Two weeks ago, I reflected briefly on the fundamental shift in worldview in the West, beginning with the Renaissance and then gaining greater traction with the French Revolution and the Enlightenment.
This movement from a theistic, God-centered vision to a humanistic, this-worldly orientation is complex, long, and multi-faceted, and therefore not easy to fully understand or articulate.
 |
|
Last week I offered some remarks at the matriculation ceremony for Thomas Aquinas College in California. Since I would give the same advice to any Catholic students reentering the school year, I thought I would share my thoughts here.
A few months before I was named bishop, I gave another lecture at Thomas Aquinas College. I was asked to deliver a talk that I thought was going to be a little too heavy. It was late at night, I had flown in from Chicago and driven up the California highway, and I thought, “Oh, this talk is going to bomb.”
 |
|
| 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,
As you can see elsewhere in this issue of the Catholic Herald, I was recently blessed to be with a large number of our young women and men during “Frassati Fest.”
It was a joy to be with so many young people excited about their faith, and who were willing to make the sacrifice to gather. I also have to give my special thanks to Lindsay Becher and all those who worked so hard to put the weekend together.
During the Sunday Mass I celebrated with those great young people, I reflected on the readings of the day, and I’d like to share a bit of my reflections here, adapted slightly for print.
The Scriptures of the day leave us with a beautiful message which we can take back into our homes and which have, not surprisingly, three points.
The first point was repeated in the Psalm (Ps 95) over and over again: “If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart.”
Now what does that really mean? What does “today” mean? It doesn’t simply mean Sunday, Feb. 1, the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. “Today” means our whole time redeemed by Christ in this world, before this world passes away.
“Tomorrow” refers to the great heavenly rest, when this world has passed away. So, the Psalmist is writing, “harden not your hearts,” while it is still today! Today is a long time, but it is not endless; there is a limit to “today,” and so there is an urgency there. “Harden not your hearts while it is still today.”
 |
|
The season of celebrating the Nativity of Jesus Christ is complete with abundant opportunities for eating, many from long-held family traditions and others might just be questionable habits we have picked up in our daily struggle to make ends meet and jam another activity into our already over-scheduled daily routines.
What if the old maxim “You are what you eat” also included “You are how you eat”?
For instance, when was the last time I ate by myself from a fast-food drive-up window?
