Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, good works, and penance. Lent prepares us to renew our baptismal promises with deep faith at Easter when we celebrate the paschal mystery, the heart of our faith.
In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy it says “Lent disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear the Word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the Paschal mystery.”
Since Wisconsin does not permit capital punishment, the most significant action government can take is that of depriving a person of his or her freedom.
This loss of freedom makes the stakes in any criminal proceeding of great importance to the accused. That is why fairness is critical to our system of criminal justice.
This column offers some reflections on Pope Paul VI’s document Humanae Vitae, which addresses the problems of all the various attacks on human life in the modern world. Paul VI identified contraception as the root cause of the “culture of death,” the twin evil of abortion.
One of the main objections to Humanae Vitae is that following its teaching (that is, practicing abstinence when avoiding pregnancy) impedes couples from expressing their love for one another. But of what “love” are we speaking: authentic conjugal love that images God, or its perennial counterfeit — lust?
Every year beginning with the last Sunday in January Catholic schools across the nation celebrate Catholic Schools Week.
The week is a celebration of the work of Catholic schools and of their tremendous contribution to our communities, our Church, and our country. Unlike public or secular schools that educate children primarily to succeed in secular life, live as contributing citizens, participate in the democratic process, and prepare for college and work, Catholic schools educate the whole person, body, mind, and soul. Catholic schools prepare students not only for success in the secular world, but also to live as Christians who not only succeed in life, but who through their lives make the world a better place.
Catholic Schools Week is the annual national celebration of the important role of Catholic grade and high schools which emphasize not only academics but also spiritual, moral, and social values. This year Catholic Schools Week is observed from January 31 to February 6.
Its theme is “Dividends for Life.” Parents, teachers, administrators, students, and others invest valuable time, talent, and resources in Catholic schools. The dividends of their investment last for a lifetime and into eternity. According to Karen Ristau, National Catholic Educators Association president, there is no better way to invest in a child’s future or the future of the world.
We believe, oh yes, we do believe. And it’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? This incredible gift of faith, given by a God who wants nothing more than to spend eternity with us.
Despite our unworthiness, despite the many times we have turned away, we have a God who continually fills our hearts with this need. A need that begs us to live as we were created to live.
I have recently received a most precious gift in the mail. It was sent by my niece, Lisa, who had just buried her father, Pete, my brother-in-law.
The moment I opened the outer box and saw the soiled, yellow-white box inside, I knew what it was: my mother’s photo album. Pictures from the first half of the 20th century!
Catholics are deeply involved in the debate over health care reform. Led by the bishops, acting through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholics have pressed three major points: 1) health care should be accessible to all; 2) abortion is not health care and government funds should not pay for it; and 3) immigrants should have access to health care.
These positions should surprise no one. The bishops have embraced the idea that all Americans should have access to affordable health care since 1919. And the bishops have consistently opposed funding abortion and supported humane policies for immigrants.
We celebrate Vocation Awareness week from January 10 to 16, 2010. I believe that priests, deacons, and religious can help Catholics to become more aware of vocations when they share their story. With this hope, I share these reflections on my journey to priesthood.
In this Year of the Priest, I thank God for calling me to serve as a priest for nearly 40 years. I believe that I am the luckiest person on the face of God’s good earth.
Back in the early 1800s, most practicing physicians refused to believe that the simple gesture of washing their hands between patients could help prevent the spread of childbed fever among the pregnant women they examined.
Even in the face of compelling scientific evidence, they remained stubbornly opposed to the practice. As a result of this intransigence on the part of the medical establishment over a period of many years, childbed fever (also known as puerpural infection) ended up unnecessarily claiming the lives of thousands of young women.
