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I speak often of gratitude as a foundation of the spiritual life; giving thanks to God and others for the remarkable gifts we receive is a hallmark of our fundamental posture of humility before the Lord.
When we acknowledge everything as a gracious gift, an undeserved grace, we can live in wonder, awe, and generosity as we contemplate the astonishing miracle of our existence.
For many, this Thanksgiving will be difficult because of COVID.The bare tree outside my office, which only days ago was laden with fiery red leaves, reminds me that autumn is rapidly moving us towards the snow and cold of winter, as nature falls asleep.
This fallow period of dormancy, rest, and apparent lifelessness we know well, both because we live in Wisconsin, where our trees are leafless six months out of the year and because we have tasted the cycles of the Paschal Mystery, the dying and rising of Christ.
The poignancy of these colder and darker November days speaks of the golden summer now past, the brevity of life as we pray for the dead and the cycle of the seasons of the heart.
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I recently read a survey of Catholics which indicated a significant number of the respondents did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is not divine.
We may rightfully distrust the full accuracy of surveys, yet this data point troubles me greatly.
If one does not affirm the divinity of Jesus, our entire Catholic faith is deceptive and illusory.In this month of October, we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Rosary; we celebrated this feast on October 7.
All of the saints and indeed the Church herself encourage us to pray the Rosary on a daily basis.
We find in this simple and repetitive prayer a profound meditation on the Gospel, as we ponder the mystery of the Incarnation in the Joyful Mysteries, the revealed grace of the Lord’s ministry in the Luminous Mysteries, the overwhelming suffering of Christ’s Passion in the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the triumph of the Resurrection in the Glorious Mysteries.
Ted Turner, the famous media mogul, once memorably said that Christianity is for losers.
In his opinion, religious faith is a crutch for those who are too weak to stand on their own two feet and simply acknowledge that we are alone in the universe.
What he hurls at us as an insult, we should actually wear as an epithet of honor. Christianity is for losers!
Our faith is custom-designed by God for those who are humble enough to acknowledge that they are sinners in need of a savior, those who do not have it all put together, those who need Christ’s help.
These past three Sundays, the Gospel spoke of vineyards. We heard the parables of the Workers in the Vineyard, the two sons called by their father to work in the vineyard and the Evil Tenants in the Vineyard.
What does the vineyard symbolize?
What work are we as missionary disciples called to embrace there?
Like much of Scripture, the meanings are multi-layered.
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Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is October 4, remains one of Catholicism’s most popular saints.
Statues and pictures of him abound, especially in gardens and fields, and young people often choose him as their Confirmation saint.
He captures the imagination of artists, writers, poets, intellectuals, and common folk alike.
It is easy to romanticize his story, but like all saints, Francis shows us what happens when an individual gives everything to Christ. |
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Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is October 4, remains one of Catholicism’s most popular saints.
Statues and pictures of him abound, especially in gardens and fields, and young people often choose him as their Confirmation saint.
He captures the imagination of artists, writers, poets, intellectuals, and common folk alike.
It is easy to romanticize his story, but like all saints, Francis shows us what happens when an individual gives everything to Christ. |
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Many faithful Catholics have asked me to offer some direction regarding conscience formation and the moral aspect of the many issues facing us as a nation, as we approach this year’s presidential election.
We would all agree that this election has a contentious and angry divisiveness that we have not seen in our lifetimes.
This is due, in part, to the personalities, policies, and factions in play, and it certainly has been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and social unrest (I believe that there are other, more significant and fundamental reasons for the growing tension in our society, but that’s a topic for another time).
Recently, the Catholic bishops of Wisconsin jointly decided to lift the suspension of the Sunday Mass obligation in all five dioceses in the Province during the month of September.
So, beginning the weekend of September 26 to 27, it will be once again obligatory for Catholics in our diocese to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation.
I lifted the obligation six months ago, beginning on March 17 in the very beginning of the COVID pandemic.
These months have been long and difficult; the inability to go to Mass and receive the Eucharist has been a great hardship, but I made that decision out of concern for the public health and in union with my brother bishops in the state and the country.
