• Articles on St. Raphael Cathedral
	News Briefs: Day of Recollection MADISON -- St. Martin House will hold a Lenten Day of Recollection on Thursday, Feb. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Catholic Multicultural Center, 1862 Beld St., Madison. This day of prayer and spiritual reflection will be led by Msgr. George Hastrich. There will be Mass and an opportunity for private Reconciliation. Coffee and rolls will be available at 8:45 a.m. and lunch at 12 noon. There is no charge but free will offerings will be accepted. R.S.V.P. to 608-255-1287, ext. 200, or smaurice@straphael.org Dance for disabled JEFFERSON -- St. Coletta of Wisconsin will be hosting a St. Valentine's Day dance on Saturday, Feb. 16, for adults with developmental disabilities from 6 to 8 p.m. at Meadow Springs Country Club at 424 S. Sanborn Ave., Jefferson. The entry fee is $7 and includes an hors d'oeuvres buffet. For information or to RSVP, contact Bethany Wolheim at St. Coletta, 920-674-8379 or e-mail bwollheim@stcolettawi.org Lenten Vespers SINSINAWA -- Solemn Lenten Vespers with Choral Meditations is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. in Queen of the Rosary Chapel at Sinsinawa Mound. The Sinsinawa Mound Civic Chorus joined by other area choirs will sing under the direction of Dominican Sister Marie Juan Maney. The service is free. Alzheimer's disease MADISON -- St. Cecilia's Court 955 of the National Catholic Society of Foresters will present a free program on Alzheimer's disease, including signs/symptoms, treatments, and research. Neala Lane, Wisconsin Comprehensive Memory Program, will conduct the program Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 1:30 p.m. at St. James Parish hall, 1128 St. James Ct. Refreshments will be served. For information, call JoAnn Russell at 608-273-0907 or e-mail alfredr309@aol.com Bowling fund-raiser for memorial fund at Sacred Hearts, Sun Prairie SUN PRAIRIE -- On Saturday, Feb. 23, from 12 noon to 3 p.m., the third annual Jacob Tjugum bowling fund-raiser will be held. Money raised will go to the memorial fund that is set up at Sacred Hearts School in his memory. Jacob died shortly after birth in August of 2000. He would have been in second grade at Scared Hearts School this year. His parents would like to help other students who can't afford the tuition, books, and other expenses and would like to attend Sacred Hearts School. Additionally they donate money to the second grade teachers to purchase items that are not covered in their budgets. Last year the fund-raiser raised over $2,300, which was used for four scholarships. Money was also given to the kindergarten teachers who bought first reader books and the first grade teachers who bought tools for the new math series. To register, a minimum donation of $10 for adults and $5 for children is being requested. This donation covers up to two games of bowling, shoe rental, and lunch. In addition to bowling, there will be a raffle. Tickets for the chance raffle are $1 each. Over 100 prizes, including a $100 Visa gift card, a digital camera, and many other items are up for raffle. Those who don't want to bowl are invited to join the festivities for lunch and the raffle. RSVP by Thursday, Feb. 14, by calling 608-837-3706 to reserve a spot. Donations can also be made on-line at: https://sacredheartschoolsp. ejoinme.org/MyPages/ JacobTjugumMemorialFundraiser/ tabid/74386/Default.aspx Living Stations of the Cross to be presented in Darlington DARLINGTON -- At the Lenten Ecumenical prayer service on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 5:30 p.m. at Holy Rosary Parish, 104 E. Harriet St., Darlington, some of Holy Rosary's Confirmation students, with the help of Nancy Winslow and Becky Taylor, will be presenting the Living Stations of the Cross. The Confirmation students will present the Living Stations again on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at Holy Rosary's communal penance service. During the time of the crusades (1095-1270) many Christians went to Jerusalem to walk in the footsteps of Jesus to Calvary. When the Holy Land was captured, pilgrimages became dangerous. Christians still wanted to walk with Jesus to Calvary so they started the Stations of the Cross. The stations represent critical events from Scripture and tradition from when Jesus was condemned to death to his resurrection. Nominate someone for a profile Do you know a person to nominate for a profile? This could be someone in a paid or volunteer position in the Catholic Church. It could be someone working outside the Church who lives his or her faith in ordinary or extraordinary ways in daily life. Send nominations with information about the nominee to: Catholic Herald, 702 S. High Point Rd., Madison, WI 53719, or e-mail info@madisoncatholicherald.org

Called to become Catholic
Diocese welcomes candidates, elect in annual rite

(See also front-page photo.)

SUN PRAIRIE -- Despite slick roads and temperatures that refused to budge above zero, many of the catechumens and candidates from around the diocese were present at St. Albert the Great Church to declare their intention of joining the Roman Catholic Church in the combined Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion.

"It was a little bit of a challenge, with the snow and the ice, to gather in the Lord's presence," Bishop Robert C. Morlino acknowledged at the opening rite. He especially thanked Msgr. Terry Connors and his staff at St. Albert the Great, as well as Dr. Pat Gorman and members of the Diocesan Choir who came out "at great sacrifice and a certain amount of risk" to help pray through song at the rite.

"But even though it's very, very cold out there, there is one place that's hotter than it is cold out. And we're here, too, because we want to stay out of that," he quipped.

Many parishes from the farther reaches of the diocese were not able to attend because of slippery conditions that had officials requesting people to stay off the roads. But parishes close to Sun Prairie - and a few from farther away - sent their candidates, catechumens, and sponsors to be called forth in preparation for reception into the Church through Baptism, Confirmation, and/or Eucharist at the Easter Vigil, March 22.

The annual rite, which combines the Rite of Election of Catechumens and Rite of the Call to Continuing Conversion of Candidates, occurs in the diocese on the first Sunday of Lent, which this year was February 10.

During the rite, the catechumen - those who are as yet unbaptized - are presented and affirmed by the sponsors and assembly and come forward to write their names in the Book of the Elect. Through this action the catechumen, now known as the elect, acknowledge their intent to receive the sacraments of initiation.

After the Act of Election, candidates from each parish are then presented by their sponsors. In the Act of Recognition, they declare their desire for full communion with the Church.

"It won't be long before your Baptism and your Confirmation, to which we look forward today in a special way today," Bishop Morlino said during his homily.

But when you enter our communion, it means being in communion with the Church and accepting the responsibility to grow in holiness, to worship in spirit, and to be in the Holy Spirit, he said.

"You can never give into the temptation to think you are joining a club," he said. "You are accepting the responsibility to become saints."

The bishop shared something he had heard at a recent meeting from a prosperous Catholic businessman. He had said that it would be extremely easy to sink Coca Cola by simply, at the bottling plant, causing a quarter of the bottles at random to contain flat soda. Who would want to take the chance of having a flat soda? he said.

"And, he said, what about flat Catholicism?" Bishop Morlino said. People are not going to Mass, to Confession; in the parishes it seems it's always the same group that volunteers.

The message is flat at random, he said; people choose what they want to believe, and so the message loses its fizz, its zest, its integrity.

"As catechumens and candidates, you are saying when you are baptized and confirmed, 'I believe everything in the Catechism,'" he said. "Why would anybody join a communion . . . and then say there's a little bit of this I believe and there's a little bit of this I don't believe? It would be like cooperating in bottling the flat Coke.

"Flat Coke would be a disaster for Coca Cola - flat doctrine is really hurting our Catholic community," he said. "We are called to serve the world, and you are called to be part of it. The world does not want Catholicism flattened out by flat doctrine.

"When you come aboard the bark of Peter, this is not a cruise ship - this is a battleship," Bishop Morlino said. "We worship the Lord in spirit, in holiness, and in truth, and that's how we perform our mission in the world to conquer evil, which means a battle, and to end up in heaven.

"Thank God for giving you the grace to get on board," he said.

For the full audio of Bishop Morlino's homily at the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, visit the diocesan Web site at www.madisondiocese.org

St. Cecilia Parish raises money
for new church

WISCONSIN DELLS -- For many years, St. Cecilia Church in Wisconsin Dells has been too small to handle increasing numbers of worshippers, including tourists and larger numbers of local residents.

After many listening sessions to gather input from parishioners, St. Cecilia Parish has designed a church to accommodate more people. The parish hired architect Valentine J. Schute, Jr., of River Architects in La Crosse to design the church of the parishioners' dreams. The plans call for tripling the size of the church while keeping many features from the existing church.

In an effort to raise money for the new facility, St. Cecilia Parish is sponsoring a raffle. Prizes include $250,000 cash, $10,000 cash, $5,000 cash, and 10 $1,000 cash prizes. The raffle prizes also include 20 exclusive two-night getaways to the Wilderness resort, complete with a round of golf and two admissions to Noah's Art Waterpark; 20 two-night getaways at Chula Vista resort and a round of golf plus two admissions to the Original Boat or Duck Tours; 15 one-night getaways at the Kalahari Resort and one round of golf plus two admissions to the Army Ducks or Wild Thing Jet Boats; and other Dells prizes.

Tickets for the raffle are $50 each or three for $100 dollars. Tickets can be purchased at St. Cecilia Church, 604 Oak St., Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965, or by phone at 1-877-313-3557, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The parish accepts checks made payable to St. Cecilia Church as well as Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express.

The raffle drawing will be held at St. Cecilia Church on March 15, 2008, at 10 a.m. Winners will be notified by phone and posted on the raffle Web site at www.dellsraffle.com