The ways in which we act out our Christian charity in the Church, for the love of God and neighbor, is evident in a number of ways throughout a given year.
Often it is through volunteering at our parishes or parish-related projects — things we feel attached to and with which we want to assist in a specific way. Other times it is through monetary donations to similar local campaigns, projects, or funds, benefiting things that we know, in faith, we need to support. Always, it includes our prayers!
For two Madison brothers, it means all of these, and specifically for the future of the Church here in Madison. Brian and Michael Wentz (Cathedral Parish, Madison) continue to selflessly give of themselves, championing such worthy causes as Perpetual Adoration and Catholic-Christian apologetics, both of which will change our world, nation, state, and diocese for the better.
Touching lives
However, these brothers have also recently made a sizable investment in the Diocese of Madison’s future, which has the potential of touching thousands of lives, and more importantly souls, through the next generation of our priests.
Brian and Michael Wentz have generously sponsored six seminarians’ pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain, this August, where Pope Benedict XVI will lead hundreds of thousands of young Catholics in prayerful retreat and faith-filled celebration — something these young men will remember for the rest of their lives.
For the Diocese of Madison, the great thing about having a larger number of seminarians (as many as 26 men in formation this next year) is that we are already seeing more men ordained for the local Church, for service and leadership in our parishes.
Helping support seminarians
Nevertheless, the hard reality is that the vocations’ budget becomes more burdensome on the Church, especially in difficult economic times, such as these. Gifts like this help relieve some of this welcome burden.
Upon learning of this generous gift, Bishop Robert C. Morlino remarked, “This is a great sign for vocations in our diocese. It is not only the young men and their families who are answering God’s call — but faithful Catholics in the pews are asking themselves ‘What can I do to help vocations?’ This is truly great news; something we are seeing more of, and something I can’t wait to see become even more common.”
Fr. Paul Arinze, director of vocations for the Diocese of Madison, commented, “It was a great act of generosity on the part of Brian and Michael to support our seminarians in this way and we are truly grateful to them for their kindness. We welcome others to follow in their footsteps.”
To find out different ways you can support diocesan seminarians, contact Father Arinze at 608-821-3095 or e-mail [email protected]
From the Diocese of Madison: Thank you Brian and Michael for your faithful example of selfless Christian charity!
Brent King is director of communications for the Diocese of Madison.