STOUGHTON — Each month, parishioners share their “Faith Stories” at St. Ann Church in Msgr. Healy Hall, 323 N. Van Buren St.
On Thursday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m., Pastor Fr. Randy Budnar will share how God is and has been important in his life.
Tag: Fr
Strategy for the New Evangelization
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I once gave a sermon in which I mentioned Keith Richards, the lead guitarist for the Rolling Stones.
I recounted how struck I was by a passage from Richards’ autobiography in which the guitarist described the almost maniacal dedication with which he and his bandmates set out to learn Chicago blues.
“Benedictines,” he said, “had nothing on us.” I urged my listeners to approach their spiritual lives with the same “Benedictine” focus and fervor that the young Rolling Stones had in regard to the blues.
Putting God first in our lives
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Artistic representations of the Ten Commandments often depict two stone tablets on which there are two tables of inscriptions.
This portrayal follows from a classical division of the commandments in which there are two specific categories: those that order humanity’s relationship with God and those that order human relationships with one another.
If we consider the Bible as a totality, it becomes apparent that the Scriptures give priority to the first table, those commands dealing with God.
Medical assistance with the battle of the bulge
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Bariatric surgery, which often involves banding of the stomach, is a widely used procedure for treating severe obesity. Another approach that relies on an implantable “stomach pacemaker” also appears poised to assist those struggling with significant weight gain.
Many people have already benefitted from these kinds of surgical interventions, enabling them to shed a great deal of weight, improve their health, and get a new lease on life.
Weighing alternatives
At the same time, however, it’s important for us to examine such interventions from an ethical point of view. It’s not simply a matter of weight loss, achieved by any means whatsoever, but a rational decision made after carefully weighing the risks, benefits, and alternatives.
Fry, Job, and the cross of Jesus
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The British writer, actor, and comedian Stephen Fry is featured in a YouTube video which has gone viral: over five million views.
Fry is, like his British counterparts Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, a fairly ferocious atheist and debunker of all things religious.
Fry’s rant
In the video, Fry articulates what he would say to God if, upon arriving at the pearly gates, he discovered he was mistaken in his atheism.
Christianity not primarily about ethics
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Many atheists and agnostics today argue that it is possible for non-believers in God to be morally upright.
They resent the implication that the denial of God will lead inevitably to ethical relativism or nihilism. They are quick to point out examples of non-religious people who are models of kindness, compassion, justice, etc.
Non-believers praiseworthy?
A recent article proposed that non-believers are, on average, more morally praiseworthy than religious people. God knows (pun intended) that during the last 20 years we’ve seen plenty of evidence of the godly behaving badly.
Mass commemorates death of Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli
BENTON — The annual Mass to commemorate the death of Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, will be held at St. Patrick Church, Benton, on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 1:30 p.m.
The Mazzuchelli Assembly 4th Degree Knights of Columbus invite everyone to attend and join them for a social in the parish hall afterward.
Reconciliation helps us to live Lent with renewed faith
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In Matthew 9:10-13, the Scribes and Pharisees complain that Christ dines with sinners and tax collectors. They are right. He does. Jesus responds by saying that he has come not to call the righteous, but sinners.
R. Charles Miller wrote that a sinner, as used here, is someone who admits they have sinned and needs God’s forgiveness to help them change. Conversely, the self-righteous think they don’t need forgiveness.
Sharing God’s mercy
Christ became flesh and took on a human nature to share the Father’s mercy with us. Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel features three parables of God’s mercy.
How to build a solid spiritual plan for life
REEDSBURG — On January 8, 2015, the second evening in a series of talks for the Spirits and Spirituality Program was held at Karstens Hall at Camp Gray in Reedsburg.
The program is a joint effort between St. Cecilia Parish in Wisconsin Dells, St. Joseph Parish in Baraboo, and Sacred Heart Parish in Reedsburg. All parish members ages 21 and over are invited to attend.
Saying ‘yes’ to sex as path of love
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One of the commonest complaints against Catholicism is that it is the religion of “no,” especially in regard to the sexual dimension of life.
As the rest of the culture is moving in a progressively more permissive direction, the Church seems to represent a crabbed, puritanical negativity toward sexuality.
Different kinds of ‘no’
I think it is important, first, to make a distinction between two modalities of “no.” On the one hand, there is “no” pure and simple — a denial, a negation of something good.