MADISON — Pregnancy […]
Author: Kevin Wondrash
‘Embracing the cross’ with the comfort of a pillow
FENNIMORE — “To enrich the faith of the user.”
That’s part of the mission statement of the Embrace the Cross pillows.
Company owner Vince Lease said, “In times of rest, users feel the spiritual, emotional, and physical love for God by embracing the cross pillow.”
Edgewood student wins city spelling bee
MADISON — After more than 300 words, defending champion, Martius Bautista, a fifth grader at Edgewood Campus School, Madison, won the 2015 All-City Spelling Bee by outspelling 46 other spellers.
The event was held at the Mitby Theater on the Madison College campus.
The first word in the final round was “abhorrently,” which Bautista spelled correctly, and he went on to win the All-City Spelling Bee by spelling “lipogram.”
Students fill ‘Socks of Love’
BERLIN — Students at All Saints Catholic School, Berlin, collected socks and basic need items for Father Carr’s Place 2B in Oshkosh during Catholic Schools Week.
The campaign was called Socks of Love. The fourth, fifth, and seventh grade classes filled the socks with items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, soaps, deodorant, and more.
Lenten Rosary Sale at Christ the King Parish
MCFARLAND — Mary’s Rosary Assemblers at Christ the King Parish in McFarland is hosting Rosary sales after the Masses on selected weekends.
This Lent, the Rosary Assemblers invite all to Christ the King Parish on Saturday and Sunday, March 7 and 8 and 14 and 15, to their Lenten Rosary Sale.
Dane County Shamrock Club announces Irish Person of Year
MADISON — Ann Walsh was selected as the Irish Person of the Year by the Dane County Shamrock Club. She will be honored at the club’s Irish flag ceremony in the Capitol rotunda, 2 E. Main St., at 12 noon on Sunday, March 15; at the St. Patrick’s Day parade following the flag ceremony; and again at the club’s St. Patrick’s Day dinner on March 22. These events are open to the public.
Food Fair and Farmers’ Market
REEDSBURG — To support local growers and educate the public about sustainably-grown and locally produced foods, the Justice and Peace Commission of diocesan cluster 350 is holding its fifth annual Food Fair and Farmers’ Market on Saturday, March 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sacred Heart School gym, 624 N. Willow St. in Reedsburg.
There will be vendors with everything from beef, chicken, pork, lamb, and fish to vegetables, mushrooms, seeds, preserves, cheese, bakery goods, maple syrup, honey, chocolates, and much more.
Following Jesus ‘outside the camp’
Dear Friends,
I hope that your Lent has gotten underway in a way that is already prayer-filled and fruitful. Furthermore, I hope that it continues to be so.
On the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, the readings provided me with a few points for reflection — they are three simple points about being “outside the camp.”
God is calling each person and nation to repent
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“The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” With these two compelling sentences — as recorded in the Gospel of Mark — Jesus inaugurates his ministry and sums up what his mission is about: to break the shackles of sin that enslave humanity, to put us on the path of liberation from all oppression, and to teach us how to unconditionally love one another.
But what does it mean to repent?
Striving to avoid sin and living virtuously is certainly part of what it means. But there’s more.
A radical change
In the Gospels, the biblical word used for repentance is the Greek word metanoia — a radical change of mind, heart, soul, and action.
Medical assistance with the battle of the bulge
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Bariatric surgery, which often involves banding of the stomach, is a widely used procedure for treating severe obesity. Another approach that relies on an implantable “stomach pacemaker” also appears poised to assist those struggling with significant weight gain.
Many people have already benefitted from these kinds of surgical interventions, enabling them to shed a great deal of weight, improve their health, and get a new lease on life.
Weighing alternatives
At the same time, however, it’s important for us to examine such interventions from an ethical point of view. It’s not simply a matter of weight loss, achieved by any means whatsoever, but a rational decision made after carefully weighing the risks, benefits, and alternatives.