Most people fear the process of dying, which involves radical dependency, a sense of powerlessness, and sometimes significant pain as well.
Author: Kevin Wondrash
Waiting for Christ — and enjoying it
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Editor’s note: The following column was adapted from a homily given by Bishop Robert C. Morlino at his Stational Mass at St. Patrick Church in Madison on the first Sunday of Advent.
Dear Friends,
I want to begin by offering a special greeting to our good friends who have undertaken RCIA formation and soon will be received into full communion with the Church — some through Baptism and Confirmation and some through Confirmation and reception at the great Easter Vigil. Your journey is truly under way and I hope you have the sense of just how close you really are. You’re almost there! We welcome you into our family wholeheartedly and we want to walk with you through the rest of your beautiful journey to Easter, as so many have been walking with you faithfully in the days past.
Pope Benedict was very visible as we commenced our Advent Season. He celebrated Solemn Vespers on Saturday night to begin Advent and, of course, he gave his regular Sunday Morning Angelus Address. In this space, I thought I might give you some of my reflections on the three points which our Holy Father made.
Filled with hope and gratitude
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Dear Friends,
As I write this, I am freshly arrived back from the annual assembly of our National Bishops Conference, filled with hope indeed. On my way to Baltimore for the meeting, I had a stopover in Washington, during which time I had a good opportunity to visit with our seminarian who is a Basselin Scholar at the Catholic University of America, and some of the fellow seminarian friends whom he has met. The experience was totally upbeat and filled me with hope, both for the present and for the future.
Additionally, at meetings of the bishops conference, Tuesday night is usually the “free evening” for dinner and recreation for the bishops, though in many instances, bishops are very generously giving themselves, on Tuesday evenings, to the work of the various committees or sub-committees of our conference.
Health reform: A victory and a challenge
On November 7, Congress gave many observers a big surprise. On a vote of 240 to 194, the House of Representatives approved an amendment to maintain longstanding policies against federal abortion funding in proposed health care reform legislation.
Old age: The equalizer?
It’s a privilege to get old; not everyone has the chance to experience life in their 80s. It’s a time when we can no longer hide our age with cosmetics and high style when there are other obvious signs of deterioration.
Whereas we once walked tall, carrying ourselves with grace, we are now shrunken and our backs are bent. The sure-footed stride has evolved into cautious baby steps. And the head held high now is bent to watch for possible ice or bumps on our path.
Our covenant through Baptism
Thankfulness for many blessings over this past year already fills the minds and hearts of my family and, I imagine, yours, as well. In particular, thanking God for my cousins’ now one-year-old quadruplets. Yes, that’s right. We are all still amazed at this spontaneous gift from God to Michael, Angela, and little Delaney. Now they are seven. Like some other great stories it happened once upon a night.
Anwar al Awlaki and the Fundamental Option
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Editor’s note: The following column is adapted from Bishop Robert C. Morlino’s staff catechesis on November 11.
If you’ve paid attention to the news in recent weeks, you may have heard the name Anwar al Awlaki. He is the former imam (which is the Muslim term for pastor) of a mosque in Fairfax County, Virginia, whose services and sermons were attended by Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood killer, and simultaneously, three of the 9-11 hijackers.
Awlaki, who now resides in Yemen, has articulated, as a pastor, a concept of conscience. This is one of our main words of interest as Catholics: “conscience.” Awlaki has said that Major Hasan, who killed 13 and wounded many others, is in very good conscience as a Muslim because it is good to prevent American service people from waging war in Islamic countries, however you do it. It is, Awlaki articulated, the Will of Allah, that faithful Muslims take such preventative measures against American or allied service people, because the good of the worldwide Islamic Caliphate requires it. The Caliphate, in general, refers to a huge Islamic State which is desired by many Islamic extremists.
Making time to take a retreat
You haven’t changed a bit. That was the tongue in cheek line at a recent reunion I attended. As home towns go, mine is the best, of course. Small but still drawing all of us wayfarers back from time to time to catch up on things.
Reunions make that possible thanks to those who give their energy and time to draw a community together. Our oneness of experience growing up made for good conversations and the rekindling of memories from years gone by.
Just one more thing . . .
Picture it. The rich man encountering Jesus Christ. Face to face. As they look into each others’ eyes. People hear the commotion, inching closer. Can you feel the tension? The rich man, feeling quite well about himself, I am sure, asking Jesus if there is more.
“You follow the commandments, you say? You are a good person, you say? That’s great. But it’s not enough . . .
Challenged to keep our faith
Afraid. When he mentioned this word, I was surprised because of all he had been through. What could make him afraid now?
His name was An and we had met at a retreat where he told me that he was one of the boat people who fled from southeast Asia some years ago. Government authorities had discovered the Catholic seminary where he was a student.