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What a sight! Over 25 times from the top of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., I have seen a sea of people marching to proclaim the dignity of unborn human life, and how death-dealing abortion sends the unholy message that some human beings are disposable.
As I write, I am a just one day away from marching with and viewing that sea of people once again. It’s always a moral and spiritual shot-in-the-arm for me.
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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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| Ask DMU |
Question:
I always seem to have trouble following through with my New Year’s resolutions. Why is that? And what can I do to succeed this year?
Response:
William T. McKenna, M.S
Pre-Doctoral Resident in Clinical Psychology at Catholic Charities
Every year many of us find ourselves in your shoes.
From losing weight, to reading more, to cutting back on fast food, we all make plans that can be both great and unattainable at the same time.
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Spoiler Alert: This is the second part of Bishop Barron’s reflections on Martin Scorcese’s new film, Silence. The first part, which we published last week, is a summary of the plot in which Father Rodrigues, a Jesuit missionary in 17th-century Japan, apostatizes under severe psychological torture. What follows is Bishop Barron’s thoughts about the end of the movie.
In the wake of his apostasy, [Father Rodrigues] follows in the footsteps of Ferreira, becoming a ward of the state, a well-fed, well-provided for philosopher, regularly called upon to step on a Christian image and formally renounce his Christian faith.
He takes a Japanese name and a Japanese wife and lives out many long years in Japan before his death at the age of 64 and his burial in a Buddhist ceremony.
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| Sarah Zoutendam Schaaf |
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
“I’ll be back to pick you up in an hour” were her last words to me. I remember waiting for her as the afternoon sun faded to evening. I knew something was wrong.
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Recently I greeted a young pregnant mother by saying, “Hi to both of you.” Her smile told me that she acknowledged she was carrying an unborn baby, not just a glob of tissue.
Weeks later I met her proud husband, their beautiful baby boy, and the baby’s admiring little big sister.
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Sometimes when there is infertility in marriage, couples make the decision to seek out the services of a surrogate in order to have a child.
A surrogate is a woman who agrees to be implanted with an embryo produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) and to hand over the newborn baby to the couple upon completion of the gestation and birth.
In recent years, gestational surrogacy has become a multi-million dollar industry, attracting a broad clientele ranging from married couples to single women, gay couples to anyone else with the desire for a baby and the ability to finance the undertaking.
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Spoiler Alert: The following is the first half of Bishop Barron’s reflections on Martin Scorcese’s new film, Silence, in which he outlines the plot. In the second half, which we will publish next week, he discusses the ending of the film and adds his “dissenting” thoughts about it to the conversation among critics.
I have long been an ardent fan of Martin Scorsese’s films. Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Aviator, Gangs of New York, The Last Waltz, Casino, etc. are among the defining movies of the last 40 years. And The Departed, Scorsese’s 2007 crime drama, was the subject matter of the first YouTube commentary that I ever did.
What does sitting down and playing the preschool game Hungry Hungry Hippos have to do with your spiritual life? Living in the moment and keeping the presence of God, if you are the parent of young children.
That’s what I figured out one day while considering the laundry piling up, all the cleanouts and projects I had put on hold due to Christmas preparations, a growing pile of dishes in the sink, floors and carpets that needed cleaning, plus impending chores of offering homework help after school and policing and transporting children to basketball practice.
In addition, I was just feeling a bit down after all the hub-bub of the holidays.
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By now most of you are probably aware of the depressing statistics regarding the “nones,” that is to say, those in this country who claim no religious affiliation. The most recent survey showed that now fully one fourth of Americans belong to no religion at all — that’s approximately 80,000,000 people. And among those in the 18-29 age group, the percentage of nones goes up to 40!
