BARABOO — The third annual Gala for the Glen, with Irish food, music, and fellowship, will be held at St. Joseph Catholic School gym, 300 Second St., on Saturday, May 30, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets are $50 and are available at Durward’s Glen or at the St. Joseph Parish office.
Following a dinner of shepherd‘s pie and Gaelic chicken catered by Claddagh Irish Pub from Middleton, The Kells, an international Irish band, will entertain with traditional Irish music.
COLUMBUS — St. […]
Just when Pope Francis plans to canonize Blessed Junipero Serra on September 23 during his visit to the United States this year, the California Senate voted April 12 to replace Serra’s statue in the U.S. Capitol with a statue of the astronaut Sally Ride.
The vote must still be approved by the California Assembly and by Governor Jerry Brown.
Each state can place two statues of its important citizens in the U.S. Capitol. The statue of Serra has been in the Capitol since 1934. The other California statue is of former President Ronald Reagan.
It’s time to celebrate both continuity and new beginnings, said Bishop Robert C. Morlino as he presided at a Mass and groundbreaking ceremonies for the redevelopment of the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center (BOC) on May 1.
“Be not afraid of your deepest desires. Be not afraid of God’s design for your desires. Be not afraid of your ultimate destiny.”
MADISON — Following upon Pope Francis’ call for assistance for survivors of the massive earthquakes in Nepal and India, Bishop Robert C. Morlino has encouraged people in the Diocese of Madison to provide support for earthquake relief.
It is left to the discretion of pastors as to whether a special collection is held in parishes for relief efforts. If a collection is held, parishes are asked to send contributions to the diocesan Office of Finance, which will forward funds to Catholic Relief Services (CRS). CRS is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States.
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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,
I cannot help but comment on the events of last week, namely the Supreme Court’s hearing of arguments with regard to a number of consolidated cases about the definition of marriage.
Now, in the first place, I must take a moment to remind you that when Christians speak of such things, we must be very clear about separating acts done from the individuals doing them.
We can speak of the inherent goodness of marriage, as it’s been understood from time immemorial, and we can even speak of the sin which is committed in same-sex physical unions (just as we can speak of the sin which is committed in adulterous acts, or even in “contracepted” marital acts) without condemning the individuals who may think it possible to make marriage something other than what it is, or those who undertake sexual acts that are far less than what sex is made to be — truly unitive and open to new life.
We can and we do hate the sin, while loving the sinner. It is a very important distinction and one that is sometimes forgotten by Christians, and sometimes glossed over and even rejected by those who wish to paint any attempt to preach the truth of marriage as a judgement of individuals.
That being said, let us discuss what’s at stake in the cases that are being considered by the Supreme Court.
The case, of course, will have an impact on whether or not it is deemed constitutionally valid for us, as a society, to provide a certain designation for an institution that has been respected as necessary for the good of humankind since the beginning: that being the joining of one man and one woman, for one lifetime, with openness to children.
That institution, the stable formation of a micro-community with two individuals designed to be complementary, providing a united basis for the procreation and loving raising of children, has always been the most stable building block for society. As such, society has a vested interest in supporting and protecting it.
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Second in a series of reflections by Fr. Robert Barron on the life of Cardinal Francis George.
The one who would proclaim the Gospel in the contemporary American setting must appreciate that the American culture is sown liberally with semina verbi (seeds of the Word).
The first of these, in Cardinal Francis George’s judgment, is the modern sense of freedom and its accompanying rights.
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Anna Jarvis (1864-1948) is recognized as the “mother of Mother’s Day.” She never married or had children, but as a child she heard her mother wish that there was a day to honor all mothers, living and dead.
She started the custom of wearing carnations on Mother’s Day. White carnations were her mother’s favorite flower because they symbolized a mother’s pure love. Today, red and pink carnations are given to honor a living mother and white carnations to honor a deceased mother.
In 1870, Julia Ward Howe, shocked by the Civil War’s bloodshed, organized a mother’s day for peace. This prepared the way for today’s Mother’s Day.
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| Morgan Smith |
As I drove home from my friend Andrew’s funeral, I noticed in myself a deep sadness. This sadness was and is a tension that is related to a huge question: Why?
I was so moved. When I stood in line to enter the church, I was looking at all the faces — these faces from my past that I now only see at funerals. A sea of shock, dismay, and disbelief.
Andrew committed suicide recently. This was the furthest thing that anyone would have ever expected him to do, and it feels so strange to type those words.
