MADISON — Even as St. Paul University Catholic Center has been a fixture of the Madison-area Catholic community for over 100 years, there’s always something new being added to offer the life of the faith and the Catholic presence to students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tag: Diocese of Madison
Lay movement celebrates anniversary at home and around the world
MADISON — On Saturday, March 7, Pope Francis met with more than 80,000 members of the Communion and Liberation lay movement who filled St. Peter’s Square in Rome and the boulevard leading to it.
It marked the 60th anniversary of the movement, which has the purpose of forming its members in Christianity in order to make them coworkers in the Church’s mission in all areas of society.
Reliving Christ’s Passion, Death, Resurrection
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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,
We stand at the threshold of the holiest of weeks, reliving the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
Indeed, the Sacred Triduum — Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday — comprise a microcosm of our whole life lived in Christ.
To enter as fully as possible into the mysteries of these days is to enter more fully into the mysteries of the life of each one of us. For instance, in the fervent celebration of the days of Holy Week, we can come to have an initial grasp of the mystery of why good people suffer.
Meaning of life unveiled
The meaning of life is unveiled by a fervent and serious celebration of the mysteries of these days.
So, please make every effort to be present for the Holy Thursday evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the solemn commemoration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, and the great Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.
Our churches really should be full (and then some) on these days, because of the gifts of grace available to us at so special a time — and available in a way that they are not otherwise available.
Men gather to grow closer to Christ at retreat
MADISON — More than 60 men from the Diocese of Madison and surrounding areas recently gathered at the Bishop O’Connor Center (BOC) in Madison for “Fortes in Fide” (“Strong in Faith”) — the annual diocesan Lenten Men’s Retreat.
The retreat is a joint effort between the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis and the Knights of Divine Mercy men’s apostolate.
Reviewing services provided to those with disabilities in the Diocese of Madison
MADISON — “We call upon people of good will to reexamine their attitudes toward their brothers and sisters with disabilities and promote their well-being, acting with the sense of justice and the compassion that the Lord so clearly desires.
“Further, realizing the unique gifts individuals with disabilities have to offer the Church, we wish to address the need for their integration into the Christian community and their fuller participation in its life.”
Thanks be to God! Prayers are answered as priest’s mother rescued
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| Very Rev. Paul Ugo Arinze is pictured on a visit to Nigeria with his parents, including his mother Virginia, right, and father Michael, left (now deceased). Also pictured is Sr. Harriet Ogo Okafor, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, who is a relative of Virginia Arinze. (Contributed photo) |
BELOIT — Very Rev. Paul Ugo Arinze has been touched by the “outpouring of support and love” from people throughout the Diocese of Madison who prayed for his mother, Virginia Arinze, who was rescued after being kidnapped in Nigeria.
Father Arinze, pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption (OLA) Parish in Beloit, made a quick trip to Nigeria on March 2 to see his mother in the hospital. He returned to Beloit on March 6.
Mother’s condition
“She was still in the ICU when I arrived in Nigeria in critical but stable condition,” he said after his return. “She had suffered from extreme dehyration, dislocated shoulders, and a knee injury and was complaining of internal pain all due to the extreme way she was handled and the conditions her captors put her through.”
By his second day in Nigeria, Mrs. Arinze made “tremendous improvement” and was responding positively to her treatment, Father Arinze said.
“She was moved from ICU to a regular critical care room on March 5. According to her doctors, she will still be in the hospital for another week or two before her release. Investigations into the circumstances of her kidnapping and those who were involved are still ongoing.”
Abducted at gunpoint
Mrs. Arinze was abducted at gunpoint from her home in the city of Awka on the afternoon of February 21. The abductors claimed to have some ties to the terrorist organization Boko Haram, but the Nigerian authorities are doubtful of that claim, said Father Arinze.
“She was held outside all through her days in captivity, exposing her to rain, sun, and other elements,” he said.
Do we sacrifice and carry crosses with Jesus?
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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 pray that your Lent continues to be fruitful and full of hope!
Here below, I want to extract one short line from our readings this past week and reflect upon it very briefly.
I know that many of you did not receive much in the way of a homily this past weekend because many of our pastors wisely decided to shorten or even forgo their homilies due to the Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA) and the parish request that took place this week.
Before I go further, though, I wish to offer a word or two in that regard.
Thank you for service, support
The first word I have to offer is my thanks. With every ounce of sincerity, I thank you for all that you’ve done in the past, are doing this year, and may continue to do into the future, in service to our diocesan Church.
So much of the good that we do as a Church relies upon our united effort and our cooperation in and with the Spirit. While I would not stop trying to carry out the mission I have been given, no matter what, we certainly could not be as effective without your prayerful support.
Madison woman prepares to enter Church
MADISON — “It’s the best thing ever.”
“I love it. I can’t get enough.”
Those are just a couple of the verbally-expressed emotions from 27-year-old Tina Saviano from Madison as she is just a few weeks away from becoming a member of the Catholic Church.
Bishop Morlino seeks input for next October’s Synod
By way of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops, has asked every bishop of the United States to submit a report responding to the Lineamenta and its questions for the purpose of contributing to the “Working Document” of the Ordinary Synod, to be held October 4 to 25.
Bishops are specifically encouraged to gather the thoughts and responses of a wide range of people in their dioceses in drafting their own reports.
To that end, we’d first like to make people in the diocese aware of the Lineamenta and the bishop’s invitation for them to read, reflect upon, pray about, and respond to the document in writing.
Pro-lifers continue their efforts
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| Fr. Jorge Miramontes, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Marshall and Waterloo, performs a Rite of Minor Exorcism outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on Madison’s east side. Father Miramontes performed the rite during a January 27 prayer vigil to mark the 42nd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the country. The vigil took place near the Women’s Care Center, located across the street from the clinic, that provides free, confidential counseling, support, and education to women facing unplanned pregnancies. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash) |
MADISON — Whether it’s the March for Life in Washington, D.C., a meeting of pro-life leaders from across the state, or a gathering of two dozen prayer warriors on a frigid winter morning, the message is always the same before, during, and after these events — “there’s more work to be done.”
If the optimistically self-proclaimed “pro-life generation” is to meet its goal of ending abortion, there’s no time to pause while celebrating the baby-saving victories and no pause to be content when an abortion clinic closes — there’s more work to be done.
The previous night’s snow stopped with enough time to make the roads good for winter travel en route to a prayer vigil outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on Madison’s east side on January 27.
It was hosted by Vigil for Life Madison — a volunteer organization whose members pray, fast, and peacefully witness for an end to abortion in the Madison area.
It marked the 42nd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion across the United States.
The vigil was held five days after the actual anniversary when hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers — some from the Madison area — participated in the March for Life in our nation’s capital as well as the Walk for Life in California.
Vigil crowd gathers
As people began to gather on the sidewalk outside the busy clinic, the first prayer of choice was an obvious one — the Divine Mercy Chaplet — imploring both the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary to intercede on behalf of the unborn, family members who have lost a child due to abortion, and the clinic owner and workers that their hearts may be changed.