Dear Friends,
This past Sunday — our Second Sunday of Advent — we continued to read from the Prophet Isaiah as he foretold Jesus’s coming. We heard of the coming Messiah and how “the Spirit of the Lord will come upon him (Is 11:2)” in the First Reading. …
Dear Friends,
Even as we come upon the last days and hours of this month of October, I cannot fail to take a few moments to reflect upon the woman we’ve been honoring in a special way — Mary, the mother of Jesus, and our mother.
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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,
This past Saturday, along with so many of you I’m sure, I took up Pope Francis’ worldwide call to offer a day of prayer and of fasting for peace — especially for peace in Syria. As I write this column, the gears are turning, and we shall see what comes in terms of action in Syria, and all of the Middle East.
There is already suffering, no doubt! The situation in Syria and all around that part of the world is terrible. But the need for peace extends far beyond the Middle East, and peace is needed at a much deeper level for all of us.
Regardless the outcome of the current deliberations with regard to Syria, our work for peace should continue. If we desire peace, we must make an examination of conscience and work for peace within our own lives first, to seek a peace that cannot be disturbed. There is more on that below.
I cannot fail to mention that this week we come upon the anniversary of September 11, 2001, when so many Americans came to know the Prince of Peace and, we continue to pray, to reside with Him.
Of course, the violence of terrorism is intended as a direct attempt to rob a large number of people of their peace — not only those immediately affected, but those who continue to live in fear, in terror. May the Lord continue to remove fear from our lives, replacing it with hope — the hope that only He can bring.
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As I follow people on Twitter and help to put together the issue of the Catholic Herald each week, I read about a lot of Catholics taking pilgrimages to the three approved Marian Shines in Wisconsin: the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians at Holy Hill, near Milwaukee; the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, in Champion, near Green Bay; and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, near La Crosse.
I have been to two of the three sites, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe being the only one I have yet to visit. I would now like to reflect on the first time I visited one of these shrines.
Back in May of 2012, I went on a one-day bus trip with parishioners from St. Christopher Parish in Verona to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion (formally known as Robinsonville).
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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 suppose (after all the coverage here, as well as a very fair and good piece by Doug Erickson in the State Journal) it will come as no surprise to you that this past week I marked 10 years as Bishop of Madison.
I’m so grateful to God for having given me the blessing of these 10 years of service to this local Church and I’m so very grateful to you all. Thank you for your prayers, your faith, your encouragement, and, yes, your constructive criticism through the past years. God willing, I’ll have almost 10 more with you, and I hope we can continue to do great things together — always with His grace and help.
Over the past 10 years I’ve had many a good person come to me — whether through letters or in person, at Masses and events around the diocese — to say basically, “Bishop we want to help, but we’re not really sure where you’re going. What are you trying to do?”
It seems, from speaking to them, that much of the confusion comes from my taking a different style than that to which they may be accustomed — I speak rather loudly and in a straightforward manner, in a culture which has become obsessed with an idea of “tolerance” (which equates to never making Truth claims,) and never saying anything that may make people uncomfortable.
From day one of journalism school, a reporter is told not to put him or herself into a story. Just learn the facts, observe what happens, interview interesting subjects, and tell the story. Sometimes, however, the paths of reporter and story cross, and the reporter is in the story.
As a young adult in the Diocese of Madison, I am blessed to be part of many activities for Catholics my age in the area. One of them is the Monday Night Sports League (MNSL).
The MNSL started last summer with six teams. Young adults from my parish, St. Maria Goretti (SMG) in Madison, as well as teams from Cathedral Parish in Madison, Blessed Sacrament Parish in Madison, St. Paul University Catholic Center in Madison, St. Christopher Parish in Verona, and a team of friends called “Faith, Friends, and Funnies” (FFF) make up the league.
Dear Friends,
As I write this column, we are coming quickly upon the Fourth of July, when we as a nation celebrate our independence and freedom. It is this freedom which has provided tremendous room for our flourishing as a human race and as a nation, but it is a delicate freedom, built upon the presupposition that we as a nation will choose to exercise our freedom in a way that moves forward toward what is best.
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| Esta columna es la comunicación del Obispo con los fieles de la Diócesis de Madison. Cualquier circulación más amplia va más allá de la intención del Obispo. |
Queridos amigos:
“El amor por Cristo nos obliga” (2 Cor 5:14)”, dice la segunda carta a los Corintios. Ese amor, que se ha manifestado en la persona de Cristo, es la cosa más hermosa que podría haber. Es hermosa porque es el amor de Dios. Él es amor y Él es la belleza misma.
Y durante este Año de la Fe hemos estado contemplando desde varias perspectivas la belleza del Señor, como una forma de invitar a la gente a encontrarse con Él de modo que cambie la vida a través de la Nueva Evangelización.
Luego de haber celebrado recientemente la ordenación de tres nuevos y maravillosos sacerdotes, me gustaría decir algunas cosas sobre la belleza del sacerdocio, que compartí con quienes estuvieron presentes esa gran noche. El amor que nos impele y su belleza son puestos de manifiesto de manera especial en el sacramento de las Órdenes Sagradas.
El sacerdocio es hermoso porque Jesús recrea al sacerdote de una forma nueva de modo que el ser anterior muere. En la ordenación, el sacerdote se postra ante el altar. Está acostado allí como si muriera y se levantase con la resurrección, hacia la novedad de haber sido cambiado en lo más profundo de su alma a imagen de Cristo Sacerdote.
Dear Friends,
“The love of Christ compels us (2 Cor 5:14),” says the second letter to the Corinthians. That love, which is made manifest to us in the person of Christ, is the most beautiful thing that there could ever be. It is beautiful because God is love. He is love and He is beauty itself.
Dear Friends,
For those who are willing to see, it doesn’t take much looking to notice the evil that surrounds us. Lies and deceit, violence and murder, hatred and malice, and more and more often, vice treated as virtue.
