Month: September 2014

On
Obispo Robert C. Morlino

Corregirnos unos a otros de manera ‘amorosa’

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:

Rezo para que todos hayan tenido un verano de descanso . . . como parece ser, tristemente, ¡estamos llegando a los últimos días! En mi caso, tengo la esperanza de que el invierno sea no muy fuerte. Sé que puede ser una esperanza tonta, pero ¡soy un hombre de esperanza!

Considerando las lecturas del domingo pasado, creo que es muy importante que reflexionemos juntos, nuevamente, sobre el tema de la corrección fraterna, que es sobre lo que la primera (Ez 33:7-9) y la tercera (Mt 18:15-20) lecturas nos hablaron.

La corrección fraterna es la manera en que nos corregimos unos a otros como hermanos y hermanas en Cristo. Lo hacemos no con arrogancia, ni con desprecio, sino con amor. La corrección fraterna en la Iglesia es un servicio de amor.

En nuestros días y en esta época, nadie quiere corregir a nadie (a menos que sea anónimamente, alguien que no conocemos y en un foro en línea, que ciertamente no es corrección caritativa). Corregir a alguien directamente, alguien a quien conocemos, requiere que expliquemos lo que está bien y lo que está mal, lo que es bueno y lo que es malo. Nadie quiere hacer eso porque “tú tienes tu propia verdad y yo tengo mi propia verdad y podemos coexistir pacíficamente y ¡todo es maravilloso!”. . . excepto que no es así. Es un mundo confundido.

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On
Laura Green, For the Catholic Herald

When life gives you lemonade . . . you give back to others

Phil Fabian raised over $160 for the Catholic Multicultural Center at his lemonade stand at his Madison home. (Photo/Andrea Fabian)

MADISON — When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. So what if life gives you lemonade?

If you asked this question to Phil Fabian, he would probably respond that you can use it to help others. Phil is a 10-year-old lemonade stand entrepreneur whose goal is to have fun while helping out the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) in Madison.

Not a typical lemonade stand

One afternoon in August, Phil’s lemonade stand was open for business, catering to customers looking for a cool treat on a warm summer day. However, this wasn’t your typical lemonade stand.

“People tell me that my lemonade stand is different from other stands because everything I offer is free,” said Phil.

All passing by were welcome to take ice-cold lemonade and choose from an assortment of home-baked goods for free, no strings attached.

Instead of paying for a sweet treat, customers were invited to “pay it forward” and contribute to a free-will donation collection for the CMC.

Lots of visitors

Patrons stopped by the stand all afternoon, many of whom were Our Lady Queen of Peace School teachers and parish staff. A Facebook post by the CMC advertised the event.

Phil and his family were very happy with the turnout, though just running the lemonade stand was an enjoyable experience regardless of how many came.

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On
Fr. Robert Barron

Christian themes in The Giver

Lois Lowry’s 1993 novel The Giver has garnered a wide audience over the past two decades, since it has become a standard text in middle schools and high schools across the English-speaking world.

With the enormous success of the Harry Potter, Twilight, and Hunger Games films, Hollywood has been busy adapting books written for the young adult audience. The most recent is the movie version of The Giver, produced by Jeff Bridges and starring Bridges and Meryl Streep.

Having never heard of the novel, I came at the film with no expectations, and I confess I was surprised both by the power of its societal critique and its implicit Christian themes.

Seemingly perfect city

The story is set in a seemingly utopian city, where there is no conflict, no inequality, and no stress. The streets are laid out in a perfectly symmetrical grid, the buildings are clean, and people dress in matching outfits and ride bicycles so as not to pollute the environment.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Teens attend Steubenville youth conference

ST. PAUL, Minn. — More then 20 high school students from St. Clement Parish in Lancaster recently attended the Steubenville North Youth Conference in St. Paul, Minn.

They were accompanied by students from Queen of All Saints Parish in Fennimore and St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Mt. Horeb at the conference that had a grand total of 2,000 high schoolers from all over the Midwest.

Nine adults from Lancaster went along as chaperones as well as Fr. John Sasse, pastor of St. Clement, and Fr. Greg Ihm, vocations director for the Diocese of Madison.

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On
George Weigel

The covenant of marriage

My son Stephen and I recently attended the golden wedding anniversary celebration of my friends Piotr and Teresa Malecki.

It began with a Mass of Thanksgiving in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of Cracow’s Wawel Cathedral — the place where Piotr and Teresa had exchanged vows on July 4, 1964, kneeling before their old kayaking and hiking friend, the archbishop of Cracow (who, as St. John Paul II, was canonized two months before the Maleckis’ jubilee).

Network of Wojtyla’s friends

Piotr Malecki, Karol Wojtyla’s altar boy at St. Florian Parish and the self-described “enfant terrible” of that network of Wojtyla’s friends known as Srodowisko, is a distinguished physicist.

Teresa Malecka, who had to convince Wojtyla (whom she and others called Wujek, “Uncle”) that she was ready for marriage at age 20, is an accomplished musicologist and the former vice-dean of the Cracow Academy of Music.

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On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

God in action: Cardinal reminds us that God is at work in our time

This week I happily relinquish most of the Editorial Page to a most distinguished writer: Cardinal Francis George of Chicago.

Cardinal George writes so eloquently about the evolution of the Catholic Church as it relates to society as a whole.

He discusses particularly what has happened in the United States in more recent years, when the Church — and its faithful members — have been forced to “swim against the tide” when the government and social pressure seek to impose their “own form of morality” on us.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Postpartum NFP classes in Janesville

JANESVILLE — The Couple to Couple League (CCL) will offer postpartum Natural Family Planning (NFP) classes taught by Elaine and Tom McDonald in their Janesville home. Register for one class on one of the following dates: Thursday, Sept. 25, or Monday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m.

A postpartum NFP class provides specific information on how to interpret fertility signs during the transitional stage between childbirth and the return of normal fertility cycles.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

Parish sponsors grief support series

MADISON — Those suffering grief from the loss of a loved one are invited to attend a four-week video series entitled “No One Cries the Wrong Way” on Wednesdays from Oct. 1 through 22 with a group reunion on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

The series will be held at St. Dennis Church, 505 Dempsey Rd., and will be facilitated by members of the St. Dennis grief ministry team. There will be prayer service, group discussion, and refreshments.

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