MADISON — “As 40 peaceful days of prayer, fasting, vigil, and outreach draw to a conclusion, we will meet at Planned Parenthood, 3706 Orin Rd., Madison, on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m. to rejoice in the victories that God has accomplished,” said Gwen Finnegan, who is coordinating the 40 Days for Life campaign in Madison.
Some of the highlights of the current campaign include:
• More than 40 churches working together
• 500-plus volunteers contributing 1,920 hours of service to the communityNOTE: The first Rural Life Listening Session scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 12, in Highland has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No decisions have been made yet on other scheduled sessions in November. A session in Iowa County will be rescheduled sometime after January 1.
The Diocese of Madison Rural Life Ministry is coordinating listening sessions in all 11 counties, so that Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison and diocesan leaders can better understand the blessings and challenges of our rural communities.
We watch with great concern the crises our farmers face, especially the loss of family farms, financial failure, plunging dairy and meat prices, and increasing costs of production, all the while being more productive than ever-before.
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| Good Shepherd parishioners J.P. Fedele and Eileen Alt, above, work the new machine that is being used this year for producing pfeffernuesse cookies. (Photo by Jane Lepeska Grinde) |
MADISON — Rather than a St. James Church basement full of “holy rollers” this fall, only six people are working each of the three weekly shifts to produce the traditional pfeffernuesse cookies sold at the annual fall festival.
For the first time in the 44 years of producing pfeffernuesse, the cookies are being “spit” out of a machine onto the large cookie sheets.
No hand rolling this year
“No hand rolling this year,” said the bulletin announcement to the disappointment of many of the regulars who enjoyed the time for socializing.
The machine, ordered online and previously used by a bakery, took some getting used to, said Paul Scott who oversees the cooking operation.
The machine temporarily replaces one that is a specially rigged sausage maker that produces ropes of dough that are then pushed through a special wire grating for rolling into nicely shaped balls.MADISON — The Wisconsin Knights of Columbus thanks all the Madison area recipients of the grants, distributed on October 7, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, for applying for the 2020 State Culture of Life Grant Fund.
The Knights consider it an honor to participate in this way in the life-affirming work of the worthy recipients.
Working together, the Wisconsin Knights of Columbus raised more than $105,000 to provide grants to numerous pro-life agencies throughout the state to help fulfill our shared mission — cultivating a culture of life.In this month of October, we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Rosary; we celebrated this feast on October 7.
All of the saints and indeed the Church herself encourage us to pray the Rosary on a daily basis.
We find in this simple and repetitive prayer a profound meditation on the Gospel, as we ponder the mystery of the Incarnation in the Joyful Mysteries, the revealed grace of the Lord’s ministry in the Luminous Mysteries, the overwhelming suffering of Christ’s Passion in the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the triumph of the Resurrection in the Glorious Mysteries.
This is my first and will be my only letter to the community. The upcoming election will be very important, as all elections are. I’m hoping that there won’t be untruths, name-calling, violence, and disrespect during the campaign.
My main reason for the letter is to convey the importance of life. There seems to be a total disregard for this important subject: violence, rioting, looting, shootings and killings in neighborhoods across the country, wars, and abortions. |
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Recently, I rewatched the HBO documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher.
The more than three-and-half hour miniseries looks at the life and career of the affectionately-labeled “King of Rock and Roll”.
In the film, his story is bookended and told within the context of his 1968 “comeback special” that aired in December of that year.
At the conclusion of that special, Mr. Presley sings an emotional version of the song “If I Can Dream.”Msgr. James Bartylla, Vicar General, announces the following priest appointments made by Most Reverend Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison, effective Saturday, October 24, 2020, and announced at weekend Masses of Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18, 2020.
• Rev. Fr. D. Stephen Smith, resignation from pastor, Christ the King Parish, McFarland, in accordance with canon 538 §1, to pastor emeritus.
• Rev. Fr. Steven Brunner, to parochial administrator, Christ the King Parish, McFarland, per canon 539, from parochial vicar, St. Dennis Parish, Madison. |
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| Fr. Grant Thies, parochial administrator of St. Peter Parish in Madison, leads the Benediction during the second “Unite” Rosary Rally in Madison on October 11. Nearly 1,000 people came out for the peaceful afternoon of prayer. (Catholic Herald photo/Joe Ptak) |
MADISON — In the midst of protests, conflicts over the upcoming election, and a range of varying reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was time for some peace and prayer.
Nearly 1,000 people came out to downtown Madison for those moments of peace and prayer during the second “Unite” Rosary Rally on October 11.
The first rally was on August 15 and brought out more than 3,000 people.
The day also marked the conclusion of a 54-day Rosary Novena that started the same day as the previous rally.
There was an emphasis that the event was not a political event, but a prayer event, despite the closeness to the election and the State Capitol.
