Tag: Lent

On
Tom Nelson

Food, eating, and Lent

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Eating is a sacred act, for it represents the natural inclination for sustenance which powers all living bodies and therefore is the life-sustaining force of the Creator.

The Psalmist wrote: “(O Lord) You raise grass for the cattle, and vegetation for men’s use, Producing bread from the earth and wine to gladden men’s hearts, So that their faces gleam with oil, and bread fortifies the hearts of men” (Psalm 104: 14, 15).

In the same passage he continues, “They all look to you to give them food in due time. When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.”

Tending the earth

In the earliest section of the Genesis narrative, God the Creator blows life into a shaped lump of earthen clay and from this act of His spirit the human family was born.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Verbal victims of the Dictatorship of Relativism
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.

We live in a world where many, many people have either made themselves into “God” or they’ve been tricked into thinking that they are “God” by others. The impact of this reality touches each and every aspect of our lives and shakes the foundations of our society and certainly of our Church.

Our Holy Father has spoken several times of what he has called the “Dictatorship of Relativism” — that is, there is no objective truth. To say there is no objective truth is to say there is no God. These are the same statement, for when one says there is no objective truth, they are, in effect, saying, “I’m God,” and therefore, “I create the world in which I live.” If there is no objective truth or objective way that things are, then things are the way that one thinks they are. It allows one to say, “I create my own world, my own bubble, which is different from everybody else’s bubble.”

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Lent: Time to slam the door in Satan’s face
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.

Each year we are invited to reflect on the whole of our Lenten journey in the context of Jesus’ temptations in the desert. That’s a model, if you will, a paradigm, for what is supposed to happen during Lent. And, I am happy to say that I discovered again this year that, substantially, my reflections on this Gospel passage are in line with those of our Holy Father. I know that when I’m in communion with the Holy Father, by God’s grace and for the good of the diocese, I’m right on target.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino

Journeying home during the Lenten season
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,

In the first place, let me thank you most sincerely for your remembrance in prayer during the days of my vacation. They were special days for me of friendship, especially friendship with the Lord, and also some needed rest and recreation. The time was most enjoyable and life-giving, I’m sure in large part due to your prayers. And, of course, I remembered all of you every blessed day.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Addressing the ‘credibility crisis’

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Dear friends,

As we come to the midpoint of Lent, it is a good time for us to remember to look ahead and to mark down in our calendars the many celebrations and commemorations of Holy Week, and especially the great Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night — the most important liturgy of the Church year.

We continue to pray for those women and men, and boys and girls, who will enter our Church at Easter, that they might continue to have a grace-filled time of preparation.

Let us all look forward to the Easter Vigil, that we might celebrate with joy, and faith, and a good deal of enthusiasm!

It is a temptation for us, during Lent and even otherwise, to fall short in that enthusiasm which should be ours as Catholics. There is a temptation to get caught up in the comings and goings of our everyday lives, and to get caught up in the politics of our day and age and to forget that which is really most important, that is Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead.

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