Bishop’s Corner

Bishop Ricken

This past weekend I had the privilege of going to West Bend to celebrate a Mass for 3,000 men of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee who had gathered for a spiritual renewal experience. The organization which hosted the event was the “Men of Christ.” Archbishop Timothy Dolan was away for a pastoral visit in India with Catholic Relief Services and I was asked to fill in for him. It was a real pleasure to see 3,000 Catholic men gathered in one place to worship God, to hear inspiring conferences on being a Catholic man today, as well as to discuss the roles of Catholic husbands, fathers and grandfathers today and what that means to their lives.

This reminded me of the wonderful movement of Catholic men in the Diocese of Green Bay called “Esto Vir.” Esto Vir has similar goals and is also a grassroots renewal group in which men of the diocese are gathering to support and inspire one another with the Gospel, the teaching and tradition of the church. With all of the onslaughts against leading a virtuous life in today’s world, these men are striving to learn what it means to grow in holiness as they strive to support and assist one another with the help of bishops and priests. The Diocese of Green Bay “Esto Vir” Conference will be held on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009, at St. Pius X Parish in Appleton. I will be celebrating the Mass at 4 p.m. that day. I hope you can join us.

Bishop Ricken

This is the year of St. Paul as declared by Pope Benedict XVI on June 28, 2008. This is actually the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of St. Paul and Christians all over the world will be celebrating this year. Our Holy Father said in his announcement about this year, “The Apostle of the Gentiles, who dedicated himself to the spreading of good news to all peoples, (and) spent himself for the unity and harmony of all Christians,” adding, “May he guide us and protect us in this bimillenary celebration, helping us to advance in the humble and sincere search for the full unity of all the members of the mystical body of Christ.”