To the editor:
Aside from the fact that weekly attendance is an obligation, we attend Mass to worship God and to participate in the Pascal mystery. We are not there to be entertained or to see what we can get out of it. We attend for what we put into it.
Whereas our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in the hope of arousing in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, of intensifying the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, and of encouraging the faithful to rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived, and prayed, has proclaimed a Year of Faith from October 11, 2012, to November 24, 2013;
To the editor:
I must take vigorous issue with the guest columns by the “intellectuals” who are so overloaded with their degrees and superior intellect that they feel they must ridicule us ordinary Catholics in rather harsh words. The weight of all this arrogance has seemed to have squeezed out the humility that was exemplified by our Savior.
For those of us out in the real world, which, by the way, is the vast majority of God’s people, we are the branches of the Church. Jesus said, “I am the Vine and you are the branches.” He did not say, “I only want to hear you praise Me with 100-voice choirs singing Handel’s Messiah.”
To the editor:
I must take vigorous issue with the guest columns by the “intellectuals” who are so overloaded with their degrees and superior intellect that they feel they must ridicule us ordinary Catholics in rather harsh words. The weight of all this arrogance has seemed to have squeezed out the humility that was exemplified by our Savior.
For those of us out in the real world, which, by the way, is the vast majority of God’s people, we are the branches of the Church. Jesus said, “I am the Vine and you are the branches.” He did not say, “I only want to hear you praise Me with 100-voice choirs singing Handel’s Messiah.”
The articles and letters published in the Catholic Herald this past month show that people value quality liturgical music and have strong convictions about it.
This is encouraging to me, and our Year of Faith theme (Evangelization through Beauty) provides an excellent background for a fruitful discussion. I also am eager for this discussion because I have devoted my entire life to Church music. As we move forward, I would like to make the following observations.
MADISON — In Latin, “orate” means “pray.” More than just an invitation, it is a command to pray, says Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine Order.
WAUNAKEE — The Rite of Election of Catechumens and Call to Continuing Conversion for Candidates for Full Communion in the Catholic Church will be celebrated by the parishes of the Diocese of Madison on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 3 p.m. at St. John the Baptist Church, 209 South St., Waunakee.
School Sister of St. Francis Catherine Guzy, 87, who served as a teacher, school principal, and an insurance agent, died January 17, 2012, at Sacred Heart Convent, Milwaukee.
MADISON — Over the past couple of months, Catholics in the diocese and throughout the country have adjusted to using the new translation of the Roman Missal.
The shortage of priests and religious men and women in the Church, particularly in Europe and North America, is common these days. Many international congregations like my own, the Sisters of the Holy Cross, are still getting new members, but in countries other than the United States. Many consider it a crisis.
Too often when we speak of vocations we limit that term to mean the call to ordained ministry and the consecrated life. When we pray for vocations, we usually ask God to inspire young people to answer a call to be Sisters, Brothers, and priests. Once in a while we might include the call to lay ministry in the Church, but that is the exception.
We do not have to look far to find vocations. The truth is that each baptized person has a vocation, not just religious and clergy. By our Baptism each of us is called to share the mission of Jesus. As disciples of Jesus, every Christian is called to reveal God’s unconditional love and to spread that love to others. The next time you are at a Baptism liturgy listen closely to the prayers.
