SINSINAWA — Sister […]
Author: Chris Lee
Mary has been with Mother Olga throughout her life
VERONA — “The only way I was able to get to all these places and get to where I am today is because of one mother.”
When Mother Olga — who spoke the above words — talks about her life, people listen. When the gentle soul, only 4’10” but tall in love of Jesus and love for Mary, shared her story with hundreds of people, all eyes and ears were focused on her. She got everyone’s full attention.
On Thursday, May 7, St. Christopher Parish in Verona hosted the spring St. Thérèse Lecture called “From Baghdad to Boston: A Journey under the Shadow of Our Lady.”
Pope visits Pontifical North American College
ROME, Italy — Seminarians studying in the city of Rome have the special grace of being in close proximity to the Holy Father.
This closeness is manifested not only in the spiritual sense of being under the guidance and care of the shepherd of the whole universal Church, but in a particular way by being present with His Holiness during Wednesday audiences, Sunday Angelus addresses, and various liturgical celebrations throughout the year.
John Paul II and “America”
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In the years preceding the Great Jubilee of 2000, John Paul II held a series of continental synods to help the Church in different locales reflect on its distinctive situation at the end of the second millennium and to plan for a future of evangelical vigor in the third.
These special assemblies were easily named in the case of the Synods for Africa, Asia, and Europe. But when it came to the synod for the western hemisphere, John Paul threw a linguistic curve ball that made an important point.
Adaptation and renewal of Religious Life: A return to the sources of Christian life
Editor’s note: During this Year of Consecrated Life, this is the fourth in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.
When the Second Vatican Council called for the renewal of Religious Life, it was not speaking primarily about the externals which characterized that life, such as the Religious habit to be worn, the living arrangements of communities and individuals, etc.
Rather, from the outset, the council was concerned about the deeply interior renewal of this special sign of the Church’s life.
Modern Culture and science
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Third in a series of reflections by Fr. Robert Barron on the life of Cardinal Francis George.
The second major feature of modernity that Cardinal Francis George identified is an extreme valorization of the physical sciences, or in his own words, “the imposing of scientific method as the point of contact between human beings and the world and society into which they are born.”
The founders of modernity appreciated the sciences not only for their descriptive and predictive powers, but also for their liberating potential. Bacon, Descartes, Leibniz, Newton, Kant, and many others held that the mastery over nature provided by burgeoning physics, chemistry, medicine, etc., would free the human race from its age-old captivity to sickness and the strictures of time and space.
Supporting a parent’s decision
Q My mother insists on living in the home she and dad shared for the past 50 years. Dad passed away about eight years ago.
The issue is the “homestead” — a farm that is over 100 years old.
The house is in desperate need of repair but that is only one issue.
Diocese encourages support for earthquake relief
MADISON — Following upon Pope Francis’ call for assistance for survivors of the massive earthquakes in Nepal and India, Bishop Robert C. Morlino has encouraged people in the Diocese of Madison to provide support for earthquake relief.
It is left to the discretion of pastors as to whether a special collection is held in parishes for relief efforts. If a collection is held, parishes are asked to send contributions to the diocesan Office of Finance, which will forward funds to Catholic Relief Services (CRS). CRS is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States.
Reflections on the dignity of the human person
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| Morgan Smith |
As I drove home from my friend Andrew’s funeral, I noticed in myself a deep sadness. This sadness was and is a tension that is related to a huge question: Why?
I was so moved. When I stood in line to enter the church, I was looking at all the faces — these faces from my past that I now only see at funerals. A sea of shock, dismay, and disbelief.
Andrew committed suicide recently. This was the furthest thing that anyone would have ever expected him to do, and it feels so strange to type those words.
Remember all moms on Mother’s Day
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Anna Jarvis (1864-1948) is recognized as the “mother of Mother’s Day.” She never married or had children, but as a child she heard her mother wish that there was a day to honor all mothers, living and dead.
She started the custom of wearing carnations on Mother’s Day. White carnations were her mother’s favorite flower because they symbolized a mother’s pure love. Today, red and pink carnations are given to honor a living mother and white carnations to honor a deceased mother.
In 1870, Julia Ward Howe, shocked by the Civil War’s bloodshed, organized a mother’s day for peace. This prepared the way for today’s Mother’s Day.