No political leader can fulfill every promise, right every wrong, or solve every problem. Nor can a body like the Wisconsin Legislature achieve perfection over the course of its 16 or so months of legislative activity.
So it is no surprise that the 2009 to 2010 legislative session that ended on April 22 did so with a mixed record of accomplishments and disappointments.
We were on our way to the airport, my daughter Kathi driving me, and I was sipping water from my new Thermos when I commented that it would be the first time for “alone travel” in many years, but with the wheel chair service provided by the airlines, it should be okay.
Kathi agreed that I should do well, what with my assertive personality and all. I wasn’t sure that was a compliment, but still . . . It’s true I’m no shrinking violet, and that might serve me well.
The Office of Catholic Schools, in conjunction with the Office of Planning, under Bishop Robert C. Morlino’s direction, have completed their review and revision of the recommendations stemming from the Catholic Schools Planning Process.
After the bishop fully reviewed and considered all available information, small changes and additions were made in order to best fit the recommendations into the larger scope of diocesan planning. Aside from these changes, the plan retains the recommendations put forth by the Steering Committee.
Entitlement. The idea many of us take on in which we truly believe that we deserve what we have. And it doesn’t stop there. We often find that this idea of entitlement, once bought into, quickly turns into pity. Self-pity.
From deserving what I have, to thinking that I deserve more. We train ourselves into thinking that “what I have, though I deserve it,” is simply not good enough.
I grew up learning about the gift of life and God’s great love for humanity through the example of my own parents. At the same time I grew up hearing very little about the meaning of life, God’s plan for my sexuality, and ultimate freedom and happiness.
It was in reading Good News About Sex and Marriage by Christopher West that the teachings of John Paul the Great first came to my attention. Unlike the list of rules I had heard, this new message said whole-heartedly, “Yes!”
May is traditionally dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Besides honoring Mary in May, we also single out and thank our own mothers on Mother’s Day. It might be a good time to reflect on what it means to be a mother.
The scheduled Mass server became sick. I quickly recruited a partially trained petite little girl from the pews. As I fumbled around, trying to figure out the microphone and other mysteries, I asked her to light the candles.
She didn’t respond. This seemed strange because she was a very obedient person. I thought that she probably didn’t hear me. So I asked her again. She replied innocently, “Father, I can’t. My mom won’t let me light matches.”
The devastating earthquake in Haiti has focused our attention on that country and the living conditions of its poor. Hunger, disease, and illiteracy can be found in other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This region provides a good background for reflecting on Pope Benedict’s latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, which addresses the development of peoples.
In the past year a family set out to get to a place in a mountainous area using a new GPS system. While the system could tell them which roads would be the shortest, it could not tell which roads were the safest to travel in difficult conditions.
In our spiritual journey, we have a divinely inspired life direction system which tells us in advance of hazardous conditions as well as the best way to go, each and every day.
God provides us direction so we will be faithful in our everyday duties: “Be still and know” — God is working even when we question if, how, and why/what God is working.
In recent years, some medical practitioners have suggested that death from dehydration may not be such an unpleasant way for patients to die. This conclusion, however, remains rather doubtful.
Thirst and appetite are very primal drives, and anyone who has ever done a voluntary fast knows well the discomfort that arises from even a single day of fasting.
