Tag: bishop

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Bishop Robert Barron

Saint of light, saint of darkness

Like so many others around the world, I was overjoyed to hear of the recent decision of the Vatican to canonize Mother Teresa, a woman generally recognized, during her lifetime, to be a “living saint.”

Mother Teresa first came to my attention through Malcolm Muggeridge’s film and attendant book, Something Beautiful for God. Of course. Muggeridge showed Mother’s work with the dying and the poorest of the poor on the streets of Kolkata, but what moved me the most were the images of the saint’s smile amidst so much squalor and suffering. She was a very bright light shining in exceptionally thick darkness.

Demonstrating love

Mother’s life reveals so many aspects and profiles of holiness, but I would like to focus on three of them.

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Bishop Robert Barron

Pope Francis wants you to read Dante

This year marks the 750th anniversary of the birth of the great Catholic poet Dante Alighieri. Michelangelo reverenced Dante, as did Longfellow, Dorothy Sayers, and T.S. Eliot. In fact, it was Eliot who commented, “Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them. There is no third.”

One of Bob Dylan’s finest songs, “Tangled Up in Blue,” contains a reference to Dante: “She opened up a book of poems, handed it to me/It was written by an Italian poet from the 13th century/And every one of those words rang true and glowed like burning coal/Pouring off of every page like it was written in my soul.”

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Bishop Robert Barron

The challenge of Our Lady of Guadalupe

How wonderful that Our Lady of Guadalupe appears as a pregnant woman clothed in the sun!

In the Book of Revelation, Mary is described in just this manner (Rev 12:1). But we should not approach this symbolism in a superficial or merely sentimental way.

The woman clothed in the sun and with the moon at her feet is portrayed in Revelation precisely as a warrior. Confronting her is a terrible dragon intent upon devouring her child as soon as it is born.

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Bishop Robert Barron

What makes the Church grow?

Just recently on the website maintained by the episcopal conference of Germany, there appeared an editorial concerning Pope Francis’ apostolic visit to Africa.

As many have pointed out, the piece was breathtaking in its arrogance and cultural condescension. The author’s take on the surprisingly rapid pace of Christianity’s growth on the “dark continent” (his words)? Well, the level of education in Africa is so low that the people accept easy answers to complex questions.

His assessment of the explosion in vocations across Africa? Well, the poor things don’t have many other avenues of social advancement; so they naturally gravitate toward the priesthood.

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Bishop Robert Barron

The ‘Waze’ of Providence

Just after I was named auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles (LA), Archbishop Gomez, my new boss, told me to get the Waze app for my iPhone.

He explained that it was a splendid way to navigate the often impossible LA traffic. I followed his instructions and have indeed used the app on practically a daily basis since my arrival on the West Coast.

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Bishop Robert Barron

What precisely is the Gospel?

Some years ago, I was involved in a Catholic-Evangelical dialogue. One of our Protestant brothers challenged the Catholics in the group to articulate clearly what the Gospel is.

I knew what he was getting at: many Evangelicals pride themselves on the fact that they can succinctly sum up the Good News in a way that people find compelling and helpful, whereas many Catholics, it seems, get tongue-tied.

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Kevin Wondrash

Solemn Mass for Feast of Immaculate Conception

MADISON — A special Solemn Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite will be celebrated at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Center, 702 S. High Point Rd., on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m., in the presence of Bishop Robert C. Morlino.

December 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and a Holy Day of Obligation.

A Solemn Mass includes the service also of a deacon and subdeacon.

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Bishop Robert Barron

‘Bridge of Spies’ and the path to virtue

My great mentor Msgr. Robert Sokolowski told a class of eager philosophy students many years ago that we should read Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics every year of our lives. As we grew older, he explained, new dimensions of the book would continually present themselves.

I can’t say that I’ve followed Sokolowski’s advice perfectly, but I have indeed returned often to Aristotle’s great text for inspiration and clarification.

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Kevin Wondrash

Sneak preview tour of Bishop O’Connor Catholic Center renovation

MADISON — A special invitation has been extended to parishioners in the Diocese of Madison and friends for a sneak preview tour of the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Center renovation. It will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m.

Get an insider look at the sensitive, eco-friendly restoration initiatives now underway. When the renovation of the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Center is complete in spring of 2016, it will be home to diocesan offices, Catholic Charities, the Catholic Herald, Relevant Radio, and 53 beautiful one- and two-bedroom residences at Holy Name Heights.

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