Month: June 2013

On
Kevin Wondrash

El Espíritu Santo trae armonía

Esta columna es la comunicación del Obispo con los fieles de la Diócesis de Madison. Cualquier circulación más amplia va más allá de la intención del Obispo.

Queridos amigos:

En su homilía en la mañana de Pentecostés — que tuvo tres puntos y que por su puesto estuvo centrada en el Espíritu Santo — el Papa Francisco comenzó diciendo que él es muy devoto de un Padre de la Iglesia que dijo que el Espíritu Santo es, Él mismo, armonía. El Espíritu Santo es, Él mismo, armonía. Cuando celebramos un Año de la Fe y la Nueva Evangelización a través de la belleza, que bella imagen esa del Espíritu Santo: la armonía.

Es en la armonía que escuchamos bellamente reflejados la buena música preparada por los coros. La armonía es agradable al oído y eleva el corazón. La armonía tiene un efecto particularmente positivo en la gente cuando están dispuestos a ella, porque ellos mismos se armonizan en primer lugar. Puedes oír la armonía que desees, pero si no estás armonizado, en realidad no hace ninguna diferencia.

Mucha gente no está armonizada

En nuestra sociedad y en nuestra cultura, mucha gente no está armonizada. Esa es la razón por la que, por ejemplo, los jóvenes pueden acostumbrarse a la música que escuchan la mayor parte del tiempo. Mucho de esto realmente no es agradable al oído pero es un gusto adquirido y ciertamente resuena en aquellos que experimentan una gran angustia no armonizada en sus vidas cotidianas.

 

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Jean Mueller

Family caregiving: The division of labor

Ask Jean column by Jean MuellerQ: This question may have been raised before, but I need to ask again. We are a family of four brothers all helping our 90-year-old mother and developmentally delayed sister. We had to place our mother in a nursing home a year ago due to physical issues. One brother lives out of state so we keep him updated by phone and naturally don’t expect any physical help from him. The rest of us live near each other and share the responsibilities, with the exception of one brother. We ask him to do a very specific task and he can never seem to follow through. There is always some kind of lame excuse. Sometimes I think he does this on purpose to get out of helping. This is getting very old. Do you have any suggestions? (A son in Barneveld).

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Abbot Marcel Rooney

The Holy Eucharist: Theology and Spirituality, part three

By Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB

year of faith column logo

This is the third in a series of articles examining the theology and spirituality of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

 

In the previous two articles on the theology and spirituality of the Holy Eucharist, there were outlined a number of important points about the faith of the Church in this central sacrament.

Prayers of the Mass on Feast of Corpus Christi

In a very telling way, almost all these points are expressed in the Prayer texts of Holy Mass for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), which we have just celebrated on Sunday, June 3.

The Collect/Opening Prayer of Holy Mass on the solemnity, for example, speaks of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist as the memorial of Christ’s Passion — as does the Preface.

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Joanna Bos, For the Catholic Herald

St. Joseph students win big in math competition

FORT ATKINSON — Several students from St. Joseph School in Fort Atkinson were among the nearly 150,000 students worldwide to participate this year in the Math Olympiad program.

They participated in a series of five monthly contests of five problems each, from November to March, and weekly practice sessions under the supervision and coaching of parent volunteers.

The children were asked to solve unusual and difficult problems by applying math principles, logic, and by thinking creatively.

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Kevin Wondrash

Stoughton children organize garage sale to benefit friend

STOUGHTON — Eight children from St. Ann School in Stoughton, ranging in age from six to 12, put a plan into action when they heard their friend, seven-year-old Ella Hembrook, and her family would have to spend eight weeks in Boston for specialized radiation treatments for Ella’s rare brain tumor.

Ella’s tumor is called Craniopharyngioma, which accounts for less than one percent of all brain tumors.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Legislature passes ultrasound measure

MADISON — Both the state Senate and Assembly passed a bill requiring ultrasounds for those considering an abortion.

According to the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC) Capital Update report, the vote was 17-15 in favor in the Senate and 56-39 in favor in the Assembly for Senate Bill 206 (authored by Senator Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin), also known as “Sonya’s Law.”

Wisconsin Right to Life explained that Sonya, a Wisconsin mother of two children, learned that she was pregnant with her third child this past November. Sonya worried about how she could handle another child, emotionally and financially. She seriously thought about abortion.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Parents losing influence: Morning-after pill ruling removes parental involvement

Last year, the state of New York became the 32nd state in our country to require that young people under age 18 must have written parental consent before obtaining body piercing.

A member of the state legislature said that “body piercing can result in severe health risks and it is our obligation as New Yorkers and parents to make sure that our teens are taking every precaution to remain healthy and safe.” Besides body piercing, parental consent is also needed for those under 18 to get tattoos or visit tanning beds in the state of New York.

It is good for our elected representatives to be concerned about the health of teenagers and to allow parents to be involved in decisions affecting their health.

Ruling on morning-after pill

However, it seems as if the federal government isn’t so concerned about teenagers’ health or parental involvement, especially when it affects the area of sexuality. On June 10, the Justice Department announced that it will allow girls of any age to buy the Plan B one-step morning-after pill without a prescription and without parental consent. This pill can be bought over the counter, and in most pharmacies it will be will be available on shelves near the condoms.

What is happening in our country? Not only are we encouraging irresponsible behavior, we’re also encouraging teens to purchase drugs that they know very little about — and all without their parents’ knowledge or involvement!

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Chris Lee

Sister Mary Kiley, OP, dies

SINSINAWA — Sister Mary Kiley, OP (Lorcan), died June 17, 2013, at St. Dominic Villa. The funeral Mass was held in Queen of the Rosary Chapel at Sinsinawa June 21, 2013, followed by burial in the Motherhouse Cemetery.

Sister Mary made her first religious profession as a Sinsinawa Dominican Aug. 5, 1953, and her final profession Aug. 5, 1956. She ministered in education for 44 years, teaching in elementary and intermediate grades for 23 years, early childhood for six years, and a before and after school program for 15 years. Sister Mary served as support staff at the motherhouse, Sinsinawa, for 14 years. She served in Minnesota, Illinois, Alabama, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and New York.

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Pat Casucci, for the Catholic Herald

Sr. Becky Perez celebrates golden jubilee

BELOIT — Sr. Becky Perez, a member of the Auxiliaries of the Blessed Sacrament, will be honored at a reception celebrating her golden jubilee on Sunday, June 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. at St. Jude Church Hall.

All friends of Sister Becky are invited to the reception being served by St. Jude Marian Guild members.

Devotion to Jesus

From childhood, Sr. Becky Perez, has had a sincere devotion to Jesus. This attribute seems to motivate and energize her as she works each day serving the ministry of the Sisters of the Auxiliaries of the Blessed Sacrament.

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