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| Lindsay Becher |
“God thirsts that we may thirst for him.” — Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 2560
I thirst.
These words spoken from Jesus on the cross were also imprinted on the heart of St. Teresa of Kolkata (Mother Teresa) on September 10, 1946, and every day forward.
These words, and what Jesus revealed to her about them on a train ride that “Inspiration Day,” changed her life. Through the Church’s newest saint, they have also changed mine.
MADISON — The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is offering the Madison Catholic young adult community opportunities to grow in faith and meet others through service.
All young adults are invited to help plant, weed, harvest, and dig in the Lacy Garden from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Monday evenings.
The garden, at 5897 Whalen Rd. in Fitchburg, provides more than 20,000 pounds of fresh produce for the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry each year.
ASHTON — “I want to talk to you today about something very special that we can pray about,” said Grace Mazza Urbanski, director of children’s ministry for the Apostleship of Prayer, to students at St. Peter School in Ashton.
That “very special thing” was mercy.
“We’re going to pretend we are mercy walking through the world,” Urbanski said.
The Apostleship of Prayer, based in Milwaukee, encourages Christians to make a daily offering of themselves to the Lord for the coming of God’s Kingdom and for the Holy Father’s monthly intentions.
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It seems odd, even a bit repulsive, when we encounter tales of elderly men running after women who are young enough to be their granddaughters.
The wheelchair-bound billionaire oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall was 89 years old when he married the 26-year-old Anna Nicole Smith. He had met the Playboy model and reality TV star in a strip club. Anna insisted that she really did love the old man and wasn’t in it for the money.
With age should come wisdom. It’s appropriate and fitting for older men to leave behind their former ways and no longer live and act like college frat boys. It’s right to expect growth in self-control as we mature and to expect a more reflective and sober approach to life.
As we come upon Christmas, I’d like to take a moment to put on my old hat from my time as a philosophy professor — but I’ll try to do it in a way befitting this limited space and broad audience.
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Editor’s note: George Weigel is in Rome reporting on the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family.
Since Pope Francis announced that two synods would examine the contemporary crisis of marriage and the family and work to devise more evangelically dynamic responses to that crisis, a lot of attention has focused on issues of Catholic discipline.
How does the Church determine that a marriage never existed and thus grant a decree of nullity? What is to be done about the sacramental situation of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics? How does the Church best prepare its sons and daughters for marriage?
Editor’s note: During this Year of Consecrated Life, this is the third in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.
The decree of the Second Vatican Council on which these reflections are based speaks in the very first paragraph about special gifts of the Holy Spirit which have been imparted to the Church.
The purpose of these gifts is the building up of the Church in the world, and for manifesting God’s own kind of Life in the world.
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| Patrick Gorman |
The last four articles have reflected upon the elements of the Baptismal ritual leading up to the actual Baptism.
Some of these elements are the welcoming of the candidate for Baptism, the sign of the cross, the blessing of the water, and the renunciation of sin and profession of faith.
The actual Baptism is really quite simple. The Baptism takes place with water which is either poured over the head of the person being baptized or in which he/she is immersed (standing or kneeling in the water), while the baptizer invokes the Trinity:
“I baptize you in the name of the Father (water), and of the Son (water), and of the Holy Spirit (water).”
SUN PRAIRIE — Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish will host a Christmas Concert on Friday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. at the church, 221 Columbus St. The concert will feature the Adult Choir, Folk Choir, and Grace Notes (young people’s choir).
“This is going to be the best week of your life” is a bold promise from the team members of Totus Tuus, but for most of the participants at all levels — it was indeed one of the best weeks of their lives.
