Tag: respect

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Jean Mueller

Showing respect for others despite their ‘age’

Q I am an “older woman” who has worked hard, raised a family, and valued my education. I feel I have lived a good life.

My issue is that when I am out tending to my own business, some individuals will call me “honey,” “dear,” or “sweetie.”

They may hold a door open for me, they may pick up something that I have dropped, or perhaps offer some other gesture they consider to be helpful.

It is not that I don’t appreciate kindness as I think they are trying to be helpful, but I find this somewhat demeaning. They don’t know my capabilities or how I prefer to be addressed.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Importance of fathers

In his general audience on January 28, 2015, Pope Francis stated, “In modern societies, we are experiencing a crisis of fatherhood.

“In the past, it was common to perceive fathers as authoritarian and sometimes repressive; but, today we sense father’s uncertainty and confusion about his role. Without father figures, young people often feel ‘orphaned’, left adrift at a critical moment in their growth and development.”

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Jean Mueller

Dealing with grief is different for each individual

Q A family member passed recently and although it was after a long illness, I am surprised and a little disappointed with the reactions of some relatives.

This was a much loved individual and her loss leaves a great hole in our hearts.

Some relatives want to plan a vacation to “honor” her while others are encouraging her husband to get back out there and begin another relationship; because “that is what she would want.”

Maybe this is really old- fashioned, but I think after something like this happens, the person deserves a time of reflection and respect. Am I wrong?

(From a sister-in-law in Darlington).

A Everyone grieves in their own way. There is no recipe for a healthy method of adjusting to a loss.

Even if you grieve in a way that you feel honors the person, you may revisit those feelings frequently.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Americans should walk a fine line

In the wake of terrorist attacks and violence happening in the United States and other parts of the world, Americans find themselves fearful and wary about what might happen next.

The recent events in San Bernardino, Calif., where a married couple killed 14 people at a holiday party, have especially left us shaken and wondering how to deal with the possibility of terrorists living within our own communities.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Let’s renew our commitment to defend all human life

Pablo Casals, the great cellist and conductor, gazed at a baby and exclaimed, “You are unique. In the millions of years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. And look at your body; what a wonder it is! Your exquisite legs, your arms, your cunning little fingers. You may become another Shakespeare, Michelangelo, or Beethoven.”

St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, whose feast we celebrated on October 1, believed that people of her time feared God too much. She couldn’t understand how anyone could fear God, who came to us as a tiny helpless baby.

And yet, today there seem to be some who fear babies more than God.

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Sr. Constance Veit

Grandparenting is a great and happy vocation

Sr. Constance Carolyn Veit, LSP

In September, thousands of Catholics from all over the world will gather in Philadelphia for the Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families.

We Little Sisters of the Poor are looking forward to participating in this great event, the culmination of which will be a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis.

In preparation for the World Meeting, our Holy Father has been dedicating his weekly audiences to family issues, including the role of the elderly in family life.

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Tony Magliano

Dialogue: an essential ingredient for peaceful relationships

According to the New York Times, during a White House luncheon in 1954 Winston Churchill said, “To jaw-jaw [talk-talk] always is better than to war-war.”

While clearly not a pacifist, the United Kingdom’s World War II prime minister had seen upfront the absolute horror of war and became convinced that tirelessly striving to resolve disputes through respectful dialogue was always preferable to war.

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Cathy Lins, Catholic Herald Correspondent

Respect Life Retreat held at Durward’s Glen

The Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Vigil for Life held their seventh annual Respect Life Retreat at Durward’s Glen Retreat and Conference Center in Baraboo on December 19 to 20.

The weekend provided an opportunity for participants to encounter Christ in the silence of their heart through prayer, the sacraments, Adoration, and Catholic Advent mediations.

“I was just excited to be at Durward’s Glen again for another Advent retreat,” Will Goodman, director for the Servants of Our Lady of Guadalupe, said as he shared some of his observations from the weekend.

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