(Part II of a two-part series.)
Thank you for your prayers last week during my Grand Canyon run.
My journey started with a group of four men and two women ages 25 to 58. At 3:10 a.m. on October 26, we knew we had a long trail ahead of us. While it was daunting and emotions were mixed with fear and anticipation, we all commented about the beauty and light of the moon.
Editor’s note: During this Year of Consecrated Life, this is the eighth in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.
In this commentary on the Decree of the Second Vatican Council, On the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life (Perfectae Caritatis), we have been reflecting on how the council fathers envisioned a deep renewal of what the Church calls “the Consecrated Life.”
Number 12 of the decree speaks of one of the evangelical counsels, chastity, as at the core of that life.
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| Fr. Gregory Ihm |
In 1793 began the Reign of Terror in France known as the French Revolution when many priests, Religious, and Catholic lay faithful were murdered because of their association with the Church.
One man had a particular hatred for priests and was famous for his style of execution: slitting their throats. Several years after the Reign of Terror, this man grew old, sick, and weaker.
His wife, a hidden Catholic, called in a priest she knew to anoint her husband because she feared for his soul.
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About 15 years ago, I prepared an elective class at Mundelein Seminary which I entitled “The Christology of the Poets and Preachers.” In this course, I endeavored to explore the Catholic tradition’s non-technical, more lyrical manner of presenting the significance of Jesus.
I studied the literary works of Dante, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and G.K. Chesterton, and I also investigated in detail the sermons of many of the greatest masters: Origen, Augustine, Chrysostom, Bernard, Aquinas, Newman, and Knox, among others.
What struck me with particular power, and caused me, I confess, to re-think things rather thoroughly was this: none of these figures — from the late second century to the 20th century — whose sermons we specially revere and hold up for imitation, preached the way I was taught to preach.
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Ridley Scott’s The Martian is a splendidly told tale of survival and pluck, reminiscent of the novel Robinson Crusoe and the films Life of Pi and Castaway.
In this case, the hero is Mark Watney, an astronaut on a mission to Mars who is left behind by his crewmates when he is presumed dead after being lost during a devastating storm.
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| Bishop Robert C. Morlino presents Msgr. Monte Robinson with the papal decree. At left, Msgr. Larry Bakke, who received the same honor, applauds. (Catholic Herald photos/Kevin Wondrash) | |
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| Bishop Morlino honors Sir William Yallaly as a knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Pope Saint Sylvester. |
MADISON — When Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison offered a reflection on the events of the evening of October 18, he called it, “an acknowledgment that the Church is alive here in Madison and very good things are happening.”
On that evening, at the Bishop O’Connor Center in Madison, Bishop Morlino presided over solemn vespers and the investiture of Msgr. Monte Robinson, Msgr. Larry Bakke, and Sir William Yallaly, as their papal honors were celebrated.
Earlier this year, Monsignor Bakke and Monsignor Robinson were both honored as Chaplains of His Holiness — an honor granted to priests recognizing their exceptional service to the Church – which allows them to be addressed as “Monsignor.” The chaplain becomes part of the “papal household.”
Sir Yallaly was honored with Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Pope St. Sylvester — honoring Catholic lay men and women who are actively involved in the Church and successful in the exercise of their professional duties.
Prior to the Presentation of the Candidates by Msgr. James Bartylla, vicar general of the diocese, Bishop Morlino said of Monsignor Robinson, pastor of St. Philomena, Belmont, and the Congregation of St. Mary/St. Paul, Mineral Point, “The Church is alive because we have a priest like Msgr. Monte Robinson who is giving us a wonderful example these days that if we live, we live in the Lord, and if we die, we die as his servants.”
Monsignor Robinson is currently battling a serious illness.
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We begin November by celebrating the feast of All Saints.
On All Saints Day, we remember and we honor both the canonized and non-canonized saints of the Catholic Church. Both invite and inspire us to imitate their Christ-like lives.
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| Beth Ulaszek |
In response to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this past September, the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis of the Diocese of Madison is providing a monthly series on a particular theme on marriage and family. Each theme is a chapter in the preparatory catechesis developed for the event entitled Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive, available in paperback from www.osvparish.com or for free online at www.worldmeeting2015.org
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| Julie Jensen |
“Women’s health” has become a hot-button issue lately, often for the wrong reasons.
But Our Lady of Hope Clinic, located on Odana Rd. on Madison’s west side, has positively focused on women’s health issues since it opened over six years ago.
To the editor:
The column “Little saint reveals power of forgiveness” in the October 22 issue by Editor Mary C. Uhler is a finely crafted synopsis of the life of St. Maria Goretti.
She also writes about St. Maria’s murderer, Alessandro Serenelli, with real feeling for his experiences after he was arrested, sentenced to prison, and his struggle to repentance and a life of service.
