HT to
Father Z who scooped me again! Read
his comments over there.
THE MAKING OF A PRIEST |
PART 1
Midway through the Sunday Mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Dodgeville, the service took a sharp turn toward fundraising.
Monsignor Daniel Ganshert, the parish priest, told parishioners that for years, people in the Madison Catholic Diocese had been praying for more men to be called by God to the priesthood. The Holy Spirit has responded, Ganshert announced jubilantly.
There are now 33 seminarians, or priests-in-training, up from six in 2003 when Bishop Robert Morlino arrived. But that increase comes with responsibility, Ganshert said.
The diocese needs $30 million to educate current and future seminarians — “a serious chunk of money,” he acknowledged.
Ushers distributed pledge cards. The assembled were asked to dig deep.
The same scene is playing out across all 134 worship sites in the 11-county diocese. The effort, which began last fall and will continue through the end of this year, is the first diocesan-wide capital campaign in more than 50 years.
Read more:
http://host.madison.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/religion/as-number-of-seminarians-surges-madison-diocese-seeks-m-to/article_8498cc8a-2eba-5f07-9d2d-799b5ad4ca6c.html#ixzz3TFDc3kla
THE MAKING OF A PRIEST |
PART 2
ST. PAUL — Alone in his seminary dorm room on a recent afternoon, Chris Gernetzke imagined he was standing before a flock of the Catholic faithful.
He cleared off his computer desk, the one with the mini-fridge underneath, and placed a wine chalice on the makeshift altar.
For the next hour, he rehearsed the prayers, blessings and rites that constitute the Roman Catholic Mass, something he does every day.
“There’s a spiritual aspect to it, of course,” said Gernetzke, 26, who is in his final semester at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, Minnesota. “But there’s also just the mechanics of it that you have to get down.”
Gernetzke is one of 33 men studying to be priests in the Madison Catholic Diocese and one of five who will graduate this spring and return to the diocese for a parish assignment. They are part of a wave of new recruits since Bishop Robert Morlino arrived in 2003 and made vocations — or discerning a call to the priesthood — a priority.
Read more:
http://host.madison.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/religion/for-young-priest-in-training-days-of-classes-prayer-and/article_f2788abe-acfe-5766-b935-0a24e55e0379.html#ixzz3TFGxCRow
I think another great piece by Doug Erickson(I really enjoyed when he profiled Bp. Morlino). Yes, he invokes Call to Action and Jim Green/Holy Wisdom but they make themselves sound so laughable it should be required. I can almost visualize Green squirming in his seat. Erickson has really developed a knack(and probably because he has gotten
hopefully constructive comments when he treats a topic unfairly). For the record, Doug Erickson is probably the best secular news writer to cover Catholic topics
in the state of Wisconsin. I dig through tons of newspapers, and if you think articles like this aren't a fair shake, you should take a look at some of the rest of the coverage. It's either verbatim from a press release(scared to offend), or wholly hostile(scared to defend). A few others in the state make an effort, but coverage sorely lacks.
In Part 2, here's an example:
When he consecrates communion bread and wine, it will become, as Catholicism teaches, the very body and blood of Jesus Christ.
He doesn't mock the teaching (or belittle it by putting quotation marks around words). And he does report the numbers, doesn't gloss over details, but still conveys a respectful report. Sure he's human and we've seen mistakes. We may not like it when he does a whole spread on Call to Action or Nuns on the Bus but at least when it comes time cover our stuff, he's getting it right.
