To the editor:
During a recent vacation, which included attending Mass at a variety of new (to me) Wisconsin Catholic parishes, boy, am I happy to be back at Madison’s Cathedral Parish, where the Mass is the Mass, the music is appropriately solemn and dignified, and the lyrics don’t center on us and on God’s good fortune that we showed up, but on a humble, grateful, and reverent attitude towards God.
Dear Friends,
As you read this week’s column you may be either in the heart of Christ’s Passion or the Joy of His Resurrection. Thus, I’d like to reflect upon the paradox that is the beauty of the Cross, and the paradox that is our own tendency to turn against God’s plan for us, despite the fact that His plan is for our happiness and eternal life.
To the editor:
From the first time we went to Rome, we could sense the greatness and beauty of the Catholic Church, the priests and nuns dressed in their habits walking through the streets of Rome as a visible sign of Christ and his Church.
But the recent Diocese of Madison Ad Limina Pilgrimage took me beyond my imagination. To be in the excavations below St. Peter’s Basilica and to visit the place where St. Peter’s bones remain, I felt transported — in those moments neither time nor space existed. I realized the triumphant, suffering, and militant Church is One, Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman. I cried like Mary Magdalene because I could not contain my emotions.
To the editor:
On September 26, I had the opportunity to be part of the Sacrament of Confirmation of dozens of young Catholics at St. John Vianney Parish in Janesville. The event was made even more special thanks to the presence of Madison Bishop Robert Morlino. His connection with the young people — speaking to them in a language they understand — and his steadfast defense of basic Catholic values during his address were truly inspiring.
Dear friends,
As we come to the midpoint of Lent, it is a good time for us to remember to look ahead and to mark down in our calendars the many celebrations and commemorations of Holy Week, and especially the great Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night — the most important liturgy of the Church year.
We continue to pray for those women and men, and boys and girls, who will enter our Church at Easter, that they might continue to have a grace-filled time of preparation.
Let us all look forward to the Easter Vigil, that we might celebrate with joy, and faith, and a good deal of enthusiasm!
It is a temptation for us, during Lent and even otherwise, to fall short in that enthusiasm which should be ours as Catholics. There is a temptation to get caught up in the comings and goings of our everyday lives, and to get caught up in the politics of our day and age and to forget that which is really most important, that is Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead.
