A priest I came to know well preaches often about the experiences and relationships in our lives where both the mystery and the presence of God are very apparent to us.
He calls these the “thin places” where the distance between the divine and the human is overcome, when God feels so close, we can touch Him and feel His gentle breath on our soul.
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I saw the film 1917 on the vigil of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and I think there’s a connection between the movie and the liturgical celebration.
Bear with me.
First, as everyone who has seen it remarks, the editing and cinematography of 1917 are so astounding that it appears to unfold completely in real time, the result of one continuous shot.
In my columns during the season of Advent, I am reflecting on the Kerygma, the basic proclamation of the Gospel in its essence.
Last week, I pondered the first part of this Good News, which is the radical, unconditional, and eternal love of God for us, a love that we cannot even begin to grasp! Our experience of the Lord’s saving mercy is the basis of our spiritual response to God’s remarkable initiative, as Jesus breaks into our lives in all joy and promise.
Cathedral Parish will host two “Lord, Teach Me to Pray” groups at St. Patrick Church, 404 E. Main St., Madison.
“M-o-o-o-m! There’s a hole in my sock!”
It was Sunday morning, 20 minutes before Mass, and our household was a-flutter with our four children scurrying about donning church clothes, brushing teeth, and fixing hair.
My eight-year-old son was in his room, half-dressed, with a sock on one foot and disdainfully holding up the matching holey one. “I can’t wear this holey sock to church!” he cried.
MADISON — Facilitator training for “Lord Teach Me to Pray Part One” (LTMTP) will be held March 7 and 14, from 7 to 9 p.m. each evening.
The Bishop O’Connor Catholic Center at 702 S. High Point Rd. will host this Skype-based training. Participants must attend both nights of the program to complete the course. There is no charge for the training.
The series focuses on prayer and was developed to meet the desire of Catholics for ongoing spiritual growth in their response to the call to holiness and a deeper commitment to Jesus as Lord.
MADISON — On Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. His Excellency Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino will celebrate Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Presentation of the Lord) with a Pontifical Mass at the Throne in the chapel of the Holy Name Heights, 702 S. High Point Rd., Madison.
The music will be Gregorian Chant and polyphonic motets.
There will be the traditional blessing of candles and a procession.
The rites are in the Church’s ancient, traditional form of the Roman Rite in Latin.
Blessed candles will be distributed.
MADISON — Bishop Robert C. Morlino will celebrate a Solemn Pontifical Mass on Friday, July 1, Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord, at 7 p.m., in the chapel of Holy Name Heights located in the Bishop O’Connor Center, 702 S. High Point Rd.
This Mass will be offered for the intention of suffering and persecuted Christians around the globe.
MADISON — The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, or Corpus Christi, celebrates the Eucharist in more focused way than Holy Thursday. It is traditionally celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, although in many places it is transferred to Sunday.
In 1246, Robert of Thourotte, Bishop of Liège in Belgium, had instituted a feast for the Eucharist at the request of an Augustinian nun and mystic, St. Juliana of Cornillon. Corpus Christi was established for the whole Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. Its Mass and Office were composed by St. Thomas Aquinas (+1274).
BARABOO — The Midwest Facilitator Training Retreat for the Lord Teach Me to Pray (LTMTP) Series will be held Friday to Sunday, May 29 to 31, at Durward’s Glen Retreat and Conference Center.
Training for part one of LTMTP, Praying the Christian Virtues, will begin Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Mass and end Saturday at 3 p.m.
Training for part two of LTMTP, “My 19th Annotation,” will begin Saturday evening at 7 p.m. and end Sunday at 12 noon. There will be Mass on both Saturday and Sunday morning at 8 a.m. during the retreat.
