A good New Year’s resolution is to continue to work for peace. History has shown that helping to bring peace takes patience, prayer, and perseverance. Past human efforts to achieve peace have not been overly successful.
According to the June 1988 issue of Today in the Word, in 3,530 years of recorded history, only 286 years saw peace.
More than 8,000 peace treaties were made and then broken.
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As the first Christmas of World War I approached, Pope Benedict XV on December 7, 1914, asked the leaders of all warring governments to agree to an official ceasefire. He begged “that the guns may fall silent at least upon the night the angels sang.”
Sadly, his plea was ignored by government leaders. But many of the soldiers in the trenches declared their own unofficial truce.
Queridos amigos:
Parece como si hace muchísimo tiempo hubiéramos visto la película El Exorcista (y parece muy vieja porque fue en los años 70s) pero había una escena y una línea que se me quedaron grabadas. No fue ninguna de las imágenes sobre la atronadora presencia del demonio, aunque sí eran lo principal en algunas instancias de la película, y le atribuían al demonio algunas cosas que no puede hacer, sólo para hacerla más sensacionalista.
Pero hubo también mucha sabiduría en la película. La escena que recuerdo muy claramente fue la parte en la que el santo y anciano exorcista, el Padre Merrin, llega a la casa en donde la pequeña niña estaba poseída por el demonio y el sacerdote y psicólogo más joven le hace un resumen al Padre Merrin sobre la situación de la posesión. Luego de mucha conversación, estudio, mucha reflexión, el joven sacerdote le dijo al Padre Merrin que “hay al menos tres espíritus que están en posesión de esta pequeña niña”. El Padre Merrin ni siquiera la había visto y tampoco había hablado con nadie, pero dijo con gran serenidad: “No Padre Damián, es uno solo”.
MADISON/DODGEVILLE — As parishes across the diocese and nation prepare for Christmas, many pay special attention to the elderly and homebound, including putting together and delivering gift bags and food.
While the gift bags are important, care ministers appreciate the gifts they give and receive throughout the year.
MADISON — Msgr. Michael E. Hippee is retiring as judicial vicar for the Diocese of Madison Tribunal, a position he has held since 1978. Susan Stack is also retiring from the Tribunal after serving as its administrative assistant, notary, and assessor for almost 17 years.
There are slightly different versions of the origin of the Christmas carol “Silent Night.”
My favorite version reveals that shortly before Christmas in 1818, Fr. Joseph Mohr discovered that the organ of St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria, was broken. He knew that his parishioners would be disappointed without Christmas music.
During this Year of Faith, we are called to take time to consider what is at the heart of the practice of our Catholic faith.
Hopefully this season of Advent has been a chance to prayerfully think about this topic and wait in anticipation for the answer. This may have been a battle, as our world poses many challenges to this task. There are Christmas parties to attend, light displays to enjoy, trees needing to be trimmed, gifts waiting to be wrapped, and meals to be planned. The pre-Christmas to-do list goes on and on.
BARABOO — The faithful are invited to a special Holy Mass at 11 p.m. Christmas Eve, Monday, Dec. 24, celebrated by Fr. Pedro Escribano in the Durward’s Glen Chapel as we journey to Christmas morning in prayer and joyful anticipation of God-made-child — Jesus.
MADISON — Plans are being made for the redevelopment of the run-down Holy Redeemer School building located next to Holy Redeemer Church at 120 W. Johnson St. into student housing.
According to Msgr. Kevin Holmes, pastor of the Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael, the repurposed building would be designed especially to serve students involved at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center.
MADISON — For Brian Cain, being the head of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Madison has been much more than a job. It’s been a passion and his life’s calling.
“In looking back, although I didn’t realize it at the moment, I realize that this was my passion and my life’s calling: to work for the Church and help others,” Cain said in a recent interview.
