Dear Friends,
I hope that summertime has brought some welcome rest and recreation for all of you. I particularly pray that you have been kept safe from the serious consequences of the recent, extremely hot weather. Let us, during these days, pray for our sisters and our brothers for whom the extreme heat poses some special problem.
Author: Kevin Wondrash
Sexual attractions and the call to chastity
People often surmise that same-sex attraction is inborn, and that homosexuals are “naturally gay” or “born that way.” They suppose that if God made them that way, then it must not be a sin to act on their sexual desires.
The possibility of a “gay gene” is sometimes offered as a further defense, suggesting that the condition, and its associated behavior, are inevitable and inescapable.
One commentator summarized it this way: “Asking someone to stop being homosexual would therefore be equivalent to asking an Asian person to stop being Asian or a left-handed person to stop being left-handed.”
Farm fresh and fabulous
Some of my fondest memories of my childhood in the ‘30s were the Sunday afternoon visits to our country cousins.
We’d all pile into Daddy’s new model Chevy, (he sold them, so we always had a new one), drive the 20 miles or more to run in the fields, jump in the hay mow, and watch the animals warily, keeping a safe distance.
Marriage and true Eucharistic living
Dear Friends,
The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is such a beautiful and important day for us, and the reality which we celebrate on that day has such an impact that its themes bear repeating. I hope you’ll forgive me if I look back a bit to the great Feast of Corpus Christi, which we celebrated on June 26, and reiterate a few thoughts which I shared in my Stational Mass homily.
Happily fulfilled in old age
I was fascinated by an article I read this morning over my coffee and cereal.
It was in the July issue of Ladies Home Journal, and written by Michael J. Berland, president of a polling and research firm, who states, “Sure, her family makes her happy, but despite what society expects, a woman’s sense of fulfillment comes from being independent and having a sense of control over her own life.” He calls this the silver lining on that recession cloud because it has driven so many women to become actively involved in their family finances.
Does Church have doubts about brain death?
The Catholic Church has long acknowledged the role of the medical professional in declaring death. It is the proper competency of medicine, not theology, to identify reliable signs that death has occurred.
The hardening of the body known as rigor mortis, for example, is a reliable medical indicator that death has occurred. When the heart permanently stops beating and the lungs permanently stop functioning (cessation of cardio-pulmonary function), medical professionals recognize these signs as another reliable way to assess that death has occurred.
What is Eucharistic living?
Dear Friends,
Already it’s been about a month and a half since our celebration of Holy Week and Easter. Since that time, many have asked me to write here a bit of what I mentioned with regard to “Eucharistic living” during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday.
God working in us through the Holy Spirit
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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,
This past weekend’s readings included the beautiful recounting of the Apostles choosing “helpers” in their mission of charity and justice, and so I have the joy of going to the altar this Friday and ordaining, to the Transitional Diaconate, David Johannes, who is simply a terrific candidate and who will be an outstanding deacon and priest.
In the fall, God willing, Mark Miller likewise will be ordained a deacon at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and Mark and David will together be ordained priests a year from now. Please pray for both of these great young men as they come upon their diaconate ordinations and final year of preparation for the priesthood.
Natural Family Planning and the telos of sex
Married Catholics today often struggle to understand the moral difference between using contraceptives to avoid a pregnancy and using Natural Family Planning (NFP).
NFP relies on sexual abstinence during fertile periods in a woman’s cycle, as assessed by various indicators like cervical mucus or changes in body temperature.
NFP and the Catholic Church
To many, the Church’s prohibition of contraception seems to be at odds with its acceptance of NFP because in both cases, the couple’s intention is to avoid children. That intention, however, is not the problem, as long as there are, in the words of Pope Paul VI, “serious motives to space out births.”
Mary and the priesthood
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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. |
Editor’s note: The following is a transcription of Bishop Robert C. Morlino’s homily for Priestly Ordinations on Friday, May 6, at St. Maria Goretti Church in Madison.
Tim, Jorge — “my sons,” I get to call you tonight. At the moment I call you my sons, I want to thank both of your dear parents, your grandparents, and your family for showing you what it means to be a good father — long before I came on the scene. And I want to thank them for showing you what it is to be a faithful son.
All of that will come into play in the days, the months, and the years ahead. I’m almost as proud of you tonight as your dear parents are — not quite as proud (I don’t think I could manage that) but I know how proud they are and I, certainly, am proud. I’m so grateful to your dear parents and your family, for their generosity in giving the Church such a wonderful, unselfish gift.