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This article is the first of two parts from Bishop Robert Barron.
Advent is the liturgical season of vigilance or, to put it more mundanely, of waiting. During the four weeks prior to Christmas, we light the candles of our Advent wreaths and put ourselves in the spiritual space of the Israelite people who, through many long centuries, waited for the coming of the Messiah (“How long, O Lord?”).
MADISON — Enter the quiet chapel at Holy Name Heights, walk down the aisle, then turn and look to the balcony. The pews are gone, and an organ console is visible. That’s different. Otherwise, not much to see, nothing all that remarkable.
Yet, there is now something truly noteworthy in the choir loft. Behind a wall of organ swell shades are the pipes and inner workings of a superb instrument, an Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ, old and used, but newly restored and installed in the chapel.
MADISON — Fr. Christopher Klusman, associate director of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Apostolate for the Deaf who is deaf himself, will preside on the weekly TV Mass airing on Sunday, Dec. 17, in Madison.
Father Klusman verbally will recite the Mass and interpret it in American Sign Language at the same time.
The Mass is broadcast at 6 a.m. on WISC-TV and at 7 a.m. on TVW and Direct TV 14.
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| Susanna Herro |
Why would you take a day to learn about life issues and stand in Chicago’s Federal Plaza listening to speakers like Pat McCaskey, co-owner of the Chicago Bears? What can he tell you about valuing life? Do you feel you have heard the pro-life message and not much more can be said?
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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The word Advent comes from the Latin Adventus which means coming.
From the first Sunday of Advent to December 17, we focus upon the second coming of Jesus so that when he comes in glory, he will find us ready to meet him.
From December 17 to Christmas Eve, we prepare to celebrate Christ’s coming at Christmas. We also prepare for the comings of Christ in daily life.
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| 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.
“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.
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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Word on Fire
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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.
To the editor:
I am writing about John Joy’s piece in the Diocese section of your November 23 edition.
I am concerned that the conference of Catholic educators, John, and others have missed the point of the Bible and the Church. What was given as the “meaning to be a ‘Practicing Catholic’” is more a list of assumed credentials for an acting Catholic but not a practicing Catholic.
To the editor:
Your recent article on St. Dennis Parish’s solar panel installation is welcome news. Congratulations to Fr. Randy Timmerman for embracing and acting on the message of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. St. Dennis is leading by example and paving the way for their parishioners and more parishes in the diocese to do likewise.
I am also grateful for the article informing parishes that there is grant funding available from RENEW Wisconsin to assist in the costs of installing solar. Parishes who are struggling to find the time to explore energy options can simplify the process by checking out Catholic Energies at https://catholicenergies.org
