The year 2020 is just around the corner. It’s time to make some New Year’s resolutions. How about making a few resolutions to become a better Catholic in 2020?
I found 10 suggestions to improve our spiritual life on the website https://www.beliefnet.com and included some of my own ideas. Even selecting several of these resolutions would be a good start to the new year:
Of all the titles he has held — bishop, archbishop, cardinal, and pope — Pope Francis says he prefers to be called “Father”.
“What I love is being a priest,” he has said.
On December 13, he will celebrate 50 years as a priest. He sees his ministry as being a shepherd who walks with his flock and yearns to find those who are lost.
“What a joy it is to celebrate this 150th anniversary, especially on the Solemnity of Christ the King,” said Bishop Donald J. Hying in greeting people at St. William Church in Paoli on Sunday, Nov. 24.
When I was growing up, my family always had a large vegetable garden. Since my father was a teacher, he generally had more time in the summer to work in the garden. And I enjoyed helping him.
We also had relatives who lived on farms, whom we often visited and assisted with gardening and chores. So I had instilled in me a love of the outdoors and appreciation for nature and fresh food.
It seems as if Christmas decorations and gift displays arrive earlier and earlier each year in stores and homes — even before Halloween!
It seems as if our society has forgotten — or perhaps never known — that there is another season before Christmas: Advent.
Are you already tired of all the bickering going on about politics in our country? And it’s still almost a year until the 2020 national elections!
What can we do in the face of the rancor and bitterness?
October is designated as yet another month: Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
I bet that most people have not heard about this observance. However, I have, because a friend of mine, Michelle, has a Down Syndrome son named Thomas.
The Diocesan Pastoral Council (DPC) held its first meeting with Bishop Donald J. Hying on October 12 at Holy Name Heights. The meeting was preceded by a Mass celebrated by Bishop Hying, at which he thanked members for their involvement in the DPC.
It seems as if the month of October focuses on many issues. It happens to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I think it also ties in with Respect Life Month, because we should respect the lives of all people.
The Catholic bishops of the United States have spoken out against domestic violence and have given their support to victims of domestic violence. In 2002, the bishops issued a statement, When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women.
This statement can be found on the bishop’s website at www.usccb.org and is well worth reading.
As we observe October as Respect Life Month, we often think of protecting innocent human life, such as the unborn, the sick, the disabled, and the elderly. But I think it is more challenging to consider protecting the lives of those who have been convicted of crimes. Obviously, they are not innocent.
However, as Catholics we are called to protect ALL human life. In 2018, Pope Francis revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s section on the death penalty to teach that the death penalty is “inadmissible” and to say that the Church “works with determination for its abolition worldwide.” In a rescript, or decree, the Holy Father replaced the previous version of n. 2267 of the Catechism to read:
