Category: Seeing with Jesus’ Eyes

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Fr. Donald Lange

Father Mazzuchelli’s example can help us live a fruitful Lent

We begin Lent on March 1 by receiving a cross of ashes on our forehead. The ashes remind us that we are dust and unto dust we shall return.

Receiving the ashes also reminds us that while we are still alive, we are to repent and believe the Good News so that at Easter we can renew our Baptismal promises with deepened faith.

Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli died on February 23, 1864, during Lent. Thanks especially to the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, we know much about Father Samuel, who reflects many of Pope Francis’ virtues. Both can inspire us to live Lent in a Christ-like way that helps us continue our journey to heaven.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Appreciating teachers in Catholic schools

In 1974, National Catholic Schools Week was established as the annual celebration of Catholic education. In 2017, Catholic Schools Week begins on January 29 and ends on February 4. Its 2017 theme is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.”

During this special week, Masses, open houses, and other activities for students, families, parishioners, and others are offered. Through these events, Catholic schools call attention to contributions Catholic education provides for youth, church, community, and country.

Since I was a Catholic school- teacher for 22 years, in this article I will focus upon appreciating the value of Catholic schoolteachers.

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Fr. Donald Lange

May Christmas bring us closer to peace

Jim Mahoney, a Marine sergeant, was married shortly before going overseas in World War II. He and his wife never had the chance to celebrate Christmas together.

He returned from the Pacific in December of 1945, hoping and praying that he would make it home in time to be with his wife for Christmas so he could surprise her with a special Christmas gift.

A special gift

He flew into New York City on Christmas Eve after the stores were closed. As he rode in a cab, he noticed a drugstore that was still open. He stopped the cab and made a purchase.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Developing a Christ-like attitude of gratitude

On July 4, 1939, the New York Yankees sponsored a memorable Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day. Though he was dying at age 36, Gehrig told the surprised crowd, “I’m the luckiest guy on the face of the earth.”

Gehrig was thankful because he had a Hall of Fame baseball career, a wonderful wife, family, friends, fans, teammates, and much more. He and Babe Ruth were teammates on one of the greatest teams in baseball history.

Thanking God for blessings

On Thanksgiving Day we gather with family and friends to share a meal and thank God for our cornucopia of blessings as Lou Gehrig did.

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Fr. Donald Lange

We should respect all life, especially the unborn

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.

Life in the womb can’t be denied

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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Fr. Donald Lange

Remember the elderly in the autumn of their lives

October 1 is International Day of Older Persons as declared by the United Nations.

It is appropriate to celebrate this day during the fall of the year in order to focus upon the elderly’s autumn blessings and needs. An elderly Italian couple reminded me of this recently.

Visiting the elderly

On August 9, 2016, in Rome, Italy, four policemen visited the home of Michele, a 94-year-old man and Jole, his 89-year-old wife.

After 70 years of marriage, they still loved each other, but they were suffering from the cross of loneliness, partially because their neighbors were vacationing and also because of upsetting TV reports about terrorists’ attacks and abused children.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Reflecting on the value of work

Labor Day is a public holiday which honors the American labor movement and contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. It also offers us opportunities to reflect upon the value of work.

Through Baptism and Confirmation, our daily lives are consecrated, through the indwelling Spirit, to proclaim, reveal, and witness to God’s Kingdom through our prayers, Eucharist, charity, and our daily work.

Be proud of work

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'”

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Fr. Donald Lange

Importance of fathers

In his general audience on January 28, 2015, Pope Francis stated, “In modern societies, we are experiencing a crisis of fatherhood.

“In the past, it was common to perceive fathers as authoritarian and sometimes repressive; but, today we sense father’s uncertainty and confusion about his role. Without father figures, young people often feel ‘orphaned’, left adrift at a critical moment in their growth and development.”

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