Back when I was growing up, priests were an important part of my daily life. I attended a Catholic school and the students went to Mass every morning during the week, so we saw our parish priests almost every day.
Besides celebrating Mass, our priests taught in the school. They prepared us for the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion and gave us those sacraments for the first time and many times after that.
A diocesan celebration to mark the close of this Year for Priests will be held Sunday, June 20, at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Rd., in Madison.
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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,
Despite the continued focus on the horrendous crimes of a relatively few priests within the Church, we move forward, a people of faith, cognizant of the fact that our Church is made up of sinners — our priests and bishops included — but that each of us has faith that it is Jesus Christ Himself who founded this Church, for our Salvation, and that He has sent the Holy Spirit to protect His Church from “the gates of hell.”
No matter the sins of Her members, even the terrible sins of a few of Her ministers, the Holy Spirit remains with the Bride of Christ, to care for Her, to reconcile all Her members to Christ, and to grant us everlasting life.
As one Body, each member of the Church is affected when another causes injury. We all feel profoundly the wounds inflicted by a few, and we must do all that we can to bring healing to those wounded. I don’t know that I’ve experienced that empathetic pain in anyone more than in our good priests and bishops. And that brings me to the point of this column.
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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. |
It was wonderful to witness and to hear of the strong turn-out of people at our Ash Wednesday Masses around the diocese. Such a turn-out is a hopeful sign that our people genuinely want to pursue the journey of holiness and conversion this Lent.
I share with you today three points that I made during my Mass on Ash Wednesday. The first point is regarding this, our Year for Priests, within the Church. I do think about the Year for Priests a lot, but I’m not sure that we’ve done everything that we can to help you think about it. I hope that you do think about it, though. My point is this: if it is the “Year for Priests,” and this “year” includes Lent, then this Lent is for priests.
Several years ago, the United States Catholic Bishops changed the observance of National Vocation Awareness Week from October to the week beginning with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This usually occurs during the second week in January.
I remember wondering why the bishops made this change. Having this week soon after Christmas and close to Catholic Schools Week didn’t seem to make sense to me. (It is also a challenge to prepare special articles and coverage of vocations for the Catholic Herald right after the holidays, but we’ve learned to adjust!)
To the editor:
We enjoyed participating in the Catholic Herald youth writing and drawing contest focusing on the Year for Priests. Our entire school took part in gratefully reflecting on and celebrating the many special qualities of Father Bakke.
To the editor:
In the Year of the Priest, this year’s priest’s retreat appropriately focused upon the priesthood. Msgr. Frank Bognanno, who a few years ago initiated our diocese’s Emmaus program for priestly renewal, led the retreat. He still has his Emmaus touch.
Father Bognanno shared inspiring insights on priesthood from spiritual giants such as Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, St. John Vianney, and others.
Priests and bishops of the Diocese of Madison will celebrate the Year for Priests at their 29th annual Presbyteral Assembly to be held at the Chula Vista Resort here Sunday evening through Wednesday, Sept. 27 to 30.
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Dear Friends,
2009 is a very special year for me personally, as, on June 1st I celebrated 35 years as a priest and, just this week, on September 21, I celebrate 10 years as a bishop. I was ordained the Bishop of Helena, Montana, in the Cathedral Church of St. Helena on September 21, 1999, the Feast of St. Matthew.
JANESVILLE — In honor of the Year for Priests, St. John Vianney Parish in Janesville will be the site of a one-man play entitled VIANNEY performed by Leonardo Defilippis, the director and star of the feature film Therese.
The play will take place on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m., at St. John Vianney Parish, 1250 E. Racine St., Janesville.
Pope Benedict XVI declared the Year for Priests to be under the patronage of St. John Vianney. The play is the story of this saint, who battled the devil and saved a whole village and thousands of souls.
