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LAST WEB SITE UPDATE: 06/26/2009
The College Connection Program picnic
scheduled for Tuesday, July 14th, has been CANCELLED.
Bishop Morlino will not be able to attend the picnic. We are suggesting that those who were interested in the College Connections Picnic register for the Diocesan Family Picnic on Sunday, July 26th at the Bishop O'Connor Center from 2 to 6 pm. More information on the Diocesan Family Picnic can be found here. We're sorry for the inconvenience and hope to see you on Sunday, July 26th.
Announcing a new program that will help high school seniors transitioning to college life for the very first time to stay connected with their Catholic faith ... the College Connection Program! Click "College Connection Program" on the left to learn more about the program, and to sign your high school senior up to participate in the program!
 Assignments for summer, 2009 have been added to seminarian profiles.
College Connection Program picnic general information & e-registration form added
God bless you, and thank you for visiting our web site.
Please continue to pray for our seminarians, our priests and religious,
for more vocations in our diocese, and throughout the Church.
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Click here to view a video clip
from the Ordinaton Mass,
courtesy of Joe Ptak
of Memory Lane Video
MADISON - On Friday, May 23rd, the faithful and clergy of the Diocese gathered at St. Maria Goretti Parish to ordain four transitional deacons to the Order of the Presbyterate. There were more than 1,000 people in attendance at the Mass of Ordination, which began at 7:30pm. Bishop Robert Morlino was the principal celebrant and ordained the four men. Concelebrants at the Mass included Bishop Emeritus William H. Bullock and more than 70 priests - from the Diocese of Madison and priest-friends of the ordinandi.
Bishop Morlino reminded the men in his homily that their principal role is one of shephering souls so that they may be guided in the way of salvation. He also reminded the men of their intimate connection to him, and to the office of the bishop. The Church teaches that priests share in the priesthood and the ministry of bishop, and because of this intimate relationship, the bishop referred to the men as his sons. Morlino also reflected upon the indelible mark that the grace of ordination leaves upon the priest. The grace that is imparted in the conferral of the priesthood, and in all of the Sacraments of the Church, can never be taken away. The lives of these priests have been forever changed, and those sentiments are expressed in Psalm 110, which says, "You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek."
 Following the Mass of Ordination, Msgr. Donald Heiar, Vicar General of the Diocese, presented the newly ordained with their first priestly assignments. In their new role as Parochial Vicar, they will assist their Pastors in providing the Sacraments to the faithful of the parishes they have been assigned to.
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| Dulli |
Moellenberndt |
Fr. Brian Dulli
---> to Parochial Vicar
---> Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, Sun Prairie
---> Msgr. Duane Moellenberndt, Pastor
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| Greenfield |
Burke |
Fr. David Greenfield
---> to Parochial Vicar
---> St. Maria Goretti Parish, Madison
---> Msgr. Michael Burke, Pastor
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| Schneider |
Schmitt |
Fr. Lance Schneider
---> to Parochial Vicar
---> St. Dennis Parish, Madison
---> Rev. Kent Schmitt, Pastor
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| Wendler |
Gunn |
Fr. Patrick Wendler
---> to Parochial Vicar
---> St. John the Baptist Parish, Waunakee
---> Msgr. James Gunn, Pastor
The men will begin their assignments on Wednesday, June 11th. 
On Saturday, May 24th, Frs. Wendler, Greenfield and Schneider offered Masses of Thanksgiving at their home parishes. Wendler is a priest-son of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, Sun Prairie; Greenfield is a priest-son of St. Maria Goretti Parish, Madison; and Schneider is a priest-son of St. John the Baptist Parish in Montello. Wendler and Greenfield celebrated their  Masses in the morning; Schneider presided at the 4pm vigil Mass that evening, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. Dulli celebrated his Mass at St. Maria Goretti Parish, Madison, at 3pm on Sunday afternoon. His Mass included a solemn procession with the Blessed Sacrament.
Frs. Wendler and Greenfield attended Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass. Frs. Dulli and Schneider attend the University of St. Mary of the Lake-Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Ill. Many seminarians and priest-classmates of the newly ordained were present to celebrate with them.
 Please pray for these men as they begin their priestly ministry, and for our seminarians. Bishop Morlino casually remarked that the only way he wanted to see his men leave the seminary was when they were ready for their ordination. With God's grace, let us pray that it shall be so!
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Picture Captions - Top to Bottom
Photos courtesy of the Catholic Herald
PHOTO 1 --> Priests lay hands upon those to be ordained. The laying on of hands symbolizes the calling down of the Holy Spirit to strengthen these men in the office of priesthood, which is to be conferred upon them.
PHOTO 2 --> Those to be ordained are first presented to the bishop, who questions those responsible for their formation upon whether or not they are worthy for the Sacrament of Holy Orders. After the ordinandi are presented to the bishop, they are then presented to the faithful, pictured here.
PHOTO 3 --> The bishop prays the Prayer of Ordination over the men to be ordained.
PHOTO 4 --> Frs. Wendler (left) and Schneider (right) distribute the Precious Body to the faithful who attended the Mass.
PHOTO 5 --> Bishop Morlino pours the Sacred Chrism and anoints the hands of Fr. Schneider. This symbolizes the sacredness of the priest's hands, who, by the power of Jesus Christ, acts in His person and confers the Sacraments upon the faithful.
PHOTO 6 --> Fr. Wendler receives the chalice and paten, a great reminder that the heart and soul of the priesthood lies in the Eucharist. The chalice holds the wine, which becomes the Blood of Christ, and the paten holds the presidential host, which becomes the Body of Christ.
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Recently, the Midwest Theological Forum finished production on an excellent video, entitled "The Catholic Priest Today: A Man of Faith, A Man of Tradition, A Man of God. The video is designed to speak to anyone who may have an interest in the priesthood.
The video features one of our own priests, Fr. Eric Nielsen, pictured at left, who is pastor at St. Paul University Catholic Center in Madison. In his remarks, Fr. Nielsen reminds viewers that  when discerning a vocation, there are more things to discern than the vocation itself. Saying yes to the priesthood reveals God's grace in many new ways, but it is also important to discern what sacrifices must be made in order to pursue a priestly vocation. In priesthood, sacrifice becomes blessing, and this theme is beautifully illustrated in this film.
Also included in the film is are commentaries by His Eminance, Francis Cardinal George, Cardinal-Archbishop of Chicago, Ill., and Dr. Scott Hahn, a well-noted scripture scholar and author.
There is a web site dedicated to the video, located at http://www.thecatholicpriesttoday.com You may also order a DVD from the web site as well. Click on the link below to view the video.
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 "To preside at the Lord’s Supper is, therefore, an urgent invitation to offer oneself in gift, so that the attitude of the Suffering Servant and Lord may continue and grow in the Church. Dear young men, nurture your attraction to those values and radical choices which will transform your lives into service of others, in the footsteps of Jesus, the Lamb of God. …Do not be afraid to accept this call. You will surely encounter difficulties and sacrifices, but you will be happy to serve, you will be witnesses of that joy that the world cannot give. You will be living flames of an infinite and eternal love. You will know the spiritual riches of the priesthood, divine gift and mystery."
These are the words of our previous Holy Father, John Paull II, and they so eloquently express the joy and gift of serving God's holy people in priesthood. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's Vocations and Priestly Formation committee embarked on an effort to try and address the need of discerning a vocation amidst the world we live in today. What resulted was an award-winning video entitled "Fishers of Men".
We have made this video available to you here on our web site. To view the video, click on the appropriate link below. Running time is approximately 20 minutes. Dial-up users may wish to save the video to their computers first by right-clicking on the link and choosing "Save As...". Viewing via streaming video is recommended only for our broadband visitors.
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| UPCOMING RETREAT FOR WOMENThe Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy are sponsoring a silent discernment retreat at the Mother Cabrini Shrine, located at 20189 Cabrini Blvd. in Golden, Colorado. Young women, ages 18-35 are encouraged to attend! The retreat will begin on Friday, September 5th and conclude on Sunday, September 7th. The retreat will include community morning and evening prayer along with presentations on the Liturgy of the Hours. Also included will be Lectio Divina, and presentations on religious life and discernment. Holy Mass and opportunities for Adoration will be held daily, along with opportunities to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The sisters will also be available for one-on-one talks. For more information, or to register for this retreat, please contact Sr. Esther Mary Nickel, RSM by telephoning her at (303) 765-4592 or (303) 715-3144. You may also email her at sister.nickel@archden.org REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS AUGUST 29TH.
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| Samuel GroupThe sisters of the Apostles of the Interior Life would like to introduce to you the Samuel Group, an opportunity for concrete spiritual growth for young adults (ages 19-30) in the Diocese of Madison. Over sixty people in the diocese have completed the program with very positive and encouraging feedback on its emphasis on purification, meditation, and interior self-reflection.
The program has a three-fold goal for each candidate: to know oneself, to know Jesus and to know one’s role in the Church and in the world. The meetings are held one Sunday afternoon per month, September until April, from 2:30 to 6 p.m. at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center on the UW Madison campus. For more information, please contact Sister Celestina at 608-354-5562 or srcele@gmail.com.
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| The Quo Vadis GroupThe Quo Vadis group is entering into its second year! The goal of this new program is to help discerning men discover whether or not they may be called to religious through dialogue - both in prayer, and with other discerning men. Please, come and join us!
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Ever thought about how you can be a part of the New Evangelization, begun by our previous Holy Father, John Paul II, and continuing with Benedict XVI? Some of our seminarians for the Diocese of Madison reflected on this very question. What did their prayer and reflection yield? A new and exciting program sponsored by the Office of Vocations!
Being a good evangelizer means bringing the true faith of Christ to those who have questions, or who might be wondering about different aspects of the Catholic faith. That's just what some of our seminarians did this past summer! They set out for the streets of downtown Madison to solicit questions from people about the Catholic Church. From seminary studies and prayer to celibacy and the ordination of women, it's all covered!
These questions were brought to the air of Relevant Radio, and are discussed from a variety of perspectives. How will an issue affect the lives of Catholic Christians? What are the pastoral implications? What are some fundamental reasons for why the Church teaches what she does? Feel free to listen to some of the radio broadcasts on topics that were discussed by clicking on the link at the right.
Every time we help someone to grow in their faith, we not only bring them closer to Christ and His Church, but we ourselves grow in faith as we more deeply understand what it means to be an authentic disciple of the Lord Jesus.
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On Charity
On Eucharistic Adoration
On Seminary Studies
On Married Clergy
On Transubstantiation
On Papal Infallibility
On Salvation Outside of
the Roman Catholic Church
On the fundamental differences
between Catholics and Lutherans
On the Ordination of
Females to the Priesthood
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The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
Lord, open our eyes,
that we may see you in our brothers and sisters.
Lord, open our ears, that we may hear the cries
of the hungry, the cold, the frightened, the oppressed.
Lord, open our hearts, that we may
love each other as you love us.
Renew in us your Spirit. Lord, free us and make us one.
Prayer of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)
Founder of the Missionaries of Charity
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Prayer for Vocations
Lord, we believe that You are present in the Holy Eucharist. Please watch over your Mystical Body, the Church, and send it shepherds to guide it. Grant our Diocese of Madison an increase in vocations to preisthood, deaconate, religious life, and sacramental married life. Help us to be instruments of your will in guiding young people through our teaching of the Catholic faith and the example of our lives. Instill in parents a desire to offer a child to priesthood or religious life, and sanctify priests, brothers, and sisters to be models of virtue and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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