Author: Chris Lee

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Chris Lee

Confirmation and taking ownership of our faith

Journey with Faith
Deacon Lawrence Oparaji

One of the most exciting things that happen in the fall is the Sacrament of Confirmation. Bishop Donald Hying will travel to the corners of the diocese, imparting and strengthening the gifts of the Holy Spirit in many wonderful young people.

As part of these efforts and to help with preparations, recently Mary Kate Van Wagner and I were at the parish cluster of Patch Grove, Cassville, Bloomington, and Glen Haven, Wis., for a Confirmation retreat, which was amazing!

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Chris Lee

Respect Life Team invites people to view movie Unplanned at Madison parish

To the editor:

As Catholics, we understand our Church has long been a voice for the voiceless — especially innocent unborn babies. Yet many view pro-life work as “too controversial” or simply uncomfortable.

I understand. Abortion should make us all uncomfortable because of what it does to women, babies, and all involved in the act, including those who work inside the abortion clinics.

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Chris Lee

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd grows

MADISON — The room was filled with joyful expectation as catechists and invested partners celebrated the presence of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) in the Diocese of Madison at its third annual gathering.

CGS Diocesan Director Katie Haun warmly encouraged the catechists and directors of religious education (DRE) present to share the joys and challenges of starting and maintaining atrium, the space where children gather to encounter God in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd method.

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Chris Lee

Cardinal Etchegaray, Fr. de Lubac, and Vatican II

On September 4, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray passed away. Perhaps his was not a household name, but this very decent man made a substantive contribution to the life of the Church, serving in a number of different capacities over the years and collaborating closely with Pope John Paul II.

I had the privilege of meeting him in the mid 1990s when he visited Mundelein Seminary, where I was serving as professor of theology. The Cardinal wanted to address the community, but his English was a bit shaky, so I translated for him. But I recall that his smile and evident joy in the Lord needed no translation whatsoever.

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Chris Lee

Hope Haven prepares for new facility

MADISON — In February 2020, Catholic Charities will be opening a new, state-of-the-art Hope Haven facility on the former grounds of the Chris Farley House, a 15-bed facility once located on Olin Ave., off Park St.

This modern facility will allow Hope Haven to meet the demand for affordable, individualized residential treatment due to the opioid epidemic and increased alcohol consumption.

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Chris Lee

Hearing loop system installed at St. James Church in Madison

hearing at st james
Bruce Best, left, Good Shepherd parishioner, spearheaded the effort to get a hearing loop system installed at St. James Church in Madison. His hearing aid works with the system, while Michael Schultz (next to Best) without a hearing aid uses a receiver with the system. The loop is visible on the floor inside the pew. (Jane Lepeska Grinde photo)

MADISON — Thanks to a grant from the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities of the Diocese of Madison, Good Shepherd Parish was able to have a hearing loop installed at its St. James Church this summer.

Located near Regent and Mills Sts., St. James is one of the oldest churches in Madison.

Taking the initiative to get funding for the project, parishioner Bruce Best said he did it for a selfish reason, “I could only hear about 25 percent of what was said at Mass.”

His audiologist, Veronica Heide, gave Best the idea for pursuing the system.

How it works

At a recent meeting at the church, parishioners heard from Mike Mair, Platteville, owner of My Hearing Loop LLC, the company chosen to install the system. Mair, who has been in business 42 years, explained and demonstrated how the system works.

Hearing loop systems provide a magnetic wireless audio signal that is picked up by hearing aids set to the “T-coil” (short for telecoil) setting. Most hearing aids have this setting.

Special wires have been installed in the floor at St. James Church, which comprises the hearing loop that broadcasts audio signals from microphones directly to hearing aids or cochlear implants.

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Chris Lee

Stations of Cross find new home in Ridgeway

stations of cross
Outdoor Stations of the Cross have been installed recently at St. Bernardette Parish on the exterior of the Religious Education Building at St. Bridget Church in Ridgeway. A formal blessing of the Stations will be done on Saturday, Sept. 14, following a 10 a.m. Mass at the church. A procession to the Stations will include the blessing and praying of the Stations. (Cathy Lins photo)

RIDGEWAY — On Saturday, Sept. 14, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, St. Bernadette Parish will have a formal blessing of its newly installed life-size outdoor Stations of the Cross.

The Stations are on the exterior of the Religious Education Building located at 106 North St. in Ridgeway.

Fr. Lawrence Zurek, OFM Conv, will join Fr. Steve Petrica, VF, pastor, in celebrating Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Bridget Church, followed by a procession to the Stations for their blessing, which will include praying the Stations.

Father Zurek is the administrator of the Basilica of St. Josaphat, which is a ministry of the Conventual Franciscans on the South Side of Milwaukee in the historic Lincoln Village neighborhood. It is one of 82 minor basilicas found in the United States.

Franciscan devotion

Father Petrica shared that there is a long association between the Franciscan order and the Stations of the Cross devotion, which they promote as a way to vicariously walk the actual Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.

The original Via Dolorosa winds through Jerusalem, from the site where Pilate condemned Jesus to death to Mount Calvary and to the tomb where Jesus was buried.

Father Petrica said, “The Franciscans have historically been associated with the devotion and with the holy sites in Jerusalem. (Although it’s a different branch of the Franciscan family that maintains the holy sites.) It was customary for the blessing of Stations to be reserved to a Franciscan priest. That practice is no longer obligatory, but we chose to honor the historical connection. Father Zurek also reminded me that the Feast of the Holy Cross is when St. Francis received the Stigmata.

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Chris Lee

CMC celebrates 10 years under Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish

MADISON — Ten years ago, Msgr. Ken Fiedler of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish had “keys to an empty building, no money, and no staff” after he boldly decided to take on the task of operating the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) when the Diocese of Madison shut it down due to budget concerns.

On August 3, 2009, the CMC reopened under Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish with a budget of $250,000, a staff of four, and a handful of community programs, including a free meal three times a week.

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Chris Lee

Mazzuchelli Pilgrimage 2019

Every pilgrimage is a response of the inner desire in each one of us to seek God. On this pilgrimage, we discovered a helper in Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, and in seeking we found the joy connected to the gift of self which makes us want to seek God all the more.

The Mazzuchelli Pilgrimage took 22 pilgrims across the Mississippi River, through the cow and farm- dotted canvas of rolling hills in southern Wisconsin with all of it orchestrated sounds and smells, to the quiet tomb of a missionary that laid the foundation of the faith in the Diocese of Madison.

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