In a church typically full of college students, it’s a blessing to hear “grandma used to sit way up there,” as a woman reminisced to her granddaughter about her days at St. Paul University Catholic Center.
Day: January 13, 2016
Continuing to follow Dr. King’s dream
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is an American federal holiday that marks the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January, which is around Dr. King’s birthday, January 15. This year it is observed on January 18.
In his speech to Congress in September of 2015, Pope Francis lifted up four Americans who worked for social justice. They were two non-Catholics, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr., and two Catholics, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. Crux columnist John L. Allen Jr. called them the pope’s “Fantastic Four” who stood up for the poor.
John Huebscher to retire after 29 years with WCC
MADISON — John Huebscher says that the Catholic Church has “always been tugging at my sleeve.”
“I’ve always been interested in the Church,” he said in an interview prior to his retirement this month as executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC), the public policy voice of the state’s Catholic bishops.
“I even thought about entering the seminary,” he said. In fact, his pastor encouraged him to visit the seminary in Milwaukee in 1967 and he met the rector in his office.
Making good choices, supporting those struggling with addiction
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Addiction can be extremely harmful, and in some cases, fatal for those individuals ensnared by it. It can be seriously disruptive and damaging to those around them.
Who is to blame when it comes to addiction? Family and friends may think to themselves, “Why can’t Jane just stop drinking?” Or, “Doesn’t Joe understand that his gambling addiction is bankrupting the family?” Or, “Can’t Bob see how his pornography habit is destroying his marriage and his relationships?”
For those facing addiction, it seems they ought to be able to recognize their behavior as harmful and turn away from it by a resolute decision. Family and friends, however, can face years of frustration when they see their loved ones fall into a slow motion “crash and burn,” spiraling downwards as they remain unwilling or unable to step away from their addiction.
Saint of light, saint of darkness
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Like so many others around the world, I was overjoyed to hear of the recent decision of the Vatican to canonize Mother Teresa, a woman generally recognized, during her lifetime, to be a “living saint.”
Mother Teresa first came to my attention through Malcolm Muggeridge’s film and attendant book, Something Beautiful for God. Of course. Muggeridge showed Mother’s work with the dying and the poorest of the poor on the streets of Kolkata, but what moved me the most were the images of the saint’s smile amidst so much squalor and suffering. She was a very bright light shining in exceptionally thick darkness.
Demonstrating love
Mother’s life reveals so many aspects and profiles of holiness, but I would like to focus on three of them.
Let 2016 truly be a Year of Mercy
Dear Friends,
I hope and pray that you have enjoyed every blessing of the Christmas Season, and I certainly wish you the very best and I pray for the best for you in this New Year and throughout 2016.
The passage of time is a mysterious thing to us and the future remains unknown, except to our God.
Reaching out to the homeless and those in need
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| Ask IPS |
QUESTION: “Especially as the cold settles in this winter, I want to reach out to the homeless in my community. At the same time, this is outside of my comfort zone and I’m afraid of being asked to take on burdens that I’m not ready for. What is a good balance to strike?”
RESPONSE: Sarah Lowrey, M.S. Student at the IPS Center for the Psychological Services
How beautiful that you want to serve and make a difference in your community!
Set apartments aside for homeless veterans?
To the editor:
How ironic that on the same day I received the Catholic Herald newspaper, I also picked up a copy of the Isthmus newspaper. The latter paper had a great article about how a non-profit organization, Housing Initiatives, is focusing on securing housing for the homeless, including homeless veterans.
Monastic chant concert in Monona
MONONA — The Sisters of Mary, Morning Star, will hold a Sacred Concert of monastic chant on Sunday, Jan. 24, at 3 p.m. at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Monona.
Different styles of music will be performed including pre-Gregorian chant, crusaders alleluia, Byzantine chant, Christian music from India, and modern monastic chant.
Young people know value of human life
To the editor:
This is a testimony from a young local lady: “My lifestyle had become so unmanageable, that every time I spoke with my mother on the phone, she asked me how she should start planning my funeral. I knew I had to get clean, but I didn’t know how. Then a miracle happened: I found out I was pregnant. Yes, a miracle, because this baby saved my life. Right then and there I stopped everything (addictive), and I moved back home and started planning our future — the future I would have with my baby. Now, I had a reason to live!”