Thank God we’ve finally left 2020 behind! We’ve entered a new year with great hopes for better times, along with a little trepidation.
Tag: courage
New chapter of EnCourage forming in Diocese of Madison
MADISON — In order to provide more help and support for the friends and family members of those who experience same-sex attractions, the Diocese of Madison has recently established a local chapter of EnCourage, which is a ministry within the Courage Apostolate.
What are Courage and EnCourage?
Courage is a Catholic apostolate that provides pastoral support for those who experience same-sex attraction, through spiritual guidance, community prayer support, and Christian fellowship.What does courage look like today?
MADISON — Faces of courage and stories of faith took the spotlight during the St. Dennis Parish “Courage Through Faith” event that was held on the fourth Sunday of Easter.
Pastor Fr. Randy Timmerman welcomed about 400 believers from congregations throughout the city with the challenge to be bold and courageous in work and everyday life, much like the apostles were courageous in building the early Church after Christ rose from the dead.
Father Timmerman’s plea was to be a living example of Christian values and voices in a society that is often hostile toward faith.
Stories of ‘Courage Through Faith’ shared at St. Dennis
MADISON — A post-Easter celebration of courage that comes from faith will be held at St. Dennis Church, 413 Dempsey Rd., on Sunday, April 22, at 6 p.m.
The presentation will unfold as the editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, John Smalley, introduces stories of “Courage Through Faith in Our Work on Earth.”
‘Bridge of Spies’ and the path to virtue
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My great mentor Msgr. Robert Sokolowski told a class of eager philosophy students many years ago that we should read Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics every year of our lives. As we grew older, he explained, new dimensions of the book would continually present themselves.
I can’t say that I’ve followed Sokolowski’s advice perfectly, but I have indeed returned often to Aristotle’s great text for inspiration and clarification.
Finding hope and light in the darkness
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
“Night is coming, when no one can work,” we heard in the Gospel reading of this past Sunday (Jn 9:4).
Jesus told his disciples: do the works of God while it is still day, “night is coming when no one can work.”
No one can work and, I might add, no-thing can work. And I would suggest that night has come.
Even as we’ve just marked the Sunday that we call “Rejoice Sunday,” we acknowledge that we have to rejoice in the truth. God gives us the grace to rejoice in the truth. And the truth is that the night has come and so no one and nothing can work — but the splendid Light of the Resurrection will make that night as bright as day!
The story of the man born blind, which we encountered in the Gospel reading, is in many ways an allegory for our very own culture and our very own society. It is a culture and a society of death. A culture upon which night has descended, so nothing works.
The courage to refuse to cooperate in evil
An electrician by trade, Tim Roach is married with two children and lives about an hour outside Minneapolis. He was laid off his job in July 2009.
After looking for work for more than a year and a half, he got a call from his local union in February 2011 with the news anyone who is unemployed longs for, not just a job offer, but one with responsibility and a good salary of almost $70,000 a year.
He ultimately turned the offer down, however, because he discovered that he was being asked to oversee the electrical work at a new Planned Parenthood facility under construction in St. Paul on University Ave. Aware that abortions would be performed there, he knew his work would involve him in “cooperation with evil,” and he courageously declined the offer.