Diocese of Madison

06/08/2026

Last week, a new steeple was placed atop St. John the Baptist Church in Jefferson, two years after the former steeple had been damaged by a lightning strike. Praise the Lord!

Thank you to WKOW for their coverage of this event. We will also have a story about the steeple replacement in the June 25 issue of the Catholic Herald!

JEFFERSON, Wis. (WKOW) — Nearly two years after a lightning-caused fire tore through the historic steeple of Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church, parishioners gathered Wednesday to watch a new

06/08/2026

Sacred Heart Novena, Day 6: Heart of Jesus, Atonement for our Sins

As we consider the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Christ’s great love for humanity, we reflect on how we have fallen short of his love and the need to atone for our sins. We also take this moment to repent as a nation for the sins of our country’s past. Let us pray for forgiveness and healing from the harms caused by our nation's sins of racism and slavery, that our nation, blessed by God, and espousing noble ideals, may find justice, peace, and an end to strife, so that we may no longer be slaves to sin but friends of God. A central element of devotion to the Sacred Heart is reparation – the practice of making amends for the wrongs we have done, asking Christ to forgive our sins and convert our hearts to love as he loves. Let us pray with St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists, as we atone for our sins and consecrate ourselves to the heart of Jesus:

My Jesus, I love You with my whole heart. I am sorry for having so many times offended Your infinite goodness. With the help of Your grace, I purpose never to offend You again. And now, unworthy though I am, I consecrate myself to You without reserve. I renounce and give entirely to You my will, my affection, my desires, and all that I possess.

(Prayer from the USCCB)

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, blazing furnace of God’s mercy and goodness, transform my heart and spirit so that I might give myself more generously in love and service to others. May Your tender Heart always be the place of encounter to experience the unconditional love of God tangibly made manifest in Your every word, action and gesture.

Take possession of me so that I might be an extension of Your presence in our world and channel the rivers of living water that flow from the fountain of Your infinite love and mercy. Grant me the grace needed to boldly proclaim and zealously spread the Gospel through the joyful work of evangelization, as I invite others to enter more deeply into the mystery of Your Most Sacred Heart! Amen.

(Prayer by Bishop Donald J. Hying)

If you'd like to receive this novena's prayers via email, sign up at https://madisondiocese.flocknote.com/sacredheart2026!

06/07/2026

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, more often known as Corpus Christi!

Though the Church has always held the the Eucharist is indeed the Real Presence of Jesus, today's feast was not created formally until the 1200s, when Pope Urban IV instituted it as a feast for the entire Latin Church. It was proposed to Pope Urban by St. Thomas Aquinas and created in response to a Eucharistic miracle in Bolsena, Italy, in which a consecrated Host began to bleed. The corporal that caught the drops of Precious Blood is preserved at the cathedral in Orvieto. Thomas Aquinas wrote many Eucharistic hymns for the feast, including Pange Lingua and O Salutaris Hostia, which are still widely used on this feast and during Eucharistic Adoration.

We send prayers and a shout-out to Blessed Sacrament Parish today! Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore; O make us love Thee more and more!

06/07/2026

Sacred Heart Novena, Day 5: Heart of Jesus, Fountain of Life and Holiness

The love poured out from the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a constant source of renewal for the missionary spirit of the Church and our call to universal holiness. Servant of God Fr. Jules Chevalier, who founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1854, recited this daily prayer to remain close to the Sacred Heart.

Lord Jesus,
Saviour of the world and source of holiness,
look with kindness
on all whom you have chosen
to be Missionaries of your loving Heart.
Ask your heavenly Father
to keep us in your love,
and sanctify us in the truth
so that you may be glorified in us
and we may reflect your goodness.
Ask your Father to keep us from evil
that we may always be united in bonds of love.
As you are one with your Father,
so may we be one with each other
in your divine Heart,
whose sentiments shall forever be ours
and to which we consecrate ourselves
in time and for eternity. Amen.

(Prayer from the USCCB)

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, blazing furnace of God’s mercy and goodness, transform my heart and spirit so that I might give myself more generously in love and service to others. May Your tender Heart always be the place of encounter to experience the unconditional love of God tangibly made manifest in Your every word, action and gesture.

Take possession of me so that I might be an extension of Your presence in our world and channel the rivers of living water that flow from the fountain of Your infinite love and mercy. Grant me the grace needed to boldly proclaim and zealously spread the Gospel through the joyful work of evangelization, as I invite others to enter more deeply into the mystery of Your Most Sacred Heart! Amen.

(Prayer by Bishop Donald J. Hying)

If you'd like to receive this novena's prayers via email, sign up at https://madisondiocese.flocknote.com/sacredheart2026!

06/06/2026

If you have been praying along with our Sacred Heart novena and have enjoyed the prayer that Bishop Hying wrote for it, we have great news: It's available on a prayer card! You can find an electronic version of the card at madisondiocese.org/sacredheart, or use the images provided here.

Prayer cards will also be available for FREE at the Sacred Heart consecration Mass that Bishop Hying is celebrating next Friday, June 12 at 7:00 pm at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church in Sun Prairie, so be sure to pick one up when you attend!

06/06/2026

Sacred Heart Novena, Day 4: Heart of Jesus, Patient and Full of Mercy

Perhaps the most well-known reflection on the merciful heart of Jesus can be found in the Divine Mercy devotion. Saint Faustina Kowalska, a 20th century Polish sister, revealed that Jesus appeared to her with rays emanating from his heart and instructed her to paint his image with the signature “Jesus, I trust in you,” and that all who venerate the image of Divine Mercy will not perish. Trusting in the endless mercy of Jesus, let us pray with Saint Faustina from the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Amen (Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, 950).

(Prayer from the USCCB)

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, blazing furnace of God’s mercy and goodness, transform my heart and spirit so that I might give myself more generously in love and service to others. May Your tender Heart always be the place of encounter to experience the unconditional love of God tangibly made manifest in Your every word, action and gesture.

Take possession of me so that I might be an extension of Your presence in our world and channel the rivers of living water that flow from the fountain of Your infinite love and mercy. Grant me the grace needed to boldly proclaim and zealously spread the Gospel through the joyful work of evangelization, as I invite others to enter more deeply into the mystery of Your Most Sacred Heart! Amen.

(Prayer by Bishop Donald J. Hying)

If you'd like to receive this novena's prayers via email, sign up at https://madisondiocese.flocknote.com/sacredheart2026!

06/05/2026

We're excited to share a batch of photos from our priest ordinations on May 22! Congratulations to Fathers Casey Cooney, Barry Meinholz, Luis Reyes, and Mark Wagner, and thank you again to Nick Sun for photographing the ordination!

If you want to watch a replay of the ordination livestream, you can view it on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HXyBMlo0FY) and at madisondiocese.org/live.

(Some of the photos have captions explaining what is happening in them, so be sure to click on the photos to view those!)

06/05/2026

One more week! Bishop Hying invites all in the diocese to celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus by joining him at a special Mass at 7:00 pm at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church in Sun Prairie. During this Mass, he will consecrate the Diocese of Madison to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Please consider joining us for this joyous occasion!

If you are unable to join in-person, the Mass will also be live-streamed at madisondiocese.org/live, and on the following channels from Epiphany of the Lord Parish:

-Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/epiphanyparishwi
-Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/epiphanyparishwi/live_videos
-YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/

06/05/2026

Sacred Heart Novena, Day 3: Heart of Jesus, Worthy of all Praise

Saint John Henry Newman took the episcopal motto Cor ad cor loquitur (“Heart speaks unto heart”), understanding that the Lord saves us by speaking to our hearts from his Sacred Heart. It was in the Holy Eucharist, the greatest form of praise to God, that Saint John Henry Newman cultivated his deepest encounter with the living heart of Jesus. Let us pray with Saint John Henry Newman so that we might hear the Sacred Heart speak to us when we praise and adore Jesus in the Eucharist.

O most Sacred, most loving Heart of Jesus, Thou art concealed in the Holy Eucharist, and Thou beatest for us still… I worship Thee then with all my best love and awe, with my fervent affection, with my most subdued, most resolved will. O my God, when Thou dost condescend to suffer me to receive Thee, to eat and drink Thee, and Thou for a while takest up Thy abode within me, O make my heart beat with Thy Heart” (Meditations and Devotions, London, 1912, Part III [XVI], par. 3, pp. 573-574).

(Prayer from the USCCB)

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, blazing furnace of God’s mercy and goodness, transform my heart and spirit so that I might give myself more generously in love and service to others. May Your tender Heart always be the place of encounter to experience the unconditional love of God tangibly made manifest in Your every word, action and gesture.

Take possession of me so that I might be an extension of Your presence in our world and channel the rivers of living water that flow from the fountain of Your infinite love and mercy. Grant me the grace needed to boldly proclaim and zealously spread the Gospel through the joyful work of evangelization, as I invite others to enter more deeply into the mystery of Your Most Sacred Heart! Amen.

(Prayer by Bishop Donald J. Hying)

If you'd like to receive this novena's prayers via email, sign up at https://madisondiocese.flocknote.com/sacredheart2026!

06/04/2026

One week from today, on June 11, the United States Bishops will consecrate the U.S. to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This consecration will take place during the bishops' spring assembly in Florida, and it will be livestreamed. Tune in at this link: https://www.youtube.com/live/j1WyC4TSeoo

The consecration will take place at 3:00 pm CST.

If you would like to join the bishops in praying the prayer of consecration on June 11, you can use the prayer card attached here!