JEFFERSON — Students and staff at St. John the Baptist School in Jefferson recently sponsored a number of events and activities that reflect the mission of the school to be the “hands and feet of Christ” for those in need.
Author: Kevin Wondrash
Catholic Charities 25th annual Faith in Action virtual event
MADISON — Due to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Catholic Charities of Madison created a virtual event to celebrate faith in action across the diocese.
Several organizations came together to make a memorable evening on December 1.
SSM Health, the Catholic Multicultural Center, the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities, Edgewood High School, St. Peter School in Ashton, and Catholic Charities programs all pitched in to spread a message of hope this Advent season.What I want for Christmas
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Dear Santa,
For Christmas, I would like:
A case of Caffeine-Free Pepsi, a package of bacon, an Amazon gift card, and some Babcock Hall cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream.
I’d also like the energy, ambition, and desire to pray more. I want the habit of opening my Bible more and embracing God’s word. I want to make Holy Mass a centerpiece of my life and feel like every time I am going up for Communion that it’s the most important thing I’m doing that day.
I want an increase in discipleship and evangelization. I want Catholics to know and live their faith so well that leading others to Christ is a natural and normal occurrence.
The third movement of the kerygma
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In this column, I have been reflecting on the kerygma, the essential Gospel message of salvation, love, and mercy which is the heart of our faith.
To be effective evangelizers, each of us baptized into Christ needs to effectively communicate what our Christian faith means, how we have experienced the Lord, and why everyone is invited to the abundance of Jesus’ life and grace, freely offered to all.
The ‘whole Christ event’
The third movement of the kerygma is the whole Christ event, as God’s gracious response to our existential predicament of condemnation to the power of sin and death.
Compassion is love’s response to misery and suffering, and so the Father could not bear to leave us lost in the darkness of eternal estrangement from Him.Advent event transformed online
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| In a video created for the online Lighting the Way event, St. John Vianney in Janesville parishioner Brenda Riley provides tips on how to make Advent wreaths using items from around the house.(Contibuted photo) |
JANESVILLE — At the start of each Advent, St. John Vianney Parish in Janesville hosts an Advent-by-candlelight event called Lighting the Way for Women.
The event is designed to help women, who are typically very busy during the holidays, start their Advent off right by enjoying a peaceful evening of prayer, reflection, and fellowship.
Growing event
Each year, attendance for Lighting the Way has grown.
In 2019, more than 220 women gathered at St. John Vianney for the event.
As fall 2020 progressed, it became clear that increasing COVID concerns and limitations on gatherings would make it impossible to hold the popular event in person.
Kris Kranenburg, coordinator of adult faith formation at St. John Vianney and one of the event organizers, started to hear from women who were saddened that the gathering couldn’t take place.
“Women were sharing beautiful stories of how Lighting the Way helped them to regroup spiritually and keep their focus on the season of Advent,” said Kranenburg.
“We didn’t want to lose that, especially in 2020 when it felt like so many other things had been taken away.”
Recognizing that people were tired of tuning in for virtual events on platforms like Zoom, the decision was made to create a website that would offer a variety of content.Rosary for the Bishop marks 15 years
MADISON — Fifteen years ago, Syte Reitz wouldn’t have expected that the prayer bouquet she was preparing for the late Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison would take on the life of its own that it did.
That year, the bishop had been facing many difficulties including the destruction of St. Raphael Cathedral by arson. Reitz thought the bishop could use some prayers and encouragement.
“All I did was start a prayer effort for Bishop Morlino by inviting 30 women from Madison Catholic Woman’s Club to sign up for a monthly prayer to cover the bishop every day of the month,” she said.
It had been her son, Tom, who’d been studying computer science at UW-Madison, who came up with the idea of building a website.State bishops support rally for life coming to Madison
MADISON — Spanning three weeks in January and covering five states, pro-life advocates from around the Midwest will gather in multiple locations leading up to the March for Life Chicago.
The “Moving the Movement” Tour will begin with a kick-off event in Madison, on Saturday, Jan. 2.
The Chicago march is an annual event that draws thousands from across the Midwest to celebrate all human life from conception through natural death.
This year in Madison, March for Life Chicago is partnering with the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC), Wisconsin Family Council, Wisconsin Right to Life, and Pro-Life Wisconsin, the same organizations that sponsored the March for Life Wisconsin in the past.Catholic Diocese of Madison Foundation gives thanks in 2020
MADISON — As 2020 comes to a close, the Catholic Diocese of Madison Foundation (CDMF) has a lot to be grateful for.
As of October 30, the foundation has reached $55 million in assets under management and expects to finish out the year strong.
Over the past year, more than $225,000 has been distributed to support the programs and operations of parishes and schools.Letter to the Editor (12-10-2020)
Promoting unity in the Church
Dear Mr. Wondrash, I write to urge you to do what you can as editor of the Catholic Herald to promote unity in the Catholic Church in our diocese.
In recent weeks, when reading the editorial page of the Catholic Herald, I feel accusations coming through the letters people have submitted.
I give Catholics who voted for Trump or for Biden the benefit of the doubt that they did not vote for abortion rights and that they felt they had (grave) reasons consistent with their faith to vote for the presidential candidate they did.
Things are different this year
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Other than the strong few that are holding on to tradition and doing things as they’ve always been, in spite of 2020 doing its 2020 things all around them, I can divide everyone into two groups.
Those who started their Christmas season as early as possible (12:01 a.m. on November 1) and those who haven’t gotten around to their shopping, putting decorations out, getting the tree up, etc., yet all because “it doesn’t feel like Christmas yet.”
And yes, Church-ily speaking, it’s Advent, now, not Christmas.