“Despite how it is being characterized in some news reports and social media posts, the decision for parishes and other diocesan entities within the Diocese of Madison not to host onsite COVID-19 vaccination clinics is not about condemning or discouraging vaccination. “
Tag: covid
Sinsinawa Mound Center to reopen fully to public August 15
SINSINAWA — Sinsinawa Mound Center plans to fully reopen to the public on Sunday, Aug. 15.
Moving on after COVID
During a conversation I had with a parishioner last week, a wonderfully dedicated medical doctor, husband, and father, he complimented the diocese on how we handled the whole challenge of COVID.
Diocesan COVID guidelines will end on June 11
Following new developments and guidelines related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mass guidelines in the Diocese of Madison related to COVID will cease on Friday, June 11 — the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
How will Holy Week be different this year?
The holiest week of the year — the days from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday — are quickly approaching.
Last year our churches were closed. These liturgies were celebrated with a priest and a handful of ministers.
This year congregations will be present, but certain parts of the Holy Week liturgies may look differently because of the pandemic.Rite of Election on February 21
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| A catechumen in 2019 signs the Book of the Elect during the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. This year’s event will take place on Sunday, Feb. 21, at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee with safety measures in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash) |
WAUNAKEE — The Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion will be held on Sunday, Feb. 21, at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee.
Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison will preside.
In this Church season of Lent, its primary purpose intensifies the time of preparation for those seeking Baptism.
Now that Lent has come upon us, it’s time to start this sacred work.
A call to join the Church
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (no. 64), which was promulgated during the Second Vatican Council, called for a revision of several of the rituals of our Church.
Part of this included the Baptismal rites for adults and children.
In 1988, an adult ritual was promulgated called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults which is commonly called RCIA.
Since that time, some or all of the RCIA has been used in parishes throughout the world.
Don’t ‘give up’ during Lent
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By the time you’re reading this, we’ll be in the season of Lent — the annual 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that leads us to Easter.
Being blessed with the COVID-19 pandemic a year ago, it might seem like we never really left the last Lent we had.
With how we’ve been living the past almost 12 months, we might not feel we have to give up anything for Lent this year. We might feel like we’ve been giving things up this whole time.
Here’s my uneducated, unscientific, un-everything else thought: Don’t. Don’t “give up” anything this Lent.
Add, don’t take away
OK, truth be told, I am still giving up some things this Lent. I’m giving up soda and desserts (I’m sweet enough already?).
Bishops address COVID vaccine concerns
MADISON — Wisconsin’s Catholic bishops have issued a statement that addresses moral considerations regarding newly-developed COVID-19 vaccines.
In their letter, the bishops acknowledged the devastating impact of coronavirus infections worldwide but also lauded the efforts of nations and organizations to develop safe vaccines that will effectively diminish the impact of the virus.
Moral questions
While the promise of inoculation provides hope for the end of the current pandemic, the bishops indicated that many Catholics have raised moral questions about receiving vaccinations, especially the use of vaccines that utilize cell lines from aborted children in development and production.
There are also questions surrounding the right of conscience and the duty of all Catholics to advance the common good.SSM Health administers COVID vaccines
MADISON — Things have moved fast since SSM Health received its first shipment of the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines in December, but that does not mean people should become lax in the protective measures to guard against the spread of the coronavirus, stressed Mo Kharbat, SSM Health Wisconsin’s regional VP of pharmacy.
“Wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding gatherings, etc. — will need to continue well into 2021 and until a large majority of our population has been vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine they receive,” he said. “We ask that people be patient.”
Thanking our teachers this Thanksgiving
I hope that everyone enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving. Truly, we have numerous blessings for which to give thanks. I am particularly grateful that our Catholic schools have been operating in-person this fall and that they have been able to provide children with a safe, faith filled, educational experience that honors and develops their intellectual, physical, social, spiritual and emotional traits by cultivating human relationships through in-person education. I am thankful that our students have experienced this aspect of “normal” life in the midst of a most abnormal year.