MADISON — The St. Thomas Aquinas Parish Justice and Peace Committee is sponsoring a program on “Protecting Our Children from Sex Trafficking: What Are the Signs” after the 10 a.m. Mass on Sunday, Jan. 14, in the parish social hall.
The program will begin with the showing of a 20-minute film, Chosen, which demonstrates how easy it is for sex traffickers to lure teenagers in communities into the industry.
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends:
In our Second Reading of this past Sunday (1 Thessalonians 5), we hear: “Rejoice in the Lord always,” and “Pray without ceasing.” The idea of rejoicing always is, from a human point of view, unthinkable, without that second half: pray without ceasing.
One of the Christmas cards that I opened recently said simply this: “Bishop, please pray for us. It’s been tough.”
How is that person, from a human point of view, expected to rejoice? The answer is, they’re not.
And consider St. John the Baptist. If you go through his teaching, mentioned in the Gospels, you will see that never once did he tell a joke. So, there was a sort of rejoicing from a human point of view, in which St. John the Baptist did not indulge.
Yet, John was full of joy, just as the family who wrote me the card is called to be full of joy, the family for whom things have been pretty tough.
On December 3, 1967, station WISC-TV in Madison aired the first-ever Sunday Mass for the Apostolate to the Handicapped.
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In an August 2015 column in The Washington Post, George F. Will argued in favor of physician-assisted suicide, summing up his perspective this way: “There is nobility in . . . affirming at the end the distinctive human dignity of autonomous choice.”
His conclusion, however, raises several important questions: Shouldn’t death-dealing actions directed against ourselves be seen as a deep repudiation of our autonomy, insofar as suicide eliminates our personal freedom once and for all?
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
If one were to put together the themes of the first reading and the Gospel from this past Sunday, Dec. 10, one might well conclude that the one who gives comfort to the people — the comforter — is St. John the Baptist. But, St. John the Baptist appears in camel’s hair.
Now, when St. John the Baptist is presented as the one who gives comfort, that is not the same use of the word as in “comfort food” — of which I have had my share. This is not the meaning of comfort at all. How can we tell that at first glance? Well, St. John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey . . . that ain’t comfort food!
To comfort, in the Latin derivation, is to be “strong with.” To comfort someone is not just to make them feel good, as they might over a beautiful, and yet, light lasagna. St. John the Baptist comforted the people by being strong with them.
St. John the Baptist preached the Holy Spirit and fire. He told the people to prepare for the wrath to come.
MADISON — The Diocese of Madison Office of Worship is holding workshops for extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion at the following dates and locations:
• Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, 9:30 to 11 a.m., at St. Clare of Assisi Parish (St. Victor Church), 1760 14th St. in Monroe. Snow date is Saturday, March 3, at the same time
• Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Holy Name Heights (formerly the Bishop O’Connor Center), 702 S. High Point Rd. in Madison. Snow date is Thursday, Feb. 22, at the same time.
MADISON — Seminarians […]
MADISON — On […]
ASHTON — Lessons […]
Dear Friends,
We have entered into the Season of Advent. It is a short Season of Advent this year, so let’s get right to it. Our message from the Lord on this first Sunday is simple: “watch!” The Gospel of this past Sunday (MK 13:33-37) doesn’t even contain 100 words, yet, in this small discourse we hear Jesus say repeatedly, “Be watchful,” “be alert,” “watch,” “What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”
