Calling all potential priests...

On New Year’s Day, we were invited to dine at another family’s house. Our husbands have known each other for a long time. My husband had been his student and later worked with him at the diocese. It was so wonderful to be able to reconnect with them in the midst of a busy Christmas season. Also in attendance was Fr. Joe Hirsch, whose specialty is vocations recruitment, mostly for the Diocese of La Crosse, but he’s been invited to speak in other locations about the need for answering God’s call.

During the course of dinner, he shared with us a portion of his talk that he gives to young men. He begins by asking them how many have considered being a priest. Maybe one or two will raise their hands. He then asks them to consider cancer and its devastating effects upon people’s lives. Upon this reflection, he holds up a pen and tells them to imagine that this pen is a shot that contains the cure for cancer. He asks them what they would be willing to give up to distribute this cure. Would they give any amount of money? Would they give up being able to have a wife and children?

Then he asks them what is worse, to lose your life, or to lose your soul? Most children will know that the loss of the soul is eternal, but the loss of the body is only temporary. He asks them, after seeing the wheels turn in their heads for a moment, “isn’t the spiritual cancer of sin even worse than physical cancer?” Their response is “yes!”

By that time, he is ready to drive home his point. “The priest has the cure for spiritual cancer. Through the Sacraments, people are continually cured by sin and its devastating effects. Isn’t that worth a substantial sacrifice? Wouldn’t you give anything to help cure spiritual cancer? Consider the priesthood. Is God calling YOU to be an instrument of His cure?”

Beautifully put, Fr. Hirsch.

In the following clip, Fr. Hirsch explains what is needed to truly discern a vocation to the priesthood:




Please share this with the young men in your life. We should all be mindful of potential vocations to the priesthood within our own families and parishes. They need our encouragement and prayers, especially in this time of trial when the priesthood is being so viciously attacked. On this day we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, when Jesus began his earthly ministry. May we all pray for God’s call to be answered in greater numbers.

Happy New Year...pass the celery

It is very interesting, culturally speaking, that we have placed SUCH an emphasis upon New Year’s resolutions. We roll off our couches every January 1 and make the commitment to...well, mostly lose weight. It makes me think about a movie I watched with my children entitled Over the Hedge. The scene I am thinking about in particular, is when main character, the raccoon, is explaining humans and their behavior to all the other woodland creatures. In a montage of familiar human activities aided by a soliloquy from the perspective of the raccoon, he explains that humans’ lives revolve around food. He sums up their behavior in a single statement, “We eat to LIVE...They live to EAT!”

I bring this up because I am in this category. Again, the festive eating has gotten the best of me and I am in the situation of having to pay piper for my jolly appetite. What I find so fascinating is that the marketing people have us so well-conditioned to repeat the same patterns year after year. They put out the goodies, the cakes, cookies, candies, succulent meats and cheese trays galore all throughout October, November and December. Come January, it’s all gone. Bottled water and diet supplements now greet me at my nearest shopping warehouse. Dang it. I fell for their evil plot again!

It’s not just food, however. I think that most of us have something we want to change, but that darned concupiscence keeps us enamored with pleasing ourselves. We know that we need to go to bed earlier, but we have to get to the end of the book so that our inquisitive minds can be satisfied. We know we should rise fifteen minutes earlier for prayer, but the bed is so warm and cozy. We know we should get the dishes done, but they can wait until tomorrow. Our lives can become shoulda- woulda- coulda- driven if we don’t keep returning to the One who knows how we are to be ordered.

That is not to say that we are machines. Humans are meant to delight in God’s creation. He made it for us. The problem with us is that sometimes we become so infatuated with the other creatures or the creations that the Creator is diminished or even forgotten. That is what has been driving the excess in our modern time. We are so blinded by things...and there are some really cool things indeed...but they are all to be at the service of God, not ending in empty overindulgence.

The interesting thing about all excesses - money, possessions, power, appetites of all sorts, is that eventually we become "weighed down" by what we don't need, and, depending upon the extent of the the buldge, it can be rather difficult to become free from the bondage these things create.

So I’ll be chewing on this advice to myself while I’m gnawing on my celery and sweating on a treadmill.

Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more

This update from Father Z's blog brought tears to my eyes this morning. Through studying theology, I have come to a better understanding about how God's grace works, but actually witnessing it operating on such a grand scale in an event so close to home...well, it simply makes my heart sing.

God's beautiful people allowed themselves to be instruments of His love, acknowledging Christ in the orphans in Peru through gifts of proclamation, prayer, and donation. Each gift worked in harmony to enable such an overwhelming response. The press and the bloggers were able to proclaim the need, the readers were able to pray about the required action, and the donations flowed from their consideration.

This is the Church I know and love.

Christmas reflections

After a relaxing and joy-filled visit with family, I am returning to comment on two events that recently made news in our diocesan paper. The first is an article featuring Jeff Skorik, the police chief of Marinette, WI whose faith helped him in dealing with the trauma of a school hostage situation and ultimate self-inflicted death of the young man responsible for it. What struck me about this article was the candor with which the policeman spoke about his faith. He and his wife had been signed up for weekly adoration, and when she offered to take his adoration time just days after the incident, he did not take her up on it, saying, “it was appropriate that I go to adoration.” The article went on to recount his renewal of faith. “When confronted with seemingly insurmountable challenges, someone who has faith in their life will come to that point very quickly.”

In a seemingly unrelated story, our former parish, St. Charles Borromeo in Chippewa Falls, was recently visited by a tragedy of a different sort. Someone stole the collection money from all of the Christmas and Sunday Masses. A significant portion of the collection had been designated for Casa Hogar, the orphanage very close to all of our hearts in the Diocese of La Crosse. When I heard of this event earlier today, my first reaction was that nobody would stand for this. Even if the culprits are never caught, the people of our diocese will not let this affect the orphans of Casa Hogar. I am confident that the money will not only be replaced, but surpassed by the generosity of faith-filled people.

In actuality, these two stories are deeply connected. Each reveals the providence of God’s great love through the folly and scandal of the cross. Benedict XVI has called it God’s “crazy love.” When humans fall short, God goes out of His way not only to restore us but to elevate us. He gives us the opportunity not only to be as we were but to be better than we were. God's answer to Adam and Eve’s sin...Jesus. God's response to those who crucified His Son...the offering of eternal salvation. To humans, God's responses to human folly seem ridiculous, but in the realization of this completely ridiculous love, disordered human actions provide us with the opportunity for true transformation. We are in need of ridiculous mercy. How wonderful is our God to condescend Himself to us so completely that we might be made worthy of everlasting life! When a bad thing happens to us or those we love, we should know that transforming grace is in super-abundant supply at that very moment in time, inviting us to be holier, more filled with the infectious love of Christ.

Blessed Christmas season to all of my readers! We celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ and His transforming, merciful love.

Upcoming event

Providence Academy is celebrating...

A Festival of Lessons and Carols

Thursday, December 16, 2010

6:30 pm

St. James the Less Catholic Church

1032 Caledonia St.

La Crosse, WI

An elegant evening of Scriptural readings, poetry and traditional hymns performed by the students of Providence Academy and accompanied by various instruments, including a string quartet.


A beautiful occasion designed to stir our hearts with joyful anticipation for the celebration of our Savior’s birth.

Providence Academy is a private, independent, classical academy in the Catholic tradition. Students range in age from pre-kindergarten through high school. For more information, please contact the office at (608) 784-6167.

Cardinal Burke visits a little school

I thought I would return with a bang today. For all of you fans of the good Cardinal, I thought I would share with you a special visit we had with a distinguished guest today.

My children attend Providence Academy, a small school in La Crosse, WI with approximately 115 students. Students range in age from pre-K all the way up through high school. Their curriculum is firmly grounded in the classical model, requiring both Latin and Greek languages throughout the grades, building upon the traditions of history, philosophy, science and the arts in observing the truth about God's creation, and serving to support the gift of the Catholic faith.

Cardinal Burke has been a long-time supporter of the mission of our tiny school, and today he made an extraordinary effort to visit us in the midst of his busy schedule. He spoke about the importance of preserving this method of education that originated in the Catholic Church, and congratulated the efforts of those who continue to support this endeavor through much prayer and sacrifice.

My feeling after a day like this is profound gratitude. We are so blessed to have our children enlightened to the truths of reality which are ordered through the love of God. We are so blessed to know such a holy and humble servant of Christ, and we are completely, unfathomably blessed to be called to everlasting life through the sacrifice of our Lord. I am in complete awe of what mighty works God is accomplishing in us and through us each day. It makes me think about Mary in her beautiful words that are so appropriate for this season of Advent. "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for He has looked with favor on His lowly servant." I thank God for the gift of Himself, that He gratuitously condescends to meet us where we are and transforms us so that we might glorify His name!

Beautiful tribute to life

Perhaps you have seen this before, but my sister just recently shared this clip with me. I thought it was just about the most beautiful tribute to life I could ever imagine in our present day. Life is always a gift, and the couple who is featured in this video realizes this. They experience the fullness of this little child's life in time compressed, recognizing that every moment of life is a precious gift from God.

Praise God for another day in which we are called to love Him and each other! Praise God for our tiny saints in Heaven who pray for us each day!

Vote for life on this All Souls' Day

On this feast of All Souls Day, we ought to remember the population in purgatory who are being purified to enter into the Beatific Vision. We also ought to remind ourselves about the beauty of sacrificial love. The souls who are intensely suffering in purgatory need our prayers and our sacrifices. God is glorified when we love so much that our desire is to take upon ourselves the sufferings of others in order to lessen their burdens. Empathy is this great love and it is magnified through sacrifice, Christ’s and ours in union with His. We ought to live not for ourselves, but for the glory of God and for love of His creation.

It is a very important thing to contemplate as we head out to the polls today. We have a duty not only to vote protect the many innocent lives that are being thrown away by the devastating legalized practice of abortion, but also to offer sacrifice and prayer to ease the horrific suffering of everyone involved in the abortion industry. Many souls are at stake in this battle between life and death. Voting to protect life is just the minimum. Vote for life today, and continue to pray and sacrifice. Many souls are being lost at the expense of this unjust license to kill.

Cardinal-designate Burke reminds Catholics of the duty to vote for life

In case there are any straggling questions about which way Catholics are obligated to vote in the upcoming election, our beloved Cardinal-designate Burke is communicating the message clearly, without equivocation. His concern is the soul of the voter and the protection of the unborn, two concerns that are not bound by the intimidation of 501(c)(3) statutes.



This is truly clarity of Church teaching by a good shepherd.

Institute for Pastoral Theology open class weekend

I am getting ready to attend another weekend of classes through Ave Maria University's Institute for Pastoral Theology. All of them are excellent lectures packed with solid theology and philosophy...challenging, but not so heady as to remain aloof to the students' comprehension. In case any one wants a taste of what I get to experience once a month, I am happy to provide you with the information about an upcoming "open class" weekend. I am linking to the flyer for the Janesville, WI class to be held the weekend before Thanksgiving, Nov. 19-21.

Free lecture. Excellent speakers. Come and check it out!