Mother’s Day offers us opportunities to show that we are as proud of our mother as she is of us.
Anna Jarvis, (1864-1948) was so proud of her mother that she worked to establish a day on which she and others could honor their mother and all mothers. She is known as the mother of Mother’s Day.
When Matt Hasselbeck, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback, was a Boston College junior, he volunteered to spend eight days in the missions of Jamaica during spring break.
The people’s poverty shocked him. But their faith, especially the faith of George McVee, a leper, inspired him.
George, a horribly disfigured leper, had no money, no nose, no feet or hands. Yet he daily thanked God for his blessings.
The 2010 movie Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts told the story of a woman’s search for enlightenment and self-fulfillment.
I never saw the movie, partly because a Catholic reviewer called it “spiritually barren.” This story — like so many in our culture today — seems to emphasize that we will find happiness by fulfilling our own needs, rather than by reaching out to others.
In his 2011 Lenten message, Pope Benedict XVI alludes to that problem in our culture. He encourages people to let go of all traces of selfishness and self-centeredness by embracing the traditional Lenten practices of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer.
The Holy Father says, “For Christians, fasting, far from being depressing, opens us ever more to God and to the needs of others, thus allowing love of God to become also love of our neighbor.”
One way to carry out his message is by participating in Operation Rice Bowl, the annual Lenten program sponsored by Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
MADISON — As the snow falls around her, a young woman walks from her car to the abortion clinic. No one came with her, and no doubt she will leave the same way. But she’s not alone.
A woman I know in the Diocese of Madison e-mailed me a message after the rescue of the miners in Chile. She felt there were many religious aspects to this situation that couldn’t be ignored.
She pointed out these facts:
• Accident occurred: August 5 (feast of Our Lady of the Snows)
• Found they were alive: August 22 (feast of Queenship of Mary)
• Last miner rescued: October 13 (feast of Our Lady of Fatima)
Dear Friends,
As we begin the month of October, we recall first of all that this is Our Lady’s month — specifically the month of the Most Holy Rosary.
This fall, from September 22 to October 31, Madison and surrounding communities are uniting with over 238 other cities across America as well as locations in other countries for the 40 Days for Life campaign.
MADISON — People are invited to join Christians around the world to pray, fast, and peacefully witness to end abortion during the Fall 40 Days for Life campaign.
The ways in which we act out our Christian charity in the Church, for the love of God and neighbor, is evident in a number of ways throughout a given year.
Often it is through volunteering at our parishes or parish-related projects — things we feel attached to and with which we want to assist in a specific way. Other times it is through monetary donations to similar local campaigns, projects, or funds, benefiting things that we know, in faith, we need to support. Always, it includes our prayers!
Rosary for the Bishop, an online campaign praying for Catholic bishops, celebrated six months of international service on July 1.
