Tag: joy

On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Pray always so we can rejoice always

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:

In our Second Reading of this past Sunday (1 Thessalonians 5), we hear: “Rejoice in the Lord always,” and “Pray without ceasing.” The idea of rejoicing always is, from a human point of view, unthinkable, without that second half: pray without ceasing.

One of the Christmas cards that I opened recently said simply this: “Bishop, please pray for us. It’s been tough.”

How is that person, from a human point of view, expected to rejoice? The answer is, they’re not.

And consider St. John the Baptist. If you go through his teaching, mentioned in the Gospels, you will see that never once did he tell a joke. So, there was a sort of rejoicing from a human point of view, in which St. John the Baptist did not indulge.

Yet, John was full of joy, just as the family who wrote me the card is called to be full of joy, the family for whom things have been pretty tough.

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On
Kevin Wondrash

St. Peter in Ashton is drop-off center for Box of Joy program

ASHTON — St. Peter Parish in Ashton is a drop-off center spot for the Cross Catholic Outreach Box of Joy program the week of November 4 through November 12.

The drop-off center hours at St. Peter will be: November 4 (6:30-7:30 p.m.), November 11 (2-4 p.m.), and November 12 (10 a.m.-12 noon). Boxes will be collected in the church gathering room, 7121 CR K, Middleton 53562. A team of volunteers will be there to greet people.

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

Labor Day invites us to reflect on our work

Labor Day has become a day of parades, picnics, and political speeches. Many see this day as a celebration of summer’s end, the beginning of school, and one more chance to relax before fall’s busyness. Labor Day did not begin with this intention.

On September 5, 1882, the first Labor Day celebration and parade in the United States were held in New York City. Thousands of workers marched in a parade up Broadway carrying banners that read: “EIGHT HOURS FOR WORK, EIGHT HOURS FOR REST, EIGHT HOURS FOR RECREATION.” It became a federal holiday in 1894.

Reflecting on dignity of work

In 1891, in his ground-breaking encyclical Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII outlined the rights of workers to a fair wage, safe working conditions, and formation of labor unions, while affirming the rights of property and free enterprise.

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On
Joy and Bill Exner

A spiritual pilgrimage to the Holy Land through the Rosary

Editor’s Note: Lady Joy, LCHS, and Sr. William, KCHS, Exner are section representatives for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. in the Diocese of Madison. They are members of St. Mary Parish in Pine Bluff, where they are both lectors and involved in marriage preparation. Bill is a parish trustee, Rosary leader, and sacristan.

Our pilgrimage to the Holy Land last year was truly a life-changing event. In fact, we continue to experience it especially when hearing Sacred Scripture read during Mass, in the various liturgies, and in reciting the Holy Rosary.

 

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On
Bishop Robert Barron

Lessons of suffering at Lough Derg

A few years ago, our Catholicism series film crew arrived at the shores of a large lake in far northwest Ireland, in the county of Donegal. We stepped onto a ferry and were taken to an island in the middle of the lake.

On the island was a collection of buildings, which in both architecture and color reminded me vividly of Alcatraz prison. The weather that day was horrific: temperature around 50, heavy winds, and a steady cold rainfall. Our hosts offered us tea and scones and then we made our way onto the island to begin our work.

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Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Enter Christmas season with joy, patience, and love

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,

I greet you all, and hope and pray that your times of preparation for Christmas have been filled with blessings.

The Church continues to challenge us — a challenge given by our Lord, Himself — to grow and to change as we prepare once again to renew our welcoming of the Lord into our lives.

In the Gospel of this past Sunday we hear Jesus say, “. . . the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed . . . and blessed is the one who takes no offense at me (MT 11:5-6)!”

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On
Julianne Nornberg

Sharing, teaching God’s love with children

Everyday Faith column by Julianne Nornberg

The face of my four-year-old scrunched up as he sounded out a word in a book. “Gah,” he said, successfully figuring out the sound of the letter “G.”

He considered the next letter, “O,” thought a moment, then said, “Ahh.”

Finally he got to the last letter, “D,” and put the sounds together. “Gah-ahh-dd,” he said slowly, enunciating each letter individually, his eyebrows knit in concentration.

“Gahd.”

Suddenly, his eyes flew open, his eyebrows shot up, and the light of understanding emanated from his joyous grin as he shouted out, “God! It says God!”

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

God holds us in His hands at all times

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,

The readings of this past weekend speak a much-needed word of consolation, hope, and joy to each of us, in the here and now.

I don’t know about each of you (though I’ve heard from a number of you), but in my opinion there are a good number of reasons for concern in our times, and there’s good reason to wonder where things are going — especially in terms of our national political scene.

But in such moments of uncertainty, the followers of Jesus Christ have always been able to consider the ultimate realities and to reflect back upon readings like those of this past weekend.

In the first place, we can consider the context of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:14, 43-52) as they have begun to go out and preach the Good News far and wide.

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