The sounds of trumpets, timpani, and harp and the smell of incense enhanced the prayers of the faithful of the Diocese of Madison as they united with their bishop and priests at the Chrism Mass celebrated on Tuesday of Holy Week, March 26, at St. Maria Goretti Church.
Tag: Holy Week
Let the splendor of holiness shine out
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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 have in my hands a vocation pamphlet from 1965, and on the cover we have Bishop O’Connor ordaining a priest, and the overall title of the pamphlet is, “The Hands of Christ.” The truth on the cover of the pamphlet is stated simply this way: “Christ works today through His bishops, whose hands are those of the priests’.”
Thank you so much, dear brother priests, for coming out in such good numbers, so that we can celebrate and manifest the bond of the priesthood. God knows we don’t all have to be alike, but we all have to be bonded together by the mystery of the Holy Spirit’s seal on our soul, forging us together in an alliance that — as long as we’re open to grace — no human reality can obstruct.
Alliance between bishop and priests
So, the alliance of the priest with his bishop is like the alliance of the bishop with his own hands, as that pamphlet from 1965 says it so well, and it hasn’t changed. That’s the way it was, that’s the way it is, that’s the way it’s been since the time of Jesus. So, dear priests, thank you so very much for doing your best to be the hands of the bishop. Thank you so very much for doing your very best to allow the Holy Spirit to forge among all of us that unbreakable alliance which has as its root none other than that priestly seal of the Holy Spirit upon our souls. So, I’d invite all of us to offer our expression of gratitude to our priests.
Holy Week and protecting true marriage
Dear friends,
As we make our way through Holy Week to Easter, one of the most remarkable things we encounter is a startling oxymoron, a seeming contradiction, in terms of Jesus’ death on the Cross as ugly and tortuous, and yet beautiful.
It’s one of the most tremendous mysteries of our faith — horrible ugliness and tortuousness, behind which is concealed the most beautiful Truth in all of human history.
Holy Week itself maintains the juxtaposition of these two realities. Our liturgies for Holy Week open with beauty on Palm Sunday, with the procession of Jesus into Jerusalem.
Let splendor of holiness shine out on whole world
“Let the splendor of holiness shine out on the whole world, from every person, place, or thing anointed with this Holy Oil.”
Those words were part of the ritual of blessing of the Holy Oils prayed by Bishop Robert C. Morlino at the Chrism Mass on April 3 at St. Maria Goretti Church.
Following Jesus: Holy Week reminds us to protect the Holy Land
Starting with Palm Sunday, Catholics are following in the footsteps of Jesus during the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter with the wonderful Scripture readings recounting the Passion, death, and Resurrection.
We read in all four Gospels that Jesus experienced a triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He rode on a donkey, which traditionally meant he arrived in peace (those with more war-like purposes were said to ride on a horse).
Holy Week, Chrism Mass remind us of heaven’s joy
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| Bishop Robert C. Morlino blesses the oil of the sick, oil of the catechumens, and sacred Chrism during the Chrism Mass on April 19 at St. Maria Goretti Church in Madison. (Catholic Herald photo/Kat Wagner) |
MADISON — On Tuesday of Holy Week, April 19, clergy, religious, and laity from around the diocese came to Madison to participate in the annual Chrism Mass at St. Maria Goretti Church.
The Mass, at which priests renew their vows and the oils for the sacraments are blessed, was an opportunity to celebrate those special gifts to the Church, Bishop Robert C. Morlino said. With an eye to the sleeting weather outside, he joked that we were celebrating Christmas in April.
The weather held back many people, particularly from the farther reaches of the 11 counties that make up the Diocese of Madison. Parishes which were not able to attend or send representatives were still able to receive the oils that will be used throughout the coming year in sacraments and several other Church rites.
Heaven: the destination of our journeys
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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,
As we enter this great and holy week, we are very much aware of the absence of Bishop Bullock, Bishop Wirz, Msgr. Wil Schuster, and Msgr. Tom Campion, all of whom have been called within recent months to see the face of Christ. I miss them all very much personally, and without going into detail, the passing of each one can be seen as the end of a different era in the Diocese of Madison. Their passing reminds us that, as the Scripture says, “the world as we know it is passing away.” The truth of that mystery includes each one of us as well.
Reflecting the joy of the greatest victory
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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. |
I want to wish you all a very blessed Holy Triduum and a very happy Easter. May it be a joyful and prayerful time for you and your family, and may it provide a powerful experience with our Lord Jesus, risen from the dead.
We are called, each and every day, to invite people to meet Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. In a very real way, this is the mission of my episcopacy here — it is the stated mission of my staff, and, by extension, it is truly the mission of each of us here in the 11 counties of south-central Wisconsin.
In order, credibly, to invite our neighbors to meet Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, we have to have met Him. So these days of Holy Week and Easter should be a very special time for each of us, when we intensify that meeting which we are called to have with the risen Christ. The proper celebration of Holy Week and Easter has everything to do with the mission to which each of us, by nature of our Baptism, is called.
Celebrating Holy Week
Following is a list of Madison Diocese Holy Week Masses. Check with your parish for local Holy Week Mass times and see the Arts Page and next week’s Easter special section for information on televised coverage of Holy Week Masses.