Tag: gift

On
Fr. Donald Lange

Sharing our blessings at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a day when we gather with family and friends to share a meal, reconnect as family, and thank God for our cornucopias of blessings.

The roots of Thanksgiving Day began with the pilgrims. Despite a long, hard winter during which half of them died from scurvy and exposure to the elements, the pilgrims were so thankful some of them survived that they invited their Indian friends to share a three day feast of thanksgiving.

H.U. Westermayer wrote that the pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts during that first hard year, yet they set aside a day to thank God through prayer and through sharing their blessings with Indian friends.

Read More
On
Bishop-elect Robert Barron

Stephen Colbert, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Henry Newman, and the providence of God

Recently, Stephen Colbert gave an interview in which the depth of his Catholic faith was on pretty clear display.

Discussing the trauma that he experienced as a young man — the deaths of his father and two of his brothers in a plane crash — he told the interviewer how, through the ministrations of his mother, he had learned not only to accept what had happened but actually to rejoice in it: “Boy, did I have a bomb when I was 10; that was quite an explosion . . . It’s that I love the thing that I wish most had not happened.”

Read More
On
Beth Ulaszek

Theme three: The meaning of Human Sexuality

Beth Ulaszek

To prepare for the upcoming World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this September, the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis of the Diocese of Madison is providing a monthly series on a particular theme on marriage and family. Each theme is a chapter in the preparatory catechesis developed for the event entitled Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive, available in paperback from www.osvparish.com or for free online at www.worldmeeting2015.org

Four years ago I was given the first in a series of life changing gifts in the form of a diamond ring.

For weeks I would stare and delight in its beauty as light touched it and bounced back in various colors. In my excitement every friend, acquaintance, and stranger got to know my beloved as I feverishly relayed the story of how such a beautiful gift wound up on my finger.

Greater gifts followed as I became a wife and mother of two.

Read More
On
Kevin Wondrash

Parish holds Gift and Plant Fair

STOUGHTON — St. Ann Parish will hold a Spring Fever Gift and Plant Fair on Saturday, May 2, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at 324 N. Harrison St. Proceeds will help defray expenses for parish youth who are making a mission trip to Logan, W. Va., this summer.

Over 30 vendors will have hand-crafted jewelry, knit and fabric arts, straw baskets, African artifacts, stained glass and suncatchers, cards and signs, food and drink baskets, sewn and knitted baby/children/adult items, kitchen towels and accessories, cardigans and sweatshirts, and home décor.

Read More
On
Kevin Wondrash

Parish holds Gift and Plant Fair

STOUGHTON — St. Ann Parish will hold a Spring Fever Gift and Plant Fair on Saturday, May 2, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at 324 N. Harrison St. Proceeds will help defray expenses for parish youth who are making a mission trip to Logan, W. Va., this summer.

Over 30 vendors will have hand-crafted jewelry, knit and fabric arts, straw baskets, African artifacts, stained glass and suncatchers, cards and signs, food and drink baskets, sewn and knitted baby/children/adult items, kitchen towels and accessories, cardigans and sweatshirts, and home décor.

Read More
On
Fr. Donald Lange

Let us make every day an Earth Day

On clear mornings from my apartment window which faces Platteville’s Mound, I enjoy watching the morning sun, like a huge orange-red host, rise majestically from earth’s chalice, inspiring me to offer a new day to God.

Beautiful sunrises deepen my respect for God’s gift of creation. Celebrating Earth Day on April 22 reminds me of my responsibility to care for this gift.

Read More
On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Edgewood High School peer ministers lead retreat

MADISON — As part of Catholic Schools Week, students in the Peer Ministry class at Edgewood High School had a chance to give back and help younger students grow in their faith.

The Peer Ministry class challenges students to develop their personal faith and leadership potential. Students plan and lead liturgies and prayer services throughout the semester along with participating and leading retreats and service programs.

Read More
On
Fr. Donald Lange

The greatest gift of Christmas

Every time a baby is born, there is new hope for the human race. I learned this as a high school sophomore when my baby brother was born.

What a miracle of grace! As I studied his perfectly formed hands and feet, I was filled with awe and hope. I wondered who he would grow up to be.

I hoped that he would be bigger, stronger, more athletic, and more intelligent than I was. My sister hoped that he would grow up to be a gentleman.

Read More
On
Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

By the Cross offers books by area author, items for children

MADISON — Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles — in fact anyone involved with children — should visit By The Cross Catholic Gift and Bookstore on Madison’s east side.

This store is filled with many wonderful religious items for children, from coloring and activity books to prayer books to stuffed animals. It’s literally a treasure trove of educational, faith-filled, and fun things for Catholic kids.

Read More