 |
|
Q From the past columns I have read, my situation is different. I am the 79-year-old mother of a disabled daughter.
My health is pretty good, but I realize I will not be around forever. I have taken care of “Nancy” all my life, and she and I are very close.
I have not made any plans for her and wonder where to begin. She is my only child, and the thought of any other distant relatives caring for her is out of the question.
(From a mother in Monroe)
In September, Pope Francis celebrated “the blessing of long life” with thousands of senior citizens and their families.
In his homily that day, he spoke about the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, calling it “a Gospel of encounter.”
The pope encouraged those present — and through them, all of us — to follow Mary’s example and re-establish a covenant between the young and the old.
MIDDLETON — For the past five years, teens from the Diocese of Madison have won scholarship awards celebrating their “faith in action.”
For the 2014 winners and the presenters, this year took on a special significance.
 |
|
| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
This past weekend we marked the great Solemnity of Christ the King. The imagery of the Christ as king is used in many passages of Scripture and in the Gospels.
He’s likened to a king who threw a banquet. He’s likened to a king who sent his armies out to fight. He’s likened to a king who is putting his economic life in order and who was very severe to make sure his finances were well handled. Kings are pictured doing a lot of things in Scripture, and so many of those images refer to the Messiah, to Jesus.
On this Feast of Christ the King in 2014, Christ the King has been presented as the Judge. He is separating the sheep from the goats. And, in doing that, He is showing us what it means for Him, for His Father, to be “all in all,” as it says at the end of the second reading (1 Cor 15:28).
God will be all in all. What does that mean? It means God will be everything for everyone. And that’s how we are judged, basically.
Did I live as though God was everything for me? Or, did I live as though God just took up some small corner of my life? Did I live as though He was everything? Or did I live as though He were only a marginal character in my life?
 |
|
| Pope Francis arrives to lead an audience at the Vatican recently. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) |
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said he would attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in September of 2015, making it the first confirmed stop on what is expected to be a more extensive papal visit to North America.
The pope made the announcement November 17, in a speech opening an interreligious conference on traditional marriage.
“I would like to confirm that, God willing, in September 2015, I will go to Philadelphia for the eighth World Meeting of Families,” the pope said.
The announcement had been widely expected, since Pope Benedict XVI had said before his retirement that he hoped to attend the Philadelphia event. Popes typically fulfill their predecessors’ publicly known travel plans, as Pope Francis did in July 2013, when he attended World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.
Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who was in Rome for the families meeting, told Catholic News Service the announcement was “a surprise in the sense that it was announced so early; you know usually they don’t make these announcements — four months out is the typical and here we are 10 months away, and the Holy Father said he is coming to Philadelphia.”
MADISON — After 10 years of mission and values-driven service, Dr. Frank Byrne announced recently that he plans to retire from his position as president of St. Mary’s Hospital on January 30, 2015. However, he will remain a member of the board of directors of St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation.
Under Byrne’s leadership, St. Mary’s nearly doubled in size with the 2008 completion of its expansion project. St. Mary’s and Dean began their journey toward HIMSS Stage 7 status with the transition to Epic’s electronic health record system.
Shopping is one of my favorite pastimes. Just ask any members of my family. They know I’m ready to shop at the drop of a hat — or any object, for that matter!
But when it comes to shopping on Thanksgiving Day, it’s another story. I have been resenting the encroachment of “Black Friday” — the name given to the day after Thanksgiving — onto the holiday itself.
To the editor:
Most of us are aware that there is a dichotomy of thought in our world concerning what determines the beginning of life. But is there an awareness that there is also a dichotomy of thought in the determination of what ends life?
Did you know that the use of neurological criteria to declare “brain death” was motivated by the desire to harvest the beating heart and other vital organs for transplantation and to remove life support from patients to keep from overcrowding intensive care units of hospitals?
Last month and for the second year in a row, I went on a private retreat. Basically, I took some time off from everything in my life, spent a weekend at an area retreat center, and used my self-imposed “free time” to pray, read, reflect, (and sometimes nap!).
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — The National Catholic Youth Choir (NCYC) is seeking high school singers to audition for the 2015 camp and multi-state tour. The choir is led by Axel Theimer and founding director Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB.
Catholic students entering grades nine through 12 in fall of 2015 are encouraged to audition.
The camp and tour will take place from June 15 through June 30, 2015. The camp is based in Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minn.
