One of the most commonly-used words during the Advent season, as everyone looks ahead to Christmas, is “tradition.”
Tag: Bishop Morlino
Reclaim the gift of Fear of the Lord
 |
|
| 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 I joined with a group of faithful men for their monthly time of prayer and spiritual reflection. With them I focused upon the seventh gift of the Holy Spirit, and I’d like to do the same with you here.
Hopefully you recall the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So many of us older folks have them memorized while unfortunately, some of the middle-aged and younger don’t even know that they have access to such gifts.
The gifts are: wisdom, understanding, council, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and Fear of the Lord. All of these gifts belong to the Christian first by way of their Baptism, and especially by the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation.
If we use them and count upon them, these gifts help to perfect virtues in us and aid us in living the moral life and in obeying divine inspiration in our life.
Fear of the Lord
While it’s likely that all of us could use a refresher on every one of these tremendous gifts, I want to focus on that seventh gift at the moment: Fear of the Lord. Perhaps the timing will seem odd, because we’re getting ready to commemorate the coming of God into the world as a tiny baby, but Fear of the Lord properly understood, dovetails perfectly with God’s plan for our salvation, and I hope to help you understand why.
40 Days for Life concludes life-saving vigil in Madison
 |
|
| Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison leads people in prayer at the 40 Days for Life closing vigil on Sunday, Nov. 2. For the eighth straight year, the vigil was held outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Madison’s east side. Reportedly, two babies were saved during this year’s vigil in Madison with 528 lives saved across the country. (Catholic Herald photo/Joe Ptak) |
MADISON — Bishop Robert C. Morlino was on hand to celebrate efforts to respect life as prayer warriors came out to help conclude this year’s 40 Days for Life vigil.
40 Days for Life is an internationally-coordinated 40-day peaceful pro-life campaign to end abortion.
Locally, the Madison vigil — in its eighth straight year — ran from September 24 to November 2 and consisted of prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil, and community outreach.
For 24 hours a day, volunteers prayed outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on Madison’s east side for an end to abortion.
About 50 people gathered at that site for the closing celebration on Sunday, Nov. 2.
Bishop Morlino thanked the pro-life community in Madison for its “perseverance” in praying and working toward an end to abortion.
The bishop also spoke about how everyone must continue to bring the truth on marriage to life.
Special recognition
After the closing prayer vigil, some of the group went to St. Albert Church in Sun Prairie for food and fellowship.
Thanks for articles on Schoenstatt Movement
To reporter Kevin Wondrash:
On behalf of the Madison Schoenstatt Family, I want to thank you for the wonderful article you wrote about the 100 anniversary of the Covenant of Love.
You did an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of the jubilee celebration, Bishop Morlino’s presence with us that day, and briefly summarizing our movement.
Bishop authorizes collection for displaced Iraqis
MADISON — Bishop […]
Experiences as mom led Madison woman to make Rosaries
Why do I make Rosaries, and what does the Rosary mean to me?
The short answer is that I have discovered that the Rosary is one of the most powerful ways that we can tap into the power of God, and I look for ways to share this discovery with others.
Finding hope and light in the darkness
|
|
| 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,
“Night is coming, when no one can work,” we heard in the Gospel reading of this past Sunday (Jn 9:4).
Jesus told his disciples: do the works of God while it is still day, “night is coming when no one can work.”
No one can work and, I might add, no-thing can work. And I would suggest that night has come.
Even as we’ve just marked the Sunday that we call “Rejoice Sunday,” we acknowledge that we have to rejoice in the truth. God gives us the grace to rejoice in the truth. And the truth is that the night has come and so no one and nothing can work — but the splendid Light of the Resurrection will make that night as bright as day!
The story of the man born blind, which we encountered in the Gospel reading, is in many ways an allegory for our very own culture and our very own society. It is a culture and a society of death. A culture upon which night has descended, so nothing works.
Annual Catholic Appeal: Why I give to the appeal and why you should, too
This is the time of year when Catholics throughout the Diocese of Madison are hearing and reading about the Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA).
Members of parishes have received a letter and pledge form from Bishop Robert C. Morlino. In addition, there have been prayers and announcements about the ACA at Masses each weekend. There was an insert about the appeal distributed last weekend in parishes; it is also included in this week’s Catholic Herald. Next weekend, we will watch a video message from our bishop.
Why the ACA is important
Why is this so important? The ACA funds the ministries and services benefitting every Catholic in the Diocese of Madison. It supports the work of diocesan offices and agencies in the 11 counties of our diocese and also the work of our Church beyond the diocese.
Perhaps the best way to talk about the ACA is to explain why I give to the appeal — and why I think you (other Catholics in our diocese) should, too.
Pray, examine conscience, guide others
|
|
| 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 week we’ll have come upon Lent and in that regard I’d like to ask a few things:
1) Let’s keep one another in prayer. Please know that you can count on my prayers, just as I renew them for every person in the diocese, every blessed day, and I’d ask that you try to remember me as well.
2) If you would, please go back and read my columns from the past two weeks — on conscience and fraternal correction (they’re available at the Madison Catholic Herald website — www.madisoncatholicherald.org — if you’ve already discarded your previous issues).
Take some time to reflect upon them, to examine your own conscience. Spend some real time doing so this Lent, and think about what changes you can make in your own life — in accord with a conscience well-formed by the Church and oriented toward Truth.
3) Think of two people with whom you might engage personally and directly in the ways I mention in that second column. Really try to purify your intentions as you consider approaching them (do not fall into sin in carrying out this exercise!) and do so in love and with joy.
Our Holy Father, in his message for Lent, speaks of the types of poverty affecting our world. He speaks, of course, of material destitution, and he challenges us to help our brothers and sisters in that regard — and so we must!
Remembering the beauty of our Faith
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.