Dear Friends,
This past Sunday, on the Solemn Feast of Christ the King, we concluded our Year of Faith celebrations.
The occasion was marked by Pope Francis in Rome — as he completed what Pope Benedict had begun, with the inspiration of the Lord.
I marked the occasion at the celebration of my Stational Mass at St. Patrick Church in Madison, and hopefully you all marked the occasion with some particular focus upon the Creed in your own parishes and in your own families.
 |
|
| 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,
Last week at the meeting of the Bishops’ Conference in Baltimore, our Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who serves as the personal representative of Pope Francis in the United States, addressed us bishops on behalf of Pope Francis.
In the first place, I thought it was interesting that a great deal of his address to us was focused on quotations from Pope Paul VI and Blessed John Paul the Great.
This is a sure sign that Pope Francis wishes to be seen in continuity with his venerable predecessors, a fact which he made clear recently as he affirmed Archbishop Agostino Marchetto’s account of the hermeneutic of continuity as a proper interpretive key for the Second Vatican Council.
But, I want to focus on one particular thought that Archbishop Viganò raised.
Dear Friends,
Even as we come upon the last days and hours of this month of October, I cannot fail to take a few moments to reflect upon the woman we’ve been honoring in a special way — Mary, the mother of Jesus, and our mother.
 |
|
|
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,
Well it’s been seven months, but it was surely worth the wait! I was simply overjoyed in recent days to have my first moments with our Holy Father, Pope Francis. I hope to have some pictures to share with you by next week.
Simply put, I had never met Cardinal Bergoglio previously and, since his election as Bishop of Rome, I’ve had a tremendous desire to have a few moments with the man to whom my mission is so intricately tied.
I’ve spoken of it many times before, but I’ll recall here again that it is one of the key duties of the diocesan bishop to reach out and to act as a sort of glue which holds people fast to the heart of the Church and to be a sign of unity among the Body of Christ in His diocese. It is one of the key duties of the Pope to act as that glue and that sign of unity among all the bishops of the world and their people united with them.
Dear Friends,
By now you’ve surely heard the startling (if not shocking) news of last week — the mass media, celebrities, bloggers, and even pro-abortion groups have reported their decision to aid the Church in our evangelization of the world and in preaching Jesus Christ! Thanks be to God!
Of course, that’s not actually what happened, not even in the slightest. However, I can be left to hope, and here’s why:
|
|
|
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 Saturday, along with so many of you I’m sure, I took up Pope Francis’ worldwide call to offer a day of prayer and of fasting for peace — especially for peace in Syria. As I write this column, the gears are turning, and we shall see what comes in terms of action in Syria, and all of the Middle East.
There is already suffering, no doubt! The situation in Syria and all around that part of the world is terrible. But the need for peace extends far beyond the Middle East, and peace is needed at a much deeper level for all of us.
Regardless the outcome of the current deliberations with regard to Syria, our work for peace should continue. If we desire peace, we must make an examination of conscience and work for peace within our own lives first, to seek a peace that cannot be disturbed. There is more on that below.
I cannot fail to mention that this week we come upon the anniversary of September 11, 2001, when so many Americans came to know the Prince of Peace and, we continue to pray, to reside with Him.
Of course, the violence of terrorism is intended as a direct attempt to rob a large number of people of their peace — not only those immediately affected, but those who continue to live in fear, in terror. May the Lord continue to remove fear from our lives, replacing it with hope — the hope that only He can bring.
Dear Friends, Well already it’s “back to school” time for so many of our young people.
This has always been a time of tremendous hope and of excitement for me, personally.
It may come as no surprise that I always enjoyed going to school myself, and even wanted to make “school” my chief ministry as a university professor and then seminary faculty member.
|
|
|
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.
On Sunday, August 19, I was honored and privileged to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for those in the diocese marking 50 years of marriage.
It was a joyful moment, gathering about 60 couples from throughout the diocese and, in a particular way, I felt called by the Lord to point out that the durability and the steadfastness of their married lives is a “school of forgiveness,” from which all can learn.
I could see the twinkle in their eyes as I recalled that beneath the marriage covenant of each and every couple present there was a mountain of forgiveness built on 50 years of forgiveness and mercy, with and through the Lord.
It is no small feat to have built that mountain, and it is a tremendous sign for the whole world. In fact, it is one of my most cherished occasions of the whole year when I am in the company of those who, with Mary, have said their “fiat” — their, “let it be” — and continue to mean it.
|
|
|
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, Our Holy Father addressed the precise topic on which I’ve been meditating over the past week, the topic of how our encounter with Jesus Christ affects our lives.
As you’ll recall, my previous column had reference to our Diocesan Mission, which is: “We serve to ensure that all individuals throughout the 11-county diocese are graciously invited every day to meet Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, face to face and be changed by Him.”
Pope Francis, in his remarks at the Sunday Angelus, began by asking all of us to consider where it is that our treasure can be found, “what is the most important reality for me, the reality that attracts my heart like a magnet?”
It should be, the Holy Father said, our love of God. He emphasized the reality that where our treasure is, there our heart is found, but that in order to receive true treasure, we need to actually have a heart that desires. “It’s the really poor man, who has no desires,” he said. We have to have hearts that are driven by desire, not ones that are dead or “anesthetized,” by all that we’ve filled our lives with. So, do you desire? And are you ready to seek that which will truly fulfill your desires?
|
|
|
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,
I suppose (after all the coverage here, as well as a very fair and good piece by Doug Erickson in the State Journal) it will come as no surprise to you that this past week I marked 10 years as Bishop of Madison.
I’m so grateful to God for having given me the blessing of these 10 years of service to this local Church and I’m so very grateful to you all. Thank you for your prayers, your faith, your encouragement, and, yes, your constructive criticism through the past years. God willing, I’ll have almost 10 more with you, and I hope we can continue to do great things together — always with His grace and help.
Over the past 10 years I’ve had many a good person come to me — whether through letters or in person, at Masses and events around the diocese — to say basically, “Bishop we want to help, but we’re not really sure where you’re going. What are you trying to do?”
It seems, from speaking to them, that much of the confusion comes from my taking a different style than that to which they may be accustomed — I speak rather loudly and in a straightforward manner, in a culture which has become obsessed with an idea of “tolerance” (which equates to never making Truth claims,) and never saying anything that may make people uncomfortable.
