Go Make Disciples

When Bishop Hying visited Watertown for a three-night event, he presented reflections on the life-changing power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, looking at  the core beliefs of our faith in the Lord and how we live them out in today's world. If you weren't able to join us - or you would like to review what you learned - we invite you to view the recorded talks from each evening to help you grow in your understanding of the Gospel and the call to be disciples

Sunday May 1

https://venue.streamspot.com/video/b2c085e5ec

Monday May 2

https://venue.streamspot.com/video/f13d0ad19f

Tuesday May 3

https://venue.streamspot.com/video/3bfc4ea6cc

Lee Cronce and the virtue of Faith
Lee Cronce Video Link
Lee shared a beautiful story of coming to faith in Jesus by continuing to ask questions and seek the truth. He was blown away by the foreshadowings of the Passover Lamb from Exodus and the Lamb of God, Jesus, at Crucifixion and the Catholic Mass. His questioning has not stopped since his enterance into the Church, but he continues to follow the truth and learn more about the teachings of Jesus. This is best done within community which he loves to serve. He regularly gathers with other men of the parish to learn and discuss their lives of faith from Church to home, in work and recreation.  

Paula Spende and the virtue of Hope
Paula Spende Video Link
Paula gave an incredible testiment to our Living Hope, Jesus Christ. He gave her strength and slowly healed her heart as she mourned the death of her daughter Gabby. Jesus, our Living Hope, revealed Himself to her as our bridge from earth to heaven. Great peace came by the trust in his promise of fidelity and loving embrace to his faithful ones after death in the Resurrection from the Dead and Life Everlasting.

Anthony Butz and the virtue of Charity 
Anthony Butz Video Link
Anthony told the story of his deeping conversion by meeting an unlikely friend, Ryan, while working in Hawaii. Anthony had grown up Catholic while Ryan was a practical aithiest, but both got along great. The continuous questions and debative spurs from Ryan were met by Anthony's  coherent answer or humbly admitting that he needed to look it up. In the end, it was the silent witness of faith and life from Anthony that led Ryan to seek out and accept Jesus into his life. All the while, the sparks of faith and charity (love of neighobr) were enflamed within Anthony.

The Pentecost account in the Acts of the Apostles: USCCB

Books on the Holy Spirit
Sober Intoxication of the Spirit
In the School of the Holy Spirit 
The Holy Spirit Within

Prayer resource: 
At the Heart of Prayer

July:
Litany of the Precious Blood

15 POPULAR ADVENT TRADITIONS

1. Advent Wreath: One of the most popular ways to celebrate Advent is with an Advent wreath or Advent candleholders. Four candles (three purple and one pink), are used to count down the weeks until Christmas. Each Sunday of Advent one of the candles is lit and special prayers are said. Each Sunday of Advent has a particular theme leading up to the birth of Christ. Read more about the Advent Wreath Tradition and Meaning.

2. Advent Dinners: Make the Sundays of Advent into something special. Prepare a nice dinner or host a potluck and invite over family & friends. This would be a great time to light the candles on your Advent wreath and invite all to join in the special prayers for that week.

3. Prepare Seasonal Food: Many historically Catholic countries have traditions of preparing food that goes with the liturgical seasons, especially Advent and Christmas. Catholic bloggers are doing a great job of making these traditions more popular for all Catholics. Come up with something creative yourself or find inspiration on our Advent Ideas Pinterest Board.

4. Advent Devotional Reading: There are lots of great Advent books that take you deeper into the profound theology of Advent. God comes to us as a Child, and this is amazing to think about! Going through each day with devotional reading is one of the best ways to spiritually prepare yourself for Christmas, the birth of the King of Kings.

5. Special Prayers: Adopt special prayers during the Advent season. You can often find them in Advent devotional books. There is also the St. Andrew Christmas Novena which is traditionally prayed from the feast of St. Andrew (November 30^th) until Christmas Eve.

Another tradition is praying the O Antiphons from the Liturgy of the Hours in the eight days leading up to Christmas. The O Antiphons are the antiphons of the Evening Prayers (Vespers) during the week before Christmas. Each antiphon welcome the birth of the Savior by heralding one of the resplendent Biblical titles of the soon-to-be-born Son of God as foreshadowed in the Old Testament by the prophet Isaiah.

6. Advent Calendars: Another popular way to celebrate the Advent season, especially popular with children, is the Advent calendar. Counting down the days to Christmas helps children to anticipate patiently and to focus on waiting for the baby Jesus to be born. You can purchase one, or make one as a fun craft time for kids.

7. Advent Music: Make your own playlist of music appropriate for Advent which anticipates Christ’s birth. Find a list of Advent music here.

8. Nativity Scenes: Nativity sets are a classic tradition and are great to display during the Advent season. To make the display especially poignant, wait until Christmas Eve to place the Baby Jesus into the scene.  The Vatican has a neat tradition of the Holy Father blessing the Baby Jesus from family nativity scenes, called Bambinelli Sunday. This takes place on the third Sunday of Advent—Gaudete Sunday. Perhaps you could ask your parish priest to bless your Baby Jesus figure!

9. Jesse Tree: If you have kids,the Jesse Tree (named after the father of King David, the ancestor of Jesus, as mentioned in Isaiah 11) is a fun biblical activity during the Advent season which prepares for the birth of Christ and his mission.  It's fun for kids and great catechesis. It goes through the ancestry of Jesus and how all of his ancestors played a role in salvation history. The tree created can then be used as a holiday decoration.

10. Advent Penance Services: Advent is known as the “little Lent” and is therefore a time for penitential practices. Many Catholic parishes have special penance services for Advent. Confession is an important part of preparing room for the coming of Christ into our hearts, that is, allowing Him to draw us into deeper conversion.

11. Small Sacrifices for the Christ Child: Because Advent is known as the “little Lent,” prayer, alms, and sacrifices are also a also part of Advent season. Just as the Magi labored through a long journey to worship and gave precious gifts to the Christ Child, so we can do the same; we can give the Baby Jesus our sacrifices during the Advent season.

Adults can do this alone, but with kids a visual aid goes along well with the practice. Two popular ways are Jesus Stockings and a Baby Jesus creche. For the stocking, small sacrifices are written on little slips of paper and placed into the stocking; for the creche, a piece of straw is added for each good deed. These add up each day of Advent as birthday presents for the newborn King. When Jesus is born, and the baby Jesus is placed in the creche, the prayers and sacrifices have prepared Him room in our hearts. A beautiful visual! See also A Great Tradition for Kids! Making Small Sacrifices for the Baby Jesus During Advent.

12. Almsgiving: Good deeds and generosity have always been an important part of preparation for Christmas. Advent is a great time to practice spiritual and corporeal acts of mercy such as Christmas gifts for disadvantaged children, volunteering at a nursing home or soup kitchen, visiting the sick in a hospital, or simply inviting people into your home who may have no friends or family of their own to celebrate the holidays with. If you can't find something to be a part of in your parish or local community, be an organizer for a cause you're passionate about and get others involved.

13. Celebrate the Advent Saint Feast Days: Celebrate the saints of the Advent & Christmas season. In addition to St. Andrew's feast day on November 30th—the Advent kickoff— there are other saints with feast days during Advent that have special cultural traditions associated with them. St. Nicholas Day is on December 6th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (a Holy Day of Obligation) is December 8th, Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day is December 12th, and St. Lucy's feast day is December 13th.

14. Christmas Tree Blessing: When you finish decorating the Christmas tree, bless it with this Christmas tree blessing from the USCCB.

15. Adopt a Cultural Tradition: There are also other Advent traditions that you can incorporate into your celebrations this year, such as the Oplatki Christmas wafer from Eastern Europe, and the La Posada introduced by missionary Augustinian friars in Latin American countries. La Posada is acted out as a play and recounts the difficult yet joyful journey of Mary and Joseph as they seek lodging for the birth of Jesus. Simbag Gabi is a similar tradition from the Philippines with special Masses celebrated for the nine days leading up to Christmas. Check your local area to see if any Catholic parishes host these events.

Hopefully these ideas have given you inspiration to celebrate Advent in a new and deeper way this year. If you have other ideas or family traditions, please comment below for our readers to enjoy.

The remaining talks, homilies and more can be found on the diocesan website:  https://madisondiocese.org/congress

Creation.  Capture.  Rescue.  Response.  Sound familiar?  If you were able to attend our recent Mission with Bishop Hying, you heard him talk about the Kerygma - the Proclamation of the Gospel, the Good News. We learned first that we were created to be in relationship with God and destined for eternal glory.  When we questioned that relationship, and whether or not God really had our best interests at heart, we were captured in our sin and separated ourselves from God. The Gospel goes on, however, to share the story of how God rescued us by his birth, death and resurrection. Finally, we were asked: “If this is our story, how do we respond?”

That response is what we are focusing on in the Bishop’s Go Make Disciples initiative. For a deeper look at what the Good News means to us as Catholics, watch Fr. John Riccardos’s Someone Has Come to Fight/The Kerygma on YouTube, or Chris Stefanick’s Kerygma: The Message That Changed the World on Formed.org.  Links are available below. 

Finally, consider sharing any of these resources with someone who might benefit from these messages of hope.  In that way, you are sharing in the missionary discipleship that Bishop Hying has challenged us to be a part of!

Learn more about the Kerygma:

Someone Has Come to Fight

Kerygma: The Message that Changed the World