Columns – Page 123 – Madison Catholic Herald

It is difficult to think of a scandal as a good thing. But the scandal triggered by violations of election and lobby laws 10 years ago, that led to reforming state regulation of both activities, had a positive effect.

One such reform merged the State Elections Board and the State Ethics Board into a new Government Accountability Board (GAB) with different membership. This has proven to be a very good thing.

Most members of the former Elections Board were designees of partisan leadership in the legislature. Board members did their best, but they had limited powers and were often expected to represent the interests of partisan leaders who appointed them.

Funerals: Not a time for remorse but celebration

When I was a kid back in the 30s and 40s, Grandma often came for a visit, always dressed in black, and usually it was a funeral that brought her to town.

I thought that was so weird. Did she enjoy funerals? Was that the only thing on her social calendar?

Well, guess what? I’ve arrived at that age when I open the paper first to the obituary page. First I check out to see if there’s someone I know. Then, I average the ages to see how I’m doing.

On a good day I’m younger than any of them. On a bad day I’m older. Too often, it seems, I find a friend has passed and I feel a stab of pain for the spouse and I want to express my sympathy and attend the funeral.

Final salvation at last

When I recently attended the funeral of my dear friend Betty, it occurred to me that funerals are really good for us seniors. They remind us of our own mortality, of course.

On June 7, 2012May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

The hidden power in our suffering

In a 1999 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, patients with serious illness were asked to identify what was most important to them during the dying process.

Many indicated they wanted to achieve a “sense of control.” This is understandable. Most of us fear our powerlessness in the face of illness and death.

We would like to retain an element of control, even though we realize that dying often involves the very opposite: a total loss of control, over our muscles, our emotions, our minds, our bowels, and our very lives, as our human framework succumbs to powerful disintegrative forces.

On June 7, 2012May 19, 2021

Kimberly Baker

Fatherhood and the sacredness of life

The upcoming celebration of Father’s Day on Sunday, June 17, is a fitting time to examine the irony that in our current culture, fatherhood is rarely mentioned.

When mentioned at all, fathers are mocked or portrayed negatively. Some movies and stories downplay the role of the father in a child’s life, yet simultaneously portray the child as suffering from the father’s inability to live up to that role.

Protect both mother and child

In reality, the nobility and significance of fatherhood remain a powerful witness in the lives of those who have had the opportunity to grow up with a present and caring father. And there are, of course, profound stories and testimonies to counter the culture’s defeatist attitude towards fatherhood.

On June 7, 2012

Fr. Donald Lange

Good fathers plant eternal memories in our hearts

I remember how Dad liked to plant a garden. First, he plowed and harrowed God’s good earth. This made the soil more receptive to receive and nourish seeds.

Next, he skillfully tied a string between two stakes to help make the rows even. We children watched with awe as he reverently planted seeds in the garden’s rich soil. This was sacred time.

We waited patiently for plants to push through the soil. Finally, one memorable day we discovered a shoot that had risen from the earth. We joyfully raced to be first to share the good news. Now whenever I see a garden, I think of Dad.

On May 24, 2012

Fr. Donald Lange

Pentecost reminds us to use gifts of Holy Spirit received at Confirmation

I was confirmed in seventh grade. In religion class, I learned that in the Sacrament of Confirmation we receive the Holy Spirit who strengthens us to be Christian witnesses. I worried whether I could witness to Christ by dying for him as a martyr. I took Confirmation seriously.

The Church received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. To prepare to receive the Spirit, for nine days key followers of Jesus gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. These included the apostles, together with Mary, some other women, and disciples. They were united in intense prayer.

In Acts 2:2-4, it says, “Suddenly there came from the sky, a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Tongues as of fire appeared to them, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”

On May 17, 2012

Jean Mueller

Daughter is concerned about mom’s diet

Q I am concerned about my mother who is in her late 70s. She lives alone and is quite independent. She recently started having some health problems related to high blood pressure, swelling, and fatigue.

The doctor placed her on some medication and is closely monitoring her for which I am thankful. Since I live in a different county, I am not able to be there as often as I would like but we talk frequently and she assures me that she is following the doctor’s advice.

My concern is related to her diet. She insists on eating the same foods every day, which consists of TV dinners, soup, and sandwiches.

I would like her to eat more nutritious foods that are lower in salt but since I am not there to help her prepare them, I don’t think I can be too critical of her intake.

Are there any healthier options or support for people in these situations? I know she will not want to make a big meal since she lives alone. (From a daughter in Kenosha)

On May 3, 2012

Fr. Donald Lange

We thank God for our mothers

Some mothers claim that they would do anything for their children. Stephanie Decker, a 37-year-old Indiana mother, demonstrated this in a heroic way.

On March 2, as a tornado crushed her family home, Stephanie covered her children with her body to protect them. Debris from the tornado caused her to lose part of both legs while saving her children from the deadly 175 mph tornado.

Enduring maternal bond

Someone wrote that a mother carries her child in her womb for nine months and in her heart for the rest of her life. Conceiving, carrying, and giving birth to a human being is as close as any person can come to the act of creation. After birth, motherhood continues through nurturing, sacrificing, loving, and ultimately letting go.

On May 3, 2012

Tony Magliano

Protecting our daily bread

Every person who has enough nutritious food to eat and cares about the one billion people who do not, should be paying attention to the 2012 Farm Bill.

At stake are deep, heartless congressional monetary cuts to national and international food assistance programs, environmentally protective farm and ranch conservation projects, and safety net programs designed to help struggling small and mid-sized family farmers and rural communities.

Proposed cuts to Farm Bill

Bob Gronski, policy coordinator, for the National Catholic Rural Life Conference (www.ncrlc.com) explained to me that Congress is poised to cut between $23 billion and $34 billion from current funding levels of the Farm Bill.

On April 26, 2012

Sr. Constance Carolyn Veit, LSP

Listening to God’s call: He wants us for himself

St. Jeanne Jugan was well into her 40s when she established the Little Sisters of the Poor. Some might consider her a “delayed” or “late” vocation, but I don’t think Jeanne was delayed at all. From an early age she had a sense of her vocation.

Jeanne knew that God loved her and was calling her; she just didn’t know where the call would take her. When Jeanne turned down a marriage proposal, she told her mother, “God wants me for himself, he is keeping me for a work as yet unknown, for a work which is not yet founded.”