Kevin Wondrash

To the editor:

While I do enjoy music created by creative dead white Europeans, I also find that God has gifted us with many new and varied types of music for our time.

Nico Fassino writes that the Mass is not for “us” and I must agree with him.

BUT! I also know that the Mass is our most intimate experience with the living and active Christ. In the Mass not only do we worship God, but we find Him with us . . . speaking to us in the Gospel and homily, praying with and for us, teaching us, comforting us, forgiving us, feeding us, and blessing us.

Editorial

On October 25, 2012May 5, 2021

Kevin Wondrash

Living in a swing state: It underlines our responsibilities as faithful citizens

Living in a swing state isn’t much fun. We’ve been inundated with television advertising and campaign phone calls for many months.

It wasn’t a surprise to hear that Madison was among the top five cities in the country in the amount of spending for political advertising. Just imagine all the good we could do to help the poor and reduce the deficit with all that money!

It’s been a trying time

Of course, the reason we’re a swing state is that the presidential race and the U.S. Senate race are too close to call. The voters in Wisconsin are almost evenly divided between political parties at this point.

Letters to the editor

On October 25, 2012May 5, 2021

Kevin Wondrash

Church gives guidance on how to choose a candidate

To the editor:

For whom to vote????

As the level of negativity, untruths, and confusion escalates, it becomes harder and harder to choose the proper candidate for whom to vote. Some people lack a moral compass and others a moral authority to help them with their decision. We who are Catholic have the compelling moral authority of our Church to give us direction.

The guide on Faithful Citizenship was first drafted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2000. Even though it is published every four years before our November elections, it is primarily meant to give us direction in forming our conscience on important issues.

Letters to the editor

On October 25, 2012May 5, 2021

Kevin Wondrash

Misguided values should not control our lives

To the editor:

We are parents of 10 children (nine living), unplanned parenthood if you choose to call it that. We have never owned a new automobile nor have we relied on food stamps or unemployment compensation for which we may have qualified at times.

Our children were taught personal responsibility in the context of strong Catholic education. These children, with our 29 grandchildren, are welcome members in the communities where they reside. The eighth child is a Catholic priest. Collectively, our children hold five master’s degrees and speak 11 languages.

Family size should not be judged numerically, but rather on the ability to care for and guide the children. Two children can be too many, and five too few.

Letters to the editor

On October 25, 2012May 5, 2021

Kevin Wondrash

Defining principles guide our choices in voting

To the editor:

I have read letters in the Catholic Herald from the bishop and from readers concerning the upcoming elections.

As Catholics we are a diverse group of people. For each of us there are defining principles which guide our choices in the ballot booth. Being Catholic does not mean that those defining principles are the same for each of us.

News

On October 22, 2012May 5, 2021

Kevin Wondrash

Edgewood High students serve in the community

MADISON — They call it “Edgewood High School (EHS) in the Community.” On Wednesday, Oct. 3, over 700 volunteers from the high school worked at non-profit service organizations around the metropolitan area.

Classes were canceled while the students, teachers, staff, and some parent helpers filled needs in nearly 50 locations, providing 3,500 hours of service in one day.

Around the Diocese

On October 18, 2012May 5, 2021

Kevin Wondrash

Adult Day Center adds meaning, purpose to lives

MADISON — On a recent visit to the Catholic Charities Adults Day Center in Madison, I noticed that plenty of windows let in lots of light. People were busy doing art projects, working at the computer, talking together, or listening to a speaker.

The Adult Day Center, located at 2917 International Lane near the Dane County Airport in Madison, offers purpose and meaning to the many lives it touches, observed Cricket Hesselberg, the center’s program director. She has worked there for 14 years.

Around the Diocese

On October 18, 2012May 5, 2021

Kevin Wondrash

Tom Moreland brings Catholic values to his work at Saint Jude Hospice

MADISON — “It was a defining moment of my life. God was leading me to care of the dying,” said Tom Moreland, founder and CEO of Saint Jude Hospice, in a recent interview.

Moreland was talking about his work with the Missionaries of Charity at an AIDS Hospice in San Francisco, Calif. He served there for two summers while he was an undergraduate student at the University of Kansas.

Bishop Morlino's Columns

On October 11, 2012May 10, 2021

Kevin Wondrash

Gratitude for harvest time and our farmers


	This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

Dear Friends,

It really is a joy and a blessing to experience the change in seasons. It’s hard not to be thankful for creation in this time of so much color and in this time of harvest. This time of year should provide us with no end of seeds for reflection, but I’m always drawn to reflect upon the lives of our farmers in a particular way.

By nature of it’s being the “seat” of the diocese, the center of state government, the largest city, more-or-less the geographic center of these 11 counties, and the home of a world-class university, so much of our attention in the diocese is often focused upon Madison. And indeed, Madison is all of the things I just listed, but we should never fall into the trap of thinking that the Diocese of Madison is mostly Madison. To do so would not only mean missing out on some of the richest aspects of our diocese, but would also make for a very monotonous, hyper-political existence! And that’s the furthest thing from my mind or my heart.

As such, in addition to getting out of the gravitational pull of Madison as frequently as possible, I also cherish the opportunity I’ve had over the past few years to gather in a specific way with some of our farming communities to pray and to give thanks for the gift of “rural life.” I was able to do that recently in Footville. And as we are still in the harvest season, I’d like to share a few of the thoughts that I shared with those gathered.

The search for true beauty


	This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop

Dear Friends,

Next week, on October 11, we enter into a Year of Faith which was declared by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in order to invite the Church, once again, through the door of faith which God has opened for us. It is an outstanding opportunity to renew our faith and to reach out to those around us, to invite them back into a life of faith in the Church. Each of your parishes, as well as our diocesan offices, will be offering many and varied activities for the Year of Faith, and I’d urge you to take part, in a full and active way, in this year which in a particular way com50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the Catechism.

For my part, I’ve been encouraging parish leaders in our diocese to approach this Year of Faith with an extra emphasis on encouraging evangelization through beauty. Let me briefly explain why.