 |
|
Seeing Easter through children’s eyes can open windows of wonder and love that we busy adults sometimes keep closed.
A mother experienced this when she overheard Danny, her five-year-old son, talk with his friend Jeremy whose father recently died.
“Where did your dad go when he died?” asked Danny.
“My mom said that he went to Heaven,” replied Jeremy.
“What’s Heaven?” asked Danny.
|
|
In 1982, the Dubuque Telegraph Herald newspaper conducted a survey to name the new bridge that connected Dubuque, Iowa, with Wisconsin and the Diocese of Madison.
The name “Mazzuchelli Bridge” received the most votes, perhaps because of ways Venerable Father Samuel Mazzuchelli influenced early Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. It was then submitted to the Dubuque City Council, but the council named the new bridge the Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge instead.
One of America’s greatest blessings is the Declaration of Independence. Its preamble reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
For years, America failed to live up to some of the noble principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence. One of these failures was tolerating legalized slavery. In 1865 the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery as a legal institution. But after slavery was abolished, many former slaves were denied some of their God-given rights in other ways.
For years women were also denied the right to vote. In August of 1920, 144 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.
I was confirmed in seventh grade. In religion class, I learned that in the Sacrament of Confirmation we receive the Holy Spirit who strengthens us to be Christian witnesses. I worried whether I could witness to Christ by dying for him as a martyr. I took Confirmation seriously.
The Church received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. To prepare to receive the Spirit, for nine days key followers of Jesus gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. These included the apostles, together with Mary, some other women, and disciples. They were united in intense prayer.
In Acts 2:2-4, it says, “Suddenly there came from the sky, a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Tongues as of fire appeared to them, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”
The 2012 Knights of Columbus State Convention will be held at Marriott West Hotel and Convention Center in Middleton on Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29.
Because of its nearness, as a Knight I thought that now might be a graced time to reflect upon the Christ-like life of the Venerable Fr. Michael Joseph McGivney, who founded the Knights of Columbus.
He was born on August 12, 1852, in Waterbury, Conn. His parents were Patrick and Mary Lynch McGivney, Irish immigrants. His father worked as a molder in the heat and fumes of a brass mill.
Mary McGivney gave birth to 13 children. Six died in infancy. The McGivney children knew suffering and poverty. But they also enjoyed the blessing of growing up in a devout Catholic family where they learned lessons of faith, hope, and charity. These experiences influenced Father McGivney.
One morning as I walked to the Mound cafeteria for breakfast, I saw the rising sun, like a bright orange-red host, rise slowly from the chalice of the good earth. It was beautiful!
In the cafeteria, two Sisters were also deeply moved by its beauty. One of them exclaimed, “This is my morning prayer!”
Sharing a beautiful sunrise or sunset can bond us with others and open us to God’s presence. It can invite us to respect God’s gift of earth. It can help prepare us for Earth Day.
We celebrate Earth Day on April 22. Earth Day was started by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin to teach and to inspire the public to take better care of the environment.
In the United States the Catholic Church celebrates National Vocation Awareness Week from Monday, Jan. 9, to Saturday, Jan. 14, this year.
During this week the Church asks us to pray for all vocations. In no. 2013 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church it says, “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity. All are called to holiness.” God calls us all to live our faith and seek out our vocation as a deacon, priest, Religious Brother, Sister, married, or single person.
However, we need to continue to pray for and encourage priestly vocations because priests preside at the Eucharist, which is the center of Catholic life. During the 2009 Year for Priests, Pope Benedict stressed that without priests there would be no Eucharist, no mission, or Church. We priests have the privilege of celebrating Mass and ministering to Catholics at key spiritual times in their lives from infancy to old age. Priests administer the sacraments, preach, offer pastoral care, and much more.
In John 3:16 it says, “For God so loved the world that God gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but might have eternal life.”
Gilbert Keith Chesterton wrote that out of love for us, “The hands that made the sun and stars were too small to reach the huge heads of the cattle and too tiny to change his own clothes or put food in his mouth. To share God’s love, Jesus experienced infant helplessness.”
Scripture tells us that God created us in his image. Since God is love, we image God best when we love. But sin keeps us from loving.
A few years ago playwright/director Peter Rothstein created a theatrical concert and musical radio drama entitled, All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. This theatrical concert dramatizes a remarkable incident of peace that happened during an unplanned truce during World War I, which some called the war to end all wars.
On Christmas Eve, at certain places along the front, German and British soldiers spontaneously sang Christmas carols. On Christmas day unarmed enemy soldiers met in no man’s land, and exchanged gifts of tobacco, rum, chocolate, and even family photographs. In one section they buried each other’s dead and played soccer.
On July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig enjoyed an early Thanksgiving Day. On Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium, the Hall of Fame first baseman told 61,808 baseball fans that he was the luckiest man on earth.
At age 36, he was dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis); yet, he was thankful because God gifted him with great athletic ability, wonderful fans, teammates, and a good family.
