Fr. Gary Wankerl, […]
Day: February 7, 2018
Lent: A journey from ashes to Easter
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On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14 this year, we begin the season of Lent. The word Lent comes from an old English word meaning Spring time which is a season of new growth.
Lent is a season of the Church when we open ourselves to new spiritual growth so that at Easter, we can renew our baptismal promises with renewed committed faith and Christ-like joy and love.
Saying yes to God’s will as a priest
A nearly 10-year journey has led Fr. Gabriel López-Betanzos from discernment to his role as the judicial vicar for the Diocese of Madison.
Earlier this year, he was appointed to that role by Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, replacing Fr. Tait Schroeder, who will be working in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome.
For the love of God impels us
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| Fr. Gregory Ihm |
“For the love of Christ impels us, . . . He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised . . . (entrusting to us the message of reconciliation) . . . So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us” (2Cor. 5:14-20).
Gaining strength in our pursuit of Christ
This past Sunday, I was able to offer Mass and spend some time with our young people gathered for Frassati Fest, which is organized by our diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, and put on for our high schoolers, with the help and cooperation of so many good people.
It was a terrific gathering. What I told them, I think, is a good message for all of us.
The Creed of the People, Part Two
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John Joy |
Last month we began looking at the Creed of the People of God, in honor of its 50th anniversary. This Creed is based on the Nicene Creed we say at Mass, but it goes into greater detail about what Catholics are required to believe in order to be ‘practicing Catholics’ and (more importantly) in order have that faith without which we cannot be saved. The opening lines of the Creed expressed our faith in God as the creator of all things, visible and invisible.
This month, we’ll continue with the Unity and Trinity of God. In the Nicene Creed, we say, “I believe in one God . . .” and then we go on to mention each of the divine Persons, “the Father almighty . . . one Lord Jesus Christ . . . the Holy Spirit . . .” All this is very compact. The Creed of the People of God expresses the same faith more completely and explicitly.
Applying ‘cleansing the temple’ to daily life
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Artistic representations of the 10 Commandments often depict two stone tablets on which there are two tables of inscriptions. This portrayal follows from a classical division of the commandments in which there are two specific categories — those that order humanity’s relationship with God and those that order human relationships with one another.
Celebrating time, talent, and treasure
FORT ATKINSON — Catholic Schools Week is a time to celebrate Catholic education, including all those who support it and those who are learning from it.
St. Joseph School in Fort Atkinson recently took some time out of a busy school day to do just that.
Among a plethora of other activities, January 31 marked the day of an all-school assembly and talent show.Our country needs a national paid leave plan
When I had children many years ago, I did not have paid maternity leave.
I was able to use my accumulated vacation and sick leave. But that meant that I had very little time off available the rest of the year. That was difficult, especially with young children.
First national leave law
Fortunately for other parents, our nation took a step toward a more family friendly future 25 years ago when the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) became law.
Priest who had afterlife experience to speak at All Saints Parish in Berlin
BERLIN — Fr. John Tourangeau, OPraem, who had an afterlife experience following a major heart attack, emphatically states, “Heaven is for real!”
Within this enlightening and hope-filled presentation, Father Tourangeau weaves a powerful and dynamic tapestry of the Kingdom of God at hand — heaven — through exploration of Christian tradition, Sacred Scripture, Catholic teaching, and personal experience.