Browsing Father Stephen's Columns
Saint Louis and the Common Good (8/31/25)
Posted by Debbie Branger on 8/26/25
Saint Louis and the Common Good
A few weeks ago, we explored the Catholic Social Teaching concept of the common good. As a reminder, the common good is all the foundational elements in society that help all people flourish. It includes access to basic ... Read More »
Eagle Scout Project, Extended Adoration, Budget Overview (8-24-25)
Posted by Debbie Branger on 8/19/25
Eagle Scout Project, Extended Adoration, Budget Overview Happy Sunday to all! Just some brief housekeeping notes for this week’s bulletin:
1. Matthew V., a senior at St. Thomas More High School and recently confirmed Catholic here at St. Stephen, is completing a project to obtain the rank of Eagle ... Read More »
Respect for Human Dignity: Saint Maximilian Kolbe (8/17/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 8/13/25
Respect for Human Dignity: Saint Maximilian Kolbe Pope Francis once wrote about the saints that, “Each saint is a mission, planned by the Father to reflect and embody, at a specific moment in history, a certain aspect of the Gospel” (Gaudete et exsultate 19). ... Read More »
Justice: Universal Destination of Goods (8/10/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 8/13/25
Justice: Universal Destination of Goods Following up on last week’s homily, please enjoy these paragraphs on the universal destination of goods from the Catechism... In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care ... Read More »
Catholic Social Teaching: The Common Good (8/3/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 8/13/25
Catholic Social Teaching: The Common Good
Everything in the Church’s social doctrine hinges on last week’s concept of human dignity, that because we are made in God’s image we deserve respect and require certain things to reach our true potential. To love God fully, ... Read More »
Catholic Social Teaching: Human Dignity (7/27/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 7/23/25
Catholic Social Teaching: Human Dignity
Do we need to treat human beings differently than other creatures? The answer seems so simple, but there were/are times and places where people treated other human beings like food (cannibalism) or animals (ancient and modern forms of enslavement) ... Read More »
Catholic Social Teaching: Origin Story (7/20/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 7/15/25
Catholic Social Teaching: Origin Story The year was 1891: smoke billowed from the smokestacks of factories all around the world. Society had shifted rapidly from farmers in rural environments to factory workers in big cities. Political movements had risen and fallen proclaiming radical news ... Read More »
Catholic Social Teaching: Origin Story (7/13/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 7/09/25
Catholic Social Teaching: Origin Story
The Church’s body of doctrine on social justice issues didn’t develop overnight in the 1800’s with Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical letter Rerum Novarum (On the New Things). The roots lay in Sacred Scripture, the soul of all theology. In ... Read More »
Prayer Plan of Life (7/6/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 7/03/25
Prayer Plan of Life Most of us struggle to follow through on our commitments. Whether it’s a New Year’s Resolution or a new diet or that promise we made to keep up with a friend, we are often forgetful, fickle, and feckless. Yet even ... Read More »
The Catholic Experience (6/29/25)
Posted by Gail Schlicht on 6/24/25
The Catholic Experience
The Sacraments are the lifeblood of our spiritual life. They are the continuing presence of Jesus in our lives, the way that he most regularly and powerfully moves in the world. But Sacraments are only truly effective if they are building ... Read More »