In implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) now requires almost all private health plans to cover contraception and sterilization as “preventive services” for women.
Year: 2011
The importance of family meals: Eating together can do much to enhance family life
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| “Family Day — A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children” will be held on Monday, Sept. 26. |
When I was growing up, our family ate all of our meals together at home. This included breakfast, lunch, and supper. We sat around our kitchen table, often lingering to talk after the food was gone.
Mealtime became an opportunity to share our plans for the day, to find out what we thought about the day’s news, and even to debate various issues. My parents always encouraged open discussion, even on such topics as politics and religion.
With our own children, my husband and I also encouraged shared meal times. We almost always ate dinner together, even delaying the meal for sports and after-school activities so that we could sit down and share a meal.
I think our children — now grown with children of their own — enjoyed those times to eat and talk with each other. Now we like getting together with our extended families for meals. Even the grandchildren from babies and up are brought to the table when possible to join with the family for hors d’oeuvres and the meal.
40 Days for Life begins anew in Madison
The peaceful pro-life prayer vigil 40 Days for Life will begin anew in Madison on Wednesday, Sept. 28, and run through Sunday, Nov. 6, on the sidewalk in front of the Planned Parenthood building on Orin Rd. on Madison’s east side.
On the wings of doves
MONROE — The parishioners of St. Clare of Assisi, Monroe, gathered on September 11 under a canopy of doves to pray for the families and victims of 9/11.
Mark Miller looks forward to ordination as deacon
Mark Miller is looking forward to being ordained to the transitional diaconate on October 6 in Rome.
Young adults excited about faith
For many years, the Catholic Church on campus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has drawn a very large crowd of young adults for a night of catechesis, prayer, and community on Thursday nights.
St. Clare Meadows Care Center, Baraboo, expands
Duane Opperman has witnessed many changes at St. Clare Meadows Care Center in the 38 years he has worked there, but the Meadows’ recent construction project has been the biggest.
Overcoming evil with the power of mercy
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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:
On Sunday, so many of us were united in prayer for the victims and the survivors, and for the families of 9/11, in a special way. The men and women who were affected by this event have all been invited to participate in the suffering of Jesus, which guarantees the Resurrection. But it is an invitation to suffering and, in that sense, it was a somber day of remembrance and we cannot cover it over or white-wash it, because, simply, it was a day that changed the way we live, day-in and day-out, forever.
Of course we were bombarded with information and reflection on 9/11 on the television and internet. There was no escaping it unless you simply avoided most of the major channels all day. The media talked a lot about attitudes of revenge. Asking, was our retaliation sufficient? Will our retaliation ever be complete?
But, beyond praying for the victims, survivors, and their families, the real focus of 9/11 should be two-fold for all of us. Our first focus should be the opening phrase of last Sunday’s First Reading, “Anger and wrath are terrible things” (Sir 27:30). And our second focus should be how such terrible things might be overcome.
Vencer al mal con el poder de la misericordia
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| Esta columna está dirigida a los fieles de la Diócesis de Madison. Cualquier circulación más amplia transgrede la intención del Obispo. |
Queridos amigos:
El domingo, muchos de nosotros estuvimos unidos en la oración por las víctimas y los sobrevivientes, y todas las familias del 11/9, de una manera especial. Los hombres y mujeres que fueron afectados por este evento han sido todos invitados a participar en el sufrimiento de Jesús, que garantiza la Resurrección. Pero es una invitación al sufrimiento y, en ese sentido, fue un día sombrío de recuerdo y no podemos taparlo con un dedo o borrarlo, porque simplemente fue un día que cambió la manera en que vivimos, en nuestra vida cotidiana, una vez y para siempre.
Claro que hemos sido bombardeados con informaciones y reflexiones sobre el 11/9 en la televisión y en Internet. No había escapatoria a menos que uno simplemente evitara la mayoría de los canales ese día. Los medios hablaban mucho sobre las actitudes de venganza y se preguntaban: ¿ha sido nuestra represalia suficiente? ¿Nuestra respuesta estará algún día completa?
Pero, más allá de rezar por las víctimas, sobreviviente y sus familias, nuestro real punto en esto del 11/9 debe tener dos ejes de reflexión para todos nosotros. El primero debe ser una frase de apertura que está en la primera lectura del último domingo: “La ira y la cólera son cosas terribles” (Sir 27:30). Y el segundo debe ser cómo este tipo de cosas terribles deben ser superadas.
Inspiration from my elders
Remember how you always looked up to the “older” ones?
When you were four, they were the six-year-olds; they went to school. But when you got to school yourself, it was the eighth graders who were the big shots, and to them it was the high school kids, who looked up to the college kids, etc.