Labor Day invites workers to reflect upon their work’s spiritual value. This is important because most active adults spend the majority of weekday hours they are awake working, commuting to work, preparing for work, or resting from work.
Many retired persons including priests, also work in various ways. I know!
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Queridos amigos:
Espero que este verano haya estado bendecido para cada uno de ustedes como lo fue para mí. Como si ya no hubiera sido bastante bueno al iniciar esta semana, me preparo para pasar algo de tiempo con nuestros sobresalientes seminaristas. Espero que muchos de ustedes tengan la oportunidad de conocer a algunos de los grandes hombres que estudian para dar sus vidas a su servicio, a través de Cristo y Su Iglesia. Por favor ténganlos en sus oraciones, junto con varias jóvenes mujeres de nuestra diócesis que están entrando a la vida religiosa este año.
Sobre nuestros seminaristas, les pediría también considerar especialmente ofrecer apoyo financiero a nuestro St. Joseph’s Fund para la educación de seminaristas. Cuando esté todo dicho y hecho, podremos tener 32 hombres estudiando para la diócesis de Madison. Con la bendición de estos hombres sobresalientes viene la responsabilidad de pagar su formación y educación.
MADISON — Pope Benedict XVI has invited the entire Church to celebrate a “Year of Faith” beginning this October. He emphasizes the need for all of us to rediscover the fundamental content of the faith so that we can live out the faith in all its truth, goodness, and beauty.
Join other young adults for a weekly gathering of those in their 20s and 30s called Spirit & Truth (S&T), starting Wednesday, Sept. 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. at St. Patrick Parish, 404 E. Main St., in downtown Madison.
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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. |
In this past weekend’s Gospel (Jn 6:51-58), we hear Jesus say, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you.” What is Jesus talking about, that he’s going to give us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink? Does He think we’re cannibals?
Most of us like to have control over our lives. We decide when to get up in the morning, we choose the food we eat at our meals, and we decide what to do throughout the day.
Of course, there are outside circumstances that have an impact on our decisions. The weather comes to mind as an important factor affecting some of our plans. If it’s raining, for example, we might not mow the lawn, or we may choose to eat inside rather than have a picnic in a park.
However, in most cases we like to exercise control over what we do. We’re in charge of our lives. At least that’s what we like to believe.
As we grow older, we may start to realize that this way of looking at life isn’t the whole truth. Although we can have a great deal of control over our thoughts and actions, we aren’t the ones ultimately in charge.
God is the one who has the final say over what happens in our lives.
Q: We have been noticing some memory loss in my mom for about the past year.
She denies any problem and will not bring up the issue with her physician, and we are not able to convince her that she needs to talk to her doctor or make any changes.
She lives alone, not far from family but she is alone in her apartment and we worry about what might happen.
My siblings and I have talked about LifeLine or some kind of emergency system, but with her memory loss I am not sure she would remember to wear the device or push the button if she needed assistance. Is there anything that might help? (From a son in Racine.)
“I can’t do what I used to do.” How many times have we said or heard those words?
It’s such a common refrain among people in their 60s or older. Early on it may be spoken with a tinge of surprise, but often (God forbid) with a whine.
Independence Day concluded the Fortnight for Freedom mandated by the U.S. bishops, a two-week period of reflection and prayer on the defense of religious liberty that began on the vigil of the liturgical memorial of St. Thomas More.
In 2012, we may be grateful that none of us faces the headsman’s axe, as More did in Tudor England. But neither should we be indifferent to, or flippant about, the 21st-century threats to religious liberty that surround us.
WASHINGTON (CNS) — For Catholic Eagle Scout Michael Sherburne, achieving the highest rank in the Boy Scouts “is not just about being smart or physically strong, but also spiritually as well.”
“That is where the character and values come in,” he said.
“Eagles are supposed to be able to stand up (for) their beliefs. We are different from the rest of society and that is not a bad thing,” Sherburne said in a telephone interview with Catholic News Service.
