Columns – Page 114 – Madison Catholic Herald Archive (2001-2025)

Q: My mother, living in a northern community, really needs some in-home help. She struggles with making meals, no longer drives, and has problems getting in the bathtub, among other things. Wouldn’t Medicare help her pay for some of these services — to keep her out of a nursing home? It would seem like money well spent in my mind. (From a daughter in Blue Mounds).

Making a Difference

On July 18, 2013

Tony Magliano

‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’ — Why we need immigration reform

Thirty-five-years ago when Annunciation House — a sanctuary and home of hospitality that has served over 100,000 refugees, homeless poor, and undocumented workers — was started in El Paso, Texas, founding director Ruben Garcia and a few friends wanted to place themselves among the poor, to see where the poor would lead them.

He said, “They took us to the undocumented — the most vulnerable.”

Year of Faith

On July 18, 2013

Abbot Marcel Rooney

Sacrament of Penance is a gift to the Church

By Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB

This is the first in a series of articles examining the theology and spirituality of the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation.

The Gospels bring out clearly that Jesus wanted to give authority regarding sin to His Church.

One example will suffice — John 20:21-23: “He breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Seeing with Jesus' Eyes

On July 4, 2013

Fr. Donald Lange

Living ideals in the Declaration of Independence

Independence Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It is also known as the Fourth of July.

It is associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches, and ceremonies. On Independence Day we also celebrate other events concerning the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

Making Sense of Bioethics

On July 4, 2013May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Human sexuality: Considering perversions and purposes

Many of us have probably heard single women talking among themselves about men, where one of them ends up saying, “That guy, he’s just a pervert — he’s only interested in sex.”

When women detect that a man’s focus has become the pursuit of pleasure, and that unbridled sex has become an end in itself, they tend instinctively to back away. Women often intuitively understand that sex can’t be reduced to mere pleasure without hurting both individuals involved, and negating other important goods, like love, family, children, and marriage.

Ask Jean

On June 20, 2013

Jean Mueller

Family caregiving: The division of labor

Q: This question may have been raised before, but I need to ask again. We are a family of four brothers all helping our 90-year-old mother and developmentally delayed sister. We had to place our mother in a nursing home a year ago due to physical issues. One brother lives out of state so we keep him updated by phone and naturally don’t expect any physical help from him. The rest of us live near each other and share the responsibilities, with the exception of one brother. We ask him to do a very specific task and he can never seem to follow through. There is always some kind of lame excuse. Sometimes I think he does this on purpose to get out of helping. This is getting very old. Do you have any suggestions? (A son in Barneveld).

Year of Faith

On June 20, 2013

Abbot Marcel Rooney

The Holy Eucharist: Theology and Spirituality, part three

By Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB

This is the third in a series of articles examining the theology and spirituality of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

In the previous two articles on the theology and spirituality of the Holy Eucharist, there were outlined a number of important points about the faith of the Church in this central sacrament.

Prayers of the Mass on Feast of Corpus Christi

In a very telling way, almost all these points are expressed in the Prayer texts of Holy Mass for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), which we have just celebrated on Sunday, June 3.

The Collect/Opening Prayer of Holy Mass on the solemnity, for example, speaks of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist as the memorial of Christ’s Passion — as does the Preface.

Seeing with Jesus' Eyes

On June 6, 2013

Fr. Donald Lange

Father’s Day shows dad’s importance

Sonora Louise Smart Dodd is known as the “Mother of Father’s Day.” In 1909, she heard a sermon on the need to set aside a day to honor mothers. She agreed, but she wondered why there wasn’t a day to honor fathers.

Her father, William Jackson Smart, left indelible marks of love on her heart.

He was a Civil War veteran and a widower for 21 years who heroically raised Sonora and her five younger brothers after their mother died while giving birth to her brother Marshal.

Seeing with Jesus' Eyes

On May 30, 2013

Fr. Donald Lange

Feast of Corpus Christi: Honoring the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist

On June 2, we celebrate Corpus Christi, the feast of the Eucharist. In Latin Corpus Christi means the Body of Christ. The full Latin name of this feast is “Corpus et Sanguis Christi’’ — “The Body and Blood of Christ.”

In some countries and sometimes in our diocese, during this feast there are edifying processions when the sacred host is carried outdoors or around the church.

Year of Faith

On May 30, 2013

Abbot Marcel Rooney

The Holy Eucharist: Theology and Spirituality, part two

By Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB

This is the second in a series of articles examining the theology and spirituality of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

We have seen in a previous reflection that the first thing the Holy Eucharist does is proclaim God’s great love for us, above all through the Paschal Mystery of Jesus (i.e., His Death, Resurrection, and Ascension) which is the means of our eternal salvation.

In the light of that great divine love coming to us, through sacramental signs, we need to respond in faith and in love.