As our priests continue to unpack in their new homes and begin embracing new faith communities, and our people adjust to new leadership and new Mass times, I am certainly aware of the enormity of these changes as we launch Into the Deep.
Tag: column
Seeking silence this Advent
As we live these beautiful days of Advent, the Scripture readings and the liturgy present Mary to us in all of her spiritual power and meaning.
Active summer in the Diocese of Madison
We can so easily focus on the bad news, all the things wrong in the world, the difficulties in our country and Church, and yet, so much good is happening right now.
The meaning of light
Last Wednesday evening, I experienced the beautiful prayer of Tenebrae, named after the Latin word for darkness.
Since the earliest centuries of the Church, believers gathered during the Easter Triduum to offer Scripture readings, texts from the Church Fathers, and hymns to honor the suffering, Passion, and death of the Lord.
Surrendering out of love
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Meditating on the Agony in the Garden, the First Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary, is always a source of great spiritual fruit for me.
We see Jesus alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, facing His imminent Passion and death, praying that this cup of suffering pass Him by.
Jesus is so anxious and distressed that He sweats drops of blood, struggling to surrender to the will of the Father and the mystery of the cross.
Radical filial obedience wins out, as Jesus utters His fiat, “Let your will be done, not mine.”
When Christ arises from this prayer, He moves forward with determination, arousing the sleeping apostles, facing Judas and the approaching mob, ready and willing to drink the cup of suffering to the very dregs.
In the Gospel passion narratives, once Jesus has made His surrender in Gethsemane, He embraces the terrible details of His trial, torture, and death with a peace, acceptance, and love that is truly divine.
Jesus’ desire to be in relationship with you
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Because this issue of the Catholic Herald is going to every registered household in the diocese, I want to speak especially to our brothers and sisters who may have been away from Mass and the sacraments for a while and are seeking a renewed connection with God and the parish.
I am happy you are reading this and know that I am praying for you, that the Lord touch your heart with love, peace, and grace, that you feel in the depths of your spirit, Jesus’ great desire to be in relationship with you and that you be inspired to reach out to the Church.
The question of faith
The most fundamental decision every baptized Catholic must face is the question of faith.
The need for a renewed unity in Christ
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The attacks, accusations, and demands fly in from every side. “You supported Trump in the election and are complicit in the attack on the Capitol.” “You are in the back pocket of the Democratic Party.” “You made abortion the only issue in the election.” “You were not vocal enough in defense of life.” “You need to help stop the steal.” “I demand that you publicly affirm that Biden is the legitimate president.” “I am leaving the Church because you are too (take your pick) . . . conservative, liberal, silent, vocal, weak, strong.”
These are all messages I and probably every bishop in the country have been inundated with these past months and it is actually getting worse.
The anger and vitriol is palpably toxic.
Our cultural, political, and social divisions, exacerbated by COVID; the elections; and the violence in our streets and cities have unfortunately entered into the Church and are seriously wounding our unity in Christ.
We now seem to have Biden Catholics and Trump Catholics, perhaps just the latest incarnation of traditional and progressive Catholics, but a division that is louder, angrier, and far less compromising than all the previous rifts in the Body of Christ.
Celebrating Catholic schools
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As we celebrate Catholic Schools Week, I offer profound gratitude and praise to Michael Lancaster and our diocesan Office of Schools staff, our pastors and principals, our teachers and school staff, our parents, benefactors, religious education directors and catechists, and ultimately the students who offer the best of themselves to create Catholic communities of learning and formation, so that our precious young people grow to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ as disciples of the Gospel and as practicing Catholics in love with the Lord.
This year especially, in light of the enormous challenges of COVID, I especially applaud our school and parish leaders who have had to plan, implement, adjust, sacrifice, and give the best they have, in order to continue the formation of our young people.
Combining in-person and virtual learning as needed and possible, our teachers and catechists have striven to keep teaching Christ to our students.
I applaud the generosity, flexibility, and commitment required of all in this enormous effort.
Importance of Catholic education
Perhaps these increased difficulties shine a needed spotlight on the absolute importance of Catholic education; everyone could have easily given up this year or at least have put in just a minimum of effort, given all of the roadblocks, but, in nobly rising to the occasion, the Catholic community has generously demonstrated the high priority we place on the formation of the next generation.
Celebrating the Epiphany
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The Solemnity of the Epiphany, which we honor on the Sunday after January 1, is older than the celebration of Christmas, going back to the very beginnings of the Church.
Early Christians found deep meaning and inspiration in the astounding truth that God has fully revealed Himself in an absolute and definitive way in Jesus Christ.
The Book of Hebrews tells us that God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways in the past, but now, in Christ, all has been spoken and revealed to us!Celebrating 75 years of the Diocese of Madison
On January 9, 1946, Pope Pius XII established the Diocese of Madison, taking territory from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Diocese of La Crosse.
Created right at the end of World War II, our diocese was poised to grow dramatically in the ensuing decades of population boom and economic ascendancy.
Bishop William P. O’Connor, a priest from Milwaukee, became Madison’s first bishop and was immediately faced with the many challenges of shaping a brand new diocese.