Month: January 2013

On
Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB

Confirmation: Sacrament and challenge

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church says about this sacrament: “By the Sacrament of Confirmation [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed” (#1285).

The sacrament of Baptism incorporates one into the Body of Christ and hence makes one a member of Christ’s Church. What the Catechism means when it says that the baptized “are more perfectly bound to the Church” is that Confirmation, in effect, completes the process begun in Baptism, and fulfills what Christian Initiation is all about. This is why the traditional order of the sacraments in the Church, from our earliest evidence, is generally: Baptism, then Confirmation, and then Holy Eucharist.

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

The Pill as health care?

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Physicians will sometimes prescribe a hormonal regimen (in the form of a hormonal contraceptive like the Pill) to treat certain gynecological problems like heavy menstrual bleeding, dysmenorrhea (painful periods), PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome), endometriosis, or other conditions like severe acne. In these cases, the Pill is used not as a contraceptive, but as a therapy for a medical condition.

This can be morally permissible under the principle of double effect, which allows for the treatment of a serious medical problem (the good effect), while tolerating its unintended consequences, when other less harmful treatments are not available. In this case, the unintended consequences would be the impeding of one’s fertility and the potential health risks and side effects of the Pill (the evil effect).

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On
Fr. Don Lange

Respect for Mary’s name

To the editor:

Your editorial about Mary reinforces my respect for Mary’s name. As a boy I thought that Mary was the most beautiful name a girl could receive. My admiration was magnified by our family’s love of Aunt Mary, who reflected Mary’s inner and outer beauty. She was kind, caring, and spoke with music in her voice. Her husband was Joseph.

The Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli once experienced a vision of Mary. He told Father Kinsella, his confessor-friend, that he never saw anyone as beautiful as Mary. Virtue is beautiful and Mary is queen of virtue. Because she was full of grace and open to God’s will, God chose her to be Jesus’ mother.

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On
Maureen Arcand

Keeping a promise to God upon receiving papal award

To the editor:

This letter is an attempt to keep a promise I made to God when I first heard that I was receiving the Benemerenti Medal. I felt totally unworthy of any recognition from the pope. When I prayed about it, I realized that God, who has given me so many opportunities to serve other people, expected me to see this as another opportunity. There was a strong sense that there was something I was to share.

That was when I made the promise. As the weeks went by, I began to see the award as a symbol of God’s forgiveness and mercy. Would there be an opportunity to share with others my confidence in God’s mercy?

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On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Defending life: It’s something people of many faith traditions are doing together

In the 40 years since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, many people in the Catholic Church have been in the forefront of the pro-life movement to counteract the court’s decision.

Over the years, however, it’s been obvious that people of many different faith traditions have also been involved in defending the right to life. I can remember Lutherans, Baptists, evangelical Christians, and others who attended the annual Respect Life march at our state Capitol in January in past years, followed by an ecumenical prayer service at St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison.

This might have been the first time some people of other faiths had entered a Catholic church! We Catholics also had the opportunity to see how other denominations prayed and sang.

People of many different faiths have also been active in pro-life outreach efforts such as CareNet Pregnancy Center, Elizabeth House, Pregnancy Helpline, the Women’s Care Center, and Vigil for Life in the Madison area. I have been impressed by the commitment of so many people to these efforts to assist parents in choosing life for their unborn babies and to help those in need after the babies are born.

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On
Lindsay Becher, For the Catholic Herald

Engaging in work on the new and the old evangelization

This is the first in a series of articles to be published on the topic of engaging in the work of evangelization — old and new — and how to live out the Year of Faith by engaging in this most important task. Keep reading in the weeks to come!

We are three months in. This Year of Faith was called for with the hope of transforming our world and the lives of those living in it. What has happened?

  • A synod of bishops and lay leaders in the Church met in Rome for a month to talk about the New Evangelization last October
  • A few hundred people in the Diocese of Madison came out to hear Tom Peterson, founder of Catholics Come Home, speak in Madison this past November.
  • A couple parishes in the area have invited back those who had fallen away from the practice of their faith.
  • Catholic churches were packed on Christmas and were less than half full the following Sunday.
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