Columns – Page 89 – Madison Catholic Herald

Patrick Gorman

Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the fourth in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.

Imagine yourself in darkness with only a few candles providing light. You are standing in a secret location in the middle of the night, shivering from the cold and damp.

You have been “apprenticing” as a Christian for some time and at last you are about to join this small sect. You have no idea what will happen next and you don’t understand some of the things that already have been done.

Suddenly, your companion (godparent) turns you around, you are told to reach out and imagine standing face-to-face with the devil. Finally a booming voice from out of the darkness asks, “Do you renounce Satan?”

Dealing with guilt and shame

Ask IPS

Question: “During Lent, I feel like there is a large emphasis on sinfulness. I find myself feeling constantly ashamed of my past sins. Is this healthy?”

Response:William McKenna, M.S., Clinical Extern at the IPS Center for Psychological Services

On March 4, 2015

John Huebscher

Some laws say a lot about who we are, our values

Wisconsin’s laws make for some pretty dull reading. Most laws consist of technical prose defining eligibility for programs and drawing lines between legal and illegal conduct.

But some laws serve a different purpose. Some declare a policy vision for our state or define the scope and mission of what our government should do.

It is in these sections of the statutes that prose becomes poetry. It is there that we Wisconsinites define who we are and what we want our state to be.

On February 25, 2015

Fr. Robert Barron

Fry, Job, and the cross of Jesus

The British writer, actor, and comedian Stephen Fry is featured in a YouTube video which has gone viral: over five million views.

Fry is, like his British counterparts Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, a fairly ferocious atheist and debunker of all things religious.

Fry’s rant

In the video, Fry articulates what he would say to God if, upon arriving at the pearly gates, he discovered he was mistaken in his atheism.

On February 25, 2015

Tony Magliano

God is calling each person and nation to repent

“The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” With these two compelling sentences — as recorded in the Gospel of Mark — Jesus inaugurates his ministry and sums up what his mission is about: to break the shackles of sin that enslave humanity, to put us on the path of liberation from all oppression, and to teach us how to unconditionally love one another.

But what does it mean to repent?

Striving to avoid sin and living virtuously is certainly part of what it means. But there’s more.

A radical change

In the Gospels, the biblical word used for repentance is the Greek word metanoia — a radical change of mind, heart, soul, and action.

On February 25, 2015

Patrick Gorman

Baptism: A new Exodus


	Patrick Gorman

Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the third in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.

One of the most compelling stories in the Old Testament describes the Exodus (Ex 14-15:1), when God brought the people of Israel from slavery to freedom.

At the climax of the story, God parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to pass through the water. As the Egyptians pursued, God allowed the water to rush back, destroying Pharaoh’s chariots and charioteers and saving the people of Israel.

The Scripture describing all of this is read each year at the Easter Vigil because it so clearly prefigures Baptism as we go through the baptismal waters from the slavery of sin to the freedom of a life in Christ.

On February 25, 2015May 20, 2021

Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Medical assistance with the battle of the bulge

Bariatric surgery, which often involves banding of the stomach, is a widely used procedure for treating severe obesity. Another approach that relies on an implantable “stomach pacemaker” also appears poised to assist those struggling with significant weight gain.

Many people have already benefitted from these kinds of surgical interventions, enabling them to shed a great deal of weight, improve their health, and get a new lease on life.

Weighing alternatives

At the same time, however, it’s important for us to examine such interventions from an ethical point of view. It’s not simply a matter of weight loss, achieved by any means whatsoever, but a rational decision made after carefully weighing the risks, benefits, and alternatives.

On February 25, 2015

Abbot Marcel Rooney

Adaptation and renewal of Religious Life: Pursuit of perfect charity

Editor’s note: During this Year of Consecrated Life, this is the second in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.

We have seen in the first reflection commenting on Religious Life that the basis for and origin of this way of Christian life is the example and teaching of Jesus (Perfectae Caritatis, #1).

The Second Vatican Council’s teaching says that the consecration of Religious Life is focused on the pursuit of perfect charity.

On February 18, 2015

Jean Mueller

Finding at-home assistance for seniors

Q My siblings and I gave our mother the gift of in-home assistance for Christmas.

She lives just outside of Madison and the rest of us live in surrounding counties.

The idea was to provide some support because we can’t be there as much as we would like and mom does not ask us for help.

She was reluctant to accept it at first, but then agreed that she could use some help with certain things.

On February 18, 2015

Patrick Gorman

Baptism: Claimed for Christ


	Patrick Gorman

Lent is a season of preparation and recollection of our Baptism. This is the second in a series of several articles reflecting upon the Sacrament of Baptism.

One of the first things that we do when we meet someone is learn their name. It’s so basic, yet so important.

In Baptism, the Church does the same thing.

The Rite of Baptism of Infants calls for the priest to welcome the child, parents, and godparents at the doors of the church (he does the same with adults when he welcomes catechumens). (1)