For some students, going away to college is often viewed as a chance to be liberated from their parents and the restrictions of family life.
One such parental rule that is exercised in many Catholic homes is the one about Mass attendance. I can still hear my own father and mother saying to us when we would rather stay in bed on a Sunday morning, “As long as you live in this house you will go to Mass.” Does this sound familiar?
MADISON — It was a tribute to the priesthood and the episcopacy, but it was also a day to focus on one particular priest and bishop: Bishop William H. Bullock.
All close, meaningful relationships need special or quality times when the people involved can be together for an extended period of time without a lot of interruptions.
People in significant relationships need time set apart from every day life to enjoy each other’s company and to deepen their knowledge of one another.
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| A protester silently holds a sign defending marriage during a rally July 27 in front of the State Capitol in Madison as counter-protesters marched loudly up State Street. (Catholic Herald photo/Kat Wagner) Click here for more photos of the rally. |
MADISON — In terms of sheer numbers, if not volume, the counter-protestors won.
Hundreds marched up State St. towards the State Capitol where no more than 30 people stood waiting for the “One Man, One Woman” rally to begin at noon July 27. Standing on the Capitol steps, it was impossible not to hear them coming, shouting slogans as they went.
An overheard comment on the steps of the Capitol between two members of the media likened the scene to that in Lord of the Rings as the horde marches to battle, suggesting cutting shots of the protesters with shots from the movie.
But through it all, even when the crowd reached the Capitol and began shouting from the other side of the thin barrier of police tape, those people within the yellow-taped area stood firmly, silently. Some held signs; others held rosaries or children.
“Thank you to those with the courage to stand up for marriage,” Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), said to the crowd, which some estimates put at 50 rally supporters. “It takes courage to stand in the public square and say it takes a man and a woman to make marriage.”
This past week, the Diocese of Madison seminarians gathered at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center for the annual reunion with the bishop.
As we enter another campaign season, candidates and others are sharing their views on the role of government at the local, state, and national levels.
This year especially, the role government plays in society is a hot topic of discussion. In many races candidates are making it the defining issue.
On August 15, we celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary, body and soul, into heaven. Mary’s Assumption is God’s response to her committed discipleship, expressed through her motherhood of Jesus, and other graced ways that she did God’s will.
The feast of the Assumption is the oldest Marian feast in the liturgy. On November 1, 1950, in Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII declared Mary’s Assumption “to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”
To the editor:
Lisa Petsche’s informative article “Considering a move? First explore the variety” (Catholic Herald, July 22, 2010) lacked information of use to senior citizens with hearing impairment.
Hearing impairment is the most common disability in senior citizens. Senior citizens who are searching for retirement housing should know that there are various “gadgets” that can offer greater safety and comfort and enhance their social life.
To the editor:
It was September of 1996 when one of the most discussed and dramatic exchanges took place on the floor of the U.S. Senate. The Senate was debating a ban on partial-birth abortions.
Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania asked Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin a direct question: What if there was a mistake and the baby about to be killed was fully born? What should happen to the live baby? Senator Feingold responded that it was still up to the mother and her doctor to decide.
To the editor:
In reference to the article on Hispanic ministry (Catholic Herald, July 29, 2010), does the Church address the issue of legal citizenship? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Catholic Church could begin to solve the immigration controversy in the country by issuing some common sense policies to start the process of citizenship for these people? The majority of Americans merely want these people to be loyal to this country, not to Mexico.
