Tag: Bishop Robert C. Morlino

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Rejoice during the Year of Mercy

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 — Gaudete or “Rejoice” Sunday — provided plenty of reason for rejoicing.

In addition to our celebration of the rapidly approaching Feast of Christmas (which celebrates not only the Incarnation of the Lord, but also our hope in the Second Coming) we marked, in a particular way, the beginning of the Year of Mercy in the Diocese of Madison.

Opening the Holy Doors

On this past Sunday we opened the Holy Doors, which are present at the two sites of the Cathedral Parish (St. Patrick Church and Holy Redeemer Church) and at the Schoenstatt Founder Shrine.

As I mentioned in my letter for the opening of the Year of Mercy, these doors should be a place of pilgrimage for us and they bear with them a plenary indulgence granted by Pope Francis.

It should be noted, however, that the indulgence does not simply come upon passing through the doors. There is spiritual conversion that is to be done. You need to grow in freedom from the attachment to sin.

A primary symbol of this Year of Mercy is the entrance through the Holy Doors. So, I encourage you to take the time and consider making several pilgrimages through one of the Holy Doors of Mercy.

In the second reading of this past Sunday (Phil 4:4-7) we have that wonderful admonition from the Lord. “Rejoice in the Lord always! Rejoice!”

Now, if you look around the world with all the violence, and at the collapse of the culture in our own country, and at the war against the Natural Law, against the law of human reason, which is being waged, there’s reason not to rejoice.

But St. Paul says to rejoice anyway — “Rejoice in the Lord always!” Nothing is so big that it can conquer the joy of Christ. Nothing.

Keeping Christ in the forefront

This Year of Mercy could also be called the “Big Picture Year,” where we keep the big picture in mind — Jesus Christ is still risen from the dead!

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Apostolate to the Handicapped shares Christmas spirit with disabled, elderly

“This is so cool!” said first-time guest Denise Horn.

The Janesville resident had attended the Diocese of Madison’s Apostolate to the Handicapped Day at the Dells — featuring Mass, lunch, and the Tommy Bartlett Water Show — numerous times in the past, but she had never attended the annual Advent/Christmas Party before.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

On the Year of Mercy

year of mercy diocese of madison door of mercy
Bishop’s Letter

“I desire that the year to come will be steeped in mercy, so that we can go out to every man and woman, bringing the goodness and tenderness of God! May the balm of mercy reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the Kingdom of God is already present in our midst!” — Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus, 5

“We serve to ensure that all individuals throughout the 11-county diocese are graciously invited every day to meet the person of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, face to face and be changed by Him.” – Mission Statement of the Diocese of Madison

To the faithful of the Diocese of Madison,

In calling for an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has issued a call meant not only to urge a return to the Almighty, but also to reinvigorate and inspire those of us who try to live lives as followers of Jesus Christ. In fact, the Holy Father has also unintentionally, but not surprisingly, endorsed our own diocesan “mission.”

The Holy Father begins his Bull of Indiction, Misericordiae Vultus, with the following words: “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith.” In carrying out our diocesan mission of “inviting others to meet the person of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, face to face, and be changed by Him,” we are inviting them to meet the face of the Father’s mercy — to meet mercy incarnate. This invitation is one which is tied up in a challenging realization with regard to who God is and who “I” am, and it should be a profound and even startling invitation for each woman and man who lives in, and grapples with, a world that is nearly completely lacking in mercy.

Our world and our culture offer a great deal of lip-service to certain notions of tolerance and license, but these notions are grounded in a premise that truth is what you make it, and is subject to change, if public opinion is swayed to agree on the matter. Absent a grounding in the Truth and a foundation in humanity’s authentic encounter with mercy itself, all attempts at justice and mercy are mere shadows, structures built on sand. To experience mercy and to grant mercy, individuals and cultures must be anchored in the Truth and in a recognition of sin and repentance.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

There are many reasons to thank God

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,

Thanksgiving is at the heart of what we do and who we are as a faithful Catholic people.

And so, while there is a great deal to be terribly concerned about in our world, in our nation, and in our own part of the country, there is also a great deal for which we each can offer our thanks to God — which is the origin and the reason for the holiday that is upon us.

On a personal level, I have a great deal for which to be thankful.

In terms of my friends and those with whom I am blessed to serve, I am just that — terribly blessed. Thanks be to God, it’s been another year of good health, and for that too, I cannot fail to be thankful.

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Catholic Charities holds 20th annual awards ceremony

MIDDLETON — On November 12, hundreds of supporters of Catholic Charities Madison (CC) came together to honor those who have been great examples of its mission.

The 20th annual Faith in Action Celebration was held at the Madison Marriott West in Middleton. The event honors those who put their faith in action and provides financial support for Catholic Charities’ many programs.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Answering our call to holiness

Dear Friends,

As I write this column, we are in the midst of two days of the Church year, which call us both to hope and rejoicing, and also to deep prayer and reflection upon the core reality of Christianity.

The Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of All Souls are, for the Church, where the rubber meets the road.

It is the time when we, who make up the Church Militant — the Church still fighting and struggling in this life — recall the whole Church Triumphant and Church Suffering.

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Papal honors conferred in the Diocese of Madison

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino presents Msgr. Monte Robinson with the papal decree. At left, Msgr. Larry Bakke, who received the same honor, applauds. (Catholic Herald photos/Kevin Wondrash)
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Bishop Morlino honors Sir William Yallaly as a knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Pope Saint Sylvester.

MADISON — When Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison offered a reflection on the events of the evening of October 18, he called it, “an acknowledgment that the Church is alive here in Madison and very good things are happening.”

On that evening, at the Bishop O’Connor Center in Madison, Bishop Morlino presided over solemn vespers and the investiture of Msgr. Monte Robinson, Msgr. Larry Bakke, and Sir William Yallaly, as their papal honors were celebrated.

Papal honors

Earlier this year, Monsignor Bakke and Monsignor Robinson were both honored as Chaplains of His Holiness — an honor granted to priests recognizing their exceptional service to the Church – which allows them to be addressed as “Monsignor.” The chaplain becomes part of the “papal household.”

Sir Yallaly was honored with Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Pope St. Sylvester — honoring Catholic lay men and women who are actively involved in the Church and successful in the exercise of their professional duties.

Comments by bishop

Prior to the Presentation of the Candidates by Msgr. James Bartylla, vicar general of the diocese, Bishop Morlino said of Monsignor Robinson, pastor of St. Philomena, Belmont, and the Congregation of St. Mary/St. Paul, Mineral Point, “The Church is alive because we have a priest like Msgr. Monte Robinson who is giving us a wonderful example these days that if we live, we live in the Lord, and if we die, we die as his servants.”

Monsignor Robinson is currently battling a serious illness.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Building culture of mercy, accompaniment

Dear Friends,

Of late it seems that all roads — whether in Rome or at home — lead to one place, to one theme: mercy.

Just a week or two ago, many of us in the diocese were blessed to experience the presence of the major relics of St. Maria Goretti — the Church’s youngest canonized Saint and one of our greatest examples of mercy. If you do not know her story, I highly encourage you to learn about it.

The tour of St. Maria Goretti’s remains around the United States is part of a preparation for the Year of Mercy, which Pope Francis has announced and which will begin on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception — December 8.

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