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Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is October 4, remains one of Catholicism’s most popular saints.
Statues and pictures of him abound, especially in gardens and fields, and young people often choose him as their Confirmation saint.
He captures the imagination of artists, writers, poets, intellectuals, and common folk alike.
It is easy to romanticize his story, but like all saints, Francis shows us what happens when an individual gives everything to Christ. |
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Beginning this month, a new series of articles will appear in our newspaper to offer catechesis and formation concerning end of life decisions, dying, death, funerals, and burial of the dead from our Catholic perspective.
No one easily faces these issues because they remind us of our mortality and fragility, but our faith in Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, helps us understand how our own death, ending an earthly existence lived out in faith, hope, and charity, becomes the sacred passage to eternal joy in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Church encourages us to prepare for death, most importantly on the spiritual plane of being ready to meet the Lord with our interior house in order, but also on the practical level of health decisions, an updated will, funeral and burial plans, and the dispersal of possessions. |
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Last week, I met with Tom Nelson and a dedicated group of priests, social workers, and farmers who care deeply about the troubling crises facing our rural communities.
I listened as they spoke movingly about the fact that, in the last 10 years, 50 percent of family farms in Wisconsin have disappeared, milk prices are untenable, and no economic future exists for young people who would like to remain in farming.
COVID and its impact on the economy and the food supply chain has only exacerbated these challenges. Depression and suicide are on the rise in troubling numbers. |
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Last week, I was blessed to lead the annual retreat for the Cistercian Nuns here in our diocese.
The Valley of Our Lady Monastery in Prairie du Sac has been a sacred place of contemplative prayer, cloistered life, and beautiful peace since it was established in the 1950’s.
This community of Sisters radically dedicated to God through a life of prayer, silence, and work is a blessing for all of us. Being with them was a privilege and a grace.
St. Bernard of Clairveaux breathed new life into Cistercian monasticism in the Middle Ages during the 11th century and monasteries began all over Europe in a refreshing movement of spiritual fervor.
One of the Missal prayers in the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary expresses a beautiful aspiration: “In our mortal flesh may we show forth the life of Jesus.” This simple hope expresses succinctly the nature and purpose of evangelization.
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The Bible is so rich and vast that we can never fully fathom or remember the totality of the Scriptures, which allows for constant pleasant surprises when we discover a text which bears a new divine revelation to our hungry hearts.
This phenomenon happened to me recently as I was reading the Letter to the Hebrews. This New Testament letter was addressed to Jewish Christians to strengthen them in the practice of the faith and not to grow weary or become indifferent.
Two central themes of the text are the Priesthood of Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer and the pilgrimage of the people of God to the heavenly Jerusalem, where Jesus ministers in the heavenly sanctuary. |
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“I don’t like Brussels sprouts,” complained my son one night at supper long ago.
“If you finish your Brussels sprouts, I’ll give you a noogie,” said Daddy, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
“What’s a noogie?”
“If you finish your Brussels sprouts, then you’ll find out.” |
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Questions often raised during these weeks of social isolation and pandemic are: What am I learning from this experience? How will my life be different going forward? How will society change as a result?
I have heard from many people who are feeling a greater need for God in their lives. When we confront suffering, fear, loneliness, and privation, we gain greater insight into the essential nature of life’s meaning.
During this challenging pandemic experience, I have been meditating lately on power and the lack of it, the fear of vulnerability and dependence, the need to surrender control and accept what is beyond one’s ability to change.
Since the definition of power is “the capacity to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events,” we have probably all felt an ebbing of power and influence in our lives. The social restrictions, the loss of health or employment, the cancellation of activities and events have all thrust us into this opaque existence of limitation and diminishment.
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We may be tempted to think that once Jesus had risen from the dead and sent the Holy Spirit upon the early Church, the lives of the Apostles were easy; after all, they were filled with the light and joy of knowing that the Lord had conquered sin and death; they knew that He was with them in the power of the Holy Spirit and the sacraments of the Church.
Yet, a simple reading of the Acts of the Apostles reveals that they met with immediate and violent opposition when they began to proclaim the Resurrection of Christ. Those who had conspired to kill Jesus certainly did not want Him coming back from the dead. How much easier for them if He had remained cold and lifeless in the tomb.
