To the editor:
I find it interesting that you are requesting people not to shop on Thanksgiving evening. Perhaps some of these people are working on “Black Friday” like me and are unable to shop on Friday. If they can get better value for their money by shopping early, that’s okay.
Further more, you are advocating watching football and those players are working and not spending time with their family you don’t seem to have an issue with that.
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Sometimes we appreciate more fully what we have when we see what others don’t have; yet, they are more thankful than us who have much more.
Matt Hasselbeck learned this the hard way. He was a Boston College sophomore who was going nowhere in football. Worse yet, he got in his coaches’ doghouse when he volunteered for the missions in Jamaica during spring break.
When Matt saw the poverty in the missions, he experienced cultural shock. At a prayer meeting, he heard someone enthusiastically thank God for his blessings. The person was George McVee, a leper who was so disfigured that Matt avoided him. He wondered what George had to be thankful for. He had no money, nose, feet, or hands; yet, he was thankful. His gratitude helped Matt to appreciate his cornucopia of blessings.
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
Already Advent is upon us. We have concluded our Year of Faith with gusto, and now we are called to undertake, once again, the journey of a liturgical year.
This journey begins, as always, with our preparation for entering into the most pivotal moment of human history — the moment that God became man.
That the eternal Creator of the universe should have come amongst us, not only to dwell, but to call us to a life with and like Him, means a complete reordering of everything — every single thing.
The profound reality of the Incarnation and its implications for our lives is why we have a season of Advent each year; we take the time to consider how each of us responds to the presence of God in our lives, and what that means for us.
When I think of November, three things always come to mind. For Catholic Christians it has traditionally been a time when we pray for those who have died and give thanks for the ordinary saints, living and deceased, who have touched our lives. We also celebrate Thanksgiving, which is one of the favorite holidays of many Americans.
Every time I go to a wake or funeral — and I have been to many lately — and hear the beautiful comments made about the persons who died, I cannot help but wonder how many of those things were said to that person when he or she was alive?
MADISON — First United Methodist Church (FUMC) will sponsor a holiday meal on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 28, at 203 Wisconsin Ave., from 12 noon to 2 p.m. for those who are not be able to partake in a holiday meal. The meal is free and no reservation is required.
Donations are needed. Contact Karen Andro at 608-256-4646, ext. 16, or by email at [email protected] to make a monetary contribution or donate a needed food item. To volunteer, contact Andro by Monday, Nov. 25.
To the editor:
Regarding your editorial on the Rosary (October 18 issue): You wrote one of your better editorials for this issue. The Rosary has been a very important part of religion and everyday life. I try to pray it daily.
In my experience, it is almost miraculous the intercessions and the answers the Blessed Mary has provided when reciting the Rosary. It is beyond imagination how powerful the Rosary and its recitation is!
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
My granny often repeated to me, “Bobby, getting old is not for sissies.” Granny lived to 96 and I’m only 65, but I can confirm that in this (as in most everything) granny was right on the money.
Last week, I headed out to Baltimore for the annual gathering of the bishops of the United States. We were just getting started with our meetings when I took a spill and fell (with full weight) face-first into the pavement. In the process I suffered several cuts, a broken nose, and a bruised knee. Thanks be to God, it wasn’t worse!
Fortunately there was another bishop and two priests right there with me, and I was off to Mercy Hospital, where the doctors forwarded me on to the University of Maryland Medical Center. If we could choose the timing of our accidents, I would have preferred, of course, to be with my own outstanding doctors at St. Mary’s, but as it turned out, the care I had was really top notch, and I remain so very grateful to all of those excellent women and men — each and every one of them.
There are special times during the year when most of us at least make an extra effort to express our gratitude and appreciation for the people in our lives and the gifts we have been given — Mother’s and Father’s Day, birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Now there are even designated days to celebrate grandparents, bosses, secretaries, and so on. For the most part these days are marketing tools to get us to spend our money. On the other hand, they do serve as reminders to us of how important it is to thank others and show our appreciation for them.
In Living Life on Purpose, Greg Anderson tells of a mother and her little daughter who were eating breakfast in a restaurant. The little girl asked, “Mommy, why don’t we pray here before we eat like we do at home?”
The waitress overheard her and said, “Honey, it’s okay to pray here. Why don’t you say the prayer before meals for us now?” Then the waitress asked everyone in the restaurant to bow their heads.
Remember when we used to wait until after Thanksgiving for Christmas decorations to be put up in public places and most homes? Now we start seeing Christmas decorations in September!
I still wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating our home and do most of my Christmas shopping. The first Sunday of Advent should be the sign for Christians to start preparing the way of the Lord. After all, it’s Christ’s birthday that we are supposed to be celebrating on December 25.
