BELMONT — This year, the focus of the “Faith & Fun” summer program for children at St. Philomena Parish in Belmont was the Year of Faith as proclaimed by our former Pope, Benedict XVI.
Children participating in the program were given a mustard seed and focused on the biblical text: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could move a mountain.”
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.
MADISON — With another school year coming to a close, educators in the Diocese of Madison are taking a look at the results of their teaching this year, and looking ahead to build on and improve their students’ learning.
This school year was the first time the Diocese of Madison used the National Catholic Educational Association’s Assessment for Catechesis/Religious Education (ACRE) to assess how curriculum is aligned with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and how to improve programs year-by-year. The ACRE is used in 133 dioceses across the country.
Last year, Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison requested all parish catechetical programs join Catholic schools in administering the ACRE.
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Diocesan Adoration schedule |
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| Click here for a list of Adoration locations and times throughout the diocese. | |
MADISON — As a special event during the Year of Faith, Catholics throughout the world will be joining with Pope Francis in Eucharistic Adoration on the Feast of Corpus Christi, Sunday, June 2.
On that day, the Holy Father will preside at an hour of Eucharistic Adoration in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican at 5 p.m. Rome time, in communion with all bishops and with their local diocesan communities around the world.
In Wisconsin, that occurs at 10 a.m. Bishop Robert C. Morlino is promoting this time of Adoration at the Cathedral Parish in Madison at St. Patrick Church at 10 a.m., prior to his 11 a.m. Stational Mass.
Bishop Morlino has invited people throughout the Diocese of Madison either to join him at St. Patrick Church or attend times of Eucharistic Adoration at their own parishes and in the various Vicariates of the diocese at 10 a.m. where possible, recognizing the reality of Mass schedule conflicts on a Sunday morning, or at other times on that Sunday.
MADISON/DODGEVILLE — As parishes across the diocese and nation prepare for Christmas, many pay special attention to the elderly and homebound, including putting together and delivering gift bags and food.
While the gift bags are important, care ministers appreciate the gifts they give and receive throughout the year.
“Families only had one car in those days. . .” Tom Delaney smiles as he recounts the details of proposing to his bride Nan over 50 years ago. Around Christmas of 1961, he asked her dad for permission to borrow her family’s car to take her to midnight Mass at Holy Hill. A bit flustered, he forgot to ask her dad for permission to marry her.
Despite the small blunder, on that Christmas Eve he offered her a diamond, and she accepted.
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PINE BLUFF — “As Christians we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us,” Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Ill., boldly stated, “but as Christians we must also stand up for what we believe and always be ready to fight for the Faith. The days in which we live now require heroic Catholicism, not casual Catholicism. We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead be Catholics by conviction.”
The Church Militant Field Manual was written to help all of us in the trenches of the Church Militant to understand, train for, and respond to this call for heroic faith in these critical times. Pope Benedict XVI stated that, “Members of the Church on earth are aptly described as ‘Ecclesia Militans’, the Church Militant, since it is necessary to enter into battle with evil.”
As Jesus ascended to his Father in heaven, he assured his disciples, “You will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). God wants us — the Ecclesia Militans — engaged in this mission, but He wants us strong in His supernatural power.
What is this power? That is precisely what we explore in the Church Militant Field Manual. St. Paul wrote: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:10-12).
Dear Friends,
The week of Labor Day now having come and gone, schools everywhere are kicking into “high gear,” and thus it’s important that we remember to pray for all of our students. It’s also a good time for Catholic parents to remember to reapply themselves to educating and forming their children in the faith, and for all of us to support them! It is a large task, but one which will bear fruit for all of eternity.
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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,
The week of Labor Day now having come and gone, schools everywhere are kicking into “high gear,” and thus it’s important that we remember to pray for all of our students. It’s also a good time for Catholic parents to remember to reapply themselves to educating and forming their children in the faith, and for all of us to support them! It is a large task, but one which will bear fruit for all of eternity.
Next week I’ll be blessed to celebrate two Masses with students, one with students at the UW-Madison, and another which will gather together students from all of the Catholic schools in our diocese. I can’t wait to be with all of these young, energetic young people. Next week’s issue of the Catholic Herald will also focus on the 32 men who I call “my sons” in a particular way. In recent weeks I’ve also seen almost all of the seminarians head back to school — and I can certainly identify with those parents who are missing students, who are back in the dorms!
As we prepare to begin another school year, I often reflect on how blessed we in this diocese are, blessed with over 40 Catholic elementary schools, well over twice the average number of Catholic schools found in dioceses of similar size.
These schools are treasures, pearls of faith, hope, love, and knowledge shining brightly for our parishes, our communities, and our Church.
