Tag: marriage

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Kevin Wondrash

New marriage preparation, pro-life coordinator hired

MADISON — Colin Jenkins has been hired as the new full-time Marriage Preparation Coordinator/Pro-Life Coordinator for the Diocese of Madison.

Jenkins will be taking over the majority of marriage preparation activities, and Andy Galvin, marriage and family coordinator for the diocese, will be shifting to marriage enrichment and an expansion of Theology of the Body opportunities in the diocese.

“He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge about marriage and family that will serve the program and the many engaged couples well,” said Galvin. “He will also be a great addition to our team as we look to expand our overall support for marriages and families in the diocese.”

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Statement from U.S. Bishops on Supreme Court marriage decisions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court decisions June 26 striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act and refusing to rule on the merits of a challenge to California’s Proposition 8 mark a “tragic day for marriage and our nation,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chair of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

The Holy Spirit brings harmony
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

In his homily for Pentecost morning – which, of course had three points and which was focused upon the Holy Spirit — Pope Francis began by saying that he is very devoted to a particular Church Father who said that the Holy Spirit is, Himself, harmony. The Holy Spirit is, Himself, harmony. When we’re celebrating a Year of Faith and of the New Evangelization through beauty, what a beautiful image that is for the Holy Spirit — harmony.

It is the harmony that we hear so beautifully mirrored by well-prepared choirs singing good music. Harmony is pleasing to the ear and it lifts up the heart. Harmony has a particularly positive effect on people when they are disposed to it, because they themselves are harmonized in the first place. You can hear all the harmony you want, but if you yourself are not harmonized, it really doesn’t make any difference.

Many people are not harmonized

In our society and in our culture, many people are not harmonized. That’s why young people for example, can get used to the music that they listen to a lot of the time. Much of it is really not pleasing to the ear, but it’s an acquired taste, and it certainly resonates with those who are experiencing a great deal of un-harmonized angst in their daily lives.

This is why it appeals so easily to the young people — it resonates with the tremendous angst which teens are used to encountering anyway, but which is multiplied by our own culture. And so, the teens easily acquire a taste for it and become habituated to it, until anything else seems strange.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

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.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Stronger marriages: We must be committed to strengthening marriage, family life

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

Recently my husband John and I celebrated 39 years of married life. When we got married in 1973, we told each other that we hoped to make it to our 50th wedding anniversary. Of course, we would even like more than 50 years together, but that is our goal. We have only 11 years to go, God willing.

We hope to be able to participate eventually in the annual diocesan celebration for couples observing their 50th wedding anniversaries. It was held in August, and Bishop Robert C. Morlino gave each golden anniversary couple a certificate. He commended them for their cooperation with Christ in building a successful marriage.

The bishop said that these couples know that Christ is central to a successful marriage. He also pointed out the importance of forgiving each other and bringing a joyful witness to others in society.

This week the Catholic Herald is publishing our twice annual Catholic Marriage section. It offers articles focusing on marriage preparation and marriage enrichment with a faith perspective. We hope you will read it and/or pass it along to a couple contemplating marriage or needing help with married life.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

The blessings of God throughout our lives

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 hope that this summer has been as blessed for each of you as it has for me. As if it couldn’t get any better as we enter this week, I am preparing to spend time with our outstanding seminarians. Hopefully many of you have had a chance to meet some of the great men studying to give their lives in service to you, through Christ and His Church. Please keep them in your prayers, along with several new young women from our diocese who are entering into religious life this year.

In terms of our seminarians, I’d ask that you also give special consideration to offering what financial support you can to our St. Joseph’s Fund for seminarian education. When all is said and done, we may have 32 men studying for the Diocese of Madison. With the blessing of these outstanding men comes the responsibility of paying for their formation and education.

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Patrick Hardyman

Continue efforts to protect life and defend marriage

To the editor:

Sometimes it is easy to grow weary as we battle for the rights of unborn children, the elderly, the handicapped, and to defend the institution of marriage in a culture that advocates for abortion rights, euthanasia, and same sex marriage.

We need to focus on the words of St. Paul to the Christian community at Galatia, “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6: 9).

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Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Nickels, dimes, and family size

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

A few years ago, I spoke with a young man preparing to get married. His aunt told him that she thought he and his fiancée were too financially-strapped to have a child, and that it wouldn’t be fair to bring up a baby in poverty. Keenly aware of his joblessness and his minuscule bank account, he concluded she was probably right.

The young man and his fiancée were ready to tie the knot in a few months and they expected that she would be at the infertile phase of her cycle around the time of their honeymoon, so they would be able to consummate the marriage while avoiding bringing a child into the world.

They agreed they would use Natural Family Planning (NFP) after that to avoid a pregnancy. A few years later when they felt financially secure, he told me, they would have their first child.

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