“On Christmas Eve we always . . .”
Think about all of the ways you might have finished that sentence at various stages in your life.
Although I have always cherished traditions, I couldn’t help thinking recently about how many times I have had to “break with tradition” in every stage of my life.
Dan Henninger, whose Wall Street Journal column is aptly titled “Wonder Land,” put it best: “The only good news about the Fort Hood massacre is that U.S. electronic surveillance technology was able to pick up Major Hasan’s phone calls to an al Qaeda-loving imam in Yemen. The bad news is that the people and agencies listening to Hasan didn’t know what to do about it. Other than nothing.”
To the editor:
The recent claim by the Italian Committee for Checking Claims of the Paranormal that they have debunked the Shroud of Turin is hysterically funny. Obviously they don’t know the first thing about the shroud nor about authentic scientific method.
Number one, the much-vaunted 1988 radiocarbon sample was taken from an area of the shroud known to have been repaired after the December 4, 1532, fire. The linen thread used in the repair is a reverse twist from that of the shroud proper.
To the editor:
People sometimes wonder how we arrived at the state of moral decay we are currently at in America and what we can do to fight it. One primary example exacerbating current problems in Wisconsin is Senate Bill 324/Assembly Bill 458, which dramatically changes the sex education curriculum in our state.
This bill, which is a top legislative priority for Planned Parenthood, will require districts to use curriculum approved by a traditionally liberal Department of Public Instruction relying on information determined to be accurate by liberal national groups. Bizarrely, public school teachers will not be able to say anything that will promote bias against sexually active children. Apparently, we don’t want to hurt their feelings.
Once again, we experienced a devastating snowstorm on December 9 that practically shut down Madison and most of southcentral Wisconsin.
The storm was followed by frigid single-digit temperatures, meaning that salt applied to the roads couldn’t work.
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Following the feast that we celebrated this past week, I’d like you to consider the question, “What does the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary have to do with politics?” The answer: Quite a lot actually.
In the Gospel reading for our Assumption Mass (Luke 1:26-38), we see Mary towards the end, not understanding the vocation to which she is called. How could she understand it? She was called to be a virgin and she was called to be a mother. She was called to be ever-virgin and mother — who could understand that?
That is why an angel had to explain more about it, because it would take a super-human intelligence to tell out that mystery in human words. Mary said, “How can this be?” that is, basically, I’ve never been married and I’ve been a good girl. And the angel responded, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
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| Pilgrims from Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Madison attend Mass in the Shrine Church at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse during a visit on September 30 of this year. (Catholic Herald photo/Joe Ptak) |
LA CROSSE — Nestled in the foothills of the bluffs near La Crosse lies the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This shrine has been the destination of many pilgrims, including those from parishes in the Diocese of Madison.
A group from Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Madison visited the shrine on September 30 this year. Parishioner Randi Huntsman enjoyed the pilgrimage, saying she came away feeling “very refreshed and peaceful.”
Huntsman noted that the shrine was built with “nature in mind.” Besides the Shrine Church, Pilgrim Center, and Votive Candle Chapel, the shrine grounds include outdoor Stations of the Cross and a Rosary Walk. Huntsman liked the opportunity for prayer and reflection, along with lighting candles for loved ones.
“I would do it again in a heartbeat,” she said of the visit to the shrine. “I would encourage people to take advantage of this opportunity.”
As we prepare to observe the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe December 12, it is an appropriate time to focus on the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is within close driving distance to the Diocese of Madison.
MONROE — “To watch it come to life will be thrilling,” said Fr. Michael Klarer of the upcoming Monroe Theater Guild (MTG) production of the holiday classic A Christmas Carol.
Father Klarer wrote an all-new adaptation of the beloved Charles Dickens’ masterpiece. “Somehow it was in me. It was a gift,” said the priest of his work in an interview.
Capuchin Father Rupert Dorn was recently given the Sir Knight of the Madison Diocese award through the Western District of Wisconsin Fourth Degree Staff Knights of Columbus.
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We had some very interesting readings this past Sunday, our Second Sunday of Advent. The first reading came from the prophet Baruch and my first point comes from the line in that passage “put on the splendor of Glory from God forever,” or “put on the splendor of the Glory of God forever.”
And we may ask, “How does one do that?” One does that at the Mass. We can’t do anything in this life forever. The only eternal behavior in which we can engage, in which we can get caught up, is liturgical behavior. And so through his prophet Baruch, God says to us, “put on the splendor of the Glory of God.”
