As a child, Rosie Arbittier participated in walkathons sponsored by her local synagogue and placed flags on soldiers’ graves on Veterans Day.
Rosie’s story is one of those shared on the Points of Light website (www.pointsoflight.org). This week (April 15-21) is National Volunteer Week.
 |
||
| Ralph Middlecamp joined more than 10,000 members of the “Vicentian Family” for a recent gathering in Rome. He is the new national president of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul. (Contributed photo) |
MADISON — This story has a dateline of Madison, but Ralph Middlecamp will be traveling throughout the United States and the world in his new position as national president of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP).
Middlecamp has worked with the local SVdP for almost 30 years and will remain based in Madison during his six-year term as the society’s national president.
In October, he joined more than 10,000 members of the “Vincentian family” for a gathering in Rome to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and the men’s Congregation of the Mission.
The gathering included an audience with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square, where Pope Francis venerated a reliquary containing the heart of St. Vincent de Paul.
Middlecamp said the incorrupt heart is usually kept in Paris in a reliquary at the motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity.
He noted that over 200 Vincentian organizations were present in Rome. There are SVdP societies in 150 countries.
“My new position allows me to see the worldwide Church at work,” he said.
Besides Rome, he has also visited Paris and will be going soon to Quito, Ecuador, for a meeting of SVdP leaders from the Western Hemisphere.
In his message for World Food Day, which was observed on October 16, Pope Francis said that “it is a scandal that there is still hunger and malnutrition in the world.”
The Holy Father emphasized, “It is not just a question of responding to immediate emergencies, but of addressing together, in all areas, a problem that challenges our personal and social conscience, to achieve a just and lasting solution.”
In the United States, there are increasing numbers of hungry people. Many of them rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. As of November 1, the benefits to individuals and families were cut for the first time since 1964. That’s because an increase in food aid approved in 2009 expired, and Congress hasn’t been able to pass a new farm bill for over a year (the farm bill includes provisions to fund food assistance programs in our country).
As we begin October, which is observed as Respect Life Month in the Catholic Church, it is a time for all of us to reflect on the gift of life and how we’re receiving it in our own lives.
The Catholic Church teaches that we must protect all human life from conception to natural death. We know that many people in our society disrespect and ignore the sanctity of life in many ways. This includes abortion, sterilization, embryonic stem-cell research, lack of support for disabled persons, disregard for the needs of the poor, and attempts to legalize assisted suicide.
The legalization of abortion in the United States has tragically led to the death of millions of unborn children. However, it seems as if pro-life efforts and education have brought about decreases in the number of abortions, including in our own state of Wisconsin.
Ideally, we must work and pray for the day when there will be no abortions. Until then, there are many ways we can help mothers to choose life for their unborn babies.
Over the years, Christians have had discussions — sometimes very heated arguments — about the primacy of faith or good works.
For Catholics, it’s really not one or the other that takes precedence. It’s both. In fact, according to Scripture and Church teaching, you can’t have one without the other.
As we begin the season of Lent, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the connection between faith and good works. Traditionally Lent is a time when prayer, fasting, and almsgiving take centerstage.
For the 20th time, an annual collection of blankets and bedding will soon offer some warmth and comfort to Dane County people in need.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is grateful for the warm welcome the society’s new Verona store has received from the community since opening its doors at 513 W. Verona Ave. in mid-September.
Those of us who take drugs by prescription realize we depend on those drugs to lower our cholesterol, keep our blood pressure under control, and do many other things to keep us healthy or prevent more serious health problems.
Some studies have shown that almost half of Americans take at least one prescription drug. And half of our senior citizens take three or more prescription medications.
We all know that the cost of drugs continues to rise. Plus the number of people who are uninsured or underinsured also keeps going up.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul recently purchased the former John Erickson Chevrolet dealership in Verona.
In the weeks before Christmas, we heard that there was renewed confidence in the economy in our country.
