We are beginning the Year of Faith in the Catholic Church during October, the month traditionally dedicated to the Rosary.
Pope Benedict XVI formally entrusted the world Synod of Bishops and the Year of Faith to Mary during an October 4 visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto in Italy.
It is interesting to recall that another pope visited this same Marian shrine 50 years ago. Blessed John XXIII visited Loreto to entrust the Second Vatican Council to Mary’s care in 1962.
Those of us who are “cradle Catholics” — baptized as babies, raised in Catholic homes, educated in Catholic schools — may wonder why we should participate in the Year of Faith declared by Pope Benedict XVI.
We’re already believers, so this Year of Faith must be for other people, right?
Wrong!
In announcing the Year of Faith, the Holy Father said it is a “summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the One Savior of the world” (Porta Fidei, 6). In other words, the Year of Faith is an opportunity for all Catholics — even cradle Catholics — to experience a new conversion. It’s an opportunity to turn back to Jesus and enter into a deeper relationship with him.
The pope has described this conversion as opening the “door of faith.” This door was originally opened at our Baptism, but many of us weren’t aware of what was happening at that time.
During the Year of Faith we’re called to open it again, walk through it, and rediscover and renew our relationship with Christ and his Church.
As we begin October, which is observed as Respect Life Month in the Catholic Church, it is a time for all of us to reflect on the gift of life and how we’re receiving it in our own lives.
The Catholic Church teaches that we must protect all human life from conception to natural death. We know that many people in our society disrespect and ignore the sanctity of life in many ways. This includes abortion, sterilization, embryonic stem-cell research, lack of support for disabled persons, disregard for the needs of the poor, and attempts to legalize assisted suicide.
The legalization of abortion in the United States has tragically led to the death of millions of unborn children. However, it seems as if pro-life efforts and education have brought about decreases in the number of abortions, including in our own state of Wisconsin.
Ideally, we must work and pray for the day when there will be no abortions. Until then, there are many ways we can help mothers to choose life for their unborn babies.
This is the time of year when we usually see farmers out in the fields harvesting their crops. It’s usually a time of plenty, with pumpkins, squash, and other produce filling the roadside markets.
However, this year many farmers in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the Midwest are facing tough times due to the effects of the drought. University of Wisconsin Extension officials reported that the corn crop was hit the hardest, while alfalfa is down from an average of five tons a year to just one to two tons an acre. Soybeans seem to have survived better, thanks to August rains.
People in the Diocese of Madison have a reason to rejoice: our diocese is now blessed with 32 seminarians — men who will, God willing, become future priests to serve the Church in our diocese.
Just nine years ago, only six men were studying in seminaries for our diocese. Bishop Robert C. Morlino set a personal goal for the diocese to reach 30 seminarians by his 10th year as Bishop of Madison in 2013. That goal has been met a year earlier — and has been surpassed by two.
The bishop himself has made promoting vocations a top priority. He speaks about the need for priests as he travels throughout the diocese, especially when he addresses young people at Confirmations and other events.
He also appointed a full-time diocesan vocation director, the position currently filled by Fr. Paul Ugo Arinze. Father Arinze’s enthusiasm and rapport with young people have been assets to our diocesan vocation program.
The Office of Vocations and the Serra Clubs of the diocese have also encouraged prayer for vocations in our parishes through the Traveling Chalice Program and through Adoration for vocations at the Bishop O’Connor Center and other locations.
The late Jack McBride, who used to be in charge of adult education programs in the Diocese of Madison, often reminded me that Jesus taught adults and blessed children.
When I think about Jesus’ life as recorded in the Scriptures, I realize that Jack was right. Jesus is almost always found teaching adults. As we know, Jesus often used parables to help get his message across in words his audience could understand in that time and place.
I’m sure Jack realized that we do need to educate our children. However, he felt that the Catholic Church should do much more to educate adults on matters of the faith.
Many things are etched in our minds from the events of September 11, 2001. Although people throughout the world were shocked by the death and destruction wrought at the World Trade Center in New York City, we also remember the courageous and compassionate service of so many firefighters, police officers, and volunteers who helped in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Those first responders — and so many others who helped victims heal and rebuild the city — remain true heroes in our eyes. I think they also helped inspire young people to follow in their footsteps in serving others.
Recently my husband John and I celebrated 39 years of married life. When we got married in 1973, we told each other that we hoped to make it to our 50th wedding anniversary. Of course, we would even like more than 50 years together, but that is our goal. We have only 11 years to go, God willing.
We hope to be able to participate eventually in the annual diocesan celebration for couples observing their 50th wedding anniversaries. It was held in August, and Bishop Robert C. Morlino gave each golden anniversary couple a certificate. He commended them for their cooperation with Christ in building a successful marriage.
The bishop said that these couples know that Christ is central to a successful marriage. He also pointed out the importance of forgiving each other and bringing a joyful witness to others in society.
This week the Catholic Herald is publishing our twice annual Catholic Marriage section. It offers articles focusing on marriage preparation and marriage enrichment with a faith perspective. We hope you will read it and/or pass it along to a couple contemplating marriage or needing help with married life.
Most of us like to have control over our lives. We decide when to get up in the morning, we choose the food we eat at our meals, and we decide what to do throughout the day.
Of course, there are outside circumstances that have an impact on our decisions. The weather comes to mind as an important factor affecting some of our plans. If it’s raining, for example, we might not mow the lawn, or we may choose to eat inside rather than have a picnic in a park.
However, in most cases we like to exercise control over what we do. We’re in charge of our lives. At least that’s what we like to believe.
As we grow older, we may start to realize that this way of looking at life isn’t the whole truth. Although we can have a great deal of control over our thoughts and actions, we aren’t the ones ultimately in charge.
God is the one who has the final say over what happens in our lives.
On Good Friday we hear the words of Jesus from the cross, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Those words came to my mind as I was thinking about the killing of six members of the Sikh religion on August 5 at their temple in Oak Creek. We still don’t know what motivated the gunman, Wade Michael Page, who apparently killed himself after the rampage. We know that he had ties with white supremacist groups.
It seems as if many people in our society today don’t know what they are doing, especially when they injure and kill other people. We seem to be a nation riddled with violence, in both word and deed.
