MADISON — “Positive Healthy Aging!” was the theme of the sixth annual Aging Conference sponsored by Catholic Charities Madison.
This year it was held on October 13 at the new All Saints Neighborhood Main Street and featured a keynote address, two panel discussions, breakout sessions, and exhibits.
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| Jeff Davis and Greg Wagner |
As Catholic voters, what are we to do when neither presidential candidate seems to share our beliefs and values? Some may opt to sit out this election and not vote, others may vote for a third party candidate, and others may write in a candidate.
We feel there is a better option, and that is to look at the party platforms. The party platforms between the Republicans and the Democrats represent two diametrically opposed world views.
First in a series on the Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens.
MADISON — Every Saturday during the growing season, they would meet on the Capital Square in downtown Madison before 12 noon, farmers’ market gleaners seeking fresh produce the vendors didn’t sell: some fruit but mostly vegetables for food pantries serving the poor.
First in a series on the Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens.
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| Deacon Ralph Poyo |
MADISON — Beginning on November 1, the Diocese of Madison will be a hosting Deacon Ralph Poyo of New Evangelization Ministries for several events at local parishes.
Deacon Poyo will be inspiring and guiding us in our own journey of conversion but also helping us to assist others to encounter Jesus and our Catholic faith with new ardor, new methods and expression.
It may be unclear whether we as Catholics truly understand the meaning of the term evangelization. But it is certain that we all agree that the earliest followers of Christ were called to go out to spread the Good News of Jesus. That was in fact the first call to evangelize the world. Jesus taught his followers to be evangelizers.
But we do not live in biblical times and our recent Holy Fathers have recognized a need to reteach and engage the world with a re-proposing of the Gospel Message.
Shortly after Vatican II, Blessed Paul VI promulgated a post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation entitled, Evangelization in the Modern World. This document gave the Church the foundation and principles of evangelization that informs our current understanding.
St. John Paul II continued this work and coined the phrase “The New Evangelization.” He began to define what that phrase means and a vision for this New Evangelization.
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Recently, while working at my computer in Santa Barbara, I encountered a confounding problem and decided to call Brandon Vogt, who is not only the excellent content director at Word on Fire, but also a trained engineer and tech whiz.
After trying in vain to talk me through the problem, Brandon said, “Look, let me just take over your screen.” And with that, he pressed some buttons in Atlanta, where he was attending a conference, and then commenced to move my cursor around the screen, click on all the right settings, and resolve the difficulty.
Though I had seen him do this before, I was, once again, impressed by this long-distance maneuver. Displaying my utter lack of scientific expertise, I asked, “Now Brandon, is this being done through the phone lines or is outer space involved?”
LANCASTER — During the 2015-2016 school year, almost 150 students were identified as experiencing homelessness in Grant County. This does not take into account children who are not in school, so the numbers could be higher.
A national organization that helps families who experience homelessness recently arrived in Grant County in an attempt to “Shelter the Homeless.”
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Respect Life Month in October invites us to respect life across the board. We should especially respect and defend the rights of helpless unborn babies who cannot defend themselves.
The 2016 Doritos Super Bowl commercial showed an unborn baby in his or her mother’s womb. To me, this was natural and obvious. I was familiar with advances in ultrasound imaging and I think that human life begins at conception as the Church teaches.
I didn’t expect it, but I wasn’t surprised by comments from some affiliated with the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) who criticized Doritos for “humanizing fetuses.” Cal Thomas of the Tribune Content Agency responded, “Humanizing fetuses? What does that sonogram image show if not a human?” He added, “Pro-choice persons fear the sonogram because it shows an image whose humanness cannot be denied.”
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| Sr. Constance Veit |
Each October we observe Respect Life Month in dioceses throughout the United States. Although ending abortion remains a priority of the utmost importance, threats to the disabled and those at the end of life deserve our attention as well.
The legalization of medically assisted suicide in Canada in June should serve as a wake-up call compelling us to reach out in solidarity to our most vulnerable brothers and sisters.
MADISON — The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has Dane County’s largest food pantry.
In its last fiscal year, the pantry served 20,577 families, providing food valued at $1,445,325.
Hosted by trained volunteers, the customer choice food pantry offers customers the opportunity to shop once a month for everyday staples such as flour and oil, select from fresh produce — some from the society’s own Lacy Food Pantry Garden — and choose from a wide array of culturally appropriate and healthy foods.
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Revealing one of the most significant themes in Catholic theology, namely, the play between nature and grace, St. Luke tells us that people came to John the Baptist, asking what they should do to reform their lives. John responds with good and very pointed moral advice.
To the tax collectors he says, “Don’t take more money than you ought” and to the soldiers he urges, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone; be content with your pay.”
In so saying, he was addressing very common practices of that time and place. Tax collectors regularly demanded more money than was just and skimmed the surplus for themselves — which helps to explain why they were so unpopular. And soldiers — young men with weapons and too much time on their hands — predictably acted as bully-boys, extorting money through threats of violence.
