almsgiving – Madison Catholic Herald

Lent is the Church’s primary penitential season. It is the season of conversion when we seek to become more Christ-like by choosing a Lenten penance which helps us to renew our Baptismal promises at Easter with a deepened faith.

The three traditional practices of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. A genuine commitment to these practices leads to a deepened awareness of God and conversion of the heart. Since the family is the domestic Church, in this article I will focus on some ways that we can live Lent as a domestic family. Some of these ways may also apply to the extended family and the Church family.

On February 26, 2020February 15, 2022

Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Almsgiving: the least known Lenten practice

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving — these are the three Lenten practices we’ve all learned about since childhood.

It seems that prayer and fasting are widely practiced and well-known among Catholics. Many of us deepen our prayer life during Lent, and we follow at least the minimal fasting requirements. Many of us go beyond by “giving up” some of our favorite foods such as desserts, candy, and alcoholic beverages.

Lent: Joyful season that brings delight to the soul

There is a famous quote from St. John Chrysostom that draws attention to the supreme purpose of Lent; namely, the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ.

On February 21, 2018May 10, 2021

Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Make sure the devil has one hell of a Lent


	This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop.

Dear Friends,

And so, we begin Lent. It strikes me as though yesterday was Labor Day and yet, here we are. There was the possibility that Ash Wednesday might be overshadowed for some by the blissful celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.

However, a far more sinister overshadowing overtook them both. Once again, wonderful young people, with their whole lives ahead of them, were meaninglessly and horrendously slaughtered and injured. So many family lives were changed forever, and not for the better.

Sadness really hung around this St. Valentine’s Day. Deep sadness. And, if any good was to come from this sadness, I hope that it awakened our consciousness to Lent and to our own mortality and need for both repentance and salvation.

Confrontation with the devil

This past Sunday we heard that the Holy Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, to be tempted by the devil (Mk 1:12-15). He drove Jesus out, into a face-to-face confrontation with him who is pure evil. This confrontation was therefore necessary for the sinless, only begotten Son of God.

And as we begin Lent, that tells us, in a way, that this confrontation with the devil is what Lent is all about. For while Jesus has the ultimate victory over the devil in the life to come, in this world the devil maintains his camp, and so we too must confront him.

On February 21, 2018February 15, 2022

Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

A Lenten response to violence

It was interesting to see people with crosses on their foreheads in the crowds shown after the school shootings in Parkland, Fla.

Of course, the shootings occurred on Ash Wednesday, so some of the parents and other family members had gone to Mass during the day.

Is there a message for us? The more I thought about it, I think there is.

On February 7, 2018

Fr. Donald Lange

Lent: A journey from ashes to Easter

On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14 this year, we begin the season of Lent. The word Lent comes from an old English word meaning Spring time which is a season of new growth.

Lent is a season of the Church when we open ourselves to new spiritual growth so that at Easter, we can renew our baptismal promises with renewed committed faith and Christ-like joy and love.

On February 20, 2013February 15, 2022

Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Bring Lent to life: Look for opportunities to nourish your faith by praying, fasting, and giving

Lent is a special time set aside by the Church to prepare for Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection through 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

There are many ways we can observe the Lenten season. In his message for Lent this year, Pope Benedict XVI asked us, especially in the context of this Year of Faith, to “meditate on the relationship between faith and charity: between believing in God — the God of Jesus Christ — and love, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and which guides us on the path of devotion to God and others.”

Pope Benedict emphasizes that faith and charity are linked together. “Everything begins from the humble acceptance of faith (‘knowing that one is loved by God’), but has to arrive at the truth of charity (‘knowing how to love God and neighbour’), which remains for ever, as the fulfilment of all the virtues (cf. 1 Cor 13:13).”

On April 5, 2012

Fr. Donald Lange

Encountering the risen Lord

Cecil DeMille, the famous movie director, was enjoying an overdue vacation at a Maine lake resort.

He was reading a book in a canoe, when he noticed a water beetle crawling up the boat’s side. When the beetle got halfway up, it stuck the talons of its legs to the canoe’s wood and died.

DeMille resumed reading. Three hours later he glanced again at the water beetle. What he saw amazed him. The beetle had dried up and its back began to crack open. First, a moist head, then wings, and finally a tail emerged. Out of apparent death, new life emerged in the form of a magnificent dragonfly.

As the dragonfly dazzled his eyes with its acrobatic flight, Cecil De Mille nudged the dried out beetle shell with his finger. It looked like a tomb.

From Good Friday to Easter

The water beetle’s amazing transformation reminds us of what happened to Jesus on Good Friday when he truly died on the cross and rose from the dead.

Jesus’ body that rose on Easter was different from the body buried on Good Friday. It was not a resuscitated body, restored to its original life like that of Lazarus or Jairus’ daughter. It was a risen glorified body.

On February 29, 2012February 15, 2022

Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Can’t have one without the other: Faith and good works are both essential

Over the years, Christians have had discussions — sometimes very heated arguments — about the primacy of faith or good works.

For Catholics, it’s really not one or the other that takes precedence. It’s both. In fact, according to Scripture and Church teaching, you can’t have one without the other.

As we begin the season of Lent, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the connection between faith and good works. Traditionally Lent is a time when prayer, fasting, and almsgiving take centerstage.

On March 31, 2011

Fr. Donald Lange

Lent calls us to grow in our Easter faith

When Matt Hasselbeck, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback, was a Boston College junior, he volunteered to spend eight days in the missions of Jamaica during spring break.

The people’s poverty shocked him. But their faith, especially the faith of George McVee, a leper, inspired him.

George, a horribly disfigured leper, had no money, no nose, no feet or hands. Yet he daily thanked God for his blessings.