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We have been watching old family videos lately from when our children were very young.
“I’m so grateful we have these videos,” I told my husband, “because there is so much I don’t remember from those chaotic years.”Category: Columns
‘Creative courage’ for the new year
Thank God we’ve finally left 2020 behind! We’ve entered a new year with great hopes for better times, along with a little trepidation.
COVID-19 vaccines: Moral evaluation
Although there are many factors to consider, the main concern of the Church with any vaccine is that it is developed, tested, and produced in such a manner that is morally licit.
The ethics of organ donation
An ever-emerging issue at the end-of-life is organ donation and the leaving of one’s body to “science.” Since the first successful organ transplant in 1954, organ donation and its morality have been an ongoing topic of discussion. While complex and nuanced, a general sketch of organ donation can be useful.
Longfellow’s Christmas poem inspires us to hope
On Christmas Day in 1864, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow listened to Christmas bells ring out the good news of peace on earth and goodwill to all.
Praying about death
Before our current pandemic, I occasionally had the opportunity to spend time with some of my far-flung godchildren.
A reflection of goodness
One of my favorite stops on my way to and from the Twin Cities where I attended seminary is the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse.
Managing pain at the end of life
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Death: Our Birth into Eternal life Fr. Joseph Baker |
The following article is the next installment in a series that will appear in the Catholic Herald to offer catechesis and formation concerning end-of-life decisions, dying, death, funerals, and burial of the dead from the Catholic perspective.
Using the principle of therapeutic proportionality, we have examined the use of curative and life-sustaining treatments.
Recall that there is no moral obligation to utilize such treatments, if, in one’s best judgment, such measures would be futile or result in burdens disproportionate to anticipated benefits.
Mary helps to prepare us for Advent and Christmas
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We have begun another Church year with the season of Advent. During the first part of Advent, the readings of the Mass prepare us for the second coming of Christ in his glory.
Then on December 17 to December 24, the readings focus upon preparing us for Christ’s coming at Christmas.Connection between souls amidst a tattered world
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All masked up, my family and I sat 12 feet away from my elderly parents outside their apartment. Sitting side by side, my parents looked out at us from behind the screened porch.
They clasped hands, as always, embracing the odd state of the world — not knowing what the future would hold — but content to be facing it together, just as they had faced all things in their 63 years of married life.