MADISON — From beginning to end, the Madison Diocesan Choir’s free Christmas concert this Sunday, Dec. 20, at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center is all about angels and their joyful message sung from the heavens to shepherd boys and all below on the earth.
I spent 20 Christmas Eves in jail. My first such Christmas Eve was in 1971. The Rock County Jail Chaplaincy Committee invited me to help to plan and participate in an ecumenical service at the jail in Janesville. I accepted.
But I waited nervously for Christmas Eve because I had no previous experience with prisoners.
Christmas Eve finally came and I drove anxiously to the Rock County Jail. The beautiful Christmas snowflakes that danced gracefully across my car’s windshield failed to calm the nervous butterflies in my stomach.
Dan Henninger, whose Wall Street Journal column is aptly titled “Wonder Land,” put it best: “The only good news about the Fort Hood massacre is that U.S. electronic surveillance technology was able to pick up Major Hasan’s phone calls to an al Qaeda-loving imam in Yemen. The bad news is that the people and agencies listening to Hasan didn’t know what to do about it. Other than nothing.”
To the editor:
People sometimes wonder how we arrived at the state of moral decay we are currently at in America and what we can do to fight it. One primary example exacerbating current problems in Wisconsin is Senate Bill 324/Assembly Bill 458, which dramatically changes the sex education curriculum in our state.
This bill, which is a top legislative priority for Planned Parenthood, will require districts to use curriculum approved by a traditionally liberal Department of Public Instruction relying on information determined to be accurate by liberal national groups. Bizarrely, public school teachers will not be able to say anything that will promote bias against sexually active children. Apparently, we don’t want to hurt their feelings.
To the editor:
The recent claim by the Italian Committee for Checking Claims of the Paranormal that they have debunked the Shroud of Turin is hysterically funny. Obviously they don’t know the first thing about the shroud nor about authentic scientific method.
Number one, the much-vaunted 1988 radiocarbon sample was taken from an area of the shroud known to have been repaired after the December 4, 1532, fire. The linen thread used in the repair is a reverse twist from that of the shroud proper.
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| Pilgrims from Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Madison attend Mass in the Shrine Church at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse during a visit on September 30 of this year. (Catholic Herald photo/Joe Ptak) |
LA CROSSE — Nestled in the foothills of the bluffs near La Crosse lies the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This shrine has been the destination of many pilgrims, including those from parishes in the Diocese of Madison.
A group from Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Madison visited the shrine on September 30 this year. Parishioner Randi Huntsman enjoyed the pilgrimage, saying she came away feeling “very refreshed and peaceful.”
Huntsman noted that the shrine was built with “nature in mind.” Besides the Shrine Church, Pilgrim Center, and Votive Candle Chapel, the shrine grounds include outdoor Stations of the Cross and a Rosary Walk. Huntsman liked the opportunity for prayer and reflection, along with lighting candles for loved ones.
“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” she said of the visit to the shrine. “I would encourage people to take advantage of this opportunity.”
As we prepare to observe the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe December 12, it is an appropriate time to focus on the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is within close driving distance to the Diocese of Madison.
MONROE — “To watch it come to life will be thrilling,” said Fr. Michael Klarer of the upcoming Monroe Theater Guild (MTG) production of the holiday classic A Christmas Carol.
Father Klarer wrote an all-new adaptation of the beloved Charles Dickens’ masterpiece. “Somehow it was in me. It was a gift,” said the priest of his work in an interview.
To the editor:
In the Year of the Priest, this year’s priest’s retreat appropriately focused upon the priesthood. Msgr. Frank Bognanno, who a few years ago initiated our diocese’s Emmaus program for priestly renewal, led the retreat. He still has his Emmaus touch.
Father Bognanno shared inspiring insights on priesthood from spiritual giants such as Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, St. John Vianney, and others.
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Dear friends in Christ,
This year the entire Church celebrates a special Year for Priests, as proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI. The Holy Father reminds us that the gift of the ordained priesthood flows directly from Christ’s heart. Theirs is a vocation of humble-selfless love, imitating Christ Himself. They are consecrated to serve you, the faithful, with complete fidelity to Christ and His mission, in constant union with Him, inviting you to have a “heart to heart” encounter with Jesus. Each day our priests strive for holiness and each day they pray for you.
To the editor:
I must comment on your article, “What happened to freedom of religion?” (November 26, 2009, issue of the Catholic Herald) regarding contraceptive coverage.
The U.S .Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
