Author: Kevin Wondrash

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Kevin Wondrash

‘Don’t know what you got (till it’s gone)’

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“These are the good old days” — William Powell as “Nick Charles” in The Thin Man (1934).

Someday, Lent will pass and spring will have arrived. Someday, winter will be back. Someday, I’ll hit age 40. Someday, I will no longer be the editor of the Catholic Herald. Someday, I will die. (Well, that escalated quickly.)

Everything we know, love, and treasure on this Earth will be lost to us or will pass away.

Despite the initial emotional reactions to those statements, they are facts.

All of our “stuff” will either leave us or we will leave it. The same goes for our friends and loved ones. For life to go on, ob-la-di, ob-la-da, someone has to depart from someone.

That’s not a bad thing

Because it is Lent, you get to read the obligatory “but that’s not a bad thing . . . because Heaven” spiel.

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Kevin Wondrash

Bishop O’Connor travels to Rome for ad limina visits and to attend the Second Vatican Council

Eighth in a series on the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Madison

Bishop William P. O’Connor traveled to Rome several times after becoming the first bishop of the Diocese of Madison.

Ad limina visits

Bishop O’Connor made three ad limina visits to the Vatican. These visits are called ad limina apostolorum (“to the threshold of the Apostles”) because they are traditionally pilgrimages made by bishops to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The bishops in the United States are required to make visits to Rome personally or through authorized delegates about every five years to present a report on the state of the diocese.

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Kevin Wondrash

The ‘abandonment to Divine Providence’

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In last week’s column, I meditated on the surrender of Mary and Jesus in the key moments of the Annunciation and the Agony in the Garden.

We all know the difficulty of handing over our wills to the Lord.

We want to be in control, have a clear idea of how events should unfold, and we often think God is letting us down when we face disappointment, tragedy, and suffering.

How do we find peace amidst the storm and trust in the middle of life’s chaos?

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Kevin Wondrash

Stations of the Cross video produced in diocese

Stations video
A screenshot of the Stations of the Cross YouTube video produced by the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities-Diocese of Madison. The video is available during Lent. (YouTube image)

MADISON — During most seasons of Lent, it is a devotional tradition to pray the Stations of the Cross.

During typical years, parishes in the Diocese of Madison will host praying of the Stations at their churches where many gather to pray them together.

This year, with many people not entering church buildings due to health concerns and restrictions on the number of people allowed to be in a building at the same time, the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities-Diocese of Madison has produced a YouTube video that gives everyone the opportunity to pray the Stations of the Cross from their own homes or elsewhere through the blessings of technology.

Video contents

It’s called the “Stations of the Cross presented by the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities-Diocese of Madison”.

The nearly 24-minute video begins with a reflection from Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison.

“As we pray the Stations of the Cross, we participate and share in Jesus’s suffering and death,” he says in part of the reflection.

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Kevin Wondrash

St. Mary Parish in Portage announces capital campaign

PORTAGE — St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Portage recently announced plans for a capital fund drive to its members.

The effort will be entitled the “Our Church-Our Future” campaign.

Its aim is to raise the funds required to renovate and expand the church and parish facilities.

A minimum goal of $3,500,000 has been set for the effort which will enable the parish to break ground on the project.

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Kevin Wondrash

St. Raphael Cathedral renovated in early years of Diocese of Madison

Seventh in a series on the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Madison

When the Diocese of Madison was created in 1946, St. Raphael Church, the first Catholic church in the city of Madison, was chosen as the cathedral church of the new diocese.

Msgr. William Mahoney was the pastor at that time.

St. Raphael Parish has a history in Madison that dates back to before Wisconsin became a state.

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Kevin Wondrash

The ‘joy’ of Lent

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As I was well into Ash Wednesday, last week, I was experiencing an interesting emotion. I was happy it was Lent.

Kevin, Kevin, Kevin, what is the matter with you?

You’re happy it’s Lent? You’re happy it’s a time of sacrifice and penance? You’re happy it’s a time when the joyous “A” word is not to be said or sung? You’re happy it’s the “sorrowful” time in the Church for 40-days until we get to Easter?

Yes, I am. Here’s why.

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Kevin Wondrash

Surrendering out of love

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Meditating on the Agony in the Garden, the First Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary, is always a source of great spiritual fruit for me.

We see Jesus alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, facing His imminent Passion and death, praying that this cup of suffering pass Him by.

Jesus is so anxious and distressed that He sweats drops of blood, struggling to surrender to the will of the Father and the mystery of the cross.

Radical filial obedience wins out, as Jesus utters His fiat, “Let your will be done, not mine.”

When Christ arises from this prayer, He moves forward with determination, arousing the sleeping apostles, facing Judas and the approaching mob, ready and willing to drink the cup of suffering to the very dregs.

In the Gospel passion narratives, once Jesus has made His surrender in Gethsemane, He embraces the terrible details of His trial, torture, and death with a peace, acceptance, and love that is truly divine.

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Kevin Wondrash

Rite of Election on February 21

Rite of Election
A catechumen in 2019 signs the Book of the Elect during the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. This year’s event will take place on Sunday, Feb. 21, at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee with safety measures in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)

WAUNAKEE — The Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion will be held on Sunday, Feb. 21, at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee.

Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison will preside.

In this Church season of Lent, its primary purpose intensifies the time of preparation for those seeking Baptism.

Now that Lent has come upon us, it’s time to start this sacred work.

A call to join the Church

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (no. 64), which was promulgated during the Second Vatican Council, called for a revision of several of the rituals of our Church.

Part of this included the Baptismal rites for adults and children.

In 1988, an adult ritual was promulgated called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults which is commonly called RCIA.

Since that time, some or all of the RCIA has been used in parishes throughout the world.

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Kevin Wondrash

An exciting start to the new year for St. Ambrose Academy

MADISON — The trials and challenges of a pandemic can’t stop the growth and joy of Catholic community, and spring 2021 is shaping up to be a season of exciting happenings at St. Ambrose Academy (SAA).

New home in the making

After dozens of property searches by a team of professionals and numerous conversations with potential partners, the Academy first shared in December 2020 at the interactive, virtual See the Joy Benefit Dinner news of great joy: A site for a permanent school home is being finalized.

The centrally located Fitchburg development will be an ideal home for the first Catholic school building project in the diocese in over 50 years.

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