MADISON — The annual St. James School Italian dinner and auction on Sunday, March 18, celebrate the diversity of the new Good Shepherd Parish.
Author: Chris Lee
Observing Lent with Mary
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Lent invites us to seek and find God. In this regard, our earthly pilgrimage continues, fixing our eyes on God.
It is our delight to take short-cuts, especially when our way is long and hard. Indeed, our way to God looks enormously long and tedious. God knew our problem and came to our rescue.
Seeking and finding
God in his infinite love created in his children a heart that longs for him. God, from his part, loved to be with us. Salvation history illustrates beautifully this mutual seeking and finding of God and his children. God was the first one to seek.
Converts and the symphony of truth
Why do adults become Catholics? There are as many reasons for “converting” as there are converts.
Evelyn Waugh became a Catholic with, by his own admission, “little emotion but clear conviction”: this was the truth; one ought to adhere to it.
Cardinal Avery Dulles wrote that his journey into the Catholic Church began when, as an unbelieving Harvard undergraduate detached from his family’s staunch Presbyterianism, he noticed a leaf shimmering with raindrops while taking a walk along the Charles River in Cambridge, Mass.; such beauty could not be accidental, he thought — there must be a Creator.
Año de la Fe: Llamado a la Nueva Evangelizaci
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Queridos amigos:
En octubre comenzaremos algo muy importante en la vida de la Iglesia, comenzaremos el Año de la Fe. Cuando empiece, será algo muy grande y, si eres un católico activo, simplemente no podrás perdértelo. Un Año de la Fe es un tiempo en el que estamos llamados precisamente a darnos cuenta de que en nuestra Iglesia y en el mundo hay una crisis de fe. Por esa crisis de fe, por el hecho de que nuestro mundo, cada vez más, avanza hacia un espacio sin Dios, es que necesitamos este Año de la Fe para fortalecer nuestra Nueva Evangelización. Ese ha sido el tema que nosotros los obispos hemos tratado mucho con nuestro Santo Padre y con los encargados de las distintas oficinas vaticanas durante nuestra reciente visita ad limina (N.T. visita obligatoria que hacen todos los obispos del mundo al Papa por lo menos una vez cada cinco años).
Estamos llamados a una Nueva Evangelización para lidiar con esta crisis de fe. El mundo avanza hacia la tierra sin dios y el secularismo, y por eso tenemos que combatir la actividad de Satanás así como Jesús lo combatió en el desierto. El tema y el punto principal para la Nueva Evangelización durante el Año de la Fe va a ser uno hermoso: porque apunta a la belleza misma.
Catholic Charities names new executive vice president
MADISON — Brian Cain, president of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Madison, announced that Jackson Fonder has been named the new executive vice president of Catholic Charities, effective March 5.
Suggests writer should consult catechism rather than party talking points
To the editor:
John Murphy’s letter (February 9 issue of Catholic Herald) claims that Newt Gingrich, in calling President Obama the “food stamp President,” meant to demean African-Americans.
Mr. Murphy should be advised that ascribing racist motives to someone without any supporting evidence is calumny and therefore, sinful. Whatever one may think of Mr. Gingrich, his basic point that food stamps and dependency have increased exponentially under this president is factually correct.
Winning: Is it worth all cost?
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Too often in the news and rumored around the world, we hear about incidents of bad sportsmanship to the point of people physically fighting with other parents, players, and coaches. When did giving it your best and playing as a team become not enough? Has winning become that important?
When I was younger, I played at the highest-level possible of soccer, and I can’t remember a time when sportsmanship and effort were not number one. Yes, you won’t find a more competitive person but not at all cost.
Bautismo: Recibir el don de una conciencia clara
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Queridos amigos:
Incluso después de algunas semanas en Roma, en donde pude tener algunos encuentros muy fructíferos y mucho tiempo de oración con obispos hermanos y el Santo Padre, en las tumbas de los Apóstoles, simplemente no puedo decirles lo feliz que estoy de haber vuelto a la diócesis, a donde he sido enviado como sucesor de los Apóstoles para mantener la unidad con el Obispo de Roma.
Por favor, hagan saber que los recordé a todos muy regularmente en mis oraciones, especialmente en los lugares santos, durante esos días en Roma. Gracias por haber rezado por mí. Podría decir que me sentido acompañado. Traigo además un saludo particular del Papa Benedicto XVI, nuestro Santo Padre, que ofreció su cariño y su bendición apostólica a toda la diócesis.
Ahora nos encontramos juntos al inicio de la Cuaresma, tiempo que nos lleva a la gran celebración de Resurrección. Uno de los momentos más grandes de esa celebración de la Resurrección se da a través del Bautismo de los nuevos católicos que entran a la Iglesia, en donde ponen a un lado sus antiguas existencias y son llenados por la vida Cristo Resucitado. De ese modo también tenemos algunas lecciones sobre el Bautismo en las lecturas del domingo pasado, el primero de la Cuaresma.
UW students share love of Christ through service
MADISON — As Lent begins, we again focus on the three pillars of the Lenten journey: fasting, praying, and almsgiving.
Even before I cared or knew much about fasting and prayer, I understood the necessity of assisting those in need, including material donations or acts of service. I felt compelled to serve others and that eventually taught me how to serve God and discover His will and plan for my life.
Called to serve the needy
Throughout Scripture we are called to serve the needy in charity. In the book of James we are told, “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I was involved in and benefited from service work and a variety of other programs at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center. It is because of these experiences that I am now an intern at St. Paul’s.
I work to coordinate service events for students, so that they too can learn to give of themselves through service and experience the realities of both spiritual and physical poverty.
Insurance mandate is clear violation of the Constitution
To the editor:
The struggle over the national government’s mandated financing of “reproductive health services” has, up to now, been mostly carried out under the religious liberty clause in the Bill of Rights. This is a sound, but somewhat limited, defense.
It should be remembered that the Bill of Rights was an afterthought to the original Constitution, only consented to after it looked like the adoption of the new Constitution would meet strong opposition.