangelio: Lc 2, 22-40.

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Chris Lee

Vocations then and now: a comparison of the first 10 years and the last 10 years in the Diocese of Madison

Guest ColumnAs many regular readers know well, the Catholic Herald celebrated the recently-concluded Year of Faith by publishing a variety of articles, stories, and information to assist the faithful of the Diocese of Madison in rediscovering and deepening their knowledge and practice of authentic Catholic faith.

One of the periodic features that the Herald offered during the Year of Faith was called “From the Archives,” in which full or partial articles from across the 65-year history of the Madison edition of the paper were reprinted.

In the process of preparing these features, I have spent a good amount of time pouring through the extensive archival records of the paper and have been surprised and fascinated by what I learned about life and activities in the diocese from 1946 to the present day.

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Chris Lee

An invitation to change my view on love

Gifts for Your Soul column by Jacqueline von ZwehlI received the invitation in the mail shortly after New Year’s. It was in an elegant black satin envelope with a black velvet ribbon.

There was no return address, just the name of one of my friends in a fancy Edwardian script. As I eagerly opened the envelope, a return card slipped out and I read the following “You are cordially invited to attend our first annual Un-Valentine Party.”

Inside was a short letter arguing that all of us single girls needed to band together against this commercialized holiday, wear black in solidarity, and enjoy our singlehood with cocktails and embrace the freedom of not being shackled by love.

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Chris Lee

Local Catholics join hundreds of thousands at March for Life

Attending the March for Life in Washington, D.C., were representatives from the Diocese of Madison including, from left, Jennifer Dunnett, Bob Dorn, and Patrick Delaney pictured as they stand in front of the Supreme Court Building. (Contributed photo)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite a significant snow storm and particularly frigid weather, the 2014 March for Life in Washington, D.C., rallied-on with undaunted participation and unquenchable energy.

The march remains the largest annual demonstration in the world regularly garnering hundreds of thousands of participants.

The dignity of human life

This persistent high representation indicates a cause which is deeper in significance than congressional budgetary items or tax policy.

Indeed, it touches upon the very foundation of civilized society, the inviolable dignity of the human person.

It affirms the fundamental truth that human rights precede the state, and — as acknowledged by the Declaration of Independence — the fundamental purpose of government is to affirm and protect these rights.

Blessed Pope John XXIII rightly taught that when these fundamental rights are not recognized and protected by government, it calls the very legitimacy of such governments into question.

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Chris Lee

Sister Mary Elizabeth dies

PRAIRIE DU SAC — Sister Mary Elizabeth (nee Susan Mabel Guyette), died at the age of 74, at Franciscan Mayo Hospital in LaCrosse on Tuesday, January 28, 2014. She was born in Fond du Lac on September 12, 1939, the daughter of the late Herbert Leo and Gertrude Nell (Colburn) Guyette. She entered Valley of Our Lady Monastery, where she made her solemn profession on June 13, 1998. She was greatly loved by her religious sisters, who were with her praying at her side, when she quietly went home to God.

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Chris Lee

Former Assistant Superintendent of Schools Monica Bischoff dies

Monica Bischoff

VERONA — Monica Grace Bischoff, former assistant superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Madison and former principal at St. Peter School in Ashton, died on January 22.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 301 N. Main St., Verona, with Bishop Robert C. Morlino presiding. Private burial will follow at St. Andrew Catholic Cemetery, Verona.

Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, at Ryan Funeral Home, Verona Chapel, 220 Enterprise Dr., with a vigil service at 7 p.m. There will be no visitation prior to Mass at the church, but the family will receive visitors during the luncheon following the private burial.

Monica was born on February 19, 1960, in Verona. She married Francis Ray on December 14, 1996, at St. William Catholic Church in Paoli.

 

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Chris Lee

Teaching through examples of faith, knowledge, and service

Kindergarten and fourth grade students at All Saints Catholic School in Berlin prepare for Catholic Schools Week (CSW) by coloring the CSW logo for hallway decorations. Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Madison will be observing Catholic Schools Week from January 26 to February 1 with a variety of activities highlighting the theme, “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.” (Contributed photo)

MADISON –Communities of “faith, knowledge, and service.” This is a wonderful description of Catholic schools. for these three aspects lie at the heart of every Catholic school.

Christ is the center

First among these is faith. Christ is the center and focus of each and every Catholic school. As our late Pope John Paul II wrote, “Catholic education is above all a question of communicating Christ, of helping to form Christ in the lives of others.”

This is the primary goal of all Catholic schools: to form students in faith that they may come to know and love Christ.

As students come to know Christ, they travel a lifelong journey of learning what it means to be fully human in the example of Christ.

Forming the whole person

As we are created with many attributes, skills, talents, and faculties, Catholic schools seek to develop all of these by educating not only the heart, but the mind and body as well — by forming the whole person.

Every day, dedicated teachers help students develop their intellect and reasoning, challenging them to ask questions, seek answers, and learn the whole truth about themselves and their world in all its glorious detail. This quest for truth through knowledge is the second pillar of Catholic schools.

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Chris Lee

Recycle the Warmth Blanket Drive

MADISON — Annually for 22 years, thousands of generous donors have searched their closets, wallets, and purses to provide the Society of St. Vincent de Paul with the resources to give gently used and new blankets to Dane County people in need.

The society’s annual “Recycle the Warmth Blanket Drive” — long held on January’s last full weekend — will once again offer the community an opportunity to share some practical comfort with local families struggling with poverty.

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