Congratulations to our own Ben Blegen who was featured in this week?s The Catholic Times diocesan newspaper! A photo (page 3) of a beaming Ben, his godfather Joe Schmitt and me with Monsignor Gorman illustrates the story about the Rite of Election at our Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman on March 9. In that ceremony Monsignor Gorman ? acting on behalf of Bishop Callahan ? called Ben to be among the elect, that is, to be baptized at the upcoming Easter Vigil. Ben, a graduate of Spring Valley High School, currently resides in Elmwood and works at the Spring Valley Public Library and the Coop in Elmwood. During these last three weeks of Lent we pray specially for Ben as he prepares to be baptized and confirmed as well as receive his First Holy Communion.
Our prayerful accompaniment of Ben is expressed in the Masses of the Lord?s Day through the special ritual called the Scrutinies. The
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is the section of
Roman Ritual which is the ?how-to? manual for the preparation for and the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist) for adults who have never been baptized. The manual explains that ?the Scrutinies, which are solemnly celebrated on Sundays and are reinforced by an exorcism, are rites for self-searching and repentance and have above all a spiritual purpose. The Scrutinies are meant to uncover, then heal, all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the elect; to bring out, then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good. For the Scrutinies are celebrated in order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against temptation, and to give them strength in Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. These rites, therefore should complete the conversion of the elect and deepen their resolve to hold fast to Christ and to carry out their decision to love God above all. Because they are asking for the Sacraments of Initiation, the elect must have the intention of achieving an intimate knowledge of Christ and His Church, and they are expected particularly to progress in genuine self-knowledge through serious examination of their lives and true repentance. In order to inspire in the elect a desire for purification and redemption by Christ these three Scrutinies are celebrated? (141-143).
May these Scrutinies not only profit Ben, but may each of us to experience a renewal of faith through their celebration!
The excellent coverage of one of our own in our diocesan newspaper brings to mind a complaint recently registered by an Elmwood parishioner. This person objected: ?Why is there nothing in our parish bulletin about Diocese of La Crosse retreats or events?? The first thing to note is that
in order for an item to appear in our bulletin, it must be submitted in a timely fashion to Becky Schmitt who is its editor. If promoters of events do not submit materials to Becky, they are not going to appear in our bulletin! A second thing to note is that
because of limited space in the bulletin, items are included in the bulletin according to the following priority: events in our parishes, events in our communities, events in our Durand Deanery, and then events in our Diocese of La Crosse. I was rather puzzled that this person could not find any diocesan events or retreats in our bulletin. An examination of our bulletins for the past six months (25 weeks) showed that,
in fact, there were only seven weeks out of that 25 where our bulletin did not have at least one diocesan event advertised (September 14/15 and 28/29, October 12/13 and 19/20, November 30/December 1, December 7/8 and January 18/19). A third and final note,
our parishes provide all our parishioners directly in their homes The Catholic Times which not only lists diocesan events but often has full-length stories about upcoming events.
On a personal note, in your charity please remember in your prayers my stepmother, Marilyn, who this Tuesday undergoes total knee replacement surgery at Saint Joseph Hospital in Marshfield. God willing, later this year she will have the same surgery on her other knee. I will be in Marshfield this week to accompany Marilyn and my dad during the hospitalization and transition back to their home. Also, please pray for my brother, Brian. He has begun an experimental treatment for leukemia through Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Saint Luke, pray for us!
Father Kevin C. Louis, STL