Bishops' Schedules: Bishop Robert C. Morlino Thursday, February 10, 2005 7:00 p.m. -- Guest Speaker, Alpha Omega Gathering, St. Paul University Catholic Center, Madison Saturday, February 12, 2005 5:30 p.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Stephen Parish, Clinton Sunday, February 13, 2005 10:30 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison 3:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach, Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, St. Albert the Great Parish, Sun Prairie Wednesday, February 16, 2005 9:30 a.m. -- Attend Wisconsin Catholic Conference Board Meeting, Archbishop Cousins Catholic Center, Milwaukee Bishop George O. Wirz Sunday, February 13, 2005 10:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Rose of Lima Parish, Cuba City Wednesday, February 16, 2005 9:30 a.m. -- Attend Wisconsin Catholic Conference Board Meeting, Archbishop Cousins Catholic Center, Milwaukee Thursday, February 17, 2005 12:00 p.m. -- Participate in Day of Lenten Reflection, Catholic Daughters of America, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison

In Year of Eucharist: Reflecting on gift of hope at Lent

		Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino

(Bishop Morlino sent out this letter to priests last week and offers it here for your reflection.)

Dear Brother Priest,

The term "Lent," referring to the season of our Church life upon which we embark, is as many know, the Old English word for "springtime." Springtime is in the first place a time of hope that the cold of winter will pass before long, and that the rebirth of nature will begin.

During this Year of the Eucharist we do well to reflect upon the hope of Lent which is partly the same and partly different from the hope of Advent.

The hope of Lent combines with a spirit of penance and sorrow for sin, that grace which is the necessary invitation to the Lord's forgiveness and mercy, the mercy which is our only hope for this life. At the Eucharist we are reminded again and again that through Christ, with Him, and in Him, we are to give our body to be broken and our blood to be poured out so that there might be mercy. Self-sacrifice in the name of mercy is at the very core of the motivation for any works of penance that we might perform during Lent. The Eucharist both forms and expresses this spirit of self-sacrifice in the name of mercy.

The gift and virtue of hope also is the power that enables us to "reach beyond the veil" as the author to the Letter to the Hebrews points out. The veil refers to the flesh of Christ, that is the sacrifice of His suffering and death for our sins. Hope reaches beyond that veil into the heavenly sanctuary itself where Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, leads the angels and saints, the souls in purgatory, and all believers on earth, in the one eternal worship of the Father. Imagine the power of that hope which reminds us that the suffering and death of Jesus both conceal and reveal His risen glory.

It is my hope that during these days of Lent, as we have mentioned in our dialogue together previously, you will take the occasion to explain some aspects of the Eucharistic celebration to your people. So many times people approach the weekly Eucharistic celebration as though it were simply an obligation, regularly arriving late and leaving early without good reason. The weekly Eucharistic celebration certainly should not be experienced primarily as a burden for our people. The weekly Eucharistic celebration will be filled with joy and meaning if our people arrive prepared to celebrate, that is with their hope engaged, the hope which is the power to enter the heavenly sanctuary beyond the veil. If our people do not come with this hope, this gift of the Holy Spirit actively engaged, it is hard to imagine that the Eucharistic celebration will be filled with meaning and all the more so for us as priests. The suffering and sacrifice that have come upon priests and bishops in these troubled times are joined in a special way with the sacrifice and suffering of Christ Himself in those of us who are privileged to be ordained, to be in the person of Christ the priest. Our own reception of the gift of hope from the Holy Spirit leads us beyond the veil of these troubled days into the joy of the heavenly sanctuary where the glory of Christ is revealed.

Let us during these days of Lent, as priests, examine our consciences with regard to our reception of the gift of hope. St. Paul tells us that we should never give in to discouragement and we all know the many reasons why we might be tempted to give in to discouragement at this time. Yet the hope which reaches beyond the veil to the sanctuary is the only hope which can never disappoint. To arrive for the Eucharistic celebration with our hope engaged and intact is a wonderful gift from the Lord that we can pass onto our people, and then that hope will empower us to pass through the veil, that is, in our daily life to give over again and again with Christ our body to be broken and our blood to be poured out knowing that in this daily activity, the glory of Christ is both concealed and revealed.

Before I conclude this letter I would like to address two further issues. The time of vacation has been very healthful for me - in fact I have not missed a single day of my treadmill approach to exercise. I am so grateful to God, and to all of you for your prayers through which I have come to feel very well again. But health is a gift, a fragile one at that, so that I continue very much to need your prayers as I move back to full speed ahead.

Secondly, the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Center for Bioethics during our annual meeting, which took place during the Bishop's workshop on Bioethics in Dallas, elected myself the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Bishop Allen Vigneron of the Diocese of Oakland, California, the Vice Chairman. Having had my term as Chair of the Bishop's Committee on the Diaconate expire, and having declined a reappointment to the Chair of the Bishop's Ad Hoc Committee on Healthcare Issues in the Church, I really felt it necessary to accept this responsibility which I did not suspect would be entrusted to me. Needless to say, at the same time, my responsibilities for addressing especially the issue of embryonic stem cell research as it happens at our own University of Wisconsin suggest that the chairmanship of this board will enable me to be in a position better to fulfill those responsibilities.

With all of that said please know of my gratitude for you and for all the good you do each day in the Lord. Please be assured of my daily prayers especially at the Eucharistic sacrifice during Lent of this Eucharistic Year. And know that I continue to count on your good prayers as well.

Your brother in Christ,
The Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino
Bishop of Madison