The Diocesan Pastoral Council (DPC) held its first meeting with Bishop Donald J. Hying on October 12 at Holy Name Heights. The meeting was preceded by a Mass celebrated by Bishop Hying, at which he thanked members for their involvement in the DPC.
Tag: Bishop Donald J. Hying
Catechism stands as a light in the darkness
I was blessed to do a series of talks on the Catechism of the Catholic Church recently at St. Dennis Parish. I was impressed with the intense interest and attendance level every night.
People are hungry to learn more about the Faith and to put it into practice. Copies of the Catechism flew off the back table at an inspiring rate, which made this bishop’s heart very happy!
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd grows
MADISON — The room was filled with joyful expectation as catechists and invested partners celebrated the presence of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) in the Diocese of Madison at its third annual gathering.
CGS Diocesan Director Katie Haun warmly encouraged the catechists and directors of religious education (DRE) present to share the joys and challenges of starting and maintaining atrium, the space where children gather to encounter God in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd method.
We’re called to build civilization of love and life
We congratulate and rejoice with Deacons Timothy Mergen and Enan Zelinski, who were ordained last week in St. Peter’s Basilica and will be ordained priests here next June for the Diocese of Madison.
These men, so representative of all our seminarians, are prayerful, holy, committed, and zealous in living out the Gospel of Christ and shepherding His holy people. Our prayers and gratitude go to these inspiring servants of the Lord, as well as to their parents, families, and friends.
Appointments (10-6-2019)
Msgr. James Bartylla, Vicar General, announces the following priest appointments made by Most Reverend Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison, effective Saturday, November 2, 2019, and announced at weekend Masses of Saturday and Sunday, October 5 and 6, 2019.
Appointments (9-30-2019)
Msgr. James Bartylla, Vicar General, announces the following priest appointments made by Most Reverend Donald J. Hying, Bishop of Madison, effective Monday, September 30, 2019, and announced at weekend Masses of Saturday and Sunday, September 28 and 29, 2019.
Go forth and make disciples!
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When I became a bishop back in 2011, I attended a nine-day conference in Rome for new bishops from all over the world, put on by the Vatican.
The best part of the experience was meeting the other participants, 16 other Americans, 25 from Brazil, and one bishop from Iraq whose predecessor had been murdered by terrorists. The informal conversations were often more interesting than the scheduled talks.
Dealing with declining Church
At lunch on the third day, I sat with a newly appointed bishop from a diocese in the southern Netherlands. He told me that Mass attendance there hovered at about two percent, mostly elderly people; he had no seminarians, so there was no future for the priesthood. It wasn’t so much that the Church had collapsed as that it had evaporated!
I asked him where he was going to start in such a daunting situation. How do you begin when everything seems so hopeless? What he said did not surprise me, but it has stuck with me.
News about the permanent diaconate
Men from the Diocese of Madison Permanent Diaconate Program gathered with Bishop Donald J. Hying and sponsoring pastors to celebrate the reception of the Ministry of Acolyte and Admission into Candidacy on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at the Chapel of the Holy Name, Holy Name Heights.
We are called to build a monastery in our hearts
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The center point of my spiritual geography is New Melleray Trappist Abbey, just west of Dubuque, Iowa. I have returned there often for retreats ever since I first visited at the age of 19.
Founded in 1849 as a daughter house of Melleray Abbey in Ireland, this monastic community rises at 3:30 a.m. every morning for Vigils, the first liturgical hour of the day. The monks’ days are filled with prayer, meditation, work, and silence.
From the first time I entered their beautiful stone chapel, I have felt profoundly embraced by God at New Melleray; some of my deepest prayer experiences have occurred there. If I could have ever convinced God that the Trappist life was my vocation, I would be peeling potatoes and scrubbing floors there as I write now!
Church is rebuilding in former Iron Curtain countries
MADISON — The Catholic Church in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia is making “remarkable progress” in the countries formerly under the Iron Curtain, said Bishop Donald J. Hying.
The fall of communism occurred over 25 years ago, but the Church in these countries continues to struggle to rebuild after years of oppressive rule.
Bishop Hying visited the countries of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan recently as a member of the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe.