Dear Friends,
A very happy Easter to you all!
On Tuesday of Holy Week, we celebrated our Diocesan Chrism Mass. This Mass, in which I bless and consecrate all of the Holy Oils that are used throughout the diocese for the year and distribute them to each of our parishes, is also the Mass wherein the priests renew the promises they made on the day of their ordination.
 |
|
| 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,
This past Sunday was Palm Sunday, and by the time you read this it will likely be in the midst of the Sacred Triduum or even in the glorious season of Easter.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I feel as if this Lenten journey sped by unbelievably fast. And so (it seems to me) that all of a sudden here we are, in the midst of Holy Week.
If you read this in time, I do want to make a pitch for you — insofar as it is possible — to make an effort to attend the most important liturgy in the Church calendar, which occurs on Holy Saturday night.
The Easter Vigil is the pinnacle of our liturgical year, as we walk through salvation history and proclaim once again the glorious news that we have a Savior!
|
|
| 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,
And so, we begin Lent. It strikes me as though yesterday was Labor Day and yet, here we are. There was the possibility that Ash Wednesday might be overshadowed for some by the blissful celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.
However, a far more sinister overshadowing overtook them both. Once again, wonderful young people, with their whole lives ahead of them, were meaninglessly and horrendously slaughtered and injured. So many family lives were changed forever, and not for the better.
Sadness really hung around this St. Valentine’s Day. Deep sadness. And, if any good was to come from this sadness, I hope that it awakened our consciousness to Lent and to our own mortality and need for both repentance and salvation.
This past Sunday we heard that the Holy Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, to be tempted by the devil (Mk 1:12-15). He drove Jesus out, into a face-to-face confrontation with him who is pure evil. This confrontation was therefore necessary for the sinless, only begotten Son of God.
And as we begin Lent, that tells us, in a way, that this confrontation with the devil is what Lent is all about. For while Jesus has the ultimate victory over the devil in the life to come, in this world the devil maintains his camp, and so we too must confront him.
This past weekend we heard the moving story of the man healed by Jesus of leprosy (Mk 1:40-45). Now, it’s a miraculous story of Jesus healing someone from a painful and humiliating disease, and that in its own right is worthy of our consideration.
This past Sunday, I was able to offer Mass and spend some time with our young people gathered for Frassati Fest, which is organized by our diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, and put on for our high schoolers, with the help and cooperation of so many good people.
It was a terrific gathering. What I told them, I think, is a good message for all of us.
|
|
| 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:
In our Second Reading of this past Sunday (1 Thessalonians 5), we hear: “Rejoice in the Lord always,” and “Pray without ceasing.” The idea of rejoicing always is, from a human point of view, unthinkable, without that second half: pray without ceasing.
One of the Christmas cards that I opened recently said simply this: “Bishop, please pray for us. It’s been tough.”
How is that person, from a human point of view, expected to rejoice? The answer is, they’re not.
And consider St. John the Baptist. If you go through his teaching, mentioned in the Gospels, you will see that never once did he tell a joke. So, there was a sort of rejoicing from a human point of view, in which St. John the Baptist did not indulge.
Yet, John was full of joy, just as the family who wrote me the card is called to be full of joy, the family for whom things have been pretty tough.
|
|
| 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,
If one were to put together the themes of the first reading and the Gospel from this past Sunday, Dec. 10, one might well conclude that the one who gives comfort to the people — the comforter — is St. John the Baptist. But, St. John the Baptist appears in camel’s hair.
Now, when St. John the Baptist is presented as the one who gives comfort, that is not the same use of the word as in “comfort food” — of which I have had my share. This is not the meaning of comfort at all. How can we tell that at first glance? Well, St. John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey . . . that ain’t comfort food!
To comfort, in the Latin derivation, is to be “strong with.” To comfort someone is not just to make them feel good, as they might over a beautiful, and yet, light lasagna. St. John the Baptist comforted the people by being strong with them.
St. John the Baptist preached the Holy Spirit and fire. He told the people to prepare for the wrath to come.
Dear Friends,
We have entered into the Season of Advent. It is a short Season of Advent this year, so let’s get right to it. Our message from the Lord on this first Sunday is simple: “watch!” The Gospel of this past Sunday (MK 13:33-37) doesn’t even contain 100 words, yet, in this small discourse we hear Jesus say repeatedly, “Be watchful,” “be alert,” “watch,” “What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”
Dear Friends,
I pray that you and yours enjoyed a very happy Thanksgiving this past week.
Further, I hope that you are able to enter into a very blessed season of Advent. Please God, it will be an excellent time of preparation for the glorious celebration of Christmas.
Last week, I sent a letter to your priests with regard to an addition to the Prayers of the Faithful and a particular prayer of heavenly intercession I am asking to be included during (at least) every Sunday Mass, at parishes within the Diocese of Madison.
By now you’ve seen or heard a great deal about me and what I’m supposed to have done most recently. It’s been in the papers, online, and on TV and radio news. You’ve been told by your friends, and talked about it over coffee. To some of you, what you’ve heard simply confirms the judgements you’ve already made long ago. For others, what you’ve heard left you sad and scratching your heads.
In truth, I find myself in that latter group.
The observations and reactions that have been made simply do not account for the total context. And what has grown from there is a flurry of opportunity for people to jump to every sort of negative conclusion and to air those negative judgements freely and widely. All of this has occurred very much absent the reality of the situation.
