I was blessed to do a series of talks on the Catechism of the Catholic Church recently at St. Dennis Parish. I was impressed with the intense interest and attendance level every night.
People are hungry to learn more about the Faith and to put it into practice. Copies of the Catechism flew off the back table at an inspiring rate, which made this bishop’s heart very happy!
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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’m not certain how it accomplishes this each year, but Lent seems always to surprise me.
I just looked at the calendar and saw that Ash Wednesday is only two weeks away! It seems as though we’ve just finished marking the season of Christmas — with all of the joy and exuberance that that brings.
On the other hand, there’s a part of me that has the sense that we just completed a Lent not so long ago.
And yet, I can recall some of the resolutions that came from my prayer, fasting, and almsgiving last Lent, and I cannot say that I’ve perfected them — or rather that they’ve been made perfect in me — over the past year.
And so it is, this cycle of conversion and reversion continues, and thanks be to God, it comes each year.
One of the benefits of aging is that our vision improves so much.
What? You say you have more trouble reading the fine print on prescription bottles? And you need stronger light bulbs and magnifying glasses?
Oh, sure, but that’s not the kind of vision I’m thinking about. I’m thinking of hindsight. You know, they always say that hindsight is 20-20.
So here’s what’s so great about it. We have perspective now. We can look back at the things that drove us crazy with worry, like a messy house when guests arrived. But now we know that it was never the picture-perfect house that mattered, but the warmth of our hospitality.
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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 week we begin Lent and the readings of this past Sunday lead us perfectly to Ash Wednesday.
The First Reading (Deut 11:18, 26-28, 32) said clearly that we are to obey God’s statutes and commandments and decrees. We’re to be an obedient people — a hard word for our culture. Authority is always under fire, whether it’s civil authority in the government or whether it’s the Sacred authority of the Apostles. Even in the Church, authority is always under fire. And so it is that bishops are used to dodging the various arrows that are slung our way — and it is all in a day’s work.
But, authority is simply given out of love by God Our Father, so as to lead His people to their salvation. That’s all it is — it’s a service, and it’s a humble service. Sometimes when people in the Church have to exercise that authority they do it humbly, but then afterward they really get humbled. But, that’s okay, because authority and humility should be tied together.
