Author: Kevin Wondrash

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Kevin Wondrash

Reconciliation helps us to live Lent with renewed faith

In Matthew 9:10-13, the Scribes and Pharisees complain that Christ dines with sinners and tax collectors. They are right. He does. Jesus responds by saying that he has come not to call the righteous, but sinners.

R. Charles Miller wrote that a sinner, as used here, is someone who admits they have sinned and needs God’s forgiveness to help them change. Conversely, the self-righteous think they don’t need forgiveness.

Sharing God’s mercy

Christ became flesh and took on a human nature to share the Father’s mercy with us. Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel features three parables of God’s mercy.

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Kevin Wondrash

2015 Annual Catholic Appeal: ‘Living Our Mission of Charity’

Annual Catholic Appeal 2015

MADISON — Have you ever modeled your charitable life around the Holy Family?

You may not give of yourselves the same way as Mary and Joseph did, but modeling your charitable giving through your time, talent, and treasure is your way of giving back.

One way to live your mission of charity is through giving to the Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA). Each year, the ACA asks each parishioner in the Diocese of Madison to prayerfully consider what they are able to give back to their diocesan Church.The Diocese of Madison lives on your generosity to support its missions — missions that are critical in helping our neighbors in need, teaching those that need education and training on our faith.

The Annual Catholic Appeal reaches every corner of our diocese in some way, here are just a few.

Marriage Preparation — Does your parish offer marriage preparation classes to those seeking the sacrament Sacrament of Marriage? The ACA funds the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, which oversees the training and materials needed for marriage preparation classes around the diocese.

Catholic schools — Do you know of a child that attends a Catholic school? Just like every school district in the state, the Office of Catholic Schools is directed by the superintendent of Catholic schools. This office oversees all of the administrative functions supporting the Catholic school system in our diocese.

Catholic Charities — Has your parish community benefited from the Mobile Food Pantry? It travels around the diocese helping those that need that extra assistance at difficult times. This is just one mission that Catholic Charities does for our neighbors in need.

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Kevin Wondrash

Share the spiritual journey with author/teacher Paula D’Arcy

MADISON — An automobile accident in 1975 changed Paula D’Arcy’s life forever.

She woke up to discover that her husband and daughter had been killed in the wreck, but the baby she had carried for three months was still alive inside her.

“Everything about my life altered at that moment,” she says. “I was at a fork in the road; I could despair, or I could go deeper.”

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Kevin Wondrash

Group works for nonviolence

SINSINAWA — Most people know about the war effort in Afghanistan, but few of us know the stories of those who are working to create a nation where peace overcomes violence.

The Sinsinawa Dominican Office of Peace and Justice is offering a presentation to inform people of the efforts of peacemakers in Afghanistan. It will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16, at Sinsinawa Mound.

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Kevin Wondrash

This Lent, remember your Baptism

This is the first in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.

We are approaching the season of Lent, a time set aside by the Church to help us prepare for Easter.

For many, this season is seen as a time that we “give something up.” While offering ourselves to God always is important, the Church primarily views Lent through the lens of Baptism. In fact, here is what the Church says about Lent:

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Kevin Wondrash

Thomas Merton’s influence

I write these words on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Merton, one of the greatest spiritual writers of the 20th century and a man who had a decisive influence on me and my vocation to the priesthood.

I first encountered Merton’s writing in a peculiar way. My brother and I were both working at a bookstore in the Chicago suburbs. One afternoon, he tossed me a tattered paperback with a torn cover that the manager had decided to discard.

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Kevin Wondrash

Edgewood High School peer ministers lead retreat

MADISON — As part of Catholic Schools Week, students in the Peer Ministry class at Edgewood High School had a chance to give back and help younger students grow in their faith.

The Peer Ministry class challenges students to develop their personal faith and leadership potential. Students plan and lead liturgies and prayer services throughout the semester along with participating and leading retreats and service programs.

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