My dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let us pray that our hearts may be open to receive the Mercy of God during this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy!

Pope Francis declared this year to encourage us to focus on mercy so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father’s action in our lives. When we make an effort to encounter Jesus, whether in prayer, in the sacraments, through the sacred scriptures, or even in sacred architecture such as the Holy Door, we become more like Him.

On Sunday, December 13th, Holy Doors were opened at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and at our Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman. Many people were present and took part in the procession. Representatives were present from many diocesan parishes to be part of the Mass as well as pick up copies of Embracing the Year of Mercy. A booklet specifically put together for this year, in our diocese.

Each time you come into one of these two churches through their Holy Door, it should be an entrance of prayer, an encounter with Jesus, who is the entry into eternal life. It is He who is Mercy Incarnate, and who bestows the Father’s mercy on all sinners, great and small. Upon leaving the church, our passage back through the Holy Door is an impetus to show mercy to others and a grace to lead others through the Door of the Church into a life of joy in the Blessed Trinity.

If you are unable to make a pilgrimage to one of the two churches with a Holy Door, I have also designated twelve pilgrimage churches spread throughout the diocese. A Year of Mercy plenary indulgence can be obtained by visiting each of these pilgrimage churches as well as the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman and the Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe both in La Crosse. There are prescribed prayers and actions for the gaining of the indulgence. I invite you to read more about the indulgence on the Year of Mercy website  www.diolc.org/mercy

I pray this Holy Year of Mercy will find us awake and alert to its many graces. May you share fully and abundantly in the mystery of His Divine Love and Mercy.

God be with you!

The response for the Psalm offered for the second Mass of Christmas—the Mass at Dawn—or even more traditionally called the Mass of the Shepherds, certainly captures a theme of the day and of the mystery of the Incarnation itself that remarkably speaks to the hearts and minds of believers who come from every stripe to share the gift of God’s Presence in the Flesh!

Somehow we still choose darkness in the midst of the most powerful Light ever cast upon the vision of humanity—Emmanuel—God with us. Since the prophecy was uttered in the book of the Prophet Isaiah (7:14) the title Emmanuel is a pledge of Divine assistance and a prophetic utterance announcing Messianic involvement in the Redemption of humanity. Thus, shepherds and kings are summoned to Bethlehem to glorify God and witness the action of God’s love and gratuitous mercy set forth in the birth of Jesus.

It is the Blessed Virgin Mary who offers the secular world an insight that cannot and must not be overlooked. The Gospel of that Mass of the Shepherds once again reminds us that none of the undeniably Divine actions—choirs of angels, visiting shepherds, or fascinated kings, would escape the thoughtful rumination of the Mother of God. “Mary pondered these events in her heart.” What a gift! From the beginning of the Savior’s life, Mary was the memory and the sacred trust of the formulation of His Church. Her maternal eye and matriarchal mind followed the events of Jesus’ life from Bethlehem to Jerusalem and every stop in between. It is she, to this day who still reminds us of Emmanuel’s presence.

In the Church, this year, we mark a Year of Jubilee celebrating the gift of Divine Mercy and the challenge of seeking Jesus in the world every day, until He comes again. From the beginning of time, the mercy of God always offers sinner pardon. This is the gratuitous gift of grace and love from God. We must not forget, however, that this gift calls us to “ponder” God’s love in our hearts and respond in an act of conversion—recognizing God’s gift in the simplicity and the poverty of our own hearts. Thus, Light shines in the darkness of our secular world and offers itself to those believers who share it and recognize it in their own actions performed in the Light of Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters, arise and come into the Light that is Christ. Be of good cheer and celebrate His presence in your actions of mercy accomplished in His Name! Merry Christmas!

Dear Brothers and Sisters–

It is a sad day for all of humanity as we weep for the beloved sons and daughters of France who have been struck by the most heinous of all terrorism in Paris. May God have mercy on all who have been affected by this horror. This terrorist attack affects all of us and its impact makes us aware of the need for a greater sense of prayer and reliance on Jesus as we move forward. This tragedy truly affects all of us and affects us deeply. This goes beyond politics–this is about humanity! Please pray.

I encourage all parishes to pour forth prayers and deep sentiments for the victims of this terrorism. Pray that we may open our minds and our hearts to the grace of God for peace. Let us move away from the promotion of individual ideas of relativist morality. We must support one another in prayer and raise a genuine awareness of our solidarity as human beings made in the image and likeness of God.

Let us pray for our brothers and sisters–the world is smaller today! God is with us–do not forget this!!

+William Patrick Callahan, Bishop of La Crosse

Even though I lived for barely three years at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, my time spent there had a tremendous impact on my life. The seminarians and their positive views about the Catholic Church were stimulating and evocative. These men had a sense of enthusiasm that I had not experienced in my daily dealings with Catholic life as a parish priest. Their prayer life was intense and genuine, centered more on the reality of Jesus in the Church rather than on an idea of how to “find” Jesus in the Church. It became a subtle, yet real distinction for me, knowing Jesus rather than simply pondering an idea of Jesus. The motto of the College is emblazoned for all to see as soon as one enters the building: “Firmum est cor meum” “My heart is steadfast.”

As we enter the midway part of the season of Lent, I am drawn to the words of Psalm 57:8 “My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast.” These words are, of course, well chosen for the heart of a seminarian eager to purposefully draw close to the Lord for sacred service; but I also find a certain sense of strength in them as we, baptized and committed Catholics, continue our Lenten journey.

We find ourselves in a time when we are literally challenged to defend our faith. Murderous, barbaric actions are presented to us as daily news events. Christians are rousted from their homes and communities, brutalized and humiliated—or worse—in cruel denial of their basic human dignity. In our own country, the laws and customs we have cherished, that have formed the basis of our self- government, are being trampled or restructured in a willful denial of divine purpose or plan.

I realize there is so much that is genuinely out of our control in the day-to-day living of life. That fact alone can sometimes lead us to throw up our hands and say: “Enough, I surrender.” There can and should be an alternative, especially for us who claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our hearts need to be steadfast in trusting Jesus Christ and realizing that He is still in control of our lives—and, more importantly, that we WANT Him in control of our lives.

During Lent our thoughts center on the desire for Jesus and the awareness of His unique and singular love for each of us. The desire for Jesus helps us to grow ever more spiritually connected with the real Person of Jesus—not an idea or a philosophy—but the real Person of Jesus who exists right now, gloriously alive at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

“My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;” the Psalmist wrote. That phrase is meant to stir a desire for God and reveal the reality of God in action within us. I am unafraid with such knowledge. As I look at the condition of the world and think about the unknown brothers and sisters being hatcheted, beheaded, burned alive, or otherwise derided or persecuted because of their faith in Jesus Christ, I know that I am one with them in the solidarity of faith and in the knowledge of the Christ who loved us all to His death and resurrection, who loves us today—and whom I will follow wherever He leads. My heart is steadfast!

I’ll see you at Sunday Mass!

Over the years secular holidays have started to take on different meanings and deeper popular significance than I ever remember from my youth. Halloween, no longer a celebration of saints, has become the second most popular holiday—next to Christmas—with decorations, planning, parties, anticipation, etc., etc. Valentine’s Day is rapidly peaking in interest as a day of sexual frivolity and excess. This year takes us to a new level of hedonism with the premiere of the movie: Fifty Shades of Grey. The movie is the titillating exposé that pays homage to our major false gods: power, pleasure, wealth, and influence.

The anti-hero is Christian Grey, who, of course, is the incarnation of the false gods in their entire array. An “emotionally-damaged” billionaire sadist, Grey goes about the seduction and humiliation of the anti-heroine, Anastasia Steele. It may be interesting to note, if only for the sake of trivia, that Christian is anything but; and Anastasia is true to her patron’s namesake only inasmuch as she is used and abused by a cold and cruel hollow man.

The true sadness of the film (and the book from which it comes), however, is that it is being touted as a “romance” and being marketed “just in time” for your Valentine date night. I truly doubt that there are too many men out there who really would subject their wives or other female friends to this kind of trash as part of an evening celebrating true love. I am told, however, that I am naïve in this belief, so please allow me to invite you into my naïveté.

This movie exalts so much of what is basically wrong in our society and certainly exploits the dismal state of human relationships, especially those between men and women. It surprises me enormously that this book and movie have been so incredibly popular with women. As I perceive it (I have neither read the book nor seen the movie, nor do I intend to) women, above all, should reject the film and repudiate its content as shameful and vile. True feminism should find this glorification of abuse and debasement of women particularly offensive, hardly entertaining.

Alas, the gods of power, pleasure, wealth, and influence, will not allow such a denial of their authority in this day and age. They manifest themselves in stark and bold powerful contradiction to the images of love and devotion, fidelity and commitment, which marked male and female relationships only yesterday in terms of recent human history.

I am reticent to write this today. The gods will have their way with even the little that I say here; nevertheless, I encourage you to avoid the false doctrines of the age. True love can be best expressed within the confines of respect for the beloved, recognition of human freedom and dignity, and the understanding that each other is a gift from God—the real Author of love.

Happy Valentine’s Day. I’ll see you at Sunday Mass.

I am always so grateful for your response and support as we continue to pray for the Cause of the beatification and canonization of our beloved Father Joseph Walijewski. At this writing, I am joined by the Diocesan Communication Director, Jack Felsheim and Bob Dolan with his production crew from Dolan Productions in Milwaukee, as we wrap up filming for a one hour EWTN special celebrating the life of Fr. Joe, with an expected broadcast date of April 11, 2015.

It has been an exciting time to be back in Peru. Even though the kids here are not in school, there are lots of things that they have to do around Casa Hogar. Last week, before we arrived, they hosted the Casa Hogar Optical Mission. This is a charitable outreach supported in part by the International Lions’ Club, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and the Mayo Clinic among others. During the course of the week, over 1700 of the poor neighbors came through Casa to have eye exams and be fitted (if necessary) with eyeglasses. This is part of the mission outreach of the Casa. Cindy Sjolander of our own Diocese (who also serves on our Diocesan Scouting Committee) is in charge of this vital work. As she is finishing up her time here with her own mission, she has been a significant part of our welcome and the hospitality here at Casa.

Adding to my own personal excitement is the challenging fact that American Airlines “misplaced” my luggage in Dallas. It is two days since we arrived and I am still expecting it. A search party of incredible Christians is on their way to the airport even as I write this to retrieve the arrival of clean clothes!! Right now, the bishop and the emperor are in serious need …

More importantly and of real value, is our work for the communication of the life and times of our beloved Fr. Joe Walijewski. What a joy it is to be back here with his cherished Casa Family. The children and their families here are just so amazingly beautiful. They represent the full reflection of the joy of the Gospel that empowered Fr. Joe throughout his entire life. This is the reason that we are begging God to let him be named a saint of the Church. Joy and hope certainly drive the work of Casa Hogar. This place truly stands in the midst of Lima’s poverty, squalor, and domestic violence, as a light for the Legacy of Fr. Joe and the Light of the Gospel.

If God wants, Dolan Productions could have the editing completed by the Solemnity of Saint Joseph (19 March) with the possibly for viewing on EWTN by 11 April (the anniversary of Fr. Joe’s death in 2006). What a thrilling event it is for us to be here. Msgr. Hirsch is doing much of the translations due to his proficiency with the Spanish language. This morning, the feast of Sts. Fabian and Sebastian, we celebrated the Mass in their memory and after the Mass, through the courtesy of modern communications, the children, staff and volunteers connected with Fr. Sebastian in Arcadia to sing to him on his birthday. It was so touching and exuberant!

Last night, everyone in our group split up and went to each of the eight homes of the families living here at Casa Hogar for dinner. Msgr. Hirsch and I had fantastic “gourmet” hamburgers with authentic Wisconsin Colby cheese! We all had amazing dinners—made up not only with great food, but vibrant family spirit and love around each table. It was a great opportunity for all of us. I hope that these moments will somehow be transferred to the upcoming show for you to see and share. These are the stories that you will share as you come to move deeper into the richness of the Gospel as it was lived by Fr. Joe.

I hope that you see, experience, and strive to live the joy and hope Fr. Joe communicated in his life and that you will feel vicariously the energy that is still in this place as part of the living Gospel and as part of the Legacy of Fr. Joe. Please join me in prayer for his Cause and thank you for your support.

See you at Sunday Mass!