“I’ve never known anyone who’s gone to Frassati Fest and hasn’t had a good time.”
That’s how youth minister Andy Schindhelm from Blessed Trinity Parish in Lodi and Dane sums up the “coolest weekend around for Catholic High School students in the Diocese of Madison.”
To the editor:
For all you pro-lifers out there, I have to empathize with your plight in the struggle for respect and gratitude for the time and energy you have devoted to the fight for the unborn AND anyone at any other stage of human life.
We’ve been ignored by churches and ministers who refused to acknowledge our efforts for 40+ years. Tony Magliano has spelled it out for us. We’re war mongers!
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True respect for life requires us to get out of our comfort zone. Oh, we might say, “I respect life, I vote for ‘pro-life’ politicians who claim they will work to end abortion.” However, in a democracy voting is usually easy and comfortable.
But are we willing to regularly stand outside of an abortion mill on a freezing winter morning or hot summer afternoon praying and witnessing to the humanity of our unborn brothers and sisters? That’s harder and somewhat uncomfortable.
Now for those who are willing to get uncomfortable in support of the Catholic Church’s efforts to protect unborn human life, try to move into an even more uncomfortable zone: acknowledge the truth that war does much to disrespect life. War kills life — mostly innocent life.
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Is there such a thing as a just war? Can the massive death and destruction of armed conflict ever be morally justified by followers of the Prince of Peace?
For the first disciples of Christ the answer was a resounding “No!”
During the first 300 years of Christianity, it was unthinkable for followers of the nonviolent Jesus to kill a human being.
They took most seriously Jesus’ command: “But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other as well. . . . Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”
Typical of early Church teaching on nonviolence, St. Clement of Alexandria said to wealthy Christians, “Contrary to the rest of men, enlist for yourself an army without weapons, without war, without bloodshed, without wrath, without stain — pious old men, orphans dear to God, widows armed with gentleness, men adorned with love.”
JEFFERSON — “Let Peace Begin With Me” is a song with a powerful message of personal responsibility in planting and nurturing the seeds of peace in one’s own world.
The fifth and sixth grade classes at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Jefferson, under the guidance of school counselor, Mrs. Joanna Becker, embraced the idea of working towards world peace by bringing it closer to home.
Mrs. Becker introduced the “Peace Project” by sharing the true story of a young Japanese girl, Sadako Sasaki, who was an innocent victim of war as she suffered the effects of deadly radiation after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. She was only two years old on the day of the bombing and died 10 years later as a result of leukemia.
MADISON — Abraham Lincoln is more a legend than a real person to many people. His famous speeches, his efforts to hold the Union together, and his untimely death overshadow the man who honed his skills as a circuit-riding attorney in Illinois.
At the next meeting of the St. Thomas More Society in the Diocese of Madison, attorney John Skilton will present highlights from “Abraham Lincoln: A Lawyer for the Ages.”
Skilton is an author, lecturer, and leader in the legal community. He has practiced law for 43 years and has given back to the community by serving on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association as well as serving as president of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
To the editor,
Regarding your editorial, “Haven’t we learned? Pursue negotiations before taking military action in Syria” (September 5 issue, Catholic Herald), yes, the people have learned a long time ago, but the politicians have sold out to the corporations and will not listen as long as there is money to be made. It also keeps the Pentagon employed.
The St. Ambrose Academy Faculty Lecture Series will be held on Monday, Oct. 21, from 7 to 8 p.m. at St. Ann Parish in Stoughton.
Dear Friends,
This past week we celebrated the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. There is no shortage of crosses in our lives, and we pray for one another and lift one another up as we encounter those crosses. It is through those crosses, which some of you experience right now, that can come the Resurrection victory. So engage the struggle to embrace your cross and do not forget the triumph which comes by way of our following the Lord.
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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!
This is the ideal time for the nation as a whole to turn away from sin.
