Thursday, 17 May 2012 10:15

The view from the rectory window
By Fr. Ken Van Haverbeke
Generally, when I arrive at a parish penance service I rearrange the chairs so a person seated behind me can speak into my ear unseen. Or a person can sit in front of me and face to face experiencing the forgiveness the Lord offers in the Sacrament of Confession.
The chair behind me: I prefer to set in a manner I can best hear the penitent. If they choose to be anonymous, often they will whisper in an inaudible whisper, requiring me to lean back farther in my chair to understand them.
The chair in front: I place two legs length before me at a comfortable distance. Inevitably the chair seems to germinate more than its four legs, and slowly creeps closer to me, only to have me push it back to its proper place when a penitent leaves. I like some distance between us – that whole personal space thing.

Thursday, 17 May 2012 10:14

By Tom Racunas
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. According to the National Institute of Health, in a given year about one in four people have a diagnosable mental disorder, such as depression, bi-polar disease, and schizophrenia, among others. One in 17 people has a severe and persistent mental illness.
Mental illness encompasses biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of the individuals affected. The illness also impacts the lives of the person’s family.
Many families are ill equipped to respond to the multiple challenges of a family member’s diagnosis of mental illness. Behaviors can be misinterpreted, and finding effective resources and medical interventions may prove overwhelming. The strain on the family can be significant. The stigma that often accompanies this illness may cause families to be hesitant to share their need for support during this difficult time.

Thursday, 17 May 2012 10:13

By Bonnie Toombs
This Memorial Day, we will remember those who died in the service of our country, fighting for our freedom. We honor them as true heroes. As Catholic Americans, we will also reflect on the meaning of true freedom and thank God for the church which is the way to that freedom, a freedom we as Catholics are called to live to the full.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. God willed that man should be ‘left in his own counsel,’ so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.” (1730)
Today the government of the United States is trying to limit our freedom of religion and our conscience protection through the HHS mandate. The Constitution of the United States guarantees every religious institution and its affiliated bodies the inalienable right to define its own identity and ministries and to practice its own beliefs, not just its freedom of worship.
Those who fought in foreign lands and gave there lives in the fight for freedom fought also for the protection of the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Thursday, 17 May 2012 10:12

By Christopher M. Riggs
One of the reasons you don’t hear quick defenses relating to the Catholic Church’s teaching about marriage is because the issue is so complicated and multifaceted that it’s almost impossible to put it in a sound bite.
The evening news might have 15 seconds of same-sex couples waving signs, chanting about equal rights and demanding marriage, but the reporters are there to report that event, not to explain it.
Given the support the issue of same-sex marriage has, it’s apparent many don’t understand what the church teaches about marriage.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman – a covenant guaranteed by God’s fidelity. Marriage is a covenant – not a contract. A contract is a legal agreement, while a covenant transcends the legal because it is supernatural.

Thursday, 03 May 2012 08:49

May is national Older Americans Month
By Heather Welch
Since 1963, communities across the nation have marked Older Americans Month.
Coretta McCoy, an 84-year-old client of Adult Day Services at Catholic Charities and mother of 15 children, said it's fitting to honor older Americans for their contributions to society.
“Older Americans have earned respect, and they have put their stamp on the world,” McCoy said.
McCoy said she was 14-years-old when she and her husband had their first child in 1942. All of her children were born at home on a cotton farm in Arkansas where she and her husband worked in the fields.
“We basically had our babies in the fields,” she said. We did it until we couldn’t do it anymore.”
The couple went on to deliver a child every two years, although one was stillborn. She said they had a baby born in every month except August. Coretta’s husband, Melvin, passed away in 1989. Her daughters cared for her until her youngest son, Sherman, brought her to Wichita last year.

Thursday, 03 May 2012 08:46

Superintendent of Catholic Schools talks about the eternal importance of an education
Bob Voboril, diocesan superintendent of Catholic schools, reminds parents about the importance of preparing a child for eternity as they choose a school for their children in a series of videotapes under production by the Catholic Advance.
In the first video, Voboril encourages parents to look at more than the academic program of a school.
Most parents want schools to prepare their children for college and there are many schools in the region that can do that, he says in the video titled “Why Choose a Catholic School? However, Voboril adds, there are a lot of very well educated people in the United States who are very smart, but who make bad choices.

Thursday, 03 May 2012 08:45

By Elizabeth Goenner
It’s a Thursday evening and Father Curtis Robertson sits behind his desk at St. Francis of Assisi parish, quietly working on his computer.
Suddenly shouting and a fit of hysterical laughter erupt from the basement. But rather than become upset, Fr. Curtis smiles. It’s a typical meeting of the Angels of the Holy Queen.
“No matter how the week is going, Angels always lightens the mood,” said Fr. Curtis, their chaplain.
Angels of the Holy Queen is a group of high school and college-age girls who have solid friendships based on Christ. It was founded in 2002 by a group of young women and priests who wanted to establish a group of girls to be the mirror image of the boy’s group, Knights of the Holy Queen.
The group has changed a lot since it first began. Angels was originally named Angelae Sanctae Reginae, which is Latin for Angels of the Holy Queen. At that time the group was small, with around 10 members.