BARABOO — All men are invited to a retreat titled, “Catholic Survival Guide: Keeping the Faith Alive in an Increasingly Secular World,” which will take place at Durward’s Glen, W11876 McLeisch Rd., on Saturday, Feb. 4.
This year’s featured speaker is Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison.
Activities during the day include Mass presided by the bishop, small group discussion, Rosary, Confession, and free time.
I bundled up on a very cold and windy evening last Tuesday night and met some new friends in the parking lot of First Methodist Church in downtown Madison.
Dennis, Daniel, and Sam were kind enough to invite me to help in their efforts to serve the homeless. This is what they do every Tuesday night as part of “Friends of the State St. Family.”
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| 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,
I greet you all, and hope and pray that your times of preparation for Christmas have been filled with blessings.
The Church continues to challenge us — a challenge given by our Lord, Himself — to grow and to change as we prepare once again to renew our welcoming of the Lord into our lives.
In the Gospel of this past Sunday we hear Jesus say, “. . . the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed . . . and blessed is the one who takes no offense at me (MT 11:5-6)!”
MADISON — Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) Executive Director Kim Wadas has announced the appointment of Larry Haas of Waunakee as associate director for education and health care policy. He began his duties October 1.
Haas earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from St. Norbert College in De Pere and his Master’s Degree in Business Management from Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee.MADISON — Two dozen years of experience in outreach and management are some of the strong leadership skills Judith Metzger will provide as the new director of the day resource center for the homeless at 615 E. Washington Ave. near downtown Madison.
Metzger has been hired to operate the center when it opens next year by Catholic Charities Madison, who is in a partnership with Dane County.
“I am impressed by the high standards and commitment to excellence in delivering widespread services to individuals and families in need,” Metzger said. |
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| Veronica Arntz |
Part three of a four-part series
Having established a clear understanding of the Church’s teaching on marriage and family, let us now turn to the situation of the divorced and remarried.
St. John Paul II recognized the difficult situations that arise from divorce: “Loneliness and other difficulties are often the lot of separated spouses, especially when they are innocent parties” (Familiaris Consortio, 83).
Yet, both St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI (cf. Sacramentum Caritatis, 29) affirm that those who have been divorced and remarried without receiving a declaration of nullity cannot receive Communion.
Mercy will be the focus at the fall meetings of the West Dane, Sauk, and Columbia North Vicariate Councils of Catholic Women (CCW).
Affiliated with the Madison Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (MDCCW), the regional councils provide an opportunity for prayer, service, and fellowship. MDCCW Co-Presidents Sue Koch and Ellen Martin will participate in the meetings. All women are invited to attend.
MADISON — The Madison Catholic Woman’s Club (MCWC) warmly invites all women of the Diocese of Madison and their guests to experience a Day or Evening of Christian Renewal on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at St. Maria Goretti Church Parish Hall, 5313 Flad Ave., Madison. Both day and evening events will be inspirational, challenging, and enlivening.
Peggy Weber RN, MSN, MCWC spiritual chairperson, humorous storyteller, and an inspiration to all, will be the featured speaker. She brings to the Spiritual Day a background in not only hospital and parish nursing, but also counseling people struggling with mental illness, cancer, chronic illness, and grief and empowering them with hope.
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Second in a two-part series on a Pew Study about why young people are leaving the active practice of Christianity. Part one looked at, first, the relationship between religion and science and, second, the dismissive “psychologizing” of beliefs. In this second part, Bishop Barron examines two more reasons young people offered in the study for “walking away from Christianity.” His analysis of the source of the problem, included in part one, is reprinted here in the first two paragraphs.
For the past 50 years or so, Christian thinkers have largely abandoned the art of apologetics and have failed (here I offer a j’accuse to many in the Catholic universities) to resource the riches of the Catholic intellectual tradition in order to hold off critics of the faith. I don’t blame the avatars of secularism for actively attempting to debunk Christianity; that’s their job, after all.
MADISON — Barbara Sella, associate director for respect life and social concerns at the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, will present “Be Catholic First: Tools for Discerning as We Approach Election 2016” Tuesday, Sept. 13, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Social Hall, 602 Everglade Dr.
Sella will address the importance of taking time to learn more about the Gospel teachings and ethical principles that form the basis of Catholic social teaching.
