St. Aloysius Church and School at Divine Mercy Parish are joining pro-life efforts in Madison and around the world this fall.
Tag: fasting
Lent has surprisingly modern appeal
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Christians around the world mark Lent’s beginning by celebrating Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10 this year.
Lent has a surprising modern appeal. Some pastors say that next to Christmas, more people come to church on Ash Wednesday than on any other day, including Easter.
Facing a basic truth
The ashes help us face a basic truth that we may try to avoid, namely death. When we receive ashes, the priest or deacon says, “Remember, you are dust and unto dust, you shall return.” They may also say, “Repent and believe the Good News!”
Combined, the words remind us that we will die and return to dust; therefore, while we’re still alive, we are to repent and believe the Good News!
40 Days for Life seeks volunteers
The 2014 40 Days for Life Madison campaign will kick off on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
40 Days for Life vigil ends with look to the future
MADISON — The so-called “drizzle” that had the appearance of a full-blown rain shower wasn’t enough to keep about three dozen people from coming out to mark the end of the 40 Days for Life vigil in Madison.
40 Days for Life is an annual vigil of prayer, fasting, and peacefully witnessing to end abortion. For the past several years, the vigil has taken place outside the Planned Parenthood clinic on Madison’s east side. This year’s vigil ran from September 25 to November 3.
Pope Francis calls for day of prayer and fasting on September 7
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| Pope Francis waves as he leads the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican September 1. (CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters) |
MADISON — At his Angelus address on Sunday, Sept. 1, Pope Francis called upon the faithful worldwide to join in a day of prayer and fasting on Saturday, Sept. 7, for peace, particularly in Syria, but also in the Middle East and throughout the world.
The pope also announced that the day of prayer and fasting will conclude with a vigil in St. Peter’s Square in Rome from 7 p.m. until midnight, local time. He asked local dioceses to arrange similar gatherings. The pope also called on fellow Christians, followers of other religions, and all men of good will to participate in whatever way they can in this initiative.
Bishop Robert C. Morlino has asked clergy in the Diocese of Madison to arrange for parish Holy Hours of Eucharistic Adoration for the particular intention of the Holy Father for this coming Saturday, Sept. 7, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., concluding appropriately a half hour before the typical anticipatory Mass at 5 p.m. (with applicable time modifications based on local parish Mass and Confession schedules).
“You are welcome to do additional items in conjunction with the Holy Father’s request, but this coordinated effort throughout parishes in the diocese at the direction of Bishop Morlino will show our solidarity with Pope Francis during the same time of the pope’s vigil prayer in Rome,” said Msgr. James Bartylla, vicar general of the Diocese of Madison, in notifying priests of the diocese about the day of prayer and fasting.
Bring Lent to life: Look for opportunities to nourish your faith by praying, fasting, and giving
Lent is a special time set aside by the Church to prepare for Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection through 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
There are many ways we can observe the Lenten season. In his message for Lent this year, Pope Benedict XVI asked us, especially in the context of this Year of Faith, to “meditate on the relationship between faith and charity: between believing in God — the God of Jesus Christ — and love, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and which guides us on the path of devotion to God and others.”
Pope Benedict emphasizes that faith and charity are linked together. “Everything begins from the humble acceptance of faith (‘knowing that one is loved by God’), but has to arrive at the truth of charity (‘knowing how to love God and neighbour’), which remains for ever, as the fulfilment of all the virtues (cf. 1 Cor 13:13).”
Deepening our faith life during Lent
Over the years […]
Can’t have one without the other: Faith and good works are both essential
Over the years, Christians have had discussions — sometimes very heated arguments — about the primacy of faith or good works.
For Catholics, it’s really not one or the other that takes precedence. It’s both. In fact, according to Scripture and Church teaching, you can’t have one without the other.
As we begin the season of Lent, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the connection between faith and good works. Traditionally Lent is a time when prayer, fasting, and almsgiving take centerstage.
Lent calls us to deeper conversion
In the Peanuts comic strip, each fall Lucy held the football for Charlie Brown to kick. At the last second, Lucy picked up the ball and Charlie Brown missed it and fell flat on his face.
After years of being tricked, Charlie refused to kick the football because he no longer trusted Lucy. She broke down, shed tears, and confessed, “I have sinned. I want to change. Won’t you give me another chance, please!” Charlie Brown trusted her again.
The high cost of conscience
At the end of the liturgical year, the Mass readings tell dramatic stories from the Books of Maccabees of simple folks standing courageously for their faith in the face of torture and death. Their exemplary witness can strengthen us as we defend our conscience rights and religious liberty which are under attack today.
In second century B.C., a conquering king was intent on suppressing Judaism in Palestine. He issued a decree that his whole kingdom should all be one people, each abandoning his particular customs and religious laws and observances. Whoever refused to comply would be killed.
Though large numbers did comply, we’re told that many in Israel “preferred to die rather than be defiled with unclean food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. Terrible affliction was upon Israel” (Maccabees 1:63).