Category: Columns

On
Deacon Lawrence Oparaji

New year, new me: the right way

Journey with Faith
Deacon Lawrence Oparaji

In November, I visited my uncle in Dallas, Texas, and while I was there, we went to a barbershop to get a haircut.

While waiting for my turn, I overheard a man say to the barber that he was moving to Las Vegas. The barber asked further why he was doing that, and the man simply said, “I want to start the new year and new decade in a new city. You know what I mean — a fresh start?”

Take concrete steps to change

On hearing this, I thought to myself, “sounds great, but it’s not sufficient.” It is a new year and new decade quite right, but what concrete steps are we taking to make whatever change we desire, other than just moving to a new city, like Las Vegas?

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On
Bishop Robert Barron

Film should be called The One Pope

The new and much-ballyhooed Netflix film The Two Popes should, by rights, be called The One Pope, for it presents a fairly nuanced, textured, and sympathetic portrait of Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) and a complete caricature of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

This imbalance fatally undermines the movie, whose purpose, it seems, is to show that old grumpy, legalistic Benedict finds his spiritual bearings through the ministrations of friendly, forward-looking Francis.

But such a thematic trajectory ultimately does violence to both figures, and turns what could have been a supremely interesting character study into a predictable and tedious apologia for the filmmaker’s preferred version of Catholicism.

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On
Julianne Nornberg

Brighten your own island by the virtue of kindness

During my childhood, my family spent many summer days on a mile-long island on a lake in southeastern Wisconsin.

Boating, sailing, canoeing, fishing, waterskiing, tubing, and swimming were part of everyday life there. Knot tying, outdoor cooking, handling boats, hauling gear, reading the weather — all of these were a part of learning the value of hard work and gaining a deep appreciation of nature.

Memories

Among my many memories of the island there was someone who loved everyone on it.

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

Working for peace in the new year

We begin each new year with the feast of the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. The World Day of Peace also occurs on January 1.

Mary, the mother of God, gave birth to the prince of peace, who helped the human race to begin anew to work for peace.

Be persons of peace

Since New Year’s is a time to make resolutions, one resolution might be to continue to try to be persons of peace during the new year.

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On
Bishop Robert Barron

The Crown and the ‘primacy of grace’

Like, I daresay, most of the English-speaking world, these past couple of years I’ve been watching episodes of The Crown, the beautifully filmed, marvelously written program on the life and times of Queen Elizabeth II.

The series deals with the psychological dynamics within the royal family as well as with the cultural changes and political challenges that the Queen has faced in the course of her long reign. But what has been, at least to me, most surprising has been the insightful and sympathetic way in which it has addressed issues of faith.

Especially in the first season, we saw the fairly frequent conflicts between Elizabeth’s devotion to her family and her role as head of the Church of England.

In season two, there was a deeply affecting episode on the visit of Billy Graham to the UK in the mid-50s. We saw that, despite reticence regarding the American evangelist on the part of some in the British establishment, the Queen found his preaching illuminating and uplifting.

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

A Christmas crib brought peace to a prison

The original Christmas crib was built at Bethlehem.

Centuries later, St. Francis of Assisi built another Christmas crib and made it popular.

According to The Life of St. Francis of Assisi by St. Bonaventure, in 1223, St. Francis received permission from Pope Honorius III to set up a manger with hay and two live animals — an ox and a donkey — in a cave in the Italian village of Grecio.

He then invited the villagers to visit the scene while he preached about “the babe of Bethlehem.” (Francis was supposedly so overcome by emotion that he couldn’t say “Jesus.”)

A gift of peace

The Christmas crib inspired a group of German POWs in Algona, Iowa, to build a Christmas crib.

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On
Deacon Lawrence Oparaji

Christmas and the gift of encounter

Journey with Faith
Deacon Lawrence Oparaji

One fateful Christmas season some years ago, something very significant happened in a family.

A mother came back from Christmas shopping and was welcomed by her eight-year-old son Daniel and her much younger daughter Jane. The children were so excited and eager to see what their mum bought. She, however, asked them to allow her to freshen up and rest a little before unveiling the Christmas goodies.

The unveiling eventually came, and the children were handy and active. There were gifts for their daddy, for their mummy, for their aunties and uncles, for their grandpas and grandmas, for their family friends and for their cat and dog.

Eventually the shopping bag was empty! Looking at the empty shopping bag, Daniel became sad and moody. Discovering Daniel’s sudden mood change, his mother became worried, and asked him what was wrong with him.

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

Let us sing as we prepare for Jesus’ birth

Years ago, Sister Victricia chose seventh and eighth graders for the Kieler Immaculate Conception grade school choir. Miraculously, I was chosen. At rehearsals, however, whenever I sang, Sister stopped playing the piano and stared at me. My voice was changing. To survive her stares, I began to lip-sync long before I ever heard of it.

A positive thinking friend told me, “Maybe Sister was admiring your singing.” If so, why did she quit staring after I stopped singing? Dad often said that the Louisburg Langes can’t sing. Fr. Ron Lange, my missionary first cousin, agrees.

Perhaps this is a senile illusion, but now I think I can sing a little better at Mass. Because of old age, however, when celebrating Mass I often refrain from singing hymns that I don’t know to conserve my limited energy for parts that I proclaim and for the Gospel reading and homily.

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On
Julianne Nornberg

This Advent seek God’s will, not your own

Everyday Faith column by Julianne Nornberg

Today my daughter was searching our house for a recorder, an instrument for her school music class.

Over the years we have acquired a couple of recorders, but, used by different children at various times for school, their whereabouts are not always known. (Yes, unfortunately things do get lost in our house sometimes.)

“Should we write a note to the teacher, saying we have a recorder, but we just don’t know where it is?” my daughter asked.

“No, we’ll find it,” I said, pulling open and peering into desk drawers in our home office. “Go look in your brother’s cubby.”

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On
Julianne Nornberg

This Advent seek God’s will, not your own

Everyday Faith column by Julianne Nornberg

Today my daughter was searching our house for a recorder, an instrument for her school music class.

Over the years we have acquired a couple of recorders, but, used by different children at various times for school, their whereabouts are not always known. (Yes, unfortunately things do get lost in our house sometimes.)

“Should we write a note to the teacher, saying we have a recorder, but we just don’t know where it is?” my daughter asked.

“No, we’ll find it,” I said, pulling open and peering into desk drawers in our home office. “Go look in your brother’s cubby.”

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