Tag: pope

On
Sr. Constance Carolyn Veit, LSP

Listening to God’s call: He wants us for himself

St. Jeanne Jugan was well into her 40s when she established the Little Sisters of the Poor. Some might consider her a “delayed” or “late” vocation, but I don’t think Jeanne was delayed at all. From an early age she had a sense of her vocation.

Jeanne knew that God loved her and was calling her; she just didn’t know where the call would take her. When Jeanne turned down a marriage proposal, she told her mother, “God wants me for himself, he is keeping me for a work as yet unknown, for a work which is not yet founded.”

Read More
On
Fr. Donald Lange

Being responsible stewards of creation

Seeing with Jesus' Eyes, by Fr. Don Lange

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!”

Celebrating Earth Day

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.

Read More
On
Tony Magliano

The challenge of Lent continues beyond Easter

Making a Difference column logo

As the Lend ends, let us never forget its commanding start: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel!”

We could spend most of our lives reflecting and acting on this single powerful sentence. And indeed we should.

For in turning away from all that hurts our relationship with God — sin — and being faithful to the essential foundation which nurtures that relationship — the Gospel — we discover ever more fully the beauty, peace, joy, and meaning of this life, and prepare well for the incomprehensible wonders of eternal life!

Turning away from sin

This is the ideal time for the nation as a whole to turn away from sin.

Read More
On
Msgr. James Bartylla, Vicar General

From the Threshold of the Apostles

Notes from the Vicar General, by Msgr. James Bartylla

“Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days” (Galatians 1:18).

In my previous two-part preparatory article, I outlined the historical context and current format and content of the ad limina apostolorum pilgrimage, literally, “to the threshold of the apostles,” by bishops to Rome on a quinquennial basis, i.e., five-year basis.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino and the bishops of Region VII, comprising Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, recently completed their pilgrimage and I’ll offer a brief reflection in thanksgiving as a privileged pilgrim accompanying Bishop Morlino on the ad limina pilgrimage.

I extend my deepest thanks to Bishop Morlino for the opportunity to assist him and accompany him on the ad limina pilgrimage.

Read More
On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Baptism: Receiving gift of a clear conscience

Dear Friends,
Even after a few weeks in Rome, where I was able to have some tremendously fruitful meetings and plenty of prayer time with brother bishops and the Holy Father, at the tombs of the Apostles, I simply can’t tell you how happy I am to be back here in the diocese, where indeed I have been sent as a successor to the Apostles, to maintain unity with the Bishop of Rome.

Read More
On
Mary and Dick Wilkinson

Letter writer answers pope’s call for public moral witness

To the editor:

In the January 26 issue of the Catholic Herald, there was an article from the Catholic News Service, “Pope warns of U.S. threat to freedom, conscience.” The pope called on the Church in America, including lay people, to render “public moral witness on crucial social issues.”

He spoke of Catholic politicians’ “personal responsibility to offer public witness to their faith, especially with regard to the great moral issues of our time,” which he identified as: “respect for God’s gift of life, the protection of human dignity, and the promotion of authentic human rights.”

Read More
On
Msgr. James R. Bartylla

To the threshold of the apostles

“Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days” (Galatians 1:18).

From February 9 through 17, 2012, Bishop Robert C. Morlino and the bishops of Region VII (Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) will visit Rome for their quinquennial “ad limina apostolorum” visit (literally, “to the threshold [of the tombs] of the apostles” [SS. Peter and Paul]).

Read More
On
Sr. Constance Carolyn Veit

The elderly are a blessing, not a burden

As the 20th century came to a close, the United Nations celebrated the International Year of Older Persons, heralding the vision of “A Society for All Ages.”

Guest Column logo

The first years of the new millennium have been anything but that, with the abandonment of frail seniors during natural disasters from New Orleans to Japan, the legalization of assisted suicide in several U.S. states and foreign countries, and political rhetoric that seems to consider the growing population of seniors merely as a drain on our health care system and the federal budget. Is this the society for all ages we envisioned in 1999?

Read More
On
Fr. Donald Lange

One nation under God

On Independence Day we celebrate the anniversary of the day that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. We also express our admiration and gratitude for the brave men who risked their lives and fortunes to sign this great document.

Bishop Paul Swain once wrote that in his judgment the most famous words related to the Declaration of Independence are, “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 pursuit of happiness.”

One nation under God

The Pledge of Allegiance reinforces the Declaration’s statement that God is the source of our nation’s independence. In 1952, the Knights of Columbus urged Congress to introduce a resolution to add “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. The resolution was introduced by Congressman Louis C. Rabaut of Michigan and adopted by both Houses of Congress. It was signed by President Eisenhower on Flag Day, June 14, 1954.

Read More