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For quite some time I have had an interest in the plight of the homeless. I have read about it, prayed over it, and have done small things to help.
But feeling that I could, and should, do more to make a difference, I concluded that living as a homeless man — at least for a very brief period — was the best way to understand what it’s like to have no place to call home.
FENNIMORE — On […]
MADISON — There will be open houses and tours the next two Thursdays, Feb. 27 and March 6, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the site of Lumen House at 142 W. Johnson St.
Lumen House is a student housing project of Cathedral Parish in Madison. Residents will experience high quality apartment living within a small, supportive community.
As Catholics, we hear a lot about making sure we have a healthy spiritual life by attending Mass, praying regularly, and doing good works. Taking care of our souls should be a priority in our lives.
However, that does not mean that we should ignore our bodies. It is very important to take care of our bodies, too.
In religion class in Catholic grade school, I remember learning that our bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit.” The complete quote from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
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| Internationally-known chastity speaker and author Jason Evert speaks to a packed hall of more than 300 students on the UW-Madison campus for his talk “Save Your Marriage Before Meeting Your Spouse.” The event was presented by student group Badger Catholic. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash) |
MADISON — On Thursday, Feb. 6, the University of Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team defeated number one ranked Minnesota 2 to 1 before almost 9,000 fans at the Kohl Center.
While Bucky was defending the home ice against Goldy, less than one half mile away at UW-Madison’s Gordon Dining and Event Center, more than 300 college students packed the building’s “Concerto Room” to hear about chastity.
Internationally known speaker Jason Evert was on hand to give his talk, “Save Your Marriage Before Meeting Your Spouse.”
Evert and his wife, Crystalina, have spoken on six continents to more than one million people about the virtue of chastity. He and his wife are the authors of more than 10 books, including How to Find Your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul and Theology of the Body for Teens.
The event was presented by Badger Catholic, a student organization on the UW-Madison campus that seeks to inspire greater discussion about spirituality and faith in order to encourage students to better their lives and the lives of those around them.
As the event began, additional chairs had to be brought in, but it wasn’t enough to seat the overflow crowd, who either sat on the floor or stood against the walls.
Evert began his talk, acknowledging the large attendance. He said he was happy to see “standing room only of people skipping a hockey game to save your future marriage . . . this is a beautiful thing.”
BARABOO — St. Joseph Catholic School is re-establishing its middle school program and has started open enrollment.
During each of the next three years, the school will add one grade level, starting with a sixth-grade class next school year and seventh- and eighth-grade classes added in the two subsequent years.
The school currently offers a daycare, four-year-old kindergarten (4K), and kindergarten through fifth-grade classes. In 4K through fifth grades, the school has a total enrollment of 143 students.
Last fall, a couple leaving the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Madison stopped at the driveway to tell the sidewalk counselor with Vigil for Life that they were going to keep their baby.
Vigil for Life volunteers didn’t know if this couple had come to the clinic for a pregnancy test or for an appointment for an abortion. In any case, these parents chose life for their baby.
In an email named “Baby Saved,” sent to volunteers after that incident, Bette Weisshaar, then director of Vigil for Life-Madison, said, “That’s why we’re out there — to pray for a change of heart, for God’s graces to show them a way other than abortion. Our prayers on the sidewalk are offered for parents, that they will choose life for their babies . . . and that’s exactly what happened today! Praise God!”
MADISON — Abraham Lincoln is more a legend than a real person to many people. His famous speeches, his efforts to hold the Union together, and his untimely death overshadow the man who honed his skills as a circuit-riding attorney in Illinois.
At the next meeting of the St. Thomas More Society in the Diocese of Madison, attorney John Skilton will present highlights from “Abraham Lincoln: A Lawyer for the Ages.”
Skilton is an author, lecturer, and leader in the legal community. He has practiced law for 43 years and has given back to the community by serving on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association as well as serving as president of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
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| 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,
There is a great service to humanity that is being lost. It is being lost in society and it is being treated with kid gloves even in the Church. This service is to help another person form and follow their conscience.
So lost is this service that it is very quickly becoming illegal. I wish I were speaking in exaggerated hyperbole here, but sadly I am not. To help others form their conscience means to say that this or that is wrong. And to say certain things are wrong has become very dangerous and indeed — close to illegal in our country, and already illegal in Canada.
However, it is, always and everywhere, the right and responsibility of the Church, and of parents, and of good neighbors, to witness to the law of the Lord, to speak the Truth as it is written on our hearts, and to help others to form their conscience.
In fact there is little that is more important because, as we’ll see, it is the path by which we must follow to seek and to attain the blessedness in this life and in the life to come.
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| 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:
Hay un gran servicio a la humanidad que se está perdiendo. Se pierde en la sociedad y se trata con guantes de seda incluso en la Iglesia. Este servicio es ayudarse unos a otros para formar y seguir la conciencia.
Tan perdido está este servicio que rápidamente se ha convertido en ilegal. Me gustaría estar hablando exageradamente, pero tristemente no es así. Ayudar a otros a formar sus conciencias significa decir que esto o lo otro está mal. Y decir que ciertas cosas están mal se ha convertido en algo muy peligroso y de hecho, en algo casi ilegal en nuestro país, y ya es ilegal en Canadá.
Sin embargo, siempre y en todos lados está el derecho y la responsabilidad de la Iglesia, y de los padres, y de los buenos vecinos, de ser testimonio de la ley del Señor, hablar la Verdad como está escrita en nuestros corazones, y ayudar a otros a formar sus conciencias.
De hecho, hay pocas cosas que sean más importantes porque, como veremos, es el camino que debemos seguir para buscar y atraer las bendiciones en esta vida y en la vida por venir.
