Category: Columns

On
Tom Nelson

Shaking the hand that feeds you

The warmer than usual early spring weather has unleashed a flurry of activity and interest in gardening projects (urban and rural), farmers’ markets, and local farm produce available from our area farmers.

The Rural Life Office of Catholic Charities receives calls from those seeking local, fresh produce grower information so, in this section of the Catholic Herald, we will provide some basics for understanding different models of Wisconsin farming production and the communities they serve.

Conventional farming

Wisconsin has a long and esteemed position in providing for our nation’s food system. Our dairy herds are of all sizes and produce dairy products for direct sale through grocery businesses as well as providing the major ingredients for world renowned, artisan-crafted cheeses throughout our state.

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Black and white, or gray?

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

One widely-encountered idea today is that there is no black and white when it comes to morality, only a kind of “gray area.” This is often taken to mean that we really can’t know with certainty what is right and wrong, allowing us to “push into the gray” as we make certain moral decisions that at first glance appear to be immoral.

The behavior of the semi-legendary figure of Robin Hood is sometimes mentioned as an example of this “gray area” phenomenon, since he was a character who would steal money (morally bad) for the purposes of helping the poor (morally good).

‘Gray’ shrouds immoral actions

By focusing on the good intentions motivating our choices, and by arguing that morality is ambiguous and mostly “gray” anyway, a person can more easily justify and provide cover for morally problematic actions. When we begin to scrutinize the claim that morality is “gray,” however, we encounter significant problems and contradictions.

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

Being responsible stewards of creation

Seeing with Jesus' Eyes, by Fr. Don Lange

One morning as I walked to the Mound cafeteria for breakfast, I saw the rising sun, like a bright orange-red host, rise slowly from the chalice of the good earth. It was beautiful!

In the cafeteria, two Sisters were also deeply moved by its beauty. One of them exclaimed, “This is my morning prayer!”

Celebrating Earth Day

Sharing a beautiful sunrise or sunset can bond us with others and open us to God’s presence. It can invite us to respect God’s gift of earth. It can help prepare us for Earth Day.

We celebrate Earth Day on April 22. Earth Day was started by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin to teach and to inspire the public to take better care of the environment.

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On
Tony Magliano

The challenge of Lent continues beyond Easter

Making a Difference column logo

As the Lend ends, let us never forget its commanding start: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel!”

We could spend most of our lives reflecting and acting on this single powerful sentence. And indeed we should.

For in turning away from all that hurts our relationship with God — sin — and being faithful to the essential foundation which nurtures that relationship — the Gospel — we discover ever more fully the beauty, peace, joy, and meaning of this life, and prepare well for the incomprehensible wonders of eternal life!

Turning away from sin

This is the ideal time for the nation as a whole to turn away from sin.

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On
Anonymous Sufferer in Training

I want to see Him suffer

Stop me if you’ve heard this one already. On one unfortunate day, the art teacher, the science teacher, and the development director of a prestigious Catholic high school all died and found themselves standing before the gates of heaven in front of a less than pleased St. Peter.

The frowning apostle said to them, “It is no secret up here that the three of you never got along on earth and constantly quarreled amongst yourselves. So, in order to get into heaven, you must complete one final test. You must all agree which moment in the life of Christ you would like to see first-hand, and it will be granted to you.”

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On
Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer

Making a world of difference

Propagation of Faith by Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer

Mukuru, a slum in the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi, is home to some 10,000 people living in wood and corrugated metal shacks, crowded together, with no running water, electricity, or sewage systems.

Sunday Mass at St. Mary’s Church in Mukuru is packed. At the Offertory procession, with the gifts of bread and wine are baskets of vegetables, flour, rice, bread, and other necessities for the less fortunate members of the parish.

Spreading the Good News

Then, at the end of Mass, the new words of dismissal — “go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” — come to life immediately as the missionary priest and others navigate narrow dirt paths, spreading the Good News of God’s love to the sick and those suffering in any way.

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

Encountering the risen Lord

Seeing with Jesus' Eyes, by Fr. Don Lange

Cecil DeMille, the famous movie director, was enjoying an overdue vacation at a Maine lake resort.

He was reading a book in a canoe, when he noticed a water beetle crawling up the boat’s side. When the beetle got halfway up, it stuck the talons of its legs to the canoe’s wood and died.

DeMille resumed reading. Three hours later he glanced again at the water beetle. What he saw amazed him. The beetle had dried up and its back began to crack open. First, a moist head, then wings, and finally a tail emerged. Out of apparent death, new life emerged in the form of a magnificent dragonfly.

As the dragonfly dazzled his eyes with its acrobatic flight, Cecil De Mille nudged the dried out beetle shell with his finger. It looked like a tomb.

From Good Friday to Easter

The water beetle’s amazing transformation reminds us of what happened to Jesus on Good Friday when he truly died on the cross and rose from the dead.

Jesus’ body that rose on Easter was different from the body buried on Good Friday. It was not a resuscitated body, restored to its original life like that of Lazarus or Jairus’ daughter. It was a risen glorified body.

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On
Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church

Sisters issue statement on Patient Protection, Affordable Care Act

Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church

Following is a response of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Sisters minister in the Diocese of Madison at St. Elizabeth Home in Janesville and St. Elizabeth Manor in Footville.

The Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church publicly and without reserve support the Catholic Bishops of the United States in opposing the Health and Human Services mandate requiring that all group health plans and health insurance issuers provide the full range of contraceptive methods and services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA).

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On
John Huebscher

Will state Supreme Court take Brennan’s advice?

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

For over 30 years, Associate Supreme Court Justice William Brennan was among the most influential members of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, he and Earl Warren led the court’s “liberal wing” through the 1960s. Brennan’s background was somewhat unusual in that his prior judicial experience occurred not in the federal courts, but on the New Jersey Supreme Court.

As the U.S. Supreme Court became more conservative, Brennan began urging lawyers and other advocates of individual liberty to pursue what he called a “new Federalism.”

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