Tag: bishop

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Bishop Robert Barron

Evangelizing through the good

Anyone even vaguely acquainted with my work knows that I advocate vigorous argument on behalf of religious truth. I have long called for a revival in what is classically known as apologetics, the defense of the claims of faith against skeptical opponents. And I have repeatedly weighed in against a dumbed-down Catholicism.

Also, I have, for many years, emphasized the importance of beauty in service of evangelization. The Sistine Chapel Ceiling, the Sainte Chapelle, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, and the Cathedral of Chartres all have an extraordinary convincing power, in many ways surpassing that of formal arguments.

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Kevin Wondrash

Bishop grants dispensation from abstinence on St. Patrick’s Day

MADISON — The bishops of Wisconsin determined together that since St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday this year (March 17), it would be appropriate to dispense the faithful from the obligation of abstinence from eating meat that day.

Since this must be done by each bishop in his own diocese, Bishop Robert C. Morlino has issued a “Rescript Granting Dispensation” for the “faithful who reside in the Diocese of Madison, as well as anyone actually present in the Diocese of Madison” on March 17, 2017.

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Bishop Robert Barron

The Crown and society’s core values

The Netflix original series The Crown, which has to do with the last months of the reign of King George VI and the first years of the reign of his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, is just the kind of program that Americans in particular seem naturally to love.

It features beautiful photography of palaces, processions, and formal receptions; and it provides a behind-the-scenes look at the ne plus ultra of the British aristocracy. Consider it Downton Abbey on steroids.

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Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, For the Catholic Herald

Pontifical Mass for the Feast of Candlemas to be celebrated

MADISON — On Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. His Excellency Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino will celebrate Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Presentation of the Lord) with a Pontifical Mass at the Throne in the chapel of the Holy Name Heights, 702 S. High Point Rd., Madison.

The music will be Gregorian Chant and polyphonic motets.

There will be the traditional blessing of candles and a procession.

The rites are in the Church’s ancient, traditional form of the Roman Rite in Latin.

Blessed candles will be distributed.

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Bishop Robert Barron

“Silence” and the seaside martyrs

Spoiler Alert: The following is the first half of Bishop Barron’s reflections on Martin Scorcese’s new film, Silence, in which he outlines the plot. In the second half, which we will publish next week, he discusses the ending of the film and adds his “dissenting” thoughts about it to the conversation among critics.

I have long been an ardent fan of Martin Scorsese’s films. Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Aviator, Gangs of New York, The Last Waltz, Casino, etc. are among the defining movies of the last 40 years. And The Departed, Scorsese’s 2007 crime drama, was the subject matter of the first YouTube commentary that I ever did.

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Bishop Robert Barron

Go in haste! Be amazed! Treasure!

By now most of you are probably aware of the depressing statistics regarding the “nones,” that is to say, those in this country who claim no religious affiliation. The most recent survey showed that now fully one fourth of Americans belong to no religion at all — that’s approximately 80,000,000 people. And among those in the 18-29 age group, the percentage of nones goes up to 40!

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Bishop Robert Barron

Why Christmas should bother everybody

Just a few weeks ago, at a ceremony for the lighting of the national Christmas tree, President Obama remarked on the meaning of the season. Here are some of the things he said:

“Over these next few weeks, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, as we retell the story of weary travelers, a star, shepherds, Magi, I hope that we also focus ourselves on the message that this child brought to this Earth some 2,000 years ago — a message that says we have to be our brother’s keepers, our sister’s keepers; that we have to reach out to each other, to forgive each other.

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Bishop Robert Barron

‘Arrival’ and understanding God’s speech

Like E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Starman, Independence Day, and a host of similar films over the past 30 years, Arrival explores the theme of an alien visitation to earth.

In this iteration, Louise Banks (played by Amy Adams) is a linguistic expert, who is called upon by the U.S. military to facilitate conversation with visitors from another world, whose space-crafts have landed (actually not quite landed, for they hover a few feet off the ground) at a number of locations around the globe.

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Bishop Robert Barron

Why we should address Jesus as ‘thou’

On the final morning of the November meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, we were treated to a fine sermon by Archbishop J. Peter Sartain. The leader of the Church in Seattle spent a good deal of time discussing Pier Giorgio Frassati, a saint from the early 20th century to whom he and I both have a strong devotion.

But what particularly struck me in his homily was a reference to the great St. Catherine of Siena. One of the most remarkable things about that remarkable woman was the intimacy which she regularly experienced with Mary, the saints, and the Lord Jesus himself.

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Bishop Robert Barron

A pilgrim, a bishop, and his iPhone

I’m in the process of re-reading a spiritual classic from the Russian Orthodox tradition: The Way of a Pilgrim. This little text, whose author is unknown to us, concerns a man from mid-19th century Russia who found himself deeply puzzled by St. Paul’s comment in first Thessalonians that we should “pray unceasingly.”

How, he wondered, amidst all of the demands of life, is this even possible? How could the Apostle command something so patently absurd?

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