Today I found a marble while doing the laundry. There it was, blue and shiny among the grey folds of my son’s sweatshirt.
My heart leaped as I picked it up and admired its beauty, thinking about how Michael would smile when I showed him his lost treasure.
But just as suddenly as I found it, the marble slipped from my fingers and bounced into the dusty unknown beneath the hot water heater. Sighing in defeat after peering into the darkness, I shrugged and continued with my work.
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For some astronauts, an unexpected result of their participation in the space program was a deepening of their faith in God.
Frank Borman was commander of the first space crew to travel beyond Earth’s orbit. Looking down on Earth from 250,000 miles away, he radioed back a message, quoting Genesis 1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.”
He later added, “After viewing Earth from space, I experienced an enormous feeling that there had to be a power greater than any of us, that there was a God and a beginning.”
Over Easter weekend, I watched the 2014 movie Exodus: Gods and Kings, which tells the epic story of Moses and his flight from Egypt to the promised land.
This Ridley Scott film seems to be based fairly accurately on Scripture. After seeing the movie, I did need to do some research into the actual biblical passages to find out who was who. My knowledge of the Old Testament is limited, I discovered.
I was not aware that Moses was married (his wife’s name is Zipporah) and he had one or two sons. He actually lived as a shepherd for many years before God appeared to him out of a burning bush and told him to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.
Editor’s Note: Joy and Bill Exner are section representatives for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. in the Diocese of Madison. They are members of St. Mary Parish in Pine Bluff, where they are both lectors and involved in marriage preparation. Bill is a parish trustee, Rosary leader, and sacristan.
We just returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and want to share with you some of our experiences.
Our observations focus mainly on the people living in the Holy Land rather than the holy sites, as it is the people who sustain these holy places and keep them alive.
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| 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 I write down a few thoughts here, we are entering — with heavy hearts — into the great and holy week during which we accompany Jesus in His terrible suffering and death.
As we go through Holy Week we shall hear a great many words — from the beautiful language of the sacred liturgies, to the readings themselves — including the telling of the Passion story, and of course, the many readings of the Easter Vigil.
From “Hosanna” to “Alleluia,” we will hear told, and even witness represented, the story of our own salvation.
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| 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,
The Gospel reading of this past weekend (Jn 8:1-11) provides a portrait of Jesus in the face of intense anger and hatred and it leaves us with two key points: 1) how we might react to diffuse such situations, and 2) the importance and the inseparable nature of mercy and repentance.
Now, the Gospel really shows us the Pharisees and the Scribes at their worst. They are out to get Jesus.
Let’s recall the story — some people have begun to question whether Jesus is the Messiah and He has therefore begun to get the Scribes and the Pharisees pretty upset.
They are ready to be done with Him, but first they need to trip Him up so as either to give them an airtight case against Him, or to arouse the ire of the people, or both.
A friend sent me a Christmas card that he proudly created. It featured a picture of Mary lovingly holding the infant Jesus. Under the picture were the words, “Who is Missing?”
The answer is St. Joseph, who as the head of the Holy Family, was there to support Mary as she gave birth to Jesus on Christmas. We honor him as a great saint because he was the foster father of Jesus who with Mary guided young Jesus as he grew in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
Joseph exercised his role as protector of Mary and Jesus discreetly, humbly, and silently. He did so with an unfailing presence and fidelity, even when he found it difficult and confusing.
In his strong […]
SUN PRAIRIE — Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish, 221 Columbus St., observes its annual Eucharistic Day on Sunday, March 6.
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament begins at the end of the 11 a.m. Mass. Private prayer and Adoration take place until 3 p.m., when Evening Prayer and Benediction will be held.
To the editor:
In the January 28 issue of the Catholic Herald, a letter from Paul Richgels accuses Pope Francis of falsely interpreting Scripture when our successor of Peter said all people are children of the same God.
Ex 1:27 says, “God created man in his image, in the divine image he created him, male and female he created him.”
There are not two kinds of people: those created by God and those who are not. God created all of us as his children and loved us so much that he gave us the free will to choose to reciprocate his love!
