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If you don’t know that Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 3, I am slightly jealous of you. You’ve probably missed out on some of the craziness, negativity, and frustration that has been the 2020 campaign season.
It’ll all be over soon, right?
Other than perhaps the Super Bowl, I can’t think of an event still in existence, or with its peak effect, that creates as much national attention as the day when we learn who the president will be over the next four-year term.
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I recently read a survey of Catholics which indicated a significant number of the respondents did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is not divine.
We may rightfully distrust the full accuracy of surveys, yet this data point troubles me greatly.
If one does not affirm the divinity of Jesus, our entire Catholic faith is deceptive and illusory. |
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| Fr. Gregory Ihm |
When a man stands as his name is called during an ordination and responds “present”; it isn’t the first time he has presented himself to the Church for ordination.
The commitment to the priesthood comes in stages.
The first stage is the interior journey that happens before applying to the seminary. It is probably the most important/pivotal, because it makes real many aspects of the priesthood that are usually off limits in most men’s minds.
Once they wrestle with the many doubts and fears that surround it and give themselves permission to pursue a call to the priesthood there can be freedom. |
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| Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison speaks to diocesan seminarians during this year’s Seminarian Gathering held at Camp Gray in Reedsburg. (Contributed photo) |
WASHINGTON — The Catholic Church in the United States will celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week on November 1-7.
This annual weeklong celebration is an opportunity for dioceses and parishes in the United States to uphold and promote vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and Consecrated Life and encourage the faithful to renew their prayerful support for those currently discerning one of these calls.
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unforeseen challenges in the lives of many throughout the country.
Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations, offered that these current challenges provide an opportunity for genuine discernment fully rooted and dependent upon Christ.
“These unusual and difficult times have brought much uncertainty and fear into our lives, but we know in faith that Christ’s powerful hand extends over all of us in mercy. I invite those discerning a vocation to use this time to prayerfully renew your love for Christ and recognize your complete dependence upon Him who loves and calls you uniquely,” he said.|
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Death: Our Birth into Eternal life Fr. Joseph Baker |
The following article is the next installment in a series that will appear in the Catholic Herald to offer catechesis and formation concerning end-of-life decisions, dying, death, funerals, and burial of the dead from the Catholic perspective.
Having examined when life-sustaining treatments can be discontinued or forgone, we turn to the issue of food and water.
It must be noted that food and water fundamentally differ from life-sustaining treatments.
‘Several aspects to being pro-life’
‘Abortion is the preeminent moral issue’
Casting our votes on November 3
MADISON — On Saturday, Dec. 12, St. Ambrose Academy (SAA) is bringing the party to you.
We’re taking our annual gala virtual with the See the Joy Benefit Dinner @ Home Edition. And we invite you to host a watch party and join the fun!
This is not just some Zoom conference though.
Instead of coming to a downtown Madison venue, you and your guests will gather at your home (or someone else’s!) to enjoy an interactive experience that will bring in a taste of the joyful, social atmosphere that is a hallmark of each SAA Benefit Dinner, which annually welcomes 600 or more friends and supporters.
MADISON — “As 40 peaceful days of prayer, fasting, vigil, and outreach draw to a conclusion, we will meet at Planned Parenthood, 3706 Orin Rd., Madison, on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m. to rejoice in the victories that God has accomplished,” said Gwen Finnegan, who is coordinating the 40 Days for Life campaign in Madison.
Some of the highlights of the current campaign include:
• More than 40 churches working together
• 500-plus volunteers contributing 1,920 hours of service to the communityNOTE: The first Rural Life Listening Session scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 12, in Highland has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No decisions have been made yet on other scheduled sessions in November. A session in Iowa County will be rescheduled sometime after January 1.
The Diocese of Madison Rural Life Ministry is coordinating listening sessions in all 11 counties, so that Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison and diocesan leaders can better understand the blessings and challenges of our rural communities.
We watch with great concern the crises our farmers face, especially the loss of family farms, financial failure, plunging dairy and meat prices, and increasing costs of production, all the while being more productive than ever-before.
