St. Peter's Church, Ashton, WI - celebrates 150th anniversary

St. Peter Parish is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year and held a Mass and dinner November 5 to mark the occasion.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino came to the parish, located in rural Dane County about 10 miles outside Madison, to celebrate Mass. Concelebrants included Fr. Brian Dulli, pastor of the parish, Fr. Laverne Meier, Fr. John Meinholz, and Fr. Henry Kalscheuer.

The parish has grown considerably since it was founded by 20 families as a mission church of Cross Plains and Martinsville. It currently has over 300 registered families.

“Many other people have been positively impacted by the Holy Spirit’s generous outpouring in Ashton,” said Father Dulli in his homily during the Saturday evening Mass which packed the church’s pews.

continue at MadCatHerald

more photos at madisoncatholicherald.smugmug.com

Madison Diocese offer Youth 2000 retreat for young Catholics

The Youth 2000 retreat, held for the third time in the Diocese of Madison, drew a smaller group of youth and young adults than previous years, but the reaction to the weekend of Eucharistic Adoration, Mass, Reconciliation, and talks on the faith remained high.

Previous retreats had brought in several hundred youth, and the numbers this time only hit 75 youth and about 50 adults, but Lindsay Becher, coordinator of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Madison Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, said that it didn’t seem to affect the personal experience of the youth.

“I heard from some of the kids that the smaller numbers made the experience different,” she acknowledged. But overall, she said, the reactions were positive and on Sunday during the closing of the retreat many of the youth stood up to share the fact that they had been to a retreat before and still had a deepening of their faith during this retreat.

continue at MadCatHerald 

photos courtesy of Kat Wagner at Smugmug

UW Badger Catholics to pray rosary outside "Gentleman's" Club in Madison

From UW Badger Catholic

We are going to Silk Exotic to pray a rosary outside the doors for the intentions of those struggling with sexual immorality so they can find the love they are looking for. We will meet at St. Paul's and drive from there. It's about a 15 minute drive. It would be great to have as many people as possible so we can have the biggest possible impact in the battle against satan. Please RSVP so we can arrange rides. If you want to drive that would also be great.

That's what I'm talkin bout!  

HT Maggie

BTW, they are on Facebook.  I'm grateful not to be the object of a copyright lawsuit - but honestly, I googled the name and searched and found nothing when I named this blog.  I'm thinking I need to get me one of the shirts...

Bp. Morlino to lead pilgrimage to Rome, Fr. Z may be joining

I was alerted about pilgrimage being arranged by Bishop Morlino of Madison.

12-23 February.   Ash Wednesday is 22 February, this year.  A chance to be in Rome and maybe even catch part of the Holy Father’s walk (or glide?) from Sant’Anselmo to Santa Sabina?  22 February is also the Feast of the Chair of Peter, when the Vatican Basilica is all jazzed up.  I don’t know about how that will work with Ash Wednesday.  I am digging.

Trips like these are sometimes planned by dioceses to coincide with a bishop’s ad limina visit to Rome. The late scheduling of the spring ad limina visits for US dioceses resulted in a tight turnaround.

I’ve heard that the Diocese of Madison and organizers extended the sign-up period for a few days beyond their original deadline. Essentially, I think they need more people to sign up.

It seems to be a pretty good trip.  They did not bite off too much to chew.  They also included Orievto, which is always a treat.

You would meet the great Bp. Morlino, about whom I have written many times.  Of course it is also a working trip for him, but there will certainly be occasions.

Short notice, but if enough of WDTPRS readers sign-up, I will probably go too.

Call Toll Free: 1-800 515-2632

FatherZ

Benefit dinner for Madison's St. Ambrose Academy

MADISON -- St. Ambrose Academy is excited to announce its Fifth Annual Benefit Dinner, which is coordinated this year by St. Ambrose Academy’s new Director of Development, Laura Karlen.

The event will celebrate Catholic education throughout the diocese by inviting Catholic primary schools whose students have gone to St. Ambrose or whose students are on the Academy waiting list to attend the dinner and set up informational tables. Those in attendance will thus have an opportunity to learn more about Catholic education in our area.

Karlen, who also coordinates the 40 Days For Life prayer vigil outside Planned Parenthood, first learned about St. Ambrose Academy through Madison pro-life events at which Ambrose students were unfailingly present.

“Every time my life intersected with Ambrose students, I could sense their closeness to Christ and their joy in their faith. Joy is a rare thing in our culture, and here at St. Ambrose, the students are radiantly on fire for the faith. People want to invest in joy,” said Karlen. “It gives them hope for the future. People recognize the light in the eyes of St. Ambrose students.

“Too often people don’t consider joy in our culture; they only pursue material happiness. Joy is the spiritual, lasting peace of knowing we are in union with God, whereas happiness is the fleeting satisfaction of our desires. Our students will build up the Church by radiating Christ and winning over those around them who find that joy infectious.”

continue at MadCat

Madison Diocese Office of Worship issues correction on Communion

Don’t stop ordering sacramental wine or sell your common chalices! Bishop Morlino has not “outlawed” Communion under both kinds and he has stated that he never will. Currently there is no diocesan plan or timetable regarding the Communion Rite.

The reports from the Phoenix Diocese concerning the expiration of an indult regarding Communion under both kinds seem to have been mistaken. I have contacted the USCCB Secretariat for Divine Worship regarding this. While there was permission granted to the US Bishops for Communion under both kinds on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation (October 13, 1984), there was no time limit noted in the decree on file in the USCCB. My assumption is that this somehow was confused with another indult (regarding the purification of sacred vessels by EMHC) that expired and was not renewed around that same time. Unfortunately the internet has perpetuated this to the point that it is considered to be true, even though there is evidence to the contrary.

The current law (GIRM no. 283) is clear. The pertinent part says:

The Diocesan Bishop may establish norms for Communion under both kinds for his own diocese, which are also to be observed in churches of religious and at celebrations with small groups. The Diocesan Bishop is also given the faculty to permit Communion under both kinds whenever it may seem appropriate to the Priest to whom a community has been entrusted as its own shepherd, provided that the faithful have been well instructed and that there is no danger of profanation of the Sacrament or of the rite’s becoming difficult because of the large number of participants or for some other cause.

We tend to focus on the faculty “to permit whenever appropriate” and pass over “provided that the faithful have been well instructed and that there is no danger of profanation of the Sacrament…” The U. S. Norms (no. 24), which are the particular law for our nation, further state that the excessive use of EMHC, if it obscures the role of priest/deacon as ordinary minister of Holy Communion, may be a reason to limit Communion under both kinds.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal is available online at http://usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/roman-missal/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/ . The Norms for the United States are online at http://nccbuscc.org/liturgy/current/norms.shtml . Both also are published in the front matter of the Roman Missal, third edition.

I am hoping to outline some questions for reflection for pastors and liturgical leaders to reflect and evaluate on some of the “conditions” mentioned above (as well as some other items). This won’t be done immediately, but will be a priority. In the meantime, you are free to move on this as you wish. If you are not prepared to give a serious catechesis on this, my suggestion would be to hold off a bit until this first becomes clearer in your mind (through study and prayer). I am certain that the Bishop wishes to move in this direction. I am equally certain that he is desirous that it is done well so that it deepens, rather than harms, the faith of your people and the unity of the Church. 

the entire letter at Madison Diocese 

more details at Fr. Z's

Madison clinic offers free primary care for uninsured

MADISON (WKOW) -- A local clinic is offering free care for those without insurance.

Our Lady of Hope clinic holds walk-in hours for uninsured patients at least twice a week.

It's a unique approach called concierge medicine. Benefactors pay a set amount for healthcare year-round, which in turn, pays for the uninsured.

Doctors say they saw a need in the Madison-area. According to the latest statistics from the 2009 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, 9.4% of people in Wisconsin are uninsured.

In Dane County, the number is 6.8%. In Rock County, it's 9.8%. In Milwaukee, it's 12.9%.

Dr. Michael Kloess, who established the clinic along with Dr. Anne Volk Johnson, said, "The problem you run into, is they don't receive primary care. Then they end up in the ER, with a stroke, or a heart attack, which could have been easily prevented."

Kenneth Waites heads to Our Lady of Hope Clinic while he looks for a job. He said he lost his job last October, and along with that, his family's health insurance.

Waites said, "Without this place.. I don't know what I would have done. It's a god-send."

Bobby Peterson works for ABC for Health Inc, in Madison, a non profit public interest law firm that guides people through the healthcare system.

He says he's also seen the impact being uninsured can have on people.

Peterson said, "You delay going to see the doctor, and that leads to expensive care... We're still feeling the effects of the great recession.... so its tough out there."

Our Lady of Hope Clinic holds walk-in hours every Monday, Tuesday, every Thursday afternoon, and every other Friday morning.

Costs vary to be a benefactor, but it costs the average person about $1200 dollars. Costs are different for families and also depend on age.

There are other clinics in the Madison area that provide this care, and hospitals have programs for those who need help as well.

WKOW 27

Bp. Morlino to lead 40 Days prayer vigil Oct 18th at PP Madison

40 Days Midpoint Vigil with Bishop Robert Morlino
Tuesday, October 18 at 6:00 p.m.

As a firm supporter of 40 Days for Life, Bishop Robert Morlino will offer us some spiritual encouragement and lead us in prayer during our candlelight midpoint vigil at the vigil site on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood (3706 Orin Road Madison, WI 53704). On Tuesday, we will be halfway through our 40 Days for Life campaign. Now is the time to refuel spiritually for the second half of the campaign. Join us and Bishop Morlino in prayer.

Bp. Morlino offers clarification letter to Madison Diocese priests

Dear Brother Priests,

As I stated at the Presbyteral Assembly, and as I clarified in a letter to all of you, my chief intention in considering specific points in the liturgy, is simply to encourage throughout the diocese, a greater sense of reverence and a real truthfulness in what we say and do at the Mass. I still plan to send you some bullet points with regard to specific matters we discussed, but one individual point seems already to have drawn attention, and so I feel I must send and make public this letter to assist all of us in our teaching office.

There can be no doubt that the need for catechesis exists. There is also little doubt that some of these matters can be difficult to catechize. Without my issuing any public instruction other than a letter confirming my personal request to you to teach your people according to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, the “blogosphere,”[It wasn't me! It wasn't me!  When I read that, I started to sweat wondering what slipped out of my fingers and onto the blogosphere.  It turns out nothing!  Yea!]  has begun speculation and, perhaps, innuendo that I have decreed communion under both species should be completely done away with. You and I both know, no such decree has been, or will be made. As you know, and as I hope you are telling those who wonder, all I’ve done is to ask you patiently, prudently, and practically, to begin instructing your people according to the Roman Missal and implementing the General Instruction.

Since there seems to be some confusion with regard to what the GIRM says, I’ll remind you that you can order the document on-line from the USCCB Office of Liturgy (making certain that it’s the third edition). Here, however I’ll mention a few germane points from the document and, specifically, from the “Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion under Both Kinds in the Dioceses of the United States of America (Norms),” which the USCCB document includes.

We’ll first go back as far as the Document of the Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, which states:

“The dogmatic principles which were laid down by the Council of Trent remaining intact, Communion under both kinds may be granted when the bishops think fit, not only to clerics and religious, but also to the laity, in cases to be determined by the Apostolic See, as, for instance, to the newly ordained in the Mass of their sacred ordination, to the newly professed in the Mass of their religious profession, and to the newly baptized in the Mass which follows their baptism (SC, 55).”

Without here going into the “dogmatic principles laid down by the Council of Trent,” it is worth noting the examples that Vatican II considers when allowing communion under both kinds – newly ordained priests at their ordination, religious sisters and brothers at their profession, and those coming into the Church at their baptism and first communion. With these examples given by the Council for the distribution of Communion under both species, it would be hard to argue that Vatican II envisioned communion under both forms every week.

Now, with the issuance of the Roman Missal, the Church gets more specific in matters such as these (thus the General Instruction which we are presently using as our guide). The Missal goes further than the Vatican II document, instructing that the Chrism Mass and Corpus Christi would be good occasions for distributing Communion under both species, as might be the distribution to wedding couples at their marriage, to children receiving their First Communion, to Confirmation candidates at their Confirmation, to consecrated religious at their conventual Mass, to women and men on retreat, and to deacons and seminarians at any Mass. The document also allows the pastor to choose certain other days, such as the patronal feast of the parish, to distribute under both forms, so long as the reasons are good and so long as all other conditions are met. But it does warn pastors:

“In practice, the need to avoid obscuring the role of the Priest and the Deacon as the ordinary ministers of Holy Communion by an excessive use of extraordinary ministers might in some circumstances constitute a reason either for limiting the distribution of Holy Communion under both species…(Norms, 24)”

The Third Edition of the Roman Missal reinforces the right of bishops to make additional allowances for reception of Communion under both species, beyond that which the documents already mention:

“The Diocesan Bishop is also given the faculty to permit Communion under both kinds whenever it may seem appropriate to the Priest to whom a community has been entrusted as its own shepherd, provided that the faithful have been well instructed and that there is no danger of profanation of the Sacrament or of the rite’s becoming difficult because of the large number of participants or for some other cause (Roman Missal, 283).”

This permission has been assumed, if not expressed directly in the past. I recognize this, and I understand fully that communion under both forms at every Mass has become common practice at some parishes.

However, I have been told of, and have personally experienced, the reality that the provision both that the faithful be well instructed and that there be no danger of profanation of the Sacrament, is not being met. As such, while recognizing the need for patient, prudent and practical steps according to your individual parishes, I’ve asked you to move in this direction.

As I’ve said, over and over again, and as you know well, this requires catechesis. So many do not understand the Eucharist as the memorial of Christ’s Sacrifice, his death and resurrection; nor the real presence of Christ, body, blood, soul, and divinity, under both species of bread and wine; nor the role of the ordinary and, if necessary, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist. Most of all (and this has been my point from the start) so many of our people do not understand the kinds of reverence due at all times to the sacrament, whether within the Eucharistic Liturgy or outside the celebration.

This gets back to the need for the new translation, and every point I’ve attempted to make. What we say and do at the Mass, and what we do before the Lord present in the tabernacle matters.

Thus, I cannot in good conscience, allow us to go forward without addressing these matters. That’s specifically what I’ve asked you to do. Please help your people to know and understand the beautiful gift we have in the Eucharist, to know our obligations of preparing for reception of the Sacrament, both in terms of our preparation through the Sacrament of Confession, our observance of the pre-communion fast, our attending to our attire as best we can, and the like. Please help them to know of Christ’s presence, fully and entirely in the Sacred Host. Our people know well, the aspect of the Mass which is the Sacred banquet, but help them to know the Eucharist at the Memorial of Christ’s loving Sacrifice for them. Help them to understand your role in laying down your own life as the minister of Christ’s Body and Blood, present in the Host.

Christ offers Himself, whole and entire, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity at every Mass to every woman and man who is prepared to receive Him. At the end of the day, our goal should be to help every, man, woman and child really to understand this, in a profound and life-changing way. If we recognized the gift that we already have, what an impact that would make upon us and upon the world! So, let us tell out this Good News!

Faithfully yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Robert C. Morlino
Bishop of Madison

Madison Diocese

I saw Fr. Z has some good commentary over at his place.

I would follow this man to the ends of the earth.

HT Ben Yanke

WisSJ: Bishop Morlino to priests: Hold the "communion wine"

Credit: Diane Korzeniewski, OCDS

Madison Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino has asked priests in the diocese to move toward using only bread during regular communion services, reserving the use of both bread and wine for more solemn or special occasions. [I think host and cup or chalice would be a better way to address the species]

The change would be a significant departure from current U.S. Catholic custom, although bread-only is the norm in many other parts of the world. Madison would become only the second diocese in the country known to limit wine as a general policy.

However, diocesan officials stressed Monday that Morlino has not issued a directive to priests.

“He has not issued a formal mandate or set a fixed timeline but has asked pastors to exercise their own leadership to move in this direction,” said Monsignor James Bartylla, the diocese’s second-in-command.

Morlino first discussed the topic with priests at a retreat late last month, Bartylla said.

In a letter to priests Monday, Morlino said the change was needed to deepen laypeople’s reverence for the Eucharist, the Catholic term for communion. Catholics believe bread and wine, when consecrated by a priest, become the actual body and blood of Christ. [Well, some of us do anyway.]

Morlino wrote that he has personally experienced occasions when reverence for the consecrated wine “is not being met.” 

The use of consecrated wine at regular Masses often requires non-ordained parishioners to assist priests in helping with distribution. Some believe this increases the likelihood of unintentional mishandling of Christ’s blood through careless treatment, spillage or swilling[swilling??].

“Wine, as a liquid, is much more subject to accidents and misuse than bread,” Bartylla said. “There are practical and logistical difficulties.”

Catholic teaching holds that only one form — consecrated bread or wine — is needed to receive Christ’s full person, while both together constitute “a fuller sign” of the Last Supper.  [I think that was JPII's take on the issue... although I never understood what that actually meant.]

Travis Ganser, a member of the Cathedral Parish, said he supports the move.

“If you really believe what the church teaches and that the bishop is the church’s shepherd, then decisions like this are easy to accept,” he said.

Jim Andrews, a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Beloit, called it “sort of a ridiculous idea.” [and added "fer sure, like totally"..]

“This changes the meaning and traditions that I know,”[those two word do go together, don't they?] he said. “The other practical ramification is there will be fewer laypeople involved in services.” [what a concept!]

That rationale for dropping wine was hotly debated Monday by Catholic scholars.

Anthony Ruff, a Benedictine monk and associate professor of theology at St. John’s University in Collegeville[gee, I wonder what his take on the matter will be], Minn., said the failure to get an explicit extension just means the universal rules of the church kick in.

“Nothing in the universal rules of the church requires the bishop to restrict both forms,” he said. “This decision is absolutely unnecessary. The bishop has full authority to allow communion under both forms at all Masses if he wishes.”

Ruff called the move “demoralizing to dedicated priests and lay ministers in the diocese.”  [oh, what?  Ah, yes, thanks for waking me up after his comments were over.]

But Dennis Martin, a theology professor at Loyola University in Chicago[Interesting!], said any U.S. diocese routinely distributing both forms “is in violation of church rules.”

“A renewal was requested and not given,” Martin said. “I’m sorry, that sounds to me like a pretty deliberate and intentional statement of bread-only.”

He praised Morlino’s move as “quite reasonable and quite practical.”

Officials with the Madison diocese said examples of when both wine and bread might be used include marriage ceremonies, ordinations and occasions that are solemn in nature for the diocese or individual parishes.

The whole thing at WisSJ: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/article_12b3e3d0-a352-58c0-aeca-148b7b8bf0bf.html#ixzz1aV1GZV5i

They go into the history, early church loved having that chalice passed around, etc.  Really not a terrible article though, balanced out, I mean they are trying to report on these things well which is nice to see.  Ha, and if you want to take a look at the picture that goes along with the article it made me laugh. 

FatherZ: Diocese of Madison, WI, to stop regular Holy Communion under both kinds. The indult ran out in 2005.

These are Fr. Z's comments. He has more details over at his place.

Dear Friends in Christ:
Maybe you noticed a story in last week's Catholic Herald about new norms for Communion under both species in the Diocese of Phoenix. You may have wondered why this story from Arizona received such prominent coverage here (on page 3 of the Catholic Herald, where letters from Bishop Morlino appear). In fact, the story was featured because it will be significant for us as well. Bishop Morlino spoke to us priests about this while we together at Wisconsin Dells at the end of last month.

In the last couple of decades, Communion under both species (with the congregation able to receive the Pre-cious Blood as well as the Sacred Host) has become routine in our experience. I knew (as many of you do) that Communion under both species was first introduced, on a limited basis, after the Second Vatican Council, and that it has become much more common since. What I did not know was that the widespread American practice of offering both species at most Sunday Masses began here under an indult (special permission) given by the Vatican in 1975, which expired in 2005.

 [Get that everyone?  The key points: it was a special permission to depart from the norm and that permission expired.]

Almost no one realized that until very recently. Maybe we can be forgiven for forgetting that we were operating under a temporary indult. After thirty years, something can seem pretty permanent. But it wasn’t. The bishops of our country did apply for an extension of the 1975 in-dult, but that was denied.

So, all over the United States, we now find ourselves needing to bring our practice into conformity with current regulations (and with the rest of the world). In his comments at Chula Vista, Bishop Morlino mentioned a few instances in which Communion under both kinds is still permitted: the Chrism Mass, the Feast of Corpus Christi, for the bride and groom at a Nuptial Mass, and for those so allergic to wheat that they cannot tolerate even low-gluten hosts. Beyond those occasions and circumstances, Communion can be offered under both species at celebrations of special importance. But it is clear that we will not be seeing Communion under both species as a weekly practice.

Bishop Morlino understands that this comes as news to all of us. He is giving pastors considerable latitude as to the timetable for implementing this change. He suggested that the beginning of Advent (when the new translation of the Missal is fully implemented) would be one plausible date to make the change. That will be our timetable here at the Cathedral Parish (and also at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center, the other parish clustered with us).

Msgr. Kevin D. Holmes

Madison Cathedral

You may have heard me say this before. From time to time Catholic folks will ask me about moving to Wisconsin, and will try and get a feel for the state. If you have a choice of location, the best place to be is as close to Bishop Morlino as possible. I would be at his Cathedral parish in Madison if I was put in that situation.

Dr. Peter Kreft to speak in Madison Nov. 18th

The Knights of Divine Mercy (www.knightsofdivinemercy.com) will be hosting nationally-known Catholic speaker and professor Dr. Peter Kreeft from Boston College on Friday, November 18th at 7:00 pm at the Bishop O'Connor Center in Madison, WI. This event is open to men and women of all ages from the Diocese of Madison. Please mark your calendars! More details to follow soon.

Knights

I really enjoyed his recent article; Twelve things to know about angels.  Hmm, maybe it's an excerpt, not an article?  At any rate, very good stuff.

St. Paul's Catholic Center promo video

St. Pauls promo video from Backflip Films on Vimeo.

This is a video we did for St. Paul's University Catholic Center located in Madison WI.

Fr. Sternberg of UW-Madison's St. Paul's Catholic Center on the Mass

Father Eric Sternberg at Alpha Omega: Mass Confusion (9/22/11) from Alpha-Omega on Vimeo.

Dear Marquette,
Why do I have to send my children to the University of Wisconsin to learn this?
Sincerely,
Families who would send their children to your school if you weren't clueless.

Seriously, this is very good news for Wisconsin Catholics.  We've talked about it before, but the best place to send your children to go to college in Wisconsin is UW-Madison and have them join St. Paul's Catholic Center on campus.

HT The Recovering Choir Director

MadCatHerald: The importance of family meals

When I was growing up, our family ate all of our meals together at home. This included breakfast, lunch, and supper. We sat around our kitchen table, often lingering to talk after the food was gone.

Editor's View by Mary C. UhlerMealtime became an opportunity to share our plans for the day, to find out what we thought about the day’s news, and even to debate various issues. My parents always encouraged open discussion, even on such topics as politics and religion.

With our own children, my husband and I also encouraged shared meal times. We almost always ate dinner together, even delaying the meal for sports and after-school activities so that we could sit down and share a meal.

I think our children — now grown with children of their own — enjoyed those times to eat and talk with each other. Now we like getting together with our extended families for meals. Even the grandchildren from babies and up are brought to the table when possible to join with the family for hors d’oeuvres and the meal.
Eating together makes a difference

It’s sad to hear that many families today do not eat together. That’s why it was necessary to set aside a day to remind families to eat together. This year’s “Family Day — A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children” will be held on Monday, Sept. 26.

Family Day is a national movement that reminds parents that dinner makes a difference. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University launched Family Day in 2001. It grew out of research which consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely are they to smoke, drink, or use drugs. Those kids are also more likely to get better grades in school and have an excellent relationship with their parents.

Many Catholic archdioceses and dioceses are promoting Family Day. Andy Galvin, coordinator of marriage preparation in the Diocese of Madison, is encouraging families to support this initiative.

continue at MadCat

Wisconsin dioceses choose new OCP music settings as norms

We are honored to share the following list of parishes, dioceses, archdioceses and worship communities around the world who have chosen OCP Mass settings to implement the new English translation of the Roman Missal.

It is our hope that these settings will help Catholics everywhere to celebrate their faith with renewed vigor.


Belmont Mass by Christopher Walker
Diocese of La Crosse (WI)

Mass of Renewal by Curtis Stephan
Diocese of La Crosse (WI)

Mass of St. Frances Cabrini by Kevin Keil
Diocese of La Crosse (WI)

Mass of the Resurrection by Randall DeBruyn
Diocese of Madison (WI)

Oregon Catholic Press

What have Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Superior selected?  Does anyone know?  I haven't heard any of them so I couldn't give my totally uneducated opinion on the matter.

Retreats offered at Sts. Peter & Paul in Wisconsin Rapids

Sts. Peter and Paul Parish & the Marian Center for Peace will host a Mini-Retreat on the Life & Spirituality of St. Thérèse of Lisieux on October 1st, 2011 at SS Peter and Paul Church (1110 1st Street North, Wis Rapids). Father Samuel Martin, Parochial Administrator at St. John the Baptist in Marshfield will be the keynote speaker. Retreat begins with Mass at 8:30 AM and runs until 11:15 AM, ending with the novena prayer to St. Thérèse. There will be a free-will offering to cover the costs of the retreat. No registration required. For more information, call 715-423-1351 or e-mail sspeter_paul@hotmail.com.

Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Adult Formation Program will offer a “Marriage Renewal Retreat” Saturday, Nov. 12, 9 a.m.-2p.m at SS Peter and Paul Church (1110 1st Street North, Wis Rapids). All married couples are invited to the retreat. Dr. John Buri, professor of Psychology at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN and author of the book “How To Love Your Wife,” is the keynote speaker. For more information or to register by Nov. 1, call 715-423-1351, e-mail sspeter_paul@hotmail.com or register online at http://www.sspeterandpaulcatholic.com.

Madison Youth petition for better liturgical music at Youth Retreat

We're all smiles after someone smashes your guitar

As you might know, many have attended the Youth 2000 retreats since they began here in Madison in 2009. Thank you for all of the work that you have put into these retreats.

But as you also may know, one of the frustrations that many have stems from the music used during the weekend. It seems quite clear that the church consistently asks us for something higher, something more reverent than rock music during the Holy Mass (rock music is being used in a more general sense, for the sake of this discussion).

Of course, this is not a new problem. For example, in 1905, Pope Pius X covered nearly the same issue:

“[2.] It must be holy, and therefore avoid everything that is secular, both in itself and in the way in which it is performed. It must really be an art, since in no other way can it have on the mind of those who hear it that effect which the Church desires in using in her liturgy the art of sound.


“But it must also be universal in this sense, namely, that although each country may use in its ecclesiastical music whatever special forms may belong to its own national style, these forms must be subject to the proper nature of sacred music, so that it may never produce a bad impression on the mind of any stranger who may hear it.”
—Tra Le Sollecitudini, 1905

 continue and sign the petition at Yankehome

HT BY

40 Days for Life begins next week!

From Pro-Life Wisconsin. If you're in the Madison area, don't miss the kickoff (see final item.)

The fall 40 Days for Life campaign officially begins Wednesday, September 28. PLW and our affiliates will once again be organizing and participating in 40 Days for Life, which will be observed this fall in Appleton, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Racine, Wausau and across the border in Rockford, Ill.

There have now been eight coordinated 40 Days for Life campaigns since 2007, mobilizing people of faith and conscience in 337 cities across all 50 of the United States plus communities in Canada, Australia, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Spain, Denmark, Georgia, Armenia and Belize.

During these unified efforts, participants witnessed countless blessings from God:

- 1,332 individual campaigns have taken place in 387 cities;

- More than 400,000 have joined together in an historic display of unity to pray and fast for an end to abortion;

- More than 13,000 church congregations have participated in the 40 Days for Life campaig

ns;

- Reports document 4,313 lives that have been spared from abortion — and those are just the ones we know about;

- 53 abortion workers have quit their jobs and walked away from the abortion industry;

- 14 abortion facilities completely shut down following local 40 Days for Life campaigns.

To get involved, call PLW toll-free at (877) 463-7945 or email info@prolifewisconsin.org.

Madison's 40 Days for Life Kickoff will be held Tuesday, September 27 at St. Peter Church in Madison (5001 N. Sherman Avenue). We'll gather between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m., and the program starts at 6 sharp. It will be a potluck dinner (main course will be provided).

Dr. Nancy Fredericks will be the guest speaker. Dr. Fredricks is the whistleblower who exposed the University of Wisconsin's secret plans to perform late-term abortions at the Madison Surgery Center, leading to the massive, successful statewide pro-life uprising that led to the cancellation of those plans and the hasty departure of the abortionist. Without her courageous stance, the MSC would likely be performing late-term abortions. Still, Dr. Fredericks has graciously thanked Vigil for Life, Pro-Life Wisconsin and the 40 Days for Life effort for their roles in stopping the treacherous plan. Come join us for her first ever public speaking engagement on the Madison Surgery Center saga.

Photo: The line of pro-aborts screaming at pro-lifers praying during a Madison Surgery Center rally on the UW campus on February 6, 2010.

Bishop Morlino: Can government change the definition of marriage?

Very timely observation from a holy Bishop.

Madison Catholic Herald:

For this week’s column, allow me to pose the question, “Does any civil government have the authority to change the definition of marriage, either directly or indirectly?”

To change the definition of marriage directly would mean to call “marriage” any union apart from: one-man, one-woman, one-lifetime, with openness to children. It would mean to call “marriage” any other sort of union than the historical, traditional definition, articulated above.

Indirectly to change the definition of marriage would mean to establish by law certain institutions, civil-unions or otherwise, attempting to give them the same value as marriage, while never addressing the true meaning of marriage.

More and more, this indirect change is being proposed by clever politicians who say, “Well, I believe in marriage between a man and a woman myself, but society, at large, is leaning toward the acceptability of civil unions, so maybe this is a compromise?”

This indirect approach to redefining marriage seems very comfortable for the Catholic who deceives him or herself into thinking that he or she has one conscience for personal matters and another conscience for matters pertaining to the state. But, the Lord has given each human being, Catholic and otherwise, one conscience only.

The origins of marriage

What are the origins of marriage? Marriage was created by God at the very beginning, with the gift of Eve to Adam, and their natural marital bond, from which issued forth Cain and Abel.

Thus, the first societal grouping present in the world, long prior to the establishment of any civil government whatsoever, was marriage. Marriage as the basic unit of society was to be the place of mutual love, as well as the procreation and education of children, so that the other developments of societal structure would have marriage to build on, and as a necessary condition of their existence.

The principle of subsidiarity reminds us that problems of civil importance should be resolved at the lowest possible societal level. Thus, national governments should yield to the state where possible, the state should yield to local municipalities where possible, and local municipalities should yield to the natural family where possible. For example, it is clear that natural parents are the first and primary educators of their own children, a role never to be usurped unjustly by the state.

Read the rest here.