MADISON — During winter break, while many college students are hanging out with hometown friends or catching up on sleep, a group from Edgewood College is spending some of that time helping others.
From January 2 to January 13, almost a dozen students and their instructor are in the state of Chiapas, Mexico helping with two service projects.
CROSS PLAINS — Students at St. Francis Xavier School focused on the true meaning of Christmas through prayer, service projects, and spreading holiday cheer.
During Advent, the entire school came together on Monday mornings for a prayer service. Surrounding a large Advent wreath, the students looked on as candles were lit. Students then took turns leading the school in prayer and singing.
Students in kindergarten, first, and fourth grade classes spread holiday cheer by caroling at local nursing homes.
HAZEL GREEN — Students and staff from St. Joseph School recently completed another successful Christmas outreach activity.
Part of our Catholic faith and identity is to help others in need, so the students and staff decided to live out their faith by helping people they may never meet. But we know that when we help our brothers and sisters, we are living the way Jesus wants us to live.
Many of our ancestors came to the United States to enjoy freedom of religion. They lived in countries where they were not able to worship freely and some may have been persecuted for their beliefs.
For many of the early settlers of our country, freedom of religion didn’t just mean being able to attend the church of their choice, for example, Catholics going to Mass on Sunday at a Catholic church.
It also meant being able to wear religious symbols such as crucifixes in public, praying at public gatherings, talking about one’s faith in public, sending children to Catholic schools, and receiving health care at Catholic hospitals.
Many Catholics started their lives in this country as farmers and workers in factories or other businesses. But eventually many of them became owners of farms and businesses. As owners, they wanted to put their Catholic teaching into action by providing just wages and good benefits to their employees.
The Catholic Church itself became an employer in its institutions. At first, priests and members of religious orders primarily worked for the Church. But increasingly, especially in the 20th Century, more lay people were hired by Church institutions, including schools, colleges, hospitals and other health care facilities, and social service agencies. Not all of those employees were Catholic, but they realized that they were working for the Church and would have to adhere to the Church’s policies and procedures.
BARABOO — On Saturday, Jan. 25, St. Joseph Parish in Baraboo will be hosting a one-day men’s retreat entitled, “A Courageous Heart.” This year’s featured speaker is Fr. James Kubicki, S.J., the national director of the Apostleship of Prayer and regular contributor on Relevant Radio.
In some traditions, January 6 represents the 12th day of Christmas. As such, the date marks a transition from the Christmas season to the ordinary time of our lives.
But does that have to mark the end of the “Christmas spirit”? Dare we hope that the softening of our hearts and the acts of kindness central to Christmas might become an ongoing habit rather than a seasonal exception?
In ways large and small, we have opportunities to express, in our deeds and our choices, a concern for others, especially those whose needs may be greater than our own. Some of those opportunities may be found in our public policy choices.
