Life is filled with challenges. In these days, especially, our own reality may seem like an endless Good Friday, as we face perhaps the serious illness of someone we love, or maybe job loss and financial difficulties, or simply the trials of daily living.
For the poor in a remote area of northern Zambia, life too could appear a never-ending stream of hardships. They live in an isolated area, nine hours from the nearest town, a distance marked by mountains and dangerous cliffs.
Dear brothers and sisters, rejoice!
In sadness we have come upon the tomb, only to find that the Lord has risen.
Lent, Easter, and the Jubilee Year of St. Paul invite us to receive God’s mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation. God offers us these healing gifts to renew us to live our vocation of Christ-like love when we sin and lose the Way of Jesus.
In Genesis 1:27 it says, “God created man in his image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female, He created them.” In 1 John 4:8 it states, “for God is love.” Since God is love, we image God best when we truly love. But the sin of Adam and Eve wounded our ability to love. Consequently, we commit sins which enslave us and weaken our love ability.
Bishop Robert C. Morlino was on hand March 24 to bless the new facilities of the Our Lady of Hope Clinic during an open house and ceremony held at a nearby dance studio to accommodate the crowd.
Christians in the Holy Land are called “living stones” because they are the living Church, celebrating their faith in the parishes and shrines of the Holy Land.
Recognizing the great needs of these people, Pope Benedict XVI, who will be visiting the Holy Land in May, directs that the Good Friday special collection support Christians in the Holy Land, as well as preserve holy sites.
MADISON — Many who work with the youth of the Church find Mother Teresa to be an engaging name to drop. Known for a life lived devoted to those in need, her name stirs up images of a woman small in stature, dressed in a humble habit of white and blue.
Beyond her physical appearance, her name brings to mind much bigger things, like her heart for service and the question: Why would someone choose to live in poverty?
Many youth are comfortable learning more about her and thinking of her as a model of holiness in the world. When it comes time to take her words to heart and make them a reality in their lives, they become more daunting, perhaps less appealing. However, her words resonate so deeply with the Gospel message that, while they are challenging, they often do bring about great response.
Recently I have done some reflection on how I would relate the message of Christ’s death and resurrection to the world situation, particularly here in the United States.
Christ’s death and resurrection assures us that God has conquered evil and that good can, and does, come out of suffering.
Dear Friends,
This last week, on Palm Sunday, we were presented with the “icon,” the image, of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem on a donkey, to hear the praises of the people, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!”
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the personal representative of our Holy Father, in his first address to the bishops of the United States, said to us, “Always remember that you are nothing but a donkey. But, it was the donkey who carried the Messiah toward his destiny.” This was reminiscent of the words of St. Josemaria. As we enter into Easter, through the very special celebrations of Holy Week, let us commit ourselves to be nothing but donkeys, bearing on our shoulders the Messiah of the Lord — not only at Easter time, but every blessed day.
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| Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan poses with “Little Dolan,” Dolan McGuire.(Submitted photo courtesy the McGuire family) |
MILWAUKEE — To the rest of the world, he’s the bishop selected by the pope to the most prominent position in the Catholic Church in the United States, the New York Archdiocese and its 2.5 million Catholics.
But to a Wauwatosa boy and his mother, he’s the man who fixed their bike chain and then invited them into his home for a glass of ice water, the man who gave him a baseball signed by home run king Hank Aaron, the man who dropped in and had a beer at his first Communion party and then gave him his second Communion the next day at the cathedral.
The diocesan offices have received a number of letters and calls regarding the termination of Ruth Kolpack from St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Beloit, which have raised many legitimate questions and concerns.
